After Scarlet had prepared breakfast, she waited for Keera to keel over, surprised that it hadn’t already happened. But it gave her a minute or two to consider her actions in the future, how to behave to make the seed she had planted in Keera’s mind to sprout in the way she wanted to.

Ultimately, she wanted to have Keera bound to herself, convinced that she was following and obeying Scarlet because it was what she wanted. An invisible cage, anchored deep within her consciousness, a cage she couldn't escape, ever. That was what she wanted, but how to get there, that was the question. There were a few roles she considered, a superior, similar to military ranks, but those didn’t quite signified what she wanted. Sure, she wanted to be able to command Keera but a superior was just another cog in a larger machine and the loyalty was seldom to the individual, but to the idea. Another role was that of a family member, similar to a parent but she quickly discarded that as impractical, partially because she, Scarlet, had no idea how to act as a parent.

And lastly, she considered the role of a teacher, remembering how her own teachers at the training-facility had acted, and how they had made sure to always remain aloof and distant. If she used that as a model, a teacher, pushing the student but making sure the student felt it was to their own good, that might be the way to go.

Scarlet’s musings were interrupted by a soft thud caused by Keera falling over, blood running from her nose. Seeing that, Scarlet smiled a little, happy to see that Keera was coming along better than she had anticipated. After a moment of consideration, she walked over, shifting Keera’s body onto one of their sleeping-bags and propping her head up on a pillow. For just a second, she had considered using her own lap as pillow, but decided that it would be too forward and send the wrong message.

Once Keera was situated more comfortable, she got a cloth and some water from the nearby brook, cleaning away the blood and sweat from Keera’s face, gently taking care of her. Just as she was about to be done with that, Keera’s eyes fluttered open, exactly as Scarlet had planned. She wanted the gesture to seem natural but also caring and comforting, more fertiliser to the seed.

“Good, you are awake.” Scarlet said, smiling gently at Keera. “Breakfast is ready.”

Keera blinked in surprise for a second, blushing just a little, before accepting Scarlet’s hand to get up. Breakfast was still a rather simple affair but overall, Scarlet’s cooking had improved some during the time they had been apart. While she was greatly lacking in spices, the raw materials were fresh, without the blandness of previously frozen ingredients, reducing the issue.

“How long do you need to be able to fight?” Scarlet asked, “Part of getting stronger is knowing and assessing your own strength, so it is your choice when you take the lead. But remember, a lot of the power you stand to gain is tied up in your crystal monster, the more powerful your crystals are, the more power you have at your disposal.”

Scarlet was not quite sure how to interpret the look Keera shot at her, nor did she understand the blush creeping up on the other.

“Give me about an hour.” Keera mumbled, after closing her eyes for a moment, looking inward.

“An hour it is. But for now, we should get going, I doubt monsters will come to our camp, to be destroyed and bagged.”

They quickly cleared up the camp, making sure that the fire-pit was covered in earth and started on their way. As Scarlet had promised, she went ahead again, with Cyca bounding next to her. Neither of them made any voluntary noise, even if Keera was still learning the art of silently moving through a forest, but even Scarlet had yet to perfect it. Only Cyca moved truly silent, as befitting a creature based on a predatory cat.

In the time Scarlet had the lead, she managed to hunt down another crystal monster, one of the birdies, and gladly sent Cyca to take it down. For once, the fight was rather interesting, the bird-monster apparently a particularly strong example of the type, even if the outward appearance was very similar to the others they had taken down.

The bird managed to detect them before Cyca was able to sneak up on it, to take it down with a single, powerful attack from an ambush and the bird instantly took flight, getting into a position that would allow it to strike its earthbound foe with impunity or flee, if the need arose.

The bird’s first move was to rapidly beat its wings for a second or two, fully arresting its forward movement and causing a strange gust, or airblast to strike down towards Cyca. The cat tried to leap aside but the area covered by the pressure wave was too large, the backblast catching her in the air, causing her to tumble and lose track of her assailant.

“Over there!” Scarlet shouted, pushing her sensory information and view through their bond, allowing Cyca to dodge the next blast, this one far more concentrated, making it smaller but stronger.

In response, Cyca tried to get it with one of her lightning blasts, attacking while the bird was still trying to get its speed back up after attacking. But it proved cagey, letting itself drop almost to the ground to evade the sudden attack.

“Quick, strike now!” Scarlet called out, pushing a tactic to Cyca, showing her how to get the bird before it could get back into the sky. Going along with the plan, Cyca leapt to one tree, not even trying to get a grip, merely using it to push off mid air, towards another tree and finally a third one that allowed her to artfully intercept the bird just as it was trying to climb back into the air.

Scarlet blinked in surprise when there was a flash of lightning coming from Cyca’s claws, not just the normal, clear phantom extensions, but extensions made from the same lightning she shot out to attack. But the attack wasn’t just new and obviously powerful, it managed to hit right between the bird’s wings, and with a cat just slightly smaller than it was having its claws lodged into its back, the bird had no chance to continue flying. Their momentum combined, causing them to tumble through the air, until Cyca demonstrated that even crystal monsters that merely imitate the shape and mannerisms of a cat land on their paws. Or, in this case on the bird they had in their paws.

When the bird had yet to dematerialise and let Cyca absorb its essence, the cat used her superior position to bite into its neck, ending its suffering. The birds body turned into the familiar surge of light, flowing into Cyca and once it was done, the cat took the surprisingly large crystal into her maw, carrying it over to Scarlet, proudly presenting its kill to her mistress.

After quickly taking and pocketing the crystal, Scarlet gently picked up Cyca, rewarding the excellent fight with scritches and general petting. It only took moments for Cyca to happily purr and, while Scarlet led them back to the main path, she continued to give Cyca all the attention the cat loved.

“You know that’s not a real cat, don’t you?” Keera finally asked after a minute or so.

“That entirely depends on your definition of real, I guess. Do I know that it is not a member of the animal kingdom, the chordata phylum, the mammalia class and the felidae class? Yes, I know that.” Scarlet answered, not stopping to gently stroke Cyca’s fur.

“So, why are you treating it like that?”

“Why not? I’m quite certain that Cyca is a thinking, feeling being. I can feel her enjoyment over the link I use to direct her so why shouldn’t I try to reward positive behaviour? Just because I can force her to do my bidding?” Scarlet asked, turning to Keera. She almost added that she could force Keera to do what she wanted, but managed to stop herself, realising that the processes involved were not too dissimilar. She wanted to tame Cyca, so that the cat obeyed her and did her best to follow her commands, just like she wanted to train Keera to follow her commands. She even used mental control for both tasks, only that she was less open about the way she influenced Keera. Knowing that such an explanation would destroy all the progress she had done on Keera, she simply hid her thoughts with a smile.

“I think part of the reason I have such an easier time to control my crystal monsters is that I treat them as living beings, not just as tools to be used and discarded.” Scarlet volunteered, hiding her own thoughts on the matter.