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, the black and purple crow Celestial Spirit, flew by over him and Vulp, the blue fox Celestial Spirit, 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 freak!" Corvus said with anger.
"Corvus, let it go!" Bernard shouted as Corvus turned towards Bernard with surprise.
"What?! 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 Bernard put a hand up.
"Hold on..." Bernard said with half-closed eyes as the Celestial Spirits looked at him before turning to watch the round flapping creature float further away.
With an expression of content from escaping its attackers, the small creature looked back for a brief moment as Bernard, Corvus and Vulp were just watching it before the small round creature bumped into something that felt like a massive hand. Nervously sweating, the round creature was then suddenly squeezed as it looked through a gap in the fingers of the large figure smiling at it maliciously.
"Oh." Corvus muttered as Bernard and the Celestial Spirits were approached by the creature that grabbed the small round animal.
Standing in front of the trio was a gorilla-like animal that stood as tall as the trees with a brown face, brown hands and brown feet. Sporting bright white fur on its body and a very long tail that ended in a bushy tip, it also was wearing flashy accessories in the form of a pair of massive golden bracers on its arms with round blue gems embedded around the wrists, a matching golden necklace and a blue gem-like headband on its forehead. With the huge gorilla extending the hand holding the round creature, it was now unconscious from the pressure of being crushed by the primate's strength with the beanie sporting young man taking out a small book titled "Creatures of Fiore: A (somewhat) Complete Compendium" and starting to flip through the pages.
'"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 with Vulp, Corvus and the white furred gorilla watching Bernards agitated display.
"We're totally getting our money back when we get back into town, yeah?" Corvus asked as the white furred gorilla lifted up its hand slightly and looked at the white Puffer with a bothered expression on its face.
"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 as Bernard looked at the tall primate.
"Don't remind me, I swear to god, do not remind me..." Bernard thought in frustration. "Hoyabembe, get rid of that thing, please." He said towards the gorilla.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh!" Hoyabembe the white gorilla exclaimed as it proceeded to turn slightly and cocked its arm back before violently throwing the Puffer at the sky, even managing to disperse a cloud as the creature disappeared from sight.
"Good throw, big guy." Corvus said as he flew up to the shoulder of Hoyabembe and perched on it, the gorilla smiling in response to the compliment. "So, when're we headed back to town, kid?" He asked as he looked at Bernard as everyone started walking. "I want a bottle of vodka after this whole camping trip. "One day hike" up the mountain, my ass. " Corvus complained.
"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 Hoyabembe rolled his eyes and 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 nearby felled logs was three of Daphnes cat plush servants; one green, one blue and one orange with a purple coat on as the three of them noticed Bernard approaching with Corvus, Vulp and Hoyabembe. Next to the firepit was also 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 with a backpack next to its leg. Upon all of them noticing Bernard, the three cat plush servants frantically jumped and stumbled into a line and proceeded to bow themselves at a forty-five-degree angle.
"Welcome back, Mr. Bernard." The rock lizard said telepathically in an elderly female voice without moving her mouth.
"Hey Baurs." Bernard said, greeting her. "And you three... Stop it." He said with a mildly bothered tone towards the three cat plush men as they quickly stood up straight before they all raised their left arms and saluted at him. "Don't do that either." Bernard said with a twitch in his eye as Corvus flew over to one of the logs and landed on it as Hoyabembe and Vulp looked at the trio of cat plush men acting slightly embarrassed over Bernards apparent annoyance with their greeting.
"Any success?" Baurs asked as the blue cat plush man went over to the firepit and started rearranging the firewood.
"I'll let you guess..." Corvus said with a disgruntled tone as the green and orange cat plush men shifted themselves to be standing behind Bernard, acting as if they were guarding him.
"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's the last one." He said as the creatures approached him with Hoyabembe and Vulp shaking their heads to signify a negative response. "I'd offer one of you some, but I don't think you need it." Bernard said as he looked at the cat plush men standing behind him.
Shifting their faces in Bernards direction, the orange cat plush man quickly jumped over the log so as to be in front of Bernard before getting down on all fours and straightening out its back. Seeing this, the blue cat plush man rushed over to where Bernard was and lifted his legs up and placed them on the back of the orange cat plush man, acting like a footstool. Behind him, the remaining green cat plush man raised both of its soft arms and started to rub them on Bernards shoulders, as if to mimic giving him a shoulder message.
"Okay, no! Stop it!" Bernard said as he shifted his legs off the back of the orange cat plush man and waved his arms to remove the green cat plush man's flat hands from his shoulders with the trio of man-sized dolls looking at him with their button eyes. "I don't need a sudden shoulder rub and using one of you as a footrest doesn't make me feel comfortable. It's just odd!" He complained while moving his head in various directions to look at the cat plush men, the trio now slumping their shoulders in dejection.
"After that little display, you can pass me some." Corvus said as he moved 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 as the cat plush men moved away from Bernard.
"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 as Hoyabembe waved at Baurs.
"Hello, Hoyabembe." Baurs said with a casual tone.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh!" Hoyabembe said before rubbing his golden bracers, admiring them as they shined in the sunlight.
"I didn't disappear!" Bernard exclaimed in frustration towards Corvus. "It's not like last time where nobody knew where to look for me... And besides, you guys are here." He said as he turned to look at Baurs, Hoyabembe and the cat plush men.
"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 his attention 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, everyone's 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.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh." Hoyabembe said while folding his arms.
"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 and Hoyabembe 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 as the cat plush men moved closer to Bernard again.
"...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. "And you three ass-kissers ain't bodyguards so stop crowding me." He thought as he felt his personal space was being invaded.
"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.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh..." Hoyabembe muttered as he got closer to Bernard as well, prompting the three cat plush men to cowardly back away in nervousness.
"He showered before I put him in the pin, alright?" Bernard said with annoyance. "I'll just bring him out-" He said until Corvus spoke up.
"Whoa, wait a minute." Corvus said, catching everyone's attention. "Big bald with the gold belt told you to practice, remember?" He said as Bernard bit his lip before putting the pin back in his hat.
"Right... Right..." Bernard said with a disgruntled voice as all of the creatures made space for the beanie sporting young man. "Okay, before that, let me just test it out with you, Hoyabembe." He said as the white gorilla smiled at him and nodded.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh." Hoyabembe said in response.
"Okay... Concentrate..." Bernard thought as he stood still and began to emit a magical aura as one of the pins in his beanie begun to glow and then Hoyabembe also started to glow. "Output magic that matches the amount of the creature and if I can do that..." He thought as Hoyabembe disappeared into particles and the pin on Bernards head went from a solid white to a pin of gold, brown and white.
"Good work, you're finally starting to get it." Corvus said with a smile on his beak as Vulp wagged his tail in a joyful manner.
"Congratulations. You're managing to summon out your collected pets without physical movement." Baurs said calmly as three cat plush men slid on the ground and bowed at Bernard in a servile manner.
"Knock it off!" Bernard angrily exclaimed as the three cat plush men looked at him. "I don't need you guys acting like weird butlers or slaves or whatever! You are going in timeout!" He said as he pointed at his belt. "Guess I should thank Pietro for pushing me into practicing this whole "spontaneous callout" summoning thing with the pins." Bernard thought.
Hanging their heads in sullenness, the three cat plush men proceeded to shrink into incredibly tiny dolls as Bernard picked up the three cat plushies and then placing them on a small hook on his belt, now appearing similar to that of a keychain.
"Now it's his turn." Bernard thought as he looked upward at his head and began to emit magical power again.
Pouring his magical energy into the pin, 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 whatever goes in them in a form of 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 and Hoyabembe would be willing to help." Baurs said as Bernard shook his head in frustration.
"For the last time, no!" Bernard said as he emitted his aura of magical power once more.
As the Exceed cat did his crunches, Tavio glowed with a similar aura as Hoyabemba did and disappeared in a flash of light with another blank white pin in Bernards beanie turning into an orange and black striped one.
"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 kept breaking when I first got them whenever I put Tavio in it and brought him out." Bernard replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another white pin, examining it. "Pietro instructed me to practice channeling my magic and then figured out the trick is to match the magical energy of the creature inside it to keep it from snapping... And avoiding a certain personal assistant thinking she can charge me for more pins..." He thought.
"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. Same with Formosa." 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." 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 and then at the keychain of cat plush servants on his belt. "When they're not acting like suck-ups..." Bernard thought with annoyance.
"That's nice... Now if only we could acquire more creatures for your little "pet show" project." Corvus muttered as Bernard's eye twitched as he walked over to his backpack.
"I said it before, we're not going back to the guildhall until we find ourselves a new member like Hoyabembe." Bernard said as he put on his backpack.
"The hot brunette is going to be piiiiiiiissseeeedddd." Corvus said with a comedic tone as Bernard twitched in frustration.
"I'll... Jump over that hurdle when I get to it..." Bernard thought as he was worried about how Camilla would react to his time away from the guild. "Baurs, bracelet form." He said as he walked over to Baurs and placed his hand in her mouth.
"Call me when you require me." Baurs said telepathically as her body broke down until it formed into a ring of stone around his wrist.
"Let's- huh?" Bernard said until he noticed a noise coming from nearby
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 of 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 flock of Winged Sharks flapped their wings to get airborne above everyone.
"Corvus! Vulp! Do your things!" Bernard exclaimed as he pointed his hands out towards Corvus and Vulp, expelling some of his magical energy into the crow and fox with 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 Bernard with Vulp jumping in front to protect him.
"Vulp! Use your tail 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 as Vulp looked at the crow with annoyance and not spotting the Winged Shark descending towards his back. "Ahh!" He exclaimed as he was lifted off the ground.
"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 webbed feet on his backpack, 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 guildhall, 4:00 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So, to avoid getting zapped, I slipped out of my backpack and... Fainted on the way down." Bernard said as he sat on the bed and recounted his story to Pietro sitting in front of him on another infirmary bed, Marlene sitting directly next to Bernard and Camilla and Anatoli standing in-between both of the beds.
"Uh-huh..." Camilla said as she looked at Bernard.
"I see..." Pietro muttered.
"Mmmmhmmmm..." Anatoli mumbled.
"Okay..." Marlene commented.
"Yeah... That's what happened..." Bernard said with an awkward look in his eyes.
"In other words, you were too stubborn to come down the mountain." Pietro said as Bernard looked at the bald strongman.
"...That's a bit of an oversimplification of it..." Bernard replied as Anatoli looked at Camilla.
"Permission?" Anatoli said towards the S-class head of security.
"Granted." Camilla said with her arms folded.
"I'll help." Marlene said calmly.
"...Huh?" Bernard muttered in response to his friend's statements. "What does that- ahh!" He said until Marlene suddenly grabbed the hem of Bernards shirt and pulled it over his head, covering his face. "Hey!? What the?!" Bernard said in surprise as Marlene held a tight grip on his shirt and on one of his wrists to restrain him.
"Pink belly!" Anatoli screamed out as he took his open right palm and smacked Bernard straight in the stomach.
"Gaaah!" Bernard screamed from the sudden and painful sensation.
"You kind of deserve this..." Camilla thought as she watched Anatoli hit Bernard in the belly with his open hand.
"And here comes another!" Anatoli said as he smacked Bernard once again.
"Arghagh!" Bernard belted out in pain.
"My turn!" Marlene said loudly as she open hand smacked Bernard with the hand she was using to pull back his shirt, letting go of it.
"Quit it! Ahhh!" Bernard exclaimed in protest as Pietro stood up and grabbed Anatoli's wrist as he was prepared to smack him once more, Marlene letting go of Bernard and allowing him to pull his shirt down. "Gauh!" He muttered as his face was no longer covered.
"...My turn now." Pietro said as he let go of Anatoli's wrist, the chimp-like young man smirking in response as Bernard started to cowardly back away on the bed as Marlene grabbed Bernards wrist.
"Oh no you don't!" Marlene said as she pulled Bernard to his feet and Pietro cocked back his hand to smack Bernard in the stomach as well.
"Wait! Wait- hughh!" Bernard said as Pietro's enormous palm collided with Bernards stomach, prompting Bernard to spit out phlegm from the strike. "Aruuughh!" He grunted in pain as he fell to his knees in front of everyone.
While clutching at his stomach, Bernard took a moment to lift up his shirt and then looked down at the multiple handprints left on his torso from his friends smacking him. Looking at his torso in shock, Marlene and Anatoli bent down and helped lift Bernard back up to his feet before Marlene assisted him with sitting back down on the bed.
"Hey, that was fun! Can we do it again?" Anatoli said with a mischievous smirk towards the group.
"No!" Bernard screamed in protest while clutching at where he was struck.
"Sorry, but we kind of had to do that." Marlene said with an apologetic tone.
"Bad behavior shouldn't go unpunished." Pietro said with a calm tone as Bernard looked up towards the mustachioed man.
"Don't blame me for wanting to look around the mountain for monsters!" Bernard exclaimed in frustration. "Hell, it was somewhat your idea!" He said while pointing at Pietro.
"I wouldn't say it was "my idea." I merely found that big silvery white gorilla pet of yours when I was hiking up Cayman Rock a few weeks ago." Pietro replied as he folded his arms. "Hoyabembe, you called him?" He asked towards Bernard.
"...Yes... Ow..." Bernard said while still recoiling from the pain.
"He saw my Max Muscle Magic belts golden parts and attacked me trying to take it. I fought it and then wound up bringing it with me to the guildhall to see if you could add it for your collection." Pietro said.
"Hoyabembe likes gold, so I found cheap fake jewelry at a pawn shop in town. Once he put them on, he warmed up to me fast... And now my belly is panging!" Bernard thought as he mentally recounted how he tamed Hoyabembe whilst still complaining about the pain he was suffering from at the literal hands of his friends.
"Still, not cool dude." Anatoli said while bending forward slightly.
"Huh?" Bernard muttered while looking at the shirtless chimp-like wizard.
"You could have asked one of us to tag along if you weren't going to come back down within a day like you said." Marlene said as she looked at Bernard, who was making an awkward expression.
"Not an act of professionalism from the man in charge of the guildhall." Pietro commented before he glanced at Camilla, raising an eyebrow as he noticed she was standing quietly with her eyes closed.
"Grrr..." Bernard grumbled in annoyance. "Fine... Sorry..." He said while looking away from everybody.
"Apology not accepted!" Anatoli said loudly. "You owe us all a meal now!" He said with a smirk on his face.
"What?!" Bernard exclaimed.
"Yeah, that will make us all even!" Marlene said with a smile.
"Works for me." Pietro said with a shrug.
"I find nothing to come home with, and now I'm flat broke too... This fucking sucks..." Bernard thought while twitching in aggravation.
"You want to decide where we go?" Marlene asked towards Camilla as she opened one of her eyes.
"...Shouldn't we inform the guildmembers and Master Barnum about Bernards wellbeing?" Camilla said as everyone looked at her.
"Probably a good idea." Pietro said as he pointed towards the door, prompting Marlene and Anatoli to join him in leaving the room.
"Get some sleep for those marks, Bernie! Hahaha!" Anatoli said while putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.
"Let me know if you need anything." Marlene said as she waved at Bernard.
"And I'd like an update on that magic control training I recommended." Pietro said as they all left the room, leaving Bernard alone with Camilla.
With an awkward silence now permeating the room, Bernard glanced in the direction of Camilla as the brunette turned her head to look at him, prompting Bernard to flinch slightly before she walked over towards him.
"...Oh no..." Bernard thought with his face turning slightly blue as he looked up at Camilla standing tall in front of him with her hands behind her back.
"...I should probably punish you too, you know." Camilla said with a stern tone of voice.
"Eep!" Bernard muttered in surprise as a chill ran up his spine. "Forget Pietro or Anatoli, her smacks could kill me!" He thought with fear forming in his head.
"...Close your eyes and I'll make it quick." Camilla said with half-closed eyes.
Swallowing spit in nervousness, Bernard quickly shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. Raising one of her hands, Camilla reached forward and pulled off Bernards beanie from the top of his head, placing it on the bed next to him before using her other hand to place her fingers under his chin, tilting his head slightly.
"She's going to hit me hard in the face, I know it... This is going to-... Hurt?" Bernard thought with worry as he prepared to be hit by Camilla until suddenly feeling something press against his forehead.
Opening one of his eyes, Bernard looked up slightly as he spotted Camilla plant her lips against his forehead, giving him a kiss. Surprised by this, Bernard backed away as he looked at Camilla, her face softening to an expression that sported a smile as she stood upright again.
"To be honest... I'm just happy you're alright." Camilla said while looking at Bernard, the young man's face blushing from her actions and the face she was making.
"You-you're not going to strike me?" Bernard questioned as put his hand on his forehead. "She left a different kind of mark..." He thought.
"I'm far too tired to want to exert the effort in punishing you, to be honest." Camilla said as Bernards eyes widened.
"...Crap... Me being on the mountain for so long probably means she had trouble sleeping..." Bernard thought as he realized he might have caused more trouble than he wanted.
"But I am picking the place you're going to owe everyone a meal. It's the least you can do." Camilla said with a jovial face as Bernard looked at her before sighing in defeat.
"...Fine... I'm definitely not winning against you." Bernard said as Camilla bent forward slightly and locked eyes with him.
"And that doesn't mean I am not going find a way to punish you in my own way, honey." Camilla said with smirk and furrowed brows. '"Date night" is going to be a bit more reoccurring from now on." She thought.
"...Yes, dear." Bernard said with an exhausted smile on his face. '"Date night" is probably going to be more reoccurring from this moment on..." He thought.
"Now stay here and get some rest. You probably need some after your "crash landing."' Camilla said as she started walking away. "Guildhall is open for another few hours and after that we'll head home together." She said while looking back at him and giving him a flirtatious wink.
"Mmmm..." Bernard mumbled as a chill ran up his spine once more.
"Oh, by the way, you got company." Camilla said as she stepped to the side.
"Huh?" Bernard muttered in confusion until suddenly hearing some loud noises coming from the guildhalls main area.
"Where is he?! Please tell me he is alive!" A voice screamed out.
"Corvus?" Bernard said with confusion.
"Sounds like the perv bird." Camilla said while rolling her eyes as she backed up slightly.
With a loud and heavy scrambling noise approaching the infirmary, Corvus and Vulp suddenly blitzed through the doorway and entered the room with crow panting heavily and the fox darting his head in multiple directions while pulling a strap connected to Bernards backpack he had while he was hiking.
"Kid! Oh, thank the stars!" Corvus exclaimed in relief as Bernard looked at the Celestial Spirits before Vulp let go of the backpack and rushed at Bernard, hopping onto the bed and pushing him down before licking his face with his tongue in a showing of affection.
"Nice to- ow... See you too..." Bernard said as Vulp licked his face whilst also acknowledging Vulps canine body on top of him was aggravating his previous injury from his friends slapping.
"Oh, what's up, sexy? You miss me?" Corvus said as he turned his head in the direction of Camilla, smiling at her as she glared at the crow for his lecherous behavior.
"I missed my boyfriend, not his disgusting pet pheasant." Camilla said with a bothered tone.
"I'm a crow, not a pheasant!" Corvus exclaimed in anger.
"You two can stay in here with him. I got to hurry up and get my shift over with." Camilla said as she walked through the doorway into the second-floor hall before turning back to look at Bernard as he sat back up to look at her. "Welcome home." She said with a smile towards him before leaving.
"Hate to see her go but damn, do I love to watch her leave..." Corvus said lecherously as he stared at Camilla's backside before she left his sight.
"Can you please stop making "goo-goo eyes" at my girlfriend?" Bernard said with half-closed eyes towards Corvus as Vulp noticed Bernards beanie on the bed before picking it up with his tail. "Thanks." He said towards the fox as he put his beanie back on.
"Welp, we're home now." Corvus said as he flew over and perched on the footboard of the bed. "And we're no different than we were when we left." He continued as Bernard repositioned himself and laid his head on the pillow.
"Yeah... This really isn't good progress towards making the monster show." Bernard replied with a bothered look in his eyes as he stared at the ceiling. "I need to find a lot of different creatures... What I have currently isn't enough to fill in a time slot worth charging admission for..." He thought.
"Guess we should take it easy for now, huh?" Corvus asked as Vulp stared at Bernard.
"At least until the next Ultimate Carnival show." Bernard replied. "Maybe I should listen to what the others said and get some shuteye..." He thought.
Suddenly, the loud sound of a glass breaking interrupted Bernards train of thought and the Celestial Spirit companions of his turned their heads towards the door.
"Hey! Who broke that glass!?" Anatoli screamed loudly.
"It wasn't me! It was this idiot! I told you plushie boys to be more careful!" Daphne shouted as the sound of slapping could be heard.
"Will you both calm down!?" Marlene exclaimed in an effort to quell any infighting.
"Kain! Get your hands away from the cheese on my plate!" Vidaldus screamed.
"So-sorry! I was hungry!" Kain said with a loud and apologetic tone.
"Bad Kain!" Abel said.
"Aahhhh! My leg!" Kain screamed in a painful voice.
"Will all of you stop screaming in the guildhall!? The boss is upstairs trying to sleep!" Kawazu said, screaming in the guildhall.
"Oh, for the love of... How the hell am I supposed to relax with all this going on!?" Bernard said as he got up from the infirmary bed.
"Just a normal day in this guild." Corvus said with a smirk as Vulp shook his head.
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- oh come on, again with the changes?!
Author's Note: (Alright, second chapter! This one is WAY more altered than the last one. It's almost a completely new chapter. First things first, let's acknowledge the elephant in the room... Or rather, white gorilla: allow me to introduce the newest Menagerie member, Hoyabembe the white gorilla. Yes, GORILLA, not VULCAN. In a change up from the original, I decided to write in a new pet to Bernards collection that was an explanation for the sudden monster hunt up the mountain as well as the idea that Pietro found it and brought it home to see if Bernard could tame it, which he did. What about the Knight Vulcan's from the original version of the story? Well... I scrapped them. I'll be honest, coming up with a backstory for them was strenuous and honestly, very tedious to figure out how to implement. As well, I HATED WRITING THEIR DIALOGUE. The "ooh-ooh-ooh" at the beginning or end of every sentence was honestly annoying to write and I know, that's on me for choosing that as a writing quirk for them. So, I decided to introduce a new primate, an actual big gorilla that's not a Vulcan (Elfman turning into a great ape using Take Over is proof there's other monkey creatures in the FT universe) and I kind of like his simplicity personally.
Another change: no more Dragonoids. While I understand why they could work... I gave it some thought, and Daphne's cat plush servant things are arguably more "character-like" in concept. They don't speak like the Dragonoids but they do have personality and charm to them that I probably couldn't write for the Dragonoid golems. Plus, it's far more hilarious to have them acting as "living furniture" than the emotionless lizard constructs.
And speaking of funnier, I added Bernard getting smacked around by his friends... No need to expand on that, he kind of deserved it. I also revamped the pins concept to make it a bit more "useful," I guess is the correct term? I think adding in a bit more of the idea that Bernard is practicing using his extremely high amounts of magical energy in a more practical sense might help his development somewhat. Let me know what you think in the reviews.)