Kaida got up, putting down Cinder to the side and looking back at Wenxu.
"Go on..."
Wenxu blinked before hurrying to continue. "So- Well, I've gotten close with her, and I'm thinking of wanting to date her. But I don't know the best time to ask."
She looks at him with a calm expression and then a deliberate smile. "Do it when it feels right. 38feel like that's best, don't think it's bad, just do it when it's best for both of you."
Wenxu took a breath of relief as if he'd asked a lot of people about this but never given an answer. "Well, thank you, Kaida-, I genuinely appreciate it-"
"Okay, too many- Stop. Just one was enough." Kaida stared at him, giving a side eye directly at him before walking off, though finding what he was doing charming.
"Mom- I mean Kaida"
Kaida's eyes darted to Cinder, hearing what she was saying, but she changed her mind. She didn't mind it; she wasn't going to be a jerk to a kid.
"Uhm, are you doing fine?"
"I am more about you? I haven't heard much about you, and considering how you act and look, you're still a child."
Cinder looked over, confused about how Kaida already knew that, though she didn't mind. However, Cinder stopped in place as Kaida's hand touched her hair and rubbed her head softly.
"I- Wh-" Cinder began buffering, unable to register what Kaida was doing logically.
"Just showing affection, don't overthink it," Kaida spoke more casually. She noticed Amaris walking up with Bear, who was following and looked a lot bigger than usual.
Her head turned as she stared at Amaris, who walked up. "Uhm- So, I wanted to ask how you've done without me, along with the fact that Bear seems to have gained weight-"
"...I only fed him like a few pieces of steak-"
"Anyways, Uhm, So, Bear's going to evolve, and I need some help if you're willing. Since I've heard you handled tribulation all on your own."
"...Bear is Evolving-?" Kaida tilted her head, somewhat confused.
["Hiii!, Cinder is still here. I can speak in your mind still, but uh, she's a Beast Blood Path, where one trains with a creature of their choosing and cultivates with them, they're able to fight alongside the beast they call, which is just their word for animals!"]
"...And what is him evolving into?"
"Well... I don't know, but I want him to evolve since he seems to want it as well."
"Okay, but first, how does it work, and second, what is it even called?" Kaida spoke bluntly, though her voice was softer.
"Well, first, it's a trial, called Evolution Rite, usually they're put into an Ancestral Arena and have to fight and go against their ancestors, of course, in a cultivation level equal to or somewhat above them. They have to fight three ancestors one after the other; two are equal, and one is stronger. I can help by stabilizing Qi, but I'd like to explore other ways I can assist. Since what Qi I use on my own body is what happens with Bear's body."
Kaida listened to Amaris speak and nodded, then moved both of them inside to the simulation room, where Kaida waited for Amaris to begin.
"I- Uh, Okay- I'll trust you, Kaida." Amaris looked at Bear, as it suddenly looked like it had disappeared, Kaida looking at Amaris, who was somewhat Nervous.
"First, Calm Breathing, stabilize your Qi, and then coat it around your body and vital organs. Don't panic at all. Trust Bear that he'll win."
Amaris stood, taking a slow inhale and letting out an exhale from her mouth. Her Qi circulation slowed down to her resting heart rate, which was already good considering there wasn't something to stress them too much. As Amaris began to form the Qi around her body, particularly her Brain, Heart, and Lungs, it began to take shape inside her body. Kaida waited to see what would happen next.
"You should continue the calm breathing, and also, you should stand fully straight. Try getting rid of your negative thoughts."
The sound of a roar, or at least what felt like it, as she heard claws clashing even when Bear wasn't here, so either it was some plane invisible to them or because she was with Amaris.
A Subtle vision now, both of them could see it, though she looked at Amaris, signaling for her to close her eyes so she wouldn't get nervous. Meanwhile, Kaida watched as Bear's Ancestor, the first one, fought Bear and looked almost identical, except for the fact that the fur was a pure yellowish white, like a Lion, but not entirely.
Bear was winning for the most part, able to outspeed the other one, though Kaida could barely keep up with watching the movements. She registered that both of them were moving at almost six times the speed of sound, and she looked at Amaris.
"Tell Bear to reserve his speed and move around less, only when attacking or getting attacked, not restless like this."
Amaris listened and nodded somewhat hesitantly but spoke. "Uhm- Bear, could you slow down? Just move when you're dodging or attacking, not just for positioning."
Bear stood still, less restless now, and waited. Upon seeing an attack, it jumped back, only to discover it was a feint, and then clawed down at the Ancestor's back, giving it some breathing room as it faded. Bear drank some water from the ground as if it flew up from under the ground. Kaida found it fascinating. But didn't focus too much on it.
The next Ancestor showed up, roaring loudly, with Bear looking alert.
"Okay... Watch out for what this one does and act accordingly. It might have Techniques unlike the last one. From what I think."
Kaida's instinct was right. The other Ancestor instantly jumped ahead like a flash step, disappearing and reappearing at the side.
"Left. Dodge by jumping up."
Amaris repeated what Kaida said to Bear, and Bear launched himself up. He moved on his own and pushed himself back by creating a strong gust with his paws and Qi.
Landing a few feet back, Bear lunged forward with a 4 claw like strike, flying out in what looked like the letter H in shape, giving some confusion to the Ancestor due to its weird shape, but the Ancestor pushed itself back, only getting sliced on one of its paws, and blood slowly spilling out.
"Okay.. So they can get injured, meaning you should try tiring the last one out for a final blow first instead, but for this one it's a lot more hesitant so you should focus on attacking but also making sure you have a solid defense, maybe using your back paws, getting hurt isn't loosing, it's just a small set back." Kaida spoke, calculated but also somewhat concerned, though masking it.
Bear slid to the side across the dirt, causing it to rise up like someone had thrown dirt in the Ancestor's eye. The Ancestor shook its head, only to get clawed right in the face, hitting an eye. Only then did it vanish again. This time, the Ancestor appeared ahead again, catching Kaida off guard. The Ancestor lunged and hit Bear right in the neck, sending him flying back.
"...Take a breath and recalculate, the shadow step has a cooldown, so try and finish the fight with this final attack."
Amaris nodded, though she disliked how Bear got hurt, she knew it was normal. Amaris swirled Qi around herself, and Bear followed suit, creating a ring of air around the Bear's paws. Then, they launched themselves and slammed into the Ancestor's face, causing a crack that knocked it out and defeated it.
Bear got a breather, with Amaris also breathing and using this time to heal Bear as much as she could, so he wouldn't feel the pain, while she held back her emotions for now, even though it was hard for her.
"You're close to finishing, don't give up now. If tiring out won't work, then go full brute force with an all-out attack after distracting the last one. If neither works, then try to find a weak spot. But right now, rest your mind."
Amaris took deep breaths, as Kaida had instructed, with Bear not thirsty but in a position similar to sitting, ready to stand up easily. A few minutes passed as the final Ancestor appeared, though different, a constellation formed as he landed upon the ground. A golden color, along with dark indigo.
"...To have someone like that on your side, I shall concede." Its eyes narrowed before turning to the Qi. A surprise, only for Bear to reappear and land right on top of Kaida and seemingly pass out.
"AWGH- Holy- Oh I'm so done." She blinked, her Bear moving gently so she could get off, feeling the difference in strength, though she still saw that Bear was exhausted.
Her eyes darted to see Cinder peeking from the corner, and her strength was off the charts. At least to her, but she didn't pay mind; she was just going to raise her as a child, not a weapon. "Maybe Cinder was the reason why the ancestor left."
Kaida thought to herself, blocking out any sense of Cinder hearing it. She looked over, seeing Bear change, his fur also turning the same color as he grew bigger and clearly heavier. Kaida turned over to Amaris.
"You're taking him." In a deadpan tone, while Amaris looked tear-jerkingly up and jumped to Kaida and hugged her.
Kaida looked confused, trying to move back, but still caught in the hug; she didn't understand why Amaris was acting like this. But seeing she was balling out, Kaida awkwardly wrapped her arms around Amaris. Though she was still conscious about it, she was wondering if she was doing it wrong.
"Uhm-" She spoke awkwardly, trying to find out why. Like an alligator getting hit at its snout and being forced to look around.
Amaris stopped after a few seconds, realizing she was softly chuckling. "Sorry about that. I was just relieved he survived and didn't get any lasting damage." Still in clear tears of Joy.
"It's fine, Amaris, just- Maybe not on me, since I don't know how to handle it-" Kaida spoke nervously, not wanting to shut down Amaris's emotions.
Amaris looked and softly laughed with a nod. "Alright, I'll be going, I'll leave a gift so you can get more furniture, and something from my Mom, which she wanted to give to you. It's more just to show gratitude."
"...Her Mom, What-, The Empress, but what does she want with me, did I do someth-" Kaida's brain almost short-circuit from how unexpected it was.
["M- Kaida, Calm down- It's probably just a small formal message or something."]
Kaida sighed as she took the envelope. Though still puzzled, she'd probably test Cinder after this as well. She looked at Amaris, just barely able to carry Bear and leave the room while trying not to cause damage or hurt Bear even more.
"Bye, Amaris!" Kaida only said once
"Bye! Have a great time here, Kaida." Amaris spoke, still somewhat happy, though trying to hold back, considering she was going outside.
"...I should really learn how to talk to people."
["If you weren't the first to say bye, I would have gotten second-hand embarrassment."]
Kaida walked over to the other room, a bedroom, and opened the door, going into her room, throwing the envelope onto the desk, and falling flat on the bed as the sky began to turn dark. Cinder jumped on the other side, sitting down, probably not needing sleep. Kaida's eyes closed as she formed a barrier to filter out the noise outside, one that would promptly explode if anyone tried to touch it with anything harmful or with the intent to harm. Her body calmed down, and she began resting again.