1 Chapter 1: The Beginning

"-and don't come back here till you have one!" Mrs. Gretchen screeched, shoving Mera out of her office, and slamming the door.

Mera blinked a few times, then deflated into what would have been a puddle if her bones allowed it. There were a few snickers and she cast her honey eyes upward to her friends who'd been waiting in the hallway. "So you're definitely going to have to get one now?" Amelia asked with a knowing smile as Keith stood red-faced from trying to keep his laugh at bay.

Mera let out a loud groan and yanked at her unruly, red curls with her functional arm. "I don't get it! Why do I have to get one? Does she realise that they poop, and eat, and break things?! Her argument was completely invalid! I made it to Master's just fine without a familiar!"

Two pairs of blue eyes flicked down to her right arm that lay still in it's cast. "Sure." Keith said, giving his twin a pointed look. "I guess we're not going to count all your trips to Campus Infirmary then." Amelia said, rolling her eyes. "Or the fact that she had to have her teeth regrown many times after they were knocked out." Keith said. "Or all the times her hairs been burned off." Amelia said. Even their tabby cats seemed to think she was an idiot as they gazed up at her.

Mera sighed. "We have too much of work to do besides taking care of a whole living creature." She said, blowing a stray curl away from her forehead. "I wouldn't know what to do with it." She facepalmed and let out a whine.

"Oh come on, you're just being lazy. Familiars aren't hard to care for. And we're almost at Ph.D. You're never going to be able to finish your fieldwork for your thesis if you don't have a good familiar supporting you." Amelia said. Keith nodded. "And I'm sure you're tired of having a stupid, floppy-looking thing jumping around and embarrassing you every time in class. It's been eleven years Mera, and you're still not learning." Keith tsked, stroking Pepper, his cat.

"Toads aren't stupid, it's just that-" Mera started with a blush.

"Mera, you know they die too easily. Really, can you think of a time where one of your toads actually helped you when you were fighting off a Magical beast?" Amelia asked as she raised a brow.

Mera pouted and looked down in a sheepish way. "No..." She mumbled. The Dean's door swung open and out came a broom to smack Mera atop the head. "You rotten child! What are you still doing here?! I thought I'd told you to get a familiar! Stop standing in my hallway and get a move on it!" The pretty witch snapped. Mera yelped and held her head, looking back at her legal guardian.

"No, but at least they cushioned me against attacks from this evil monstrosity," Mera said in response to Amelia's question. Mrs. Gretchen's black hair flew in all directions. "Why you little- Hey get back here!" Mrs. Gretchen said, pulling out her wand, but with another squeak, Mera teleported away.

Mrs. Gretchen huffed and looked at the twins. "You two. Make sure she gets a familiar before Monday, else your whole lot will be in trouble." She said. "Yes, Madame!" The blondes said, simultaneously, teleporting away with their cats too.

Mrs. Gretchen groaned and held her head as she shook it. "Greta... Your daughter is getting on my last nerve." She said, turning to return to her office.

Mera appeared at the center of Fawna's Town Square. "Ow." She said, rubbing her head. Her aunt could be so mean. A small vibration in her skirt pocket made her look down. "Hmm?" She pulled out her Onyx from her pocket and found that their friend group chat was flooded with messages.

'Mera, where the heck did you go?!' Amelia said.

'You better be somewhere getting that familiar! And it had better not be an amphibian this time!' Keith said.

'Wait, what's going on?' Amber, their other friend asked.

'Mrs. Gretchen called Mera to her office today because she came back with a broken arm.' Keith said.

'A broken arm?! How?!" Xander asked.

'She got knocked into a tree by a centaur.' Amelia said.

'Oh my gosh, is she okay?!' Amber asked.

'Is she in the Infirmary now?' Xander asked.

'No, after seeing Mrs. Gretchen, she teleported out of Campus.' Keith said.

'And she left us alone with her scary aunt who threatened to kill us." Amber said.

'Now that's absurd. Mrs. Gretchen wouldn't make a threat like that.' Xander said.

'Well, she might as well have with that frightening look in her eyes. Our cats almost shat themselves.' Keith said.

'Anyway, Mera, you better be getting a familiar right now, else we're going to show up at your apartment and eat all your snacks.' Amelia said.

'And we'll make Salt and Pepper poop on your floor.' Keith said.

'Why do you keep mentioning poop? I'm having my afternoon tea.' Amber said.

'Are you outside? You should go in, I heard that's going to rain soon.' Xander said.

'I heard that too, thunderstorms.' Amelia said.

'Mera, you don't have an umbrella, do you? You shouldn't waste your power on a water shield, go home and I'll go with you to Ariella's Beast Emporium tomorrow.' Xander said.

'Xander, you have a project due on Monday, remember?' Keith said.

'Yeah, for PTNS 851, right?' Amber asked.

'But she can't go around alone with her arm like that, didn't you hear? People have been going missing in Arcadia. They're being kidnapped, supposedly. Even the Prince has gone missing.' Xander said.

'Oh! I've heard about that... It also happened in the next town over.' Amber said.

'Wait, even in Etherium? But the borders of our Kingdom are constantly surveyed. How would kidnappers get in?' Amelia asked.

'Maybe they don't have to try, maybe they're already in here, traitors.' Amber said.

That's crazy... What do you think the King will do about it? I mean the kingdom of Arcadia is filled with amazing witches and warlocks... And they specialize in combat...If they fell victim to it then what'll Etherium do? We're just a bunch of glorified researchers.' Keith said.

'Anyhow, Mera shouldn't go alone. Considering her lineage, she'd be a bigger target.' Xander said.

'Hey, she's reading all our messages! Mera, where are you now?' Amber asked.

'Hi guys, I'm already in town, I'll grab a familiar and go home.' Mera passed the message from her mind to the device and it appeared in the chat.

'Mera, you shouldn't be teleporting in your condition. Tell us where you are, we'll come to you.' Xander said.

'Don't worry about it, I have enough power left to teleport at least four more times. Finish your assignments! I'll message you guys when I get home.' Mera said, putting her Onyx into her pocket. It buzzed a few more times but she ignored it.

Flicking her large green eyes to the right, she caught sight of the large, familiar sign of Ariella's Animal Emporium. "You know what, she wins!" She suddenly said out loud. A couple who was walking by gave her an odd look as she spoke to herself.

"There's no reason I can't raise a familiar, and if Aunt Monique is paying for it, who am I to say no?" She huffed. "Fine! I'll get a cat! Or a bird! Or a pig! And she's going to have to pay all the food costs and the vaccination fees! She asked for it!" Mera said, stomping into the large store.

"Mera! Back for another toad, hmm?" Mr. Harriet asked with a big smile. Mera looked at the cute little old man with fierce determination. "No, I want a mammal, and a make it a big one." She said.

"Oh? Really? Well then, come along!" He said, happily trotting through the store. "How would you feel about a fruit bat? They're quite handy familiars, especially if you're trying to escape a beast! If you enlarge them, you can even travel on them, and they're easy to feed! Although, they're nocturnal." He said, gesturing to the enclosure of bats.

Mera thought about it then shook her head. "I do most of my fieldwork during the day, I don't think that would work."She said.

"Hmmm... Then, how about a crow? Clever things they are." Mr. Harriet said. "But they can be a bit noisy, and they may leave a mess."

"I don't think so." Mera said with a frown. "Alright, let's start from this end and go all the way to that end." Mr. Harriet said. And so began the search for the perfect familiar, however, three hours and many claps of thunder later, she still hadn't come to a decision.

Mera sighed. "From all the options, I think a cat or a dog sounds the best." She said. Mr. Harriet nodded. "Well, you do live alone Mera. While I think a cat would really suit you, perhaps you need a puppy in your life. They'd definitely make your apartment more lively." He said, tapping his chin.

There was another loud clap of thunder and some rain sprayed in through the front doors. "Oh dear, now it's started raining." Mr. Harriet said. "I'll go close the-" He started, but then something small and white ran straight into the glass window next to the door.

"Oh! You poor thing!" Mr. Harriet gasped and ran out of the store to pick up whatever it was. Mera tilted her head and looked on curiously. It whined and struggled a bit.

"What is it?" Mera asked, walking closer. "Hmm... Looks like... A husky pup... But the eyes... Yes... Yellow, and bigger paws. Let me check for the precaudal gland under its tail."

One upset pup and a very scratched-up Mr. Harriet later left Mera comforting the upset creature. "Definitely a boy, and definitely a wolf pup." Mr. Harriet said. Mera glanced at the puppy. "He must have got separated from his pack and run here from Avalon Forest. It's rare to see a wolf pup so far from its home. I doubt it belongs to anyone, because nobody has registered this animal with me or come to get it vaccinated, and I most certainly didn't sell him to anyone." Mr. Harriet said.

"Poor baby. He must be missing his family." Mera said. Mr. Harriet tilted his head. "I don't smell any other wolf scent or human scent on him though. I believe he doesn't have a family." He said. Mera's heart twinged as she looked at the puppy solemnly. Harriet smiled. "Here's an idea! Maybe it's good fortune that this little guy came here right when you were looking for a big mammal to be your pet! How about it? Why don't you take him home?"

Mera blinked a few times and looked at the puppy that had fallen asleep. "I..." She paused. For a long time she'd said that she wasn't going to get a familiar, but as she stood there, knowing that the animal probably had no family either, she started to think that perhaps it would be good for them both if they could rely on each other.

She looked at Mr. Harriet. "I'll take him."