38 A new... Friend?

----------- Lillian blushed at the smile on Liana's face. Liana stroked the bird for a few moments, then released it back out. ---------------

(Lillian) "We can train for a while more, then we should probably call it a night."

Liana nodded in assent and asked,

(Liana) "Do you want to try the same thing again or try to do something different?"

Lillian chuckled and asked,

(Lillian) "Even if we're going to try something different, we do need to know what we're going to do, don't we?"

Liana raised an eyebrow.

(Liana) "Well, you could always just try to turn into a different animal. But I think it's probably best if you master your wolf first."

She thought for a moment then asked,

(Liana) "There's something I've been wondering though."

Lillian gestured for her to continue.

(Liana) "When you're not… the one in control, who is then?"

Lillian raised an eyebrow. She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. Liana's eyes couldn't have opened wider than they did at Lillian's response.

(Liana) "You don't know!?"

Lillian gave her a strange look as she said,

(Lillian) "I honestly have no idea. I completely black out, remem─"

Her words got cut off as she suddenly passed out and would have hit the ground if Liana didn't catch her.

(Liana) "Lillian!"

Realising something, she gestured towards Elena and Jasmine that everything was okay. She then sat down on the floor and laid Lillian's head on her lap, tapping into her subconscious, since technically, Lillian wasn't dreaming.

***** (What is going on while Lillian is unconscious) ****** (Lillian's side)

Lillian opens her eyes and finds she can't see anything.

(Lillian) "Again?!"

She imagined a space again, but without the table and chair. She was about to activate the spell that allowed her to see what was going on outside but was stopped by a voice that was neither male nor female.

(?) "Lillian."

(Lillian) "Who's—"

She trails off as she sees a Figure in front of her.

(Lillian) "Who are you?"

(Figure) "I'm your inner beast. I have no true form as I take on whatever form you do."

(Lillian) "Inner beast, huh. Do you have a name?"

The Figure looked slightly surprised.

(Figure) "You're not even going to ask why there's someone else in your head?"

Lillian simply shrugged her shoulders.

(Lillian) "You're definitely in my head and not a projection by anyone else, so it's not like I can do anything about it. Now, your name?"

The Figure replied,

(Figure) "I have no true name. I was not given one by all your predecessors. I have been with many from your line but you're the only one who hasn't tried to expel me from their brain. Many have called me their Demon, their Dark Side, their Inner Beast. It is up to you what you wish to call me."

(Lillian) "You've been with all my predecessors? You mean the people with the mark before me?"

The Figure nodded. Lillian thought for a moment, then turned her head upwards and asked aloud,

(Lillian) "What do you think I should call her?"

(Figure) "Her?"

Lillian raised an eyebrow.

(Lillian) "You. You feel like a female, even though your voice could pass as both, and since you have no true form, you will be a female from now on."

The Figure seemed to smile a little as she said,

(Figure) "I see you've discovered my true purpose."

Lillian didn't blink as she replied,

(Lillian) "Since you live in my head, you should know as much as I do. Which means you know I have an ability to read in between the lines. I will not ask you to call me Master or Mistress, but I do wish for you to obey me, but not blindly. You have the ability to form coherent thought and you should use it."

The Figure was silent for a while before she replied,

(Figure) "Thank you. What do you wish for me to call you, then?"

Lillian smiled as she replied,

(Lillian) "Lillian is fine. Now about your name…"

(Liana) "Destiny sounds nice."

Lillian smiled, knowing Liana's reason behind the name.

(Lillian) "Thank you."

Turning her attention back to the Figure she asked,

(Lillian) "Does Destiny work for you?"

The Figure was stunned into silence for a few moments before she replied, her voice becoming more feminine, her emotions clear in the tone of her voice,

(Figure) "I'd love it!"

Lillian smiled.

(Lillian) "Good. Now that we've got that covered, we can start again. You can introduce yourself to me again, but with your name and what you truly are. You may also pick a form you're most comfortable in to use as your default appearance, as you look nothing more than a Figure with no other characteristics at the moment."

The Figure changed slightly and soon there was a girl that looked about Lillian's age, with Copper-Red hair and Hazel Eyes. She was slightly shorter than Lillian, with incredibly pale skin.

(Figure) "I'm your inner beast, given the name Destiny by yourself, and this appearance is the first one that popped into my mind, and thus the one I'm most comfortable in."

(Lillian's thoughts) 'Not much better but at least she seems more comfortable now.'

(Destiny) "My purpose is to serve you and to ensure your safety when you are unable to do so yourself. It is my job to do what you say, unless it means bringing harm to your physical health. However, because you are The One, this can be overridden by something else. There have been occasions when I took over the beast form of your predecessors, but I've never hurt innocents intentionally. It was always accidents, or self-defence. Only the most powerful can command me to do what they want, and you fall into that category, and are thus my Master."

She paused, knowing that Lillian had mentioned that she hadn't wanted her to call her Master, and was afraid of Lillian getting mad at her. However, Lillian simply nodded and gestured for her to continue.

(Destiny) "There have been occasions when those able to command me have locked me away at the very back of their minds but doing so hurts them more than it does me. And thus, hurting me even more. If my current human is harmed and I did not do anything to prevent it, I will suffer the consequences for it. I have been unable to connect with you as there is a condition on when I can talk to you in person, that being you knowing I exist in the first place, along with getting permission from the moon goddess herself."

Lillian nodded, sorting through the information in her mind.

(Lillian) "Are you able to use my abilities when you take over my body?"

Destiny nodded.

(Destiny) "As long as I have permission from you to do so, I can do anything you can."

(Lillian) "Why did you not leave your previous Masters' that couldn't command you alone?"

Destiny lowered her head.

(Destiny) "I am unable to. My first duty is to protect them. I was unable to contact them or talk to them, and many times they tried to extract me from their heads with different means. Every time it failed but every time it was more painful. Occasionally I'd lose control and when I take over it would appear to outsiders that I was attacking innocents, but I have never done so."

She seemed insistent that she'd never harmed innocents before, and Lillian wanted to know why.

(Lillian) "Am I able to punish you myself?"

Destiny's eyes widened but as Lillian had asked her the question directly, she was forced to answer.

(Destiny) "Yes. If you do so, I wouldn't need to suffer any extra consequences for failing my job."

(Lillian) "Even if you haven't done anything wrong?"

Destiny nodded.

(Destiny) "I had a Master that loved to do so. One of the very first after being created by the moon goddess."

She lowered her head as she continued in a softer voice,

(Destiny) "I admit that is why I tried not to let the rest control me."

Lillian nodded in understanding.

(Lillian) "When do you usually first surface?"

(Destiny) "When my current Master turns twelve. However, with you, I was able to surface almost a whole year earlier than usual."

Lillian nodded, remembering the first time she turned almost four years prior.

(Lillian) "I'm not going to attempt to get rid of you or even to get you to do anything. I only ask that you keep Liana and Liz safe, at the very least."

Destiny nodded, crossing her right arm over her heart, accepting her orders. Though internally she was thrown for a loop. She couldn't comprehend how her current Master had no desire to conquer her or use her for their own pleasure or misdeeds. This was the first time someone had just accepted her or even given her a name without a second thought.

This changed a lot in Destiny, making her decisions different from what they'd have been before she met Lillian.

****************(Outside) *******************

Liana had just tapped into Lillian's subconscious and was watching her talk to the figure when a figure appeared in front of her. The moment Liana saw her she knew something was off. Jasmine and Elena had completely no reaction to her, as if they were frozen or they didn't even know she was there.

(?) "Do not be afraid my child."

Liana raised an eyebrow, confused. Something about this figure seemed familiar but she couldn't quite piece it together.

(Liana) "Who are you?"

(?) "I am the being most call the moon goddess, but you may call me Iris."

Liana's eyes widened, not expecting this.

(Iris) "I only came to see the two girls who would change the world and to tell you not to be afraid. The being your wolf is talking to now is part of her, although she has a personality of her own. She was created by me to assist the descendants of the Wolf Empress control their powers. Unfortunately, many of them only tried to get rid of her or use her for their own greed. I am glad that Lillian is not the same. Then again, Lillian is not the same as anyone or anything out there. Neither are you. Take good care of each other, big things are meant for the two of you."

Liana was incredibly confused but at the same time understood what the person who had introduced herself as Iris meant. She also blushed when she realised Iris called Lillian 'her wolf'.

(Liana) "Why are─"

The moon goddess vanished into thin air before Liana could complete her question.

Liana shrugged and went back to paying attention to what was going on with Lillian. When Lillian asked her what she thought she should call the figure that lived in her head, she thought while Lillian continued talking to the figure.

(Liana's thoughts) 'We were always meant to meet each other… and the figure living in Lillian's head was always meant to reveal herself to Lillian.'

She concluded on a name and suggested it to Lillian, who accepted it immediately. She kept silent as she observed Lillian's conversation with Destiny, blushing when she heard Lillian ask Destiny to protect her and Liz. Well, mostly just this part.

(Liana's thoughts) 'Why did she attack me then?'

It only just occurred to Liana that just because Lillian wasn't in control, she assumed that the wolf wanted to hurt her.

(Liana's thought) 'What if she was simply playing around… like what Lillian did earlier?'

She concluded that it was simply a misunderstanding and paid it no more mind. Besides, it wasn't going to happen again, not with Liana's ability to talk to animals.

*

Liana was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't realise Lillian had concluded their conversation and was now opening her eyes. Since she hadn't used the spell to see what was going on outside, Lillian got a shock when she saw their position. Sitting up quickly, she knocked Liana's chin with her head. Pretty hard. There was a loud 'thud' sound at the contact.

(Lillian) "I'm so sorry!"

She leaned over to heal Liana's chin frantically when Liana started chuckling.

(Liana) "It's fine. I'm sorry I moved you into such a position that caused you such a shock."

(Lillian) "At least let me heal you."

Liana chuckled and nodded.

(Liana) "Okay."

Lillian leaned in and closed her eyes as she activated a healing spell. When she opened her eyes, she realised just how close her face was to Liana's. Cautiously she leaned in further. Liana's heart started beating so fast and hard that she was surprised Lillian couldn't hear it. Lillian kissed the place she knocked on Liana's chin gently and pulled back to see Liana breathe a sigh of relief.

(Liana's thoughts) 'I can't believe I thought she was going to─'

(Lillian) "Liana? Are you okay?"

Liana nodded.

(Liana) "Just give me a moment."

She closed her eyes and concentrated on slowing her heart rate. When she opened her eyes again Lillian had a concerned look on her face.

(Lillian) "Did I really hit you that hard?"

Liana laughed, but too much air came out and it sounded incredibly weird.

(Liana) "No, I already told you I'm fine."

Lillian was sceptical but she watched Liana carefully. Liana's breathing and heart rate finally slowed back down. Until she noticed Lillian watching her with such scrutiny that it made her heart rate go up again.

Lillian leaned forward and placed a hand on her forehead.

(Lillian) "Are you sure you're okay? You don't look too well."

Liana's face flushed red, making Lillian' frown at her.

(Lillian) "I think we should stop for today."

Liana nodded in agreement, unable to do much else.

(Liana) "Thanks for being concerned about me but I'm fine, but you're right. We should stop here for today."

Lillian nodded and stood up, then offered Liana a hand, which she took. With a slight tug on Liana, she pulled her to her feet, but she may have pulled too hard as Liana stumbled and fell towards Lillian, allowing Lillian to catch her in her arms without any extra effort, Liana having practically fallen straight into her arms.

(Lillian) "Careful."

Liana's face flushed even redder now, causing Lillian to look even more concerned.

(Lillian) "Are you sure you're okay? You're incredibly red."

Lillian asked with genuine concern in her voice. Liana sighed at Lillian's denseness and replied,

(Liana) "I'm sure. I'm fine"

Not sure if it came across as stiff or rude, she added,

(Liana) "Thanks for asking though."

Lillian grinned as she led Liana out of the training hall, dismissing her four guards with a wave of her hand.

(Liana) "Thank you, but I really can walk on my own."

Lillian smiled and replied,

(Lillian) "I know, but I like supporting you to walk."