"Okay, remember, we need the yellow and orange ones, not the green ones," Ewan quickly explained, pointing to a small plant stem in his hands.
"Understood, the yellow and orange ones," repeated Pavas, eyebrows raised.
Pleased that the girl had understood his instructions, the young hunter took one last look at the brand new identification tag that hung around Pavas's neck, before heading to a grove not far away.
The foliage being of dark green color, the young girl stood out clearly on this vegetal background with the beige clothes that Ewan had bought her the day before while leaving the Association building.
He had asked her if she wished something else, but she had insisted on having clothes more useful and practical than elegant and light ones. He was sure that at the time, the girl was much more delighted at the idea of having a plate, than that of having nice clothes. After thinking about it, she had probably been right to choose something that seemed comfortable to her; given that Ewan didn't know anything about women's clothes, and even less about the preferences that Pavas herself could have.
Regularly casting a few glances in the direction of the girl, he saw her take the nameplate in her hands several times to observe it, before suddenly dropping it to resume her work.
Even though he had chosen a rather easy request to execute - to collect plants - it wasn't a completely safe one: with the monsters and creatures that roamed Mount Larshen, it was always necessary to be on guard, and especially when one strayed from the roads and other paths regularly used by human beings.
Therefore, it was with discretion but insistence that he watched Pavas, without going too far away from her.
He didn't yet know where Wynblow might have been hiding on Mount Larshen, so he would certainly have to search off the tracks to try to find her. It was a bit his fault, come to think of it: he hadn't given a clear and precise rendezvous point, so they would have to find each other by trial and error. However, if the dragoness did not reappear, it would not be too much of a loss. He would be able to go on his way peacefully, and keep on hunting monsters to make money. It wasn't that he didn't want to fulfill the promise he had made with the Salamander, but that he preferred to keep things simple, without complications. Wynblow, on the other hand, was the perfect example of a cluster of "complications" that he wanted to avoid at all costs. He had already been exposed to more than enough of it during his years at the military academy, in the presence of Carciem.
Slipping herbs into a satchel hanging on his left side, he looked around to locate the next spot where he would be harvesting, when he heard a rustle of vegetation.
Alert, he reached for his sword, ready to draw it at the first sign of a threat.
Silently approaching Pavas, he motioned for her to stop making noise - placing a finger over his mouth - and reached out to listen.
A slow, heavy footstep moved around the clearing where the two humans were. The characteristics of these footsteps automatically ruled out another human being, or a small or medium-sized animal. Could it have been a bear?
He just hoped it wasn't the Behemoth that was currently being targeted by a request posted at the Association, as he was not at all equipped to fight such a beast.
Branches crackled to his left, informing him that the creature was closing in on their position, prompting Ewan to pull his sword out of its scabbard with his right hand, and dip his left hand into a pouch attached to his belt. If necessary, he was ready to throw packets of irritant gas directly at the creature to destabilize it and make a quick decision.
A large breath came from another thicket not far away, and judging by its rather elevated position in relation to them, Ewan no longer doubted that it must have been a large creature. There would be no decision to make, in the end. It would be flight or nothing.
Glancing at Pavas, whom he had pulled by the arm toward him, he quickly calculated his chances.
Fusain was tied up a hundred meters away, on the main trail, and the small path they had taken so far was twisty, so he would certainly have to run straight and cut through the heather and tall grass.
The muffled crack of a tree trunk being pushed out of the way by brute force told him that the monster must be about ten meters ahead of them, and Ewan stiffened all his muscles, ready to take action.
Leaping from behind the large shrubs and trees in a wide arc, a silver Salamander suddenly appeared, landing gracefully with its full weight in front of Pavas and Ewan and drawing a shriek of surprise from the two humans.
Its claws dug into the earth and sand before retracting, leaving slash marks on the ground; and its long tail beat the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
The young hunter didn't even need to hear or see it to know who it was, and he also sensed that Pavas had hidden behind him without waiting.
He didn't know how, but Wynblow had managed to find them.
"Are you out of your mind jumping on us like that?!" Ewan snarled, sword in hand.
"I thought I'll had to wait more!" Exclaimed in return the dragoness.
"That's no reason to almost squash us and scare the hell out of us!" Replied the young man.
"Because you were scared, there?" Mocked she, amused.
Jaded, Ewan looked up at the spiny head and the two green eyes that were staring at him and Pavas. It seemed to him that Wynblow was smiling mockingly, but he wasn't quite sure, given all the sharp teeth the dragoness was showing almost constantly.
Despite the flinches that still coursed through his muscles, he calmly sheathed his sword in its scabbard, and felt Pavas sneak up behind him.
"You... seem to be in good shape..." He said as a courtesy.
Wynblow quickly wiggled her hind legs, opening and closing her talons as she stretched and bent her legs.
"It takes more than that to take down a dragon," she said proudly, nodding.
She wasn't wrong, but Ewan still felt annoyed.
"But by the way, how did you find us?" Ewan asked, curious now that the surprise had worn off.
He felt Pavas gesticulating behind his back, and he couldn't blame her: who could expect a dragon to suddenly jump out at you in the middle of nowhere?
"I tracked you directly by your scent," she said, raising her head high and pointing at Ewan.
"Are you implying that I stink?" Ewan took offense at such familiarity, his heart still beating strongly.
"Whether you smell bad or not, I would still have smelled you from a thousand kilometers away," she replied with pride, straightening her neck even more.
Ah, it's true that dragons also had a much better sense of smell than any other living creature; but that didn't stop you from being offended at having been spotted by your body odor.
"What amazes me the most is that you manage to smell anything beyond your own scent," Ewan retorted.
"You say that I stink?!" Offended she in turn, tilting her head towards him.
"You see how it feels now?" declared Ewan, crossing his arms. "And by that I meant exactly what I meant. You smell a lot stronger than I do."
"I'll have you know that even though I eat anything, I still maintain hygiene standards!" She argued as she straightened up again. "It's not like I have access to the conveniences you humans have, or that I can accurately hold anything in my clutches!"
To illustrate her point, she raised one of her paws, palm up, and showed her fingers ending in large, thick claws.
Ewan watched her clench and unclench her paw several times, as any human would have done with his own hand, and sighed.
"I don't really expect any manners from you, but please don't give me a heart attack first, and don't be as offensive as possible." Said he in a reasoned air.
However, the young man suspected that she probably didn't intend to be vexing, and he himself admitted to have reacted with a little too much virulence. The fault of having been surprised in this way.
Wynblow winced, her teeth slowly rubbing against each other, then her gaze turned to the little girl standing back behind the young hunter.
"I didn't expect you to come back with her..." She observed curiously, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Weren't you supposed to leave her in town?"
"There was a change of plan," Ewan replied, still with his arms crossed. "But considering all the setbacks that have happened in the last few days, it's almost nothing."
"Are you implying that I'm a setback, now?" Wynblow took offense again.
"No... I wasn't implying anything this time..." Ewan grumbled, uncrossing his arms.
Sighing heavily, he motioned for Pavas to come closer, and the girl fearfully complied.
"Pavas is going to be under my supervision for a little while," he declared before pointing to the dragoness. "And you, I must lead you to the North. So you two had better get along."
Looking up at the large lizard's head, Pavas swallowed slowly. Could she really let her guard down against a creature she had always considered a ferocious human eater?
"Show some good will, okay?" Ewan insisted.
Wynblow sighed, obviously resigned, and then lowered her head full of scales and horns toward the girl.
"If I wanted to eat human beings, I would have done so long ago," said the Salamander. "But I suspect that anyone would be terrified to be near me..."
Pavas shook her head then, and forced herself to look the dragoness straight in the eye.
"I'm not afraid," she said in a small voice.
Wynblow suddenly began to laugh, which again surprised both Ewan and Pavas.
"She's talking now, too!" Wynblow exclaimed, continuing to laugh. "I'm finally going to have some interesting conversations!"
Ewan couldn't help but be offended again by this statement, and stared disdainfully at the large winged lizard that was splitting his jaw right in front of him.