CHAPTER 20: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

Niss helpfully licked the tears off of Hiro's face as she loved on her. It had only been two days but it felt like a lifetime. Niss had bowled her over and she sat in the grass hugging her dog tight. All the people in the greenway were smiling in whatever fashion they could. Seemed like pet reunions were a universal feel-good moment.

After a few minutes, Hiro had settled and so had Niss. She panted while lying draped over her whole lap, tail swishing back and forth. A man in the basic uniform had dashed up and was standing by Professor Daubenton. A pop-up sprang to life above his head as Hiro looked up at him. He had a grey badge on his chest.

"Ensign Walter Banks; He/Him; Iron Rank Capitol Gaurd Trainee."

"Miss Skylark, this is Ensign Banks. He's been looking after your dog for you. He lives in the same ripple as you. I asked him to look after your dog as part of his training for my class."

"Thank you for looking after Katniss for me. I hope Niss has been a good girl for you." Hiro said from the ground.

"Apart from when she jerked the leash from my hand at the sight of you, she has been a wonderful companion the last couple of days. She helped me figure out the physiology behind four-legged canines," the straight-back man said. He was tawny-haired and looked human. Hiro did notice a hit of pointed canine teeth flashing at her when he spoke.

"Indeed, his four legged morphing has improved head over tail, if you pardon the pun." The professor said, bat ears trembling at her joke. "Are you feeling up for a retest on that subject now? Show the new Spark what our program is all about?"

"Sure! I had a clean shift last night, I believe I am ready now," he said. He began to take off the t-shirt he wore to reveal a slick body suit underneath. It was sleeveless and looked like an Olympic swimmer's body swimsuit. It traveled in one piece halfway down his legs in tight shorts.

"Loose clothes can challenge shifters," the professor explained helpfully taking the clothes from the Ensign as he pulled them off. He kicked his boots off and left them in the grass. Hiro grabbed the leash and pushed her way to her feet. She rested a hand on Niss's head idly rubbing her ears as she leaned against her leg sitting. Her coat was the grey, black, white, and brown merle of an Australian Shepherd, but her build had a mix of dog breeds. The vet's best guess was husky or lab mixed in with the Aussie breed. Hiro had never bothered to get the testing done to be sure. She just knew Niss had a high exercise and work drive and dedicated time after work every day to play and train her.

Hiro's eyes grew wide as Banks' body began stretching and contorting. It looked like someone had put him in Photoshop and dragged his proportions around as his bones and limbs rearranged themselves into a new configuration. The bodysuit was soon pulled into his changing form and fur sprouted all over him. Soon his change was complete.

Niss stood and poked her nose forward. The man was now a tawny-haired version of her. She sniffed his mouth curiously before moving to smell his butt which he circled away from frantically. Moria began to snicker as Hiro called Niss to heel.

The Professor also had a slight smile on her face revealing her pointy teeth in the front. "Excellent! Now give me a lap of the ring to make sure everything is working properly and you will have a pass." She told the transformed man.

He barked at her and then took off. Niss stood again in her heel position looking like she wanted to chase but Hiro didn't know if that was allowed so she kept her next to her.

"He has progressed nicely," Professor Daubenton said watching the Ensign take a lap at a sprint. "He still has a way to go on flight and aquatic types but the care of your pet has helped him quite a lot. I know you didn't realize the person caring for your pet would benefit in their studies but I appreciate it nonetheless. Walks through the zoology studies department and models of skeletons and muscles aren't always enough. Sometimes interacting with a creature with the type of structure you are learning is what one needs to break through."

"I'm glad Niss could help him out," Hiro said as the man came back. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted. He started the transformation back into a person. Hiro looked away ears burning. His body suit hadn't reappeared from wherever it had gone until after certain other parts had already formed.

"Your transformation back to your base form was sloppy, but the overall effort was good. I will send your grade report tomorrow, but you will be getting a passing grade in that module." The professor said as she handed him back his uniform.

"Thank you, professor." He said as he redressed. "I will work on the base form transformation."

"Good. Now I believe you know which one of these doorways is Miss Skylark's new residence. Could you guide us there?" Daubenton asked.

Ensign Banks gave a quick nod of his head and began leading the group across the grassy center of the circular apartment complex. The area was about the size of a baseball field if the whole thing was round. The building rose in three stories. Doors lined most of the circumference. Split apart with windows between each set. The upper two floors had small balconies. some of them were occupied with various folk hanging out on a nice day. Where this ring and another ring met, the overlapping area had wide double doors. It didn't take long before they were outside of a doorway with a spongy pad outside of it. A panel with a sign next to it hung on the wall. A helpful translation popped up when Hiro looked at it.

"Hiro Skylark; She/Her; Unranked."

The panel lit up at her approach. In English, it read, "Welcome, please set up door permissions."

"Ah yes, here we are." Professor Daubenton said. "Once you set up your space, Ensign banks will no longer have permission to enter your domicile. It is one of the rooms with accommodations similar to your world. If anything is incorrect, have your PGA report it to the Residential Department and they will fix it for you. Where is the mess hall for Ripples Ensign?"

"It's in the connection points between the rings." He pointed at the wide double doors. "This one is the mess hall. There are three in total. One is a training space where you can practice in one of the practice halls, use your PGA to sign up for space. And the other is communal space. It has a bunch of things in there to do. There's a desk you can borrow from if you need something. Again your PGA will have a list or you can check in on your door panel." He ticked the amenities off on his fingers. "There is a hallway on the inside of the rings separating your room from the outer circumference rooms, plus each ring has a small study space with helmets for use."

'Looks like I'm getting that college experience after all,' Hiro thought to herself. "Thanks for showing me my room." She said out loud.

"No problem. I'm a ring over on the second floor. Send me a message if you need help with anything." Ensign Banks put a fist over his heart and nodded his head at the three of them. "I have a class I need to get to, I'll see you in class tomorrow Professor."

"Good day Ensign." the professor replied. Moria just nodded back at him. He walked off toward the exit of the ring. She turned to Hiro. "I am going to leave you as well to settle in. Bright and early tomorrow they have a magic therapy session scheduled. I will be back to take you to that. I'm on the team as one of the leading experts on bipedal physiology. Once we have an understanding of what we are working with we will plan your classes around the extensive therapy laid out in the histories the Headmaster dug up." She tapped her gemstone behind her massive ears.

"Hey Listen, your schedule has been uploaded." Button informed her. A blinking icon that looked exactly like the calendar icon on her phone popped up. "I have minimized it until you can look at it, Miss."

"Thanks, Button, that was perfect." she was relieved he hadn't popped it into her vision disrupting her conversation.

"You're welcome, Miss." Button fell silent again.

Hiro shifted her focus back to the Professor. "The headmaster made it sound like I should start the therapy to fix my magic right away. Why aren't we starting today?"

"We are still putting the facilities needed together. We just got your scans this morning and we are adjusting things to your specifications. We will still get to it well within the time frame mentioned in the histories as effective. We want to make sure we understand the process before starting and we are running some tests. It will be ready by the morning. This will also give you time to acclimate to your new environment. I remember when I first got to Headquarters. It can be intense."

"It really is," Hiro agreed. "Thank you for showing me to my room and thanks again for making sure my dog was taken care of Professor." Niss was standing next to her looking at the various people moving around the green.

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"You're welcome. See you tomorrow." She turned and headed back to where her hovercraft was parked.

Hiro turned to Moria who gave her her patented half-smile. She jerked her chin at the panel. "Go ahead and set that up. Then you can go in and unpack." Moria had the large duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She had taken it from Hiro when they had gotten out of the hovercraft and not handled it back. She had carried it without complaint.

Hiro walked to the door and Button walked her through the settings. She could make the door open at her approach, which she kept off. She didn't want Niss to run out when she wasn't ready for her. She could also give permission for people to come in and visit. She didn't add anyone to that list yet. She thought about adding Moria or Ghram, but she didn't know them well enough yet. It didn't take long and her settings were complete. The door opened as she tapped the button and Niss waited patiently for her to take off her leash. As soon as she did she trotted into the apartment.

Hiro and Moria followed her in and Hiro looked around. They entered the main living area that overlooked the grassy area outside. There was a small desk and chair and a couch with a side table. A rack of some sort was along the wall by the door. In the back of the wedge-shaped room, there was a wall that came out three-quarters of the width of the room leading to a hallway on one side and a steep set of stairs on the other. The stairs led to a loft with a bed and closet area. Beside the stairs was a counter with a sink with overhead cabinets. Under the loft next to the door was a small room with a sliding door. When she poked her head it it was another futuristic bathroom with an electronic toilet, sink, and shower. It was well-built to include everything needed except for food.

As Hiro turned in the room she noticed that Niss's dog bed was tucked beside the couch near the door. Under the end table, was the fabric cube box she kept all her toys in. Curiously she climbed up the steps to the bedroom area and peered into the wardrobe-like closet. None of her clothes were in there. So they had grabbed her dog's things but not hers? How odd. She wondered if they had grabbed her food and how she was supposed to feed Niss from now on. It's not like she could go down to the store and grab some kibble. She'd ask Button about it in a bit.

Moria had dropped the duffle on the end of the couch and had made herself at home on the couch where Niss had jumped up. She was insistent on teaching Moria the best place to scratch as she wiggled under her hands. Hiro smiled at the scene. She came back down the stairs and opened the bag to see what was in there.

There was an odd assortment of clothes, weapons, a tablet-like screen, one of the visors like Duffy and the Quartermaster had, along with other gear. Moria pushed Niss off her and stood up as she pulled out a practice sword, dagger, collapsible staff, bow, and a few other things. None of the weapons had a sharp edge. She held out her hands, "Let me put those on the rack for you.

"When my magic isn't on the fritz I can summon these things," Hiro told her.

"The combat professors will have you train with both. It's good to know how to use a real weapon and not just summoned ones." Moria began placing them neatly in the rack. Every practice weapon had a spot in the rack as well as a few empty spots.

"Why aren't there any guns?" Hiro asked confused.

"You have to pass firearm basics before you get the practice one. I don't know why you have a bow already actually. Usually, you don't get any kind of ranged weapon until you take the course for it."

"I was on an archery team at school. I told Button about it. Button do you know why?" Hiro asked the air.

"Yes, headquarters have your educational records as well as any publically available knowledge about you from your homeworld. This includes the scores from your competitions with your archery team. It was determined this was enough training for you to skip the basics in archery class." Button responded.

"Huh, seems like my time on the team paid off after all," Hiro said with a shrug.

"When magic is involved there isn't always a difference between bows, guns, lasers, and other forms of ranged combat. You'll take the basics in each but once the trainers discover what works best for you, you'll specialize. I know a guy who spits acid as his main form of ranged combat. You have to watch out when he has a cold!" Moria told her.

Hiro shook her head at this stuffed the clothes back in the duffle and slung it over her shoulder. She carried the whole thing up the ladder while she spoke, "I will not be spitting poison lugies at anyone. That's for sure!"

Moria continued to tell her about some of her crazier classmates. There was a talking cat who wore sunglasses and was great with energy bolts. Another who their favorite form of transportation was a giant snail they could summon and ride on their shell. She filled the afternoon with stories. Hiro swapped some stories as well. She told Moria about a guy in high school who wore a cape most days. And another who would wear tap shoes to annoy their teachers while they taught.

Moria also showed her how to use the tablet and helped her swap it for English. She also showed her how to use the visor. Button helpfully informed her that the visor was mostly unnecessary due to her upgrades, but Moria pointed out it was easier to play games on. Button agreed, but Hiro had the feeling he was annoyed not to be better than the visor. She could just be reading into it though. He was just an AI after all.

A knock at the door made Hiro jump and Niss bark. Moria had been helping her sign up to stream entertainment on the tablet.

"Miss Skylark, Ms. Chopra is outside the door." Button informed her. "Shall I let her in?"

"That's Natia, right? Ms. Chopra?" She asked Moria. She had only heard her last name once. Moria nodded at the same time Button confirmed. "Yes let her in. Come here, Niss!" She held Niss loosely by the collar as she stood at her side. She gave another bark as the door opened.

Natia stood with a carrier with three cups in it. She wore a wrap-around red shirt that was cut long, reaching the tops of her thighs. Under that, she had some comfortable black pants and shoes. "I brought drinks!" She said holding up the hand with the drinks in it. "And don't worry, it's not tea." She shot at Moria before she could say anything. She handed the drinks to Moria who had stood to greet her with a hug.

"Hey Natia! This is my dog, Niss." Hiro told her.

Natia crouched down and reached out a hand before pausing, "You can pet these things right?"

"Oh yeah, she loves her ears and the spot above her tail scratched the best," Hiro replied.

"Great," she let the dog smell her hand before reaching out to pet her ears. Behind her, Moria sniffed the drink cups suspiciously.

"You brought Glupton?" She said incredulously.

"You bet! It's tradition!" She stood and took two of the cups handing one to Hiro.

"What's Glupton?" Hiro took the lid off the cup and peered down at the brown liquid.

"It's good for you! That's what!" Natia said enthusiastically passing a cup to Moria.

"Button?"

"It's a drink that will make your magic surge harmlessly for a few seconds after you drink it. It's a tradition for the older Sparks of a line to give to after a new Spark gets their powers. Not only so they can see their powers in action, but as initiation into the ranks. You have been cleared for this ritual by your recovery team. Ms. Chopra asked before buying it. It seems Ms. Chopra and Ms. Kinross wish to include you in the tradition." Hiro's eyes stung a little as she looked down at her cup. She was touched to be included.

Natia and Moria circled up in the middle of the living area with her. "We have to toast first!" She held up her cup, "I toast to Bellator waking up!"

Moria held up her cup, "I toast to being back at headquarters."

They both turned to Hiro, she clicked the lid back on and raised it, "Um, I toast to magical powers?"

They both smiled at her, "Classic," Natia said and the both of them pulled the cups to their mouth.

Hiro mimicked them hesitantly. She expected it to taste bad, like strong alcohol, but it was sweet. She couldn't place the taste, but it was good. Her whole body tingled after a moment and she could feel the magic running through her. Her body decided to glow. Niss turned and barked in slow motion at her human who had begun glowing unexpectedly. She rose up a foot off the ground and the lights flickered. The carefully proper-up weapons all pulled off the weapon rack before falling to the ground. Several red, orange, yellow, and blue spots flashed in her vision on her friends and dog. Finally the water in the space condensed around her, soaking her to the skin.

All of this happened in the slowed time Hiro was used to when her time powers were active. Moria and Natia were laughing in half-time until time sped back up. Hiro dropped to the ground. Natia reached out a burly arm and steadied her still laughing. Niss ran around them still barking as the light around her dimmed. Moria was also laughing. She pulled all the water off Hiro and dispersed it back into the air.

"Gods! I haven't watched one of those since my nephew got his powers! He just flashed his wings at us! Yours was a whole light show!" She clapped Hiro on the shoulder. "are you feeling ok?"

Hiro was blinking as the surge dropped out of her. "Why didn't your magic surge?" She asked confused. Neither of them had been affected by the drink.

"We have control over our magic," Moria said simply taking the cup from her hand. "One of the things you have to do to graduate is to drink a concentrated form of Gulpton and not spaz your powers." She poured the drink into her cup.

Natia helped Moria stack all the weapons back up while Hiro calmed Niss who was pacing anxiously around her legs.

"Now who's ready for some grub?" Natia asked opening the door to a hovering boxy bot. She reached in and took out some containers. The bot beeped at her as after it was empty before flying off. "I ordered us some food. She took it over to the counter. She grabbed out some plates and utensils from the cabinets.

"You got Blinkens? I love their food!" Moria followed Natia over to the counter. Grabbing Hiro along the way. "Blinkens has the best food."

"I ordered all the best menu items so you could try it all. If none of this hits your fancy we can go to the mess hall, but I bet you'll like something." Natia informed her handing her a plate she had piled high with a little of everything from all the different containers.

The three of them settled in. Hiro found she quite liked the strange food from Blinkens. She couldn't identify any of it. The other helpfully named it, but none of it was recognizable. They set up the tablet on the end table in front of the couch and they put on one of their favorite VOD or videos on demand. To Hiro, it felt like when she went to her friend's houses on the weekends to avoid going home. She found it strangely comforting.

The pair of them didn't leave until Hiro was yawning and falling asleep head tilting onto Moria's shoulder. They helped her clean up the leftover food and showed her how to trash portal worked before they took their leave. Moria promised to check in with her after her schedule was done the next day to take her around the town and show her the area.

Hiro walked Niss, taking the bags that Professor Daubenton had told her about. When she had finished all the business she climbed up to bed. Niss began to whine at the base of the steps. She sighed, she'd have to train her to climb them she supposed. She climbed back down with the blankets off the bed. She laid down on the couch and Niss hopped up with her. Curling up at her legs. It felt right to have Niss on the couch with her. Confronted by this, she drifted off to sleep.