Everyone’s reaction to Liesel’s revelation was to act as silent statues. Observing how everyone was looking, I noticed not one of them smiling as the instructor performed her usual teasing laugh to diffuse the tension in the air. However, I fear her actions only proved to exacerbate the atmosphere as one of the children took a sharp intake of breath.

 

Since no one seemed to have enjoyed her joke – if there even was one – Liesel pouted before swivelling around. As her raven black hair swished from the movement, she strode away from the group with a fleeting comment about them having free time until the day of departure. Of course, as soon as her presence had vanished, I noticed how everyone had regained the souls that had disintegrated at her words.

 

Not really knowing what to do, I decided to lie beside Teival and groom my fluffy tail while he thought about our next action. From the corner of my eye, I detected several of my master’s classmates hurriedly leave while mentioning about getting their supplies before they ran out. I felt Teival stroke my head in contemplation – as he had developed the habit of practising when thinking about things – and wondered what he was going to do.

 

As I enjoyed the head strokes, I nuzzled his hand and licked it – tasting the saltiness of the sweat he’d produced from the earlier combat class. While having our loving moment together, it was disturbed by Armin who had abandoned his friends to have a chat with my master:

 

“Teival, what are your thoughts on this trial?” I heard him say.

 

I wasn’t sure why he suddenly wanted to ask my master this, since they barely talked a few sentences the entire time they’d shared classes with one another. Tilting my head to peer past Teival’s hand, I saw the taller boy fidget a little as he waited for my master’s response. “Don’t bother answering him, Teival. He’ll probably just laugh or say something disparaging.”

 

“…I think we’ll probably have to live in the wilderness for a while – either days, or weeks – and have to survive until the deadline.”

 

I watched as Armin produced a knowing smile – as if he was aware of something we weren’t: “I see. That’s an interesting prospect, however I believe there’ll be more to it than just living off the land.”

 

Teival stopped with his ministrations as he stared at the tanned boy, “Why do you say that?” I wondered if the trial would entail active disqualifications, since the point of the trials was to reduce the number of inductees to become members of the Schwarzerberg Clan. With such notions put forth in my mind, I gave Armin my full attention as he gave his response:

 

“Well…it’s just something one of my brothers said back when he first joined the Clan--”

 

“Armin! We’re going to get the supplies! You coming?” One of his friends interrupted from the distant group, which I thought was incredibly rude when it was obvious that the boy was talking to us!

 

“Be there soon!” Armin shouted back before resuming his more important discussion with us, “He said how each trial was harder than the previous one. That the first one was a peaceful stroll compared to the second one and onwards. He hinted that the reduction of inductees per trial increased each time.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?”

 

“Yeah, why are you telling us this? You don’t even like us! Ah! Is this the so-called sabotage?! I shall not fall for your machinations!”

 

“Cos I feel it’s better for our class to work together – if need be – than against one another. I mean…do you really think it’s just us doing the trial?”

 

“…”

 

“So…it’s not sabotage?”

 

“Anyway, I need to go. See you at the Main Stadium!”

 

I watched as Armin ran back to his impatient friends before they hurried out of the training grounds. As I pondered over the implications of this trial, I suddenly realised that there would likely be a lot of combat between inductees. “Ah! Teival! You’re terrible at close combat! Argh! How about you just focus on spellcasting while I do all the physical stuff, hmm? I’ll even do my best to protect you from any meanies who want to hurt you!”

 

“Kia…”

 

“Yes, Teival?”

 

“Let’s do more training. I need to build up as much strength as possible.”

 

“Ah, but what about your injuries from today’s close combat lesson?”

 

“Ouch! Ah…I forgot…they really didn’t hold back their punches…”

 

“I told you so! Now, let’s go back to the canteen and just eat all day!”

 

“Change of plans, we’ll work on your crystal development instead. Kia, sit there while I channel.”

 

“B-b-but! What about our food?!”

 

“We’ll get the supplies later tonight. If Armin thinks everyone will be doing this trial, then the supply booth will likely be chaotic at the moment. Kia, why aren’t you sitting there?”

 

“Master is a meanie!”

 

Mithering over not getting to eat all day, I slumped myself down in front of Teival and listened to his singing as he channelled mana through me. I suppose it wasn’t completely bad since I was still fed crystal-enriched snacks during the process. Still, I wondered what the point in doing this with me was when nothing really seemed to change. I mean, sure I could make holes, and slice through things, and run faster than before but…I could already do those things…

 

After lying on the sandy soil of the training grounds for hours, with me possibly falling asleep at some points from a combination of boredom and hearing Teival’s soothing songs, the sky had dimmed to darkness. With my master’s voice croaky from singing so much, we ended the channelling session and left the grounds. “Yay, we can finally fill our faces with food!” I thought as I stretched my stiff body and wagged my fluffy tail in anticipation over the feast I’d be indulging myself in.

 

However, instead of the familiar canteen we ventured to for our meals, we headed in the opposite direction to an area I rarely visited: the supply booth. From what I’d gathered from the few times I’d been there, it was a place for Clan members and inductees alike to collect any daily necessities or supplies. Although, I believe the Clan members had an economic system in place for purchasing these goods, it appeared that inductees were exempt from this since I knew for a fact that Teival definitely had no money to his name.

 

Approaching the booth, I lifted my head up to see the usual old woman sitting there with a rather bland expression to match her boring appearance. It was clear from examining her face that she was no high-ranking member, thus presumed her to be someone who had been relegated to serving others all her life. “How sad. Even Clan members seem to suffer under their motto.”

 

“Yes?” I heard her ask monotonously.

 

“Ah…I’d like to rent some supplies for a trial, please.”

 

I saw her motion to a Clan symbol on the wall beside the booth window before Teival pressed the wristband he wore against it. I then witnessed the old woman insert a white crystal into a device in the wall before reading the details aloud:

 

“Inductee Teival, from Penfallow. 11 years old. Contracted to a female crystal aardwolf pup of 1 year and 3 months, Kia. Instructor Liesel’s class 0-B.” The old woman examined the two of us before nonchalantly removing the crystal from the device. “Everything seems to be in order. What supplies do you want?”

 

As Teival listed the numerous things he felt would be useful for the trial, I realised my fur was covered in sandy soil from earlier and so determined it my top priority to fix my appearance. I couldn’t have my beauty marred by some sandy soil! After a few minutes of the old woman detailing the items my master had ordered, she had Teival press his wristband to the symbol again to register the ‘purchases’. “Hmm…I wonder if there’s a system of debt for inductees to pay off once they become Clan members…”

 

“Your items will be delivered to your room by tomorrow evening.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

“Next!”

 

It appeared that a small queue had formed while my master was listing off his supplies, resulting in several similar-aged children and a few Clan members waiting impatiently for him to finish. When Teival turned around and saw the people, I noticed him shrink and lower his head as we hurriedly walked past them. I swear I heard him mutter a few apologies for taking so much time. “You don’t need to apologise, Teival! It’s their own fault for arriving after us! Now forget about such things with some food!”

 

My wish was granted, as we immediately headed to the canteen where Teival got me a hearty meal that fully sated my insatiable hunger! “Ah! Master is the best! By the way, is there any chance for seconds? No? Wait! Why are we leaving already?!” It seemed that Teival didn’t want to us to remain in the canteen for very long, since as soon as he finished eating he whisked us back to our room. Looking outside the window, I suppose it was understandable that we return since the night had long been present before we ate.

 

Curling up beside Teival, I nuzzled his cheek affectionately before resting my head on his pillow. I unfortunately didn’t get to hear my master’s lovely lullaby this time since his voice was incredibly hoarse from singing all day. Softly brushing my fluffy tail against his thigh, I slipped into slumber while wondering what the plan for tomorrow was going to be.

 

+++

 

Waking up the next day, Teival directed us to the training grounds where we ran laps over and over again. Of course, we took breaks and sustenance when required but – for the most part – maintained a rigorous regimen of running until noon. After properly pausing so we could partake in a mini-banquet of lunch, we then changed our training to physical combat.

 

Although Teival was adamant that what we were practising was indeed close combat, I couldn’t help but see it as just playing and having fun. I mean, we even performed this strange dance where he would raise his leg and straighten it at me and I would jump over it, or even backflip over it. The same with whenever I pounced at him, he would dodge out of the way until I trapped his feet in the soil. I’d then give him lots of loving licks while lying on top of his fallen figure. It was such fun! Though, Teival seemed a little down as time passed that I wondered if he was hungry.

 

After several hours of playing, Teival called an end to the training as we made our merry way to the canteen for our final meal of the day. Scoffing snack after snack, we eventually had enough and decided it was time to return to our room. Once we neared the door, I smelled an unfamiliar scent which caused me to put my guard up.

 

“What is it, Kia?”

 

“Someone’s been in our room!”

 

I watched as Teival unlocked the door with his wristband before entering. Cautiously peering around my master, my eyes met with several boxes laid in a pile next to the door. “Hmm?” Padding over to them, I sniffed all over and detected the scent covering them.

 

“Ah, these must be the supplies I asked for!”

 

Witnessing my master rush over and open the packages, items like rope, red crystals, bed rolls, etc…were pulled out, making a mess on the floor. As I continued to see item after item be pulled out, I began to ponder over the implications of someone managing to enter our room without our permission. “Does this mean our safety is compromised?” With such a disturbing notion of Clan members being able to enter without our knowledge, I started worrying over my master’s well-being in case anyone bore malicious intentions towards him.

 

However, my mind was broken off from such musings as Teival threw a ball at me that was filled with tasty treats. “Ah! Let me at them! Let me at them! Come on! Get out of there! I can see and smell you! Ah! Playing that kind of game, are we?! I’ll show you who’s the most superior!” I then sliced the ball open with my sharp claws, resulting in the treats spreading all over the floor.

 

“Kia…that’s cheating…”

 

“I don’t care! The ball was being mean and not sharing!” I wafted my tail in a huff before nomming on my hard-earned treats. Of course, I chose to ignore the heavy sigh escaping from Teival and instead decided to fully enjoy my just rewards! As I entered my own world of happiness and bliss, my master continued sorting through the supplies before packing them into a backpack.

 

After a while, I jumped onto the bed and lounged around on it while watching Teival pace around the room in his night clothes. I had wondered why he was doing that when I remembered how tomorrow was going to be the day of departure for the trial. “Must be nervous about what will happen,” I thought as I lay on my back and began admiring my fluffy tail. “So beautiful. Ah, you are the image of perfection, my beloved tail. Nothing could ever make me happier than seeing you in such pristine condition!”

 

Suddenly, I was brought out of my narcissistic reverie as Teival sneaked up to me and scratched my exposed stomach. “Hahaha! Stop that, it tickles!” I desperately tried to wriggle away from my master’s hand and burrowed beneath the sheets.

 

“Hahaha, seeing you so carefree is really calming. I wish I could be more like you.”

 

“Master is fine the way he is!” I barked back while poking my head from the covers.

 

“Well, I guess it’s time for bed. Remember we’ll be getting up early tomorrow, so no sleeping in!”

 

“Of course!” I barked back while allowing Teival to pull back the covers so he could get into bed.

 

As I lay next to master, I thought back to what Armin had said about the trial involving more than just our class. It got me wondering if Tabitha and Dinara would also be taking part, which made me excited at the prospect of possibly getting to fight Mr Stripey and Zillah. “Ooh! I hope they’ll be there! I want to show them how much better I am!”

 

Swishing my fluffy tail from side to side in bed, I considered the many tactics I could employ while trouncing the both of them. After a while, I eventually realised that it wouldn’t be just me fighting this time – most likely – and that my master would be involved, too. Realising this, I started to get nervous about how well we were going to do when Teival was so weak. “The best I can hope for is that Tabitha and Dinara are also terrible at close combat. Ah…but they were both skilled at spellcasting…”

 

Contemplating the best course of action to deal with the two girls and their crystal beasts, I then realised how late it was and panicked. “AH! I’m missing out on my beauty sleep! Noooooooo!” Not wanting to squander what would likely be the last peaceful night for a short time, I ceased my active ruminating and slipped into slumber.