CHPT 66: Stronger than Steel

By the time Claude stepped out of the carriage and faced the beautiful expanse of forestry that encircled the cabin his excitement was at its peak, but so was his anxiety. This weekend was probably the most important of his life, the weekend he stepped into the Tangents as a Hero and the weekend he took the next steps in becoming a complete Beast Tamer....or didn't.

"[Claude, relax, I thought you were excited to see Frosty.]"

"Of course I am. I'm just a little nervous that he wants to stay in this forest....hunting.....running free. I'm just worried that maybe he prefers to live like a wolf instead of my partner." Claude said while he looked up at the dark evening sky stretching out over the forest and cabin inside it.

"[Theres only one way to find out what the furball wants. But, I personally think you'll like the outcome.]"

With that, Claude headed into the forest. His skin brushed against the odd bush or low hanging branch as he entered. It felt the same as ever— maybe better since he missed the place so much.

Even with the lack of sunlight, it was still vibrant and beautiful like a calm green oasis. While he continued to bask in the familiar comfort of the forest, he took in a large Whiff of air and let his nose tell him what's transpired within the forest in his absence.

"Frosty's been putting in work." He said with a smile.

The smell of wild PitWolf lingered all throughout the forest along with the smell of blood and urine....he slowly realized he was smelling too much urine.

His heart raced and his mind started spinning webs of possible scenarios and events that all had one thing in common.

"Frosty felt the need to mark his territory. Why?....nearby predators?.....did the HellBreeder come to take the last of my family as revenge?"

Claude burst into a sprint triggered by panic and anger. As he moved through the forest in a blur he heard Arne speaking something to him but he couldn't focus, not until he saw Frosty.

He flew out of the forest with his claws out and fangs bared. His bright green eyes scanned the expanse of grass and front of the cabin intently while his nose flared repeatedly. If there was any evidence of foul play in the grass, he would find it.

He walked closer to the cabin while he looked around the grass and edges of the forest. His claws grew longer and deep black hair sprouted from his arms as he got angrier from not seeing, hearing or smelling a thing.

After a few more minutes he threw his head back and yelled to the dark evening sky, "fUUUURRGHK!"

He didn't notice it, but his voice dropped an octave and rumbled out of his throat as something akin to a monstrous howl that sent the birds and rodents fleeing from the forest.

His vocal expression of frustration left him standing in the grass heaving and shaking while he continued to slowly transform further and further.

His ears pricked at the sound of movement occurring behind him, he quickly spun around beyond ready to fight whatever Frosty felt was threatening their territory. Instead of seeing some psychotic scorpion out of hell, he saw the man—wolf, of the hour. Frosty.

His heart rate steadied and his transformation slowly reversed as the musclebound PitWolf trotted out of the forest to the right of him. He looked bigger— more menacing somehow. But Claude couldn't be happier to see him.

Frosty seemed to feel the same way, he happily jogged through the grass towards him with his ears back and tail wagging like crazy.

"Dammit Frosty, you had me scared man." Claude said once he was back to normal.

"[Your one to talk, can you try not to lose your mind so often?]" Arne cut in now that Claude was listening again.

"Sorry." He replied with a little embarrassment.

"WOOUU!" Frosty lifted his head and howled happily before he jumped into the air and crashed into Claude.

"OOF!"

Claude made a noise as the air left his lungs and he hit the ground. A few seconds later and Frosty's rough sandpapery tongue was rubbing the skin on his face until it was raw.

"Alright let me get up dude." Claude said.

"ROO! ROO!"

Frosty backed up and jumped around excitedly while barking and huffing.

Claude finally got up from the ground wiping the grass and dirt of his armor when Frosty quieted. He sat in the grass across from him with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, grass flew in the air behind him as his tail continued to wag aggressively.

"I missed you too buddy." Claude said once he was done getting the debris off himself. Frosty barked in response and lifted his paw, he held it there patiently while Claude walked over to him.

He crouched down so he was face to face with Frosty and shook his paw. It seemed Frosty still liked their traditional way of greeting each other, Claude felt the same way.

His reunion with Frosty was suddenly interrupted by a familiar sound he didn't expect to hear at the moment since he wasn't in combat or training.

DING!

His system screen appeared in between him and Frosty's faces with a question, a very important one at that.

[The system recognizes that the animal you are currently interacting with cares for you deeply and understands you better than other humans. In consideration of this, would you like to increase your power as a Beast Tamer and make this animal your Companion?]

[Yes?] [No?]

Claude gulped nervously at the question before speaking to Frosty.

"Well buddy, what do you think? You want to be a Hero?" He asked.

"WOUUWOUU!" Frosty howled in response.

"[Sounds like a yes to me.]" Arne said.

"Agreed." Claude replied with a smile slowly forming on his face. He then focused on the [Yes?] option at the bottom of the screen.

After a few seconds, the [Yes?] option moved like it was pressed by his mind and then something extraordinary happened.

Claude and Frosty suddenly ignited with incredible magical power from their positions sitting in the grass.

Claude stood up and looked at the vibrant green energy that flowed off his body like wildfire in surprise. He was even more surprised by Frosty.

The PitWolf had strong blue magical energy spewing from its body as well, he snapped at it repeatedly, seeming to be completely ignorant to the fact that it was his own mana.

"Arne, what the fuck is this?" Claude yelled out loud.

"[Im not sure, your the first Beast Tamer I've seen in the process of attaining a companion. Are you in any pain?]" Arne asked.

"N-No.....actually, I feel good." Claude said once he noticed it for the first time.

The two individuals' energy continued to grow and flourish until they lit up almost the whole field. Claude looked up towards the sky as their energy rose up above the trees and noticed something odd.

"The hell?" He said while he looked at Frosty's and his own energy interacting. They seemed to be wary of each other like they were alive. Every time the energies touched, they quickly separated with a burst of flame-like mana and colorful sparks only to slowly reconnect until eventually....they mixed.

Claude and Frosty watched in wonder as their mana combined and grew in both size and intensity.

The ground began to shake and wild winds blew over the grass with the continuous increase in mana and overall energetic power until Claude thought it couldn't possibly grow any larger.

"AWOOOOO!!!"

POOOM!

Out of nowhere Frosty howled and the large collection of wild mana exploded in a burst of colorful light that left Claude laying on ground with his eyes closed.

Something was different, he felt it and slowly was able to see it.....within his mind.

That impressive display of their mana growing and combining was used to create the bond, which he now saw as a cyan colored link that stood fresh in his mind connecting him to Frosty. He could t explain it, but he knew the link was stronger than steel.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw the system screen floating in front of him.

[Congratulations! Your bonding process was a success. You now have your very own Companion to assist you in battle...]

[Species: PitWolf]

[Gender: Male]

[Name: Frosty]

[Level: 5]

Claude read over the the message feeling a wave of relief wash over him.

"I thought the explosion was a bad thing, but it all looks fine." He said to himself while partially stunned.

"[You and me both.]" Arne added.

Claude sat up and saw Frosty still sitting across from him, he looked different— more intelligence sparkled behind his pale blue eyes. He stared at him for a moment longer until Frosty huffed and stomped his paw into the grass excitedly.

"Wh-"

Claude was about to ask what Frosty wanted when he felt a slight tugging sensation on his mind. To his surprise, he knew exactly what Frosty wanted.

"The link.." he realized.

Frosty stomped his paw again and huffed louder while his tail continued to wag back and forth.

"Alright, alright." Claude said while getting up off the ground.

Once he was on his feet, he willed the little bit of the Lupine transformation he could to turn his fingernails to claws and his teeth to fangs. He aimed his glowing green eyes at Frosty as he asked,

"So, you want to hunt?"