xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cayman Rock Mountain, 10:02 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Catch that stupid thing!" Bernard screamed as he ran through the woods along the mountain as Corvus flew by over him and Vulp followed behind him.
In front of Bernard and his two Celestial Spirit pets, floating away from them, was a white round creature with tiny fin-like wings, black feelers on its head and sporting large circular eyes and a wide mouth. With an angry expression on his face, Bernard continued to chase after the round creature, passing through the trees.
"I'll zap that bastard!" Corvus shouted as his body begun to spark up with red and white electricity.
Unleashing lightning from Corvus' body, the bolts of magical electricity struck the white round creature, zapping it as the creature was now wobbling in the air with scorch marks on its body.
"Good work! Vulp, grab it!" Bernard said as he stopped with Vulp proceeding to stretch his tail out towards the round creature, wrapping around it to hold it still. "Now, I'll use one of these!" He said as he took a pure white pin off his beanie and cocked his arm back to throw it.
Opening its eyes wide, the round creature started to spark up with yellow electricity just like Corvus did as it discharged lightning from its body, sending a surge through Vulp. Noticing Vulp jittering in pain, Bernard dropped the pin in his hand as he reached around the fox and pulled him slightly to cause him to let go of the round flapping creature.
"Hey! You okay?!" Bernard asked towards Vulp as the fox Celestial Spirit shook off the pain.
"Grrr! You'll pay for that, you weird tubby flapping-" Corvus said with anger until Bernard spoke up.
"Don't!" Bernard shouted.
"What that- why?!" Corvus replied as the white round creature floated away from the group. "And it got away... Fantastic. We're not getting that last forty-five minutes of our lives back." He said as he flew back towards Bernard and Vulp as the beanie sporting young man took out a small book that was titled "Creatures of Fiore: A (somewhat) Complete Compendium."
'"Puffers are a species of creatures found in the mountains of Fiore and are known to be able to generate attacks of the elemental variety. As of now, we can only confirm that red Puffers can breathe fire and yellow ones have the ability to generate electricity."' Bernard said with his eyes squinting. "What a crock!" He thought with anger as he threw the book at a nearby tree.
"We're totally getting our money back when we get back into town, yeah?" Corvus asked as he and Vulp looked up at Bernard.
"Last time I save a couple bucks on buying an early copy of a book in development." Bernard said as he took off his beanie and proceeded to scratch his head in annoyance. "Thing said yellow Puffers are able to generate electricity. Turns out its the white ones." He said as he put his beanie back on his head. "I already have something with Lightning Magic, I don't need another." Bernard said.
"Hey! I'm not a "thing," I'm a crow and a Celestial Spirit and I will be respected as such for my awesomeness!" Corvus exclaimed as he flapped his wings to meet Bernard at eye level.
"I am respecting you! I just said I wasn't interested in acquiring that thing!" Bernard replied as he walked over to where he dropped his white pin. "Where did I drop that dumb thing- oh here we go." He said as he picked up the pin and placed it back in his beanie.
"That's the third failure in four days..." Corvus muttered as Vulp shook his head in a bothered manner.
"Don't remind me, I swear to god, do not remind me..." Bernard said in frustration as he started walking back in the direction of where they chased after the Puffer creature. "I dropped my backpack back over there." He said as Vulp and Corvus followed.
"So, when we headed back to town kid?" Corvus asked as he flew next to Bernard with Vulp walking next to the beanie sporting young man. "I want a bottle of vodka after this whole camping trip. "One day hike" up the mountain, my ass. " He complained as Bernard looked at the crow.
"Look, I know I promised I'd be back after we started the trek up Cayman Rock, but we had zero luck after we saw those blue goblin squirrel things." Bernard said as he continued to walk through the woods. "They had orange wrap masks on and were carrying swords. They could've been worth a try to train them for a show act..." He mentally complained.
"I don't give a crap if they were strangely cool to you! Those little bastards had it coming when they started brandishing swords at us!" Corvus said in annoyance as Vulp made an angry expression towards Bernard.
"Don't look at me like that! I wasn't going to put one of them on my lap and pet them like I do with you!" Bernard said towards the fox as they continued to walk. "Just because I thought they were cool doesn't mean I think any less of you!" He thought as he glanced at Vulp who was making a slightly jealous expression.
At a campsite where a firepit was in the center with two felled logs on opposite sides was a brown lizard-like creature the size of a bear with a triangular shaped head with hollow black eyes, stalagmite-like teeth and covered in a layer of ground with a long tail and on all fours. Next to the creature was a backpack with supplies as the big creature turned its head towards Bernard.
"Welcome back, Mr. Bernard." The rock lizard said telepathically in an elderly female voice without moving her mouth.
"Hey Baurs." Bernard said, greeting her.
"Any success?" Baurs asked.
"I'll let you guess..." Corvus said with a disgruntled tone.
"No such luck?" Baurs said as Bernard approached the rock lizard, picking up his backpack.
"Eyep..." Bernard muttered as he walked over to one of the felled logs and placed the backpack next to him, opening it up and pulling out a water bottle. "Anyone thirsty? This the last one." He said as the creatures approached him.
"Pass me some." Corvus said as he landed next to Bernard on the log, grabbing the bottle from his hand with his wing as Vulp jumped onto the log and proceeded to lay across Bernards lap.
"So, when do you want to head back to the guild?" Corvus asked before he took a swig of the water bottle. "Because I'm pretty sure you're going to get your spine pulled out for disappearing again." He continued as he looked at Bernard as he petted Vulp, whose tail was wagging in enjoyment.
"I didn't disappear!" Bernard exclaimed in frustration. "It's not like last time where nobody knows where to look for me... And besides, you guys are here." He said as he turned to look at Baurs behind him.
"Which means your failure out here to find more creatures is a "collective fail."' Corvus said with a smirk on his face as Bernards eye twitched as he shifted his sight back towards the crow Celestial Spirit.
"...Well, I can't say every single problem we've had out here is a group issue." Bernard said as he reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace that had two damaged silver keys on it. "Speaking of which, where is Zaphkiel?" He said while turning back towards Baurs.
"Is that a question that you don't already know the answer to?" Baurs replied as Bernard bit his lip and proceeded to shift Vulp off his lap.
"...Nope..." Bernard said as he stood up. "Zaphkiel! Come out please!" He screamed loudly.
Looking around, the group suddenly heard trotting as everyone turned towards the direction of where the sound was coming from as another creature emerged. A light blue deer-like creature with large white antlers on its head with tiny sets of angelic wings scattered among it that also had blank eyes and a pair of expressionless masks on its sides of an even lighter shade of blue. Shifting his eyes downward as Bernard walked over to the deer, the young man noticed its hooves were caked in blood and leaving footprints.
"...Well, I'd like to say it's good to see you Zaphkiel, but I can see you were busy "greeting" other things in the forest..." Bernard said as he stared at the blood on her hooves as Zaphkiel proceeded to make a sinister smile. "To be fair, I did leave her out... Crazy murderous deer..." He thought with a twitch in his eye as he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a tissue, bending forward to attempt to clean off the blood from the angelic horned deer.
Noticing the blood on her hooves as she shifted her attention to where Bernard was kneeling in front of her, the masks on the sides of Zaphkiel's body opened their mouths as the blood dripping off her hooves started to telekinetically float off the bottom of her legs, levitating into the mouths of the masks as Zaphkiel made a content expression as the wings on her antlers fluttered. Slightly disgusted, Bernard, Corvus and Vulps faces cringed at the sight of such an act as Zaphkiel's body glowed, turning into particles of light as she transformed into a set of four golden coins on the string necklace around Bernards neck.
"That... Will never not be disturbing..." Corvus commented as Vulp nodded in agreeance.
"...Yeah... No denial there..." Bernard said. "A part of me should feel glad Zaphkiel is obedient... After I let her stab things and cover herself in guts to feed herself... But I can't get over how unsettling she is..." He thought as he put away the tissue that he was going to use to clean the angelic horned deer. "Baurs, how long was she gone?" Bernard asked towards the large rock lizard.
"Twenty minutes, at most." Baurs replied as Bernard put a hand on his face.
"And in twenty minutes, she probably killed the entire population of some kind of animal out of here." Corvus commented.
"Okay... Let's all agree not to go that way. Agreed?" Bernard said as he pointed in the direction Zaphkiel had come from.
"If that's what you wish." Baurs said as Vulp nodded in compliance.
"Even if you ordered me to, I wouldn't want to go over there." Corvus said as flapped his wings to go airborne. "Well, at least everyone is all accounted for." He said as he flapped his wing.
"Huh? Oh, no wait." Bernard muttered as he reached into his beanie and pulled out a pin that had orange and black lines on it. "We should check and see how he's doing." He said as Vulp and Corvus made half-closed eyes at Bernard.
"...Can we don't and say we did?" Corvus requested as Bernard sighed.
"Look, he's part of the team and I have to keep track of him too." Bernard said with a disgruntled tone.
"I don't like his childishness." Baurs commented as Vulp nodded in agreement.
"Or his sweaty scent..." Corvus said with a bothered tone as Vulp transformed his tail into a hand and proceeded to pinch his snout to block his ability to smell.
"He showered before I put him in the pin, alright?" Bernard said with annoyance.
Pouring his magical energy into the pin and then tossing it into the air, an orange magic circle appeared as a creature emerged from a small flash of light. A small tiger-furred cat-like creature that was wearing a pair of yellow headphones on its ears, a tiny grey tank top and a large belt that looked like a collar with a Lacrima hanging from it.
"Four! Five- huh?" The tiger furred cat muttered in a shrill male voice as it was on its knees and doing pushups until noticing it was in the woods and the group was looking down at it.
"Hey Tavio." Bernard said casually towards the tiger-furred cat.
"What the heck, nerd?!" Tavio exclaimed as he got to his feet. "You interrupted my work out! I probably did like four thousand pushups in there when I easily could do ten thousand!" He said in an agitated tone.
"I doubt it... The pins put you in suspended animation while you're inside it... But I'm happy to let you think you're getting exercise..." Bernard thought as he just stared at Tavio as Corvus flew over to Bernards side, smelling the air.
"Looks like you were right kid. He doesn't smell bad today... For once." Corvus commented as Tavio looked at his paws.
"No sweat?! Darn, I must have not exercised hard enough!" Tavio said as everyone looked at him with exasperation before he shifted himself onto his backside and started to do stomach crunches.
"Stupid Exceed." Corvus thought.
"I'm just checking up on you, you need any-" Bernard asked until Tavio spoke up.
"Piss off, you stupid nerd! I'll never- excuse me. I'll never reach my goal of becoming an "alpha" if you keep interrupting me!" Tavio said defiantly with a shrill voice until stopping to speak in a lower register, Vulp glaring at the tiger with his fur moving on its own for speaking disrespectfully towards Bernard.
"Settle down..." Bernard said as he noticed Vulp's angered state.
"If you don't want Vulp to kill him, I could do it..." Corvus said towards Bernard as Tavio did crunches, ignoring the conversation with the headphones he was wearing blasting loud music to drown out the threats.
"No!" Bernard exclaimed towards the crow.
"How about me then? Or Zaphkiel would be willing to help." Baurs said as Bernard shook his head in frustration.
"For the last time, no!" Bernard said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another blank white pin. "Capture..." He said as he tossed the pin at Tavio while he was exercised.
As the pin landed on the Exceed cat, an orange magic circle appeared once more beneath Tavio as a flash of light appeared once more and Tavio disappeared with the blank white pin turning into an orange and black striped one with a design similar to a tiger's fur. Walking over, Bernard picked up the pin from the ground and pinned it to the beanie on his head.
"That annoying four-eyed cowgirl with the big rack is a pain in the ass but I gotta admit, those pins she made for you are super useful." Corvus commented as Bernard looked at everyone.
"They're not perfect but they're serviceable." Bernard replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another white pin as Vulp approached Bernard.
"I don't believe I was told how they work." Baurs said as she spoke up.
"When I asked Daphne to give me a hand with finding some sort of "containment" spell for living creatures, she gave me these pins. Essentially, they're some kind of experimental Holder type version of Requip but instead of using it for items, it's for animals and monsters." Bernard explained. "Basically, it opens up a pocket dimension that stores the creatures by placing them in suspended animation." He continued.
"I'm surprised you haven't felt the need to put me or the other ones like the slime in your pacemaker in the pins." Baurs said.
"Hey, I don't want to be put in a pin!" Corvus complained in response to her statement as Vulp nudged against Bernards leg, looking up at him as Bernard noticed his actions.
"Lack of interest aside, Corvus and Vulp are a different situation. They're perfectly fine lingering in my pacemaker." Bernard said towards Baurs as he reached his hand down, starting to gently scratch Vulp behind the ears with the fox Celestial Spirit making an expression of enjoyment in response. "Plus, I think Vulp would go insane knowing he's in suspended animation and I'm not near him to show affection." He thought, acknowledging the Celestial Spirits clinginess towards him. "As for you and Zaphkiel, the stone bracelet you turn into and Zaphkiel's coins are also easy to manage for me. Not to mention, these pins break after I summon out the thing inside of them and I have to use a new one just to store it again." Bernard continued.
"Seems logical. Then I'll continue to store myself as a bracelet on your wrist." Baurs stated.
"Probably the most logical thing that nutty saleswoman has done since you let her in the guild." Corvus said as Bernard sighed in annoyance.
"It's not like she's not done anything positive for Psycho Circus..." Bernard replied as he walked back over to the log he was sitting on earlier. "The merchandise stand we now have during the Ultimate Carnival shows certainly helps net us a bit more money and her cat plush men have been useful as a staff of sorts." He said as he pointed at the Psycho Circus guild logo on his beanie. "Though I wish she would stop asking for Jewels every time the pins come up in conversation in an attempt to charge me for them... When I'm her boss, I already pay her a check and she's supposed to get tips when she helps Camilla with the bartending and waitressing..." Bernard thought as the image of a certain insane woman appeared in his mind.
"That's nice... Now if only we could acquire any more creatures for your little "pet show" project." Corvus muttered as Bernard's eye twitched as he walked over to his backpack, reaching into it and pulling out three dark grey pins with a red dot in the center of each one.
Pouring more of his energy into more pins, three magic circles appeared as the pins broke to summon out three more suspended monsters he's acquired. Standing slightly taller than Bernard was a trio of lizard-like monsters with dark grey scales on top of their bodies with light grey underbellies and long tails with blank eyes. In the center of their chests was red Lacrima orbs with red veins around them.
"Huh, didn't know your family was in town." Corvus said as he perched on the log and pointed at the Lacrima in the center of the creature's chests with his wing.
"Shut up, asshole!" Bernard shouted in anger before lifting his right index and middle finger at the trio of lizard-like monsters.
Unleashing some of his magical energy into the creatures, the Lacrima in their chests started to glow brightly as they begun to move, roaring loudly into the sky before looking at Bernard. While scratching his chin, Bernard proceeded to walk around the lizard-like monsters in a circle as they shifted their heads to keep track of him.
"...I still can't use these..." Bernard said as he stopped and bluntly gave his opinion of them as the lizard-like creature's jaws dropped in shock.
"Remind me again why you have these weird things?" Corvus asked as Vulp made a perplexed face.
"These things are some of Daphne's weird "Dragonoid" projects. I asked her about it once and she said something about how when she got in trouble for trying to destroy Magnolia, the Magic Council put a full ban on her work unless she joined a guild to be reclassified as a wizard. They took the entirety of her research into "lizardmen and dragon golems" so she hasn't been able to make these things until she joined up with Psycho Circus." Bernard said as the trio of Dragonoids looked at the other creatures. "Considering she's my assistant and the fact she had to start from scratch on this dangerous crap, I've been taking whatever Dragonoids she's been building because no one trusts her to have a bunch of these things in her possession... Myself included. And I thought I could use them for a show act... Until I realized a few things..." He explained.
"The fact you already have a lizard." Corvus said as he pointed towards Baurs.
"And she's actually alive and not just some homunculus." Bernard said as he lifted his hand in front of one of the Dragonoids noses and felt no air coming out of the creature's nostrils. "The creature show or whatever I want to make needs authentic, real creatures. I can't use something that's not actually alive..." He thought as he noticed the Dragonoids continued to slump their heads in dejection. "...No offense." Bernard said, hoping not to hurt the feelings of the dragon golems.
"I appreciate the respect of being treated as a living organism." Baurs said with a casual tone as Bernard walked over towards the rock lizard as she opened her mouth around his right wrist, her body crumbling into dirt until reforming as a brown bracelet made of stone around Bernards wrist.
"Said the Earth Elemental who doesn't even move her own mouth to talk." Corvus thought with an eyeroll.
"You're welcome for-" Bernard said towards his wrist until he was cut off by the sound of shrieking, startling him, Corvus, Vulp and the Dragonoid golems.
Noticing the trees rustling violently, everyone turned in the direction of the noise as two dozen creatures emerged with agitated expressions on their faces. With wings and webbed feet, their bodies looked like full sized great white sharks with rows and rows of teeth snarling towards the group.
"What the heck?!" Corvus exclaimed in surprise.
"Winged Sharks?!" Bernard shouted towards the flying versions of the predatory sea fish. "All the shouting and screaming we've been doing must've have woken a nearby nest! Whoa... Wait... Winged..." He thought until he realized something from looking at the wild flying monsters. "He-herk!" Bernard grunted as his face turned slightly blue and he covered his mouth with both hands.
"Whoa! Whoa! What's going on?!" Corvus said with worry towards his magical benefactor as Vulp made a similar concerned expression.
"I just... Ugh... I just remembered that time I ate Winged Fish looking at these things..." Bernard said with a sickly tone as the Celestial Spirits looked at him with wide eyes.
"Is now the time to recall that?!" Corvus exclaimed in frustration and annoyance as the Winged Sharks flapped their wings to get airborne and proceeded to pounce on the Dragonoid golems.
Turning their heads, Bernard and the Celestial Spirits watched in horror as the Winged Sharks proceeded to rip apart the Dragonoids, some of them munching on the remains of the lizard-like homunculi while others were eating on the red Lacrima that powered them. Disturbed, Bernard, on instinct, pointed his hands out towards Corvus and Vulp, expelling some of his magical energy into the crow and fox.
"Corvus! Vulp! Do your things!" Bernard exclaimed as Corvus flapped his wings while generating electricity and Vulp's fur begun to move on its own.
"Got it!" Corvus shouted as he let loose bolts of red and white lightning, shocking some of the Winged Sharks and knocking them out as the other ones turned their attention towards the trio.
"Vulp! Use your tendrils to stab some of them!" Bernard ordered as Vulp's tail split into several sharp tendrils, stabbing several of the Winged Sharks in their chests and heads as one sole shark dodged the attack, flying high into the air and out of sight. "Hey, I think we got 'em all!" He said, failing to notice the Winged Shark flying overhead of the group.
"Thank the stars! I didn't want to see you vomit like last time!" Corvus said loudly as Bernard glared at the crow.
"Don't bring that up ever again!" Bernard shouted in anger before shifting his attention towards the remains of the Dragonoid golems. "Oh god, look at that..." He muttered as Corvus and Vulp looked at the torn apart artificial lizard monsters.
"Well... There's one benefit to them not actually being alive. No blood splatter to clean up." Corvus commented as Bernard and Vulp looked at the crow with unimpressed expressions on their faces. "What!? It's true!" He said in his defense.
"Can we get a moment of silence for the "no longer mobile" homunculi?" Bernard suggested as he closed his eyes with Vulp following his orders.
"Seems stupid but alright..." Corvus said as he closed his eyes as well, the group proceeding to silently mourn their deceased beastly comrades.
"I think that's- wahh!" Bernard said until he suddenly felt something grab his shoulders and he suddenly ascended into the sky.
"What's a- hmm?!" Corvus muttered as he opened his eyes as he and Vulp looked upward in shock as the last Winged Shark they missed was now holding Bernard by its feet, high in the air. "Kid!" The crow exclaimed as he flapped his wings as the Winged Shark started to fly away while carrying Bernard.
"Awhahgha!" Bernard screamed in fear as he realized how high he was from the ground. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" He rambled as he began to violently shake in the flying wild creature's grasp.
"Let him go!" Corvus screamed as Corvus chased after the Winged Shark carrying Bernard as Vulp followed behind on foot. "I'm going to grill you, you stupid flying seafood!" He shouted as Bernard turned his head to see Corvus was beginning to spark up with electricity.
"Oh, thank goodness, he's going to... Wait..." Bernard thought with relief until suddenly looking down and noticing the group was right above the town of Hemlock at the base of the mountain and directly over the Psycho Circus big top. "Wait! Whoa! Corvus, don't!" He pleaded in a panic to no avail as Corvus fired another lightning bolt.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Psycho Circus guild, 4:00 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"And I fainted on the way down..." Bernard said as he sat on the bed with Corvus and Vulp next to him as he recounted his story to Camilla, who was standing in front of him as he looked up at his girlfriend as she processed the information.
"Uh huh... I see..." Camilla said as she looked at Bernard.
"Yeah... That's what happened..." Bernard said with an awkward look in his eyes.
"Mmmhmmmm..." Camilla replied while making a face of skepticism. "...Bullshit." She said while folding her arms.
"...Damn it..." Bernard thought as he bit his lip with an embarrassed expression forming on his face as Corvus put one of his wings over his face. "I swear it's the-" He said with his hands up before being cut off.
"No, it's not." Camilla said bluntly with a cold tone.
"...Okay, I might have embellished the stuff with the Winged Sharks but everything before that was true- argh!" Bernard said until Camilla reached her left hand forward and put it on the side of the beanie wearing young man's face, pinching it with immense force. "Orgh! Raugh! Gudg!" He groaned and grunted.
"What's the real story?" Camilla said with a stern tone as she pulled fiercely on Bernard's face.
"Ophkay! Ohpkay!" Bernard said in pain whilst attempting to say "okay" before Camilla let go of his face. "We got lost up in the mountains on the first day because I forgot the map in the tent house. We started searching for monsters like I said to capture but by today, we had zero luck, and I didn't want to look stupid for hiking for monsters and coming back with nothing!" He said defensively while putting his hands on his face.
"Then he tripped down a pretty steep side of the mountain towards a cliff that had a bit of a ramp to it and went flying through the air and came through the roof..." Corvus said as Vulp looked at Bernard's depressed and sheepish expression.
"I've never been more disappointed with myself in my entire life..." Bernard thought as Camilla sighed.
"Was that seriously that hard to tell me?" Camilla questioned as she bent forward, placing her hands on her knees to meet Bernard at eye level before reaching into her back pocket. "Because I knew you forgot the stupid map." She said with furrowed brows as she showed Bernard the map of the Cayman Rock Mountain.
"Could you please not hold it against me...?" Bernard said with a depressed look on his face. "And how'd you know I was lying and didn't just stop me saying that whole dumb story?" He asked.
"I knew you were lying the moment I realized Corvus didn't chime in the whole time and just let you talk." Camilla said as she glanced at the crow, who was giving a lecherous look towards her.
"Would've said some things to help the kids story out at any time but I was distracted by something I hadn't seen in a few days. Hehehe." Corvus said as the pair looked at the crow, Bernard making a bothered expression and Camilla making a disgusted face as she covered her chest with her arms.
"Dumb pervert bird..." Camilla thought with annoyance before shifting her attention to Bernard whose shoulders slumped and his head was down. "Oh, come on, I'm more relieved you're alright than angry." She said as Bernard looked at her.
"Thanks..." Bernard muttered in a sullen tone.
"Stop making that face." Camilla replied as Bernard wiped his eyes before putting the map on the bed next to her boyfriend. "Is there any reason you decided to do this whole excursion on your own when it's obvious you needed the help?" She asked as the pair locked eyes. "...I'd like to go on a camping date..." Camilla thought with annoyance.
"Literally, every time I've found strange magical creatures, it's just something happens on its own and it has usually been because of me just being in the right place at the right time." Bernard said as he looked at Corvus and Vulp.
"Yeah, but you were actively looking for things and got no payoff." Camilla said as she looked at Bernard. "Can't "be in the right place at the right time" if you're actively searching for it, you know?" She said as Bernard rolled his eyes.
"Doesn't mean I couldn't have tried!" Bernard exclaimed in a frustrated tone as he quickly got up from the bed and stood in front of his girlfriend as she jumped back slightly in surprise.
"...Your stubbornness is in the wrong place..." Camilla thought with half-closed eyes on her face before sighing. "What's the rule?" She said as Bernard's eyes widened.
"Uh!" Bernard muttered until falling silent. "...I'm not allowed to get angry in the guildhall..." He said as he calmed down slightly.
"Correct, now get back down on the bed..." Camilla said as Bernard sat back down.
"So, what now?" Bernard asked.
"I'm going to get back to the bar. It's been a good while; people probably deserve to know you're conscious and the sun looks like it's starting to set." Camilla said as she glanced at a nearby window to see it was starting to get dark out.
"Okay? What am I supposed to do?" Bernard asked as Corvus and Vulp looked at Camilla.
"You can stay here and rest, you're probably sore after your "crash landing."' Camilla said as she made a wry smile.
"Uh..." Bernard muttered as he wasn't expecting her suggestion as she walked towards the door to the infirmary room.
"Just relax in here and when the guildhall closes down, I'll come back so we can go home together." Camilla said as she looked back at him. "I feel a bit rested now, but I'll feel better after a real full night's sleep." She thought as she looked at Bernard.
"...Are you sure? I mean, I could-" Bernard said, trying to make a request to help until Camilla started to glow with a yellow aura and a glare in her eyes. "Never mind, honey. Go do your thing." He said with a slightly fearful tone.
"Good." Camilla said with a smile as her aura dissipated as she walked down the hall before sticking her head back in through the door. "Oh, and another thing, next time you leave the guild on one of your "monster hunts," I'm going too. No exceptions." She said before quickly rushing away down the hall. "And your punishment is to give me more breaks from this place. Hehehe." Camilla thought with a smug look on her face.
"What the- hey!" Bernard said as he stood up from the bed to protest but to no avail. "Urgh..." He groaned as he sat back down again. "Well, at least I wasn't given the usual punishment for getting loud in the guildhall." Bernard thought.
"Well, that's one way to be told to take a nap." Corvus commented as Bernard looked at him while he was on the bed as Vulp proceeded look at the beanie wearing young man. "Course I would've asked if she could stick around a bit longer... Hehehe." He said perversely.
"Will you knock it off?" Bernard questioned as Vulp bent over towards Bernard and started to lick his face. "Blrugh. Bsugh..." He grunted as he laid back and just let Vulp lick him. "And you too..." Bernard said as he looked at Vulp, who merely wagged his tail.
"Can't complain too much though, least we're home." Corvus said as he sat down on the bed as Bernard readjusted himself to lay his head on the nearby pillow.
"Yeah... I guess you're right. And no more mountains for a while." Bernard said as he stared at the ceiling before shutting his eyes.
"So, what we going to do about the whole "monster collecting" thing for your show?" Corvus asked.
"...I'll figure something out... Then I'll let you know what we'll-" Bernard said until he heard what sounded like a glass break, prompting him to open his eyes extremely wide and Corvus and Vulp to turn their heads towards the door.
"What the hell Anatoli!?" Marlene shouted from the main hall of the guild.
"That wasn't me! That was one of the stupid cat plush men things! I told it not to wipe the table while I was eating my sandwich!" Anatoli exclaimed as Bernard made an agitated expression.
"Do not blame my workers!" Daphne screamed.
"Hey! The manager's asleep upstairs! Quit shouting in the guildhall!" Kawazu said, shouting in the guildhall.
"Here we go..." Corvus thought as he looked at Bernards face as he sat up.
"I'll nap later! I gotta see what the hell happened!" Bernard said with an angry expression as he got out of bed and started to stomp towards the door.
"Never a dull moment with this kid, right Vulp?" Corvus said towards the fox Celestial Spirit who jumped off the bed to join his master. "Can't say I'd have it any other way though." He thought with a smile forming on his face as the crow proceeded to flap his wings and take flight to catch up with his owner.
Ahhhh nature... One of the few good things the world has to offer. The sounds of babbling brooks, the smell of fresh pines, the disgusting sights of bear shit... Okay, that last one was a bit personal. I went on a hike about a week ago and I was frozen at the sight of one while it was letting loose some- okay, enough of that! Bernard and his beastly allies spent some time together up on the nearby mountain to look for monsters and animals but failed miserably as they recount a total fabrication to Bernard's girlfriend. Well... At least, he's home and it didn't take TWO YEARS for him to come back without being dragged, kicking and screaming with a bloody nose like last time. So, what now? Only the waiting game until the next chapter of Menagerie!