Astronomically Cold

Kevin, dressed as Kiri, appeared and tossed Kiri/Jinx a cloak, which she used to cover her pink outfit. He had a wig or something with long black hair. The skin on his hands and face was a darker colour, and he had one of Kiri's bows with a quiver on his back.

I reached out to Felix and felt he was with Pānihi and Kahz, checking the area for danger or others following us.

"That was an awesome fight," Kiri said.

"The one you lost?" I clarified.

"Yes. Unarmed Combat levelled, and it hasn't done that in a long, long time," Kiri said now that she had dropped the accent. Jinx or Jenna with the accent, Kiri without the accent.

"How come you lost?" Kevin asked.

"Ironfang was better than me, probably master level," Kiri replied, "I only lasted as long as I did because of my Tough Bones and Regeneration."

"You only used your affinity defensively," I said.

Kiri smiled at me, "That is true. I didn't use my new Bone Spike or my Bone Manipulation offensively. It was an Unarmed Combat fight, and I want to level my Unarmed Combat skill through to the master level. I am getting closer."

Kevin looked at my arm brace, "Did you lose as well?"

"Ha, no," said Kiri. "He was savage and brutal in tearing apart his opponent. He made a huge 'don't mess with me' statement."

As we approached the town gate, Felix and Pānihi joined us. I assume Kahz will fly over the wall in due course. Kevin took the lead in pretending to be Kiri, and I was obviously recognised as one of Kiri's bodyguards. We were basically waved through after our 'failed hunt'. Nobody believed we had gone hunting.

Kevin was good. His mannerisms and walk were very Kiri-like. I thought his voice needed some work, but it fooled the guards.

As we wound through the streets to Kiri's mansion, Kevin said, "That was enough to get my Acting skills to Apprentice level."

We got back to the mansion without incident, and Kiri and I went to her suite, while Pānihi and Felix checked the house before settling down. I had extended my Void Sensing through it when we arrived, as this was good practice. I was Kiri's bodyguard even though she didn't need me most of the time. I couldn't get the Bodyguard specialisation until my Guard Class reached Journeyman level, and that was very slow to level because it was upper apprentice, and Kiri didn't need much guarding.

Levelling Skills was the obvious option, and I should also level my new Field Medic class. I checked as Kiri was washing the pink out of her hair, and yes, I had earned a level in Field Medic. I primarily ministered to myself, so it was good to know that it still levelled the Class.

Then I heard Kiri from the washroom, "Are you coming to join me, Ivan? I will wash your back if you wash mine."

I needed a wash, and that sounded like fun. I removed the arm brace, trusting Kiri's Fuse Bone, and went to join her.

"We definitely need a bigger tub," she said.

A couple of hours later, I was lying in Kiri's bed in my Humanoid fur form, with a naked Kiri snuggled close. We were both awake and relaxed. I had Solar Bloom running over us both, and I am sure it was helping.

"What are you thinking?" Kiri asked me quietly.

"All sorts of things," I replied. She made a hmmm noise and rubbed her fingers through my belly fur to encourage me to keep talking. "My Guard Class is very close to levelling to 9. I doubt I will get it to Journeyman Level in these last few weeks, but I would like to get it at least close."

"Hmmm," she said again, enjoying my fur. "You might be employed as a guard, but I don't need much guarding, do I?" She was silent for a bit, then asked, "Fighting in the Pit didn't do anything for your classes, did it?"

I shook my head, "Only Skills."

"You don't have a pure fighting class, do you?"

"No. Hunting, Scavenging, Guarding, and Field Medic," I listed my basic classes.

"Do you want one? A few fights in the pit should give you something similar to the Brawler Class. It will only be a three-point class, but it will give you some attributes."

"I am not sure I do. I am not that sort of aggressive person."

"Last night in the pit would seem to indicate you are," Kiri said.

I thought about that for a bit. "I am a Beast-kin and a hunter. But we fight to live. We don't fight for sport, like you humans. That is me, anyway. I am sure there are other, more aggressive beast-kin around, but that is not me. I don't enjoy fighting like the Orcs. Maybe it is a Bear-kin thing. We fight to live."

"And you fight to protect others," Kiri said, poking me, "That is a you thing. It is something I love about you." She was quiet for a bit. "How about this?" she said, "I will fight next week, and you come as my second and help out in the medic area. The week after, your arm will be fully healed, and we will both enter the Open Melee as a team, and you will fight to protect me."

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I thought about it, "The Open Melee is with weapons, right?"

"Yep. Anything and everything."

"That could work," I said.

Felix then came and nosed open the door and jumped on the bed on the opposite side to Kiri. He did two small circles, as if he were making a nest, and then he lay down and curled up next to me. He was great. He gave me time with Kiri, but he is always here. I expanded my aura, looking for Pānihi. She was lying on the ground floor just below our balcony, gnawing on a bone. I reached down and rubbed Felix's ears, and we went to sleep.

The week went fairly smoothly. I spent recovery time at Goldies using Solar Bloom on her herb garden. I also spent some time at the Harmonic Order. I Extracted some Impurities and Soothed some Burns from a house fire. I also finished our obligations/bribery to the Duke.

Kevin overheard me telling Kiri about the fire, "I didn't know you could Soothe Burns," he said. "I really need to raise my Fire and Heat Resistance. Lady Kiri has them very high, and I will not maintain character if I jump at every little burn."

So my spare time was spent torturing Kevin. He tortured himself, rather. I soothed his burns, and he drank Healing potions. It worked better for me than for him, I think. He was pleased with his progress.

I bought training dummies and practised my Lunging Maul from various starting positions. I found launching into Lunging Maul from four feet easier than from two.

Tooth of the Mountain was different and required someone to attack me. Kiri helped out a bit. Kevin caught us practising once and swore he would never come home early again. Yes, Tooth of the Mountain moves from melee range into a grapple, and we had moved from a grapple into sex in the backyard. Humans have funny hang-ups about sex, even more so than nudity. Kiri found his reaction very funny.

We also started sparring with weapons. If I were going to protect Kiri in the Open Melee, I would be taking a shield. I brushed up on my axe and shield skills.

I spent less time in the Lore Society. With Mathematics now at Journeyman, many other lores, including Physics, Astral Map, and Astral Navigator, were easier to level. Kiri helped me get Bone Lore to Journeyman, and my Organ Lore was so close, I also tipped that over. Both those things should help me learn some Healing Skills.

Helping as a medic at the Pit earned me two Field Medic levels and significantly improved my skills. My Revitalise Skill was in high demand, and I was offered coins to Revitalise people before they entered the pit. I figured, why not? I warned them, so if the lethargy hit mid-fight, that was their problem. I wanted to level it to Journeyman as fast as possible to use it in my Cosmic Aura.

Kiri and I have been practising Revitalise, and it definitely helps with the sex again and again. It doesn't help with that drained feeling, but it helps with a good night's sleep afterwards.

I kept my Solar Bloom running in the Medic area. I don't know how it affected the people, but the weeds certainly liked it.

Jinx won her fight, and she wasn't even very wounded. The Dwarf who challenged her was in a bad way.

I watched the Open Melee that night. Teaming up was common, as was turning on your teammate. There was only so much coin in the prize pool, and you either fought your opponents or shared the coin amongst those still standing. A lot of backstabbing marked the last five minutes.

The aftermath of the Melee had the most significant impact on my skills and earned me the second level in Field Medic. Nobody died, but there were a couple of limbs removed.

I didn't realise that if you have Regeneration at Journeyman, you can keep the limb fixed in place, and it could reconnect the limb. This depends on the cut and the damage in that area, but even if you get it partially attached, it will save on the healing required. Regrowing a limb requires a master-level Regeneration.

I spent a day resting as I tested my potential Skills again. Field Medic had given me points in each of the Agilities. Spiritual Agility was now up over 25. Can I now manipulate things that I can sense passing through my Cosmic Aura? Or things bouncing off my Cosmic Aura? Light and Electromagnetic fields, no. That level of agility is way beyond what I can do.

Gravity is what I have spent the most time working on. Gravity varies with the moon's position, and I can sense that. Both Moons are high in the sky.

My Spiritual Strength has not changed, but my agility is stronger, or more agile, perhaps. When did I last try this? I know Mass Executioner gave me two points in Spiritual Strength, just before I got to Jern. I have not received any more attributes until Field Medic, and that is Spiritual Agility. I learned about the moon's effect on gravity here in Jern. I tried stopping Gravity then, and figured I was close.

Spiritual Agility. Have I used that in trying to stop gravity? I was definitely using Spiritual Strength, but maybe it takes both, as gravity does change. I expanded my Cosmic Aura and felt the gravity pass through. It is strong and relentless, but another gravitational force can counter it.

This gravity is weak because it is being countered. Is it weak enough? I apply my Spiritual Strength against it as it passes through my aura. Can I use my Spiritual Agility to bend it in some way? Can I bend it away from me?

The answer is no, I can not. But if I had sufficient counter-gravity, maybe I could. That is way beyond me.

Wait. It is passing through my aura and pulling me to the earth. Why would I want to have my aura in a sphere with me at the centre? Would I not want my aura to be above me to give me more time to stop it, or slow it down?

I shaped my Cosmic Aura into a cylinder above me, so the area of the gravity I am affecting was barely bigger than my shoulder width and stopped just below my feet. Gravity will never be less than this, and I have the maximum distance to slow it down.

I start applying Spiritual Strength to the cylinder and then Spiritual Agility, to hold and restrict the force of Gravity. It… It…. shit. It almost worked.

I will try again after I have recovered my energy. I checked my Astral Map to see how long I have before the moon moves, and it is not that long.

Attempt number two. Failure.

There must be something I can do to get it over the line.

Wait. When I first started this, I tried to stop it at the barrier of my Cosmic Aura, and then I used the whole depth of my aura. Can I do both?

This time, I am focusing my Strength on the volume of my aura and my agility on the barrier at the edge of my aura. That is difficult, and I think it is only possible because Field Medic also gave me points in Mental Agility. I used spiritual agility to vibrate the barrier and disrupt or loosen gravity.

I don't know what it was, but something got it over the line. A new Skill appeared in my Status, Gravity Filter.

However, a new Basic Class appeared before I could investigate what it did. What is this?