Chapter Six: Useless
Wild beasts to cause havoc? Zephyr forced a chuckle. "You don't mean those appointed by—"
[She is right. My former host had a Ethical Stance of evil because she had affected the lives of normal people.]
Zephyr exhaled. That made sense then. He'd mark her evil too for want she did to his realm. He took steps back pulling his mother away from the injured man.
"Mom, we don't want to get in trouble with whatever that thing is, right? So, I'd just send it back to the forest."
She shook her head but Zephyr nodded. "Don't worry, it's currently unconscious, it didn't do anything while I brought it here so it wouldn't do anything as I take it back."
"Return here in ten minutes." The woman pointed at a detached house that smoke emitted from. "Or I'd call your father and uncles to come burn that thing alive!"
Zephyr slowly nodded and she let him go. As he left, his eyes went to the detached house.
From its position, it was directly above his basement room so must be where the clanking of metal came from. The forge for his blacksmith family. He felt attracted to the place due to it being surrounded by fire.
"Fire..." a memory seemed to be coming to him and a shudder ignited through his body, like it was repulsed by the feeling of fire close to him. "Why will I be scared of fire? I'm a fire dragon, aren't I?"
[It resides in the unpleasant memories and turbulent emotions in lockdown. You don't need them now.]
"So you finally came clean to tell me? The Dragon God said so but you never spoke of it."
[They weren't necessary. You should hurry to Donovan Dio. He's losing blood.]
Zephyr let it go for now. Somehow, he didn't want to know those unpleasant memories even if he could tell what they might be.
He felt the sense of loss and the feeling of purposelessness and these quests were the only thing keeping him from being depressed.
He wasn't the bravest dragon for sure, since he'd rather lock his problems and be a coward but he'd face them someday, just not today.
Donovan was carried into the forest and Zephyr laid him on a rock to treat him. The young jaguars began licking the blood on him and Zephyr left them to that. "The poisonous darts can't work as healing injections, right?"
[Obviously.]
Zephyr looked around the place. The former owner of the body seemed to have knowledge of plants as his body told him to look around the place for a solution.
He grabbed a bunch of plants and mushed them to a paste. He carefully rubbed them on the injury and waited. "What would happen next? Do you really know nothing about first aid?"
[Donovan Dio isn't a normal human and may already have traces of werewolf blood in him, with such, normal human drugs wouldn't work on him.]
"My method makes no sense then."
[Not quite. It a natural plant that would work. Drugs are modified for humans, plants are not. Do what you can and wait for his wolf healing.]
Zephyr sat down besides the rock after tying the torn piece of his cloth to the injury, pressing the mushed plants into his injury.
It's been four minutes already and his mother would soon come with his uncles. "I need to get this information from Donovan before they arrive."
"It's actually... Dio."
Zephyr sprang up from the ground. "Finally awake? Dio, Donovan, both are still your names."
"I hate being called Donovan." The young man slowly sat up from the rock. "It's my father's name and if I had changed my surname before now, no one would've known me as that."
Zephyr looked at the young man with half closed eyes. Did he look like he cared about his sad story and daddy issues? "So where's the lab?"
Dio rubbed his sides. "You don't know?"
"Would I ask you if I did?" Then Zephyr's eyes widened. "You don't know too?!"
Dio smirked. "Would I ask you if I did?"
Zephyr frowned, his fist clenching. "You said you were going to the lab."
"I was, but I hadn't seen it yet. We can look for it together. I'm guessing you are like me, right?"
Zephyr's face turned red in anger but he withheld himself. Why the hell did he go through all the trouble for a man that could give him nothing? If he hit him, he might actually snuff out the remaining little health points he has.
"You owe me, and till you pay me, I'd not let you go." He pointed at him.
Dio nodded, stretching his hand for a handshake. "I am really grateful for your help. If you want, we can share what we know and work toge—"
Zephyr slapped his hand away. "I work alone. I wouldn't rely on a human even if my wings are torn out from my back." He walked away.
"Wings?" Dio stared at his back, searching for wings.
He felt the baby jaguars rubbing his legs and smiled, patting them. "I'm glad that horrendous wolf didn't hurt you two as well."
He carried them in his arms and turned towards the deeper part of the forest. A sigh left him. "I guess this is the only place I can stay to not get targeted by normal people."
His level 11 reward had given him the properties of a werewolf but the ability to transform to one had been detached from him, which was the white wolf that injured him.
He didn't even know how to reconcile it as his system stopped speaking to him after that. "I don't even know if I should trust..." he realized he didn't get the name of the young man that saved him.
He sighed again. "He doesn't trust me either so yeah, we should work alone."
The baby jaguars whimpered in his arms as they remembered their mother. He rubbed their heads. "That's right. I'd still help you guys find your mother taken by that crazy Doctor. I promise."
A sense of relief was on the animal's face as they could understand him. Dio Donovan felt grateful that his skills remained or it'd have been harder to survive.
His skill, Beast Whisperer, lets him communicate his requests and feelings to beasts. They could also sense if he's feeling murderous towards them or genuinely want to help.
That's why he was one of the few appointed ones who had an Ethical Stance of Good, and the animals could tell he had good intentions, and they in turn could help him.