"Amos's Bow seems to be commonly nicknamed the 'Bow of Pain'. Considering the state Amos was in when she used it, could it be that it requires the user's body and mind to reach a state of double suffering to unleash its power?"
"That would be too terrifying. Such a requirement would only appear in certain novels, right?"
She tapped her forehead lightly with her knuckles, trying to dispel this baseless association and retrieve clearer memories.
"It shouldn't be that extreme. Amos wasn't seriously injured when the purple light on the bow turned white back then..."
"..."
No... She stopped her tapping.
"I'm overthinking this. I don't necessarily have to use one bow from start to finish; I can find other powerful weapons... Wait, if there really were powerful weapons, would it even be my turn to use them?"
"Learn some combat skills? Forget it. I already have powers similar to magic, what use are combat skills? Wrestling with wild boars?"
Her thoughts were like a bird trapped in a cage, fluttering around a few times only to land back in the same spot.
"...Thinking about making myself stronger isn't enough. It won't necessarily help Columbina return to the moon directly... The key is still to make her strong enough. Letting her become more proficient with her own power will only do her good..."
Coppelia pondered back and forth like this until a figure floated down in front of her, blocking part of the skylight, which snapped her back to reality.
She raised her head. On the face of Columbina floating in the air, the excitement from researching new abilities earlier had faded significantly.
"Failed?" Coppelia asked.
Columbina nodded, her left hand unconsciously covering her stomach. "I'm hungry..."
Coppelia immediately cast aside the chaotic thoughts in her brain, casually stored away Amos's Bow, and stood up. "Okay, I'll go get you something to eat."
Columbina didn't say much more; she simply reached out, grabbed Coppelia's wrist, and flew up with her, heading in the direction of the large lake they had seen when they arrived.
Coppelia turned her head, looking at Columbina's profile. "Fish again?"
"Yes."
"After eating fish so many times, don't you feel the least bit sick of it?"
"Fish is delicious."
The two soon landed by the lake shore. Columbina placed Coppelia on the soft grass, while she herself flew out over the lake surface. She extended her hand and gently brushed it toward the shimmering water below.
Ripples spread across the lake's surface. Immediately after, several silver-shining swimming fish broke through the water one after another, bringing up strings of water droplets. They then floated steadily toward the shore, landing in the grass at Coppelia's feet, their tails still flapping slightly.
She can even catch fish while floating like this; it seems she isn't starving too desperately... Coppelia thought as she asked, "So, which way do you want to eat them today? Grilled fish, or boiled fish soup?"
Columbina floated back to her side. "You decide."
"Then let's make soup."
...
At dusk, on the edge of a small island in the lake. The grass was soft, and not far away, homing water birds could be seen skimming over the gradually darkening lake surface, leaving behind a few cries.
A pot of milky-white fish soup was soon ready, its aroma drifting with the steam. Coppelia, as usual, carefully picked out all the fish bones, serving the tender fish meat and warm soup into a bowl. Columbina took it and ate very quickly, looking thoroughly satisfied.
Watching the bottom of the bowl being scraped clean, Coppelia calculated in her mind: Eating only fish isn't great; we really need to vary the menu to avoid nutritional imbalance. I should look into cooking when I have time... I slightly regret not learning how to cook properly before.
She asked Columbina to practice her control over Lunar Force, while she silently heated water to wash the tableware.
Columbina agreed; this was what she wanted to do as well. She sat down on the grass near the tent and continued to fiddle with her power. That "water-like moonlight" flowed at her fingertips. She didn't continue researching her spatial authority; she felt that stuff was simply too abstract and difficult to understand. Better to work on something that didn't require as much brainpower.
Why not research that? Just like that dazed Oceanid they met that day, using water to mold lifelike animals.
Her moonlight was just like water, so why couldn't she do it too?
If she could create the same animals, maybe she could...
She moved quickly, like a child who had received a new toy, and began trying to shape this liquid Lunar Force into various forms.
She cast her perception toward the lake water near the shore, carefully feeling every curve of the swimming fish's bodies. The smooth, spindle-shaped torso, the tapering tail, the forked tail fin, and the slightly swaying pectoral and pelvic fins. She began to imitate this, shaping the Lunar Force.
What initially appeared in her palm was just a rough outline of a water orb. But with her concentration, the outline gradually became clear, and details were added bit by bit: the thickness of the fins, the faint patterns of the scales... Finally, a "water fish" composed entirely of flowing moon-glow hovered before her. Aside from its semi-transparent texture that shimmered with a faint light, its form was indistinguishable from the real swimming fish in the water.
She dispersed the water fish, her gaze turning to a few white water birds pacing in the shallows.
But these birds were not as quiet as the fish. They were always moving, occasionally bowing their heads to peck at food or preening their feathers; there wasn't a single moment of complete stillness.
The "water bird" she molded thus appeared somewhat strange. The proportions of the beak seemed off, the standing posture was a bit stiff, and the angle at which the wings were folded looked awkward no matter how she looked at it.
Watching the real birds still moving about randomly, she finally lost her patience and flew directly toward the flock.
Startled, the flock flapped their wings and scattered into the air. But their flight speed was far inferior to Columbina's.
Afraid that grabbing it by the neck would hurt the bird, she extended both hands, gently cupping the wings of one water bird, hugging it entirely. She brought it back to the grass and sat down again.
The bird in her arms struggled in terror, chirping incessantly. Columbina thought for a moment, then hummed a soft tune to it.
Hearing the singing, the bird's struggles actually began to lessen, and its rapid chirping ceased. Its black-bean-like eyes looked at her, seemingly somewhat calmed.
Only then did Columbina lean her face close, finally able to observe every detail on its body closely: the down at the base of the feathers, the arrangement of the covert feathers at the wingtips, the joints of the toes, the subtle lines around the eyes...
The sun had completely sunk below the horizon. Coppelia had finished packing up the cooking utensils and had lit a bonfire beside the tent. Orange-red flames danced, dispelling the night chill by the lakeside.
As she poked the firewood, she looked toward Columbina on the grass. Under the moonlight, a bird made of "water" hovered quietly beside Columbina, its form in a standard standing posture; meanwhile, her hands still held that real white water bird. One real, one fake, side by side.
Coppelia finished the task at hand, stood up, and walked over:
"What are you doing?"
Columbina explained the sequence of events, then stood up as well, holding the real bird with both hands and extending it in front of Coppelia, the bird's beak almost touching Coppelia's nose.
"Look," she said. "Do they look alike?"
As her voice fell, the "water bird" also floated to her hand, lining up alongside the real bird.
____
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