A brief foreword to the new reader: I originally wrote Incandescence about three years back, but didn't fully resolve its underlying conflict. I recently gave it a shot, and hopefully I did the original justice. Those of you who are old readers, the second half begins at chapter 6. Hope you enjoy.
The journey through the mountains took several days, and I hardly remember any of it. I was too young to, that's what Master Serence tells me. When we'd finally arrived, the Sawsbuck who'd brought me here entreated Master Serence to take care of me. He couldn't bring himself to refuse, of course. Master Serence had always been very softhearted, if a bit slow on the uptake. He resided within a grove located in the deepest part of the Taragio mountains, and within that grove was a crisp, green clearing complete with a mountain spring. It was a place of life and reprieve within the harsh conditions of its outlying mountains. But to me, it was home.
"Are you going to continue daydreaming, or will we have to meditate by ourselves?" Master Serence mused, glancing at me. The slowbro sat on a large rock, much like the smaller one I sat on.
"I apologize, Master Serence," I replied. Shaking the unnecessary thoughts from the fore of my mind, I resumed the proper posture.
His voice interrupted my renewed concentration. "That is sufficient. Taern, you may take a break for now. Join us in an hour. We would like to spar with you then," he said, dismissing me.
"Yes, sir." I scrambled to my feet and hurried away, glad for the break.
Meditation and sparring were both part of my training regimen, but I always preferred the latter. Back when Master Serence had adopted me, he'd taken me as his apprentice, and that meant lots of training and hard work. Most days started with me doing chores: collecting firewood, foraging in the surrounding grove for berries, and cleaning the campgrounds. After that, I would join Master Serence in meditation for a portion of the morning, and then we would spar until it was lunch time. Once we'd eaten, he usually had me practice my forms, then we would meditate again, followed by another sparring session. Finally, we would eat supper, and he usually allowed me the rest of the evening off. Sometimes he would teach me things like fishing or other survival techniques. He'd recently even started teaching me how to read footprint runes. Although he often was a strict teacher, Master Serence was the closest thing I had to family.
Finding the tallest tree in the grove, I began carefully climbing into its highest branches. As long as I was careful, I was good at climbing, and it was something that I rather enjoyed. While the grove was enclosed by mountains, it was itself at a fairly high elevation, leaving much of the sky visible during sunsets. It was a pretty view, and one of the ways I frequently occupied myself when Master Serence wasn't teaching or training me.
Before that herd of sawsbucks had found me wandering through the nearby mountains, I'd been living with my parents. I could hardly remember them, even less than I remembered the journey here. One night, a clan of rogue dusclops attacked us. Mother and father fought them, letting me get away safely. I'd spent days looking for them before the sawsbucks found me, and I still wasn't sure what had happened to my parents.
A particularly chilly breeze sent a shiver down my spine, drawing me out of my reverie. I shook it off, and proceeded to climb back down the tree. Often when I sat up there, my mind would wander like that, remembering the past, or contemplating about the future. The sort of stuff that Master Serence always told me to tune out when we were meditating.
I winded my way back through the campsite, taking my time and double-checking on the firewood and berry stores before meeting the sagacious slowbro.
"Master Serence," I said, bowing respectfully.
It was several moments before he responded. "Hmm?"
"It has been an hour, as you requested, sir."
"Ah, yes," he said, rising from the large stone he was meditating on. The two of us began slowly walking towards the sparring grounds. I had to pace myself, trying not to get too far ahead of him.
Excitement filled me as I took my place across from the sagacious slowbro. Sparring was one of my favorite parts of Master Serence's training regimen, and I was much better at it than meditation.
"Taern, we are ready. You may begin." The slowbro's voice was very measured as he spoke. While he hadn't yet assumed a fighting stance, I knew from previous experience that he was as ready as he ever was.
I crouched down, coiling my muscles like a spring. In a split second, I took off, aiming at Master Serence with a lightning-fast quick attack. With a lazy half-turn, he'd placed his large armored tail between himself and the strike, casually deflecting my assault. I regained my footing, turning to strike at the slowbro with an open palm. Despite his impossible slowness, he had once again placed his tail between us, absorbing the shock of my force palm. I jumped back, catching my breath and sizing up the slowbro, looking for an opening.
Master Serence chuckled politely. "Your practice has been paying off. We are impressed." he said, gathering an orb of energy between his forepaws. He didn't as much throw it as he did toss it, yet it whirred through the air toward me with an uncanny speed.
I recognized the attack, of course. It was a focus blast, the least dangerous of Master Serence's moves. Gauging the attack's trajectory, I sidestepped and safely dodged out of its way.
Without skipping a beat, however, the slowbro had launched his next salvo, another focus blast aimed directly at me. I channeled aura into my palms and met the incoming attack head-on. Grinding my feet into the earth, I torqued my upper half, redirecting the orb and safely deflecting it.
I turned back to my opponent, catching my breath for a moment. Already, he was launching another attack: his eyes began glowing with an eerie light and the air around him began seething with energy.
This was psychic, Master Serence's most deadly attack. However, it also meant an opportunity for me. I immediately cleared my mind, reading the energy flowing between us. And in that moment, I sensed the mental assault, channeling my aura to deflect the technique.
Not missing a beat, I counterattacked, lunging at him with my claws. He met my shadow claws with an open paw, then pivoted on his foot, sending his tail roughly into my side.
I rolled with the blow, shaking off the worst of it. In a moment I was back on my feet, but that was more than enough of an opening for the slowbro. This time, he launched a blast of water from his mouth, keeping me on the defensive. There was just enough time for me to safely sidestep the attack. He'd anticipated as much, and immediately fired off another water pulse at me, once again forcing me to use my detect to dodge.
We continued exchanging attacks for a while until I was out of breath. Though I had improved much since we'd first began, I was always exhausted before Master Serence had even broken a sweat.
"Very good, Taern. Let us take supper now," he said, smiling at me.
One of the things Master Serence had taught me a bit about was cooking, and preparing supper was part of my daily chores. I began by adding some dry wood to the fire pit and lighting it. Next, I filled the cooking pot with clean water from the stream that flows into the campsite's spring. With the pot in place and the water heating, I started adding ingredients to make a stew. Along with figy and wiki berries, I added a few roots that I'd foraged that morning, as well as red algae from the stream and a handful of nuts from the trees in the surrounding glade. Before long, it had thickened up and was looking like a proper stew. I grabbed two bowls and served portions of the savory dish into both of them. I handed one to Master Serence, allowing him the first taste.
"Once again, we are impressed," he said after taking a sip from his bowl. "Although it could use more wiki berries."
"Master Serence, you always say that," I said, shaking my head at him.
"Is that so?" he mused at me.
"I'll see what I can do tomorrow," I muttered.
Master Serence took another sip of the savory stew. "The algae is good this season," the slowbro said appreciatively.
I nodded agreement. While it wasn't as naturally salty as algae from the sea, it added savory to the stew and had proteins which helped replenish our bodies after a long day of training.
After we'd finished, I rinsed the dishes in the nearby stream before rejoining Master Serence near the fire. I sat across from him, enjoying how the fire's gentle warmth contrasted the early autumn cool.
"You did very well today, Taern," the slowbro said pensively. "We are quite proud of the progress you've made."
That was the first time Master Serence had told me that he was proud of me. It left me at a loss for words, and I could feel my cheeks reddening.
"Err, thank you, master," I finally managed.
"You remind us of when we had just started learning," he said, chuckling to himself.
"Oh?"
"We were young once too, Taern," he said slowly.
I had to stifle a laugh as I tried to imagine what Master Serence was like as a young pokemon.
"We had a difficult time taking our training seriously. Although perhaps we weren't quite like you. Our strong point was meditation, and we lacked somewhat in sparring," he explained.
"I see." In truth, I wasn't entirely sure that our meditation sessions weren't glorified naps for Master Serence. However, when I wasn't taking it seriously, he always knew and corrected me accordingly. On the other hand, though, I had seen Master Serence napping once or twice, and he'd had the same vacant expression that he wore when meditating. "What inspired you to start training?" I asked curiously.
He was quiet for a moment, sorting through his memories for an answer. "There was a milotic I knew back then," he said slowly. "A beautiful creature, and I was perhaps more than a bit enamored with her. She was quite talented in aura use herself."
"You loved her?" I asked.
The slowbro chuckled at my question. "We were quite twitterpated with her, yes. But we know that such feelings fade over time. She inspired us to become what we are today. That is more gift than we deserved from her," he continued, chortling. "Anymore, we have better causes to use our talents for than romancing."
I nodded, processing what he meant. In truth, I didn't know much of anything about love. I remember that my parents cared for each other, and that they cared for me. And of course, Master Serence treated me as though I were his own son. But platonic love and romance were two entirely separate things.
"Thank you, master," I said softly.
The slowbro quirked his brow at me, listening.
"For taking me in," I finished, feeling my cheeks start to redden.
"Taern, come here," he said, patting the grass next to him.
I obliged, obediently sitting beside him. He patted me fondly on the head. "This is your home as long as you live," he assured me. "We will always welcome you with open arms."
We stayed like that for a little while, sitting by the fire, before he spoke to me again. "It is getting late. Go get some sleep," the slowbro said, patting me once more for good measure.
I nodded, rising to my feet. There were two simple huts erected not far from the fire pit. The larger of them belonged to Master Serence, the smaller of them to me. When he had first taken me in, he let me sleep in his hut—building the second had been one of the first things we'd done together, the very next day. It was cozy inside, intended more for practical purpose than anything else. I had only a handful of personal possessions, and a warm straw bed filled a corner of the hut. I laid down, feeling my exhaustion catching up with me. It was already dark out, and my cozy bed kept the autumn chill at bay. Before long, I was sound asleep.
The next morning, I got up and promptly attended to my morning chores. I'd begun foraging in the surrounding glade when a sound caught my attention, the crackle of a twig snapping. I turned toward the noise and approached cautiously, wondering what could navigate the wilds well enough to make it out here in one piece.
There, standing in the darkness cast by the glade's trees, was a young vulpix. It staggered forward another pace before collapsing on the ground.
"Master Serence," I called out, panic tinging my voice. Turning around to fetch him, I was surprised to see that he was already there. Despite being most characteristically slow, he could move fast when he needed to, even uncannily so. I made panicked motions toward the vulpix in front of us. "It-dthb-there's a fox," I told him.
The slowbro nodded, approaching the collapsed pokemon and carefully picked it up before taking it back to camp. He gathered a blanket and placed the fox down a few paces from the fire pit. "Make a broth for us," he requested politely.
As I began fretting about to gather the ingredients, Master Serence placed his paws over the unconscious pokemon and began channeling some of his psychic energy. This was the last of the slowbro's techniques and one I didn't recognize, as he very rarely had occasion to use it. The healing pulse he sent to the creature began mending its wounds, soothing its scratches and bruises. In moments, the fox no longer looked so battered, and its breathing had evened out with the peaceful rhythm of sleep.
By the time the broth I'd cooked was ready, our guest's eyes fluttered open.
"Ugh, where am I?" the vulpix asked. Judging by her voice, it was a female.
"You are safe," Master Serence assured her. "Taern, fetch us some of that broth."
I poured some broth into a bowl, passing it to him. He nodded in appreciation, then turned to his patient. "Here, drink," he instructed her. She did so, and in moments she already seemed revitalized.
"Careful, not too fast," Master Serence told her. "Taern, more broth," he said, passing me the bowl. I dutifully refilled the bowl and handed it back to him. The young vulpix drank the second serving more slowly, heeding the slowbro's words.
"This is our home," Master Serence explained to his patient. "You are welcome to our hospitality. Have you a name for us to call you by?"
The vulpix glanced at him, unsure what to think.
"We understand," he said patiently, "trust doesn't come immediately."
Her ears dropped back as she frowned. "Fiori," she said, her voice still somewhat hoarse.
Master Serence nodded to her before turning to me. "We will look after Fiori. You have the rest of the morning off," he told me.
"Yes, sir," I said, bowing respectfully. I scuttled away, a hundred different thoughts and emotions racing through my mind: who was she and how had she survived all the way out here in the wilds? Was it some sort of omen? What if it was a trap of some kind? Would I end up losing Master Serence like I'd lost my mother and father?
Forcing myself to breathe, I took a seat at my rock near the spring and tried clearing my mind as Master Serence had taught me. Fretting over the details wouldn't help. Not right now, at least.
I managed to meditate with middling success. When I'd finally run out of patience, I got to my feet, feeling a bit more clearheaded than before. Master Serence still hadn't called me over, so I proceeded to practice my forms as per usual. There was something cathartic about them, the way your muscles easily carried through the familiar movements. It was relaxing, in a way, perhaps not unlike the clarity that came through meditation.
"Taern," the slowbro finally called out, summoning me.
"We would like you to start dinner," he told me, regarding his dozing patient. "'And we would appreciate if you could make it easy for her to eat."
I nodded, then set about gathering the supplies. Roots were out of the question, but perhaps adding a few mago berries would be good. They were simple enough to find, and they were slightly easier on the palate than the spice of figy berries. With the ingredients gathered, I lit a fire and began adding the ingredients to the cooking pot one by one. Before long, the stew was ready, and the savory smell roused the dozing vulpix from her restful slumber.
Master Serence tasted the stew before nodding at me. "That will do, Taern." He turned to his patient, offering the bowl. "Here, drink up," he instructed her. The fox was hungry enough, and drank her portion of the stew. It was more substantial than the broth from earlier, though easy enough on the stomach.
After the three of us had eaten our fill, I rinsed out the bowls and returned to Master Serence and his patient.
"Taern, do you mind allowing our patient to sleep in your hut tonight? You can sleep in our hut instead." His voice was measured and reassuring.
Although the idea of giving up my bed to our guest didn't thrill me, I didn't mind too much. I nodded to him, eliciting a gentle smile from the slowbro.
"Thank you," he told me. "You've grown much since we first began your training."
"Yes, Master Serence," I said, feeling my cheeks turn red.
The slowbro gently picked up the recuperating vulpix and took her to my hut, tucking her into the cozy straw bed.
"We will retire. Come along," he instructed me.
Master Serence's hut was much roomier than mine, as was his bed. He curled up in the cozy straw and closed his eyes. I laid down next to him, reminded of the first night I'd stayed here. It was different, but still sort of nice.
"She has lost her memories," the slowbro told me matter-of-factly.
"Will she ever get them back?" I asked.
"We shall see," he said, gently patting me on the head. "Now then, sleep well, Taern."
"Good night, master," I said, yawning.
Master Serence and I awoke early the next morning. Fiori was still asleep by the time I had finished my daily chores. Content to let her sleep, he busied himself with my training. Like usual, we began with meditation, then moved into sparring. After that, we broke for a quick lunch before I started practicing my forms.
The sagacious slowbro spoke, breaking my concentration. "It appears our patient is awake," he said calmly. "Fiori, don't be a stranger. Come," he called out to her.
The vulpix shyly walked toward us and obediently sat next to him.
"Fiori, this is Taern," he told her. "He is our apprentice. No reason to be afraid of him."
She glanced at me cautiously. "You cook really well, Taern," she said, wagging her six tails.
I nodded to her. "Glad you liked it."
Her eyes lit up. "Can we play?" she asked hopefully.
"Err, I was practicing my forms," I said, glancing at Master Serence.
"It is fine," he mused. "A little activity will be good for her."
"Okay, come on," I said, jogging over toward the sparring grounds. "Do you know tag?" I asked my new playmate.
"Hmm? No... should I?"
"It's easy. I'll run away and you try to catch me," I explained. "Once you tag me, we'll switch and I'll chase you."
Her brown eyes lit up. "That sounds fun!"
"Okay, let's go." I sprang away, using my quick attack to put distance between us. She followed suit and easily kept pace behind me as I made a circuit through the sparring grounds. I slowed as I took a corner, and the vulpix pounced, tackling me playfully to the ground.
She giggled happily. "I think I like tag. It's a lot of fun," she exclaimed.
"You're pretty good," I said appreciatively. "Now it's your turn to run," I said, grinning.
I scrambled to my feet, and in an instant, the fox had taken off. She was fast, but before long, I managed to tag her in return. We went back and forth, taking turns and having fun like that until we had to stop and catch our breaths.
"So you can use quick attack too?" I asked her. I was reasonably sure she could, with how easily she'd kept up with me.
She shrugged at me. "I guess? I don't know," she said shyly.
"Do you know any other moves?"
"Err, I don't know," she said again, averting her gaze.
"We can spar a little bit. It might help you remember some of them," I told her helpfully.
"But... but that doesn't sound safe."
I glanced at Master Serence. He was watching us carefully, and nodded to me from his seat near the spring. "Trust me," I told her. "I spar enough with Master Serence that I know how to avoid getting hurt."
"You're sure? I won't hurt you or anything?" I could hear the concern in her voice.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Come on," I said, leading her back to the center of the sparring grounds.
She assumed a fighting stance and I took that as my cue. I sprung at her, depriving her the chance to strike first. The vulpix dodged using her own quick attack, circling back to the other side of the training area. A look of focus crossed her face as she blew a fiery wisp out of her mouth. It was a light-blue color, and it fluttered slowly through the air. I easily sidestepped the flare, but before I had a chance to counterattack, she launched another assault. This time, her eyes darkened and the air around her pulsed with energy before a cloud of darkness descended on me.
I channeled energy into my palm and whirled, dissipating the cloud and deflecting its energy. Seizing the opportunity, I lunged forward and tackled her from the side, sending the both of us tumbling.
"Are you okay?" I asked, untangling myself from her.
"I'll be fine," she said, catching her breath. "Y-you're really good, Taern." Her eyes twinkled with admiration.
I felt my face turning red. "No, it's nothing. Compared to Master Serence, I mean."
"Taern, Fiori," the slowbro interrupted us.
We approached him obediently, and he smiled at us both. "Very good, you two. It seems we have quite a talented guest with us," Master Serence mused. "Perhaps we can train her as well, until she regains her memories."
My ears pricked forward in alarm. "But master, we don't know how long—"
The slowbro glanced disapprovingly at me, cutting me off. "Is that so?" It was a look sour enough to curdle milk.
I turned my eyes to the ground, ashamed of my outburst.
"Fiori," he began, "would you be our apprentice, at least until you regain your memories?"
There was apprehension in her face, but her tails were wagging slightly to and fro.
"It is no trouble for us," the slowbro assured her. "This can be your home for as long as you need."
"I—err," she started. Feeling her face redden, she hid it behind her tails. "I would like that," she barely managed.
"Good," he said slowly. Then, to me, "Taern, get dinner started, and show Fiori around the campsite."
"Yes, sir." I beckoned the vulpix to follow, and started by showing her the stream, the foraging spots, and where the various utensils and other supplies were stored.
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon," I told her.
"Yeah." I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. "It's just a lot to take in."
I nodded understandingly to her. "Give it time."
Before long, the supplies had been gathered and we'd started a fire to cook with.
"The nuts and algae add protein," I explained patiently to her. "And the algae adds salt to the stew. The rest of the ingredients add flavor and texture."
She nodded, intently listening to my lecture.
Dinner was shortly done and the three of us ate heartily.
"It was more filling than last night's stew," Fiori said, looking at me.
"Yeah, a bit more substantial, to be sure," I replied.
"Spicier, too."
"Hmm. Yeah, last night's stew didn't have figy berries in it," I explained. "I take it you preferred the mago berries, then?" I asked, glancing sidelong at her.
She nodded agreement. "They were sweet," she said, wagging her fluffy tails.
"I see," I said, making a mental note.
The sagacious slowbro turned to me. "Fiori will sleep in your hut again tonight. We will gather the materials to erect another hut tomorrow."
I nodded obediently. "Yes, sir."
It was getting dark, and like the night before, the three of us retired to our respective huts. There would be a decent amount of work tomorrow, which meant it was important to be well-rested.
"She has a talent for aura," Master Serence explained to me. "That dark cloud she used on you, it was a dark pulse."
"Dark pulse?" Like Master Serence's water pulse and healing pulse, dark pulse was an attack that channeled aura energy. The slowbro was impressed enough to apprentice her, which surely meant something.
"Yes. She is still rough around the edges. Please be kind to her," he said gently.
"Yes, Master Serence."
Closing my eyes, I wrestled with various doubts. I still didn't know what her arrival meant, or why it had happened. Despite my anxiety, I eventually fell asleep.
Fiori and I set out to forage supplies the next morning, and I made sure to gather a few mago berries. We took them back to camp, stopping to eat a breakfast of berries and roots.
Once the daily chores were done, the three of us began the task of acquiring and assembling materials for another hut. It took the duration of the day, but it was complete before dinnertime. We fashioned some of the straw leftover from the thatch roof into a cozy straw bed. Aside from that, the hut was unfurnished, as she had no possessions to her name.
"I like it," she said brightly.
"It is your home," Master Serence said, smiling at his new apprentice. "Take care of it," he instructed her.
That night, I got to sleep in my bed once again, but it smelled a little like her. It wasn't a bad smell, really, but it bothered me a little. She'd only been with us three days, but it already felt like she was taking Master Serence away from me. The young vulpix was so clueless that he couldn't help but dote on her. It reminded me of when I had first come to live with him. A tiny voice in my head kept telling me that I couldn't compete with her, the new student. The sort of thought you know is silly, but troubles you no less.
I finally felt exhaustion begin drawing me to sleep. We would resume training tomorrow, and I needed all the rest I could get. If I wanted Master Serence to praise me again, I would just have to try harder at training. When he saw that I was better than her, he would no doubt tell me how proud I made him. That would be enough, surely. Reassured, I finally fell asleep.
The next day, Fiori joined me once again to complete the daily chores. Once we'd finished and eaten breakfast, we joined Master Serence at the spring. I took my usual seat, and Fiori found a rock on the other side of Master Serence. She imitated us, relaxing herself and closing her eyes.
"So this is meditation?" she asked the slowbro.
He nodded patiently. "This is meditation."
"Why do we do it?"
"It helps build our focus and clear our mind," he explained to her.
"How long do we do it?" the young vulpix was already antsy.
I snorted derisively at her comment.
"Taern," Master Serence said sternly, shaking his head. "Don't forget, you were once new to this as well."
"Yes, sir," I said sheepishly before resuming my focus.
It wasn't long before the silence was broken again. "Master Serence, can I play with Taern again?" Fiori's voice chimed.
The slowbro chuckled, smiling beatifically at his newest apprentice. "We suppose it can't be helped," he mused. "Taern, can you spar with Fiori again today?"
"Of course, master."
Once again, I led Fiori to the sparring grounds and took my position. Master Serence oversaw our match, correcting the vulpix's posture and technique as needed. We went back and forth, taking turns pressing the attack before switching to the defensive. By the time the vulpix was out of breath, I'd barely broken a sweat.
Master Serence nodded his approval at Fiori. "Very good. Step back and catch your breath," he told her. He stepped forward, taking her place in the sparring grounds, glancing at me. "Ready for another round, Taern?"
I smirked, coiling like a spring and lunging at him. Like before, he more than easily deflected each of my attacks before forcing me to step back and take the defensive. This time, he didn't let up, continually launching a barrage of blasts, pulses, and psychics until I was run ragged. Sidestepping one of his focus blasts, I tripped, falling to the ground as the seething orb grazed my shoulder. I winced, gasping for breath. While it had only grazed me, the blow had stung quite a bit.
"Fiori, your turn," he said, nodding at the now-rested vulpix.
She glanced uncertainly at him, then to me.
"Don't worry about hurting him, he's a lot tougher than me," I told her.
She nodded, assuming an offensive stance and steeling herself. Before she could attack, Master Serence launched a water pulse at her, forcing her to scramble out of its way. Regaining her footing, she darted to the side, setting herself up to lunge at him. The slowbro deflected the attack with his characteristic ease.
"Good work," he encouraged her. "Defense is the most important part, the rest follows later." He gathered energy between his paws, punctuating his sentence with a barrage of focus blasts. The assault sent the vulpix skittering away in a panic, and she almost lost her footing. The slowbro kept pressing his assault, forcing her to use her quick attack to dodge. Before long, she was as breathless as I was.
"Now then," Master Serence began, "we can play some more, or we can move on to forms."
"Err, I am too tired to play anymore," Fiori said, catching her breath.
Part of me wanted to out-do her, but I had to agree. "Forms sound good to me," I concurred.
We spent the rest of the morning moving through forms, with Master Serence correcting and offering instruction where he could. By lunchtime, Fiori and I were starving and exhausted. The break was welcome and felt like it didn't last nearly long enough.
When we resumed, it was back to meditation, and this time Fiori was content to wait in silence. It appeared she had taken Master Serence's lesson to heart, and that she could be fairly patient when she tried.
After that, the slowbro drilled us on forms once more before overseeing another sparring match. By the time we retired that evening, Fiori and I could hardly move. I knew we would be sore the next morning, but that was always the best kind of sore. It meant that we were getting better.
The next several weeks passed similarly. Fiori was showing steady improvement, and Master Serence had begun pushing my skill to new levels as well. He'd finished my lessons on footprint runes, and had started spending evenings teaching Fiori. Though time had passed, it still felt like he was doting on the young vulpix. No matter how much improvement I showed, it was always about her instead of me. It was a defeating thought, regardless of its legitimacy. My head told me it was a necessary part of her guidance and nurturing, but I still couldn't help but feel jealous.
One evening, we'd finished dinner and Master Serence had just begun Fiori's rune lessons. I took the dishes to the stream to clean them. Before I could leave, something in the stream caught my eye. I reached into the water and carefully grabbed it. Turning it over in my paws, it glinted in the evening light. To my surprise, it was a tiny pearl. While freshwater mollusks weren't as common as the saltwater sort, a few of them lived in this stream. But this was the first time I'd seen a pearl here.
"Taern? Everything alright?" a bright voice chimed from somewhere behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Fiori not far away. "What is it?" I asked, frowning. Something about her was different, and I didn't like it. Whatever it was, it made me feel agitated and irritable. More so than she usually made me, at least.
"It's getting late and I asked Master Serence if I could help you with the dishes," she said, her tails swishing merrily behind her.
"I can handle it," I told her, waving dismissively at the young vulpix.
Regardless, she trotted up and sat neatly beside me. Her eyes lit up as she saw the pearl in my paw. "Ooh, what's that?" she gasped.
"It's a pearl," I explained to her.
"It's so... shiny," she cooed, wagging her tails.
I sighed in exasperation. "If I let you have it, will you leave me alone?" I said, not bothering to look at her.
"Err, what?" she asked, confused.
I dropped the bauble on the ground and gathered up the dishes before heading back to camp, not bothering to wait for her.
Once I'd set the dishes out to dry, I retired to my hut and curled up in my bed, trying to forget the frustration I felt. It was another drop in the bucket—another day like the ones before. Though to be perfectly honest, it might have been slightly worse, as I'd been much more flustered around Fiori than usual. Maybe I would have a chance to talk to Master Serence, or maybe it was something meditation could fix.
A familiar voice drew me from my reverie. "Taern, are you sure it's okay for me to keep this?" Fiori asked quietly.
Batting open an eye, I saw her outline in the darkness. She was standing outside of my hut, with the tiny pearl glinting between her forepaws.
"It's fine," I muttered, letting my eye drift shut again. "Now go to bed."
"Thank you," she said quietly. I could hear her tails swishing behind her. The fox gently grabbed the pearl in her teeth and padded to her hut.
I shrugged dismissively to myself. If she wanted to make something out of it, she could. At the end of the day, it was just a rock, right? I screwed my eyes shut and stretched, wishing I would fall asleep soon.