The grey light faded away from Clovus's glabella. Both Maaru and Lok expressions eased upon seeing Clovus's pained faced fade. Although Clovus went back to a coma state, they decided to stay with him until he fully awakens.
Within the next couple of days, they monitored Clovus's condition. They noticed that his [Well] was being refiled. When his glabella was emitting the silver light, they noticed his [Well] was being constantly drained and never refilled. Their hopes continued to rise as Clovus's condition was recovering back to a normal state.
On the thirteenth --and final-- day of the week, Pama had begun to stir from his sleep. He hadn't moved or woken up since Juneau had brought the two of them into the room.
Maaru and Lok had high hopes when they saw Pama begin to stir. This could mean that Clovus was going to wake up soon as well. They both gave surprised looks as Pama fully stood up.
Pama's appearance had completely changed since the Ghrim ceremony. They had noticed changes in Pama's appearance while he was resting on the floor but as he stood-up, they finally got a good look at his transformation. His ashen-grey fur was now as white as the color of his essence, there was still some of his old colored fur present but very limited. His horns, which were a cream color, were now white as well, but with the tips of the horns being tinted with a neon green color. The length and diameter of the horns changed too, changing from eight inches to two and a half feet in length and diameters from two inches to six inches. Tiny nubs could be seen growing right under the reformed horns, it looked as if a new set of horns were now growing. Pama's body size also changed to match his horn growth. His body grew to the length of seven feet and his muscles bulked up, making Pama look like an intimidating mountain of meat. He stood to be five feet tall.
After standing up, Pama took up a sizable portion of the room. Pama placed his face close to Clovus's and began to nuzzle his cheek. His eyes full of concern; Pama began to emit an aura of pristine light having it encompass Clovus's body. Pama held this aura for the rest of the day. Occasionally, he would shake his neck and ring the Calming Bell. Maaru had tried to get Pama to eat and drink, bringing him saucers of each, but he ignored everything, focusing completely on Clovus.
Once night fell, Pama's aura began to decline. Maaru and Lok, who were about to fall asleep, awoke in an instant. They knew something was about to happen. The aura completely disappeared and Pama's fur seemed to have lost some its luster.
"Is he going to wake up soon?"
Pama's ears flapped in excitement. He looked towards Lok and nodded, turning his attention back to Clovus. They didn't have to wait much longer as Clovus's eyes started to flutter. Clovus began to move his mouth as if to moan but no sound came out. Soon his eyelids opened.
"Clovus!" Both Maaru and Lok simultaneously shouted his name. They both rushed to the side of his bed. Lok placed his hand on Clovus's head and Maaru grabbed his hand.
"Clovus, are you okay," asked Lok, who had summoned his [Grimoire] and was monitoring Clovus's brain waves.
Clovus's eyes were looking around in confusion, unsure of what was happening.
Maaru had also summoned her [Grimoire]. Flashing with a violet color, she summoned two wooden puppets. She sent one out to find the nearest doctor and the other to notify Maverick of Clovus's awakening.
"Clovus, do you know who I am?" Lok continued his line of questioning. From what he could tell there was nothing amiss with Clovus's brain waves, all he could tell was that Clovus's mind was muddled and a bit chaotic. Maaru continued to hold his hand in support.
Pama felt that Clovus's mind was filled with noise, making it hard for Clovus to understand what was happening. The horns of Pama began to shine and tendrils of white essence emerged from the tips of the horns. The tendrils drifted to Clovus's head and touched his glabella.
Lok noticed in an instant that Clovus's mind started to calm down. "Good job Pama, try to keep it up until he's fully conscious."
Within the next minute, Clovus's eyes cleared up and soon flashed with concern.
Where's Pama! Clovus frantically looked around. The last thing that he remembered was slaying the hobgoblin and then appearing within the cavern alongside Kandor. He felt a wet nose press against his arm. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked towards Pama. You've changed!
Coincidentally, the doctor showed up right at that time so Clovus didn't have enough time to react. Without waiting, the doctor began to run some examinations.
Lok had tried to read his mind while the doctor was running his exams. To his surprise, Lok was blocked out from Clovus's thoughts. It felt like a larger presence was interfering and blocking Clovus's thoughts. Clovus looked as if he was not aware of what was happening. Lok made a curious face and stopped attempting to read Clovus's thoughts.
"Well, everything--apart from your throat and vocal chords--have healed," he paused for a second, "Now, I am going to be straightforward with you. I am not exactly sure when your voice is going to come back. Whether it is due to the being that attacked you, the being that saved you, or if you, yourself, has subconsciously restricted the use of your own voice due to the trauma. Realistically, your neck is in perfect shape so your voice should be working, but we can run more tests at a later date...Anyways, your body should be sluggish the next couple of days, just be a little cautious when you decide to start moving around," with that, the doctor wished Clovus a speedy recovery and left to give them some privacy. By now, Maverick--as well as Vixen--had appeared within the room. Clovus nodded his head in thanks towards the doctor as he left the room. He felt a little guilty not being able to tell him the truth about his voice, but he promised Kandor not to tell anyone yet about his existence. He shook away those feelings and turned his attention towards Maverick.
Maverick approached Clovus's bedside, holding pieces of paper and a pen. It seems that Lok had already informed him that Clovus was not able to talk using his voice. "Okay, Clovus do you think you're up for telling us what you remember?"
Clovus nodded his head, he looked a bit tired but he could tell them what happened. He tested his strength to see if he could even lift his hand with the Unity Bangle on his wrist. He instilled strength into his body and with some effort, he was able to lift his hand to write. He took the pieces of paper and pen from Maverick's hand and began to write.
Clovus finished writing his account of what happened. Maverick took the piece of paper and passed it to Lok, who connected his mind with everyone as he read what Clovus had written. Lok finished Clovus's recount and handed back the paper to Clovus. Now, everyone knew exactly what happened to Clovus and Pama up until they passed out.
Next, Maverick relayed to Clovus what they had found after Juneau had found them.
Clovus made a confused expression, Unknown creature? Clovus tried his hardest to remember the creature. After a while, he shook his head in indignation, he couldn't remember anything. Clovus felt Pama's nose rub up against his hand.
Instinctively, Clovus felt what Pama wanted to do and placed his hand on Pama's forehead. Clovus and Pama closed their eyes. Both of their auras flared for a second, and their eyes began to flutter a bit. The auras died down and they reopened their eyes. Clovus picked up the pen and began to write on a piece of paper again. He handed the paper to Maverick.
" 'Pama could remember being attacked by an extremely dark, shadowy essence. Then a creature had appeared and saved both of their lives.' " Maverick read aloud and looked towards Pama, "So this creature was friendly?"
Pama flapped his ears and nodded in agreement.
"Well, if that's the case," he turned to face Lok, "then we can prioritize the search for that dark essence.” A light flashed in Lok's eyes as Maverick finished talking and nodded to Maverick in response.
Maverick continued talking, "Our, the village's, main priority right now is to keep you safe Clovus. Because your mentors and parents are out on their reconnaissance mission, you will be assigned a new guardian for now."
He turned towards his side, "Maaru, if you will, could you continue to take of Clovus until his parents return?"
"Of course, it will be my pleasure." Maaru responded happily, even her wooden expression shifted a bit into a smile towards Clovus.
Clovus bowed his head in gratitude. Lok told him that Maaru was looking after him while he was recovering.
"We also have to find you someone to teach you how to fight. You've learned body strengthening techniques from your Master Resh, but now you need to learn how to actually fight. Prior to your parents leaving, they were adamant that you learn how to fight with daggers specifically from them."
Clovus nodded vehemently in agreement. I want, no, need to learn how to fight. I wouldn't want to learn how to fight with a dagger from anyone else.
Maverick smiled at Clovus's serious expression. "Your parents also expressed their thoughts on you learning other fighting techniques as well. I fully agree with them. I believe the best way to figure that out is to have you display your new abilities. After your display of skills, we can then determine who would be the best fit to mentor you. Having said that, we will leave you alone for now so you can recuperate and have both your body and mind at their optimal states." He patted Clovus on the shoulder, "By the way, I know that you and Pama have an official bond now, but how was he able to tell you what happened?"
Clovus picked up his pen, and paper, up again. "I think it's because Pama is my [Tamed]. I can see some of Pama's memories now, the ones that he allows."
"Mmm. That's very convenient!" Maverick flashed a smile. After confirming that Clovus was indeed well--aside from his voice--he patted Clovus, and Pama, on the head and left the room. Before leaving, he stopped at the doorway and moved his body back towards Clovus. But, he stopped midway and seemed to change his mind, leaving the room.
Clovus made a confused expression.
"Oh don't mind him, I just relayed a message to him," Lok said after seeing Clovus's face. "It did concern you, that was why he was about to turn back around. But I told him that we should let you rest before talking further." He bowed slightly and said, "Please get some rest," and left hurrying to catch up with Maverick.
Clovus turned to Maaru, who stayed behind.
"Oh, just ignore me. Since I am officially your guardian, I have to stay by your side until your parents, or Juneau, come back from their mission. But I will leave you to your own devices." She moved her chair from the side of Clovus's bed to the corner of the room. She summoned her [Grimoire] and flashes of light began to be emitted from it. Soon various puppet parts appeared around her, along with a work table. "I will continue to work on my puppets, so please act like I am not even here."
Clovus nodded his head and smiled in thanks towards her. He turned his head back towards Pama. After facing Pama, he stopped instilling strength into his body. He was trying his hardest not to pass out from fatigue while everyone was still here, but now he could rest again.
Pama came closer to the bed and laid his head on Clovus's legs. He began to exude his pristine white essence again, putting Clovus's mind at ease and replenishing his fatigue.
Clovus closed his eyes and slowly took in Pama's essence. He began to think back on what happened and process what he felt during the fight with the beasts.
So, Pama and I took out those goblins and hobgoblin... Pama really showed me what he could do, Clovus exerted a bit of his strength again to place his hand on Pama's head. Pama ignored the added weight on his head and relished in the head rub. I got a taste of the strength a [Tamer] could exert as well. I was able to use the essence that Pama was able to manifest. Does this mean that I could use the essence from any of my [Tamed] creatures? Clovus's mind was racing with the possibilities of utilizing the essence of other creatures. Let's not focus on that yet. He reeled in the thoughts of fighting, maybe he had spent his time too long around the battle crazed maniacs of the village, albeit almost everyone in the village was battle crazed.
I wonder how Pama is handling these new changes. He stopped rubbing Pama's head and tapped his pointer finger a couple of times on Pama's forehead. Pama felt his intentions and responded with his thoughts. Clovus resumed patting his head.
It seems Pama is enjoying the new changes. His body and mind have gotten stronger, he's definitely smarter than normal farm animals and now his body is beginning to fully mature. His feelings weren't twisted about killing, he knew that if he didn't kill them they would have definitely killed us. Clovus thought about his feelings on killing the goblins. He didn't relish in the fact that he took a creatures life, but he couldn't hide the fact that he was proud of himself and Pama for handling the situation on their own.
We need to get stronger. Pama had sensed Clovus's thoughts and hurriedly agreed in response. With becoming a Tamer, I need to know any, and all, of the surrounding creatures. Knowing not only their weaknesses, but their habits, likes, hates, and habitats, even going as far as memorizing the branched species of each being. This will help in ensuring our safety and in deciding who, or what, will be my next [Tamed]. Clovus's thoughts were buzzing with plans for the future, but he eventually tired himself out into a slumber; his mental health was still fragile for having only just awoken from a week long coma.
Maaru continued to tinker with her puppets as Clovus and Pama fell asleep, her eyes flashing with interest once the two of them officially drifted off.
