Angelina shifted slightly, ears twitching.
"Why do you ask, Young Master?"
Maxi, still focused on his book, shrugged.
"No reason. Well... actually, there is a reason. Screw it. I just want to know you better."
Angelina blinked, a little shocked at his outright honesty. She hesitated, then repeated, "You want to... know me better?"
"Yeah," Maxi said casually. "Since I don't really know much about you yet, and I've been causing you so much stress, I figured it's only fair."
Angelina stared at him, surprised. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"So... am I allowed to ask questions too?"
Maxi smirked. "I don't see why not. In fact, how about you go first?"
Maxi was determined to make her feel comfortable.
He had noticed it before — the last time they talked, she had started warming up to him. But after yesterday's event, it was like he had been reset to square one.
He needed to fix that.
But before he could think of a way —
"Okay," Angelina spoke up. "How old are you?"
Maxi chuckled at the simple question. "I'm five years old."
Angelina's eyes widened. "You're five?!" she asked in disbelief. "How are you a five-year-old who's already reading advanced books? Most kids your age just like talking to people, asking stupid questions, and exploring — not sitting down and reading for hours!"
Maxi shrugged. "The books I read aren't that advanced."
She smiled slightly. "Well, they are for your age."
"I guess so," Maxi shrugged.
"Why don't you read picture books?" Angelina asked.
*"How dare you — picture books? What am I, a child? I mean, technically I am, but I have an adult brain. I have, you know, a broken one, but a working one as well, so give me at least a little bit of respect."* Maxi thought.
Maxi forced a polite smile. "Yeah, no thank you. They don't entice me as much as they used to, I guess."
"Oh, okay then. Why don't you go play outside?" Angelina asked.
"Why go outside when everything I need is inside? And besides, any benefits I'd get from playing outside I already get from training with Techxin," Maxi said, waving his book.
"I guess that's true," Angelina said.
Maxi smirked. "Now it's my turn. How old are you?"
Angelina thought for a second, then answered, "I'm twelve years old."
Maxi grinned. "Look at that — you're seven years older than me!"
Angelina giggled. "Yep. That's why I call you Young Master instead of Old Master."
Maxi chuckled. The tension in the room started to fade away, replaced with something much lighter — something friendlier.
"Okay, now we get to the meat and butter," Maxi said.
"And bone marrow," Angelina added.
Maxi nodded. "Okay, what magic spells do you know?"
Angelina hesitated for a moment before tilting her head to the right playfully. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because I want to know."
"What if I say no?"
"That's fine. I'll just ask my mother. She'll know."
Angelina's face turned red. "Wait, that's unfair!"
Maxi adjusted his round glasses in a mockingly intelligent way. "All is fair in love and war. This may not be love, but it is war."
Angelina sighed dramatically. "Fine, I admit defeat. I'll tell you."
Maxi smirked triumphantly.
Angelina took a breath in and out. "Okay, you see — I have a different kind of magic from the rest of you humans. I have spirit magic."
"Wait, are you not just a demi-human?" Maxi asked.
"No, I am something else. I don't know the exact name, but I am most definitely not of human descent, or any branching paths of any sort. I believe your brother Techxin Bloodheart is a demi-human, though," Angelina said, tilting her head to the left.
Maxi, surprised and curious, asked, "Okay, if you're definitely not human, then why do you have a human shape? It looks like you're human but with wolf parts added on."
Angelina then asked, "Isn't the human shape the shape of the king of kings? My people adapted to being like this."
*That actually makes sense,* Maxi thought. *Tengen did explain that humans were the inspiration for all the other humanlike races, so I guess it would also make sense that the human shape would be the most optimal form to adapt to.*
*In my previous world, I think we had something similar with crabs. Why crabs, I have no idea.*
Angelina hesitated for a moment, her eyes looking down as if conflicted, as if fighting something, before she finally said, "Also, the Apixain declares that any sign of adaptation into human form is a sign of intelligence and consciousness beginning to form. Anything that continues to stray from this path of evolution is a sign of its wild nature forever caging its potential growth into a higher being."
Maxi looked at Angelina strangely, almost confused. "That... sounds like pretentious propaganda."
Angelina's head tilted to the left, confused, as she put on a slight goofy smile to lighten the mood. "What's pretentious propaganda?"
Maxi covered his face as he shook his head, laughing. "My gosh, you're already a lost cause."
She pouted slightly as she hit Maxi's shoulder lightly. "Hey, I am being serious — I don't know what it means."
Maxi chuckled, covering his mouth slightly. "Alright, alright. I'll explain it to you. But after you tell me about your special spirit magic."
"So, Miss Angelina, would you kindly give me the details?"
Angelina puckered her lips in a suspicious frown. "What do you mean, more details?"
Maxi smiled. "I mean, explain it properly, my dear maid."
She pouted more heavily, turning her head away in mock annoyance. "Fine. But only because you're my master. In any other situation, I would've refused."
She took a deep breath before beginning.
"Spirit magic — or at least, for me — is a way to connect with my ancestors."
Maxi listened attentively.
"As you can see, my people evolved from wolves, and because of that we are connected to them. You can see it in my tail and ears, but it goes much deeper than that."
"In the past, we used to walk, talk, and hunt with wolves — until we adapted to being more human. But despite that, our bond with them remains just as strong."
"We believe that some wolves are our ancestors. For me..." She hesitated for a second, then whispered, "You better not tell anyone this, but I'm related to the Spirit Wolf of Life — Angel."
Maxi blinked. "I don't know who that is."
Angelina's mouth dropped open in shock. "How do you not know who the Spirit Wolf of Life is?!"
"The same way you didn't know who Techxin was," Maxi shrugged.
Angelina spun around, offended. "Those are two different scenarios. I didn't know it was Techxin Bloodheart because I'd never seen him before."
"And I don't know the Spirit Wolf of Life Angel because I've never heard of her before. Same difference," Maxi smiled.
Angelina looked like she was going to explode, but she calmed herself down. "Okay, listen up. Angel is famous — she is one of the Twelve Spirits of Tribulation, who are very, very powerful spirits, and Angel is one of them."
Maxi's eyes went wide as he nodded in respect. "Alright. I'll respect her."
"But can she beat Techxin, though?" Maxi teasingly asked.
Angelina was about to respond, but as soon as she heard Maxi's last comment, her words froze in her mouth. She looked down at him.
WHACK!
"Owwwww!" Maxi screamed, rubbing his arm. "It was a genuine question!"
"It was a stupid question!" Angelina shouted.
"Whatever. Just continue the explanation," Maxi said, crying inside from the pain.
Angelina began again. "Okay. Angel is a really well-known spirit because she is one of the Twelve Tribulation Spirits — who are obviously weaker than the Eleven Natures and the Ten Disasters, but the Twelve Tribulation Spirits are strong enough to be revered. And I am a descendant of one of them — the Spirit Wolf of Life, Angel —"
*I really, really want to ask who the Eleven Natures and Ten Disasters are,* Maxi thought, *but there's a more pressing question I need to ask first.*
Maxi cut her off. "Wait — sorry — is your name Angelina because you're named after Angel?"
Angelina nodded. "Yeah."
"Wow, your parents are basic," Maxi's mouth said before his mind could catch up.
And the moment he realized what he'd said, the only thought in his mind was, *Oh, fu—*
WHACK!!
"Owwwwwwwwww!" Maxi held his head in pain. "...Yeah, I deserved that."
"Damn straight!" Angelina shouted. "Now, are you going to let me continue or what?"
"No, no — please continue. My apologies," Maxi said, rubbing his head.
Angelina dramatically turned her back to him again. "Okay. As I was saying — it was time to choose a guardian, during my coming-of-age ceremony. You see, my people have a coming-of-age ceremony where we receive our first spirit guardian. I was chosen by her because she wanted to protect me."
Maxi nodded, intrigued but calmly curious. "So what happened after Angel became your guardian?"
Angelina said, "Well, I gained the ability to summon her and speak with her, and as a result of our conversations, she gave me the ability to use her magic — and also to manifest some of her body parts over mine in a spirit-like form."
Maxi smiled excitedly as he stood up. "So what can you do with her magic?"
"I can heal people, control plant growth, and sense all living things around me."
"Like my mom," Maxi said.
Angelina laughed slightly, flustered. "Yeah, basically. But I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm as good as her."
"Yeah, fair. My mom has lived longer, which means she'd have more experience and practice."
Maxi's mind then began to run wild with ideas, curiosity sparking into imagination. "Can you describe what it was like?"
"The ceremony?" Angelina asked.
Maxi nodded vigorously.
"Okay, fine. Calm your tail," Angelina said.
"I don't have one," Maxi said.
"You dimwit, it's a figure of speech," Angelina said.
"I knew that," Maxi said, looking to the side.
"Sure you did," Angelina thought as she rolled her eyes
"Okay, let's start." Angelina breathed in as she began to tell the story.
"The ritual began with us wearing harira skin, which is a rare, white magic panther's skin. It covered our chest and wrapped around our waist. Our fathers painted ancient symbols on our bodies using the sparkling red and purple blood of the Harira."
Maxi imagined the glowing tribal markings shining under the moonlight. "Okay, hold — does it have to be specifically white panther skin?"
Angelina nodded.
Maxi inquisitively asked, "Why specifically white panthers?"
Angelina sighed as she held the bridge of her nose. "Okay, listen, young master — even though I love your curiosity for my culture, I also need to tell you my story, so you're going to have to calm down on the questions until the end."
"Sorry," Maxi said, putting his hands together.
"It's fine, just focus on one thing at a time," Angelina said.
Maxi nodded.
Angelina then continued.
"After our fathers finished painting the symbols, we were led to our guides, who were going to help us navigate without getting too lost.
Of course, our guides were wolves — well, not regular wolves. These wolves were not ones that just roamed regularly; no, they were wolves who roamed the forests of the spirit realms.
So they were pretty adept at doing so, and they were willing to help us find our way around and not get too lost.
I say 'too lost' because part of the ceremony is getting lost and letting the spirit that most favors you lead you to it — but if you go in too deep, you might find yourself actually in the spirit realm instead of the perfect in-between spot where we did our ritual.
Okay — I arrived second or third to the site. My father and mother stopped halfway into the small clearing we were all meant to group up in.
They waved me goodbye and good luck.
We didn't really need people to tell us where to go; our spirit teacher had already done that way before we were even ten. She had practically drilled it into us from the first time we stepped foot into her classroom."
Maxi chuckled at that.
"Yep — good old Miss Dyana," Angelina sighed, in both remorse and fondness.
"Anyway, after I got there, my guide came to me. He was quite beautiful — his fur was slightly purple but ranging more toward dark blue. He was calm and level-headed; he didn't talk as much as the other guides, but he was comfortable to be around.
After everyone else arrived, our guides howled to confirm it was safe. A few minutes later, howls from the spiritual forest came back, marking the start of the ceremony — and so we followed our guides in.
After a few minutes of following, my guide left me alone to wander. It didn't take me long to feel a pull in a certain direction.
It was strong — way stronger than I expected. It was like something pulling at my soul, and my blood reacted; it glowed dark blue and sparked silver. So I followed.
And it led me to her.
Angel.
When I found her, she lay on a bed of shining green-silver grass. Around her were bluish spores and pollen, lulling anything nearby to sleep.
I walked up to her slowly, fighting the sleep the pollen and spores induced, to get close to her.
And eventually I got close enough to fully see her.
She was truly magnificent. She had a royal silver fur — I even noticed some of the symbols my dad had drawn on me were on her, but in a vibrant, saturated grassy green.
And right as I was about to fall victim to the pollen's sleep, Angel opened one of her silver-green eyes and looked at me.
She raised one paw and placed it on my head. The next moment, all my symbols shined even brighter as some of her energy went into me.
It felt like warm water being poured inside my soul as it slowly started to get lighter and lighter, until my body felt like it was taking in air for the first time. I felt spirit essence — it was like my nose had been blocked and something finally flushed what was blocking it, and I could breathe properly for the first time.
After that sensation ended, I succumbed to sleep, and when I woke up, my dad was holding me, happy as could be — and even my guide was right beside me.
Then my dad said it. He said the Spirit Wolf of Life — Angel — had chosen me too.
That was the happiest moment of my life. To this day, I still remember Dad's proud smile as he tried to hold back tears, and my guide's silent acknowledgment."
Angelina's voice cracked at the end, as if she was about to cry.
Maxi frowned as he looked at her shivering shoulders. He thought, *knowing her the little time I have, she would rather punch me in the face than break down in front of me — well, unless...*
Angelina took a deep breath in and turned around with a grin, puffing out her chest proudly. "Quite the cool ritual and culture I have, right? So, what about you? Do humans have anything even half as interesting?"
Maxi thought of all the different coming-of-age ceremonies of his previous life — Seijin Shiki for the Japanese, the Ji Li and Guan Li for the Chinese, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah for the Jews — and the many, many more he was forgetting about.
Due to his father being a lawyer, he had traveled a lot, and so he was very well-versed in his knowledge of these cultures.
But in no way had he been friends with anyone from these cultures during that time — he had been very antisocial.
So, despite all the answers Maxi could have given, he couldn't give any, because those were his previous world's, not this world's — and besides, he thought that was for the best, for now.
Maxi smirked as he put his head in his hand, looking at her, fond of the strength she had for her age. "I don't think so."