Kiri came over and placed her two spare general healing potions next to me, then turned back to the corpse. She started to lever the axe under a bone plate while cutting under there with a knife.

"So my Dad reckons animals know when they are compatible with a monster core, and if they consume it, they can become monster bonds. It partly has to do with affinity and partly with the specific beast. It is how his bond became a monster, though it was touch-and-go for a while. Mum's and Auntie Drica's bonds were the same, although Auntie B said she almost lost hers as they were barely compatible. It is always risky, but seriously, I know four out of four successes. This core has to be the most compatible there is, as I awakened my affinity here as well."

"It was a boar, and Pānihi is a panther. There are incompatibility issues there," I said.

Her face fell a bit, "I know, but Pānihi is convinced. Also, Mum's bond Liten was a sparrow, and she consumed the monster core of a wyvern. Yes, it changed her physically, but it still worked." She sounded like she was repeating an argument she had already had with someone—possibly her Mum, Dad, or her brother. Or all of them.

"I do not know one way or another, so this is between you and Pānihi, as I know you can afford the core. What I want to know is what happens if it goes wrong?"

"Pānihi could die. Most likely, she will go mad and out of control."

"So become a wild monster on the rampage," I clarified.

"Yeah. Dad did tell me some stories of him and his friend Ruku having to put down mad and rampaging monsters. One was where Dad had to put down a griffon fed the wrong core. But this is the right core, and Pānihi is sure."

"Pānihi may be sure, and maybe right in her instincts, but you are the intelligent one of the pair. You need to think this through. One thing I know is that we are injured, and you should wait until we are healed. That way, you can support Pānihi through this, and I can run if it goes wrong. You should also wait and get others around for support in case of problems."

She worked in silence for a bit. I drank one of the spare health potions.

"I don't want others there," she said finally. "Only you and Felix."

I nodded, wondering how she had thought so much of us in so little time. I mean, I trusted her with my bear form, but that was not a huge thing.

An hour later, I felt a bit better, so I got up to help with the carcass. She had exposed the stomach and extracted a pile of guts. Felix and Pānihi were nosing through it for tasty treats.

She mostly used my axe as a lever. "I am trying to leave the skin as intact as possible, as it is worth a bit," she said. "Do you want to try to cut those tusks off?" she said. She handed me a knife with a saw blade on the back, so I left my chisel in my pack and set to work.

After we removed the bone armour, she wanted to remove the rest of the bones. She took the core first and put it in her pack under the watchful eye of Pānihi. We set to work butchering and deboning it.

It started raining toward the end. We covered the meat in the hide and left the bones out to be washed. I stripped to my fur and kept working. I didn't push it and snacked on tasty bits I found. It was slow and steady. Bones take a while to heal, even when they are boosted with a couple of potions.

I thought the skull would have looked better with the tusks left on it, but she had plans for them. "I imagine you want to come to see the Osteowright with me," I said. She nodded.

Scavengers were starting to gather; vultures were the first, followed by a wild dog pack. A light application of Dread kept them back for a while. None of them wanted to cross Pānihi. None of them wanted to cross me either.

I cut some strips of hide and roped some bones into a makeshift sled. This was nothing like Goldie's sled, and only Kiri and I would be pulling it. We pulled it away from the butchery and left the scraps for the scavengers. It was dark now, and the rain was settling in. Kiri used the sheepskins as a cloak. My fur was enough for me.

We found a semi-dry rock overhang, moved everything underneath it, and settled in for the night. I didn't want to stress my bones by changing, so I stayed in humanoid fur form.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Kiri was the only one suffering. She needed to work on her Cold Resistance. Or maybe it was that she was the only one without fur. She huddled up to the rest of us, who were comfortable in our fur.

The rain passed in the early hours of the morning. During the night, I pondered Kiri's words about monster cores and bonds. There was almost zero chance of us finding a compatible core for Felix. Where would I find astral monsters? I looked to the stars, probably only in the astral itself.

I noted Kiri had not given me my pendant back.

I decided to look at my skills from the fight. I was surprised at the increases in my Healing Lore. Anatomy had moved to Journeyman, and the others had risen. It goes to show the Lore is not all book learning. There is a practical side to it as well.

My biggest increase was in Tremor, which jumped to the journeyman level. Frigid Void was close.

My number of Monster Kills went to 20, but there was no new class or anything.

I really need a healing skill. I wonder if Kiri can hook me up with a healer trainer instead of paying me more coins that I don't know what to use for. It is worth asking, but I don't want to spend years learning this. I want to get out and explore.

"Pānihi and I want to do this today," Kiri said.

I didn't know what her hurry was. "I am not healed, and I won't be there for a week or more with more potions. Bones take a while."

"Yeah, but my skill is new. I was thinking last night, why am I limited to a single reinforcement per break? So I tested it on my bones and I am not. I am only limited by my spiritual energy. I can get it strong enough to be near new."

"Any side effects?"

She rubbed her arm, "I have a small lump where the break is. It is not a problem and will probably disappear on its own, but if it doesn't, there is always a manipulation skill with affinities. When I get that, I can smooth it out. I get the feeling I am missing something before I can learn it."

"You are probably missing Bone Lore," I said.

"There is Bone Lore? Huh? Who knew?" she said.

"I did."

"Ha. Yes, you did. Thank you."

"What is the hurry?" I asked.

She sighed. "Mostly it is Pānihi. Partly it is me," she turned to look me in the eye. "You have no idea what it's like growing up around all these literal heroes and living legends. And I fucking call them Mum and Dad. I am not sure how to explain it. I used to sleep on a fucking Dire Bear. Do you realise how ridiculous that is? I went looking for Pānihi because Aunt B's horse bond, Dusk, absorbed a Shadow Panther core, and the fur felt the same, and I wanted that. I am a mess, Ivan. Pānihi treats me like one of her cubs that she needs to help grow up. I am almost thirty. I should be over this."

"So what do you want?" I asked.

"What do I want? What do I want? I don't know what I want. What I want is Pānihi. She is my world and the only thing holding me together."

"And what if you lose her doing this?" I asked.

Her face hardened. "I won't let that happen." Pānihi strolled over and nudged Kiri in the chest. Kiri stroked her head affectionately. "If she dies, so do I. You know, I think that she wants to do this to protect and care for me better." She laughed, "I am her cub that won't grow up and needs her to be stronger and smarter."

"She is pretty smart already," I said.

"Yes, she is," Kiri said.

"Why me?" I asked. "Why are you talking to me?"

She looked up from Pānihi, who was purring in her lap. "Because you are different from every other person I know. In the Duke's mansion, I drop the earth-shattering comments about being related to the Black Butcher, and everybody reacts, except you. I let out the secret about Nyx, and a Shadow Elemental doesn't phase you. I paid you a Cargonite for a knife, and you couldn't care less.

"I find you in the library and drop family secrets, and you don't share them or add them to the Lore Society. I ask you for what I think is your most precious item, and you just hand it over." She pulled the bone pendant from under her shirt. "You don't try to get anything from me or want a favour owed. This bone has something to do with your affinity, doesn't it?" I nod. "Who are you, Ivan?"

"I am a Polar bear-kin from the Arctic. I will be heading back when I am stronger and find my Mum. I think she was killed. I'll be ten this winter."

She laughed. "A ten-year-old has it more together than I, with all the training and upbringing I have had. If you let us hang out with you, Ivan, I will help you find your mum."

"But what about everything here, and your Aunty B?"

"How about this? You help me find my aunt, and I will help you find your mum, and if they are dead, we will avenge them." She held out her hand for one of those human handshakes. I guess it is a more civilised way of agreeing to things than licking each other's faces.

I took her hand, "Agreed. You are sure about leaving your family and your brother?"

"They managed fine while I was away training with Dad. Leif is a merchant at heart, and Mum and his Dad will train him. I have to escape for alone time anyway." She took a breath, "Right, let's strengthen your bones and then I'll let my energy refill, and we will do this."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.