56 A Gentle Breeze

I waited until darkness had kissed the horizon and the twin moons lit up the sky as beacons for the various insects that were chirping their love songs in unison. There was soo much going on in this time of my life but one thing was for certain. I needed to get out of here. This whole building was suffocating me. The marriage, my parents, the people in my life were harder to swallow pills than being transported to Tama in the first place.

I took one last look at everything I had packed. The sword Ren had bequeathed me, shimmered in my hand before I sheathed it. My pack was heavy but not heavy enough to cause problems as I threw it on my back and covered it with a cloak.

Kibbles suddenly ran off the bed and climbed his way on to the top of my bag, before hiding himself under my cloak.

I put the hood over my face to cover my head.

It was now or never.

I checked to see if there were any patrols nearby as I slipped out my window. I focused my wood magic into my shoes to stop my feet from crunching on the grass. I was lucky enough to be placed on the ground floor.

I dodged behind a nearby tree as I heard the click of an armed guard coming around the corner.

[ Please don't find me ]

I held my breath and tried to make my presence as small as I could. It was a narrow miss but he had walked straight passed me. After a few more patrols had passed I jumped over the fence and ran out to the trees that lined the side of the road.

I couldn't see anyone following me so I smiled.

" Kibbles we did it!" I said in an excited whisper.

Although it felt a little to easy to escape I was grateful that I was able to. I did not wish to jinx myself and I was glad it all worked out.

" Are you sure we should leave? " Kibbles replied.

" Of course! Now, where should we go?" I said thinking to myself as we followed the road.

Kibbles and I chatted back and forth for a few hours before we settled on finding the nearest town that had a map. We had walked quite a distance away from the estate so it was safe to light a fire for the night.

The twin moons were quite a distance up in the sky. I approximated that it would be about 3 am right now. We set up a small fire in a quite bit of forest and laid down to rest. Before I knew it I was awoken by the condensation on my clothes and a small ray of light on my face.

The plants around me seemed to be waking up too as they hummed a song through the air. It was a very beautiful morning. Some small spirit beasts were walking past us at a little distance away. Their tiny feet could be heard rustling through the leaf litter.

" Good morning Young Master Kibbles" I said sweetly to the little rascal who had curled up next to me still snoring away.

" Five more minutes" he murmured in response.

" You want some breakfast? We are going to have to hunt for some!" I said to Kibbles and rubbed my face against him.

His soft fur was tickling my nose and it cheered me up quite a bit.

" BREAKFAST!?" The Kithun's eyes shot open as he shouted.

He wiggled out of my arms and sniffed the air before Kibble's little ears twitched.

" This way Yuki! I hear breakfast running nearby!" Kibbles said with gusto.

I belly laughed watching Kibbles's excitement and a few tears ran down my eyes. I couldn't explain how I felt this time but I knew that I really needed this Kithun in my life.

" Yuki are you okay?" Kibbles said as he looked at me.

" Mm let's get some breakfast," I replied as I unsheathed and drew my sword.

I hid my back up on a nearby treetop and covered it with some leaves.

" Keep up Yuki! I warn you I think I am pretty quick now!" Kibbles said with a laugh.

We ran as the wind brushed through our hair and fur respectively. Jumping over fallen branches and watching out for predators.

I had never felt freedom like this.

I knew at this moment I could do everything I wanted just Kibbles, me and the road ahead of us. After a little while of dodging obstacles, we came to where we could see a few low ranked spirit beasts chewing on some grass.

They were little rabbits that had horns protruding next to their ears.

[ You want some rabbit? ]

I looked at Kibbles who too had long ears and a sleek body and wondered if this would be cannibalism. I held my breath as I tried not to laugh.

" Mm rabbit lets get them!" Kibbles replied in my mind.

Kibbles's eyes glowed with a red sheen as he concentrated. A red fireball appeared in his mouth. Flames flicking over his lips.

He charged at the spirit beast and used his speed to catch it unaware as he side jumped on a tree and spat the flame burst at the rabbit.

[ That must be his burst ability ]

I focused on the leaf little around us and urged a vine on one of the trees to grow and catch the rabbit as it tried to flee.

The rabbit's leg was snagged and Kibbles's landed a killing blow on the rabbit's neck. He held it in his mouth with pride as we walked back to the campsite.

" Breakfast, breakfast going to eat some breakfast" Kibbles sang in my head while I giggled.

We had our breakfast and then headed on to the main road towards what we felt was a town.

There were guards everywhere but no one seemed to stop me as I kept my head down and covered. We had finally made our way inside, I could hear the hustle and bustle as doors from shops were being opened for customers and the shouting of people offering food started.

[ A town we did it! Now to find a map store! ]

We walked around for a little while asking around for a map seller and we were told to head to the bookstore. Apparently, the bookstore sold just about anything that was written on paper so we were in luck.

We started heading in the direction that an elderly man had pointed to before we noticed a crowd had formed around a group of people who were walking in the middle of the road. There was a boy and a girl that were no taller then I was with four stern guards trailing behind.

The boy had long blond hair and was incredibly beautiful. I could only hear by his voice that he was actually a he. White teeth, pale blue eyes and soft red lips were featured on his symmetrical face. I was in a daze looking for the sideline it was a pity that his personality seemed that of a spoiled brat.

He turned to the purple haired girl next to him and said " I am truly sorry that I have brought you to such a dirty environment. If you hold on for just a little longer our carriage will be fixed and we will be on our way."

The young girl with purple hair and eyes merely giggled at what he had said as they walked passed. I held my head down as not to be noticed by the pair.

One of their guard's gazes fell on me before he too continued walking. I took a quick peek and noticed I had not seen the insignia that guards were baring before. Perhaps they were from a country?

[ For some reason they gave me the creeps ]

When the commotion had finally died down we had finally found the map store that we were looking for.

A small bell tinkled as we made our way inside. The whole place was dusty and lined with books. An older lady was sitting down sipping tea at her desk as I took off my hood.

" Oh a young man, very rare to see in this shop," the elderly woman said.

" I am looking for a map of Tama and another of Vance," I said respectfully.

" You realise the border is currently closed?" Questioned the lady in response.

I nodded in response.

" All these young people walking around like they are the next General Reo all adventure and no common sense," the lady said under her breath while she stood up and checked the shelves.

"Poor choice of words lady" Hissed Kibbles in my head.

" Here we go, one Vance map and another Tama map, they are a few years old by they should give you the general overlay of the landscapes. That will be 30 copper" The lady said as she held out her hand.

I paid her with the few coins I had been given by Ki back at Tama forest and said a quick farewell before leaving.

[ We should find a tea house to sit down and go over the information ]

I picked a random direction since it wouldn't matter where I went next and looked through all the shop windows. The people walking past in droves even this early in the morning reminded me of Earth. It was moments like this that I didn't feel very far away from where I started.

A shop with a pleasing aroma coming out of it drew my attention.

[ Jin's tea house huh? ]

I read the sign in front of the door that was written in big bold letters and stepped inside.

" Sorry we don't allow spirit beasts," A woman said near the front door as she pointed to the head poking out of my cloak.

" Let him in Lara, he has cash doesn't he?" a thick voice came from the counter. A large man with bulking muscles walked out to the front. He had the kinda face that looked like it had seen one too many fights. His nose was slightly twisted but his smile seemed warm and gentle.

" You can pay right?" The man said again looking at me.

I nodded.

His tree trunk of an arm grabbed my shoulder as he basically pushed me inside.

" The names Jin, take a seat!" Jin said as he laughed.