Sebastian and Jade walked into the village, with only a rope in tow. All of the meat already gone.
Most of the participants of their little competition had made it back already.
Everyone was injured in some way.
Sebastian had blood dripping from his nose and lips and was probably bruised everywhere else, and Jade had scratch marks all over her face and bruises on her lower body.
Jade and Sebastian walked in alongside their beast and took a seat.
The lecture was beginning again, and they needed to listen.
"Everyone, listen up!"
The same elder yelled out.
"I hope you all had fun, got your beast some nice treats, and didn't get hurt too badly. Not that it really matters, which I'll get to in a second."
"When you bonded with your companion, you should have noticed that your abilities activated. Now this time you might have activated them again only to find them slightly different."
Sebastian had experienced this firsthand.
The new bone plates on the back of his hand were a very pleasant surprise. They also turned out to be incredibly useful in the battle.
"I would get used to this if I were you. You guys are at an age where your bodies change a lot, and your powers will do the same. As you grow, they'll become enhanced or, in some cases, even change entirely. The same will happen to your companions."
"We don't understand it, and we can't explain it. Some people believe it's up to luck, and some believe it's dependent on your bond with your creature. Personally, I think it's a mix of both."
He took a breath.
"All I can say is be very patient and don't be afraid to try new stuff."
"Okay, now on to what I mentioned before. The reason it doesn't matter if you get hurt too badly is because we refined heal very well. Just as your companions do. Please don't beat each other up too much, though."
Sebastian had noticed this too.
His nose wasn't as sore as it was before, and Jade's scratch marks were slowly going away.
"That's really all for now. For those who claimed meals, go home and rest, play with your companions, and give them plenty of attention. For those who didn't, good luck on your hunts."
Around half the crowd groaned and headed towards the exit of the village while the other half went their separate ways.
Sebastian looked through the crowd for someone specific.
He spotted Twain quickly; he was bruised, but he had claimed his prize.
He was actually still sitting down feeding his rock golem, who seemed to have lost a few stones during the fight.
'Good for him.' Sebastian was actually surprised he thought that. He rarely had positive thoughts when he was thinking about anything related to Twain.
He quickly forgot about it on purpose and said his goodbyes to Jade before heading for his home.
It was the second largest building in the village, second to the one the elders met inside of and located right behind it.
He entered to find his dad sitting at the dining room table reading a book.
Sebastian was a little hesitant to walk in and grab the snack he originally came here for.
He still vividly recalled the meeting with the elders.
He didn't want to make it awkward, but it was hard not to.
Sebastian strolled past him and grabbed the snack before he heard his dad's deep voice.
"You did good today."
Sebastian was surprised.
"Who told you?"
"No one. A few of us old heads were in the forest to see how you guys would do and make sure no one was seriously hurt."
Sebastian once again felt awkward. The idea of him watching Sebastian get beat up by Jade was embarrassing.
Seeing through his embarrassment, his father tried to calm his worries.
"Don't be ashamed to lose to her. She's a clever fighter."
Sebastian let out a breath of relief.
"She'd make a good wife too."
"DAD! I don't want to hear about that."
He finally looked away from his book.
"She's smart, pretty, and her beast has potential. Every great man needs an even greater woman behind him."
Sebastian blushed.
"I still don't want to hear about it."
Sebastian was done with the conversation.
He was about to walk back out of the room when his dad grabbed Cindy off of his head.
Simon looked at her up and down while she dangled from one of her hind legs.
"You didn't do badly either, Cindy."
Cindy didn't like the position she was in too much, but she seemed to enjoy the attention at the same time.
"Let's see what we're working with."
He began examining her, starting with her teeth.
"Someone just finished eating some meat."
He even pushed on her forehead.
"Looks like you've even got a horn coming in."
After a little more scrutinization he placed her on the ground.
"Where'd you find her?"
"Her egg came hurtling down a mountain."
Simon's head snapped from Cindy to Sebastian.
"AND YOU JUST TOOK HER?"
Sebastian covered his ears.
"Why are you yelling? And of course I took her; it was a free egg."
Simon started rubbing his temples.
"Sebastian, mothers are incredibly protective of their children. You're lucky some huge beast didn't come down the mountain and squash you."
Sebastian just shrugged.
"She shouldn't have dropped the egg."
"Sebastian, I know you think you're invincible inside of the forest just because the companions of the elders roam it, but if a powerful creature decides to cause trouble, then there isn't much we can do."
He sighed.
"The world is much bigger than you think."
Sebastian realized he was disappointing him again.
He walked toward his dad and gave him a hug.
"I'm sorry, and I love you."
"I love you too."
Sebastian let go and left the house with Cindy and his snack with him.
He walked through the village and saw the adult men working hard to reconstruct it. But this time he looked at it differently.
All of these people were working hard to restore not only their own home but his too.
And what was he doing for them?
Absolutely nothing.
Even if he was only thirteen, he was also next in line to lead the village. It was his responsibility to prepare himself for the role adequately.
Which he was not doing.
'Something has to change.'
He completely did a 180 and headed back to his house.
He ran inside and saw his father sitting in the same spot with his book.
"What's going on, son?" Simon asked.
Sebastian reached him and snatched the book out of his hands.
"HEY! I'm reading that."
Sebastian turned and ran out of the house yelling behind him.
"You always wanted me to start reading!"
He slammed the door behind him and didn't stop running until he made it out of the village gates.
Inside the house his father's face went from a frown to a grin.
Outside the village Sebastian slowed to a casual stroll and headed in the direction of his intended destination. The spring.
Sebastian opened the book and started reading from the beginning.
The book was about determining the potential of young beasts.
"Look, Cindy, he's trying to see if you're going to be strong in the future."
Cindy didn't care, though. Her tail was raised high in the air and was wagging back and forth.
Sebastian closed his book when he saw this.
"You wanna play?"
Cindy's tail began wagging even harder.
Sebastian took a second to think about a game they could play.
Then an idea hit him.
"You were pretty nifty in the trees when you were fighting Stinger. How about a race?"
Sebastian picked Cindy up and pointed in the direction of the spring and then tossed her onto a branch and pointed again.
He then broke out into a sprint.
Cindy was confused for a split second, but when she saw Sebastian running, something instinctual inside of her activated.
She wanted to chase him and pounce on him, just like she did with Stinger.
She soon began running through the trees.
Cindy was fast compared to humans, but not fast enough to catch a human running on the ground.
But that didn't last long.
She quickly gathered experience.
Her long, sharp claws dug into the bark and gave her a ton of traction.
Her long and strong tail helped her balance as she sped along the branches.
Soon she was flying through them and becoming more efficient at it.
Sebastian turned his head to see how she was doing, and a surprised look showed on his face.
He started running a lot harder.
Cindy was jumping from branch to branch and quickly erasing the distance between the two.
Soon she was at the distance where she could pounce on him, but just before she was about to, they reached the body of water.
Sebastian ran out of the trees and dove straight into the water.
Cindy jumped down and was visibly upset that she didn't catch him.
Sebastian emerged from the water to catch his breath.
He climbed out and rolled to the side and laughed straight into Cindy's face.
"Hahaha."
Cindy was already upset she didn't complete her hunt, and now her prey was taunting her.
She launched herself at his sternum and knocked the air out of him.