Relief washed through Iris as she moved closer to inspect the injury of the wolf. She could have turned around and left it alone to die, but even if she was a hunter, Iris had always apologized to her kills and given them a small prayer as they died by the arrow she struck them.
She could have pretended like she didn't see this gravely injured white wolf that she had no doubt was a darkling, but the thought of leaving it to die like this didn't sit well with her. The huge white wolf was obviously in a lot of pain. She cautiously moved forward and saw the laceration on its shoulder. She flinched at the sight. Whoever the wolf was fighting yesterday must have been eager to kill it to deliver such a deadly blow.
Iris would have asked the wolf to turn over to its back, but she doubted that the darkling would appreciate it. Was it really this weak that she couldn't even sense its presence? She wouldn't have even noticed the darkling if her hearing didn't pick up its low growl.
Something about the way the wolf looked at her told Iris that the darkling had some sense of understanding of the human language. She briefly wondered why it was fighting with another darkling yesterday.
Iris removed her hunting gloves, revealing her slightly calloused hands. Her whole body trembled from the coldness of the weather. Though the weather indicated that winter was starting to wane, it was still cold enough to freeze a person to death if they were left exposed for too long. She touched the shoulder of the white wolf, realizing that its mere paw was larger than her head and its sharp claws could easily tear anything apart.
"This might hurt a little, so bear with me." She muttered low, aware that the wolf's cerulean blue eyes were set on her, filled with curiosity.
She took a deep breath and willed herself to remain calm. Iris hadn't done this in a long time. Not since her father's death. One reason why she always wore her hunting gloves was for her to limit the chances of being found out as a magus. Her ability required her to have close physical contact with the person or creature she wanted to heal.
By healing, she could only rejuvenate the plants and heal the wounds on small animals. Iris wasn't able to give life to those who had already perished. She also couldn't heal any illness. Iris could only heal wounds that weren't affected by any poison.
This was why her ability was useless to heal her father. Iris had hated herself for being this useless, as she could only watch her father wilt and slowly lose his life each passing day, until one morning when he never woke up again. She held this regret ever since then. If only she was allowed to learn more about and develop her ability to heal.
Because there were no doctors in their town, the townsfolk could only rely on aphotecary for their illness and midwives for pregnant women who were due to give birth. Being located near the border of Asnar and far from the capital, where everything was available for the citizens of the Kingdom of Dravial, it was only natural that the mortality rate in Calaren Town as well as its neighboring villages was quite high.
Iris's hand laid wide open and splayed on both sides of the whole injury. She had never dealt and healed an injury as bad and large as this before. She focused her attention on the wound, before a burst of light filled the laceration, catching not only the wolf off guard, but also herself.
The intense heat melted the snow that was clinging to her hood and clothes. The darkling's eyes slightly widening. It must have been surprising for it to see that a scrawny human like Iris was capable of such a feat.
Initially, Iris was planning to heal the darkling's wound until it was no longer in danger and could heal on its own, but she couldn't stop the mana flowing out her body even if she wanted to. She had never tried healing a serious injury like this before, but she couldn't understand why she couldn't stop her magic at that moment.
Something like this had never happened before. Iris wasn't even aware that she had this enormous amount of mana in her body. She could only watch as the wound healed itself, the blood stopped seeping from it all at once, much to her surprise. Then in a blink of an eye, there were no signs left by the injury. The wolf's pristine white fur matted on the part where the laceration used to be.
Iris pulled away and her face broke into a wide smile. However, even before she could make any comment, Iris suddenly felt dizzy and weak at the same time. Her eyes became unfocused and her world seemed to be spinning.
She staggered back and held the side of her head, looking down at her boots as she forced herself to stay on her foot, but the last thing she saw was the wolf half rising to catch her fall, allowing her to fall on its thick fur instead with a thud.
She laid unconscious against the body of the large wolf. Iris could have died if she was left in such a vulnerable situation. Not only was she exposed to the coldness of the winter, but she was practically left in the mercy of the darkling she just met.
It took some time before the white wolf moved from its place gently, removing Iris's body and flopping her back on the cold ground. The once humongous white wolf had then transformed into a tall man with handsome features and pale skin, coupled with a silken moonlit hair that reached past his waist. His cerulean eyes roamed over Iris's body and frowned.
'What an odd human.'