looking a the cub shadow death panther in front of him Mars decided to try and bribe it with food first

"..."

but the panther just stared at him with its usual cold cat eyes, Mars a.s.suming it was suspicious of him tried to explain further

"you know the giant bear that was living in a cave near here?"

as Mars mentioned the place the bear was living a light of murderess hostility flashed in the eyes of the panther before its horns flashed sending a telepathic message to him

"know... bear"

Mars sensing the hostility of the panther captiously explained further

"i killed that bear a few days ago, and now the meat is starting to go bad so i want to share the meat with you"

the panther look at him confused for a few seconds before its horns flashed again

"human... why lying?"

"i am not lying, i killed it"

"..."

seeing that the panther still didn't believe him Mars got an idea and asked the panther

"you have a good nose right? do i not have the smell of that bear?"

a little after he asked the panther moved a little closer and gave him a sniff and quickly jumped back as its horns flashed again

"smell fire... but also bear"

"yes as i have been living in the cave after i killed the bear and sleeping on its hide so naturally i smell a little like the bear"

"..."

the panther still had a confused look in its eyes a few seconds before it changed to hostility as its horns flashed

"human... friends with bear... try to cheat me"

as soon as the words entered his head Mars knew the situation was deteriorating and quickly tried to explain as he saw that the surroundings of the panther was being covered in some sort of dark shadow that was oozing out from its body

"no i am not friends with the bear! even if i where why would i cheat you?"

"..."

seeing his exponentiation had some effect as the dark shadow that was speeding out from the panther had stopped getting bigger Mars continued explaining as he appealed to the cats intelligence

"you are obviously smart so think about it, if the bear was alive would it allow me a human to be inside its territory let alone its cave"

after a few seconds the panther sent a new message

"no... bear would eat human"

"yes! then the fact that i have been living in its territory means?"

as Mars asked that, the darkness around the panther was slowly absorbed back into the pelt of the panther as it steered at Mars for a few seconds before asking

"then bear... is dead?"

"yes"

believing Mars this time some happiness pa.s.sed through the eyes of the panther before it asked him another question

"then... why share meat"

faced with the still suspicious eyes of the panther Mars decided to come clean

"because you are the strongest i know in this forest and..."

finely acknowledging his own feelings Mars continued

"i want a friend i can talk to"

the panther was still a little confused but obviously a little that Mars had called it strong for a few seconds before its horns flashed

"why... does human want friend?"

as the panther asked it moved a little closer while slowly swaying its fluffy tail from side to side and its horns flashed again

"is human... lonely?"

seeing concern from the panthers eyes Mars felt something inside him tearing

"yeah i am lonely and... i am afraid"

the panther walked up to Mars stopping a few meters in front of him and asked as it tilted its head slightly

"why afraid... human strong"

not knowing if it was against the rules Mars still decided to tell the panther about himself

"i was born... no taken to this world not long ago with parts of my memories missing"

as he was speaking the panther sat down in front of him a looked Mars in his eyes when its horn flashed again while it tilted its head to the side

"human... not remember anything?"

"no i remember somethings like the place i was living and where i was working but... i do not remember any of the details or what my name was"

seemingly understanding what he was talking about the panther leaned its head closer as its horns flashed again

"then human... is like me?"

"like you?"

as Mars asked the panther moved even closer to him stopping when its head almost torched him as its horns flashed

"i... also just here... suddenly... without knowing anything"

as the panthers voice appeared in his head Mars was confused for a little while until he asked

"then you don't have a parent?"

"no... a winter ago... i was just... here in the forest"

after being confused by the new information given to him by the panther Mars was about to ask for more details as the panthers horn flashed again as it move its head even closer to his face almost touching his face with its nose

"then human... want to from a contract"

feeling a little overwhelmed by the sudden proximity to the panther as well as the excitement in to voice he received from the panther Mars was slightly stunned but still managed to ask

"what kind of contract?"

sensing that Mars was not against forming a contract the panther stood up and started the walk around him excitedly as its horns flashed again

"don't know... just know... contract good for getting stronger"

seeing how excited the panther was Mars believed it but still asked it

"then how do you know how to form this contract?"

still pacing around him in a circle the horns on the panther flashed again

"just know... since i was here"

while weighing the pros and cons of making a unknown contract with a immature shadow death panther cub that seemingly had appeared out of thin air less then a year ago for a few seconds Mars decided

"...**** it might as well, yes then lets make this contract"

after walking circle more around Mars the panther sat down right in front of Mars and looked at him with very happy eyes as its horns flashed again

"then... human want contract?"

"...yes"

as soon as Mars confirmed the panther leaned its face down touching its horns to his head, as it closed its eyes and its body started to glow slightly, still a little confused he soon felt like his mana was being drawn out of his body into the panther

while he felt the mana from the panther being drawn into his body and mixing with his own mana, closing his eyes to feel the changes to his body Mars gradually lost track of time

"...where?"

waking from a trance like state Mars was monumentally dazed before he remembered the contract, looking around he discovered he was alone by the river and it was in the middle of the night, wondering where the panther had gone off too he felt a strange feeling and turned to look into the

nearby forest

"she is over there and... she knows i am awake and is coming here now?... is this an effect of the contract?"

suddenly being able to feel where the panther was and what it was doing confused Mars a little bit but as he sat down and started to feel his connection to the panther it felt more and more natural like gaining a new sense or perhaps like opening an eye that had been closed his whole life he sat and marveled until the panther walked out of the undergrowth and up to him while purring loudly as its horns flashed with a soft light

"you awake... happy"

looking at the completely new att.i.tude of the panther Mars was slightly overwhelmed before he felt warm inside and smiled as he greeted the happy panther that was acting like a big kitten

"yeah... good morning or rather good night"

as he was greeting the panther Mars raised his hand and patted it on the head while feeling its surprisingly soft and smooth fur as the panther closed its eyes enjoying its head patting for a few minutes before he asked the panther

"do you have a name?"

with its eyes still closed and purring the panthers horns flashed as it sent its voice to Mars

"no... does human have name?"

"yes i do, my name is Mars"

"then... Mars name me"

feeling a little overwhelmed by the sudden request Mars stopped moving the hand that was petting the panther on the head

"err... but i am bad at giving names"

"don't care... Mars name me"

"but---"

as Mars was about to complain more the panther stopped purring and opened its eyes and steered into his eyes while its horns flashed again as it commanded him in a slightly cold voice

"Mars... name me"

looking into the blue eyes of the panther Mars shut his mouth and started to think of a name for a few minutes before he asked

"...then what about Victoria"

"why... Victoria?"

seeing the panther not entirely convinced of the name he had suggested Mars explained further

"well Victoria is the name of a big lake from my past life, and seeing after looking into your blue eyes i just thought i would be a good name for you"

staring into the panthers eyes hoping it would like the name Mars waited for a few seconds before its horns flashed

"Victoria... like name"

as Mars revived the telepathic slightly spoiled voice the panther or rather Victoria started purring again he smiled and patted her head for a few moments before he remembered something and asked

"so Victoria do you like bear meat?"