Kanan gazed absentmindedly out of the carriage window, taking in the view. His seat rumbled underneath him, and the sounds of clucks and whistles filtered in, cries from the beasts pulling the carriage ahead.
Leaning his head out he could see them, just barely. Large, bipedal birds with striking blue feathers that pointed back like knives. Their thick legs struck the ground with a steady rhythm, each one looking unbothered by the heavy load.
Lazumu, he recalled. Wind type birds that were popular as mounts, fast and easy to raise. Argana had told him that some people would race them, with the spectators placing bets on the winners.
Poppy jumped from her spot on his lap to the windowsill, stretching herself out to get a better look. But as she did, the wheel of the carriage slipped into a pothole, causing it to lurch. Taken by surprise the spider fell, comically rolling across the floor and onto a fellow passenger's feet.
The man, laughing at Poppy's antics, was one of three other passengers in the cabin. Tall and skinny, Kanan guessed he was probably in his early 20s. Well put together, he didn't look like a traveler — more like one of the merchants that sat in the other carriage. Maybe was traveling for business, Kanan mused.
Beside him sat a girl, roughly Kanan's own age, dressed in white robes. She held a book in her hands, leafing through the pages with a detached expression. Despite the small commotion, she didn't spare a glance.
And finally, on Kanan's right sat a young boy, a backpack resting on his lap. He stared at Poppy, his eyes full of curiosity. The other two didn't seem to know him, so Kanan couldn't help but wonder what a boy of his age was doing traveling alone.
The three of them weren't villagers — they seemed to have joined the caravan earlier in the route. Whether they had been traveling in the same carriage though, Kanan was unsure.
The man bent down, flipping Poppy back onto her feet.
"Woah there, little buddy. Got ahead of yourself, eh?"
Thankfully, he seemed good natured. Kanan rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, offering a simple apology.
"Sorry about that. It's our first time out this far, so she's a little excited."
"...And a little clumsy, too," he added, causing Poppy to smack his legs with her feet in protest.
The man's eyes widened in surprise.
"First time out? I thought for sure that you were out here on a mission. Between the spider here and the artifact, you look like a right proper beast tamer. What were you doing out here in the sticks?"
"I was born here," Kanan responded, shaking his head. "I met Poppy about five years ago. I turn sixteen this year, so I'm heading to the city to get registered and become a tamer."
The man nodded along in understanding, impressed.
"It's not every day that you see a tamer coming out of a rural village like this. Even in the city it's a pretty impressive thing to become one at your age — it takes quite a bit of training before you're able to contract one, after all."
Kanan sweated a bit internally, deciding to keep quiet about the fact that he hadn't needed to train before contracting Poppy.
He had worked hard afterwards, right? He comforted himself.
The man reached out, offering his hand.
"I'm Kenric, by the way. I'm part of the Silverlight Merchant Company. I'm not exactly working right now though, so you can just consider me another traveler."
Kanan grasped his hand, shaking it firmly. "Kanan."
Seeing their exchange, Poppy jumped onto Kanan's lap. She placed two arms on her sides, preening proudly.
"And this little troublemaker is Poppy," explained Kanan, chuckling. "She's more reliable than she looks, I swear."
"U-Um," a shy voice rang out, coming from the boy at Kanan's side. "I'm Lewis."
"If you don't mind, could I pet your spirit beast? Um, Poppy, was it? I've never touched one before…" The boy asked nervously.
Kanan gave the boy a reassuring smile. "That's up to my friend here. What do you think, Poppy?"
At his question, Poppy hesitated. She didn't really want to be touched by other people, and she knew Kanan wouldn't blame her either way…
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. No! She was a good spider! If she refused it could make her master look bad.
Steeling her resolve, she moved over to the boy, reluctantly allowing him to pet her a few times.
A bit surprised that she consented, Kanan spoke to the boy.
"So you're not a tamer, Lewis? What are you going to the city for then? You're a bit young to be traveling alone, aren't you?"
At Kanan's words, Lewis paused his petting, letting Poppy take the opportunity to escape. She scuttled back onto Kanan's lap while Lewis answered the question, eyes full of regret.
"S-School," said the boy, succinctly.
Kenric spoke up, seeing that Kanan didn't understand.
"The city is home to Redwind Academy, a fairly prestigious school. Most of the students there are locals — they receive priority placement — but they also accept outsiders through their scholarship programs."
"There's also a beast taming division that's even more competitive. The curriculum is combined until the students are old enough to register, though. Still, being accepted means that Lewis here is pretty impressive in his own right."
Lewis blushed at the unexpected compliment. "It's nothing, I'm just good at studying…"
Kenric turned to the last member of the party, the girl who was still reading quietly.
"And what about you, little lady? Given your age I don't s'pose you're also here for schooling, despite the books and all?"
The three who had already spoken looked at her and, sensing their gazes, the girl looked up from her book with a perturbed expression.
"Also school," she said flatly.
"Hmm? If you're here for school at your age, does that mean-"
Before he could finish his words the carriage ground to a halt, stopping unexpectedly. Raised voices could be heard from the carriage ahead, though Kanan couldn't make out their words.
Just as he wondered if he should go out and check on the situation, the sound of hurried footsteps approached the carriage, stopping outside. Creaking, the door slid open, and a nervous-looking man in a purple hat appeared in the entrance.
"Sorry for disturbing you all," he began, nodding to Kenric before turning to the bookish girl. "Is this young lady's name Aurelia, by any chance? I've heard that among our passengers there was one entering the Academy's breeder program…"
The girl nodded, sizing up the man with her eyes. "That's me. Why do you ask?"
Receiving her affirmation, the man's eyes lit up. "Oh good! I must ask you to come with me. Something is wrong with one of the Lazumu, and we need you to take a look at it. We'll reward you, of course."
Aurelia closed her book, rising to her feet with a serious expression.
"I'll do what I can. Take me there."
The two of them stepped out of the carriage, and Kanan followed closely behind. He was interested to see what breeders other than Argana were like — especially one his age. Together they headed to the front of the caravan, where an important-looking man was angrily speaking to what appeared to be one of the drivers.
Beside them a Lazumu laid on the ground, looking distressed. One of its long, flexible legs stuck out stiffly at an uncomfortable-looking angle.
"Excuse me sir, this is the breeder we mentioned."
The important-looking man broke off his conversation, turning to look at Aurelia with an anxious face.
"A breeder, good! Please, take a look. It's a disaster!"
Aurelia walked up to the bird, bending down and examining the leg.
"What happened to it?" She asked.
The driver stepped forward, looking aggrieved. "I really don't know. It seemed completely fine, better than usual even. Then it collapsed, out of nowhere! I thought that maybe it had, but there was nothing on the road…"
Aurelia's hands probed the bird's leg and foot, looking for signs of injury. She tried bending it, and checked the bird's reaction as she poked it in various places. After a few minutes of tests she stood up, shaking her head with a frown.
"It's not injured," she announced confidently. "The muscles are rigid, and the beast is feverish. If I had to guess, it's ill. I don't know of a disease with these symptoms, but I'm not all that familiar with Lazumu. It could be something unique to their species."
She paused, thinking further. "If not, it could be poison. Did it eat or drink anything strange?"
The driver shook his head quickly, denying it. "No, no. They ate before we left, the same thing as always! The other Lazumu had the same food. We passed by a pond earlier, but it didn't drink. I would've noticed for sure."
Kanan watched the scene play out, a conjecture forming in his mind. Stepping forward, he spoke up.
"Um, would you mind if I took a look?"
The important-looking man turned towards him, looking hopeful. "And you are?"
"My name is Kanan. I'm just a novice tamer, but I feel like I might be able to help…"
The man sighed, disappointed. His eyes flickered with annoyance.
"Fine, fine, whatever. It can't make the situation any worse."
Well, that's a normal response I guess, thought Kanan. He was just a normal sixteen-year-old with no qualifications to speak of, after all. Either way, permission was permission. He joined Aurelia, taking a look at the Lazumu's leg.
If I'm right, it should be here somewhere.
Not seeing anything unusual, he lifted the leg, scanning the other side. Then, towards the bottom,, he finally spotted what he had been looking for. Two tiny black holes dotted the bird's skin, right above the scaly scutes that covered its feet.
From his ring, he took out a sharp needle from his bag. It was bright silver, and shone with a metallic luster. He carefully brought it to one of the holes, pressing the tip against the skin. As he did, the originally silver needle changed color, the tip becoming dyed with a purple hue.
Satisfied, Kanan stood up, speaking calmly. "I know what it is."
On the side, Aurelia stood shocked. She couldn't believe her ears.
"That fast?! You barely took a minute! What could you have possibly found in such a short time?"
Kanan chuckled bashfully. "Well, I already had some ideas. Take a look at this," he said, pointing to the holes. "These are the bite marks of a Mirviper — you see them in wet, muddy areas like this sometimes. It probably lives in that pond we passed."
Aurelia examined the bite marks, inwardly amazed that Kanan had noticed such a small detail. She continued her questioning, though.
"But how can you be sure that it's that specific beast? Surely there are other fanged beasts nearby."
Listening to her doubts, Kanan nodded, holding up the needle, which had now regained it's silver sheen. "That's where this comes in. This is the spine of a Porquill, a rodent beast that lives in Melody Forest."
"Porquills are herbivores, and many of the plants in the forest carry poison. As a defense mechanism, they evolved to do this." Saying so, he pressed the spine to the wound once again, showing the others how it changed colors.
"The spine turns purple when it comes into contact with a poison substance. And while there might be other fanged beasts that live in this area, the only one with a poison that could cause these sorts of symptoms is precisely the Mirviper."
"Amazing," spoke Aurelia, convinced. She eyed the Porquill spine enviously, resolving to buy one when she returned to the city. She had heard of the creature before, but never considered its utility in medicine. High-ranking breeders could purify toxins indiscriminately so it wasn't necessary for them, but it was an invaluable tool for a low-rank breeder like herself.
Seeing that Kanan's explanation was accepted even by Aurelia, a breeder, the important-looking man stepped forward. The look his eyes had towards Kanan had changed, the disdain transforming into respect and hope.
Rubbing his hands together, he spoke with an ingratiating tone. "So then, esteemed guest, are you able to heal it?"
Kanan stopped to think, parsing through recipes in his mind. Unsure, he took out a book from his spatial band and flipped through it, before coming to a rest on a page of herbs. He read the book for a moment before putting it away, nodding.
"Mm. I can make an antidote, it's not too difficult. Thankfully the Lazumu is large, so there's some leeway with the dosage. There's no workshop here, after all. I'm going to need some materials, though."
Excited, the man practically shouted his response. "Whatever you need! Just write it down and I'll have someone grab it for you. We have a full load of cargo here, no shortage of herbs!"
Making a list, Kanan handed it off. He ended up having to substitute one plant from his own baggage, but the man promised to pay him back generously upon their return.
"I'll help you," Aurelia offered. "I'm not familiar with the recipe, but I can still process the materials. I ought to do that much."
Truthfully speaking Kanan didn't need the help, but he didn't mind. A connection with a future breeder was a valuable thing, and her presence would make the work go quicker.
"Sure, glad to have you."
And so the two of them set to work.