Edan floated on his back, bobbing in time with the waves created by the waterfall nearby. The muting property of the water helped block out the noise of the monkeys as they continued to tear apart the camp. He instead chose to focus on the stars above.

  It was a cloudless night and they sparkled brightly against the inky darkness of space. Out of the corner of his eye, Edan could see the patch of darkness where the Star Castle floated. He no longer felt the usual awe when he thought of it. Now there was just anger and shame.

  Ass beat by monkeys. You’re special, kid.

  “Thanks,” Edan muttered out loud, but focusing on sending the thought towards his SoulScape as well.

  The reply came back a few minutes later.

  You did well, considering. Especially keeping your spirit sense active while you fought.

  Edan kicked his feet, turning his body so the moonlight wasn’t directly in his face.

  “I think it helped,” he admitted. “I got a...sense? Of where they were. It helped me retre-uh, strategically fall back.”

  It’ll eventually become second nature and will fold into everything else. Giving you that extra edge.

  Edan was about to respond when something plopped into the water next to his head. A stone, presumably, as it made a big enough splash that drops rained down on his face. Shaking water from his ears, and using his hands and feet for stability, Edan oriented himself towards the shore.

  Standing there, moonlight bathing her, was Tali. Not a single monkey remained, though their handiwork was strewn about. Strips of fabric, one from the tent, now flapped gently in the breeze from the tree branches. Smears of…something…covered its surface. A few glowing embers were strewn about the clearing. No doubt the monkeys had tried putting the fire out.

  Edan did a lazy breaststroke towards the shore, only standing up when the pebbled shore bumped into his legs. He paused, still submerged up to his knees.

  “Tali…what are those?” he asked, pointing at the squirming bundle of fur she held tucked under each arm.

  “Responsibility.” She said, her soft voice lacking any cheer. “Tell me what happened here?”

  Edan explained what happened as he got out of the pool. Looking around, there were plenty of branches broken in the scuffle, so he began to collect them, making a nice stack near the shore. Tali followed, listening to his story. The animals she held continued to squirm and whimper.

  With the sticks set up, Tali took the lead and lit a fire without needing to be asked. She settled down and with a bit of adjusting, ended up with two cubs squashed against her lap. Their large brown eyes caught the light of the fire, turning into golden orbs that pleaded with Edan to save them.

  Finished with his story Edan pointed at them. “Where did you find them? Also, they're terrified of you.”

  “Their instincts are strong. I am the apex predator.” Tali said, by way of explanation. Then it was her turn to explain what happened.

  Edan listened with great interest. There were similarities in their stories. Primarily that they both faced an endless number of opponents and that they had failed in the end. Tali failed to save the bear, and Edan failed to save the camp. Tali, however, had kicked major ass. Edan had been kicked majorly in his ass.

  Somewhere near the middle of the story one of the bear cubs had managed to wriggle free and was trying to stealthily crawl away. It got two steps before Tali caught it and placed it back on her lap. The other, the one with the white fur covering its eyes, looked at its sibling with betrayal in its eyes. Edan laughed.

  The sobering end to Tali’s story made Edan go quiet. He didn’t know what to say to Tali and he felt a surprising amount of pity for the two, now motherless cubs.

  “I’m sorry.’ he said at last.

  Tali stood, scooping up the cubs before they could fall. She stepped around the fire and placed them both at Edan’s feet.

  “Watch them,” she said. “I will see if anything can be salvaged. We will need to head into town to purchase more supplies.”

  “Now?” Edan asked, excitedly. The night was still young, even if it had been eventful, and the thought of spending a night with his family in a proper bed sounded lovely.

  Tali looked at the fabric in the tree and the lump of metal that glinted in the firelight among the grass. It had been their pot.

  “Yes.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Edan smiled at her retreating back then reached out and snagged one of the cubs as it crawled away. Once again it was the one with the smaller white patch on its head. The little bear was surprisingly heavy and he snapped at Edan’s hand hard enough to draw a single drop of blood.

  Edan was more impressed than angry. They couldn’t have been graded yet but were already capable of breaking his skin? Granted, it wasn’t deep.

  Rolling the bear onto its back Edan rubbed its belly absentmindedly. The cub batted at his arm and tried biting his fingers in defiance. The other cub, with its larger white patch, watched for a second before launching itself forward with a tiny little roar. It wrapped its limbs around Edan’s forearm and tried biting him.

  “Cute little guys, aren’t you.” Edan laughed, pulling the one attached to his arm off. “Oh, my mistake. Cute little brother and sister, aren’t you.”

  However, the fact they weren’t scared of him like they were of Tali was a little disappointing. Then again, Tali had scared away all the monkeys with her aura and they had been F grade.

  –

  Vraga remained high above the canopy. His presence would only spook the animals further and he would lose the trail. Already he had taken a wrong turn and been forced to double back. Luckily the path continued towards Stratta and was easy to find again.

  His spirit constantly swept across the forest below as he felt the emotional state of anything it touched.

  He sometimes wished he had gotten a Profession such as Tracker. It would have paired well with his Tamer class. Though his current Profession was so much more fun.

  Dry lips pulled back over his teeth as Varga smiled.

  –

  Edan continued to play with the cubs as Tali poked around. In truth, he was the only one playing. Both cubs were trying their level best to either eat him or chew him to death, so they could escape.

  The fire had done its job. Mostly. His clothes were damp, rather than dripping wet.

  Edan scratched the female cub between the ears, her eyes almost crossing as she tried to keep his fingers in her field of view. She paused, sitting on her furry rump with her paws halfway in the air.

  “Like that?” Edan laughed and increased the speed of the scratching. He continued talking to them, keeping his voice calm and level. He’d heard somewhere that was the best way to settle a wild animal. “I’m sorry about your mum. I’d let you go but you wouldn’t survive out here without her and I know Tali would feel horrible. Actually, I’d feel horrible too. You’re both so cute!”

  The male cub was still stuck on his back and his attempts at attacking Edan’s hands hadn’t slackened. Of the two it was obvious he was the more aggressive.

  “We should go,” Tali said. Her approach made the two bears freeze, their eyes darting towards her. Edan felt them shake beneath his hands and pulled them closer to him on instinct. Surprisingly they huddled against his legs, the female cub almost climbing into his lap.

  “What about these guys?” Edan asked, motioning to them.

  “They will come. We will need to be stealthy as my exile persists.”

  “Sure, stealthy. Two bears, a giant, and an incredibly handsome young man.” Edan huffed as he got to his feet, the cubs moving to hide behind his legs. “Super stealthy.”

  –

  Vraga saw smoke in the distance, the grey trails light against the surrounding darkness.

  He was high enough that anyone, regardless of how good their perception was, would have trouble spotting him silhouetted against the inky backdrop of space. Even so, he approached cautiously.

  Anything or anyone who could kill his pet had to be powerful, and without his other pets, Vraga was not sure he could win such a fight. Still, anger and curiosity insisted he find out who the culprit was.

  Below, he could see a stream that fed into a small waterfall that in turn crashed into a pool of deep water. Grass banks surround the pool and stretched outwards before being claimed by the surrounding forest.

  From his vantage point, Vraga could make out two people, their forms highlighted by the fire between them. Drifting lower for a closer look, Vraga drew his spirit in tight around himself, lest he alert them to his presence.

  An adult and a child.

  No, not an adult and a child. A massive woman and a small man.

  The Titan! Vraga realized. He’d heard about her. The latest appeasement from the guilds who jockeyed for more power. He remembered some of his fellow Elders had not been pleased when they found out her oaths only bound her to secrecy and not servitude.

  His thin lips pressed together so tightly they turned little more than a slit. It took all of his self-control not to attack.

  Vraga remembered well the drama the Titan had stirred. How she had entered the Academy Dungeon against their wishes. It was she, Vraga surmised, that had killed his Viper and destroyed his lab.

  Even now, the pool of Vitalis at the very bottom of the dungeon no longer provided the same potent mix of soothing life and volatile fire. His experiments in that field had been cut short. The result, a single pet Vraga could feel off in the distance, weak and pathetic in comparison to the Viper that had stood guard.

  The Academy had made a serious error in not involving the sects in the Titan's punishment. They had then compounded their mistakes by banishing her from the town.

  If they had told the Sect elders, the Titan could have been detained without too much effort, and forced to speak on who else she had taken with her, and more importantly: what had they taken out that affected the power source so severely.

  Was this part of her plan? Did she know about him? Was she working against him?

  Thoughts flickered through Vraga’s mind but he dismissed them. It had to be a coincidence.

  Below, two dark lumps moved around the small human.

  “They survived.” Vraga’s pleased hiss was barely audible.

  His cold eyes flickered between the two cubs and the Titan.

  “All together…Why not…” he muttered.

  Vraga followed the group as they left the forest and made their way back to Stratta. Stopping just outside of town he reached out to the strings he felt attached to his mind and pulled on them. Calling all his pets back.

  He would need to wait, some were far away or slow to wake and he would need them all if he was going to succeed with his plans. And what beautiful plans they were.

  The thought of experimenting on the Titan brought joy to Vraga’s heart. A joy he hadn’t felt in over a thousand years.