Pets

My mom pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You named it after the Tiangou?" She asked, looking down at the tiny dog that now panted up at her happily. It sneezed, the act shaking its entire body, and then looked around in confusion—which seemed to simultaneous fill my mom with disapproval and nearly make her laugh. When I'd brought him home, she'd greeted him with a poke, apparently trying to confirm what she was seeing, and had received a now nearly customary bite in response. She'd watched it nibble on her finger for a moment and then flicked him hard enough to send him sliding across the floor. She'd picked him up after he'd lain there for a moment and had watched him careful, both of them having apparently accepting that she was the boss with that gesture.

"He'll grow into it," I said, thinking of his namesake. A legend in Vacuo—though after Ziz, who was I to say whether it had or hadn't been real—the Tiangou had terrorized the lands and skies of the West long ago, possible even before the days of Zhao Zheng. Descriptions varied and may or may not have been exaggerated, but…well, it had been one of the monsters that had gone down in myth alongside the Ziz, and had left a legacy of countless tales behind it. A beast who'd sundered the land and darkened the skies, it was one of the most famous and fearsome monsters of Western legend.

In comparison, the puppy I'd named after it could be lifted comfortably with one hand and found its attempts at aggression met with amused laughter.

I'd chosen the name for several reasons, most of them pretty simple. I thought it was a cool name, for one thing; I mean, given that we were all still alive, the Tiangou probably hadn't actually blotted out, much less eaten, the Sun, but it made for a neat tale and a funny name to give to a tiny puppy. I'd considered naming it after a famous hunting dog, of course, such as the legendary Laelaps or the loyal Argos, some of the most famous hounds in Mistral's history—but it was shocking difficult to find one that hadn't died horribly or tragically. Then again, it was hard to find legendary Hunters that didn't end up dying horribly or tragically in the line of duty, pretty much for the same reason.

Still, while naming it after something that died in an awful manner may have been respectful of their sacrifice, I had luck enough that I didn't want to risk it. The Tiangou had supposedly been driven off, but it was one of the few dog like creatures who'd walked away from everything thrown at it. Yeah, it may have been a horrifically destructive monster, but that was no reason not to think positively about the situation.

And…well, it was stupid, but perhaps a name from the West just seemed fitting, for something weak looking to become strong. After all, I…

"You can just call him Gou, though," I continued. "That's what I call him, isn't that right, Gou?"

He barked, looking at me upside-down with a panting, puppy dog grin. My Mom just shook her head.

"You do realize that Gou means dog, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, wondering what her point was.

My mom rolled her eyes and checked the dog's teeth, ears, and fur, even as it panted happily in her arms.

"You'll take care of him, feed him, and train him yourself," She said almost absently. It wasn't a question, but I answered it regardless.

"I intended to," I replied. "I already awakened his Aura and I got an animal training skill out of it, too. I'll train him up in no time."

"Good," She said, a little more sternly. "It doesn't matter if he does it to us, but if he persists in biting anyone who comes close, someone will get hurt—especially with an Aura. Make sure that doesn't happen."

I nodded.

"He won't interfere with your training, either," She stated in the same tone. "We missed today—and that's my fault more than yours, but we did and we will make up for it. We have a long way to go still, especially with your new friends in the mix."

"No problem," I said. "I was going to get back to work anyway. The flowers are fine, too?"

She frowned again, looking me over carefully. Even after spending hours in solid metal, the flowers remained vibrant and continued to grow. The traits from the two flowers that had been a part of it had begun mixing more and more as the day went on, whether as a result of time or the plants continued growth.

Either way, I couldn't deny that the possibilities intrigued me. In the midst of everything that happened, there hadn't been time to check precisely how the process worked, but if it could merge with other plants, draw them in to the create a greater whole…

It was just a flower now and there were probably limiting factors, but it wasn't impossible to imagine a living, sentient forest.

There was no way of knowing how the specifics worked without testing it, of course—so I would. Before long, I'd add some new plants to the amalgam—maybe some lilies or lotuses at first, simple and beautiful things. I'd need to define the precise limits and carefully control its growth, keep it from running out of control, but the idea of it all…I wanted to see it grow. After all, it was…

"Be careful, Jaune," My mother said, echoing my earlier thoughts. "You said it gained Intelligence and Dexterity as it leveled…I trust you Jaune and I know you're smart, but however fascinating this might be, you have to be careful with this. In a way, you've created life, Jaune. You've crafted a mind that can live and grow who knows how far—and you have to be responsible for it. I'm not…"

She frowned, seeming to search for the words.

"I'm not telling you to stop it," She said slowly. "Or even to limit it, necessarily. But the creation and care of another life is something that needs to be done with wisdom and understanding—and you have those, but…Jaune, whatever you do with the life you now hold will shape its future. The choices you make for it, how you raise it…it's not easy to tend to another and it's not a role you can put on and then discard. Even beyond that, you may have started something huge and if anything were to go wrong…You need to be smart about this."

"I know," I said, immediately becoming serious. I had to admit, this really wasn't a conversation I'd expected to have with my mother for…a long, long time and it was weird as hell, but I gave it the attention it deserved. "I will. I mean, I want to make it grow, but…that's because I want it to grow and I want to watch what it grow into. I get that I've made something new—not just a new life but a new form or life—and that there are obligations that go with that, even beyond making sure it doesn't grow up to eat people. I need to keep it safe and…I get it. I do. And I will, because…wow, it's…it's amazing, isn't it?"

She looked at my face for a long moment, possibly wondering about the series of life choices that had resulted in her becoming the sort of grandmother to a sort of plant baby, but then nodded.

"It's different from a normal child," She warned. "That'll make things both easier and harder for you. I'm sure it will grow fast under your care, but make sure it does so properly."

"Also," My Dad said, wandering back in after raiding the fridge for a sandwich and a drink. "Remember that 'I am your creator!' is not an effective argument or defense with babies, nor does it make them obey. Speaking from experience."

My Mom turned and gave him a look that could have melted the skin off a lesser man.

"Jack," She all but growled. "This is serious."

"So am I," He said, glancing around at the non-humans in the room. "Sup, dog. Sup, flowers."

Gou panted happily, mouth dropping open in an ever wider grin as he came over to pet it and then pat the flowers.

"Anyway, we talked about what we'd do if he ended up making an AI or something," He shrugged. "This is kind of like that. I'll go buy you some of the classics so you know what not to do. And don't worry, I'll swear of mowing the lawn and stuff."

My mom closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. From how long she remained that way, I thought she might have been counting to ten.

"Anyway, are you gonna keep carrying her around like that?" My dad nodded at my armor. "From what you told me, she might be getting pretty big. You'll need to figure something out for that."

I reached up to touch the blossoms on my chest and nodded.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that, too," I said. "But I'd like to keep her close, too. I've been thinking about what could be done if she merged with trees and such, but…"

"It can be hard, watching them grow up," Dad shook his head before pausing. "I mean, granted, she's growing a bit faster than your sisters, but…"

"Jaune," Mom said at last, staring a hole in the back of my dad's head. "Start training."

I nodded and rose from my seat.

"Come on, Gou," I said, moving to the door. "Let's go get some exercise."

Gou barked and ran after me when my mom put him down. As I opened the door, my mom stopped me again.

"Wait, Jaune…" She said, pausing for a moment before asking her question. "What's her name?"

I was silent for a moment, tilting my head to the side. Coming up with a name for Gou had been easy enough, since there were plenty of good examples to draw from. I didn't want to give either of them stupid or silly names; I wanted them to mean something, even if they didn't understand what they meant. It was something that mattered, like how I'd been named after my mother's teacher, the Hatchet. For Gou, a tiny dog I'd found near death, it was at once something to strive for and a promise. But…

Well, there were a lot more famous dogs then there were famous plants—or maybe I just had more knowledge about the former. It was just as well, I supposed; I wanted to think about them, to show that I'd given it serious thought instead of granting them dismissively. I didn't want to say the same thing for the flowers as I had with Gou, either, but…

Left blooming alone, I thought, looking down at the petals of the flowers and their many brilliant shades. Out of season, a rose born to be beautiful and then die—but it hadn't. Then, if it had survived the Summer…

"How about Autumn?" I said, smiling as the question mark faded from the sign above the rose.

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