After a long walk, we both saw the river and Elijah got excited. He ran to the riverbank and played in the water.
"Brother, can I take a bath?" he pleaded.
"No, there might be river monsters," I cautioned.
"Aww please~ The water is clean. I can see it through. I will only play in shallow water." he continued with his cute voice.
How can I resist that and I allow him reluctantly. "Alright. Just make sure you are okay."
He left me and soak into the river. He looked more happy than ever.
I move and sit on the riverbank while soaking my feet in the river.
"Amazing!" I was shocked and in disbelief. It's true. The water is crystal clear as I see it with my own eyes. I suddenly saw a fish swimming and getting excited and had a thought, "I will catch you later. Hehe."
After that, I took the chance to focus a while and use my healing magic to heal my broken bones. I need to heal my body before I pass out again.
The injury is not visible, so I must focus on the broken part. It would be harder than sewing the cat's skin back to normal.
Suddenly, I feel something is brushing on my back. I turned around and was shocked.
"Argh! My goodness. What is this cat doing here?" I was shocked.
I wonder how the cat is able to get here.
Elijah rushed over, delighted. "Aww, the cat is following you. He must love you, brother."
"What is this thing doing here? Don't touch him. It could be dangerous."
Elijah immediately pets the cat before I get to stop him. I was surprised that the cat is acting like a normal cat. Maybe they attacked us because they thought we were a threat to them. But it is our fault for passing their territory.
"Why does he not attack? Is he truly tamed?" I questioned myself.
I suddenly realized that my injury had gone. I felt happy and felt like I could forgive this cat and only beware if it tried to do something. But I think the cat is unlike humans and, "it's not going to backstab me, right?"
"Yes! I did it. The pain is gone." I scream with joy internally.
Elijah looks at me wanting to talk something.
"What is it, Eli?" I ask him when he is looking at me with a puppy's eyes. I understand he must be wishing for something.
"Can I keep him?" He asked for my approval.
"What?! No. I already have a mouth to feed. I can't let you keep him." I look away from his face.
"Pretty please~ I will take care of him by myself." he begged while approaching me closer.
"But the cat is not a pet. It is wild and this is his home." I point it out straightforwardly.
"Alright then. Let this cat decide. If he comes to us, I will keep it. Otherwise, I will stop asking." he looked at the cat that looked clueless.
"Deal!" (Hehe. If that cat comes here, I will shoot an invisible wind. Eli won't notice it.)
Suddenly, the cat started moving towards us and when it was almost near I immediately shot on the ground. The cat backs off and Elijah suddenly changes his face and becomes sad.
I felt pity and let the cat come at him again.
I changed my mind and thought that it was his choice to have the cat.
"Sighed. Fine. Do whatever you want. I won't be responsible."
"Yeah! I knew it. The cat loves you." he said it while hugging the cat and pointing the cat to my face.
"Wh... What?! Don't spout nonsense." my hand was trying to push him away but I couldn't resist the cat's fur that was so comforting.
I remind Elijah to treat the cat nicely and do not hold him so much. It can come with us and leave anytime it wants.
The cat seems friendly with Elijah. Maybe I should let him be for a while, but I will make sure to pay more attention to that cat to ensure Elijah's safety.
I turn around and look in the river. I got an idea to catch some food for dinner tonight.
"Elijah, can you help me collect some dry wood?" I asked him while doing something.
"Sure!" he replied and rushed into the woods without waiting for my next instruction.
"Please be careful. Scream if you see anything weird." I had to say it out loud because he was already far away.
When my mind looks at the cat, I have a thought to make it follow Elijah.
Suddenly, the cat follows Elijah. It feels like it can read my mind or the cat just loves Elijah.
As they left, I prepared to take my action to catch some fish. I targeted my magic pointed to the fish. The fish calmly swam, and I took the chance to kill it.
A fast wind bullet got through the water and the fish floating as the sign was dead. I collect the fish that got shot and put it in my bag.
After a while, the sun has settled down. It is almost dark.
Finally, I managed to get 10 fish for our dinner tonight. Meanwhile, Elijah has finished collecting the dry wood. I take time to light up the wood using a camping technique I learned during my summer vacation on Earth. I noticed that my pants were soaked with water after catching the fish in the river. I decided to take off my pants and let it dry beside the fire that I just set up.
While waiting for the fish to get cooked, I prepare our bed for tonight. I collect some dry leaves to have a comfortable bed. I let Elijah to wait and make sure the fish is not overcooked.
When I look at the fire, I was thinking if I would be able to cast fire magic, that would be great and convenient for us.
"Maybe I can imagine my body and the fire becoming one" I thought. I tried to test whether I could make the fire onto my palm. I could only feel the warmth.
"It is now or never!"
I get my hand out to the fire and scream painfully as the fire is hot. After I open my eyes, I raise my hand and see the fire on my hand. I was able to draw fire on it.
"Yes! I made it." A small fire light on my fingers has lit like a lighter. The fire was burning above my hand. I feel like my magic is acting like oxygen that lights up the fire. I fully understand that the particles that exist around me are magic. Different colors are for conjuring specific elements.
While excited for my achievement, I smell something burn. "Oh no!" I try to save the fish before overcooking. Elijah was mad at me for playing with fire.
After that, we both had our meals together before sleep. I lay down beside my brother and have a thought about something. We had a short conversation.
"Hey Eli. Do you have any thoughts about its name?" I talk to him about the cat that lies beside him with comfort.
"Yes! I want to name him Leo." Elijah said with excitement.
"Leo? Wow, that's cool. Is Leo a female or...?" I was curious.
"He is a male! Brother, you have made him frustrated." he said while hugging Leo away from me.
"Hahaha. Alright, I'm sorry. But do we need to let him sleep with us?" I asked him.
"You are heartless. Of course he needs to sleep with us. He needs to be warm too." Eli petted the cat and brushed against his face like it was his pet when it was about to kill us this evening.
"Hey Leo. Remember this, if you dare to do something bad to my brother, I will kill and eat you. Do you understand?" I try to scare the cat and it moves to another side. Elijah was staring at me with a scowl face.
"You are not nice, big bro. He will never do such things." he assured me.
"Alright, I'm just kidding. Now, go to sleep. We need to move early tomorrow." I hugged both of them in my arms.
It looks like when I pour my mana into this wild cat, it reborn and becomes my familiar. As Elijah has named it, Leo has recognized the both of us as his Master.
That night, I let both of them sleep first and stay awake to stand guard.
I'm surprised that we were able to survive this long. It's been a long time and we have gone through many things.
Elijah surely grew so fast. The time feels shorter to know he is 6 years old now.
Our place is safe but I still need to be careful. I slowly fall asleep and I take a glimpse of the trap that I set. If anything comes, it will scare anything and wake me immediately.
The night went away safely without anything happening.