Dave got off his bench before anyone asked him any more Kitlix-related questions.

“You two, stay and order food. Leon, you know what I like,” Terri ordered. She rushed after Dave, grabbing him by the elbow.

Dave exhaled, accepting her hand.

“That is not normal Kitlix behavior,” Terri whisper-hissed. “Just when I think that I figured you out, you somehow do this.”

“Ehhh,” Dave shrugged, not committing to an answer.

“Pretty sure those other colors weren’t there before either,” Terri added. “I’m a bit of an airhead at times though, so I might not have noticed.”

“Eyyy!” The Kitlix salesgirl spotted Dave. “I remember you. You were interested in one of my luck-bringers… wait. What. Is that a Vitalix-Infix-Vestix?! I was pretty sure that you were a Seer… how the heck did you bond with… Wowza! What a pretty girl! What is she… somewhere around forty?”

“Thanks… I’d like to…” Dave began, ignoring the breeder’s questions.

“Mana crystals, I’m paying,” Terri declared, cutting him off.

Dave squinted at her.

“You’re poor and adorable, let me buy you things.” She grinned.

“You know, I have some silver,” he said, shaking his bracelet.

“Not enough, your Kitlix looks like she’s about to murderize you,” Terri commented.

“Mana crystals, coming right up!” The catgirl poured a whole bunch of small mana crystals onto a glass plate on her table. An Infix sitting nearby displayed the weight of the crystal in its eyes.

Healy leaped off Dave faster than he could blink. Her mouth opened wide and she began swallowing the mana crystals whole without chewing. She was done in a few seconds and then stared at the salesgirl.

“Oh, you are hungry!” the catgirl clapped. “Yeesh. Is your Master starving you? I don’t think I’ve seen a Kitlix eat so quickly before.”

She poured more crystals onto the plate, which Healy devoured and then even more. In a few more sessions of munching, the throbbing feeling of alien hunger that Dave felt pulsing from the Kitlix subsided.

The Kitlix made a burping noise and jumped back onto Dave’s head.

“Did… your Kitlix just burp?!” The salesgirl squinted at Dave. “No. That… that can’t be right. I must have imagined that.”

“How much?” Terri asked.

“Eighty two silver and five coppers,” the catgirl replied, making Dave wince.

Terri didn’t say anything, simply offering her bracelet for the salesgirl to scan with her Burnix.

“Thank you, come again anytime!” the catgirl waved as Terri dragged Dave back to the breakfast table.

“Damn, she’s even bigger than before,” Dumpich whistled. “That’s the chonkiest Kitlix I’ve seen.”

“Looks like a level forty now,” Leon rubbed his chin. “A big leap indeed.”

He slid another copper to Dumpich.

“Stop gambling on Dave,” Terri shot her two friends a glare.

“Can’t stop, won’t stop,” Dumpich pocketed the copper sticking his tongue out to the female Healer. “‘Sides it’s not gambling, we’re just exchanging rare coins with the face of princess Astrix. These haven’t been legal tender for almost two decades!”

As breakfast arrived carried by a maid on a large tray, Dave couldn't help but marvel at the sudden change in Healy. The Kitlix, now considerably larger and more colorful, lounged contentedly on his lap like a crystalline cat.

"So, Dave," Dumpich said between mouthfuls of bacon, "planning on entering your Kitlix in a weightlifting competition? She looks like she could bench press a small dragon now."

Dave chuckled. "Maybe I should. Could be a new career path."

Terri rolled her eyes. "Please, as if we'd let you abandon us now.”

“Yeah, you're our ticket to fame and fortune, remember?" Dumpich added.

"Oh, is that all I am to you?" Dave placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "And here I thought we were friends."

"Speaking of friends, Dave, your Kitlix seems awfully... expressive. Most Kitlix I've seen tend to be more aloof,” Leon commented.

"What kind of Kitlix whisperer are you?” Dumpich asked. “How are you making her do such a smug, satisfied face?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Dave shrugged, trying to play it cool. "What can I say? I guess I just have a way with magical creatures."

As the group ate, Dave decided to test out Healy's new abilities. He focused on Healy, trying to see the world through her eyes once again. To his surprise, the world around him suddenly shifted, taking on a new, vibrant quality.

Through Healy's enhanced vision, Dave focused on each of his friends, spotting their swirling Auras. Terri's was a soft green entwined with silver. Dumpich was green, brown and violet. Leon radiated green and dark brown waves. He saw other Auras of people sitting past the Healers of all sorts of strange colors.

Along with the Auras, bits of information, sort of like floating letters appeared above each of his companions. The letters were blurry and unclear, but after a bit of focusing, Healy somehow rearranged the letters into something that Dave could understand.

[Apprentice Healer, Terri Gootali. Familiar - Vitalix Kitlix: Tori]

As Dave stared at Terri with Healy’s eyes he could not define her level. Perhaps Healy needed more soul shards in intelligence for her to be able to do that. He turned his familiar’s gaze to the others.

[Apprentice Healer, Dumpich Sentirk. Familiar - Vitalix Kitlix: Rrexa]

[Apprentice Healer, Leon Kodmii. Familiar - Vitalix Kitlix: Lisst]

He looked past the trio of healers at the Kitlix salesgirl.

[Kitlix Breeder, Myriel Rexi. Familiar - Infix Kitlix: Rem]

Then he looked down at his own hand.

[Adventurer LV 6 Iron, David Horovits Walter. Familiar - Vitalix-Infix-Vestix: Healy]

Dave focused intently, pushing Healy's vision deeper into his own body. The world around him seemed to fade away as he peered past his own swirling aura, delving into the intricate systems beneath his skin.

What he saw through Healy’s eyes was concerning to say the least. His bloodstream was a highway of activity, with tiny metal flakes floating alongside red blood cells. His muscles bore microscopic tears from recent exertion and his bones were fractured all over.

Looking deeper in, he saw his own crystalline core, a small sphere of crystals growing directly below and slightly behind his organic heart. It slowly pulsed with an intense, almost blinding multi-colored light. Each pulse had a unique color to it and sent out a wave of light and sparks dancing across his body, rushing up his spine up to his brain. This was likely what his friends defined as Vexirium.

As Dave continued his internal exploration, the banter of his companions filtered through his concentration:

"Oi Dave," Dumpich's voice cut in. "You in there, mate? Or did your chonky Kitlix suck out your soul?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Terri scoffed. "Kitlix don't suck souls.”

"Maybe he's meditating," Leon offered.

“Dave-o?” Dumpich snapped his fingers in front of Dave’s eyes. “Are you seeking the meaning of life?”

“Stop it you two,” Terri huffed. “Dave’s probably just focused on healing himself with his Kitlix.”

Dave blinked, disconnecting his mind away from Healy.

“Uh, yeah,” he replied. “I was just… seeing what I need to heal inside me.”

“You can see your inner self with your green?” Leon arched a white eyebrow. “Where did you study how to use a Kitlix? It took me years to get Lisst to peer into myself so that I could determine what sort of an effect each plant had on me.”

"So, uh, how long does it take to become a full-fledged healer anyway?” Dave asked, ignoring the questions.

"The full course of study to become a certified Healer usually takes about nine years," Leon explained. "We start as Apprentices, like the three of us, and spend the first four years learning the basics of artifact or Kitlix control, magical affliction, anatomy, herbology, and magical theory."

Dumpich chimed in, gesticulating with a piece of bacon on his fork. "Yeah, those first few years are brutal. Many books to memorize and even more plants to identify. I swear, I still have nightmares about mistaking poisonous steelshade berry for blueberries."

“I recall you slacking off at herbology and mooching off me and Leon,” Terri commented. “Where were we? Right, after the initial four years, we start to specialize in specific areas of healing. Some focus on quick fixes for combat injuries, others on rare magical maladies, and so on. That takes another four years of intense study and practical application.”

"And the final year?" Dave prompted.

"The final year is all about honing our skills in real-world situations," Terri continued. "We work closely with our assigned healer Masters, handling emergencies. After publishing a thesis on a particular subject and passing a series of rigorous exams, we get certified as Healers instead of Apprentices."

"So, when do you three expect to graduate as full Healers?" Dave asked.

“Terri and I are in our seventh year,” Dumpich replied. “Leon’s in his 19th year. He could have become Healer already but he’s an eternal student, much too buried with herbological research.”

“Leon’s trying to produce the ultimate potion,” Terri explained. “One to cure everything.”

“Everything?” Dave arched an eyebrow.

“He’s trying to steal our jobs, basically,” Dumpich grinned. “The perfect heal-all potion, the kind of stuff bureaucrats dream about.”

“And that’s possible?” Dave asked.

“Nah, mate,” Dumpich replied. “Voidstorms and God-Emperors constantly summon all sorts of new bullshit into existence. It doesn’t matter how optimal a potion is, there will be something new that infects or kills adventurers. We’re lucky that her Shadow watches over us cleaning the streets at night.”

Dave turned his eyes to Leon.

The eternal student simply shrugged. The group finished their breakfast.

“Shall we head to these associates of yours now?” Terri asked, standing up. “Lead the way… my Champion.”

The last two words Terri uttered had a strange pitch to them, almost as if they didn’t come from her mouth, didn’t use her voice.

“Champion?” Dumpich blinked. “Damn, mate you move fast.”

As Dave opened his mouth to reply, Terri’s trembling hand dug into her bag and she slid an old, worn, leather book into his hands, making a face as if she was giving up her most precious possession in the universe. “My family held onto this for generations… but I believe this belongs to you. I already memorized everything inside and my parents made a duplicate for their home librarium, but you might find something here that I missed.”

Dave's eyes ran over the words on the cover.

“The Journal of Saint Saria, the Matrisanct Healer of Xandria.”

Lari’s portrait was burned into the brown leather front, magical etching preserving a soft, sad smile that seemed to be addressed to him alone.

Warped fractal-like symbols seemed to shimmer over the book in Healy’s view. Dave put everything into Wisdom, dove into the fractal as if he was sinking into the abyssal depths of a blue lagoon sinkhole unfolding each segment one by one. The action gave him a blinding migraine, but as the world around him stood still each of the symbols twisted, unfolding into letters he could read.

[The Phylactery of Laricianna Andy Turner]