Chapter Text
The day started with a long journey to the woods. It wasn’t just any old forest though, it was the forest where the Host would get his first familiar. He was accompanied by his brother, the Author, in his endeavour. The twins would have travelled in silence, if not for the Author occasionally speaking his mind.
“Maybe a wolf or a tough creature will find you,” the Author said. His own familiar, Licht, decided to land and perch on his shoulder. The tiny dragon ruffled her feathers while stretching her bat-like wings. An odd rumble came from Licht as the Author ran a finger through her coarse, dark feathers.
“The Host is not picky. Which ever familiar deems him worthy matters not to him.” The Host wasn’t much for conversation during their travels. Getting a familiar was supposed to be a monumental feat for magic users, but the Host knew that his nerves weren’t nerves of excitement. Having a familiar meant having more power. Even in its weaker state, the Host’s power helped him tremendously, who knows what could happen if they got stronger.
There was a culture surrounding familiars that the Host wasn’t fond of. Get one as soon as possible. It was quite… irresponsible in the Host’s opinion. While his brother got Licht fairly early, he wanted to let his mind mature before getting his first familiar. Stronger powers could lead to impulsive decisions. Reckless power has lead to severe consequences before, afterall.
The Host mindless adjusted the bandages draped over his eye sockets. The Author couldn’t help but glance at his brother’s movements, eyes lingering on those bloody bandages before he snapped his gaze to the ground. He knew why he stared, he stared at those bandages because they were a damned reminder for his mistakes.
“Are you nervous?” The Author’s tone was serious, his lips quirked downward in a deep frown. They could see their destination on the horizon.
“The Host worries that he’s not ready for the responsibility.” With every step closer to the forest, he could feel his anxiety jump.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Last time I checked, you’re not known for fucking things up.” He forced an awkward smile in reassurance. “You’ll drive away all the familiars with this attitude, cut it out.”
They travelled the rest of their journey in tense silence. Eventually, the brothers stood before the forest where wild familiars live in. The very air surrounding the place felt heavy, rich with different types of magic coursing through the roots of the trees.
The Host hesitated while narrating his surroundings quietly, his feet planted firmly in place.
“You can’t wait forever, Host,” the Author said. “Just go. Get it over with.”
“The Host will… just let him collect his barings.” His voice was soft, as if he was afraid of the harmless forest. He fidgeted with his bandages again.
“Alright, just don’t collect them for too long. I don’t want to be here all day,” the Author snapped, crossing his arms and huffing.
“The Host apologizes.”
The Author paused. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air, taking the time to get rid of his tension. “No, don’t. I shouldn’t be snapping at you ‘cause of this. I know how all this is for you, but you shouldn’t worry about using magic recklessly.” His eyes glanced at his brother’s bandages again. “You’re not gonna fuck this up, not like me.”
“Now is not the time for that,” the Host interjected. “The Host should get going now. Is the Author sure that he wants to stay out here and wait?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Licht made a small roar-like sound in agreement. “We’ll be right here when you get back.”
“Very well, stay safe.” The Host began to make his way into the forest, but before he could get far the Author called out to him again.
“Hey, Host?” The Host turned his head towards his brother’s call. “Good luck out there! Be sure to show me what new powers you get when you come back.”
The Host gave a warm smile. “Of course!”
Quiet narrations were the only sounds that could be heard throughout the forest. The Host was expecting other magic users to be roaming around him, but was pleasantly surprised with peaceful solitude. Though being alone didn’t exactly help his objective.
Hours of wandering aimlessly around the forest lead to nothing. Not even a single rustle of a bush or other signs of life. The Host exhaled loudly before sitting down on the grass below. It was typical for the process of receiving a familiar to take a while, but at this point his legs were screaming for rest. He stopped his narrations momentarily as he rested, using the time to take in the sounds of the forest.
The Host heard a high-pitched whine in the distance. It sounded tiny, not too far off in the distance. A small animal must have gotten hurt!?
Before the Host could get up again, he felt something small tackle his back. It didn’t hurt, but it sure was startling judging by how the Host stumbled forward with a yelp. He was quick to narrate his surroundings and attacker, whipping his head every which direction.
To his surprise, his attacker was a tiny dragon. Slightly tinier than Licht, with short, sleek royal purple feathers covering her entire body. The creature was fluttering in front of him with yellow feathered wings… and the saddest look he’s ever seen on an animal in its big, golden eyes.
This could be it. This could be the Host’s familiar.
“What’s wrong?” The Host was met with another soft whine from the dragon. This time, however, she flew closer to him and weakly tugged on his coat sleeve with her mouth. “The dragon wishes for the Host to follow her,” he said, more of a statement than a question. Nonetheless it resulted in the dragon to let out a distressed, but definitive roar.
The Host got up to follow the dragon. They travelled at a rushed pace, with the dragon flying a few feet in front of the Host. She occasionally turning her head back to see if the Host was still following her, and was delighted every time she saw the man still trailing behind her. Eventually she lead him to a random part of the forest. Upon first reaction the Host found nothing out of the ordinary. However, his narrations picked up on a glowing orb wedged between the branches of a tree. The apparent cause of the dragon’s distress since she quickly flew up and tried to pull it free, but she was too weak on her own.
While the orb was stuck, it wasn’t far from reach. The Host could easily reach up and grab it for the poor creature. When he reached up to grab, however, the dragon growled and nipped at his hand. He let out a surprised yelp and recoiled his hand. The dragon had tiny, but pointy teeth that pierced his skin. As he cradled his hand to his chest, he noticed that the dragon was now staring at him with wary eyes and trying to protect the orb the best she could.
“Alright… So the dragon does not want the Host to touch her orb?”
Another low rumble, clearly a warning.
“Okay, okay, don’t worry, the Host wants to help,” he reassured, though the dragon didn’t calm down in the slightest.
The branches that the orb was wedged between were incredibly thick, impossible to break since the Host had nothing on hand. His narrations were strong enough to overcome his lack of eyes, but they weren’t strong enough to help in this scenario.
He took some time to ponder a solution. His narrations told him that there were various branches of different sizes scattered around him, and he was quick to find a way to put them to use. There was a sturdy branch resting on the forest’s floor. It felt heavy in the Host’s hand, reminding him of his brother’s metal bat in a way. Hopefully it was just as strong.
The dragon trembled slightly as the Host returned while holding the branch he picked up. She cradled her orb as best she could, protecting it.
“The Host wants to help,” he repeated. “Be sure to hold onto the orb while he works.”
It was a simple plan, but an effective one. The Host wedged the branch between where the orb was stuck and used it as leverage to push the tree branches apart, slightly lessingly the pressure trapping the orb. Before he knew it, the dragon pulled her orb free in an ungraceful display of fluttering and flipping backwards. Nonetheless, she let out a cheerful, high-pitched roar in celebration, hugging her orb close like her life depended on it.
As the Host tossed away the branch he used, the dragon took the time to bump her head against his chest in gratitude. She acted similar to a housecat much to his amusement.
“The Host is glad he could help,” he said, a relieved smile appearing on his lips. However, he tensed when the dragon fluttered up so that she was face to face with him, analysing his features. Or perhaps she was looking at something deeper within? Not even his narrations could tell.
He wasn’t sure what was happening, but the dragon’s body suddenly began to glow a brilliant shade of purple. She was also chirping happily as she started to fly circles around the Host.
“What’s going on…? The Host-” He gasped for breath as an intense surge of power abruptly coursed through his veins. He pressed his back against a nearby tree and clutched his chest, only capable of breathing shaky breaths. It was… so much, his mind was swarming in a mix of panic and magic. Unbeknownst to him, he was spewing his narrations at an incoherent speed. Never stuttering, voice perfectly steady. An organized chaos.
Unlike his regular narrations, these words held new power. His words physically formed around him in an odd, inky state. Narrations told a frantic story of new sensations and new possibilities, but it was all unheard by the speaker’s ears. The Host eventually picked up on his words and had to cover his mouth with his hand, not before muttering one last phrase.
“The Host’s journey is over. His powers have fully formed with the addition of his new familiar.”
Jumbled up words floated around the two in a deafening silence. The dragon looked at the words curiously, reaching out and patting the ink with her paws. The black ink never stained her, instead it bounced off her paw in an almost gelatinous state. She looked back at the Host, who still was covering his mouth and trying to calm his powers. There was blood dyeing his eye bandages a dark shade of red and even more blood running down his face.
A soft whine erupted from the dragon as she began to nudge at the Host’s free hand. The Host mindlessly pet his familiar’s head, having some solace carding his fingers through her soft feathers. A small smile appeared on his face when he heard her purr, finally uncovering his mouth after calming down.
“The Host is glad to have a familiar this kind,” he muttered, out of breath from the stress his voice went through. “He hopes that they continue on strong in their endeavours.”
Inky words still floated around them. The Host took one of the words, “Unfamiliarity”, and ran his thumb across the letters, the ink repelled his skin like oil to water. Fascinating, sure, but he didn’t want his narrations to constantly surround him all the time. With how much he needed to speak, he’ll be surrounded in black every time he wakes up in the morning. He still felt weak from the new power, perhaps this was something he could regulate in the future.
“The words around the Host disappeared into nothingness.” Immediately, the ink vanished without a trace. He sighed and leaned the back of his head against the tree. Every narration held more power than he was used too, a dull headache began to make itself known. He was tired, to say the least. “As much as the Host would like to figure out his new magic, his brother is waiting outside this forest. Come on, let’s get going.”
It took a while to get out of the forest, but the Host powered on through scattered narrations and the guidance of his familiar. By the time he stumbled upon the Author, who was napping against a tree with Licht standing guard, his headache became mind numbing and he was surrounded by a few stray sentences. Licht let out a cheer-like roar and nudged the Author awake.
The Author stirred awake and blinked his eyes. “Host…?” He scrambled to his feet and rushed towards his brother. “Host! You’re back!” As soon as the Author got close enough, the Host collapsed onto his brother, who stumbled back as he supported his weight. “You look like shit…”
“Thanks.” The Host rested his head on his brother’s shoulder. Neither of them cared about the blood staining the Author’s shirt. Instead, the Author stared at the floating words and fluttering dragon.
“You did it-! Holy shit, you did it!” The Author let out an airy laugh in disbelief. “How do you feel?”
“Tired.”
“Yeah, that’s not surprising.” The Author slowly guided the Host so that he was sitting by a tree. “It takes some getting used to, but don’t worry. I’ll help you out.”
This time the Host could only hum in response. Both his familiar and Licht sat on either side of him, comforting him in silence.
“The dragon’s cute.” She certainly won’t intimidate anyone, especially when next to Licht. Looking at his brother’s familiar and Licht was like looking at night and day. The new dragon didn’t look as aggressive as Licht, with softer features and an innocent look. There was only one similarity between the two, golden eyes contrasted their dark colours, both holding different emotions but captivating nonetheless. “What’re you gonna name it?”
The Host paused before answering. Whether that was because of his fatigue or if he needed to think was unknown. “Key,” he eventually muttered. “As she is the key to moving forward.”
“I didn’t strike you as a pun guy,” the Author laughed, though he wouldn’t admit out loud that he liked the name.
“The Host is full of surprises.”
“Then you better surprise me by getting up soon. We don’t want to be here when it’s night.” There was no bite to his words as he sat beside his brother. The day was still young, so there was no rush to make it home, but the idea of returning to a soft bed was more and more tantalizing as the minutes passed.
Without warning, the words floating around the Host disappeared.
“Did… did you do that?” The Author looked at his brother, only to realize that he was out cold. “Oh shit, he should be fine, right?” He looked at the two dragons with widened eyes. Licht looked just as panicked, but Key didn’t worry in the slightest. Instead, she curled up on the Host’s lap and snuggling her orb close as she started to snooze as well. The Author let out a sigh as he leaned back against the tree, not wanting to force his brother to overexert himself. “I guess we’ll be here awhile, huh? Great.”
The Author kept glancing at his sleeping brother more often than not. He didn't dare to fall asleep again while his brother was in such a state, his nerves wouldn't let him even if he wanted to. After fidgeting to himself, he got his notebook and pen and began to scribble in it. A cloth appeared on his lap before he could shut his notebook closed. He cautiously wiped the excess blood off his brother's face, frowning at the already drying red. If he was this worried then he couldn't imagine how the Host felt, but he knew they could get through this.
With the Host's face relatively clean and both dragons sleeping contently, the Author waited. He waited for his brother to wake up again so they could go home. He waited while he saw their newest life unfold before him like the stories in his book.