I woke up the next day beside Teival in bed. Examining his appearance, I assumed he had fallen asleep while still channelling mana since he was still wearing his day clothes. Saying that, perhaps he just couldn’t be bothered to switch to his night attire and was too comfy snuggling into my fluffy fur for him to leave me. I wagged my tail at that more likely assumption before noticing my master stir from his slumber.

 

“Morning, Teival! Did you sleep well? I enjoyed your soothing lullaby, last night! By the way, is there any chance for breakfast?”

 

“Mmnh…Morning, Kia…Breakfast…”

 

I jumped off the bed and sniffed around for the usual bag filled with goodies. Just as I placed my paw on the flap, my quarry was snatched by a thieving Teival! “Ah! I was about to open that!” I tugged at his trousers in protest over him taking my food, which apparently worked since he soon pulled out that delicious goodness known as crushed crystal termites! Bounding towards the bowl Teival had only just filled, I shoved my mouth into it and gobbled my breakfast.

 

“…I really should have called you Portia, you pig…”

 

“I protest! I am the very image of a slender female aardwolf pup! Albeit…maybe slightly larger than my parents now but that’s beside the point!”

 

“I really do wonder what goes on in that head of yours, sometimes, Kia.”

 

Before I could give an appropriate response that fully encapsulated the egregious eloquence of myself, there was a knock on the door followed by the foul stench of Anders. Of course, I growled in that direction to suitably demonstrate my disdain for the man as my master opened the door. As usual, the monster laughed at me once our eyes crossed one another – causing me to lose my appetite and push the bowl away with my paw.

 

“Hahaha, you love me so much you’re watching your figure, princess?”

 

“How dare you suggest such a stupid thing?! I was showing how your very visage gives me cause to vomit!” I was about to attempt to prove my point when I realised that would mean I’d lose the food I’d just eaten, so instead opted to glare at him and growl.

 

“She’s just grouchy in the morning, Anders…”

 

“Well, even so, I’m afraid you’ll have to cancel your breakfast. The Head Instructor wants to see you so she can assign you to a preliminary class.”

 

“Hmm? Preliminary class? I thought we’d have to do a trial, or something.”

 

“Sure. Come on, Kia.”

 

“Eh? Teival, where are we going? What’s this about a class? I thought we didn’t have to endure such things anymore!”

 

With Anders guiding us, we traversed several black rock corridors that looked almost exactly the same as those in my dream. It was strange, there was a definite distinction that identified these corridors as being part of the Schwarzerberg Clan but I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. “Perhaps it’s the use of black rock?” As I mulled over such things, we finally approached two large doors bearing the symbol of the Clan.

 

Observing my surroundings as we ventured forth, I caught sight of the symbols on both doors glow upon Anders’ increasing proximity to them. Intrigued by what I was witnessing, my ears pricked up at a clicking sound from within the doors before they slowly swung open. Peering around Teival, I saw a room with a narrow table stretching from end to end – with several adults of varying age seated at it.

 

I overheard Anders announce who we were before he knelt and lowered his head. Wondering why he was doing such a silly action, my eyes widened in surprise when witnessing my master copying him! “Teival? Why are you doing that?” Padding over to him and nuzzling his easy-to-reach face, I was snubbed as he remained silent and still. “Why are you ignoring me? Have I done something to make you mad?”

 

“You may rise.” An old, wizened voice escaping from the eldest woman in the room simply stated as she, too, erected herself from her seat and walked over.

 

I tilted my head at the woman as Anders and Teival stood up and straightened themselves. She was a woman wearing a black dress, with black ornaments in her very dark grey hair. I detected no emotion in her eyes as she approached my master and stared at him. Being beside her was a little intimidating as she seemed to exude some kind of invisible force of power over us all. She somewhat scared me.

 

“It seems your crystal beast is able. You do realise you are the last to be assigned a preliminary instructor, correct?”

 

“…Yes, Head Instructor.” My master replied rather timidly, in my opinion.

 

“Good. Then you should be aware of your transgression in wasting our time and resources over you. Liam will take you to your assigned class. You had better not disappoint us further than you already have.”

 

“…Yes…Head Instructor…” I heard Teival respond in a meek manner.

 

“Anders, Lord Nikolaus has expressed want of your presence for a new assignment.”

 

“Tch! He never lets me have any fun. I mean! Yes, Head Instructor.”

 

I watched as Anders lowered his head and bent over before immediately straightening and vacating the room. I wondered who this ‘Lord Nikolaus’ was but determined it not important for now, thus stored it in the back of my mind. An old man with a crooked back hobbled over and introduced himself as Liam. With the Head Instructor having seemed to completely disregard our presence already, Teival’s preliminary instructor guided us to his classroom.

 

Winding through the corridors at an unbearable snail’s pace, we eventually entered a new room that was already full of children I didn’t recognise. From a brief observation, I managed to count at least twenty children seated at individual desks with their crystal beasts beside them. I have to say, it was quite uncomfortable experiencing the gazes of forty eyes bearing a range of intentions varying from minor hostility to curiosity.

 

Once everyone had settled down, Liam introduced Teival to the class before pointing out his desk. Luckily, we were positioned at the back – allowing me to not have to concern myself with numerous stares anymore. I wondered if that was a tactical move on the instructor’s part however, upon examining the frail body and tepid temperament, I realised it was more likely an oversight on his part.

 

The class was as boring as I imagined it was going to be; the only difference being the blatant propaganda emphasising the greatness of the Schwarzerberg Clan compared to the other ones. I get that this was most likely a tactic that all of the Clans adopted in indoctrinating the young into blindly following the orders of the Clan, however I felt it was heavy-handed in its approach. Saying that, I was most likely biased against any kind of propaganda they presented on account of my prejudice garnered from experiencing Anders’ attitude towards things.

 

Opting out of enduring the class whilst conscious, I took up my established position of lying over Teival’s feet and went to sleep. I swear I would be able to learn more interesting and useful stuff from my dreams than any drivel drilled down my mind by the dictator. Some small part of me hoped that – during my absence of consciousness – Teival wouldn’t succumb to the brainwashing being practised here.

 

Waking up to the gentle nudges from my master’s feet, I realised the lesson had concluded as the other children were beginning to gather around Teival’s desk. At first, I was wary of their intentions but soon understood them to just want to know more about him. Saying that, I did not appreciate the laughs in response to my master naming the village we were from. Apparently, it was a tiny settlement by the name of Penfallow. “The more you know…”

 

Anyway, it seemed that none of the children had even heard of the place and deemed it an area of little importance. Another child then inquired about Teival’s choice of wearing a head scarf – which I assumed was the name for the cloth he always wore over his head. My master tactfully responded by saying he’d always worn it before Liam clapped his hands to gain everyone’s attention.

 

“All right, you’ve had your fun. It’s time to go back to the dormitories.”

 

I watched as the gathering dispersed in a hurry as each child followed the old man leaving the room. Something I found interesting was the difference in crystal beasts the children had, compared with the ones owned by those from Penfallow. For a start, nearly all of them had the same kind of crystal beast: horned foals and calves.

 

As we travelled back to our room, my ears heard Liam mention how tomorrow there would be a written test as the first part of the initial trial. I recall him saying something about it helping determine which class every child will be permanently assigned to during the rest of the induction process, but I shut off soon after due to how slow he spoke. Once we entered our room, Teival slumped onto the bed and sighed.

 

I padded over and jumped up beside him. Nuzzling his cheek, I saw how mentally fatigued he seemed. “Teival, was it hard paying attention in the class? Why not do what I do and just sleep through it all? We could even share snacks and you could stroke me instead!” I wagged my fluffy tail at the thought of some soothing ear scratches when I heard my master mutter something while hugging me.

 

“I don’t think I’m going to fit in well with everyone…”

 

“What are you saying? You fit in with me! Therefore, it’s not everyone! Besides, that annoying Anders seems to regard you well – as loathe as I am to admit that…So, don’t be so hard on yourself!”

 

“Why do I get the sense you’re trying to perk me up, Kia?”

 

“Because I am!”

 

“Well…either way…I still have you, at least…”

 

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

 

I lightly bit on his ear before lying on top of his stomach and resting my head on his chest. I heard Teival chuckle a bit while looking at me with a small smile before he stroked my head. We then relaxed for a while and eventually fell asleep in blissful comfort in each other’s company.