rendon felt an ache deep within his chest when Josuah moved and gave his mother what she had rudely demanded, even in despite of his own protest. He didn’t need to do that! And in that moment his frustration and hurt got the better of him, as he accidentally projected his voice into Josuah’s head. ‘You didn’t need to move!’ He protested and then grew embarrassed as he realized what he had done. But then, oddly, it brought him comfort… being able to speak to Josuah, privately, even with others around. Th-That’s right! He’d… give him what-for!

“Let’s start from the beginning,” His mother distracted him, however, when she spoke again. Reluctantly, he brought his amber gaze to her as she stared down at him with tears in her eyes. His brows immediately knit together; he didn’t understand why she seemed to be so unbearably upset. “Tell me what happened.”

“What happened?” Brendon echoed, clearly confused. But then, belatedly, he felt that she must have been referring to the fact that he and Josuah had bonded, and the realization made him embarrassed. “I—I don’t know!” He blurted out, cheeks pink. “I, I mean…”

Nervously, he looked to Josuah, which seemed to gain the attention of his mother, who also glanced over at him, except with suspicion.

he grin that Brendon held quickly faltered the moment he both felt and saw the flash of fear that swept across Josuah’s features. He could feel his alarm, and immediately understood that someone was at the door, which also caused him to jerk his gaze in that direction. Within his peripheral vision he could see the familiar shifting back into the large, golden, wolf, and standing rigid.

The door came open then, and his mother stepped in through the open doorway. The light brown hue of her eyes first hitched on Josuah’s stiff form, her own features taut with uncomfortable tension, but the moment she spotted him on the bed, it was as if all of that apprehension simply vanished. Brendon was completely surprised when she rushed forward, tears already clinging to her eyes, to wrap her arms around him.

“My baby boy,” She wept weakly, and sat down on the bed, drawing him over into her lap. “You’re okay. You’re awake,” She laughed softly, as though feeling immense relief, as one of her hands rubbed his back and her other lifted to the side of his head, pulling him against her collarbone and into an embrace.

By this point, Brendon’s face had gone completely pink. Embarrassment had flooded his entire form. H-He couldn’t believe his mom was t-treating him like this… a-and in front of Josuah...!

Another woman had come with his mother, but Brendon hadn’t been able to notice her. She had stepped inside as well, and remained stiff with apprehension as she stood beside August at the bedside, but her gaze was trained on the wolf.

osuah immediately called out for him to wait, and Brendon did pause, but only to look to the golden haired boy with expectation. “You’re so… reckless,” He chastised him, and Brendon felt himself suddenly smiling, the expression lighting up his face, as he felt the very real feeling of embarrassment filter in from Josuah’s direction.

“No I’m not,” He replied boldly. Despite his smile, and his obvious happiness, and even excitement, the tiredness still remained; in the way his body slumped and his gaze somewhat lulled. “I’m your master now,” He even went on to say, rather cheekily, as he waited for his familiar to come over.

The thought had bothered him so much before; it was why he had fought against it so vehemently when his mother had brought it up. He wondered why… it didn’t seem to bother him now, at least not too much, knowing that… that his soul had been… merged with Josuah’s.

“So you have to listen to me, and let me heal you.” He decided, with that same big smile on his face.

I can…,” Josuah spoke up to say, but did notably trail off, as though to fall into deep thought. Brendon had brought his gaze over in his direction again, waiting and watching, seeing the deep brown of the wood and the imperfect white of the painted tapestry. “I can show you…,” But, when he heard those worse, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and his eyes widened with surprise.

He felt his own tension swell up within him, making him feel rigid and stiff, his face heating a little as he stared, fixated, at the edge of the room divider, waiting for the wolf to appear. A-And he did — he stepped out. Heat poured thickly throughout his body as his amber eyes almost greedily took in the human form of the familiar. His clothes were old, of poor quality, ripped and torn, and Brendon could see how his skin was covered by the dust and dirt and other outside debris. But, what was most alarming, was just how… hurt he was. Physically hurt, with scratches, and scabs, and even deep wounds that had sealed over, scars…

Emotion bombarded Brendon, caging around his heart, and instantly making his eyes sting and his nose burn. The reaction had come so powerfully, and all on its own. He didn’t know why he was so affected with the thought of Josuah being hurt, but it seemed to affect his very soul.

“Y-You’re hurt,” He mentioned, his voice strained and filled with a deep yearning to heal him. “I… I can heal you.”

he golden wolf rose from where he had perched himself on the floor, but he didn’t speak to him in return. Instead, he wandered the interior of his room and actually disappeared behind a solid wood divider that held hand painted designs of the forest within its panels. Brendon could feel the weight of his frown pressing at the corners of his mouth while his tired gaze narrowed in that direction, still feeling rather frustrated over the entire situation and the wolf’s lack of cooperation with him.

But, quickly enough, he realized what was going on; he could feel it inside of him, a strange sensation, and he knew, even without physically seeing, that Josuah was actually changing into his human form. The realization caused the fourteen year old’s gaze to widen considerably, and for his mouth to become slightly agape. He felt an odd fluttering sensation at his heart, which then thumped harshly, and strained, the moment he heard the external sound of Josuah’s voice filling his own bedroom.

“Let us… talk… this way…”

Warmth spread all throughout Brendon’s body, causing his fingers to curl and clutch around the fabric of his thick covers. “O-Okay,” He immediately returned, a little breathlessly, unable to hide his excitement.

rendon could see that he had effectively startled the wolf. He could feel the subtle emotions filtering into him as well, of his reaction. But, what Brendon focused on more was how his name had sounded. It had come to him, as some sort of unconscious knowledge, but hearing it so powerfully and boldly spoken was a bit… embarrassing. It—It was annoying that he knew his name in the first place! It was annoying that Josuah probably knew his name, too! H-He hadn’t given it! So, obviously, it was apart of this whole “familiar” thing, which was also annoying too. Everything was annoying!

“...I… I won’t do it again…,” The wolf returned, but the fact that he was still speaking within his mind, and filling his head with his voice, completely contradicted his statement.

Brendon’s gaze narrowed further, and he stubbornly began to try and sit up within the bed. He felt moody, and grumpy, and a need to sit up and glare at the familiar. But, getting up was a lot harder than he would have liked. As he turned and pressed his hands against the mattress of the bed, using the strength of his arms to push himself up, he could feel the strain directly linking to his heart. H-He was so… worn out...! Still, he managed to get up, and turn his sour, but tired, gaze onto the wolf who had also taken up space on his bed.

‘I know you’re a familiar!’ He told him, in his mind, loud and clear, making sure to resonate within him… j-just for good measure! ‘So that means you can turn into a person and talk to me!’

f the two of them were bonded, then that meant that the golden wolf was a familiar. The information dawned on him belatedly, despite the obvious. How had this… happened? Brendon wasn’t certain how he felt about it — he was just too tired to be able to really think all that coherently. And then, the familiar, was also taking everything in with such calm, even after he had gotten moody, even as he glowered up at the ceiling even right this minute, the wolf remained patient and calm whenever he spoke.

“...It would be best if you rest. ...You are… still weak from breaking my curse.” His voice filled his head again, and it was always such an alarming sensation. It felt private and intimate — and weird!

“Wh—Why are you talking in my head!” He demanded through a huff, finally drawing his gaze away from the ceiling to look back toward the golden wolf. “Y-You…! You should speak out loud like me!”