[IC] The Tamer's Guardian [ Koda x Zurnt ]

[Zurnt]

The Xia Family Manor, deep within the Kingdom of Ro.

The shimmering muslin curtains filtered the incoming light beautifully, tinting the cascading rays of morning in a bounty of reds and golds. The colors of the Xia family bloomed against the noble girl's bedroom walls like a field of blazing flowers, deeply dying the ivory skin of the weary-eyed Xia Weiyang with a soft blush.

The peaceful scene was interrupted by the sudden eruption of the bedroom doors.

"Elder sister!" a cheerful voice echoed in the large bedroom, revealing the form of a young girl.

Although this girl was only some nine years of age, she carried herself with a powerful, magnanimous air. The golden bangles which hung from the bouncing curls of her hair glittered splendidly in the morning light, making not even an ounce of noise as she moved. She was attired in a sylvan green dress, with sheer ribbons lilting about her body as if blown on a gentle wind. Each of her steps seemed to carry her much further than her tiny legs would allow, and the tips of her toes appeared to be resting on the edge of a cloud as she bounded across the considerably large floor towards the room's owner.

As she approached, the apple-like contours of her face became clearer, her large moist eyes vibrant and filled with life. The ruddy colors of youth were still clearly visible on her little cheeks, and everything about her person carried a certain aspect of perfection. By contrast, Xia Weiyang seemed to have recently undergone a great ordeal. Her hair was disheveled, if only just, and her eyes were clouded over with the characteristic haze of many sleepless nights.

"You didn't sleep tonight either?" the young girl asked, her eyes keenly aware of the scrolls that were piled on her sister's desk.

Finally coming to her senses, Xia Weiyang turned to look at her younger sibling, her features softening greatly, "Little Yue... you've come to receive your sister this early?" her gentle voice called out, clearly somewhat detached.

A tiny, white-jade hand extended from the little girl's sleeve and grabbed onto the hem of the older girl's dress, her features taking on the countenance of a spoiled child.

"Sis Wei is always studying so diligently, she hasn't noticed that this morning is the day of the summoning ritual..."

Xia Weiyang turned her entire body sharply, scattering the contents of her desk. The heavy wooden scrolls hit the floor like a chorus of clapping thunder, and the girl's face paled with the very essence of shock and confusion. Her charming features twisted in concern and she immediately stood from her chair, her back ram-rod straight. Xia Weiyang's nightdress spilled past as she charged across the room, and her younger sister, Xia Yue, laughed cutely as a mischievous spark filled her eyes. She most enjoyed the panicked expression of her elder sister.

Xia Weiyang hastily pushed past the bedchamber door, the two figures which had stood at attention to either side immediately falling to their knees. These two women were as still as statues, their heads turned down in deference.

"Lady Xia, you said not to be disturbed - but the young lady-" the woman on the left began.

"Never mind that!" Xia Weiyang called pitifully, "quickly prepare me! I have no time to waste on idle talk!"

These two women were the personal servants of Xia Weiyang, and they were both in their mid-twenties. Although they could be considered beauties with great prospects, they had long pledge themselves to the Xia Family, and would not hesitate to offer even their own lives in service of their lady. Of course, the gentle mistress would never order such things from them, and for this they were eternally grateful. Their names were Iris and Lily, and while normally quite reserved, Iris was by far the more vocal and forward of the two. She was also the one who had originally spoken.

"Then this little one will see herself out," Xia Yue said cutely, bounding away as gracefully as she had appeared, but as if remembering something, called out, "Brother Che! If you don't want big sister to hate you forever, you had best leave as well!"

There was a flutter by the curtains as another figure started abruptly and then vanished. This "Brother Che" was a young boy the same height and size as Xia Yue, and was in fact her twin brother, Xia Che. Clearly, he was also worried about his elder sister and her absent-minded habits, but simply couldn't bring himself to disturb her.

"You two..." Xia Weiyang said helplessly, hanging her head.

The noble girl's servants quickly got to work cleaning and dressing their mistress, working at twice the usual speed, but nevertheless making not a single mistake. As proud servants of the Xia Family, they were naturally graceful and well trained.

"Lady Xia will no doubt perform beautifully at today's summoning ritual," the servant, Iris, said calmly.

Lily, following her senior-sister's lead added, "Most assuredly, she has worked tirelessly for this day."

Xia Weiyang frowned deeply, "I would not dare to carry such negligent thoughts," she said, "I only hope that I do not once again shame father and mother."

The two servants knew how much the Lord of the Xia Family had invested in his third daughter, having always had a favorable view of her despite her lackluster talent. After her mother, the Lady Ninerose, passed away, the Lord was especially protective of the young Xia Weiyang. That mysterious woman was also Iris and Lily's greatest benefactor, and the one who gave the pair their names, so the servants were naturally well-disposed to her daughter as well.

In a matter of minutes, Xia Weiyang made her way across the grounds to the Grand Hall, where a number of people had already gathered. Although there were over two-hundred bodies present, they were loosely scattered and hardly covered even a tenth of the Xia Manor's Grand Hall. The fact that the ceremony even took place here was a matter of formality, rather than necessity, and there were several such halls that were of a more appropriate size for this event.

The vast majority of these figures were the young talents that the Xia Clan had gathered and nurtured, and all of them were around 13 years of age. The Xia Clan was a coalition directly subordinate to the immediate Xia Family, and it was headed by the combined power of several influential Knight families. All of these families were originally descended from vassals of the Xia Family, and their loyalty was deemed to be unshakable. The Xia Family was very old, even by the standards of the ancient Diaz Empire, and it's roots ran considerably deep. When compared to the Xia Family, which was eternally backed by the formidable Xia Clan, other noble families of similar rank couldn't possibly compete.

Upon Xia Weiyang's arrival, all of the guests immediately stiffened and moved to give her ample standing room. Many of the youths looked upon the lady with starstruck eyes, especially the young men, whose gazes were filled a certain fiery passion. No doubt they were having delusions of becoming great warriors and tamers, and of one day capturing the heart of a beautiful, cultured woman like Xia Weiyang. The noble lady didn't seem to see these gazes, however, as her eyes were only concerned with a single man in the room. Her father, the Earl Xia Hongfeng, sat atop a large ornate balcony that overlooked the Grand Hall, his form hidden behind a wall of sheer curtains. Although they could not see him, the man's unmistakably powerful aura filled the room and bore down on all present.

There were no guards by the side of this man, and instead there stood at his back a massive black shadow, equally hidden from view. The hidden mountain of a creature rocked the heavy fabrics with every rise and fall of its immense chest, and Xia Weiyang knew that this was her father's Guardian, a Gold-Rank King Beast: Awakened-Eye Tiger King. A regular Tiger King would normally have the symbol for "King" imprinted on its forehead, but after living for countless years, that symbol would transform into a third eye which would allow it to see all that passed within its domain. Although her father's Guardian appeared to be sleeping, it was in fact the perfect bodyguard, completely incapable of being surprised. In less than the time it took to blink, that ferocious beast could tear apart any assailant, and it's keen senses could even pick out poisons and attacks that were oft-considered impossible to detect.

The Earl Xia was widely envied for his magnificent beast, but Xia Weiyang had always known the creature as the gentle and lovable Uncle San, named after his three eyes.

In front of the curtains, a ruddy-faced elder with long silver hair stood at attention. This was Xia Hongfeng's steward, Ming Duancai, who would be in charge of today's events. Although he was very generous and considerate towards the children of the Xia family, he was in fact quite strict with others and held a reputation as a brash and arrogant man. As such, many of the young Xia Clan members were quite wary of him.

Xia Weiyang sighed lightly, relieved that she had arrived with time to spare.

"Hmph!" Ming Duancai began, "is this everyone?" his stern voice called out to the hall.

Immediately, all of the youngsters turned to face the elderly man and bowed.

"Good," he said finally, "no doubt you all know why you were brought here. Today is the annual Guardian Summoning Ritual of the Xia Clan, though the few of you who are mere hopefuls from the Xia territory will have the chance to join the clan today as well, provided you are lucky..." his voice held an obvious contempt for these so-called "hopefuls."

Steward Ming was not a man who cared much for commoners, and this was evident in his speech.

"The Grand Mage will now open the Beast Pact Summoning Circle in the center of the hall, and each of you will be called by name to attempt the ritual. After the summoning is complete, those of you who are successful will proceed to the annual tournament to display your skill, while the rest shall return from whence they came!"

There was clearly no room nor tolerance for those who were unsatisfied with results of this ritual. Even as the daughter of the Earl, Xia Weiyang had no ground upon which to stand if she failed. This would, in fact, be her fourth attempt at the ritual, having failed three years in a row. This was a fact unknown to these youngsters, or else they might not look upon her with such reverence. Although opening the Beast Pact Summoning Circle was expensive, it was not something that couldn't be easily accomplished by the Earl. It was only for the sake of tradition that Xia Weiyang was only allowed one attempt each year.

"Perhaps if my heart were not so frozen with fear," Xia Weiyang whispered softly to herself, clenching tightly at her sleeves.

The Grand Mage, who had been hired from the kingdom's Mage's Academy, was a tall skinny fellow with a gaunt face and greasy-looking hair, wearing a sky-blue robe with silver embroidery. The color of the robe and the subsequent embroidery showed that he was a Mage with powers equal to a Silver-Rank Grand Beast, which proved that he was more than capable of opening the Beast Pact Summoning Circle for hours at a time. He had already finished drawing out the complex diagram, some three-meters in diameter, and complete with hundreds of intricate-looking runes and characters. With a resounding clap from the skinny Mage, the circle alighted with intense arcane power, and the man held that position with a dour and unmovable countenance.

Many of the youngsters oo'ed and ah'ed at this display, but Xia Weiyang was unmoved, having seen it many times before. If anything, the sight of the circle filled her with dread.

Names were called one after another, and the youths went forward to challenge the Beast Pact Summoning Circle. Each attempt lasted anywhere from three to fifteen minutes, but those who took longer were almost all failures. Although it looked as if they were simply meditating in the center of the glowing circle of runes, they were actually undergoing an arduous ordeal of the spirit. Those who triumphed were all awarded with a Guardian, which was usually a cute-looking Bronze-Rank Fair Beast, though there was the occasional Silver or Gold-rank Fair Beast, and one particularly valiant-looking boy actually managed to summon forth a Silver-Rank Wild Beast. It was a burly reptile with stout legs, sharply pointed scales, and a number of rocky protrusions on its face. If Xia Weiyang remember correctly, the Beast was called the Bearded Mountain Lizard, known for its strong defense and vitality.

In the Xia Clan, this kind of talent was absolutely considered not-bad.

Honestly, most of the less-talented youngsters were unsuccessful at completing the summoning ritual. Only about ten-percent at most passed. Xia Weiyang understood this fact well. It originally required immense concentration to align one's Will with the resonance of the summoning circle, and to maintain that state for any period of time was exceptionally strenuous. It was far beyond the level of what most young people were capable of. What's more, one had to earnestly seek out and call upon the spirit of their new Guardian, an act which required an open and honest heart. Although the Beast Pact could be performed by elders, it would be incredibly difficult to truly open a matured heart. This was why the ritual was almost exclusively performed at an age where, while young, the user could successfully maintain their concentration. One's chances of succeeding only decreased as they aged, after all.

Of course, if one had already successfully completed the ritual, it would be all but impossible to fail it again. Such was simply the nature of the Beast Pact. The younger one succeeded at the pact, the more talented they were said to be, and the more time they had to develop their Will. Xia Weiyang's two older sisters, Xia Lin and Xia Wu, had succeeded at the ages of 12 and 13 respectively, and her eldest brother Xia Daofeng had conquered this trial at the age of 10. Her twin younger siblings, Xia Che and Xia Yue, had successfully completed the ritual together at age 7. That was two years ago during Xia Weiyang's second attempt, and they were considered genius prodigies even within the entirety of the Diaz Empire.

Only Xia Weiyang was a disappointment...

"Xia Weiyang!" the steward Ming Duancai called, his voice obviously filled with a warmth that the others were denied.

The old steward had called this name three times previously, and he looked at the noble young lady with equal parts hope and pity. From the curtains on the balcony, there was a slight movement from the massive black shadow, but no sign of change from the Earl. Naturally, he had an image to maintain, and even for his own daughter, he could not show undue support.

All eyes were turned on Xia Weiyang as she glided across the floor, her yellow dress and charming features granting her the countenance of a ray of sunlight. Even some of the young girls present were awestruck by Xia Weiyang's elegance, and a particular pair of eyes glowed with delight from the shadows.

"Brother Che, it appears that Sis Wei has only grown more beautiful in this past year..." Xia Yue whispered with a devious air.

Her brother, who said nothing, only blushed brightly, and Xia Yue grinned cheerfully at his awkward reaction. Although she was normally quite cold to outsiders, this intelligent young girl loved to tease those she cared about.

"You can do it, Big Sis," Xia Che whispered, his high young voice quiet and hopeful as he watched Xia Weiyang.

Xia Yue merely nodded in agreement.

Xia Weiyang, meanwhile, had already entered the circle. Like all of those before her, she dropped to her knees and kowtowed respectfully towards the balcony where her father sat.

"This Xia Weiyang pays respects to the Earl," she said, her sweet sing-song voice filling the hall, much to the delight of the young men.

After paying her respects, the lady took a seat in the center of the great diagram and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, an invisible strand of Will flowed out of her body and aligned to the resonance of the summoning circle. The Will, though unseen, began to hum peacefully as a sign that she had succeeded in this step. All of the onlookers that were unfamiliar with the lady seemed floored at the speed with which Xia Weiyang had accomplished this. Although she had achieved this state faster than the other participants, this was an ability that Xia Weiyang had always possessed. Despite her cheerful appearance, she was quite serious when it came to her studies, and this heightened state of concentration was nothing much. Her family, of course, knew this. It was the next step that would prove to be her greatest hurdle.

Twenty-five minutes.

A full ten minutes longer than even the longest time of the others, her mental capabilities stretched to the absolute limits, Xia Weiyang continued to meditate in that circle. Although she had immense concentration, she simply could not open her heart. There were countless small sparks that appeared in her mind, each one symbolizing another Beast that sought to contract with her. These simple Beasts naturally sought to align themselves with powerful humans as support, as this was considered far preferable to constantly risking their lives in the wild. Only, Xia Weiyang couldn't accept them.

Some of the sparks were fierce and powerful, others gentle, and some were even mischievous. All kinds of Beasts existed in this world, but this girl had a wall around her heart that couldn't be broken through so simply. Each one of those sparks was forcefully repelled when it tried to approach that sturdy barrier, and as the minutes continued to drag on, a sheen of sweat began to form on Xia Weiyang's face. She wanted desperately to accept a Guardian, any one of them, but she was cornered again and again by the reality of the situation.

Fear and inadequacy had long since taken up root in her mind, and they only continued to grow, constantly feeding off her feelings of failure and shame. With every year that passed, it became more and more difficult to cut back the gnarled thorns that had dug into her heart. Somehow, she knew... this would be her last chance. If this summoning failed, Xia Weiyang would never again have the opportunity to break down that barrier. It would forever grow harder and more tangled, perhaps even weakening her Will and shortening her life.

The girl's body began to visibly shake under the strain, and small, twin trails of blood fell from her nostrils to pool on her upper lip. Xia Che moved almost immediately to stop his elder sister, but was held back forcefully by Xia Yue, who seemed equally concerned but still deeply resolved.

"Trust her," she said quietly.

Xia Che looked at his sister and frowned, but restrained himself with some effort.

"Please... anyone... please help me..." Xia Weiyang thought desperately.

Her Will resounded forcefully with the glowing diagram, burying the entire Grand Hall in a panicked thrum. The multitude of sparks that had once tried to approach all fled wildly from this resonance, causing the entire landscape of Xia Weiyang's mind to shake in turmoil. It was empty. There was no longer a single Beast in the whole world whom wished to align itself with such a sad song.

And then, there was a light...

Silence.

The Beast Pact Summoning Circle began to glow brightly, and all eyes in the room went wide. Even the figure of the Earl shifted nervously in his seat, moving forward to get a better look.

This was undoubtedly... a successful summoning!

[Koda]

Margaret sat outside. It was lunch time, and sitting in the cafeteria with all those people made her head spin. It was simply too loud; she couldn’t think. Spearing a pasta noodle with her fork, she looked at it before popping it into her mouth. She chewed the rubber-like noodle. While the school claimed to serve real foods, Margaret bet that was nothing but a filthy lie. She couldn’t really prove it nor did she really care. Food was food after all. No need to go mouthing off to the poor slob who controlled the budget. Maybe packing lunches was the way go. No ambiguity there she supposed.

Taking a drink from her chocolate milk, Margaret flipped to the next page of her book. It was a book about contemporary monsters. Anything related to creatures or monsters always found a special place in her heart. It was her most treasured passion, and Margaret was hardly secretive about it. Her father was the one to introduce the addiction to her. When she was younger, he told her about the forest fairies. Every night - among the trees, plants, and foliage - they’d come out to light the way for the lost traveler. While they guided people home, they protected children from what resided in the shadows. Margaret knew now that the forest fairies were actually fireflies, but it didn’t change the spark nurtured by her dad.

She wanted to create monsters. Give them a name, a shape, and share it with people wherever she could. From the most grotesque to the cute. The world of the imagination was her playground for her specialty. Luckily, there was an industry where she could express her passion. The media industry be it video games, movies, or TV.

From whatever work she could find, Margaret was saving for college and equipment she needed. The pencil and paper was all she had, but digital art was the next step. However from what she saw, the programs and the drawing pad were expensive as all sin. Getting the money wasn’t hard however. Step douche and mom was a treasure trove she could tap into. However, she didn’t want anything to do with them. It was tempting at times, but she resisted.

Carter - her step dad - was nice enough. Mom met him through a friend. They hit it off from there. Going on a couple of dates, they eventually married and moved in together. It was the only reason she lived in a middle-class suburb. Even going to a decent enough school district. Carter tried his best to be her best friend, but Margaret didn’t want that. Whatever guy mom wanted to sleep, marry, or hit it off with was fine. There was only one person she considered her true best friend, and he returned to the Earth a long time ago. The potential scholarship for her academics was her only way out of this place. Margaret was ready to leave her old life behind and move on.

“You’re spacing again Maggie.” Margaret looked up. Rachel took the seat opposing her as she toyed with the same pasta Margaret thought to be rubber. Rachel looked at the book. “The zombie, eh? You know, you could just watch ‘The Walking Dead’ or ‘28 Days Later’. Don’t watch ‘28 Weeks Later’ though. It’s a sham. A disappoint.”

Rachel. She was one of the few people Margaret wasn’t a complete bitch to. The blonde got her, in a manner of speaking. She had the geekiness and the cunning to keep Margaret on her toes. There was hardly a dull moment with Rachel, but even she had her drawbacks. Margaret tried not to dwell on that too much. Everyone had their shortcomings. Rachel just happened to have some that didn’t really matter to Margaret too much.

“Rot my brain with that mush? Rachel, you know I don’t partake. Well, maybe in moderation,” she said. “By the way, Brad. You going to make a move?”

Rachel rose an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

“He looks serious. He wants you. Well, in your pants at least.”

“If you had the chance to date a douche, would you?”

Margaret smirked as she finished off her chocolate milk. “Do cats dream of sour milk?”

“Would a cat rather have no milk?”

Margaret laughed. “Don’t be a smartass.”

“Only if you stop being one yourself,” Rachel said as she winked at the brunette. “Say, you still looking for photo shop and stuff?”

Trying not to scoff, Margaret managed half a scoff. “A legitimate copy, yes. I learned pretty early on that pirated copies are a complete waste of time,” she said. “Got a beautiful virus instead. You know what I had to use as an excuse?”

“Smutty websites?”

“Smutty websites,” Margaret said a matter a factly. “Step douche and mom tried to get details. I told them it was girl on girl action.” Rachel’s face blushed as Margaret sighed to herself. “Before you ask, I had to give them an excuse. I thought the ladies would be easier to sell them on.”

Rachel took another bite from her lunch tray. “You know how you rarely mean what you say?”

The brunette tipped her head to the side. “Do you know how complicated and stupid that just sounded?”

Her friend waved her hand as she sipped on her orange juice. “Okay, psychology speak incoming. Surface meaning and deeper meaning,” Rachel said. “I call it Maggie’s Law. Whenever a deeper meaning can be applied to what you say, well, there’s a hidden meaning.”

Margaret pursed her lips. “So about the photoshop. Details. Give them to me.”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“Indeed I am. Now the photoshop stuff.”

Watching Rachel reach into her bookbag, seeing a physical, unopened copy of adobe full suite edition in Rachel’s hands was the last thing Margaret was expecting. Unable to mask her desire to reach out and run off with it into the sunset, Margaret tapped her fingers against the table. “How much do you want for it? I can give you what I have now and the rest later. Ask for interest, I'll slap you silly."

“It was your birthday a month ago, and I was sick.”

“And I told you it’s all good.”

Rachel nodded as she slid the adobe program over. “Happy late birthday, Maggie.”

At a loss for words, Margaret picked up the program she’d been saving forever to pick up herself. Better than the one she was going to pick up. Only being able to afford photoshop and illustrator, she had everything. The latest edition too. Treating the box like the Holy Grail itself, Margaret flipped it over to the back to see all the bells and whistles she was getting. It was time to expand her YouTube tutorial search.

She looked back at Rachel. “This is too much, Rachel,” she said. “This must’ve cost you a fortune!”

Rachel shrugged. “It did cost a bit, but kind of worth it. You don’t smile that often, Mags. Plus, that gleeful face thing you just did? Massive cutie points,” Rachel said. “You don’t ask for anything. I wanted to give you something. Other than my awesome friendship of course. That I don’t give away lightly, mind you. But seriously, I’ve seen your stuff. You better not forget me when you’re drawing for the big leagues. Name a monster after me?”

Margaret laughed as she careful placed the Adobe box into her bag. “You want a monster named after you? Careful what you wish for, Rach.” Closing her book, she crossed her legs. “So you think I’m a cutie?”

The blonde chuckled. “That expression was cute. You on the other hand? Work in progress.”

Margaret feigned hurt. “Low blow to my confidence. Not cool,” she said. Margaret reached over the table as she rested a hand on top of Rachel’s. “Rach? Seriously. Thanks a million babe. You want a monster named after you? I’ll make it happen. I’ll make it as grotesque as possible.”

Rachel gased. “Jerk!”

Margaret showed off her pearly whites. “Softy.”

---

Once again, she was broke. Having installed all the Adobe programs, Margaret carefully set up the tablet she bought from Best Buy. It was well into the evening, and her homework was all done. Sitting comfortably in a pair of guy’s boxers and an oversized grey ‘Angels & Airwaves’ shirt, her hands were busy as they sketched her rendition of Frankenstein. It was a warm up before giving the tablet and the programs a run on her Mac. Kind of like the appetizer before the main course. One had to wet the palette to get in the mood.

Finishing up the sketch, Margaret pursed her lips as she critiqued her work. It was decent, not her best however. Uncrossing her legs, she got off her bean bag and went to her desk. Remembering the numerous tutorials she'd watched, Margaret booted up Photoshop and clicked to open a sketch of medusa she scanned in at school. She began to play with various features as she began to add color to her sketch. Chopin was playing in the background. Margaret was in the zone.

Stopping when she finished coloring in the torso area, Margaret pulled up a video talking about shading in digital art. It was an unusual transition that definitely needed work on her part. Unlike the traditional pencil and paper, Margaret had to rely on the white to black scale to make the shading instead of blending. While she wished to stay traditional, she had an industry to break into. Unfortunately for her, said industry required digital art. She was even learning to use Maya - a 3D animation program - on the side. That was definitely still a work in progress. It wasn’t too mainstream yet, but that was the future trend of art. Actual moving models that had depth to them. In the media industry anyhow.

Blocking out the rest of the world, it was only when her mother tapped her shoulder did she realize someone had entered her sanctuary. Looking up from her drawing on the tablet, she met her mother’s eyes. “I’m kinda busy.”

Beth frowned as she sat on the edge of Margaret’s table. “Nice drawing kiddo.”

“Thanks.”

“We should talk.”

Margaret sighed. There was always something to talk about, and she was getting sick of it. She already knew the topic. “Does it have anything to do with Carter?”

“That obvious huh?”

“He’s the only person you talk about. You never talk about dad anymore.”

“That’s not fair, Mags.”

Feeling the dragon roar and coil within her gut, Margaret placed the tablet on the table. She turned her chair so she was facing her mom full on. “What do you want from me, mom? Want me to call Carter dad? You know that’s not going to happen. You want me to play nice? I am by not calling him step-douche to his face. Maybe some bonding? I’m busy. I work when I’m not at school or doing,” Margaret gestured to her artwork, “this. I’d love to bond, but I have better things to do. So enjoy your life. I’m trying to sort mine out.”

Silence prevailed in the room as mother and daughter stared at each other. Margaret hated being mean to the woman who raised her, but after the accident, all she felt towards the woman was ... repulsion. At least when dad was around, he knew what to say. What to do. He even made the recovery from her surgery bearable without painkillers. How does someone do that? Ever since he died, nothing seemed bearable to Margaret when she was around her new ‘family’.

“You’re not happy?” Beth said finally. “You’re not the only one who lost something, Mags. You’re not. I just moved forward. You have to do the same.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” Margaret snapped back. “As long as I’m here, I feel stuck with nowhere to go. I-” Margaret stopped talking as she thought about what to say. She mulled over the words, some hurtful some not. Exhaling deeply, she turned back to her computer. “I’m tired. Can we talk about this later?”

Though Beth seemed like she wanted to say something further, Margaret’s mom made her way to the door. “I’m sorry you feel that way Mags,” she said. “Good night.”

When the door closed, Margaret stared at the door. Once again, she was left in sweet beautiful silence. She felt her eyes wettened at the edges.

---

“Maybe she was trying, you know, to try and work things out?” Rachel said as the two walked down the sidewalk. “You’re not really helping either, Mags.”

Pulling at her plain orange long sleeve, Margaret pushed her phone further into her jean pocket.

Needing to talk to somebody, Margaret told the only person she really trusted. Rachel. Sage advice wasn’t the goal, but Margaret received it anyway. What her friend said wasn’t anything new. Margaret already knew her mom wanted to mend their broken relationship. She just didn’t want anything mended. What really miffed her the most was how mom didn’t talk about dad anymore. She was so cavalier about it - or just really good at acting like it was no big deal. And Carter. He tried to hard. It all just seemed so forced.

The two stopped at a crosswalk. “Can we just drop it?”

“You always do that, Mags! Whenever you don’t like something, you always simply ‘drop it’.”

“There’s nothing to talk about! I’m angry at my mom. I hate my step-dad. I’m being a spoiled bitch!” Margaret pinched the bridge of her nose. She hated getting angry at Rachel. Just her. Though her ice queen persona was very well known throughout the school, she didn’t want to lose her only friend. Her only best friend. “Just … just please Rachel? It’s Friday. It’s the weekend.” Margaret wrapped her arm around the blonde. “I just want to go to the mall with my bestie. Right? Let's go splurge - within reason. I could use a new pair of jeans. Oh, maybe stop by the art store.”

Feeling the mood descalate, Margaret was relieved to hear Rachel laugh. “Fine. But we’re not done with this,” she said. “Shopping, totally! Art store? Maybe not.”

Margaret feigned disappointment as she slapped her friend’s arm playfully. “Don’t make me beg.”

Rachel arched an eyebrow. “Would you beg?”

“No.”

Smirking over at her friend, Margaret heard the buzz as the walk sign turned green. Leading the way across the busy street, she heard Rachel scream her name. The words never made it out. she felt weightless as her world tumbled in a quagmire of cement, buildings, and a blur of colors. There were voices, but comprehension failed her.

Closing her eyes, Margaret tumbled into a surprisingly sweet darkness.

---

How long had she been in this cold, still place?

Margaret was conscious, but not the type of consciousness she had when she was awake and moving about. It was solemn. Solitude away from the atrocities of life. Maybe it was her time to reflect? To have an epiphany.

Disoriented, she looked about as she saw shimmering lights pass her by. Each little shimmer reminded her of the astronomy pictures she saw on the space website she often frequented. There was a time she wanted to be an astronaut. To brave the vastness of space. It was a phase she grew out of quickly, but the captive beauty of space never left her. Among the things she was saving for, a telescope was on her list. Just for a while, she wanted to get lost in the celestial body above. An insignificant speck in the universe. Even now, Margaret didn’t know why that brought her comfort.

About to call out to the shimmers, Margaret covered her eyes as light expelled the shadows and hugged every inch of her. It was surreal. It was warm yet comforting. Turning her eyes to gaze into its glory, why her eyes didn’t burn out was beyond her. Soon, a longing filled her body. Something was calling for her. Specifically her. She didn’t know what, but there was one thing she was sure of. She wanted to know whatever beckoned for her. It felt as if she didn’t grasp for the entity now, she’d be lost forever. That sense of loss scared her beyond anything else at that moment.

Clawing and running to the light, Margaret reached for it. A hard yank jerked her body forward. Laughing from the vertigo, she fell into the light.

---

What Margaret saw next was not what she expected. Even in her craziest of dreams. Maybe if she actually did drugs, she'd be able to understand ... this.

A towering building rested before her. It was oriental in nature, something that resembled Ancient China. What period? Margaret couldn’t recall. It was a shame she didn’t prioritize history in her repertoire of classes. The movie Mulan had similar architecture, which gave her something to work with. However, how accurate was a cartoon representation of a legend? Not very she figured.

Taking a look around, Margaret felt her jaw dropped as she soaked in the crowd she’d found herself in. There must have been hundreds. The rational part of her mind shut down as she stared at them dumbly.

Something tickled the edges of her vision, Margaret looked down as she stood on a elaborate looking circle. If she wasn’t losing her mind on the current situation, she’d be marveling the details of the circle. An artist of great repute had to be the creator of such a masterpiece. Tracing the lines with her eyes, she stopped her perusing abruptly. Was this a dream? Was she lucid dreaming? What was she doing before all this? She was going to the mall with Rachel. She was crossing the street-

The memory played back in perfect detail. The car was coming straight at her. She didn’t have time to react. Rachel was calling her name. Margaret wasn’t sure why. Then the impact. She screamed as she recoiled from the memory only to feel nothing. Receiving a few startled looks from the audience - as well as guarded ones - Margaret felt her breathing quicken. Where was her heartbeat? Her heartbeat always kicked up a few machs when she was nervous. In that moment, she felt nothing. Something was missing. Fear. In fact, why did she scream? Instinct? Habit?

Looking around yet again, Margaret saw a oriental girl standing before her, fixing her gaze on the stranger, she took a few steps forward until she stood before the girl. “Where am I? Who are you?” That was what she intended to say, but her words were nothing but airy rasps and moans. Bringing a hand to her throat, Margaret stopped her limb just short of her neck as she looked at it. She was pale to begin with, but this pale reminded her off death. It was the shade of marble. Humans didn’t look like that.

Her eyes fixed on the girl yet again. As she stared, something foreign slowly bubbled up to the surface. It was odd. It was hunger, but Margaret wasn’t craving food. She was craving something else. Something that would’ve made her stomach lurch forward and purge its contents.

Human flesh. She wanted human flesh. Licking her lips, she fought the impulse of fastening her teeth onto the girl’s neck. Was she her age? Margaret didn’t know. What did it matter? Food was food.

Clenching her fists, she continued to fight the urge. “Where am I? What happened to me?”

Again, all that came out was rasps and moans. Growling to herself, Margaret finally noticed the figure behind the curtain. She pointed at it. “Does it know?”

Again, her speech was inhuman. She felt frustration inflame her senses. She knew the feeling all too well. Anger. Her best, worst friend.

[Zurnt]

Xia Hongfeng eyed the figure that appeared in the center of the summoning circle. He had already reclined back into his seat, the features on his face relaxing visibly. Although this was joyous news that he had longed to see and hear for years now, it was all a little bit too taxing for his heart. The man was already well over seventy, and he wasn’t a kid anymore. All the same, he felt like jumping for joy and wrapping his daughter in a tight embrace. He would be certain to throw a great feast in celebration of this event.

For the time being, he would inspect this new Guardian.

A Bronze-Rank Fair Beast, Hungry Corpse. It was a low-leveled Death attribute monster with various characteristics that made it quite strange. Xia Hongfeng thought it was a thoroughly unsuitable Guardian for his precious daughter to have, especially considering she had been tested at a young age as having a strong disposition to the Life attribute. In fact, if this summoning had failed, he had planned to send her to the Mage’s College to train this innate skill of hers.

The Hungry Corpse was an odd one alright. For starters, although it was considered a Bronze-Rank Fair Beast, this was only because it was criminally misunderstood. Death attribute Beasts were notoriously difficult to control, and made many Tamers uncomfortable to be around. The Hungry Corpse actually had exceptional strength and durability, on par with a Gold-Rank Wild Beast, but what was most impressive was its immense vitality. Out of all of the low-level Beasts, these undead were exceptionally difficult to kill. It’s downside was that it was usually slow and awkward, with incredibly sub-par intelligence, and its evolutions were exceedingly difficult to incite. Xia Hongfeng thought this Beast would almost assuredly be outside of his daughter’s ability to control, and he would advise her to get rid of it and attempt the ritual again later. Now that she had succeeded once, it shouldn’t be difficult at all.

“Little San, tell me, is there anything special about that Hungry Corpse?”

The man’s intuition as a noble had always made him seem overly cautious. His daughter looked quite exhausted by her trial, and he couldn’t risk a Death attribute Beast going feral in his home. The massive tiger turned its head, the ominous golden third eye glowing fiercely from behind the curtains. Everyone in the room that wasn’t used to it would feel a disgusting sensation temporarily overcome their body, as though someone were touching every inch of them. It was the all-seeing domain of this Awakened-Eye Tiger King.

After a moment, the feeling faded and the tiger returned to its usual posture, growling lowly.

Xia Hongfeng stroked his chin thoughtfully, saying, “A variant type? How odd… so it has a strong Life attribute present in it as well...”

Back on the floor, the sweating, pale-faced, bloody-lipped Xia Weiyang looked in awe at the corpse that had appeared as her Guardian. She wobbled to her feet weakly, and threw her arms out wide, wrapping the Hungry Corpse in a tender embrace.

“You… you came. My Guardian, you came to me,” an unmistakeable mist had started to gather in the corners of Xia Weiyang’s eyes.

She didn’t even notice the Beast’s strange movements or uncharacteristic attempts at communication. To her and everybody else, it just seemed like the gibbering of a mindless Beast. Of course, the sight of the young woman throwing herself onto the body of what was literally a human corpse was an incredibly bizarre sight, even more so that she was treating the cadaver like some kind of small cute animal. She was actually crying with joy while hugging such a foul monstrosity.

After a moment, Xia Weiyang pulled away from the Hungry Corpse and looked at it with a gaze of pride and adoration. Her heart was positively overflowing with love.

“That’s right, I must finish the binding ritual,” she thought.

Xia Weiyang took control of the last thread of her Will and aligned it with the Hungry Corpse in front of her, letting it flow into the Beast’s body and plant a seed of control in its mind. This would indelibly bind her spirit to the beast, and their contract would be complete until the Beast died. The death of her Beast would cause a temporary, debilitating backlash that would leave her unable to use her Will for a while, but it was nothing fatal. If Xia Weiyang were to fall, however, so too would her beast. This was just another of the quirks of the Beast Pact.

Only, what encountered Xia Weiyang’s Will was not the weak and easily manipulated soul of a Beast, but a strange, incredibly powerful force of nature. If Xia Weiyang’s soul was like a calm, peaceful stream, capable of being guided and diverted, this creature’s soul was like a series of endlessly raging rapids. It was tumultuous and wild, and immediately swallowed up that tiny bit of Will, ravenously following the thread back to the origin. Xia Weiyang’s own soul. All of the Beast’s thoughts and feelings would assault her mind and cause her to take a step back in physical shock. The burden was unimaginably great, and she could feel the foreign sensations of anger and confusion overcome her mind.

At the same time, she could feel her thoughts crash down on the mind of the Hungry Corpse, assaulting the Guardian as violently as its own feelings had done to her. Those two seemingly opposite souls, one gentle and one wild, began to flow into a singular pool. It was like a small pond being filled up somewhere between both of their hearts, connected in a way that shouldn’t have even been possible. This was a bond of the soul so complete that there was no longer any way to distinguish between the two. It felt like she was looking through two pairs of eyes, standing in two separate places, had two separate minds each with their own personality, memories, and thoughts.

“You, you are no mere Beast! What… who... are you?” Xia’s thoughts traveled from her own, original mind, and into that newly formed pond that was connected to their souls.

The thought rippled outward, travelling back into the rapids of the Beast’s soul, and ringing out in the mind of the Hungry Corpse.

At this moment, the Awakened-Eye Tiger King turned like a fierce wind and leapt over the sitting Xia Hongfeng. The movement was so sudden that, although he might have stopped Little San’s actions, he could feel the urgency with which it moved. This was his most trusted partner, after all, how could the Earl not respect its decisions? A Gold-Rank King Beast was just as intelligent as a human, if not more so.

The towering, golden-furred, white-striped feline crashed into the far side of the Grand Hall, the floor of which could miraculously support its massive frame. It let loose a mind-numbing, terrifying roar that tore through the crowd like the unending waves of a towering waterfall. So great was the power of this roar that it actually blasted aside the various youngsters, throwing them back helplessly and opening a direct path to the summoning circle. Despite its huge size, every movement was like a blur as it crossed the entire distance of the Grand Hall in a moment and scooped Xia Weiyang up in its mouth, carrying her away from the newly arrived Hungry Corpse.

If it didn’t know that soul connection between the two was so great, it would have crushed Margaret into dust with a single strike of its paw. As it was, it eyed her warily, the long tail on its back twisting threateningly, each movement releasing a thunderous crack of bone and tendon. Even a dullard would see immediately the terrifying might of that tail, which could probably break apart an armored car as it were tissue paper. An aura of death was radiating out of the Tiger King as it opened its mouth, the stench of blood leaking out and washing over the Hungry Corpse.

If they weren’t so thoroughly pinned down by the tyrannical aura of the Beast, Xia Yue and Xia Che might have stepped in to stop it, but even the pair of geniuses were no match for this king among beasts.

“What spawn are you, parasite? Answer me. If you seek to harm the lady, I will not hesitate to thoroughly-” the voice was deep and commanding, and was being transmitted directly into Margaret’s mind by that piercing third eye.

“Little San?” Xia Weiyang’s adorable voice was shallow, so that only the three nearby could hear it.

Naturally, since the tiger had spoken to Margaret, Xia Weiyang could hear it also.

“Put me down at once! Leave my Guardian alone!” she demanded out loud.

Shockingly, the tiger complied, and Xia Weiyang ran to Margaret’s side. She placed a hand on her chest, exuding a sigh of relief. Somehow, she knew instinctively that the Hungry Corpse was unharmed, and she turned around to face the massive tiger. It actually shrank back from the young girl’s actions, and she raised a hand in the air, slapping it across Little San’s nose. Of course, such a weak slap wouldn't even tickle, let alone hurt, the Beast. It was mostly just to get a point across.

Another thought would pass into Margaret’s head, “Thank goodness. You’re safe. Please don’t be scared, and don’t act rashly.”

“Bad Little San!” Xia Weiyang said at the same time, wagging a disciplinary finger.

The entire rest of the hall stared on in shock and confusion at this bizarre sight, watching the beautiful, beleaguered looking girl scold the Gold-Rank King Beast that was more than ten times her size. And it had actually worked! The sounds the giant tiger was making were beyond pitiful to behold, and all of its dominating aura had faded.