Extra's Ascent

"I noticed I didn't see you with your egg earlier. You haven't broken it by mistake, have you?"

He asked casually, walking alongside Trevor Noah.

The two had met up on their way to the cafeteria, joined by Saldrich for a brief moment.

After a polite exchange, Saldrich excused herself and moved ahead, leaving Aldrich and Trevor to continue their conversation alone.

"I couldn't bring it because I was in a hurry," Trevor admitted, his tone genuine. "I didn't want to risk it falling off on the way here."

It was a reasonable concern.

The fragility of the eggs was a well-known issue; breaking it before the time came for it to hatch would mean losing the only chance to gain a potential secondary elemental Art.

"Still, I'd advise you to keep it close to you at all times,"

His voice took on a slightly more serious tone. "In a way, you have to think of yourself as a pregnant woman—one who can't risk losing the child in her womb under any circumstances."

Raising the familiarity level with an egg was crucial.

The better the bond, the higher the chances of a successful fusion once the familiar hatched.

The best way to ensure this? Treat it as if it were a child growing inside you. Keep it close, nurture it.

"You mean carrying my egg around in a baby carrier, just like you are?" With a smirk, he added. "No thanks. I'll pass on that."

Aldrich mused at Trevor's response, but his grin didn't falter. "Don't come crying to me later when you end up with a low familiarity with your familiar after it hatches."

It was a joke, but Aldrich wasn't wrong.

The results would soon show themselves once the eggs hatched and the familiars emerged from their shells, ready to be bonded and raised.

"Have you given any thought to what kind of animal familiar you want?"

The truth was, Aldrich hadn't, not really.

He knew the creature would come from the egg at random, as it always had. There was no predicting what it would be.

"I haven't, honestly. I don't want to set any expectations. I'd rather focus on raising it with care, love, and affection,"

Aldrich delivered with a calm, thoughtful expression.

It was another piece of wisdom when it came to raising a familiar's egg.

If you didn't want to be disappointed, you couldn't hold rigid expectations about what the familiar would be.

The key was to remain open-minded and let the process unfold naturally.

Trevor raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "You'd make a great dad, Aldrich. And I bet Fiona Helmswoth would make a great mom, too."

Aldrich's attention was immediately caught.

He turned to Trevor, realizing where this conversation was going.

Trevor's face was adorned with a grin that bordered on mischievous.

"You knew?" Aldrich asked, already dreading the implications of the conversation.

"It was blatantly obvious," He had the grin on, boldly.

"I had my suspicions when I saw you two meet up before the whole crossing-the-ocean test. But when Fiona was willing to let go of her target just to save you from drowning? That pretty much sealed it."

Aldrich rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He had meant to keep things under wraps, but now it was all out in the open.

"Look, dude. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's just…"

"Fiona Helmswoth?" Trevor interrupted, almost in disbelief.

"Fiona Helmswoth," he repeated, his voice tinged with resignation.

"You're not mad I didn't tell you?"

Aldrich had braced himself for a more intense reaction.

Trevor's response, however, surprised him.

He wasn't angry—more like shocked, but in a way that bordered on disbelief.

"Mad? I find out the girl you took a knife for—and the same girl who ghosted you—is none other than Fiona Helmswoth. Dude… If you had told me earlier without seeing it for myself, I wouldn't have believed you."

Aldrich paused, taking in Trevor's words.

He understood the disbelief.

Fiona Helmswoth was a name that turned heads, a woman whose beauty and grace had earned her a near-mythical status.

That he, Aldrich, of all people, had gotten close to her? It was hard to believe, even for him.

"See, I know you're handsome and all that," Trevor continued, his voice now taking on a more teasing tone. "But Fiona Helmswoth? She's just on another level. So, tell me—how did you get so close to the woman every man dreams about?"

Aldrich sighed deeply, exhausted not just physically but mentally as well.

He lightly stroked the pointy head of his egg, trying to gather his thoughts.

"That kind of mindset of yours," Aldrich began, shaking his head, "is precisely why you've been crushing on a girl for thirteen years without ever confessing how you feel about her."

Trevor shot him an incredulous look. "Hate to break it to you, but it's twelve years, not thirteen."

"See?" Aldrich smirked, unable to resist. "That attitude of yours is why you'll never be able to tell her how you feel. And also why you'll remain single until the very end of your days."

Trevor looked almost offended at the playful mocking, but Aldrich could see the truth in his words had struck a chord.

He didn't want to be harsh, but he couldn't just sit back and let his friend live in this limbo forever.

"Hey now, I'm just—" Trevor started to defend himself, but Aldrich wasn't done yet.

"I mean it, Trevor," Aldrich said seriously, his tone now more grounded. "You're my friend, and what good is that title if I can't be honest with you? You can't keep holding onto a twelve-year crush with no plan to act on it. You can't just hope it works out somehow, doing nothing about it. I'm telling you, that's pathetic and unhealthy."

Trevor opened his mouth to retort, and Aldrich raised a hand to stop him.

"I'm not trying to insult you. I'm just telling you how it is. If you're serious about her, you either act on it or let it go. You can't keep floating in that one-sided emotional construct. That's worse than doing nothing at all."

Aldrich's words came from the heart, maybe even a bit from his own experience.

The pain of being ghosted by someone he thought he was close to had taught him a lot. No one should let themselves stay stuck like that.

"Besides," Aldrich added with a chuckle, "we're teenagers, right? Ripe for the picking, and surrounded by beauties of all shapes and sizes."

Just as Aldrich finished his sentence, they reached the entrance to the cafeteria.

The doors swung open, revealing the lively bustle inside.

The air was filled with the sounds of chattering voices, a mix of laughter, and the clinking of trays.

Students were scattered all over, some in queues to be served, others sitting in groups.

Aldrich stepped inside, spreading his arms wide as he gestured to the cafeteria. "I say to you, Trevor, wise up and choose your pick."

His voice rang with a playful confidence, introducing Trevor's eyes to the many possibilities that awaited him.

Beautiful faces, all filling the space, beckoning with endless possibilities.