Reaching for the Stars

Chapter Thirteen

"You know that you failed to refine a Qi Block pill, right?" I blink in shock at the little beast, what was he talking about? Even though the pain had been beyond my imagining, I felt better than I ever have, surely, he was joking.

"What do you mean? I feel great!" He sighs and gives me that same annoyed look I have long come to recognize in a split second as utter annoyance directed at me for not recognizing something he feels is obvious.

"A Qi Block pill should cause pain yes, healing something so damaged doesn't come without a sacrifice, but you were in pain for three days, I thought you might actually die there at the end. You do not know how annoyed I was at the thought of finally finding someone who got the twelve's blessing only for them to die from being foolish. You did indeed refine a Qi Block pill, you are right there, but it was not a proper one, it was riddled with impurities, showing the results of your abysmal skills as an herbalist. I had hoped you would be able to learn from Nero's books, but it seems that you will need a true teacher to learn at least the basics from if you are to use the gifts given to you properly." I glance around at the vast number of supplies around me and frown at the idea of leaving all this.

"What would I do about all the stuff here, not to mention where can I possibly find a teacher in the Silver Woods?" The little beast scoffs at me, giving me an even more annoyed look than usual, if that was even possible.

"You received a spatial bracelet did you not? Simply move everything here into it, and you have finished cleaning and repairing the family shrine here, you are no longer bound by your promise to remain here, you simply need to leave and find an academy willing to accept you. The golden mirror can assist with changing your appearance if you don't want others to recognize you, and with what I assume is a sizable fortune already in the spatial bracelet, money for to pay for the academy is no deterrent either." I can't help but feel shocked, he seemed to know all about the blessings I received though I never told him a thing, though he also didn't seem to know that the spatial bracelet had turned into a spatial tattoo, which could only mean one thing.

"You were listening when they spoke to me weren't you? That's the only way you could know what they gave me, after all you were already on the stairs right after Nero finished talking to me, what was to stop you from listening to what they were saying before?" He huffs, tilting his head up like his is much more dignified than me.

"I never said I didn't listen, that was merely your assumption. I did nothing wrong, merely followed you down the steps, though you never noticed." I scowl at him, knowing we were both well aware that he had more of a purpose than just following me down the stairs, and the eavesdropping was definitely part of it.

"You are just unbelievable! First you say that you only helped me because you wanted to see if I could get the blessing, and that if I didn't you would have likely killed me. You refuse to be my contracted spiritual beast, but you follow me around like you are. Hell, I've just realized that now that you've been able to speak to me for months now you haven't even told me your name!" He stands up takes a few steps across the stair he is on and sits back down, wrapping his puffy tail around him.

"That was because I had viewed you as not worthy of knowing it, but I can see that that will cause problems in our relationship, so I will give you the honor of knowing my name. I am Orpheus of the Shadow Fox clan." It is strange to hear his name for the first time, instead of just always referring to his as little beast, but what is probably evens stranger still is the fact that he refers to there being a relationship between us, and since he has vehemently refused to be my contracted spiritual beast, I am not sure what relationship he is referring to.

"What relationship are you speaking about exactly? Because you refuse to be my spiritual beast, and you seem to dislike me, and call me stupid all the time, what exactly am I to you? And now that I have gotten these blessings, what is to stop me from leaving you behind?" A puff of black smoke and then suddenly the black little beast is no longer there, but instead a handsome man dressed in shimmering purple silk robes, that I can tell even from this distance, are a higher grade then even the Dagon family uses. He reclines casually on the steps, his shoulder length black hair tousled around casually as he stares at me with a smirk.