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What Will Be | Chapter 30
🕑 Added 2024-02-29 16:30:01 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: Thank you all for your continued support! I have big plans for the second arc of What Will Be and I am excited to share them with you! I bought a peppermint hot chocolate today. It was delicious. Thank you.
“For practitioners of the elemental magics, the subject of Attunements is a complex knot of opposing ideas and I pity those who have devoted their lives to the subject. Consider the Skill Carpentry [Ships]. Perhaps their mana would be attuned to fire, for wood is known to kindle a flame. Perhaps it would be attuned to water, for the connection between a ship and the waves is undeniable. Perhaps the attunement is more esoteric, and would in fact be better suited to forbidden practices, for to work with wood is to reshape the dead.
Perhaps now you see my point, for that is only one Skill and most people have several. I see some of you paling at my mention of forbidden practices. If your fear stems from ignorance, then you should educate yourselves. Fear born from knowledge is no less intimidating, but unless your ignorance brings you bliss I cannot fathom why you would cling to it.”
~Unknown
In the days that followed, Fudge became my shadow, determined to never stray too far from my side. The same innate sense that allowed me to perceive my core space extended to the Tamer Bond. When Fudge and I were apart, I felt tension, like the connection between us was being strained. It was an uncomfortable sensation, so I didn’t discourage the clingy behavior.
“Once the bond stabilizes, you and Fudge will have to practice spending time apart,” Tina warned me when I told her about the situation. “Vigil and I took a long time to get used to it. I did not listen to my teacher as much as I should have.” I watched a faint blush color her cheeks at the admission.
“Who was your teacher?” Tina’s intervention was necessary for me to establish the Tamer Bond with my freshly minted Skill. I’d been waiting for an opportunity to ask her about the person who did the same for her.
An opportunity she oh-so-graciously just provided.
Fudge perked up at the question, possibly hearing the excitement in my voice.
Tina smiled and sat up straighter in her chair. We’d returned to the house after our morning chores and were indulging in a rest before getting back to work.
“My teacher was a man named Aylesbury,” she chirped with an air of nostalgia. “Wonderful teacher, actually specialized in extending the effective range of his Tamer Bond.” She stared into the middle distance, enjoying the chance for reminiscence.
“If that was their specialty, how come you had trouble learning it?”
Tina scratched the back of her head and released a nervous chuckle. “It was not that I had trouble learning,” she protested. “I was young and had my own ideas about what was important. Aylesbury was a handler for Drake’s Deliveries, so his training emphasized long-distance Tamer Bonds.”
Wait, drakes?! I’d learned the word from a children’s fable. The hero had a series of challenges to face. They used their wits and Skills to overcome them. One of those challenges involved sneaking past a den of slumbering drakes, which were described as flying reptiles the size of horses. This was before my encounter with the fueha, so I’d assumed drakes were a fictional addition to the story. I know it wasn’t fair to Fudge, but I briefly regretted not taking the unspecialized variant of Taming.
The pup in question sunk to the ground, trying to make himself flat. Sad, judgemental eyes looked up at me.
He knows, I told myself, even though I knew that was impossible. Probably. I didn’t think Fudge could read my mind, not yet anyway.
“Is something wrong, Will?” Tina must have picked up on my disappointment. She studied my face intently. I saw the moment her eyes lit up as she reached a conclusion.“You know, one day if we go visit my family we can also go visit him.”
“Really?”
Tina giggled. “Of course!” She looked around to make sure no one was nearby - we were home alone - and leaned in close. “If you ask nicely, he might even let you ride one,” she whispered like I was being invited into a conspiracy.
I squinted at the theatrics of it all, but couldn’t find fault in what Tina was saying. “Well, okay then. When will we do that?” The prospect of seeing more of the world was an exciting one.
“Who knows?” Tina grinned at my exasperated expression. “It will be more fun if it is a surprise,” she added mischievously. I groaned.
***
With Fudge insisting on staying by my side, it meant Vigil needed to move out of the bedroom. There was barely enough room for one large dog to sprawl out on the floor, let alone two. Fortunately, Vigil didn’t seem particularly bothered by the development and was content to return to Tina’s room during nighttime hours. If Tulos’ morning grumbling was any indication, he was less pleased by the updated arrangements.
Ever since Fudge became bonded to me, his position in the kennel hierarchy had drastically improved. Despite being one of the youngest dogs, it was only Vigil and Vix that stood above him on the totem pole. Especially after the confrontation.
Vigil made a show of challenging Fudge in the kennel. Hackles were raised, growls were exchanged, and the rest of the dogs watched on in silence, brought to heel by Tina’s presence. Fudged maneuvered himself so that he was between Vigil and me, unphased by his sire’s intimidation tactics.
I almost moved to intervene but a sharp warning from Tina restrained me and I let things play out. I trusted that she knew something I didn’t and would step in if necessary. I paid closer attention to the dog’s body language and clocked why Tina wasn’t worried. I also felt a brief stirring of something in my Core, but I couldn’t decipher what it meant.
The growls rumbled low in their throats, unlike the lip-curling snarls I knew Vigil and presumably Fudge were capable of when genuinely aggressive. The standoff ended just as suddenly as it began with Vigil huffing and wandering back to Tina’s side, seemingly content with his son’s performance in whatever test he was conducting.
***
Guided by willpower, the mana in my core stirred, sending a pulse down the connection between Fudge and I. Crossing the threshold of my first Advancement - or being in the ‘First Tier’, which I was informed was a way to shorthand the information - made calling upon my Skills feel almost effortless. Comparatively, my early efforts with Perseverance were the desperate flailing of a landlocked flounder.
Tina coached me while using an old shovel to scoop up one of the many dietary landmines scattered around the kennel. Weirdly, you get used to the smell. I think my brain just started refusing to acknowledge it a few years ago. “Remember, it is not a demand, it is a request, but it still needs to carry your authority.” She repeated the advice she’d given me earlier. “Fudge is your partner, but you are ultimately in charge. It is important that you establish that early.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d tried the exercise, and I was initially disheartened by my lack of success. Perseverance regularly flared to banish thoughts of complacency from my mind, giving me the push I needed to try again, and again, and again. The knowledge that my efforts to improve - even the unsuccessful ones - would provide a slow trickle of Proficiency Points to both Skills was an additional source of motivation.
We got this, Taming, I encouraged the Skill and threw everything I had into my latest attempt. Tina was almost done with her chores. We’d be moving on to something different soon. I felt Perseverance stir, roused by the situation and my conviction.
It’s now or never, I reached out my hand and pushed it against Fudge who was content to lounge beside me while I practiced. The physical contact wasn’t necessary, but it made conceptualizing the connection easier.
Mana erupted from Taming and passed through Perseverance. This time, the effect was amplified like never before and surged down the Tamer Bond like a lightning bolt. I felt Fudge shudder under my touch before the mana returned to me, carrying a portion of my bonded companion’s with it. A new System window opened.
Dog Level 3/10
“I did it! We did it!” I started pouring praise onto Fudge, who preened at the success he was technically complicit in. His tail offered a round of applause as it clapped against the ground.
“Yay! Well done, my Will.” Tina leaped into a cheer and accidently used the shovel to catapult a dog turd into the air. We watched in stunned silence as it soared out the bounds of the kennel and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Not a word of that to your father,” Tina said jokingly. I mimed using a key to lock up my lips and Tina tilted her head in confusion.
Oh crap, I was caught up in the moment and-
“That was very clever, Will,” she praised before mimicking the action. “Yes, I like that. It is like you are locking the words away.” She giggled happily. “I cannot wait to show Zetta!” I sighed, finding relief in the fact I didn’t mime zipping my lips. That might have been harder to play off.
A calming breath settled my sudden spike of nerves and I was able to return my attention to the summary of Fudge’s Skill’s. Turns out, animals had Skills and could advance just like people. Unlike people, there was a uniformity in their Skills. Fudge, as a dog, had a Skill literally just called Dog. It was another weird facet of the System that I lacked the tools or understanding to properly dispute or investigate. It felt weird, but I couldn’t articulate why. It was vexing.
“It should be easier to do this again now that I’ve done it once, right?” Tina had already answered the question, but sometimes it was nice to get clarification.
“Correct,” she chirped. I called up Taming to review my efforts.
Taming [Dog] Level 2/10
Current proficiency points: 27/200
Fuck me, that netted a solid nineteen proficiency points. Days before, the act of establishing a Tamer Bond, even with Tina’s assistance, had catapulted me to the peak of level 1 Taming and I’d been gaining a steady trickle of points ever since. Having a mentor in the Skill was making those early gains fall from the sky. Honestly, it felt like cheating.
“Will,” Tina called, snapping me out of my reflection. There was a note of urgency in her tone that immediately put me on edge. Fudge sprung to his feet and began to sniff at the air. The rest of the dogs began to bark.
My gaze spun towards the treeline, searching for monsters, but I was the only one. The dogs flooded to the village-side of the kennel, and when I turned to see the cause of their alarm Tina scooped me into her arms. She moved with purpose, but it didn’t feel like panic. A trio of horses had crested over the hill and were making their way towards our house. I didn’t recognize the riders.
Comments
Christine Thomas
Lmao
Pope Yoda I
It's the Spanish Inquisition! No one was expecting them!
