Hello, good day, good evening and good night. However it is where ever you are.

On with the show.

Disclaimer: all characters and I.P belonging to Games Workshop and the Familiar of Zero series are owned by their copyright owners. This is a fan work and is to be considered as such.

Enjoy

As Louise wandered through the town she pondered the recent days, after his talk with Tabitha and their brief discussion her familiar had not said a word to her. He continued to see that maid Siesta, occasionally was seen talking to Tabitha, even Kriche was talking to him but he hadn't said a word to her. Looking over her shoulder at the robe that he now wore, his helmet remained within her room along with the banner he wore from his backpack. An imposing vision to behold, the massive grey robe occasion flicking open with flashes of blue and white. He followed her from a distance, never too close but considering the speed he showed at the tournament, easily within reach. Just what was he up too Louise pondered as she examined the crafts. Nothing jumped out for the stall which was disappointing; it was her best chance to distract herself from her problem familiar. She found herself lazily walking in and out of shops, her familiar entering occasionally to observe what she was doing and intimidating the shop owner despite the hood that covered his head.

Looking around she found herself in completely the wrong shop, she was in the wrong district. The armourer was not a place she wanted to be right now. Hoping to leave without a fuss she looked around the walls that were lined with swords, beautifully crafted weapons but her familiar had a sword and she did not need to give him another weapon.

"Hey shortie, you're looking in the wrong section. Couldn't handle the likes of us." A voice cried in her head, snapping Louise out of her daze to look around the room. A confused look troubled her face as the shopkeeper spotted her confusion.

"Ignore the useless thing." The plump shopkeeper said, glaring at the barrel full of old long swords.

"What, she'd be better off with a knife, maybe a short sword. Poor thing probably couldn't lift a real sword." The voice continued, its dismissive tone rubbing her the wrong way, she wouldn't take this.

"Show yourself." Louise shouted, glaring at the barrel, her familiar swiftly through the door and looking around the room reacting to her anger.

"Ah, good sir, you look like the kind of gentleman who could use a nice sword." The shop keeper announced, spotting the large frame of the man cloaked in grey. Disappearing for a moment he returned, "Here y'are, one of the finest swords made. This here was forged by the famous Germaniun alchemist Lord Spee. It'll cut through iron like butter." He announced trying to draw the mans attention while an other-worldly singing voice filled the shop.

Louise wandered what was going on, as she watched her familiar take off his hood, the shop keeper shocked by the hooded strangers reveal as an elf. She was bewildered as her familiar replied in the same lofting singing voice, a singing voice unmatched in complexity as she listened to the strange harmonics while her familiar approached the barrel and pulling it aside. Wedged between the barrel and the wall, a dull and faded marbled pattern ran along the massive blade that was easily a hands width across. The double handed weapon was easily six foot tall and inlayed with the same strange jewels as her familiar along the hilt. Placing the point of the blade against the floor her familiar knelt before it and rested his head against blade as though praying before a battle.

"What do you expect for this?" Her familiar asked looking to the shop keeper, who was still visibly scared of the elf before him, how holding the massive sword he could never rid himself of. "One hundred...wait no, fifty. Final offer." The shopkeeper offered, spotting through the robe the mass of blue armour the elf wore. Standing and placing the massive blade over his shoulder her familiar tuned to leave, "Miss Valliere. Please complete the exchange." Leaving her alone in the store with a confused, angry and expectant merchant.

Running after her familiar that was waiting along the market in a square she was furious, she had come here for herself and was now fifty gold shorter thanks to her monster. "Just what was that about? You don't need another weapon and you don't give me orders." Louise shouted despite the crowd, her familiar as always was engrossed in other things.

"Listen child, I'm willing to help you out but shouting isn't a good idea." The voice in her head said with an irreverent spark.

Louise looked around for who could have said that, it had to be the sword but that shouldn't have been possible. "Just what are you?"

"I am the legendary blade Derflinger. I will tell you more in time." The strange warmth present in the voice was reassuring. "Don't worry your pretty little head, everything will turn out alright." The sword teased.

Louise watched from across the courtyard, her familiar moving the massive blade at speed. He had not spoken since forcing her to buy the thing and spent every moment since they returned to the academy working the blade. Meticulously honing the blade and polishing it over night to a mirror shine. She had to admit that the sword was beautiful; runic carvings along the dark marbled blade were unfathomable though they were along an insert of a similar sword piercing a crescent moon. The strange shimmer it gave off as it moved was unlike the one of her familiars sword, this was different. It darkened the world around it as it moved as though casting as shadow to veil itself.

It was strange to watch her familiar now that their talking since the fight was barely a sentence, he would occasionally be present when she woke up and went to sleep but he was often elsewhere, in the library, talking with some of the commoners or training outside as he was now. The massive two handed sword moved effortlessly in his hands cleaving through imaginary targets as he shifted around the courtyard. The young blond Montmorency approached the table, her long curled hair hiding her face as she watched Etenu. A bouquet of roses appeared on the table with Gouche kneeling behind them.

"Louise. Could you please pass them on?" The boy asked as he knelt beside the table as he asked the pink haired girl.

"Haa, to who?" Louise asked, her broken confusion as she looked at the blushing boy.

Montmorency turned to face the table, a sly smile across her lips as she looked from Guiche to Louise. "Looks like he's taken a liking to your familiar" Guiches protests falling on deaf ears as she smiled and continued. "Even though he's a noble. He seems to feel a sense of "friendship" in that commoner familiar. Isn't it perfect sense they don't have any friends?"

Louise was almost pained to point out that she was not the person to ask, but held herself back, perhaps she could use this to break the silence that grew between her and her familiar. Looking back to where he was training she found he had disappeared again.

She had wandered the halls of the academy, trying to find her familiar to no avail. He had been in the library reading a book. He had eaten with the other servants. He had been seen in almost every part of the academy yet was currently nowhere. Returning to her room Louise threw the flowers on the table and slumped onto her bed. Her familiar was so much trouble. The shrine her familiar had built with his helm and standard remained untouched, the large robe neatly folded and resting underneath his helm on top of a small chest he had appropriated from some part of the academy.

Deciding that she would find him tomorrow Louise crossed to the window her familiar always kept open. Pulling closed the window she spotted her familiar in the gloom of the moonlight, talking with Kriche and Tabitha in the courtyard. Kriche sidling up to her familiar as she placed a package in his arms.

Rushing down the stairs and out into the courtyard Louise found her familiar crouching before Kriche as she placed a cape around his neck, fasting it with simple plane buckle. As she approached she watched as Kriche directed her familiar, watching him stand and then turn on the spot, the flowing green cape twirling around him. "You have my appreciation for this fine gift." Louise heard and it burnt. That her familiar thanked others and not her. That he listened to others and not her. That he followed orders from others and not her.

"Just what do you think you're doing with my familiar? He's my familiar and you have no right trying to take him away from me!"

"Oh really. Tristain's women are all so short fused and hysterical with nothing but inflated pride!"

"That's got nothing to do with this! I don't want to hear that from a Germanian Hussy!"

"What did you say?" Kriche looked offended, "All I did was get Etenu a cape. So I'm seeing if it fits!"

"He's already got a cape. He doesn't need any more."

"That ugly thing just won't do around the academy."

The two continued bickering which confused them. She had learnt much of the world and its nature, history and the races that inhabited the world but the species confused them as much as the Imperium. Petty squabbles and useless bickering over trivial details, he had overheard two mon-keigh of the Imperium arguing like these ones over the nature of a mark on the parchment that informed various sector agencies of the truce between them and the designation of a maiden world for preservation. Refocusing of the present bickering the two children were arguing around about them, the cloak did suit her though. The colour was almost a perfect match, for their home, though he considered the fabric impractical. Such was the way of things here, they could not expect these creatures to match the far superior fabrics of the craft paths. She would need to find one of the creatures who knew the appropriate path to embroider their craftworld insignia upon the cloth, perhaps one or two blessings along the fabric as the warding runes that adorned his armour they felt provided protection here. Though without a proper path the inscribe the runes she would need to ask one of the more senior magicians, they did not like the word he was starting to use a lot, to inform them of the power of runes. Perhaps the maid Siesta could direct her to a properly qualified creature of the fabric path.

That would involve money. Money they did not have. How was he expected to acquire this money? When they needed equipment and materials from the other paths she asked for what they required from the path and it was delivered to him. Books they had read spoke of jobs, but what could she do, their path was set and the creature here expected monetary exchange for services from their paths. Which didn't explain why the others did things for him without expecting this exchange. They never asked for money and they provided no service in return. More things for her to learn. Both Kriche and Miss Valliere were looking at them, their conversation had spiralled in on him, asking for them to state her allegiance to one or the other. They sought neither of them dead, so what was he to make of that. "We consider you both to be companions of regard and value the contribution both of you have made to my ongoing existence here." They stated, which didn't appear to improve the opinion of the two children. In the back of his mind they heard Derflinger laughing.

Watching her angry friends and not wanting to see them hurt as Etenu backed away and reached for his sword she spoke up. "Contest."

"Yes, a contest. Hang..." Looking to Etenu as his had rested on the hilt of his sheathed sword Louise stepped back, memories of their last exchange still fresh. "a rope from the tower."

Watching as the contest arose she pondered what their silent observer was doing. Veiled in magic they could not properly observe the watcher but he knew they now knew they had spotted them. The observer appeared uncomfortable to have been spotted in the veils of darkness and moonlight though they did not run or flee from their position. The simple game was to cut the dangling rope, a quick snap with her left hand and she was tracking the target, with no wind were they competing it would be already over. But he was not, so they returned to observing the proceedings. Miss Valliere took first turn, thundering the side of the building with a large explosion that cracked the sides of the building. Impressive had she not missed the rope which Kriche cut with ease. Their observer was gone, and Kriche looked to be enjoying her victory as a large shadow loomed and the earth began shaking. A titanic creature formed from the rock of the earth loomed over the group then moved, hammering on the side where the cracks had formed and breaking through the wall. The cloaked figure now stood on the shoulder of the titanic creature, crying out to the party to thank them and about a staff of destruction.

Standing from where she had sheltered both of the competing girls they encountered the barrier that Tabitha had erected. For such a short and demure creature she was more proficient with magic then many he and encountered so far. Though the barrier protected the party from the falling rubble that cracked around them it prevented them from engaging the figure that was quickly leaving into the forest. As the shell dispersed her arm came too, targeting the thief was no problem but they had moved beyond their weapons range. Had they an Outcast or Scorpion team at the ready he would let them follow the thief and eliminate them, but they were not the path required for this hunt so she lowered their arm.

Thanks for reading and any reviews, questions or completely off topic rants are appreciated. If I can't blame society, my parents or the government I can only blame myself. And that isn't going to happen.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.