"That was strange," Sara said, torn between finding the whole situation funny or finding it extremely dangerous.

"Quite so." Sirus nodded. The strange catkin had thoroughly confused them all.

Her aura was dangerous. No, dangerous would be a serious understatement. It felt as though she had walked over the bodies of monster they couldn't even begin to imagine.

However, if one ignored her aura, she looked like an ignorant princess, completely innocent and with looks that, although not particularly sexually attractive, were very cute.

Even more so, her friendly attitude showed that she at least didn't intend to kill them. Although they were somewhat distraught at the thought of being stuck in an island with such a dangerous and cute monster somewhat creeped them out.

Sirus was especially affected. The catkin had looked at him in a way he had long since become accustomed to, but right now, and in this situation, if she forced his hand he might have no choice but to accept.

Normally, he could protect himself thanks to his strong magic and physical abilities, as well as status as the second son of the Karloman patriarch.

Unfortunately, sometimes his status only worsened his situation. There were tons of women who harassed him daily, and even men. Some tried to force themselves on him, others tried any way they could to get in his pants.

He had the body of a Greek god, yes, but the main reason for his troubles was his charming nature, and it reflected in his very aura. Even a complete stranger would feel infatuated with him.

This had caused him a ton of problems in his childhood, forcing him to hide behind his father far more often than he liked.

However, in this godforsaken island, surrounded by people of questionable loyalty and with no father or older brother to help him when he finds himself in a pinch, he truly felt helpless.

"Young Master Sirus, when do you think the ship will be ready to sail again?" Sara asked him. Turning to face her, he thought for a moment before replying.

"If we're lucky, a couple weeks. The shields broke but didn't shatter, so it won't take too long to repair them. On the other hand, the hull of the ship was damaged quite badly. Realistically, it will take a month for the ship to be ready once more. Of course, that is if that beast doesn't decide to break the ship. In that case, we'd be stranded here forever."

In reality, there was no need to add the last part. But he needed every ounce of loyalty from these men that he could squeeze out. By making subtle threats that, if the catkin ever got angry, they would be stranded here, it at least promised cooperations from them.

And indeed, the five Raven's faces turned sour at the thought. They all had a differing opinion on the catkin, whether they liked her or not. However, they all agreed on one thing.

She was dangerous. Dangerous beyond belief. They didn't know the full extent of her power, but even just the tip of the iceberg that she showed freaked them out.

"... Alright. We'll help with repairing the ship." The Ravens said. Sirus nodded with a smile and asked them to gather some supplies for the various working sailors, who were all unaware of the perilous situation they were in.

If the Ravens had the option to sacrifice them all in order for their safe return, they would gladly murder all the sailors that they had been with for months. This was the true nature of mercenaries: cold, unfeeling machines that ran on money and the sweet promises of a comfortable life when they retire. If they live long enough to do so.

However, Sirus was different. He truly cared for his men, which many of his friends and even his family told him was a very dangerous thing. Nobles had to be very picky when choosing who to care for, for love and affection was a weakness in the eyes of enemies.

~~~~

Days passed. The catkin would occasionally drop by, sometimes observing from hiding spots, sometimes following the Ravens or Sirus around.

She was especially happy to observe Sirus working on the ship. The sailors were confused at who this strange beastkin was, but Sirus simply told them she was a native of the island and avoided any further questions.

The first time she had visited Sirus, she had come stark naked, just like the first time they had seen her. Seeing this, Sirus had been forced to call Sara. Seeing the naked catkin, Sara could just sigh and take out some clothing from her storage ring. They all had those rings, even though they cost a fortune. After all, none of them were of a low status, so they could easily afford a good storage ring.

Amongst those belongings were several of her smaller clothing. Even then, she had to cut them down quite a bit before they fit the catkin, who luckily was quite interested in the strange skin that the creatures wore and took off occasionally.

The Catkin thus now wore a simple short-sleeved shirt, along with a pair of black shorts. Sara had struggled for quite a bit to put underwear on the catkin, who refused to ever let herself get caught in any way shape or form. Eventually, she had to show how to put them on by repeatedly putting them on herself, then giving it to the catkin.

She eventually got the memo and put them on. Sara had for the first time in her life thanked god at that moment, feeling even happier than the day she got her platinum badge.

After that mess, the catkin had quickly grown to like the creature's skin. Or, as they called it, clothing. She had even gone as far as to start making her own, although the attempts she made were often unsuccessful. However, if there was something the catkin was really, really good at, it was patience.

Hence, she never got discouraged. Instead, she studied from the creatures and sometimes even tried asking them for help. She had personally captured and skinned alive a whole pack of wolves, all of which had good quality fur.

As days passed, she started to make some progress on learning the creature's language. She learned that the pretty creature was named Sirus, and he was a 'hooman'. The other creatures tried to introduce themselves but she didn't bother learning them.

When they tried to ask for her own name, she could only stare blankly at them. Name? She didn't have that!

She was following Sirus as he repaired the ship, watching his every move with good interest while he made small talk with her, knowing full well she couldn't understand him. It was then that he realized that she didn't have a name when he tried to ask her for it.

She understood what he was trying to ask, but she didn't know what to answer. Feeling somewhat helpless, Sirus thought for a moment before smiling and stopping what he was doing to turn to the catkin and pat her head lightly while he spoke, his voice containing no small amount of amusement.

"Although I absolutely despise racism and prejudice, I think that Luna would be a good name for you since your everything just screams 'I'm white', and Luna means moon in the ancient tongue, and the moon is technically white. Creative, right?" He laughed slightly. He was somewhat surprised when she both didn't shrink away from his pats, marking the first time any human had ever touched her, and also at her saucer-wide eyes staring at him.

The catkin looked at the screen that had popped up in front of her, then looked at the human. She switched her looks between the two things several times, before smiling dumbly and parroting "Luna!"

Welcome to your Status Card, Luna Name - Luna Age - 24 year Strength - 8325 Constitution - 10 Vitality - 6135 Intelligence - 10 Dexterity - 16639 Wisdom - 10

It only took a couple moments for another screen to appear, further surprising the catkin, now named Luna.

Notification~CHAAAAAAAAAN to the RESCUEEEEEEE~ Because you have finally obtained a name, you are now qualified to leave the Starting Island! Because you have finally obtained a name, restraints on Anima absorption have been removed. You may now absorb Anima in ways other than killing.

Luna was somewhat confused at what the notification screen meant, but after mentally asking a bunch of questions, she was quite pleased.

Although she likely wouldn't use this function, it sounded fun. Ideas started popping up in her head, some very scary, and some rather dumb.

She was shaken out of the trance when she felt something approaching her. She swiftly retreated back, seeing Sirus' hand floating in the place where she previously was. He awkwardly took his hand back and went back to his work, not saying anything on the event.

Feeling a strange emotion she had never felt before, she quickly went back to where Sirus was. She studied him for a bit before pulling on his sleeves to get his attention.

Suprised, Sirus turned around to see the small catkin, now named Luna thanks to him, staring at him with blinking eyes. She reached for his head and patted it, just like Sirus had done to her. She then said in her high-pitched voice that often cracked, making it sound comical "Tank!"

Sirus couldn't help but smile widely and shake his head, keeping in his laughter. "It's 'thank', not 'tank'. Tanks are a class, while thank is to... thank someone?"

Realizing just how bad of a language teacher he was, Sirus just stopped talking. Luna had taken a step back from him now and was looking at him with a proud look. She then turned around and vanished, her faster-than-light speed somehow not leaving behind even a trace of a sound nor an afterimage.

Seeing her leave, Sirus sighed. He didn't know whether what he was doing was right or wrong, smart or dumb. He simply went along with his feelings, and he knew that the beast... No, Luna, was not a bad person. She might be a monster, but she obviously wasn't evil. He had seen what evil looked like, and it did not look like a head-patting 'tanking' girl that barely reached his chest in height.

Sirus wasn't wrong, but he wasn't right. What he failed to realize was that, to Luna, evil and good didn't exist. She had grown without any influence from human society, so her way of thinking was very much different from their own. Was it a good or bad thing? Who knows. Only time will tell.