I had faced many challenges over the last few years. My early training as a mage had been an exercise in frustration as I stumbled from idea to idea without a good idea of what might and might not work. My battle against the monster in the Aether pool had nearly claimed my life, as had that strange corruption it had gnawed into my flesh. The duel against Flynn Sion had pushed my skills to their limit, and the time since abandoning my formal education had become a mess of plodding, half-stumbling steps and mistakes.

But none had tested my patience quite as much as attempting to keep a cat's attention.

I stared at my partner, who ignored me with the sort of deliberate skill exclusive to felines. He sat on his haunches, licking one paw as though it were the only thing in the world. I knew he could sense me, as I could him, but he seemed content to pretend I wasn't there.

Finally, Fortunatus turned unblinking green eyes towards me, yawning even as he reached out through our bond.

"What's wrong?"

His words carried a mixture of worry and curiosity. I had grown used to sharing the cat's emotions, but only to a point.

I considered his question for a moment, then replied, "Do you feel different?"

"Different?"

"Yes," I waved a hand vaguely before continuing, "Smarter. Stronger. Faster. Less like yourself, maybe? Or any new, inexplicable magical abilities that seem similar to mine? Anything you couldn't attribute to the typical process of growing larger or gaining more mana."

Fortunatus seemed to consider the question, then sent back a feeling almost like a shrug.

"Can't tell. Does it matter?"

"More than you might think," I muttered, sitting back and rubbing my eyes with one hand.

Over the last few months, the same inexplicable instincts had cropped up over and over again. I had first noticed them during moments of stress or exertion, such as in the heat of a duel or during intense physical exercise, but they'd slowly begun to creep into my ordinary thoughts.

Not all of them were bad or inexplicable. They'd begun as a strange agility and precision to my movements. I could avoid roots in the forest or tiny cracks in stone floors that might have caught my toe, and I found myself more aware of my surroundings. In battle, I could jump and twist, adjusting my balance and position without any conscious thought.

At first, I had attributed these changes to my enhanced body. Maybe I hadn't fully realized how much I had strengthened myself, and the true extent of those enhancements was only now becoming clear. But soon, I began to notice a pattern in the changes. Or rather, two patterns.

First, these particular improvements felt disproportionate to the rest. It made no sense that my strength and stamina had grown to just beyond human limitations, while my agility, balance, and coordination had become firmly superhuman. I had noticed similar changes to my sight, hearing, and even smell, though those felt at least within the realm of overall physical improvements.

But the second pattern was a certain...pull I felt at times. I somehow knew things that made no sense, like how to twist while in mid-air to land on my feet, or how best to adjust my balance on uneven, unstable surfaces. Improved agility and senses were one thing, but they didn't explain such things.

No, when I thought about it, there was only one possible explanation, and it was sitting in front of me.

Fortunatus seemed to sense my frustration, tilting his head towards me and saying, "I feel the same. Stronger, maybe, but the same. Maybe I need more Aether?"

I raised an eyebrow at that. "I've fed you enough mana to burst a Haze like an overripe fruit. How could you possibly need more?"

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"I'm always hungry," Fort replied with a tone of finality.

"Yes, I suppose you are," I agreed with a sigh, even as I leaned back and rubbed my eyes.

The cat didn't know more, or at least he didn't consciously know more. It was possible he hadn't noticed a change or hadn't realized it was significant, but I didn't see how I could parse that out. His mind was as slippery as ice, prone to moving from topic to topic on a whim.

Instead, I decided to focus on the changes. Did they impact my mind? No, not that I could tell. At least, not consciously. I didn't enjoy the notion that I was gaining new, unpredictable instincts and impulses, but it felt as though my conscious thoughts were mostly intact. This was something I had expected and accepted when I first forged our familiar bond.

Instincts, improved senses, and enhanced body control weren't bad gifts, either. I had planned to find an instructor in acrobatics at the very minimum, but this boon should do the trick in the meantime.

Still, I made a mental note to double-check the Sion records for more information on familiars. I had already dug through them several times, and what I found was ultimately just a review of known facts, but there wasn't any harm in taking one more look.

I was considering how best to spend the rest of my spare time that afternoon when I felt something on the edge of my senses. It burned like the midday sun and was heading directly towards my room. I waited until it had stopped just outside my doorway, then reached out with my Aether and turned the knob with a twist of my will.

Flynn must have expected the move, as he stood with his hands tucked in his pockets and a smile on his face.

"Neat trick," he remarked as he sauntered into my room. The door swung shut behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder before shrugging and returning his attention to me.

"Thanks," I replied, "What do you want?"

I had hoped it would be enough to dissuade him, but Flynn simply smiled wider.

"Ah, I see I'm speaking with that Vayne tonight."

"That Vayne?" I echoed.

"Yes, the moody, snappy Vayne. You get that way when you're stuck on a puzzle or problem. All frowns and scowls. Not a particularly noble image, if I say so myself."

Flynn wandered over to my desk as he spoke, flipping open one notebook at random and pointing to the page. "You made a mistake on this array."

I stood and walked over, my annoyance at his intrusion vanishing. Flynn had at least some skill in nearly every field of magic, but his knowledge in arrays was particularly astounding.

"What mistake?" I asked.

"You're packing too many runes in one place. The mana flow would be unbalanced. Moving towards one side, see?"

"I'm aware, but I'm planning to make it into—"

"Some kind of larger array?" Flynn guessed, and I blinked before nodding.

"Yes, I want to create something that lets me concentrate mana from a larger area and focus it down. More Aether means a higher density."

"Sure, but the problem is substrate durability at that focal point. Copper wouldn't hold up. Silver and gold might work for a little while, but not long."

"Platinum, then? Or another material?"

"Platinum could work, but it's expensive. That solidified Aether of yours might work too, though I see some problems there as well. You'd need to test them to be sure, though."

I tapped my fingers on my desk, then shook my head. "Fascinating as this is to discuss, I doubt you came by just to talk the finer points of array design."

"I could have, you know. Maybe inspiration struck me like a bolt from the heavens," Flynn said, waving a hand as he leaned against my desk. But then he chuckled, folding his arms across his chest and continuing, "But not today. I've actually got a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow, "And what would that be?"

"Oh, a trip to a location a day's walk or so from here. Our family has a few structures within the valley, and I wanted to check on one of them. Might as well learn about our heritage, I'd say."

"Our heritage is stretching things, wouldn't you say?"

"Adopted or blood, you're part of the family now."

Something tickled at my thoughts, a sort of sixth sense that I had noticed several weeks earlier. This was the most recent development in my familiar bond, and the one I had the least experience in digesting. In fact, I had no idea what it meant, beyond that it needled me like a splinter just under the skin of my mind.

"When do you plan to set out?" I asked, turning to face my adopted brother.

Flynn had begun flipping through my notebook again and took several seconds to look up. "A few days or so. I want to make sure my core is stable again before leaving."

The light mage had recently hit Drop, which, while not frustrating exactly, was a firm reminder that I couldn't afford to relax. Flynn's raw power had once more eclipsed my own, and I needed to advance to the liquid stages as well if I planned to keep up and retain my spot in the Sion household.

"And what precisely is this place that you plan to visit?" I asked, already suspecting Flynn's answer.

My adopted brother simply shrugged. "I'd prefer to keep it a surprise, if its all the same to you."

"Do you not trust me?" I asked, only half-kidding. Even now, I suspected he was keeping things from me. Then again, I still hadn't told him the whole truth about my own motivations, nor had I confided in him my visions of the future.

When had that started to make me feel guilty?

"If you wish to think of it that way, then feel free," Flynn replied, pushing off from the table and shrugging, "I prefer the thrill of the unknown, personally."

I wanted to push further, but eventually I let out something halfway between a sigh and a chuckle.

"I suppose there's not much point in pushing. Very well. A few days, you said?"

Flynn nodded. "Three, at least. Maybe four, but I think that's pushing it."

I nodded once more, then reached out with my mana and pulled one of my notebooks into my hand.

"Then, if it's all the same to you, I'll be getting back to work. I have some projects I'd like to progress on before we set off."

Flynn considered me with something resembling amusement. "Alright. Don't forget, we are supposed to train together in a few hours."

I waved a hand, having already opened to a section in my notes on Forging. Distantly, I heard Flynn chuckle, followed a moment later by the sound of the door opening and closing. Those things barely reached me, as I focused entirely on the diagram on the pages before me.

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