Cat-2
I took a break before sunrise.
Mostly because the cat was pretty much exhausted, and kind of passed out.
As much as I hated carrying dead weight- I still liked animals- and leaving this thing to die out here kind of didn't sit well with me.
'But if its mother is out there then-'
I was really feeling a bit hesitant.
'Hey, Rondo, anyway to find out if the cat's mother is dead or not?'
[Affirmative- User may register the animal as a familiar and keep track of its family!]
'The hell didn't you tell me that before?'
[…]
Sigh. It was kind of my fault for not asking- so- 'Better be more mindful…'
Anyway- 'How do I do that?'
[Familiar has to be awake and agree.]
So basically, I had to actually ask the cat to agree to become my familiar?
Ask?
A freaking kitty?
Well, technically it was a lion cub, but still!
It was an animal.
A-ni-mal!
Some rays- the sun was rising. Birds flew- temps started rising.
'Another day goes by…'
Just 98 to go.
Anyway- I pulled out a small piece of smoked meat from my pouch, held it near the nose of the sleeping cub-
Sniff!
It started sniffing, rolling around.
Now that I paid attention- this thing was cute!
It woke up and yawned, showing me all those lovely very sharp, very dangerous teeth.
It just started licking the meat- not being able to tear it or do anything.
Smoked meat wasn't tender- so- yeah…
I tried to tear it- and- it easily tore. 'Wow…' I was stronger than when I last had dinner.
And though I hadn't slept a wink tonight, I didn't feel even the slightest bit of fatigue.
The feeling was surreal- but this was good.
Really good!
"Mew?" The cub cocked its head, kind of confused? Maybe my grinning face confused the poor thing? Everyone did always say, my grinning face looked evil…
The cat tried to bite down the torn small piece though, successfully gulping it down.
Stage one, success!
Now for stage two- "So, I want you to be my familiar."
"Mew!"
Sitting on its back, it gave me a very sincere mew.
"Can you do that?"
"Mew!"
"Is that a yes or a, no?"
"Mew!"
Sigh.
[Send an invite to Cat to become Familiar. Y/N?]
'You're calling it Cat too?' Maybe this singing old man had a sense of humor too?
Or maybe it was just trolling me.
'Yes.'
[!!!]
Nothing happened.
The Cat just stared at me.
Did it want more food?
Or something?
I tore some more- and it ate some more- until it couldn't.
Round belly.
The thing actually got on its back and looked way more content than it should have…
But even then-
Nothing happened.
"Well?" I grabbed the cat with both hands, "My familiar?"
I shook it gently.
No response other than- "Mew."
Cute but-
Bliss. The cat was in bliss, and even burped.
Sigh… 'Well, what now?'
The border was still ways off- meaning I had to do something.
I couldn't just sit here, talking to a cat.
In the middle of freaking nowhere!
[Cat has agreed to the terms and conditions. Cat-2 would now be counted as the first familiar. You may assign a new name.]
A bit of eyebrow twitching. '2?'
'Why do I get the feeling the kitty had agreed way back but you didn't tell me?'
[Just your imagination.]
"Can you manifest yourself, so I can give you a punch of love?" A smile. A big wide smile.
[No*]
"Mew?"
Oh, right, the cat!
I pulled out the menu and though most of the items were still locked, the familiar window wasn't.
Actually- was there a 'familiar' option before?
So, I pressed on it.
Cat-2!
Sex- M
Lv-03
HP- 21/33
MP- 3/4
Exp- 7/210
Special skills- Rupture.
It didn't say anything about its (His) parents or family or whatever though.
'How can I see his family?'
[Press on the magnifying glass.]
'Magnifying glass?'
[The round thing attached to a rod-] Next to the name.
The system actually spoke without singing for once- almost like it had enough of me…
Probably just my imagination.
I pressed on the thing- and- a new window came up.
Father- Missing
Mother- Gravely injured; 790M north-
Siblings- None left
Coincidence?
The mother was literally just half an hour away from me.
'Come to think of it, the system did recommend I take this path and…'
Yeah, it was still too early for me to jump to conclusions.
But still-
I grabbed the cat, and instead of walking- just ran.
The faster I could drop the cat to its mother, the faster I'd be able to just come out clean and go complete the quest.
'Why am I so into helping this cat anyway?'
Even I was surprised.
I did have a pet cat once for my eighth birthday but- one of my older brothers poisoned it and it died.
I loved the cat.
Maybe that's why?
But wasn't that over a decade ago?
So why now?
After all this time…
Snicker!
Oh well.
I had this odd feeling that the system was actually leading me there anyway.