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“It’s still surprising to see you, out of all people, working at a Familiar Store. Isn’t that rubbing salt into the wound? I’d expect Armin, cuz he’s, y’know, all about Familiars and shit--” Eren lifts his eyes off from his phone to the buffoon neighing on and on with little thought on said bullshit coming out of his mouth.“Are you trying to piss me off? Because you’re doing a damn good job in that case.” Eren growls. They're in the sixth class, Eren’s last one on his schedule, with free time since they’ve finished their ‘project’ already. At least, Eren has. It was stupidly easy, even for an average student like him. He doesn’t know about Jean.“Huh? No, I’m not trying to. You get what I’m saying though, right?” Sea green eyes narrow at the two-toned fool.“Mikasa’s right about you.” Upon hearing his crush’s name, Jean perks up like an overexcited dog.“You’re an idiot.” The brunet finishes and looks down at his phone. It’s two-thirty.“Time to go~” Eren sings under his breath as Jean snarls out his name.“Jean, I swear to God if you yell one more time--!” Their teacher starts viciously. The bell rings and signals the end of the class period. Eren stands and slings on his backpack.“I’m sorry, Miss Mai!” Horse-Face apologizes quickly. The brunet waits, leaning on his desk as the others shuffle out with their Familiars. Jean stuffs his books into his bag with more force than needed, apparently pissed off.“...Marco any better?” Eren asks with his head set to the exit. A small, water-based Pixie flies around her green tinted cheeks, given she’s blue skinned.“He’s coming around. Should be here tomorrow.” Jean replies quietly. Miss Mai’s at the door with her Cloudy Ferret floating beside her.“Cool.” Eren says before leaving, not forgetting to pet the ghostly Spirit on the head. It hums and coos under his touch.“Have a nice day, Eren.” His teacher murmurs. He smiles.Eren weaves through the masses and locates the elevator. Armin’s already inside with his Gryffon and a female student with her Hellhound. Huh, that’s rare… Armin pushes up his plastic framed glasses and grins brightly in his direction.“Hi, Eren!” Said teen looks away from the demon and returns the greeting, less cheerful but no less sincere. The brunet steps inside right before the doors begin to shut. He taps the owner of the demon on the shoulder. She tucks a strip of her fake blonde hair behind her ear and removes the earbud.“Can I pet your Familiar?” The girl turns her head to get a good look at him.“Yeah, go ahead.” She says after a moment of assessing. Both doors close. Eren kneels down and sets his hand on the hound’s bony shoulder. ...It’s cold. “Something catch your eye?” Armin teases as they start to descend. The Hellhound has half of its skull on the top half of its face with a stitched mouth. Controlled smoke and spirit energy comes off from its ghostly ears and tail, colored a dark purple, nearly black to match its fur. The skinny body and skull is the only thing solid. Eren slides his hand under its chin and scratches. Glowing orange eyes close.“Hellhounds are rare and only come through summon. I’ve never seen one before…” He eventually replies. A serpent tongue passes through a gap in the stitching to lick his wrist. Eren grins crookedly and rubs his index finger against the top of the skull. The Hellhound taps his snout on Eren’s arm.“Familiars like you so much it’s honestly a little scary.” Armin giggles lightly.“You’ve got the magic touch.” He adds with a snicker. Magic...touch… Eren’s smile dims.“Yeah, Magic.” He mutters before faking a laugh. The brunet stands and just a moment later, the doors slide open.“Dante.” The girl calls before walking out the elevator. The hound butts his head on Eren’s knee before following the student. With a meek hiss, the doors begin to slide shut.“Perfect timing too.” Armin comments.“Lucky guess. Still in those advanced classes?” Eren questions, to which the blond smiles and nods.“Yes! Even Magic Class doesn’t matter in school!” Eren snorts.“Yeah. If it did matter, I’d probably be the best in school!” He jokes with a slightly dulled voice. Armin laughs. His Gryffon trills at the sound.“You’re already doing good because of your Rank~” Green eyes slide to the smaller teen, darker than before.“It’s luck too. I’m not allowed to use my Magic. Until I get a suitable Familiar, that is.” Armin lifts one pale eyebrow at this.“I know, but you’ve never followed the rules to begin with.”“IF I could rank myself, I’d be a straight C. Maybe C+ if I tried hard.” Eren starts loudly, ignoring the blond’s giggling to glare.“Besides, you work at a Familiar Store, your Class makes any Familiar feel safe.” Armin whispers after gathering himself and shuffles closer to the brunet.“That’s exactly why I work there. At the very least, my rank won’t lower any more than it already has. If any unbonded Familiar even smells my Magic, they act like scared dogs or something and just go…” Eren twists his wrist towards the doors, unable to think of a proper explanation. Armin looks slightly amused.“Yeah, I get it. They go pliant. It’s because it’s rare, very rare, for someone with a strong Class to be, well, evil. Because-”“Only the chosen ones get Classed so high, blah, blah, blah. I don’t believe that shit.” Armin smiles at his obvious attitude.“And what about your Rank falling? How do you know?” Eren shrugs.“I dunno, I just sense it. See, that just sounds stupid. I sound like a Goblin…” The blond pats his arm comfortingly.“Don’t worry so much about it. You don’t do anything bad, if you overlook the times you fight…” The brunet flushes.“Shut up. Besides…” Eren’s features smooth out.“People can hide their emotions in their Magic, if they’re taught. It’s gonna bother me anyway.” Armin’s Gryffon coos quietly from his spot on the side.“Eren. You’re an open book.” After saying his piece, the elevator stops jerkily, and the doors open.“You’re gonna lose your hair at this rate!” Armin steps out with his Familiar chortling along with him. Eren grabs a piece of his hair and glares.“Fuck off, it would never!” Armin looks back at him, blue eyes glinting,“That’s what they all say~” He then disappears in the throng of people heading home. The brunet steps out just before the doors close and leans against the wall, waiting for the crowd to lessen.“Would it really…?” Eren mutters, horrified at the thought, and reapplies the low ponytail looser than before. Dammit, I’m gonna ask him when I get off work! The crowd diminishes within time until the only students left are the ones that are staying for their clubs. Eren looks over his digital calendar for today.“Nothing today. Tomorrow…” Herb Gathering. Fuck. He locks his phone and heads for the front doors. Walking outside, he jogs down the large steps and takes the usual route:To the right, past Jean’s Magic Shop and beside the Familiar-friendly cafe. Eren lifts his head. It’s a dark purple shop with big windows for any passerby to see some of the Familiars for sale. The highest they normally offer is B-. Special cases, such as a temporary move for pick-up or paid housing if the owner can’t take their Familiar, for whatever reason, is also a thing. Their store in particular is the go-to for those cases. Eren pushes open the glass door and steps inside. The bell jingles overhead. The walls are dark with checkered tiles, some cages and perches drilled into the walls too. Poison Eels closest to the entrance, in their acidic fish tanks, jerk up from their naps to smile toothily at him. Their tiny, very lethal teeth, are adorable. In their golden cages, Devil Crows flap their wings and squawk for attention. Almost immediately, all the Spirits and Demons take notice of his presence and greet him loudly.“When everyone’s up and at ‘em, it means only one thing…” A small woman with strawberry blond hair comes out with a leashed Dog Soul wagging its smoky tail like a propeller.“The favorite’s in!” Eren snorts as the door shuts.“Hi. Miss Ral.” He greets her over the barrage of unbonded still trying to garner his attention.“Guys, please! Can you all just be quiet?” He calls, exasperated. They quiet down and wave instead. God, how is this every day… “Yes, hi, hello, I’m back.” Eren says with a sigh, waving in the general area of them all.“One to nine. Oh, and check on Number 1053. I gotta get this happy guy ready for pickup.” The manager says cheerfully and pats the ghostly dog on the head before leading into the side door, where pickups are usually handled. Eren racks his mind to remember who is Number 1053. He gives up soon enough when an Eel hisses from his left. He goes around and checks the clipboards at the beginning of a row of D+ Familiars. Eren flips through the pages one by one before scowling.“Miss Ral, why didn’t you say it was the third Devil Crow? I was right in front of them!” Petra pokes her head out of the side room, and deadpans,“Well, you need to memorize everyone by number.”He huffs, “You just didn't remember what unbonded it was.” He accuses blithely while going around to said demon. Number 1053 straightens and puffs out their chest. They look vastly different if you put a crow beside one of these little devils. The body is generally the same, black feathers and black beak, beady eyes, wings at the sides, etcetera, etcetera… Except that, their beaks aren’t smooth. They have sharp edges and they have six eyes, three on each side. They have little bat wings and their chest is open, ribs visible with the heart hanging. It’s all very disturbing. They’re so sweet though, despite appearances and being a demon. Eren smiles at the crow.“Hi, little one.” They coo wetly and hop closer to him. He checks the wings, both pairs, the eyes, and whatever he can think of. Eren eyes her while in thought. Everything seems fine… No signs of sickness or anything… His gaze wanders into the tear that reveals its near empty chest. Hollowed out, except the heart and thin stomach. Eren pauses when he catches the little heart suddenly beat irregularly.“Oh my god, you’re gonna evolve soon.” The brunet breathes once he realizes, a giddy smile making way.“I wonder what it could be…” He mutters while examining the little bird poking at its food.“So?” Petra appears beside him all of a sudden, a large cage half her height to her side. She’s always been good at sneaking around, something with her Magic.“It’s like a Pokemon. Evolution. Do Devil Crows have branches?” She nods while wringing the blue leash around her hand.“They have some, yeah. I can’t remember off the top of my head, evolution is pretty rare. 1053 must have good potential.”Eren hums. “We won’t be able to keep it, right? This one’s already a C+ and they jump up a whole grade.” Ral nods, solemn.“B- or higher. Set up a date next week to a Familiar Farm. It’s been like this for a week, so maybe by Monday it’ll be evolved.” Eren looks down at her and tilts his head.“When should we separate them? Tomorrow? Oh, I’m not working tomorrow.” The blond laughs at him.“I’ll get Oluo to do it. He’s a straight A in both Rank and Class.” Eren lifts a brow, curious.“Isn’t that supposed to be confidential?” She shrugs.“We learn the customers all the time to pick out Familiars!” Her smile slides off her face.“Where’s this boy’s owner…?” Eren frowns.“Do you want me to wait instead?” Petra shakes her head,“No. Go set up that shipment for next week and man the counter. I’ll call.” Eren does as told, glancing at the dog all the while. It’s still.Time passes quickly. Within three hours, the owner appears, very apologetic and ruffled. His car had broken down half-way here apparently. Eren gets his first and only customer of the day around seven. It’s a girl and her mother. Judging by her height and face, he knows it’s going to be her first Familiar. I remember going to pick my Familiar too… He laughs under his breath. That didn’t turn out great at all. Embarrassing as hell. She’s a little blonde with thin pigtails tied with blue ribbons. It matches her little peacoat with big, metallic buttons. Just did some shopping after school and never stopped at home, he guesses, when he notices the pants are the type that a nearby middle school is very strict about. Her shoes are tan, lace-less boots with those fuzzy bobbers at the side. Overall, a very cute outfit. Her mother in a complimentary outfit, except the pants are fitting khakis. That, and her hair is in a loose braid.“Hello! How may I help you?” Eren asks cheerfully, only slightly faked.“Go on, Jay.” The woman urges softly. Jay, nice and simple. “U-Um! Today in my Familiar Basics class-” Oh, I remember that class… “-I-I still need to take my test but, um, Mom said we can do it here…?” Test, te--Oh, the test! “You haven’t taken your official? Do you have a temporary?” Eren inquires gently. Temporary Ranks and Classes are given out at times like this, Familiar searching. They’re just an estimate based on their grades, and they can be way off. “Well, no. Her school is very adamant on having official IDs when it comes to anything needing them. I was hoping to have her checked and get an ID here.” Her mother explains. Right, right, stupid school, makes sense, do we still do that…? Eren can’t remember the last time they’ve ever done one. Schools usually take up that job.“Is she at least ten? No abnormalities or weird hiccups in her Magic?” He asks, the question directed to the little girl’s mother. Jay shakes her head,“Nuh-uh! Is-Is it gonna take long?” That, he can’t answer.“Well, I’m not sure to be honest. I need to talk to the manager, she’s a licensed Mage in that...area, so if you’ll give me just a second?” Her mother nods. The brunet goes to the back, where Petra’s brushing a two-tailed Kitsune. Bella, and hers, if he remembers correctly.“Uh, you know you’ll get in trouble to just leave the front like that, right?” His manager says, confusion obvious in her tone.“I’m aware. There’s a kid who wants to do her official ID thing or whatever. No temporary and no abnormalities, which you’ll end up deciding if we still do that. Do we still do that? I can’t remember, and I’ve worked here for two years.” Eren informs her while he nears the cream-coated Spirit and pets it gently on her angular head.“We get some of the forms, like, a really thin stack. Tell her to go out back where those dummies are. I’ll come after once I finish grooming Bella—stop petting her! You’re spoiling her at this point!” The brunet smiles sheepishly and steps away from the Kitsune who whistles for more pets.“Can’t help it, she’s so soft! I hope mine’s soft.” She smiles oddly at him, annoyance fading. Bella hums and licks her small paw.“I’m sure they will.” Petra says after a moment before flicking her wrist at the door.“Now shoo! Go work!” The brunet laughs and steps out, not before rushing in to pet Bella behind the ear. She trills and flops on the cushion she was sitting on, pliant from his touch. The blond slams her brush on her cushioned seat in outrage,“For God's sake, Eren-!” He hurries out before she can possibly cuss him out. She’s very sweet, until you annoy her. Eren looks down at his hand, the one that touched the little fox. It... was just how I petted her, right? I didn’t leak out Magic, right? I didn’t feel any leakage… “So, Mister! Can I get my ID?” He jerks his head up to see the girl-Jay. Jay right?-looking up at him, excitement coursing in her veins.“Yeah! We have some test dummies out in the back, so if you’d follow me…?” Eren manages with as much joy he can scrounge up. Jay whips around to her mother.“Mom! Let’s go! Maybe if we hurry, we can finish super-fast!” She smiles at the little girl bouncing in place.“Yes. Lead the way, please.”…“Do you have any idea about what your Magic could be?” Petra asks with a big binder in her arms, some papers laying on top. If it were windy, she’d probably be running around.“Miss Ral, I’ll head back inside to watch over-” Eren starts quickly. She turns to him,“No, no. Stay out here. In case things go haywire, I’m only B- after all!” He stiffens.“I-You know I can’t use my Magic.” Eren hisses once she’s near.“I’ll take the blame, okay?” The student frowns even harder, sparing a glance at the two oblivious customers.“You could lose your license.” Petra glares at him.“I already put the ‘at lunch’ sign on the door, so stop whining and help me!” She says loudly, for the other two to hear.“I-dammit, fine.” He curses under his breath and kicks a rock across the lot.“Honey, do you have a clue about what your Magic could be?” The manager repeats as she waddles over like a injured penguin. Jay shrugs helplessly.“N-Not really? It’s a weird color and it kinda…” Petra’s eyes narrow.“Kinda what?” The girl rubs her arm shyly.“Uh, kinda takes this shape. Like an animal, if I don’t do anything and just have it, um, out?” Eren glances at Petra, still irritated,“It’s at least above D+. Start at C.” She balks, taken aback by his abrupt comment.“How do you even know that?” He looks at the kid. She’s twiddling her fingers.“My Magic does that, to a higher degree.” The blond clears her throat.“Just from that alone, it’s almost definite that you’re not in the D Class. I want you to use the starter spell for the Cs on that dummy. It’s alright if your aim’s off, we can redirect it or catch it just in case.” As in, Petra will redirect and Eren will do both if she’s too slow.“O-Okay! Um, Mom, can you scoot back?” Her mother does so, shuffling off to the side with a decent amount of space between them.“F-For C, it’s um…?” Petra catches on immediately.“It’s Gentle Cut! -I’m sure they haven’t learned about adapting or buffing a spell if they don’t have an ID…” Eren shakes his head, still looking at the child.“No. Unless that changed in under ten years.”“Blasphemy!” Miss Ral trills.“G-Gentle Cut, okay. I can do that…” Jay whispers nervously. Petra moves a lock of hair out of her face.“Depending on how the spell looks like, the execution, timing, and color of her Magic will tell us her Class, at least, with a specified name. It’s guessing from there for her Rank.” Eren makes a sound akin to a hum and grunt.“Right, they don’t do pluses or minuses yet. That’s in high school.” Jay lifts her hands and puts the right over the front of her left, palm facing the puppet. Her peacoat starts fluttering under, ballooning like a dress with wind rushing upwards. She keeps herself steady and slides a foot back, slightly up in a mid-run position. Her hair moves around, coming near loose from the ribbons when a light mix of bluish-white, the color of glass, forms in front of her palm.“Looks like some form of wind or nature. Wind, Earth, or Plants. That’s common.” Miss Ral observes. It shoots out in a warped form of a slash, rounded loosely like a floppy ball.“That doesn’t look like a usual one.” She then comments. Definitely not. It stretches outwards towards the dummy and morphs to some sort of half body of a canine before hitting the straw. It leaves jagged marks across the chest and puncture wounds on the neck.“Its official name is Spirit of the Wolf, if I remember correctly. That’s C+, but she looks shaky on the C Rank spell. The body shouldn’t need to form mid-way. C- Rank then. That’s pretty even, also common.” Eren sighs.“Didn’t that look like Pounce or Body Slash? Well, Body Slash since that’s the B starter. Pounce is B-... Maybe I’m an idiot, I don’t know my spells very well.” Petra taps a pen against her mouth, appearing thoughtful.“Hm, possibly. The Spirit ones tend to attack instinctively, so Gentle Cut would be more like a nick to a pack member. The dummy is straw though.” Eren glances at the wood-made dummy right next to the used one.“If it leaves a good mark on the wood one, then she might be B, mid-tier. The Body Slash, if it was one, looks solid. But, I can’t really say that, since I haven’t used my Magic much since freshman year.”“It doesn’t hurt to double check. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was off. I haven’t done this in years. Gotta jog my memory with this stupid glossary.” Petra sings and smiles up at him.“I’ll ask her to do Body Slash, so stay out here. She might end up doing Red Flash on accident!” She jokes cheerfully. Eren huffs,“Fuck’s sake, I hope not. That’s annoying to dispel. And terrifying to be a target of.” She snorts.“You, a target? Who’d target you?” The brunet stares at her.“...You know Red Flash can be applied as a buff to the caster, right? Besides giving someone fucking nightmares, you could be psychotic and do it to yourself.” Petra blinks.“You did it to yourself?” Eren flushes to his roots,“On accident! I didn’t even think I could do it. A-Anyway, shouldn’t she try the wood dummy? It’s already been a few minutes.” She waves him off,“Aren’t you a strong one? I already knew that, haha. And stop worrying, I’ve got Bella watching over inside.” Eren doesn’t reply. That’s not why he switched the subject. Though, we should really be getting back inside— “Sweetie, I want you to try and use Body Slash on the wooden dummy. It looked like you switched Gentle Cut with it.” Jay shuffles over to the dummy.“U-Um, I really don’t think I’m in the B class…” The girl says while looking at her boots.“Your C starter looked nothing like it should be. It’s just a precaution.” Petra insists from his side.“I’m gonna set up pick-up for 1053 on my phone.” Eren mumbles.“Go ahead. I’m sure this will turn out perfectly fine.” The short manager then goes about directing more orders to the child while the brunet emails the nearest farm. Before he even knows it, it’s already over.“You were right! She was B! It doesn’t do as much damage as the usual one, but the form is solid. Therefore, B!” Petra says while he tries to remember what grade she’s able to own. B, B, B… He taps his mouth before lifting his head. She’s looking around the shop, mesmerized by all the unbonded.“Since it’s her first time, I recommend D- to C+. She can come and get up to a B- in stores, that is, unless you’d rather buy a card and find one suitable. They’re more expensive and random though. Or, you can go to a farm. They’re pretty far.” He explains to Jay’s mother after gauging her torn expression.“Whi...Which would you recommend?” Ow. Eren forces a smile.“Personally, I’d pick from the ones here. We have everything you’d need for each one and they’re tamer. Cards are usually for high schoolers or college students. Farms are for those who already know what they want.” She nods and her expression relaxes.“Jay, pick one from here. When you’re older, we can pick another if you want.” The girl spins on her heel and grins wide.“Okay!” She picks a Dragon Sprite, Demon, Class B-.“I’ll be in your care, Master.” Grey, the sprite, says as he stands in her palm, bowing to her.“Y-Yeah!” They buy some things before leaving, them being their only customer during Eren’s shift.“Grey has a high chance of evolving, now that I think about it.” Eren says as he eyes the empty birdcage.“Did he?” Petra asks as she sweeps with her broom.“Yeah. B- have 60-70%. He’s a humanoid, so add 5% to that.” Eren mumbles as he grabs his broom and does the front half of the store.“Hey Eren…” He slows on one particular sweep before turning towards Petra.“Yeah? Do you need me to lift something?” She laughs quietly, unlike her carefree one.“No, no. I’ve been wondering something for a while…” Eren continues to push dust to the mouth of the dustpan.“Shoot.” He sings as her sweeping picks up.“When’s...the last time you tried getting a Familiar?” He tenses, fingers going white as his hand tightens around the handle.“My first year of high school. Why?” Eren calls lightly across the room.“What did you do?” He glares down at the near empty dustpan before responding.“I used a card. D- to A+. Why?” The brunet repeats stiffly.“And nothing came out?” She ignores his question, again.“No. Why are you asking?” He questions, a near growl at the end of his words.“It had me thinking. Maybe because you’re S class, you have to have an S class Familiar too. So, maybe you need to do it the old-fashion way. You’ve talked about it in school, I’m sure. You have to go out where Unbonded stay and--”“Petra.” Eren says lowly from his side of the store. Small wisps of orange, red and yellow are radiating out of him. He takes a deep breath. His Magic disappears immediately.“Can we drop this already?” She’s staring at him, wide-eyed at the display.“Eren-”“I finished cleaning.” The brunet cuts her off swiftly, heading towards the trash and dumping small bits of dust into it. He goes around to the supply closet beside Petra and puts the broom and pan in. The blond whips around to speak, but he’s already at the counter, picking up his backpack and walking to the door.“Eren!” He stops in front of the door and turns his head back slightly.“I’ll see you on Monday.” With that, the teen clocks out and heads home. Petra leans against her broom.“I really hit a nerve.” She mumbles. When she looks up, she gapes. Every single Familiar in the store is on their side, completely relaxed and presenting themselves as possible candidates to keep. Despite being angry, Eren still had no intention of hurting anyone.“Shit.”Eren goes to sleep feeling sick.
~
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You okay?” Sasha asks the second she notices him. Somehow, there’s no food stuffed in her mouth at the moment. Eren doesn’t answer but slinks over to sit beside her, just about collapsing in his seat.“...Were classes that bad?” She asks.“No. I’m just pissed off from yesterday.” The brunette hums while rummaging through her backpack.“Since yesterday? I heard it’s not good to go to sleep mad. Your hair falls out and you lose your appetite.” He jerks his knee into the table and hisses between his teeth.“Fuck me.” Eren curses and turns to her.“Does everything end with hair falling out?” Eren bemoans while using his backpack as a pillow.“I dunno. Why? Is your hair falling out?”“It’s not! Armin brought it up yesterday and you just reminded me.” Sasha pulls out a large bag of vinegar chips the size of her bag and tears it open.“Are you worried it’s gonna fall out? Isn’t that normal?” Eren squints.“It is. Girls don’t have to worry, you get a shitload on your head.” Sasha pops in a chip and offers him one. He opens his mouth.“Uh, I guess? Guys can grow long hair. But people have thin or thick hair. I mean, look at Armin, his hair’s longer than yours but he seems okay. Yours looks better than some of the girls with long hair.” She feeds him and stuffs her mouth with a handful of chips. Eren makes a face. They’re very salty. “How are you eating these, they’re salty like the fucking sea.” He complains.“Salty—oh, right. What were you so pissed off about?” She holds out another damned chip and he takes it again. Eren pauses in his chewing and sits up.“I don’t remember. Dammit, this always happens when I talk to you.” Sasha blinks down at her empty hand before shoving it into the bag to get more.“Well, now you don’t have a reason to be mad. And these chips are delicious, nobody asked for your opinion.” She inhales five.“Now dat I dink bout et, do ooh ah-ready ‘noe aht we’re oin who-day? (Now that I think about it, do you already know what we’re doing today?)” “I know it’s some sort of Herb Gathering. And where the hell’s your Familiar? I don’t see Rice.” Sasha points her dusty fingers to the hood of her jacket. Eren leans back and stares at the small, white rabbit snuggled up inside.“Sasha what the fuck. Couldn’t he, I dunno, suffocate? Or, you could even crush him.” The brunet licks her lips with a small wince before smiling.“Nah, he’s fine. Rice wanted to be there. And at least it’s just gathering. You don’t really need a Familiar for that.” Eren hums, eyebrows twitching. Familiar this, Familiar that. “They just make it easier.” He murmurs as he scratches the rabbit on the head. Rice looks up at him with bright, hazel eyes before burrowing further into Sasha’s hood.“Which you don’t need. You’re really fast at gatherings. You’re kinda just good at everything when it comes to Witchcraft. I think it pisses off the captain.” Eren rolls his eyes,“Reiner can go fuck himself. He’s just bitching because I didn’t wanna be leader and he was second pick.” A gritty hand with more than one salty chip is up close to his face when he looks to her, back straight.“Yeah. The whole club can tell.” Eren takes them and fights through the growing urge to make a face. Too damn salty. “I’m not even that good. I’m really shitty at gift weaving, or making anything, period. And there’s only six people, including the teacher. Which two don’t even show up to class.” Sasha snorts.“Yeah, you’re pretty bad at that. It’s not essential though, so I wouldn’t worry about it. None of us wanna be Witches though, so can we really get mad at them?”“It’s not like I can join any other Magic clubs. I don’t want to drop in Rank too far. But I guess you’ve gotta point.” Eren says and allows just a sliver of his Magic to flow out of his fingers. The brunette watches, her chewing slowing down. It looks as if all sorts of warm colors are falling through the mixture of gold and orange.“No using powers Eren.” Just like that, the cold Magic disappears, as if it never existed in the first place.“Sorry.” He mutters just as Sasha gives him a chip. Reiner sweeps his gaze to Sasha, eyes narrowing.“No eating in class.” Eren huffs.“This isn’t even a class. Pel doesn’t care.” The blond’s mouth twitches.“That’s disrespectful to call a teacher by her first name. God, today’s already off to a great start.” He exhales and walks around to the other table next to them, a makeshift walkway in between. Eren grabs the gifted chip and makes sure to bite into it obnoxiously loud. Sasha hides her snort into a cough, hand covering her smile.“Pel said I could, so I’m not doing anything bad.” Eren calls before licking his fingers.“Sure.” Reiner grumbles. They sit in silence, excluding Sasha’s chewing.“There she comes.” Eren mumbles into the palm of his hand, eyes sliding lazily to the door.“You’re like a dog or something.” The hulking blond comments blithely. Eren feels his eye twitch.“If that’s how it is, then I guess you were never born with a sixth sense.” He replies with an innocent smile. The shorter teen can see Reiner’s jaw clench with his anger spiking. The sixth sense is vital for survival and fighting, and Reiner wants to be a Battlemage. It’s like asking to be murdered.“At least I can meet the easiest requirement.” Eren slowly turns to him, gaze dead.“And I meet every other with ease.” Familiar, Familiar, Familiar, stop fucking reminding me! My existence alone is a reminder! Reiner opens his mouth, a retort on the tip of his tongue, but he never gets to say it. Ms. Rose opens the door and walks in with a bounce in her steps, heels clicking with the sound of water dripping. She’s in a flared, pale pink dress with black flowers that has a darker pink bow tight around her small waist. Her black hair’s up in a high ponytail but the ends still reach near the bottom of her dress. Her shoes are thick, black heels.“It seems the usual count is here. Good afternoon, children.” She greets them cheerfully and walks to the pedestal, only her head visible.“I hope you remembered that today’s Herb Gathering. We’ll be going to the forest near the border of the school, but you’re all very strong and smart students so I know you’ll be safe. But, just in case, I’ll give you a summoning circle~” Eren’s frown changes into a lopsided grin, delighted by the change of scenery.“Wait, we’re not going to pick them from the forest behind the school? That’s what we usually do.” Reiner questions.“Nope! That forest is safe and without a single Unbonded inhabiting it! So many classes go in there, you know? If you want the best herbs to make the best of things, better than things in stores and make your life easier during creation, you’ll make frequent visits to all kinds of places filled with Magic and Unbonded! Besides, you’ve all gotten basic training on defending yourself, so there’s nothing to worry about!” Pel comes down and pulls out the summoning circles from behind her bow.“Ms. Rose, that’s dangerous. We’ll be fighting Unbonded just for some plants?” The raven looks at Reiner dead in the eye as she sets down Eren and Sasha’s small paper.“You’re going to college after this. Do you honestly think they’ll have gardens and a safe space just for Witchcraft? Hell no. You’ll have to take basics of Magic, and that includes Witchcraft. I’m not about to baby you. You’re all seniors, so you should be prepared. And as I said before, you’re all very strong and smart. Would an Unbonded want to hurt an A class with A rank? No. They’d avoid you. If you’re under B, then maybe. Plants thrive with Magic and wither with frequent visits unless you know how to raise them! All of you will be fine, okay?” She puts his circle in front of him and pats his hand.“Witchcraft is essential, despite the class itself regarded as useless. You need to learn that.” Eren looks down at the summon. It’s a simple design with three circles and stars, runes around the border and inside of the circles. He recognizes them after a moment.“Ms. Pel, the runes you used…” The brunet calls out, confused. These are used to teleport people. She spins on her heel and beams.“Oh, my little pupil, you noticed? Yes, I indeed used Celeritate Runes! You have the location, and I have the entrance that follows each of your circles! These are just a precaution, but don’t lose them! I’d like to keep them, if able! Now then, we should be heading out. Come on, we’re taking my car! Well, if you don’t have a ride. I want you to take care of the herbs you’ll be gathering and in our next meeting you’ll show us your progress. I have pots and dirt for all sorts you might find, so don’t worry about that.” Reiner’s looking at him like he’s lost his mind.“...maybe I should leave my food in my bag. Unbonded might come if they smell food.” Sasha mumbles through her chips.“Wow, we’re just going on an adventure today. Hell yeah!” Eren whoops. Reiner’s still staring at him, somehow surprised by his outcry.“Yes, sweetie! I’m so happy someone’s eager! Now let’s move, children! Time’s wasting! Oh and yes, Sasha, don’t bring food.” The girl snaps her salted fingers.“I knew it.”They’re ushered to Pel’s car, a silver Suburban, and seated in the middle with a clear smell of soil coming from the back.“Ms. Pel, don’t you think you’re over-prepared? It smells like a greenhouse.” Eren comments as he looks back.There’s miniature bags of all kinds of exotic dirt with weird nutrients, pots barricaded by said bags around the back seat, so they won’t fall. He even sees a shovel, and not one of those gardening ones either. The ones that’ll knock someone out with a quick swing.“There’s no such thing as being over-prepared!” The woman sings from her seat.“Oh god, her Familiar’s sitting shotgun.” Reiner whispers into his hands, horrified. Eren whips around after hearing the blond.“You brought your bear? Ms. Rose, are you sure the car’s gonna drive?” Sasha asks as she looks over the passenger seat to see a medium sized bear with a collar of snapdragons and tough, wooden claws. The American-Woodland Bear turns its head and bares its teeth.“That’s very rude! If anything, will my car drive because you’re in it? We’ll just have to find out!” Eren chokes back his laughter to greet the black bear.“Hi, Coco. You look like you’ve grown.” He then diverts his attention to Pel.“Miss, why do you have that big shovel? Are we burying bodies today for extra credit?” Coco snorts. Reiner kicks his leg,“Don’t give her ideas, Familiar Whisperer!” Ms. Pel starts up the car with the click of a button, eyes glinting.“If we’re burying anything, it’ll be any Unbonded trying to kill us! You need to get rid of the evidence, you know.” Sasha squints at Rice, who’s on her lap, and whispers,“I-I’m not fat, am I?” Eren inwardly rolls his eyes at that.“Please tell me your joking.” Reiner mutters.“Let’s go find some plants and kill some Unbonded!” She hollers before slamming her foot on the gas pedal.“Oh, shit—!” Eren hears one of them cry, but he’s too busy grinning like a sadistic murderer to notice who.They somehow make it with their bodies intact. She still managed to drive fast in a Suburban, with three grown ass kids, a full back seat, and a black bear. Eren’s pretty sure she did something to her car. Sasha stumbles out before hitting the ground with her knees and crying out,“Yes! Ground! I’ve never loved ground so much in my entire life!” Rice tumbles out the car and trips over his feet to collapse next to her, looking a little green. Reiner’s knocked out on the floor of the car, his shadow lifting every so often to tap him. Eren barely manages to stay on his feet with the world spinning and leans against the door to catch himself. Coco crawls out and gives each of them a pitying look before standing on her hind legs.“Fuck off, you deal with this every morning!” Eren calls while cradling his head, eyes closed so he won’t see everything so blurry. Coco rolls her eyes, that bastard, and stomps around to her master.“How was the ride, sweeties? Everyone looks good! Oh, Reiner…” Her voice hardens.“Stop sleeping and wake up, you lazy captain!” She whips open the other door and causes the blond to fall out.“Fuck!” Reiner yelps.“That’s what you get for sleeping!” She snaps.“It wasn’t sleeping; it was me being out cold!” He hisses.“Same thing! Get up! We’re on a time limit, chop-chop!” Eren opens his eyes when he doesn’t feel so dizzy and manages to walk in a semi-straight line to pat Sasha’s back. She dry heaves.“Oh, gross.” He backs away and shuts the door. Pel comes around with her hulking bear towering over her with a carefree grin.“I’m up, I’m up…” Reiner mumbles as he stumbles to where Sasha is still spitting up nothing but saliva with Rice patting her leg.“H-Huuurrkkk-!” Eren looks to their teacher.“Ms. Pel, do you have some tonic for Sasha? I’m kinda worried. And... grossed out.” The brunette jerks her head towards him, drool falling down the corners of her mouth.“It’s not like I want to--Hnngh!” The woman walks over to Sasha and squats down.“Hm, I guess I’ll give you one. Here.” She brings out a peppermint out of thin air and shoves it in the girl’s mouth without warning.“Okay! So you should all know which are poisonous and which attack, we took a quiz over that last week! We’ve been collecting all kinds of herbs, so you should also know how to safely get one without killing it or injuring yourself in the process, yes?” Sasha gets to her feet and nods sluggishly. Rice climbs up her clothes to settle back in her hood, no longer worried.“Ms. Pel, what about me?” Eren pipes as he watches Reiner’s shadow lift to hold him steady when he nearly topples over again.“Hm? Oh, your Magic restriction? It’s alright! You’re welcome to use yours. That’s also why we’re here. The damn sensors would know immediately if Eren used his Magic.”“O-Oh. Uh, thanks, Ms. Pel.” Rose waves off the gratitude.“It’s unfair for you to not participate properly. If you’re confused about cutting, let me know. That does not extend to you two, because you’ve been cutting with your Magic since square one.” She then points to the forest.“Now go! I expect you to have something. And that something better be an herb or I will send you right back in until you get one!” Reiner releases his shadow and starts staggering to the forest before disappearing in the foliage.“I’ll try to get two, just for you Ms. Pel.” Eren says with a smile before walking towards the forest. It’s with decently sized trees, shaded with some rays of light peeking through some parted branches. Just by focusing on a small, open section, he can sense multiple Unbonded and feel the mixed Magic inside.“Of course! You’ve always been an overachiever!” Pel calls behind him. Eren doesn’t allow himself to falter from nerves and hurries inside. The moment he’s out of view, he releases the breath he had been holding since he sensed the inhabitants.“You can do this. You can do this. Maybe I’ll meet some curious Unbonded in the process.” Eren knows he’s lying to himself about that. S Class with A Rank… Fat chance, they’ll be terrified to even see me, even for a second. He erases the thought and starts to wander aimlessly.The trees have enough distance between each other for him to step over their roots without tripping on another. There’s leafy greens and bushes everywhere. Finding an herb is either going to be easy or a pain in the ass. More Unbonded tracks alert him briefly as he passes over a direct trail to some Spirit. Maybe a D-, it’s very fragile.Eren keeps his eyes near the ground, deciding to search for ground-based herbs, since they’re the most common and easiest to cut. He looks around the base of the trees, nothing but mushrooms--possibly Fairy houses? --and under any overgrown plants. The teen continues further in, mindful of the increasing mass of different Magic trails and Unbonded. His hand unconsciously feels over the summon tucked away in his pant pocket. It brings little comfort. Eren kneels and moves a bush to find nothing growing under the shade, or anywhere near it that looks remotely like an herb.“Fucking dammit, there’s nothing but bushes and trees!” He spits under his breath, brows furrowing. He doesn’t know how long he’s been searching, but it feels like a long time. Eren sits on the grass and sighs loudly.“What is this, Ms. Pel? Is this a trick? Are we supposed to come back with nothing at all?” It wouldn’t be the first time she’s done something like this. Fuck, I hope not. He starts searching on all fours, hoping to find something if he looks closely. More Unbonded and Magic pass by, becoming dense like a fog at a slower pace than walking. Eren picks at the dirt and feels it between his fingers.“It’s a little dry, but… Fuck it, where’s water?” Irritated, he stands up and dusts off his pants before grimacing. It’s almost impossible to keep going without getting a severe headache from everything overloading his sensory. He rubs his clean hand against his skull, wincing slightly.“Block it out. Right, block it out. Mine’s sensitive…” The brunet mutters under his breath while aggressively attempting to soothe his growing headache. He releases a bit of his Magic to slowly cover his body like second skin. Eren lowers his hand to see the warm hues fluttering a little.So, my rank’s lowered a little...clearly not enough to change grades though. Thank fuck. His headache disappears like it never existed in the first place. Surrounding himself is a lot more comforting than he thought. That, or I missed using you. He muses with a little smile before delving further into the forest.The trees become unusual, the branches either drooping low or sticking up to make them look upside down or am odd willow. Leaves are moving without wind and are more transparent. Unbonded are around now. He catches a few jumping from branch to branch or flying above him. They’re just blurs, quick to flee. Eren watches a tiny, thin dragon the size of a bottle swim in the air before disappearing into the leaves. He sighs, despondent.“They’re still running away, and I still can’t find anything. I’m gonna die in here searching for some herbs that aren’t even here-” Something creaks behind him, like something being weighed down. He senses Magic.Eren spins on his heel and cuts down the branch extending towards him with a startled squeak. From being surprised, he uses a little too much strength and creates a deep crack on the ground along with the branch now on the floor.“Shit.” He whispers. The tree groans and creaks again as it straightens out, apparently learning its lesson on trying to tease a human. Druid. “You scared me.” Eren mumbles.“I--hold on. Do you know where some herbs are? I’ve been looking around but...” The tree visibly withers as he tries to talk to it. Eren bites his lip.“Sorry. Never mind. I’ll leave you alone. And… sorry again. I-uh, cut off your arm?” It shifts ever so slightly. He picks up the branch and offers it back to the Druid. A thicker branch lowers hesitantly before slowly inching towards the wood in his hands. It only touches the wood before something zips right past them and hits the ground. The Druid squeals and hides away before Eren can react.“Wait-!” He sighs and turns to see what scared it off. Near the base of a different tree, a small rock is stuck in the ground, like an arrowhead, with something tied around it. Eren sets the branch near the tree inhabited by the Spirit before walking closer to the rock. It’s not an arrowhead, it’s a sharp stone, as thick as a finger, with cut stems wrapped around the center.“Fucking hell, you could kill someone with this…” The brunet mutters, a little frightened at the thought. It had to have been broken off a boulder, it’s like the size of a foot! He kneels down and tilts his head. The stem is holding something against the stone. Eren yanks it out the dirt and twists it around. He recognizes the smell and the small leaves with thick stems. It’s Thyme. Eren stares at it, seeing the dirt clumps and roots at the end.“What the fuck.” He blurts after staring for a while. Eren jerks around when he hears something close to a huff. There’s nothing in the trees, or anywhere around him. It’s quiet.“I…” The brunet frowns.“Th-Thanks? Whoever did it? Though, you could've killed me if your aim was a little off.” Eren jokes nervously. There should at least be the sound of breathing… I only dulled my Magic sense. So, why can’t I find you? He squints in hopes of finding something but there’s nothing out of the ordinary. A Druid wouldn’t scare another Druid. The brunet stands, rock in hand, and looks in the direction where the projectile came from. I don’t even hear the wind… “I-I’m very grateful. Do you, um, want something in return?” They might still be here. Everything is perfectly still.“Maybe they aren’t here…” Despite the relief, he can’t help but feel saddened. It could’ve been stronger than me, if I can’t even sense it. Something cold curls over his shoulder. Eren goes still, heart lodged in his throat.“There’s nothing I want right now.” A distinctively male voice comes from the same side, as if they’re right beside him— Eren jerks his head to catch a look, but there’s nothing on his shoulder. Or anyone near him. The cold feeling trails from his nape to curl loosely around half of his throat, something akin to a thumb pressing lightly against the dip between his collarbones (suprasternal notch). But. Nothing. Is. There. “But since you offered…” The voice continues with a thoughtful hum. Fear is heavy in his bones, weighing him down and keeping him rooted.“Return with a gift.” A gi- “If you don’t, I’ll kill you.” Eren inhales sharply.“G-Gift are for w-when humans try to get a...Familiar.” He manages to say, his voice barely a whisper.“Tch.” He nearly flinches at the annoyed sound.“I-I won’t do that!” Eren shouts. He squeezes his eyes shut a moment later, horrified by his outburst.“Explain.” The voice snaps, the cold slithering to both shoulders and gripping him tight. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! “I-Uh, I won’t try to make you a F-Familiar! I-I’ll get you your gift! H-Human to human!” That is the wrong thing to say.“I do not like humans.” Eren bites his lip harshly.“But,” Their voice loses the hard edge it had as they continue.“I understand what you were trying to say. Bring my gift soon, human.” Eren nods weakly and is released from the freezing grasp of his invisible captor.“Now go.” The man’s voice says before the eerie quiet becomes comforting. He doesn’t hesitate and runs as fast as he can, limbs taut with distress.He senses Ms. Pel and slows down, coming to a stop a few feet away from the exit.“Calm down. If I look scared…” Ms. Pel’s gonna be scared too. Eren swallows his nerves and looks down at the rock with thyme. Fuck, what do I even get him? It? Shit. He shakes his head and steps out of the trees. Ms. Pel lifts her head and waves with a blinding grin.“Eren, you’re back! We need to wait on the others! Come sit!” She's with the passenger and side door ajar, Coco dozing right in front of the car, head on her paws.“I-yeah…” He forces a smile and walks over to her. She’s nursing a cup in her hand, steam wafting from it.“Do you want some? It’s peppermint. I have grey too.” It’s...tea. Eren nods stiffly.“I could go for some peppermint, please.” I’ll take the entire box, thanks. She giggles happily.“I’m glad I brought my pot~” The teacher sings as she waves her hand in the air. Her dark blue teapot pours a mug of steaming tea and floats back inside her car. The red mug lifts next and flies to his open hand. He sits down on the first seat behind the passenger.“So, sweetie, what did you bring?” Eren drinks the hot tea first, ignoring the pain on his tongue and sets it between his legs.“Uh…” He removes the stem holding the thyme and shows her the herb. The rock stays wedged between the seat and his thigh, out of sight. Her eyes widen.“Oh wow, is that thyme? You must’ve been pretty lucky, hm?” Eren laughs with her as he hurries to drink more tea. I wouldn’t call it luck… “I couldn’t find anything else, haha…” Ms. Pel hums around the lip of her cup.“You have to travel pretty far in to find herbs. Finish your tea so we can pot your thyme, okay?” He downs the rest and exhales. It helped some.“Wow, do you want more? Well, after we plant that?” He looks down at his empty mug before nodding.“Yes, Ms. Pel.” She goes around and pops open the trunk before returning with a ceramic pot already filled with dirt, just a hole in the middle. Eren sets the thyme in and brushes the dirt over it with a flick of his finger. Magic thrums around the pot briefly before disappearing.“Good! Now we just put it here and…” She bends down to put the pot on the ground and grabs a watering can from the passenger side, from the floor. The woman waters it briefly before sitting back on her spot.“Thyme’s pretty easy to take care of, so I don’t need to say how to raise it. You can just look it up.” As Ms. Pel says this, she refills his cup. He drink it more languidly this time around, the bite of mint soothing him little by little.“Ah, Ms. Pel…” She turns in her seat, cup empty.“Yes, my little pupil?” Ask. Ask dammit! She got a bear to be her Familiar! “I-If you were trying to get a g-present for someone, what would you get them?” The dark-haired woman looks at him impassively for a few moments. Eren barely meets her gaze.“That depends. What do they like, what do they hate, what do they need, you’d need to think of things like that.” Eren glances at Coco.“What if you don’t know what they...like.” The teacher grabs her pot by the handle and pours herself another cup.“Hm, well…” Her brows crease as she thinks.“You’d have to get them something practical or what you think they might like. It’s the thought that counts. I didn’t know what to get Coco but she accepted my gift anyway.” Eren feels his heart stop when she diverts the conversation to Coco. Does she know? Fuck me, she knows- “What did you get Coco?” Ms. Pel smiles down at the lazy black bear, eyes soft before looking back at him.“I gave her that Snapdragon necklace. Despite being a Woodland bear, she isn’t able to grow flowers how they usually do. And now, here we are~” She pauses.“But that was to a Unbonded. Just pick something they might need. Like me, I’d appreciate some new cups. Mine are so old. Or even some more tea. Tea is very helpful with stress and whatnot.” He-it? They weren’t stressed though… what the hell would an Unbonded I didn’t even see, want? All it-he did was threaten me! His eyes fall to the potted thyme on the ground, drops of water hanging on the little leaves. They didn’t have to help me but they did. What would they appreciate… “Huh, you’re really stuck with this person’s gift, aren’t you?” Eren jerks his leg and nearly spills his tea.“Well, how did you meet?” He really doesn’t want to remember.“Ah…” The brunet looks at the forest before taking a sip of his tea.“He, uh, gave me a plant.” Ms. Pel makes a gleeful sound, almost a squeal.“What kind of plant?” Eren glances at the herb sitting innocently in its new home.“Thyme?” She blinks.“That’s kinda ironic, since you found yourself some thyme too.” Haha, yep, very ironic… “It sounds like they might like gardening. Oh, maybe they collect herbs? Thyme’s good for many things…” Ms. Pel suddenly points at him, eyes wide with realization. Eren nearly chokes on his drink.“Get them some seeds! Like, like, peppermint or spearmint! Thyme’s also good for teas! Maybe they like tea! Buy them some tea, the good brand, because they cheap ones are so disgusting. Or like I said before, get them peppermint and spearmint...maybe even fennel. Those can all be made into tea and are good herbs to have.” She presses her fingers against her lips after her excited chatter.“I’m rambling.”“I-wow. I didn’t think you get that out of him just giving me thyme.” Eren says in awe.“You gotta connect the dots, my dear!” Ms. Pel sings.“You say that, but that was too many dots for me…” The teen mumbles and finishes his second cup.“Don’t say that, you make yourself sound like a moron. And you are not!” He smiles at her as he coats the cup with Magic to send it back to her.“Done? Good. The water should’ve drained out by now, so why don’t you head home? I can just adjust your summon circle a bit to make it a warp gate.” He goes through his pockets before pulling out the crumpled paper. She takes it gently and starts swiping at it with a blue tinted finger, eyes alight. Ms. Pel returns it only a few seconds later, showing off the reconfigured circle. It looks the same but there’s triangles with different rune-words in the center, making it to look like a sun.“Ta-dah~! Think of your home and inject a little bit, and boom! Portal.” He nods, still taking in the form of such simple changes to make something entirely different. “Thanks…Ms. Pel. I'll uh, keep your advice in mind.” Eren says awkwardly as he slides out the car seat and stoops to pick up his faintly wet plant.“Of course, ~ I'm more than happy to help my students! Ah, and don't forget to look up about taking care of your thyme! If you come back to school with it dead, I'll hit you!” He barks out a laugh while thinking of home. Comforting, safe, home. His laughter falls flat. Away from here. Until tomorrow. Tomorrow's Saturday, I have no excuse- “I'll see you on Tuesday, right?” He questions just as a portal appears in front of him. Without wind, surrounded by grey-ness with the other end showing off the foot of his house, a little off to the side.“Yes.” Eren glances back at her. Her gaze is darker, a question on the tip of her tongue. She noticed. “Bye!” The brunet blurts just as her mouth opens.“Hon-?” He steps inside the gateway to find himself landing beside his house, on the cracked sidewalk, beside the iron gates. The fresh smell from the forest leaves him and the slight scent of pollution embraces him. To notice the change makes his nose burn dully. Stop. You're home. Don't think. Just go inside and sleep. Eren bites the corner of his lip. Think about it tomorrow. He repeats to himself the second his mind wanders back to the thing that snuck past his sensory and that he almost died. Eren makes his lip bleed a bit.