Taemin walked through the market, proudly modeling his new outfit. A few people stared (many of them being girls), and Taemin either ignored them, or flashed a smile in return. Taemin walked up to the food vendor and flashed the young woman running it a smile. She blushed.

“W-what can I get you today, sir?”

“I’ll have the basic supplies.” Taemin looked down at Jinki then back up at the girl. “Actually, make that two.”

“Anything else?”

“Hmmm… May I also have a cherry pie, and two potstickers?”

“Yes, your food will be ready in just a moment.”

“Thank you!” Taemin smiled and hummed, waiting for his food. He felt something climb on his foot, and he looked down to see Jinki, trying to get up. Taemin chuckled and picked him up. Jinki looked confused.

“The potstickers here are delicious. I get them every chance I have. You’ll love them, I know you will.”

Jinki climbed up to Taemin’s shoulder and sat there, watching with curiosity at the vendor as she cooked Taemin’s food. She turned and placed some of the items on the counter, and saw the rabbit on his shoulder. She blushed deeper.

“Aww, it’s so cute!”

Taemin just laughed. After she turned back around, Taemin turned to Jinki and whispered.

“I think you’re more popular than I am.”

When the food was ready, she placed all the items on the counter. She told him the price, and he paid, then took a moment to gather everything.

Taemin bowed. “Thank you, noona.”

“N-no problem. Come back any time.”

Taemin sat on a patch of grass against a short wall that was barely three feet tall, a small courtyard in the town that was hardly used anymore, so Taemin knew they wouldn’t be disturbed. He emptied out all of his bags, and laid out it’s contents, discarding the bags off to the side. Jinki sniffed the items, and Taemin picked him up and moved him away. Taemin placed the new four-set in front of him, and looked at it for a moment.

“Hmm… How should I organize this? I like things being balanced, but I also like them being organized and accessible.” Jinki just looked at him.

Taemin pointed to the front pouch on the left side. “I’ll use that for weapons and other quest items.” Taemin picked up his respective belongings and sorted them into the pouch. Jinki watched, but then got bored and started investigating his other belongings. Taemin once again moved him away by the scruff of his neck, wagging his finger and saying those items were dangerous.

When he was done, Taemin laid his finger on the front pouch on the right side.

“What should go here?” Taemin looked at Jinki, then smiled. “Potions and magical items.” He winked. “We both know how important health potions are.” Once again Taemin sorted the respective items into that pouch, then sorted the rest into the others (personal belongings in the back, on the left, food in the back on the right), the whole time talking to Jinki and muttering things under his breath about the items he was sorting. After he finished, he picked up one of the potstickers he had bought earlier, took it out of it’s wrapping and set it down carefully in front of Jinki.

“Here you are! You’ll love it, I know you will.”

While they sat down and ate, Taemin looked at the pouch curiously. “Okay, I get that I can hold a lot of items, and perform a spell to make it lighter, but how do I retrieve those items? I could use a retrieval spell, but those take a while. But I guess,” Taemin said with a laugh, “it would take a bit longer to stand there digging around for what I’m trying to find.”

They continued to eat, Taemin making light conversation (although it was pretty one-sided). Taemin finished first, then decided to pull out some milk to drink.

The milk was the first thing he grabbed, and he looked at it in surprise. Just to make sure he wasn’t thinking things wrong, he opened the pouch that contained the potions and other items, and thought that he wanted a health potion. Jinki stopped eating and looked in curiosity. The first thing Taemin grabbed was the exact health potion he wanted, and he smiled. “Triggered by thought… nice. Good to keep in mind. Just think and you shall receive, huh? Nice.” Taemin placed it back, and took the milk, taking a sip and pouring some for Jinki as well.

When the two finished, Taemin sighed and leaned against the wall. Jinki jumped in his arms and he smiled, cuddling with his companion. “I guess I have to go see a trainer now. Ugh, I hate trainers. They’re almost always crazy, or greedy. A total nightmare to deal with.” Taemin sighed and stood up, gathering his things, as well as placing Jinki back on the ground. He quickly stopped by Gyeongshik’s shop to give him his old bags, then headed to the lodge at the edge of town. The lodge was basically the information center of the town, where all travelers went to rest or meet up with parties, or ask where a trainer was when they needed one. This technically was Taemin’s town; it was closest to where he lived. But he didn’t go often enough to know anything other than where Gyeongshik’s shop was and where a few basic vendors and bars were. Taemin entered the lodge and asked the man at the information desk where he can find a companion trainer.

“Down by the edge of the forest, outside of the library and housing facilities near the end of the main road.”

“Hmm, that’s not far from here. Wait, outside?”

“Yeah… it might be best if you went to another town to get companion training. The one here is well-known for being, well… absolutely insane. He doesn’t take kindly to trainees.”

“But he’s a trainer!”

“Yeah, no one knows what’s wrong with him. But that’s just my opinion. You’re free to see him if you’d like, just be careful.”

Taemin groaned and headed off, not seeing another choice. Gyeongshik would be on his if he went to another town to train. So instead he trudged to the end of the road and came across the housing facilities. It was technically a library, but many trainers and old mages and philosophers lived there. Taemin didn’t know why he didn’t think to check there first, but with companion trainers you never knew. It was common knowledge that companion trainers weren’t really all there, but to receive a warning like that from some random man behind a counter, who had probably never seen a trainer in his life… it was disconcerting, to say the least.

Taemin walked around to the back of the building (it was a rather grand building, but Taemin didn’t have the time or patience to marvel at it) and saw a bunch of open tarps providing remedial shelter over what looked like a house that was moved outside. There was a bed against a wall, and some books, papers, and other… strange belongings spattered across a table and a few desks. Despite being outside, the place looked like a cluttered mess.

There was a man leaning over the table in the back (could there even be a “back” when you’re outside?), muttering to himself. Taemin was cautious; he looked just as messy as his place, covered in matted fur and leather scraps, with a hawk sitting on his shoulder, watching Taemin carefully. Taemin felt immediately uneasy, and quietly pulled his sword out, letting it hang at his side. He took a few more steps before the man spoke.

“Are you going to keep stalking me like that, or are you going to say something? I assume you’re here for training.” the man sounded annoyed, like he was simply waiting for Taemin to leave.

“You’re the companion trainer?”

The man turned and eyed Taemin. “Do you seek a companion?”

“I want to keep the companion I already have.”

“Oh? You have a companion?” His eyes fell on Jinki, who was peeking from behind Taemin’s legs, looking up at the trainer. He let out a short laugh. “Is this your companion? Surely he’s meant to be a snack for later.” Taemin growled and raised his sword. The man did the same, picking up a spear that was on the table behind him.

“Very well. I’ll test whether or not you are worthy of my time. Which, judging from your demeanor, I doubt you are.”

The hawk attacked first, being egged on by a simple swipe of his master’s arm. Taemin dodged the hawk and went straight for the trainer, aiming to knock him to the ground. The man easily blocked the attack with his spear, and, after exchanging a few blows, Taemin jumped back and sent Jinki to attack.

“Jinki, confuse him!”

Jinki obeyed, running lightning fast circles around the trainer, who laughed. He swiped at the ground and almost hit Jinki, had Taemin not blocked it. The trainer laughed again.

“A rabbit that uses magic? I’ve never heard of something so ridiculous.” He suddenly became serious and glared at Taemin. “What a nuisance. I might as well kill your little pet first.”

The trainer looked behind him and Taemin turned in time to see the hawk descend on Jinki, who squealed and tried to get away. Taemin turned and lunged for Jinki, ignoring the slash he received from turning his back on his opponent, and used a quick spell to temporarily paralyze the hawk. Jinki was terrified, so Taemin swept him in his arms and stood up, glaring at the trainer.

“Why did you do that? Why would you risk your life for some animal? They’re replaceable.”

Taemin growled. “You’re wrong. He’s not just some animal. He’s my companion. And I would risk my life for him any time, without hesitation. But from what I’ve seen, you couldn’t care less what happened to your companions. So it looks like I won’t be needing your service.”

Taemin gave a stiff bow and turned, infuriated, but patting Jinki’s head as gently as he could in order to calm him down some more. Taemin had only taken a few steps before he heard the man behind him suddenly erupt into laughter. Taemin turned in surprise. The laugh was different from before. It was less incredulous and annoyed, and more amused and genuine. The man walked to his hawk and cradled it much like Taemin was with Jinki.

“You’re an interesting person. I accept.”

“What?”

“I will accept you as my trainee. If you had abandoned your companion to save yourself, or if you had attempted to kill my companion, I would have killed you immediately.” The man set his hawk down and depressed his fingers into it’s chest, somehow undoing Taemin’s spell. The hawk jumped up and fluttered around a bit before landing once again on the trainer’s shoulder. “I like the way you talk, though. That’s exactly my way of thinking. Too many people come in here looking for some animals to sacrifice in favor of furthering their own skills and recognition. But you and I, we’re the same. We don’t think of them as animals, we value them as companions. Irreplaceable.”

Taemin was still weary of this man. He didn’t trust trainers often, but starting off the way he had was questionable. Taemin was certain that this trainer was absolutely crazy, and that hardly inspired confidence. Now that Taemin had a good look at the trainer, he was even more unnerved. The man was rather large, with huge bulging muscles, dark skin, and several scars. He had a scraggly peppered beard, with matching hair, and two large dark eyes. The clothes he wore were messy and looked like they were made of scraps.

The two eyed each other, seeming to assess one another. After a while the trainer grinned. “You seemed to hold a lot of restraint when we were fighting. You must be quite strong. Yes, you’ll do perfectly. My first task for you is this: up in the nearby mountains, near the waterfall there is a cave. Residing in that cave is a bear, with skin, they say, that’s harder than any armor. I want you to kill him, and bring me his pelt. Should be a fairly easy task for you. Now go. I don’t want you wasting too much of my time.” The trainer, much to Taemin’s astonishment, turned his back on Taemin, and busied himself with something on the table he was facing.

Taemin growled and stormed off, making his way to the direction of the spring that the trainer was talking about. Jinki followed closely, not quite understanding what was going on, but recognizing that Taemin was upset anyway. After some time of walking, Taemin sighed and sat down, leaning against a tree. As per custom, Jinki jumped in Taemin’s lap, who hugged him tightly.

“Ugh, what am I doing? This is stupid. I should just turn around and never think of that trainer again.” Jinki stared at Taemin. They both knew that wasn’t going to happen. Taemin wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, and this was a challenge on all kinds of levels. Taemin sighed and rested his head on Jinki’s head, who nuzzled up as far as he could so Taemin didn’t have to strain his neck so much. After a moment of sitting like that, Taemin kissed the top of Jinki’s head and stood up, setting him on the ground again.

“Let’s find this bear then, shall we?” Jinki jumped up and spun in a circle in response. Taemin giggled and walked on with new confidence.

“So, this is the cave then. I don’t see anything in here. It doesn’t look like any bear lives in here.” Taemin peered inside and took a few cautious steps forward. “Then again, it’s a bit too dark to see.” Taemin looked down at Jinki, who seemed more nervous than usual. Honestly, Taemin felt it, too. Caves were never fun, and he didn’t like messing with bears. Taemin took a few more baby steps into the cave and looked around.

“I can’t see any living thing in here, or see anything, for that matter. Is this the right cave? Or did the trainer give us the wrong directions?” Taemin groaned and said an illuminating spell, bringing dim light to the corners of the cave. There were a few bones and some dead animals on the ground, but other than that there was no sign that a bear lived there. Taemin turned to the opening of the cave to face Jinki.

“Maybe the bear went out to eat? What do you think?”

Jinki suddenly squealed and ran behind a bush, which confused Taemin until he felt something hot breath down his neck. Taemin slowly turned back around, mouth hanging, to find himself face-to-face with a giant black bear. Bears were normally large creatures, but this one’s head was almost in-line with Taemin’s, if not an inch or so taller. The bear was massive, and Taemin took as many steps back as he dared, the bear growling at him and getting ready to attack.

Taemin barely had any time to dodge when the bear charged at him, jumping off to the side as the bear lunged. It growled at Taemin, some foam dripping from its mouth. Taemin sat on the floor, wondering what to do. The bear charged again and Taemin dodged, but was struck by the bear’s claws, and roughly hit the cave wall.

The bear started to advance on Taemin again, when Jinki came out from behind the bush, running in front of Taemin. Taemin watched in horror as the bear switched his focus to Jinki, delighted in the aspect of having a new meal. Jinki backed away in fright, but still stood in front of Taemin. When Taemin’s head cleared up enough for him to move and think straight, he lunged for Jinki, wrapping the rabbit in his arms and dashing as fast as he could to the side, receiving another blow from the bear, who was angry at having his meal taken away.

Taemin hugged Jinki for as long as he could, wrapping him in his arms so the bear wouldn’t see him. When he heard the bear behind him getting closer, Taemin set Jinki down and smiled at him.

Jinki still looked afraid, this time more for his owner than himself. “Stay out of sight, okay? Don’t get involved this time.” Taemin quickly kissed Jinki’s head before turning around and drawing his sword.

The first rule with bears was that you had to stand your ground. But that didn’t seem to work on this one. The bear charged again, and this time Taemin charged back.

His strike hit, but it immediately bounced off as if the bear were wearing armor. He narrowly dodged another hit and landed on the floor, rolling back to his feet just as quickly, and right in time to see another attack coming. The bear lunged, this time with his teeth, and latched onto Taemin’s arm (lucky for him, the attack was aimed at his throat). Taemin hit the bear over the head as hard and quick as he could, managing to make the bear let go and reel backwards before any serious damage was done.

Taemin thought back to what the trainer said and how he behaved earlier. He seemed happy to be giving someone else this quest, but there was something else to it.

The bear’s mouth began to froth, and he charged again, forcing Taemin to move and temporarily interrupt his thoughts. Taemin got as close to the bear as he dared, trying to notice if there was anything off about this creature. His behavior was erratic, and he just seemed… angry. Feral. Most bears, even when wild, had some kind of calm to them, only getting irritated when provoked. This bear was acting as if something was egging it on, something that Taemin couldn’t see. He didn’t feel any magic anywhere, so it wasn’t a spell. Taemin dodged another attack, doing his best to inflict some damage, but his sword just bounced off again.

Taemin thought once again to the trainer. What was it that was off? His actions? He was leaning on the table, almost proud of himself. His expression? Strange, but Taemin couldn’t figure out how. His eyes? What was he doing? It looked like he was… about to cry.

Taemin moved as swiftly as he could to the side of the bear, to hopefully get in its blind spot for a moment of rest. The bear moved its neck, and something under its fur glistened, red and shining brightly.

It was a tag.

Taemin felt his whole being sag, understanding what was going on now. This creature belonged to the trainer. And something happened to him to make him go mad. Probably a curse, or some poison with lasting effects.

Taemin knew a spell that could undo the effects of the poison, or curse, or whatever it was. The only problem with it was that the spell only takes effect if you’re in contact with the one affected. Which meant somehow touching the bear without getting killed.

The bear attacked again, Taemin trying to parry it with his sword. The hit was too hard though, too much force from both of their ends, and Taemin’s sword snapped in half. Taemin gasped and jumped as far back as he could, unsure of what to do next. His sword was replaceable, that wasn’t a problem. But he had no idea how to deal with the bear.

Taemin found his resolve and stood up as straight as he could, letting his broken sword drop to the ground next to him. From somewhere off to the side he heard Jinki squeal in panic, but he ignored it and performed the spell, cupping it in his hand. The bear glared at him for a moment before charging, sending Taemin flying backwards and crashing into the cave wall. The bear’s teeth were latched firmly on Taemin’s shoulder, but he ignored the pain and pressed his hand into the bear’s fur.

There was a tense moment when the bear tightened his mouth, clamping down even harder on Taemin’s shoulder, but all of a sudden he loosened up, and let him go. Taemin fell to the ground, panting. His hand was still pressed into the creature’s neck, and when he let it drop, the collar broke and dropped as well.

The two looked into each other’s eyes, and there seemed to be an understanding. This bear was tired, injured, and in pain. Taemin understood what it was asking for, and he grabbed his skinning knife, hugging the bear’s head tightly. He didn’t want to kill it; he felt himself about to cry at the mere concept. This creature was intelligent, however. The bear knew what was going on. He knew he wanted his suffering to end. And Taemin was the only one who could give that to him.

Jinki hopped up, half from curiosity, half from concern for his owner. Taemin looked the bear in the eyes again, feeling his own begin to burn, and pet the bear’s head, much like he does with Jinki. The bear seemed to calm down significantly at this simple action.

“Your owner sent me here.” Taemin said, not completely sure if the creature would understand him, but confident he could. “I’m going to take care of you, I promise. I’ll bring you back to him.”

The bear closed its eyes and Taemin did too, pushing the knife through the bear’s throat, cutting the artery. Blood poured out from the animal and it soon slumped over, falling on top of Taemin. Taemin felt terrible, but he knew that was the right thing to do. He took a breath and blinked back a few tears, then turned to Jinki.

“Don’t watch, okay? I’ll tell you when I’m done.” Jinki covered his eyes with his paws and ears, making Taemin let out a short laugh.

Taemin set to work skinning the massive bear, doing the best he could to make as little blood come out as possible. When he was done he lugged the pelt over his shoulder, careful so that it wouldn’t drag on the ground, and picked up Jinki, carrying them both out of the cave. He set Jinki on the ground.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.” Jinki obeyed, looking up at Taemin. Taemin gave a small smile. “It’s okay, it’s over. I’m fine, see? Let’s get back to the trainer.”

On the way back to the trainer’s “house,” Taemin took a few breaks to adjust the pelt and to check his wounds (which were, thankfully, not as bad as he thought. He didn’t even bother using a healing potion). He went as quickly as he could, feeling the need to talk to the trainer and clear the air a bit.

Once he reached his destination, he called out to the trainer, who turned around and grinned.

“Wonderful! You did it! Good thing too, most people die when they face that beast.”

Taemin reached the trainer and stopped in front of him, holding up the broken collar. “He’s not just a beast, though, is he? Someone poisoned him.”

The trainer’s face immediately fell at the sight of the collar. He took it in his hands and looked at it almost longingly. “Yes, that’s right. You knew, did you?”

“I figured it out while we were fighting. At least he was himself again before he died, even if it was for only a moment. But what happened? Who did this to him?”

The trainer sighed and held the collar up, the hawk swooping down and grabbing it. “Jeonsa was an amazing creature. I knew the moment I saw him that he was destined to be with me. He’s actually the reason why I became a companion trainer. We had an unbreakable bond. But some poachers got it in their head to kill my Jeonsa and sell his corpse. I’m certain you know that any animal with a tag is legally protected from being killed.”

Taemin chuckled. “I actually used that once to prevent some poachers from killing Jinki.”

The trainer smiled. “Smart move.” He instantly became sad again, and sighed. “The poachers knew this, too. So they set a trap to poison Jeonsa, and kill him when he was weak, claiming self-defense. It would have worked on any creature other than mine. Jeonsa was thrown into a rage, and killed the fools. But his mind was gone from the poison. He almost killed me, but at the last second realized who I was and instead stole to the mountains, so that he wouldn’t hurt me further. He was my closest companion. I couldn’t bring myself to kill him. But I trusted you to understand a situation that others could not. Thank you for bringing him home, where he belongs. I’m sorry to put you through this.”

The trainer reached his arms out for the pelt, which Taemin gladly handed over. The trainer set the pelt down gently on an empty table, petting the fur a bit.

“What will you do with him?”

“I’m not sure yet. Either preserve his fur, or bury him. I’ll decide later. But,” the trainer Taemin, standing up straight now. And this time, he had Taemin’s full attention. “I have decided that you are more than worthy to train under me. My name is Lee Sooman.”

Taemin bowed. “Lee Taemin.” The trainer grinned.

“Well then, my fellow Lee, listen closely. This is the first, and most important lesson you will receive. The tag is the most important part of companionship. It keeps your companions from most harm, and provides a way to connect with your companion on a more personal level. Plus, the collar can hold stones and gems that contain magic, which you can use for anything you please. Come inside, I’ll teach you how to craft your own.”

Taemin’s mouth fell open. “You have an inside? Why don’t you just use that, then?”

“Because, I only have a few rooms and they’re small and stuffy. Plus, nothing beats being outdoors.” The trainer grinned, took a deep breath, then opened a door and stepped inside. Taemin looked down at Jinki and shook his head.

“More respectable, sure. Am I willing to train under him? Sure. Is he still insane? Absolutely.” Jinki made a noise that sounded something like a laugh. Taemin sighed and followed Sooman through the door.

A few hours later, Jinki was sporting a new pearlescent aqua collar and tag, already armed with a protection stone. He found it uncomfortable at first, scratching his neck and trying to take it off, but he soon got used to it, and was now running around happily, hyper off of something that Taemin couldn’t understand. Sooman sat with Taemin on the ground, watching tiredly but contently as Jinki ran around in circles around them.

“He really is a fascinating creature.”

Taemin laughed. “Yeah, he is.” Taemin held his hand out. “Jinki, come here.”

Jinki came immediately, happily nuzzling against Taemin’s hand and propping himself up on his knee. Taemin inspected the collar, elated at how well it turned out.

“Do you like your collar?”

Jinki made a noise and jumped in the air, making Taemin laugh and scratch behind his ears.

Sooman held his hand out and looked at Taemin. “May I?”

“Go ahead.”

“Come here, Jinki.”

Jinki looked at Taemin, who nodded, then ran off and began investigating the trainer, sniffing all over and nibbling every now and then as if to see how he tasted.

“He’s very loyal. The two of you must have a very strong connection for him to ask permission first.”

“I suppose so. We seem to understand each other very well. Jinki’s very intelligent.”

“I can see that. How did you come across him, anyway? A rabbit is a strange companion to want to have.”

“Actually,” Taemin chuckled, “I didn’t originally want a companion. It was mostly by circumstance that Jinki came to follow me. A friend of mine told me to go see a trainer. I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“By circumstance? How exactly did you two meet?”

“Well, it’s a strange story.”

“Good thing I love strange stories.”

“Okay, okay. What happened was I was sent on a quest. A bunch of townsfolk were complaining of travelers getting lost in the woods, up near Kachi Pass. So I went to investigate, and was met with hallucination magic.” Jinki was now in Sooman’s lap, trying to smell his beard. Sooman had obviously never been around rabbits like this before, so he didn’t quite know how to behave. Taemin continued. “I thought it was a sprite, so I acted accordingly, and struck a hit. But when the magic subsided all I saw was a rabbit.” Taemin laughed. “I was actually originally planning on killing him and eating him, but when I saw he was injured, I healed him instead.”

“Healed him? How did you do that?”

“Put a bit of health potion in some food I had. The food absorbs the potion surprisingly well, and you don’t lose any potency. And it tastes better, too.”

Sooman seemed impressed. “Hm, fancy that. Why am I not surprised you came up with that?”

“Well, I would have never came up with it if it weren’t for Jinki.” Upon hearing his name, Jinki leapt out of Sooman’s lap and ran over to Taemin, who kissed his head. Jinki ran off again, running in circles around and between the two. Sooman’s hawk, which Taemin found out is called Chen, began to play with Jinki as well, flying around him and landing on his back, only to be thrown off and take to the air again.

“So after you gave him the health potion, what happened?”

“I took him home with me. Thought he wanted to, but he ended up escaping and I didn’t see him for a while after that, which made me pretty sad. When I ran into him again a group of idiotic teenagers were throwing arrows and twigs and rocks at him, teasing him and laughing at him. I chased them away and tried to give him some more health potion, but he didn’t trust me, so I walked away. A little after that I got myself into a stupid bad situation. I was fighting too many for too long and ended up exhausting myself with three orcs trying to kill me. I was about to have my head bashed in when the three started hallucinating and ended up bashing each other’s heads in. At first I thought it was the sprite coming to save me, but when I saw Jinki I realized that he was the one who was using the magic the whole time. Jinki saw I was injured and actually chewed through one of my bags and gave me my own health potion.” Taemin chuckled at the memory. “I tried to leave after that, thinking he still didn’t want to be with me, but he followed me all the way down the road. I asked Jinki if he wanted to come with me, he said yes, and we’ve been together ever since.”

“He said yes? You can understand each other that well? How exactly do you two communicate?”

“It’s pretty easy to understand him. Here. Jinki! Come here!” Jinki obeyed and stood patiently in front of Taemin. “Do you want some food?” Jinki squeaked and ran around in circles.  Taemin smiled. “Do you want some hot sauce?” Jinki shook his head and backed away, covering his nose with his paws (Taemin had tried feeding Jinki hot sauce once. It didn’t end well). “Do you want chicken?” Again Jinki squealed in delight, ran in a circle and ran up to Taemin and jumped in his lap, Taemin laughing and taking out some chicken from his pouch to feed to Jinki.

“A rabbit eating chicken? I thought rabbits only ate vegetables.”

“Yeah, I was surprised too. I think it’s because he uses magic, he needs more nutrients. I found out he likes chicken when I was eating at home. I left him a plate of vegetables and lettuce, and left my plate next to him. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back Jinki had eaten all the chicken on my plate.” Taemin chuckled. “I don’t leave food around him anymore. If I do, he eats it all.”

“Really, what a fascinating creature. I bet you get a bunch of strange looks from people.”

“Yeah,” Taemin laughed. “Especially around town. A Traveler like me carrying a rabbit on my shoulder, it’s a pretty strange sight. Many people have stared at us.”

“I wouldn’t blame them. Remember, I laughed too when I first saw your rabbit.”

Jinki, after eating, had fallen asleep on Taemin’s lap. Taemin gently his fur and looked up at Sooman. “It’s been a long day. I think I should head home.”

“So you do have a home?”

“Yeah, although I used to not actually go home a lot.”

“You’ll need to now, with your companion.” Sooman stood up, and Taemin followed suit, carrying the sleeping Jinki in his arms. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll train you more. But for now, take good care of your companion.”

Chen landed on Sooman’s shoulder, and he looked decidedly cool like that, Taemin thought.

“I will. Thank you very much for everything today.” The two bowed to each other and Taemin swept around, heading down the road and to the long journey back to his home.