Aeliana was crouching casually among a bed of colorful flowers, looking perfectly at one with the nature around her as several yellow butterflies danced beside her.
Her long blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, adorned with a few freshly picked white flowers.
Her outfit was the sa one she wore when she first t Lohan, a short dress that appeared to be made entirely of living leaves and vines that delicately wrapped around her arms and legs as she looked around excitedly.
Beside the young elf, an older elf stood with a noble and refined posture, maintaining a calm and enigmatic smile on her face.
She also had long, almost white blonde hair that cascaded down in intense waves, held in place by a garland of fresh leaves and white lilies that seed to glow with their own light.
She wore elegant, seemingly magical tunics in layers of erald green and white, richly decorated with gold details and precious gems, while firmly holding a wooden staff that looked very powerful.
"You didn’t have to co with ... master." Aeliana said in a sly tone of voice, like a child throwing a tantrum at her parents.
Yrneha looked at her apprentice and clicked her tongue. "Tsk, you think I don’t know you, Lia? You’re so stupid, if soone told you the sky was green, you’d believe them. You know the reputation of Spirit Foxes... I need to at least make sure you’re not fooled by her like a child."
Aeliana pouted at her master’s words, but did not refute them.
She had already been deceived several tis in the last 50 years, so at this point it didn’t even matter what she said about herself, her master wouldn’t believe her.
But then she rembered sothing. "Even if you don’t trust the fox, my friend is with her."
This made Yrneha look at her even more suspiciously. "Are you talking about the sli? The one you stole my Mana Stones for?"
Hearing her master point this out, the younger elf’s cheeks turned red, creating a cute contrast with her white skin. "But he didn’t ask to... I took them because I wanted to..."
Yrneha rolled her eyes but didn’t respond.
Despite fighting with Aeliana like this, she still trusted the girl’s basic judgnt. Even if she had been deceived in the past, it was only in situations of little importance. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe everything anyone said; if she were, she wouldn’t be fit to be her apprentice.
"Look, they’re here!" Aeliana said excitedly, pointing in one direction.
Yrneha looked there too, expecting to see a small sli and an imposing spirit fox, but the two creatures managed to surprise her!
And it wasn’t a pleasant surprise.
Starting with the fox, if she hadn’t known beforehand that this fox was a Spirit Fox, she would have mistaken it for a normal fox...
Even with her keen sense of Mana, the amount of Mana she sensed in that fox was negligible, clearly just a newborn creature.
On the other hand, the Sli managed to surprise her for the complete opposite reason!
Unlike the small and useless creature she had imagined, what was in front of her, rolling around awkwardly, was clearly a unique Sli!
Much larger than its siblings, with an aura of Mana dozens, if not hundreds of tis denser than that of normal slis... not to ntion the amount of energy that creature was carrying.
What displeased her was the creature’s disheveled appearance... all covered in plants, leaves, dirt, branches... moving from side to side as if it were about to explode at any mont, but not stopping to absorb biomass from everything it ca into contact with.
Looking at the trail of destruction the creature was leaving behind, Yrneha frowned.
"That’s why I hate these disgusting creatures..."
For nature-loving elves like her, creatures as destructive to the environnt as that Sli were practically an affront to everything she believed in and loved.
But sensing the familiar energy within the two creatures in front of her, and thinking about the close relationship these creatures seed to have with her student, Yrneha controlled herself so as not to show too much animosity.
"Halon, Lisa!" Aeliana shouted excitedly, waving her arms from side to side.
Suddenly Yrneha felt a slight ntal touch, as if soone was trying to create a ntal link with her... looking at the Spirit Fox, who stared at her cautiously, Yrneha retracted her ntal shields and let that link be ford, after all, such basic monsters did not even have the gift of speech.
"Hello, Aeliana, I’m sorry we kept you waiting." A clearly young, but calm and surprisingly pleasant male voice appeared in her mind.
This made Yrneha raise her eyebrows microscopically. ’How did a sli manage to develop enough intellect to be able to formulate such coherent sentences?
"Hello, Aeliana, we et again." This ti it was a female voice, as young as the previous voice, but much colder and more restrained, obviously the voice of the fox.
Aeliana smiled even more at them and waved her hand, indicating that it was not important. "Don’t worry, my master and I have also just arrived. Let introduce you, this is Yrneha Ylasys, my teacher."
Yrneha nodded, both pleased that Aeliana had concealed her official title and as a form of greeting.
She noticed that as soon as Lia revealed her identity, the Sli froze for a second before returning to normal.
’Apparently, he is aware that the Mana Stones he obtained were not acquired... "legally"...’ Yrneha thought, finding the situation amusing.
For soone with her identity, a Mana Stone like that was nothing, but she decided to take advantage of the situation. "Ara ara, it seems we finally et, little Sli. I believe my Mana Stones were useful to you?"
As she said that, she stared at the creature with interest, analyzing all of its reactions, and Yrneha had to admit, the creature did have personality.
Despite hearing that, he froze for a split second again, before acting naturally and saying in a respectful voice. "I am finally able to et you, Lady Ylasys, this humble Sli is called Halon. I apologize if I caused you trouble, and I hope that when I get money, I can pay you for the damage caused."
Upon hearing that, Yrneha felt that the little creature seed even more pleasing to the eye.
Having the humility to admit mistakes and offer a proactive form of compensation was a great way to repair the damage caused, even if he was not the cause of that damage. As the biggest beneficiary, admitting guilt and offering compensation was a great move.
’How did a creature as clueless as a Sli manage to develop like this?’ Her eyes sparkled, feeling increasingly tempted to take this blue jelly to her laboratory and study the core that controlled it all.
And seeing the speed at which the dirt was digested from within it, a speed she had only seen in Elite Slis, she beca even more interested!
But knowing its relationship with Lia, and feeling the familiarity of Thalendor’s ID card inside it, she restrained herself.
Even though he seed like a very interesting creature, respect should be given to those who contributed to Thalendor, regardless of their origin.
"The compensation will not be refused, but there’s no need to rush. As long as you answer so of my questions, this debt can be considered paid off. How about it?" She offered an appropriate alternative.
For soone with thousands of years of contribution to Thalendor, not to ntion the countless journeys and adventures she had undertaken around the world, a few copper or silver coins would be like a drop in the ocean, sothing irrelevant to her.
But knowledge about a creature as unique as this Sli was invaluable, especially with what she knew was coming.
User Comments
0 comments from readers