Chapter 8: Vol. 1 Part. 08

It was already dark when Luna and Jannet reached the cave Luna found during her hunting session. But before they went to their shelters, they had fish cooked over the fire. It wasn't the tastiest meal, but their stomachs were full for now. Luna could pull water out of the air and plants, so Jannet's worries about where to get water were for nothing. They were now moving towards the cave to have shelter for the night.

"Just to inform you, this will be a very uncomfortable night. We will build a bed of dry grass, but it will probably feel very unfamiliar."

Luna started constructing a frame out of dirt inside the tiny cave, which they would later fill with grass, but it took her a while because she hardly ever used earth magic. The shape of the earth was taking on a grid pattern. Small earthen and stone walls rose from the ground after the dirt was moved out of the way.

"Trie to get as many hays and small long branches as possible for the ground before it gets too dark. I will help you when I am finished here. Also, don't go too far, or else I can't help you if animals or monsters attack you," Luna said before she gave Jannet a knife and concentrated on her earth magic to build the frame. When she finished, she would help Jannet by collecting more grass for the bed.

Jannet went outside the cave and made her way to brunches, which she cut with the knife. Thin branches began to stack on the ground she carried them over to the cave entrance repeatedly. The blade was sharper than anything she had ever seen. It cut through branches like they were made of butter. Every time Jannet came back to the cave, the frame looked more complete.

'If there's time later, I should ask her about magic,' thought Jannet. She was also curious about the weapon Luna carried with her; since they didn't exist in the lab, she asked herself where they came from. Jannet continued to collect grass and put it in a heap in the cave. The sun had already set, and a lot of things had been stacked in their hideout.

'That should be enough for now.' It was already too dark to continue collecting resources. Jannet returned to the cave, stood behind Luna, and watched what she was doing.

"Interested?" Asked Luna with a smile on her face.

"What exactly are you doing there?" Luna was in this position for a long time, so Jannet became curious about what she was doing because nothing visibly changed, even after a couple of minutes.

"I compacted the soil so that no moisture comes from below. That should be enough; you can put the branches in while I dry the grass," said Luna and went toward the grass. The branches Jannet collected separate the cold ground from the grass. So they didn't have to sleep directly on the stony and freezing floor. After she was done, she turned around and saw Luna storing the water from the grasses in a bucket made of stone.

"How exactly do you do that, this magic?" Asked Jannet; stars practically sparkled in her eyes.

"Simply put, I instruct the magic on what to do. Unfortunately, since elemental magic is not my specialty, this process takes a little longer than I would like to admit."

"Could you teach me how to use magic; it would be good in the future if I mastered it, wouldn't it?" Asked Jannet with big puppy eyes.

"I suppose I can teach you mana sense, but what you end up learning and mastering is entirely up to you. The field is just too big for that to be your master," answered Luna. She handed Jannet a stone mug and continued, "If you are thirsty, take water from the bucket. However, I won't teach you magic for free. In the end, I expect something in return. Well, you don't have anything to offer me for now." She took another bunch of grass and let the water flow out of the plant and into the bucket.

"I can only teach you the basics in elemental magic; as I said before, I specialized in something completely different."

"And what do you specialize in, if I may ask," Jannet questioned as Luna continued to drain the plants of their water.

"I won't tell you that until I trust you completely or you've taken a magical oath forbidding you from talking about it."

Jannet had made a sad expression, but it was understandable that Luna wouldn't reveal her cards so openly. It was one of the few advantages she had in this world; the fewer people who knew about her abilities, the safer she could travel. Sadly, Jannet didn't get Luna's intention. Oblivious, she continued to ask.

"How can I feel mana or magic?" It was already clear to Luna that Janett would do anything to learn magic.

"One possibility would be to meditate and attempt to feel the additional energy source. We could also try to overwhelm you with mana, but that might damage your soul, and I wouldn't recommend it."

Jannet had expected the first method, but the second came as a surprise. She would not risk damaging her soul, so the first option would most likely be the choice.

"Are there only these two methods?"

"Meditating speeds up the process of course, but I think you'll eventually figure out how mana feels all by yourself. I can already feel the magical concentration in your body increasing since we got here. Give it a few days, and you'll figure it out on your own." Jannet's eyes became more prominent. It seems she didn't expect such an answer.

"Wait, does the body produce mana?"

"How else could I have escaped? Although, I was only able to use it after I went completely berserk."

This reminded Jannet of something she wanted to ask Luna.

"What is the reason you went berserk? If I remember correctly, you were given human and animal blood. I know nothing about vampires, but from my understanding, that should be everything you needed."

Luna put the grasses away and looked in Jannet's direction. She sighs and shuts her eyes. It was clear that she was considering telling Jennet the answer. After a minute, she made up her mind.

"The blood was not fresh; in other words, the life essence was missing."

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Jannet raised her eyebrows at that answer but didn't quite understand what Luna meant. Luna didn't elaborate further, and Jannet's only assumption was that Luna had to drink blood fresh from the body. She had no idea what this purported life essence was, but that didn't matter right now, because another question popped up in her head.

"Animals would have to work too, so why did you take the risk and hunted humans?" asked Jannet.

"Back then, everything worked, but after magic and all magical beings, in your words, suddenly disappeared, only humans could quench my thirst. To this day, I have no idea why, but I have often suspected that someone locked me up in your world on purpose. Of course, this is only a guess, but your world had a seal that suppressed the magical energy. That's why I couldn't use my magic either. Well, when I shift into my monster form, some of the otherwise universal rules become blurred for me."

"What makes you think that?" Asked Jannet

"I ran amok all over the facility, didn't I? It would have been impossible without my magic. However, I can't explain to you how we were able to switch worlds."

Luna was done drying the grass. So they both started to place it into the frame that would later be their bed. After the grass was placed in the makeshift bed, Luna looked into the cave entrance and groaned.

"I would like to block the entrance to the cave, but I think we should take care of that tomorrow." Luna took off her long coat, which they would use as a blanket tonight. Then she constructed a pillow of darkness and placed it on the headboard.

'That has to be enough; I can't maintain more darkness unconsciously.'

"Then make yourself comfortable." With her right hand, she slapped the blank space signaling Jannet to go to bed.

Jannet hesitated; something was still bothering her. So after some time, Luna said," Don't worry, I won't bite."

Jannet began to lie down in the bed slowly. It was not comfortable, but it was better than nothing. Her head sunk into the pillow made from the darkness. The softness of the pillow surprised her. She didn't expect the cushion to be of such high quality but was delighted by it. Time passed, but Jannet couldn't go to dreamland; too much was on her mind. She was still worried about her family, who would now live without her. Sadness and pain pierced her heart at the thought of never seeing her loved ones again.

While breathing and the radiating sadness in Jannet's aura, Luna could tell that something wasn't right. After a while, tears began to flow from her eyes.

It will be a long time before she gets over this pain. Luna felt a little guilty. She was responsible for Jannet never seeing her family again. She was indeed imprisoned, but Jannet took good care of her and tried to fulfill her wishes. She didn't deserve to be in this position.

The whole day had been single stress for her. She didn't have time to think about her situation. But now that Jannet was lying in a bed, she seemed to understand the seriousness of the position. Jannet tried with all her might to suppress her sobs.

"I've never had a family to love, but it's okay to cry if it helps you deal with it. Always remember that I am there for you now, and should you find a way back to earth, I will support you with all my might."

She hugged Jannet carefully. It's a gesture Luna had seen frequently in films and books. And that's why it seemed to be the right thing to do in this situation. Emotions erupted from Jannet like a flood. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep after the day's exhaustion caught up to her.

"Don't worry; I'll take care that nobody disturbs your sleep." After Luna had said these words, her eyes closed, and she quickly fell asleep after the exhausting day.

 

***

 

The first chirping of birds brought Luna out of her slumber. Luna stood up carefully and got out of her bed not to disturb the sleeping Jannet. The sun was beginning to rise, but the birds had already started their concert.

'I suppose I should start fishing before Jannet wakes up.'  With her mind made up, Luna quickly dashed towards the river she found yesterday. The morning wind shook the trees she passed. It was a tepid breeze whistling across Luna's skin. The deeper she dashed into the wood, the denser became the trees. A couple of animals looked in her direction. It was not uncommon to see human-like creatures in the forest, so after Luna did not disturb them, they went back to their usual business. They could tell from her aura that she was not here to hunt them.

After a few minutes, Luna, at last, reached the river. She encountered fewer and fewer trees until she finally found herself in a clearing. A narrow beach could be seen in front of her, and the crystal clear water glittered in the morning light. The blue water was flowing, and fish could be seen in it.

"At least it doesn't smell like a dragon nest, so it should be fine to catch a few fishes." Luna was very cautious about this; it would be a disaster to encounter one now. She made her way to the water. A dark sphere was forming in her hand. After a circular hand motion, the ball of darkness was spinning slowly. Her hand let go of the dark orb and let it hover over the river. With another motion of her hand, the sphere divided into four smaller spheres forming a square. Threads connected the four points, and slowly a fisher net was formed.

Luna moved both hands down, letting the net fall into the river, where it would stay for a time.

Luna felt how the fish touched and swam into the net. Every time a fish was in her fishing net, Luna sent strings of darkness to tie them up. It didn't take long before she had enough for the day. She pulled the net out of the water and quickly began to work on the fish so that later they only had to be roasted over the fire.

She stowed her knife in her belt and quickly made her way back to the cave with the fish in tow.

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