Chapter 265: Interlude: Ferro
Alone in a corner of the compound that Lanoch had been given, Ferro trained.
The whole place was a yard surrounded by walls, with one main building, and so he’d resorted to hiding in the weapons shed either early in the morning or late at night to train.
He’d tried asking Lanoch indirectly if he would be allowed, but the lionkin who owned him laughed and said he already had enough magic to be useful. Then, if a mockery of romance, Lanoch said "The only thing you need to worry about is keeping your protector happy," before grabbing Ferro’s butt and playing harshly with his tail.
Ignoring the soreness in his back, Ferro focused.
He was getting good at consistently producing shards of ice, his preferred medium, but with such a small mana capacity, he could only make a few bullets before deprivation symptoms kicked in. His particular ability to regenerate swiftly helped, turning those symptoms into passing sensations, but as he’d discovered it could only go so far.
I need a way to better match my capacity with my ability to refill...
"There you are, little fullborn," a familiar voice said. Ferro looked at the door, before realizing the voice had come from above. A small glass window in the roof was the only lighting in the shed, and staring through was someone Ferro never expected to see again.
A demonkin slipped into the shed from above. He was a demonkin man about Ferro’s age, with white hair that featured a slightly purple glow to it. Pastel-purple skin spotted with dark beauty marks was mostly laid bare by a skimpy, form-fitting outfit.
His eyes were an alluring green-blue and cat-slitted, and they dilated in the gloom as he came to rest.
Ferro himself was a rust-catkin, one of the most diminutive races of beastkin, born fully to their beast form. unlike most races that started with mostly human characteristics and gained bestial traits over time, and consequently one of the weakest. He had short reddish-grey fur over most of the body with rusty spots on the back and flanks. Four blackish lines ran over his eyes, and two down his neck, where they broke into six lines that ran along his back and flanks. The inner front of his body up to his chin was covered in white fur.
He focused on the incubus’ ear, which was completely healed and even had a new earring in place. The last time they’d met, his master had twisted a golden earing from it until the flesh broke...