21 Day Seventy, Noon

A small piece of meat fell from Eve's fork and was greedily eaten by the small, red fox by her feet. The creature jumped up and put her paws on Eve's leg, whining to be lifted higher. She started scratching at the hem of Eve's dress, starting to tear at the linen dress. She took the hem in her teeth and started pulling softly. The torn fabric began to shred more, finally catching Eve's attention. She looked down at the red fox, who stared pitifully at the half-elf, and smirked.

"What do you want, little one?" she asked, lifting the fox into her lap. "Are you hungry, Vixey?"

The fox began lapping at the gravy on Eve's plate, scooping up some meat chunk and vegetables with her tongue, devouring the meat pie greedily, her tail swishing back and forth happily.

"You're gonna spoil that thing," Markium pointed out, chuckling to himself.

"She's not a thing!" Eve faked being angry at him and flicked his nose like a dog. "She's an adorable baby who need food and love and affection." She paused and looked down at the fox, still eating happily. "And yes, I do plan on spoil her."

Vixey, recognizing Eve's voice, looked up at her and licked her nose, her warm, rough tongue against her skin. She soon stopped and gazed at Eve, lovingly, her head cocked slightly. Eve cocked her head the same way and smiled.

"My gods, you two are so cute," Amerella swooned, lightly fluffing Vixey's tail. Vixey turned and pulled another piece of meat from Eve's plate. "And hungry."

"She was chased through the forest for who knows how long, flown into the air and dropped into the lake multiple times; you'd be hungry too after all that." She reached her fork over to Markium's plate and stole a bite of his pie, leaving hers for Vixey.

"Why did you decide to go after the vulture anyway?" Markium asked, pushing his plate over for Eve. "I mean, that thing was bigger than you; it could've killed you."

"But it didn't," she replied between bites.

"But it could've."

"But it didn't. Anyway, I don't know why I helped her, something in me just screamed that she needed me, specifically. I couldn't help myself, I just had to help her." Vixey heard the sorrow in Eve's voice and looked up at her, concerned. Eve felt her gaze and smiled, putting her hand on the creatures back. "Everything's fine, sweetie. Keep eating."

Vixey turned back to the pie and chewed a piece of crust, her tail resting soothingly on Eve's lap.

"You going to take her home with you?" Chim asked, his tongue flicking from between his teeth slightly.

Vixey eyed the kobold suspiciously and looked to Eve, concerned.

"Of course I'm taking her home with me," Eve answered, gently caressing the foxes ear until she was soothed back into eating. "I'm not leaving her alone again; I'd die first."

Vixey crawled down on Eve's lap and yawned, her belly full of gravy and meat. Eve stroked her back, careful of the scars and bald patches. "I can't leave her again."

Markium noticed Eve's eyes as she watched the sleeping fox and smiled. He knew she needed Vixey as much as the little kit needed Eve. He rubber her back gently as she ate and sipped his ale.

Amerella picked up a small coin purse of gold coins and set it on the bar. "This is what we got from the sale after you left. The rest of Armand's wares are in the stables."

"What do you think is going to happen to those?" Chim asked.

"I don't know," Amerella answered, refilling Chim's mug. "It's all just a bunch of scrolls, books, potions; nothing anyone really wants here though."

"I'll take them," Eve spoke up, looking up from her meat pie. "I'm thinking about opening a school house near the village and those might be helpful."

"A school!?" Chim asked, excitedly, his reptilian face turning up into a smile.

"Yeah, it might be helpful for some children, maybe a few adults, in the village if there was a school nearby."

"But no one can afford to go to school," Amerella explained. "Philosophers usually charge 10 or 20 gold pieces to teach one person something simple."

"I'm not going to use philosophers to teach people something simple like math or reading. Without philosophers overcharging for easy lessons, I can open the school without charging."

"No charge?" a woman's voice called from behind them. They all looked to see a dwarf man and woman, both holding empty mugs, staring at them. "Did you say you're opening a school?" the woman asked.

"With no charge?" the dwarf man asked.

"Um... yes?" Eve answered. "Is that not allowed?"

"Last school we had was over-taxed and closed years ago. When is it opening?"

"Well, I don't have any basic school supplies and I have to find someone to build the school house-"

"I can build," a man called from a table, his hand up in the air.

"I'll help," another man called from the crowd.

"I'm a master woodworker," a dwarf proclaimed, putting his hands on a hammer on his waist. Many others in the tavern yelled out their masteries and how they would help.

"Guess you've got yourself a construction crew," Markium whispered as the men gathered around a center table and began drawing up plans for the school house with bits of food.

"I guess," Eve answered. "But why would they want to help me? I mean, its just a school house."

"Maybe they want to learn too," Amerella answered. "Like I said, not a lot of people can afford an education; what we do learn has to be from an everyday kind of lesson. Some of the men in here don't even know how many coppers go into a gold coin. They may want to educate their children as well as themselves." She watched the men bicker playfully and laugh.

Eve lifted the sleeping Vixey from her lap and handed her over to Markium. "I'll be right back," she spoke softly and turned to leave.

"Last time you said that," Amerella pointed out, taking the kit from Markium happily. "You got attacked by a vulture."

"Well, maybe I'll come back with another pet, then," she laughed and walked through the frenzied men toward the stables. After a short search, she found the large, half empty cart with what was left of Armand's wares. She searched through the dwindled pile of scrolls, searching for one she had glanced before.

Scroll of Psychic Bonding lvl 3

Durability: 20/20

Rarity: Uncommon

Increases the psychic bond with any creature by 40%

Creature can speak in 3 word sentences

Requirements: Level 5 (unmet)

Relationship with creature Level 2 (met)

Creature Level 3

Eve never saw a requirements list for items before, but then again, the first time she saw a requirements list was when they were unmet. Requirements lists must only show when an item is too advanced or powerful for the person trying to use it but don't show when they don't need to change. So she just needed to increase her levels three times and Vixey's levels twice.

She tucked the scroll into a small bag Armand gave her and noticed the weight hadn't changed. Shrugging it off, she turned and walked back to the tavern. she pushed the door open to see the men once gathered around a table surrounding the whole room, cheering. She nudged her way forward to see Vixey frantically running in circles. Markium chased behind her, trying to catch her before she hurt herself but somehow Vixey ran faster then a full grown man. Everyone watched the kit run, cheering, stomping and calling out encouragement to them both. Vixey flew forward at the sound of stomping, her body visibly shaking in fear, her eyes darting from one place to another, trying to find a place to run out and hide.

"Vixey!" Eve called over the shouts. The pups eyes darted toward Eve's voice and stopped in her tracks, turning toward her and running toward the half-elf at full speed. Eve bent down and caught the panting creature mid-jump, soothing her with gentle caresses and soft whispering.

Markium ran over, his heavy boots sounding loudly toward them. "Good, you caught her," he breathed, trying to calm himself as well.

"What happened?" Eve asked, trying to keep her voice calm so as not to alarm the tired pup of her fury.

"I don't know, just after you left she was find, fast asleep. When she woke up, she just went ballistic, running all over the place!"

Eve turned slightly and nuzzled little Vixey, soothing her further back to sleep. "She was looking for me," she said quietly and walked back to the bar with the sleeping creature in her arms. She sat back down with Chim and Amerella, laying the tired babe on her lap to rest, and took the scroll from her bag.

"Can either of you tell me about this scroll?" she asked, handing it over to Amerella.

"It's a bonding spell," she explained. "Some people use it to create a psychic bond with their pets or a familiar so they can communicate with it better. Some use scrolls and some just advance it naturally."

"Naturally?"

Amerella set a bowl of steaming meat and gravy on the bar for Vixey and a mug of ale for Markium. "Increasing your relationship with an animal with a high enough level causes the same thing the scrolls do, but slower. A scroll can achieve the psychic bond faster than three or four months of hunting and bonding."

What relationship level do you hand to be at to achieve the first level of psychic bonding?"

"Usually level two but the creature has to be at least level two as well to achieve a bond with you."

"What level do I have to be?"

"Any level really. The level requirement on this scroll is just what level you have to be to cast the spell, not the level you have to be to achieve it."

"How can I increase levels?"

"The usual ways; completing quests, hunting, just anything that grants you experience."

"How do I increase her levels?" She took the bowl of meaty gravy and slid it closer to the animal, waking her from her sleep.

"Same way. Just bring her with you on quests and missions and she can get some shared experience. Assuming she helps with whatever you're doing."

"I'll help you out when we get back to the cottage," Markium offered. 'It'll be nice to show off in front of her too,' he thought to himself with a smirk. He took a sip of his ale and gently pat the little fox's head as she devoured the bowl of food.

"Sounds like a plan," Eve replied, smiling to him. Once again, she felt a cold chill over her mark on her shoulder but ignored it. If Ronim wanted to have anything to do with her, he'd be a man and show himself, not call her to go to him.