Walking Disasters and Me-Homeward Bound – Ch 11

Walking Disasters and Me-Homeward Bound – Ch 11

With a soft smile still on my face, I gaze down at the glowing expression of Amelia. How such a pure and deep person can exist, even with her circumstances, is beyond my comprehension. A lesser mortal, thrust into the same situation with her conditions would have folded twice over, I'd wager. Yet here she is, trying her best to face the unknown with care and thoughtfulness, and more than a hint of vulnerability. Perhaps that is lingering naivety from her past life, or she may truly be someone who has the caring, honest nature of a Saint. Either way, it is a delight to see the pure, unfiltered reactions and feelings she shares and directs to those around her. Plus, she constantly continues to say and do adorable things!~
We will most assuredly have to focus on her responses to fear and the unknown it seems, but truth be told most mortals have quite a few heart demons they must face if they have not trained to become cultivators since their birth. If her past life is anything to go by, then I have no doubt that between Amelia's determination, and whatever boons this "System" can provide, she will be able to have a remarkable journey in cultivation. And I steel myself knowing that I will be there to provide for her any aid as I am able to.
After these few moments of reflection, I softly raise my voice with our hands still clasped together. "Very well, Amelia. Then from this day forth, until you deem yourself to be done with my teachings and companionship, we will embark on your cultivation journey together. The first step of that is for us to relocate to the Fox Village and get you accustomed to my estate. In aid of that, let me give you this." I finally stand up and place her softly back onto the ground, even if she seems disappointed to exit my embrace. I nearly pick her back up and hug her, but as much as I want to continue pampering such a cute creature, we sadly must be moving on!
I pull a small, non-descript storage bag from my ring and present it to Amelia. "This is a storage bag, it can store many items inside of it much like my ring, but with a more limited capacity. Use it to store your items and effects, especially that spear and dress you summoned. I fear the quality of those items will draw more attention than we desire upon our arrival to my home. Here, you can wear this in the meantime." I then pull out an initiate robe for the Fox Village and give it to her. It is a plain long white robe, with a purple trim and sash without any other adornments. It may not be the most ornate clothing, but it will serve its function well while also being discreet. Also, while it is merely a High Mortal Rank item, it should prove comfortable enough until we can ensure Amelia's safety in my estate.
She responds with a few nods of her cute little head and then goes about attempting to stuff her items physically into the storage bag. Her confused expression as the items are unable to cross the bag's threshold brings a smile and a soft laugh to my face before I clarify, "I'm sorry my dear, I continue to forget your unique situation. I neglected to inform you that even a small item such as that bag needs Qi to be activated. If you would allow me, I can store your items inside of it, and then you can keep it on your person for safe keeping until we arrive at my estate."
"Oh, that makes sense! I was wondering why it didn't just like, suck up my stuff like some kind of bag of holding. Oh, let me get a fresh pair of underwear before we pack everything up... for reasons..." She jokingly laughs out with a small blush covering her face. Honestly, she is just too precious!~
I smirk at her floundering before saying, "Of course dear, take your time to change and then we shall be off. Let me secure your items and then leave the cave so as to give you privacy to undress. When you are done, meet me there and then we will be away." She once again nods, her crimson red hair bouncing with her approval. I collect the spear, dress, and sleeping bag inside of the storage bag before exiting the cave and waiting near the entrance. After a minute or so, I hear her timid voice call out from inside.
"Uhm... Madam Akiko? How do you even put this on?" Curious, I poke my head around the side of the entrance, my fox ears and hair gleaming in the moonlight. What I see inside nearly causes me to double over in a fit of laughter. Poor Amelia seems to somehow have wrapped herself in the robe, legs nearly stuck together and arms poking out at awkward angles. The glow of red that I must now assume almost never leaves her face has returned, and she has trouble making eye contact with me as I smell the embarrassment waft from her even from this distance.
"Precious~" I remark with a smirk before stepping back into the cave and showing her how to properly don the robe. I try my best to not linger too long on certain spots in order to respect her wishes to remain platonic for now, but when I'm tying the sash from behind her our hands touch as she turns to look up at my face. Our eyes meet once more, and the tension slowly arises as her azure gaze stays locked onto mine. With a not insignificant amount of willpower, I smile gently before softly patting her cheek and backing away, giving her space to calm down.
She gives a small cough before turning aside slightly and squeaking out a quiet, "Thank you".
"Not at all my dear, think nothing of it. Here, let me store your bag and then we can step off. At the speed we will be going we should reach the Village before daybreak, and you can continue to rest on the flight back." I say, keeping the small smile on my face as I finish storing her belongings and then handing her the storage bag.
"Oh, alright that sounds go- wait, flying? How??" She responds taken aback, her eyes going wide at the revelation with her mouth slightly ajar in astonishment. I shall need to start a journal of all her cute reactions; they are quickly becoming too many and too varied~!
I chuckle a bit, bringing a hand to my mouth to stifle my laughter before stating, "Once someone has reached the level of cultivation I have, flight is but a simple trick. Lower realms of the Apogee rank can also fly, but the energy required to maintain the counterbalance to the world's laws is usually not worth the strain until you reach the half step. Don't worry my dear, I will go at a leisurely pace and use my Qi to protect you from the altitude and temperature while we fly."
Her eyes alight in glee and what seems like adoration as she replies, "Thats amazing! I did notice that gravity was a bit weird here, when I was being a crazy person and jumped up into the air, it felt like the higher I went the stronger it became. I was busy trying to figure out how to not break my legs when I landed at the time to really think about it though."
"Indeed, you were quite entertaining to watch~," I wink back at her, causing the red coloration to yet again return. "There are many laws that this world holds, since it was a created world. While generally, normal forces are still applied and observed there are some niche situations that supersede natural order. One of the many things we will discuss in depth once we are relocated, I promise. Now, come here and let's embark my cute little disciple~" I finish by holding my arms out as if to receive her in a hug while keeping the playful, teasing smile on my face at her sheepish reaction.
She shuffles over after a moment, and I pick her up and hold her to me gently with one arm under her knees and the other across the back of her shoulders for support. A couple of my tails also lay across her for warmth and because she always seems delighted to be stroked by them, which I find beyond endearing.
I walk us both back out of the cave, taking in the quiet of the starry night above us. The moonlight from the planet's sole, white lunar visitor bathes the rings above us in silvery ribbons. I look down to notice that Amelia is also enraptured in the sight, her eyes wide with her mouth slightly open in awe. I chuckle before slowly lifting off the ground with my Qi control, while also forming a protective layer of Qi around Amelia.
She reflexively puts her arms around my torso as we begin to take off, her face now holding a look with a hint of fear while gazing down at the slowly receding ground of the forest floor. I give her a small squeeze for comfort, which elicits an adorable squeak from her, and then begin flying properly toward the Village.
It seems that her fear quickly gives way to joy, the obvious excitement she has to be aloft and viewing the world from such an angle. She still has a firm hold on me, but she is constantly looking around with a large and charming smile on her face as she surveys the passing surroundings. I smile as I keep an eye on her while thinking about how to approach our soon to be arrival at the Village. No doubt those stuffy Elders will want to ambush me as soon as I arrive, and with young Amelia in tow the questions will surely be endless. They will likely only open the runic array at a certain location to ensure this, so trying to sneak in will be a difficult endeavor.
Well, its not as if this would be the first time that I have had to put my foot down and tell them to back off. I remember about 100 years ago, a few of the Elders thought to get cheeky and usurp a large part of the Sect's power for themselves. When I was informed about it, and had it confirmed by my own eyes, the other Elders and higher ups of the Sect soon learned why that was a wrong idea to have. It took many months for the blood and entrails of those traitorous, corrupt failures to be cleaned from the Sect Hall. Honestly, it was quite the enjoyable night~!
I feel Amelia's head lean into my neck, taking me out of my fond recollection. Her eyes droop heavily, and her breathing falls into a slow rhythm as exhaustion starts to emit from her tired form. The poor darling must still be spent, and I no doubt added to that. I frown slightly as I remember the nights events again, kicking myself for my actions. I would truly have emptied my storage ring for Amelia if she had decided that my behavior was inexcusable to her, but thankfully she found it in her heart to forgive me. Or at least, forgive me enough to entrust me with her safety as well as her sister's. Which is another odd yet fascinating piece of the puzzle that is Amelia Dufort.
While relations between siblings are generally frowned upon by the ruling class in this world, the fact remains that it happens more than those who oppose it care to admit, and most common people tend not to care either way. If that is the relationship those two end up in, of course. So long as both parties are acting out of love for each other and treat each other well, I couldn't really care less about their origins or things of that nature. Thankfully, at least same sex relations have been considered normal behavior for thousands of years by now, so Amelia doesn't have to worry about some kind of persecution for that while she is here.
Hopefully, Amelia can begin cultivating after I explain the basic steps to her, and Sandra's soul can start healing to the point where she can converse with Amelia. The sooner they figure out where they stand, the sooner I can have my answer as to whether I can give Amelia several nights of good, unending pampering!~ It's the least I could do after my shameful display, and judging by her words afterwards, and her behavior during the event, she seems to have a weakness to that kind of attention. Which is beyond fantastic for me, as it is my favorite thing to do for my lovers~.
Shaking my head softly so as not to disturb the now sleeping Amelia, I throw off those thoughts and continue onwards back to my home. After roughly another hour of flying at this slower speed, I see the large orange bubble of the runic field come into view. Etched in constantly moving symbols and patterns, it was the last creation of the Sect Leader before she ascended to the 6th realm. It took her nearly 15 years of constant work and effort to construct, but the end results speak for themselves. It would take an Immortal a considerable amount of effort to burst that protective array, and many long years at siege by an army of mortal cultivators to even begin draining its natural energies.
I gently rouse my adorable sleeping passenger, her eyelids fluttering open before giving a soft yawn and then looking up to me and wearily asking, "Are we there yet?"
"Nearly my dear. I will need to use a communication talisman to get in contact with the Elders so that they can briefly open the protection array. Be warned, they will likely try and force me to directly to the assembled Elders before we can reach my estate. While I do have the authority to tell them to wait, it would complicate matters more in the long run and likely bring more suspicion onto the estate. Again, nothing I couldn't handle if it came to that, but the easier approach is to play into their little performance and then we can retreat to my abode in peace. Does that sound agreeable to you?" I inform her before asking softly. Thankfully with my Qi protecting us, the sound of the wind rushing past is nullified so she can hear me without issue.
"Oh! Sure, whatever you think is best Madam Akiko. I'm, literally, just along for the ride right now!" Her joking tone comes back with a small laugh as she goes back to resting her head against the crook of my neck. I will need to fast track her cultivation if she keeps being this stubbornly adorable...
"Very well then, young Amelia. And while we are alone, you can simply call me Akiko. I think it is only fair after what has transpired between us so far. Unfortunately, you will need to use my proper title while others are present, at least until you are strong enough to put those who would find slight from the informality in their place."
"I understand Akiko, the trappings of power and all that. And you can feel free to call me by my nickname Aims if you want..." She begins saying before getting a twinkle of mischief across her face, "only if we're in private though, I would hate to have others accuse you of familiarity after all." Finishing with a wink and a knowing smile, she delivers her cheekiest response yet! Fast tracking cultivation it is then, she will break records of reaching the first mortal realms if I have anything to say about it!
Our banter is cut to a close as I touch down on the edge of the runic array, the towering stone walls behind the shimmering field of energy visible to us now. Amelia stares up at the structure of both before softly gasping out a small, "Whoa..." and reaching her hand forward to the destructive energies. Before she makes it far, I gently grasp her wrist which seems to shake her out of her revery.
"It would be wise not to touch the powerful, defensive protections when they are active, don't you think so Miss Dufort?~" My own cheeky voice rings out as she blushes once more, being caught in her silliness. She mumbles out a quick apology to which I simply pat her head a couple times with a tail and then set her once more on the stable foundation of the earth. I reach into my ring and produce the message talisman given to me by Elder Miko, flushing my Qi through the paper and feeling it make connection to its sister talisman on the inside.
"Dear Akiko, you have finally returned! We had worried some tragedy had befallen you while you were investigating. Are you outside of the Village and ready to reenter?" Miko's gravelly voice rips through the air as the talisman comes to life. I've known her long enough to know that she likely is only mildly telling the truth about being concerned for me, but it effects me little.
"Elder Miko, I apologize for my delay however certain things indeed came to light during my investigation that required my attention. Indeed, the array can be opened entirely as there is no threat to the Village from what occurred on the other side of the mountains, I vow this. I wish to retire to my estate for some time, and then I can return to the Sect Hall and give the assembled Elder's a briefing on what transpired." I respond back cordially.
"Hmm... We were wanting to discuss the details with you as soon as you arrived. But seeing as how I am the only one at the Sect Hall at the moment I suppose it would be... Ah! Elder Julian just came in and notified me that he noticed your arrival and has already reached out to the other Elders and told them to gather here! Akiko, please make your way to the main hall to present your to us, and then you shall be free to retire as you see fit. That will be all." With that fleeting bit of hope dashed upon the mountainside, the talisman burns up and I look over to Amelia. She also seems to be a bit crestfallen, having maybe thought the same as I in that we almost were able to scurry back to my estate and avoid a possibly unpleasant scenario.
Ah well, it matters not. If those fossils want to throw a tantrum about Amelia, or for me taking her in, then I suppose it might be time for another purge. They have been getting a bit too full of themselves lately...

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Homeward Bound – Ch 11