Viola rolled her eyes. Then she pulled off a mushroom roasting on the spit and offered it to Mitzi. Mitzi nibbled it out of her palm while Viola scratched her head, like she really was some pet.

“There are five classes of Beasts,” Viola told him. “The class tells you how powerful a Beast is and how hard it is to find. A Kafersaft is in the bottom class, the Trite class. They have a little power but aren’t even strong enough to bond with. They do have uses, though. The sap from a Kafersaft tree is a common ingredient in all sort of elixirs, like Chamelion Lotion and Hornpecker Serum.”

Harmless or not, Barclay was still spooked by their hundreds of buggy legs.

“Here,” Viola offered, handing him a mushroom. “You can feed her, if you like.”

Barclay absolutely would not like. But Mitzi, sighting the food, had already scampered to Barclay’s feet. And he’d much rather feed her the treat than his finger.

He held his breath as she gobbled it down off his hand, then he hurriedly checked his skin to make sure it hadn’t turned scaly or infected.

“See, she likes you,” Viola said as Mitzi brushed Barclay’s leg with her feathered tail. “You’re not special, though. Mitzi likes everyone.”

Barclay almost—almost—came close to reaching down and petting Mitzi on the head, but then Mitzi made a belching sound and vomited the chewed-up mushroom all over his boots.

“You have to eat that now,” Viola told him seriously.

“I… I do?” Barclay asked, horrified.

Viola looked him dead in the eyes. “Do you want her to eat you?”

As he fearfully bent down to scoop it up, Viola let out a howl of laughter.

“I’m sorry, I just… I didn’t expect you to actually do it,” Viola said, wiping tears out of her eyes. “I don’t know how many times I have to explain to you that Mitzi isn’t going to eat you.”

“She’s a dragon,” Barclay grumbled, kicking the sick off his shoes. “What am I supposed to think?”

Mitzi climbed back onto Viola’s shoulder and pecked at her golden pins, very undragonlike. Viola smirked at him while she scratched Mitzi’s chin.

Barclay frowned. He wasn’t used to being the one who didn’t know anything, and he didn’t like it.

“So what class is Mitzi?” he asked.

“You’re skipping ahead. There’s still the second class, the Familiar class. They’re the most common Beasts to bond with. They have a small amount of power and are very easy to control. A lot of Guild apprentices have them.” Viola began counting off on her fingers, which Mitzi bent down to try to nibble. “Mitzi is in the third class, the Prime class. She was not very easy to find, but when she gets bigger, she’ll be very powerful.”

“What do you mean by ‘apprentice’?” Barclay asked.

“Having a Beast makes you a Lore Keeper, but the most prestigious Keepers work for the Guild. And they start out as apprentices. Masters can take on up to three of them. You usually start when you’re between ten and twelve.”