Kanan slumped over his desk, exhausted.
He had spent the entire previous day testing various combinations of dark-type materials on Poppy. It went well at first. Sure enough, he had succeeded in getting Poppy's energy to react. However, it wasn't enough. No matter what he tried, Poppy couldn't take that final step.
All he could theorize was that some kind of trigger was needed. Perhaps a stronger source of energy, or maybe prolonged exposure. He wasn't sure.
Either way, he needed a mental reset. He'd grab a bite to eat with Poppy in town before heading over to check out the Academy and see Aurelia.
Dragging his feet, he departed from the lab, Poppy in tow. But neither realized that a pair of eyes was watching them from the lab's shadows.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In town, the two of them walked through the street towards the academy, happily munching on crepes.
Kanan's eyes fell to his storage bracelet. He was getting full thanks to the crepe, but his wallet was not. He had some leeway thanks to the mission but he would have to take on another one sooner rather than later.
Just then, a scream erupted from behind.
"THIEF!" A voice yelled.
The commotion came from the stall they had just visited. The sound of clattering rang out through the street as the stall owner lurched over the counter, trying to grab at the culprit.
Evading his hands, a shadow darted out from the stall, tearing down the street towards Kanan. It launched itself at him, and he barely had time to get out a "Poppy…" before being sent hurtling to the ground. His crepe made an arc through the air before sadly plopping onto the pavement.
Reacting fast, Poppy deployed a net, entrapping the assailant in an instant. The little thief rolled on the ground helplessly, looking at Kanan and Poppy with aggrieved eyes.
Groaning, Kanan pushed himself up, and was startled to realize that he recognized the attacker. Staring back at him angrily was a little squirrel beast wrapped in a black cloak, its signature staff gripped in one hand.
Before he had time to digest the situation, the shopkeeper arrived, panting heavily.
"Good job kid! Let's get this thieving little runt to Spirit Beast Control. I'll get you a new crepe as well."
Kanan looked back and forth between Twilight and the shop owner, his mouth open dumbly.
"Ah, no, this is my beast…"
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kanan apologized profusely to the shop owner, finally being let go after paying for the crepes that Twilight had stolen and ordering another set to go.
Stares and whispers followed him down the street as he dragged the squirrel away, his face burning with embarrassment.
The three of them found a park to sit at, and Twilight munched away at its now-legally-acquired crepe as Kanan began his questioning.
"What are you doing here, Twilight?" He asked to start.
The Mournwood Squirrel glanced at him and ignored his question, continuing to eat.
"Have you been stealing this whole time? I'm sure that's not something that your previous tamer would have approved of."
Twilight shook its head in denial, looking guilty this time. It pointed vigorously back and forth between Kanan and the crepe.
"You're saying you took the crepe because I did?"
Twilight nodded, and Kanan put his hand to his face.
"No… I paid for this. If you want to buy food in the marketplace you have to give them money for it. Your previous tamer never explained any of this?"
Sadly, the squirrel shook its head. It had just eaten what its tamer cooked before, and spent all its time tending the cemetery. Later, it had eaten the food that his son left out for it. The market was a new experience.
"So anyway, what you're saying is that you were following me right? Why didn't you stay with your family?" Kanan asked in concern.
Twilight stood up and made hand gestures, pointing to Kanan and Poppy and gesturing at the things around them before somehow managing to get its point across.
"You wanted to travel with us, huh? That's not something you usually ask right after getting someone in trouble for stealing though…"
His words caused twilight to look down at the ground, dejected.
In truth though, Kanan was just giving it a hard time. He had already considered contracting it earlier before meeting its family, and now a dark-type beast was exactly what he needed for his research. Plus, he didn't think the nature of the little squirrel was actually bad. A bit mischievous, maybe, but it hadn't seriously hurt anyone and he believed that the theft was accidental.
"Sigh… We're not going to go easy on you, you know? You're going to have to put a lot of work in. It's not all sunshine and rainbows."
Twilight perked up at his words, understanding the implication. It ran up to him, clutching its staff hopefully.
"Not changing your mind, huh? Alright, come on. Don't resist now."
He placed his hand on top of Twilight's head, beginning to guide his energy. Poppy watched the process curiously from the side. It had barely been conscious at the time of its own contract, so the experience was novel for it.
Twilight, on the other hand, remained calm. This was its second time forming a contract. It would be a lie to say that it wasn't even a little nervous, but it knew what to expect.
Gradually, Kanan and Twilight's energies intertwined, and he felt its spirit begin to flow into him. The familiar sensation of the squirrel's energy pouring in washed over his spirit space. In time the energy settled, and Kanan recognized a distinct presence within himself. It gave off a cool, subdued aura, contrasting with Poppy's warm and bubbly feel that had occupied his mind previously.
He knew that this was Twilight's spiritual connection. A different sort of sensation than the one he was used to.
Kanan smiled, meeting the squirrel's gaze.
"Welcome to the team, Twilight."
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That night, after further acquainting himself with Twilight, Kanan threw a small welcome celebration. He ordered pizza from a spirit beast food delivery service and introduced Twilight to Quartz and the rest of the researchers.
Most gave polite congratulations, along with a few small gifts for Twilight. But among them only Professor Quartz recognized the beast.
"Oh, a Mournwood Squirrel! How rare! You've brought in another peculiar beast, now haven't you? I haven't had the chance to research this particular species myself yet. Do bring it by the lab in the future!"
Loosely agreeing to let Quartz spend some "quality time" with Twilight in the future, Kanan wrapped up his introductions and prepared to turn in.
Laying in bed, he thought about his next steps.
He had to register Twilight with the tamer association. Tamers weren't allowed to have unregistered beasts within the city. There was a week's grace period, but it was better to get that done sooner rather than later. He resolved to do it first thing tomorrow.
In addition, he had to start Twilight's training. There was much to be done on that front. First, he had to get a grasp of its abilities. The terminal could give a rough overview of a beast's skills but he would be able to get a much more comprehensive examination within the lab.
He would also have to begin combat training, both with and without Poppy. There were various rulesets for battles and it wasn't uncommon for tournaments to be in the doubles format, where beasts would compete on the field together in pairs of two.
And it looks like he would have to sign up for the academy after all. The training that he didn't consider important at this stage for Poppy would be invaluable to the newly acquired Mournwood Squirrel, and while they likely didn't have resources for its specific species they would certainly have information on the Duskwood Squirrel, which should have strong parallels.
There was also the matter of resources. Now he needed Dark type resources for Poppy, and further resources for Twilight's growth. The appeal of getting to plunder… Ahem, access a forbidden zone was irresistible at this point.
There was one more thing about the academy that he felt like he was forgetting.
Oh right, he had planned on going today, before getting tied up in Twilight's theft incident. Why was he going there again?
"Ah, I forgot to see Aurelia."