Waking up, he found himself surrounded by the cool touch of wet dirt and fallen leaves. It took him a minute to remember where he was and how he got there as he glanced at the large trees around him. This was the forest he’d taken refuge in a few months ago after transforming an abandoned hunting cabin into a livable safe house. Last night was the full moon, which explained why he was outside with no pants on. The one thing he couldn’t figure out was why the usual forest scents—soil, rain, all the different forms of wildlife—were now mixed with the smell of smoke.
Aeson dragged himself to his feet and started to run in the direction of the smell. Racing around naked had its... annoying aspects, but he wasn’t going to slow his pace. There were no fire stations for miles, and if the smoky scent was coming from a wildfire, he was the only creature he knew of in this forest who’d be able to put it out.
When he reached the source, he skidded to a stop. He had come to a clearing—no, this wasn’t a clearing, but it had practically been made into one. A crater lied in the center, dusted with ash, deep enough to reach the rockier soil further into the ground. The trees closer to it were now stumps of charcoal. Further out, smoke still rose up from singed pine branches and ferns. In the center of it all was a man, as naked as he was, lying on his back with his arms and legs splayed out. Aeson was sure he was dead, but as he concentrated, he could hear a faint heartbeat.
Obviously something supernatural had taken place, and the safest thing would have been to get as far away from this being as he could while the guy was still unconscious. But then the man might go wandering around the forest and stumble across him, at home and off-guard, so Aeson grudgingly decided to take him back to his cabin, where he would decide what to do with him. He made his way through the charred trees to the center of the crater and immediately took the man into his arms, not wanting to waste a second while he was still unconscious. Aeson was glad he had his enhanced strength. The man was a few inches taller than him, and at least as muscular. It didn’t help that both of them were damp from the morning mists.
As he settled him in his arms, the being didn’t even stir. He breathed a sigh of relief, then began the long walk back to his cabin. At least the journey would give him time to think over how to keep the man contained while he still didn’t know what creature he was. Aeson suspected he’d need a lot more than a few boxes of salt.