(Check the reblog for links to the previous chapters!)
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Logan frowned, looking down at his map again. The whispering woods were no joke and it was easy to get turned around within the massive forest. Indeed, this deep in the fauna had grown abnormally large, a clear sign that Logan had officially entered the realm of Giant creatures.
The alchemist paused, hearing an abnormal shuffling amongst the underbrush ahead of him. Logan pressed himself to the trunk of a tree. He quieted his breathing, his hand coming up to the dagger at his side.
Roman had caught the whiff of a human the second it had entered into his territory. The smell of it was faint, of course given both the size and distance but it only grew as Roman stalked closer. He peered through the trees, knowing the brush around him gave him enough camouflage that human couldn’t see him quite yet. But Roman could see him perfectly fine.
The human seemed to have heard him though, as he touched the dagger at his side. Roman snorted as if that tiny knife would do anything against him. He had to wonder why this human was even here, though. No one ever came here. He stalked a bit closer.
Logan backed further away, noticing the rustling drawing nearer. He glanced behind him, wondering for a moment if it would be better to fight or run. Strength had never been Logan’s strong suit, and likely he would be no match for any of the large fauna that called this neck of the woods home. With this in mind, Logan began to quickly but quietly dash back the way he came, hoping he could remain unnoticed.
Roman frowned as he saw the human begin to run. He didn’t want the human to just leave. Not before he could meet him at the very least. Getting into position, Roman jumped up and landed a few feet in front of the human, grinning wide.
“Well, where do you think you’re going.”
“Ah!” Logan quickly tried to skid to a halt, only to fall flat on his back nearly underneath the Giant that had pounced so quickly in front of him. Looking up, Logan realized that the creature was not entirely human-looking, as it had a pair of furry ears sprouting from its head, and the mouth that grinned down at him held a pair of vicious canine fangs. Not just a Giant, then. A Werewolf.
Logan quickly scrambled to his feet, backing up several long strides and unsheathing his dagger. “I’m not looking for trouble.” He explained, looking between his weapon and the beast and realizing he hardly stood a chance of dealing any damage.
Roman titled his head, not even worrying about the small dagger aimed at him. “Then what are you looking for?” Roman asked.
“I’m just looking for a few potion ingredients.” Logan kept his tone non-confrontational. “There are some more rare specimens that grow out here that I have use for back home.”
Roman blinked. “Ingredients for potions?” He had never seen a human come out this far just to gather a few plants and such. This human was pretty brave for doing so, something Roman couldn’t help but admire.
Roman shifted so he was sitting on his knees instead of on all fours on the ground. He now looked down at the human. “Well, not that you would know this or anything, but you kind of entered into my territory,” Roman explained.
“I apologize for the intrusion.” Logan bowed as a further form of apology, certainly not wanting to anger a Werewolf. Logan had not heard much about the creatures, seeing as few humans had had encounters with the beings. “I shall certainly be on my way out of your territory immediately.”
“Oh no! You don’t have to do that,” Roman said, still grinning. “I just brought attention to it because I happen to know this area like the back of my hand. I could certainly help you gather the ingredients that you need.” He looked down at the human with excitement. Helping the human not only sounded fun but Roman would hate to see the human die. The forest was a dangerous place for a human, after all.
Logan’s eyebrows raised as he cautiously looked up from his bent-over position. “You would do that?” Indeed, Logan had already become quite turned around. Some guidance would be most satisfactory.
“Of course! I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t.” His tail wagged behind him in excitement. “My name is Roman, by the way.”
Logan sheathed his dagger, standing up and offering his arm. “Logan.”
Roman looked at the hand, leaning down closer to sniff at it before grinning and taking it between two fingers. He was gentle as he shook the hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Logan nodded, pulling his hand back and retrieving his list of ingredients. “Now, the first specimen I am searching for is the phoenix flower, have you heard of it?”
“Phoenix flower...Oh! Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about!” Roman exclaimed. Using the hand that was still near Logan, he grabbed the human before standing to his full height. “It’s not too far away from here actually, you got pretty close by yourself.” Roman started to walk in that direction, still keeping his grip around Logan.
“O-oh.” Logan found his gaze suddenly drawn to the forest floor so far below him. He gripped at Roman’s fingers slightly, not thrilled at the thought of a fall. “Well, ah, that’s- that’s good to hear.”
Roman hummed and stopped soon after starting to walk. He kneeled down and placed Logan on the ground. “That’s the flower you were talking about, right?” He asked, pointing at said red and yellow flower.
Logan nodded, tentatively taking a step closer as the blossom seemed to glow. Almost scared to make a sound, Logan pulled at one of the large petals, carefully detaching it from the plant. The flower gave a small shudder, but after a moment was glowing just as brightly as before. Satisfied, Logan ran his hands along the petal, feeling its silky texture beneath his fingertips. The power radiating off even one single vein of this magnificent creation could prove vital to his experiments.
“Thank you,” Logan said, at the last moment remembering his manners as he began to fold and tuck the petal back into his bag.
“Of course! Was there anything else you needed help finding?” Roman’s tail wagged back and forth hard, excited to spend more time with this human. For whatever reason, Roman wanted to stick around the human as much as possible. Despite having just met the guy.
“Why yes.” Logan pulled out his list, getting excited himself. He hadn’t expected to reach the phoenix flower within a single day, much less any more of his ingredients. “Next I require a sprig of burguly.”
Roman hummed in thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers. “Right! That one is a little farther away but with me helping you it will take less than ten minutes!” He picked Logan up again and started on their way. As they walked, Roman decided to make conversation, wanting to get to know the human better.
“So, what kind of potion are you making that needs all these rare ingredients?” Roman asked.
“It’s not actually a single potion, but a variety,” Logan explained, slowly becoming accustomed to the feeling of claws wrapped gently around his body. “I like to experiment with various components for unknown results. Unfortunately the ingredients I’ve had access to have proven lackluster, so I’m attempting to increase the strength of my reserves in the hope of yielding more powerful outcomes.”
“Huh, sounds dangerous but also really cool,” Roman admitted. “So, do you just do this for fun or…?”
“I do it for the pursuit of knowledge.” Logan’s eyes seemed to almost sparkle with pure mad scientist energy.
Roman blinked for a moment as he looked down and saw the spark in Logan’s eyes before laughing. “Then you do some admirable work.” Roman praised. The longer he talked to Logan, the more he liked him.
“Thank you.” Logan looked almost humble for a moment before he leaned more towards Roman. “Most humans don’t respect my work, I hardly ever get questions nowadays besides the occasional request to move my experiments farther from the town line.”
Roman frowned. “Well, that doesn’t seem fair. Or very nice.” Roman thought for a moment, before grinning a mischievous smile, showing off his fangs. “Would you like me to...take care of them for you?”
“Ah...that will not be necessary.” Logan gave a bit of an awkward laugh, slowly leaning back again. “It’s a fair request of them, given that my experiments can often have effects within a wide range. Besides, I don’t mind the isolation. I just wish more individuals took an interest in my work.”
Roman chuckled, dropping the mischievous smile to a normal grin. “I was just messing with you.” Roman wasn’t one to go around and kill humans after all. “And I will happily fill that void and listen! I am actually very fascinated by all this.”
“Really?” Logan was pleased to hear that Roman’s threat was indeed merely a jest, as well as find such an avid conversationalist. “Are you a researcher of the elemental sciences as well?”
“Well...no but all the things that you have been talking about sound really interesting. I’d be honored if you told me more.” Roman said before suddenly stopping. “Oh, and here we are.”
He knelt down once more and put Logan down on the ground.
So @perspective-series has started an all new story that is absolutely amazing so I drew a scene from it. If you want to understand the context of what's happening you can go read it here.
this was honestly so fun to draw even tho perspective pieces can be hard, but I'm a sucker for Roman and werewolves so hah!
Roman woke up bright and early the next morning, shifting into his giant form. He got up and was careful not to wake Logan up as he walked down the stairs. He knew Virgil wouldn’t be up this early either, so he was in the clear from questions as well.
He turned on the fire and started frying up some eggs. While this was going on, he pulled out his loose pieces of fabric and started to make a small bag out of them. Hopefully, Logan would like it.
Virgil sniffed the air, slowly waking up to the smell of eggs. He began to sit up, only for another smell to hit his nostrils. He groaned, burying his head further into his pillow. The human was still here.
Logan also woke up to the smell of eggs. He looked around, at first thrown off by his giant surroundings before what had happened the day previous. Of course, looking down off the desk, Logan came to the realization that he was effectively stuck. Thankfully, this was not for long.
Roman finished the eggs and then the bag. He grabbed a plate for himself and then left some eggs on the table for Virgil for when he came down. He then headed back up to his room to see that Logan was awake. “Good morning! I made breakfast!” He set the eggs down but kept the bag in his pocket until after they ate.
“Oh, wonderful.” Logan came closer, once again wondering which was his. After all, he didn’t dare try to take a wolf’s food.
Roman pushed a few pieces of egg off to the corner for Logan before eating his meal, this time with a fork.
Only now Logan realized he didn’t have proper breakfast utensils, either. Instead he sat down, using a combination of his hands and his dagger to eat his little section of eggs.
Roman finished off his eggs and looked down at Logan. The human wasn’t done, but he couldn't wait any longer. “I also made you something for today!” Roman revealed the bag, holding it out for Logan to take.
“Oh extraordinary, you really did it.” Logan wiped his hands on his trousers, taking the rather large bag from Roman’s grasp. It was fairly well done craftsmanship. “You didn’t have to do that, of course, but thank you.”
“It’s no problem, really. I enjoy making things.” Roman said, just happy to see that Logan was happy. “So, are you ready to head out?”
“With this, I suppose so.” Logan had thought he would be going home, but it seemed he would be able to stay in the whispering woods a little longer.
“Yes! Alright, let’s get going then.” He picked Logan up and headed downstairs, only to see Virgil there eating the eggs he had made. He smiled at his packmate.
“Hi Virgil, be back soon!” He called out before, leaving the house.
Virgil let out a low growl, picking at his eggs.
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Logan hadn’t come back last night.
Patton was now extremely worried about his friend. He had told him that he was going off, deep into the woods, to find some rare ingredients. He said he would be back by nightfall but it was already the next morning.
Patton wasted no time in grabbing his bag and heading out into the woods, the same way that Logan had gone. He would find his friend and bring him back home safely. Hopefully nothing had happened…
As he began to walk, the forest around him started to grow bigger and bigger. Until everything shot way above him. He thought he remembered Logan telling him about this place. The giant lands. Patton gulped but trekked forward. He wasn’t leaving without his friend.
Virgil sniffed. He sniffed again.
...something was off.
He growled, realizing he recognized the smell. A second human had entered their woods, and likely the first one Logan was to blame.
“Stupid humans.” Virgil muttered to himself, angrily washing his breakfast dishes and feeling his claws dig into the material in his anger. Thanks to Roman they were probably gonna get a whole mob of the little things.
Patton pushed onward, starting to get tired and not seeing any sign of Logan anywhere. Maybe he had gone too far? It was then he entered a clearing and his eyes shot up at the giant house in front of him. Patton had never seen a house so big...He wondered what kind of person lived there.
Whoever they were, maybe they could help Patton find Logan? Well, it didn’t hurt to try, did it? Biting his lip nervously, Patton made his way over to the door and knocked on it. But it was only after that he realized whoever lived here might not be able to hear that. He took a few steps back and wondered how this was going to work.
Virgil’s ear twitched, picking up the almost inaudible knock.
“Oh hell no.” Virgil muttered to himself, ignoring the knocker in favor of finishing his chore.
Patton cupped his hand over his mouth. “Hello! Can anyone hear me! Is anyone there, I need help!” He called out.
Virgil rubbed at his forehead. One day. He just wanted one day of peace.
“GO AWAY!” Virgil roared in the general direction of the door, making his voice more intimidating than usual for added effect.
Patton squeaked in fear as he heard a booming voice yelling at him. He cowered but at least now he knew he could be heard. Putting all his courage into this, he put shaking hands up to his mouth once more. “Please! I really need help!”
Virgil blinked, surprised when he heard the voice start up again. Usually that scare tactic worked. The person on the other side of the door had to be either stupid or brave.
Or Virgil was just losing his touch.
Realizing he’d have to deal with this in person, Virgil groaned and opened the door. His eyes traveled down to the forest floor, where a tiny human in light blue stood shaking on his doorstep.
“What.” He growled.
Patton took a step back, eyes wide at the giant before him. He had to do this for Logan though. He briefly noticed the ears and tail...and the fangs but he did his best to ignore it. “Um, I’m looking for my friend. His name is Logan, had glasses like mine, have you seen him?”
“Yeah, he’s dead.” Virgil gave him a malicious grin, noticing the way the human’s eyes had stopped on his fangs.
Patton’s eyes widened at the blunt news, his mind taking a second to process what the giant had just said. “Wh-What?”
“Or as good as dead.” Virgil nodded his head in the direction the two had went this morning. “He was taken hostage by a terrible beast, they disappeared off into the forest a few hours ago. Haven’t heard head nor tail of them since.” Virgil casually inspected his claws. “You should probably run on home, start getting funeral preparations or whatever it is humans do.”
Patton felt like crying, a few tears even managed to escape his eyes but the giant said he was ‘as good as dead’, meaning he didn’t know for sure.
Which meant there was still a chance that Logan was alive.
Determined and putting on a brave face, Patton started off in the direction that the giant had pointed to.
Virgil paused, looking down to see the human walking towards the deeper forest. “...what are you doing.”
“I’m going to find Logan!” He called back up to the giant without turning around. It didn’t seem like he wanted to help anyway, so Patton would go and do this himself.
“You can’t go in there, you’re gonna get killed.” Virgil warned. Despite what people might expect of him, he wasn’t overly fond of sending a human to their death. He didn’t want humans dead, he just wanted them far away from him.
Patton faltered in his walking. “W-Well, I don’t care. I need to help Logan!”
“Ugh.” Virgil shook his head. “No, you don’t.”
Patton stopped a swung around to face the giant. “Yes I do! I can’t just go back home and let him die out there! He needs me!” A few more tears rolled down his cheeks before he turned back around and started walking again.
“Oh jeez.” Virgil walked a few steps out of the house, making sure not to lose sight of the human. “I meant your friend is fine, he’s not in any danger.”
Patton paused. “...What?” He turned to look at the giant.
“He’s out with my packmate in the woods.” Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Your...packmate?” Now Patton was really confused.
“Yes, my packmate, it’s a wolf thing.” Virgil snarled at him to show off his fangs once more. “Wouldn’t expect a human to understand.”
Patton flinched at the fangs but his chest was full of hope. “So he’s...okay?”
“He’s fine.” Virgil confirmed, crossing his arms. “Now are you gonna leave or what?”
Patton blinked but shook his head. “I can’t. Not without Logan, not until I see that he’s actually okay.” Patton couldn’t just go home. What if this giant was lying?
“Well, Logan’s gonna be back home in your little village by nightfall.” Virgil looked off to the side for a moment, looking bitter. “At least he better be, because I’m gonna kill Roman if he tries to bring him back another night.”
Patton bit his lip. Even with that being said, he did not feel right about leaving Logan here. “I think I’ll just wait for him. Just to be sure.”
“Wait where?” Virgil quirked an eyebrow. “Look around you. You’re in the middle of the whispering woods. Everything in here wants you dead.”
Patton looked around him before his eyes settled on Virgil. “Do you want me dead?” He asked, hesitantly.
“...if I wanted you dead you’d already be dead.” Virgil growled, not liking that the human managed to pull the truth out of him. “I would have just let you waltz right into the deep woods.”
Patton flinched but turned to the giant with a small smile. “So...could I stay here until our friends come back then? Please?”
Virgil frowned, more out of confusion than malice. How did this human know puppy eyes? He thought that was only a young wolf trait. And unfortunately, Virgil was always defenseless against them.
“...fine.” Virgil huffed, heading back inside. “You can stay here, but don’t touch anything. And don’t expect me to show you some sort of ‘hospitality’ or whatever.”
“Oh, thank you!” Patton said, running to make it into the house behind the giant. “I’m Patton by the way!” Patton grinned.
“...Virgil.” Virgil said gruffly, gesturing to himself as he watched the little guy run inside. Virgil hated to admit that it was quite...cute. Good lord, what was he thinking? Virgil quickly shut the door behind both of them, trying to dispel any of those thoughts.
Patton hummed but it was in that moment that Roman came out with two plates of steak. “Dinner is served!” He announced, placing them on the dining table.
Virgil came over and scooped both humans up, bringing them over to the table.
“Ah...thank you.” Logan nodded, walking over towards the middle.
“Thanks!” Patton did the same and followed Logan, looking at the food. “Wow! This looks so good!” He complimented.
Roman grinned. “Why thank you Patton! We worked hard on it!” Roman took his seat.
“How much do you guys eat?” Virgil asked, ready with a knife.
“Ah, not much.” Logan informed him, taking a healthy step back from the weapon.
Virgil nodded, cutting off two chunks and handing them to Patton and Logan respectively.
Patton took his happily and wasted no time in biting into it. He hummed at the flavor, ignoring how some juices got all over his face and a bit on his shirt. “So good.”
Roman grinned at Patton’s reaction and took his own bite. “Glad you like it Pat.”
“Indeed, well done.” Logan commented, despite the fact the meat itself was much more rare. He was more cautious in his eating habits, trying to once again not make a mess.
Virgil smiled slightly at both human’s praises, cautiously eating away at his own.
Roman ate his portion quickly and then cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention. He shared a look with Virgil. “Look there is...something we have to tell you.” Roman said.
Patton perked up. So Roman must have decided to tell Logan! Great!
“...right.” Virgil braced himself, trying to figure out how to word this correctly. “You see...the thing is…”
“Let me guess:” Logan cut him off. “The two of you have bonded to us.”
Roman’s eyes widened. “Wait...how did you know?!” Roman was actually shocked.
Patton was confused. “Wait, both of you are bonded to both of us? But Roman told me he was just bonded to Logan!” Roman winced at that.
“Yeah...that changed pretty quickly.” The bond hadn’t been instant but it was pretty darn close.
“You told Patton already?” Virgil felt only slightly betrayed as he looked at Roman.
“That was before I found out you bonded with them as well! And before I bonded with Patton.” Roman explained, hating the look on Virgil’s face.
Patton could only blink in shock. “...Oh.”
“I could tell something was off.” Logan explained. “Your behaviors deviated too far from ‘typical’ wolf behavior. It was easy to tell, what with the way Roman dropped everything to help me and Virgil was anti-humans one night and pro-Patton the next.”
“I wasn’t completely anti-human…” Virgil muttered, now starting to hate the memories of how he originally treated Logan.
“We’re sorry if this seems...sudden.” Roman started. “But that’s just how werewolf bonds are.” Roman shrugged. “Are you, like, I mean, is this okay?” Roman stuttered over his words, nervous just as much as Virgil about all this.
Patton thought for a moment. “Well, I don’t know a ton about how all this works and stuff but I like the sound of it! I already considered you guys my friends the moment you helped me and Logan out!”
“...Logan?” Virgil leaned forwards slightly, anxious for the other human’s response.
“Well I suppose expectations need to be set.” Logan realized. “I understand that the whole ‘bonding’ thing is instinctual, but at the same time it’s quite odd in this scenario given it is one-sided. What exactly would you expect of us, given that we’re not wolves?”
“Well, we were hoping that maybe...you would move in with us? Like, I mean, the whole packmate thing isn’t too different from like, a roommate situation. Just with...more feelings.” Roman tried his best to explain the bond.
Patton’s eyes widened. “Move...in?” Patton should have expected that but really, he hadn’t.
“You could move into my room, Pat.” Virgil’s ears perked up, his tail already wagging. “I mean, if you want.”
“I-I mean that would be a...a big move.” Patton’s lips twitched up. “Pun intended.” He sighed though and looked down.
“I mean, it sounds nice, like I said, you two are my friends! But...Logan?” Patton turned to Logan to see what he thought.
“I don’t think a life of isolation would be ideal for you, Patton.” Logan admitted. “Humans need human companionship. And while I myself may be ostracized by the village, you are not. You have friends there.”
“He has friends here, too.” Virgil let out a slight growl of jealousy.
“Well, I mean, it’s not like we can never go back, right? I mean, it didn’t take the two of you very long to go there and come back. A trip to town a few times a week doesn’t seem out of the question.” Patton said and then looked up at the giants. “Right?”
Roman grinned, happy to see Patton wanting this. “We wouldn’t be able to get too close to the village but yes! We can most certainly do that if you want to visit.”
“Well, I’ll need all my lab equipment, as well as the rest of our belongings.” Logan brought up another issue.
“We can help you grab those tomorrow.” Virgil offered.
“Yes, it will be no problem. I mean, if you really want, we can take your whole house with us.” Roman laughed.
Patton’s eyes widened at the thought. “Talk about packing everything up.”
“I feel like that’s a bad plan, but I honestly cannot think of a solid reason to refute it…” Logan mused.
“Uh, how about the fact someone will see us?” Virgil’s eyes widened at his pack’s stupidity.
“Oh, right.” Roman said sheepishly. “But we can definitely help you with everything inside the house.” Roman grinned.
“We could move it at night, no one would need to know.” Logan suggested, still excited by the idea of trying to move the entire house.
“No house-moving.” Virgil insisted, frowning down at Logan.
Roman rolled his eyes fondly at Virgil but sent Logan a wink to let him know they would definitely try it.
“Wait...so does that mean we’re doing this?” Patton asked and Roman frowned.
“Uh, well, it’s up to the two of you.” Roman turned to Logan.
“I mean…” Logan paused, noticing the way the wolves seemed to lean in to hear his every word. “I would certainly be open to the idea, although I feel the need to inform you that my experimentations tend to get quite dangerous.”
“We’re giant werewolves.” Virgil glanced at Roman. “I think we’ll be fine.”
“In fact, it might even be better for you to do your experiments here. There’s more room and less things you can explode.” Roman said with a grin.
Patton couldn’t help but match it. “We’re moving in!” He shouted with joy.
“Oh thank god.” Virgil collapsed onto the tabletop, looking exhausted. “That was ridiculously stressful.”
“Why?” Logan tilted his head. “I mean, I know a positive outcome is optimal, but you could have just kept us here anyways.”
Roman’s ears folded back against his head. “We would never do that! A-A bond involves everyone.” Roman looked down. “If you truly did not want to be here, we would be crushed, but we would not stop you from leaving.”
“Roman, I apologize.” Logan winced, noticing how offended and heartbroken Roman seemed to get. “I didn’t mean any offence.”
“It’s fine.” Virgil shrugged, looking slightly down as well. “It was a fair question.”
“We don’t have to worry about it either way.” Patton said, trying to cheer everyone up. “Because we are definitely going through with this.” Patton grinned.
Roman perked up, tail wagging once more. “Yes! Oh, we have to start preparing. Logan! You can stay in my room!”
“Satisfactory.” Logan nodded, looking pleased with this result.
“Pat, you’re with me then.” Virgil paused. “I mean, if you want that is.”
“That sounds great Virge!” Patton exclaimed. Not that he didn’t like Roman but he was glad he got to be with Virgil.
“Wonderful! Then it is all settled!” Roman grinned and stood up in his excitement. “Welcome to your new home!”
Logan inspected the dark green stalks, looking up to see it ascend to reach heights four times his own. He began to saw through one of the tinier branches off the main stem, huffing slightly from the exertion.
Roman tilted his head. “Do you need some help?” Without waiting for an answer, Roman plucked the entire stalk from the ground and held it out to Logan. “There you go!”
Logan blinked, for a moment just gaping at the entire plant was ripped out in front of him. Surely it was the size of a regular tree back in the village.
“I….I only need a sampling.” Logan managed to form coherent words after a moment, only briefly pondering the idea of trying to take the entire plant home with him.
“Oh, um, here.” Roman ripped off the tiny branch Logan had been working at earlier and held that out to him as Roman tried to put the plant back into the ground. It kind of worked but it was a little crooked now.
“Thanks.” Logan tilted his head, regarding the leaning plant for a moment before taking the sprig and putting it into his bag, which at this point had already become rather full. Indeed, Logan had not fully accounted for the fact that plants within the whispering woods would be this large.
“Alright, let’s see…” Logan pulled out his list. “Next up is not a flora, but rather there is a location known as the spring of avawren. Its waters are said to hold magical properties. Have you heard of it?”
Roman grinned. “Of course! It’s actually right behind where I live!” They had purposefully built their house there because of the close proximity to the river after all. “Though I never noticed it had magical properties.” Roman hummed at that thought, wondering what kind of magic it held. He grabbed Logan and started on his way.
“It’s mostly healing properties, although it has to be concentrated correctly to be noticeable.” Logan explained. “Or so the legends say.”
“Interesting.” He supposed that’s why he hadn’t noticed it. Since Werewolves already had fast healing abilities. They made it to the river in record time, Roman able to see his house about a half mile away. “Here we are.” Roman once again put Logan down.
Logan crouched by the water’s edge, pulling out a large bottle and filling it up. He plugged the lid, shifting the liquid back and forth as he noticed how the water seemed to sparkle.
“Where is your home?” Logan asked, standing up and taking a look around. Of course, it was hard for him to see past the dense sea of reeds surrounding the spring.
“Over that way!” Roman pointed towards the distance before realizing Logan probably couldn’t see. He picked the human up to show him. “See?”
Logan peered where Roman was pointing, noticing what looked to be an absolutely massive log cabin. The structure was magnificent, and even to Roman’s scale likely held two stories.
“Impressive.” Logan couldn’t help but note. “Did you construct that all yourself? It seems awfully large.”
“Oh, no, my packmate and I both built it a few years back. He’s currently inside the house right now.” Virgil was his only packmate, the two never having clicked with any of the other werewolves in their old village. So they had packed up and moved out here. He wondered briefly if Virgil could see him and if he did, he was probably wondering what he was doing.
“Oh.” Logan regarded this new information. “How many packmates do you have?”
“Just the one. We never clicked well enough with anyone else to bond with them.” Roman shrugged. Sure, most packs held at least 4 wolves where they were from but as long as Roman and Virgil had each other they were okay.
“I see.” Logan was quite the same. Most humans avoided his company, even for reasons other than his experiments. The only exception was his friend Patton who stubbornly refused to abandon him like everyone else. “How many werewolves are usually in a pack? Is it the same as regular wolves?”
“The least amount is usually four to a pack, the same as giant wolves. Though, I think regular wolves are at least six to a pack, so a little different there.” Roman answered with a shrug.
“Yes, that’s what I’ve observed.” Logan nodded. He had had his fair share of run in with wolves, though none of them pleasant. It was certainly a welcome discovery to find Roman wasn’t intent on devouring him. Or at least… he had shown no sign of such a desire.
Roman nodded. “So, anything else you need on your list?” Roman asked, eager to continue to help.
“Well, yes, but…” Logan looked up, noticing how low in the sky the sun had dropped. “I should probably be heading home before it gets much later, it’s already going to be a long trek.”
Roman frowned, his tail no longer wagging. He didn’t want the human to leave. “Well, maybe you could stay the night with me! My house is just right there after all and it would be no trouble at all.” Roman grinned hopefully.
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Logan shook his head. “Besides, I should probably return these ingredients to my lab promptly.”
“Aww, please Logan. I’m sure Virgil wouldn’t mind the company and I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t actually want you there.” Roman said, practically begging. “Besides, it’s already really dark and I don’t want you getting hurt on the way home.”
The concept of someone caring about his safety was almost foreign to Logan, and briefly he was reminded of Patton. At the very least, Logan didn’t want to risk the safety of his new rare ingredients if he were to be attacked on the way home.
“I suppose one night would be acceptable…” Logan mused.
“Yay!” Roman cheered, already heading to his house. “This is gonna be great! I’m sure Virgil will be thrilled to meet you!” Probably. Maybe.
“Is Virgil like yourself?” Logan asked, wanting to know exactly what he was getting into.
“Eh, he’s more of an introvert than I am. A bit darker as well and can be a bit sarcastic but he’s a good guy.” Roman explained, silently hoping Virgil would not immediately hate Logan as soon as he smelled him.
Unfortunately, Roman’s hopes went unheard. Virgil sat inside the cottage, sniffing the air. Just like Roman, he had smelled the human as soon as it entered their territory. Now the scent had become intermingled with that of his packmate’s. Virgil let out a jealous growl, claws digging slightly into the kitchen table. What on Earth was Roman doing with a human? The petty little things were so bony they weren’t even worth trying to eat, and they always liked invading nature and claiming it as their own.
Roman entered the home and immediately sensed Virgil’s angry emotions. Their eyes then met and he bit his lip and looked down at Logan. Maybe this had been a bad idea…
“Virgil! How is my wonderful packmate doing on this fine evening?” He asked, putting on a smile.
“Why’d you bring it in here?” Virgil growled.
Immediately Logan regretted his decision to come here, trying to look even smaller as he felt Virgil’s beady gaze upon himself.
Roman frowned. “He came to our territory on accident, looking for some ingredients. I decided to help him and it is currently too dark for him to go home safely. So I offered for him to stay the night.” Roman explained.
“Terribly sorry, I don’t mean to intrude.” Logan apologized.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Virgil turned his gaze to Roman.
“Virgil, he is our guest. Please treat him with a little more respect.” Roman tried, holding Logan closer to him.
“Well he’s certainly not my guest.” Virgil huffed, shoving his chair back from the table. “If you want to turn into some sort of human rescue facility, you’re not gonna get any help from me.”
“I can go if it’s really a problem.” Logan offered, looking back and forth between the quarreling wolves.
“Good.” Virgil snarled.
“....I thought you weren’t talking to me?” Logan pointed out, but the look he got in return made him instantly regret speaking up.
“Okay, Virgil can I speak to you alone for a moment?” Roman put Logan down on the table and smiled at him. “Be right back!” He then pulled Virgil into another room for some privacy.
“Really Virgil?”
“You’re the one who brought a human into our house!” Virgil retorted. “This is supposed to be you and me space, not you and me and him.”
“I know! And I’m sorry, I should have talked to you about it first. But there is just something about him. I don’t know what but I couldn’t just leave him to go home out in the dark like this. He’d get hurt!” Roman explained before sighing. “Please, it will just be for tonight. Just be civil?”
“...fine.” Virgil relented. “I’ll stay out of your way and let you do your whole human babysitting shtick. But I don’t want to see him getting into any of my stuff, and come morning he’s gone. Got it?”
Roman wagged his tail in glee, his ears perked up. “Of course! Thank you so much Virgil!” He hugged his packmate before going out to get Logan. “Good news Logan! Virgil has agreed to let you stay the night!”
“Thank you both for your kind generosity.” Logan smiled as Virgil emerged as well.
Virgil looked at the human, almost bored as he stalked past the two of them and back into his room.
“...is he always like that?” Logan raised an eyebrow. Logan was not by nature social, but this was on another level.
“Well...he is a little towards non-packmates -so everyone but me- but he gets worse around humans. He...doesn’t like your kind.” Roman admitted, though it was probably obvious now.
“Noted.” Logan nodded.
“But he will stay in his room tonight while you stay in mine!” Roman picked Logan up and headed upstairs to his room, setting Logan down on the desk he had up there. “Well? What do you think?” He asked, motioning towards his room.
“Impressive.” Logan said, taking in the craftsmanship of every piece of furniture. It was also astounding to think of the amount of materials that had gone into creating such a structure.
“Why thank you.” Roman said, despite the fact he didn’t make all of these himself. “So, did you get everything you needed? Cause if not we could also go out tomorrow.”
“There’s still a few items i’d like to acquire.” Logan admitted. “But my bag is becoming full, I’ll have to go home instead.”
Roman let out a whine before he could help it and hoped that Logan hadn’t actually heard it. He cleared his throat. “Well, I could always make you another bag to fill up and take with you.” Roman suggested. “I know I have some fabric around here somewhere that should work.”
Logan blinked. “I suppose that would work, but I must ask, why are you so eager to help me?”
Roman’s ears flattened against his head. Not even he was sure why he wanted to help this human so much. Not only had they just met but he had entered their territory! He should have driven him away, not brought him in deeper.
...But there was just something about Logan. A feeling that was almost familiar at this point, a feeling that reminded him a lot of Virgil-oh no. Roman’s eyes widened.
“Great! Then how about we have some dinner? Virgil and I can make it, while the two of you hang out in our living room.” And then him and Virgil could have a talk.
“Ew, working.” Virgil protested half-heartedly.
“Come on Virgil.” Roman stood up and lead them all downstairs. He set Logan down on their couch.
“Alright.” Virgil gave Patton a quick shoulder rub, setting him down next to Logan. “Back soon, Pat.”
“Okay!” Patton grinned.
Roman lead Virgil into the kitchen and then turned to him. “Alright, what’s up with you?” Roman asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Virgil scratched behind his ear.
“Uh huh. Not only do you care about Patton but you left for less than an hour and suddenly you care about Logan now too!? Something is definitely up.” Roman turned to get the meat started.
“Well you’re one to talk.” Virgil countered, coming over to help. “One second you find Logan in the woods, and ever since he’s barely left your side. You can’t stop clinging to the guy!”
Roman faltered. “Well, I uh…” He shook his head. “This is about me! I wasn’t the one who said they hated humans before!”
“Did I say that?” Virgil busied himself with the food. “Well, I certainly don’t remember that…”
“Seriously Virgil! What has got you acting so we-” He cut himself off as his eyes widened in realization. “...No way.”
Virgil glanced up at Roman, realizing the gig was up. He winced, never able to hide something from Roman long.
“I didn’t mean to do it!” Virgil said exasperatedly, keeping his voice down. “Don’t be mad, okay?”
Roman just chuckled. “I can’t really be mad at you...unless I want to be a hypocrite.” Roman revealed with a sheepish smile.
Virgil’s eyes widened in realization, his hands clutching his head. “No way.”
“Yes, it seems as though we have both bonded with the humans.” Roman said as he watched the meat sizzling. “...Somehow.”
“What’re we going to do?” Virgil asked, slowly bringing his hands down. “I mean, I guess it’s great that we bonded with both and all so we can be a proper pack, but...it’s not like they know what’s going on. Would they even want that? And how would it even work, they’re so tiny!”
“Whoa! Virgil, calm down.” Roman went over and placed his hands on Virgil’s shoulders. “Just breathe, alright?”
Virgil followed Roman’s advice, taking a few slow, deep breaths.
“There we go.” Roman smiled softly. “Look, I have no idea what’s going to happen. But we will work everything out. Who knows, maybe after we explain it to them they’ll want to stay.” Roman still held out hope for that.
“And what happens when they don’t?” Virgil pointed out. “I saw the town, Roman. We can’t compete with that! They have lives back there.”
Roman bit his lip. “W-Well…” Roman truly hated the thought of the humans leaving. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let’s focus on showing them a great time! Maybe then they’ll be less likely to leave.” Roman suggested.
“I’m not exactly great at that, you know.” Virgil reminded him. “Positivity and good times aren’t exactly my thing.”
“Well, Patton already seems to like you well enough.” Roman smiled. “So it looks like you did something right.” Roman teased.
“I think Patton just likes everyone.” Virgil glanced back towards the living room.
“That’s good for you then!” Roman exclaimed. “And Logan seems to be warming up to you.” He said with a shrug.
“Yeah, he seems to know I’m not gonna eat him now…” Virgil paused. “I think.”
“That’s...good.” Roman winced a little. Roman realized he still had his hands on Virgil’s shoulders and released them. He turned back to the meat and sighed. “I think all we can do is explain it to them and...just hope for the best.”
“...okay.” Virgil began to chew the tip of his claw nervously. “How should we do this? All at once, or individually, or…?”
Roman put the steak on the plate, getting another one frying. “I think...I think it might work best if we did it together. So we can let them both know that we are bonded with both of them. And we can explain our side of things better.”
“What if I say the wrong thing?” Virgil’s eyes widened, new fears coming to mind again.
Roman smiled softly at his pack-mate and placed a hand on his shoulder once more. “You’ll do great Virgil. And I’ll be right here the entire time. Okay?”
Virgil placed his hand over Roman’s on his shoulder, leaning into the touch. He closed his eyes, nodding. “...okay.”
Roman grinned. “Alright, now help me with the rest of dinner, would you?”
-----------------------------------------
Patton, as soon as the werewolves left, went up and hugged Logan. “Oh Logan! I was so worried about you!”
“What? Me?” Logan looked at him in confusion, awkwardly hugging back nonetheless. “I wasn’t poisoned.”
Patton pulled away. “I was talking about when you went into the forest all by yourself.” Patton frowned and looked at Logan with a deep concern. “What were you thinking! Do you know how lucky you were to be found by someone like Roman and Virgil?” Patton shook his head. “When you didn’t come back...I-I had thought…”
“...I’m sorry I worried you.” Logan admitted. “I didn’t expect to go so deep into the forest, nor be gone for so long. Roman was going to bring me back, but we got caught up in collecting ingredients.”
“Just please don’t do that again. I don’t know what I would have done if you had died out there.” Patton said with a long sigh.
“I promise not to go unaccompanied.” Logan assured him, thinking back to that naga creature they encountered earlier. He stood no chance against such a threat alone. “Although something tells me Roman would happily volunteer himself to go out with me again.”
Patton smiled once more. Of course, he knew the real reason for that, but he had promised he wouldn’t tell. “Yeah, he seems really nice! I bet Virgil would help you out too, if you asked.”
“Indeed.” Logan put a hand to his chin, having noticed Virgil’s helpful change in behavior. “Patton, does their behavior seem...strange, to you?”
“W-Well, I guess a little…” He knew why Roman was acting strange, of course, and though Virgil seemed to change his tune for Logan fairly quickly, he didn’t think that was too weird.
“I’m a bit concerned about it.” Logan bit his lip. “Based on the amount of time and interaction we’ve had with these wolves, their responses are far too invested and protective. If my hypothesis is correct, they will quickly become overbearing.”
“Aww, Lo, they just want to help us out!” Patton said with a smile. “And maybe even be our friends!”
“I know.” Logan frowned. “That’s what scares me.”
Patton frowned, suddenly confused. “W-Why?”
“Why do they want to be our friends?” Logan asked. “Usually wolves are very territorial and aggressive, especially to humans. Yet these wolves took us in and saved our lives, despite the fact we invaded their territory.”
“Maybe they’re just different than other werewolves?” Patton tried. It was getting harder not to just blurt out what Roman had told him.
“Maybe…” Logan nodded slightly. “Whatever the case, the difference is stark enough to be a reason for concern. I suggest you stay vigilant.”
BAHAHAHA Okay yes I love this one so much. Logan your new pack-mates are going to murder you if you don’t kill yourself first wrap you in bubble wrap forever and never let you out of the house.
