Knowing Each Other

Zenon walked just behind Aurea, who swiftly moved in between the rocks while avoiding falling.

After some hours of traveling, they reached a strange section. It was still the same canyon they knew but some of the ravines completely fell down, leaving a wider area available covered by rocks.

Unlike Zenon, who was wondering what could have happened, Aurea didn't bat an eye and just continued moving, unfazed by the unexpected environment.

Now that he thought about it, she was extremely careless. And he still hasn't seen her Familiar here.

'Wondering what so useful about that bird. If she's that carefree that means she knows what to expect.'

Even though Leviathan was high in the air while scouting ahead, he rarely spoke to Zenon unless it was an important matter. So it was pretty much like being alone.

After more climbing, Aurea found a small opening towards the inside of the wall. Whistling at Zenon, she didn't think twice before going inside. Zenon quickly followed her trail, walking through the narrow entrance towards a medium-sized space.

Aurea took a deep breath and said, "Alright... time to eat."

Zenon scratched the back of his neck before sitting on the ground. Now that he took a rest for the first time since he woke up, he realized the weak status of his body.

His legs involuntarily relaxed for a second and he lost any sensation from them. Not only that, but his hands were begging for mercy.

Having a Tier-II Carapace was extremely useful but it didn't really do much with climbing. He even felt the blisters on his hands from grabbing onto the rocks.

*Bump!*

Zenon got startled by the amount of meat dropping out of nowhere, which he instantly recognized as Venomous Tarantula meat.

"Uhm..."

Aurea, who was standing in front of him, tilted her head and waited for Zenon to say, "Have you killed a Tarantula?"

She then looked at Zenon, then at the meat, and rolled her eyes before searching again in a sack... that appeared out of nowhere. Not only that, but she also took another three pieces of meat out of it!

If that wasn't enough, she also took dried leaves and wood out of it! Where has she found those so precious and rare materials that Zenon would die for them?!

'Please don't tell me th- Oh fucking hell... she also has flint!'

With each rare material that Aurea took out of the sack, Zenon grew more and more amazed until his curiosity took the best out of him, and said,

"Does that sack create materials?"

"No."

Direct and honest, Aurea destroyed Zenon's expectations.

She began making a small campfire with leaves and sticks and struck both rocks together. However, she had some trouble properly making the sparks.

"Wait, let me do it."

Aurea eyed Zenon for some seconds and gave both rocks to him while saying, "Try anything reckless and you may end up as fuel instead."

Ignorant of her threats, Zenon took a handful of leaves and put them near him. He then supported a rock on the ground and used the other to make bigger and longer sparks. It didn't take long until the first combustion reaction happened.

Quickly putting the leaves in his hands, Zenon gently blew until a small fire was made. Then he shoved the leaves on the campfire, starting a bigger one.

Zenon then sat back down and smiled at Aurea, who was, unexpectedly, impressed.

"Thought you were going to burn yourself down."

"Well, let's say I did my homework."

She then swiftly prepared some meat and put it on top and side of the campfire while covering them with more sticks. After some minutes, the meat was quickly cooking and the room was gradually getting hotter.

Zenon quickly got his Ignited Recipient out and greedily drank the water, even though it remained near full. Now that he thinks about it, why is it called Ignited when the water comes really cold?

It took him off guard the first time, not expecting the water to be almost freezing.

"Does that have water?"

Zenon looked at Aurea, then the recipient, and then rolled his eyes, gaining some cold looks from Aurea. He threw it towards her, who quickly caught it and began drinking.

After finishing she gave a big sigh and said, "Colder than I expected. That'll come in handy."

Zenon unsummoned the Carapace and said,

"You spent two days without water?"

"Not exactly, you can drink the river's water without dying from it… even though it's extremely hot."

Zenon subconsciously shivered at the thought of being so close to the river that water could actually reach you.

After a while of silence, and knowing that the meat would take some time until it was ready to be eaten, Zenon straightened his back and remained in an... awkward silence. It wasn't long until he took a deep breath and said,

"I was wondering… since there's a chance we are going to work together, maybe it's a good idea to know about each other's Elemental Abilities and Familiars. Maybe also Carapaces. Willing to do it?"

Aurea looked at him for a while before putting her hands on the back of her head and nodding.

"You start. Don't say something outrageous if possible. And if you need to keep something a secret just say it instead of beating around the bush."

"Well... uhm... alright.

First of all, my Element grants me an affinity to the void around me and the Ability is that depending on the amount of said void I get an overall physical boost.

Not only that, but I can consciously see it. Like, I can see thin purple veils floating around.

I currently have three Carapaces. The recipient that contains that water is one of them, which makes a new liter of whatever liquid it has each hour to a maximum of a hundred liters.

The next one is the armor that I'm currently wearing, and I also got a new Carapace from the spider I killed but I still haven't checked it out.

And my Familiar is... quite hard to explain. I don't know if you've seen him before, he likes staying hidden, but it's like a mixture between an ocean and land-type creature."

Finishing his narration, Zenon eyed Aurea who remained as nonchalant as ever. She however raised an eyebrow and said, "An actual Elemental Ability that gives a physical boost? Wouldn't have believed it if you hadn't killed that Venomous Tarantula with it."

Zenon awkwardly laughed while scratching his head.

"Anyhow, my turn.

My Element gives me an affinity to Sound. Somehow, I can sense waves from really far away if I concentrate and it gives me an Ability that explains why I need to use this neck warmer." She said while grabbing it.

"I have four Carapaces. The notebook you saw before, the sack, this armor, and the sword. The notebook lets me write whatever I want and it saves, so I can look at that information if I need to.

The sack lets me store a limited amount of objects in a medium space. And the armor and sword are just regular ones, enough to defend and attack.

And my Familiar, well you've seen it. Is a bird that can also turn invisible and heal."

'Heal?! Her Familiar heals people?! Wait, aren't those two different abilities?'

Zenon, obviously, asked that question to which Aurea replied,

"Well, the healing's the Innate Ability. Nothing too much. Did you forget about that possibility?"

"Uh, maybe…" Zenon muttered.

The meat was already cooked, and Aurea quickly extinguished the fire. Waiting for the meat to cool down, Zenon said,

"I'm actually kinda curious about your notebook. Can I try it out?"

Aurea stared at Zenon before saying,

"No. Anyways, how about we reveal our Familiars at the same time and take a good look at them? It will make things less awkward."

"Uhm... alright?"

Luckily, Leviathan was resting on his shoulder, so Zenon had to wake him up and explain the situation. He looked skeptical about doing it but nonetheless agreed to do so - knowing he couldn't avoid it any longer - quickly straightening his back.

Zenon looked at Aurea, who was also staring at her shoulder. He secretly activated Void Sense and saw just how wild the void was fluctuating there. It was almost as if it was trying to wrap something around.

"Alright. Three, two, one..."

At the sound of one, two creatures appeared on the shoulders of each Unseens. And both of them thought the same thing.

'What kind of Familiar is that?'