AETHER BEASTS

"Aiden?"

Thomas looked exactly the same as the last time I'd seen him, the only difference was his clothes and the hammer he held in one of his hands. His much burly father stood beside him a bundle of arrows in hand.

"When did you get back?" Thomas asked.

"Just this morning," I replied, looking over the open forge. Pieces of metal, tools and other equipment lay about everywhere in what looked like some sort of organization, though I couldn't be sure.

The heat coming off the forge might have bothered a normal person, but everyone here was at least at the first level.

"Second core?" Tanner, Thomas's father, asked, shock clear in his voice and he almost dropped the bundle he held before hanging it over to Pell.

"It's a long story," I said. "Anyways I'll come by later today or tomorrow, I've got some hunting to do with these lot."

"It'll be more of a slaughter if you go." Tanner chuckled. "There's not a beast around here strong enough to take you on."

"I'll just be watching," I said, giving Leyton a pat on the back. "And keeping this idiot out of trouble."

Leyton shrugged my arm off and gave me a mock glare.

We left the smithy and headed towards the southern gate. I glance over at the bundle of arrows that Pell placed in his quiver. For a moment I was confused as to why he'd need them when he had his aether, but then I remembered that he was only first core, and techniques were rare. I'd forgotten that because I had Zirani and well, I could now make my own. For someone like Pell, he'd be lucky to have one or two. Most of the time he'd just be using his ether to boost himself or attacks, using the most basic of patterns, techniques that couldn't really even be considered techniques.

"Ever hunted before?" Pell asked me as we walked through the gate and towards the tree line.

"I have," I replied, remembering all the hunting I'd done in the tower and the tracking and tips Zirnai had taught me. She of course was a master hunter and tracker, and trapper and a dozen more things. She'd learned a ton over her four hundred years.

Both men unslung thor bows as we crossed the treeline and all three of us began to walk silently, surveying the forest. It didn't take long to find the tracks we were looking for and after following those for an hour we came across a half-eaten corpse.

"He's close by," I said, sensing the lingering aether in the air. It was earth aether, and a decent amount, most likely from a two-core beast.

Pell nodded, having sensed it as well. Leyton had always bragged about his father being the best hunter in town and he wasn't wrong. Pell did have the best arcane senses in town, save for me of course.

We continued to follow the trail until we finally came upon the beast, sleeping the crook of a tree's root. It was a grendel, one of the larger variants, and instead of its usually furry skin, it had rocky scales.

"You think an arrow can take it?" I asked Pell who nodded and drew two.

"If I hit it in the head then yes." He nocked the arrow, then raised his bow, taking a deep breath to steady himself as he pulled back the string. Aether rose in him and towards his hand in one of the crudest forms I'd ever seen. I had to wince. It did the job and the wind began to swirl around the around, picking up speed until a light breeze blew around Pell.

The forest seemed to still just before Pell loosed the arrow. It was a clean shot and directly on target, piercing the grendel's left eye and lodging itself into the beast's head. It was comical how the beast opened the other eyes and stared silently for a long moment before it let out a half scream before finally going limp.

"Nice shot." It had been a clean hit, but as Leyton and his fighter approached the corpse to start taking it apart to its core and other valuable resources, I couldn't help but think of how easy it would be to teach Pell a better technique, in fact, I could teach him a few. I may not have been of the wind affinity, but with everything Zirnai had taught me, I knew I could create a few techniques for it. Zirani had shown use affinity sets for other affinities just in case we got any ideas from them. Even without that knowledge, I could have shown Pell a better way to empower his arrow rather than just pushing aether onto.

"Pell, do you mind coming here for a second."

The hunter looked up with a questioning look, but I just motioned him closer. He handed the knife over to Layton who got to work quickly.

"What is it?" He asked.

I raised a hand. "I want you to pay attention to my aether, ok. I'm going to form a technique pattern, a very simple one, and I want you to watch and to try and recreate it."

He seemed very confused but nodded. "I don't see how I could learn a nature technique, but sure."

I smiled smugly and began to form a simple, but extremely improved version of the wind technique he'd used on his arrow. It took less than a minute to come up with the idea and form it, and the entire time, Pell looked on in awe and shock.

Without waiting for me to say anything he took the second arrow he'd had prepared and knocked it onto his bow. He raised it and began to try and form the technique, I'd just shown him. It took him a couple of tries, which confused me at first, but I realized I had to stop comparing myself to them. I had Zirani and a ton of training and practice.

When Pell finally got the hang of it, his arrow now held a mini whirling around the shaft, while the arrow held a blade of wind in the shape of the arrowhead, like a coating surrounding it. Leyton had stopped his work to watch his father and when the arrow was loosed it struck a nearby tree with a loud crack, tearing straight through it, and the one behind it, before embedding in a third. The coating at the arrowhead had two layers for increased and lasting penetration.

"H-how?"

I just shrugged. "As I said, it's a long story, but I think we should finish up here. I need to head home."

"Can you teach me?" Leyton asked.

"Sure, but tomorrow," I replied.

Pell and Leyton were silent as we walked back to the town, and Pell kept taking glances at me as we walked. I could tell he wanted to ask how but was holding back. As for KLeyton, well he was just muttering to himself about a lighting bolt technique and super speed. I smiled inwardly to myself. I'd think of a few things for.

"You look like you've been busy?" Misty raised an eyebrow at the bits of dirt on my robes.

"Hunting," I said before heading upstairs to take a shower.

I walked past my room as I did and found Sandra passed out on my bed, a magazine in her hand. I frowned and then curse myself as I realized what she held in her hand. It was one of the dirty magazines I'd used for private reasons. I hadn't even realized it had still been there. She must have had a light about that, and no doubt I'd hear about it when she woke, which was minutes after I'd gotten out of the shower and dressed.

She grinned at me and placed the magazine down. "Didn't know you were into those types of things."

I gave her ass a firm smack as she walked by, which earned me a playful yelp and glare. "You know damn well I do."

She giggled as we headed downstairs and the sound was like music to my ears. It felt so good to be able to just relax. My aunt was in the kitchen when we arrived downstairs and after helping her with the cooking, we all sat down to a hearty meal, enjoying each other's company, and telling lighter stories of things that had happened. Zirani's were obviously the best and I could tell that Misty and Sandra were getting more excited to finally cross the great scar.

When we were done, Zirai cleaned the dishes with a flick of a finger, using an odd technique I'd never seen before, but I wasn't going to complain. I was about to ask about sleeping arrangements when all three of my women followed me into my room.

Sandra smiled seductively as all three got undressed.

"It's been a while since we've been together," Sandra purred.

"And it looks like you backed up?" Zirani added as she walked over and began to undress me.

"I can–"

She pushed my hands away. "Let me."

I relaxed and let her slowly undress me, my lower region reacting accordingly as the two other ladies approached, their naked bodies of full display.

"Damn I'm lucky."