“The regulation of Skills capable of direct, social manipulation is a necessary stripping of liberties, I think. For the inverse would be to empower others to, in turn, strip the liberties of different others. Not all nations feel the same, of course, but there is a reason most traveling musicians are never particularly high Tier; not publicly, at least. For there is little that can sway the minds of the masses more than a Skill-empowered tune. It is a terrifying thought, really.”

~Unknown

The wisdom within Tina’s letter proved accurate. Over the coming days, Fudge’s fur regrew in its entirety. There was a magical uniformity to it, unlike the patchy, irregular growth one might witness under more natural circumstances. Had I the inclination and patience to do so, I could have watched the process in real time.

As promised, one of my parents regularly stopped by to check in on Fudge and I. It was usually Tina since she had an easier time with the dogs, but the fact that Tulos came at all was a welcome surprise.

“It is one thing to hear of my son’s well-being. It is another to see it for myself,” was what he said on the matter. I was fond of the sentiment, largely because it was one I could empathize with.

While Fudge was recovering, Tina was true to her word; she didn’t pester me regarding the specifics of the Advancement. Instead, she focused on making sure I was well cared for and even fielded a few of the questions I had during her visits. Being alone with Fudge all those days left me with ample time to spend on contemplation, after all.

“Is he going to get bigger like Vigil did?” I was in the middle of stretching out my legs when I asked the question. Despite the bounty of woolen blankets I’d been bestowed - their abundance, a delightful perk of living in a community populated by several shepherds - there was a limit to how much we could mitigate the discomfort of sleeping in a shed. Fortunately, youth and mana spared me from any lingering aches or pains; the old me would have been walking funny for a month, at best.

“It is possible.” Tina’s reply lacked commitment. “Vigil grew to his expanded size over a few months. It is usually only the more… artificial changes that happen initially. Fur, eyes, scales, feathers, teeth, nails, claws, talons- you get the idea.” As Tina listed each trait, she counted them off with her fingers.

“Thanks, mom. Having you here to talk me through things… it helps.” Even with Tina’s reassurances, I wouldn’t be completely at ease until Fudge opened his eyes and started wagging his tail; there was a reason Tulos’ words resonated with me.

***

Initially, it was difficult to determine the differences in Fudge’s new coat. Charcoal-gray. Densely packed. Vaguely shaggy. That all changed on the third day. The regrowth was complete. Fudge was largely looking like himself again. Any lingering remnants of his old coat had already been collected and disposed of. It simply appeared as if Fudge was taking a peaceful rest. Healthy breaths accompanied the rise and fall of his chest. There were no whines. No whimpers. All was well.

As she had every day, Tina was making one of several wellness checks. In one arm she carried a basket containing my lunch, in the other was a canteen of fresh water. I was most thankful for the latter, for the lingering cloud cover of the last several days had finally dispersed. As the door opened, Tina stood in silhouette as sunlight rushed in behind her and flooded the shed.

I shielded my eyes with a hand and turned to face Tina, only to hear her gasp. As my vision adjusted, I saw her expression painted with surprise. She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at Fudge. Had I given myself time to properly process what I saw, I might have realized Tina’s surprise was not laced with concern, but wonder.

Dread gripped me. I snapped my neck around fearing some sudden complication in Fudge’s condition. Instead, I saw colour. All of it.

Fudge’s fur had gained prismatic qualities. The charcoal undertone was consistently apparent, but as the light played through Fudge’s fur every color on the spectrum made a fleeting appearance.

Opalescent. That was the word.

He is every color, but also completely monotone. Possibility. Potential. Paradox. A subtle nod to the conceptual depths of Fudge’s newest Skill.

Subtle in connection, at least, the thought crawled across my stunned mind. Fudge’s actual appearance was definitively overt. If not for Vigil’s equally eye-catching visage, the implications might have been cause for immediate concern. As it was, I held the small hope that a Tamer’s bonded animals were all equally strange enough to behold that Fudge would be found mundane by virtue of his oddity.

“Wow…” Tina breathed as she took in the sight.

“Yeah… wow…” We both stood transfixed for a long moment.

***

Periodically prodding at Taming [Fudge] yielded little change. The door remained steadfast until the end, making my efforts largely inconsequential. Much like Tulos had done for me, I sat with my back against the wall while I waited. It was a wooden wall for a wooden shed, and I had begun wondering how easily dogs could distinguish different types of wood by smell. I’d often heard scents described as ‘woodsy’, but that was usually the end of the nuance. Sure, ‘scents of oak’ were often referenced when people spoke of whiskey, but I maintained a healthy skepticism on the topic of alcohol connoisseurs. Frankly, I was convinced that most of them were full of shit.

That all is to say, I had allowed my mind to wander.

When Fudge's leg twitched, there was no missing or mistaking it. I sat up straighter as all errant thoughts were immediately banished.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Fudge. You okay, boy?” A lump of hope rose in my chest.

A shake. A shudder. A ripple of color through Fudge’s fur. He opened his eyes.

Before I could even think to celebrate, the Tamer Bond ceased being blocked so abruptly that it was borderline explosive. A surge of emotion poured into me from Fudge with more clarity than I had ever felt before.

Concern. Worry.

Despite having recently Advanced, he scrambled to his feet with only marginally more elegance than usual and frantically craned his neck around until his eyes fell on me. The Bond surged again.

Relief. Excitement. Love.

It was overwhelming, but I didn’t care. I sent my own feelings of concern back at Fudge, and he paused, going suddenly stock still. I wondered if he was also-

EXCITEMENT! HAPPINESS!

Fudge galloped towards me, a feat which resulted in two awkward, prancing steps in the confined space before he was showering me with affection and demanding attention. It was as if the issue of his Advancement simply… wasn’t an issue. He was just happy to see me again.

“I missed you too, boy,” I said, my words riding the tail of a mirthful giggle.

A hammering thump every other second let me know Fudge was wagging his own tail, and I heard the rest of the dogs start to stir outside. They’d been oddly unobstructive until that point, likely due to something Tina and Vigil had been doing.

The smell of dog breath didn’t at all bother me as I gave Fudge a big hug. The waves of happiness rolling off of him through the Tamer Bond were contagious. My own joy got reflected back to Fudge and the cycle continued, like a sort of emotional resonance. At the time, I was so relieved to see Fudge back on his feet that I didn’t spare a thought to properly consider the implications.

I also noticed Fudge’s eyes. The prismatic quality of his fur was mirrored in each iris and the whites of his eyes. Objectively, I realized their new, piercing qualities might have been unsettling to some. All I saw was the same pair of dopey, puppy eyes that could convey so much even without the Tamer Bond.

They just change color now, is all.

***

Having been alerted to the commotion of the dogs, Tina was quick to come and investigate. Marco was nowhere to be seen, so presumably Tulos had been assigned to watch the crib. Fudge was busy getting sized up by Vigil, who was circling and occasionally sniffing at his now-prismatic offspring. When not in direct sunlight, the effect was subdued, but still present if one knew what to look for.

“See, I told you he would be fine,” Tina said as she effortlessly hopped into the kennel, scattering up a small spray of dirt in the process. Her recovery over the last few months had been smooth; the benefits of a higher-tiered body. It raised a few questions regarding the safety of childbirth for the baby, but I wasn’t ready to ask them yet. By all accounts, the information would not be relevant to me for a long time - if ever.

“And I never doubted you,” I replied quickly. I had been unable to wipe the smile off of my face since Fudge woke up.

PRIDE.

From behind me, I heard Fudge give a satisfied harumph as he clearly passed some kind of test under his sire’s scrutiny. It was distracting enough that I reached towards Taming [Fudge] and tried to marginally close the-

Huh… Before his awakening, the connection between Fudge and I had contained a metaphorical ‘door’ that could not be opened. There was no longer a door. It was as if Fudge waking up had blown the door off its hinges; or Fudge being unconscious was the door; or… or…

Either way, this could be a problem.

Fudge looked my way and tilted his head.

Concern?

There was a questioning lilt to the emotion, though how that was even possible I could not possibly articulate or explain. It simply was.

“... listening, Will?” The backend of Tina’s question finally caught my attention, snapping me out of my introspection.

“I was not. Sorry.” I had the good sense to bow my head slightly and look embarrassed when I apologized. A frown briefly touched Tina’s lips. She was the parent of a newborn and both were on minimal sleep; I had to imagine she had already been making an effort to not be ambiently grumpy even before being accidentally ignored.

“I can only assume you- no, let me try that again.” She took a deep breath and gently drummed her finger tips against the sides of her thighs. “Please tell me what is on your mind, my Will.” Her tone had noticeably softened. Tina kept her mental state under careful observation; a side effect of managing the spillover of more advanced Taming techniques. She was on edge, but she was also cognizant as to why and took steps to regulate. I found it admirable.

“Do you have time? It will involve that talk you said we need to have.”

Tina pursed her lips in consideration and turned to look back at the house.

“Yyyyyyes. Yes.” Her uncertain hum turned into a more definitive answer. “Just let me go tell your father and then the four of us can go for a walk.”

“Wait, dad and Marco are going to come?”

Tina snorted to suppress a giggle.

“No. Vigil. Fudge. You. Me.” She pointed at each invited dog and person in turn. In my defense, her phrasing had been vague and throughout that whole exchange I had to draw on Perseverance to avoid getting too distracted by Fudge’s - for lack of a better phrase - ‘loud emotions’ coming through the Tamer Bond.

Without waiting for my reply, Tina pivoted on her heel and took off towards the house at a light jog. I turned back to Vigil, Fudge, and a few of the other dogs who had wandered over.

“We have a few minutes. You folks know how to play cards?”

Their response to my joke was a collection of blank stares and slowly wagging tails.

Yeah, that checks out.