Freddy didn't witness the apocalypse of his home world. He was born after it. But his elders, his parents made sure the tale lived on in his mind.
Their world was peaceful. Plenty of prey, plenty of water, plenty of beautiful landscapes to gaze upon. The proud coin-shithe, lords and stewards of the land, were far and numerous. Then the rifts came. Ether seeped into the world, forever changing it. Doors through space and time to eldritch places of much pain and suffering. Denizens from the other side of the passages invaded their world. They weren't ready for that. The coin-shithe warriors fought and bled for their world but the invaders didn't withdraw an inch. Their understanding of this new power and the changes within themselves was lacking.
Some cosmic entity came to their world and judged the coin-shithe. They were found wanting. Instead of ascending to sit side-by-side with the other sentient species, the judges deemed them unworthy, creatures as monstrous as the murderers who crossed the passages. They weren’t worthy of even transcending mortality and gaining the power of the stars. The monsters sought their very souls as nourishment. The coin-shithe learned to hide themselves, to weave false images and sounds and throw their enemies off their tracks. Time passed. They dwindled. Conquerors came and went, ownership of their home changing hands like some fancy bone two hounds fought over. Freddy’s species were refugees in their own home world.
One day, two-legged invaders entered their world. The coin-shithe watched them in secret. The invaders sought the riches of the land. Wood, minerals, the coin-shithe's prey. These two-legged invaders fought off the other invaders. And one day someone discovered them. The two-legged, however, didn't resort to aggression as the coin-shithe believed they would.
They reacted with curiosity and excitement. The weary coin-shithe approached them in good faith and became prisoners. However, instead of getting butchered, the two-legged offered food and respite. They treated the coin-shithe as pets. It was a blow to their collective pride.
Their leaders met.
"What worth is pride when we are all dead, extinct?" One elder asked.
The elders called for a vote.
The two-legged visit was brief. They had to go back as the coin-shithe world was too far from their own. The ones who wanted to go with the two-legged and seek a better life left their pride behind. No longer warriors, they would settle in a new world as pets. They hoped to live and thrive under the care of their new masters. The ones who clung to the old ways decided to stay and fight to the last.
Freddy's parents were among the former. They enjoyed a good life, no lack of food, but the price they had to pay was terrible. The humans often separated offspring from parents right after they weaned from their mother's teats. Sold to wealthy people. A pet has not the privilege of choosing one's master. But their tale, their legacy, lived on.
They had no messianic legend. No hopes of one day returning to their world and becoming lords over it. But they needed power and part of the covenant was to never acquire a Prime vestige.
The sound of the door opening interrupted Freddy’s musings. He raised his head and saw the two-legged who became Freddy's new master arrive.
"Hey, boy? Miss me?"
Freddy knew what the two-legged expected of him. He wagged his tail and lolled his tongue.
"I missed you too, buddy. Say, are you hungry?"
That called for another rehearsed reaction. Freddy woofed. The two-legged poured food in a bowl. Freddy ate dutifully. His master sat by his side and brushed the fur on Freddy's back with their grasping appendage.
"Say, do you have this feeling you don't belong here, Freddy?"
He stopped eating and stared at the fur-less creature. All the time would be Freddy's answer. Though he never saw their home world with his own eyes, he saw the illusions cast by their elders when the two-legged weren't looking. Freddy's heart longed for the opportunity of walking on those lands with his own paws.
"You do, I can tell." The two-legged got a glass bottle and drank from it. It wasn't water but a yellow frothy brew.
Freddy went back to his food. It was his due reward for the bargain the coin-shithe struck with the two-legged.
"Wanna go for a walk?"
It was one of the trigger words they were supposed to react to. Freddy knew he should express joy but his previous musings put him in a melancholic mood. He deigned to wag his tail a couple times.
"Let's go then."
*
*
Amanda was out of his life for a week. Robert was back to being just another guy from Samson security forces, like all others except he lived in one of the top five floors of the arcology, in an apartment meant for a big family, by himself.
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"Woof!"
And Freddy.
Robert had a hunch the alien dog was smarter than people believed. It could be a side-effect of his Mental affinity, just his intuition, or only a projection of his wishes. He put on some civilian clothes as this was his day off. It was supposed to be yesterday but he spent the day delving with Chris and company.
"I think I need to get your harness and leash. You can't go out without them. Where did Amanda say they were?"
Despite being friendly and well-behaved, the Taulusian hounds were still aliens. Some people were afraid of dogs and others would want to steal a valuable critter. Freddy cooperated to put the harness on, then stood by Robert's side like a well-trained animal as they rode the tram to the mall floor.
All the time, the hound's eyes shifted back and forth, studying the people and the scenery. Most passersby expressed curiosity and even jealousy at Robert's new friend. That level of curiosity made Robert put another check mark on "sentient".
On their way to the mall, Robert stopped and knelt next to Freddy, meeting the Taulusian hound eye to eye. "The place is probably crowded at this time. Please keep by my side and let me handle any tough situation. If someone is bothering you, get on the other side of me. And never stray too far, okay?" The hound nodded. Robert scritched him between the ears.
At the entrance, he flashed his security badge. The mall guards opened the door for him but kept their eyes on Freddy. Robert assumed it was just curiosity. He had a lot to do at the mall today. But first, he went to his favorite place. The bookstore.
Freddy was the center of attention as they walked the mall corridors. Children pointed at the hound, people who knew of the species commented on how rare and expensive the animal was. Robert was curious about that but was afraid of finding out. What if Freddy cost a dozen million dollars? No, it was better to keep ignorant about these matters. If he didn't know how expensive Taulusian hounds were, it wouldn't become another issue between Amanda and him.
They entered the bookstore. Robert had blossomed into quite the book lover. Just the sight of shelf upon shelf of books lifted his spirits. Reading was how he fight back against the dreary loneliness of the liminal void. A salesman approached.
"Good morning, sir. My name is Johnson and I'm here to serve you. How may I help you?"
"Good morning, Johnson. Robert. I want a copy of the laws and regulations about pets and animal companions, whatever you have on awakened religions, a book on the history of the Imperial Academy, anything about that institution you may have, actually. And any information on Taulusian hounds and their home realm."
"Absolutely, sir. This way," Johnson led him.
They went around the shelves, collecting the books Robert wanted. He made sure to add whatever literature books struck his fancy. While he probably could find all those books in the arcology library, he wanted to consult the reference books often. With his bank account fattened by his salary advancement, he felt like spending a lot of money. He didn't need to worry about his upkeep. Freddy's food was expensive but he could afford years of it with a fraction of a single month's paycheck.
Johnson had to take a cart to put the books in halfway through. After Freddy was satisfied with his knowledge hoard, they went to a checkout booth The total price more than one hundred dollars but he paid with a smile.
"Now, Johnson, I need to visit the restricted area."
"I will need your ID, sir," Johnson replied. Robert provided his employee credentials and was immediately granted access to the juicy part of the bookstore. This time without annoying Blood cultists trying to recruit him. He was aware that the Samson family would see every purchase he made. The bookstore belonged to them, after all. Inside the restricted section, the salesman continued, "Is there anything in particular you are looking for, sir?"
He would like to see the ether scrolls for the Time, Life, and Mental affinities. But enumerating all these affinities at once was too much.
"I need telepathy, mind shield, detect thoughts, confusion, silent message, sense recording, accelerate thought, enhance senses, and mental spike. Oh, and comprehend languages. Also, can you tell me if you have any tempering techniques for the Mental affinity?"
Robert had spent more than a year reading the primers for several affinities at the library. He knew more or less what he needed and what was available. Mental was one of the several affinities around the mind and the brain. It didn't give a variety of psychic powers, focused on the higher processes of the mind. Thinking, learning, communication, and comprehension. It wasn't so good for combat as Archhumans and monsters' essence automatically protected their minds. Its strength lied in its utility.
"Certainly. I don't think we will have a tempering technique for one-star, but I'll see what I can get."
He wouldn't ask for a higher-level tempering technique because the prices for those increased by one order of magnitude or more and also because it wasn't a guarantee that the technique would work with the Arch. By the time they reach two stars, most Archhumans already knew enough about their own affinity to develop a customized tempering technique.
The clerk went away. Robert knelt and ruffled Freddy's fur. "You must think this is too boring, right?"
Freddy just tilted his head. Robert wished he could talk to the hound. Maybe one of the communication spells could bridge this gap. Or he could teach Freddy a sign language. Or maybe...
Johnson returned with a basket full of ether scrolls. Eight. "Sir, we don't have detect thoughts or mental spike. I can place an order for them if you want."
Robert stood up. "Yes, do that. Can I prepay for them?"
"Absolutely, sir."
"Great. What about the tempering?"
"None. Regardless of complexity."
"That's okay. I want a manual for beast bond too."
The way of the beastmaster was often too expensive. While the idea of fighting with a pack of loyal monsters was enticing, the logistics and overhead costs often dissuaded people from following this path. Unless the beast mastery came from a talent, they needed to spend time and money acquiring the creatures, training them, feeding, caring, housing, transporting, all that before they could fight their first monster.
In battle, beasts often receive injuries. Add the xenoveterinary bill to that cost. They could die and the process of taming and training had to start all over again. Coordination with teammates was another can of worms. And delving alone meant you had no support in case things went south. Most limited themselves to one such companion. A bird for scouting, or a predator for protection and offense.
Scrolls of beast bond usually didn’t exist. An ether scroll had its affinity already locked on creation and was useless to anyone who didn’t have that particular affinity. Beast bond could fit several affinities. The manual taught the prospective beastmaster the necessary information and insights to create the ether shell on their own.
Without Amanda, he had no discounts. Robert paid for the scrolls, stored everything in his storage ring, and left the bookstore with Freddy dutifully beside him.
He still had two stops to make before his shopping trip ended.