-Break-

Location: Grand hall of Eche; Dinning Hall

Φ With a plate in my hands, walk up to where all the food is, and it is tremendous. Ever where I look I see food glistening as if the messiah has fallen down on it.

So with my stomach grumbling I reach out my hand and prepare to take what I want, but then I am stopped by a beastkin with a weapon at his side, who says, “Don’t try and be funny, Fanalis you know which food is yours.”

So, I stretch my arm, away from the food I was about to grab and to another dish, but he makes the same angered look that he had on before. So I repeat this process, till my hand ends up hovering over food that is clearly made from bugs.

“You can’t be serious?”

“Are you sick in the mind you Fanalis, stop complaining and take what your kind eats as normal.”

Filling my plate full of bugs, I get up and walk away till I meet Dillon and Suzuka. Sitting down beside them, I say, “Hey Dillion why can’t I take any of the other food there?”

“What the Fanalis eat is heavily restricted, the only thing we're allowed to eat are our bugs.”

Seeing the cooked bugs on my plate get up and move away, I say, “This can’t be ok.”

Dillion with a delightful smile says, “Most don’t test the best, but some do especially bugs made from the aisachta in particular, they taste super sweet, and are very healthy. Though my brother says we won’t get to eat it after today.”

Suddenly, I feel a sinking feeling. Isn’t the Aisachta the giant moth with killed when we landed in Nialathrú, doesn’t that mean we killed one of the only tasted creatures that the Fanalis get to eat!?

I start to shake out of fear of people getting to know what we did.

“Iancu are you ok.”

In a very erratic way, I say, “Yeah I am fine!”

As I stare at Dillion I also see Suzuka staring at another table and drooling through her mask, so I say, “You know stealing is wrong.”

Wiping her Drool, she says, “Of course, even I know that! I was just having a fantasy.”

“Why do that, look the bugs are so tasty,” Dillion says trying to hand Suzuka a bug.

“Please stop!” Suzuka says as she panics. But Dillion seeing this continues to tease her with it.

But then suddenly, a large amount of Fanalis gather around the table we are and they start speaking.

“I hear you guys made embarrassed Ciaróg.”

“I didn’t know any of the Fanalis at this school were so smart.”

“I didn’t know we had any bat Fanalis.”

“That is also a fox, her tails as so pretty.”

“Dillion how do you know these two?”

Making up a lie, Dillion says, “They uhm, are my cousins.”

“But how come we have never seen them before?”

“It is because we have always been very sick so we stay inside, isn’t that right sister.”

Suzuka makes an aura of disgust so intense that I can hear it, but then I point at Dillion and make a symbol of a wolf with my hands to remind her of Orb.

So she says, “It is right, me and my brother have been sick because he is a plague and I have been infected by it since birth.”

She really doesn’t know when to stop, but I can’t do anything back.

A bear Fanalis says, “Is all the stuff they are saying about you true Dillion?”

Dillion's face instantly turns red and his bug face starts to move around, Suzuka and I in this moment realize that this girl is the one he has a crush on.

So I grab Dillion and say, “All the information I learn, it was taught to me by him.”

Suzuka follows up and says, “he is also always nursing us back to health, he is truly caring and kind.”

Dillion looks at both of us in his erratic state, then facing the bear he says, “Melissa, don’t listen t-.”

“That’s so amazing Dillion, I didn’t know you were so cool.”

Dillion instantly changes his words and says, “I am pretty amazing.”

“It was them!” A voice from afar says.

Looking in the distance we all see Ciaróg, who has a group of men behind him. Seeing them the Fanalis around our table get scared, and one mutters, “Warriors of the red branch!”

The men walk up and say, “So it was you who decided to embarrass house Flanagan.”

Dillion lowers his head and looks scared, but then the grown man picks Dillion up and says, “You were extremely talkative till a second ago, so answer my question was it you!?”

The guards in the room simply look away as Dillion is forcefully picked up, it seems they don’t care what happens to a Fanalis.

Dillion gets scared because of this, so Suzuka stands up on the table and hits the man's wrist gently but precisely which causes him to let go of Dillion.

He moves back and holds his wrist which he cannot put any power into, and then Suzuka says, “Daddy told me not to use violence unprovoked against anyone, so if you keep messing with my friends I will strike back.”

Behind her, I say, “You're always attacking me.”

Turning her head around, Suzuka says, “Let me correct myself, Daddy told me not us use violence unprovoked against anyone with a soul.”

“HEY YOU JUST CALL ME SOULLESS!”

“If you don’t want to be called what you are, so being that!”

The man draws his sword and then says, “If you think you can attack me and get away with it Fanalis you have another thing coming!”

As he swings his sword at Suzuka, she plants her fits into his face and slams his head into the floor and then with her tails she forms firsts and does the exact same thing to all of the beastkin around him.

Then getting up she looks at Ciaróg who falls on his butt, who says, “You monster, this is unfair!”

Suzuka looks angry at being called a monster, but there her stomach grumbles which calms her down.

Getting an idea, I say, “You’re right this was unfair, so let’s change the battle. If you can beat Dillion here, both Suzuka and I will do whatever you say no matter how embarrassing or degrading.”

Ciaróg perks up at this suggestion, but then he cautiously asks, “What do you want in return.”

“Oh simple, we just want all of the food you can get for us.”

With all of his pride and arrogance returning, Ciarog says, “Let’s do this then you bug.”

Dillion scared attaches himself to my leg and says, “I can’t win this.”

Suzuka picking him up says, “You managed to maintain your spirit energy flowing through your body all day up to now, so I am sure a little bit of physical strain won’t cause you to lose control.”

Dropping him in front of Ciaróg Suzuka says, “I believe in you.”

Φ Dillion moves his head around to look at all the other Fanalis including Melissa, in that moment Ciaróg moves towards him to strike in his confused state.

 But before he is hit he moves away, which causes Ciaróg to say, “So you're quick on your feet. That doesn’t mean you’re going to win.”

Ciaróg moves to attack him and Dillion dodges out of the way. Despite being young both of them move with speed comparable to adults using spirit energy.

It seems their beastkin bodies are just that much stronger than humans, but despite that everyone can see there is a clear difference between the both of them, Dillion is faster.

Ciaróg seems to just be throwing his strength around, but Dillion's great levels of control allow him to step out of the way. I know my technique allowed him to flow his spirit energy better, but to keep that up requires dedication.

After a while, Ciaróg's spirit energy decreases to miniscule amounts, and Dillons is still quite large. “How do you still have so much left.”

“Because I have a great master.” Dillion smacks Ciaróg in the head knocking him out.

Then after he does that the Fanalis in the area rush him and pounce.

“You really beat him!”

“I never thought you were so skilled.”

“We Fanalis are really that cool.”

“Can you teach me that?”

 “You’re amazing.”

“I could never be like you.”

With a smile, Melissa says, “How cool!”

As Dillion's emotions start to cook him, I go and grab all of our victory food. “To the winner goes the spoils!”

-Break-

Location: Outskirts of the city of Prosúnfore

Φ On the back of one of the apex deer, I say, “WOOOO!” As I race with it.

Riding beside me on another one, Cultúir says, “I told you it was fun didn’t I?”

Smiling at her, I say, “Absolutely. I feel though I could go even faster on this.”

“Well don’t bother because I happened to be the fastest rider in all of Nialathrú, in my younger days.”

“It is rather saddening to see an eighty-year-old talk about her younger days.”

“HEY, I AM MERELY FIFTY YEARS OLD!”

“What’s the difference, grandma,” I say speeding up.

Speed up as well, I say, “It seems you need to be taught a lesson, little girl.”

Both of us race each other at full speed, and eventually, our race comes to an end as we reach a cliff. Jumping off of my wonderbeast, I say, “You really are fast.”

“Of course I am, bow at my superiority! But if you are too tired to do that I would suggest looking here.”

Getting up, I look over the cliff, and over it, I see the entirety of Prosúnfore. “It is beautiful.”

“I know it is, this is a country I love deeply, one which I and many have poured their body into to survive.”

“I can see why you would do all of that.”

“In all honesty, there are many in this country who if given a chance would destabilize it for personal gain, and there are many who if they found out that the outside world was still here they would look to plunder it. And I feel the same can be said of the humans in the outside world as well.”

Remembering all of the scum who destroyed my village, I nod my head in agreement.

“Maple, we have promised not to harm you and I will put my very life at stake to make sure as the grand minister of Nialathrú, but can I ask you won’t do the same to our people!”

“I can’t make that promise,” I say pointing my head downwards.

“Judging from your expression, I believe there is more to that than just greed.”

“I simply don’t have the confidence to make such a promise. Unlike you who is able to hold your head up high as the leader of your people, I simply cannot do that.”

“Didn’t you introduce yourself as the leader of your people?”

“I hold power, but one of the people I am looking for, someone I feel is like a brother to me is far more capable as a leader. I can’t calm people's hearts or lead them forward, yet he can far easier than me, so I feel utterly useless.

I don’t lack the authority to make such a promise to you, but it simply doesn’t hold any weight, since I couldn’t stop anything if it happens, I am useless,” I say with tears forming.

Wiping my eyes, she says, “Don’t worry, awareness leads to growth, so I trust that you will be able to one day become a great leader. So as future insurance could you promise me this.”

“I promise.”

“Thank you, now let’s us go back it is getting late. When we arrive I can also give you some pointers on how to rule.”

“I would enjoy that very much!”