Ela stood stock still in front of the devastated sight of the carriage she excorted just the other day. The decoration and some packages stood there, burned black. She could make out a charred arm bellow the carriage, some ash all around, and dried blood.
She couldn't tell if her party had been wiped by humans or beasts, but she could certainly tell she was screwed.
The client this time was a minor noble who was rumored to have heard something he should not have, but even if she came back to the nearest city, she couldn't imagine herself being received with open arms. Nevermind the fact she didn't actually know what happened here, she could very well be charged with incompetence, targeted by anny of the involved parties for vengeance or info, or in the best case scenario, become an adventurer with a repution of being unreliable and having her party wiped.
Like many other adventurers, she didn't actually have a place to call home or someone to come back to. She had no clue as what to do right now though.
'If i go to a city there's a high chance i'm going to be targeted by some dickhead, even if i actualy escape or defeat them though, i'm still a lonely woman with a bad reputation. This day couldn't get any worse. At least there was that... I didn't ask his name, did I? Now that i think about it, why was that guy in a cave in a forest in the middle of nowhere? Well, he's my best shot at company and supplies, so i might as well ask.'
*****
Coming back to the lake she'd been before was easy and the nature was wonderful in a way that almost made her forgot how many things in here could kill her. She much prefered the visage of the naked hunk shoving his hair back while water droplets fell out of his muscled back and over his big an juicy ass, plus a visage that couldn't so easily be hidden by his legs and the falling water.
'Atha boy!'
(Remenber, lycantrope.)
She didn't make much sound, but he turned back with a predatory gaze that made her imediatly put her arms above her head in fright as several icy bolts showed their pointy ends to her face.
*****
Seeing the brunete discretly trying to peek at him through the ice wall he made certainly pushed some of Aki's buttons, but he was neither that easy nor that dumb. Sex right now would only equal problems. And that's because he was thinking anal.
Again, Aki found himself close to punching or stabbing himself with something so the desires would go back to his control. He internally asked himself whether that was the reason he so readily thought of seducing the sluty rogue or wheter he had always been an exibcionist. Either or both could very well be the reason.
Right now, the important was to be able to talk fully in common and get info in the current state of the world. Then he would get her to be his training partner. He had looked into her life for a bit last night, but didn't go into much depth in fear of damaging her mind. Maybe he could change... No, you don't start a relationship over a lie, nevermind expecting your partner to change.
During those considerations and debrief on his plan, Aki had already dressed himself manually. Taking the icy wall down to see the lean woman expecting him, Aki again felt a pang in his heart and the blood flowing to his face again. No magic needed, he was constantly reminded he wasn't entirely human anymore already.
"So, you said something about your party being wiped and wanting supplies?" Aki had definetly not said the full sentence in common, but he was able to cause an effect similar to when you are reading a sentence in two languages you are fluent in, the diference was simply not noticed by the brain if you were not paying attention.
The memories in the rogue's head had certainly helped him attain some mastery of the language, but he probably commited more mistakes then when he was learning english while growing up since he didn't have books, written questions, teachers and so.
'Gods, how do protagonists in novels actually learn other languages withouth using their cheats?'
"Yeah, i know it sounds like a lot to ask, but..." Aki put a hand up, interupting her.
"It's fine, but i actually don't really keep much with me besides my clothes and some kniting material. I hunt everyday and haven't needed anything else since i have magic. I even have a small item box with some conserved food, but that's it. I wouldn't mind helping finding some things, but you are problably more well equiped than me if we exclude the knowlegde about the forest and maybe my handycraft skill."
The admission on his conditions quite shocked the rogue, and she decided to find a good oportunity to ask why he was in this forest.
*****
Looking back, Ela asked herself why would the young man have more suplies, or why he would give them to her at all, but then she remenbered the genuine autruism in his eyes and actions. 'Makes you want to take care of him so people like me don't take advantage.'
If Aki had heard her say that, he'd problably say something about how his mother had aparently done a good job in raising a psyco into a proper citizen.
Right now though, he was focused on the lonely deer in front of him.
"You think you'd still get points out of it? Mine are still climbing as i eat them, and aparently they give agility, plus inteligence to a minor degree." Aki wispered to her withouth losing eyes on the prey.
"It can give inteligence?!" She was truly surprised. Beasts that could grant mind stats, even if minorly, were ussualy farmed by nobles and mages, so she couldn't help but look at the boy with surprise and greed. "We could get rich selling the info about this place." She quietly screamed at him.
"But wasn't your party wiped?" His words and the look of doubt in his eyes downed on her. He problably didn't realize the entirety of what his statement implied, but she could only slump down in regret and nod. Sighing, she decided to at least cap her inteligence by eating the deer.
More mana was more mana after all.
Even just charging her items would become easier with more inteligence.
*****
Going back to the cave, she and Aki both carried a deer each, plus the one in his item box.
As an adventurer, Ela wasn't against the idea of eating slightly raw meat for the extra chance at a stat point, but even she worried it would cause a bad reaction in her body.
With Aki quick to reasure her about his healing capabilities though, she happily ate the not so well cooked meat while thanking her lucky stars for this silver lining in the middle of the hell that was going to be from there on. Thinking about it a little more though, she frowned.
"Aki, I know this is sudden, but what are you going to do when you get out of this forest?" She asked with some caution, not wanting to pry too deeply into someone else's life. Though truth be told she wanted to nab the boy for herself.
"Probably look for the closest big city, find a job, meet someone, probably be rejected, try again till I find the one, and settle down while I wait for the white hair to come and write a book or something." He shrugged and said, giving her a confused a disappointed feeling inside. Why would anyone with power directly choose such mediocre life?
Aki wasn't lying either, that was and still is his dream. While he'd always enjoyed violence, pain and the misery of those thought lesser, he was actually raised by a goody two shoes samaritan and learned to love peace and mundane.
He wanted to be like his mother. But with a less strict hold on swearing and without back problems.
"Though, that probably won't happen for another year or three. Maybe five." That got him a look of surprise he took as a queue to keep talking. "Reason number one: I look very suspicious wearing clothes that can easily be described as barbaric." He said while pointing at himself. The woman in front of him just looked at his crotch and abs though.
"I could buy some for you, no problem." He nodded and smiled at her.
"Reason two: I don't have anything out there anymore." He could practically see the woman contorting herself internally so she wouldn't ask, so he chuckled. "Since I was little, I was raised by a mute wizard who treated me as his apprentice slash assistant. Recently he died and had to randomly teleport me for safety sake. I'd had some experience with surviving in nature, so unless I teleported into an area with a ridiculous amount of mana, which isn't how teleportation works, I would be fine. Right now, I don't even know, or care much, as to where I am in the map." He explained while making proper motions and looks.
"Thank you for telling me your story. I can see how that would be hard to..."
"Third, I'm a lycantrope." He finished while interrupting her. The information took a moment to settle in, but Ela almost immediately took for her weapons. "I'm not stupid Ela. Something like that is hard to maintain hidden even without appraisal. I did not attack you before, and I won't attack you now either. I know you won't tell others about this forest, not more than necessary anyways. Please, don't." He said with a sad tone while eyeing her reaction.
A moment of awkward silence ensued and they just stood there, looking at each other, until she gave in and slumped on the ground again.
"I could've killed you, you know?"She held her head in a hand and murmured so without looking at him.
"You would have tried. Thank you for showing my first impression of you to be right though. The situation would have been even more awkward otherwise. I've already passed my first tribulation with ease, so I hope you trust me when I say I'm no different than a buff and hairy human at the moment. Ask any questions you feel necessary." He solemnly said with a trace of happiness in his gaze.
"How did you get infected?" She imediatly asked.
"A werewolf pack destroyed my master's tower. In the panic, I was hit before my master could save me and teleported away. He was in critical condition when I left, so I don't think he is alive." Aki paused for a bit, but resolutely answered.
"I'm sorry." She imediatly seemed even more downcast.
"Don't be. The old man was like family, but I just wasn't made to cry for long. It hurts, but it also helps keep me alive and safe from myself." Aki explained with a grin smile. He then proceeded to explain to her about how it felt to have animal like urges and how he'd been resisting, including a brief description of his first meeting with the wolf inside of him. "Since I've seen you I've also had some mating urges, but those are quiet easy to resist when I remember it would be almost certain that you would be infected were I to let my focus down." He said, trying to be low-key about the reason why wolf meat was off the menu.
I'm fact, Aki had already found out how to sterilize simple liquids, but he had no clue as to whether the lupine agent was able to survive in his bodily fluids or not, so he'd much prefer keeping other things off the table too.
The frustration of having a new and magically improved body/ass and not being able to use it was immense, I tell you, immense.