The young boy didn't get a chance to see his father much, because the man was always cooped up in his laboratory—and the same could be said for this Alchemist as well.
Owen Liddell stared at the house which could have been appropriately called a wooden shack. It was incredibly tiny that he doubted someone spent their days inside of there. One could even see that the glass windows were closed and even boarded up with some planks of wood for extra measure.
It made one doubt this was the laboratory of an Alchemist, unless they were some sort of rat. "Are you sure this is the place?"
"Alchemist Mossblossom?" Tobias knocked on the door, ignoring him completely. The man was very sure of himself that it was impossible for them to be pretending, especially when the guy even left his sister to bring him here. "It's Toby—"
"Have you collected the wolf dung and fur in the forest for me? If yes, leave it at the door. Thank you." the sound of a woman's voice echoed far louder than it possibly should have.
Tobias gave him a look. "See? Nobody gets in and sees Alchemist Mossblossom unless she provides the potions we need to import. That's like every full moon or so."
"Not much of an Apprentice then." he muttered, before approaching the door himself. He gave it a short and deliberate knock. "Excuse me, Alchemist Mossblossom. My name is Owen Liddell—"
"I don't have time for guests! There are important experiments I'm working on!"
The urge to crash the door down like some Berserker ebbed inside of him. This Alchemist should have been swinging their door open and letting him in by virtue of knowing who he was related to.
But this was fine.
If anything, Owen was pretty sure he had never encountered or heard his mother complain about his father ordering a pile of dung in creating his potions. What were the chances that Tobias was being fooled by the lady inside of the shack?
Then again, if the young man had a Class then it meant it was the real thing.
Perhaps there was a certain degree of isolation needed to be a good Alchemist, the capacity to put other matters away in lieu of practice and study. Owen just felt the urge to whip out a cool drink and quench his weariness away.
But he left his bag in the inn and that was where his stock was.
"Told you so."
"Doesn't matter, I had have no need to meet up with them." he turned away. He had wasted him time going here when he could have gone to the forest—but the man felt sticky and sweaty. He had gotten himself a cleaning charm to get the nasty and foul smell away, but it hadn't exactly stopped him from sweating while he was travelling. "Does your inn have a warm bath?"
"There's a nearby river if you want to cool off. It's close to the entrance of the forest."
"I see."
It wasn't that hard for the young man to start regretting about coming all the way here—but he couldn't just call it a day and quit it. He doubted his grandfather would be pleased to see him if he headed back so soon.
"If you get me a bag full of fur and dung, I can probably get Alchemist Mossblossom out to meet you."
"I already told you I have no need for it. Go get it yourself." he sighed. Owen had only come here expecting that the Alchemist would recognize him, or rather his father's name. Now that it was out of the window, he had no interest in meeting someone who couldn't spare even a minute of their time.
"Fine. Take care of my sister for me while I'm gone."
"Wait, what—"
"Thanks!" Tobias called out, already scampering off. Somehow even forgetting he was supposed to be rude to Owen the city boy.
He stared at the young man who disappeared over the other houses. Who entrusted children to complete strangers?!
These people in the Wolfcrest Village that's who.
Owen trudged back to the inn, grumbling underneath his breath. Before he sped up to get back as fast as he could for the sake of the kid at least.
He was now on babysitting duties.
People who worked in taking care of children gained something like a Carer Class. Not that he was interested in gaining one like it. But he needed no Class to understand a young child should not be left alone regardless of perceived safety.
It was easy to feel lonely.
Once he actually arrived, he found himself relieved to see that Toby's mother came home. It seemed neglectful to leave Nire alone at the inn—but in a village like theirs, it was probably because they trusted one another to have each other's back.
Compared to some other city or town that might have been filled with child beggars, thieves and notorious members of society… this place's ease with one another just made him feel anxious for them.
He inclined his head in greeting.
"Ah good morning, kind Mistress. I'm currently staying in your inn."
The woman seemed to be in her late thirties, or forty at the least. She shared the same brown hair of her children and looked at him with a kind and even motherly smile.
"Theresa is fine, young man. I think everybody has heard that someone settled in today, I myself overheard it at the village's square while I purchased some groceries." She gestured to her basket. "Is there anything you're craving to eat? I make a filling stew of meat and potatoes."
"Ah, anything is fine with me, Mistress Theresa." he said. "And I can take care of Nire while you're working, if you'd like."
"What a polite and helpful young man you are! You and Tobias would get along just fine—it's been sometime he's got people around his age here." She sighed happily.
"Pardon?"
"Most young men and women around here tend to leave Wolfcrest once they come of age, but he insists on staying here to look after me and his sister." There was something that caught in her voice, even though she smiled. "Especially since my husband was levied over a summer ago against the Beastkins and hasn't been able to return since."
Toby said he was gone.
Owen didn't know what to say, except for a moment he tried his best to smile back. "Well, I'll try my best to get along with Toby."
"Oh, you call him by nickname already? How fast of a friendship! I hope you stay here for a long time, young man."
—-—-
Author's Note: Another chapter at last, thank you for reading! It's a bit slow paced, since I do primarily slice of life, so I'll think about incorporating 'present-bar' chapters every now and then again. And of course, infusing action!