Chapter 103

I filled Arya in on what Steria had told me about the token as well that she wanted me to find her a Vessel to inhabit. We discussed the options of what kind of creature would be good as we made our way back to the village. Arya was of the opinion that a Catkin Therian would be best as since she felt a human form would be the easiest to deal with. I agreed with her on that but at the same time I was also interested in a monster form since there were plenty of powerful feline monsters and unless we happened to run into a Therian willing to give up their body, or one that I wouldn't feel bad about forcibly doing so, it seemed unlikely that we'd find one anytime soon.

As we reentered the village I noticed that it seemed busier than it had yesterday, but that might have been due to the fact that it was much earlier than when we'd arrived. However, even Arya thought it was surprisingly busy and she was able to point out members of the Yin side helping set up or grow some sort of decorations. As far as she was aware there wasn't a holiday or a reason for celebration, such as a harvest going on, so it didn't make sense why the village was suddenly preparing for one.

While we were walking back towards Arya's house she noticed someone delivering a box of flowers, mostly roses, along with some lilies. The traditional flowers to represent a marriage. I wished that I knew the people of the village better as I could have made guesses on who the couple was but since both Arya and I had been at school, neither of us really knew much other than what we learned yesterday, which wasn't much.

It didn't take long until the two of us were enthralled in imagining our own wedding. I'd basically proposed already, as evidenced by the rings we wore, though I had also given one to Marian, and I didn't want to leave her out either. However, it wasn't like I could actually marry Marian here, since she was already married to Alcrem, at least on paper, something else I needed to change.

Me and Arya were chatting merrily discussing what kind of dresses we'd like as we walked into her home, only to pause as we heard Kavir talking to someone, though we couldn't quite hear what they were talking about. It was strange that he was here since he ought to be at the shrine dealing with the duties of a leader.

The two of us walked through the living room and into the dining room where we saw Kavir sitting a the table looking into the kitchen at a pale skinned female elf with long silver hair seemed to be cooking. He stopped talking as he noticed us and turned with a grin on his face. "Ah, my daughters, where did the two of you go so early in the morning? You almost missed out on breakfast."

It felt strange to hear him reference the both of us as daughters but I let it slide since he seemed to be in a good mood. "I was practicing a somewhat dangerous Skill so Arya led me to a nice secluded place do so." I said as I sat down. Despite the fact that I'd only met the man twice and only known him for about a day, I felt closer to him than I did my own father, likely because he was personable and I could tell he cared about Arya deeply. It also didn't hurt that whatever was being cooked smell delicious, something Arya and I had lacked on the journey here since it was mostly whatever we could catch or dried, nutritious, and bland rations.

Arya followed suit and sat next to me just as the woman in the kitchen brought out a large platter covered in an assortment of breakfast foods, some of which I didn't recognize, before sitting down next to Kavir. "I'm glad the two of you could make it, I was worried that I had made too much." The woman's voice was soft and gentle as she turned her attention towards me. "To think my husband managed to rope in someone like you. I'm Ilya, Arya's mother." she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

While it wasn't like I couldn't see the similarities between the two, they seemed almost like opposites of each other. Where Arya was well tanned, Ilya was pale like she was allergic to sunlight and where Arya was slender and graceful, Ilya was curvaceous and sensual. If it weren't for the fact that she'd introduced herself I would of thought that she was an older sister perhaps, but Arya had never mentioned siblings so that wouldn't have made sense.

Arya seemed unsettled to have both her parents with her at the same time, something that she probably couldn't remember having happened in her life. I ran my hand across her thigh to help center her which caused Ilya to smile as she looked towards us before she began to dish food out. "Vell-chan, have you visited the Yin half of the village yet?" she asked while passing me a plate filled with all manner of food.

I shook my head as I took the plate and began to eat. The food was superb and I almost missed it when Ilya asked if I wanted her to show me around. She was much more familiar with the Yin than either Kavir or Arya after all, and she also wanted some time to get to know me without Arya interfering out of embarrassment or something. I was quite interested in the Yin side as I would likely fit in on that side better than on the Yang, but mostly I was curious about what Ilya could want with me, so I of course agreed, despite Arya pouting about it somewhat.

There was more talk as the food began to disappear, me being the one to eat the most. Arya loosened up and became more comfortable each second, likely because I was there not only to act as a buffer against her parents, her mother especially, but also simply because I was quite adept at dealing with people in general and made it easy for her to both follow and chime in on whatever we were talking about.

The plan after breakfast was for me to go with Ilya to the explore and learn about the Yin side, while Kavir would talk to Arya about some important things regarding the Well of Balance, such as preparations and what kind of things she needed or desired.