(A/N: I'm testing out a new formatting style. Let me know if this works better. I'll try to stay consistent :P Operative word here is TRY lol)
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Hmm. What exactly does one name a ball of gelatinous goo?
Sam was tempted to call it Slimer, after the Ghostbusters character, but it wasn't actually slimy — and no one would get the reference anyway. They'd just think she was terrible at naming things. Which, to be fair, wouldn't be too far from the truth.
She'd have to think about that one longer.
Looking at the nymph's appearance, the name Vixen popped into her head. She looked part fox, and a female fox was called a vixen. Not only that, but mythologically speaking, nymphs were known to lure men to their dens — and she was pretty sure the word nympho came from what those men did once they got there. So it fit.
The Sunroot Hare she named Cern, after Cernunnos, the Celtic god of fertility, animals, and growth. Simple, easy, and less likely to get mispronounced. If Celtic names were known for one thing, it was their complete lack of logical pronunciation.
Not being able to help herself, she named the moth… Mothra. Mainly because it was a big-ass moth. One of those ironic names, since her Mothra was as gentle as could be. No one else would appreciate it, but it delighted her nerdy little soul.
As for the yak — with its gentle-giant personality and its willingness to carry smaller creatures around — she named him Appa. Sure, he looked nothing like the magical, multi-limbed creature from Avatar, but she missed her totally-not-an-addiction to all things nerd-related.
That just left the slime ball. She was briefly tempted to name it after her ex-husband but vetoed that thought instantly. Instead, she decided to go with something simple: Jel. Short for Jelly.
Actually… no. She had four more to name. Sigh.
The eaglets.
Since there were four of them — and they'd most likely become her aerial scout group — she decided to name them after the four cardinal directions. Two males, two females.
What started as a way to tell them apart turned into something more deliberate. Naming them North, South, East, and West felt too impersonal. Sam had plans for them — one day, each would take a direction of the wind, watching over the land from the skies. So she named them for the paths they'd one day guard.
Aurora came first — a quiet nod to the North, where the air was sharp and the light danced at the edge of night. The name held meaning for her, a small tribute to her Canadian heritage back on Earth.
For the East, she chose Oriin — a word that sounded like origin or orient. It felt right for the one she'd send to greet the sunrise, the first to see what a new day might bring.
The West became Thalen. The name carried weight, a sound that felt steady. She imagined that eagle learning to ride the evening winds, watching as the sun slipped beyond the horizon.
And for the South, she picked Sirae — a name that carried warmth even when spoken aloud. The southern winds were known for their heat and their storms both; it suited a watcher meant to guard the warmer skies.
For now, they were only downy chicks — all fluff, chirps, and awkward hops. But one day, when their wings stretched wide and their eyes sharpened to the horizon, their names would mark the four winds themselves: Aurora, Oriin, Thalen, and Sirae — Sam's eyes in every direction.
With the naming done, introductions came next. Once she'd finished, she sent the newbies back to their beast realm. They could eat there, unlike in their beast spaces, so she didn't have to worry about them. The chicks, on the other hand… if removed from their beast space, they'd need to eat every two to three hours at this stage. Assuming they were like normal birds.
Realizing how unrealistic that would be if she wanted to get anything done, Sam remembered Janice from the A.H.A. — the avian specialist. Maybe she could help.
She'd feed them tonight and then return them to their beast space. They should eventually have individual spaces, but for now they shared one. Once older, they'd likely only go there to sleep or heal, spending most of their time in the beast realm — where they could interact with the other tames and hunt the lesser wild creatures that lived there for that very purpose. The only predators in the realm were her own tames, so she didn't need to worry about Cern's safety at least.
The next morning, after breakfast and a few daily quests, she opened the community tab on her S.I.S.T.E.M. and clicked Janice's name. She'd added her to her "friends list" back at the A.H.A. for exactly this reason.
A few quick messages later, Janice promised to stop by that afternoon.
When the afternoon came, Sam was busy in her workshop. After watching Syn and Tempy's armor resize with them, she realized she could make Abe better armor — actual armor. She just had to make it bigger first, then apply One Size Fits All. She wanted to smack herself when she realized it.
After taking his measurements — which, to anyone watching, must have looked absurd — she simply tripled the figures. The result was something much easier to work with and, frankly, downright adorable. Abe sat patiently on her workbench as she slid the pieces onto his tiny body.
At first, the armor looked comically large. Then the skill kicked in, adjusting it perfectly to his size. He now sported a chest piece that allowed for easy movement while providing protection, along with a Roman-esque waist guard — layered strips of leather to protect his hips.
She even tailored tiny pants with a buttoned flap so he could do his business. After some training, he had no problem unlatching it and using his tail to pull it out of the way. That had been an embarrassing little lesson for the usually composed rodent.
His paws were left bare, but she did craft four miniature bracers that she had to lace with tweezers. It felt more like performing surgery than armor work. The final piece was a hooded cape much like her own — complete with ear holes to keep it in place.
All in all, he was perfectly attired for safety. She even managed to weave in a few extra defensive enchantments. It was times like these she missed having a cellphone — just to capture the moment.
She was sitting back, admiring her handiwork, when someone knocked on the workshop door. She'd left it cracked open so she could hear when Janice arrived.
"Is… is that mouse wearing armor?" came a stunned voice from the doorway.
"He's adorable, isn't he?" Sam said, not turning around yet.
'I am a brave adventurer now! Not adorable!' Abe huffed indignantly.
"An adorable brave adventurer!" Sam countered, grinning.
Janice laughed as she stepped inside for a closer look. "And why, exactly, have you armored a Whisperkin? They're not known for their combat capabilities," she said, crouching down to inspect him — and having to admit, he really was adorable.
"I may have added some enchantments to help in that department. Abe, why don't you show our friend Janice what I mean," Sam said.
One of Abe's little bracers glowed for a few seconds, and then six copies of him darted off in different directions. Another bracer lit up, and a blast of wind knocked over a barrel full of wooden planks. The thing had to weigh close to two hundred pounds filled — even empty, it would've been fifty.
Sam summoned a set of Mana Hands to right the barrel and neatly stack the wood back in place. The look on Janice's face was priceless — a mix of awe and confusion.
"I thought you were a crafter?" she asked.
"Ah! A Master Crafter," Sam corrected proudly. "It allows me to craft anything — even enchantments."
{"Nice save."}
She ignored Jarvis and brought the eaglets out of their beast space.
'Food! Food!' they chirped incessantly.
"Yes, yes, you'll be fed," she sighed, pulling out a bowl of what she called their meat mash. Using a pair of chopsticks to hold the tiny morsels, she fed them one by one. Oriin, unsurprisingly, was the greediest — always trying to steal from his siblings.
"So, how's the incubator working for you? Any problems?" Sam asked as she continued feeding them.
"No, it's amazing. I might have to commission a few more from you," Janice said with a grin. "But that's not what I'm here for, obviously. You said you needed help in your message?"
"Yeah," Sam said, glancing at her. "Between starting dungeons, running my business, and preparing for The Lab, I just don't have time to keep up with feeding these little bottomless pits. I was wondering if you knew someone — or maybe had an assistant — who could look after them while I'm busy. I'm willing to pay, obviously. Or make something for them, or their beast. Or both."
"Hmm." Janice rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I may have someone in mind. But that's a round-the-clock job."
"I have a spare room, or they can work until I'm done for the day. Though it'll be a longer shift when the time comes for me to tackle The Lab — maybe two people at that time? They could work in shifts," Sam said, thinking through the logistics.
"I'll ask the person I have in mind," Janice replied. "And I can stop by when you head off to The Lab. How are you at making avian armor? You could pay them, craft a set of armor for their tame, and if you're willing, instead of paying me, we can make an arrangement — I'll send my customers your way for beast armor, and we'll split the proceeds."
"Sounds good," Sam said. "I was thinking of paying them a silver a day for six weeks. These guys are growing faster than I expected. Their feeding schedule should slow down by then, right?"
"Yes. By six to twelve weeks, they should only need feeding during the day — every four to six hours or so. By twelve weeks, they'll drop down to two or three times a day," Janice explained.
Sam nodded along as she listened.
"That works for me. We can adjust depending on how fast they grow. At least this way, they're not stuck in their beast space all the time," she said, finishing their feeding and sending them off to rest. "Don't suppose you offer flying lessons?" she added with a laugh.
"I can bring one of my own tames to help with that," Janice replied, smiling.
"Alright, we have a deal. You can send them over in the morning — if they're willing, that is."
"I'm sure the promise of free armor and forty to eighty silver will convince them," Janice laughed.
They parted ways shortly after, with Janice handing over a few coins for Sam to buy the materials needed for additional incubators. Sam spent the next couple of hours in her workshop, crafting four more units before heading out with Syn to deliver them to Janice's facility — a small farm just outside the city gates. There, she met her newest employee, who was more than happy to take on the job.
On her way back, she stopped in for dinner at Mary and Red's before finally heading home for the night.
The next day was filled with sparring in the backyard. The cubs' skills weren't bad — at Level 1, they only had access to their first active and passive abilities. Unlike domesticated animals that were later integrated, wild-born beasts followed the same progression as human classes: one new skill every level.
Nox and Nyx's first two skills were the active skill Maul and the passive skill Silent Step.Maul was a natural skill that involved well, mauling their opponents. Using their claws to inflict damage. Their passive skill Silent Step made them undetectable.
After training them to use these skills Sam used the abundant amount of XP in her beast bank to level them up to LVL 2.
She then incorporated their new skills Shadowstep which allowed them to teleport between shadows within 6 meters from them, and Collective Shadow a passive skills that would automatically release whisps of shadow into their surroundings that hide their position when the shadows weren't in abundance. She used the SKP from their level up to upgrade their first two skills, while adding a point into vitality and instinct. She continued that pattern alternating between strength, wisdom and instinct, but always including vitality.
After a few days of training not only did the cubs improve but so did Sam's Beast Tamer class. Beast's Insight advanced rapidly to LVL 3 once the cubs obtained Collective Shadow. Once they realized what they could do with Silent Step, the mischievous pair of cubs delighted in scaring the daylights out of Sam and the other tames. They were less thrilled when she started catching them once her skills level increased.
By the time Beast's Insight had reached LVL 3 she was finally able to gain new skills. Her tame-a-thon while in the dungeons had already risen Animal Empathy Surge to LVL 3 long ago, and she had been debating going into a puzzle dungeon to raise the other. Thankfully the cubs alleviated her of that chore.
Sam didn't mind puzzles…when they didn't have a lethal or maiming quality to them, but with her habit of second guessing herself when it came to those types of things. She'd prefer if she didn't get shot with an arrow for going with her second choice.
Now at LVL 3 of her Beast Tamer class, Sam gained the active skills:
Shared Senses Activation - View the world through your beast's senses (sight/smell/hearing). Sam is vulnerable while using.
Mana: 20MP (+5MP/5s upkeep) | Cooldown: 30s | Duration: Up to 30s
And
Beast Bond Boost - +15% Attack, +10% Speed/Defense for bonded beast.
Mana: 35MP | Cooldown: 45s | Duration: 15s
And the Passive Skills:
Night Vision – See in low light/darkness clearly.
Natural Camouflage – Bonus to stealth in natural environments.