Toz managed to show some restraint, but he fully understood the cats as they began drooling, their eyes filled with the sight of the pieces of meat roasting over the campfire.
It wasn't often that the group worried about the scent of their cooking attracting others and the beasts in their surroundings. But despite only having the mouthwatering aroma of the skewers on their minds, the cats worked together to make sure that the scent didn't take off with the wind into the wilderness.
While the meat continued roasting over the fire, the cats inched closer and closer. They knew that the meat would be the most delicious when it was finished cooking, and all the seasonings had reached their full potential due to the heat, but the glistening pieces of meat were practically irresistible.
The only two who managed to show some restraint were Toz, and the purple cat, who stayed back slightly.
Since the meat was far from ordinary, it took some time to fully cook it, despite using firewood from a fifth level plane, but eventually, it was finished.
There had been enough meat to prepare a few morsels per skewer for all five of them.
They all took the first bite at the same time. And the anticipation that the smell had built up wasn't for nothing. The meat had a rich, deep, earthy taste filled with hints of smokiness. And each bite filled the mouth with juices.
At first, they were worried that the meat would melt away since it was so soft and tender. But despite feeling like it would fall apart the moment they bit down, one piece stayed in the mouth for some time, allowing them to savor the taste fully before moving on to the next piece.
And before they knew it, all the skewers had been licked clean.
Although there was some dissatisfaction that the meat was no more, all of them felt full to the point where they weren't sure they would have been able to handle another piece. But even if they hadn't been able to fit it, they would have still eaten more of the meat if it were placed in front of them.
With full bellies and sated hunger, the group lay down in silence to digest the food and look at the night sky or simply fall asleep.
The purple cat settled down nicely next to Toz, fitting right in with the group, despite only having spent a single dinner with them.
They knew that falling asleep in the middle of the wilderness wasn't the wisest thing to do, but the drowsiness had already claimed Lucy, and it was about to take down Nil and Mindle as well.
Toz was slightly more at ease since he had a larger stomach as a human, and the purple cat also managed to hold out, despite being curled up with its eyes closed.
Eventually, after Nil and Mindle joined Lucy in the land of dreams about delicious meat, only Toz and the purple cat was left awake.
The purple cat carefully opened one of its eyes to look at Toz and, despite seeing the closed eyes, could tell he was awake.
Noticing that the others had fallen asleep, the purple cat thought that it might not have any other opportunities as good as this one to officially accept Toz's offer.
But uncertain of how to broach the topic of bonding with Toz, the purple cat decided to make small talk until Toz repeated his invitation.
"So... Delicious dinner, huh?"
Toz opened one of his eyes and looked at the purple cat sideways.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Umm, I noticed the meat was delicious. What beast was it from?"
"I got a few pieces from the Scorched Earth Rat King that I and the others defeated some time back. Almost a shame they are so rare. Its meat was exquisite."
The purple cat had heard Toz and the others mentioning the Scorched Eart Rats and their Rat King before but didn't really know what kind of beast it was since it had lived most of its life on Roaring Skies.
Upon the purple cat's gentle continued questioning, Toz settled in and told it what the Scorched Earth Rats were, and after that, he told it about their journey so far. Similar to what he had done with Mindle when she first joined them.
After Toz's general storytelling, the purple cat also talked a little bit about itself. Though it seemed reluctant to talk about much or in detail, it at least told Toz its name. Scrael.
Toz had a little difficulty in pronouncing it at first, but it lightened the mood as he was slightly off, allowing Scrael to interact more naturally with Toz as she corrected him.
Eventually, even the conversation seemed to fall asleep and join the other cats, allowing Toz and Scrael to enjoy the night together. And then, without saying anything, Toz placed his right hand next to where Scrael was lying, with the symbol of his inclination upward.
After seeing Toz's hand next to her, and the symbol on it, Scrael knew that Toz had invited her to officially join them on their adventure. Though she didn't want to appear too desperate by immediately reaching for the symbol, so she stretched and seemingly by accident came into contact with the symbol. And then, seemingly by accident, let her mana resonate with Toz's mana, officially establishing their bond.
Although nothing changed outwardly for them, they both felt the difference.
Scrael could feel her vision better, and her sensitivity and affinity for mana in general spiked. There weren't any unique or extraordinary differences, but she could clearly tell that it would be easier for her to train her mana and use magic in the future.
Toz, on the other hand, had a more interesting experience as he felt a surge of electricity from his inclination. It was similar to the heat he had felt when he bonded with Mindle or the darkness he experienced with Lucy. Or the stability with Nil.
After the numbing sensation faded, Toz could sense his affinity for the lightning attribute taking shape as he felt the surrounding mana begin moving toward him. And after trying it out, he could absorb the lightning mana in the air without trouble.
Sparks flashed in his slightly vertical pupils as he started practicing lightning magic at once.
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