The smell of humid sap carried by the wind navigating through the labyrinth of pines and evergreens had Cter easing down her hurried gait. Her Hjearta village that she was walking around as to not be interrupted constantly by the locals, apart from the one particular local that she didn't mind at all being interrupted by, was in view through the thinner density of trees on the left side of the sawdust-covered path. It was that way the wind did blow, and the way she was heading too, excited out her ears to see her mother again.

The timid sweetness of the sap-flavored gust flooded her mind with memories though. Of her childhood, and the long, almost endless days of her running around in the forest playing hide and seek with the other village children, both human and monster. To not have it be unfair for the humans, the monsters had their allotted time shortened from one minute to just forty five seconds. Not all monsters, of course.

The slime kid had only twenty seconds to hide, with everyone else going after him. It was surprisingly even with a lot of giggles from a nearby blueberry bush when Cter pounced on a cloudberry one which broke and its twigs got stuck in her hair. It was one way to reveal the location of the slime kid, but breaking a berry bush for each round wasn't really on the table since the berries from the bushes were supposed to be on the table later during mealtime.

Years later, walking the weathered path repaired with sawdust as a Monster Mage, Cter could still easily find the dense area of shrubbery she and her friends played in.

It had grown even denser, clearly untouched for years. Where before it was kept in regular tidiness by human and monster kids of various shapes and sizes playing in it, it had grown unperturbed for what had to be years on end.

"Hm..." slipped from Cter's lips thinned into a troubled smile as her eyes retraced the steps she and her possum of varied friends took from the path. The divergence they took from the path had again become overgrown, just like the shrubbery-filled area that they used to play in. The divergence was still visible though as it had different growth to it. Less complex. Must've been from one of the monster kids. Perhaps that one girl reindeer from the other village down the road where her dad had feel the willow? Both her parents did travel a lot, so they must've brought with them some different seeds that stuck to their daughter's clothing. She also did have a habit of pulling out tree saplings to tie onto her and others' heads to make antlers. The human boy she clearly was in love with got the largest and thickest twigs and saplings on his head.

Boy was there a flare of emotions when he began hunting with his father though.

Not really anger and betrayal, but more confusion.

Confusion that it wasn't really a big deal. Even more so when the reindeer girl asked to come along on one of the hunts. Then even more when her parents encouraged the idea. Then even even more so when she became a bit too into the hunt. A bit too much over just enthusiasm that she'd felled a beast for its meat and pelt. Her twig and sapling collecting came in handy as she could dress up herself almost exactly like a bush and keep out of sight for longer to line up the perfect killing blow.

Monsters weren't really known for their killing intent, so a monster hunter did send some ripples outwards. It was the reason Cter's village got put on the map.

The reindeer monster that took down a moose on her own.

A gentle echo disappeared into the denser part of the forest as Cter slapped her forehead for not asking about how those ripples were thought of in Jarasevo. Especially Sir Gerson's opinion of it. Him trying to make sure that the humans would never see monsters as a threat and all that. Cter outta ask when she returns back home.

In a way, the reindeer monster felling a moose on her own was the start of the end for the long days of playing in the surrounding forest. The children, like all children growing up, began to realize that the forest was vital, and not just somewhere to play. Play was important though. To familiarize and become accustomed to it so that when they eventually would need to depend on it, they would be able to. To know where to forage, to know where to hunt, to know where to fell trees.

One by one, the children all came to depend on the forest that they played in. Human and monster alike.

Except for one.

The human that also became a monster.

Standing on the sawdust-sprinkled path cutting through the forest.

Looking at it as a place to play rather than something she has to depend on. That wasn't her destiny. Not with magical potential in her soul. Not with her monster grandmother, the Village Elder, making sure that Cter doesn't have to do any menial tasks. Instead she was to grow her magical potential to become a human mage. To have a life outside the village.

"To become a big deal."

Cter couldn't really complain about all of the perspective she found in her Hjearta village. After all, it was why she wanted to return there. She wasn't really ready for the sheer amount of it though. Enough to have her shake her head and wonder what the point of everything was for a brief moment.

Very brief though.

"Cter?"

The sweet smell of sap was whisked away by the smell of fur. Different kinds of fur to boot. Dry and sweaty. Alive.

And dead.

The Monster Mage turned to the heavy breathing closing in from the path behind her. After brushing back her hair behind her ear so that she could see she took a step back in sudden surprise at the sight of what it was that approached her.

A large reindeer monster with a smaller reindeer animal tied like a sling diagonally across her back. Her deep hoof-tracks was accompanied by two deep circles on either side from the walking sticks she used to disperse the weight. Even with those aids it was still heavy for the reindeer monster who's antlers was lodged underneath the slain reindeer's head to stop it from flailing around. "It is you," said the reindeer monster between two tired breaths. "Well singe my soul if that isn't a surprise."

"Same to you," Cter replied without thinking. It was quite the lurch without giving a thought to the reindeer monster's name. "You..."

"Manyelle."

Cter nodded in thanks slowly to give Manyelle some time to breathe. "Same to you, Manyelle." She indicated underneath her robe towards the game on Manyelle's struggling back. "The day's catch?"

"Yeah," Manyelle answered with a quick nod. It was all she was able to. "It's sick so it'll be used mostly for the pelt. Didn't have time to wait for Aslse since we're having wolves around. Had to tie it with the bowstring so I could sling it over my head and carry it home."

Yes, yes. Cter could see that very clearly. Maybe a bit too clearly. She was never one to equate monsters with animals those who looked similar, but a reindeer monster carrying a reindeer catch was very unsettling just to come walking up behind Cter all of a sudden. Did she have the power to have people materialize around her when she thought of them or something?

Would've spared Cter some long trips in the carriage.

"Met your father a bit down the path," Manyelle continued after a nod backwards that also unfortunately moved the limp head of her catch. Her darker fur against the game's lighter was enough to not have the two blend together in the motion. Silver lining. Dark lining, to be more exact. "He had magic on his arms." There was neither tremor nor disbelief in her voice, only tired inhales and exhales. "Orange strength magic. He said he got it from you?" One of her walking sticks was lifted just the slightest before she had to put weight onto it again. "So I guess you must be the Monster Mage we were told was visiting. Never heard of someone being able to just give magic to someone else. You must've studied hard at Soul's School to have become a Monster Mage, Cter." The reindeer smiled as best as her tired body could. Even her antlers looked as if they were about to droop just like her ears were. "Maybe you'll put some more ink on the map onto the dried and faded spot where I put it when we were kids, ey?" The long sentences had to stop lest Manyelle collapsed.

The compliment was welcomed, but Cter was a bit perplexed as to why Manyelle said it. Seemed a bit forced, actually. Not rudely forced, but forced in the sense that she spoke with air that she didn't really have. For what purpose though?

"Yeah, it's been a lot of studying," Cter answered with a casual shrug. "Lots of reading and late nights trying to cram in everything I was meant to learn."

"Phew," Manyelle offered in sympathy as sweat beaded thick lines through her fur. Her elbows were beginning to sway enough to dig her walking sticks deeper into the sawdust. "Must've been exhausting." Her aura seemed to creep closer to Cter's too.

"It was," the Monster Mage sighed while squinting into the depths of the forest. Each tree an obstacle, with countless more to pass. All she had done had led her through tree uncountable, but she wasn't out of the woods yet. Maybe she'd never be? There was always another forest just beyond the trees, but she couldn't see it. "It's been very exhausting."

"Yeah," Manyelle again offered emphatically through strained breaths. "Heavy burden on your back and shoulders." Her head fell over, breathing greedily. Had Cter not looked at her she would've flinched at the reindeer catch replacing Manyelle's head. Instead she was only mildly uncomfortable. "Your accomplishments weighing the most, pushing you down and forcing you to stay strong for longer than you planned."

The monster hunter was surprisingly profound. It was as if she was reading Cter like an open book, even with her head bowed, dripping with sweat like the glacier waterfalls during late spring. She was in her right element, after all. In the forest she'd grown to depend on. It was where her life revolved around. Where her magic shone. Where her soul shone. She literally wore it like a mantle. Her magic, expressed in the dead eyes of the reindeer carcass she carried alone. Cter didn't know what exactly Manyelle's magic was, but it was powerful. Not necessarily in a quantifiable way. Big fireballs, icy blizzards, impressive and ornate conjured weaponry. Those were staples of powerful magic that could be put on display at the snap of a finger, and most often were.

Manyelle's magic though…

As Cter observed the reindeer monster bent at the waist and hands gripped desperately on the walking sticks to not slip due to her own sweat, it was blatantly clear what it was she wanted exactly.

It wasn't killing intent that made her hunt. She didn't take a life. She distributed it to many more. One reindeer was enough to give meat to a family, if not more. It was enough to provide clothing as well. Bones for fertilizing, and parts Cter wasn't aware of too Manyelle would find a use for.

In a way, Manyelle was exemplifying the Cooperative Connection in its true form. Not the white lie that has become truth, but the one Cter and her Monster Mage colleagues used. Manyelle did it to serve her people too. She did it for their survival. A small hurt for a much greater good. Not killing intent, but love. Love for her family and fer community.

Was it so Sir Gerson explained it?

Or perhaps he took a different approach to it since the truth behind the Cooperative Connection was supposed to be a secret? Yes, most definitely.

"It's so freaking heavy."

Yes, yes it was, Manyelle. Heavy was the soul that carried the future. Be it becoming the first monster hunter, or becoming the fourth Monster Mage. The village at Clinic Hill might've had the highest percentage of humans with magical potential, but while Cter and Manyelle's village had only produced one human mage, it was a human mage that had managed an angle to the Cooperative Connection never seen before. Less known was the angle Manyelle had to the monsters lack of killing intent. She still have any, because to her hunting wasn't killing.

While it resonated and brought attention like the side of a spoon against the rim of a glass, it was just another way to show and explain that monsters and humans were close enough that they took on aspects of the other. Humans had more magical affinity to them with each generation, and monsters could be more and more family to humans with each generation.

To the point where monsters hunting was exactly the same as humans using magic.

It was a celebration of how integral the Cooperative Connection was.

An expression loud and filled with emotion shouted from the top of the tallest mountain there was!

"JUST GIVE ME SOME STRENGTH MAGIC BEFORE I COLLAPSE, DAMMIT!"

A crescent wave of sawdust crashed against the bottom of Cter's Xoff robe. Unblinkingly, she stared with mouth agape and shoulders drooping as the desperate breaths of the reindeer monster assaulted her ears.

She'd been away from normal people for far too long.

Cter didn't even apologize to the reindeer who's hands were getting splinters down the sweat-drenched walking sticks bending to breaking point. Whatever she said wouldn't be enough to be granted forgiveness. Her words weren't enough, but her actions would be.

Hopefully.

The sweaty hands stopped halfway down the walking sticks as Cter applied some relieving stasis magic onto the reindeer. Not deeply as that might change the taste of the meat. She only lifted the skin of the reindeer, technically. Unlike the bag of meatballs the reindeer's skin would be enough to hold in its juicy contents.

Manyelle stood up with a deep inhale through both her nose and mouth. Her back arched backwards since she wasn't used to the lighter load, and an unpleasantly loud crick bounced between the nearby trees followed by a grunt that could've equally been Manyelle's soul escaping her for how hollow it sounded.

"Glacier's melt, took you long enough!"

Fair enough. Cter wasn't gonna retort that. She didn't really have the right to after not noticing that Manyelle was hinting for Cter to help her. Standing on top of her big deal, Cter couldn't see the most grounded of hints.

"I didn't want to impose like that, Monster Mage," coughed Manyelle with both her hands pushing on her just above her hips, lifting her tail in the process. "Apologies for screaming at you, but..." Another crick like two stones hitting each other rang out as Manyelle twisted her back. "But would've appreciated it a bit earlier, to be honest." Her eyes widened as her hand slowly crept up her back. "You...you wouldn't know healing magic too?" the reindeer monster uttered rather hurriedly. "I think I turned a bit too quickly." She presented her back after pushing away her reindeer rucksack, pointing to a point where her aura was in disarray. "Right about here."

If it was just healing magic on a monster Cter wouldn't have to call upon Bonny Sallus in her sleeve, but considering that she was to change his magic later down the line perhaps it was a good idea if she began associating him with different magic. Healing magic to begin with. Cter put her hand onto Manyelle's back where the monster indicated. She let Bonny Sallus' memories resonate louder within her soul, and when she began to apply her healing Cter could hear whispers in her head about the human anatomy applicable to the area. "Kidney damage may lead to impaired function, causing jaundice, with the most imminent symptom being yellowed skin. Falling from a great height and landing on your back, for an example."

"Hm?" perked the reindeer monster. "What are you muttering about? Is there something wrong?"

Maybe Cter let a bit too much of Bonny out. "Nothing." The disarray was healed and Manyelle seemed to agree too. "All good?"

"Feels better," Manyelle nodded. "Thanks."

Cter made sure to duck away from the carcass' head as Manyelle reslung it more comfortably. It brought a snicker to the monster's snout. "You've not been this close to something dead before, Monster Mage? I can tell. Not only by your expensive robes, but by the way you practically reek of anxiety."

Couldn't have been anything else?

Not according to the confident stare Manyelle gave Cter, it couldn't.

"You here to make sure I haven't grown any killing intent? It's been a while since Monster Country sent their last sniffer, after all. That a Monster Mage comes to check I guess is an honor though. Maybe the ink I made of our village on the map is wetter than I thought. Either that or Sir Gerson is getting worried to the point where he has to send a Monster Mage to make sure. A Monster Mage that grew up here too. What a perfect cover story." Manyelle looked up and down the sawdust-strewn path. "Oh well, since you're a Monster Mage this should be quicker than usual, right? Let's just do it here while we're alone."

Um…

She began unbuttoning her shirt.

Um…!

"Last time was a bit intimate."

Um!

With a hand on her unbuttoned shirt ready to tug away Manyelle quirked an eyebrow at Cter's frozen expression. "You sure you're ready?"At least she was quicker on the body language than Cter was. "Guess not," she shrugged while rebuttoning again. "Not gonna pretend that I'm not confused."

That the two had in common.

"How is it that they check for your killing intent?" Cter asked after waiting for Manyelle to button her last. "To be honest I've never heard about that before." Hadn't been relevant to her duties, until it suddenly did. "I'm guessing it has something to do with your aura?"

"Yeah," said Manyelle with a small nod, "but since they haven't found any I don't know what it is they have been looking for. Maybe it's just to keep me in check? To make sure I don't get any thoughts to get any killing intent?"

That was a plausibility. The Monster Court wasn't strangers to fabricating lies to keep things in check. Checking up on monster hunters frequently to see if they have any quote unquote killing intent was certainly easier than steering the growth of human magic. Cter would've most likely had been informed what killing intent feels like in a monster's aura during her inauguration as a Monster Mage. First where the kitchen and dining hall was located, and then what killing intent was in a monster's aura.

Although, none of the monsters that came to check on Manyelle could go as deeply as Cter could.

Perhaps…

The spiraling lines on Cter's left arm began to glow. "You don't need to open up your shirt again," she assured towards the building sigh on Manyelle's face. "Just relax your aura for me." Saying that did the opposite for Manyelle. "It won't hurt."

"It's different from what the other monsters did," Manyelle voiced with building fear as she took a step away from Cter. "Something about your sleeve. It's..." She shook her head. "You're gonna go deeper than the others, aren't you?"

Yes, Cter was. "Do you believe that I will find something the others didn't?"

The black eyes angled down and away from Cter's forest-green ones. "I don't know." Her jaw tightened along with her balling fists. "What will you do if you find anything?"

That Cter didn't know. It all depended on what she found. "You'll be the first to know." That as much she could promise.

Hesitantly, Manyelle retracted her step with a deep breath. "Okay," she said in a quiet exhale. "I'll trust you. It's a bit more trust than what I gave you when we played hide and seek. Will you keep it this time? You've changed since then, show me that it is for the better."

Cter didn't answer. Saying anything more would've just burst the bubble. "Tell me about your hunt," she asked of the monster hunter while her sleeved palm settled onto the buttoned shirt. "What is it you feel when you search your prey? When you find it? When you fell it? When you carve it for the meat and pelt?" Cter listened for the reaction of her questions within Manyelle's aura. Sprouts in a flat field. Excitation in the calm. Ripples on the surface of a lake. Cter sat on the beach bordering the lake, observing the ripples her handful of pebbles had created, with her sleeve in the magical water.

"It's a necessity that I hunt," the ripples said as they touched at Cter's sleeve. "It's to feed my family and to make clothes, primarily." So far, so good. "I don't really think when I walk through the forest. It's habit. I don't think about how my magic forms my body, and I don't think when I hunt my prey. Tracks, smells, sounds, I just follow them without thinking about it."

The ripples reached higher up Cter's sleeve than she predicted. She knew they'd reach high with the passion Manyelle showed for her hunt, but it was even deeper. It was...as if she was projecting her magic. "How do you incorporate your magic into the hunt?"

"Conjured bow and arrow."

Ah, so that was why. It's associated and ingrained like flour is to bread. Like salivating when smelling food. Interesting.

The water felt nice.

"When I find it I pull back on the bow, making sure that the arrow is either sharp or side enough from where I'm standing or crouching down that I only need one shot."

What was that? Out in the water? Small, but still something.

"My breath slows down, and the world shrinks. The trees and vegetation around me becomes as only colors. I need the texture for my prey and what is immediately around it to land the single shot I need."

Foam?

"It'll die because of my actions."

With no waves.

"But my actions will also make my family and those I love live."

Only ripples.

"The first time was a fluke! I didn't know!"

Ripples shuddering the entire lake.

"But now it's the only thing I know!"

Yet the foam doesn't build.

"Aslse's family almost starved! The winter was so cold!"

Because the ripples all converged onto it.

"I had to help!"

Smothering it before it can grow.

"Even if it gave me killing intent!"

Cter took her sleeve out the water with a gentle smile at the reflection of Manyelle deep in the water. "Don't worry," she spoke softly to calm the ripples reaching up the shore. "There's too much love for any killing intent, Manyelle."

The lake began to fade away, with the sounds of the surrounding forest returning to Cter's senses. The fresh wind in her hair. The soft fabric of Manyelle's shirt.

The lake was still present though, even back in reality.

As it poured out of Manyelle's eyes.