"Hey, don't worry, I'm not going far! I'm just going to make a quick circuit of the area. See what things look like, you know?" Miria says, while Claire frowns and chews her lip.

"I know, but still. Come right back if anything tries to eat you, okay?" She said, eyeing the forest suspiciously.

"You got it. I don't want to get chewed on anymore than you want to watch me." She teased, slipping out the door, while Claire glared at her and watched from inside the building.

Despite her outwards bravado, Miria's steps quickly grew cautious as she carefully circled the apartment, examining the grounds. She could see the edges of the manicured lawn were already starting to sprout with new growth, the forest eagerly reaching inwards to claim the free space. Movement stirred among the trees, monsters like the ones she'd already fought visible there, but none of them moved to approach, instead keeping their distance. She made a short circuit of the building, noting the numbers of monsters in the surrounding forest, then returned to the door where Claire is waiting for her.

"Yeah, well, good news is I don't see anything too scary. Bad news is, we're still surrounded by monsters. It's all small fry, but I counted at least 17 of them, and I think there might be more. I'm gonna go see if I can clear some of them out. Let me take one of those bags..." Miria said, and so armed, returned with her sword ready. She slowly followed the sidewalk out until it started breaking up into rubble and picked out some of the conveniently hand sized pieces to fill her bag with, keeping a cautious eye on the forest and it's monsters all the while. Finally having filled her bag, she returned to the door. "Alright, stay clear. Might want to retreat to the stairwell, even - I don't think they'll all attack at once, but I can't rule it out."

"Okay. Stay safe!" Claire said, and backed up to the stairwell as Miria had suggested, watching nervously as her chitinous companion hefted a stone and let it fly. An angry screech rang out, and then several of the furry forms at one edge of the forest were running forwards, rushing Miria as she held her sword ready. There was a tumultuous howling as they fought, before Miria finished and wiped her sword off on the grass.

"See? Perfectly safe. Didn't even lose any HP." She said, smirking at Claire in a way that warmed her chest a little even as it made her want to grind her teeth together. "...Huh, do you, like, want to get in on this? I could try and let you last-hit some of them, get some essence for yourself...

Claire hesitated. "...Is that safe? And like, can't you use it more? You're the better combatant..."

Miria shrugged. "I'm already through most of my cheap upgrades, I think, after this everything gets much more expensive for me. And the long term benefits you can offer seem really good to me, so I think it's worth it. And, yeah, it is dangerous... But I think we can handle it? Grab one of my knives and wait for me, and let me see if I can bring something over and disable it for you." She said, and took another stone, hefting it and then hurling it at a waiting Saproling. Another angry cry rang out, and then Miria was again being rushed by furious bodies - but this time, she pinned one of them beneath a foot and dispatched the others, before gesturing Claire over. "Here. Take the knife and cut it's belly open."

Claire approached uncertainly, kneeling down, but not raising the knife. "... No, hold on. I think... It's starving? And scared, and angry... Let me..." She hesitantly reached out and laid her hand on the writhing vine, and it's wounds began to heal and it's body filled out, it's struggles calming as it recovered. "There! Much better, eh?" Claire said, petting it, while Miria just stared at her. "Oh, and I got a skill for that! Nice."

Bind Familiar:
- Uncommon Skill (2 Star)
- Can bind up to 1 compatible creature, plus 1 per 5 levels.
- Can sense familiar's condition.
- Can communicate with familiar mentally.
- Can cast spells from familiar as though it was your own body, and vice versa.
- +1% reduced cost of all spells, skills, and abilities used on familiar per level, multiplicative.

[Cannot raise. Cost: 48 Essence] 

"...You were supposed to kill it, not heal and bind it." She said, before sighing and removing her foot. "... Well, watch out, they've got nasty bites, but if you know what you're doing..." She said, and Claire giggled and picked the monster up, draping it over her shoulders where it clung to her like a living scarf, hissing at Miria and prompting an eye roll.

"Yeah you're not so scary after all, hmm? I'm a call you Chomper, that's right!" Claire cooed at it, while Miria sighed and eyed the woods again.

"...Well, there's lots of other monsters. You want to last-hit some of them?" Miria asked, eyeing the woods speculatively. "Oh, huh, see if you can bring up its character sheet?" She said, turning back to Claire, who blinked and then tilted her head.

*Name*:
- Chomper

*Class*:
- Saproling, Level 1.

*Resources*:
- 8/8 HP, 11 Regen per Week.
- 5/5 FP, 5 Regen per Day.
- 3/3 CP, 3 Regen per Day.
- 0/0 MP, 0 Regen.
- 2 Essence.

*Stats*:
- Strength 1
- Dexterity 1
- Toughness 1
- Smarts 1
- Perception 1

*Abilities*:
- Saproling Physiology 1
- Saproling Mentality 1

"Oh, I can! Okay, good to know." Claire said, looking it over.

"Neat. I wonder, do you get a share of the essence when it kills stuff? Lemme pull some more monsters, and let's find out." Miria said, before hefting another rock.