Chapter 259

Chapter 259

No matter how many times I see it, watching my pets wake never fails to put a smile on my face. Theres something adorable about seeing a deadly predator sluggish and vulnerable from a good nights rest. While performing the standard cat stretch, Auries hearty yawn reveals rows of razor sharp teeth, with four large incisors longer than my finger and at least twice as thick. Flopping to the bed, my fearsome floofy kitten pats my hand with his murder mitts before tapping his head, making plaintive Mwars as he begs for head scratches. Unable to deny his request, I laze in bed and watch Suret, Pafu, and Mafu each claim a yearling to groom while the little quin pups squeak in protest or joy.

How quickly time passes. It feels like just the other day when I carried all three quin pups in my arms at once, but now Id be lucky to manage keeping hold of one. Like oversized furred snakes, the pups squirm and fidget as theyre primped and preened, ready to charge out into the morning in search of fun and adventure. Already larger than my wildcats, the quin pups stand a little taller than a full-grown wolf and are every bit as deadly, their playful nips and pounces easily translating into more lethal applications. Itll be a handful of years before theyre ready for riding, but at the moment, theyre more than capable of carrying Tate and Tali around, the twins and pups sharing an unspoken bond which will last their entire lives.

I pray those lives are filled with fortune and happiness instead of hardships and woes.

Opening the door to let the animals out, I watch them prance off into the morning gloom to find a forested area to do their business, marvelling at the wonders of housebroken apex predators. If only Rocs flock were so easy to care for, the noisy birds already squawking and cackling for breakfast. Pulling off the cover to their cage reveals Roc perched front and centre in all his puffed up, chubby glory, glaring at me with his beady black eyes. Good morning you feathery fiends, I say, keeping my tone cheerful and chipper. I see youve pooped everywhere as per usual. Now its time to feed you so you can poop some more. Hooray! Im not exactly thrilled, but they respond better when I sound happy and Ill take any advantage I can get. I feel terrible keeping them in a cage, even if said cage takes up a third of my living space and keeps me from reaching my bookshelf. Theyre birds, they should be flying through the clouds or whatever it is birds do. Hopefully we find an alternate material to strengthen bowstrings so I can set Rocs flock free in the spring.

It has nothing to do with how creepy their dark, soulless eyes are. Nothing at all.

Many people might call me crazy for sharing my living space with twenty birds, six quins, and a wildcat, but honestly, if I could fit more animals in here, I probably would. Not only do they keep the ger warm and toasty, it saves me the trouble of walking twenty minutes to the Inner Wall where most of the quins are stabled. It's a shame my other pets have been annexed, with Lin claiming Jimjam and the bear cubs while Song and Sarankho are near inseparable, so Im forced to make do with what Ive got.

I am not a crazy cat person. I like all adorable animals, but the big fluffy ones are best.

The problem with birds is it isn't very rewarding, mostly dealing with a metric shit-tonne of bird poop. Roc and co. arent exactly large birds, but god-damn, their bowels do work. I mean, its not all bad, bird guano makes great plant fertilizer, even if collecting it isnt the most pleasant of tasks and has earned me more than few strange looks.

I am also not a crazy poop person. I really wish people would stop avoiding eye contact with me. I'm not weird, just quirky.

Cracking jokes with Baledagh about pawning this work off onto him, I enter the cage and sweep the poop-covered straw into a wheelbarrow while collecting the feathers for Diyako. Roc and his flock flap around my head in celebration, making what I presume are happy noises as they leave me relatively unmolested. Milas been feeding my birds for a week now and theyre already so much more cooperative, almost friendly even. I havent been pecked in days. Days! It never ceases to amaze me how incredible Mila is at everything she does.

If I were a lesser man, Id have developed an inferiority complex years ago. As it is, it has only just begun to develop, which is something.

After laying out a fresh coat of straw, I scatter a bucket of miscellaneous animal bits about the cage, giggling as the birds descend upon their breakfast. Annoying as they are, I have to admit, they are beautiful creatures, their vibrant blue and green wings standing out next to their brown and white torsos. With a long strand of intestines clamped in its beak, a female bird flutters over and lands on my shoulder, gobbling down her breakfast in my company. How sweet, if a little icky. Maybe I wont get rid of these birds as soon as I can. Im going to name this one... Yipi. Now, which of these birds is gonna be Kai Yay?

While picking out names for my birdies, Roc flies over with an unholy screech and punts Yipi out of the way, claiming my shoulder just because he can. If I hadnt already named him, Roc wouldve been the perfect candidate to round out the trio as Motherfucker. Scooting left and right, Rocs talons dig into my shoulder as he shoulder butts my cheek in what I hope is a show of affection rather than dominance. Knowing better than to touch his feathered poofiness, I Condense my Aura to reciprocate the affection, spreading a little Aura to Yipi to soothe her ruffled feathers as she settles onto my other shoulder.

So sweet, I should buy something for Mila to thank her. My freckled, bird-whispering, red-panda girl, so amazing.

With all my pets tended to, its time to make sure my family and retinue are cared for. After washing up, I throw on my fur-lined coat and hat before stepping out into the brisk morning air. Though its only the middle of the ninth month and the temperature has yet to drop below freezing, the frigid gales of wind threaten to steal away all my bodys warmth as I scurry into the cooking ger. The scorching heat inside the massive canvas pavilion is a welcome relief, heated by the fires going full blast as a dozen men and women bake buns, simmer soup, and sear meat. Even though were living in a city, the People have kept many of the same mountain village habits, working together to keep everyone clothed and fed instead of leaving each family to fend for themselves. Socialism HO! Besides, fuelling a dozen cooking gers is more practical and economical than everyone cooking in their own gers, so its a win/win situation for all. Sarnai usually manages details like these, but in her absence a small council of village elders have taken over, including Bulats mother Maira. Its nice to see the outsiders fitting in so well, as communal living is difficult if youre not accepted by the community.

Patting flour from her hands, Elia greets me with a smile and a hug, the slim, cat-eared baker always happy to see me after our shared hardships at the hands of the Society. So thoughtful and diligent, she says, pinching my cheeks, working from dawn till dusk yet still waking early to help prepare breakfast. If only my familys Huu was so multi-talented, all he knows of is fighting and soldiering.

How has he been? Ive been so busy lately I havent seen him in over a week. I ask, feeling a little guilty for ditching my friend. Doubly so for Fung since seeing him ride for Shen Huo with only Fu Zhu Li beside him was a sobering sight, two men out of a hundred returning home alive.

Sighing, Elia shakes her head as little lines of worry form around her eyes. Hes off with his Ma somewhere in the mountains. Silly boy, comes home with two little wives and barely rests a day before running off to train. He blames himself for his uncles death, you know? The sweet, silly boy, too blind to see there isnt a person alive who could make Kalil do something he didnt want to, not Ghurda nor Sarnai, not even Akanai herself. Throwing her hands into the air, Elia says, Ah, but look who Im telling, you lost plenty of soldiers yourself. Sometimes I forget, with how young you are. Go on about your business now, dont let this fool's prattling distract you.

Baatar interrupts with a questions. Your creations, do they persist after you are gone?

...Err, sometimes. Its on and off. At first, everything stuck around, but after the whole debacle with the lake, this was no longer true. It's back to being permanent now, but I... don't know why. I figure it has something to do with Baledagh. Hes perfectly capable of doing anything I can do. His unconscious mind was probably resetting our mental plane every time I left or something, seeking to drift away into nothingness. Hes doing better now but its still difficult to get him to enjoy life in a meat suit. He only ever takes control to train, while spending all his time in the void meditating on all his newfound knowledge.

Although he seems fine for now, Im fairly certain hell go stir crazy if he keeps it up. The sooner I can craft us a second body, the better. While its crossed my mind to see if one of us can jump into Sarnais comatose body, we both decided it was disrespectful to use my mentors wife in such an undignified manner. Besides, theres the whole issue with being Baatars wife, and I think both Baledagh and I would prefer a body with a penis.

After answering all of Baatars questions, my mentors brow furrows in thought. You say your mental plane first appeared around the time Vivek Daatei turned into a Demon? It explains how you escaped your illusions, but not how you helped Dagen escape his. How mysterious... Shaking his head, his questions seem to fly away with the movement, though his eyes fill with pity. No matter. The how is unimportant. To form your Natal Palace at seventeen is... formidable. Most do not form one until their late twenties. My chest swells with pride but Baatar gives me no time to bask in it. Proceed into your Natal Palace. I will instruct you on its benefits.

Remaining in firm control, I slip into the void and pray Baatar doesnt notice Baledagh, else Ill be at a loss on how to explain things. Standing outside the crafted room as Blobby surrounds the space around me, I Send, Im there. Now what?

Channel your Chi.

Opening myself to the Energy of the Heavens, I sense it slowly trickling into my core. Since my core is more or less filled to the brim, Im not gathering Chi quickly, more in drips and drabs. Ive noticed it before but the process of gathering Chi is like diffusion. If my core were empty, Id gather Chi at a much faster rate. My Runic Ring removes those limits, but lately Ive noticed it doesnt really make a difference, so I handed it over to Rustram and instructed him to share it with the others.

Visualize the Heavenly Energy seeping in through your pores. See how it flows into your Core and becomes yours, before circulating around and strengthening your body.

Doing as Baatar instructs, my astral body lights up as an unending stream of energy circles throughout my body, with no beginning or end. Awesome, but I fail to understand the importance. My minds eye studies its progress from afar and I concentrate on my findings. The Chi in my body is... sluggish, for lack of a better word, idling about with nothing to do and I report as much to Baatar.

You need to eat more and train less boy, give yourself time to recover. Focus now. The Chi flowing through your body, envision it flowing out from your palm, only a hairs breadth mind you, before retracting it once more.

This is more difficult. The moment my Chi touches the surface of my palm, it dissipates into nothingness. Stopping to think things through, it occurs to me this is practice for using Chi outside of your body, and Baatar confirms my guess in a roundabout way. This is one use of the Natal Palace, yes. Visualization is key to using Chi, giving it purpose without words.

The revelation has me understandably miffed. Taduk never mentioned any Natal Palace, hes been hounding me for years to just wrap my Chi tightly and throw it out. The shotgun approach to using Chi, I suppose. Keep trying till you figure out something that works.

Baatars amusement is clear as he answers, Taduk gives poor instruction because he has never known hardship. What is difficult for others comes naturally as breathing to him. You might as well ask a bird to teach you to fly or a fish to swim. His explanation crushes what little self-confidence I had. For a few minutes there, I almost thought of myself as a genius. Natal Palace at seventeen, I mean, thats pretty impressive right?

Nope. Not even a little. While Im a step ahead of the crowd, true geniuses soar far above us all.

Oh well. Failure is nothing new. Try and fail, then try again. Such is life, failure without end.

...

Just once, Id like things to be easy. Is that too much to ask for?

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