With Toz and the scouts moving in different directions it didn't take long for Toz to lose sight of them, and eventually even the mountains disappeared after a few days. With no landmark in sight, they could only rely on themselves, a compass, and the stars to keep direction.
When inspecting the stars, the quartet had found another activity they could enjoy together, stargazing. Laying on their backs the four of them had started spending a part of the night looking at the stars, relaxing and appreciating the beauty of a clear night sky.
There were a few times they managed to see a shooting star. The first time they saw it, Mindle was shocked to see the sky start falling down, even more so when the others closed their eyes. It looked like they were praying. She had no idea about what was going on. Were the others prepared and were only hoping for a better life next time?
When Mindle was about to start panicking for real, Toz finally noticed her distress. After spending a few minutes calming her down and explaining what a shooting star was, and that it is common in many places to make a wish when seeing it, Mindle though doubtful, waited a bit. A part from that one shooting star, nothing else happened, there were no further signs of the world ending.
"Umm... Toz, is it too late to make a wish now?"
"Not at all."
Mindle seemed slightly embarrassed to have panicked over something so trivial but she still got attracted to the idea of a shooting star magically granting a wish.
"Then I wish for-"
"Wait! Part of the tradition is keeping the wish secret. Between you and the shooting star."
"Oh, okay."
Mindle shut her eyes tightly and concentrated hard.
"When will the wish come true?"
"When it comes true, it comes true."
"What does that mean? How do I know if it will come true because of my wish or something else?"
"If it comes true, isn't it because of your wish? There is excitement in not knowing, and even if the wish doesn't come true, the excitement was fun while it lasted, right?"
"So my wish might not come true at all?"
"There is no guarantee, but what if it does?"
"Then I'm happy?"
"And if it doesn't?"
"I get sad."
"And after your sadness, you will have a new opportunity to become happy again."
"..."
Mindle stayed silent, pondering on what Toz had said. You don't make a wish for it to come true, you make a wish for the sake of making a wish, and if it does come true there's some extra happiness in one's life.
Although Mindle really wanted her wish to come true. She had only spent a few days with Toz, Nil and Lucy, but she didn't want to ever leave them. The comfort of their presence, Lucy's playfulness, Nil's passion for fish, Toz's love for all of them. In the small amount of time she had spent with with them she had learned and experienced all she could need to be happy, even with her obvious physical differences.
When Mindle noticed how different she was when eating, manipulating mana, flying through the air, she initially started having some insecurities. Her newborn mind was worried she wouldn't fit in, and that the others would distance themselves from her, despite Toz's bond with her.
And instead of comforting her with empty words, they didn't say anything, they only showed everyone was different, and has their own unique quirks, Lucy was unmatched in hide-and-seek. Nil could easily create small beautifully intricate trinkets. Toz kept showing off his cooking skills.
Aside from Toz, who had noticed Mindle's insecurities, thanks to his bond with her. The other two were just being themselves, getting to know Mindle, and letting her get to know them. Just their kindness had dissolved any doubts she had about having joined them as soon as she was born.
She was different, weaker, less experienced. Except for giving Toz access to fire mana, and boosting their overall talent a tiny bit, Mindle felt like she didn't contribute anything to the group, that there was no reason for them to treat her well.
But having felt their kindness Mindle knew she wouldn't give it up for anything in the world, and her wish was to stay with them forever.
Toz could feel her fluctuating emotions while they gazed at the stars one night. He was worried that his efforts in making Mindle feel loved had back fired. But when they settled down and he could feel Mindle's happiness, he smiled contentedly and closed his eyes.
Nil laying next to Toz, picked up on his satisfaction and looked over at Mindle with a gentle smile.
Before stargazing every night they made sure to designate at least one cat to stay awake and keep watch, with Toz walking every day, and the cats having access to the familiar space, the cats decreed that Toz would sleep every night. This particular night it was Nil's turn and he saw the other three gradually doze off and smile happily in their sleep. Lucy seemed to have subconsciously picked up on the good feelings everyone was having, and shared in them.
The night passed without incident.
Toz woke up, and for no discernible reason looked at his right hand. The symbol of a cat's paw that had previously only been the outlines of the paw had changed a bit. Aside from an orange dot next to it, placed in a row with the grey and the black dots, right below the paw, representing Mindle, the color had deepened and seemed to have flowed inwards. The dark brown lines had turned an even darker shade of brown, and almost like wet paint had started streaming inwards.
It didn't really come as a surprise that his symbol had changed, his inclination had just developed a bit further. As a human grew, the inclination could also grow with them. It didn't happen all that often and it was never in the same manner for different people. What surprised Toz was the most likely reason for it having happened at this moment.
After Mindle joined them, they had all worked together to make her feel included, and at the same time, grown closer to each other. Last night had been like clearing a threshold. With Mindle's feelings settled and her trust in them developing, Toz's inclination had strengthened.
He couldn't tell if there were any immediate effects or benefits from the new version. But that didn't matter, he didn't need a "better" inclination and that wasn't the reason he had supported Mindle.
It was more like finding a coin on the street. Toz didn't walk down that street to find the coin, the coin just happened to be there. It's nice finding and picking up a coin, but it won't bring enough change to significantly affect his life.
Although it provided a clue in how he might further strengthen his inclination, there is no need for that at the moment. It would be better to just focus on his journey and his cats, letting things like that happen in the background.
Toz also told the cats about the change, but they didn't care that much. Lucy thought the new design looked cool. And although Mindle already knew her dot was on Toz's hand, it made her happy just seeing it again.
