Chapter Six : Snakes & Ponds

Regina thanked Rex for all his help and glanced at the window to see the afternoon sun had begun dimming. She wondered if she would've been able to do it without him, it felt easy enough now that she had done it once.

~I should go train in my cat form in the woods, perhaps father might have some new information to impart on me now that I've progressed further!~

" I have to go somewhere now.. "

Rex nodded in acknowledgement, he wanted to ask her if he could either come along or meet her again. However, it was obviously too early to say such a thing and he did not wish for her to think of him as a creep, especially now that she thought of him as a helpful young boy who aided her to shift for the first time in her life!

He silently walked out of her room, down the staircase and out the main door. Locking the door, Regina ran back to her room and swiftly undressed, sliding back into the black outfit, applied some makeup, wore her boots and locking the back door. She then transformed to a black cat again as big as she could become and walking on all fours reached the side of the road.

~If I exercise in my cat form, not only will my exercise will be done but I shall not have to deal with my breasts, clothes, and unwanted attention, not to mention the experience I'll gain so that I can make good use of all the perks of my cat form...~

Looking both ways of the road, Regina dashed across the road and through the forest. She relied on her memory to remember the direction of the house she ran. She skidded to a halt as she felt movement nearby, her ears perked up as she stared at something scaly and shiny nearby.

~I bet that's a snake! Time for some hunting practice kitty~

Slowly trotting to a safe distance from the snake, she meowed to attract its attention. She than ran around in different ways in order to confuse the snake which slithered to the middle of a few trees she had recently encircled. Regina pounced on a branch of the behind the snake and leapt onto its neck, digging her claws in its stomach and sinking her fangs in its throat tearing it open while the rest of her furry body held it in place as it wiggled furiously for a while and then lay unmoving, dead.

She wasn't a very big cat, only slightly larger than most house cats and yet there were certainly many cats of different breeds that were actually taller than her. However, she utilized her skills from her human body in this body along with its extra skillset of extra sharp senses, high sensitivity and not to mention claws and fangs.

The moment she ripped its throat apart, a hooded figure landed gracefully in front of her and silently watched the scenes unfold with his arms crossed as he leaned against the tree he jumped down from. The black cat looked proudly at her work and then at the person.

~How does he always manage to appear without me noticing him?~

" Well done, it seems you managed to not only shift but also make your first kill in your new form. "

The cat sat down and proudly puffed her fuzzy chest as she wondered if she could've possibly ended yesterday's test in the same outcome. Without the part where she tore it's throat, of course. However, she could not come up even now with a way to end that test in this way considering she was unable to so much as spot the assassin that flawlessly covered his tracks and camouflaged.

Just as he was about to continue, a bird swiftly flew by, a letter falling from her talons somewhat higher than the trees. Regina looked up and the assassin instantly used one leg against the tree behind him to propel himself up, catching the letter between his middle finger and index finger and landing back in front of Regina.

~Damn it, how's this guy's timing so perfect?~

He opened the letter and took out a sheet of paper inside. He flipped it to check on either side, but both sides were blank. Seeing the letter's arrival, Regina had instantly shifted back to her human form while her father had performed the interesting yet unnecessary " stunt ".

He handed her the letter and expectantly looked at it as if he expected it to say something once she held it. However, there was no change on either side so he grumbled and backed away, avoiding looking at the letter. The moment he looked away, the lines appeared on the letter in Regina's hands. Considering all that had happened yet, she found it severely unsurprising.

" Read it. "

" The details of the first mission are given on the backside. Before that, you must pass the test. If you do not survive, the first mission would be a waste of time. Tomorrow morning, a Raven will knock at your window. Follow it out the back door and it will lead you to your destination. You must kill all present on site and acquire an object.

Hand it to the Raven that shall observe you, your test will be successful if you remain alive till that moment. Tomorrow, the Raven shall provide you with an image of the object at your window. "

Regina flipped the letter and continued reading as her father continued to lean against the tree with his arms folded, contemplating every word.

" The first main object to be acquired is preserved inside the castle of Faenum. It is best that you avoid anyone seeing your face, you shall be provided with Nummularius potion along with its antidote at the beginning of each mission. You may then disguise yourself in any way you wish to carry out the mission. Use the antidote the moment you enter the transportation leading homeward. We shall not provide any further information and you may take as much time as you wish to investigate before you strike. " ~ Raven "

~Raven... Is this the name of the person imprisoning mother? Then again, it may be an alias considering a Raven will come to my window, perhaps they simply have an affinity for Ravens, hence the alias?~

Her father hummed in acknowledgement as he straightened up, he had not moved an inch the entire time she read the letter. He climbed the tree and silently went towards the house, Regina shifted to a cat and dashed in tow behind him. They both got inside the house, shutting the door behind them as Regina shifted back to human form and sat with him on separate chairs.

" So when did you first shift? "

" Today, in the afternoon... my energy seems to be growing rapidly though, the second time I shifted, I was bigger than the first time. "

" Is it? That sounds like lovely progress. Why don't we celebrate today? Surely, we will do some practice too, but I don't feel like doing much serious work today. After all, you have a test to prepare for, so get home early today. "

He seemed to silently ponder for a while, then he stood up and left the house again. He faced the opposite direction of the Graveyard, which was an endless expanse of forest area and further were mountains.

" Follow me, let me show you something you'll surely love! "

He darted in the direction of the mountains and Regina ran closely behind in her cat form. After a sprinting for a while, they had covered half the distance from the house to the end of the forest region and beginning of the mountainous region.

They both halted, Regina looked around as her eyes widened. It was a small fountain that flowed into a sparkling sapphire pond, the ripples and the sound of falling water echoed in the almost entirely silent forest. Unlike what would be expected from such a place, there was no algae and all the hard wet stones were shiny and clean. Nearby were many flowering plants that seemed to encircle the pond as if it held some divine powers.

" We came just at the right time. "

Said her father, glancing at the setting sun which had almost entirely disappeared. As the sun disappeared and the atmosphere darkened for a while, all of a sudden Regina found herself being slowly engulfed by light from all directions as hundreds of miniscule fireflies flew into view from the bushes, flying over the pond all around inside the circle made by the flowering plants.

Regina could not resist any further, so she leapt inside the beautiful pond in her cat form. Swimming around on all fours, her body seemed to instantly replenish all its lost energy as the freezing water softly caressed her fur and paws. Regina dove inside, allowing the water to caress her entire body in a gentle embrace as she swum in circles underwater.

~How exhilarating, how amazing!~

Finally rising above the water, she inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes, soaking in the lovely feeling of being where she was as she floated limply on the surface of the pond. All of a sudden, she felt a hard splash of water on her face.

" Oh, I thought you died! "

His father jested, laughing. Regina silently swum out of the pond and walked in the opposite direction. She then sat near a plant and stared back at her father. He closed his eyes and hunched his back in mockery as he repeated what she did in his own comedic version. Regina took that chance and sprinted towards the pond, leaping into it in a big splash!

Now that her father had gotten all wet anyway, he also jumped inside the cool pond and repeatedly splashed her with water. Regina instantly dove inside the water, avoiding his splashes. She swam behind him and splashed him once again. In this way, they splashed each other for a while till both of them got tired of the play and swam out of the pond.

They sat beside each other both in human form and their legs in the water. They lay down and sighed, their eyes closed.

~He's not so bad after all... He may have seemed slightly cold the last time we met but today he was actually really nice...~

The feeling of finally having a father crept around her heart, leaving her feeling overjoyed as she soaked in the moment. Another memory she would never forget. The sparkling butterflies, blooming flowers, chirping birds, and flowing water seemed to be there merely in order to beautify the moment.

" You're not as bad as I thought... "

She muttered. He chuckled and replied

" It is indeed high praise for me that you think so now! "

With these last words, Regina waved him good bye and left homeward. As she sprinted back home, all the amazing memories she made today replayed in her mind. She would never forget... How she met the lovely emerald boy... Shifted for the first time in her life, killed and swam and sprinted in that form too... Actually spent a few lovely moments with her father...

~He may not talk much, but I suppose that is simply because he is not used to revealing his emotions especially in the form of words and being close to someone. Being an assassin... emotions must be something he is not well acquainted with, may even be considered his biggest enemy! It is indeed an honor he decided I was worthy enough to share his emotions and forest with...~