Chapter 8 - Testing

Something was licking her hand when she woke up in the morning. She opened her eyes to find little dark blue eyes staring at her, jolting her out of slumber. In front of her was Bear awake. She examined his entire body right away to make sure the wound was healing properly and that his condition had improved. She was shocked to discover that the wound was practically healed and that the stitches might soon be removed. She carefully picked up Bear and wished him good morning. Getting out of bed, she walked downstairs to make breakfast. She cut up some of the fruit and made some small pieces for Bear. To help Bear digest the banana, she did her best to make it somewhat like baby food. She grabbed a small bowl from the cabinet and gave Bear the food on the floor.

She sat down and looked at the sunlight flowing through the window. She started to think about how she could change the shop to make it to her liking using things from her past life. She needed to tweak some stuff to work without electricity, but she will probably be able to figure it out. She would begin by researching how to form ruins and how she might apply that knowledge to contemporary technologies. Her manufacturing space worked like an Ikea for everything. The parts to create the ideas she wanted were all there, but she needed the knowledge on how to build them herself. Paired with the book of knowledge, the only thing she needed to worry about was time. She didn't want to leave Bear alone while he was hurt, but she also wanted to go into the forest to practice the magic elements. So in the meantime, she picked out some things she could make quickly and skills that would be most useful.

She wanted to learn how to sew, cook, and the basics of building. After putting the dishes away and checking on Bear, she sat down on the ground and started to read about sewing in her space. It would take her a lot less time to read as time passed much slower. For the future, she also wanted to look into how to create a sewing machine and a serger. But currently, she wanted to make some clothes that were more comfortable based on her past life. The urgent things she wanted to make now were new undergarments, sweatpants, shorts, hoodies, shirts, comfortable jeans, and some other things she might think of along the way.

It took her around 4 hours to fully read all the sewing knowledge. Although she was only able to hand sew at the moment, making the clothing she needed would take much longer, but she needed it urgently, so she had no choice. Beginning with pants, she noted that despite the acclaim for the comfort of training pants in this world, they paled in comparison to the ones from her previous life. After conferring with her space, the items needed to make sweatpants in her size popped up in front of her. The fabric and the thread were similar in colour, with a light grey. There was also a pair of scissors, a sewing needle, metal pins, a pattern, and some chalk. To start, she placed that pattern on the fabric while trying to make sure it was well-spaced. Then she traced the outline with chalk and removed the pattern. So, she just went ahead and pinned together the parts that kind of looked the same to speed things up, and then started cutting out the fabric. After around 15 minutes, she had the fabric all cut out. She figured she'd take a break, not wanting to risk getting kicked out of the space, plus she wanted to check on Bear.

She had spent about five hours in the space, which is equivalent to about an hour and a half in real-time. While she didn't need to eat, having just finished breakfast, working for five hours was not something she was accustomed to, and it was taking a toll on her mental state. She got a glass of water, picked up Bear, and walked up the stairs to sit on the balcony. She sat on the floor, put Bear in her lap, and just appreciated the sun. Out of nowhere, she heard a teenage voice in her head. "Hey, can I get some water? Also, what were you doing sitting there for an hour and a half? Aren't you bored"

Surprised, she looked around to see who was talking to her. "Ummm, I am in your lap. You named me Bear, I think." Shocked, she looked down and just stared at Bear without saying anything. She exclaimed, "You talk." Bear said, "I can, but I'm using the contract we made to talk in your head." She said, "Hold on. Why are you in my brain, and when did we make a contract?" Bear looked confused. "You gave me your blood right, and I accepted the contract; didn't you mean to?" She did give him her blood after the surgery, even though she had no idea that doing so would result in the contract requirements being met. "So that's how you make a contract with a pet. Are you sure you want to be my companion?" Looking sad, Bear responded, "You don't want to be in a contract with me? You took care of me and saved me; why wouldn't I want to be your companion?" Bear was right; she did save him, but she didn't think that he needed to tie himself to her for the rest of his life. It was just him getting rid of his freedom. Avy asked, "I'd love to have you as my companion, but are you sure you haven't gotten to know me and you will need to follow me until I die?" Smiling, he replied, "How could I not want to? You saved my life; there's no way you could be a bad person." Avy reached out and grabbed his paw. "Nice to meet you. I look forward to our cooperation. Also, I will keep your secrets, but you need to promise to keep mine." Bear shook his little paw and said, "Will do; happy cooperation. By the way, can you make some food because I'm hungry"

Holding his paw, she said, "Sounds good. What do you want? Also, can you explain more about how the contract works? I know it links our lives, but does it do anything else?" He responded, "That is basically what it does. Even if someone dies, we can both live on, but we cannot kill or injure each other. It also allows us to communicate through our minds. I view it as an opportunity to form a bond with friends or family. However, not every contract is good for all beasts, but you seem kind, and your magic power is unique, so I just wanted to try it out. Also, would you mind making something simple? I find that I need to eat more when I am hurt."Standing up and walking towards the kitchen, she said, "Oh, okay, I hope that you enjoy your time with me. And, for sure, I don't have much food right now. Do you mind if I just give you more fruits?" Bear jumped on her shoulder and exclaimed, "That's great! You don't need to mush it; I can eat it as it is." Smiling back, she got him a quick snack and talked to Bear a little while petting him. After a while, Bear fell asleep, and she jumped into her space to finish making her sweatpants.