The next day Taemin visited Gyeongshik quickly before heading off to the trainer. He related everything that had happened the day before (along with Jinki adding in his own “commentary”) to Gyeongshik, who was happy to know that it ended well and that Taemin was going back to see him.

When he reached the trainer’s home, he was met with a harness and some rope.

“Uh, what’s this?”

“Did you replace your sword?”

“I grabbed my spare from home, but it’s lower quality.”

“It’ll do fine.” Sooman swept around and walked to the forest without another word. Taemin looked back and forth between Sooman and Jinki in confusion. After a moment’s hesitation, Taemin ran to catch up with Sooman.

“Wait, wait, what are we doing?! You still haven’t explained anything to me yet!” Taemin tripped over this branch and that root while Sooman walked unflinchingly, not even looking where he was going.

“We’re going to go catch ourselves a beast. This is your second lesson: how to tame an animal.”

“But I don’t want another animal! I just want to learn how to handle Jinki.”

Sooman Taemin and took him by his shirt, lifting him in the air. Jinki squealed in surprise. Taemin glared at Sooman, his hand twitching to his sword.

“You’re going to do things my way, otherwise you can leave right now.” Sooman carefully put Taemin down, but his voice was low and almost threatening. “You need to learn how to handle and understand wild beasts before you can learn how to raise and take care of one.”

Sooman stormed off, Taemin nervously glaring after him. Jinki hopped onto Taemin’s shoulder, making a series of worried sounds. Taemin took a deep breath and calmed down, patting Jinki’s head and following Sooman.

Sooman stood in front of a small clearing, one with broken trees and gathered leaves everywhere. It looked like a nest, or maybe a hunting ground. Taemin looked around, but didn’t say anything, not wanting to anger Sooman.

Sooman grinned, taking in a deep breath of the air. “This is perfect! Let’s begin!”

Taemin ran out of patience, finally pulling out his sword and yelling, “What are we doing?! You haven’t told me anything!”

Rather than getting angry this time, Sooman patted Taemin’s head, still smiling. “You need more patience. Just follow what I do.” Sooman walked to the middle of the small clearing, taking another deep breath. Taemin rolled his eyes. Sooman stood perfectly still, listening around him. Taemin did the same, immediately switching on his hunter instincts and listening to the creatures that moved around them. A small animal, maybe a rabbit or a small fox dashed through some bushes next to them. Somewhere off to the side, he heard a deer calling to its herd. Further off, on the opposite side, the sounds of a large animal searching for food. It was this sound that Sooman followed, walking in the direction and motioning over his shoulder for Taemin to follow. Taemin hesitated, but followed regardless, Jinki riding along on Taemin’s shoulder.

After some walking the two were watching the back of a bear as it rustled around some bushes for berries. Sooman grinned wildly, holding up the rope. “This is the beast you’ll be tackling today.”

Taemin already didn’t like messing with bears, and was really hoping that Sooman would have picked something easier to “tackle” for his first time. Taemin groaned, and said under his breath, “What is up with you and bears…? What the hell am I even doing?”

“Here,” Sooman said, facing Taemin. “This is the spell you’ll need. The rest is up to you.” He performed a spell, cupping it in his hand and passing it along to Taemin so he can quickly learn it. Taemin didn’t like learning magic this way, but it worked well enough for certain situations.

“Okay, what do I do with this? What is it used for?”

Sooman only laughed and pushed Taemin’s back, pushing him into the same space the bear was in. Jinki quickly leapt off and hid behind Sooman when the bear turned around and got into a defensive position. Taemin stared at the bear, too shocked to move. His first instinct was to pull his sword and defend himself, but he remembered what he was supposed to be doing and held up the rope and harness instead. The creature began slowly moving, Taemin moving with it so to keep the same distance.

Taemin was wide-eyed with uncertainty, and called out to Sooman quietly. “What the hell am I supposed to be doing?”

“Harness the beast!” Sooman yelled back. “Keep it from moving!” Taemin only had enough time to glare at Sooman before the bear charged, egged on by Sooman’s shouting. Taemin dodged, jumping to the side and rolling back to his feet just as quickly. The bear charged again and Taemin again dodged to the side, this time managing to throw the rope around her neck. The bear tried turning on Taemin, but he used the rope to spin her instead, forcing her to turn her back on him. Taemin used the opportunity to get the harness on her, but found that the bear was too big for him to do this from the ground. She charged forward again, and Taemin accidentally dropped the rope, but quickly pounced on it to grab it, being temporarily dragged across the ground.

Taemin got back on his feet, trying to hold the rope as the bear thrashed around, trying to get it off. Taemin prepared himself before jumping on the bear’s back, being flung about by the bear. Taemin slipped the harness on, and pulled on it so the bear would stop moving around so much.

“Okay, use the spell now!” Sooman shouted. Taemin rolled his eyes again, but did as he was told, pressing the palm of his hand onto the bear’s head, and using the spell he learned from Sooman (although he wasn’t really sure he did it right).

After a moment the bear calmed down, and Taemin was about to get off when bright magic suddenly shot into his head, surprising him so much he fell hard to the ground. Images flashed into his mind, mostly of cubs and berries and fish in a stream. The bear reeled back just as Taemin had, but then the magic subsided and Taemin and the bear were left staring at each other in shock.

Sooman ran up to them, clapping his hands happily. “Well done! That was perfect!”

Taemin stood up on shaky legs, still staring at the bear in bewilderment. “What the did that spell of yours do?”

“That’s how you get a companion,” Sooman explained. “It’s called a “connection”. You link your minds together temporarily, sharing prominent thoughts and memories. It works better if you have a strong connection with the creature, but since you don’t know this bear and she doesn’t know you, the spell has already worn off.”

“Why didn’t I use this spell with Jinki?”

“You did, when you were crafting his collar. But the two of you already know each other so well, you didn’t notice the difference. You’ll use this spell with every potential companion, mostly to see if you’re a good match. I want you to get used to using it.”

The bear shook off its confusion, and started walking away, back to her den to care for her cubs. Before she left, Taemin pulled some meat from his pouch and gave it to her, smiling. She happily took the offering, and nuzzled against Taemin before lumbering off.

Sooman nudged Taemin, who was still smiling after the long-gone bear. “Ready for more?”

Taemin sighed and went to pick up Jinki. “No way, I don’t want to do anything for the rest of the day.” Sooman only laughed at that.

“You’re working under me now, we don’t take a break until the sun goes down. Come on! I hear more candidates for practice close by.”

Taemin stared at Sooman, who had already begun walking away. “This is ridiculous...” Taemin muttered to Jinki. “Why do I have to go through this….” Taemin begrudgingly followed Sooman, preparing himself for whatever poor woodland animal was next on his trainer’s list.

The next month was filled with similar training. Every day Sooman would take Taemin out to a new place to either learn more about taming animals or more about being a trainer in general. Taemin was attacked by wolves, bears, mountain lions, and other animals, all with Sooman laughing in the background each time. He learned how to craft more stones, and make more elaborate collars. Sooman even helped train Jinki, teaching both of them simple commands and hand motions to use in the midst of battle. Along with the rest, Sooman helped teach Taemin how many companions he could handle at once, saying, “everyone has their limit. Some can only handle one or two, others can handle upwards of twenty without neglecting any of them.” He taught Taemin this by throwing him in a room of twenty-two rescued companions (along with Jinki), and leaving him alone with them. It didn’t end well.

Taemin’s favorite thing he did with Sooman was work with rescuers from the town. A group of volunteers he had known about for a while, who worked diligently to rescue abused companions from their “trainers”. The job was surprisingly dangerous, as the majority of these animals were trained for the sole purpose of fighting, and the owners often irascible and violent. Taemin was proud to find out that Sooman volunteered with them regularly, developing a newfound respect for him.

The training went on, Taemin and Sooman becoming more friendly with each other as time went on. Sooman was cocky and his methods were questionable at best, but Taemin knew he himself wasn’t normal, so he warmed up to Sooman’s strange tactics, the two becoming good friends toward the end of the first month.

With his training practically complete, Taemin began taking on quests again, only seeing Sooman about once a week now, rather than every day. He and Jinki were much more prepared to fight together now, Jinki gaining courage and not cowering away as often, Taemin gaining more trust in Jinki, relying on him more. The two took on a reconnaissance mission, investigating a valley where there were reports of goblins occupying a human territory, killing any traveller that passed by.

Taemin pulled his sword out. He and Jinki were just walking down the Dirt Valley when he felt a shift in the air. Jinki had obviously felt it too, for he was suddenly alert, looking around nervously. Taemin looked around him and saw nothing, not even a hint of magic. But he felt it, and knew his senses weren’t mistaken. Confused, Taemin looked up. There it was. On the valley walls, a strong concentration of magic was concealing whatever it was that was up there. Taemin used his foot to push Jinki back and started to back out of the valley, but it was too late. The concealment faded and a bunch of goblins dropped from the walls of the valley and completely surrounded Taemin. Normally they would be easy to handle, but Taemin could tell right away that these ones were strong, and were able to use very powerful magic. Taemin and Jinki got ready to fight, standing back to back (so to speak, anyway). Taemin lunged forward and Jinki offered him a cover, kicking up dust so that the numbers that he was fighting at once could be thinned a bit. Taemin slashed and spun, striking down most of them in a single blow. But he was soon overwhelmed and needed help.

“Jinki!” Taemin called out. When nothing happened, Taemin looked behind him to see that Jinki was dealing with several himself, using a hallucination to trick them into killing each other. But since most of them were some kind of magic users, they easily saw through Jinki’s illusion and began trying to attack him. He was fast, but he was also surrounded. Taemin used a spell to tangle and strangle his enemies in thick vines before going for Jinki. He used magic to clear a path to Jinki and stood over him protectively, defending him from the several goblins that were about to kill him.

All of the ones that were surrounding them were cut down, either by sword or by magic, and Taemin’s back was now free so all of the enemies were in front of him, making him more comfortable. Taemin spared a glance back at Jinki. He was wounded, bleeding from several open cuts, but standing his ground remarkably well. Taemin was proud of Jinki, but also worried about him. He didn’t want Jinki to get hurt anymore. He looked at who he was facing, tension high in the air. No one made a move. Taemin had faced down several enemies of all sorts at once before, but never this many. At least not alone. And since Jinki’s magic could be easily seen through by any of the goblins facing them, he wasn’t going to be of much help.

Taemin surged forward. Jinki squealed, trying to help, but Taemin prevented him from doing anything. Taemin used anything he could- his sword, magic, any weapons he could find on the ground -to fight back and cut down his enemies. He’s never done so much at once though, and it was quickly exhausting him. There were too many trying to kill him for Taemin to take a break and heal himself, and soon he was in worse shape than Jinki. Taemin somehow managed to ignore his wounds, and kept fighting, deciding to stand his ground no matter what.

Some time passed (it was impossible to tell just how much) and Taemin cut down the last goblin. Exhausted, he slumped against the wall of the canyon they were in, Jinki running up to him with concern. Taemin gave his companion a tired smile and slowly pulled a health potion out of his pouch. Taemin sighed, looking at Jinki.

“This is the last one. You have to drink all of it. Come here, Jinki.” Jinki shook his head and tried to run away, but Taemin grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and held him tightly. “Jinki I know you’re worried about me, but you’re hurt too. I’m not taking this, you have to.” Taemin tried to give Jinki the potion, but Jinki struggled more and bit Taemin. Taemin yelped and held Jinki tighter, completely immobilizing him. Taemin glared at his companion. “Don’t bite me again! You’re taking this and that’s that!” Taemin pried open Jinki’s mouth and forced him to drink it. Once it was finished, and Jinki’s wounds healed, Taemin sighed in relief and let go of Jinki. Jinki propped up on Taemin’s chest, inspecting his wounds and making panicked noises. Taemin patted Jinki’s head and picked up his sword, saying a quick incantation before driving it into the ground in front of him. A barrier sprouted from the sword and surrounded the two. “There,” Taemin said, drawing into himself and cuddling with Jinki. “That should protect us for a little while. At least long enough for me to rest.” Taemin looked around at the carnage. Right in front of him was a massive amount of blood, but he was too tired to realize it was his own. Taemin hugged Jinki tighter and closed his eyes, unintentionally falling unconscious.

Once realizing that Taemin was unconscious, Jinki wriggled his way out of his companion’s arms. Jinki looked around for a way to help Taemin, but he couldn’t think of anything. He didn’t want to panic, because that wouldn’t help anyone, but he was beginning to feel afraid, worried that Taemin would die if he didn’t do something quickly. Jinki ran around, smelling everything while trying to figure out a solution. All of a sudden he picked up a familiar scent. Was it the man from that shop that Taemin called Gyeongshik? No, it was someone they spent more time with. Suddenly Jinki remembered. It smelled like the clothes that the trainer wore. Jinki knew where he lived, and knew it wasn’t far from where they were, so he took off running as fast as he could to get Taemin help.

Sooman was sitting in a chair in (or outside) his home, reading a book. Suddenly Chen swooped down and landed on the table next to him, squawking. Sooman sighed and looked up at Chen, annoyed. “I’m trying to read, what it is?” Before Chen could respond, Sooman heard something that sounded like footsteps, except that they were light and quick. He recognized them right away. He stood up and stared in astonishment as Jinki ran straight at him. When Jinki reached him, he began running around in fast, panicked circles, trying to tell him something. Sooman laid a hand on Jinki’s back and picked up the creature. “Calm down, what is it? And where’s Taemin?” Then he saw the blood covering Jinki’s usually soft and clean fur. Taemin would never let Jinki get hurt, so something must have been really wrong. Sooman set Jinki on the ground, who watched nervously as he called Chen and picked up his spear. Sooman looked in Jinki’s eyes. “Take me to Taemin.” Jinki turned and went running the same direction that he came from (although thankfully slower so Sooman could keep up).

Half an hour later, the two reached the canyon. Sooman stared at all of the dead bodies in shock. He had no idea that Taemin was capable of taking down this many on his own. And judging by their robes, they were mages, too. No wonder Jinki got so hurt, his magic would be practically useless around these guys. Jinki ran ahead, but suddenly stopped, seeing two men staring at something against the canyon wall. Sooman rushed forward and saw that they were staring at an unconscious Taemin, about to kill him.

Under any other circumstance, Sooman would rough them up a bit and tell them to off, but seeing how they were about to kill Taemin, Sooman forgot about that and lunged forward, killing the two without remorse. He looked down at Taemin’s limp body. Jinki had now come up, and was nuzzling against Taemin, trying to get him to wake up.

“You’re a damn idiot, I hope you know that,” Sooman sighed. “Come on Jinki, let’s go back.” Sooman lifted Taemin’s body and lugged him over his shoulder, then set off back to his house, Jinki and Chen in tow.

Taemin woke up, groggy and unsure where he was. He tried sitting up, but found it difficult, and layed back down. All of a sudden, Jinki came up and jumped on his chest, running in circles on his torso. Behind him, a familiar voice said, “get down Jinki, he’s injured.” Jinki obliged, jumping on the ground to stand beside the source of the voice. Taemin turned his head to see who it was, and found Sooman looking over him with a concerned expression. Looking around some more, he realized he was in Sooman’s home, resting on his bed.

Taemin rubbed his eyes, and tiredly looked up at Sooman. “What… what’s going on?”

“You were attacked by a massive amount of goblins. Jinki ran and got me so I could take care of you. Here, take this.” Sooman handed Taemin a healing potion, who drank it immediately. His wounds closed, but he was still spent, having used too much magic. Jinki jumped onto the bed again, this time more carefully, and rested beside Taemin, nuzzling into him and making weak whimpering sounds. Taemin comforted Jinki, but looked up at Sooman, realizing he was still standing there. Sooman merely shook his head, which Taemin had come to understand meant they’ll talk about it later. Taemin went back to resting, Jinki quickly falling asleep by his side.

About an hour later, after Taemin was feeling better and Jinki was fast asleep, Taemin sat up, gently picking Jinki up and putting him in his lap. Sooman (who was sitting at his desk) turned to Taemin.

“Well what do you think?” Sooman asked.

Taemin shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Whatever you were trying to accomplish in that valley, it went horribly wrong. Jinki has powerful magic, but that’s useless against creatures who use magic themselves. How did you plan to get out of that?”

“I wasn’t ready for there to be that many, but I won’t make that mistake again.”

“That’s an impossible promise to make.” Although Sooman seemed angry, he kept his voice down as to not wake Jinki. “As long as you keep taking difficult quests, you will find yourself in more of these situations. You can’t fight every horde of monsters you come across alone. What will you do? Abandon quests altogether? Become a businessman?”

“I’m not going to give up quests just because I got into one bad situation. What are you trying to get at?”

“I’m telling you you need another companion. Unless you want to join a guild or find some new friends, you need another companion to protect you.”

“I’ve already told you, I don’t want another companion. You’ve known that since the beginning.”

“You’re missing the point. You and Jinki almost died. One day you may actually get him killed. And what would have happened if he wasn’t able to get me in time?”

“I-”

“You would have been killed.” Sooman was clearly angry now, but still keeping his voice down for Jinki. “I came right when some thieves were about to attack you while you were unconscious. You can’t honestly believe you can get by by yourself all the time. You need to be able to kill enemies, not just perform tricks. Jinki is a wonderful creature, but can’t help you in most situations. Don’t be a damn fool.”

Taemin thought about this for a while. He looked down at the sleeping rabbit in his lap, feeling the dried dirt and blood in his fur. Taemin sighed. “I suppose you’re right… I really don’t want another companion, but I don’t want Jinki to get hurt.”

“Now you’re thinking with your head. I’ll help you find another companion, I don’t care how long it takes. My only condition is you don’t take any more quests until you’ve found at least one more, and that whatever you do find relies on more than just magic to fight.”

Taemin nodded in agreement to Sooman’s terms, and the two fell into a silence. Taemin continued petting Jinki, pulling out some of the dirt to clean him a bit. Chen landed on his shoulder, watching what he was doing for a short while before flying off again. Sooman sighed.

“How do you think Jinki will react to you getting a new companion? Some can get fairly jealous.”

Taemin thought for a moment. “He’ll be fine with it. Jinki is very understanding. He’ll understand why. I think...”

“I think so too, I just hope we’re right.” Sooman sighed again. Jinki continued to sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi! This is Em ^.^

Three chapters in and we still don't have any other SHINee memebers. Will that change soon? Who knows! (well I know, but you don't)

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I'm trying to write more chapters, but I also have a part time job, and I'm going to college, so I hope you understand if I don't update consistently. Thank you all so much for the love and support!!! Imma keep writing because I love this story so much. Sorry it isn't too exciting right now, I promise it'll pick up soon, I just need to introduce all the characters first.

Also, SHINee's back!!!! OMG 1of1 looks like it's going to be amazing, I can't wait!!!!!!!! Just a few more days!

Have an excellent day guys, I love you all!

~Em