Callie's Heroes

PART I - NEW AWAKENINGS

It was unsurprisingly dark when Jesca woke, just like it was every morning for her. On one paw, only needing two hours of sleep meant she had a lot of time to herself. On the other paw, it also meant she had a lot of time to herself, and she knew this morning was going to be particularly introspective. She could only hope that running for a few hours would help clear her head.

Ambria and Koka, along with Koka’s brother, had been unbelievably caring the previous evening when she had what was essentially a complete breakdown. None of them asked any questions, simply hearing her need and responding in an instant. Being held had helped settle the panic Jesca had been feeling, but didn't really help her figure out what she was actually feeling.

Ultimately, it was all Callie, with her strange music and simple message of joy and love, that gave Jesca some much-needed calm and maybe a moment of clarity, and those thoughts flooded into Jesca’s head now. Could she really have a life other than was expected of her? Could she actually be happy that way?

At the end of the evening, Ambria and the twins had walked Jesca home. The Faun hugged her good night, reminding Jesca to find her if she needed anything, no matter when. The memory of the embrace had kept Jesca calm as she fell asleep.

Jesca sat up on her bunk, stretching her back and then legs. She slipped quietly to the floor, padding into the latrine, before returning to her footlocker. With six Beastkins in the cabin, there was really no need for modesty, so she had been sleeping in the nude, and she slipped underwear on, and then her binder, just to keep the patrol Dwarf happy. She once again was amazed at how much muscle she had built up over the previous two weeks, especially across her chest and back, from all the archery. The daily long-distance running had turned her legs even leaner than they had been before she arrived. She plain felt good, at least physically. She’d figure out the rest, somehow, in time.

As was her routine, she walked out of their house, looking up at the clear, star-filled night sky while closing the door quietly behind her. Next, she stretched a bit and reached inwards to check her point total, hopeful for a large increase due to the Bogwump adventure the day before.

What is my level?

LEVEL: BRONZE.589 / IRON.000

“What the…” was all Jesca was able to say, before she tripped over something and went tumbling down the porch steps, landing hard on the packed ground. She winced, trying to fight back the pain in one arm while at the same time trying to make sense of the query she had just sent. This wasn’t right!

Even as she was sitting up, she queried a second time.

What is my level?

LEVEL: BRONZE.589 / IRON.000

The increase in her Bronze total was fairly substantial, as she had been BRONZE.392 the previous morning. Jumping nearly two-hundred points in one day obviously showed how much she had learned from the Bogwump fight, and subtly reinvigorated her quest to reach Gold before training ended. But why did she also have IRON.000 as one of her reported point totals?

“Are you ouch?” someone asked.

“What?” Jesca replied, still trying to figure out the query result.

“Are you ouch?”

“Am I …” Jesca started to respond, but she looked around and didn’t see anyone nearby. In fact, the only thing she saw was a small unicorn lying on the porch that she had just tripped over.

It was looking at her, and the unicorn tilted her head slightly. Jesca again heard someone speak. “Are you ouch? Can help no ouch.”

Now Jesca’s mind was confused on multiple levels. First, the strange query result, and now the unicorn that had obviously escaped from her pen, while at the same time someone was playing another joke on her.

Slowly, the unicorn stood, stretching her legs as if just waking, and walked down the three steps of their porch. She bent her head down towards the stunned Catkin, lightly touching Jesca’s shoulder with her horn. “I make no ouch.”

Like they had all seen the day before with the unicorn mother’s horn, in only a few seconds the pain in Jesca’s arm faded away, along with the bit of a hangover headache she didn’t quite realize she had been nursing.

Jesca’s brain finally started to connect a few things together. Looking quickly all around her, and still seeing no one, she looked warily at the unicorn standing over her, carefully asking, “Did … did you talk to me?”.

“Say with think.”

Not expecting any kind of an actual answer, Jesca scrambled back about a meter on all fours, a momentary panic hitting her. “You can’t speak! Unicorns can’t speak!”

“Say with think, not with face.”

“Hello?” Jesca called out, trying to be loud enough to actually call out, while not so loud that she woke anyone up. “Who’s out there?”

There was no answer, only the unicorn looking at her, confused.

“Only us here.”

“You’re talking to me?” Jesca said, her voice wavering as she shakily pointed to herself.

The unicorn actually seemed to frown, almost frustrated. “No! Say with think, not with face!” The words seemed annoyed and insistent.

NEW CLASS PERK: BONDED ANIMAL COMPANION

The information seemed to flow into Jesca's brain from nowhere, just as they had on that second day in camp. She barely had time to register what had happened before her world started to begin the ever-familiar spinning that would accompany a new reveal. It was almost as bad as the reveals had been at Iron Tier, the vertigo unrelenting, and she fell sideways into the dirt. Jesca gritted her teeth and concentrated on making fists with her paws, just to get through. She didn’t know how long it lasted, but eventually the world stopped and she lay there, gasping and hoping that she was just having a bad dream.

Jesca tried to move and sit up, but something was holding her to the ground. She opened her eyes, and found herself only a few centimeters from the head of the unicorn, looking right into one of her eyes. It … she … was lying protectively over the Catkin, a worried expression somehow evident on her horned head. Jesca squeaked in surprise.

“No more spin?”

“What? No, I’m fine,” Jesca mumbled automatically, before realizing she had just answered a question, and then finally started making some sense of things. “Is … is it really you talking to me?” she asked the unicorn with hesitation.

In response, the unicorn actually sighed out loud. She stood up with an annoyed aura about her and glared down at the nearly prone Catkin. “No! Say with think! Not say with face!”

“Say with think?” Jesca asked, tumbling the words in her head.

“Yes.”

“Like … telepathy? Speaking into my head?”

The unicorn seemed to nod. “With think.”

“What the …” Jesca began to mumble to herself as realizations finally began to take shape. “Oh my stars!” she whispered in a panic. Fearing the worst, she sent a query.

What is my Class?

CLASS: RANGER / BEASTMASTER

In a new panic, Jesca scrambled away from the unicorn, fear in her eyes. She stood, spun and ran for the central garden, coming to a panting stop leaning against the fountain. She looked back, seeing the confused expression on the face of the animal that had been speaking directly into her head. Jesca plunged her face into the nearly ice-cold water, hoping to wake up enough to make any kind of sense, or better yet, wake from this dream. Beastmaster? No, it couldn’t be. Not a Beastmaster! She couldn’t be one of them!

“You are scared?” the voice in her head said.

Jesca turned, seeing that she had been joined. “I am confused,” she muttered, half to herself and half to the unicorn. “I don’t understand what is going on.”

She didn’t get an answer. Figures.

Wait, didn’t she learn a perk? What was it called? Jesca thought back, remembered, and then sent the query.

What is Bonded Animal Companion?

CLASS PERK: BONDED ANIMAL COMPANION (IRON TIER)

MANA USAGE: SITUATIONAL AT HIGHER TIERS (LOW)

BONDED COMPANION MAXIMUM: 2

DESCRIPTION: The Beastmaster is able to form a psychic link with up to 2 Bonded Companions. This connection is unbreakable unless intentionally severed by either the Beastmaster, the Bonded Companion, or by death. The final decision to form this bond always rests with the Bonded Companion, ensuring a willing and harmonious partnership. Should a Bonded Companion perish, a new one may choose to form a bond in its place. Higher tiers of this perk grant the Beastmaster the ability to form bonds with additional companions, use additional communication methods, and other capabilities. NOTE: Mated pairs of Companions may only require a single bond.

COMMUNICATION: At Iron Tier, the Bonded Companion possesses the ability to establish telepathic communication with their Bonded Beastmaster, but this connection is one-way only. If the Bonded Companion is capable of sensing sound, it can comprehend the natural speech of the Beastmaster, as well as those engaged in direct conversations with them, provided the language is understood by the Beastmaster. However, if the Beastmaster is absent, in most situations, the bonded companion will be unable to interpret the speech of others.

CONTROL: Bonded Companions will generally obey the Beastmaster's commands, as well as protect the Beastmaster from danger. However, most of their self-preservation instincts remain intact, and thus will not heed orders that recklessly endanger their lives, or the lives of other Bonded Companions. Some Bonded Companions may refuse orders in accordance with their personality and natural instincts.

Jesca turned, eyes huge in wonder, as she slowly sank to the ground. Companions? Bonds? Did she have two classes now? Had she stopped being a Ranger? Quickly, she randomly queried some of her Ranger skills, seeing they were all still there and seemingly unchanged. Was it even possible to have two classes? And a Beastmaster? From the lore?

The unicorn lay down, tucked her legs under her body before casually placing her head across Jesca’s lap. Without knowing it, still in a daze, Jesca started to slowly pet her … new Bonded Companion?

She needed to tell someone! She needed help! Or at least some kind of confirmation that she hadn’t gone mad. And maybe confirmation that she was actually awake. Who to go to? Jesca’s first instinct was to get Callie. Her friend always knew how to handle strange things. In fact, she was usually the cause of strange things. But … no … this was bigger than Callie, and she actually needed to talk to a Beastkin. Reynard? No, that wasn’t fair to him, he was in the recovery tent and needed rest. Who was above him?

Jesca scrambled to her feet. “I need to talk to Thorn!” she said confidently. “He’ll know what to do.” Then she realized she was telling that to the unicorn! She was definitely going mad.

“Thorns are ouch!” the unicorn replied, also standing but very concerned.

“Uh … yes … they are,” Jesca said, tripping over her brain momentarily. “But this is a good Thorn.”

“Not ouch?”

“Not ouch.”

Looking skywards, Jesca ventured it was after four, but there was no hint of light on the horizon yet, so not yet close to five. She had slept in a bit, as she normally woke around two. It was a late and confusing night, though. Still, was it too early to wake Thorn? Probably, but this couldn’t wait.

Without thinking, Jesca took off in a sprint. She’d run thirty steps before she realized she had no idea where Thorn actually lived. But the night-patrol Dwarf, Jaelarn, would know. She didn’t know where he was on his patrol, but had crossed paths with him enough on her morning runs to have an idea of what his route was. She ran hard, following along where he likely had been, looking for the telltale shape or shadow of something moving through the camp.

“We run now?”

“Yes!” Jesca hissed in annoyance, turning to see the unicorn excitedly keeping stride with her. This couldn’t be! Not a Beastmaster!

Jaelarn was casually walking through the camp. As usual, he had seen nothing out of the ordinary, except a pair of recruits, that Domestic Catkin and an Elf, he was pretty sure the female that lived with the Gnome, returning from the woods a couple hours previous with obvious guilt on their faces when confronted. He had sent them on their way with a warning to stay quiet, having better things to do than hassle consenting adults.

The sounds of several running footsteps caught Jaelarn’s attention and he turned to face it. At first, he saw his daily near-naked nemesis running hard. He had no idea why she wasn’t willing to wear proper clothing, but the Major had said to let it go when he reported it, so he did his best to do that. Still, he wasn’t above reminding her that she should cover up.

But then he saw it, running stride for stride with her. At first he was afraid the Catkin was being pursued, but then realized they were actually running together. It was the unicorn that was supposed to be in the stables, or at least he assumed it was the one brought into camp the day before. He hadn’t actually seen it, since he was sleeping at the time, and in the past the Herdmaster had asked him not to patrol too close to the stables at night, as it spooked the animals. Had the unicorn broken out? Or more likely, she must have let it out!

Jesca spied the Dwarf, and doubled her efforts to get to him. She could tell before she even got close that he was well past irritated about something. A snort on her left made it immediately obvious what he was going to be irritated about.

“I need your help,” Jesca said quickly as she stopped short, cutting off the Dwarf before he could begin yelling at her. It didn’t help.

“What are you doing with that!” Jaelarn hissed, gesturing to the unicorn, but trying to keep is voice from carrying. “And why did you let it out!”

Jesca stepped back at the accusation, which she quickly realized she should have expected. “What? I didn’t let her out! She was sleeping on the steps when I woke up. That’s not important, though. Where does Master Trainer Thorn live? I need to see him immediately.”

The patrol Dwarf didn’t hear Jesca’s question though. He finally took a moment to look at the unicorn, and its magical beauty held him momentarily transfixed. He’d never seen one, having only heard a few stories from his grandmother as a small child, so had assumed the tales were just that, made up stories of wonder and enchantment. To see one …

“Hey! Wake up!” Jesca snapped, pulling Jaelarn out of his daze. “I need to see Thorn right now.”

“What? Why? And why is this unicorn with you!”

Groaning, Jesca threw her arms out, realizing this was likely to be a repeated conversation all day long, maybe even longer. “I woke up and received a second class. Beastmaster, if you can believe that.” Jesca gestured to the unicorn. “Apparently, she’s my Bonded Companion, whatever that means. Please, just tell me where Master Thorn lives.”

The Dwarf appeared skeptical.

Jesca, on the other hand, was getting both angry and actually starting to panic a little, for some reason, as she listened to what she had just said and reality struck again. “Look! Either tell me, show me, or I’m going to go over to staff housing and pound on every single door until I find him. I’ve got Dash and you’ll never catch me.” Jesca put her paws on her hips, trying to be as strong and as confident as she could be. She knew it was an act, and the guard probably did, too.

After a long pause, Jaelarn finally relented. “Fine, I will take you, but you need to be silent. I don’t want to wake anyone else. We’ll stop by the stables on the way so you can return your … unicorn.”

“No! Not return to alone cave!” came the voice in Jesca’s head.

“She doesn’t want to go back.” Jesca said flatly, her paws still on her hips.

“How would you know that?”

“Because she just told me.”

“Are you telling me you can talk to animals now? Only Druids can do that!”

Jesca shrugged. “She’s able to talk to me, apparently, and she doesn’t want to go back. Considering she probably broke out, I doubt it would do any good.”

The Dwarf looked confused, not sure what to do. Finally he sighed. “I’ll take you. Just keep quiet, and tell her to be quiet, too!”

Jesca glanced down. “Hear that? Keep quiet.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to put on any clothes first?”

“Sir? Wake up please!” Jesca called out in a loud whisper as she knocked again on Master Trainer Thorn’s door, a little harder this time. His cabin was a small, one-bedroom structure and generally the same as several others in the area, save for a bed of flowers on either side of the steps leading to a small, roofed-over porch.

“Keep it down!” Jaelarn hissed, looking around the area worryingly.

“Can kick open?” the unicorn suggested.

“No! We’re not going to kick the door down!” Jesca snapped back in a loud whisper, glaring down at her new apparent companion.

From inside, there was the sound of a thump, followed immediately by someone swearing a string of expletives that made Jesca blush.

“What!” the Ratkin scowled as he snapped the door open. He was wearing only underwear and a pair of black socks. Several very-old scars were evident across his chest and belly, indicating injuries from long ago. He did not have a happy look on his face as he glared at Jesca, one eye twitching in irritation, as did his whiskers.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Jaelarn said, a little timidly, from the ground. “She insisted on seeing you immediately, and threatened to make a scene if I didn’t bring her.”

Thorn looked around Jesca at the Dwarf, and then returned to the Cheetahkin. “This better be important,” Thorn scowled. “And why couldn’t it wait at least until dawn?”

Jesca swallowed with a gulp. She’d never seen Thorn this irritated before. He’d always come across as easy-going, even caring. The grumpy one was always Reynard. She opened her mouth to say something, but barely a squeak came out.

“Well?” Thorn demanded. Then he frowned, pushing Jesca roughly aside and gesturing. “Why the hell is the unicorn here? She should be in the stables!” He had missed the arrival of the unicorn the day before, and only heard about it third paw. After cornering Major Celeste to find out what everyone was talking about, he’d walked carefully by the stables, seeing the Herdmaster finalizing everything in the pen for their new resident and catching a glimpse. She was absolutely beautiful in the previous evening’s light, but at this time of the morning, he just didn’t give a damn.

“Speak up!” he demanded of Jesca, again.

Jesca tried to speak, but again barely more than a whisper came. She took a deep breath and pushed, the words all jumbled together into a Jesca-babbled torrent. “Iwokeupandgotasecondclass. Sheismybondedcompanion.”

“What? Try again.”

Jesca took another deep breath like Callie had taught her, in through her nose, out through her lips, in order to slow her mouth and brain down a little. Carefully, enunciating every word, Jesca tried again. “I woke up and got a second class. The unicorn is my Bonded Companion.”

“What do you mean you got a second class? That makes no sense. Nobody has two classes.”

She shrugged weakly, not sure what to say. “I don’t understand what …” she began before her words trailed off.

NEW CLASS SKILL: HEAL COMPANION

“What’s wrong?”

“I just got another reveal,” Jesca whimpered as her world began to spin all over again.