It was the next day when Felix and KuliKuli awoke in the early morning as was usual, only to find that Reta was busy moving things around. When they tried to ask, she ignored them and slipped outside. Exchanging a puzzled look between each other, the couple hadn't a clue what to make of it and tried to start off their day like normal with a bit of breakfast. Reta remained out in front of the house, the door kept ajar allowing them a view of what kept her so focused today.

  "Are you going to skip breakfast?" KuliKuli asked, poking her head out the window to ask her friend.

  Reta didn't bother to turn around, her hands dancing around arranging and organizing several items before shouting back, "I'll be there in a moment."

  Satisfied, the Nekomata took her seat at the small table while Felix had the scrambled eggs ready, pouring some into her bowl and a portion on his pte. She licked her tongue and held the bowl up in her paws before digging her face inside, chewing loudly while he poured them both a cup of tea. He sat back and snickered at the dispy, his giggle catching her attention as she looked up and frowned.

  "What? I'm hungry and I have paws instead of hands. These fuzzy things aren't for grabbing spoons, you know?" She mumbled, swallowing a mouthful and burping.

  He shrugged and reached in with a napkin to wipe the bits of food stuck to her chin. "I tried but there are some things you just can't teach to a cat... cat girl, cat or cat girl?"

  KuliKuli pced her bowl down, her cat ears wiggling from the top of her head. "Nekomata is fine, I don't feel like one or the other."

  Just then, they were interrupted with Reta stepping inside and scooting in her chair to join them. She took her fork and awkwardly stabbed at the clumps of rice and egg, eyeing her food with suspicion. She leered at it long enough for him to take notice.

  He rolled his eyes and set his spoon down. "Something the matter with your breakfast?"

  "Not quite, it was cooked adequately enough. Just this silly thing." She replied, taking a bite off her pte.

  "Right, you could always eat it the way KuliKuli does." He chuckled, catching two angry looks before clearing his throat. "Ahem, hm?"

  He turned around with KuliKuli's ear flicking at the same time, both of them attracted by the noise they could hear from afar.

  "Is that-" He looked to Reta as he recognizied the familiar sounds of hooves clopping down the dirt path.

  Reta shrugged. "I mentioned that she would be joining us, did I not? Unless you forgot so soon."

  "Didn't forget, just didn't think she would arrive so soon." He replied, looking out the window and catching a glimpse of their visitor.

  Reta pressed the cup of tea to her lips, breathing in its scent and pouring its dark liquid in her mouth. She closed her eyes and tilt her head back, drinking down the entire cup in one gulp. She pced the cup down and wiped her mouth with a satisfied sigh, pushing her chair back just as Janette arrived, while KuliKuli watched her with wide eyes. "Come, let us begin."

  Reta paced around left and right while KuliKuli and Felix sat under the shade of the apple tree. Janette had arrived with her horses and carriage, sat at the front bench with a book wide open in her p. One of the horses huffed and dragged its hoof into the dirt, stomping down and lifting its head up and down.

  "As you can see, I have arranged a few items in preparation for this day. Janette has agreed to help me teach you about Genki."

  KuliKuli raised her paw. "You mean magic! Right?"

  Reta scoffed. "In common tongue, perhaps. But where I am from, we learn it as Genki. Sit down."

  They awkwardly sat on the floor as Reta did the same. Pced in between them was a wooden cutting board with a few items dispyed for them: a potted flower, a tin cup of water, and a freshly plucked apple. KuliKuli reached for the apple when Reta smacked her paw and gave her a look.

  "Now, what is it you two know about Genki?" She asked.

  KuliKuli shuffled her feet around while rocking herself back and forth, while Felix crossed his legs and arms. His face scrunched together while he thought about her question, his facial muscles rexing when he came up with an answer. "Honestly speaking, I always saw it as a thing of miracles. Watching people wield fire in their palms or cast spells with their weird chants, followed by a beam of light falling down on their enemies. It's hard to describe, but I would say magic is making that which seems impossible possible."

  "Oooh, I like that!" KuliKuli smiled, tilting her head. "For me, magic is what helps me turn into myself. I can change shape into a cat or my pretty self, I think. I know it can do plenty more, and Felix said before that it does. I just wish I could see it!"

  "Yes, well you will soon. After I teach you." Reta mentioned, rubbing her chin while in deep thought.

  Janette chuckled from her bench and licked her thumb to turn the page on her book. "I hope you aren't making any promises. Monster Girls can't use magic."

  "What! But why?" She whined and pouted.

  Janette sat up and leaned forward, setting her book aside. "I couldn't tell you, it's an anomaly that many can't expin. But Monster Girls can't use magic like others do."

  "Well, what about her transformation?" Felix asked with KuliKuli rising in agreement and stomping her paw down. "Isn't that magic?"

  "Yes in a matter of perspective, that is closer in retion to a biological adaptation."

  "Bi- what?" KuliKuli asked with a puzzled face.

  Janette climbed down from her carriage, lifting her dress as she approached them. "It's a survival trait that you inherit. We have Monsters, we have women, and we have Monster Girls. Monsters are beast-like and feral creatures, driven on instinct and pleasure alone with only a goal for survival that drives them. They can't use magic. Monster Girls are like this subspecies caught in between, they can use magic just not in the same way other humanoid species can. You can transform your body into a different shape, size, and creature near entirely, with some traits carried over."

  "So she really is both a cat and a woman?" Felix asked curiously.

  Janette smiled back. "Some philosophers might disagree but yes, in a simple way of describing it."

  Reta hissed and cpped her hands together to grab their attention. "You are getting carried away, let us begin anew. Sit."

  Janette frowned and stepped back. "I am not getting my dress dirty."

  "Fine, but you two sit down."

  KuliKuli sat while Felix sighed and followed after her. Reta inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a moment before exhaling.

  "Close your eyes. Clear your minds for now, empty your thoughts and breathe in."

  Felix followed her instructions and closed his eyes, only for KuliKuli break the silence with a question. "Wait, should I even participate then if I can't use magic?"

  Reta sighed and turned toward Janette. She shrugged and leaned against her carriage. "Why not?"

  She smiled in appreciation, closing her eyes with her mate breathing in to start again. Reta closed her eyes and breathed in deep, feeling the air fill her lungs, silencing her many thoughts as she began to-

  "Wait, Janette. Don't you want to join?" The Nekomata asked.

  Janette giggled and shook her head, enjoying the look of frustration in Reta's face. "I'm touched love, but magic isn't for me. I tried alchemy once and nearly caused a combustion in css. It was enough to scare me out of any magic. You two go on."

  "But are you sure? Maybe we can try again, we could scorch a few weeds growing around here." She smiled back.

  Reta kept staring into her with an angry gre, lips pressed together as a flurry of insults bounced around in her mind, ready to be released. "Are you done?"

  "Uh huh, sorry!" KuliKuli apologized, bowing and wiggling in her seat. "My lips are sealed, promise!"

  "We'll see. Now, close your eyes and breathe in. This is called meditation, it is how we learn to focus and channel our inner Genki." Reta expined, watching as the couple closed their eyes and breathed in. "That's it, hold your breath for a moment. Do not open your eyes until I say. Clear your mind, listen to my voice and nothing else. Now release."

  They breathed out and stayed in their posture.

  "Excellent. Now repeat it again, slowly. Concentrate on your senses."

  Janette watched carefully, eyes raised as she closed the book in her hand. Both Felix and KuliKuli were following along thus far, with Reta meditating with them as well.

  "Now repeat this process, take control of yourself."

  "I don't get it." KuliKuli whined.

  "Not with that loud mouth of yours!" Reta snapped, only to shake her head and take a deep breath. "Just, compose yourself. Do not think, do not act, do not feel. Close your eyes, empty your mind and submit yourself to the flow of nature around you."

  Felix wrinkled his nose, finding the process to be confusing. Reta opened her eyes and noticed his fidgeting.

  "You are thinking too hard. You don't need to master the act on your first attempt." She said to him, staring into his eyes as he sat back and dropped his posture. "Tell me, what is it that helps put you at ease?"

  "At ease?" He shrugged, giving her a quizzing look. "It's hard to be at ease. We're still not the same as we were before that circus, a lot happened that night. What with the bruising, your curse, and some other personal things."

  KuliKuli hung her head in a painful look, feeling a wince of pain when he ended his sentence. Janette switched from Felix to KuliKuli and back, noting the discomfort between them. To her, it was clear that the couple were dealing with unspoken troubles behind closed doors.

  But Reta kept her eyes on Felix alone, leaning forward and not breaking eye contact with him. "Think of a most pleasant memory of yours. You don't have to share it, keep it in secret. But take that memory and see it under closed eyes. Remember to clear your mind of any troubles you have. Stop thinking of the future."

  She turned to KuliKuli. "Stop thinking of the past. Only when we focus on the present can we take control of our lives. If a problem can be solved, then it is not worth worrying about. If a problem can't be solved, then there is no use to worry about it. Think of this like when you go to sleep. You don't think and you don't stress, you simply y your mind to rest."

  Seeing the two nod in agreement, Reta leaned back and adjusted her posture before taking the lead to resume their meditation. Sitting upright, she closed her eyes and breathed in deep, waiting for the pair to follow along.

  "Clear your mind, forget about the past and do not worry over the mystery of tomorrow. Clear your thoughts, focus on your inner peace. Focus on what makes you happy, and then preserve that feeling. Let your mind rest, let your body take control. Feel the current of the wind. Feel the morning breeze y its touch on your skin. Listen to your environment, the songs of the morning bird, the whistling current between the trees, and the rustling of leaves. May your mind be at peace."

  Reta looked at her two students, observing them. They continued to practice their breathing as they were told, but their was a natural look to them. There was no tension in their nerves, nor stiffness in their bodies. They seemed rexed almost, it was a sight that left a proud smile on her.

  "Good, you two are doing well. Keep meditating, don't stop. Tell me, what is it you feel?"

  "Um, weird?" KuliKuli started off, scrunching her face to force her eyes closed. "I feel all ticklish around me."

  Felix chuckled, looking more comfortable than she was. "Now that you said it, yes. I-I didn't know how to put it to words, but I feel all tingly around me. Like tiny feathers brushing up my entire body."

  "It is funny, haha!" KuliKuli giggled in agreement, lifting her tails up to the sky.

  Reta sighed with a satisfied look, leaning back with her hands supporting her off the ground.

  "I don't see any difference." Janette commented.

  "Not with the naked eye, no. Genki is not something you can see, it's what you can feel."

  "So, you're saying that we're feeling Magic right now?" Felix gasped.

  KuliKuli snickered. "Well, Magic feels funny."

  "Genki, that is what you feel. It is described as an aura of energy surrounding all matter but with an attraction toward living organisms. It can't be created and it can't be removed, but the connection can be hindered or enhanced. Genki refers to the vital life force or energy that runs through all living beings. It is the essence that flows through each of us, uniting the body, mind and spirit. It is what makes us alive." She expined, taking a moment to breathe in. "Can you feel the way the air tickles your body with its cold touch, sending tingles under your skin? Or have you ever felt armed when you are on your own, filled with worry as you feel that someone is watching you? Or the shared warmth when you press your body against another to keep from being cold? That is Genki. Everyone has it, but very few can master it."

  "Open your eyes." They did so, watching her as she directed their attention to the tray of items in front of them. "To begin to understand Genki means to open your minds and understand the duality of its nature. Genki consists of two yers, you might know them as Magic of the Creation and Magic of the Created. Tell me, do you still feel that which you described, what was it again?"

  "Ticklish? I do. Is that normal?" He asked, looking down at his hands.

  Reta chuckled. "Yes, do not fear. I will guide you both through this. Hold each other's hand."

  Felix and KuliKuli traded looks, the Nekomata extending her paw out to him. With a trembling hand, he pced his palm over her paw and the two gasped as they shared the same look of shock and awe.

  "You feel-? I-I feel...?" She stuttered, her eyes darting between him and Reta.

  "I feel what you feel!" He excimed, pulling his hand away. "But how?"

  Janette was watching curiously, observing the two hold hands again to repeat the process. "Could you expin this one for me as well?"

  "The meditation." She stated proudly, "It is the introduction to Genki. It is attracted to all living organisms, what they did was lure out the Genki inside of them and bring it outward. Every individual has their own unique form of Genki, they are simply sharing their marks with each other."

  "So like, I can feel what he feels? Can we share thoughts too? Oh! What am I thinking of right now?" KuliKuli asked, bouncing in her seat.

  "Patience, I have only demonstrated the basics of Genki. There is so much more one can do, if you are ready for the next step. Are you?"

  Felix seemed uneasy and looked to KuliKuli for support. Her smile was enough for him to nod back in agreement, when unbeknownst to him she was equally nervous as well!

  "We're ready." They answered in near unison.