It took me a few minutes to change into something more appropriate. Soft cloth pants and a shirt might be comfortable to sleep in, but they were not the most suitable thing to wear around town.

  Lukas was happy to lend me an older set of his clothes that no longer fit well. Lila, by contrast, told me as politely as possible that I was an idiot. She thought the best thing for me was resting and recovering, not galavanting around an hour after waking up. Truthfully, she was right, but I did not have the luxury of lying about and waiting for something to happen. I had to be proactive, not reactive.

  None of the Lukas' friends could accompany us on our little trip about Rivershade, as they had their own jobs, chores, and assorted tasks to finish before the day was over. Strangely, the young man himself seemed to have an abundance of free time. I wondered about that for a moment, and when I decided to ask, he dismissed my question with a half-hearted wave of one hand.

  "Oh, that? Don't worry about it. I'm busy showing our new friend around town." Lukas smiled before glancing at his younger sister, who stood near the dining table with us, "How about you, Emma? You want to come?"

  Emma's eyes flicked towards me, and she shook her head, muttering, "No, thanks. I'm going to help Lila."

  "Suit yourself," Lukas responded before clapping one hand on my shoulder, "You ready, Simon?"

  I almost forgot my new alias but nodded without much of a pause and replied, "Lead the way, please."

  We stepped out of the house and onto the town's streets. The roads were narrow cobblestone things with bits of grass poking out from between various gaps. I smelled the spring air, a mixture of flowers and trees but with an undercurrent of manure and body odor that spoke to nearby farmland and hard-working people.

  Rivershade was larger than I expected, though nowhere near the sizes of a place like Aranth or Colkirk. Dozens of homes lay in a roughly circular shape around a "heart" of shops, a tavern, and an adjoining inn. Traders and travelers frequented this central portion of the town, drawn there to sell their wares or simply spend a night behind four walls.

  The town's namesake river cut through it, dividing off about a third of its population. Trees hung low over the white, rushing waters, making for something too shallow and treacherous to use for anything besides irrigation. However, Lukas claimed it eased further north, where young children would learn to swim in the summers.

  A wide stone and wooden bridge joined these two halves of the town, large enough to fit a cart but a little too worn by time and erosion for my tastes. If I did have to cross it, I would do so with a firm grip on my mana.

  Lukas gesticulated as we walked through the streets, pointing this way and that as he explained everything we passed in earnest detail. I suspected he was used to dominating conversations, and, for my part, I did not care enough to interrupt. Instead, I focused on the small, familiar mana signature slowly approaching us.

  "Down that way's the baker's shop. He makes all kinds of bread, cakes, and sweets, though we usually can't afford most. Emma and I used to be friends with his son, but he got too busy the last few years. From what I hear, he wants to take over his father's business as soon as possible."

  "Not a bad idea," I replied with a shrug.

  "Yeah, I suppose. Oh! If you take this road and follow it to the end, you'll get to this big hill just south of town. Perfect place to watch the sunset."

  "I see," I said, nodding a few times before deciding a little bit of direction would not hurt, "And what about the town center? You said that is where the tavern and most shops lay?"

  "What? Oh, right. The tavern should be quiet about now, especially this time of year. In the summer, you'd never get a table unless you're there right at sunrise. Standing room only most nights, and trust me, you don't want that. Drunk people aren't—"

  "That makes sense," I broke in, realizing that Lukas needed a lot of direction, "And the other shops? Are there any, say, tailors or blacksmiths?"

  "Hmm, no, no tailors that I know of. There's a blacksmith, but he makes tools mostly. Rumors are that he used to make weapons and armor for some noble out east, but I don't believe it. Can you imagine?"

  I tried to picture the blacksmith of a sleepy town such as this crafting a sword meant for a noble and shook my head, replying, "No, I cannot."

  Despite that, I decided to visit the man sooner rather than later. Maybe I could strike up some kind of deal with...well, I had no idea with what. I had three things worth trading, and I would like to retain ownership of two of them. Was a cold iron dagger worth a new spear? Typically, no, but beggars could not be choosers, as the saying went.

  "Right?! Oh, and up that way is the mayor's house. I'm not sure if you'll see him, honestly. He comes around now and again, but not too often. Hey, do you have a mayor back where you're from?"

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "No," I responded honestly. Nobles could usually appoint mayors to whatever towns fell under their purview, and Duke Estton had plenty of those, but I had grown up on the estate proper.

  "Huh? Really? Well, anyway, he's more likely to walk around when there are traders and travelers and such. We get those a few times a month, but I haven't heard about any showing up. Well, none besides you, of course."

  My stomach twisted at his words, "Ah, would you say my arrival here is public knowledge?"

  "What's that?" Lukas had been peering down one of the passing streets, shaking his head as he turned back to me and said, "Oh, that? No, probably not. Lila told us to keep it quiet. She thought you might..."

  The young man trailed off, taking a quick glance around before leaning in and whispering, "She thought since you were probably some rich merchant, you'd want to keep things quiet. Guess she was right, huh?"

  I coughed and replied, "Yes, thank you for the discretion."

  "Hey, thank Lila, not me," Lukas stepped away and grinned, "I want to tell everyone. Would've gotten me a few free drinks from all the nosy folks around town trying to get me chatty.

  "Hmm," I opted not to respond.

  Lukas seemed ready to launch into another description of something when a dark shape darted out from between a few homes. It flitted past him in a blur, eating up the distance between us before leaping up towards my chest. I had felt him coming for at least ten minutes, but even I had to push down the instincts that screamed to duck or throw him aside with a sweeping wall of Aether.

  Cat hit my chest, and I grunted as the force nearly bowled me over. His claws briefly dug into my borrowed shirt as he scrambled for purchase, and he hung for a heartbeat before pulling himself up and onto my shoulders.

  Lukas yelped and backed away, raising both hands and shouting, "What the hell was—oh, hey, it's the cat. Great. I was kinda worried he'd run away."

  Cat stared at him, then meowed and sent a brief pulse of satisfaction towards me.

  Awake. Good.

  I tried reaching out to reply through our bond, but it was like trying to speak a language when I had not even learned a single word yet. So, instead, I pet the top of his head with one hand and replied, "Nice to see you too, Cat."

  "Cat?" Lukas echoed, a smile on his face, "That's his name? Feels kinda...I don't know, lazy?"

  Yes.

  "No," I shook my head, "I wanted to give him a good name, not the first one that jumps to mind."

  "He's a cat, not a person. Does it matter all that much?"

  I glanced over to the animal in question, who stared at the man with apparent irritation. After a second, I looked back to Lukas and replied, "Do you have any suggestions?"

  "Nope!" Lukas said with a grin.

  Typical. I sighed, then smiled, and replied, "Well, how about we finish our walk around town? I would love to look at those shops if possible."

  "Sure, follow me!"

  ***

  I did not end up visiting the blacksmith's shop, opting to return later alone. We made our way back to Lukas' home after a few hours, finding Lila waiting outside.

  The woman proceeded to give her brother an earful about his laziness before 'suggesting' that I get more rest. I suspected it was more of an excuse to scold Lukas without an audience, but it did not matter. I did need privacy, not to rest but to speak with Cat.

  I sat on the bed, crossing my legs and staring at Cat, who had curled up across from me. His eyes hung half-closed, but I could sense the emotions reverberating through our bond as clear as the midday sun.

  Our link had grown more stable and potent even in the few hours since I had woken up. I knew from past readings that this should continue for a time, the familiar bond strengthening and deepening until it began to yield greater changes.

  I first focused on that passive 'drain' on my core. I suspected this energy was going either to Cat or the bond itself, but either way, I needed to know whether or not I could stop it. So, I closed my eyes and focused on the tether between us. It was akin to empowering my armor, so, like I might with any spell, I focused on "slowing" the flow into it.

  The drain slowed in just seconds, to the point where I might not even notice without active focus. However, the bond began to...waver, for lack of a better term. It flickered like a candle, and I could sense Cat shift on the bed, emotions coming off of him that resembled curiosity and discomfort in equal parts.

  Bad.

  "Right," I murmured, releasing my control and nodding a few times, "Bad."

  So, I could slow down the drain, but that strained our familiar bond. I had no idea what might happen if that strain grew too severe, but I could guess. It was not a massive detriment, as my core had grown large enough and my mana dense enough to handle the passive expenditure without too much issue.

  Next, I decided to try the opposite. If I could hold back my mana, it would stand to reason that I could also push more into it.

  I started small, flowing extra mana into and through the bond. It was not much, maybe twenty to thirty percent more than before, but I instantly sensed a change. The tether between Cat and I hummed, the glow brightening in my mind's eye, and I felt it thicken and strengthen.

  A portion of that mana flowed further, traveling down the bond and into Cat. I sensed it sink into his body, and his mana signature grew just a hair stronger. Satisfaction echoed in my mind, and I suspected the beast would smile if he could.

  Good.

  "I can imagine," I commented in a dry tone before once more relaxing my control over my core.

  Okay, so less energy strained the bond while more stabilized it and helped empower Cat. I wanted to test increased quantities to see if I could strengthen him faster, but this bond already might solve one major problem.

  Feeding Cat would be difficult without a steady supply of Aether-rich food and water, but this might allow me to sidestep that entirely. And even if not, what kind of powers might he gain if I sped his growth? Hell, what sort of abilities might I gain as a result of our bond? There was no way of telling.

  This was the other reason I had hesitated to bond with Cat. We simply had no idea what abilities one might gain from a familiar. Some mages could conjure magic near-identical to their bonded partner's natural magical talents. Others could spend years and never gain a fraction of such benefits.

  Then again, I doubted most could just ask. Not many mages bonded with a talking animal.

  "Cat?" I asked after a few minutes, "What can you do with your magic?"

  What.

  "Your magic," I repeated, "What can you do with it?"

  Not sure.

  "What do you mean nothing?" I repeated, my eyes widening as I stared at the beast.

  Mana life. Not sure.

  His words did not make much sense, but I could grasp the meanings beneath them through our bond. And what I sensed did not paint a pleasant portrait.

  Cat had abilities of some kind. He was intelligent enough to grasp that. What he did not know was what they looked like or how they worked. He was too...young? No, not young.

  Weak.

  Some magical beasts had powers and abilities they understood on an innate level, but these talents only truly awakened when they reached a certain degree of advancement. It was a type of instinct that Cat did not fully grasp.

  It was...not ideal. I was hoping our bond would unlock powers of untold strength and boundless potential. Instead, I was left with an uncertain thing that might or might not ever be worth my time. Still, this development was not without any upside or possibilities.

  If I could strengthen our bond further, I might be able to see through Cat's eyes. I could draw upon his reserves for a hidden store of strength in times of need. And most importantly, our connection gave me a strange insight into Cat.

  More accurately, it gave me insight into his flesh and how the mana was infused into it.

  I had not—would not, give up on my plans to unravel this mystery. And even if this familiar bond never gave me unorthodox magical talents, it was not so bad a trade. I had lived, and that was good enough.

  So, with that in mind, I closed my eyes and began gathering more mana. The sooner I recovered, the sooner I could get as far away from here as possible.

  First, if you liked (or didn't like) the story, I'd love for more comments and reviews. Writing is a learning process and I've got a lot to learn still, so any feedback helps.

  Second, I've launched a Patreon, so if you want to read a little ahead or just support me, it'd be great if you checked it out:

  Third, I've also launched a Discord if you want to ask questions or discuss this story in general: