Returning to the dormitory in the middle of the day made it feel emptier than usual, as most of the Outer Disciples were either training, working, or loitering elsewhere, leaving the shared living spaces almost deserted. As for Siu, he looked much better after taking a bath, with most of his injuries healed, leaving only fading pink scars that should be gone in a few days. The only telling sign remaining was that he barely had any energy left, and his muscles and bones were still hurting under his skin, making his movements sluggish.

  “Siu?” Neya asked, surprised as her chair scraped back when she stood up, surprised that he was back so quickly, expecting to spend her day off reviewing her own progress, “Shouldn't you be away for the whole day at least?”

  Seeing him looking so weak, she crossed the room in quick steps, stopping just short of him, her eyes sweeping him from head to toe, noticing the fading scars... then the ruined clothes. And the exhaustion.

  “You look…” she hesitated, then frowned, knowing that worrying was not what she would do, “…beaten.”

  “I indeed feel like that,” he nodded with a chuckle, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "I won a battle, but I lost the mission, so yeah... I was beaten in a way, as the whole thing is now a proper failure." He added, without feeling bad about it. As he shook his head, he shifted his grip, and the little fox tucked her head out from within his robes, looking around, sleepy but curious, waking up to the fact that a new voice was speaking, one that she didn't recognize.

  "Ah?!" Neya gasped as her eyes widened, “Is that… a fox?”

  The small creature stirred at the loud yelp, realizing Neya was talking about her, making her squirm. Measuring the girl, the fox's one silver-tipped ear flicked before settling down again, her nose taking some sniffs, trying to decide if she was friendly or not. Looking at her, she was clean now, her fur lying flat and glossy, the clipped edge of her ear already half-healed, though still visible, but it should be back to normal pretty soon.

  "It sure is," Siu nodded, holding her up for Neya, like it was a little kitten, “Found her in the forest, almost becoming breakfast, so I... stepped in.”

  “You fought?” Neya looked at him, already getting the picture and the answers without Siu having to say it, “What was the opponent?”

  “An Ironclaw, of course,” he shrugged, sitting down on the bed and placing the fox on the cushion, watching as she flopped around, still exhausted and weak, "It was a close match, to be honest. I overestimated myself and underestimated the dangers of an actual beast."

  “What happened?” Neya asked softly but with much more curiosity than worry. He was back, and the way he talked showed her that he had gained valuable experience... which was more important than completing or failing a mission.

  Siu didn’t dramatize it much, but he didn’t soften it either, so he told her about the battle, the chase, and about how much stronger such a creature was than he thought it would be. He made sure Neya would understand that the books are fallible, especially compared to raw experience... And that he now understood why most students go out hunting in parties, and not alone. While he shared his experience, Neya listened without interrupting him, but when he was done, she suddenly got a hold of his hand, nervously squeezing it.

  “You idiot,” she muttered, "That was very dangerous!"

  "I know," Siu chortled, and when he saw the little fox nod her head, he gave her a light tap on it, making it squeal, “Don't even try to butt into this, you hear? It was because of you! Be grateful! I failed the mission because I decided to save your fur... I could have lain low, you know... Plus... You look familiar."

  "Familiar?" Neya asked, furrowing her brows, but Siu just waved it away. “Um," She continued, not pushing it, "If you explain it properly to the Elders, they may not deem it as a failure!” She pressed with a hopeful voice, while also being surprised that the fox showed a basic understanding of what they were talking about. The little one was holding her tiny head with her paws where it had been knocked, squeaking like a mouse, most likely complaining.

  “Yeah, I will give it a shot,” Siu nodded, skipping over the part where he was now indebted to a calculating bastard, but Neya didn't need to worry about that part. It was his issue anyway. “I did what I could, and I learned what I needed to learn, so I am content. I am not that worried about the failure part, because we learn from that, sometimes even more than from succeeding.” He yawned, stretching a little, giving his recovering bones and muscles a bit of movement, "Plus, I did get a harvest out of it."

  "And a fox." Neya stared at the little creature for a second longer, "Since working with the beasts in the kitchen, I have also been reading up on them, on how to harvest their organs and skin better," She murmured, absent-mindedly, missing the part where her comments made the fox freeze, then shiver, trying to hide behind Siu, "I bet you anything that this is a spirit beast...! Or at least close to becoming one!"

  "Pretty much," Siu agreed, especially seeing her fledgling spells, which were one of the main reasons he decided to step in and save her hide, "She understands us well, she's just yet to gain human form. I don't know much about how they evolve, though, so I will have to look that part up."

  “I’m proud of you,” Neya added with a chuckle, "I hadn't seen an Outer Disciple with his own spirit beast! I think..."

  "I don't even know how that works, or how I should go about it." He shrugged, reaching behind him, pulling the fox into his lap, stroking her head. "But she owes me her life twice or thrice over, because after saving her, we even had to take a healing bath."

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "From what I heard," Neya said proudly, looking at the two, "If you can tame her, that would be worth more than completing the mission! Especially because I heard that almost every Elder-level member of the Sect has at least one spiritual beast contracted to them, if not more."

  "Don't put me on a pedestal!" Siu grunted, rolling his eyes, watching Neya's happy expression, "I am still far away from being anything near an Elder. Damn, we are only Outer Disciples!"

  "For now!" She chuckled, smiling from ear to ear, and apparently, she was now looking into the future with a greater ambition than ever before, "But I think that one day, you will be an Elder."

  "That sounds old." He muttered, lying on his back, deciding to finally rest a little, "I'm not even sixteen yet... don't paint me as an old man, please..."

  "Sometimes you act like one." She joked, standing up and even covering him with a blanket.

  "..." Siu just glanced at her with one eye, the other staying close, his lips curling into a smile, before letting himself fall asleep, the exhaustion finally winning over him.

  ...

  ....

  .....

  That same late afternoon, early evening, right after waking up, Siu returned to the Mission Hall, deciding to give his report and get over the fact that he failed his mission. After a good sleep, his steps were steady once again, his posture composed as usual, yet anyone with a trained eye could tell he was still recovering. However, what drew attention was not him, but the fox he was carrying. She sat atop his head as if she belonged there, her small body balancing easily, her ears flicking as she watched the world below with an alert look, expecting trouble to come her way any moment. As an anchor, her tail draped down the back of his head, the golden tip swaying slightly if not curling around Siu's neck, apparently no longer bothered by being Siu's new pet.

  "What?" Siu asked involuntarily, because after he entered the Mission Hall, the present disciples and those working the counters all looked at him... at his fox.

  Getting no answers, he decided to ignore them all and headed straight for the counter he had taken the mission from, where Milli and Nilli stood just the same, exactly where he remembered them. They, too, were leaning against the stone desk, looking at him with enlarged eyes, their eyes moving up and down from his face to the fox, doing it multiple times.

  "Huh!" Nilli straightened up first, “Well, I’ll be slapped!”

  "Same, on my butt," Milli followed a heartbeat later, her eyes dropping to his shoulders, his arms, his posture… then drifting upward back to the fox, clicking her tongue, “…Is that,” she asked, her eyes flashing with greed, “a spirit beast on your head?”

  As if answering, the fox lifted her chin, ears twitching, but apparently her pride didn't last long because when the light in the twins' eyes sharpened, she immediately dropped down, hiding in Siu's robes, sticking only her head out through his collar. Obviously... she was already scared of the twins.

  “Yes,” Siu answered calmly. "She does look and act like one.

  There was a long pause after the confirmation before Milli looked around, sending the others back to their work with a growl.

  "Geez!" Nilli laughed in honest, bright amusement, “You actually came back alive and with a spirit beast? I don't think you have even been taught how to contract them, no?”

  “Nope,” Siu nodded, "Is that why everyone is looking at me as if I came in naked?"

  "That would be nice." Nilli answered, biting her lips, but she was still looking at the fox, "Tsk. I have been trying to find a suitable one for two years now... Do you know how hard it is to get one?"

  "And having a naturally tamed one..." Milli answered, honest jealousy oozing from her eyes, "You are a bastard, you know that?"

  "Now I do." Siu shrugged, noting that he would never be able to handle the twins. He didn't expect them to be... this open. "Haaah..."

  “And the mission?” Milli asked, already reaching for a blank report slip, not wanting to dwell much on her greed, pushing it down. “Bluetipped Ironclaw eggs. Four of them. I hope you haven't left them at the harvesting stations, you need to bring them here!”

  "I know, and I didn't leave them there," He inclined his head, shrugging one more time, “I simply failed.”

  "Huh..." Both twins paused, looking at each other, and just to make sure, they asked in unison, “No eggs?”

  “No nest, no eggs,” He repeated, “I ran into a juvenile male, this fox, and so we fought, I saved her... But I was so beaten after the chase that I gave up on going on with the mission. I am here to report that I have failed.”

  "Well," Milli nodded slowly, her smile now much more gentle and understanding, “That tracks.”

  "At least you survived!" Nilli tried to comfort him.

  “I killed it,” Siu continued, as if reporting the weather. “But it was an unclean kill. Still, the carcass is already registered for processing, and I should get something out of it in three days.”

  Hearing that, the pen in the twins' hands stopped moving entirely as Nilli looked at her sister before looking back at Siu.

  “You… killed an Ironclaw?”

  “A juvenile.”

  “…Alone?” Milli asked carefully.

  “A juvenile.”

  "That doesn't fucking matter!" The twins yelled at him, slapping the table.

  "It does." Siu argued, raising an eyebrow, "It was weaker than an adult specimen."

  “Okay,” Nilli said at last, leaning back against the counter, raising her hands, “Fuck it." She quickly scribbled, recording it down, "So you failed the mission objective.”

  “Yes.” He nodded, a bit taken aback by what the issue was.

  “But,” Milli added, eyes narrowing slightly, but her sister held her hand before her mouth.

  "Drop it. He soloed a beast while being green!" Then she smiled at Siu, "Got a girlfriend?"

  "No?" He answered at once, way too taken aback by the question, missing the fact that the fox’s tail flicked once against her chest, as her ears suddenly flattened, sensing danger.

  "Want two?" Nilli asked again, smiling like an angel.

  "No," Siu answered honestly, feeling as if he even dared to think about saying yes, he would be drained and not in a good way.

  "Anyway," Nilli slowly set her pen down, pressing a note over to him, "Here are our personal rooms up on the mountain. If you change your mind, come and find us; we can share a bed."

  "..." Not knowing what to do, Siu absentmindedly took the paper, stuffing it into his pocket, making the twins grin before they switched back to business as if nothing else had happened just now.

  “You need to report this,” Milli said, glancing at the growling fox, but she looked more cute than dangerous in her eyes.

  “To an elder,” Nilli added, "We will handle the mission failure part, but that fox, well... Better to do it fast."

  “Wait for the news to spread and let the other know you are not contracted... And you will be in shit, up to your neck!” Milli continued, warning him, “You will be caught by someone and knocked out for the fox. I can guarantee that.”

  "No joke," Nilli nodded, “We could easily tie you up now and take it from you, and you would have nothing to complain about. The fox is nobodies yet... so...” she muttered, licking her lips.

  "Thanks for the tip," Siu glanced at the two, knowing they weren't joking... The light in their eyes told him that much. "I think I will head to an Elder right now..."

  "Good." The twins smiled, the greed vanishing from their eyes, speaking in sync, "We knew you were smart!"

  "And don't forget to visit us!" Milli yelled after him, "We will take care of you!"

  "You bet!" Nilli added, giggling loudly, watching as Siu made sure his steps were extra swift, escaping the Mission Hall.