Sweat poured off of her brow. Her fist both stung badly. Vell had been using her newfound power for a few days at this point. She took only enough time to sleep and eat. Her fist were both bleeding at the knuckles. Her chest was moving from her heavy breathing. She wobbled towards her food. It was a kill she had made a few days prior. The meat had started to taste old to her. It was fine though. She used her flame ability to cook the meat. She had discovered it was an amazing way to practice control of the ability. If she let it get out of hand she would burn the meat and in the worst-case scenario make it inedible. So far she had yet to cook the meat perfectly but it was getting closer. Today would not be the day she did it either. It was fine. She had another chance later in the night. She decided she would forgo the training for now, at least in the sense she was currently doing it. Instead, she went on the hunt.
She had only seen a few creatures out and about in her time in the forest but knew more had to be around somewhere. She began to stalk the area, looking for any signs of tracks or fur, anything she could use to track down some kind of food. It was a tough situation. It seemed nothing lived in the area. She knew it wasn't true. She had just caught some food the other day after all. Nonetheless, it was still very discouraging. Still, she knew she had no choice but to keep trying. With the amount of work, she had been doing she knew her body could not handle it without the proper food intake.
Hours passed and still, she had nothing to show for it. She sat in a highly wooded area and began to clear her mind. It wasn't easy. She still thought of the dragon almost every second, and the time she didn't spend thinking of the dragon she was thinking of her newfound powers. She began to daydream about the moment she killed the dwarf. Different versions ran through her head. Some she succeeded and some she failed. When she came to her senses she noticed it had become dark. She or up from her spot and began to head back to the clearing she had been practicing in. When she got there she saw a small herd of xei. The beasts didn't notice her. She got low and started to roam around the clearing, staying in the shadows of the trees. She found one in the herd that seemed to be vulnerable. Slowly she started to sneak towards it. The plan failed almost instantly. The entire herd at once looked straight at her. She began to feel a strange pressure coming down on her shoulders. She began to panic and tried to move. It was pointless. She had lost control of her body. She felt there pressure building harder and harder on her until she collapsed to her knees, then onto her hands. Within moments she was stuck on her stomach, incapable of moving. She began to weep uncontrollably.
"I only want something to eat so I can continue to train. The dragon needs to be destroyed!" As the final words came out a small amount of the pressure was lifted off of her. She looked up to see the xei still looking at her. A sense of fear and curiosity came over her in a flash. Locking eyes with the one with the largest antlers she spoke more. "Do you want the dragon gone as well?" The xei said nothing and continued to glare at her. It didn't need to speak. She somehow knew it was agreeing with her. "I am close to starving. All I need is food. Please help me eat." The pressure came off of her completely. Two xei from the back of the herd left for a second and came back with foraged mushrooms and tubers. She took the stone she had melted earlier in the day and placed it with its hole facing the sky The walls of the hole were smooth and the bottom was thin. She walked to a nearby river and filled the rock partly with water. When she got back to the clearing she found all of the xei laying about the clearing. They still watched her but she didn't mind. She took some logs she had found earlier in the week and using her powers made a fire. She sat the stone pot on it and watched as the flames slowly boiled the water. She stuck the mushrooms and tubers into the pot. Looking around she found a few roots she recognized as edible. She added them to the pot and waited. As she waited she carved a makeshift bowl from a large log. An hour passed before her food was ready. She gathered some of the fresh forest stew into her bowl and smiled. The smell was tantalizing. Just before she began to eat it and elder xei came over to her. She looked at the bowl and leaned over it. She produced a single tear that dropped into the stew. At first, Vell found it nasty but as she thought about it she felt a sense it was a gift. She stirred her bowl and began to eat. The food was delicious, and when it was finished she felt fully rejuvenated. She didn't know white the old xei had done but she knew she was grateful. Standing up and stretching she began to train again. She expected the xei to run in fear but they didn't. They sat and watched their newly chosen champion.
