Pet x Play

One of Vetita's unique quirks is that it has no instruction manual.

There are no explanations for skills, classes, magic, or virtually anything inside the game. There is no status screen, HUD¹A heads-up display, also known as a HUD, is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. (see Wikipedia), or user control panel, let alone any form of beginner tutorial. Just as one might say there is no instruction manual to real life, many new players are thrown into the game without any real understanding of the mechanics.

Of course, there are numerous forum posts and unofficial guides on the Internet, but the speculation surrounding Vetita is notoriously unreliable. New exploits and "tips" are posted by anonymous users nearly every day, and more than half of all the information is straight out fake, misguided, or horrendously out-of-date. The meta²In the world of gaming, meta is used as an acronym for “most effective tactics available,” and calling something “meta” means that it’s an effective way to achieve the goal of the game, whether it’s to beat other players or beat the game itself. on Vetita is constantly shifting, and part of that is exacerbated by the fact that server itself is dynamic. No two players experience the game in exactly the same way. Two magicians could recite the exact same chant yet produce different magic effects.

Those of us who have been part of the server for long enough eventually come to realize that the game itself is organic.

On Vetita, the player doesn't pick their class.

The class picks you.

One day I simply woke up in the morning and realized that I was a Familiar.

There wasn't any special fanfare or elaborate cutscene that explained my class to me. The knowledge just suddenly appeared in my head, and I knew that I was almost powerless unless I had a Master to channel my powers from. In European folklore, a familiar is a creature that assists a witch in the practice of magic. In my case, I was essentially a walking magical battery, and I could amplify, store, and use magical energy from my owner. Although I was much weaker in the beginning, my current maximum reserves are almost twenty times the volume of @Jasper's natural mana pool, although it can take some time for it to recharge once it is drained.

Many players speculate on different methods to influence the class they are given, but not everyone is happy with the results. It is common for players to feel disappointed about their class, but later on they retrospectively recognize the merits of the server's choice. In some regard, you could say the game understands us better than we understand ourselves.

I think being a Familiar suits my personality, though.

I am genuinely fairly submissive.

I'm stupidly clingy in some ways, and I'm a total idiot when it comes to people that I like.

Before I knew it, I was kneeling and collared by my first owner.

⚘ ⚘ ⚘

"Finish what you were doing," @Jasper spoke quietly. "Don't mind me, @Fiie."

My owner turned away and stepped towards the closet, and I stared at him silently with my violet feline eyes. There was confusion in my pupils, mostly because I thought that @Jasper hated my human form. While we rarely ever spoke despite all the time we spent together, I had a limited a telepathic link with my owner, and to some degree I could sense his feelings even if no words were said.

Right now, my master's mind was extremely agitated.

There was something that was bothering him, and it hung over his heart like a heavy bundle of shadowy thorns.

It constricted his spirit like an insidious python, and somehow I had this vivid imagery of his internal organs being gradually crushed. He was like a powder keg of intense emotions that had been bottled up, and the lid to the casket was cracked. @Jasper was bleeding somehow, and the stoic expressionless man was trembling on the inside.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

I hesitated, but @Jasper shot a harsh glance at me.

"Just transform, @Fiie. That's an order."

My tail stiffened, but I slowly nodded and complied. My mind was swirling with confusion, but I hadn't been a slave for six years for nothing. Responding to commands was automatic, and I didn't question the things that I was told to do.

I shifted my body once more, and then I was soon kneeling on the floor whilst wrapping a long grey shawl around myself. There were only a limited types of clothing that I could shapeshift with, and most were single pieces of plain fabric that generally left me feeling fairly exposed. I usually liked to get changed into something else, but I didn't have any intention to go completely nude in front of my owner.

I averted my violet eyes, mostly out of habit, too anxious to make eye contact.

This was extremely unusual.

"Is something wrong, master?" I asked quietly. "Can I help you with something?"

My voice almost sounded alien to me. 

It had almost been eight months since I spoke a single word, and likewise I almost cringed hearing my voice crack. My vocal cords were out of practice, and they were almost a little squeaky like a tape recorder. It honestly sounded a bit like a 12-year-old boy on the telephone, which I hated. Sometimes I wish that my voice was fuller or more resonant — either more masculine or at least something like a mature woman — but this childish voice was something that I quickly regretted after character creation.

@Jasper didn't react after hearing my voice.

He simply silently stared at me.

I realized after a short while that he was staring at my swaying tail, so I stiffened and held my body still.

"I just wanted to talk," @Jasper said after a long while. "I want to get to know you better."

My brow furrowed further.

Why now all of a sudden?

We had known each other for nearly eight months, yet that entire time my owner was perfectly content to have me as a cat. Sometimes, he monologued at me when we were alone, but it was never the type of situation where I needed to respond to him. The telepathic link that we shared was mutual, so he could sense my emotions just as well as I could perceive his. I think he knew that I liked him, but it was never a subject that he ever brought up. Since I was his familiar, @Jasper could see through my eyes and listen through my ears, so he already knew everything that I experienced.

"Did something happen?" I asked hesitantly.

I was still focused on the cloud of negative feelings inside @Jasper's heart. It wasn't nearly so oppressive earlier in the evening, so something must have happened in the past few hours. The easiest explanation was that someone had said something to him, but I was troubled because I hadn't ever seen @Jasper like this.

My master was expressionless, and it was difficult to see what he was thinking.

He ignored my inquiry.

"@Fiie. If I could grant you a wish — anything that you desire — what would it be?"

There was a somewhat ominous tone to his voice, and I had chilling feeling in my spine.

"I want you to be happy," I responded, largely because I couldn't think of anything. "I want to help you reach your dreams."

"No. Not more of that fantasy roleplay."

@Jasper almost looked upset.

"I want to know what you want. @Fiie you're a nice kid, and a great companion. I don't understand you, though. Everyone joins this server searching for something, and this is hardly a place that people go to for a casual vacation. You're still synchronized with your Earth self, aren't you? How can you even stand the toxicity around here?"

"I'm not a kid. I'm twenty-six." I retorted. "And I also like it here. I like being your property."

A heavy shadow appeared under @Jasper's eyes.

It looked like there was something he wanted to say, but his lips stayed shut. He looked intensely frustrated.

The cloud of darkness in @Jasper's heart surged like a solar flare, and his hands tightened into fists.

The slave merchant abruptly got up to his feet and went to his desk in the cabin. He harshly pulled out a drawer out of the wooden cabinet and pulled out a piece of parchment that pulsated with enchanted magical energy. He strode back over and placed the menacing piece of paper right in front of me.

"Sign this." My master muttered.

It was a contract.

A magical contract that would be enforced by the foundational fabric of this virtual universe.

I picked up the piece of parchment and read it slowly.

Then I realized it was a will.

It was my owner's will.

In the event of his untimely death.

⚘ ⚘ ⚘