Solo A close companion

[Reneko]

41st of Fall 513 AV, Twilight Tower

“By the bright Syna, what am I supposed to do?!”

It was a pleasantly mild day in Lhavit, shortly after the Dawn Break. It was still warm enough that most of the students inside Twilight tower did not mind that there was no glass in the windows of their study rooms.
Some of the more ambitious pupils of morphing were already the rooms dedicated to practice, along with their teachers. The lesson of today was not complex: they had changed one aspect of themselves, such as their hair color, the shape of their nose, the texture of some of their skin, and now they were to maintain this change for a longer time than usual, ‘to improve the elasticity of their bodies’.

And one of the students was currently loudly proclaiming the difficulty of his situation.
“It’s ridiculous”, grumbled Reneko. “I know that one day I will be able to change into any race of Mizahar at will, but right now I cannot figure out where to get even a single model! How am I supposed to travel around the world and acquire models of everything if I have not managed to a model of anything yet?”

Across him sat a woman with maroon, shoulder-length hair, dressed in plain robes. His instructor, an expert morpher of house Twilight, had just been listening calmly. “You should be more patient”, she said. “In time, you will find a shape that is suitable enough. And you will learn it, and you will take it.” She got up and for a moment there was a blur. If you had happened to look away for a few seconds you would a missed it. His teacher, a blonde man, dressed in plain robes, stood there and said “As we all have.”

“Yes, yes very impressive, I know”, sighed Reneko.” But you told me yourself, that you would not recommend using another person as my first model. And I do see your point. It would take too long, and would be too inconvenient if I did not really know what to look for.”

“That is not exactly what I said, but I am glad that you understand.”

Reneko had walked over to the window, pushed the curtain aside and watched the early morning unfold. He knew why these rooms had no glass in their windows, he had it countless times. “And what if I just get myself a bird, and…”

“No, and you should already know why you must not even try. Birds are small, they are light. Attempting to deviate from your current body in such an extreme manner, with your current training, would guarantee overging. None of my students ever had to be detained by the Shinya for permanent insanity, and you shall not spoil my record.”

“Yes, master.” He stared discontentedly out the window. Maybe it was the strict security enforced by the Shinya and the Wizard registry, or maybe it was just Renekos dumb luck, but in any he case he had never so much as witnessed any serious case of overging. Sure, some of the people that were visiting his families tower occasionally seemed a bit… odd, but none of them had ever snapped and started randomly slaughtering the people around them.
How bad can it be, really?, he thought in his childish ignorance.


“Now that I think about it, I would not even have known how to catch a bird to study it. Hmmm”, his face lighted up,” maybe I should get a pet.”
His teacher nodded: “An excellent idea. This would allow you the time and proximity you need to get familiar with the form. And, ahh…I just remembered”. Reneko turned to look at him. “Have you ever heard of Fai Piramba?”
Reneko shook his head and his teacher explained. “She maintains a pet shop at Surya plaza, ‘Piramba’s Pet Shop’. If I am not fully mistaken she will hold a sale in a few days time. That would be an excellent opportunity to acquire what you need.”
Reneko grinned at his teacher. His problems had just been solved.