They definitely needed that friend of Ziro's.
Kris had thought that he'd be able to immediately start casting magic, but that was… a bit unrealistic, in immediate hindsight.
As such, Ziro had led them to that friend.
The bell of the shop he had let them too chimed as Ziro opened the door and let them inside.
It was a quaint little shop that was located on the edge of Mist Town near the gates that led to the southern district.
As for the shop itself, Kris could tell even after one look around the place after having entered that this was a place of organized chaos. Books stacked into tower, a bunch of other knick knacks, and items all other kinds, ranging from clothes to even jewelry. Making the name of the place, One Thousand and One Antiques rather fitting.
"Hello, how can I help yo- oh if it isn't little Ziro, and you've brought friends with you today," A woman's voice spoke, and Kris attention was brought to the end of the shop, and saw the woman who was probably the owner sitting behind a well carved desk with books piled onto it.
She was a stunningly gorgeous woman of a naturally darker complexion that contrasted with the cream dress that she was… wearing was a bit charitable, it was more like it was draped over her, considering how it barely kept her modest. Her long dark hair was held in place by a shockingly expensive looking golden circlet with a massive red gem in its center, and as Kris noticed it he began to notice the other golden jewelry along her person- either she was very successful, gold had a different value here from what he thought, or it was all fake jewelry meant to evoke the idea of a rich and powerful merchant.
Regardless, it was definitely working, as she looked like a decently good merchant, the jewelry that could have come across as gaudy somehow working on her.
"Morning Shez," Ziro responded as they walked closer to the now named woman.
"Morning Ziro, and who do you have with you?" 'Shez' asked.
"Hallo, I'm Kris." Kris said. "Don't worry about the little fairy, she's a good girl."
"Well, you're not wrong," Lily responded.
"Well I assume so, she got that fancy little band, and my… a Valkyrie… well that means you are the Hero and why little Ziro is with you," Shez spoke.
"Eheh, yeah, technically I'm the hero." Kris said, still not used to normal people saying about that. It was one thing with the order saying, what with the discipline involved, but when normal people said it… there was that distinct spark of hope that made him realize he was carrying a lot of hopes and dreams like this- it wasn't just a duty, it was a great responsibility.
He could only hope that with great responsibility came great power, too.
"So you are, so what can this humble shopkeeper help you with today?" She asked.
Kris lifted the chest of stuff a bit. "We found this in a ruin in the sewers, and it had some weird magic stuff in it, including what I've already identified as a spellbook."
"Well put it on the table so I can take a look at it," Shez said as she cleared the table, by telekinetically moving the books and the water pipe that had been on it.
Kris, once more, couldn't help but stare at that as he put the chest on the table. "Magic?"
"Yep, a simple spell," She answered. "Now out with the stuff, you want me to check on it, yes?"
"Right, yeah." Kris said, confused why she wouldn't just use whatever spell she just did to float them out as he opened the chest properly.
"Well, what do we got here?" She asked as she picked up the rock that had been inside of the Mother Rat. She twirled her fingers and began to speak what sounded like an incantation in a language he didn't recognize. And she did that for about a minute, her eyes going wide at the end. "My did you also find this in that ruin you did the other stuff?"
"Inside of a rather mutated rat," Ziro answered.
"Mutated in what way?" She asked.
"Horrifically, with extra limbs and eyes growing from the wrong places, cancerous growths bulging from their bodies, and…" Kris shuddered at the memory. "The tails…eugh."
"Very sexual I assume?" She asked.
"They were literal dicks," Lily stated.
"Makes sense with what this is…" Shez stated as she put the rock down.
"Which is…?"
"Lilithium," Shez answered.
"I… have never heard of such a thing before," Hilda stated.
Kris's eyes widened as the name, considering the current issue, was a massive red flag. "Me neither, but I'm guessing it's tied to you-know-who, huh?"
"Somewhat, this is a special mineral named after who many think was the very first Succubus, Lilith," Shez answered. "It is very rare, very rare in fact as well… it is not naturally occurring."
"That's solid demon energy, isn't it."
"You can consider it that, well to be more precise it is a succubus's soul that has been crystalised, created, made then they achieve pleasure so high they actually die from the ensuing orgasm. Literally came their soul out." Shez explained as she put it down.
"So… is there anything it can be used for that wouldn't be a horrible idea like that or risk instantly corrupting everyone around or something?"
"Funnily enough they are perfectly harmless unless ingested, which is what resulted in the rat mutating like it did, they are not meant to be consumed by that kind of creature," Shez answered. "Besides that it can be used as a substitute for many spells that require a quality gem that is not consumed by it."
"...Huh. Using the powers of darkness against the powers of darkness… poetic." Kris said.
"Can I take it then?" Lily asked.
"As long as it doesn't go near any mouths, if that happened to Butt Stallion I would probably cry, and you don't want to see me cry."
"Nah she is probably going to change on her own with how much you care for her," Lily answered.
"Eh?" Kris asked in confusion, not understanding.
"So the next thing," Shez said as she took the vambrace and began to identify that as well. And she was done a minute later. "Well this is a neat little thing."
"What it do tho?"
"Well this is a magical vambrace that you can attune to, and it will allow you to generate an energy shield, one that can absorb damage from your allies and grows stronger the more of your friends that are near."
"Mine, mine mine mine mine, mine mine mine mine mine mine mine," Kris said, taking the vambrace and slipping it, the leather seeming to expand a bit as he did to fit his arm.
"You just need to wear it for an hour and will be ready to be used," Shez spoke as she took the glass vial. "Let's see what we've got here."
A minute later, during which Kris tried to activate the shield to no avail, she had analyzed the object.
"Well this is certainly something," Shez muttered.
"That something being…?"
"Well I didn't think something like this was actually possible, but if you found it in a ruin it makes sense, whose old civilizations knew more about magic than we do currently," Shez stated.
"Not actually possible?" Kris asked, playing along with the probably powerful mage. "What does it do?"
"It is basically a spell in liquid form," Shez stated. "Pour this out on you and it becomes a Tattoo that allows you to cast the stored spell in once before vanishing, this one containing Fireball."
"Okay, so I know I want to cast Fireball, but I don't trust myself with that, who wants it?"
"I will buy it from you," Shez stated.
"Mhm, an ancient, incredibly rare artifact of a bygone era, that must go for a lot, right?" Kris asked, immediately shifting into haggling mode.
"It would," Shez stated. "I will give you five hundred gold and a magic item in exchange for it."
Kris's eyes narrowed. "What kind of magic items do you have?"
"A wide variety of things, if you can think of one I probably have it somewhere in here," Shez stated as she stood up, her everything jiggling as she did. And also revealing her rather nice, smooth thighs.
"Do you have anything that would help with mobility?" Kris asked, having been troubled by the lack of mobility down in the sewer.
"I believe I have a few things that falls in that category," Shez stated as she walked over what Kris could only call the clothing section of the shop where the woman began to shift through various things, pulling out various clothing and also boxes she threw onto the floor. "Not that, not that, definitely not that… ah here we got one thing," She said as she bent down, putting her ass on display as she checked the boxes she had pulled out earlier and revealing she was in fact going full commando.
Kris looked away until she was done and returned the table carrying three shoe boxes, and what looked like a cloak of some kind.
"Well I've got four things, The Cloak of the Manta Ray, it allows you to swim better underwater and also allows you to breathe underwater as long as you wear it."
Kris had to try very, very, very hard not to immediately throw all their money at her to get that, and instead kept a straight face as she continued. "Boots of Speed, Winged Sandals, and Boots of String and Springing, though the last ones would fit you the least I think, they are more for people that can't move very fast normally." Shez said as she took out each of the foot wears.
"...How much would you sell these for normally?" Kris asked inquisitively, as he rather wanted both the sandals and the cloak.
"Everything besides the Boots of Speed I can sell for between one and five hundred gold, while the Speed ones I sell for about 2000 Gold."
Kris turned to his companions. "Does anyone want to be faster?"
"I would benefit from them the most my Lord if you desire the best objective use of them," Ziro stated.
The others gave a nonverbal confirmation of that.
Kris nodded and took a deep breath before turning around to face Shez again. "Alright. We'll be taking the Boots of Speed, the Cloak of the Manta Ray, and the Winged Sandals, and you only have to give us 200 gold."
"Hmm, 50 Gold if you want those items as well," She responded.
"It's an incredibly rare and unique magic item that you're receiving, you know. 100 gold and the items."
"Hmm, deal," Shez said as she put the Boots of Springing and Striding away and pushed the others forward.
Kris grinned. "Excellent, happy to do business with you, Miss Shez." Kris said as he happily took the items and, for now, put everything but the boots back in the chest.
"You as well, the Academy is going to be very happy to get this," Shez said as she packaged the Vial.
"Academy?"
"Leodonia's Academy of Magic," She answered. "Speaking of magic, you said you also found a spellbook?"
"Yes, but that's already going to be put to good use."
"Well I hope your path towards magical learning will be fruitful," Shez stated as she sat down and pulled the water pipe back on the table. "Now Ziro you need anything?"
"Not today Shez," They answered. "My new lord just needed some assistance. I knew you could help."
"Of course, anything for you," Shez turned her eyes towards Kris. "Which is why I did not charge you for those identifications."
"How much do those normally cost?"
"10 Gold per," Shez said. "And speaking of gold," A ghostly hand came floating into view and a small bag was dropped in front of Kris. "Well platinum to be more accurate."
"...Oh you must be a very good merchant, huh?" Kris asked as he took the bag.
"I am, I am good at selling my wares and body," She answered. "So if you wish to leave a nut in me I am open for business." She said seductively.
"Nein, that is strictly verboten." Kris said immediately.
"Aww…" She pouted.
"You cannot sway me with cute looks, I have a very literal divine purpose." Kris said seriously.
"The other knights say the same but they will happily sheath their blades in me," Shez fired back as she let all of her cleavage show. Her breasts threatened to spill out from the dress.
"And with that we are leaving, thank you for your time magic and money, we'll probably be back in the future for more purely business transactions that will, one way or the other, either make you very rich or even richer." Kris said as he turned around, chest in hand.
"I will see you later Mr. Hero, and you too Ziro."
"See you later Shez," Ziro said back as they all left the Magic Item Shop.
"Ziro?" Kris asked a few paces from the store.
"Yes my Lord?"
"Have you had sex with that woman?"
"Despite her attempts, no." Ziro answered. "She keeps thinking that saying Ara-ara, will do it but I do not know why?"
"My personal recommendation: stay celibate as possible until we've dealt with the demon lord. That's not an order, of course, you're an adult you can make your own decisions, just be wary of corruptive influences."
"Of course my Lord, there will be no fear of that, my body is meant for you only," They said.
"...Platonically, right?" Kris could hear Lily laughing and feel Hilda's embarrassment. And he meant that literally the amount of heat she was emitting was rising.
Ziro blinked. "What else?"
"Don't, don't worry about it." Kris said, trying to fight down the heat in his own face. "Let's get back to the tavern and get these new items sorted out… oh sorry Lily, Hilda, did you guys want anything back there? I forgot we could have still bought other things."
"Ehh, next time, the rock works for now," Lily replied.
"I have no need for any new magical items at the moment," Hilda answered.
"Okay, if you guys are okay with that." Kris said.
Quickly enough, they made it back to the Tavern, and Kris put on his new magic Cloak and Sandals.
And then the others explained how attuning to an item worked, as he tried to attune to the shield and the sandals at the same time, while Ziro did much the same for the boots.
The Cloak of the Manta Ray, Kris noted, was somehow even better than he'd been expecting, as it was sleek and almost seemed to equalize his temperature nicely, in addition to simply looking very very cool. He didn't really have a way of testing its functions of swimming fast or breathing underwater, yet, and even if it didn't seem likely that it would come in handy, in Kris's mind there was absolutely no way having underwater breathing wouldn't come in handy eventually.
Plus, to reiterate, it just looked cool, and worked perfectly with Kris's existing color palette with the silvery-grays and the almost gray-blues, and the golden accents made Kris actually feel like he was an adventurer or hero now instead of just wearing his favorite outfit from back home.
The Sandals were, in Kris's opinion, less visually impressive, as they were 'just' golden-colored sandals with blue gems of some sort on them and a small blue wing on the outer side… but he had the distinct feeling they'd be seeing a lot more use than the Cloak did.
But it was still so cool.
But the real cool part?
The real cool part was when he figured out how to activate the shield.
A shimmering blue translucent plane of energy had sprung forth when he gripped the air, a simple handle of the same force-field material in his hand, that disappeared when he let go.
It was sized almost perfectly for him, perfectly round and curved just so…
Kris had an idea, and after going outside chucked it straight up in the air, watching it soar much easier than the physical shield did, before dissipating at what he estimated to be the 60-foot mark into wisps of blue light.
With a grin, Kris then decided to test the other item, and tentatively took a step up on the air as if on a staircase.
And like he was expecting, the air felt solid as the wings flapped.
And with an even bigger grin, Kris began running upwards like that, going up, and up, and up at a higher and higher angle until he was just about running straight up.
And up.
And up into the clouds, bursting out above the partly cloudy spring sky, looking around the sea of wispy white and laughing as he realized he could fly now, the city of Ledonia below looking both smaller and larger than before.
The jagged mountains to the south were also something he hadn't noticed before, that separated Lescatie and Dragonia, and his immediate thought was how they looked fun to hike, followed by how it was no doubt the main thing keeping the neighboring countries from interfering with each other easily.
And then Kris's attention turned back down below, the city far below, about to do something stupid-
"Sup."
Kris whirled around at the voice. "Who's there?"
"Over here human. You dipshit."
Kris looked to the left to see a… heavily feathered and furred woman with large wings and feline legs- a Griffon, Kris put together- sitting on one of the clouds, lounging like she was posing for a painting.
Kris blinked in confusion at her, especially at the lack of 'she's okay' symbol Lily had.
"Uh, hello. Am I intruding here?" Kris asked awkwardly.
"Well only if you come over to my cloud," She responded her tone lazy.
"Do you live here?" Kris asked curiously.
"The Mountains, but I just took a ride on the clouds today, but what are you doing up here?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I just figured out how to fly, and the obvious conclusion to that is to fly up as far as possible, right?"
"Well of course, neat shoes," She responded.
"Thanks! Just bought these. Nice skirt, did you make that?"
"I did, we griffons have an innate talent for this if you didn't know, probably didn't considering how ignorant you humans can be."
Kris nodded. "I'll admit, I'm very ignorant of your culture, but I'm aware you're a very proud people, and rightfully so considering the stories I've heard of Griffons fighting claw-to-claw with Dragons, and winning."
"Heh, not that ignorant then, yeah we beat up dragons that try and take our stuff," The Griffon answered.
"Nice, show those scaly bitches what-for."
"Yeah," She responded.
"I'm Kris by the way, what's your name?"
"Sandy," She replied.
"It's nice to meet you Sandy, I'm always happy to meet people that don't immediately try to jump me."
"Well do you wanna fuck? I don't actually get a lot of visitors up here, so wanna ride the mile high club?"
"...Tempting, but no, I have obligations, but thank you for asking instead of just attacking me, I genuinely appreciate that."
"Some of my sisters would but I am too lazy for that," She replied.
"Well, I'm certain that if you take this kind of approach, I'm certain you'll find the right person for you. I know there's plenty of people who would love to bury their face in the fluff… or the fluff… or the fluff."
"Heh I got that," Sandy said with a smile.
"Welp, see you on the flip side, Sandy!" Kris said as he raised his arms out before falling backwards and going into freefall.
"What a weird human," He heard her say as he did so.
However, Kris's attention soon turned to the rapidly approaching ground, which was getting closer, and closer, and closer-
And then a kick to the air sent Kris suddenly boosting up from just barely hitting the ground, into a backflip, before landing on his feet- stumbling a bit, but still landing perfectly fine on the roof.
"Woo! That was awesome!" Kris said as he realized he could now do that.
"It was an impressive display my Lord," Ziro stated from behind him.
Kris startled at Ziro's sudden presence. "Judas Priest, don't sneak up on me like that, Ziro, you're gonna give me a heart attack."
"You're too healthy for that my Lord, it would take much more for you to go into cardiac arrest," Ziro responded.
"Turn of phrase." Kris shot back.
"I see."
"So, now that we're finally alone." Kris said, decided to take advantage of this. "I gotta ask… where'd you get that gun you were using?"
"I made it myself, tinkering is my hobby," They answered.
"You made that!?" Kris asked in shock and no small amount of giddiness.
"Yes, I desired for a pistol that could fire more than once. I knew it was possible from old documents I found in another ruin."
"And so you just reverse engineered a pepperbox just from the description of one?"
"Pepperbox?" Ziro asked.
"Your gun, my people would call that a Pepperbox Pistol." Kris said.
"Pepperbox? That is a much better name than my current one," Ziro stated.
"Oh? What'd you call it?"
"Six-Shot Flintlock Pistol."
"Wait, you're still using flintlocks?"
"Yes…" Ziro replied with an uncertain tone.
"And you made this gun… from a description of a similar weapon, correct?"
"Yes, though it is not perfect," They replied.
"Ziro, would you like to hear the description of, and see the rudimentary designs of, a significantly more advanced form of firearm?"
"Would happily accept such knowledge my Lord," Ziro said back.
Kris grinned. "In that case, let's get some tools, because I'm going to teach you about the gun that made the people of my world equal: the Revolver."
—
Kris had been getting… restless.
It wasn't that he didn't like what they were doing, far from it.
But being in the city like this for so long was starting to grate on him- the ride here had been a nice break but even that had felt… insufficient.
Which was why, three days into their stay in Leodonia, Kris had said to his companions: "I'm going for a walk. Don't wait up for me, might be out late."
They had just said okay and let him do his thing, even Ziro had seemingly done so as Kris had not noticed the Order Knight following him.
Which was nice, since it had honestly felt like he couldn't be alone any more.
It was nice knowing someone always had his back of course, but sometimes you didn't need a shadow.
And so, Kris had set out.
Walked to the gates, where he was waved through without issue.
Turned to the woods a bit away.
And began to walk.
Soon enough, he was in the forest, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he let the sounds of nature wash over him.
No hustle or bustle of humans, no pressure of being a Hero and the social obligation that came with that to be a role model or whatever, just the sounds of the natural world.
It was… nice.
Relaxing.
Peaceful, even.
It was exactly what Kris needed after nearly two months of being constantly observed and monitored and forced to interact with people he didn't know in a role he wasn't prepared for.
Which again, wasn't to say it hadn't been fun or enjoyable at times, simply that it was exhausting his batteries and he needed to recharge.
And so, he walked further into the forest.
The birds tweeting about in the trees, the squirrels moving about above the trees- actually, there was a squirrel just a few feet away staring directly at him.
Kris smiled -closed mouth, not showing teeth- and crouched down, slowly extending a hand towards and making small chittering noises.
The squirrel came over to him, sniffed his hand, and even let him (ever so gently) pet it for a bit, before it suddenly bolted, a nut in its mouth held carefully.
Kris couldn't help the smile on his face. It had been awhile since he'd done that.
And really, he was surprised at the lack of birds coming to inspect him. Perhaps it was because these ones hadn't grown up in a world dominated by human presence? That was likely, as he thought of it. Even the hawks he'd interacted with in the past in the mountains had still been on hiking trails where people frequented.
With a shake of his head to clear his thoughts of home, he continued to wander into the forest.
It was a very peaceful forest, not a lot of curious animals around even after a few hours of walking, but it was still nice.
Looking up at the sky through the trees, Kris noted the rough time, and decided now was as good as any a time to start heading back.
And at that, he heard a loud yawn- a familiar kind of yawn that caused him to immediately perk up and carefully turn to that direction.
He couldn't see it, but he could hear it moving now, and excitedly- but carefully- began moving through the trees towards it.
There was a small lake or a large pond, next to a basic-looking cave nearby in a rocky hill (a grotto?) which looked like it had been worked at some point with the slabs of rock around it, but with the erosion from the water Kris couldn't tell if it was natural or put there on purpose.
And there, laying by the water, was a bear-!
…
"Oh, come on." Kris whined under his breath upon noticing it wasn't an actual bear but a bear-girl Mamono of some sort.
"Ahhhh," There was the yawn again and he could tell it came from the Mamono as she sat up and stretched her limbs as she reached behind her and sat a clay pot on her lap and put a paw into it and pulled out what looked to be honey and slowly ate it.
"...my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined." Kris said as he turned around and made to walk away- and stepped on a very crunchy stick.
"Hello?" Came the Mamono's voice. "Somebody there?"
Kris groaned internally. If he ran it would just follow. "Just a hiker, passing through, leaving you alone." He called out, since stealth probably wasn't an option here.
"Ah I see… would you like some honey?" She asked.
Kris paused. There had been a distinct lack of sweetness in the food of this country, the sugared things being ludicrously expensive, and he had been craving something sweet something fierce since day 2.
And it was honey.
That was like, one of the major food groups.
…He was going to regret this decision.
"...Yes, actually, if you're offering." Kris said, coming into the clearing. "I haven't had honey in way too long."
"That sounds terrible," She said in… chill? Horror, as she sat the pot on the grass as Kris approached.
"It's been nothing but salt, those quote-unquote 'civilized' folk don't seem to have taste buds." Kris complained, having figured out that Leodonia was effectively fantasy Britain, or perhaps Fantasy British Empire, due to rejecting all the other good spices despite having access to all sorts of good herbs and spices- dinner at Lily's had at least had thyme.
"Yeah, I've taste some, it's way too salty for me, I like all my meat and meat slathered in honey, hehehe," She joked.
"Hehe, yeah…" Kris laughed as he sat in front of her with the honey pot between them. "Though if you try anything, I will throw you into the lake."
"Too tired for that, and I don't want any babies at the moment," The Bear Girl answered.
"Good, I'm not looking for love either. Just honey." Kris said with a nod.
"Yeah honey is good for now, have some. Enough for us both," She answered as she slurped up the stuff that was still on her claws.
Normally, Kris would have been a bit repulsed at the idea of doing this.
However, Kris also had a sweet tooth that had not been indulged in nearly two months, and he needed that fix.
And so, after a nod of approval from the bear-girl, took the travel mug from his bag and dipped in the honey, and using the spoon he'd nicked from the Salvarision's dining hall took his first taste of something sweet in this world.
It was raw, unprocess honey.
And it was the best thing he'd eaten in months.
"Hoooh my god, what bee-god did you fight to get this stuff?" Kris asked in delight after a moment of savoring that first spoonful.
"Just from normal honeybee's I have a deal with them," She answered.
"Wow, I guess you must be smarter than the average bear."
"Hehehe, I got that," She answered. "Normal bears aren't smart like me."
"Mhm, you're definitely one of the top-ten smartest bears I've ever met."
"You meet a lot of bears?" She asked.
"None like you, of course, but a lot of those ones could do tricks… and one of them was able to do basic addition, can you do addition?"
"That is when you add numbers together right?" She asked.
"Yeah, like 2+2 would equal…"
"Four," She answered.
"Aaaand now you're the smartest bear I've ever met, congratulations."
"Yay," She said happily. "I am Griselda, what is your name."
"I'm Kris. Nice to share some honey with you, Griselda." Kris said with a smile.
"It is, you can have a bit more," She said.
"Thank you," Kris said, topping off his mug- he'd definitely need to clean it later so the outside would be sticky, but it was worth it in his opinion. "You know, I've been meeting a lot of really nice Mamono like you lately. It's really nice, to not have to fight all the time."
"You wanna?" She asked. "I like a good brawl."
"...You know what, yeah sure, as long as it stays friendly the whole time I find nothing wrong with that." Kris said, the excitement of getting to wrestle a bear, even if it wasn't the right kind, overpowering his reason in that moment.
"Of course," Griselda said as she stood up.
"All right then." Kris said as he set the cup down, got up as well, and stepped away from the honey. "Let's make sure not to damage the goods."
"Of course," She replied.
Kris waited for a moment, to see if she would go first, but when she didn't he shrugged. "Just so you know, I don't pull my punches."
"I don't either," She replied as she took a lazy combat stance.
"Wouldn't want it any other way." Kris said, before punching outward and hitting her in the gut… and it felt like punching Hilda's shield, but muscle. "Oh you on the fish and honey diet."
"I get all my stuff from the lake," She answered.
"Ah, nice." Kris said before sweeping her leg out from under her, and went to go for a pin, but Griselda rolled out of the way.
"Nice move," She replied as she stood back up and her claws lashed out like lightning, but she didn't cut him just smacked him with her paws.
"Ah, shit, right, still a bear, still a bear," Kris said as he reeled from the blows. "I keep forgetting the cuties are still monsters…"
"We strong," She replied.
"I can tell!" Kris said, before kicking her leg, knocking her down again, feeling like he was kicking steel, and yet again she rolled out of the way of his attempt to pin her and bounced back to her feet.
"You're strong too, but you can be stronger can't you?" She asked as she tried to deliver two quick jabs that Kris was able to deflect with his hands.
"I mean, yeah, I don't wanna hurt you, this is supposed to be friendly." Kris said.
"Don't worry you can go all out, it won't hurt me much," She answered.
Kris sighed. "If you're sure." And then suddenly burst in radiant energy, before going for a one-two combo with a radiant boost.
"Oh the first one nicked a little, and you are an angry one," She replied.
"Not on purpose…" Kris grumbled/growled, the Divine Fury coursing through his body.
"Hmm… yeah I can tell," She said as she gave two hard hits to his stomach. "Doesn't fit you."
"You think so too?" Kris asked, relieved someone else could tell. "I'm not really an angry person, I like feeling every emotion, I just happen to feel them strongly."
"Yeah, but that one doesn't fit you, you feel kinda like me," She answered.
"That is possibly the biggest compliment I've ever received." Kris said before punching her in the face, causing her to reel back enough for him to grab her scruff and punch her again.
"Yeah, you have something with bears I can tell, that light, it's blocking that," Griselda said as slammed her paws into his shoulders.
"Blocking it?" Kris asked as forced down the pain and knocked her to the ground and finally got the pin, hitting her in the shoulder with a burst of light.
"Yeah, you should be a bear, not that gaudy light," She stated as she swung her arms at him and missed. "Ah I see yeah this works."
"Good, I came up with this tactic specifically for fighting Mamano." Kris said before punching her again, only the light of the attacks seemed to have any real effect. "Glad to know it works, now I guess I need to work out the kinks…" He said as he shook out his fist.
"Yeah," She said as she tried to break the grapple, only for Kris to reposition so he was straddling her and holding her to the ground.
"Wow, you are the first mamono I met who didn't take the chance to make an innuendo." Kris said in genuine surprise, holding back the urge to Attack Attack Attack that the Gift of the Berserker filled him with to appreciate his new friend(?)'s level of control, especially considering their current position.
"...wait there was a moment, oh man," Griselda said with a tone of disappointment.
"Yeah, sorry, you missed it." Kris said before punching her again, this one actually causing her to wince this time.
"Oof, my turn," She replied, as she smacked him with a clever feint using her other paw.
"Seriously girl, you hit hard, I'd be down and out if it weren't for the Gift I'm using right now." Kris said, as it still stung.
"Yeah, but it needs better fuel, more you not more her," Griselda replied.
"And do you have any suggestions on how to do that?" Kris asked. "Cause I'm all ears." He said before another punch to the shoulder, actively forcing himself not to go for the face.
"Hmm, focus on what connects you to the bear," She replied.
"What connects me to the bear, huh…?" Kris repeated. "Is that the secret to how you're so impossibly tough?"
"Bear Power," She replied.
"Bear power…" Kris repeated as he thought on why he sought this out in the first place.
Literal generations of friendship with the bears in the mountains back home. His grandmother especially having been almost reckless with her interactions yet they never went bad.
And Kris himself had been a lot like her.
Had even pet a bear once.
But for what it represented?
What the bear meant to his family was…
It was…
…
The radiant light was expunged, not in a climactic burst but utterly dismissed.
"To me, the bear means nature." Kris said quietly. "It means memories. The bear means family."
"That's good." She said as her paw rocketed for his face.
And his vision went dark.
—