---
title: Pets and companions
description: Meet your Veilfox, learn its commands, and prepare it for a short adventure together.
---

{/* Source review 2026-09-06: store/characters.go and bonded_pets.go starter provisioning; bonded_pet_training.go; world/companions/veilfox.go and care.go; items/catalog/data/economy.json boar_drops; client pet-command-controls.tsx, companion-combat-stance-controls.tsx and en.json pet copy. Source-checked, not a live walkthrough. */}

## Start with your Veilfox

You do not need to tame a wild creature before trying a companion. Your starting companion is a **Veilfox**. Open **Companions**, choose the **Pets** category, and find it in your roster.

Begin with one companion and a short trip through familiar ground. Your first goal is to call it, understand its behavior, and bring it through an outing with enough supplies for its care.

## Call your companion

Select your Veilfox and inspect its status, health, and coherence. If it is ready, use **Call** and check that it appears beside you in the world. If it is resting, read the remaining rest time before planning around it.

In the overworld, **Follow** keeps it moving with you, **Stay** leaves it waiting, and **Send Home** dismisses it from the outing. Try Follow and walk a short distance before entering a fight.

The game allows three active pets. If the panel says the active limit is reached, send one home before calling another. Start with one while you learn the controls.

## Choose how it responds to danger

Movement commands and combat stance answer different questions: where should the pet go, and when should it fight? Read the stance description before setting off.

- **Passive:** does not join fights on its own. Use this while learning movement or exploring without automatic combat support.
- **Defensive:** guards you and your pets against nearby threats, and stops pursuing enemies that flee or head home.
- **Attack:** fights threats to you or your pets and continues chasing when they retreat.

Begin with Passive for a movement check, then try Defensive against a manageable enemy. Watch the pet's actual position and health during the encounter. Choose Attack deliberately when you are prepared for a chase.

## Bring Raw Meat for care

**Raw Meat** supports healing, feeding, and training. Boars can drop it, so a manageable boar hunt is one way to gather supplies. Drops are not guaranteed; check your inventory after collecting the rewards.

Open **Care & Training** and distinguish the actions before spending your supply:

- **Heal** restores health. Check the pet's health and the displayed cost.
- **Feed** addresses hunger. Hungry pets face longer rests; feeding is useful care even when healing is not the immediate goal.
- **Train** raises the pet's training level. Review the next-level cost before spending meat you need for the trip.

Keep the meat you plan to use in your carried inventory. After an action, check the pet's updated health, feeding status, or level so you know what the meat achieved.

## Grow your gear and pet together

A pet's trained level can be higher than the level it currently works at. Its effective level is limited by your best carried weapon and armor; training beyond that limit remains dormant until your gear improves.

If the panel shows dormant levels, revisit [Improving your equipment](/guide/improving-your-equipment/) before putting all your meat into more training. Improving your own preparation also helps your companion reach its potential.

The **Skills** section offers lessons with their own level requirements and costs. Read what a lesson does and learn one you expect to use, rather than buying every available option at once.

## Ask your Veilfox to find open ground

For an exploration outing, inspect **Find Open Ground**. Your Veilfox can search for an unclaimed place and offer a journey there. Review the Rift Mote and coherence costs shown in the panel before proceeding.

Use **Ask to Search**, then read the direction, distance, and confirmation deadline. Choose **Begin Journey** if the destination suits your plans, or **Find Another** to look for an alternative. If the offer expires, request a new one.

Before accepting, decide how you will return. Finding unclaimed ground does not build a Lantern or move your home there. Bring the supplies for any claim you intend to establish, and use [Travel and exploration](/guide/travel-and-exploration/) to plan the rest of the trip.

## Finish your first outing together

Take your companion on a short gathering or hunting trip. Watch its health and coherence, use care when needed, and follow any rest status shown by the panel. Back on familiar ground, try Send Home and check that the pet remains in your roster with its current status.

You should now understand how to call a companion, choose its behavior, and provide for it. Other pets have their own discovery and unlocking paths; inspect **Discoveries** as you explore rather than assuming every creature can be tamed.

Continue with [City life](/guide/city-life/) to join a Citadel and gather supplies for your first dungeon.