Chapter 11: A Furry Friend

A Furry Friend

 

It was several more days before Logan’s Bonded creature woke up. In that time, he trained with Old Jeremiah, as after he had learned of the old man’s prior experience as an instructor, he quickly pestered him into making him a course.

 

The result was Logan running to and from a boulder about a kilometer away from the cottage, five times before every meal. Then after every meal followed an hour of light sparring, with soft padded equipment similar to what boxers use, only it covered Logan’s whole body. The routine was rigorous by Logan’s standards, but Jeremiah said it was his standard advice, as both exercises would improve both Body and Mind.

 

Logan wasn’t sure how that worked but trusted his advice on these things, and so despite his flagging endurance, had pushed through to follow the program to the tee. And Logan had to admit, the results were already evident on his body. He was looking lean and toned, two words that had definitely never applied to him before in life. Well, his other life, as Logan had officially been alive on this planet for a week and a day. Regardless, he was enjoying the new sensation.

 

That’s why when his new companion finally awoke, Logan found himself flexing in the reflection of the water collector. Jeremiah had some errands to run in town, and had given rein of the place to Logan. It had meant a day of mostly leisure in his down time, but then, as he was just about to showcase his triceps, Logan felt a mental tug on his fresh bond and heard a startled noise from behind him. When he turned around he found himself immediately drawn to the counter where they had decided to keep the Rizzel. Unsurprisingly, it was looking around, eye’s fresh with wonder for the world.

 

Logan could intuit through the bond that the little guy wasn’t anxious at all. From its thoughts Logan felt a strong sense of safety, and that proximity to him was the reason. The Rizzel’s new starscape coat shimmered as it slowly pushed to its feet. The little guy’s face reacted with a new intelligence it didn’t have previously. It smiled at him.

 

If the Rizzel’s face hadn’t been altered by the transformation, Logan thought it might have looked disturbing. As it was, Logan found it actually a little endearing. He thought most people might have cooed out loud, which he thankfully did not do. Although Jeremiah was on a shopping trip, Logan still had his pride.

 

With it staring at Logan affectionately, he didn’t really know what to do. He asked in a pet voice, “Do you have a name, little guy?”

 

-No.-

 

Holy shit the rat just spoke in my mind!

 

-What yours is mine.-

 

That made Logan freeze up. Was it saying it knew how to talk because of him? He did not mean to change the bond this much. Whatever he had done to the creature seemed to be a lot more permanent than he had intended, if it had developed the ability to understand and telepathically communicate in English.

 

Which brought him ironically back to his first question. Sighing in acceptance of the responsibility, Logan enunciated mentally, You don’t have a name, huh?

 

-No.-

 

How does Remy sound? 

 

Logan had always been partial to Ratatouille, the Pixar film growing up and thought if he was going to have a pet rat, it may as well try and learn to cook for him.

 

-Sure!-

It turns out, thumbs are pretty important for cooking. Remy’s singular attempt was such a catastrophic failure that Logan had to abandon the idea in its entirety. Still, Remy proved to be a massive boon to Logan.

 

The next week or so was spent on finishing up Logan’s basic training, and learning what Remy the Rizzel could really do. In theory, it wasn’t massively complicated. The Rizzel could teleport almost twenty feet in any direction. In practice, it was massively hard to incorporate into any strategies of attack with Logan. Between Logan’s primary attack being a root, and Remy only being able to teleport, their damage options were limited.

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Still, Remy’s contributions to Logan’s mobility were to be noted. The Rizzel’s scouting allowed Logan to go into the outer reaches of the Inaug Forest. Between the ability to teleport almost instantly, and his keen senses in the Forest, Remy was easily able to chart a course through the less hostile sections.

 

The Rizzel was careful to warn about the predators deeper in the trees though. Logan didn’t want to try and test his power, only to find his head ripped off, so he heeded the advice.

 

In addition to his other notable abilities, Remy communicated that he felt capable of further growth, making Logan smile. The little guy still sounded somewhat childish as he spoke, so knowing that he might mature a bit was also a relief.

 

Remy’s abilities had changed massively since his minor evolution, but perhaps the most important to Logan was the calming effect he had on his owner. Since arriving in this world, of which he still didn’t know the name, Logan had become increasingly manic, diving into magic and his new life with a willingness and stamina that was unsustainable.

 

When Remy came and curled up next to Logan to sleep, the formerly 26 year old man found himself crying. He had died, lost almost any hope of seeing his family again, and was stuck in a world without any conveniences, where he found himself likely at the bottom of the totem pole in the grand scheme of things. Truth was, Logan knew he would be wallowing in despair if he allowed himself a moment to think.

 

But when that moment came, and Logan had Remy right next to him, radiating faith in his protection, Logan found himself thinking through the tears, that maybe things would work out for the best.

The final surprise Remy the Rizzel supplied came on the last day of their training, the day before Jeremiah had agreed to take them on an excursion into the Inaug. This morning, the two had been practicing their coordination like they had become accustomed to, when suddenly Remy stopped. 

 

Since Remy normally had a moment of collection before he teleported, Logan continued with his charge forward, bringing the padded short sword into the right hand side of the training dummy. When no follow up occurred, he found himself looking over his shoulder at his companion.

 

The Rizzel was simply standing there, with his head tilted slightly. The little guy looked confused about something, but given that they had literally run this exercise for days now, trying to sync up the teleport, that didn’t make a bunch of sense to Logan. Remy might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but the Rizzel had proven it was unwise to underestimate its intelligence when they had sparred.

 

-Why not take?-

 

What? What’s up little guy?

 

-Here.-

 

Suddenly, the bond between them was highlighted in Logan’s vision. Usually it was half faded, its presence half formed completely in his mind, but now it was glowing angrily in his vision. Then for the first time since Logan had formed it, the bond went completely silent, no longer communicating Remy’s existence into his mind.

 

This sent a flash of panic through Logan’s brain until he saw what was happening on Remy’s end of the bond. He saw the Rizzel in a state of complete focus, desperately trying to finish whatever task it started.

 

The task of which seemed to be giving Logan a part of his soul. A chunk of the small creature’s being had already started flowing across the bond, seemingly clogging up the connection that had started to feel intimately comfortable for Logan in the week and change since he met Remy. The panic in Logan’s mind got a massive boost when he saw that. And of course, now would be when he couldn’t communicate with his companion.

 

“NO! Stop Remy, what are you doing?!?” Logan screamed out at the overgrown mouse, but he refused to listen. The fragment had already gotten a quarter of the length of the bond but Remy was flagging, and Logan could tell that the effects of failure would be catastrophic.

 

So Logan did the only thing he thought might keep them both alive. He grabbed the fragment with his tentacles, and forcibly completed the process, dragging it into his soul, consequences be damned.

 

As had become ritual in events like these, Logan blacked out.

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