Chapter 15: Chapter 15: A Secret Revealed

Over the next two years, Zycor and Aisha would meet another five times. During their second meeting, about four months later, Aisha taught Zycor how to feel his limit and practice restraint. In exchange, during their third meeting, three months after their previous one, Zycor would teach Aisha a bit about magic and spell casting. Zycor talked and demonstrated how to better feel the flow of mana and how to convert it into magic. Though, due to Zycor being poor at explaining things, he decided to take a different approach and asked her to think of something fun and interesting she could do with her magic. 

She had fire and earth affinities, so the two of them started to come up with different ideas on what she could do. They tried building small earth walls, then small circular walls, along with a variety of other things. For fire, they snagged some candles to have her try and light them without destroying them. Aisha also tried lighting up five small flames on the tips of her fingers as well. By the fourth visit, Aisha and Zycor had become friends, though Aisha would get super violent whenever someone would say or mention that. The fifth meeting is when she finally asked Zycor why he never shows emotions, and so Zycor told Aisha a little about what happened, leaving out some minor details.

For the sixth meeting, Aisha showed up alone while Zycor was to the side of the guild, training with some practice dummies since Aislin was busy. Aisha and Zycor were both fourteen now, but Zycor’s birthday was coming up so he was almost an adult and would be ready to take on quests as an adventurer. Aisha was wearing some beginner level female adventuring gear, which confused Zycor. Stopping his training, Zycor asked, “What brings you out here? I don’t see your dad anywhere.” 

Aisha responded, “Please don’t tell him that I am here if you see him.” 

Understandably confused, Zycor asked, “Why? Did something happen?”

“Well,” Aisha began, “I sort of, might have… run away from home?” 

Zycor, wanting his question answered, reiterated, “But, why did you run away?” 

“Because it’s lonely at home,” Aisha began to explain, “There are the maids and attendants, sure, but I want to spend time with my dad! I want to spend time with other people! I-I want to spend time with my friend-.” 

When the words left her mouth, she began to slightly blush. As she noticed Zycor looking at her, she exclaimed, “Stop looking at me!” and threw a stone spear she made with magic at Zycor and stormed off.

After a few minutes, The Tygors carriage arrived and Vidal hurried out. Seeing Zycor, he quickly asked in a panic, “Zycor, have you seen Aisha recently!?” 

Zycor was about to honor Aisha’s request when he remembered the stone spear, and said, “Yes, you just missed her, she stormed off into the market area.” 

“Oh no,” Vidal started, “Zycor, you have to go after her! She is wearing a ring that is very valuable, it will make her the target of thieves, or worse! Zycor, she cannot have that ring taken off of her!” 

Zycor nodded, got up, and, with determination in his eyes, said, “Don’t worry Mr. Tygor. I’m on it.” And with that Zycor took his gauntlets off, shedding as much weight as he could, left them where he was, and took off at top speed.

Darting through the massive crowds around the market district looking for Aisha, he heard a commotion coming from a narrow street market section. When he arrived at the commotion, he saw a man who appeared to be around twenty-seven years old holding Aisha down while the other bystanders had made a circle around the commotion. The man was holding her right arm, taking the ring off her finger. Zycor needed to get through the crowd quickly, but could not do it with his natural speed and agility. He put some mana into the runes in his belt and his agility was boosted. He swiftly made his way through the crowd as fast as he could.

The man, who had almost gotten the ring off, yelled, “Now, now little girl, all you have to do is give up the expensive looking ring and you can go free! Though, looking at you, I think you might sell for quite a bit as well!” 

As tears began to well up in Aisha’s eyes, she whimpered for someone to help her. The man managed to get the ring off her finger. As he held his spoils in the air to be illuminated by the sun to get a better look, he cackled, “Would you look at this! Ain’t she a beauty! And look at that, it’s even got magic runes on it, it’s a magic item!” As he said that he looked back at Aisha who was against the opposite wall of the street enclosing them. “Well now,” the man began, “What should I do with-.” 

He suddenly stopped as he saw what was happening to the girl. Her hair grew longer and became wilder, losing the soft appearance. A pair of wolf ears appeared on her head. She began to have a mane appear around her neck that matched her hair color, and she began to grow fur of the same color all over her body aside from her abdomen. Her hands got slightly bigger,her nails turned to claws, and her feet grew bigger, tearing her shoes open and revealing wolf-like feet with claws where her toenails should have been. She grew a fluffy tail, and her sharp teeth turned into actual fangs.

While the thief was stunned at what he was witnessing, Zycor managed to break through the crowd and into the circle opening around the two. Aisha looked up at him jumping in front of her and, in the same motion, going in for a punch. The man barely had any time to react and took the stomach uppercut head on. Unfortunately this was not enough to bring the older man down, only infuriate him. As the man yelled, “You’re gonna regret that kid!” and threw a huge right hook. 

Zycor remembered how Aislin taught him to counter something like this. As he maintained his agility and strength boost, he ducked under the punch, grabbed the man's arm, pivoted around, and kicked the man's foot out from under him, using the momentum from the thief’s punch to assist in throwing him over Zycors shoulder. The thief landed back first, knocking the wind out of him and stunning him briefly. Zycor quickly grabbed the dropped ring and walked over to Aisha. She was still against the wall and as Zycor approached her, she recoiled. Aisha, in a shaky and fearful tone, said, “Don’t touch me!... I’m… I’m a monster!” 

Zycor paused for a moment. He reached down and grabbed her hand and pulled her, forcing her to stand up. He then began walking back to the guild. The people in the crowd quickly moved out of the way, some even panicking. 

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“Oh my Goddess, it’s a demi-human!” someone muttered loudly. 

“What is a monster like that doing here?” Another person questioned, disgust in their voice. 

Aisha, who was scared and confused, shouted at Zycor, “Let me go! Everyone will hate you for walking with a demi-human! J-just leave me and act like you don’t know me! I know you are thinking the same things as these people too! And I mean, they are right. So just LEAVE ME! The only reason I was even talking to you was because of my dad. And now that you have seen the real me, there is no point in hiding it any longer!” 

Zycor continued to walk her to the guild, silently, holding her hand tightly to make sure she could not run away. When they finally got to the guild hall, the sun was beginning to set. Vidal was ecstatic to see his daughter, but then saw her form was exposed and Zycor walking with her. Zycor stopped just shy of the guild hall. The guild was on the outskirts of the city, and because of that, there was an open rectangular section of nothing but road for about two hundred feet. Zycor turned to Aisha and returned the ring. When the ring was returned to her finger, she began to revert back. The process took about a full minute, and Zycor watched Aisha the whole time. 

When she was finally back in her human form, Zycor raised his hand and slapped her. Vidal and Adria, both infuriated at what they just saw Zycor do, yelled at him while they marched over to him, before they stopped. Zycor had begun to hug Aisha, and said, “Don’t ever call yourself a monster again. And don’t tell me to just leave you either. I may call the other adventurers in the guild hall who I have known for years ‘friends,’ but you are the only best friend I have.” 

After Zycor finished speaking, Aisha began to tear up. She had always wanted someone to accept her for who and what she was. But after so many times of being rejected when her ‘friends’ found out, she had given up on the idea. But here someone was, knowing what she was and yet, accepting her. Aisha returned the hug and began to quietly cry.

After four or so minutes, Aisha had calmed down. She hugged her father, while Adria slapped Zycors hand for slapping a girl. Vidal looked at Zycor and said, “Thank you so much for saving my daughter! I ask that you continue to be friends with her!” 

Zycor hugged Adria while looking at Vidal and said, “I live with and love Mama Adria, so I don’t see why being friends with someone like her should be so difficult. Besides, I quite like Aisha, and I don’t plan on losing her.” 

Aisha, whose face was bright red, stammered, “W-what are you s-saying you i-idiot!” 

Confused, Zycor asked, “What, do you want to stop being friends?” 

Aisha, even more flustered that Zycor wasn’t nearly as clear as he should have been, yelled, “YOU MORON,” as she punched him in the face and walked over to the carriage. 

Vidal and Adria laughed, while Zycor, who was on his butt after taking a punch to the face, remarked, “I really don’t see what’s so funny.”

With a final bout of goodbyes, they parted ways for now. Zycor, walking inside with Adria, picked up his weapons on the way in.

Adria sighed, “After today, it has become apparent that you need to learn about interacting with people other than boys.” 

Meanwhile, in the carriage, Vidal made sure Aisha was ok. And although Aisha answered, her thoughts are elsewhere. She remembered how Zycor rushed out in front of her to save her. She thought to herself with a smile, “I guess, he isn’t that bad after all.” 

Her father, now right in her face, began to grin and smugly said, “You were thinking about Zycor, weren’t you honey.” 

Aisha’s face turned bright red, and she pushed him away. “Ow, my heart!” Vidal cried, and finished by chuckling while mumbling, “Guess I was on the money with that one.”

Aisha continued to visit Zycor more frequently after what happened. Aislin was restricted from training Zycor on these days, as it had become Aisha’s job to help teach Zycor restraint. She was more qualified than Aislin to do so, as her father had hired a great magic instructor to teach her both magic and restraining that magic. When Aisha came over, she would pass on some of the knowledge she got from her lessons to Zycor, and he would practice with the new information. In return, Zycor would accompany Aisha every other time she visited, after training, to do whatever she wanted.

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