In the end, Ember had tried to eat more than she could chew. She did manage to unlock nine cantrips out of 10 on her system bucket list before her owner came back, but that last one was beyond her. And the woman's smell felt even sadder than she had been that morning. Ember tried to cheer her up, but all she got for her trouble was aggressive shouting accompanied by some equally menacing grand gestures. And so she quickly gave up her attempt and went to her cage to sulk.

That evening, her owner completely forgot about her entirely, going to bed right after dinner, although she did not turn the lights for long hours doing god-know-what with her flickering portable light. Yet, even when the light went out, Ember's sleep evaded her.

She did not know what was wrong, but something was. And wondering what it had been was enough to keep her awake.

Whatever the issue is, you won't be able to help if you are sleep deprived. You need 14 hours of sleep, especially since you are growing up.

'If you feel bad for me, just give me a break and stop smothering me.' Ember retorted.

She had hit a roadblock with her magic as she could simply not convince her magic to stop playing tag and make it race in circles in four separated limbs at once. It was simply beyond her current ability, and she would have to relearn how to interact with her magic from scratch to pull that one off.

Ember did not know what was so important about those ten cantrips since she could only slot five of those, including one permanently. But she guessed that she would get yet another card for completing some mind magic achievement, maybe even a straight upgrade from Akashic Talent. However, Ember had hit yet another wall in her progression, putting a sudden end to her equally sudden growth spurt. And she knew that her system assistant was as bothered as she was. Yet, she could not bear with its attempt to help.

It was an unpleasant feeling she did not feel ready to acknowledge and did not need the system's constant reminders.

Ember had wanted to vent her frustration with a fair amount of exercise, but her owner had not been in the mood and lashed out. And now, she felt even crappier than she already did. So Ember knew it was a waste of time and that she would be better off sleeping. But she could not help it.

★☆★

Ember must have fallen asleep at some point from sheer exhaustion as she was startled awake by her owner. She was once again getting up uncharacteristically early and smelled even worse than the day before. So Ember did not even try to leave her cage and greet her, now knowing from her previous experience that her attempt at cheering up her owner would not work.

Instead, she decided to observe and try to understand what was going on quietly.

Her owner looked tired but was in a hurry. She was also clumsier than usual and more vocal about her displeasure. But as she got changed, the main difference was made even more apparent. Ember never saw those clothes before, and they had a distinct, rich, funny smell she could not recognize. But it was her owner's second time in a row wearing such kind of clothes. Coincidence? Probably not.

To the best of Ember's understanding, her owner was going god-know-where doing god-know-what, and she was feeling disheartened about it, causing the whole lingering sadness thing and the violent spurt of anger she received the day before. Yet, she could also tell that her owner was also dead-set on pursuing that destructive behavior and that any attempt to change her mind would be met with force. So she just stayed out of the way and observed as her owner once again locked her in for the day without sparing her a single glance.

'Is that normal for humans voluntarily doing things they don't like and venting their bad feeling on whatever gets in the way?'

Humans do have mood swings, both more frequent and intense than dogs. Also, Humans are handling stress poorly as they are an apex species with no natural threat. But recent developments in human society are causing unending self-induced stress causing a lot of emergent untreated and mostly unreported mental conditions.

'So humans are mostly feeling bad and doubling down on what makes them feel wrong instead of trying to fix it?' She reformulated, astonished.

You are mostly right. And I know you can't understand it as you have yet to experience addiction. Those are things doing you wrong but feel like you can't do without. And humans have many of those: money, goods, technology, and drugs. The list goes on, and humans keep adding more to the list. It makes them feel like shit, but it's like they can't ever have enough of it.

'I don't understand.' Ember admitted, confused at the mere idea.

I know you don't. Trust me. It's better that way.

'Is there anything I can do about it?' She inquired.

One of the reasons humans love dogs so much is that it is proven that dogs are instrumental in helping them live healthy and active lives. So while not a cure, just being yourself should be enough to support your human in the long term. However, she did not respond well to your previous attempts, so maybe you should try from a different angle?

'So your answer is just be yourself and keep trying. What sort of advice is that?' She reformulated, dubious.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The good kind.

It is not because you failed that you were wrong. People are not always receptive. You just need to get better at reading the room, be patient, and persevere until you learn how to push her button the right way. It's all about training your human into doing the things you know are goods for both of you without stroking them the wrong way.

'Why do I feel like you are not actually talking about my owner anymore?' Ember observed, smirking. 'It's okay. I got the message. I will take a quick nap. Then I will let you give me a rundown of what I may do with my day.'

★☆★

That time, when her human was back, she decided to be more subtle in her approach, letting her owner do her thing while she waited quietly, Frisbee in her mouth, for her owner to give her a moment of her time.

And it worked!

Once her human was done eating, she stood up, and their eyes met. It became a staring contest, but in the end, she won, and her owner shrugged and gave in, opening the door for her and following her outside.

It took quite some time and effort for her human to get into the game, but once she did, the sadness slowly faded into the background, replaced by joy and excitement. And this small victory was all Ember needed. It made her day, making her feel instantly gratified and useful. Keeping her owner active, healthy, and happy was a purpose she could readily embrace and foresee doing her whole life.

She felt even better when the next day, her owner behavior was back to normal, waking up late and willingly playing with her all day with abandon.

However, that victory was short-lived, as the couple of days after that were a repeat of that two-days nightmare. Then, she got two other normal days before the cycle repeated.

Her system informed humans called it a week.

Each of those weeks started with two good days when her owner's mood reached its peaks. Then two bad days, but it was mostly okay thanks to the one-day-reprieve. Finally, the last two worst days happened and made her human both feeling sad and exhausted.

Ember was not good with math, but she understood that three good days for four bad days was not a zero-sum game but an actual losing war against whatever caused her owner to be like this. And yet, as her system suggested, she persevered and got better at her job.

But it was simply never enough, and whatever good work she did during their time together was slowly but surely undone as the week went on. She felt like an adult dog, trying to keep her puppy from drowning in raging water but forever prevented from reaching the shore.

In the meantime, she also reached a plateau with her magic and felt utterly stuck.

Ember understood that her magic was a mirror of herself and that if she wanted to make any progress on her magic, she had to work on herself first. But it was so frustrating! She had yet to meet another dog or human since her human adopted her, and while she could not miss what she had never experienced, her lack of progress was proof enough that something was missing. Something that older dogs might or might not be able to teach her. But at least she hoped so and tried to convince her human to broaden her horizon.

But since her human experience with the outside world was so negative, it was no wonder she was not willing to do so, and so she was back to square one. She could not help her human because she had no idea how to do any better. She could not advance her magic for the same reason. And the only possible way to reach for help and overcome those issues was permanently out of her reach.

It did not take a genius to realize she was running in circles.

And as Ember grew, so was the house feeling smaller and smaller by the day. If her human would not go get the help she needed while they were together, so she had to reach for it on her own.

'System, is there a way I can get out of this house unnoticed while my human is gone?'

Doing it without your human assistance would require telekinesis, which is a magic you won't have access to before the apprentice tier at the earliest. To do that, you would have to break through twice, and you are not yet in shape for even the first one.

'So I need to go outside to understand what I'm missing, but magic can't help me do that cause I'm not strong enough. Did I get that right?' She summarised, a bit disheartened.

I give you 10 out of 10. Although that doesn't means there is not a way, although I would not recommend it.

If you give up on going unnoticed, there are several ways to break out of the house, both mundane and magical, like breaking a window or simply suggesting your owner to keep the door open long enough to escape.

'So the whole breaking out thing is for emergency only?' She barked, unhappy with that answer.

It's true that your options are limited and would only work so long as your owner does not expect it. You should better be ready to leave and never come back if you use mind magic to escape, as humans do not take kindly to mind manipulation of any kind.

'If you say so...' Ember shrugged it off before giving up on the whole idea.

It was not like her life was so bad she could no longer bear it any longer. Although she had a hunch, it could not last for long. She would at least try and enjoy it to the fullest for as long as it would last.

★☆★

In the end, her owner finally decided to get them out of the woods on her own, although it was for the sake of resupply.

Ember's food had run out, and it was one's of her human days off. So Ember had been invited on her owner trip to get her food from the animal store where she got her favorite toy from. Her human had put some kind of extension behind her bicycle and attached Ember to it. So Ember could run by her owner's side without getting in the way and giving her ample time to react whenever her human turned at a crossroads.

It was yet another game for Ember and one she enjoyed a lot!

Once they reached their destination, she also got to choose another toy for being such a good girl. And it did not take much convincing for her human to take a less efficient way back home. On one trip, she got to explore and learn more about her surrounding. If only there were a way for Ember to explain to her human that meeting other dogs and humans would be great for them both...