The next few days flew by in a blur. For the most part, Cynrik and Brance took it easy. Ever since they first arrived on Vinestra, neither brother had taken the time to rest. Instead, 12 years for Cynrik and 11 years for Brance day in and out, they stuck to a relatively simple schedule. Wake up, eat, school, train, eat, train, sleep. Of course, there weren’t many days that they broke this pattern, but thanks to the accumulated stress, Cynrik decided to use their two-week break as just that, a break.

Banning themselves from training, the two took things slowly. Brance had decided to spend his newfound time helping out as a part-time worker in Pinhurst Cold Steel. He enjoyed the slow pace as a clerk for Maeve’s father’s company and had even been allowed into the forge to watch Maeve’s father Jessup work on equipment. He was amazed by how effortless Jessup made blacksmithing look. The strange otherworldly techniques the elder Pinhurst used while working stunned Brance as he witnessed the man flawlessly merge his Earth and Fire Affinities to aid him in crafting.

Brance didn’t get bored as an average child would and could easily sit there and observe Jessup work on armor or weapons for hours on end without rest. However, since he had chores to handle around the store, such as restocking shelves or sweeping, he had to be careful how much time he spent in the forge.

Cynrik, on the other hand, did nothing but stare intently at his two eggs day and night. By this point, he could even describe in detail every inch of the matte black eggs covered in mystical red patterns when he closed his eyes. Finally, after three days straight of doing nothing but blankly staring at his eggs, Cinyah stepped in and dragged her son out of the house.

Tired of only getting single-word responses from Cynrik and worried about her oldest son’s fascination over his eggs, she decided to take him to one of the best places to gather information on tameable creatures, a Beast Store. Cynrik broke out of his trance upon hearing his Mom’s idea and followed after her like a duckling carrying his eggs carefully in his arms.

When Maeve spotted the boy waddling with his arms full, she laughed so hard she burst into tears. But Cynrik ignored her and ran after Cinyah without a second thought.

It didn’t take long for the pair to arrive at the central shopping district in Valor City. After parking the family hovercar, Cinyah directed Cynrik through the winding pathways until they arrived at a store that was neither too big nor too small.

Ting-ling

“Hello, welcome to CharChar Beast Shop; how may I assist you today.”

Not waiting for Cynrik to catch up, Cinyah strode into the store confidently and walked up to the counter. Seeing his mother walk in, Cynrik hurried after her, but upon entering the store, he was assaulted by the sounds and smells of hundreds of live animals of every shape, size, and species. His eyes locked onto a large sign that said reptiles, and he briskly ventured in that direction, striding over to look at them.

He had always been fascinated by reptiles such as snakes and lizards, and since he was now technically in a glorified petshop within a fantasy world, Cynrik couldn’t help but be curious. Arriving by various cages and tanks filled with critters, Cynrik was baffled by the large variety of reptiles. He could see cute lizards covered in fuzz instead of scales and snakes with multiple legs like a centipede.

However, what caught him off guard was the reaction these adorable little beasts had when he got close. He didn’t expect these creatures to jump up and back away after laying their eyes on the two eggs and start shivering in fright.

‘Strange…they all seem terrified of these things. Just what are you two?’ Cynrik thought while looking away from the reptiles and gazing at his eggs questioningly.

“Good afternoon, is there a Tamer in today? You see, my son here…” Cinyah paused when she noticed her son wasn’t standing beside her and raised an eyebrow while looking for him. Soon she found him staring dumbfoundedly by a cluster of kennels filled with baby creatures. Then, gritting her teeth, she hissed his name through clenched teeth, making Cynrik look away from the adorable balls of fluff and scales and look at her.

Seeing her stern expression that screamed, “GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!” Cynrik gulped down a mouth full of saliva and hurried to her side obediently.

Cough “Excuse me, as I said, my son here got these two creature eggs as a reward from an Egress dive, and I wondered if you had a Tamer who could appraise them for me. Since it came from a chest, we don’t know what species of Beast is inside.” Cinyah quickly put on an actor-worthy performance as she politely spoke to the teenage, brown-haired girl behind the counter.

“Of course, I understand. I just need you to fill out this form for me and choose which appraisal option you’d like. Once you return the form, I will contact the appropriate staff member to assist you further.” Wearing a courteous smile, the girl took a packet of papers off a stack on the counter and gave them to Cinyah and a pen before motioning for them to sit in the waiting area.

Glancing at the packet in his Mom’s hand, Cynrik followed after her to the waiting area. Taking a seat on a pair of plush chairs, he balanced his eggs in his lap and snatched the paperwork from his Mom, which earned him an ear tug and sharp slap upside the back of the head. But, since he was desensitized to Cinyah’s discipline by this point, he didn’t let it distract him as he began quickly filling out every question and line of information.

Once he finished writing down a somewhat detailed description of his eggs, Cynrik double-checked the form before handing it to Cinyah and staring at her expectantly. Then, scoffing and messing up Cynrik’s hair, Cinyah calmly got up, turned in the packet for her son, and joined him back in the waiting room shortly after.

Around 45 minutes later, there was a loud bang from the back of the store, followed by the sound of brisk footsteps. Suffering from minor PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) due to the Central System Adjudicator’s Thanos snap, the noise caused Cynrik to flinch hard when he heard the bang and immediately went on guard, looking in the direction of the sound with Mana Sight active.

Cinyah had noticed this reaction several times over the last few days as it wasn’t only Cynrik who acted like this; even Brance seemed to be easily startled by loud noises. After a brief call to the Sanfords, she realized that the whole group of children had experienced something in the Egress that caused this reaction. It took her patting Cynrik on the leg a couple of times to calm him down and make him shut off his ocular skill.

Cynrik calmed his accelerated heart rate by taking a few deep breaths and observed a short, portly, redfaced man padding in his direction. As the man scurried, he wiped the bead of sweat from his forehead several times and appeared extremely nervous.

‘Heh, I really need to get a grip on this flinching **; seriously, I can easily stare down the barrel of a gun or fight to the death, but because of that damn Adjudicator, anytime I hear a sound remotely resembling a snap, I **ing flinch. From what I can tell, the others are in the same situation as me. I need to talk with them later, or people will think we have Tourettes or something.’ Shaking his head, Cynrik lamented at his own misfortune.

Seeing the look of concern on Cinyah’s beautiful face, Cynrik made up his mind and flashed her a bright smile to calm her mind before directing his attention at the portly fellow shuffling towards him.

Catching sight of the mother and son duo, the portly man’s eyes shot wide open when he saw the two large eggs sitting in the boy’s lap, causing him to pick up his pace.

“Sorry for the wait, esteemed guests. My name is Phatrick Rollos. I am one of the Tier-3 Beast Tamers here at Valor Cities CharChar. I hear you two need an appraisal on some eggs found in an Egress.

Cynrik’s face changed into sympathy when he heard the poor guy’s name. ‘Aw **, poor dude, did his Mom and Dad hate him or something? I can already picture the nicknames…hehe, Fat Rolls. No, yabai, bad Cynrik, don’t bully the poor fat guy.’

Unaware of her son’s internal monologue, Cinyah gracefully stood up, tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and extended her right hand to Phatrick.

“Yes, sir, we do, you see, my son found these two eggs in a chest within an Egress, and we need them to be appraised so that we know what kind of creatures will hatch from them.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem; since I am a Tier-3 Beast Tamer, I happen to have an appraisal skill tailored around beasts in particular. So please follow me to one of the inspection rooms, and we can start the procedure.” Waving his hand in the direction he just ran from, Phatrick dabbed his forehead a couple more times and turned to walk away.

Cynrik didn’t jump to his feet right away; instead, his ears twitched slightly at the word “procedure,” making his eyes narrow cautiously.

“Let’s go, Cyn. Don’t you want to find out what kind of creatures will hatch from your little eggs?” Then, turning to face her son, Cinyah was confused why Cynrik, who had been all excited to get his eggs appraised, suddenly seemed to have his hair standing on end.

“Mhmm, coming.” He said out loud, but his mind was firing on all cylinders internally.

‘Something is wrong. Fat rolls is sus…his eyes didn’t leave my eggs until he turned around. Pair that with his demeanor and tone, not to mention using the word procedure…I need to be careful. This guy is too nervous.’ Standing up and raising his guard, Cynrik walked behind his Mom and Phatrick while clutching the eggs to his chest protectively.

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