A Tamer's Tale

That night, Elias exercised his assassination skills once again. Another spider found its way inside, and Elias had none of it. Wielding his trusty tome, he smashed it across a wall, adding to the several spots of accumulated guts on the book's cover. These spiders were just like clockwork. Every night, another would crawl in, its 8 legs gliding across the floor. With similar clockwork, Elias had been prepared since the second incident, ready to smash them to pieces.

There had to be some infestation or worse. Elias shuddered as his mind wandered over that possibility. 'Maybe the original spider had babies...' He shook his head, erasing those horrible thoughts. Turning to put the tome back on the bookshelf, Elias paused.

Across the room, a squirrel with a long fluffy tail and rocks embedded on its shoulders and hips sat on the edge of his crib, reaching up to grab one of the quartz figures attached to his mobile.

Elias stood stunned, unsure what to do in this scenario. Lucky for him, Gabe sat up at this moment. He was rubbing his tired eyelids, staring at the squirrel on Elias's crib. "Rue, what are you doing?"

The squirrel paused, stealthily looking over at Gabe. Then, back at the shiny mobile. Then back at Gabe as if trying to decide if it was worth it to continue to try and grab the shiny figurines.

But then Elias's parent's door opened. Jerimiah, dressed in boxers, leisurely strode out from his room, yawning into his hand. Quick to assess the situation, Jerimiah went from casual to alert instantly. His hands clenched into fists, placing them in front of his chest like a boxer.

Jerimiah's legs tensed, his feet digging into the floor. As if releasing the string on a bow, he shot forward. Pedestals of rock perfectly formed beneath his feet, aiding each step.

Jerimiah approached at shocking speeds, but the squirrel was quick as well. It leapt from Elias's crib, darting towards a lifted floorboard. Its rock-covered body barely scrambled down a pitch-black narrow hole before Jerimiah's hand clenched at where the squirrel's tail had just been.

Forcing the hole closed with his affinity, Jerimiah glanced around the room. His gaze immediately shot towards his children, making sure they were okay. Once he scanned the frightened but healthy kids huddled on their bed, he turned to look for his youngest.

Looking towards Elias's crib, he found it empty. His face twisted in utter worry, his eyes frantically scanning for his youngest son. He was swift to see him next to the kitchen wall. He stood alert, wielding a large book in his hand.

Relief washed over Jerimiah, but just to make sure, he walked over and picked up Elias, "Are you okay, Rue?"

Elias nodded. He wasn't so shocked about the squirrel but rather the speed at which Jerimiah moved. This was the first real demonstration of what Aether could really do. Now that he had a taste, he felt his mouth dry with desire. 'I need to learn how to do that!' Elias screamed inwardly.

After double-checking Elias for wounds or damage, Jerimiah finally reassured himself that Elias was okay. Holding him in his arms, he motioned for Gabe and Jule. "Come on, kiddos, join your mom and me for tonight. That was probably enough excitement for everyone."

Gabe and Jule nodded, both clearly exhausted but scared of further squirrel break-ins. They followed Jerimiah into his room, snuggling up with their parents.

Elias laid between Jule and Jerimiah. 'This is kinda nice.' Elias thought as he drifted to sleep.

The following day, over breakfast, Jerimiah explained what happened.

"It looks like a Treasure Squirrel has found our Hamlet," Jerimiah concluded as he scooped eggs into his mouth.

Gabe looked at Jerimiah with wide eyes, "Are they dangerous?"

"Luckily, no. They got their name because they love themselves some treasure. It looks like this one, in particular, has an eye for jewels. That explains all the thefts around town." Jerimiah responded, quick to calm his little boy's worries.

"Can we stop it from coming into our house?" Eliza asked, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Jerimiah shook his head, his expression exasperated. "These critters have a ground affinity, so they can burrow like a mole on Capean."

The family sat in silence as they brewed on the information Jerimiah was giving them. It didn't seem like a harmful critter, but it definitely was a nuisance.

"So what do we do?" Jule asked, breaking the silence. She didn't want to have her sleep interrupted again. She needed as much energy as possible to keep up with the boys!

"We got to kill it. I'll let Joe and Keller know that I found their culprit. Everyone just has to hide their jewels until we find the squirrel."

Elias looked thoughtful, a plan sprouting in his mind. "What do it collect?" He asked, messing up the grammar to sound more like a toddler.

"Well, bud, each Treasure Squirrel is different, and that also goes with what they collect. Some grab everything they can put their dirty paws on; others are more specific, either choosing based on color or something else that catches their fancy." Pausing briefly, Jerimiah concluded, "Looks like this one has its eye on jewels."

The plan in Elias's mind clicked.

Later that night, Elias sat crouched on the floor. In his hand was one of the quartz figurines from his mobile. It was carved in the image of a man wielding a bow. In Elias's short but previous encounter with the squirrel, he could see how badly it wanted the figurines hanging on his mobile, and Elias didn't really have any attachment to the quartz figures.

Elias also felt like the squirrel had to be somewhat clever. It clearly decided to stay after Gabe woke up but turned to run after Jerimiah entered the room. Though that may just be the threat detection of a wild animal, Elias thought there had to be some thought in that brain, not to mention all the successful scores it had snagged. It couldn't have stolen so many things with no plan or forethought, so Elias decided to see if he could make a trade with it.

If it turned out the squirrel was rabid and attacked, he had his trusty book nearby. Plus, he could always scream for help. Jerimiah, a powerful awakened, was merely a dozen feet away.

Resolute, Elias decided to go through with the plan. Even though it was risky, this could be what he needed to progress. Elias patiently waited, his gaze fixed on a specific floorboard the Treasure Squirrels tunnel had been.

As hours passed, Elias's resolve didn't waver a bit. He could always catch up on sleep during the day. He doubted the squirrel would attempt a theft at that time, but if they killed it before he could follow through with his plan, then he would be back at square one, which, given his circumstances, wasn't very far from where he was at now. He had only come up with this rudimentary plan, but it was better than nothing.

Then, in the dead of night, a floorboard gently rose. A small black nose and large black eyes poked out from underneath. The Treasure Squirrel immediately saw Elias sitting nearby, but that wasn't what caught its attention. The Treasure Squirrel's eyes practically bore holes into the gleaming quartz figurine resting in Elias's hands.

Elias stared at the Treasure squirrel with fascination. The squirrel had gradually removed itself from the floor, standing cautiously, its back raised and ears perked, but an unmistakable form of desire welled up in its eyes.

Before the squirrel could do anything dangerous, Elias gently placed the figurine before him. "I want to trade, " he said, hoping the creature would understand.

The Treasure Squirrel tilted its head, seemingly unsure. Its natural instinct of preservation fighting with its desire to have the figurine.

Unsure if the squirrel understood him, Elias decided to take a risk. He had many more of these figurines hanging above his crib, and he bet he could ask Jerimiah for more if need be. So, Elias pushed the figurine gently towards the squirrel. Then he crouched and distanced himself inch by inch.

The Treasure Squirrel glanced at Elias. Though greed was evident in its eyes, there was also confusion. Why would the human give away something that it found so precious? Was the figurine faulty? Was there something wrong with it?

The squirrel approached the figurine, taking it in its dirt-covered paws. It turned and examined the figurine from head to toe three times, but it couldn't find anything wrong. Then, it glanced back at Elias.

Elias was crouched further away, watching the squirrel examine and decipher the situation itself. 'Interesting' Elias thought. The squirrel seemed to be trying to figure out his motive.

To try and communicate further, Elias placed his hand on his chest. He slowly extended his arm as if he were offering something, then pulled his hand back to his chest as if he were receiving something.

The squirrel watched in interest and seemed to understand. It looked side to side before diving back into its tunnel and disappearing from view.

Elias laid back on his butt, 'I sure hope it understood me.' He thought, if not, it would come back tomorrow night, and he could try again.

Surprisingly, Elias didn't have to wait long before the set of round black eyes peeked from underneath the floorboard again. Identifying no new threats, the Treasure Squirrel exited its tunnel.

What changed, though, was that the Treasure Squirrel's mouth was completely full, and its once slim cheeks were now chubbier than those of a baby seal.

Reaching into its mouth, the squirrel took out the items it had brought. Various gems scattered on the floor, each noticeably not as shiny as the figurine he had traded originally.

Elias glanced at each of the gems. With his awakened Soul Ocean, he could identify those that had Aether, and surprisingly, there were three. Each was noticeably dull, with smudges of dirt covering its luster. But Elias looked at them with hope. These could be Aether stones, the exact ones used to awaken affinities!

Elias scrambled over to his crib and tore down two more figurines, offering them to the squirrel. The Treasure Squirrel took them with glee. It was noticeably more comfortable around Elias now that he had given it a few more.

But it wasn't stupid to the point that it forgot the other treasures scattered on the floor. It plopped its butt down and stared at Elias, waiting for him to choose from the Gems it had offered.

Elias took this as a sign that it was his turn. Already identifying which gems he wanted, he cautiously picked out each one, ensuring the squirrel had no adverse reaction each time he grabbed one of the Aether Gems.

After he picked up all three, Elias retreated back towards his crib.

The Treasure Squirrel then briefly glanced at Elias before shoving the scattered gems and its new figurines into its mouth. With a skip and a hop, it dove into its tunnel, and the floorboard slid back into place.

Elias glanced down at the 3 gems in his hands, then back at the floorboard. Disbelief plastered on his face. 'I can't believe that actually worked...' Elias thought. He imagined the squirrel would have been more likely to take the figurine and not return. But the universe decided to give him a chance. 'Finally, I hope one of these will awaken an affinity.'