Fate leaned against the fence post for support after entering, feeling a wave of nausea hit him as space stretched and extended around him. Glancing around, he found the pen's back fencing both a few strides away and miles off at the same time, an extremely sickening feeling.
He forced down some vomit as the Dracok strutted toward him with a cocky gleam in its eye.
'Problem?' Fate heard.
The voice was deep and smooth, as regal as a king and as unwavering as a mountain. If his bloodline wasn't enough to prove his dragon lineage, his voice was. Only the Empress' voice was more majestic than Kravoss', a fact that astonished Fate.
The Dracok laughed heartily in Fate's thoughts when he heard this. Unlike his voice, his laugh was that of a clucking rooster.
'Already an expert at the language, huh?' Fate asked, his awe turning to amusement. Kravoss thought in English, the same language Fate did.
'I'm decent. It's my second language, after all.' Kravoss finished closing the distance and circled around Fate's legs, head cocked so one blue pupil could look up at Fate. 'You seem strong… for a human, anyway.'
'Please. I kicked your ass, and you know it.'
'Oh, well done, you beat a twelve-year-old to a stalemate.'
'A stalemate? I wiped the floor with you. And we both know that in chicken years, you're older than I am. Not to mention we're the same Stage.'
'It's Tiers for Magical Beasts like I. Even I know that,' Kravoss said dismissively.
'Whatever. You want to leave or not?'
'Ah yes, let's get out of here. I don't want your vomit discoloring my beautiful scales.'
'Alright I – Wait, scales? Those aren't feathers?'
Kravoss shook his wings as he headed toward the pen's gate. 'The strength and colors of scales with the majesty of feathers. Truly, the best of both worlds.'
Fate rolled his eyes as he followed after the Dracok, ignoring the retributive joy coming from the chicken as its ploy to make Fate walk through this distorted space worked.
'You're an asshole.'
'I'll take that as a compliment,' Kravoss sniffed.
Fate opened the door for the beast, closing it behind himself and leaning on the post for support again as he adjusted to normal space.
"You aren't supposed to go into the pens," Serden said with a smirk as he greeted the young Mage.
"Little late for that," Fate replied queasily.
"Go stand with the other students. And if you feel you need to puke, please, do it on the sawdust."
Fate waved his hand and stumbled like a drunk toward the group of students, growing soberer with every step. By the time he arrived at the corner, he had regained full control of his faculties, standing with Kravoss in front of him.
"He's cute," a girl next to him said, bending down with a red-furred fire ferret in her hands. She shifted the ferret to one hand and extended the other toward the Dragon Chicken, stopping herself before she touched the bird.
"Can I pet you?" she asked.
'No,' Fate heard instantly.
"He said yes," Fate told her, hiding a smile as Kravoss' small blue eyes gave him a look of betrayal. The girl ruffled Kravoss' scale-feathers with glee, smooshing the bird's neck and stroking his wattles.
She smartly stopped when the Dracok let out a hooting growl, a small sphere of water starting to form before his beak.
"Guess he's done," Fate said as the girl stood quickly, adopting a pout as she started playing with her ferret.
'I hate you,' Kravoss rumbled.
'Just getting even, buddy," Fate replied.
The next student to receive their Familiar was Tresbeney. By now, the potential Familiars had spread back out throughout their grassy containment, grazing or lazing about but always alert. A few of them kept a close eye on Fate, suspicion and distrust evident within their gazes.
When Tresbeney was brought in, her eyes immediately landed on a small brown Kilamoon with large brown eyes. She picked the furball without hesitation, happily striding over to Fate with the creature in her hands and a smile on her face.
"You two look a lot alike," Fate complimented.
"I know, isn't she just adorable? And she's super strong, too! Kilamoons can roll up to fifty miles an hour, and their bloodline lets them increase their kinetic energy by up to twenty times at Tier I!"
"Sounds like she packs quite a punch."
"She does. I've heard a full-power charge from a Kilamoon can shatter every bone in a Journeyman's torso!"
"Oh, uh…. Cool." 'That's terrifying.'
'Oh, please. They can't control their direction in the air. Dodging them is child's play,' Kravoss said simply.
"What's her name?" Fate asked.
"Lina. A pretty name for a pretty Kilamoon!"
The head-sized ball let out a warble as Tresbeney stroked the beast's fur, snuggling closer into the triplet's arms.
Next came Semenda, who picked a red Kilamoon with crimson eyes named Ilkan. Then came Deodeky, who bonded with a Joy-Backed Hedgehog named Berny.
Fate knew from Serden's run-down earlier that the hedgehog was able to induce happiness in those around him. Anyone that was especially happy would find the creature's quills as damaging as swords.
Last out of the people Fate recognized was the kitsubus, Cait.
The young woman strode into the cavernous room with her head held high, following Serden to the pens. As soon as she got there, she asked for the tablet that Fate had used.
The caretaker reminded her of the pros and cons of using it, but she brushed them off as she brandished the tablet. Shooting an angry look at Fate, who politely waved back, she pumped the tablet full of Mana and waited.
Like before, those who abhorred her shuffled off to the back, although they didn't move nearly as fast as they had for Fate. There were over two hundred options left, ten of which were jostling each other in their attempts to get forward.
With a loud screech, a cat batted away the competition and walked forward, tail swaying side to side with each step.