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Gym Rats, Literally and Figuratively

“You want my permission to go off and train with someone else?”

Enigma sat at the desk in his office, looking down at the paperwork with golden eyes, clawed fingers gently wrapped around the sheet. It was a request for a sabbatical lasting about a month, from his most trusted and skilled disciple.

“I know I just got back, Teach. But the rat’s a legend! And it’s natural too, unlike-“

Edmund caught himself, letting the rest of fall unspoken as he sat across from his mentor. Though no longer shaken to the core as he was after catching Volpes, the musclebound tigerkin’s bright emerald eyes and words betrayed lingering uncertainty.

“True. His reputation is built well enough that even I’ve heard of him.”

With the slip in his right hand, the left was no closer to his pen than it was moments ago. To the apprentice, his signature was seemingly still out of reach, but he knew his professor well enough not to keep pushing.

“Trust me, Teach. That ain’t the only thing built about him. He’s sculpted himself into a beast.”

Anyone else might have missed it, but Edmund caught the faint trapping of a smile, and a suppressed chuckle escape his teacher: A rare crack in his otherwise neutral facade.

“I can arrange for this, but in return I have an assignment. I need you to take care of something for me. It just so happens that there are some neophyte mages not too far from Skard’s home, who just awakened their connections to mana. They need tutelage: Just the fundamentals, nothing more. Help them and the rest of your free time while you’re out there is yours to do with as you please. Do we have a deal, Edmund?”

Edmund vigorously nodded, reaching out to shake the wolfkin’s hand. Setting the papers down to return the gesture, he simultaneously used his left hand to reach for a drawer on the side of his desk. Without looking, he produced a different form, to formally assign Edmund to train the young mages as an official Magistrum mission. And again, without looking he affixed his signature to the document, smudging the fur of his left hand with traces of the ink as it brushed against the sheet.

“Always one step ahead’ah everyone else, huh Teach?”

“I should certainly hope so. I have my own reputation to consider. I’d wish you good luck, but we both know you can handle both my assignment and whatever training this Skard puts your through.”

Back in November of 2024, my friend Redmight reached out to me after seeing a YCH from Marsel-Defender go on sale. This one was a 2-character piece, with each character being offered as a separate slot. He had scoped it out as a potential piece for us to get together.

Coincidentally, at the time I was also interested in the piece, but decided against going for it because I was nervous about who else would be taking the second slot. Him approaching me dispelled my doubts, so we both went all-in on securing our respective slots.

And naturally, what would a crossover piece with a friend be if I didn’t write a little short to go with it?