Damon's gaze remained fixed on the bird as it circled above them, its form silhouetted against the pale sky. It was undoubtedly a crow. He had seen enough illustrations in Mr Ying's books to recognize the contours of its beak and the shape of its tail. Yet the fluency and clarity of this bird's words were rather unnerving.
'Could it be a beast as well…?' Damon wondered.
It was known fact Corvids possessed remarkable intelligence and were capable of mimicking human speech with enough practice, but he did not think was possible for them to improve to this degree.
As his attention drifted, Tomoe stood up and smiled warmly at the feathered speaker. "It seems your speech has improved, Kuroushi."
The crow immediately perched on a thick branch and dipped with a bow. "It is all due to your wisdom, Lady Tomoe. Had you not assigned me to follow the trio of explorers, I would not have the been able to practice so often."
"You've always been the clever one among your siblings, haven't you?"Tomoe chuckled softly, her black eyes glinting with affection.
"Indeed." Kuroushi seemed to preen at the compliment, its feathers ruffling slightly before it caught itself. "I see you have a new visitor. Good morning young man this one is Kuroushi."
'This...What normal person keeps a beast as a pet?' Damon was slow to respond as he organized his thoughts. When he finally opened his mouth, the crow suddenly blurted out with shriek.
"I almost forgot! The tiger is out there we must hunt it down!"
Tomoe cupped her chin and said decisively, "We won't be hunting today. I have something else in mind."
Damon's mind whirled as he gained a glimmer of understanding. He felt a cold knot form in his stomach then slowly turned his gaze toward the old woman and found her already staring at him.
Those stern black eyes studied him with an unreadable expression for so long, he thought
he was about to be devoured. But instead, Tomoe smile widened, "Tell me, boya. How good is your sense of direction?"
"Eh?" He had not expected her to ask such a question. "Well I've never got lost exploring the forest around my home."
"In that case we'll be speeding things up a bit." Tomoe nodded. "You'll be following Kuroushi to find and slay the beast."
Hearing this, Damon's expression hardened. "I'd gladly hunt one of those things down for some payback, but I don't have any weapons."
"There's no need to worry about that. I'll be providing you with the necessary supplies." Tomoe waved her hand up and down dismissively before continuing. "And besides I sense you came here through a dimensional gateway much like the others. If you were to die, you'll simply be sent back to your entry point."
As she finished her sentence, the old woman snapped her fingers. A large backpack suddenly appeared in Damon lap; it was rather hefty with a green and brown reptilian pattern, presumably from a snake's skin.
"Go on, take a look inside." Tomoe encouraged.
'This..How did she already have these prepared!?' Damon felt his heart skip a beat as he unbuckled the latch. The first thing he noticed were three neatly folded grey gi padded with black leather. Beneath them rested a short dagger sealed inside a leather holster, while three small vials filled with golden liquid had been tucked carefully into one corner.
'She even packed spare clothes? Does she think I'll be gone long…?'
Damon looked down at the tears running through his shirt and quietly accepted the gift.
"I thought you'd like them" Tomoe smiled. "The vials are the same medicines I used for your earlier treatment and should be applied to wounds not ingested. I suggest you use them sparingly."
"Any chance I won't need them..?" Damon asked, feeling a bit strange.
Tomoe shrugged and folded her arms. "That depends entirely on you. There is still much you have to learn however only through self discovery and danger can you truly perceive the changes in your body."
'So this isn't about just about fighting beast…' Damon nodded lightly and stood up. He heaved the pack over his shoulder and looked around then asked, "Can I head inside to change?"
"There's a tree right there, boya" Tomoe grinned.
As expected, it was a waste of breath to ask the question. The corners of Damon's mouth twitched as he glanced at the tree where the bird landed and sighed deeply. He was starting think the woman was a pervert.
'She won't leer at me again right…? It makes my skin crawl…'
Walking behind the mahogany bark, Damon stole a cautious glance toward the old woman. He did not think he was being overly paranoid. In fact most youths his age would have the same reaction upon receiving such stares from an elder regardless of how attractive the person was.
He kept one eye on her shadow while stripping down, afraid she would somehow appear beside him the moment he looked away. But soon he noticed the woman closing her eyes.
'She can still see me..' Damon's brows furrowed, grabbing the grey garment.
It was not all that surprising. As an experienced Specter, Tomoe possessed senses that surpassed the average person or beast. There was no telling how much far she could stretch her perception.
After tightening a sash around his waist, Damon dusted off his new attire. The fabric fastened with faux leather was more form fitting than his usual linen, covering the base of his neck and his arms. Intricate lines flowed into the shape of a vest and down his longs sleeves accentuated by fingerless gloves.
"I wonder how she knew my sizes and did she just happen to have something that fits?" Strangely he felt it was better he did not know answer. While in thought, his blue eyes drifted downward to the tip of his feet. His boots were still a good pair, but they did not quite match the look of the ensemble.
'Not that it really matters anyway' Damon shook his head lightly and cast the thought to the back of mind. He then grabbed the holstered dagger and fastened it around his waist through the sash.
Afterwards, he bent down, tightening the leather straps to a shorter length and picked up the fallen pack and slung it over one shoulder. Without further delay, he stepped from the tree with a confident stride, clutching the thick strap.
At that moment Tomoe's eyes snapped open. She slowly seized him up trice, clapping her hands exuberantly. "It suits you better than I thought it would, Boya!"
"Thanks I guess." Damon nodded expressionlessly, refusing to humour the strange old woman. He turned gaze towards the forest's edge then looked up at the crow. "I'm trusting you to lead the way."
"Leave it to me!" The crow puffed out its chest proudly before spreading its black wings.
With a powerful flap, Kuroushi launched itself from the branch and rose into the air, its midnight form cutting a clean path through the air above the treeline.
Damon adjusted the strap over his shoulder then instinctively looked back one last time.
Tomoe remained seated beneath the wisteria tree, her hands clasped neatly in her lap, her black eyes fixed on him with an unreadable intensity. As their gazes met, she narrowed her eyes slightly and offered a small nod.
"Safe travels, boya."
Damon said nothing. He simply turned and walked toward the treeline, though inwardly he could not help but scoff. 'Safe travels? As if I could ever have a safe trip while actively hunting a dangerous beast in lands filled with who-knows-what. '
It sounded more like lip service than genuine concern.
Still...
He raised his head towards the canopy.
Between the swaying branches he could still make out Kuroushi's dark silhouette gliding overhead. Slowly circling once as if to confirm he was following.
"Good..." Damon muttered before breaking into a run.
Dead leaves crunched beneath his boots as he weaved between towering trees. Every so often he caught another glimpse of the crow before it vanished behind the dense canopy once more however he took care not to lose it.
With each stride, he noticed something peculiar, his legs did not burn the way they usually did during prolonged sprints. In fact, his breathing remained steady, and the pack on his back seemed lighter than it had any right to be.
'Is this because of the spiritual energy training…?'
Soon a pile of huge rocks emerged along his path and Damon's brows creased together. He was suddenly reminded of the tipping point of last night's events. Annoyed, he bent his knees and stepped forward intending to hop over them.
"Wha—!" His eyes widened.
His body launched upward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The world seemed to stretch around him as he shot past the rock and kept rising past the lower branches, through a cluster of leaves. Instinctively, his hands grabbed hold of the nearest thick tree branch, and he swung himself onto it with a clumsy but successful landing.
Damon crouched on the branch, his chest heaving not from exertion but from sheer disbelief. He turned his head and looked back at the rocks he had just cleared. They sat far below, small grey blotches against the ground.
'How...?' Damon blinked several times before roughly estimating the distance. 'Fifteen feet… that was at least fifteen feet…'
He stared at his hands, then at his legs. He had not been running at his fastest pace. Furthermore, he had been carrying a pack filled with supplies. And yet he had cleared that distance as if he weighed nothing.
Just then Vincent's explanation of Mitodic Flow echoed within his mind. He had not forgotten that the consciousness fields could strengthen different parts of the body by directing thought matter through them.
'If the only flaw was the stamina consumption, wouldn't using spiritual energy work better?'
Damon had merely stumbled upon the theory, but he flexed his legs experimentally, eager to test it out. The sensation felt...natural.
*******
Above him, Kuroushi continued to fly forward, its wings cutting steady arcs through the air. After a few more flaps, the crow seemed to notice something amiss. It slowed, circled back, and peered down through the canopy with growing concern.
"Hmm.. Where did the boy go!?" Kuroushi frowned. "Surely he didn't become lost alre—"
Suddenly a figure burst through the canopy below.
Leaves exploded outward as Damon shot into the open sky, soaring nearly ten feet above the startled bird.
"He flies?!" Kuroushi nearly tumbled from the air.
Damon, however, barely noticed. His eyes had already widened. For a brief, breathtaking moment, he hung suspended in the air, his arms spread wide, his gaze drinking in the view.
The entire forest scape unfolded beneath him, rolling waves of green and white, mountain peaks jutting through the clouds in the distance, winding rivers that glittered like silver ribbons, and patches of colour that had to be flowering pastures tucked between the slopes.
It was beautiful. Terrifying. And entirely worth the risk.
Damon felt a grin spread across his face as he began to descend.
'Definitely worth it.'