Book 2: Chapter : 3. Flame Bear

    By silent agreement, he and Cressida walked back towards the hive. Arthur''s boots squelched with every step, but at least he no longer left a path behind himself of dripping water. A cold wind picked up out of nowhere — not unusual for the Wolf Moon hive, but it didn''t feel good on wet skin. But he could endure.

    No, Arthur''s first problem was that he didn''t actually live in the hive with other nobles. The apartment he used to share with Horatio was several blocks away.

    Arthur''s second problem was that he was awful at talking to girls. And Cressida was a very, very pretty girl.

    She wore a flowery dress with some sort of cinch fabric thing in the middle that put emphasis in all the right places. Her hair was pinned up, showing clear, soft looking skin on the nape of her neck. Arthur was visibly trying not to shiver from the in the air chill... or stare.

    "Our little group hasn’t seen you around much," Cressida said, breaking the silence between them. "I''d heard rumor that you left the hive entirely."

    "Just been keeping to myself," Arthur muttered, ducking his chin as if in embarrassment. That last part had been a helpful hint from his Acting skill. "I didn''t think I made a particularly good showing at the duels. So, I wasn''t sure if I would be welcomed back."

    He meant to be self-effacing. So, he was taken aback when Cressida gave him a surprised and mildly annoyed look. "Is that all? Everybody loses their first few duels, even those who have combat cards. Do you know how many hours of practice it took to get my flame summon to listen to me?"

    He shook his head.

    "I don''t mind telling you that I was awful," she said. “Now... Well, I''ll show you."

    She flipped her hand in a circling gesture. There was a flash of orange and a miniature bear made of fire appeared. It was no bigger than an apple and stood up on its hind legs to peer up at her. With a chubby face paired with round ears, it was... A little cute.

    "Help out my friend. He''s freezing, so be gentle," she told the bear.

    Arthur blamed the cold for making his thoughts slow and stupid. "Wait... What?"

    In the next second, the miniature bear galloped through the air right at him. Arthur backed up a step and raised his hand to swat it down, but Cressida warned, "No," and caught his wrist.

    The bear tucked its head and barreled straight at Arthur’s chest. The moment it hit his shirt, it dispersed into a puff of steam.

    Warmth rolled over Arthur as if he had walked into a steam sauna. Wisps of steam rolled off of his shoulders and all of his muscles loosened at once.

    The sensation lasted for a few heartbeats before it faded, leaving Arthur''s clothing all the way down to the socks in his boots was now damp dry instead of soaking wet. The chilly wind was much more manageable.

    He glanced at Cressida who grinned back at him, dropping his wrist. "My little bears make me popular in the winter," she said. "My father''s land is North of here, nearly at the ice fields, so we have long winters."

    When he reached his apartment, he practically flew up the stairs, taking two at a time. He didn’t earn a skill from stair climbing, but he thought that he might with a few more reputations.

    Stair Climbing might seem like a silly skill, but so was Deck Shuffling and that had saved his life.

    Arthur had thought about that moment with the guard off and on over the last few weeks. He would have never expected a mundane skill to come in handy. That had been a failure of imagination. After all, hadn’t he come close to defeating a summoned creature with his Butchering skill?

    His Master of Skills card was utility only, but the concept of ‘utility’ could be stretched — especially once a skill leveled high enough.

    That was the excuse he gave himself, a few minutes later, for why he leapt back and forth from his cot to Horatio’s empty cot and back again. Just like a little boy would do when pretending that the floor was on fire.

    But Arthur was not a little boy anymore and the wooden cots groaned with every landing, as did the floorboards. Then the downstairs neighbor gave a muffled yelle and thumped the ceiling with a broom.

    One more leap, Arthur promised himself.

    He sprung from his bed to Horatio’s and heard a sharp crack from the cheap, protesting wood underneath.

    New skill gained: Leaping (Performer)

    Due to your previous experience and your card’s bonus traits, you automatically start this skill at level 4.

    Do you wish to add this to your Performer Class?

    Arthur pumped his fist in the air in triumph but dismissed the message. He did intend to add his next skill it to the class, but as a Tier 1 non-crafting class all the levels averaged out. He’d lower his overall score. He intended to level up his Leaping skill first.

    ... Was there a difference between jumping and leaping?

    Arthur was about to find out — the downstairs neighbor be damned — but a slip of paper caught his eye. It had been pushed under the apartment door. He would have noticed it before, but he’d been too excited to check out his skills.

    Stepping off the cot, he picked it up. It was a note penned in Kenzie’s handwriting.

    Ernest Kane would have a spot at the hive. I got you a room on the second level. Pack up and get out of that hovel you call an apartment.

    P.S. Remember that egg is probably hatching tonight. Be there.

    Well, it looked like Ernest Kane was about to make an appearance.