by Daman
“Mnnmmnnn”
Avi whined, as she licked Calron’s face. It was clear that the wolf pup was hungry and wanted some breakfast.
“I think I will die in my sleep if you do that again after a month, especially at the rate you are growing.”
Calron coughed, picking up Avi from his chest and slowly standing up.
“Woof!”
Avi sourly nipped at his heel, disgruntled by his comment of her becoming too fat.
When did this rascal learn about these stuff?
Calron pondered inwardly with a laugh. It was surprising to see that Avi understood the social rules without even interacting within a society.
What Calron forgot was that Avi had the ability to inherit her bloodline’s memories and techniques, so she was already growing mentally.
“I meant that you were growing up! Everyone grows through that process and it’s completely normal.”
Calron said in a placating tone, bending down to ruffle Avi’s head.
The dark wolf pup let out a snort, and settled down on the ground.
*snore* *snore*
Hearing the loud snoring, Calron treaded to the only remaining sleeping figure on the ground.
“Oi! Wake up!”
Calron kicked Roran in the butt, promptly waking up the confused victim.
“Big brother, I have very delicate skin, please don’t bruise it.”
Roran gingerly rubbed his backside, while letting out a long yawn.
“Go find some fruits or berries nearby, and I will hunt for some meat. After eating, we will go to our next location.”
Calron conveyed, stretching his arms and warming up his muscles under the morning light.
“Why do we need fruits? Only meat is enough, so let me sleep for a bit more.”
Roran grumbled, preparing to lie back down.
“Avi likes to eat fruits after meat, so it’s for her. Stop complaining and go.”
Calron chuckled at the expression on Roran’s face, and swiftly left the area to find some unlucky beast.
……………………….
*Buuurp*
Roran belched with satisfaction, as he patted his bulging stomach.
Even Avi let out a tiny burp, her tail wagging with content.
“Alright, now that we are done, let’s go to our real destination.”
Calron said, looking at his two companions with humor.
“Where are we going? If it’s far we should find some beasts to ride.”
Roran replied absentmindedly, as he took a big gulp of water from his skin container.
“No need, we will be flying there.”
Calron’s voice sounded out, and before Roran could reply back asking how they were going to fly, Calron’s body started to transform and golden scales emerged from his skin.
“I don’t think I will ever get used to big brother being a bird…”
Roran sighed as he remembered the first time he met Calron as a giant golden bird. After reaching the eighth rank of Vajra stage, Calron’s beast form was even larger than before, almost reaching the length of five meters.
“This will be a quick stop as we just need to pick up some small packages and we will return back to the Beast city.”
Calron’s voice echoed, as he stretched out his wings and began flapping them.
“What are the packages, big brother?”
Roran curiously asked, while climbing up on giant golden bird. Avi was already used to this process, so she was comfortably sitting in the spot between the two metallic wings.
“Just some little brats, haha.”
Calron burst into laughter, his memories going back to the naughty monkey and the band of unruly beast brats.
“Eh?”
Roran scratched his head in confusion at Calron’s response.
Chapter 15 – Departure
*whoosh whoosh*
Bursts of chaotic gales erupted in the sky, as a gigantic shadow darted through the clouds at lightning speed.
It was almost like the passing of a horizontal lightning bolt.
“Oi, Roran! Tell me, what do you think of the beasts?”
Calron suddenly asked a question while glancing back at the muscular teen on his back.
After learning Tarnila’s flying technique which imbued lightning into his wings, Calron’s current velocity had already broken past the speed of sound. If he was not protecting his two riders with his essence, they would have already been turned into paste.
“Ooong! B-big brother, c-can you not make me t-talk… Oong… I t-think I’m going to p-puke… ”
Roran’s stomach lurched, his cheeks had inflated like he was about to vomit. His face was completely flushed as he was struggling to restrain the movement of his gut.
It was Roran’s first time flying in air, and although he was fine initially, after Calron sped to the point of creating air explosions with his wings, he began to feel motion sickness.
Avi peeked at the human who was her guardian’s friend, and she let out a proud bark. It was like she was claiming her seniority over the newcomer, and had forgotten the pitiful state that she herself was in when she first flew with Calron.
“Oh sorry, Roran. Let me slow down a bit since we are almost there.”
Calron apologized and hastily withdrew most of the lightning essence around his wings.
He was still flying fast, but it was significantly slower than before.
“Cough cough… thanks, big brother.”
Roran took several deep breaths before answering. “I don’t know much about them; I simply just attack the ones that attack me.”
“Well, what do you think about Avi?”
Calron steadied his gait, and glided smoothly over a mountain peak.
“The wolf pup? Well, she’s pretty cute I guess.”
Roran laughed, as he ruffled Avi’s ears.
The wolf closed her eyes in pleasure, but she quickly snapped them open and glared at him while letting out a squeaky growl. Her guardian was the only human that was allowed to pet her, and unlike Calron, this human smelled very… human.
“Woof woof! Woof!”
“She has a fiery personality as well, hahaha!”
Roran chuckled at the sight of the cute wolf pup barking at him.
“Beasts are not like as we were taught in school, Roran… they have the same thoughts, emotions, happiness, fear, hunger and pride as us… Just like bad humans, there are bad beasts and just like good humans, there are good beasts.”
Calron explained, as he continued to look ahead and fly.
“Rather than me telling you about it, I think you should experience it for yourself.”
Calron stated after a moment.
His azure eyes were twinkling with mirth as he began to descend down towards a group of little figures on the ground.
Roran inwardly pondered about his brother’s words. He knew that Calron had a bit of beast blood as he was able to transform into one of them, so his acceptance of beasts was important to his Calron.
However, Roran would not know until later in the future, how important his understanding of beasts would turn out to be.
……………………….
“W-what in the hell is going on here!?”
Roran bellowed with irritation at the sight before him.
The contents of his satchel were all laid out on the grass, as a tiny yellow monkey shafted through his belongings. With a carefree attitude, the little beast gnawed on a piece of dried meat and it hoarded the remaining food, while throwing away any clothes or coins that it found.
Meanwhile, a little cobalt boar kept attempting to grate its tusks against his steel gauntlets, trying to sharpen the tips.
“You little bastard, give me my stuff back! And you, I am not a sharpening tool, so stop poking me!”
Roran shouted in anger, brushing off the boar and chasing after the monkey misfit.
*Ptui*
“Gagagaga!”
The baby
monkey spat in Roran’s face when he got close to it and it let out a victorious yell while scrambling away with the stolen food.
“Fuck…”
Roran cursed in a defeated tone.
The little monkey was shocking swift and nimble for its size, and since Calron had told him not to use his essence in the area, Roran was left humiliated by the mischievous monkey.
Glancing in the distance where Calron was, Roran started to slowly walk towards him. Calron had already reverted back to his human form.
Roran wished that he had one of those special bracelets like Calron, so he could also store his belongings instead of carrying them on his back. He decided to ask his big brother about getting one later.
Numerous little beasts surrounded Calron, and there was a cacophony of cheerful young animal noises echoing in the vicinity. Avi remained hanging on Calron’s shoulder, as she silently observed her peers. However, clear excitement could be seen in her eyes if one paid close attention to them.
“Meowww! Meww!”
A little golden leopard jumped up and down, its claws scratching Calron’s legs with elation.
“Hahaha, how have you been, big guy?”
Calron let out a happy laugh, as he bent down and picked up the little leopard.
Flashes of pale yellow lightning bounced on top of the golden beast, as it tried to proudly show off its training.
“So you have already started cultivating! Impressive!”
Calron fondly stroked the little leopard’s head, its tail swayed with pleasure.
“Woof!”
Avi made her presence known with a little yip.
“Mewww!” The little golden leopard cheerfully greeted the dark wolf.
Avi turned her head with a snort, completely ignoring the leopard.
Noticing the brief exchange between the wolf and the leopard, Calron smiled with amusement.
Although I want to spend more time here, we need to hurry back to the Beast City.
Calron mused, looking at the small group of infant beasts around him.
“Everyone, I need you all to listen up! I plan on taking you all to a city where you will be surrounded by beasts like you, and you will also receive training and a good environment to grow up in. Moreover, you will not have to worry about food.”
Calron conveyed in a loud voice, grabbing the attention of all the beasts.
The little beasts turned their heads in confusion at his words, but their eyes lit up towards the end at the mention of free food. All of them vigorously nodded their heads and letting out excited calls.
Calron shook his head in disbelief. He thought that he would need to do a lot of convincing before the little brats would accede to come with him. But with the simple mention of food, all of them agreed in a single blink.
Of course, the little beasts were not utter gluttons. They completely trusted Calron and they knew instinctively that he would never harm them, so they all wanted to follow him.
Quickly shape-shifting into his beast form, Calron beckoned to the little beasts to get all aboard. Seeing the giant golden bird, the little beasts all stared in amazement at its sheer size.
There was not enough space on Calron’s back for all of them to fit, so he picked up the bear cub with one of his claws while several snakes wound themselves around the other. With his back and claws full of passengers, Calron flapped his wings with power.
As a eighth rank Vajra expert, the combined weight of all these beasts was almost nothing to him. However, it did take him a while to get used to balancing himself in air with the extra weight.
*SCREEEEEEEEE*
With ear-shattering cry, the golden bird disappeared on the horizon.
This was the start of a new journey.
Chapter 16 – Question That Decides The Future
“Boy… does my place look like a nursery home for little brats?”
A hunch-backed small raccoon spat out her words, as she glared venomously at the human teen standing before her.
With her tiny hut being surrounded by a myriad of baby beasts, Tarnila was annoyed by the noisy commotion. She had decided to live in isolation because she disliked interacting with others, and now her latest student had decided to bring a whole school of little beasts to her house.
“Mewww…”
The golden leopard shyly hid behind Calron’s legs the moment Tarnila appeared. The little beast could sense the lightning within the raccoon, and knew that the fragile-looking elder was much stronger than Calron.
“Oyah? A kitten with the lightning attribute? With its inborn agility and the power of lightning, this little one could grow up to be quite fearsome indeed.”
Tarnila stopped in her tracks, her solemn eyes closely scrutinizing every inch of the little leopard.
“Meoww!”
The golden leopard proudly mewed in a high-pitched voice, as if it understood what the raccoon had said, and agreed with her words.
“Now for the rest of this bunch…”
Tarnila sighed, glancing around and seeing the excited beasts hopping around leisurely and exploring the surroundings of her hut.
“Sorry about this Teacher, but I couldn’t leave them alone to fend for themselves and besides, I thought that with all of them here, it will be better for Avi as well.”
Calron said, while gazing at the dark wolf pup playing with the others on top of the bear cub’s back.
“So what Balis said is true… you are leaving for Selior city.”
Tarnila stated, as she looked up at the clouds and sighed.
So that shady Elder’s name is Balis.
Calron made a mental note.
“Don’t worry about these brats, I will have Weir prepare to enroll them into the beast school within the city. However, you need to be careful kid, Selior city is where the human powerhouses reside and political treachery is as common as grass there.”
The old raccoon’s sharp eyes bore into Calron.
“I know, that is why I wanted to leave Avi here.”
Calron replied in a calm voice. He already knew about the level of danger, but if he wanted to find out the truth about his family, then he had no choice but to go to Selior city.
“Fine, I guess you already have the resolve, so I’ll trust you in this matter. By the way, how long do you plan on hiding that other human?”
Tarnila chuckled, as a circular bolt of lightning emerged on the tip of her forefinger and shot off towards a distant place behind a tree.
“Owww!”
A short cry of pain echoed out, after which the figure of Roran appeared, as he limply walked towards the small raccoon and Calron.
“Hahaha, nothing can escape Teacher’s eyes! I wasn’t planning on hiding him from you, but I didn’t know if Laris or anyone else would be here, so I thought I should take some precaution. Teacher, this is my little brother, Roran!”
Calron laughed, as he grabbed Roran by the shoulders and pushed him towards Tarnila.
The old raccoon seemed like a little toddler in front of Roran’s height, causing the old raccoon’s mood to sour.
*thwack*
“You oversized piece of bamboo, how dare you become this tall!? Have you no respect for your elders?”
A heavy-looking staff abruptly appeared within Tarnila’s claws, and she used it to repeatedly smack Roran on the face with it.
Ouch! What the f*ck!? Is a person’s height something which can be changed on a whim? This crazy raccoon is too unreasonable!
Roran cursed within his mind as he tearfully endured the smacking, and stunned by the raccoon’s sudden change of behavior.
Meanwhile, Calron laughed in amusement, knowing full well the personality of the crazy raccoon, as he had once endured those beatings before as well.
“Ms. Raccoon, look there, that little monkey is eating your plants!”
Roran shouted out mid-beating, when he noticed the yellow monkey sneaking around in the background, and realized that this was his chance for revenge ag
ainst the monkey brat and a chance to escape the crazy thrashing.
“Huh?”
Tarnila stopped, and slowly glanced behind her.
The little yellow monkey was trying to pull out one of her melon plants from its root, with sweat already forming beads on its tiny forehead. The monkey was still unaware that it was caught red-handed.
“You…”
The very air around Tarnila began to tremble, as bolts of lightning flickered on top of her fur and her grey eyes stared furiously at the monkey.
“Gaga?”
Noticing that the area around him had suddenly turned into an eerie silence, the little monkey lifted up its head while continuing to pull the melon along with the entire plant.
“Gu…”
The monkey’s eyes trembled in fear when it gazed into the angry eyes of Tarnila, and saw the violent bolts of lightning around her.
*step* *step*
The old raccoon slowly walked towards the shivering beast, her claws clenching.
