From the farm to the plate(Stella/Amaranta)

"Good. Since you intend on fighting me one day, it'd be a shame to see you die against some lousy hollow."

Flashing a radiant grin, Amaranta tossed the plate in her direction after finishing the satisfactory meal. There was no precise method to discern her potential, apart from spiritual pressure, of course, but if she was serious about what she said, she couldn't die yet. She wanted to see the fruits of her improvement now as she did with anyone else who challenged her. At her core, there was no greater joy than witnessing someone elevate themselves beyond their limit, all so she could challenge it in a fierce clash of wills. As such, Stella was not allowed to die now - not yet, not on her watch. Even more, her ears perked up at the next revelation.

"Hoh~? A menos? Not bad. The fact you survived tells me you have some talent as a fighter."

"Of course, but then you're not ready to fight me or her yet, so celebrating the small victories, however minor, still means something in the grand scheme, right? When I was at the bottom of the totem pole, that's how I kept myself motivated."

Humility was a welcomed trait, but it was lost on the Burning Lioness. At the end of the day, she survived and lived to tell the tale. If she was inferior, the menos would've devoured her and she wouldn't be here right now. Thus, there was something noteworthy about her. There had to be. After all, she wouldn't settle for someone who can't embrace some measure of pride in their skill. It'd render their eventual battle meaningless. After voicing her opinion, she pondered Stella's next question. Her favorite battle, eh? There was never a shortage of answers there, but she thought deeply about it. In recent memory, her battles with Klein and Khaana were perhaps the two that stood out to her the most.

"Hell if I know. Far too many to count, but if I had to pick two recent battles overall? I'd say the one I had with Klein and my boss were pretty damn fun. Both of 'em' pushed me to my limit and I had to think on my toes."

"Ichigo Kurosaki? Hahaha! Talk about ambitious!"

A booming peal of laughter erupted from her throat at that declaration. There was no hint of mockery present in her tone, but rather genuine excitement.

To her, that declaration was just as much a challenge as it was a promise. The emboldened confidence that accompanied Stella's bright smile elicited a wide grin in the bronze woman's countenance as she rose from her chair, cocking her head to the side with arms crossed.

Where would her ambitions take her? Did she have the drive to etch her words into reality? No matter how foolish her words were, there was no small shortage of amusement in seeing how her path might unfold.

"Surpass me and Veralia, hm? I look forward to it, Stella. No matter what, don't lose sight of that ambition, ya hear? Whenever you do, I'll reappear and remind you again and again, until you give up or make your words a reality."