After the evening performance, Vlad approached Jack at the makeup table.

  His hair was slicked back, revealing his sharp widow’s peak. His attire was macabre—torn and bloodstained from the war he had just fought to a bitter loss on stage.

  He had heard about Jack’s familiar.

  But...

  Vlad was incredibly cool about the whole extremely-toxic-snake-in-your-apartment thing.

  They swapped places at the makeup table.

  “I’m familiar with [Familiars],” he said, removing his stage makeup to reveal his already pale face. “And you already have a case? Better than my brothers.”

  “Your brothers had familiars?”

  “Oh yes,” he said, pausing in his makeup removal to sigh. “One had an affinity for bats, the other had an affinity for spiders. Neither was interested in keeping them confined to their room. I suppose they took after my parents. My father had an affinity for rats—they make rather good pets, actually—and my mother had an affinity for wolves of all things, if you can believe it. Regardless, so long as you introduce me to your…”

  He paused and only now turned his eyes to meet Zack’s gaze through the mirror.

  “What have you named your familiar?”

  “Sienna,” Zack answered.

  “A good name for a snake,” Vlad returned to his remover. “I’ll have you introduce me to your Sienna, and I expect there shan’t be any problems.”

  “You’re sure you don’t want me to move out?”

  Vlad scoffed, but not unkindly. “And you’ve already found another apartment, have you?”

  “Well, no.”

  “And the Director’s not paying you yet, is he?”

  “...no.”

  “So not only would you have to find an apartment that would accepts familiars, you would have to go get a day job, and you’re occupied most of the day anyway.”

  Vlad paused and looked at him in the mirror again.

  “Do not worry, and take advantage of my hospitality, Jack, my friend.”

  Zack was touched.

  “Okay. Thanks, Vlad.”

  “Think nothing of it.” Vlad smiled thinly and then returned to his task of making himself look normally villainous.

  “So, Jack, you’ve been back here doing makeup all day, huh? Got the skill?” Millie had approached while they were discussing Zack’s familiar.

  “Actually, yes, and the Director wants me to have [Disguise] by tomorrow…”

  “Wait, seriously? That’s a ridiculous pace…” Millie frowned.

  “There are some circumstances,” Zack said. “Would you be willing to come to the theater early tomorrow morning for some training?”

  Millie sighed, but in the end she nodded. “I’ll take an early night, then, and meet you here at sunrise.”

  “Me too! Me too!” Roxy cried, bouncing over.

  “Oh no, not you, Roxy!” Sandra was there in a flash and grabbed the wayward actress by the ear. “You cannot skip the after-party! And then you need a good morning’s sleep afterward!”

  “Come on, Sandraaaa~” Roxy whined.

  “I’ll tell the Director on you.”

  Roxy’s face paled; an impressive feat of [Acting]. “No, not that! I’ll be good, I swear!”

  Millie sighed and Zack chuckled.

  The two of them went home while the rest of the troupe went to the after-party. Zack cautiously opened the door, feeling for Sienna through his bond. He felt nothing, which he wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t see her in the doorway nor in the entry room. Slowly, smoothly, he closed the door behind himself and entered his own bedroom in Vlad’s apartment.

  The terrarium appeared empty.

  But through his bond, now Zack could feel her.

  Sienna was curled up, sleeping in her little cave. Though upon feeling her, she also seemed to feel him, and groggily woke up. Her tongue flickered out, and she shifted, her tan and black scales sliding against themselves, and she poked her head out from the cave.

  Saa?

  “I’m back, Sienna,” Zack said.

  He felt a little awkward. How did people normally talk to pets? Was that even the right way to talk to a familiar?

  She merely looked at him placidly.

  “How do you like the terrarium?” he said aloud.

  Though the snake remained still, other than flicking her tongue out again, he felt a vague sense of confusion.

  “The, uh, you know, the whole thing that you’re inside.”

  Warm. Quiet. Good nest.

  It was less words and more nebulous feelings, but apparently Sienna liked her new ‘nest.’

  Zack moved closer, and Sienna continued to watch him calmly. Her water bowl was only three quarters full now, indicating she had drank at some point.

  “I’m going to change your water and clean your nest, okay?”

  Confusion. Worry.

  “You don’t have to move, okay?”

  But Sienna remained concerned.

  Zack looked again. She still had plenty of water, at least for tonight, and there wasn’t much mess.

  “Okay, I don’t have to do it right now.”

  Relief.

  The last thing he wanted to do was upset Sienna and get bitten.

  Angry. Offended.

  Sienna couldn’t change the way her face looked. Snakes just didn’t have the facial musculature for that. But through their bond he could tell she was upset.

  Wouldn’t bite. No biting Saa.

  “Okay, okay.” Zack felt a little guilty. “But even just one bite would kill me. So I don’t want to scare you, alright?”

  The sensation of a pout was conveyed through their bond.

  No bite Saa.

  “Even if I changed your water?” he challenged.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Worry and indignation emanated from the snake, who now turned to eye the water dish. Then she turned back to look at Zack.

  No bite Saa.

  Zack leaned on [Calm Down].

  What a useful skill it had turned out to be.

  “Okay, Sienna. I’m going to change the water dish. I trust you.”

  Sienna still felt worried.

  If he reached in there, and she freaked out and bit him, he’d be dead.

  Her venom was potent enough to kill a hundred men with the dose of just one bite.

  And Zack’s [Prayers] to the Goddess went totally unanswered.

  But if Sienna was going to be his [familiar]…

  He would have to trust her.

  If they couldn’t do this much, he couldn’t even take care of her at all.

  So, both feeling worried, Zack slowly opened the lid of the terrarium.

  Sienna’s worry spiked, but she didn’t move. Just flicked her tongue.

  And Zack reached into the terrarium.

  She was eyeing his hand.

  [Calm Down].

  He gently grabbed the little water dish and pulled it out of the terrarium, and closed the lid.

  Sienna’s feelings of worry didn’t abate, but they shifted. Now she was concerned about not having water available.

  “I’ll be right back with water, okay?”

  Her tongue flickered and she gazed at him.

  Moving more quickly now, but still smoothly, he took the dish to the bathroom and dumped out the old water and replaced it with fresh water, then brought it back, once again moving slowly and smoothly.

  Sienna eyed the dish with feelings of curiosity.

  He opened the lid, and Sienna shifted, bringing her head closer to the dish.

  Zack froze, and then forced himself to gently set the dish down, and slowly pull his arm back out of the snake’s terrarium.

  Sienna inspected the dish, and took a sip.

  It was actually kind of cute how she gulped up water.

  Water. Happy.

  Zack closed the lid on the terrarium again, almost manually controlling his heart rate with [Calm Down].

  “There, see? That was all, no big deal.”

  Little deal.

  Zack didn’t feel any shift in his [Tame] skill, but he felt that they had deepened their trust a bit more.

  “I’d like to introduce you to my friend, in a little bit.”

  Sienna paused, but didn’t feel as worried as she had about having her nest cleaned and water tampered with.

  “You can stay in the nest, and he’ll be quiet. But he lives in this apartment, too, so you should meet him.”

  No touching, Sienna demanded.

  “Uh huh,” Zack agreed. “And no biting. He’s a friend.”

  Sienna’s feelings were ambivalent. Her tongue flickered out.

  “It’ll be okay. I’ll be right here with you. I won’t let anything bad happen.”

  Sienna’s feelings resolved into a vague, but slight, unease.

  Trepidation, tempered by sleepiness.

  Zack reclined on his bed, thinking about skill training until Vlad arrived.

  Once he could disguise himself well enough, he wanted some combat skills.

  Bradley had disarmed him with level one [Swordsmanship], and if nothing else the [Unarmored] skill would be universally useful.

  He was already registered with the Adventurer’s Guild, so he could check that out.

  Eventually, the sound of the door closing indicated that Vlad had returned.

  Sienna perked up, the vibrations traveling through the floor up into the desk on which her terrarium sat.

  “Jack, is Sienna with you?”

  “Yeah, I’m in here. Sienna’s in her terrarium.”

  Worry. Stranger.

  “That’s Vlad, my friend. I’m going to introduce him to you, okay?”

  Sienna turned to Zack and her tongue flickered.

  No touching.

  “No touching,” Zack agreed, and the snake was assuaged.

  Zack rose from the bed and walked over to the door, opening it. Vlad loomed in the doorway.

  “I’m surprised you kept her in the terrarium,” he said.

  Zack shrugged. “She likes it.”

  “And the lid is closed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Latched?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then I’ll follow your lead.” Vlad’s eyelids were drooping, this late at night, but he was still deathly serious.

  Zack walked in, Vlad staying a step behind him, and Sienna lifted her head up, curious.

  “Sienna,” Zack said, “this is Vlad, my friend. We’re living in his home.”

  She gazed at the pale, slender man.

  “Hello, Sienna,” he said, “nice to meet you. May I move closer?”

  He was utterly polite with the snake, treating her wholly like a person.

  Still, Sienna felt a little uncomfortable.

  “How about a little closer?” Zack asked.

  After a little negotiation, Vlad sat on a chair just outside of arms reach from the terrarium, where Sienna could get a good look at him, and he and Zack discussed the after-party and Vlad’s family’s familiars.

  Slowly, Sienna grew accustomed to his presence.

  “Eventually,” Vlad advised, “you will want to let her explore the apartment and grow more familiar with her environment. But we will have to make a sign to hang from the door handle when you do so, so that I don’t come in unexpectedly and spook her. Not until your bond is much deeper.”

  “Of course,” Zack replied. It made perfect sense.

  “And you will want to take her hunting.”

  Sienna perked up, which both men noticed instantly.

  Good at hunting.

  “You want to go hunting?” Zack asked.

  She put her head back down.

  Full now. Not hunting time.

  He turned back to Vlad. “Not right now, apparently. She’s still full from the mouse yesterday.”

  Yummy mouse.

  Zack received an impression of just how mouse tasted, which didn’t disturb him nearly as much as expected.

  Vlad smiled. “Good, best that Sienna doesn’t go hungry. She’s still a juvenile, yes?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Good, that helps with the [Taming].”

  He rose slowly, without announcement. Sienna watched him carefully but wasn’t shocked or frightened.

  “Sienna, it was a pleasure to meet you,” he said without bowing or in any way moving closer to the terrarium. “Jack, I bid you good night.”

  “Yeah, good night Vlad.”

  Sleep time.

  Sienna withdrew into her little cave and coiled up.

  Vlad closed the bedroom door behind himself and Zack let out a quiet sigh of relief.

  The next morning Zack arrived at the theater slightly later than sunrise, wearing one of the hooded cloaks borrowed from the theater’s stock of costumes. This minimized his time spent outside and visible; better than arriving early and being seen loitering.

  Millie didn’t seem to mind.

  “Oh good, you’re here. Now, when you’re planning a costume, you want to consider your natural body shape. Slender people have more options, so don’t you go bulking up like Fyodor…”

  There were a number of tricks. Shoe lifts for height, padding to add bulk, even the patterns of the fabric could give different impressions to viewers. Makeup was obvious, and sculpting clay could be affixed to the face to change apparent bone structure. The main principle was that addition was much easier than subtraction.

  “If you want to appear shorter, that’s tricky. Posture can do a lot, but generally, making yourself taller will be a lot easier. And being too tall makes you stand out. Vlad, for instance—if he wanted to actually wear a disguise out in town, he couldn’t add any more height without becoming more conspicuous.”

  “But he could add bulk.”

  “Yes, which would help a lot in his case, since he’s notoriously thin.”

  “Notoriously?”

  Millie rolled her eyes.

  “There’s a type of girl who likes that build,” she said.

  “Ah,” Zack replied, letting the conversation drop.

  Millie had him pick out various costumes on his own, giving her own critique as to his choices, and then had him put them on. After several hours of costume and makeup changes…

  *ding!* The skill [Disguise] has been acquired!

  Zack twitched. Millie looked over.

  “I got the skill,” Zack said, smiling.

  Her eyes widened. “Already? My but you’re a fast learner, Jack. I didn’t doubt the Director, but… I suppose he has an eye for these things.”

  Zack shrugged. “Well, thanks a lot, Millie. I owe you one.”

  Not a favor favor, but, one between friends.

  “Not at all, Jack. You helped me with the sewing, and you escorted me to the orphanage yesterday.”

  She swept him into a hug, touchy-feely as many in the theater are. “And besides,” she said, letting him go, “I’ll be expecting your help with the costumes for the next play!”

  Zack could have sworn a chill wind blew through the theater, though it was entirely in his imagination.

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