Capital

The next day Juniper woke up, it was a bright sunny day as usual. As he lay on his bed for a few moments longer than normal he realised that something was missing. "Ah" he said.

There was no one else around. He walked through the house, it seemed very empty and quiet. There had always been his brother and now there was nobody. Juniper walked back to his bedroom and stared out of the window, wondering If his brother knew he was gone and what he was doing at this moment.

It took him several minutes to get moving and then he began working on his garden.

It had grown quite a bit since yesterday. He had a good supply of seeds which was good but his collection still looked sparse compared to what he had on Earth. With more work the garden would grow faster, if he wanted to speed up his plants, he could use his ability, however, he wanted to wait until they were all at the appropriate size.

Today Juniper planned to study the language of this era, although he can use a translator for long term he didnt think it was appropriate. This meant learning by using his brain and memory instead. He also needed to learn the names of everything; he had memorised the alphabet and how to say a few things. For now, he was only going to attempt words that had an obvious meaning for him. It would be harder for him to recall them later if he did it too early, so he would continue for the rest of the day until his brain was too tired and his body was ready for sleep.

It didn't take Juniper long to find a list of basic vocabulary he needed to know. He sat down at a desk and opened a document where he could save it to remember and then began to read, his mind absorbed everything like a sponge. It wasn't hard to understand what each word meant; he used the memory and experience he had on Earth to give him context and understanding.

***

After studying for most of the morning, Juniper decided to eat, he was quite hungry and felt that he needed a meal after all the effort he put into learning. While he was eating Juniper looked out the window, the sun was almost at peak now. He thought it may be good to take a walk around instead of being trapped inside all day. He finished off his food quickly and left his quarters.

Originally he thought of contacting Ciro however after looking at what day it was he realised Ciro would be at work today, Ciro worked at a local beast hospital, it worked as both a nursery and hospital.

People even those without abilities themselves could create a contract with a beast, Although Ciro hadnt explained everything to Juniper he did know that the type and power level of a beast had to match the contractor.

Juniper had not yet gone to check what his genetic power level was nor his abilities checked, he put it on the agenda as the idea of owning a beast was appealing to him now that he lived on his own.

Juniper continued up the street. He didn't have a plan of action. He just wanted to take in the sights and smells of his new home.

After a few moments he noticed a group of people sitting together by the side of the road. They were watching him. They weren't looking scared or intimidated but rather fascinated. They seemed very curious about him, which made him more self-conscious. Juniper looked down and continued forward. Soon the houses got bigger, there was less grass and shrubbery to look at, it became clear why the locals called this place "The Capital." Juniper saw a building with lots of shops on each floor; it must be a Mall. He was intrigued to go inside so he decided to make his way towards it, walking slowly along the path.

As he went, Juniper began to feel something else; something powerful, it came from behind him.

It wasn't his memory or experience giving him warning, it was simply intuition. There was danger near. Juniper turned around and looked over his shoulder. Something big and heavy was moving towards him. Juniper had a split second to process it – it was a bear, but not like any he had ever seen. The bear moved at a slow trot, its body was covered in a thick brown fur and it had large, dark eyes. The bear's mouth opened as if snarling. A loud growl came from the beast.

Juniper knew he could not fight this alone, so he took a few steps backwards, making sure to stay within his personal space bubble. At first the bear looked at him with confusion, then sniffed him.

Juniper stood his ground, his mind was clear now. He was calm, although fear remained in his chest.

After a brief moment he heard someone coming from behind the bear. ''Bardo, stop that you will scare people.''

Juniper looked at the owner of the voice: It was a tall and well built man, He wore a dark green uniform with gold edging that covered all of his upper body except his head, he had a tag with the name Gio around his neck. The bear stopped its walk for a moment, turned to face the source of its name and grunted.