It hadn’t been two days since my conversation with Sah during an evening walk in the barracks courtyard, where he compared the bathhouse I visited to the stable that I found myself in one. To be exact, the enormous building hosting dozens of animals stood on the barracks’ grounds. Meaning the horses in the stalls were the steeds of the city guards.

Me coming here was actually my first visit to the stable. Any stable! Not even on Earth have I had the pleasure. And the first impression was quite...overwhelming. All that noise, the neighing, made me pin down my ears.

The horses were not so loud, their voices not so strong, but the intentions behind them were too much for my mind that tried to make sense of it all.

The hay tastes weird today.

The itch on my side is killing me.

Humans are going somewhere.

A long run would be nice.

And so forth...

For what seemed like long minutes, I just stood there trying to find a way to push it to the corner of my mind. Only after that, after I had managed to do so, was I able to look around the stable again.

My impressions, other than the noise that made it a place my ears and mind did not enjoy? I’ve never seen so many steeds together in my life. Yet my nose was not hit by the heavy stench I was expecting. Sure, there was the unique scent of horses in the air, but that was it. On the whole, the stable was spotless, almost.

So clean in fact, that I couldn’t resist comparing them to the bathhouse. I blamed Sah for that.

Sadly, I had to face the truth. The stable really wasn't that different from the house where I took a bath a few times and even bled in it. Each horse had its own stall with a clean tub of water, presumably cold, a small difference there. Otherwise, everything seemed clean and maintained. If I had to point out the glaring difference, it would be the hay under the animals’ hooves. But even that appeared fresh.

Runes and enchantments? These were beyond my ability to assess, so I had to believe they were there and they were adequate. On the other hand, this was the barracks stable, and such measures may not have been necessary here.

Even so, Agent Sah was right. Yeah, I’m sure he’d like to hear that. Anyway, after seeing the stable, I was glad I took his advice.

It may have been a wasted effort considering what awaited me. However, before this trip out of the city, I visited a much more expensive bathhouse further into the city center, the same one I went to yesterday. And the silver coin was worth it. That experience was all Sah described. Better facilities, better service, and no goon trying to turn my guts into mush.

Needless to say, it meant I needed to ramp up my income.

And so while all yesterday morning, I practiced my dance steps, in the afternoon I made my way through half a dozen horned rabbits to the third floor of the Labyrinth. I butchered three of them and sold the goods for a decent coin. Though a quiet meditation on mana control with Aspen and a fun evening lesson of Standard with Ria were a nice change of pace.

Unfortunately, I had to do without the two of them today.

I still had my morning warm-up with weights, ran a few kilometers, jumped over hurdles, and danced my way through the morning to lunch. Of course, my efforts were rewarded with a few level-ups, making the Status Screen more satisfying to look at.

Name: Korra Grey

Race: Human/Beast

Gender: Female

Age: 29

Main Class: Deviant of Humanity

Sub Class: Slave

Level: 100

Constitution: 102 (39)

Strength: 60 ( 25)

Endurance: 33 (26)

Dexterity: 29 -> 31 (24)

Intelligence: 23 (12)

Wisdom: 21 (11)

Class Skills (8/8):

Indomitable Will (Passive V): lvl 120 -> 121

Master’s Shield (Active II): 19 -> lvl 20

Behemoth (Active I): lvl 5 -> 9

Wrought Hide (Passive I): lvl 1 -> 2

Unbending Resilience (Passive I): lvl 1 -> 2

Fierce Pounce (Active I): lvl 3 -> 7

Mantle of Magic (Active I): lvl 3 -> 5

Call of Nature (Passive I): lvl 1 -> 2

General Skills (10/10):

Eleaden Standard Language (Passive I): lvl 4 -> 6

Perfect Equilibrium (Passive II): lvl 21 -> 24

Spatial Domain (Passive II): lvl 24 -> 26

Beast (Passive III): 30 -> lvl 31

Never-Dying (Passive III): lvl 40 -> 41

Tail of Poison Empress (Active II): lvl 13 -> 14

Heart of Magic (Passive I): lvl 9

Striving Mule (Passive I): lvl 5 -> 9

Dancer’s Stride (Passive II): lvl 7 -> 13

None to Squander (Passive I): lvl 4 -> 8

Sadly, still no class level up. I wasn’t expecting one, though.

Unless I was wrong, to achieve that, I need to use my beast side now. Or to push the limits of my humanity. Neither of which I did. I haven’t even found the courage to try [Ride of Ancestors] yet, always finding excuses not to, knowing that the ordeal will cost me more with each passing day.

If I were to find one benefit in not finding a challenge in Fallens Cry, it was that my skills didn’t grow much. The price of swapping [Ride of Ancestors] for one of these wouldn’t be that high. Yeah, that was one of the excuses I now regretted making, as that could soon change.

On the other hand, the tier-up of [Dancer’s Stride] was nice.

Dancer’s Stride: lvl 13

Active II (Slave - 10%)

Not every step is the same. It can be heavy, cumbersome, short, or clumsy. Yours is neither. The dancer’s step is light, graceful, and swift. All the more true of their stride.

Your [Dexterity] increased by 22%(20%)->33%(30%).

Tier II - The days of counting steps and keeping your eyes on your toes are over, a massive stride in every dancer’s path. With mastery of these fundamentals, you’ll find not only your strides easier to take, yet faster to do too.

Your [Speed] increased by 11%(10%).

Yeah, I’ve made progress. Not sure about the lack of need to focus on my steps, but compared to my early days when I couldn’t take my mind off my toes, I had a lot more confidence in my dancing.

More Dexterity was always good to have, and Speed was what I regretted losing the most with [Swift as a Whip]. Now [Dancer’s Stride] seemed like a fine choice, despite the state of mind in which it was made.

And it wasn’t the only skill that grew. A few others were close to tier-up too, making me want to push them further as soon as possible, to see what they have in store for me. I was eager to dive into Fallens Cry, into the deeper floors, and make that final push today.

Yet that was not on the agenda this afternoon either.

The full blue moon was supposed to shine tonight, which meant only one thing. The time of my training in the Esulmor Woods has come! I was up for another beating. If anything, I expected it to advance me further than where an afternoon spent in the Labyrinth would have gotten me.

Much to my annoyance, it seemed to be happening quite differently from what I had in my mind.

When I left the woods inhabited by mossbears less than a week ago, I thought I would be returning only in Deckard’s company. He found me there, sort of guided through my first training session, if the beating I took from the young beast could be called that. And I expected the same on my next visit, both his guidance and the beating.

Then Lord Wigram showed up at Castiana, and things changed. My shame was no longer to be known, only between the beasts and me. He wanted to take the opportunity to speak with Esu, thus to join our quest. It just didn’t occur to me that it would involve an entire unit of imperial soldiers and a dozen extra staff.

Seriously, there was a carriage parked in the barracks courtyard, a pretty fancy one drawn by four black horses, as in some fairy tale. There was a time when I dreamed of being a princess and riding around in one of these. My dreams were shattered when imperial soldiers explained to me that this one wasn’t for my ass to ride in. Instead, they sent me here to the stable to get my steed.

“Do you like it here?” A female melodic voice reached my ears as I surveyed the stable, looking for someone to tell me how to check out a horse. She came down the aisle between the stalls on my right. Standing taller than me, with her hands clasped in her lap, she was eyeing me keenly. And I returned the look, assessing her.

It wasn’t her auburn wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail, her thin eyebrows above her brown eyes, or her round cheeks that caught my attention, though. She had a small red squirrel on her shoulder nibbling at what appeared to be walnut.

“Not exactly. It’s too noisy for me,” I said to her question, flicking my ears so she’d understand what I meant.

[Animal Caretaker: lvl ??]

Interesting. “Given the uniform, I’m guessing you’re not a local stablewoman that would tell me how to saddle one of those?”

“I’m certainly not. Wren Lightfeather here to mediate between the Imperial Chief Healer and the Lord of the Woods.”

“Oh, I should have thought of that.” She was one of those beast talkers Janina mentioned to me, those who have so far enabled the Sahal Empire to communicate with the mossbears.

“Korra Grey,” I introduced myself to her, pausing. “Is that something you should be telling me?” The whole Esu thing was supposed to be a secret, or was I wrong?

She grinned, knowing what I was getting at and seeing through me if I was not mistaken. “No. Not if I didn’t know who I was talking to.”

“You know me?”

“You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone matching your description.”

Of course, she read the file, or at least some version of it. “So, what do you think of the live version of me?”

The caretaker paused, giving me a good look. Her frown made me worried for a moment. “I would have thought you’d be furrier, but your looks aren’t half bad. Not what I’m interested in, though. They say you can talk to beasts naturally.”

“Beasts and animals, as far as I know,” I said, nodding and quite glad she didn’t make a big deal out of my appearance. Given her class, I’d think she’d be the next Lord Wigram, curious as shit about my mutations. It turned out her lack of regard for my wings and tail was due to her interest lying elsewhere.

When I confirmed my ability to understand more than mere humans, her eyes lit up, and she took a few steps closer. “How well do you understand them? Are the words forming in your mind? Do you fully grasp their meaning? Is it like talking to people for you, or do you have to use your beast side?”

Her rapid-fire questions caught me off guard, but I didn’t have to stop her. She realized herself that she had gotten carried away. “Sorry, Grey. I’ve never had a chance to talk to someone like you.”

“It’s fine. Would you believe that the Imperial Chief Healer was even worse?”

Lightfeather, a woman seemingly in her forties, smirked. “Considering you’re the reason he came all the way over here from Wagonbrei, not really.”

She knew more than I thought they’d tell someone like her. But who was I to judge that? So rather than getting pissed at the fact that they were having my file read by whomever, I pondered her questions.

“Well, it comes naturally to me. How should I put it...I don’t have to try to listen to beasts or animals. If they have something to say to me, I can hear them and understand them. How well? That depends on the animal. As I have found, most have simple thoughts or rather needs, and it’s reflected in their speech. For example, all I got from the hen was intentions instead of coherent words.”

“Hen? You were able to communicate with a hen? Wow, I’m impressed.”

“Well, it wasn’t much of communication,” I corrected her, unsure how to feel about the praise. “Actually, most words, both animal and beast, carry intentions.”

“Yeah, they do,” she said, nodding and enjoying this talk. “A lot of the communication is done that way. Intentions play a significant part. You could say that they are the universal language of animals and beasts like Standard is for us. But when it comes to speech, each species has its own. Quite challenging to learn to talk to multiple species.”

Was that a thing? Really? To me, the dog language was no different from that of the mossbear’s.

“But you don’t seem to have that issue,” Lightfeather said with timing that suggested she had no trouble reading my body language. In her case, I didn’t find it strange. “Damn, I’m jealous. It’s not just about speech and intent in growling and hissing. Body language. Take humans, we are one species, but there are differences in it throughout the nations. Heck, even through the different regions of the Empire. And that there are even more distinct differences between the various species of animals and beasts is killing me. Each species also has its own nuances in body language and so many at that. That’s why it’s so hard for cats and dogs to get along. So how are you doing it?”

“Actually, I’m having trouble controlling mine, let alone reading someone else’s body language.”

“You can’t?” she wondered, perplexed, almost like she forgot that I’m not trained in beast talk like her. “I would say it’s essential when communicating with animals. It can tell you so much and...”

A squeak of a squirrel on her shoulder gave her pause, and then her eyes flashed with amused realization mixed with embarrassment. “Sorry, Grey. I didn’t mean to explain to you how hard it is for me to communicate with animals and beasts. Reading about you, about someone for whom it’s natural, made this gal excited, and seeing you in person...if you were a guy, I’d be willing to jump into bed with you. The things I could learn from you. Damn, don’t even get me started...”

Another reprimanding squeak from the squirrel on her shoulder made her shut up and pay attention to the little rodent.

“Sorry, sorry,” she apologized to the squirrel before giving me a look. “Grey, this is Pip. Or Pipsqueak. My friend. A redwood squirrel, despite her size, brilliant creature. Just so you know, she hates being called a pet.”

“Noted,” I said with a nod at the squirrel. “Nice to meet you, Pipsqueak.” As best I could, I tried to put intent into my words, respect, and sincere greetings.

The little creature fixed its gaze on me. “You too, Lady.”

The ‘Lady’ thing, again. The dog, Pond, that guards brought in when I was testing my understanding of animal language, addressed me the same way, with the same meaning. Was it a coincidence? Common address, perhaps?

“Damn, she was never that polite to me?” Lightfeather said in sheer disbelief. “What am I doing wrong, Pip?”

“You human, she lady,” Pipsqueak explained, holding out her already empty paws to her friend. “Nut?”

“I can be lady-like too,” the woman objected to her little friend, yet she reached into her pocket with a smile and gave the squirrel its treat.

“Wren, very kind.”

“Sure! Sometimes I feel like you’re with me just for the food,” Lightfeather complained, to which Pipsqueak didn’t respond anymore and instead focused on the nut in her paws. The caretaker woman then cast her eyes at me. “Excellent execution, Grey. Pip and I both understood you perfectly, even to the meaning behind your words. It’s like you were born a beast.” She held up her hand to stop me. “Of course, I know you weren’t. Just... can you ride next to me on the way to Esulmor? I have so many questions.”

“About that,” I said, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. “I don’t know how to ride a horse.”

Before Lightfeather could react to my obvious shortcoming, the rodent on her shoulder butted in with her squeak. “Pip knows. She can teach.”

“I-I’d love that,” I stammered, struggling to picture the little squirrel riding a horse. When I gave the caretaker a look, asking if it was true, she just shrugged. “She’s good with them. Don’t ask me how or why.”

That was hard not to do, and I really wanted to, but I didn’t get the chance when the stableman showed up, an aged man, drenched in sweat. Considering what was going on outside, it was no wonder he was busy.

[Horsemaster: lvl 135]

His eyes flicked from me to Lightfeather and back before he sighed, massaging his neck. “Which one of you is Grey?”

Lightfeather pointed at me. “Her.”

“Me,” I said, along with her, raising my hand.

The man frowned. “Did I gather right that you’ve never ridden a horse?”

“Well, I took a ride once...” I said cautiously, unsure of how he would react.

“Fuck me! They’re asking me to entrust my horse to a complete greenhorn,” the man muttered to himself without trying to hide his annoyance at the fact from me. He actually gave me a glare, pointing at me. “Hurt my horse, and you’ll wish we’d never met. Likewise, don’t blame me when you get knocked down. Your stupidity is not my fault. Seriously, who wants to ride a horse without being taught?”

Although I agreed with the stableman, I refrained from telling him. The man wasn’t to blame but Deckard and whoever arranged this. Where was he, anyway? I haven’t seen him since he left me at Broken Mug.

“And you! Is that a rat on your shoulder? Get thee out of my stable!” He fumed at Lightfeather even though she must have been twice his level.

“Rude man,” piped Pipsqueak while the man tried to chase them out.

“I’ll find you when we get out of the city, Grey,” the caretaker called to me before she disappeared into the courtyard.

“You, dumb greenhorn, come with me!” boomed the man, satisfied that he had driven the unwanted guests out of his stable but still pissed at the one gal who was supposed to ride a horse under his care with no experience.

For a second there, I considered telling him about my ability to communicate with them before I dismissed the notion and quietly followed him, not wanting to risk further incurring his wrath. It was not worth it when he was the one who was supposed to entrust me with one of his animals.

And so, moments later, I found myself face to face with the steed that I was to ride.