The Fallen Vampire

The quarters Taira and Aveena had been given were by the Gentle Brotherhood were actually fairly nice.

They weren't quite up to the usual standard that they surrounded themselves with at home, but they were still quite comfortable.

The bed may not have been tremendously large, but that just meant that the group would get to sleep that much closer together at night.

...Or more likely, not sleep at all.

Either scenario was quite preferable.

There was a sudden rustling at the door and the girls' husband came walking in; carrying a familiar furry animal.

"There you are, babe. You laid outside all day so we thought we were going to have to join you..." Lucia's words trailed off as she realized that Taira didn't look right.

"Why is your jaw hanging open like that..? And why are you holding Nibbles out like she's contagious with something?"

"Mamas!"

The girls mouths subsequently dropped open all at once.

For a full minute, it seemed like no one had any idea of what to do.

And then, Keran was the first to react.

Welll.. maybe not react.

She just fainted. Her head landed right on top of Enyo's thigh like she'd just been peacefully laid to rest.

The other girls were a fair bit less traumatized.

Chorus' of screeching and excited yelling melded into one as they practically jumped all over each other to get to Yukiko.

Taira was still so out of it that he didn't even break posture as the girls liberated the small bundle of fluff from his arms.

Vermeil happily laughed and spun around as she held the young critter up in her arms.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!! How is this even possible!??"

Taira couldn't answer, so Yukiko did it for him.

"Papa did it!"

"KYAAA!!! You're so precious and fluffy I could die!!!"

Taira went to the bed and lay down face first in the comforter. He wasn't resting for even a whole minute before Lucia flipped him onto his back and straddled him.

"You did this!?? How!?"

"I was... I have no idea." Taira admitted.

"Well, thank you nonetheless!!"

Lucia grabbed her husband by the face and gave him one of the largest smooches ever received in their fifty year marriage.

He felt a little bit less disoriented now. Just a little bit though.

"What happened while you were outside?? You have to tell us everything!"

"A-Alright... but like I said, I don't know much.." Taira said.

- 6 And a Half Minutes Later...

Aveena: "So you formed this beast core thing that Fenris taught you to make..."

Enyo: "And now little Nibbles can talk to us like normal..?"

"It's not just her..."

Taira stood up and opened the doors to their private balcony.

He pointed out into the valley and the girls got a front row seat to a scene from an animated movie.

Deer: "Mate! Somebody mate with me!"

Bird: "Poop! Pooping now! Here!"

Squirrel: "These are my nuts and nobody can have them!"

It was pandemonium.

Every animal in the village was running around and talking with surprising clarity.

Everyone's jaws fell open and they stared at Taira, who stared blankly back.

Eventually, all of their gazes traveled to the dresser where a familiar medallion rested peacefully.

- 1 Minute Later...

"This is a common occurrence for when beast type cultivators begin forming divine beast cores. Animals that are hit by the energy produced during breakthrough will experience dramatically raised intelligence." Velreth explained.

The group was sitting around in a circle while Velreth imparted knowledge into their young minds.

Vermeil raised her hand with wide eyes like she was right back in high school. "Just how dramatically increased..?"

"Well, some can do complex arithmetic. Others can begin to form their own beast cores with the potential to become Demi-Humans."

"Demi-humans..?" Enyo asked hopefully.

"Oh right, what's the term you all use down here... fallen." Velreth nodded.

Everyone slowly turned to stare at Yukiko.

The red ball of fur was busy crawling around on the floor; eager to sniff around this new place for the first time.

Everyone seemed to be having the same thought all at once, but Aveena was the first one to actually say it out loud.

"So... Eventually Yukiko might become a real child? Like a daughter...?"

Velreth didn't think he had ever seen the Amarok family display such a wide spread of emotions as they were now.

He knew that this particular subject was a tender one for them, as Taira's inability to have children had left a gap in their lives for a long time.

As such, he recognized that he was in a delicate position.

He wanted to give them some hope, while also not causing their expectations to soar too high.

"...If she has the aptitude, yes. It truly all depends on her."

At that moment, Yukiko ran over to Taira and crawled into his lap with immovable persistence.

She stared up at him with big, brown eyes and placed her paws on his chest.

"Papa! Hungry!"

Taira's pupils visibly trembled in a way that the girls hadn't ever seen before.

As he wrapped his arms around Yukiko, a rare smile formed along his face that was as blinding and new as the moon above.

- 3 Days Later...

Three large fleet ships arrived on the island coast at exactly the same moment of the day.

Abbott Tang narrowed his eyes distastefully as he noticed the occupants of one of the other ships.

It never did do well to wish negative things on others, but he could not pretend in the slightest that he was happy to see them.

*Thunk, thank!*

The Abbott tapped his staff on the ground twice and his entire sect responded in kind.

Exactly one hundred and twelve men in yellow monk-wear rose up into the sky on floating swords made from gleaming metal.

The Abott simply used his own power to rise up into the sky alongside them.

But he never expected that when he reached a sufficient altitude that a flying bird would come rushing towards him.

"Outta the way, baldie!!"

"What in the heavens...?"

A comical collision ensued where the two creatures accidentally butted heads.

The Abbott immediately went plummeting down back towards the ship; horrifying every one of his Sect Members.