"You want a mana core? For what?"
Kael stopped writing, leaving the pen on the unfinished assignment page.
Shou closed the book he was reading, his paws fiddling over the edge of the book considering what to say.
"I can absorb it and become stronger." Shou decided to be honest with Kael. Kael was his partner, and he wanted him to know.
"You can absorb mana core? Hm…right, you are a magic beast…"
Kael was surprised at first, but then he recalled it was common for apex predators especially.
Wait, that's not right. What apex predator? Shou was a rabbit…
"That can't be right…" Kael muttered to himself. Normally, lower magic beasts get by through the mana fragments existing throughout plants, insects or smaller animal tissues.
Ingesting a whole mana core would introduce too high concentration foreign mana and would just become toxic instead. Even if a magic beast could ingest them, they had its own restriction depending on their own mana nature too.
"Are you fooling me? You might get mana poisoning." Kael frowned, feeling a little unsure over this request.
"Mana poisoning? I don't think so…? I feel fine after I… um, absorbed one…" Shou seemed a little embarrassed, his paws fiddling together.
"What? What if you get sick? Do you eat anything without thinking at all? You little-!" Kael's voice turned a little sharp. He really was a little angry at Shou's reckless behaviour.
"I really feel fine! Really!" Shou waved his paws and jumped on his feet as if wanting to show he was fine.
Kael rubbed his forehead, feeling a little emotional. "Haa… Where do you get the core? What kind did you take?"
"Uh… from your bag… the rock boar." Shou fidgeted, not daring to look Kael in the eye.
"What? So it's you. Little beast, now you know how to steal huh!" Kael didn't care much but still decided to punish him for it. He ruffled his head a little more roughly, messing with his fur.
"H-hey. I just want to try…" Shou seemed guilty, covering his head to stop Kael's hand.
"Next time tell me before you eat anything other than your usual meal. Even if it's a random grass or plant out there, don't blindly eat it, understand?"
"Understand, understand." Shou nodded a few times.
Kael let out a huff of air. "I will get you a few. I will ask them to send them later."
"Really? Thank you Kael." Shou felt indebted to him. He leaned closer and, driven by his rabbit instinct, licked Kael's hand.
Eh? What am I doing… Shou pulled away, feeling embarrassed at his impulsiveness. He quickly turned his body away.
Kael didn't comment, he couldn't help but smile seeing and feeling the gesture.
"You are darn cute." Kael ruffled his fur again, slapping his butt lightly a few times out of fun.
"Hey- stop that. Not my butt!" Shou's ears turned into an airplane, his paw slapping Kael's hand away.
Kael let out a short laughter. "So where do you like it? Your tail? Your back? Your ears?" Kael's lecherous hand went all over the rabbit's body.
"Just my forehead! Not anywhere else." If Kael could see Shou's human soul, he would have seen how red his face was.
"Hm. Fine." Kael didn't cross any lines further and only patted his head, occasionally playing with his ears. But seeing Shou didn't complain, he included ears as 'acceptable'.
"It's still weird you can talk..." Kael said, his hand patting leisurely.
"Get used to it." Shou replied, his eyes closed enjoying the pats on his head.
"And since you want mana cores, and I have been taking care of you, I expect an exchange. Nothing in this world is free. I want you to fight alongside me soon, you hear me?" Kael got to the point. He decided to bring it up now, feeling it's right.
"I know. I never wanted them for free. It's just…" Shou turned his eyes away, as if thinking about the past.
"You captured me. I can't go anywhere and have nowhere else to go now… I don't have much choice." Shou muttered in a hint of sad, or defeated tone.
Kael just huffed. "If I had not, you would have been eaten by whatever is out there already."
"I know…" Shou muttered slowly. He knew the risk, the danger outside. That was why he tried not to delve too much about the fact that his freedom was essentially held by Kael. Until he was strong enough to survive on his own, the matter of being free can only be put aside.
Seeing Shou looking quiet suddenly, Kael felt a little bad. He wondered if Shou felt he was trapped with him. If he still rather go out.
"You… want to leave…?" Kael felt his chest heavy asking this question. And he was afraid to hear answers that might not be good to hear. He felt hurt somehow. Not at the idea of Shou leaving, but at the thought that Shou didn't feel at home with him.
"... No. It's not that… I am grateful that you take care of me, really. And I know, I am safe with you here… it's just…" Shou took a deep breath, his eyes reflecting the past memories.
"I used to be free… with my herd… I can run around, not thinking about anything much and just eat or sleep all day…"
Kael listened, and the tone of Shou's voice made Kael felt, sad somehow.
"And then… it's all gone. My home… humans, took them away." Shou seemed to shake slightly, his paw covering his eyes, his ears drooping down. Sometimes, the wound reopened if he thought about it.
"Hey… You are here now. This is your home." Kael picked him up, bringing him close to his chest. He patted the rabbit's head gently, as if trying to console him.
"Home…" Shou opened his eyes, looking up at Kael. Hearing Kael's words, he felt his heart longing, desperate. His round eyes became watery, hearing the word. He closed them, his paws pressed close on Kael's chest, feeling his warmth, his heart beat.
"Yeah. Your new home. With me." Kael smiled a little, rubbing his head soothingly.
"Okay…" Shou muttered weakly. Home… he wanted to accept this new home. His heart needed a place to feel safe.
"I will take care of you. Don't worry about it. But still, no freeloading." Kael said softly, but still said the last sentence as a disclaimer. He didn't want to spoil him too much.
"Okay, okay. I know. I will do my best." Shou curled his body, looking away from Kael feeling exposed and vulnerable.
"From now on, we will both focus on getting stronger. In Elemental Convergence this July, I want to win first spot. Can you do it?" Kael had some expectations from Shou.
"Mm. I will try." Shou's words were a little firmer.
"Good. We will show them what we are made of." Kael felt a surge of confidence knowing he had a partner to compete.
"I wouldn't want to embarrass my father. Let's surprise him at that time." Kael wanted to make his father proud most. That had always been his reason.
"Okay. I will help you win." Shou turned his eyes to Kael. This was what he could do to repay Kael for all this time.
In the tournament, all artifacts, enchanted weapons, and external sources of power were prohibited for sake of fairness. The only exception was a tamed magic beast.
It took skill and training to have a magic beast able to listen to your command and fight together. Shou was considered a part of Kael's own strength given he trained him from scratch so it wasn't cheating.
"Good. I will set a training goal for you. There's a lot of areas you need to improve." Kael's tone became serious. He placed Shou back on the table, then took an empty sheet of paper and started writing.
"First, you need to improve the time it takes for you to mobilise your mana and use magic. This is the most important. Second, train to use them while moving. You won't have a chance to stay put during a real battle later. Third, the projectile speed and fourth, your aiming."
"Stick to these four. No need for anything fancy or powerful like Alicia's. A simple water ball is enough for now. Just perfect the basics first, got it?"
"Got it. Master the basics first." Shou nodded in understanding.
"Good boy." Kael ruffled the rabbit's fur, feeling happy that his partner was willing to work with him.
Shou felt warm spreading in his cheeks hearing the praise. It felt nice to be able to do something for Kael and be called a good boy. Eh? Since when I liked to be praised?
Shou tried to shoo the weird feeling in his chest, but it still lingered.
"I still have homework. Play on your own for a while."
Kael pulled his hand away after some time and continued writing to finish his assignment. Shou didn't want to bother him and continued to read the book he hadn't finished.
The conversation before still played on his mind. A new home, a new goal. He turned his eyes away from the book to Kael's focused face.
Kael noticed the gaze, he just stopped writing for a while to pat his head before continuing writing.
Shou smiled slightly, feeling warmth in his chest. At this moment, he really had accepted Kael with everything he was now.
I will help you win then… I can't freeload. That's embarrassing. Shou reaffirmed his heart, telling himself as a reminder.
The day of the tournament was coming closer. He only had a few months to train himself up to become a formidable partner.
When that day came, who knows, maybe the rabbit would shake the world.
***