Companion Tattoos

The tiny bird gazed at Mateus brightly, and flicked her wings excitedly.

"A contract? You're not leaving me? You mean it?" She called sweetly, and with a skip she easily darted down from high branch to perch lightly between Endorphin's ears.

"Of course we mean it! I promised you, I will never leave you alone." Endorphin said firmly, and the small bird twittered with joy.

"Then yes! A hundred times yes! No, a thousands times yes! Let's do it! Contract us!" The pretty bird chirped gleefully, and hopped over onto Mateus' raised hand. The little bird was so light, and her feathers were wonderfully soft, while the tail plumes were bouncy and strong.

"Okay, I'll contract you both. This could take a moment, so please be patient. I've never done this before." Mateus smiled at her enthusiasm, then closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of blood pumping through his veins, of air in his lungs, and the grass tickling his legs. As he focused, these sensations faded away, and were replaced with a feeling of energy. This was his Life Essence.

Gathering a thick strand of essence, Mateus pushed it down his arm, through his wrist and into his palm. Then he held the energy in place, and opened his eyes to gaze at the pretty bird.

"Are you ready?" He asked her with a smile. The little bird nodded gleefully, almost bouncing on the spot. With a single thought, the essence rushed out of his palm in a green glow, and bathed the little bird completely.

As the light sunk through her feathers and into her flesh, the little bird sighed in satisfaction. After a minute, the little bird herself started becoming transparent, disappearing into the light, and sinking down into his flesh.

As the light vanished, small green lines began appearing on his palm. After a moment, the lines traveled up to his wrist, and formed a picture of a lovely little bird. As Mateus gazed at the tattoo, he had to marvel at it's beauty.

This is a Companion Tattoo, the physical mark of a successful contract. No two tattoos are the same, because they are formed from the aesthetic values of the two parties involved in the contract. Some people have tattoos that look like random shapes, or abstract lines.

This tattoo looks practically alive, like the little bird will fly out of his skin and start singing. Which she can. To contract a Spirit Beast is not to enslave them, but to form a type of symbiotic relationship. The little bird is not trapped, but instead so comfortable that she has settled in for the night. Through the link between them, Mateus can feel her enjoyment.

"One down. You're not backing out on me, right?" He asked the Roobit, which snorted back at him.

"We made a deal, and you contracted my friend. You're not leaving without me." Endorphin declared arrogantly.

"Just making sure. Are you ready?" Mateus asked.

"Just get on with it!"

Mateus smirked, and closed his eyes. Repeating the process of finding his essence was easier the second time. Quickly he gathered a large amount of essence into a rope and sent it into his palm.

Opening his eyes, Mateus reached out, and Endorphin leant closer to meet him. As they touched, a river of green light poured down over the Roobit, sinking into his flesh quickly.

For a moment Endorphin's eyes widened in surprise, but then narrowed in intoxication. In under a minute the Roobit's entire body was glowing, and swiftly vanished into Mateus' palm.

Once more green lines formed, but this time they migrated further up Mateus' arm to his bicep. As he watched, they formed the image of an alert Angora Roobit, looking imposing with his tiger paws.

And just like that, the contracts were finished. Now Mateus has a Sparkling on his left wrist, and a Roobit on his left bicep. Sensing how much Essence he has left, Mateus was surprised to note that not even a third was gone!

This was weird. Did he miscalculate the requirements? Well, they were only estimated based on the average data gathered by researchers, and spread through public education. Perhaps he was wrong.

Either way, this meant Mateus could still find a third contract, so his still had a chance to find a beast with a suitable combat ability to share. This was a good thing.

With a cheerful jauntiness Mateus set off through the swiftly deepening gloom to get back to the nest he woke up in. Hopefully the Sky Queen would take pity on him, and give him a lift out of the mountains tomorrow.