Part Forty-Five — Ace

　I woke the next morning to the wolf's face inches from mine, watching me with an unsettling patience.

　I sighed.

　"Alright. Good morning to you too."

　Eris had already left for town again, chasing down the rest of what I'd sent her for the first time. With the house to myself and a rare stretch of quiet, I decided to finally do something about the place's shape.

　Arcane Creation reshaped the whole structure into something closer to what I actually wanted――a design pulled from an old-life memory of traditional Japanese homes, sliding panels and clean, simple lines that felt, somehow, like the first thing I'd built here that was entirely my own aesthetic rather than just functional necessity.

　"Damn," I said, surveying the finished result. "I'm good."

　<"Hmmmm.">

　Anti-Subconsciousness sounded distinctly unconvinced.

　"Just let me have this moment in peace, please."

　The house did have a flaw or two, if I'm honest. I'd rushed parts of it, since I could only draw on Arcane Creation once a week at this scale now, and impatience had cost me some precision in a corner or two.

　But there was proper room.

　Storage.

　A real kitchen.

　Space enough for all three of us――and whatever else decided to wander into this life of mine going forward.

　The wolf padded over while I was still admiring my own work, sitting close and watching me with the same patient stare from that morning.

Right. I should probably actually name it, at some point.

　"Hey," I said, "what's your――"

　I stopped myself, remembering.

　"Right. You can't speak. My bad."

　I looked at it a moment longer, turning something over.

　"I'll call you Ace," I said. "From now on, that's your name."

　<"The monster known as Aetherfang has been given the name Ace. The name has been registered into its soul. It has acknowledged you as its true master.">

　"Guess that makes sense," I said, watching something shift subtly in the wolf's posture.

　Steadier, somehow.

　Like the name had settled something in it, the same way Eris's had settled something in her.

Two, now.

Whatever this new shape of family ends up looking like.