“What’s wrong with my breedings?” Michi asked, in that same soft voice.
Nami growled. “Michi, take back your… product. It’s so small, and it’s white!”
Colin stared into the face of the wolfcat cub. The wolfcat cub stared back.
And suddenly, he realized something.
The cub was afraid.
“Me too.” Colin whispered. “I don’t know what’s going on either.”
Together, they glanced at the two ladies. Nami was giving Michi a lecture. Michi, on the other hand, was studying Colin. At last, she spoke. “Contact me any time.”
Nami spoke too. “Colin, that Comrade’s not… normal…” she told him. “It’s not!”
“That’s okay.” Colin told her, and even as he said it, he realized the truth. “I’m not normal either.”
“Everybody thinks that.” Nami told him flatly.
Colin didn’t answer her. Instead, he asked the wolfcat, “What’s your name?”
Nami coughed. “Um… Colin… they don’t have names… not until you give them names.”
But the wolfcat looked back at Colin with soft brown eyes and said, “Yip.”
“Shiro.” Michi said, as she left. “His name is Shiro.”
“Shiro.” Colin said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yip.” Shiro replied just as politely.
Nami didn’t like it. She kept telling Colin why it wasn’t a good idea to Travel with Shiro as his Comrade. “Michi’s stuff NEVER does well! He’s so small, he has to be weak! And…!”
But Colin wasn’t really listening. He felt that Shiro was a lot like himself. He didn’t know what Shiro could or couldn’t do just yet, but he liked the wolfcat.
Nami asked one last time. “Colin, are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” Colin answered.
Nami gave up. “Fine. He’s your problem.” she said. “We better go. Everyone else has already left.”
She was right. Everyone else had already taken their new Comrades and disappeared somewhere.
“Where did they go?” Colin asked.
“To register.” Nami said. “Follow me.”
She brought him across the place to a room under the second ring of animal pens. Inside, was a camera and a soft black tile on the floor.
“Colin, you and your Comrade need to put your feet down on the black plate together to register.”
“Put my feet down…?” Colin didn’t understand.
“Just one foot each.” Nami explained. “We need your footprint and Shiro’s pawprint side by side. After that, you’re officially registered as Traveler and Comrade.”
“Oh.” Colin said, and put Shiro down.
Shiro sniffed at the Plate, then turned to Colin. “Yip?”
“Yip.” Colin replied, and put his right foot down on the plate. Shiro put his right forepaw on it.
When they took their feet off the black plate, they left one footprint and one pawprint outlined in white.
“There it is.” Nami said, giving them a resigned nod. “Those are the first of the many footprints and pawprints you’ll be leaving all over this world from now on.
“Your Journey has officially begun.”
Phase 02: White furball
“This is your Traveler Watch.” Nami said, holding up a bracelet. It was a broad band of silver, with a small screen showing the time in front. “Put it on.”
She helped him as he slid his hand through the bracelet. Then, when it hung loosely on his wrist, she tapped it sharply. The bracelet closed in to fit Colin’s arm.
“Your watch has lots of stuff in it – phone, phone book, map, voice diary, alarm clock, travel log, travel guide, rulebook, and more.”
“How do I use it?” Colin asked.
“We’re Dreaming, remember?” Nami made a small laugh. “Just think of what you want and touch it.”
Colin touched it and thought of checking who he had in his phone book.
A list popped out of the watch, like a sheet of paper hanging in mid-air. Colin saw a listing of Comrade Homes, Training Centers, Tournament Arenas and oddly enough, Michi.
“Contact me anytime you need to.” Nami told him.
The moment she said it, Nami’s contact appeared on his contact list.
“So that’s how it works.” Colin realized. “You just say it, and I get your contact in my phone book.”
“Exactly.” Nami nodded. “You’re ready to Journey now. If you want, you can bring your Comrades to the nearest Comrade Home to give them a place to stay while you’re awake. Most Travelers do that until they can afford to build their own house or something. You can collect him and continue your Journey with him afterwards.”
“You mean, like a hotel?”
“Something like that.” Nami said. “For new Travelers, we provide room and care for free. After the first week, however, we start charging you based on what we need to do for your Comrade.”
“So I need my own house here after one week.” Colin frowned. “How do I travel around if I have a house?”
Nami laughed. “Don’t worry about that just yet. You’ll find out if and when you get one. For now, just concentrate on raising up your first Comrade or getting your second.”
“How do I do that?” Colin asked.
Nami thought for a bit. “I can tell you, but you’re actually supposed to go to the Training Center. It’s in the middle of town. We call it ‘Sunshine Gym’ because it’s got the word ‘GYM’ on the roof.”
“Do all Training Centers have the word ‘GYM’ on the roof?” Colin had to ask.
“Actually… yes.”
***
Dad and the prayerman were talking as Colin stepped out of the Comrade Home. The prayerman gave him a smile, and said, “There he is. Found your Comrade?”
Colin nodded in reply. “This is Shiro.”
The prayerman smiled. “Hello, Shiro.”
Dad petted him on the head. “He’s a cute little furball, isn’t he?”
“A cute white furball.” The prayerman agreed. “I think Colin’s done well, don’t you?”
“I think so.” Dad paused then. He looked at Colin in a strange way. “Larissa says you’d be better off without us interfering... and you’re obviously ready to get started.”
Colin nodded slowly.
Dad cleared his throat. “I’ll be off, then. If you need anything…”
“Call you?” Colin knew what Dad was going to say.
“Yes. Call me.”
Colin felt a little twitch in his watch and knew that Dad had just been registered as a contact in his phone book. “Okay.”
“Right.” Dad took a deep breath. “Bye, Colin.”
“Bye.” Colin waved.
“Yip.” Shiro added his own goodbye.
The prayerman waved as he and Dad headed back up the road. Colin watched them go for a bit, then looked to Shiro. “What do you think?”
Shiro twisted his head to one side, then shrugged. “Yip.”
“Really…?” Colin was surprised. “You don’t think they’re weird?”
Shiro shook his head.
“You should get to know them better.” Colin told him.
Shiro barked a laugh, and they headed down the road towards Sunshine Town together.
***
Sunshine Town was filled with Comrades.
Everywhere he looked, Colin saw people with Comrades. There were Comrades even smaller than Shiro, and Comrades large enough for people to ride on. There were Comrades of all colors, and all kinds.
On the left, a girl rode what looked like a black lion, with another girl and a green penguin walking beside her. On the right, a man and a trio of long-armed monkeys were fixing a house’s roof. Down the road, a boy was playing tug-of-war with a large red fox that had a whole lot of tails (Nine, maybe? Colin tried to count, but the tails kept moving).
Then there was that lady at the shop who stood on top of what looked like two rather flat blue crocodiles. The
man selling her something at the shop was working with two chubby orange bears and a tiger that bounced on a long springy tail. Behind the lady on the flat crocodiles, a boy with glasses and a zebra-striped seal waited in line for his turn to buy something.
Comrades were everywhere, doing everything.
“Watch out!” Someone yelped from behind him. Colin turned to see Shiro almost trampled by a hopping yellow melon. It almost looked like it had a face…
The ‘fruit’ blinked at him and hummed a curious tone. The man who walked with the hopping pot patted it on the head and said, “I think he’s new here, Mandras. He seems to be a bit lost.”
“Uh… sorry.” Colin stepped back. “Here, Shiro, we better not block the road.”
Shiro wriggled a bit when Colin caught him up in both hands, then had an idea. He scampered up Colin’s left arm and sat down on Colin’s shoulder, wrapping his tail all the way around Colin’s back.
“Won’t you fall off?” Colin had to ask.
Shiro sniffed.
Colin tried walking with Shiro on his shoulder and found, to his surprise, that Shiro kept his balance very well. Maybe it was his tail or something, but Shiro sat there quite comfortably and didn’t lose his balance even when Colin almost bumped into someone and had to stop suddenly.
“Okay.” Colin smiled. Shiro felt warm and cozy sitting on his shoulder. Colin nudged Shiro with his nose. “Let’s go to the Training Center.”
***
The Gym itself looked like a glass eggshell that anyone could see into. Inside, Colin saw Comrades training with machines, other Comrades, and with Dreamers.
Colin, however, had a problem.
He couldn’t find the door.
“How do I get in?” he asked a nearby girl, someone who had a blue kitten on her shoulder the way Colin had Shiro on his. She had short black hair, bright green eyes, and a rather intent look on her face. She looked familiar. Very familiar. Where had he seen her before…?
“Just follow the road.” She pointed. “See where the road seems to go into the glass?”
“I don’t see any entrance.” Colin said, looking for it.
“You will.” She told him. “The wall only opens up as much as it needs to. It was made that way so that the bigger Comrades could get in.”
“The wall opens?” Colin stared.
“Try it.” She suggested.
Colin did just that and was startled when the wall just disappeared in front of him, making an opening large enough for him to walk through comfortably.
“Wow.” Colin said, staring at the missing wall as he walked through. As soon as he was inside, the wall appeared again.
The girl at the front desk was a short, brown girl with a very round face. She blinked at him. “Can I help you?”
“Uh… I was told to come to the Gym.” Colin said.
“A white badge…” she noticed. “You must be one of the new Travelers.”
“Yes.” Colin nodded. “That’s right.”
“But why didn’t you bring your Comrade with you?” she asked next.
“My… Comrade…?” Colin blinked, then looked at Shiro.
But Shiro wasn’t there. He wasn’t on Colin’s shoulder any more.
“Wha…?!” Colin jumped. “Where did he go?!”
Shiro had disappeared.
***
He checked under the desk, around the hallway, and all over the hall. “Are you sure he didn’t come in with me?”
“I’m sure.” The girl at the desk said. “You came in alone.”
“Oh no! Where could he have gone?” Colin groaned.
Nami’s voice haunted him. Michi’s stuff NEVER does well…
He could imagine what she’d say if she found out. “Way to go, Colin. Not even one hour and you’ve already lost your Comrade.”
“Where did he GO?!” Colin dashed out of the Gym and went looking for Shiro.
***
Henry was outside, coming back with two Lynxmice when Colin almost crashed into him as he rushed out to find Shiro.
“Did you see him?” Colin asked Henry.
“Who?” Henry was blur.
“My wolfcat! A little white furball with a pointy nose and a long tail!” Colin said.
“White wolfcat? I saw Katrin chasing one just now.” Henry pointed up the road.
“Katrin…?” The name sounded VERY familiar.
“She was there with us when we first started.” Henry reminded him. “Black hair? Green eyes?”
Katrin! Colin remembered now. She was one of the eight new Travelers…
“Wait a minute.” Colin frowned. “I don’t remember seeing her pick her Comrade.”
Henry shrugged. “Whatever it is, she was chasing a white wolfcat and a blue kitten. Maybe that’s the one you’re looking for.”
A white wolfcat and a blue kitten… the kitten’s hers… but… Colin groaned. “Which way did they go?”
Henry pointed again. “That way.”
“Thanks, Henry.”
***
Rita was coming back with her Arachnid and a walking plant with a head full of teeth. “Katrin chasing a white furball and a blue kitten? Yeah, they were headed down the road, all the way out of town.”
“Out of town…?” Colin rubbed his head. “Which way?”
“Towards Farmer Edward’s place.” Rita pointed. “I don’t think she’s going to catch the wolfcat and the kitten, though. They were faster than she was.”
“Oh great…” Colin groaned again. “Thanks, Rita.”
“Come battle me sometime!” Rita called as he ran after Shiro.
He passed by Jonah, Alicia and Larry on the way. They had new Comrades too – a whole bunch of Colorbits and a beetle that almost looked like a rock. Larry called to him. “Hey, Colin! Wanna battle?”
“I’m busy!” Colin yelled back, and ran past without another glance.
“Where’s your Comrade?” Alicia shouted after him.
Colin didn’t reply.
***
He caught up to Katrin, panting outside a farmhouse and a big sign that said “Farmer Edward’s Farm”.
“Katrin…” Colin coughed, also panting and trying to catch his breath. “Where’s…”
Katrin pointed farther down the road. “Too… fast…”
“What… happened...?” Colin struggled to breathe.
“That dumb furball…” Katrin coughed. “Chased my kitten… I couldn’t…”
“Shiro…” Colin groaned and sat down on the road with a thump. Katrin shook her head and managed one more step before she dropped to the road also.
They just sat there for a minute, doing their best to breathe. Both of them were sweating so much, their clothes were soaked.
Colin wondered if his body, sleeping back in the real world, was also sweating because of this. This was a Dreamworld, one of many on the Dreamworlds Network where Dreamers shared their dreams. Everyone here was Dreaming. Katrin could be on the other side of the world in real life, but in this Dreamworld, she was just three feet in front of him.
“We can’t catch them.” Katrin said. “They’re too fast.”
Katrin was probably right. Shiro was nowhere in sight, and Colin didn’t know how far ahead that furball had gotten.
But…
“We don’t have a choice.” Colin said. “We can’t do a thing around here without Comrades.”
Katrin turned to him. “What’s the problem with that white furball, anyway?! Why is he chasing my kitten?!”
Colin scratched his head. “Dogs chase cats, don’t they? I think a wolfcat is half-dog.”
“Then why isn’t he chasing every Lynxmouse around?” Katrin demanded.
“Why should he?” Colin asked.
“Because a Lynxmouse is a mix of a cat and a mouse. He’s a wolfcat, a mix of a wolf and a cat, so…”
“He has twice as much reason to chase a Lynxmouse.” Colin agreed and groaned again. “Henry’s going to hate me.”
“Well, DO something!” Katrin scolded him. “He’s your Comrade! You’ve got to bring him under control!”
“I haven’t learnt how!” Colin protested.
“Well, learn it, and learn it FAST!” she snapped.
Then a deep voice came from their left. “You two… what are you doing in front of my farm?”
***
Farmer Edward was a graying man who wore a floppy brown hat. He had a wolfcat too; a gray one, and it was as big as Colin himself.
“Chased a kitten…?” Farmer Edward was surprised. “I’ve never heard of a Comrade doing that before.”
“He’s a wolfcat.” Katrin said sourly.
Farmer Edward glanced at his own wolfcat, sitting there waiting for him patiently. “Mine never did anything like that.”
“Well, yours is smart.” Katrin growled. “Colin’s wolfcat is an idiot.”
“Hey!” Colin protested. But he turned to Farmer Edward and asked, “How do you get your wolfcat to do what you want him to do?”
“Well…” Farmer Edward scratched his head. “Usually, you just need to tell them. ‘Stay’, ‘go’, ‘follow’, ‘guard’… basic commands will do. If you’re in battle, you need to tell him which enemy to fight and what techniques to use if you want.”
“Really?” Colin scratched his head. “But I didn’t tell him to chase Katrin’s kitten.”
“Maybe he’s hungry.” Edward suggested and Katrin let out a yell of fright.
“Or maybe he’s just bored.” Edward said, but Katrin was already running off down the road again.
“Call me if you catch them!” Colin yelled after her, but she didn’t answer or slow down.
He just hoped that his contact had been registered in her phone book. Colin sighed. “What do I do…?”
Farmer Edward gave him a close look. “You’re a new Traveler, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Colin admitted.
“Your badge is white and totally clean. You’ve accomplished nothing, and any Comrade looking at you will know it at once. You know, Colin, Comrades are picky.”
“Picky?” Colin blinked.
“Yes. They won’t listen to you unless they respect you.” Edward explained. “If you tried to bond with a wolfcat as big and strong as mine, for example, he won’t let you.”
“But Shiro let me bond with him.” Colin protested.
“That’s just the first part. If he’s picky, you’ll need to earn his respect to get him to obey you.”
“How do I do that?” Colin asked.
Edward scratched his head. “Well… that’s a bit tricky. It depends on what your Comrade respects. Basically, you have to get to know him first.”
“How am I supposed to get to know him when he runs off like this?”