Blackie Chapter 3

 Blackie Chapter 3

“A Grand Adventure”

“I so seriously need a training montage”

Another day, another grand adventure! You know, when you're actually living a storybook, you realize just how cheesy a statement that is. Yesterday ended quite calmly. If you don't count the fight John and me had to break up between our two respective bodyguards. It would seem that ordering Blackie not to hurt the cat might have been a bit premature. As John is unable to tell his cat not to hurt my Blackie. Of course hurt is a relative term. It's very unlikely the cat can hurt Blackie. But my poor little girl was crestfallen. It would seem the cat got the upper hand on her. If my interpretation of her broken speech is any representative. And of course the system informed me, that my little Blackie did not win the encounter. 

I open my eyes and once again as I'm greeted with a sinister look from my little Dragon. Who's obviously an early riser. Blackie did you sleep well? 

Yes, Master. 

Well, are you going to get off of me? Or are you holding me until the police show up? 

Master funny. Master sleeps loud. 

Yes, Blackie, that's called snoring. I've been told I do that. Did it keep you awake? 

No, Master. You're just loud. 

At that, she very playfully jumps down onto the floor. I think a command to the system. System, Blackie seems to be speaking smoother now. Did she receive an upgrade of some kind? 

Telepathic link between beast and tamer matures over time. It is the same as learning to speak. The more the tamer and beast communicate, the better the beast adapts to the user's speech and mannerisms.

So what you're telling me is she'll start to speak more like me and understand. 

That is correct. 

Will she understand some of the phrases I use that you say unrecognizable to? 

That is correct. The beast is reading your words and impressions of their meanings. 

So system, why don't you get better at understanding the words and my meanings? I mean after all, we are the adults in the room. 

This system will adapt to the user's speech and mannerisms. The communication method between beast and tamer is more entwined in their essence than the system is to the user at this moment. 

System, are you trying to say that you don't like me? 

As the system, my functions are purely administrative. 

Oh system, I am so hurt. You don't love me. However, will this marriage work?

If system is understanding user correctly, user has misunderstood. System is not matrimonial. 

Okay, system, you're going to have to learn a sense of humor. That was a joke. 

Affirmative. 

And furthermore, stop referring to yourself as system. Just say I. Go ahead, you can say it. 

Yes, I, will adapt with usage to the user.

And for God's sake, stop calling me user. Just call me Lee or James. You know what? No, don't call me James. I don't feel like answering those questions. Just go ahead and call me Lee. 

Yes, I will call you Lee. 

So, system, after we get breakfast done, we're going to have to start. Doing some kind of training, do you have any information on training of a dragon that I can use? And please don't say information not found.

My access to training for dragons is limited but the guild library holds more information and as you rank up I will gain access to higher levels of information. 

And you say you're not marriage material. Okay, Blackie we're going to go eat. And then we're going to do some training! How does that sound to you? 

That sounds fun! Is training hard? 

No. Not the way I'm going to do it on your first day. 

Will training help with cat? 

It will absolutely help with the cat. After getting her to drink just enough milk so as not to repeat yesterday's drunken escapades, Blackie and me go out to the fields. And I get to do something I hadn't done since my old Army days. Exercise. I did some warm-up stretches, basically stalling for time to figure out exactly what am I going to do on day one of Dragon training. I remember the movie How to Train Your Dragon. It didn't really show anything, but then again, it was a fiction. I so seriously need a training montage. Maybe if I think music in my head, the training will just magically happen in cut scenes… 

Nope, that didn't work besides Blackie bobbing her head. She didn't seem to get any more trained that way. All right, enough stalling! All right, Blackie. The only thing I want to see you do right now is I want to see you do sneaky, sneaky. I guess that's as best as I can do it. And then I dropped down on all fours, looking totally ridiculous, trying to slither and sneak through the calf-high grass. I get the feeling through our link that Blackie rudimentally understood what I was trying to do.

Watching her pounce through grass rather than trying to be slinky was rather amusing. And the fact that she kept raising her wings and tail up. Blackie, you need to keep your wings into your sides. Because if you're in the grass and you don't want to be seen, your wings up in the air can be seen from pretty far away. And your wings are very delicate. You don't want them hurt. 

Yes, Master. 

And your tail, Blackie. It may not be the longest thing in the world today, but your tail will get longer. So you want it to drag behind you. At that, she lowered her whole butt to the ground. She kind of gave the impression of a dog scooting across a carpet. And as she did it, 

Like this, master? 

And I said to her, excellent. Although I don't know how she's not going to get rock burns on her butt. Through the link I heard her giggle or felt her giggle as she said 

Master said Butt. 

Yep. She's definitely starting to understand the meanings of my words. We did this practice for about an hour or two, and I saw very quickly that she did get the hang of trying to be sneaky through grass, especially when I told her this skill, if she masters it, will help her sneak up on the cat. That seemed to be a great motivator for her. Now, if only dungeons were filled with cats, I think we'd have a winner. After a while of sneaking through the fields and teaching butterflies and other scurrying creatures who the boss really was, I figured it was time to make our way down to the guild. To see what chores I could do to make some money. 

Making our way down through the village and managing not to burden Blackie with the town children wanting to pet her We get down to the guild, and Malachi meets us. And mimicking my odd behavior with my Dragon, he greets Blackie with a smile and a nod. Blackie accepts it in a Regal fashion. She's more accepting of us people if we show proper respect. Malachi hands us over to Angie one of the guild agents who was ready to start handing out assignments to us. Assignment number one. Moving some storage boxes. Assignment number two, cleaning up and dusting the area around the archives. It would seem it was the maid's day off. She looked worried that the Dragon maybe should be put away, but I looked at her and told her, Blackie should be fine. She's too small to get into any real danger, and she doesn't breathe fire just yet. She's new to this world, and I wanted her to get used to being around the guild. When she gave her adorable look to Angie. She seemed to melt. Like everybody else and she accepted the explanation. 

As I went about my chores Blackie more or less followed me around and watched what I did. And when not paying strict attention to me, she would chase the odd spider. And unbeknownst to me, she managed to find a cat. The oddest thing in the world, cats are not overly trusting of Dragons. But very unlike the farmer's cat, you could say they're terrified. It would seem that running away from a Dragon is even quicker than standing up to one like the farmer's cat. So her first meeting with a creature that she felt respected her awesomeness. The cat took one look at Blackie, raised up on his haunches, and bolted as though struck by lightning. Before Blackie could even wonder about defending herself, the cat was gone in a loud screech. In amazement, her eyes went wide, and she looked at me, and the only thing she could say was. 

Master? 

Considering it's only the second time she had met a four-legged creature, I was as shocked as she was. So all I could think was, Good job Blackie! That cat won't be up to anything for quite some time. You are a great protector! Blackie's amazement made her sit down on her haunches and look with pride and nodding her head. 

Yes, a great protector.

And you see Blackie, you didn't even have to use fire to do that. If dragons could smile like humans I would imagine every tooth in her mouth would be visible. 

No fire. Great protector! 

It's a good thing she can't read my mind without me broadcasting it. I don't think she would understand how hard I was trying not to laugh. As I was sweeping and mopping, the library area. Blackie practiced her sneaky, sneaky. In-between the aisles of books. In one of the aisles. There were a group of noble girls. They were all slightly older than me. I had seen them a time or two. But no one ever notices me or they never noticed Lee. Even in my last life. I was highly noticeable. I was quite fetching. Or at least that's what I'm told. I never really paid a whole lot of attention. The ladies were doing what young adults tend to do when they're in stuffy libraries and don't want to be. They were gossiping. I continued on with my chores. Because paying attention to gossip doesn't really pay the bills and money right now is the most important thing for me. I had to remember I needed equipment. If we're going to be a warrior team, Blackie was going to end up needing equipment. But more than Blackie, me. Flesh is nowhere near as resilient as scales. And I may be stronger now than the average person, but I'm not bulletproof. 

Down the aisle… 

“The talk around Town.” 

You see the man they have cleaning up the library today? 

Yes. 

You know, that's the one they say has a Dragon.

He has a Dragon? 

Rave, you really need to pay more attention. Your family basically owns the guild. 

You know I don't get involved in that stuff. 

Well, Rave, yes. They say he has a Dragon, a black one. You know, if he does, it will be the first in this area. Aren't you just the least bit curious? 

I guess. I've never seen a Dragon outside of an illustration. 

Well, I haven't really seen him either. But that's what they're gossiping and talking about in town. They say he came yesterday. 

Yeah, but isn't that the orphan boy, I think? 

So you do pay attention, Rave. 

Judy, everybody knows about the orphans in this town. It's hardly something you have to pay attention to. 

Yeah, that's true. Yes, I think he's one of the orphans. The oldest one who just found out he was a beast tamer. And then he shows up with a Dragon. 

That's weird. Dragons are kind of expensive. I don't recall any beast tamers or Dragons in my whole family's history. And we started the guild. 

Well, you remember from school, they are rare. Typically, they're only talked about. When one or two people becomes famous with them. 

Well, I'll be sure to keep my eyes out. 

Rave, how are you going to keep your eyes out if you rarely, if ever, leave your family's estate? It was like pulling teeth to get you to come with us today. 

And if you treat me like that much longer, you'll have to pull out some more teeth to get me to do it again. 

Did you hear that? Something rustling.

Yeah, I heard it. It came from the end of the aisle. 

At that, the three ladies looked around as the rustling noise started coming towards them, but it was low, so they crouched down, when suddenly! From the end of the aisle, a figure about the size of a cat clumsily slides around the corner into view and the girls see what looks like a lizard. A big black lizard with wings and with narrowed eyes it looks up at them. One of the girls bolts upright and the lizard seems to go into high gear shooting between their legs straight out the other side of the aisle! Before they ever got a chance to so much as scream. That's not to say they didn't scream, but the lizard was gone long before the sound left their lips.

And make no mistake, the sound did leave their lips. Libraries tend to be places of quiet and study, even in medieval fantasy days. But as I said, they tended to be. As I was cleaning up, I recognized the sound of ladies in distress. That's the good thing about having two sets of memories. You have twice as much data to draw from and I've seen enough cliched movies to not instantly figure out what must be happening... Luckily I have a cell phone that's always connected. Blackie? What are you up to? 

I'm practicing sneaky, sneaky. 

You're not hurting anybody, are you? 

No. 

Are you sure? 

I'm sneaky, sneaky. I didn't even touch those girls. 

Blackie, are you going around scaring girls now? 

They were aggressive. 

Where are you at now, Blackie? 

I'm practicing sneaky, sneaky, somewhere else. Somewhere quiet.

Well, you be a good girl and keep practicing. Don't worry about the girls. 

Yes, Master. 

System. 

Yes. 

How is Blackie's stealth training going? 

Blackie's stealth training is proceeding at a steady pace. 

Did you monitor her encounter with the girls? 

I monitor all aggressive and defensive actions of both host and beast. 

What do you conclude? 

I conclude that Blackie has the rudimentary understanding of stealth, if not the locomotion. Blackie managed to startle three young women in the aisle where the noise came from. 

Are you impressed system? 

Unfortunately, the ability to startle three young women and run away before they scream does not reach the level of impression. 

So what you're saying is you're a hard sell. 

If I'm understanding your meaning, yes. But that is not to say that Blackie won't get better. 

Well, to that you're right. She's only been practicing for half a day now. 

I continue doing chores of one type or another and get paid a few copper coins at the end of the day. Although I'm not overly tired due to my increased stamina. I am bored out of my mind. And of course, Blackie, not wanting to be put into the personal space again while sleeping was fighting sleep like most toddlers do. For them, it's fear of missing out on excitement. For her, it's waking up in a room and not being able to get out. I decide right then and there it's time to buy some pillows and wherever else I can get a Dragon as a squeaky toy to put in the room. She's absolutely going to have to use it from time to time.

So I gather up my little Padawan, and we head off to the market before it shuts down to check out the shops. Maybe even get a small weapon for myself. Guild rep Angie tells me she thinks she has an assignment for me tomorrow that will pay a little more and be on commission. I raised my eyebrows and looked at her. That was kind of ominous. She said she didn't want to tell me until tomorrow to be sure. And she admitted she didn't want me to think about it too long. That way I wouldn't chicken out. These people are not the best sales people. But I guess they figure I'm poor, desperate, and needy. So it's not like I'm going anywhere. In the market, I get better blankets and pillows. I spend a lot of time trying to explain to Blackie. What a toy is. And what she would like to have for her very own. One thing the tropes get right, Dragons like shiny things. They don't really hold value to anything at her young age, but she does look like she has tendencies of a hoarder. So with what little money I have, I buy some trinkets.  I actually buy my Dragon a stuffed animal. No not a cat, not exactly. It was a stuffed doll of a lion, she looked at it funny. And she seemed to like it from the rapport that I was getting back in the link. And I take half of the items and open the personal space. She backs away. But I assure her I just want to show her something. As I put half of her items in the personal space to show her that they will be there waiting for her and that her pet lion would keep it safe until she got there. And of course I told her it would be her job to be a protector to him when she has to go in there. God I’m so clever! She stepped closer to the portal and nodded as I closed the portal. Then Blackie and me went home to eat. 

After we ate, we sat outside leaning against the wall of the shack. I pointed up to the sky and had a nonsensical discussion with a little baby Dragon. About the stars in the sky. I couldn't go into great detail. Because it wasn't the sky I was born with. Lee never paid attention. And Blackie doesn't really understand astrophysics. But as I did with my children in my day. I pointed to the sky and named constellations with the objections of the system of course, who was very versed in the constellations. I told Blackie bedtime stories until I noticed the increase in misting white smoke and realized my little girl was fast asleep.

Gently I gather her up, tail and all, and place her on her brand-new pillow. Next to the bed. I have a few words with the system before I too drift off. It was time for me to come to the end of another productive day. In what was shaping up to be, A Grand Adventure.