Nature excursion. Beast tamer [B-tier] to [A-tier] and Warrior [B-tier] to [A-tier] training.

It wasn't due to recklessness or insanity that she had sought to do what she was out here to do but more so out of an inner necessity to push herself once again. In a dense section of forest around the base of the mountains, Ani had chosen to isolate herself for the purpose of training her capabilities as a tamer. Knowing that there was deadlier fauna to find here she came here without Hoyo hoping to track, tame, and study them to see if she could work on some new methods. Though there were some theories on beasts that she planned on testing while she was here even if there was a possibility she might end up stealing some eggs from nests she could come across. This field expedition also had gained a secondary purpose as Ani had plans on staying longer for other training, though that wasn't important at this time.

What she took with her was the bare minimum to set up camp and any equipment she might need to aid in working with the beasts or observing them. The location for her camp had been scouted out in advance by her multiple times through her travels in the mountain and was sure that it was ideal in terms of water, food, safety, and getting out there to observe easily without being tracked back to her camp by any of the predators that could be out there waiting to ambush her. Anything she would need to really survive she could get from the lands and if she couldn't do that she wouldn't be able to survive. The riskiest part of her plan hadn't been revealed to even her most loyal of soldiers.

Arriving in the clearing Ani would be greeted with a wall of rock covered in vines, a large river that flowed down off a small ledge into the rest of the jungle. There was only one real path into this secluded clearing but Ani would block it off from sight and plan on leaving from the river since it was perfect to leave by without people knowing where her camp would be because of the fact the river could only be used to leave and not enter. It didn't take long for her to get a good layout before she decided that it was indeed the perfect spot. After gathering some larger branches and vines she created the faux wall of greenery to hide away the only real pathway to her camp and then turned her attention back to settling into her camp.

Dropping the bags she had brought with her a soft sigh had escaped Ani's lips as she slowly took off her blue coat and most of the clothing she had been wearing. The forest was rather warm from the time of the year and the general climate so Ani thought wearing less was a smart idea, this was also reinforced by the fact that there was plenty of plants that could damage her gear. There was no reason to damage good gear for no reason when the Amazon could easily survive with little clothing like she had for years before. Though as she disrobed the secret she had been planning was revealed.

While her dress of leather shorts, fur wrapped around her waist and both her chest and feet were bandaged the oddest thing about her experience was her extended belly. Imuchakk pregnancy had progressed quicker than humans even if her child was a half-blood it wouldn't be long till she would give birth so she had left with the intent to give birth in the wild and continue to camp until they were ready to make it back to a city in Kou or her fortress. As she rubbed her belly and looked down at it her left eye would twitch, a constant reminder of how she gained her fortress, she began to think about the changes she would be facing in the upcoming days knowing that there was no coming back from this moment.


"Well, I guess the first thing I should do is set up home." She said to herself as a habit from speaking to a beast most of the time during her life. She had brought with her a tarp made from skin, something she had learned to do during long hunting trips in the coldest parts of Imuchakk. Her plan was to build a small hut where she would be able to conceal herself from the elements should the worst happen and safely rest when the baby would come. The first day had soon begun to dwindle away as most of her time had been spent on ensuring the quality of her hut, it would pay off in the end as it seemed stable enough and the furred bag she had brought would prove plenty comfy.

"The day really does get away from you, huh." Her words once again only falling on her own ears as she had moved onto placing large rocks and sticks for a campfire. Even as her hands did their work flawlessly her eyes had instead followed the sky and tracking the day as the blue ceiling soon became crimson in a resplendent light as it set a different tone for the hurried woman. There were no plans on hunting or working on the first day so she had at least caught some fish on the way to camp. Once the fire had begun roaring she put her bounty spit and began to slow roast it.

In the silence of the night, she sat on top of a rock next to her fire its roaring flames and the sound of her teeth crunching fish filled her ears as she would desire companionship for a brief moment before continuing with her meal. It was rather peaceful in the end and she felt relaxed after her full day of preparations. While throwing fists with strong beasts thrilled Ani there was another kind of pleasure found in simple hard work like manual labor, or just her general work with beasts. "Maybe I'll have more to this dinner tomorrow." She chuckled before silencing herself with her dinner as she stopped keeping track of time slowly savoring the fish as her gaze would zero into the heart of the hearth.

In the end, she wasn't sure when she made it back to her tent that night but her first memory and sight was soon the morning sun as she stepped out of her hut on the first real day of her expedition. Her breakfast was simple as she roasted fruit and nuts that she found around the outskirts of her camp. Her lack of apparel was still relevant as she swallowed her breakfast and soon dove into the river and swimming off the cliff.

Moving through the waterfall felt like an eternity as she dove down surrounded in cool fresh water that was almost completely clear though in reality it was a short drop and she splashed down almost as quickly as she had swum off of the cliff. As her head popped out of the water the hair had almost touched her shoulder as it slicked against her head and neck. Her pale skin was coated in droplets and her clothing was drenched as she made her way out of the river but she was close to her goal, a nest where she would be able to observe some birds that seemed to exhibit odd behaviors according to some sights and she wanted to confirm what made them special.

Despite her size, she moved forward without making a noise crouching down into the brush as her eyes started to search for the nest she had spotted once before. Her hopes were soon answered as she found the odd rock formation with hundreds of seemingly drilled holes some of which were shallow with eggs sitting in them and a thin clear goo over them to protect the cargo inside. It was a mind-boggling sight so Ani had sat in a large patch of brush where she would be able to hide and observe for now till she knew enough.

There was nothing for hours and the blue-haired woman began to wonder if the nest was abandoned as her legs became numb from how long she had been sitting in the brush. The sky had begun to become tainted red once again when she thought maybe she'd have to leave for the day, but soon enough the air was filled with a thunderous applaud of wind before soon enough a massive flock of birds replaced the sky before the hundreds of them would start to fly into the nest single file in all of the chaos. It was remarkable and she began to take note as she waited for one of them to peak out so she could sketch down its physical appearance.

It was the middle of the night when one had come out with what looked like empty fruit husks but what was more surprising was the fact that there was as almost as many husks as there had been birds that she saw. While also being able to note that the birds were almost wyvern-like birds with reptilian features that could handle themselves well on the ground or in the sky. She had learned that they flocked in massive groups, brought in large quantities of food and seemed to use communal nesting techniques. It had only been the first day but a few pages had already been filled out.

Keeping track of days wasn't important to Ani but when her hair started to peak past her shoulder and her back pains started to get more severe she began to wonder how long it might've been. By now her path to the nest had been almost worn in as she went daily to figure out their flying habits, soon finding out that they left early in the morning when the sun was just teasing the horizon. Their flock would disperse after leaving to look for food yet they seemed to always know where one of their own was. These were things commonly found in insects, not birds or lizards so she couldn't help but feel giddy as she stalked one down while it looked for food.

It had taken a few days but eventually, her nose had picked up on the scent trails the birds were leaving. She had grabbed a few colorful leaves similar to their plumage and tried her best to coat them with the trails. Once the leaves were fastened into appropriate spots on her head and wrists she crouched low with her arms spread out and began to roll one of the hard-shelled fruits they gathered with her feet. Once it took notice of her she stopped and let the fruit roll until it stopped halfway between the two of them. The bird stared before coming to the conclusion that she wanted to help and would approach. According to plan, she let the bird accept the fruit and leave. Her theory was that these birds kept track of and shared information about the things they encountered in the jungle her experiment hoping to test if this would help the birds recognize her as an Ally.


"Mm well, at least the first half is almost over." Ani told herself as she ate another dinner by herself, the only company she could even consider were the rough kicks that occasionally interrupted her daily life. Once her dinner was finished she would go off to bed earlier than usual.


"I guess today is the day." She told herself as her hands worked separately to tie her hair back into a ponytail as she gazed from the nest and put on her disguise which had been dabbed with some of the bird's pheromones. Over the past few days, she had continued to track the birds while they gathered food and brought different ones fruit. The most peculiar thing she found was all the birds gathering food were only females. If her theory was right about face sharing she might be able to sneak her way into their nest, but the disguise and pheromones she had improved on would be there to help ensure the safety of the pregnant woman. Her steps were quiet as always as she soon moved to the wall filled with holes until she soon saw a hole big enough for a person. In the end, her curiosity would win and her the sounds of her steps echoed in the cave, but they were overshadowed from the first appearance of males as she found them chipping away at rocks with their talons. Every action they did was in synch even if their work zone was a fundamentally different type of rock.

Despite all of the efficiency they had shown within the few seconds they had been there it was all soon dropped as they all began to fly deeper into the apparent tunnel system the birds had been managing. "What the hell is going on here?" Her question falling on invisible ears as she followed them. Her decision to sneak in would prove best in the end as she soon saw all the proof she needed for her theory. A massive reptilian bird that seemed to be a continuous state of pregnancy and clearly the only one that was laying eggs. They were eusocial birds something that had never been documented before, at least from anything she had ever read and seen before.

"Well, this is something." Her words almost silent as she began to tip-toe forward before she was caught by the queen bird. As she began to open her beak and show row after row of sharp teeth a flock of the females had arrived and stopped, though they were returning with the food they seemed to be informing the queen that Ani was one of theirs. She could only mimic their noises and actions as she waited for their attention to shift away from them, eventually, she had turned away to begin breaking open and engorging on the fruit. Once her mouth was full and she began to swallow the fruit mush she would regurgitate some which were grabbed by the females and dragged off for their own food.

While they were all focused on food Ani had noticed that there were piles of fertilized eggs and unfertilized eggs and with her plans for breeding and beast research, vital to the expedition she figured that it would work good as a reward. She had achieved her goal of learning more about animal habits and likes so she could imitate them to earn favor, and successfully discovering and documenting a new species of eusocial birds. This would end soon most likely as before they could even notice Ani had left with an egg for her own purposes.

WC: 2,486/2,000

The sun hadn't come up yet Ani was up and so was another as she stood outside of the forest, she was waiting for the only human contact she would have for the duration of her training expedition. It was one of the trained messengers she had employed after her base was finished. In the middle of the night, she gave the egg she had stolen to her messenger with the hope that they would return it to her personal study at their fortress where she would be able to prepare it for the upcoming work that she would perform on it once she would return. Once the messenger had left with the package, however, Ani would once again forget about when she would leave as only one half of her goal had been achieved. While Ani knew she would most likely give birth within the next few days she had no intention on backing out on her plans to strengthen her body and skill as a warrior through putting herself through the harshes of the jungle. Most people would think it was suicidal to work while pregnant or after labor but she knew to pace herself with the hopes that it would end in her quickly recovering to her peak afterward due to her training efforts.

"I'm starting to wonder if this really is a bad idea." A painful chuckle following her words as she chose to sit down on a pile of furs after getting back from the messenger. Her body still held muscle and her stomach tone was partially visible despite her extended frame and she couldn't help but work her body and even in her drained state she had lifted her weights that she kept on the side of the bed to keep her arm strength up. "Gotta keep myself in shape after all." She told herself as she had slowly begun to set the weight down as she would soon pass off into slumber.

It was the same day when she woke up but she didn't seek to work out this time after waking up but instead she had sat infront of the fire cooking some fish in herbs that were good for strengthening the body. While others would find her plan reckless once they would learn about it she knew that this was the best way to go about things and that was partially the reason she had left without informing anyone if she proved herself right before they had chance to worry or question her methods it would shut them up and hopefully get them on board with her future plans. Her philosophy was an odd one of precise recklessness, or better put powerful precise actions over all others.

The sound of the frying eggs kept her focus sharp as she would soon enough take her pan off the fire to let the eggs cool before eating. Once all was ready she had sat outside her hut looking at the passing river as she would enjoy a brief moment of relaxation before going to continue her training regime. "If a string is always stressed it will snap.."

It was brief but it was all that she needed and after cleaning up her mess she had made her way to the farther edge of the camp. From this point she had plans to stay close to camp incase she enter labor and would need to lay down to help herself. She didn't want to think about that and instead had suddenly begun to run up the mountain wall, once it seemed like she was at the end of her momentum she used her leg strength to kick up and leap into the air. While her weight had started to pull her down as quickly as she leaped her hand soon enough gripped down on an available ledge. "I don't think I thought this one through enough." Her words not even mattering to herself as she had already begun to climb up the side of the mountain near hear camp.

The strain on her arms and back felt like a hot nail sticking in her joints as she tried to move upwards closer to the treeline as it taunted her with its green border and promise of view over the beautiful forest of the Jade Dragon mountains. "Fuck, I can't go farther." Pants accompanied every one of her words as she looked at the wall that was infront of her and the cut mark into the rock. A small smile graced her face as she pulled out a small knife and marked where her hand had been resting. "Well, at least I made it farther than yesterday." Her words an encouragement to herself as the climb down would be the real exercise on her arms as it felt like they were being shredded into sinew with each centimeter that she had descended. A feeling of relief would fall over her before she had noticed that the sun had already begun to set. "Guess I was climbing for a good while."

The next few days she had kept climbing and eventually had made it to the treeline, but that was also the day that she had decided to stop climbing as it felt like her body was going to burst on the way down. The day after her body was still aching though she thought to still lift her weights while she rested.

Her arms pumped the weights a bit fervently as she would breath out slowly but she began to pick up pace as the strain in her body was starting to burn. "I might do twice the amount I did yesterday." Each word broken up by a grunt as her focus on pushing herself had become the priority. Time began to fade away and the entire day might've been lost in that had not the soreness culminated at that moment. Her body had decided that it was time for Ani to bring her child into the world so painfully she would limp herself towards her hut.

She had entered just before noon but the process would take the rest of the day as the Imuchakk woman had closed off the hut to isolate herself even moreso in the already isolated area. There was a bowl of water with a towel already in there, and something for herself to bite on which she had quickly taken advantage of. Unintentionally she had brought multiple towels but they would provide use as her body had broken out into a sweat just from the stress that her body had started to face, the soreness her body was under making this truly the hardest thing she had to deal with ever even in comparison to the pains she had faced in the dungeon, or from the time that she had lost her eye in the battle with the bandit leader from the Jade Dragon mountains. Her mind became wracked with illusions from the pain it was lucky that no one was around as she screamed obscenities into the night and almost shredded her own fur bed into fur confetti. It might've been because of the condition her body was in but despite the pain, the birth had been relatively easy for the new mother.

After all, was said and done Ani had given birth to a baby boy, his sharper features were obvious hints as the baby looked very much like her, his skin was a light brown but at the moment he looked even lighter due to just being born. Luckily he was born with a head of soft, curly, dark violet hair. While she expected Jaja to be upset about her giving birth in secret Ani thought this would be best for the purpose of protecting herself from possible assassins because, in the end, she was the only person who had given herself sufficient reason of trust in a dangerous situation, besides her beast of course. Though it would be a few days before the baby would open his eyes she had hoped that he had inherited them from her instead of the eyes of her father or another male in her family.

While she had been burdened with pregnancy early on the busiest part was upon Ani as she would continue to train her body to quickly recover, take care of her child, and feed herself plenty with nutritious things for the benefit of the both of them. Though ever since she had named her son a vigor had begun to flow through her, a smile even breaking as she thought of it, Kor. "He is the cutest thing that there is."

In order to make the best of what she could, she had begun to let activities leak into one another including lifting weights with her free arm while she fed Kor. Though after she had constructed a makeshift crib she had also started to go hunting with her bare hands to keep training up while also acquiring better food along the way. In the end, she found a family of deer that were often drinking near the waterfall and would choose them to be her target. There was no plan for traps or makeshift weapons as she was thrilled to see if she could bring down her game with nothing but her hands.

"Okay, where are they." Her words to herself making her wonder if she had a problem before her question had been answered. From her spot in the bushes, she could see where the waterfall was and the exit from her camp, but importantly she would soon enough see the buck that led the deer around them. While she originally thought of pouncing Ani decided to test her climbing practice after what she had gone through and took to the trees. It was a bit strenuous at first but once she got the hang of it she figured that if she continued to hunt like this it would be a great substitute for the day's training."I don't think he'll see this one coming." Her words reflective of her agile training as she would move from branch to branch before she had brought herself above the river and the deer.

In her signature style of acting quick, precisely and powerfully Ani would drop down from the tree locking her arm around the deer's neck it would begin to struggle and create problems for her almost gouging her with its antlers before she squeezed the grip of her arms and twisted to break his windpipe. Throwing the carcass over her shoulder she would smile as she began to take the long way back to camp use this as another way to get in some extra exercise, but more importantly, there was more protein added to her diet.

Her trip was coming to an end as she couldn't stay for too long as there was an upcoming commitment Ani had to participate in and she hoped to spend some time with her child in civilization before she would have to go, though her blood would burn and yearn for all that was too come. She continued her hunting and lifting regime for the rest of the trip before she would pack up her things and keep Kor in a sling around her chest so she would be able to watch him wherever she had gone. With her Azure locks tied back into a braid and a baby in her arms she left looking mostly the same but from anyone who might've known her before there were fundamental changes after her training through the isolation would have its own toll on her as all experiences shape people in various ways.

On her walk back to the city to buy some quality food and more than handmade clothing for Kor in hopes that she would be able to portray him properly as the son of a Mercenary corps leader. As she walked down the streets she would chuckle as she noted that her load seemed lighter on the way back it giving her some confidence that her training had been useful in some way.

WC:2,032/2,000