‘Do you think he might be sleeping right now?’ Felix asked.

  They were standing outside Aiden’s townhouse, the double doors looming over them. It was still quite early in the morning. The shops had not even opened yet. Still, they had hurried over as soon as their breakfast discussion over, the stygian wolf and Ebion in tow. They were eager to present Aiden with the wolf, to finally pull him out of the depressive slump he had settled into for the past week.

  ‘The whole point of this thing is that he couldn’t sleep,’ Vivian rebutted. ‘Even if he is asleep, I doubt it is peaceful.’ She stepped forward and knocked sharply on the door twice.

  ‘I suppose you have a point.’

  They waited a moment, and when no answer came, she knocked again. And again. And again, each time harder and louder than the last.

  ‘Huh? No answer.’ Vivian stepped back from the door. ‘Wonder why?’

  Felix decided to take a turn. He pounded loudly on the door. ‘AIDEN ARE YOU AWAKE?!’ he yelled. ‘It’s us! We’ve got a surprise for you!’

  The door was suddenly swung open, a scowling goblin standing at the entrance still dressed in his nightgown.

  ‘What?!’ Bruz snarled, clearly not pleased at being woken up so early in the morning. ‘Someone better be dead for you to wake me up at this ungodly hour!’

  Felix faltered and took a step back. ‘Oh, um, good morning Bruz.’

  ‘Is it?!’ Bruz snapped. ‘For whom?!’

  ‘Um, so sorry to disturb you,’ Vivian said placating. ‘But we were trying to wake up Aiden.’

  ‘Well for your information, Master Aiden is not the only one who lives here, and unlike him I enjoy sleeping.’

  ‘Right, it slipped my mind.’ Vivian bowed her head apologetically. ‘Could we see him now?’

  Bruz sighed. ‘Does it matter if I say no?’

  ‘Nope.’ Felix patted Bruz on his shoulder as he walked right in, with the stygian wolf and Ebion right behind him. ‘But it is polite to ask.’

  Vivian followed him inside as well, smiling apologetically at Bruz. The goblin grumbled under his breath before slamming the door closed, still clearly annoyed at having his rest disturbed. He turned around to leave, heading for the basement steps.

  ‘Oh, there’s no need to get us anything,’ Felix said.

  ‘Who said I was going to?’ Bruz’s voice was fading as he descended the stairs. ‘I’m going back to sleep you selfish, inconsiderate gits.’

  Vivian looked at Felix and shrugged. ‘Yep, we deserved that.’

  ‘Let’s just find Aiden.’ Felix was already climbing the stairs. ‘If he wasn’t awake before, he definitely is now.’

  ‘Wow, you seem really excited.’ Vivian snapped her fingers to get the stygian wolf’s attention, gesturing for it to follow them. It was incredible how quickly it had come to trust them, as it obediently bounded up the stairs. ‘I suppose this means you two are done fighting then?’

  Felix froze halfway up the stairs before slowly turning around to face her. ‘I forgot about that,’ he whispered.

  ‘You forgot?’

  ‘I forgot.’

  ‘Well, that’s alright. You wanted to apologize right? That’s why you came to find the wolf with me.’

  ‘Yes but, not like this. I wanted it to be done properly, like inviting him out for a meal and then presenting the wolf and apologising for being a selfish git.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now?’ Vivian moved to block the staircase, so Felix couldn’t escape. ‘We are doing this now. No more stalling.’

  Felix tried to edge around her. ‘Let’s just wait till lunchtime. We can invite him out then.’

  ‘Uh-uh. No. No way.’ Vivian spread out her arms to stop him. ‘We are doing this right now. Aiden needs a good night sleep, and we aren’t going to make him wait any longer.’

  ‘It’s not that long. Just a few more hours at most. What’s the worst-’

  A loud yell reached their ears, a very familiar voice that had them running towards the source before they even knew it. Felix pushed open the already open door, which banged loudly against the wall, as he rushed into the bedroom. The two of them came to a halt as they saw a very confused and terrified Aiden, pinned down on his bed by a very excited stygian wolf licking his face, leaving it a slobbering mess. His eyes snapped towards them as they entered, and they immediately narrowed in suspicion.

  ‘What did you do?’ he asked tersely.

  Vivian held out her hands towards the wolf on his chest. ‘Ta-da! One stygian wolf as requested.’

  ‘I’m pretty sure I never specified delivery at dawn.’ The stygian gave him a huge lick across his left cheek. ‘Get it off me!’

  ‘Right, right.’ Together Vivian and Felix were able to wrestle the wolf down from the bed, allowing Aiden to sit up and try to wipe the slobber off his face. It didn’t work.

  ‘How did you even get in?’

  Vivian pushed the wolf down as it tried to climb up on the bed again. ‘Bruz let us in.’

  Aiden frowned. ‘This early in the morning?’

  ‘Yep,’ Vivian replied shortly. ‘He was not happy.’

  He snorted. ‘I can imagine why.’

  The wolf gave another excited bark and tried to jump Aiden again. Both Felix and Vivian threw their arms around the canine to restrain it while Aiden scampered backwards on his bed, falling off the other edge in his hurry to get away. Felix gave a small chuckle before rounding the bed to help him up. He held out his hand to help him to his feet. Aiden took the offered hand before freezing, suddenly remembering that they were fighting.

  ‘Um...’

  ‘Uh...’

  Vivian studied the two of them, their hands still held together. ‘How romantic,’ she teased.

  The comment jerked them out of stasis and Felix pulled Aiden to his feet smoothly before stepping back. He took a deep breath before squaring his shoulders and looking up at Aiden.

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Me too.’

  ‘Five days of silence, angst and me playing mediator just for this,’ Vivian scoffed. ‘At least cry a little.’

  Aiden rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ He sounded annoyed but his small smile gave him away. He cleared his throat and nodded at the wolf Vivian was holding back. ‘So, what do we do now? How does this work?’

  ‘I was hoping you would know,’ Vivian said sheepishly.

  ‘Maybe you just cuddle and sleep with it.’ Felix suggested.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Vivian finally let go of the wolf, her arms aching from holding it back. It immediately bounded up to Aiden, but this time he was ready for it, bracing himself as the wolf tried to climb up him. He let out a chuckle as he scratched the wolf behind the ears.

  ‘Or we could go ask Cyrus?’ Vivian plopped down on the now empty bed. ‘This was his idea after all.’

  ‘Let’s go see him after breakfast.’ Aiden opened his wardrobe to pull out a set of clothes. ‘You're already on Bruz’s blacklist, let’s not get on his as well.’

  ‘Alright,’ Felix agreed. ‘Good thing we already ate. I’m not eating anything Bruz is making. I think we’ve made him angry enough to consider poisoning us.’

  .........

  Vivian and Felix were slumped over in armchairs in the drawing room when Aiden joined them, his hair still damp and dressed in a simple shirt and pants. He collapsed into one of the empty chairs and was immediately besieged by the waiting stygian wolf. Ebion eyed the wolf with disdain from his curled-up position on Vivian’s lap. Vivian smiled and stroked the cat behind his ears causing him to purr and close his eyes in contentment.

  ‘So, do you feel any different?’ Vivian asked.

  ‘Not really.’ Aiden pushed the wolf down and it curled up at his feet, looking up at him with adoring eyes. ‘Then again, we just met. It might take a while.’

  A noise sounded from downstairs, footsteps stomping across the tiled floor.

  ‘Looks like Bruz is awake,’ Felix commented. ‘And not very happy by the sound of it.’

  ‘He’ll calm down,’ Aiden assured them. ‘Eventually.’

  The footsteps moved up the stairs, still stomping in anger. Both Vivian and Felix curled up into their armchairs, hoping to hide themselves in the upholstery. As soon as Bruz came into view his gaze snapped towards them with a pointed glare. He marched over and set down the tea tray he was carrying with a little more force than necessary.

  ‘Good morning,’ he said while clearly wishing them anything but that. ‘I thought you might like to have some tea while you wait for breakfast. Though if you had come at an appropriate time, that wouldn’t have been necessary.’

  Bruz lifted one of the cups and placed it in front of Aiden and left the other two on the tray.

  ‘Thank you,’ Vivian whispered timidly, slowly reaching out for one of the other cups.

  ‘Please enjoy.’ Bruz’s smile was all teeth and no warmth. ‘I put a little something extra in yours.’

  Vivian immediately withdrew her hand like she had been burned. ‘On second thought, that’s alright. We already ate.’

  ‘Shame,’ was the short reply before the goblin turned on his heel and marched back downstairs.

  ‘I think we should be fearing for our lives,’ Felix edged away from the tea on the table. ‘That goblin looks like he’s out to kill.’

  ‘Aiden,’ Vivian said worriedly.

  Aiden sighed. ‘I’ll talk to him at breakfast. Once I explain why, he should go back to normal.’

  Vivian glanced up at the clock. ‘Or we could just hurry up and leave. It’s the eighth hour. Cyrus should be awake by now.’

  .........

  Cyrus was in fact not awake. Seems like they were getting on a lot of people’s bad side today.

  ‘What do you want?’ Cyrus yawned, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. At least he didn’t seem angry, though who knew what hid behind that elegant facade.

  ‘We have some questions.’ Vivian pointed down at the stygian wolf currently acting as Ebion travel horse.

  Cyrus held open the door to their quarters in the Rusty Kettle, waving them towards the dining table to take a seat. They shuffled inside rubbing their arms for warmth. They were very close to winter now. It would definitely snow sometime that week. Through a slightly ajar door they could hear the sound of thundering snores, probably Dixie still fast asleep, oblivious to the rest of the world.

  ‘Well, you sure didn’t waste any time.’ Cyrus pulled a cord hanging on the wall before slipping into the last seat at the table. A few moments later a goblin came up and Cyrus requested him to bring them something light to eat. The goblin bowed and left, returning shortly after with tea, biscuits and sandwiches. Cyrus thanked the goblin, and he left with another bow, closing the door behind him.

  ‘So, tell me what happened.’ Cyrus settled himself into his chair, looking much more awake with a cup of tea clasped in his hand.

  And so, Vivian and Felix recounted what happened. Both Cyrus and Aiden listened with rapt attention. Cyrus’ scoffed and rolled his eyes when Peri was mentioned but didn’t interrupt otherwise. When they were done a tense silence settled on the group. Cyrus was the first to break it.

  ‘Firstly, good job,’ Cyrus commended them. ‘Though a bit reckless, you did get it done.’

  Vivian let out a breath. ‘I was afraid you’d be furious like Sith.’

  ‘She worries, that’s all.’ Cyrus took another sip of his tea. ‘But since the sloth was with you, you would’ve been fine. I hate to give him any kind of credit, but he is a skilled combatant and a clever strategist. No matter what, he would’ve gotten you out alive.’

  ‘It was incredible!’ Vivian gushed. ‘He moved so fast. And then when he slammed his dagger’s hilt into the Remnant’s back, his lightning just got cut off.’

  ‘Peri knows how to fight mages.’ Cyrus set down his cup. ‘Lightning mages have their cores in the spine, so he struck to neutralize it.’

  ‘That’s high praise for Peri coming from you,’ Felix teased.

  Cyrus narrowed his eyes. ‘Say a word of this to him and you’ll find yourself trapped in your nightmares for a month.’

  Felix shrunk back a bit. ‘Ah, right. I forgot you were a shadow mage.’

  ‘Anyway, getting back to why you came, we simply need to bind the wolf to Aiden as a familiar.’ Cyrus stood up and beckoned Aiden to do the same. ‘You two can sit there and watch.’

  The two of them moved to the center of the room. Cyrus held out a hand and Aiden hesitantly placed his own in it. Cyrus gave him a reassuring smile.

  ‘There’s nothing to worry about. The process simply requires a few drops of blood.’

  ‘Reminds me of registration.’ Felix nibbled on a biscuit as he spoke. ‘Remember, the day we met?’

  ‘Seems so long ago.’ Vivian reached for one of the biscuits as well. ‘But it’s only been a month.’

  A really long month... it is insane how much has happened in just one month...

  Cyrus pulled out a thin needle from his pocket.

  Aiden flinched. ’So, you just happen to always carry a needle with you? Even while sleeping?’

  Cyrus hummed. ‘You never know when you might need to curse someone.’

  ‘That does not make me feel better.’

  Cyrus pricked Aiden’s finger with the needle, squeezing out a few drops of blood. ‘Alright, now just offer it to the wolf. If it accepts, it’ll drink his blood. Then you have to name it, and the contract will be complete.’

  Vivian swallowed her biscuit. ‘Wait, that’s it?’

  ‘Yes, that’s it.’ Cyrus shrugged. ‘What were you expecting?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Vivian leaned back in her chair a tad disappointed. ‘Drawing runes, chanting in a strange language.’

  Cyrus shook his head in amusement. ‘Sorry, but there are no such theatrics involved.’

  ‘Well, that’s... anticlimactic,’ Felix grumbled.

  Aiden rolled his eyes at the disappointed scowls on their faces. He knelt and held out his hand to the wolf. The stygian wolf let out a bark, its tail wagging as it bound towards Aiden, accidently tossing a sleeping Ebion off his back as he did so. The feline was understandably unhappy about being suddenly thrown to the floor, though he still managed to land on his feet. He hissed at the wolf before sauntering towards Vivian and jumping up on her lap to curl up and once again fall asleep.

  The stygian wolf sniffed Aiden’s blood tentatively before giving it a lick. Aiden felt a warmth in his chest at the action.

  ‘Now, you need to name it to seal the contract,’ Cyrus said, settling back into his chair.

  Aiden tilted his head and studied the wolf a bit. ‘Well, it’s a female. So maybe... Lyra.’

  The wolf sat back on its launches and let out a long and loud howl. The warmth in his chest grew until it consumed all of him, before settling down. He sensed a connection he had never felt before, a thread that linked him to the stygian wolf in front of him. Aiden smiled a small smile as he scratched Lyra behind the ears. Lyra responded enthusiastically, her tail wagging as she stepped further into his embrace.

  ‘And that’s that.’ Cyrus clapped his hands together. ‘Congratulations Aiden. You have your very first familiar.’

  ‘That’s great!’ Vivian exclaimed. ‘Now what?’

  ‘Yes, how do we get the nightmares to stop?’ Felix asked. ‘I suggested cuddling.’

  ‘I am not-’ Aiden began.

  ‘That’s actually right,’ Cyrus interrupted. ‘Good guess.’

  Aiden looked like he had just swallowed something sour. ‘What?’

  ‘Physical contact is all that’s needed. Creatures like stygian wolves, wargs and other shadow element beasts have the same abilities as a shade-reader. It’s instinctive for them. So, whatever memories you’ve absorbed, they can just absorb from you and then release it. Eventually, you’ll learn to release memories by yourself but for now, just spend some time with Lyra before you go to sleep. Around fifteen minutes should do.’

  Aiden sighed. ‘Well, if I must.’ But he didn’t look as disgruntled as he sounded, especially since he was still scratching Lyra behind the ears, his hands moving through her black fur fondly.

  Wait... Black?

  ‘Hold on,’ Vivian said. ’If I remember correctly, back at the auction Lyra used to have black and white fur. Why is it black now?’

  ‘I’ve told you before that stygian wolves are masters are hiding.’ Cyrus pointed at Lyra. ‘That’s partly how. They can change the colour of their fur like a chameleon changes their skin. It’s usually black, which helps them blend into shadows, but Lyra here must have been captured when she was in a snowy region, hence why her fur was partly white.’

  ‘You’re noticing this now?’ Aiden asked.

  Vivian folded her arms defensively. ‘I was a little busy with the murderous mage and a furious Sith at home.’

  ‘Alright, alright,’ Felix said placatingly. ‘Let’s not fight. This is a good day. We got Aiden a bedtime cuddler that will help him fall asleep so that he won’t look like the living dead.’

  ‘Or be such a grouch,’ Vivian added.

  ‘No that’s how he’s always been,’ Felix corrected. ‘That’s not going away.’

  Aiden opened his mouth, probably to say something snarky in return, but gave it a thought and instead sighed. ‘You two did me a huge favour, so I’ll try not to be such a grouch.’ He thought a bit. ‘For today.’

  ‘I suppose that’s the most we can hope for.’ Vivian shrugged. ‘We’ll take it.’

  Ten minutes later, when they stepped outside the inn they were greeted with the sight of the first snow of the year. Gentle snowflakes drifted down slowly covering the ground in a pile of white. The three of them stood under the inn’s awning for a moment taking in the sight and breathing in the cold, crisp morning air, their fingers and toes already going starting to go numb from the cold.

  Aiden petted Lyra’s head as she held out her tongue to catch one of the snowflakes in her mouth.

  ‘Thank you.’ It was said quietly and softly, just for the three of them to hear.

  Felix and Vivian smiled. ‘Anytime,’ they replied.