I'm... a lot happier now.

◤ He taught himself. Sebastian can… actually understand that. But when he was that small, he didn’t even know he had magic in his veins. It’s impressive, if a little disheartening. Shit, I knew I wasn’t all that advanced, but really…? ◢

◤ “How old are you?” he asks, then immediately feels weird. “Uh– if you don’t mind me asking?” Yoba, he’s sitting here interrogating a kid. Is this what his boredom has brought him to? Then again, it’s not actually boredom… he’s fascinated, maybe there’s something he can learn here. ◢

◤ Learning from a child. Good job, Sebastian. ◢

◤ “It’s– It’s impressive. To teach yourself all that, I mean. Which is why I ask.” Ugh, you sound like a weirdo. “I haven’t thought to get a little friend to help me out.” At this, he points to the creature on the boy’s shoulder. ◢

Kelsey worked his fingers into the hem of his jacket, piping up obediently. “Twelve.” Then he shook his head. “N-no it’s okay. I just learned about my p-powers recently is all, so I’ve been sort of... t-testing myself.” He explained, motioning a vague hand to the space behind him where he had been creating barriers.

“Oh...” Kelsey froze in surprise at the compliment before smiling, flushed with embarrassment. “T-thank you.” He whispered, then turned to look over his shoulder where Bailey nuzzled against his cheek. He grabbed the creature and coddled him in his arms instead.

“You tamed Bailey? That’s awesome!” Rick beamed. Always nice to see kids getting involved with animals when they were young.

Not animals. Monsters.

There were children out there taming literal feral monsters.

Rick had to think about how he felt about that a little longer.

“Did anyone teach you how to tame monsters, Kelsey?” He cocked his head to the side. “Dangerous thing to do, isn’t it?” The last thing he wanted to do was imply that he wasn’t…able to do things all on his own, of course, but there was something to be said for adult supervision and how a lot of monsters were very large with teeth even longer than this kid’s whole body.

Kelsey blinked up at the man in intrigue, titling his own head to ponder that thought for a moment. Finally he shook his head. “No... I just wanted to make a n-new friend so i bought a Tamer g-glove and went to the f-forest.” He explained carefully, eyes falling to the ground as he recalled that time.

“I r-read how to do it, but then suddenly... I don’t know...” He muttered, pulling on his sleeve. “Toro is b-big, and before I tamed her she was... scary.” He went on, remembering stumbling across the towering Buffalmoo and cowering at the sight.

Kelsey woke up violently, struggling to sit up before giving up at the sharp pain in his side. His eyes shifted fearfully, realizing where he was. He laid on his side in what appeared to be a large warm den. Behind him slept the very King Wooly he had tried to befriend, who then kidnapped him.

The young boy began to hyperventilate. Okay, okay what could he do? What were his options? He was having trouble thinking straight, arms wrapped around his stomach, frazzled by the pain lying there. The sharp kick to his gut had been enough to knock him into a tree, unconscious. He knew there had to be a huge bruise there now…

He flinched in realization. Bailey had been with him, on his shoulder! Was he hurt? Kelsey trembled violently, but managed to fit his fingers in his mouth, letting out a sharp whistle.

There was a long pause of silence following it, King Wooly undisturbed, until a few pebbles clattered down the entrance of the den. These were followed by Bailey’s head popping into view. Kelsey giggled a quiet, weak sound of relief. Tears dribbled down his cheeks and, after glancing at the sleeping monster, Bailey rushed to his side, chittering in worry. Kelsey nuzzled his cheek, shaking with weak sobs.

“Oh-oh-k-kay…” He whimpered out to his dear friend. Bailey nuzzled his cheeks against Kelsey’s in response. “I-I.. n-need you to g-go get h-help… P-please Bailey…” He murmured, eyes fluttering. He was tired and scared and in a lot of pain…

Why is he turning around? Is he scared of me? Am I that scary? He wasn’t sure what the younger male was looking at. The uncertainty had made him a bit anxious. The sigh of relief emitting from the child had put him at ease. Knowing that the other wasn’t terrified of him in the slightest. It was then he noted the seashells, and realized that the boy was most likely looked around to see if they broke more.

The boy now near him had asked permission to sit near him. “No problem. I’ll be saying her for awhile, so looking after shells isn’t hard. Are you going to make something with them?” It seems natural, but maybe the kiddo likes comparing them? Some people just like collecting them. WAIT FISH?!

Panicking he stood and started reeling in the fish frantically. He seemed rather silly, considering he had squeaked and started babbling nonsense during the process. Finally he had pulled his fishing pole back, and behold. A fish. The creature was wiggling frantically on the hook, it’s tail harshly moves in all directions.

Kelsey smiled shyly and nodded, arranging the shells on the sand before him. “Yeah, i-it’s my first ti--!”

Kelsey flinched when the other did, letting out a quiet ‘eep’ in the process. He watched with wide eyes as the man stood and began reeling violently. Honestly, his quick movements had startled him at first, but now Kelsey was slowly beginning to grin instead at the sounds the stranger was making. He giggled softly and watched the fish emerge from the water.

He wrinkled his nose at it and clapped. “A-Are you going to eat it?” He asked softly. “I always feel bad w-when they get stuck on the h-hook.” He frowned and put a finger to his lips in though.

[🐎] — There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the kid that walks into her shop, and aside from a friendly greeting, Georgia doesn’t interact much with him as he peruses the store. What she does do is keep an eye on him, because children were curious and oftentimes troublesome, and she didn’t need him getting into anything he wasn’t supposed to.

Thankfully, he seemed to be a relatively kind and well behaved sort, and Georgia raises a brow when she sees him picking up the dragon egg she had up for sale.

At his question, her lips tug into a slight smile. “Oh, this?” She pokes it, finger brushing against one of the scales. “It’s a dragon egg! Pretty cool, huh?” Boys liked that sort of thing, right? Dragons and wolves and all the ‘cool, ferocious’ monsters?

Kelsey’s eyes widened and practically sparkled at the answer. He lowered the egg back down to look at it with amazement. “A... D-dragon?” He whispered in awe.

His head snapped back up again.

“H-Honestly? What kind of dragon? How do you t-take care of a Dragon? When w-will it hatch?” He asked frantically, rapid fire questions, holding the egg closer to his chest. It was warm and Kelsey could swear he felt a soft thrum against his fingertips.

“Raised them to have manners, maybe,” Rick drawled as he scratched the back of Chamomile’s neck. The buffamoo snorted and nuzzled him with her slimy nose, and he chuckled. “Not from eggs or birth, though. No, I tamed them. They don’t seem in any hurry to go back to how they used to be, though.”

He looked down at Bailey as the critter nuzzled at the kid. It was cute. He remembered having little chicks snuggle up to him just like that when he was growing up. Even when he hadn’t gotten along with the other kids his age, he’d had a flurry of animals that loved him unconditionally.

Maybe Bailey did something similar for this kid.

“I’m Rick. What’s your name?”

Kelsey listened with rapt attention, letting Bailey climb from his arms up to curl into his hood. He dozed softly, and Kelsey had to wonder if he was proud of himself, forcing him into the conversation then being able to sleep it away. He supposed it wasn’t that bad though, this man seemed really nice actually.

The child smiled. “I tamed mine too, b-but Bailey is my most recent t-taming.” He explained and smiled. “Your monster friends are n-nice.”

Kiel knew it was bad to go out, even through a blizzard. However, he needed to do something. The teen himself lived in Daybreak Orphanage, however he was going to turn eighteen soon. That meant he could no longer live in the orphanage, due to the rules. Naturally he sneaked out earlier from the orphanage in search of ingredients.

He was no fool, since he had brought his coat, gloves, boots, scarf, hat, and goggles. Pants was a natural thing, so he wasn’t sure it was necessary for him to mention that. Still, he may have looked rather scary due to hiding his face. Although, he was really only doing it to keep warm. Thankfully he was dressed well enough to withstand the frigid weather.

Truthfully he was out to research. Even if the blizzard was here he was still going to take notes and photos of the place. He was always fascinated with the world around him and it’s workings. Right now the world was a land if snow. It was oddly comforting. Though he could barely see well, he could still make out some things. As long as he could see where he was going that was reassuring enough.

Walking through the snow, did he barely make out a figure. His ears were covered, rendering sound to be a bit muffled. All he could make out was the wind. What if it’s a person? Do they need help. Better be safe then sorry. And so he trudged towards the figure. It was only when he was a foot away was he able to recognize the person. Kelsey? What are you doing out here? He knew this boy from the orphanage, as they both lived there. However, they rarely spoke since they weren’t the same age.

Normally he would tell the other to be more careful, but Kelsey was evidently distressed. Leaning down, and bringing his gloved hand to the small boys shoulder he slid the goggles off his face to his neck. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll help with whatever you need, but aren’t you cold?”

Kelsey sobbed painfully, curled up on himself in the snow, when he flinched. Through the roaring in his ears, he could make out the close sound of crunching footsteps. Of course, since the blizzard cut out most noise, Kelsey only heard the footsteps when the person making then was two steps away. He turned to look up at a covered up figure and, just for a second, the glint on the mystery person’s goggles made them look like an alien. Kelsey flinched away from the reached out hand before realizing it was a human(mostly because they pulled their goggles up.)

A human they recognized.

“Kiel!” Kelsey whimpered out through chilled lips. He threw his arms around the older boy in desperation. He was so very glad he wasn’t the only one to slip out of the orphanage.

He was currently fishing. It was quite relaxing, although he wasn’t very good at it. Most of the time he fell asleep and the fish had escaped, or the line snapped. Then again he was using an old rod, so he wasn’t expecting much. Nothing. He had caught nothing so far. He had gotten a bit earlier, however the fish was able to escape while he was reeling it in. He didn’t know how to grab a fish without it slipping out of his grasp. They wiggled so much too, which made his life harder.

It’s not that he was angry at them or anything for wiggling. They wanted to live as much as he wanted, but he was hungry. It wasn’t like he was fishing for sport. He wasn’t that skilled anyways. Sure, he could try fishing in his own farm. However, he’d rather raise some fish there. That way he was able to see the beautiful creatures close by. A farm. He’d gotten a farm not too long ago and was happy owning one.

A crunch snapped his concentration, or at least made him forget about fishing. In fact he had dropped his pole looking towards the sound. A child. He’d never seen this child before. It seemed as though they just had made a mistake.

“Something wrong?”

Kelsey picked his head up to look towards the voice that spoke to him. There was a man fishing nearby, watching him curiously. He steeled himself and turned around, realizing there was no one behind him like he feared. Instead, it appeared that he himself had accidentally dropped a shell that shattered on a rock.

The boy let out a sigh of relief and nodded to the fisherman. “I’m o-okay. Nothing’s w-wrong.” He called back, beginning to walk to his side, arms full of seashells.

“I-I’m collecting shells but... c-can I sit next to you and p-put them down? I d-don’t want to drop anymore.” He explained, motioning to his full arms.