The Manaverse

Eastern Penthouse Sky Bridge

Slatewell Safe Zone

Jut made a black zippered hoodie appear from his inventory and put it on. The very early morning breeze cut through the light fabric a little anyway, but it did help. Jut expected the temperature to remain crisp all winter long with the heat returning in the spring, like it always had. However, it was too early for him to need a jacket. Did the fact that he had ascended reduce the impact of temperature or not? He wasn't sure. Was he just feeling colder now because he wasn't human? Was the System changing the climate of the area? He pondered on it as he walked.

To Jut's right, Isabelle seemed fine. She was wearing her cloth robes, which were pretty thin. Yet, the Elf was perfectly content like the chill had no effect on her.

All three of the animals had followed them out of the Penthouse. Brick and Diggy had passed out a little while ago and Joy had left via the elevator, drunkenly going to the food court. So, Jut had offered to walk Isabelle across the sky bridge when she said she was ready to leave and she accepted easily. The pets had all danced around when the two stood until they were let out the door to the patio.

Now the small procession was walking across to Isabelle and Joy's penthouse slowly. The silence was companionable until Isabelle filled it nervously.

"Jut. I was curious. Now that you have a Pet Slot, which one of yours will you choose?" Isabelle asked timidly as she glanced at Lily who was walking next to her.

Jut hadn't thought about it. In fact, he didn't need to. He knew his answer. However, there was more to consider than his own desires.

"Hey. Which one of you wants to be my System registered pet?"

Isabelle stopped walking and turned to Jut. He had stopped as well, looking between the animals.

Each had a different reaction.

Gunther sat obediently right next to Jut, looking up at him. His goofy puppy grin was wide as his tongue lulled out. It was the same sitting position Jut had worked for weeks to train into the Rottweiler. He was saying "Pick me, pick me" Jut was sure.

Nox, on the other hand, was sulky. He sat down too, but was facing away from Jut. He was looking off to the horizon, as if hoping to not be noticed. It shouted "Not me, please" to Jut.

Before Jut could consider their behavior further, he felt something on his calf. The familiar feeling was subdued. Normally, he would feel a very mild poke of pain that would surprise him more than hurt. This time, he only felt the pressure when the nails poked through his pant leg. He looked down to see feline eyes looking up at him.

"You do, Lily?" Jut asked, kneeling down to look at her better and touch her head.

Lily slipped out from under his touch. She looked away before walking over to Isabelle. She nudged Isabelle's leg before sitting next to her and looking at Jut. She made a small mulling noise that had always been her asking "Please" before the System had arrived.

Isabelle was looking between Jut and the cat. She inhaled to speak, but Jut spoke first.

"Would you want to select Lily as your pet?" Jut tried to look curious more than anything. He couldn't help the hitch in his voice, but he felt he covered it well. He had known this was coming for a while now.

"I-" Isabelle said, looking down at Lily once more.

Lily looked up at her and made the same mulling noise before rubbing her face and body against Isabelle's leg. The cat was purring loudly.

Isabelle looked back to Jut, concern in her eyes. "Are you sure? She is your cat. I would hate to-"

Jut's jaw clenched tightly. As if in a stream, his memories of Lily rushed vividly forward in his mind.

He remembered sitting on a bench outside the grocery store. The crew has busted their asses so hard, they knocked the load out well ahead of schedule. He let them take an extra fifteen minutes on their lunch break as a reward.

Jut had stepped out to get a breath of the crisp, fall air much like that night. He had a package of small jerky bites to enjoy with his extra fifteen minutes. It had become a temporary, weekly ritual at the time. As he went to take his first bite of the salty snack, a small rustling made him look over at the vending machine nearby. The glimmer of two tiny, predatory eyes peaked out at him from underneath. He had stopped before putting the small treat into his mouth. Looking at it, then the eyes, Jut shrugged and tossed the piece so it landed just before the edge of the machine. He grinned when a small, brown and black paw shot out and pulled the piece of meat underneath.

After carefully leading the very young kitten into the light, the rest was history. Lily and Gunther had bonded almost instantly and his little family had come together. The only negative she brought to Jut's life was that he could never bring jerky home again, which he was okay with. She would always find the bags and destroy them.

Could he really let his little jerky bandit go? Let one his best friends, who he had sworn to care for for her whole life, be in the care of someone else?

One look at the feline and how she looked at the Healer Elf and Jut knew the answer. He looked up with a small smile.

"As long as you promise to take care of her, then I am happy to give her what she wants. She never really asks for anything else like this that isn't food, so... I won't tell her no, even if I want to." Despite his best effort to sound happy or at least neutral, it was clear Isabelle saw the emotion he was feeling.

She nodded vigorously before reaching down and touching Lily on the head. A small light glowed from Isabelle's touch that passed between the two for long moments.

Once the light faded, Lily ran over to Jut. She rubbed against his legs until he reached down to pet her head. She looked back at him, purred loudly, and nipped his hand affectionately before dashing back over to Isabelle who picked her up.

Loud enough for the group to hear, Isabelle said "I promise you. I'll take care of you and you can watch out for me."

Jut looked away as Isabelle silently let tears of joy streak her face as her and Lily spent a few moments together. He would have teased her about it if he didn't feel like something had been yanked out of his body roughly. That's when a familiar warmth pressed into his hand.

Gunther had pushed his furry, fat head into Jut's palm, silently demanding pets.

Jut almost initiated the selection from his menu, but he had a nagging feeling. He looked up at Nox. The German Shepard hadn't moved during the whole feline spectacle.

"Nox?" Jut said aloud.

Nox didn't react.

Jut didn't want to make the German Shepard feel neglected or unwanted. While the thought would have been silly a few weeks ago, Jut knew all three of the animals were much smarter than they had been at that time. He wouldn't put it past them to have understood their entire conversation.

"Are you not interested at all?" Jut asked.

Nox slowly looked at Jut. The Shepard looked at Gunther before he looked back at Jut. He did so pointedly more than once.

"Choose Gunther?"

Nox nodded once before looking back over the Safe Zone once more, unmoving.

From the moment Jut got his Pet Slot, he knew what his choice would be. While he loved Lily very much and would always remember their time together, Gunther was Jut's closest friend. The seven year old Rotti had seen Jut through some of the hardest parts of his life, always offering that silent acceptance all dogs seemed to know how to radiate. How could he choose any other animal to fill the role?

Jut willed the Pet option in his menu to open as he touched Gunther's head. A window appeared.

Do you want to invite Dog - Normal Rank to be your Companion? Should the offer be accepted, the two of you will be bonded for life.

Yes No

The window barely had time to disappear after it's confirmation before a new window opened.

Dog - Normal Rank has agreed to your offer to become your Companion.

A warm feeling exuded from Jut's center and the same flash of light he saw on Isabelle passed through him and into Gunther before returning back to where it came from. A new window appeared as the light dissipated.

Enter a name for your Companion:

Jut wasted no time entering Gunther into the space and accepted it. This lead to another window he read over quickly that explained what having a pet, or a companion, meant.

Congratulations, you have acquired a Pet Companion.

Since the beginning of the System, Magical Beasts and Ascendant Beings have always lived together in relative harmony as they both fill the same role in the Manaetherical Stream, to consume Mana and produce Aether.

By becoming a bonded Companion to an Ascendant being, the Magical Beast and Ascendant Being both benefit. These benefits include:

-Pet and Mount Companions are considered part of an Ascendant Being's count. This includes, but is not limited to, Dungeon party counts and Skill counts.

-Pet and Mount Companions and their bonded Ascendant Being can share Skills and Affinities with one another.

- Both parties will know where the other is at all times and can sense when the other is in danger.

-Unlike a Tamed or Summon Creature, a Companion's growth is not reliant on the Ascendant Being and they can Ascend freely.

Be warned:

-Unlike a Tamed or Summoned Creature, Companions retain a will of their own. There is nothing preventing them from attacking their bonded Ascendant Being.

-Each Ascendant Being can only have 1 Pet Companion and 1 Mount Companion at a time.

-Once formed, only death or specific Skills can break a bond between a Companion and their Ascendant Being.

You may now make use of Gunther's Infuriating Bark Skill. Gunther now as access to any and all of your Normal Rank Skills. Any Skill above either Being's rank will be used at that being's rank and the higher ranked effects will not activate.

Jut left exploring Infuriating Bark for later as he felt their bond take effect. A warm sensation bloomed in his mind. By concentrating on that feeling, Jut instinctively knew were Gunther was and that he was in perfect health if not a little hungry and tired. He grinned and pet Gunther's head again.

"That was easy." Jut said, standing and turning to Nox. "I can still give you pets too, you know."

Nox looked at Jut for a long moment before scooting over and letting the human lavish him with a small amount of attention.

Jut looked at Isabelle. "Ready to go? Or was there more you wanted to discuss?"

Isabelle only answered after another long minute of fawning over her own new Companion. Jut rolled his eyes and felt a small smile cross his lips that was gone before the Elf looked up.

"Yeah. Let's go." They turned and began walking once more. Then she continued. "Are we meeting tomorrow, or later today I guess, to outline the end of Lock Down?"

Jut shook his head. "Nah. There's thirty six hours left. I think the team takes a day off and we meet closer to the end."

"Sounds like a plan. A rest would be nice. So, where did you guys get all that booze?" Isabelle asked seriously.

Jut chuckled. "We stopped purchasing food and saved those food credit things the Safe Zone made. While the cost of alcohol was still relatively low, Brick stocked up. I think a sizable portion of his inventory is devoted to the lion's share of it though."

The two laughed together and chat for the remainder of the walk. Jut left Isabelle and Lily at their Penthouses door and after saying a temporary good bye to the latter before strolling back slowly.

Both of the dogs skirted in and out between the topiaries that lined the walk. It seemed like they were playing tag or something to Jut because they would take turns bumping into each other whenever they crossed paths.

Letting the two play, Jut watched as a bright sliver of blue refracted light appeared in the horizon. In less than two days, the danger was going to start again. He just hoped they were going to be ready.