Isher Notra

Two days were all that Stella had left to cherish her days in Pantsti.

The first one, of course, was almost entirely spent on a deep, unbreakable slumber, alongside her guardian. During the few hours the girl was awake, however, she traded a few words with the exhausted Lycan Squad, except the really grumpy Tarb and his sister, who all complained about their failure to find any trail of the Daien bard.

So those creeps weren't ALL captured, and most likely were scheduling another attempt on her life. How nice.

Well, at least they were getting a fat vacation after this. Don't you love it when honest workers receive proper benefits for the sweat, blood, and tears of their labor?

Lien was unavailable the whole day, having slept the full twenty-four hours without interruption. Mad respect.

Nevertheless, coming to her door wasn't all worthless. At the other side of the sandy street, sitting above a hut, Maro was watching, his eyes solely on her, even as the crowds of villagers came and went seamlessly.

Not feeling any ill will coming from her former bully, Stella touched two fingers on her forehead and saluted him as a peaceful gesture. Now smiling, Maro returned it.

She ended her night by dishing to Lorinth about her side of the conflict in Chikukei. She invited Asra, too, because why not? She'd need to recount the whole thing to him one way or the other, anyway. Call it hitting two birds with one baseball bat. Besides, the two guys hit it off better than she expected, bonding over tea blends, of all things. Blegh.

Huh. I think that was it for the first day. Where is this feeling that I'm forgetting an essential piece coming from?

Psh. Nothing too important, I'm sure.

Day two time! Now I don't need to skim over stuff!

Rejuvenated and brimming with energy to burn, Stella stepped into Hōkō's glade to visit her dear tutor one last time before she permanently moved to Queen Malka's castle, and to practice a little before the... big... fight...

............Fuck.

Here's the thing: Stella had remembered her promise to Hanaken, a proper fight between them, in which Lien had put herself into the deal. Two young girls vs one giant, angry, old-looking, built like a brick wall lady triple their size.

I'd say that's some fair odds.

The young Human practiced her fighting stance, followed by a flurry of punches and kicks on an earth pillar of her own making, shattering it to dust in mere seconds, barely needing to coat her limbs with Saniya to pull it off.

"Determined, aren't you?" the Wolf elder chuckled, watching over her with an almost puckish gaze. "You might be the first of my students to improve so visibly with a full day's sleep."

"You think so?" Stella patted the sand off her tunic and pants. "I don't know. It's like I started to see a few things in a whole new perspective when I woke up, you know what I mean?"

The white Wolf hummed. "As a matter of fact, I do. It might be related to the fact that you've awakened your full potential during your battle with Yuki-onna."

The girl cocked an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "What's that now?"

Hōkō used a twisting branch to capture a teacup from the ground and set it near his lips, taking a sip before starting. "Every initiate in Saniya training, when they begin digging their reserves deeper and deeper, they leave an untapped portion behind where their energy pools into, but their inner vision is too narrow to visualize it yet. Like the rain, which one can focus solely on to gather precious water while neglecting the portion that seeps into the earth and forms underground reservoirs."

Stella understood... the general idea of what the old coot was trying to teach.

"I see." She stroked her chin. "And how do you think I've unlocked that extra power?"

Hōkō snorted. "And how am I supposed to know?"

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Stella retorted with a scoff. "Please. You've been probing my skull BEFORE I even stepped foot in here."

The elder dramatically gasped. "Now that's a serious accusation, child! Do you have any proof?!"

Gee, bring an Oscar to this old dog.

"See, that's one thing I've picked up today," Stella smugly praised herself while poking her temple with one finger. "I've realized a strange buzz lodged deep into my head every time I came too close to your glade, kinda like a fly had dug into my brain. I felt that way for a while, but it was much weaker before, and I always ended up forgetting about it. Once I lingered on the sensation, it all came together."

The old coot's smile returned more genuine. "Not even Lien picked up that skill when she unleashed her potential, which happened when she drank that pego jam at the Ogres' house. Funnily enough, most Monoke lean on exactly that as a shortcut to awaken their full reserves."

Huh. Stella always had a lingering feeling Lien had become stronger after that whole mess, especially when she went ballistic on the Kamaitachi. Good to know why.

"How did I unlock my full power, anyway? I was a mess of emotions when it happened."

"This might be precisely why you've accomplished it," he pointed out. "Peeking into your memories of then is tricky since your intense emotions narrowed your perception too much for me to glimpse the greater picture." He took another sip. "However, it's not uncommon for initiates to push through and tap into their hidden power when that storm of feelings is focused to fuel a single purpose."

"...And mine was-"

"Kicking Yuki-onna's pasty ass, precisely," the elder uttered the profanity nonchalantly. "Don't give me that ugly stare. I've spared you a few lashings."

Stella's eyes narrowed. "Right. And how common is my case, exactly? I doubt kids here have someone they hate as much as I hated that b-" Her throat clogged, holding back instinctively after weeks of anti-cuss conditioning. "...beautiful lady."

"Not common at all. Unless, of course, we're subjected to another lengthy period of ceaseless fighting and strife..." Hōkō's sip was loud and prolonged, his eyes still locked on hers, oozing suggestion. "Trust me, kid. I've seen too many child soldiers that my heart threatens to crack just by remembering."

The Human averted her gaze, rubbing her arm in shame. "Man, I blow at keeping the conversation light, huh?"

"Nonsense. This talk would sour sooner or later." He put the teacup down. Then, his head retreated into the pego tree's trunk, reemerging from a lower hole that formed closer to Stella. "Let's put the obvious baggage out of the way. I'm sorry for barring your escape back then. I assure you, I had only the best intentions in mind."

Stella's eyes slowly pushed through the uncomfortable feelings and met Hōkō's, which were brimming with sincerity. Why was facing her own death repeatedly so much easier than this?

"I-I believe you..." Her cheeks reddened. "I suppose that's what any decent adult would do. Not that I had much reference on that." She finished with a half-assed chuckle.

No one found it funny.

"For you to surrender your safety so easily..." The elder closed his eyes and nodded. "I do not know how you came to have such a low view of yourself. There are recollections that even I cannot safely dig into, memories I imagine came from your homeland."

The girl braced herself, her voice growing darker. "Good. Let it all in here so it can rot and die. I don't want anything to do with what I was back then."

"Stella..." Hōkō's eyes reopened, glimmering with tearful empathy. "I ask this as your mentor and as someone who truly cares for you. Please, open your walls and share your-"

"Not a chance," Stella quickly turned him down by stretching one hand at him. "My shitty past is none of your business. It's no one's but mine." After a sharp exhale, her voice started to quaver and crumble. "Everyone here is bending over backwards to keep me alive. I don't need to burden anyone by dumping all my crap on them."

"Don't ever say that, child..." the elder insisted. "If anyone, you should seek a therapist, someone who's not involved in these conflicts, to guide you through the journey to understand yourself. I know there must be many in the capit-"

"Knock it off, geezer!!!" Stella snapped, her hands turned into tight fists, her eyes fixed on the ground. "You think I don't know what a fucking therapist is?!" She quickly turned her back to him, terrified to see his expression. "I know something's broken in me! No fucking shit! Now, don't come preaching about mental health to me like you won't forget about me in a couple of hundred years!"

The Human's heart raced, her chest heaving as she hyperventilated. She had done it now. The wheel to complete the wheelbarrow to shove all the goodwill between the old coot and her in and push it to a cliff, just like every adult she associated with. Who would be next? Asra? The Queen?

...Lien?

...

......

They stood there for a minute. Complete silence.

.........

Stella started to walk a-

A root emerged from the ground and wrapped around her wrist, the hold light as a feather, not to restrain her, but as one last plea.

"Stella?"

All that anger that boiled beneath the girl's skin evaporated, leaving only an excruciating remorse.

She slowly turned back to face him, her eyes flooded with tears.

Hōkō's expression was marked by a mournful determination. "The day I forget about you or even stop being concerned about your wellbeing... will be the day I expire."

Before Stella knew it, she had already lunged at the pego tree for a hug, her sobs freely echoing through the glade.

It was so much more uncomfortable than those hippies on TV made it look. Still... the elder's fluffy head affectionately rubbed on her cheek, so it wasn't all bad.

In fact, it was... therapeutic on its own right.