Technically speaking, Jin Li did not live in the little courtyard house that was built for Leon and the latter had been most surprised by the addition of the large, curtained bed. Clearly, when all of the accommodation, with the exception of some guest rooms and Teacher facilities, had single beds and as many as four to a room, his new bed looked out of place. And that is only when you consider the size. Most other student rooms were not blessed with draft-excluding curtains!So, although Jin Li accepted this privilege as if they were ent.i.tled, his actual room could be found in the inner school, in the first years block. His bed was one of those unadorned, single beds, (though its general comfort was still on par with Leon"s new one) and his was not the only bed in the room. Inner school accommodations for students was two to a room and therefore the other bed naturally had an owner. The owner of the bed was named Sun, self-proclaimed best friend of Jin Li and bubbly, energetic, albeit diminutive Martial Arts student.
Sun was the same age as Jin Li, both were seventeen, though Jin Li claimed to be turning eighteen mid Winter, thus senior by a four ten-days than the other. It was his excuse to boss him about when he felt like it anyway. The youth had a length of brown hair that he usually wore up, bright eyes and a smattering of freckles upon his nose. He had a background of affluence meaning that he occasionally couldn"t see others of lesser background as being equal to him, but much of that sn.o.bbiness had been broken down and been swept away as had his habit of idol worship. After all, idols were better off worshiped afar, less said idols ruin the glorious image one held of them by normal or annoying habits. Such as insisting on carrying a person princess style when one"s legs collapsed from exhaustion... that sort of thing.
The slightly more mellowed youth that was Sun, who had once clung to Jin Li as a golden thigh and the protagonist of a story that no one had read, banged upon the front door of Leon"s courtyard home once more. "Jin Li! Jin Li! Open up!" Finally the lock clicked and the boy sighed with relief before his beaming smile returned and he entered the little house as if there had been no obstacles barring his way in the first place. "Yay! You are up! Are you ready to go?"
Leon glanced at him as he placed the porridge on the table and served Jin Li a bowl of it as well as a cup of tea. "N-not yet," Leon admitted and then blushed furiously as he recalled just why they were so tardy this morning.
Perhaps Jin Li knew what his small alchemist was thinking because his face was quite smug as he picked up his spoon and began to devour the simple breakfast. "There"s no meat," he complained, but this was in between mouthfuls.
"We"re ab-bout to leave f-for a while," Leon reminded him, his habit of being frugal came from his last life, but knowing what he did about his forgotten past in this life, he likely would have retained this habit regardless. It seemed destiny would have him be born to poverty and hardships compared to others. That said, in his last life, things could still be considered comfortable compared to that which his diaries claimed he lived like before he came to the school. A villager, with just a grandfather for company and the man"s earnings as a creator of blank books from purchased parchment. When food was scarce, he"d had to forage for wild herbs and vegetables, too weak to hunt or fish. However, it was this learning about herbs and his basic skills in reading, that helped him pursue the alchemist path in the end.
Jin Li clicked his tongue, but still did not hesitate to move his spoon. In the end, the rest of the pot of congee was consumed by him as well. Sun had already eaten, so just drank tea while he waited impatiently, while Leon pottered around, cleaning up their dishes and folding his and Jin Li"s things ready to pack. "Oh, I should see to Li Ming and Wu Ye!" Leon suddenly announced and scampered out of the door.
Sun watched him leave then turned to Jin Li who was pouring himself a second cup of tea. "Aren"t you done yet?" Sun complained.
"No."
A chill breeze drifted across the courtyard, teasing the boy who stepped out into it from his warm home and he shivered and began thinking of his warm, snow foxbear pelt coat indoors. However, his scent had caught the attention of those in a sheltered stable nearby and loud yowls excitedly sounded from it. Leon"s lips curved as he braved the wind and quickly covered the short distance to the stable. Out of the wind, it was a bit warmer and four bright, feline eyes flashed towards him as he entered. Those belonged to Li Ming and Wu Ye.
Wu Ye, meaning midnight, had grown into its pre-adult form simpler and not yet of the ma.s.s of a full adult. Still, its line of sight easily met Leon"s as it stood on its four strong, scaled legs. All of its baby fur had now been lost and it was coated in pitch black scales that while tough were smooth to the touch. Light did not reflect off of its skin; it would have been the perfect nocturnal predator had it not been wounded as an adolescent and rescued by the beast taming school. It shook his feline head at Leon"s appreciating gaze and turned its head aside, arrogantly. It was quite the match for its chosen rider.
Li Ming was younger than Wu Ye and formally was the runt of its litter, thus only currently reached Leon"s waist. Its eyes were an azure blue and its rounded ears and much of his neck and long, thick tail still retained the fluff he was born with. It yowled for attention, nuzzling at Leon"s body as the youth entered, still very much unaware of its own strength as it knocked the boy to the ground. Leon chuckled, unhurt and stroked the soft striped fur of black and white at the coeurl"s neck. Coeurls were magical beasts, large felines, but (with the exception of cubs) had no fur, instead a coat of scales and a thick lizard like tail. They did not have whiskers per say, but two long tendrils that sprouted from their cheeks and stretched down the length of their bodies, wavering in the air.
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Li Ming"s tendrils were short, only reached to the nape of its neck, but Leon thought them cute. Its fur and scales were patterned in long stripes and it had once reminded Jin Li, its rescuer, of the small alchemist, who later became its chosen master. Li Ming, which meant dawn, was not big enough for Leon to ride, but the youth did not tend to leave it nor Wu Ye behind when they went away on their trip.
Leon fed them a portion of the prey that Wu Ye and Jin Li had hunted last weekend (a four day period in which the students need not attend lectures or school duties), before hurrying back to finish packing. He was really looking forward to this trip!