"Master, just throw that damn rabbit to the wolves and be done with it," grumbled a red-headed female as she sprawled unceremoniously across a patchy, leather sofa.

"Helen," sighed a scarred, blond headed man and he gazed out the window of his office. While it was nothing special, it enabled him to watch over the recruit barracks and training grounds.

The man's eyes focused on the towers in the distance, the orbs at their spires flicking in icy, blue light as they kept the Frozen Forest, frozen.

"What?" laughed the woman, red furry ears twitching in amusement, happy to finally have provoked a response from her grumpy master. "Come on Mark, its already been three months. Whatever that creature was up to in that run down dump is probably ancient history."

"I bet its on the other side of the continent by now, probably setting fire to villages and turning people to ash or something. The huntsmen, the hounds, even those stuck up 'genius' clan members you are so proud off couldn't find even a trace after its tracks vanished, and no one is shouting for blood anymore. Let sleeping reptiles lie and all that."

Mark slowly shook his head as he turned his back on the window, the sounds of shouting and metal clanging, his troop's training, barely muffled by the glass and stone walls. "In the three months the rabbit has been here, she has formed her monster core and can almost fully from her human appearance. Not only that, one on one, she is undisputed. Why would I let those mongrels of Jefferson, have her?"

"Pfft~" spat Helen, flopping back on the comfy sofa. "She's no good to us. No one fights alone anymore. She doesn't speak, doesn't work well with others and-"

"And doesn't respect her elder, the amazing and beautiful Helen?" interrupted Mark before chuckling at Helen's pouting face.

Helen continued to sulk, crossing her arms. "Whats so great about that one eye bitch? Even those damn wolves, even if they are scum, are like mutts in heat around her. And those burns... If you met her in a dark alley, I wouldn't be surprised if someone mistook her for a zombie and tried to cut off her head and stake her heart."

"That's vampires." Mark chuckled. "And it would probably be the last mistake they would ever make if they were unlucky enough to act upon that assumption. My leg still aches from when we found her, and she was even half dead at the time. With all the training and resources we have thrown at her, I'd rather fight a griffon."

This time, it was Helen's turn to chuckle. "Ahh, I've never been so terrified in my life. I couldn't even enjoy the fact that you were screaming like a little girl as you rolled on the floor."

Instead of taking offence, Mark joined in. "You try having your leg snapped in half. If it weren't for the medics and the health policy our family has, I would probably still be in recovery. Still, I'm luckier than Franky, I hear they could only repair one of his gonads."

"Not like he used them anyway," heckled Helen, causing both of them to burst into laughter.

The two fell silent after a short while, Mark because of what was on his mind and Helen because she sensed something was troubling her master.

"The elders are getting agitated. When we sent the visual to the capital for the Librarian to check, the only response we received was a royal decree that the Frozen Forest was to be quarantined, only allowing low-level cultivators to enter to collect herbs. That was over three months ago, and every time the elders ask to repeal the order, they receive one with a higher seal," muttered Mark, his voice low.

"Oh?" Helen raised an eyebrow in interest. "Who signed it last?"

"The King of the Western Region." Mark's face was solemn. "They even sent an imperial skyship to the Edge of the Frozen Forest. It's currently stealthed, circling the barrier towers."

Helen's face was shocked. "Wow, they must really want whatever that thing is? Why hasn't there been any movement on the ground?"

"Nope," laughed Mark, though there was no humour in the sound. "They are under orders to eliminate anyone above a rank five who enters the zone. By Elimianate, I mean kill without mercy."

"The Woads and Dryads are being ignored, but if they leave the zone, they won't be allowed back in. Personally, I would say that the King is either terrified of it, which is absurd, or that they are scared of what's behind it."

"Why? If it's valuable enough to send a skyship, then they surely wouldn't want to risk it escaping? Even if they feared its kind, surely they would attempt to appease it or offer gifts then?" Helen didn't believe humans would be able to ignore temptation or a threat on their doorstep. There were a few good ones, like Mark, but the rest, at least in her opinion, we trash.

"Unless they are waiting for it to reach a certain stage?" muttered Helen as she rested her head in her hands, a frown appearing on her face. "That doesn't make sense, the resources of the Frozen Forest are too low for any significant advancement. The only reason the clan still bothers with this place is that the resources gathered have highly concentrated amounts of ice affinity and have a high price in the Burning Lands."

The small office, a desk, sofa and two chairs, fell into silence as the last golden rays of the sun flittered through the window.

"Helen," Mark eventually broke the silence. "What I am about to say can never be repeated. If you accept, whatever you find out must only be spoken to me and no one else, even under duress. I must have your agreement before I continue."

"On the bond?" Snapped Helen, anger exploding on her features. To make such a request, using the bond, meant that the beast or monster would never be able to break the command unless ordered too. If they tried, they would suffer immense pain and, in extreme cases, their internals would rupture, and they would bleed to death.

"On the bond," nodded Mark, reluctance on his face. He didn't want to do this to his bonded, especially after they had been through so much together but it was critical that this didn't get out.

Along with the degree on the Frozen Forest, all information was restricted, and every person who knew something about it had to swear an oath of secrecy.

While the oath held no punishment for being broken, another sign of the inequality between species, not many human cultivators would break it, even if it cost them their lives.

After waiting for Helen to nod her head, a constricting feeling emanating from his chest signalling that the bond was in effect, Mark continued. "The elders have ordered us to find out as much as we can about the monster."

"They are sure it is either incredibly precious as a bonded or pet, can be harvested for its core and body parts, its species holds a lot of power or influence in the Council of Worlds, or that the king is currently negotiating for a reward, basically holding it hostage inside the towers barriers."

Helen said nothing during Marks pause, forcing him to carry on.

"While we cannot go against a royal decree or the King of the Western Region, our clan's loyalties are to the Seven Families and the Emperor. The elders do not believe they know what is going on and so, we need to secure as much information as possible to ensure they don't relegate us any more than they already have. Since Godsfall, we have dropped below most other families and noble houses, if the trend continues, we will probably lose our outer lands in the next decade or so."

"Also, if they believe we have helped the king hide information, especially information that would benefit the empire, we will be in serious trouble."

"And~," snapped Helen. The fact that Mark had used the power of the bond, after so many years together, left her feeling hurt.

Helen understood this was a requirement from the elders and was also to protect her, but she couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed. If anyone asked her, she could now respond she was bound to say nothing on the matter, and that would be the end of it. "Stop giving me useless information and tell me what you command me to do. Master~."

Sighing, Mark continued, knowing that he was going to have to really put some effort in if he wanted to avoid a year or two of the cold shoulder from the beast that he considered his best friend. "Go make friends with the rabbit. From her initial reaction to the visual, she knows what the monster is and has a deep-seated hatred for it. Tell her that we need information to prepare a hunt and if she gives it to us, as well as her true name, then not only will she be able to join, but she will be able to lead a squadron."

"True name?" Helen forgot about her mood. "What beast in their right mind would give you that. Now she has a monster core and will live for hundreds of years, you could trap her for generations. Not even the death of a master will regain her freedom."

Helen was a little sore with the subject. Mark's ancestor had tricked her into revealing her true name and so, had been enslaved by his family for three generations now.

"That's the deal. If the rabbit wants revenge or to settle whatever she has between her and the reptile, then she will give her true name," responded Mark in a no-nonsense tone.

Helen shook her head in confusion. "But we can't hunt? Ignoring the fact that we cannot break a royal decree, there is a bloody imperial skyship waiting to blow anyone foolish enough to enters heads off."

"But only we know that," sighed Mark. As a cultivator, he hated lying, but he was under orders. "Now off with you. An inquisitor will arrive from the capital in the next couple of days, so I am going to have the rabbit out on patrol. He shouldn't find out about her but why take the risk. She leaves tomorrow morning so work quick."

Helen huffed as she stood up and, glaring at Mark one more time, turned around and left the room, slamming the door in the process.