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“Flying occorites have been spotted off the starboard. All attunement phase wizards and higher, report to top deck for defensive formations. All humans and those wizards at lower phases, find a secure spot as we prepare for evasive maneuvers.”

FIVE

Captain Sharshaw stood upon her deck, Ovandor perched upon her shoulder. Multiple familiars was exceedingly rare among wizards, one needed fortune as much as patience for all the factors to line up, but it was her bond with Ovandor that set Captain Sharshaw apart from the other pilots over the years.

While her first familiar, Ungrok, had offered enhanced strength and durability befitting a bear of his stature, it was Ovandor who gave Captain Shershaw her incredible senses. Although normal owls had their vision capabilities reduced by daylight, Ovandor’s second imbuement allowed them to overcome that limitation. There were precious few bearship captains out there who could top Madigrange Sharshaw when it came to sharp eyes.

And those enhanced senses had shown their value on this day, alerting her to the approaching flock of occorites with ample time to prepare. Running was an option, but this was a long-haul journey where mana had to be carefully conserved. Burn through too much, and they’d have to set down somewhere outside civilization, where they’d have far more occorites to worry about.

Defense was the better tactic against a flock of this size, even if it was on the larger end of what Captain Sharshaw felt comfortable handling. At least this voyage had wizards aplenty, though fewer than she’d hoped had turned up on deck.

There was nothing for it, though. Any wizard not yet at their attunement stage would need their familiar nearby to cast spells, which meant imbuement and base phase wizards were limited in a long-range battle. Maybe if they had a dragon or elemental familiar in the bunch, but beast imbuements were almost always physically related, like Ovandor’s enhanced daysight. Often useful, just not when trying to bring down enemies at a range.

At least Captain Sharshaw saw the other bearship pilots gathering up to help with defenses. Unlike bearplanes, which could be fueled and guided by a single pilot, bearships required a minimum of six ursine familiars to remain steady. Four of her pilots were on the deck, with the final pilot remaining below to keep an eye on the treadmills. If anything happened to those, they’d burn through the ship’s stored battery at a precipitous rate and risk losing control of the navigation systems.

But four fellow bear-wizards meant four defenders of considerable might, each of whom had experience in aerial combat. With the passengers pitching in, Captain Sharshaw expected that victory would be achievable.

Though the voyage was undoubtedly about to get bumpy.

Wanda sat stunned for several seconds as the room around her exploded into motion. The blast of sound and people dashing in close was too sudden, and she shrank in on herself reflexively. Her hands grasped for Wumble, only to remember he was enjoying the familiars’ recreation facility.

Only when Lenar’s face blocked out her vision did Wanda realize he’d been calling Wumble’s name. Slowly, she drifted back into awareness of the world around her, including the empty mess hall, save for the young man staring at her with increasing concern. “Wanda? Wanda, are you alright?”

“I… I need to get to Wumble.” Wanda stood up so abruptly she nearly clipped Lenar’s chin with her head in the burst of motion.

Luckily, he was nimble enough to lean back with room to spare. “I understand the sentiment, but we cannot move between decks during an attack. Although never desirable, these sorts of incidents happen from time to time, and the recreational facility is equipped to keep our familiars safe. We need to get to a more secure area ourselves. Here, we’re surrounded by loose⁠—”

The entire bearship suddenly tilted onto its side, sending Lenar and Wanda sprawling. Worse yet, the array of trays, bowls, and utensils were flung from their tables and into the air. Several such objects were on a crash course for the pair of stumbling wizards, and more than one looked heavy enough to hurt.

“Scoot.” Wanda tapped into her imbuement without thinking, time around her appearing to slow by at least half, if not more. It was hard to get an exact metric, especially while she was busy knocking a hefty stew bowl away before it could smash into the back of Lenar’s head.

Getting her footing proved easier as the tilting ship became steadier in slowed time, allowing Wanda to deftly dart about, hitting and kicking away anything on its way to impact their area. Only once she was certain they were momentarily safe did Wanda allow the imbuement to end. There hadn’t been any sort of strain or notable energy cost, but it was hard to talk with someone when they seemed to be moving at less than half-speed.

Yet even when she returned to normal speeds, Lenar appeared frozen, merely staring at Wanda for what felt like an odd amount of time. “Was that… your imbuement?”

Too late, Wanda remembered most wizards tried to hide their abilities, though she wasn’t entirely sure how one would go about that with an imbuement like hers. There was nothing to be done for it now. At least the mess hall was empty besides them, and she trusted Lenar.

“Sure is! Wumble formed it during the chasm vent eruption. Comes in really handy for brewing multiple potions at once.”

“I would imagine.” Whatever had gripped Lenar, he shook it off, nodding toward the exit. “Let’s get out of here. There should be an assembly point with latches to secure ourselves on every deck. Or at the least, a room without so much silverware.”

Wanda didn’t need to be told twice, hurrying for the exit. Lenar, however, slowed his escape and looked back at the spot where they’d been standing, before finally hastening to catch up.

SIX

Much as Wumble wanted to go racing out of the recreational facility and search for Wanda, he couldn’t see any way to do so without causing substantial damage.

At the sound of the alarm, the entire exterior had been reinforced by metal beams that slid into position, locking down the door while offering an additional shell of protection. Hatches had opened and hefts of rope dropped from the ceiling, allowing every familiar to secure themselves in some form or fashion. While none in his vicinity had reached the sentience stage, it wasn’t as if sapience came in a sudden burst.

From the moment they became bonded and began harvesting occoreal, every familiar was growing beyond its initial capabilities. While Wumble sensed he was further along in the journey of awareness than other imbuement phase familiars, even those still in their base phase had the self-preservation instincts to shelter in place.

Unfortunately, if Wumble broke through those doors, it would snap several of the metal beams, which were connected to the rest of the contraption that had slid down. Best-case scenario, he’d leave a gaping hole in the facilities defenses. Worst-case, he might cause a collapse of the beam and put every familiar present in danger. Either of those scenarios was guaranteed to make Wanda sad, which meant they were out of consideration.

Really, this was one more reminder that he needed a second imbuement. Something that would allow escape from any cage, even one meant to protect.

For now, he resolved to wait, since he could feel Wanda was unhurt through their bond. But the moment he felt her touched by terror, or worse, injury, the situation would need to be re-evaluated.

Until then, Wumble positioned himself directly in front of the facilities doors, ignoring the sways of the bearship with his claws dug into the wooden floor. If any occorites did manage to make it down to their deck, he’d ensure the other familiars had nothing to fear.