Kanan sat beside the fire, inspecting the restrained beast that was squirming in front of him.
The beast was unfamiliar to him. It was a species that couldn't be found in Melody Forest, nor in the books that he had studied.
It made sense, though. Beasts with excessively human aspects — such as the bipedal squirrel with its staff — tended to be found in areas with a high density of people.
Most researchers assume that this is a result of a beasts' environment shaping their form. It's not uncommon, after all, for beasts to share characteristics with non-spiritual entities that live in the same areas.
The one difference is that researchers have long assumed that those spiritual beasts are evolved from non-spiritual animals, such as the Sparkpup from the dog. In the case of humanoid beasts that's clearly not the case, so its been a long-standing subject of debate in academic circles.
Regardless, without knowing what kind of beast this is it's hard to determine what to do with it, thought Kanan. Should he just turn it into the authorities…?
Kanan's pondering was interrupted by a tug, and he looked down to see Poppy tugging his shirt. With an expression of exasperation it jabbed its arm towards the terminal on his waist, pointing fiercely.
His eyes dawned with understanding, remembering what the receptionist had mentioned. One of the notable features of the terminal was its ability to scan spirit beasts & spiritual objects. Kanan hadn't needed it until now so he had completely forgotten.
He took out the terminal and powered it on, bringing it up to the captured beast. The object let out a beep of confirmation and text began to fill the screen.
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Mournwood Squirrel
Low-Tier Spirit Beast
Astral/Dark/Grass
The Mournwood Squirrel is a rare lateral evolution of the Duskwood Squirrel. The evolution is thought to be the result of feelings of intense grief. However, this is not confirmed. Only a few specimens of this species have been recorded.
No Further Data
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Kanan's eyes widened at the results.
A lateral evolution! That was something even harder to find than a rare evolution line like an Arcwolf. Lateral evolution, unlike traditional evolution, did not raise a species' tier but changed the species altogether.
In some cases the typing of the spirit beast would change as well. The original Mournwood Squirrel was not an Astral-type beast. It had the same Dark abilities but nothing mystical like the sleep move that this one had shown.
One line in particular stood out. The evolution is thought to be the result of feelings of intense grief. It seems there was more to this story than meets the eye. In that case, perhaps it would be better if Kanan brought the beast to someone who might know more about it.
He opened his terminal once again, navigating to the mission board.
Requester: Albert Greyson
Clicking on the unfamiliar name, he quickly sent a message and prepared to depart.
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A response came in just a few minutes later. Albert, the requester, was the son of the previous gravekeeper. Upon hearing that Kanan had captured a squirrel-type beast during his investigation, the former agreed to meet.
His residence was just outside the grounds, situated on the hill overlooking the cemetery. Kanan didn't have to go far before arriving outside its gate.
Walking up, he was greeted by a man who appeared to be in his mid-40's, his hair just beginning to turn grey. He had a weathered face, and he stood by the gate with a troubled face.
Upon seeing the creature in Kanan's arms, his expression was filled with pity. The squirrel's eyes were downturned, avoiding his gaze.
"Twilight…" he muttered. "What happened to you?"
The squirrel, Twilight, turned its head away, its lower lip trembling as its large front teeth pressed down on it.
Seeing Kanan's clueless expression, the man began talking.
"This spirit beast, Twilight, was my father's spirit beast," he explained. "It was a little different before… it looks like it evolved? But it's definitely the same one."
"The two of them were inseparable. My father was the gravekeeper where you found Twilight, and they took care of the cemetery together. Duskwood squirrels can manipulate plants, so they're popular among landscapers and the like. The cemetery was always well-groomed and filled with flowers when my father was still alive, even if it's like this now."
"But around 6 months ago, he passed. Nobody new came to take his place, either. Nobody is buried in that graveyard anymore, and most of the people buried there have long since been forgotten. In truth, even during my fathers' time the gravekeeper position would have been retired far earlier if the City Council hadn't generously kept it around until he passed."
"Of course, it still needs some routine maintenance. I was asked to handle it, so I hired people several times to go and clean it, but you know how that ended up… every one was scared away. Never thought the culprit would be Twilight here."
Saying so, he took Twilight into his arms and began unwrapping it.
"Don't worry, I'll consider the request fulfilled. But I can't exactly send him to the local guard or the spirit beast control center… Sigh. What are we going to do with you buddy?"
Free of its bonds, Twilight hissed at Albert and ran behind Kanan's legs, grabbing them as it peeked its head out.
Albert gave a bitter smile. "I suppose it hasn't forgiven me for not taking care of the cemetery that it and my father treasured so much. But I have my own job and family to take care of, and the responsibilities that come with them. I can't handle the cemetery work too, it's time to let it go."
He knelt down, lowering himself to Twilight's eye level. "I know it's hard, buddy, but please understand. Why don't you come live with us?"
Twilight was filled with reluctance, wanting but unable to refute Albert's words. It gripped Kanan's leg even tighter, shutting its eyes in an attempt to reject that it was time to move on.
Kanan began to speak, his voice gentle.
"You know Twilight, Poppy and I left our home recently too."
His words caught the squirrel's attention, and it glanced up at him.
"Well, we left by choice, but it doesn't change the fact that it was hard. The people we knew, the places we stayed and spent our time, all of those got left behind. It'll probably be a long long time before we're able to see them again."
"But you know, we still had to leave. There's so much to do and see. We've only just started our journey and we've met some really amazing people, you know? We've done and learned things that we never would've been able to back home. And it's the same for you."
Twilight loosened its grip on his leg, looking half-convinced.
"I know that Albert's father was important to you. Poppy's like that to me, and we have someone back home like that as well. But that doesn't mean other people can't become important too. Albert and his family will care about you. You should trust him. It might take time, and he can never replace his father, but it's what's best for you."
Twilight let go, looking confused. Kanan and Albert watched on in silence as it struggled with its thoughts. Then, suddenly, it bolted off, disappearing into the hedges that lined the property.
Kanan rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Maybe my comforting skills need some work." he said bashfully.
Albert shook his head, smiling. "No, you did good," he said. "And I think you got through to Twilight, at least a little bit. Hopefully it just needs time to sort through its thoughts. It can't stay in that old graveyard forever, it's time for it to move on."
"If it hadn't agreed to stay with me," he added, "I was going to recommend that it go with you, to be honest. The mission application said that you were a 2nd-Circle Tamer with one contracted beast, so I was hoping you'd agree… seems like that's not happening though, haha."
Kanan pondered over his words. In truth, he hadn't even considered contracting Twilight himself. After learning its species he was sure it had an owner. And learning about its relationship with Albert, any thoughts he might have still had went out the window. It already had a caring family waiting for it.
Still, to say he wasn't even a little regretful would be a lie. Astral type beasts are exceptionally rare and highly prized. Many of them have powerful psychic abilities like teleportation and telekinesis that are powerful both in and out of battle.
He'd live, though. His plan was to get an ice type as his next pet to synergize with Poppy. He just hadn't found the right beast yet.
"Anyway," continued Albert, "I can't thank you enough. I'll send the rewards to your account immediately, along with a little bonus for returning Twilight safely. A less considerate Tamer might have sent it directly to spirit beast control."
"Of course," replied Kanan. "If you ever have another mission feel free to contact me directly. I wish you the best of luck with Twilight."
Having said his piece, Kanan unsummoned Poppy and set off, returning to the lab.
Albert watched him go for a minute, and just before he turned to head back inside he caught sight of something that made his eyes widen in surprise. A small shadow flitting through the grass, following Kanan's footsteps.
"Well well, maybe I don't have to worry after all."