Winter Days - Garden Side I

"... I am very lost. Brrr..... Where are my brothers?"

A small Therianthrope girl walked down a path where she saw several large buildings from far away, seeking shelter from the winter's air.

It almost appeared like she strayed from her group of people while they hunted, and there may be a chance that she

She had black hair, large cat-like ears on her head, and a drooping tail that was shivering.

The cold blizzard was powerful enough to make her shiver with each second passing by, her light clothing not helping in preventing heat to escape her body.

Right now, she sought for shelter which should be somewhere warm, yet she couldn't find anything else other than the buildings that was a part of Shadow Garden's HQ.

Heart beating and survival instincts roaring, she began running on all fours towards it, trying to ignore the painful chills of the cold groping her body.

The more she approached the building, the slower she moved, and the more painful her coldness will be, making her body shake to raise up internal temperature.

If she stays outside longer, it will be her doom.

For a moment, she was going at a smooth pace, and in the next few seconds, she slipped on a part of water that was frozen solid and to a part of a well on her back, giving her a few injuries.

The girl yelped in pain, scrambling to get up as the blizzard became stronger.

She would carry herself to a door where she felt some warmth coming out of the door, and weakly knock on it thrice.

At this point, she was beginning to lose the temperature that was activated like adrenaline.

The door opened, and she was immediately pulled inside. Hearing the door close, the girl looked at the boy that was as old as her.

"You know, someone like you will die with such ragged clothes. Come on, let's get you heated up, your body won't be able to live if you freeze to death." The boy, who is Cid, spoke bluntly while he carried the shaking, weak girl to a room where three girls were resting.

Subconsciously, she held on to the boy, trying her best to feel his warmth.

"Master Cid, who is she?" The blonde elf asked, glancing at the Therianthrope he was carrying.

Cid was silent, only placing her near the hearth of the fireplace before using his slime to form it into a coat and manipulating the heat of the slime to considerable levels, placing it around the girl.

To her, it was very comfortable, as if she had become a baby once more. But for now, she doesn't have to sleep, but only rest.

And to the other girls, they have mixed feelings about the scene before their eyes, yet understood that the girl was cold and Cid took her in out of common sense.

They've intended to rest and train while Cid gave them his "Wisdom". And now that another girl is within his grasp, they wondered what he will do to her.

Will she be another Shadow Garden member? Since she may be taken in, that alone is good for the organization that soon will spread out to the world.

"Hm, oh yeah. How about I give you something to eat?"

These set of words from Cid allowed the girl to perk up and take long, hungry glances at him.

"Really~?" The girl yelped out excitedly, her mouth watering and her stomach growling.

"We have enough supplies for the whole winter, so suit yourself." Cid said, taking a large plate of steak and putting it in front of the girl.

The enhanced senses made the girl's hunger rise the moment she sniffed on the aroma the steak made, forcing her to grab the warm piece of meat and start to chew on it with little regard to the plate handed to her.

"Nom~ I'm still pretty hungry~"

'Huh. Now that I thought of it, this scene in front of me looked like me taming a stray cat into becoming my house pet. Not that it matters.' Cid commented, deciding to feed her a bit more until she said she was full...

In the next moment, the girl laid on her back, her tail wagging and like a submissive Dog she lightly curled her body.

The next step to domesticating her into being her master is the belly rub; simple yet very effective.

Strangely enough, this wasn't even his real intention, but he was pretty bored and had to spend some time with his Shades.

The girl whose belly he was gently rubbing was purring, her ears twitching and fluffy tail wagging at an increased pace.

"You're Boss man now~!" The girl declared happily, not surprising Cid since he kinda expected this.

But what about those who were with her? And, her family? Remembering that, she didn't feel a bit comfortable only for half a second.

Screw the drama, belly rubs are the best!

Cid shrugged, "Guess I have no choice. But first, your name shall now become Delta."

His hand retreated from the girl, now named Delta as she accepted the name yet felt a bit saddened that she wasn't able to feel more of the belly rubs for a long while.

Though at this moment, she didn't really mind since she immediately stretched and curled down in front of the Hearth of the fireplace, deciding to take a rest while to replenish energy.

Until the snow blizzard is over, Cid cannot fight bandits because they are all in hiding, it would be better if said bandits are active.

In that way he could trace the base of the bandits and destroy them, Shadow Garden Style.

Or was it his style?

Maybe.

After he noticed that the blizzard is over, and after a short and quick teaching towards the new member, Delta, he decided to look for small bandit camps and have fun.

Oh, and it's also to teach Delta a few lessons about fighting.

[ ~ Line • Break ~ ]

Somewhere at far southwest from Shadow Garden's HQ....

Cid, as Shadow, stared over the few carriages guarded by bandit looking people in thick vests and armors.

There were a few cloaked people who could be stereotyped as mages, as they erected a strong-looking dome barrier meant to block the cold winds and possibly to regulate the temperature inside it.

"Alright! Delta, watch me and listen closely. This is how people fight with fists and kicks, and I'll do this in a straightforward way!" Shadow said, crossing his arms as he glanced behind him.

Beta took out a notebook and happily began scribbling on it, taking note of what he was going to do next.

Gamma was sitting on a hard branch, holding onto other branches to keep her balance stable.

Delta and Alpha were also closely listening, the former obtaining her own slime bodysuit just hours ago.

Putting his feet closely to each other, he jumped towards the direction of the group of bandits before a bandit scout notices him.

"Wha- urgh!?!?"

Said scout was slammed to the ground before Shadow raised his palm, and with a swift motion, he destroyed the heart of the scout.

He then took a stance as the other bandits took notice of him.

"Who the hell are you?!" One of the bandits yelled, taking out a large tomahawk as he and his companions glanced at him.

"Do you even know who you're attacking?! We're of the Band of the Silver Falcons, don't underestimate us!"

The other bandits cheered out, even the mages immediately cancel the spell that allowed them to regulate temperature to prepare for battle.

Yet Shadow paid little mind to them, as he only took short glances towards the girls observing his movement.

{ Start BGM - The Eminence in Shadow - In time of War }

"Lesson One: Keep your eyes open! When surrounded by multiple enemies, you need to keep your senses sharp!" Shadow begun, grabbing an arrow that had been shot between his fingers and briefly threw it back to the shooter, making said arrow lodge into his head.

He briefly evaded an axe coming for his side before giving one of his attackers a knee to the chin, before executing a fist combo that ended with an uppercut to the gut.

A bandit who got lucky proceeded to wrap his arms around Shadow's neck, giving him a chokehold.

"Got you!"

"Is that so?"

With a sharp elbow to the side, the bandit behind him was stunned, before he was suddenly on the midair, with his head pointing to the ground.

Shadow proceeded to execute a Tombstone Pile-driver on him.

"Lesson two: The environment is your weapon! Don't hesitate to use it to your advantage, whether you are in a closed space or an open area!" He continued his lesson, grabbing the head of a bandit and slamming it through the side of a carriage then piercing his neck with his Slime Blade.

The pierce precisely cut off the spinal cord that allowed him to move his torso and lower body, permanently paralyzing him to death.

Shadow stomped the ground at such a tremendous force that a huge amount of snow was launched up from the ground, covering the area with mist.

Short screams from the bandits surrounded the area, and the sound of several bodies dropping to the ground was heard by the four girls.

"And Lesson Three! Don't hesitate in attacking your enemy! Don't think that because they have a hostage, they'll just let that hostage go for some random bargain! Use your mind to find a way out of the situation! Damn, I hate those types of cliches, if I wasn't there..." Cid finished, turning his last sentence into a silent mutter.

Then the mist was gone, leaving Shadow's back to face the girls, and surrounding him and the carriage were corpses of the bandits.

All of his opponents, or random punching bags were dead.

Beta began to slowly clap, then the others followed. She definitely noted it.

"Wow! Boss man is so cool~!"

Gamma dropped down to the ground face first, slipping out of the branches she was on.

"No.... Why is this happening to me again...." She commented, eventually standing up from the ground.

{ BGM END }

With that out of the way, Shadow pried open the doors of the carriage, searching for several things, especially money and treasure, calling them loot from the fodder bandits.

"All your stuff are belong to me!" He commented with a confident smirk, hoarding whatever he could take into a sack of slime, intending to return it to the base after a while.

This time, there were no enslaved girls or anybody else. Just loot that are good for him.

He also destroyed the items he thought were dangerous after noticing them. This skill was something he learned after discovering mind-altering and common sense modifying artifacts.

It wouldn't really hurt if he completely deactivates and destroys them.

Alpha approached him, awaiting his orders.

"Oh, yeah... For now let's take away their loot and return to the base. Then we strike their base which is.... Several miles south from here. Of course. We'll just follow the path they were going. You know what to do."

".... Understood."

While what he was doing is similar to the bandits, Alpha thought it was just and fair for him.

She even thought of the possibility that she will be defeated by these fodder at her current state. She still needs years of training to become stronger than she is now.

At that time, Shadow Garden will have itself be known to the world through their actions alone.

[ ~ TO • BE • CONTINUED ~ ]