Testing the Senses (1)

Anne glared at Arella, silently complaining, but Arella was busy devouring her meal. She was hungry! Healing Anne had consumed a lot of her strength that needed to be replenished soon. So, she was not aware that she had become a target of Anne's stares.

Seeing that Arella paid no attention to her, she shifted her focus to Devon. She used the same trick. Pleading eyes and a beseeching tone.

"Hubby, please help me finish this bowl. My hand hurts when I lift the spoon." Anne sweetly whispered and cunningly forwarded her bowl in Devon's direction.

Satisfied, she reached out and was about to grab a delicious snack from the table, but Arella was faster than her! Arella took the entire plate of the delicious snack in her possession.

Annoyed, Anne tilted her face towards Devon to lodge a complaint, but Devon gave her another blow! He silently took Anne's soup bowl and loudly kept it in front of her!

Then, without speaking anything, both Devon and Arella concentrated on finishing their meal. Anne too, begrudgingly focused on finishing her bowl. She knew that both of them were angry. And it was in her best interest to not tick them off any further.

Noticing Anne's docile attitude, both Devon and Arella felt pleased. Now, till the day they have the tasteless soup in stock, Anne would not dare to do anything reckless!

All of them finished their meal in silence. Once done, Arella stood up and was about to go to her room when Devon stopped her.

"Where are you going? Haven't you rested enough?" Devon quickly inquired.

"No, I am fine. Both of you should have matters to attend to, so I will be in my bedroom." Arella gave a meaningful look to both of them. She knew that after Anne's bold act, they must have a lot to deal with between them, so she decided to give them some space.

"We" Devon gave a stoic look to Anne, who was burying her face in the bowl at the moment.

"We will deal with it later. Let's proceed with the second step." Devon suggested.

"Second step?" A cloud of confusion appeared in her hazy eyes. Have they not tested her powers? What else?

"Train the senses," Devon responded with certainty.

Listening to it, both Anne and Arella became alert.

"Only I will be involved in training Arella." Devon looked at Anne with a stern glare as he spoke.

"But you cannot take any extreme measures!" Arella panicked a little. What if Devon too, took a drastic step to stimulate her? No, she will not allow that! It would be better if she trained on her own. At least, then she would not have to worry about the well-being of any other person!

"Don't worry. I am not as reckless and ruthless as others." Devon confidently spoke as he started moving to the grassland.

Arella quietly followed behind.

Anne was a little afraid of Devon's fury, but she too, silently walked behind Arella.

In the grasslands, Devon stood proudly like an instructor.

"Senses. There are five basic senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Every beast has one sense that is superior to the rest. Which one do you think is your strongest?" Devon questioned calmly.

Arella thought for a few seconds and then reported firmly.

"Sight." Arella had a reason for thinking so. Today, while healing Anne's wound, her eyes could not see anything, but her sight was not restricted. The moment she closed her sensory organ, her vision cleared.

A few days ago, the same thing happened with the rabbit. She could not see through the transparent barrier with her naked eyes, but when she closed her eyes, she could easily envision the rabbit. For her sense of sight, she was not dependent on her eyes.

"Good. We will start with sight then. How far can you see?" Devon continued readily.

"With my eyes open, not too far. But with my eyes closed, pretty far." Arella nonchalantly expressed.

"Arella, be serious." Devon reprimanded her like an actual instructor.

"But I am serious!" Arella innocently shrugged her shoulders and claimed.

"Huh! Then close your eyes and tell me what number am I making with my fingers." Anne, who was trying to minimize her presence could not stop herself from intervening.

"Okay." Arella calmly closed her eyes and waited for Anne to reveal the number.

"Four," Arella spoke with conviction.

"Three... Zero... Ten." As soon as Anne changed the number, Arella continued without any apparent issues.

By the end, Devon's mask of confidence had cracks in it. He did not know what to make out of it. Even Anne was bewildered. Did Arella have eyes at her back? How could she still see if her eyes were closed?

 Arella opened her eyes, only to find the shocked faces of Anne and Devon. They stared at her as if she was a human or a red-eyed animal! An awkward silence permeated the air.

"I, I think my vision is good, why don't we start with hearing?" Arella suggested quickly to avoid the tricky situation.

She intrinsically knew that Nicholas was right. Their senses are sharper and only get restricted by the sensory organs. But she did not know how to explain it to both of them. And their reactions were a little on the extreme side. It was better to avoid the situation.

Both Devon and Anne took some time to recover, but they neither questioned nor confronted her.

Every beast's spirit was special and unique. It can do wonders. The cat clan is an apt illustration. Their powers are beyond the understanding of the beast clan members.

"Umm, right. Hearing. Let us find a way to train your hearing." Devon coughed a little to hide his embarrassment.

He walked further, creating a distance of four miles between himself and Arella. Beast clan members have sharper senses. A distance of five miles was the boundary for normal beasts and tamers. Their senses could easily detect voices under it.

Devon stood afar and started speaking. Arella could hear him perfectly. Anne, who stood next to her, found it harder to follow Devon's voice from such a distance. Then, Devon covered another mile, creating a distance of five miles between them, and asked if they could hear him.

Arella could, but Anne could not. So, Anne's limitation was four miles. Her senses could only detect the happenings in any area under four miles.

As Devon walked further, Anne swiftly suggested something to Arella. She asked Arella to close her eyes and test the limitations of her vision simultaneously. It made sense. Arella closed her eyes and followed Devon's step.

He stopped after covering one more mile. It was six miles between them now. Devon voiced calmly, inquiring if Arella could hear him from there. Yes, she could. 

Anne asked if she could 'see' him. Yes, Arella nodded, she could.

Listening to her affirmation, Devon covered another mile. It was seven miles now. Arella's vision shadowed him. He stopped, turned, and questioned if his voice was audible from there. Arella said yes. But the problem was, Devon could not hear her from there!

Arella could hear him, but Devon's limitation was six miles at most! He could not hear her at all! Arella could easily understand the situation from Devon's expressions. 

Anne quickly asked, is he walking further away? Another mile, and it will be eight miles.

"No. He is not walking any further. He is making a call instead." No sooner had Arella announced than Anne's watch tinged with a notification. It was Devon's call! Astonished and shocked, Anne picked it up.

"Can Arella hear me? I cannot hear her answer. I guess, six miles is my limitation." Devon composedly uttered.

"She can. Not only can she hear you, but she can also see you." Anne responded in a trance.

Cold sweat drenched Devon's back. No matter how calm and composed he appeared, the truth was, after knowing that Arella could 'see' him even at such a distance, he felt a little spooked out! It was like being followed by something unknown! Not only that but after six miles, his instinct was constantly hinting that there was somebody near him!

Unbeknownst to him, somebody was indeed walking next to him. But it was out of pure curiosity. He meant no harm at all!

Arella could even see the sweat rolling down his temples! She felt amazed at the power of her vision. It was so interesting!

Devon somehow pacified his trembling heart and continued talking.

"Arella, I am afraid, I am not in any position to train you. You already have better senses in comparison to me. I do not think I can help you any further." Devon calmly assessed the situation.

Anne remained quiet as she waited for Arella's response. Devon was telling the truth. Both of them were behind Arella. How could they train her?

"Okay. How about helping me test my senses?" Arella slowly enunciated.

"Test your senses?" Anne asked confusedly.

"Hmm. help me check my limitations. How far can I use my senses? I want to know. Can you help me?" Arella politely implored.

"Okay," Devon talked with certitude and started walking further. Eight miles. Now they had a distance of eight miles between them. He asked if Arella could hear him. To him, it was like speaking to oneself. To others, he might look like a lunatic!

He was about to call Anne when his watch dinged. Anne's call was timely. She informed him that Arella could hear him. She even said that according to Arella, next to him was a huge sky-blue-colored flower. It was true indeed.

He walked further. It was nine miles now. Another mile, and he would be on the verge of crossing the transparent barrier!

This time, even after waiting for some time, he did not receive any calls. So, he called Anne. And after calling he understood the reason.

No, Arella could neither see nor hear him with a distance of nine miles between them.

So, eight miles was her limitation.