We're almost at the clearing now, and the sky is starting to darken. For now, I can still see, but ask me again in 20 minutes, and I'll probably have to change my answer. The one who won't need to change hers is Mirina. It seems that once it started getting dark and the sound of crickets filled the forest, she finally decided to listen to me and came down from those damn rocks to walk close by. And by 'close,' I mean she grabbed my arm and won't let go.
"Look, I appreciate that you're finally worried about getting lost and are now holding my hand, but this is a bit much. We're almost at the place, so you don't need to worry." I break the silence, trying to calm her nerves, but it seems my kind words had the opposite effect.
"Eeep! I'm not scared! You are!"
Hey, I didn't even mention anything about being scared.
"If it makes you feel safer, you can hold onto m—"
Before I can finish, I feel her small body immediately cling to me… What is this shameless creature?!
Ignoring the weight of my new luggage, I continue walking toward our destination, which we reach shortly after. The clearing isn't anything special, really—just a small open field in the sea of forest trees. But if you look a bit closer, you can see the strange plants that rise from the soil. Curiously, this clearing doesn't have grass like the others in the forest. This is because of the grass-tails, which poison the soil, killing all nearby plants except for cat's-tail grass. This grass takes advantage of the lack of competition, sending its roots deeper and absorbing as many nutrients as possible, drawing energy from surrounding plants, and stopping them from spreading too far, all while camouflaging itself among its neighbors. Very clever.
With the clearing finally in sight, I pause for a moment to rest. We still have some time before the flowers bloom, so I can afford to sit down for a moment, an action quickly followed by Mirina, who looks happy to rest after walking nonstop for so long.
'Hm, I'll have to pay more attention next time.'
"So, what do we do now?" I hear her ask, slightly panting beside me.
"We just wait a while. It's not like the flowers bloom at an exact time, but if I had to guess, I'd say we'll be here for about half an hour."
"That long? This is gonna take forever!" Frustrated, she falls back, lying down on the ground.
"Hey, I never said this would be fun, did I?" I reply, turning to look at her.
"I never said I'm not having fun!" She quickly counters, then pauses as if in thought. "...You know, when I was little, I couldn't do much. I couldn't go very far; I couldn't even go near the river!"
Suddenly, she starts talking about the past. I mean, it's not unusual for her to talk about the past—she does it all the time—but her 'past' usually means a few days or a week ago, tops! And since we're together every day, it didn't take long to hear all her stories. This is the first time I hear her talk about something further back, so I can't help but stop and listen.
"I always looked at the sky from my bedroom window and wondered what was out there... And soon enough, I wanted to see the sky beyond my window." She stops for a moment, reaching her hand out as if to grasp the sky. Finally, she turns to me, giving a broad smile, her eyes shining as if they'd captured the light of all the stars. "So I'm really happy to have this kind of adventure with you!"
"... You know, you never stopped being little, right?"I say as I stand up to walk to the center of the clearing. Why? Because, of course, the flowers have started blooming—why else?
"WHAT?! You can't just stand up and walk away like that! Phoebe!"
She also tries to get up, taking a moment after slipping on her arm and falling back down, but when she finally gets up, she quickly runs over to me.
"You're going to listen to me—" She begins, but noticing that I've stopped moving entirely, she also stops, looking around. She spots that some of the plants around us are beginning to open, revealing vibrant yellow centers and releasing a pleasant citrus fragrance. But that's not what's made me freeze. No, it's the figure standing on the other side of the clearing.
A slender body with powerful, muscular legs, an elongated face, with golden eyes that gleam in the night, a mouth slightly open, full of sharp teeth, and unmistakable green fur. A green wolf, one of the most feared predators in this forest.
"Mirina? You know how to climb trees, right?"
I ask in the lowest voice I can manage, my eyes fixed on the beast before me.
"W-what?"
"I want you to go to the nearest tree and climb it right now, okay?"
"O-okay."
After responding, she slowly begins to back away. With that handled, I start examining the animal more closely. Wolves are curious creatures. Like horned rabbits, they've spread across nearly the entire world and can adapt to almost any environment. I've seen green wolves before—a common variant found in forests. They're slimmer than the wolves up north, with thinner fur as well. Plants tend to grow on their coats, forming unique patterns for each pack. Their snouts are also longer, with canines sticking out of their mouths like two daggers—a characteristic of all wolves.
This particular wolf appears to be solitary, with wounds all over its body. Notably, a scar crosses its face, cutting through its lips and nearly reaching its right eye. The animal's lean appearance suggests it could be alone. That would explain why it's wandered here, so much for my supposedly safe area. Another reason to think it's alone is that it hasn't howled to call the rest of the pack—probably because there isn't one. Judging by the state of its coat, I'd say it's an older wolf, which is both good and bad. Good, because it's clearly weaker than a wolf in its prime; bad, because if it's survived this long as a lone wolf, it means it's a very skilled hunter
He watches me intently, beginning to circle around me, and I do the same. By this point, Mirina has backed away a good distance and started to speed up, which catches the wolf's attention. He notices her as easy prey and starts moving slowly in her direction.
'This is bad, I need to get his attention back on me…'
I pull something from the belt of my clothing and quickly throw it at the wolf. He notices the threat and leaps to the side.
Boom.
A small fire explosion follows, grazing the animal and burning his back.
"Sorry, friend, but we're on a date here, and I don't want you eyeing other girls."
Grrr.
Angry from the injury, the wolf focuses all his attention on me again, and I can almost feel his murderous intent from here.
In case you're curious about what I threw at him and think it's some rune, you're partly right. You see, what I threw was a rolled-up rune paper with a single, simple rune written on it: HEAT. Inside the paper is a flammable compound that, when heated, causes a small but intensely hot explosion. After I took the rune from my belt, I smeared a bit of fuel from a container on the other side of my belt onto the rune and—boom—pocket explosion.
If you're wondering where I got the flammable liquid... let's just say, kitchen ingredient. DON'T ASK WHAT WE'VE BEEN COOKING!
But now I face another problem. I only have three of these bombs left, and my only other weapon is a knife, and there's no way I'm killing a wolf with a knife.
So, here's the situation: I'm nearly out of ammo, my only weapon is useless, while my opponent only needs one good hit to finish me off. Using more fuel to activate the rune isn't an option because it would produce the same small explosion. I need to think of something else.
I could try using the scales on my leg, but I'm not confident they'd block a wolf's bite the way they did with that snake, and I need this leg to walk, thank you very much.
But, of course, the wolf doesn't give me the luxury of much time to think. Deciding he's analyzed me enough, he charges at me with extreme speed, jaws open, ready to bite my face off.
In that instant, I do the only thing my brain can think of and lean back, surprising myself with my own flexibility as I manage to bend almost ninety degrees without falling, causing his attack to pass just inches above me.
Before his four paws touch the ground, I stand back up and leap backward to create some distance.
The wolf lands with a furious growl and quickly turns, his gaze fixed on me, determined to finish what he started.
"Okay, buddy," I murmur as he watches me, "let's see who tires out first."
Then I throw another bomb at the wolf. This time, wary of the danger, he dodges the attack without taking any damage and resumes his pursuit.
Frustrated, I start running in wide circles around him, trying to create a chase dynamic. The wolf, suspicious, tries to keep up with my movement but soon lets out an impatient growl. In an agile leap, he cuts the path between us, coming straight for me.
I barely have time to react before his open jaws are near me again. I draw my knife and, with a quick move, sidestep the attack, slicing the side of his flank, leaving a shallow cut. The wolf pulls back a bit, now more cautious. Adrenaline surges, and I realize I need to use it to my advantage.
"Good boy, that's it, come on now…"
I take another step back and notice an old fallen tree nearby. An idea starts forming in my mind.
Without time to assess the stupidity of my idea, I run to the far side of the fallen tree. The wolf hesitates for a moment but, irritated, decides to follow, jumping to reach me. It's now or never. With a trembling hand, I toss the two remaining bombs at him mid-jump. Despite his speed, being in mid-air leaves him unable to dodge the attack, and the rune paper hits its target. I barely have time to cover my face before a fiery explosion engulfs his body, with some flames scorching parts of my arms.
Boom!
The wolf crashes to the ground, clearly wounded, and the smell of burnt fur and flesh fills the air. He lets out a low, painful howl, stumbling back to his feet, both furious and wary, now sporting burns on his back and a partially singed left ear—ouch, that's definitely going to leave a mark.
"So, big guy? Are we continuing, or can we end this here?" I taunt, out of breath, trying to keep up an image of power, though I'm probably just as exhausted as he is. If he realizes that, it's over.
The wolf stares at me with hard eyes, still on guard, but he doesn't charge again. I hold my ground, meeting his gaze directly, leaving the final decision to him.
Huff.
Annoyed and deciding this fight isn't worth the risk, he turns away and starts walking back toward the forest, giving me one last look before disappearing completely into the night.
I stay there, frozen, for a good few minutes before finally collapsing onto the ground, completely exhausted. That's the other good thing about an old hunter: they're experienced enough to avoid a fight to the death when possible.
Now, I need to gather these flowers and get Mirina back to the village as quickly as possible.
.
.
.