7 Palico Bond

After exiting the room, Abigail led the still-confused Velk down the hall and back into the lobby. Ash had not yet finished his tests, but he should get done shortly. Abigail pointed out a chair she wanted Velk to sit on while he waited. Velk sat in the chair and looked at the large clock to see that it was only 4:26 in the afternoon.

Abigail had returned to the counter and pulled out a couple of books and documents that he would probably need to fill out. Velk had not expected that he would need to fill out so many sheets of paper just to join. He thought they were a laxer than this, but now he knows that he was wrong.

The purple-haired girl returned to Velk, holding a stack of books, some of which Velk recognized, a folder, and a strange-looking writing utensil. It was a thin black pen with a sharp point that looked like it was made to cut rather than leave ink. She sat on the chair opposite of Velk and placed all of the items on the table. The books were neatly stacked, and the pen was placed off to the side.

She opened up the folder and took out the documents hidden within. There were not many of them, but they were brimming with text and blank spaces. Abigail grabbed the odd-looking pen and started to write something on each of the documents. The only weird thing was, nothing was showing up. It looked as if she merely traced the pen over the paper to practice what she would write.

Suddenly, the words started to apparate where she had written them, and each spelled out his name. Velk watched as thick bold letters manifested on the paper and seemed to sink into it, almost as if it permanently embedding itself within. Abigail wore an amused smile as she watched Velk adorn a confused expression. Not once in his fourteen years of life had he seen such an item.

"We use this to avoid any issues with the guild back on the other continent. Everything I write here is also copied onto documents back in the two Guild Headquarters. This paper is embedded with an enchantment that allows what I write to transfer over to the record it is connected with. The only problem was that if one document was destroyed, the text on both would disappear with it. Hence where the pen comes into play. It engraves the ink into the paper permanently so that if one is destroyed, the other would not be. The only way to get rid of the information is to use the same type of pen to erase it."

What Velk just heard sounded absolutely absurd, but as he had seen many things that bordered the naturally impossible, it did not come as much as a surprise. The ancient civilization had its secrets, and the guild did as well. None of this fancy 'magic' was distributed to the public, so the only times he had ever been in close contact with this 'magic' was when he had lived with his grandfather. The belt was also a tool of this caliber, but he had only used it a couple of times when he was younger.

Maeve had once walked in on him, inspecting the sapphire gem, shaped like a star, and he had to make a deal with her to keep it a secret from Rose. He wasn't sure if Maeve ever withheld her end of the bargain, but as he had never been confronted about it, he could only presume that she did.

Velk continued to watch Abigail fill out the sheet as he waited for Ash to return. Occasionally, Abigail would ask him to stand up so that she could measure his body with a long string. She would then record the information within the document and continue to ask him questions or just make small talk while she worked.

Once she finished the documents, she put them back into the folder and moved them to the side. Then taking the book on top of the pile, she passed it over to Velk. "This is the general rules and regulations book. Inside will be the rules you need to follow now that you are part of the guild. It should not be too different from your normal life, but breaking some of the rules may lead to the loss of your life. Please exercise caution."

Briefly skimming over the contents of the book, Velk happily placed it into his bag. He then turned back towards Abigail. She then proceeded to grab another book and handed it over to him.

"These books from here on are usually not given out for free, but the guild master had paid for them and told me to give them to you. You should be grateful that the guild master has taken a personal interest in you. Don't disappoint her."

The book she had handed him was about the classification of wyverns and what they were. Velk had never seen this book before, so he gladly accepted it. He was not sure why the guild master had shown him such kindness, but he will happily make use of it.

Abigail also gave him books about different medical ingredients, traps and how they worked, locations of interest, and the various weapon styles. There were also two more books, but Velk already owned those ones. They were about monsters and their habits and an easy survival guide for the wilderness. He handed them back to the confused Abigail, who accepted them with a slight hesitation.

"I already have these two. I don't need any copies. Please give them back to the guild master for me." The guild master had already done enough for Velk. He did not want to take any more of an advantage than he already had.

Abigail just nodded and received the two books back. "Alright then, now all we have to do is wait for that felyne of yours to get back, and I will guide you two around the base." She was kicking her legs as she spoke, and it seemed like she was back to her cheerful mood. Velk couldn't help but wonder if she had an illness or something due to how much she changed her behavior from one minute to the next...

As if by circumstance, Ash reared his fluffy head around the corner not too long after his thoughts passed. Ash immediately made his way towards Velk with the brown-haired receptionist who helped him in tow. He seemed exceptionally excited, and Velk couldn't help but get riled up as well.

The receptionist who guided Ash made her way towards Abigail and leaned into her ear to whisper something. Velk was not able to hear anything being said. Abigail just nodded and said a few things back after blinking in surprise a couple of times. The brown-haired receptionist then straightened her skirt and turned to look at Velk and Ash.

"It was nice getting to know, you Ash, and..." She looked directly at Velk.

"Velk," He replied.

"And Velk. I hope to be seeing you two more in the future." She sent a wink towards Velk and then walked off while waving towards the group. Velk did not know what the gesture was for and could only wave back. Rose often winked towards him when she was planning something against Maeve, Ash, or Ethran, so he wondered if she had a plan against someone, and she desires him to be a part of it.

"Alright! Put the books in your bag, and let's head over to the Bonding Room! There, we will get you two bonded so that Ash can become your palico!" She jumped up from her seat, lifted one of her arms into the air, and struck a pose. It was kinda embarrassing to watch, but Velk was glad she was in an excited mood rather than anything else.

She then ran to the counter and opened up the section once again, leading behind it. "Come~! Come~! Let's get moving!" She beckons him to follow her while smiling. Velk looked towards Ash with an unsure smile on his face, and Ash just shook his head.

"Let's go." Velk and Ash started to follow Abigail through the counter and down the hall

Velk once again caught sight of all the magnificent trophies enhancing the beauty of the guildhall. Ash had gone the opposite direction for his tests, so he had not gotten to see these trophies; thus, he was looking around quite excitedly.

While walking, Velk watched Abigail walk down the hall. She had both hands clasped behind her back and was swaying her body side-to-side. Occasionally she would jump or spin and had at some point started to watch her steps to avoid any of the lines on the floor.

He had never seen such a playful yet serious girl of her age in his life, so it was an odd experience, just observing her. Ash eventually joined in her little game and started to avoid the lines as well. He attempted to outpace Abigail in the 'little race.' She sent a knowing smirk back at Velk, basically signifying that this was her plan all along. Velk chuckled when Abigail noticed that Ash had overtaken her in their 'race' and that she grew a mock frustrated expression.

Once they arrived at the Bonding Room, Abigail stopped moving and straightened out her dress. Ash kept on going down the hall, not yet realizing that they had already arrived at their destination. It did not take long for him to notice and look back to see that they had finished moving. He gave a confounded cat-grin and rushed back over to them.

Abigail opened the door and made her way into the room, it was the same size as the testing room Velk had been in previously, but there were two long, padded tables next to each other and a wooden desk with a chair to the side of the room. There were also a couple beige slips of paper atop the table and another one of those weird pen things.

Now adopting a resolute appearance, Abigail looked at the two and said, "Ok, I will need you both to take off your shirts and lay face down on the tables. I will be drawing a rune onto your backs that will bond the two of you together until removed. I have heard that this operation is a little painful, so you will have to bear with it. Is that alright?"

This was the first time Velk had heard that he would need to get a rune engraved into his body, but then he remembered that his grandfather had an oddly shaped tattoo in the middle of his back, and he could control its opacity at will. He recalled that the tattoo was a circle with many different shapes and patterns inside it and circle markings around it. Velk thought that it looked like an intricate flower within a big hexagon.

"Um... Sure?" Velk looked towards Ash to get his confirmation. Ash nodded back and started to slowly take off his shirt.

Velk also started to undress right then and there. Abigail would often try to taunt the hunters whenever she was tasked with drawing the rune, but she believed that she had already had enough fun with these two for now. She watched as the two took off their shirts and hopped onto the table. Neither Velk nor Ash were very muscular, but they were definitely fit and had somewhat attractive bodies.

Velk did not know how Abigail was supposed to get the rune onto Ash's body with all his hair covering it, and he just hoped that it would not be too painful for his friend. He decided to voice his question to alleviate any worries that he and Ash may be feeling.

"Ah... How are you supposed to draw the rune onto Ash? Will you need to remove his hair? Will it be painful for him?" Velk could see Ash tense up at the idea of needing his hair removed for the procedure. Ash had always kept it groomed, so the thought of losing it seemed to worry him.

Abigail was able to come up with a quick and decisive response in no time. "No. We have a pen designed for the lynians that deals with this problem. There is no reason to worry. He will only feel around the same level of pain that you would."

Hearing this, both of the now awaiting torture victims calmed down a great deal. Velk was glad that Ash would not be harmed, while Ash was happy that he would not need to lose his precious hair.

Now, Abigail was no sadist, but she did enjoy the drawing process a little too much. Sometimes it was fun to see grown men and women cry in pain while carving out their skin with the pen. Velk and Ash were no exceptions to this.

Abigail sat two beige slips onto Velk's and Ash's backs, one each, and began carving. The process involved Abigail cutting through the slips, replicating the shapes that are shown on them. The runes had to be a close to the original as possible for the procedure to work, which is why everything must go fine.

Because the tattooing actually required Abigail to cut through skin, she needed to ensure that there was not too much moving from the two. To do that, she had strapped them down to the table without them even noticing. Sometimes, people would freak out when they realized that they were being tied down to the table, so Abigail had gotten really good at doing it secretly.

During the surgery, Velk had been grunting and occasionally screamed in pain while getting his skin torn. He was Abigail's little canvas of fun and dispair. She was a masterful artist, trying to paint the horrifying scene of a child begging for reprieve and yelling stop and please at the top of his lungs. This was the product of her creation that she had worked long and hard to obtain.

Ash, did not fare any better than Velk did. Amidst all of the groaning and crying and the screeching, you can hear a girlish giggle sound out. One could walk past the room and seriously fear for the boy's and the animal's life.

Velk realized that while getting skin carved off and holes poked into it was painful, the rune settling caused the most pain. A burning sensation could be felt burying into the skins of those that obtained the rune, and once the process starts, it could not be stopped without causing severe damage to the recipients.

Ash had absolutely not wanted to go through with it, but knowing that Velk could be crippled if he bailed, kept him on the path of righteousness. Hence, the two teary-eyed children slowly putting their shirts back on.

"Oh, quit your whining. I have seen pickles with more guts than you two." Abigail kept a warm and gentle smile on her face, but all Velk and Ash could see was a smiling demon waiting to entrap them within their new worst nightmare. It was borderline torture to embark upon the journey they had set off on not even twenty minutes ago.

Once the two were dressed, they awaited their upcoming instructions, with tears still staining their faces. Abigail was just looked at them confusedly for a couple of seconds before remembering that she would probably have to lead for a little bit. Most people were like this after getting the runes, so it was nothing new.

"You both should now be able to sense where each other are at, and Velk, you should be able to roughly see the amount of power that your palico possesses." It sounded really simple to Abigail, but the other two were still in no position to suitably interpret what she meant. They just looked at each other weekly nodded in understanding.

"Could you please give us a moment? We need some more rest before you explain any more to us." Velk was practically pleading at this point. They both desperately needed some time to recuperate.

"Yes. Both of you should sit back down and rest for a while. I will give you ten minutes until I begin the explanation of what the bonding is." Abigail also expected this as many asked for the same thing. She had never gone through the bonding ceremony herself, so she could not relate, but she has witnessed it enough times to empathize with how they feel.

After ten minutes passed, Abigail sat up from the chair near the table and got both Velk's and Ash's attention. They were no longer crying, but they still had tired expressions on their faces. Velk was almost asleep by the time Abigail tried to get his attention, and he promptly woke up with a jolt.

"I will once again explain what the bond does and how to use it. Listen carefully; I do not want to repeat myself." It was surprising how many people could not get what she said the first time and needed an explanation, so she had gotten rather sick of saying it over and over again. "Both of you are now connected through what the ancient civilization called A Bond. It allows you to use the rune to sense each other's whereabouts and basic needs. Velk, you should now be able to see how powerful your palico is and how much 'power' he has.

The ancient civilization came up with a way to steal life force from dead wyverns and power up weaker beings. It is displayed as a level system, and for each level your palico goes up, the stronger your palico will become. Do you understand?" Although Velk did not fully understand, he still nodded anyway.

"How do I see these levels? I don't know what to do." Velk did not know how to find the 'levels' that she was talking about. If it was anything like the belt, it shouldn't be too hard.

"I don't know. I was just told that you can just see it by wanting to see it. It does not make much sense to me either, but a lot of the ancient civilization's gadgets and enchantments work that way."

So, in a nutshell, it did work just like the belt. Velk used his 'intent' to find the levels that Abigail was talking about, and to his surprise, a small rectangular grey screen with text showed up in front of his eyes.

[[Palico]]

Name: Ash

Age: 4

Species: Felyne

Level: 1

[Stats:]

Health: 100

Attack: 10

Ranged: 10

Defense: 10

He looked around and asked, "Do either of you see this?" Both Abigail and Ash looked at him weirdly before Abigail seemed to understand what he was getting at and said, "No, we can not see the stats. It is something special to you and the other hunters that are bonded with a palico."

This cleared up Velk's questions, but as he did not know what the stats actually meant, he could only take random guesses even though they were, for the most part, self-explanatory. He did not understand how Ash had ten defense without armor, but he credited it to the unique system.

Once again, putting on a cheerful smile, as if she did not just hurt them badly, Abigail opened the door leading back out into the hall and asked, "Shall we go explore the rest of the guild?"

avataravatar
Next chapter