Logan frowned, looking down at his map again. The whispering woods were no joke and it was easy to get turned around within the massive forest. Indeed, this deep in the fauna had grown abnormally large, a clear sign that Logan had officially entered the realm of Giant creatures.
The alchemist paused, hearing an abnormal shuffling amongst the underbrush ahead of him. Logan pressed himself to the trunk of a tree. He quieted his breathing, his hand coming up to the dagger at his side.
Roman had caught the whiff of a human the second it had entered into his territory. The smell of it was faint, of course given both the size and distance but it only grew as Roman stalked closer. He peered through the trees, knowing the brush around him gave him enough camouflage that human couldn’t see him quite yet. But Roman could see him perfectly fine.
The human seemed to have heard him though, as he touched the dagger at his side. Roman snorted as if that tiny knife would do anything against him. He had to wonder why this human was even here, though. No one ever came here. He stalked a bit closer.
Logan backed further away, noticing the rustling drawing nearer. He glanced behind him, wondering for a moment if it would be better to fight or run. Strength had never been Logan’s strong suit, and likely he would be no match for any of the large fauna that called this neck of the woods home. With this in mind, Logan began to quickly but quietly dash back the way he came, hoping he could remain unnoticed.
Roman frowned as he saw the human begin to run. He didn’t want the human to just leave. Not before he could meet him at the very least. Getting into position, Roman jumped up and landed a few feet in front of the human, grinning wide.
“Well, where do you think you’re going.”
“Ah!” Logan quickly tried to skid to a halt, only to fall flat on his back nearly underneath the Giant that had pounced so quickly in front of him. Looking up, Logan realized that the creature was not entirely human-looking, as it had a pair of furry ears sprouting from its head, and the mouth that grinned down at him held a pair of vicious canine fangs. Not just a Giant, then. A Werewolf.
Logan quickly scrambled to his feet, backing up several long strides and unsheathing his dagger. “I’m not looking for trouble.” He explained, looking between his weapon and the beast and realizing he hardly stood a chance of dealing any damage.
Roman titled his head, not even worrying about the small dagger aimed at him. “Then what are you looking for?” Roman asked.
“I’m just looking for a few potion ingredients.” Logan kept his tone non-confrontational. “There are some more rare specimens that grow out here that I have use for back home.”
Roman blinked. “Ingredients for potions?” He had never seen a human come out this far just to gather a few plants and such. This human was pretty brave for doing so, something Roman couldn’t help but admire.
Roman shifted so he was sitting on his knees instead of on all fours on the ground. He now looked down at the human. “Well, not that you would know this or anything, but you kind of entered into my territory,” Roman explained.
“I apologize for the intrusion.” Logan bowed as a further form of apology, certainly not wanting to anger a Werewolf. Logan had not heard much about the creatures, seeing as few humans had had encounters with the beings. “I shall certainly be on my way out of your territory immediately.”
“Oh no! You don’t have to do that,” Roman said, still grinning. “I just brought attention to it because I happen to know this area like the back of my hand. I could certainly help you gather the ingredients that you need.” He looked down at the human with excitement. Helping the human not only sounded fun but Roman would hate to see the human die. The forest was a dangerous place for a human, after all.
Logan’s eyebrows raised as he cautiously looked up from his bent-over position. “You would do that?” Indeed, Logan had already become quite turned around. Some guidance would be most satisfactory.
“Of course! I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t.” His tail wagged behind him in excitement. “My name is Roman, by the way.”
Logan sheathed his dagger, standing up and offering his arm. “Logan.”
Roman looked at the hand, leaning down closer to sniff at it before grinning and taking it between two fingers. He was gentle as he shook the hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Logan nodded, pulling his hand back and retrieving his list of ingredients. “Now, the first specimen I am searching for is the phoenix flower, have you heard of it?”
“Phoenix flower…Oh! Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about!” Roman exclaimed. Using the hand that was still near Logan, he grabbed the human before standing to his full height. “It’s not too far away from here actually, you got pretty close by yourself.” Roman started to walk in that direction, still keeping his grip around Logan.
“O-oh.” Logan found his gaze suddenly drawn to the forest floor so far below him. He gripped at Roman’s fingers slightly, not thrilled at the thought of a fall. “Well, ah, that’s- that’s good to hear.”
Roman hummed and stopped soon after starting to walk. He kneeled down and placed Logan on the ground. “That’s the flower you were talking about, right?” He asked, pointing at said red and yellow flower.
Logan nodded, tentatively taking a step closer as the blossom seemed to glow. Almost scared to make a sound, Logan pulled at one of the large petals, carefully detaching it from the plant. The flower gave a small shudder, but after a moment was glowing just as brightly as before. Satisfied, Logan ran his hands along the petal, feeling its silky texture beneath his fingertips. The power radiating off even one single vein of this magnificent creation could prove vital to his experiments.
“Thank you,” Logan said, at the last moment remembering his manners as he began to fold and tuck the petal back into his bag.
“Of course! Was there anything else you needed help finding?” Roman’s tail wagged back and forth hard, excited to spend more time with this human. For whatever reason, Roman wanted to stick around the human as much as possible. Despite having just met the guy.
“Why yes.” Logan pulled out his list, getting excited himself. He hadn’t expected to reach the phoenix flower within a single day, much less any more of his ingredients. “Next I require a sprig of burguly.”
Roman hummed in thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers. “Right! That one is a little farther away but with me helping you it will take less than ten minutes!” He picked Logan up again and started on their way. As they walked, Roman decided to make conversation, wanting to get to know the human better.
“So, what kind of potion are you making that needs all these rare ingredients?” Roman asked.
“It’s not actually a single potion, but a variety,” Logan explained, slowly becoming accustomed to the feeling of claws wrapped gently around his body. “I like to experiment with various components for unknown results. Unfortunately the ingredients I’ve had access to have proven lackluster, so I’m attempting to increase the strength of my reserves in the hope of yielding more powerful outcomes.”
“Huh, sounds dangerous but also really cool,” Roman admitted. “So, do you just do this for fun or…?”
“I do it for the pursuit of knowledge.” Logan’s eyes seemed to almost sparkle with pure mad scientist energy.
Roman blinked for a moment as he looked down and saw the spark in Logan’s eyes before laughing. “Then you do some admirable work.” Roman praised. The longer he talked to Logan, the more he liked him.
“Thank you.” Logan looked almost humble for a moment before he leaned more towards Roman. “Most humans don’t respect my work, I hardly ever get questions nowadays besides the occasional request to move my experiments farther from the town line.”
Roman frowned. “Well, that doesn’t seem fair. Or very nice.” Roman thought for a moment, before grinning a mischievous smile, showing off his fangs. “Would you like me to…take care of them for you?”
“Ah…that will not be necessary.” Logan gave a bit of an awkward laugh, slowly leaning back again. “It’s a fair request of them, given that my experiments can often have effects within a wide range. Besides, I don’t mind the isolation. I just wish more individuals took an interest in my work.”
Roman chuckled, dropping the mischievous smile to a normal grin. “I was just messing with you.” Roman wasn’t one to go around and kill humans after all. “And I will happily fill that void and listen! I am actually very fascinated by all this.”
“Really?” Logan was pleased to hear that Roman’s threat was indeed merely a jest, as well as find such an avid conversationalist. “Are you a researcher of the elemental sciences as well?”
“Well…no but all the things that you have been talking about sound really interesting. I’d be honored if you told me more.” Roman said before suddenly stopping. “Oh, and here we are.”
He knelt down once more and put Logan down on the ground.