Chapter 13

[Emily]

Emily looked at the weasel-like animal. "Is she going to be ok?" she asked.

The high pitched voice replied. "Give her five minutes before you move her to a bed, where she needs to spend a good 3 hours laying down."

"Right."

"So, what is..." was all that Karen got to say before her familiar interrupted her by saying. "Save your energy master, we will chat, when you get to the bed."

"I think she was trying to ask your name." Emily said.

The weasel-like animal looked at Emily. "I do not have one."

Karen just looked at her familiar.

"How can you not have a name? What did your last master call you?" Emily asked.

"I have never had a master before. This is the first time I have ever been summoned to be a familiar."

"First time ... How can it b..." Again Emily found herself stopping in mid flow as new information found its way into her head.

Emily looked at Karen. "I see, as Karen's bloodline is a whole new bloodline, and as each bloodline's familiar have unique skills defined by the master's bloodline, Karen's familiar is new as well. Or at least that is what I was just told by the oh so helpful 'Request Magical Help spell'." Emily said that last part with some sarcasm to it. Then the enormity of that new information hit Emily bringing home to Emily, for the first time what that really meant, and she went quiet.

To Emily, the rest of the day passed her by, as she moved about a bit like a zombie, not taking in what was happening around her. She found herself in bed before she knew it, just as someone joined her in bed, she found herself missing her mother.

[Anna]

After Anna had helped Jane to get Karen in to the bedroom that Mum had pointed out to her for Karen to use, she moved to the bedroom Mum had said she could use. Leaving Jane to look after a quite out of it Emily. She sat down on the bed and looked at the cheetah now sitting next to the bed.

"So I never did get your name, that is if you have one?" Anna asked.

"Oh, yes, I have one, my last master called me Packebell, I never liked it and she was my first master, so she got to give me a name." said the deep voice of the familiar.

"I see, I can give you a new name if you like. I can call you the name I was going to give my first son."

"No, no, don't do that. Keep that for when you have your first son."

"What makes you think I am going to have one?" Anna asked.

The familiar did not say a word.

"Ok, I will let it go this time, but next time you say stuff like that, then you have to tell me."

The familiar looked at her. "No, you are my master and you need to know my skills, one of them is to see limited knowledge of what is to come."

"You can see the future?" Anna asked.

"See? No, not see, some stuff I just know. Like I know you will have a boy. But that is all that is clear to me right now."

"I see, well, I don't see, but I trust you to tell me anything I need to know. So you need a new name, right?" Anna asked.

The familiar nodded.

Anna lay back on the bed and started to think to herself. "Ok, so a name, what male names do I know that I like the sound of and don't mind calling him."

"And speaking like that in your mind I can hear you. Do try not to forget that."

Anna jumped out of her skin, as for the first time her familiar used the mind link.

"Sweet god! That made me jump."

"Goddess, the God of the..." Anna cut him off.

"I know it's a She not a He. I know that all ready."

"Oh."

Anna went back to thinking, trying not to place the thought in to full words.

"Got it. How about I call you the name of my best friend's brother from my school days. He was called Greg. Do you mind being called Greg?"

"It's a nice name, I think that I like it, thank you." said the newly named Greg.

"So what other skills do you have? I know that Emily's familiar can open any window it likes, and that Jane's one can teleport itself around. Do you have any skills like that?" Anna asked.

"Oh, yes, I can make a cat flap in any door I like. I can jump from a high place and safely land on my feet. That is the main stuff that jumped out at my last master."

Anna and Greg chatted for a time, getting to know each other. After a bit they went to eat, but they only found Mum in the kitchen. So they had their food and then went back to their room where they chatted some more, and after some time fell asleep.

[Karen]

After being put to bed, Karen rested for a bit with her ferret familiar next to her.

After about 20 minutes she asked. "Can we chat yet?"

"Yes, you should be good enough to chat now, but stay lying down." replied the ferret.

"Well, first we need to give you a name. You got any ideas on that?" Karen asked.

"No, the name chosen is up to you." replied the ferret.

"Ok, let's see. I could call you Kevin, no ... how about Billy, no ... what about Jethro, no ... Marcus, no ... maybe Kenneth, no ... how about Boris, no ... what about Alex, no ... could call you Nick, no ... Jimmy, no..." Karen kept up in this vein for over 9 minutes.

"How about Peter, no ... maybe Percy ... hmm Percy, yes I like that, Percy. Ok, from now on your name is Percy." Karen said at last.

"Thank you master, I hope I can live up to your naming of me." replied the newly name Percy.

"So, Percy, what happened, how come I collapsed?" Karen asked.

"You overused your magic calling me to you. That's about all I know, why you did not have enough magic, I do not know." Percy replied.

"Hmm, odd. Maybe the next time I see the Goddess and there is time I will ask her. So what do I need to know about you?" Karen asked.

"Well, first, I know all the spells you do. Now that is not to say I can cast them, but any mid level and below spell you can cast I can. I also know spells you do not. To get around, I can walk through walls like they are not there."

"Sounds cool. Wait, then you can cast all the gnome magic that I know?" Karen asked.

"Yes, almost all of the gnome magic you know I can cast. It is only the big gnome magic I cannot cast."

"Cool, so I bet you'd like to know more about me, well..." and for the rest of the day, until Karen got sleepy, she told Percy about herself, at some point Mum dropped off some food for her and Percy to eat.

[Jane]

"I see, as Karen's bloodline is a whole new bloodline, and as each bloodline's familiars have unique skills defined by the master's bloodline, Karen's familiar is new as well. Or at least that is what I was just told by the oh so helpful 'Request Magical Help spell'." Emily said, then Jane watched as Emily seem to retreat in to herself.

"Send to Emily; are you ok?" Jane sent.

"Message from Ben; no, she is not ok, all she can think about right now is the loss of the bloodline's that was killed in the bomb. Up until now she has not given any time to thinking about it. Can you please look after her?" Flex relayed back to Jane.