Shinichi read the Familiar Association's message board while they waited for the shuttle.

Arthur the Witch's Toad had written: "Maou, why do you keep sending me these non-magic path novices? Keep it up and I'll start sending you pixies!"

Maou the Wizard's Cat had replied: "Sure, pixies are easy compared to these novice mages I keep having to guide."

Edith the Gardener's Willow wrote: "My master never takes me on quests anymore. Sad [https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/sad.png] And I haven't had a novice to play with for weeks! Someone send me a novice!"

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After a bit of thought, Shinichi wrote: "How do you send novices to each other? I've been a familiar for about a year and don't have any skill like that?"

Arthur was the only one who answered before the shuttle arrived, and he replied: "Tsk, of course not, Aishin the Fairy Dragon's Human. Your master doesn't even follow a path. You have to learn to guide your own master before you can guide novices."

Shinichi asked suspiciously: "What do you think I should be guiding her to do? She seems to enjoy doing things her own way, and that seems good enough to me."

When he checked back later, dozens of familiars had replied. Some encouraged supporting your master's choices, others argued that most masters were clueless about the world and needed someone to guide and care for them. They all agreed that no matter how much independence you allowed them, you had to set boundaries and enforce them, or your master would get themselves into no end of trouble.

One comment, that seemed particularly similar to his own experiences with ZipZing, read: "And I look away for a few minutes, and next thing you know she's been eaten by another giant frog!"