Elder Delia closed the back door of her house with a gentle push, the latch clicking softly into place, but Siu wasn't paying any attention to that as he was admiring the garden he was led into. Around the thick flowerbeds, multiple tall stone pillars stood guard, looking and feeling ancient, with carvings along their sides. They mainly were depicting animals in mid-stride, standing on their hind legs, or even in the middle of a clawswipe. It made him remember the flags and the animal images on them when he was taking his trial, with the difference that, among all those stones, he could feel a thick energy radiating from within them. Whoever made these ones had to be strong because their presence still lingered in the carvings.

  “Focus!” Elder Delia said, clapping her hands once, bringing Siu out of his sudden groggy state. “This is why I usually deal with inner disciples; that makes things much easier, so please try not to get lost in the feeling.”

  "Sorry..." Siu muttered, shaking himself awake, taking it the same as the test Elder Yan put him through after entering the sect.

  "..." Of course, the little fox had no such experience and was already looking a bit groggy, but visibly happy, because the energies here were like entering an all-you-can-eat buffet.

  As for Elder Thane, he remained standing near the door, his arms folded, only looking, keeping his presence suppressed and out of sight, knowing that this was Delia's domain.

  "Come here," She spoke up, waving for Siu to follow and pointing at a stone slab in front of one of the stone pillars, depicting a spirit of a wolf.

  "That's..." Siu began, trying to say it was not a fox, but he very quickly shut his mouth, gulping down whatever he was about to say. Arguing with an Elder? That would have been outrageous.

  Seeing the woman smile, he quickly sat cross-legged on the stone, trying to get a feel for it, keeping the foxy in his lap, his back straight, while his eyes began studying the image of the wolf. Now, with the mindset of resisting the feelings he could swear, the image of it on the stone was slightly moving, like waves on the surface of a lake, as if the wolf itself was breathing.

  "...!" Apparently, the little one also noticed the same thing, squeaking a little, her silver-tipped ears flicking once, her nose beginning to sniff the air, unsure whether it was time to run or keep sitting in his lap.

  “It's not real,” Elder Delia's voice came over, mostly speaking to the fox, turning to her with a reassuring smile, “It's just the essence left behind by one of the old beastial elders of the sect. Anyway, his image is the closest to you, so we will conduct the contract before his presence to be acknowledged by the Sect itself."

  "Is he..." Siu suddenly asked, becoming curious but unsure how to put it.

  "Dead?" Delia chuckled, shaking her head, “Of course not. But he is not here either. You don't need to trouble your conscience with things that are far away from you. You will know what you must know, in due time, Siu. Take it as you are sailing down a river... Don't rush to enter the ocean without knowing how to navigate your ship, or you will get lost.”

  "I understand. I should only focus on tempering my body... I am still not done with my bones, after all!" He smiled, nodding his head, throwing all the unnecessary questions out of his head, making Elder Delia smile with approval.

  “Sit as you would for breathing practice," The Elder continued, "First, I will have to see how you do it and appraise your technique. And for you,” she glanced at the fox, "Stay still."

  Without waiting, Siu had adjusted his position, settling into the familiar rhythm, beginning to meditate. At the same time, the little fox happily sat still, breathing in her own way, inhaling the rich essence coming from all around them.

  “Interesting...” Delia muttered to herself, lowering herself to sit across from him, “That is a well-defined and tailor-made one... Are you sure he is not an inner disciple?” She asked in a way that only Thane could hear her.

  "No, he is not." He answered the same way, smiling, "But he ought to be... I just don't want him to rush. You know how competitive they can be... Let him focus on himself for now!"

  “True,” she nodded, "Still, with a contracted spirit beast, that competition will be just as bad, no matter which circle he is in. Oh well, let's start!”

  With no hesitation, Delia raised one hand, palm up, and with the other, she traced multiple lines at once, her fingers leaving visible, golden streaks behind, coalescing into a formation made out of separate, simple runes, slotting into their places.

  “These,” she explained as Siu's eyes began scanning them, memorizing the shapes, “are simple guides as the contract you two will have is a mutual one, which is naturally formed. It would have been created by nature itself if your level is higher, but with how you are now, you need a bit of... outside help to coalesce it.”

  "Only Mutual Contracts are like this... yes?"

  "Mhm." Delia nodded at his question, "Indeed. If it's a binding contract, you need control runes." She explained as she added four more symbols at the cardinal directions, letting Siu watch and memorize them before wiping away the unnecessary ones. "Sitting where you are now, even if your bones can't produce and flood your blood with essence yet, you should still be able to influence it around you, thanks to the imprint the Elders had left behind. Try it!"

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Continuing his breathing, Siu mirrored her movements, a bit stiff at first, unsure how to make the world's energy react to his will.

  “No need to be afraid, you need less tension,” Delia corrected him gently, tapping his knuckle, opening his palms and holding them, gently massaging, loosening his muscles, “This isn’t a seal! There... Let it flow naturally.”

  As Delia held his hand, helping him recreate it, Siu adjusted quickly, loosening his fingers and beginning to draw. To his surprise, indeed, the air shimmered, his fingers suddenly glowing in a faint, golden color, and a warm sensation began spreading through his chest and, more importantly, it was originating from his bones. Within his marrow, the air he inhaled got to work, the energy of the world getting absorbed and distilled into his blood through all the parts he had already tempered. It flowed through his body, rushing to his fingertips, and there, it began drawing the rest of the energy from the air, like a magnet, making it follow his movements.

  “Good,” Delia murmured, even a bit surprised at the effectiveness, because she expected him to fail a few times before getting a grasp on it, “The bond between the two of you is already strong, so it is not a surprise...” she added, mostly telling it to herself, looking down at the fox, examining her, “Now,” she continued, seeing the formation reappear, drawn by Siu, using his own essence, “I want you to think of her, and shift your attention to her presence, while maintaining the formation.”

  When he did it, without breaking his concentration, the brush of his mind against hers made the little fox stir and come out of her own little meditation. As if being called out to, her head lifted upwards, her ears angling forward while a faint shimmer passed over, right around her fur, twinkling at the edge of her tail and whiskers.

  “Good girl,” Delia said warmly, and the fox’s tail gave a small, reflexive flick, as if answering, but her attention stayed on Siu as their eyes were locked together by now. “Now,” Delia continued, speaking to the fox rather than Siu, “It is up to you to accept his offer.”

  There was no hesitation as she began lifting one paw as if uncertain where to place it, then deciding that she was going to rest it against Siu’s hand, right where his formation was glowing the strongest. The moment she did so, the contact sent a faint pulse through both of them, and without Siu having to focus on it, the spell itself separated from his being, becoming two, settling down, rotating, and constantly adjusting, changing form right above the backs of their hands.

  "Mhm!" Delia inhaled softly, very much happy with what she was seeing, "Very good... That’s… very good!”

  She reached into her sleeve and withdrew a slender case of pale wood. As the two were still a bit lost in the feeling that a naturally forming contract gave them, Delia pulled out the needle resting within the box. Looking at it, it was a thin, shimmering gold piece, its tip turning crimson, as if soaked in blood, yet it wasn't horrifying or disturbing... it made it much more... organic.

  “The last part is sharing your blood, acknowledging the contract,” she began, offering it to Siu. “In the wild, such a ritualistic way to form a contract is usually impossible,” she added with a giggle, "But in the sect, it is the norm when creating a Mutual one. "So it is best done with care... it helps the mind settle into it much quicker too."

  "I see..." Siu muttered as he took it carefully, raising it to the hand that was still glowing from the formation, going on without any instructions from him.

  “Just a drop,” Delia reminded him, “And only when you’re ready.”

  Siu glanced down before doing it, and of course, the fox was still looking up at him, with her gold and silver eyes blinking as if asking what was taking him so long. Reinforcing that he wasn't mistaken about her questioning gaze, she extended her paw, offering it to him, and with a smile, Siu pricked his fingertip then her tiny paw in the middle. A moment later, a single bead of blood floated up from both of them, quickly finding the middle of the still-rotating formation, spreading out, turning it golden-crimson, shrinking and shrinking, disappearing into their being, right under their skin. Siu couldn't help but gasp as the sensation, because a new type of awareness was opening up in his mind... followed by a voice only he could hear.

  "Hey!"

  “…What?” he asked aloud, flinching, looking around, before getting a grip on his thoughts. "Ah..." He shook the next moment, putting it together, speaking not audibly anymore, but in his own mind. "I can understand you now?"

  "Finally!" The thin, cute voice answered with a shrug, "Humans are so hard to communicate with... I didn't expect to get a master who is... thick. In the head."

  “Excuse me?” He grunted, surprised at the quippiness of her voice.

  "You took me to a bath already! Pervert..." She answered, suddenly feeling very shy about it, and Siu could also experience it from her point of view.

  "And? So what? You are a fox..."

  "I am not!" She shot back, suddenly very proud of herself, "I am Arya!"

  "You have a name...?" Siu asked again, surprised, since he hadn't expected anything like that to be the case.

  "Everyone needs a name... no?" She asked, a bit unsure, "I thought that's the human way... no?"

  "Well, yes."

  "I knew it! So... I named myself!" She added, noticing Siu's feelings and knowing she was indeed right, which, of course, made her very happy. "I came to join but... then I got lost... and trapped."

  "You came to join the sect?" By now, Siu wasn't even surprised, at least not outwardly... but then again, that was just on the surface. She was smarter than he imagined, which meant she should be soon transforming... no? This type of intellect warranted a human body.

  "Yes!" Arya nodded her tiny head, "But on the way up, I got... tangled... in things."

  "So you were the little fox I helped..." He hummed, remembering it from this way up the mountain.

  "Maybe." Arya huffed, but Siu could tell her honest thoughts without her having to say it out loud, and that was enough for him. "I couldn't find the place afterwards... hauh... this whole forest is weird... And there were so many bullies! It was horrible!"

  "I don't think you could have found it at all after the selection was over..." Siu mumbled, remembering that the mountain was and is hidden away, in a sense; otherwise, anyone, including beasts, could just waltz into it.

  "Yeah... I am not that good, it seems..." She muttered, her ears going floppy, apparently having some self-respecting issues deep inside her.

  "Well, now, being with me, you are in!" He chuckled, wanting to lift her spirits, rubbing her head, immediately raising her mood back to normal, "So... congratulations?"

  "Thank you!" She responded with a happy giggle, pressing her head into his palms, almost purring like a cat, "And... thanks for saving me... master!"

  "Don't mention it." He shrugged, somehow, feeling pretty satisfied and proud of himself in that moment, "I bet there will be times in the future when you can do the same for me."