Savage dog growls were the first thing that hit Val’s ears aside from the sounds of the ocean. Foofy had come with her on this midnight stroll, and now that she and Tavras had come back to shore, he could do his thing. The Dobie went charging forward to attack Tavras.

“Call off your dog,” he said, impatient and annoyed.

“Foofy, off!” Trying to speak made her body wrack with more coughs. It was easier just to send out the calming energy of Keep the Peace and blanket Foofy with it.

Stopping in his tracks, Foofy stood rigid with his body angled towards Tavras. Growls curled from his mouth of barred teeth.

Her breath heaved in and out from more than just her recovery from drowning, but also exertion from using Keep the Peace. As a divine beast, Foofy turned out to be much harder to control than when he had been a mortal dog. It only seemed to affect him because he had already grown accustomed to the way in which Val would reach out to him with her mind.

“Thank you.” Tavras turned his back on them and looked out to the ocean regaining its calm.

“Y-You had said that we could become a thing if I gained power? I need to become strong enough to do what you cannot do....” Val picked herself up to sit on her folded legs. Her body leaned forward with all interest and concern for Tavras. “What is it that you are not able to do?”

His head tilted back to orientate his face up to the moon. Stray pieces of his hair caught in the breeze and blew back behind him. His already lustrous hair gleamed with the moonlight. “It should become evident to you in time. My situation is simple, really.”

“What is your situation, though?” Val shifted onto her hands and knees and crawled half of a step forward.

“I have said too much already. The whole point of not telling you anything is so that we do not put hazardous thoughts in your head. As I said, you will understand in time. Just focus on becoming stronger for now. Attaining the status of a fully-fledged goddess should be more than an ambitious enough goal for you, for the time being. Plus, it would be a good goal regardless of anything having to do with me.”

Val clamored to her feet roughly and moved to stand behind Tavras. As much as she hated having to be left in the dark on so many things, she had already accepted the fact that it was for her own good. “So, when I become a goddess, can we talk about this again?”

His attention turned back to her, looking at her from the corners of his eyes. A half-smile was visible on his face. “Sure.”

A wavering smile crept onto Val’s own lips. As it turned out, she could not feel more glad that she had approached Tavras to confess her feelings. Maybe there was some possibility of them being together yet.

Val stooped in a quick bow and spoke with greater certainty. “I would do anything for you, Tavras.” Did that sound too determined and creepy? Inspired by the swell of feelings in her chest, she kept on going. “I will become stronger for you, so that way we can become equals one day!” She would not be so much like a child to him, then.

That smile on Tavras’s face looked almost pained. “If you can manage it, I will look forward to that day. Remember: I do not want an equal partner though! I want someone superior to me so that they can do what I cannot.” Of all things, his voice sounded playful and teasing over his speech.

Val recalled the word for that: manipulative. If Tavras had no interest in her and would only consider her if she was able to do something for him, that by its very definition was not a healthy relationship. As her mentor and friend and maybe-one-day future boyfriend, Val did not mind though. Tavras could push her to be stronger, she could do something kind for him, and they both would be all the better for it. Improving and helping one another was an important component of relationships too--a more meaningful part than gazing into each others’ eyes and touching their bodies together. If anything, Val looked forward to earning Tavras’s affection and having a deeper relationship with him because of it.

She could feel the hope filling her eyes as she gazed up to Tavras.

“How has your practice in developing a Mind Shield been going with Iharu?” In the awkward silence, Tavras had chosen to shift their conversation into a more casual direction, and she appreciated that.

“Good!” Val said. “I can keep some of my thoughts hidden from her, so long as she just scans my mind in passing. She can still read everything in my head if she focuses on doing that, specifically.” A week had passed on the Preserve of Iharu and Fangarus. During that time, Val had been learning from the both of them, primarily Iharu in developing a Mind Shield.

“Good, good,” Tavras mused. Another long pause persisted between them. “Uh, I’m going to go now. We do not actually have anything to talk about, and I think it would be best if we spent some time apart.”

Her chin tipped down so that she could stare at her soggy shoes. “Okay.”

“Yeah. Bye Val.” Tavras shot off into a run over the water and disappeared from view in a matter of seconds.

A sigh hefted from her lips. All in all, that still went better than expected. Even so, her present emotional state did not sit well with her. It was just anxiety, Val told herself. This was the first time she had developed such an extensive crush for anybody, her first time acting upon those feelings, and her first time having a chance at being with somebody romantically. Val did not want to mess up this chance that Tavras had given her. With her hands balled into loose fists, she swore that she would become strong enough for him, one day.

“Come on, Foofy,” Val said with a smile. “Follow.” As a divine beast, Foofy would obey any commands that she gave him, so long as he understood. Therefore, she tried giving him new words to learn during their day-to-day life, such as the follow command, in this case.

Foofy trotted after her.

Together, they headed back inland through the dark forest. Initially upon coming to this island, Val had been scared of the behemoths that roamed here. According to the goddess of beasts herself, Iharu had become powerful enough to command all animals on this island. Not a single one would attack somebody that she did not wish. Just as well, Iharu could also send the whole island into a stampede of raging behemoths amidst whatever other monsters lurked here. For now, Val had no reason to worry over any savage creatures, so she walked calmly towards the cabin.

The quaint, wooden house served as the home to the siblings Iharu and Fangarus, and now Val was something of a step-sister that stayed with them. All three of them had been taken into the care of Tavras more or less, so they had that much in common at least.

The door opened silently, and Val tried to pad across the kitchen just as noiselessly. There was nothing that she could do about the clack of Foofy’s nails.

“Some mating ritual.” Out of the dark, Iharu spoke from where she sat at the table.

Val flinched in a jump. She had the shame for her face to start burning at once. Why did Iharu linger around the kitchen in the middle of the night?

Since Val had been stunned into silence, Iharu happened to see it fit to answer that very question. “Tonight, I had been able to sense you leave and for what purpose. I figured that I should wait up for you, just in case things did not go over too well.”

“It went over quite well, thank you.”

“If you call Tavras threatening to kill you “well”, I mean, sure. I do not shame a fellow woman for her desires. I wish that I had a man to dominate me too.”

“What?” Yet again, Val found herself too shocked to say much. Whatever Iharu was going on about, she made too many assumptions. This much, she was confident that Iharu had not read from her mind but perhaps projected her own thoughts onto her.

Since Val had fallen silent yet again, Iharu elaborated. “You underestimate how closely Tavras and the sea are linked. The sea reflects his mood, and the animals can sense the ocean. They had become uneasy while the two of you talked, and I could feel that. I don’t care what you say. Things did not go over well between the two of you.” This was a lot of talking for Iharu, who was relatively succinct and quiet most times.

Val shrunk back into the wall and edged closer to the door of her room. “Um, thanks for checking in on me, Iharu. I’m fine really. I just want to go to bed.”

“Fine, but this conversation is not over. I am concerned for you, little demigoddess. We will talk more, come morning.”

“Okay.” That interaction, she would have to deal with tomorrow. For now, Val just wanted to get away, so she slunk into her bedroom with Foofy.

She felt giddy alongside a touch confused, but none of these feelings did she wish to unpack. Overthinking things in regards to romance was supposed to be bad, so Val allowed herself to feel content with the progress that she had made with Tavras tonight. There was hope for a budding relationship between them, so she fell asleep with a smile on her face.