Yesterday had been wild. Not only had Kenneth won a fight against the former second-in-command and been attacked by someone who somehow managed to make him remember his past, but he had also been accused of having magical powers. And, of course, lastly, he had finally joined the outpost.

  The sun hadn’t even risen as he awoke from his sleep. It had been another uneasy night of nightmares, but this time luckily, Jasha wasn’t in it. No, this time, his nightmare was about more of his time in kindergarten.

  “Why can’t I get those nothing dreams where I don't dream at all,” Kenneth sighed as he sat on the bed and looked over at Nya, who seemed to still be sleeping.

  It was a little strange to see her lying on her side with her legs raised and her tail protruding from between them, forming a circle with her entire body, and in the middle was a hole.

  Kenneth remembered yesterday when he couldn’t sleep and left very early in the morning. He had only glanced at her for a moment, fearful that his gaze would somehow disturb her in some way, but now that he saw her sleeping again in that position, he remembered that her babies had been in the middle.

  ‘It’s honestly kind of sad,” Kenneth thought as he watched her nurturing instincts on full display. It was obvious that Nya cared for her children, but Kenneth also understood that now that she was the second in command, she probably didn’t have much time to take care of them.

  It was then, as Kenneth’s eyes lingered on her and watched her breath, that she started to move and eventually opened her eyes. She then sat seemingly still tired and waiting for her brain to probably turn on.

  “Morning, sleepy,” Kenneth said.

  “Er… How much does your kind sleep?” She asked, sounding both tired and annoyed.

  Kenneth then yawned and stretched both of his arms above his head, getting both his right shoulder and spine to make a satisfying pop sound. “I could answer the question in your kind measure of time, but it’s too early for me to even think about math,” Kenneth said, feeling the dryness in his mouth as spit started to fill it once again.

  “What does math have to do with telling me how much you sleep?” She asked, sounding more awake but still a great deal annoyed.

  “I’ll save the explanation for when you have your coffee,” Kenneth said with a chuckle.

  “What, in the name of Akina, is coffee,” she half growled.

  “Oh, it’s a black, bitter drink that wakes you up every morning until it doesn’t work anymore, and you only drink it because you are addicted,” Kenneth said as he rose from the bed and walked out of the room to relieve himself.

  Once he had finished and closed the lid on the toilet, he walked out to the living room. He was met by Nya, who immediately went after him, and before she closed the door, Kenneth informed her that he was going to the great hall.

  She didn’t respond, but he got the feeling that she heard him, so he grabbed the bag and went on his mary way.

  Yet again, Kenneth was met with stares and whispers, and every now and again, he could hear some of the words there was being used, which were monster, abomination, and in rare cases, heretic. He honestly expected one or more to stab him in the back at some point.

  Although Kenneth was sure, there was at least one or more that had the balls to actually try and kill him, he also knew that whoever tried and maybe succeeded would have to face Ulric.

  Kenneth had not been here for long, but from what he had seen so far, there was a good reason why Ulric was the commander here, and everybody probably knew not to cross him if his threat to Zilika was any indication.

  Soon Kenneth arrived at the great hall, which seemed more alive than it had been for the few days he’d been here. More Aki walked around, seemingly seeing him, but either not paying attention or caring as they worked.

  “You have arrived early,” came a voice from behind Kenneth.

  As he turned around, he saw Kica standing there with the Aki equivalent of a smile as far as Kenneth had come to know it. “Yeah, didn’t sleep much and just want to work,” Kenneth responded as he only now noticed three Aki standing behind Kica.

  ‘Oh, yeah, them,” Kenneth thought as he remembered yesterday.

  After the ceremony, Kenneth had been informed that for him to actually teach Kica anything, it had to be under the strict supervision of at least three guards, all of them armed.

  Kenneth still had a bit of a hard time telling the gender of the Aki since most wore the same thing, and there really didn’t seem to be any kind of social dress code for men or women, at least in the outpost.

  But he was pretty sure the three guards were made up of two women and one man. The first women had mostly brown fur that somehow seemed to change from light brown to dark brown in different places.

  The second woman had more yellowish fur and was much shorter than most of the Aki he had come across. While most Aki easily cleared 2 meters in height, she was about 190, maybe 195 centimeters tall.

  The last one, who was also the tallest of them all, was the man with almost blood-red fur across his body. The only place where there wasn’t red, like with all other Aki, was the tip of the tail which was always white.

  Kenneth had no illusion that he was well-liked by anyone at the outpost, so when he had made the gesture of greeting. Kenneth wasn’t truly surprised none of them returned it.

  Kica was the only one who seemed to be friendly, but she could only be putting up a facade for any number of reasons. Although Kenneth had a gut feeling, it wasn’t truly so.

  Yesterday when they had had that brief conversation where he was held at arrow point, she seemed to be very euphuistic about what he was saying. ‘She seemed like any young person who wanted to learn,’ Kenneth thought.

  “So, shall we get started,” Kenneth asked, looking at Kica.

  “Yes,” She responded, walking towards the backroom with the three musketeers in tow.

  The room wasn’t too big, but it did have more than enough space for all five of them to somewhat move comfortably around. “So, a small confection I must make,” Kenneth said, drawing the gazes of everyone. “I have never actually taught anyone, so if it seemed like I have no idea what I’m doing, then you can just chuck it up to that.”

  “I’m sure that won’t be a problem. You just have to talk like you did before,” Kica said with a very relaxed expression.

  “You mean with an arrow pointed and with a room of Aki wanting to kill me,” Kenneth said in a sarcastic tone, but with how deep his voice usually was, he guessed no one could tell the difference.

  Kenneth then cleared his throat. “All jokes aside, let's begin.”

  The confirmation the lesson was about to begin filled Kica’s eyes with more light than Kenneth had previously seen before. “So, for me to know what I should teach you, I need to know what you currently know about the body.”

  “The body?” Kica said in a somewhat confused tone. “Shouldn’t you be teaching me something like the thing you did with Fenik? You know tricks to make healing much easier.”

  “Do you believe that is all I have to teach you, tricks?” Kenneth questioned in a somewhat offended tone.

  “No, I just thought that you knew a great many things about making the healing I perform much less taxing. I didn’t mean to offend,” Kica said in a somewhat apologetic voice.

  “If I remember correctly, one of the first times we spoke, you said you have a limit to how much you can heal?” Kenneth asked, and Kica nodded in confirmation. “Okay, let me ask you this question then. What happens when you can’t use your ability anymore and someone is knocking on a death's door?”

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  For a moment, it seemed like she was going to answer, but she stopped herself, realizing what the answer would be. She then got a bit of a saddened expression. “What I will teach you won’t just let you save your energy for when the ability is needed, but also save others without it,” Kenneth said.

  “I understand,” Kica eventually said.

  “Good then; now, can you tell me what you know about the body,” Kenneth said as he found a place to sit.

  “Um… the body breaths, it moves it-”

  “It shits,” one of the guards interrupted, getting a chuckle from one of the other guards and an eyes roll from another.

  Kenneth then turned to the brown-haired Aki, who had a very satisfied expression. “Excuses me, misses. Are you taking part in the lessons as well?” Kenneth asked in an unfeeling voice while he was a bit irritated by the interruption.

  The Aki only laughed in response. “I ain’t no damn healer.”

  “And,” Kenneth responded. “If it’s because you do not have the ability, then there is no need to worry. Once I've fully finished teaching, the ability Kica has will be nice to have, but not a need-to-have thing.”

  “I ain’t no damn healer,” The Aki repeated a bit more angrily.

  “Well, if that’s the case, then would you be so kind as to stay quiet,” Kenneth responded.

  “Sure thing, abomination,” the woman said with a shrug.

  Kenneth then turned his attention to Kica. “While what you said wasn’t wrong, it wasn’t what I was looking for. It was more about kidneys, liver, heart, and lungs, the internal organs.”

  Kica then blinked twice before she responded. “Yes, I believe we have those,” she answered in a bit of an unsure tone.”

  ‘Believe,’ Kenneth thought. ‘Does she not know what is inside their body, or do they not have the same organs as me? Their blood is the same color as mine, and it seemed to act normally like it was being pushed by a heart.’

  ‘They also breathe, so the organ that handles that department should also be there. Perhaps it would be best I just for now focus on what I know they have until I can talk with Ulric about the matter,” Kenneth thought.

  “You know, forget my previous question. I’ll just start from the beginning,” Kenneth said.

  “Okay,” Kica replayed, a bit excited.

  “A normal body has many different layers starting with the outer layer of skin, fat, muscle, and all the way down to bones,” Kenneth said, noticing a strange expression from Kica. “If you have a question, you are free to ask them.”

  “Yes, so you are saying the body has different layers, but why is that?” Kica asked, sounding a bit perplexed but also very curious.

  “I’m guessing you are also asking why the body isn’t one giant section instead of many different layers,” Kenneth said, noticing a small nod from Kica. “Well, the more simple answer is that if the body was only one, it probably wouldn’t work. Each layer of the body is separate for a good reason.”

  “Let's take the example of bones and muscles,” Kenneth said as he crossed his legs. “Bones and muscles are separate layers for a good reason, that being that if you had bones without muscles, then you wouldn’t be able to move and vice-versa,” Kenneth said, becoming a bit happy that he was actually teaching.

  “I don’t think I understand,” Kica said, sounding somewhat confused.

  ‘Okay, I might be expecting a bit too much from someone who uses magic to heal and has no need to understand the body. It might be better to use a more down-to-earth example,” Kenneth thought as he tried to think of the best to explain it.

  “Okay, first of all, if you have a question, you can just raise your hand,” Kenneth said. “Next, it might be easier to explain the layers of the body using a house as an example.”

  “Just bear with me. Try and think of bones as the beams you would use when building a house. They are strong and solid but useless as they are now, but by adding muscles, you can bind the beams together and make the house stand on its own,” Kenneth explained, hoping it would be the best analogy.

  Looking at Kica, she seemed a bit confused, but less than the first time, he tried to explain it. “So, do you have a better understanding of it, or did I miss the mark?” Kenneth asked.

  “Um… building isn't really something I know much about, but I think I understand,” Kica responded, sounding a bit unsure.

  “Okay then, could you, in your own word, explain it to me?” Kenneth asked.

  “Yes, the bones are the beams that hold up the body, and the muscles are what keep them from falling apart,” Kica said in a voice that made it clear she was unsure what she was saying was right.

  “Yes, that is correct,” Kenneth said in a jovial tone. “It seems you are paying attention and are getting an understanding.”

  Then just as Kenneth had finished talking, someone knocked on the door, and one of the three musketeers opened it. “What is it,” the big bloodred-haired Aki said.

  On the other side of the door stood a smaller and more timid Akia, and as far as Kenneth could see, it was barely over 150 centimeters. “Breakfast is ready,” said the small Aki, that, to Kenneth, sounded much less mature than all other Aki he had heard.

  Then the brown-haired shot up from her seated position and said,” I’ll get it, you three, just stay here.” She then rushed out of the room, giving the small Aki barely enough time to get out of her way.

  She then returned a moment later, holding three bowls of what looked like the same meal Kenneth had had yesterday for both breakfast and dinner after the ceremony. “Just wait. I’ll get more,” she said quickly as she left.

  And just as quickly as she had left, she returned this time with two more bowels, one of which she handed to Kica, who in turn thanked her for it. The other one she handed to Kenneth, and Kenneth, not being to turn down the food, reached for it with one hand.

  ‘That’s very nice of her,” Kenneth thought, but just as the thought finished and Kenneth was about to grab the bowl, the brown-haired Aki let go of the wooden bowl, and Kenneth, at that moment, could see that the Aki had a shitfaced grin. “Ups, I lost my grip,” she said in an obvious fake apologetic voice.

  “And what a shame, there isn’t anymore,” she said.

  For a moment, Kenneth was furious that not only had she intentionally dropped the bowl on purpose, but she wasn’t even trying to hide it as if she wanted him to do something. That something could have been attacking her, which, for one brief second, he thought about doing it.

  Though his better judgment stopped him, as well as some flashing memories of kindergarten that filled him with shame for even thinking about using violence for something that insignificant, it was probably for the best he didn’t do anything.

  Not only would it have been an excuse for any one of them to claim self-defense which would allow them to do almost anything to him. He would also have been unable to strike with any kind of actual force.

  “Oh… well, accidents happen. No reason to get mad about it,” Kenneth said in a fake but very convincing happy, and carefree voice.

  The grin the brown-haired fox once had now turned to confusion at Kenneth’s lack of anger. “Now, Kica, should we take a break, or do you want me to continue teaching while you eat,” Kenneth asked Kica, completely ignoring the brown-haired Aki.

  “It’s fine; you can continue,” She answered.

  “Okay, we were at bones and muscles. I’ll have to diverge from the house as a metaphor or at least your houses,” Kenneth said, taking a short breath.

  “What our houses not to the fancy man's liking,” the brown-haired Aki said in an almost offended voice.

  Kenneth simply ignored her, knowing that all she was trying to do was get a rise out of him. “One of the next layers of the body I need to talk about are the blood vessels, which are like the roads the blood travels to get to a certain destination.”

  It went on like that for some time, Kenneth trying his best to explain how the body worked without mentioning anything that might be specific to humans alone and not Aki.

  “And that is the central nervous system and how you feel anything at all,” Kenneth explained, noticing that Kica looked just like one of those old computers overheating and ready to shut down.

  Kenneth then rose from his seated position and began to stretch his body a little. “Well, I think that will be enough for now,” Kenneth said, feeling a few of his joints popping.

  “Why are you stopping now?” The brown-haired Aki said in a very annoyed tone. “Your job is to teach, so teach, or should I get Ulric.”

  “You are welcome to get go and get him,” Kenneth said in a very carefree and casual tone.

  “You think I won’t midget,” she said in half a growling voice.

  She was about to leave the room. “Before you go,” Kenneth said, making the brown-haired Aki stop at the door. “The reason I’m making Kica take a break is that I don’t want to give her too much information at once. That will only end up prolonging the amount of time I need to teach her.”

  “But you are more than welcome to get Ulric, so I can explain it to him as well, and I might also bring up how distractive you are being while I’m simply trying to do my job,” Kenneth said in a very condescending tone. He also became really happy once the Aki turned around, and Kenneth could see how pissed she looked.

  Normally Kenneth would never be this way. He would often try and be polite, but that woman had just pushed his buttons from the moment he started to speak, so seeing her this angry made Kenneth just the tiniest bit happy.

  “I’ve had enough of this stuffy room,” Kenneth said, walking to the door. “I’ll be outside if you need me, and you should probably do the same,” Kenneth said, looking at Kica.

  Outside, the great hall was much brighter than inside, which made Kenneth's eyes hurt a little, but luckily the sky was full of clouds blocking the sun.

  Feeling his legs beginning to fall asleep, Kenneth started to walk around the great hall, tired of thinking and only wanting to shut off his mind.

  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as he was approached from behind by one of the guards that had been watching him as he taught Kica. “Hey, we need to talk,” the bloodred-haired Aki said.

  “Listen, I already told your annoying friend that Kica needs a break,” Kenneth sighed as he continued to walk.

  “It has nothing to do with either of them. This is about something you told Pilu,” The bloodred-haired Aki said in a more nervous voice which made Kenneth stop.

  “Fine, what is it,” Kenneth sighed, feeling a headache coming.

  The bloodred-haired Aki looked nervous as he looked around. “It was about what you said to Pilu. Is it really true that you don’t need the magic of healing to be a healer if you taught them?”

  “As I said, magic is nice to have, but it is not something you need in order to be a healer,” Kenneth said, noticing the nervous expression on the Aki somewhat disappear.

  “Would it then be possible for you to also teach me as well,” the Aki blurted out quickly.

  In response, Kenneth placed his thumb and index finger on his chin. ‘Is he being real? It wouldn’t be a problem to teach more than just Kica, and it would give me the opportunity to know how well I could teach the average Aki,’ Kenneth thought.

  “You don’t have to repeat what you already taught Kica. I listened intently to what you said,” The bloodred-haired Aki said in a frantic panic, snapping Kenneth back to reality.

  “What is your name?” Kenneth asked, seemingly surprising the Aki.

  “It… it’s Aloko,” he answered, sounding a bit nervous.

  “Well, then, Aloko, I guess you are my new student.”