He knew night came before opening his eyes. He knew he fell asleep by the feel of the matress against his back and the muted sounds of movement around the cabin behind his door.
There was no rush to get up.
Actually, he had more reason to stay there. In his bed. Laying until the matress sucked him into a plush dimension of safety and warmth.
Everywhere else was hard and harsh and dangerously magical.
A wet fleshy knob poked the side of his face.
He pretended he didn't feel it.
Frosty whispered a bark and hopped onto the bed, snorting Claude's morning breath scent out of his nose.
His shadow was like it's own blanket. Warm and enveloping.
Frosty whined and sat all of his weight on Claude's stomach.
He felt the air be forced from his lungs due to the pitwolf's weight. All muscle and bone given orcish density.
"ALRIGHT!" Claude opened his eyes.
Frosty stood up with the gremlin-cat held by the nape in his jaws. His ears were flat—
lovingly. His muscles were hard beneath his dark brown fur— menacingly.
When his tail wagged, the cats did the same. Though there was less menace in the small cat-like creature.
"I guess you need a name if you're going to roll with us. Is that why you woke me up?" Claude asked Frosty.
Frosty gave a muffled bark in reply and dropped the cat on his chest before jumping off Claude's bed and trotting out of the room.
"Ok, boss." Claude sat up.
The young gremlin-cat pawed around his giant-beaver blankets, kneading the ripples like a manic baker in a field of dough.
"I've read up on your kind. I've had to since pitwolves were one of my favorite animals for years. You guys represent the inverse relationship between creatures of the tangents and creatures of earth…"
The gremlin-cat made a purring yip sound.
"Out here— the cats are the winners. Even before the tangents. They have the most bio diversity. The biggest size. The best natural abilities... retractable claws was a game changer. But in the tangents, it's the dogs. The wolves. The canids. The leading theory is canids pension for pack dynamics and friendliness allowed them to ally with the powerful figures inside the tangents….. cats are more aloof and antagonistic. But you don't seem that way. I guess that's because you're also not exactly a feline. More like a…. what did they call it? Oh yea, a neo-hyena."
The gremlin-cat's short stubby tail shook once as he took note of its unnaturally large head.
"In a way— I guess you're like a wolf. So we should get along pretty well. Wolves are my thing."
The gremlin-cat sat down and looked up at him. It's giant ears fanned the air, cooling the cat down as the warmth of his body heat and blankets wafted.
"Lets get a better look at you."
He pulled up his system screen in earnest. Green holographic light bloomed.
***
System Stats (1)
Tamed Creatures (1)
Family Tree Scans (0)
Breeding/Evolution Options (7)
***
"I've gained more than twice as many breeding and evolution options since I last checked. Back when Ren hatched. Cool." Claude noted before choosing his family tree scan option.
Immediately, green rays of magical light flashed and washed over the gremlin-cat. The cat wasn't like Ren. There was no pride in not flinching. The cat hissed and swiped at the lights.
[Scanning….30….70%]
The scans were different. The gremlin-cats muscles glowed as the lights penetrated past the fur. Its bones were outlined. Organs shimmered.
"I think leveling up makes the scanning process more informative. Nice."
DING!
[Family Tree Scan Complete.]
The screen changed.
***
Unnamed Female Gremlin-Cat/Avaricrocuta Family Tree (Limited by Level, Age and Tangent World Deviation)
[Female Grandparent (Matriarch): Level 20 Gremlin-Cat]
[Male Grandparent (Beta): Level 15 Gremlin-Cat]
[Female Parent (Matriarch): Level 17 Gremlin-Cat]
[Male Parent (Beta): Level 12 Gremlin-Cat]
[Kit Imprinting Survival-Process Focus: Level 10 Beast Tamer Human (Defect)]
***
"I guess I caught you young enough to be a new parent. I hope I'm a good influence…." Claude thought. Then he jumped to the next screen to view the evolution options.
***
Evolution Options:
(Base) (Kit-Avaricrocuta)——> (EVO2) (Leocrocuta)
(Base) (Kit Avaricrocuta)——> (EVO2) (Beluacrocuta)
***
"I guess the chance of a adolescent animal being directly related to an alpha is pretty high since they're usually the position with breeding rights. Either way. You're relocated royalty. Like me. …..That doesn't even sound right."
He wanted to venture into the breeding options but the cat eyed him. Communicating with blinks and snorting sounds.
"I uhhh..."
The eyes were cutting through him. Him and his bs.
"I'm trying to talk through my problems. Drown out reality with chosen fact. That's probably not healthy."
The gremlin-cat yawned. Green eyes disappearing like jade stones fallen behind dirt and sand in a storm.
"Ok, Jade. Let's get up and moving."
The cat hopped up onto his shoulder smoothly as he got up off his be—
He gasped as his feet touched the ground. In a flash— in his minds eye, he remembered his knee was gone. Bone fragments in a torn fleshy carapace. He felt the white hot pain of pressure as he landed on his foot and put pressure on pure destruction. He was back in the grass. He was feeling shards of his own bone be lodged into the dirt. He was smelling his fathers blood everytime he stopped screaming to take in more a—
...
He opened his eyes.
Jade was licking his ear. Frosty stood in the doorway watching him. The wolf let out an anxious whine as he tried to get his breaths under control.
It took too long. It didn't work.
Frosty trotted over and pushed him back into the bed with his massive head.
Claude plopped down on the matress, catching his breath as he pulled up his pant leg to look at his knee.
Not even scarred. But he could feel the phantom pains there.
"C'mon. Wake up." Claude pushed himself back to his feet, groaning and flinching as he put weight on his leg. Flinching as he lit a candle in the livingroom. The flash of light reminded him of Eater-of-the-Dark Luna shooting his family to shreds.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and tried to regain composure.
For the most part he did as he tore his way through some dried meat and berries.
A letter on the counter had him limping away from the kitchen. But not before catching his own reflection.
He looked different.
A low crop of dark hair covered his head. He wasn't completely bald anymore. He had sideburns like his father growing along his jawline. Thin and new. Unlike his nose which was thick and old— familiar, on his face.
His skin had a weird moisture to it. He looked like he walked through steam. Or a sauna. For a moment he wondered what features of his traced back to the Arthurian royals. And which others traced back to his dead mother. The Lupine Queen.
He turned away from the mirror and approached the letter.
"Hey, kid. I wanted to let you sleep. You earned it. You earned more— but for now this is all I can give. When you wake up, we need to put that gourd to use. The witchy lady has good healing. But it could be better with your help. A lot like this world. See ya when the suns up. Love you."
Claude closed the letter and suited up.
He was back in his— now poorly fitting, leather vest, bracers and pants. Barefoot by choice as he limped outside with a wooden spear in one hand and his magical healing gourd on a belted string at his left. All his hounds followed as he walked across his yard.
They all froze as well as a figure stepped out of the forest circle and into their land.
Claude raised his spear and shifted into a canine crossbreed with glowing eyes, fur and fangs.
His hounds growled savagely and took defensive positioning around him.
The figure stopped and held up their hands.
"Woah woah! It's been two days, baldy! Did you forget your friend that quick? I'd hope not— I just walked my feet into lifelong injury trying to find out where you live. Why can't you be like everyone else and live in the city?"
Claude lowered his spear, "Ursula…?"
She smiled and waved in the distance, "What's up? Did you adopt a kitten?"
Jade cackled from his shoulder.