So finally, after getting him settled down and making it to the clinic that Kara had been resting in, we managed to exchange a decent amount of information with one another and I actually felt accomplished with something. His name was June, and although I had been regarding him as a kid, he was only two years younger than me. He didn't act like it, but I'm sure he'll get there. Just as Kara had figured, we were both from the same world, except he was reincarnated as a familiar who specialized in Avians. My knowledge of this world was limited, so hearing him talk about all that he knew was a lot more interesting than Kara beating me over the head with information that apparently should be "obvious." And according to June, familiars existed in many different forms. He had no clue why people were assigned specific familiar roles, but he did say that familiars were people who could transform into anything within a specific parameter. For example, he was a bird familiar and could transform into any existing bird. It seemed pretty self-explanatory until I thought about object familiars. Could someone be a… meat familiar? What would it be like to transform into different types of meat?
"It was weird… I remember the weird skull guy telling me that I was going to be an Avian Familiar. I think there are other roles since you get to be the Hero, but I dunno. The guy told me that my sole purpose was to help someone important with achieving their mission. But… When I woke up, this guy was really weird and treated me like a total nincompoop! It was awful at first, but then we kinda started to be friends! I've only been here for… a week or two I think, but my master sent me on this mission to steal that cube thingie, telling me it was "essential to save all of humanity." But just before he sent me out, he had his assistant lady curse me with Bird Disease! Since I'm not a bird, it doesn't hurt me, but it limits my ability to talk and scrambles my brain so that I appear to have rabies or… something strange!" June explained while gesturing frantically at multiple parts of his story. I hummed and nodded along, following his frantically strung story while also considering the possibility of a meat familiar with a raised eyebrow.
"Were you sent to this world with a list as well?" I asked the burning question on my mind, to which he shook his head and scrunched his nose in confusion.
Interesting…
"I have powers though! They aren't that cool or special or anything, but I have Birdwatcher that might be useful to you since you're new here!" He jumped up from the bench we were sitting on and started jumping excitedly. I flinched from his excitement and dared to ask what this Birdwatcher ability of his did, but asked anyway: "What's it do exactly?"
"If I take a feather," June proceeded to pluck a small strand of his hair and blew on it, causing a puff of smoke to appear and a feather to replace the hair strand, "And write on your forehead something like… Map!" He pressed the feathery end against my forehead gently and spelled out the word "map" slowly. I was skeptical, but didn't stop him due to my overwhelming curiosity.
Suddenly, I felt my brain become engrossed with a sort of smog. Visions started flashing through my head and I was finding it hard to focus on everything I was seeing. I gave up trying to focus and just let it all happen instead, closing my eyes and relaxing. Soon enough the smog cleared and I exhaled a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding in.
"June… what just happened?" I looked over at him and his eyes seemed to be gleaming with excitement.
"I gave you all of my memories of everything I've ever seen while traveling. Something of a map of all the places I've seen so that you can get more familiar with this world!" He gave me a thumbs up and my eyes widened.
This time I stood up from the bench and placed my hands on his shoulders excitedly, "Really?! That's amazing, June! Thank you so much!" I grinned and patted his shoulders gently before taking my hands off and looking around Coronis Metro with fresh eyes. Everything felt and looked so much more familiar than when we had first arrived here. It was amazing to say the least. I could pinpoint which buildings were which and I turned around to take in what all felt like old sights. The Apothecary is over there… The Blacksmith was around that corner. The jail is in that back corner, a-and the bank is adjacent from the town hall! My head was flooding with knowledge that never felt better to have and I was marveling at the new world.
June shuffled in place uncomfortably before yanking on my arm a bit. It snapped me out of my daze almost instantly and I looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, "What's up?" He frowned and pointed at the double doors we had been sitting outside of for the longest, "Miss Kara? Is she… okay…?" He asked in a low, almost hushed voice. My eyes widened and I immediately turned towards the doors, only to see them slide open and a girl step out.
It was Kara. I wouldn't have recognized her if it wasn't for the ring on her finger. Ah… I sent that ring to her a year ago… My breath was hitched in my throat as I watched her slowly approach me. Her hair was down and reaching just past her shoulders. Her bangs shielded her eyes from meeting my gaze, and she seemed to be biting down hard on her bottom lip. I frowned and met her halfway, my worry for her growing with each passing second. She still refused to say anything, but gently placed her head on my chest and gripped my shirt loosely.
"Perrin…" She muttered mostly to herself. I gently stroked her hair before trailing my arms down to her waist and loosely wrapping them around her. "Thank you." She mumbled the smallest thanks, but it was more than enough to satisfy me.
We stood together like this for what felt like forever, but I wasn't complaining. She was vulnerable right now, and as her friend it was only right for me to comfort her, even if it was in silence. Plus, I could admire her without her noticing. The faint red highlights that seamlessly blended into the rich brown color that reflected any faint light that came into contact with it. I had only ever seen pictures of her prior to this, so seeing it in person, feeling how silky it actually was.
Am I a pervert?
Our moment was interrupted but the overly excited June who bounded up to us and pounced on my back. I groaned and Kara jumped back instinctively with a flustered look on her face.
"Hiya Miss Kara! I'm June! Thank you for saving me!" He had pummeled me to the ground somehow and was speaking obnoxiously loud with the biggest smile on his face. Kara blinked unknowingly before giving a small smile, "June? So you were a familiar, hm?" She reached over and gently stroked his cheek lovingly. His face erupted into a shade of red I didn't think was possible and he giggled like a school boy. "May I come with you and sir here? I promise I won't get in my way and I'll do anything for you, Miss Kara!" He rambled on and jumped about excitedly. I groaned and dusted myself off from the contents of the ground and shot him a glare.
"Don't you already have a master? The person that sent you off on this suicide mission, where are they huh?" He looked back at me with a frown before shaking his head and pointing at his head, "The curse was placed on me just in case I got captured. But if the disease had lasted, I would have gone full bird-brained! So the memories of my previous master are kinda foggy, but I remember the curse castor! She had powers like Miss Kara, but was a lot more scary and would hurt other things and people… But I'm sad because… they were really nice to me before sending me away…" He trailed off and looked down glumly.
"Where is she? That's where we need to go next, Perrin!" Kara stepped up this time and gently placed her hands on the boy's shoulder with a determined look on her face. I shrugged and pointed at June, "I mean, we don't even know where to start looking–" I stopped myself, remembering that I now had what felt like a fourth of Syloris' geography mapped out in my head. "The next city after Coronis Metro… It's Isla Ila Abab?" I looked over at Kara who nodded with a surprised look on her face.
"How did you know that? Have you been studying Syloris maps and history?" She asked as she started to tie her hair up in its usual pigtail style. I pointed my thumb at June with a grin, "Nah, it was all him." She scoffed and rolled her eyes promptly at my vague response. "Whatever Perrin. However, you should know that Isla Ila is notorious for being travelers not returning. We'll have to proceed with caution." She laced up her garter and made sure all of her weapons were in place.
"June, could you turn into something big enough to get us there?" I crossed my arms and got ready for our next move as well. June perked up and shook his head, "Nope nope! Not possible! I promise to get stronger so that I can someday be able to transport you and Miss Kara safely!" He saluted with a determined face before his usual puff of smoke engulfed him and he became a reasonably sized bird. I sighed and turned to my other companion with a weird smile.
It's not that I could blame the kid for not being the strongest companion. His powers paled in comparison to those of Kara's even though she seemed to only have a small portion of them unlocked. I wasn't one to talk either seeing as I was completely powerless and had to rely on my former wrestling skills and Kara to help. Things were looking pretty bleak for me and we hadn't even left yet.
"Catalyst third configuration: Heaven's Wings!" Kara shouted behind us and I turned to see her body become engulfed in a white light, similar to one she had shot out when saving June. The light dispersed and there I saw Kara with a glowing pair of angel wings on her back. I gawked and took a step back to fully encapsulate her new appearance. "Wow wow!! Miss Kara can fly too!" June squawked out cheerfully and flew above our heads. She nodded with a smile before looking at me with a wary gaze.
"We have a lot of ground to cover, so what are you waiting for?" She came over and wrapped her arms around my waist from behind. My face grew red and I struggled a bit due to my own weakness and inability to take this seriously. "I-Isn't there some other way? Haha…" I laughed nervously as I felt the weight of her chest being pressed up against my back. At this point, I could feel the small trickle of blood coming from my nose and it was not a pleasant feeling.
"Rude!!" Both Kara and June snapped at me and I gulped nervously. So much for my big mouth. That was way more offensive than it was meant to be…
I am the worst…
But in no time, we were making our way to the entrance of Coronis Metro, where I could just barely see faint specks of moonlight trickling in. Our adventure was just beginning as we made our way from the Underground City to–
"The City of Mystery!" June abruptly shouted with his obnoxiously loud bird beak.
I groaned and face palmed before looking up to finally see the moonlit horizon. We were on our way to Isla Ila Abab: the City of Mystery.