(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.
Warnings: Injury, slight fear and panic, and blood.
(Check the reblog for links to the previous chapters!)
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Roman took a deep breath before transforming into his giant form. He groaned in pain as the shifting caused his shoulder to sting. He gripped at it the second he had hands again, seeing how much it was bleeding. “I’m fine. But what about you? Are you okay?” He didn’t seem hurt but Roman just wanted to be sure.
“I, yes, yes I’m fine,” Logan assured him, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Here Roman was, bleeding out, and yet still his first instinct was to check Logan’s well-being. “But Roman, you’re bleeding, we need to do something about-” Logan’s head snapped around, hearing a frantic rustling in the bushes. He tensed, watching another figure dash into the clearing.
“Roman!” Virgil exclaimed, dashing over to Roman’s side in a heartbeat with Patton still clutched to his chest. “By the gods, what the hell happened?” The instant Roman had transformed back Virgil had gotten a whiff of Roman’s wound and hightailed it faster.
“Wha-Virgil? What are you doing out here?” Roman asked, still clutching his shoulder. Immediately though, he noticed the human in Virgil’s hands and froze. “Uhh...who is that?”
Patton tensed a little as he saw the other giant looking at him. “Um...hi.” He waved a little.
Virgil paused, looking down at Patton briefly. “...that’s not important.”
“What? Patton?” Logan’s jaw dropped, shocked to see his best friend here, in Virgil’s clutches no less. “How on earth did you get here?”
“That’s also not important.” Virgil insisted.
“Logan?” Patton looked down at the sound of Logan’s voice and grinned. “Logan! There you are!”
Roman blinked at the other human, looking down at Logan. “You...know him?”
“He’s my housemate.” Logan nodded, almost in a trance. This was like some strange dream.
“Roman, you’re bleeding.” Virgil reminded him, noticing he seemed to be the only rational one right now. He carefully draped Roman’s good arm around his shoulders, intent on helping him up. “We can exchange pleasantries later.”
Roman grunted in slight pain but sighed. “Alright, just let me…” He reached down and grabbed Logan, holding him carefully against his chest.
Virgil rolled his eyes only slightly, before remembering Patton in his own hands. “...sorry about this.” He muttered, before once again grabbing Patton with his teeth.
Patton let out a little squeak but otherwise didn’t do much else. He didn’t want to drop after all. Roman, seeing this, raised an eyebrow in Virgil’s direction.
“Thut up.” Virgil’s words were muffled by Patton’s presence as he stood up, using both hands to keep Roman steady and help him forwards.
“Careful!” Logan warned, watching nervously at the way Patton dangled.
“It’s okay Lo! Virgil won’t, uh, drop me.” He hoped. He hadn’t before, at least.
Virgil nodded very slightly, careful not to jostle Patton too much. With Virgil’s assistance, both werewolves slowly walked home, and Virgil helped Roman upstairs into bed.
“Really, I’m fine,” Roman grunted as he was put into bed, he shifted his grip around Logan as he sat against the headboard to look at Virgil.
Virgil reached up, taking Patton out of his mouth so he could talk. “You’re not fine.” Virgil insisted, leaning closer to inspect the wound. He sniffed it cautiously, then reeled back.
“What is it?” Logan asked, worried by his reaction.
“It’s poisoned.” Virgil’s eyes widened. “Where were you?”
“P-Poisoned?!” Patton exclaimed, eyes wide. Despite not knowing Roman all that well, he didn’t want the werewolf to die!
Roman shifted slightly. “We...we were in the naga’s territory, trying to find some scales,” Roman admitted.
“What the hell were you thinking!” Virgil scolded.
“It...it was my fault,” Logan admitted.
“Yeah, no duh.” Virgil sneered, glaring down at Logan. “I knew humans are nothing but trouble.”
“Hey!” Roman growled at Virgil. “I was the one who said it was fine. So leave Logan alone.” Roman huffed and then looked towards Patton. “Besides, you’re hardly one to talk.”
Patton couldn’t help but flinch back at Roman’s growl and gaze.
“...Patton’s different.” Virgil muttered, holding Patton closer to himself.
“Look, I think I can help,” Logan assured them, desperate to diffuse the tensions between two giant werewolves. “Roman, do you remember what I was telling you about the spring of avawren?”
Roman blinked, turning to look at Logan. He lifted his hand a bit higher, so they could all see him. “Yes, the river in our backyard with the magical healing properties, correct?”
“If I meld it with the proper ingredients, it should contain enough healing magic to clear your wound.” Logan hypothesized. “I would just need to gather my equipment from my lab back home.”
“Oh! That’s so cool!” Patton exclaimed. But when Roman let out a low whine, his attention was turned towards the giant.
“But it’s dangerous for you to go back home all by yourself! And I can’t exactly go with you.” Not to mention, the thought of Logan going home, even for a few hours, made Roman sad.
Virgil looked back and forth, thinking hard before he let out an irritated sigh. “...I can take him.”
“What?” Logan turned to look at him, confused.
“Don’t think I’m doing this for you.” Virgil glared at the human in Roman’s hands. “If you can really help Roman, me taking you will be fastest.”
Roman perked up at that. “You would really do that Virgil?” Roman asked, before grinning. “Aww, you really do care.” He teased.
“Yeah, yeah.” Virgil tried to act aloof to the comment, but the way his tail perked up at his packmate’s praise betrayed him. “The only way you’re dying in this house is at my hands after you take my food one too many times.”
Roman chuckled at that and Patton was happy to see them getting along. “Wait, so, should I go with you guys?” Patton asked, looking up at Virgil.
“Uh….” Virgil looked down at Patton in his hands. If he took Patton to the human village, would he want to stay there? Would he not want to come back? Would Virgil never see him again?
...but wasn’t that the plan?
Virgil cursed himself, but he knew that he wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Not yet, at least. He could figure that out after Roman stopped bleeding out.
“No, you should stay here,” Virgil instructed, setting Patton down on the bedside table. “Keep Roman company and all that. Dude’s a howler when left alone for two seconds.”
“Hey! I am not.” Roman huffed but he would admit he was glad for the company. He looked down at Logan in his hands and after much hesitation, he handed him over to Virgil. “Here. Just make sure nothing happens to him.”
“No promises,” Virgil smirked.
Roman narrowed his eyes at his packmate. “Virgil…”
“Fine, I’ll bring him back in one piece.” Virgil sighed.
“You better.” Roman let out a little growl as he said this but quickly composed himself. “Well, have fun you two. I’ll make sure I look after Patton for ya.” He turned to Patton to give him a smile and Patton gave him a more nervous one back. Roman didn’t seem that bad just very...passionate.
“Play nice.” Virgil looked at Roman pointedly. “No roughhousing, okay? Patton better be in one piece too.”
Logan frowned, glancing up at Virgil. Didn’t Virgil loathe humans?
Roman raised an eyebrow. “And why do you care?” Roman asked, genuinely curious.
Meanwhile, Patton was smiling up at Virgil. He was happy to see Virgil caring about him.
“Uh, no reason.” Virgil began to inch towards the doorway. “I just meant no rough housing because I don’t want you to hurt your shoulder more.” He paused. “But also you touch Patton and you’re dead.” Before he could be questioned further, Virgil bolted out of the room with Logan in hand. He certainly wasn’t being very subtle, but at the same time, this stupid bond kept forcing him to say something to make sure Patton would be alright.
Roman blinked as Virgil left in a hurry. “What on earth is up with him,” Roman muttered to himself and then turned back to Patton. “Honestly though, I’m surprised you’re even still alive.”
Patton blinked. “Uh, why wouldn’t I be?” Was it because of him walking through the forest by himself thing?
Roman snorted. “Um, because Virgil kind of hates everyone other than me. Especially humans.” Patton’s eyes widened at that.
“I-I mean, Virgil was mean to me at first but he seemed to open up fairly quickly.” Patton giggled as he thought back on it. “We even had a tickle fight!”
Roman’s eyes widened. That...That didn’t sound like Virgil at all. Again, there was something up with Virgil. Though, what, Roman couldn’t pinpoint. “Well, you are very lucky then.”
It was silent between them for a few moments. “So...are you really okay? I mean, you were poisoned.” Patton asked, breaking the silence. Roman bit his lip.
“Honestly? It feels like my shoulder is on fire.” Roman let out a humorless chuckle. “I just did not want my packmates to see me in pain.”
Patton supposed he could see that but he was confused when he caught Roman using the plural form of packmate. “Wait, packmates? But Virgil told me you only had each other.”
Roman’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake. “Uh, yes! Sorry, of course, it was just a slip of the tongue.” Roman laughed nervously.
“...Was it?” Patton asked, knowing that this reaction was weird, despite not knowing Roman all that well. Roman turned to look at Patton for a moment before sighing.
“No...Alright look, you can not tell Logan or Virgil about this. Can you promise me?” Roman asked and Patton nodded, wanting to know what Roman was gonna say. The giant took in a deep breath. “I may have...bonded with Logan.”
“...What?” Patton asked, eyebrows shooting up. “Wait, you, like how you and Virgil are bonded?” Roman nodded. “How?” Patton asked.
Roman shrugged. “I’m really not sure.” He thought back on it, realizing he had felt this way the moment he had laid eyes on Logan. “Though, there is such a thing as bond at first sight.” Roman remembered. That must have been what had happened.
“Oh, well...what does that mean exactly? For the uh...future?” Patton asked, curious to know what Roman had planned.
But Roman had nothing planned. “I have no idea. I’m not even sure if I should tell them…” Roman trailed off at that. The thing was, he didn’t want Logan to leave but he couldn’t just force him to stay...could he?
“You won’t tell them though, right?” Roman asked, leaning a bit more towards Patton, causing Patton to lean back in turn. “They can’t know, not yet.”
Patton bit his lip. He hated lying but this seemed really important to Roman. “...Okay. I won’t tell them. But you really should tell them eventually.” Roman let out a large sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Patton.” Roman sent him a smile. “So uh, what are you doing here, anyway?” Roman couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh! Well, when Logan didn’t come back I decided to come and look for him. I’m glad to see he was in safe hands.” Patton giggled. It seemed Roman had protected Logan, after all.
Roman grinned. “Well of course! I would never let anything happen to Logan.” Roman watched as Patton’s face scrunched up as he smiled. Making him look even cuter.
“Aww, that’s very sweet of you Roman!” Patton exclaimed. “I definitely believe it too. After all, you even got poisoned for him! Logan is in good hands.” Patton said again, making his point clear.
Roman couldn’t help but just watch Patton. He looked so happy, giggling and smiling like that. Believing that he was good. Roman felt a familiar feeling well up in him.
Roman’s smile slowly fell from his face.
Oh no. Not again.
Patton noticed Roman’s change in demeanor. “Roman? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing! Well, uh, my wound is hurting just a bit, but I’m fine!” Roman semi-lied. Since his wound was in fact hurting again. Patton frowned.
“Well, hopefully they’ll get here soon.” Patton said, eyes looking toward the window and to the outside. He hoped the two could get along enough for this.
Warnings: Injury, slight fear, and talk of eating someone.
(Check the reblog for links to the previous chapters!)
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Logan clung to Virgil’s fingers, trying not to fall as the wolf ran through the woods. He also winced, feeling the wolf’s grip tighten the faster he ran and more focused he became.
“Could you...loosen your grip slightly?” Logan called up with a grimace.
Virgil let out a huff but did as the human asked.
“You’re quite wonderful company you know.” Logan quipped. Logan jolted forwards slightly as all of a sudden the wolf skid to a stop, lifting Logan skywards.
“Look,” Virgil growled. “I’m not here to make small talk. I’m just here to get your little science gadgets so that we can get back to Roman and Patton.”
Logan leaned back, noting how sharp Virgil’s teeth were. He gulped slightly, remembering the naga’s comments from earlier. Virgil certainly didn’t seem as fond of him, and out here it wasn’t as though Roman could protect him. If Logan were to irritate Virgil enough, the wolf could make quick work of him and no one would ever need to know.
“...quit looking at me like that,” Virgil muttered.
“I’m not gonna eat you, you know.” Virgil rolled his eyes, lowering Logan and walking again.
“I know.” Logan lied, still looking away. “Have you….ever eaten a human before?”
Virgil waited just long enough for Logan to expect the worst. “Nah.” Virgil finally answered, smirking at the way the human had squirmed. “Humans aren’t exactly very filling, so I never bothered. Besides, anatomically you’re like me, and that’s just way too weird for my taste.”
“What about when you’re in wolf form?” Logan asked. “Humans aren’t similar then.”
“I’m sorry, do you want me to eat you?” Virgil raised an eyebrow.
“Ah, no, not particularly.” Logan was back to nervously avoiding eye contact.
“No, I don’t eat people in wolf form,” Virgil assured him. “Believe it or not I don’t actually want all humans dead.”
“So I’ve gathered.” Logan adjusted his glasses, wondering if it was his place to speak up. “I noticed you’ve taken quite a liking to Patton.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Virgil fibbed.
“It’s not a surprising reaction,” Logan admitted. “Everyone likes Patton. I’m just tolerated.”
“Self-deprecating, much?” Virgil snorted. “I thought that was supposed to be my thing.”
“I’m not attempting self-deprecation,” Logan said sincerely. “I’m just stating facts.”
“What’re you talking about?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. “‘Just tolerated’ are you kidding me? Roman’s been head over heels for you since he found you in the woods. Made me a bit jealous, which is why I lashed out so much.” Virgil glanced down at the human in his hand. “...sorry about that.”
“Wait a moment,” Logan looked up at him incredulously. “Was that an apology?”
“Tell anyone and I really will bite your head off.” Virgil threatened, but his threat had less bite to it than usual.
“My lips are sealed,” Logan assured him.
Virgil was quiet for a while after that, until they neared the human village.
“...alright, which one is it?” Virgil asked, looking through the trees.
“That one, on the edge of town.” Logan pointed to a ramshackle hut that was far, far from the others. It was shoddily built, this being the third edition after the first two became casualties of Logan’s experiments.
“Right.” Virgil took a deep breath. He could do this. It wasn’t that close to others, it was late. No one would see him. Things would be okay.
“...Virgil?” Logan felt Virgil’s muscles tensed beneath his feet, noticing the wolf hadn’t moved. “I can walk from here if you’re uncomfortable getting closer.”
“Oh thank goodness.” Virgil let out a sigh of relief before remembering who he was with. “I mean, uh, whatever. I don’t care about petty human towns.”
“Of course you don’t.” Logan agreed, climbing off after Virgil set him down. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Hey.” Virgil gripped the back of Logan’s shirt between his claws, holding the human back. “Be careful, alright?”
“...I will.” Logan glanced back, for a moment reminded of Roman. Virgil’s eyes actually held genuine care, a concept Logan would have guessed would be foreign to the wolf.
“Good.” Virgil slowly released Logan’s shirt. He watched the human walk out of the woods and disappear into the hut. He let out a slight whine of worry despite himself when Logan finally was out of sight.
He tapped anxiously on the forest floor, waiting for Logan to return. Why was he so worried about this? Sure, Roman had told him to watch Logan, but this was more than that. Virgil found himself actually caring about the little guy’s safety.
….Virgil actually found himself caring.
“Oh no,” Virgil muttered to himself, feeling those butterflies returning the second Logan walked back out of the hovel. His tail began to wag as well. Why did these things always have to happen to him? Two human bonds in one day? This was ridiculous! Roman was going to mock him for life!
“This should be enough,” Logan explained, setting the bottles into Virgil’s open palms. “I only grabbed the essentials for now. Do you think I should grab more…?”
“No!” Virgil quickly scooped Logan into his hands, standing up. “No, don’t leave again.”
Logan blinked up at him. That was...odd. “Alright, I won’t?”
“I mean, we have to get back to Roman.” Virgil covered up his response, walking at a brisk pace back into the woods.
“Right, of course.” Logan nodded, holding the bottles close so that none of them would fall. One almost toppled off the edge, but with Virgil’s quick reflexes it was pushed back into the center. “Thank you for that.”
Virgil’s tail wagged harder. “Anytime.” He muttered.
The walk back was much faster, Virgil trying to be speedy as Logan seemed intent on beginning his experiments despite the bumpy ride. Soon they arrived home, Virgil immediately going up to Roman’s room.
“We’re back and we brought your antidote,” Virgil announced.
“Unfinished antidote.” Logan corrected, sticking his tongue out as he attempted to combine two potions.
“Fantastic!” Roman exclaimed. “I’ll admit, my shoulder has been hurting a bit more than before.” Roman chuckled humorlessly.
Patton smiled at the two. “And this is gonna heal Roman right up?” Patton asked, looking towards Logan.
“Affirmative.” Logan leaned back slightly to avoid catching his hair on fire as a puff of smoke rose from the concoction.
“Alright, enough experimenting in my hands.” Virgil set Logan down, not wanting his hands to explode. “And be careful, alright?”
“I’m being careful,” Logan assured him, not being careful at all.
Patton came up next to Logan to help if he needed to while Roman raised an eyebrow at Virgil.
“So Logan needs to be careful, does he? Since when do you care?” Roman asked. The change from before and now was huge.
Virgil shifted awkwardly on his feet. “I only care because he’s your only shot, okay? Don’t read into this.”
Roman hummed and narrowed his eyes at his packmate. He didn’t believe him.
“It’s finished!’ Logan exclaimed, holding up the vial and nearly hitting Patton in the face in his excitement.
Thankfully, Patton was able to move back a step in time to not get hit. He cheered. “Good job Logan!”
Roman looked over and at the small vial in Logan’s hands. “...Uh, it that even enough?” He compared the size of his wound to the size of the vial.
“Even a drop of this stuff is incredibly potent,” Logan explained, eyeing the contents eagerly as they shifted and glowed. “I just need to pour this on your shoulder.”
“...Alright, I trust you.” Roman said, scooping Logan up and holding him above his shoulder.
“Is that going to explode?” Virgil asked, already picking up Patton to hold the human protectively close.
“It’s highly unlikely,” Logan answered, uncorking the bottle. He took a deep breath, praying this experiment would succeed before pouring the contents out and letting them spill onto Roman’s wound.
As soon as the stuff made contact with his wound, Roman let out a loud howl of pain.
Patton winced at the sound. Both because it was loud and because the amount of pain he could hear from Roman made him sad.
Logan winced as well, being very close to the sound source. However, his eyes were glued to the wound, watching in awe as it began to stitch itself back together. “It’s working!”
“It better be.” Virgil growled, hating to see his packmate in pain and yet unable to do anything about it.
Slowly but surely, the pain went away. Roman let out a small sigh of relief, before looking down at his wound. At this point, only a scar remained. “Whoa.” He said in awe. He looked to Logan. “How did you do that?”
“Logan’s great at potions!” Patton exclaimed, causing Roman’s eyes to look at him. He grinned. “He can do anything!”
“Not anything, Patton.” Logan corrected, looking pleased as he recorked the bottle. “But most things.”
“That’s incredible.” Virgil came over to inspect Roman’s shoulder, sniffing it to make sure all traces of poison were gone.
“I feel as good as new!” Roman said, moving his shoulder around with a grin. He looked down at Logan. “Patton is correct, you are amazing!”
“Well, that is a correct statement,” Logan smirked, sitting up straighter.
“Glad to know you’re humble, too.” Virgil teased, reaching over and ruffling Logan’s hair.
Logan, surprised by the action, ducked instinctively. He adjusted his glasses, regaining his composure.
Once again, Roman sent Virgil another look. A look that said they would talk about this later. But for now, he also ruffled Logan’s hair.
Patton grinned, happy to see that everyone was getting along. “So, the poison should be all gone too?”
“I don’t smell any left,” Virgil answered, ignoring Roman’s look.
“Yes, it should be fully flushed from your system, Roman,” Logan explained, beginning to fix his hair.
“Amazing,” Roman said again before hugging Logan close to his chest. “If you can do things like this maybe I should keep you around.” Roman teased, though half of him was serious.
“Oh, ah, thank you?” Logan found himself torn on how to respond, unsure if Roman was completely teasing. Indeed, over the past few days, Roman certainly seemed...attached. Logan wondered vaguely if it was possible for a wolf to bond with a non-wolf, as the traits Roman kept exhibiting were very similar to those Logan had seen between the wolves.
“I know I said not another night, but...I think this is a clear exception.” Virgil said, glancing out the window into the darkened forest.
“I mean...I could stay the night.” Patton said with a smile. He wanted to spend more time with the werewolves. And he wanted Roman to have the chance to spend a little more time with Logan before they left.
Roman perked up, though he still thought Virgil was acting weird. He wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Yes! An excellent idea!”
“No, I’m sure we’ve exceeded your hospitality quite enough…” Logan started to protest, but Virgil cut him off.
Logan frowned slightly, unnerved by both wolves’ change in behavior. If his suspicions were correct, then the longer they stayed here the less likely it became that they would be leaving this cabin at all. But what choice did he have? It wasn’t as though he could contest the will of two giant werewolves, especially since this late at night he stood no chance getting Patton and himself safely back home alone.
“...alright.” Logan agreed finally.
“Yay!” Patton cheered, glad Logan had agreed. Roman grinned down at the human, happy as well.
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.
---------------------------------------
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.
(Check the reblog for links to the previous chapters!)
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Oh, Virgil was not going to be happy about this. And who knew how Logan was going to react. Oh, wait, Logan was still waiting for an answer. Well, he couldn’t just tell him about the bond. Not yet anyway.
“Oh, well uh...I’ve never really interacted with humans before. And I’m always willing to help people out.” Roman said, putting on a semi fake smile.
“That’s very kind of you, but I doubt I will be able to repay my debt to you,” Logan said this with a slight frown, not sure what exactly a werewolf would want.
“Oh, you do not have to worry about paying me back,” Roman said, waving that notion away. “Your company is more than enough.” Now that Roman could see the bond for what it was, everything made sense now at least. Though Roman was still having a hard time figuring out how the bond had happened so fast. Sure, bonds worked in mysterious ways. Some took time and others happened soon after meeting but no wolf had ever been known to bond with a non-werewolf.
Roman shook his head and walked over to his dresser to look through his clothes.
“Well, then I suppose, you’re welcome?” Logan was quite confused by this notion. “I don’t think anyone has ever viewed my company as a gift.”
Roman felt the start of a growl coming up his throat but he stopped it. Instead, he smiled. “Well, then they don’t know what they are missing out on.” Roman stopped looking through his clothes, realizing he didn’t really feel like sleeping as a giant tonight anyway. He closed the drawer.
Roman turned back towards Logan. “Are you hungry? I can get us something to eat before we head to bed?”
“I could eat, yes.” Logan agreed before thinking it through, not actually aware what a werewolf diet consisted of; would Logan even be able to stomach it? “Ah, what exactly is it that you consume?”
“Lots of meat.” Roman grinned. “But don’t worry. We usually cook our food, unless it’s near or on the full moon. I think we have some moose on ice or cow if you prefer that?” He wasn’t actually sure what humans ate either.
“Either is acceptable for me,” Logan said, having lived off mostly bread and other meals brought to him by Patton while he stayed out late working.
Roman nodded. “Alright! Would you like to come with me or stay here?” Roman asked.
Logan pondered both options. “Perhaps it’s best if I stay here, to avoid crossing paths with your packmate.”
Roman thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, that might be for the best. Alright then, I’ll be right back!” Roman left Logan in his room as he went downstairs to start the fire in the stove and cook the cow they had. As it sizzled, he couldn’t help but think up ways on how he was going to tell everyone about the bond.
“Where’s the human?” Virgil asked, having snuck up behind Roman.
“Ah!” Roman placed a hand on his heart and he turned to face Virgil. “Don’t do that!” Usually, it would be impossible for them both the sneak up on each other but Roman had been so lost in thought he hadn’t paid attention to the signs.
Roman huffed, turning back to cooking. “Logan is upstairs in my room while I make dinner.” He answered.
“Glad I haven’t lost my fear factor.” Virgil teased, but the way he was looking Roman up and down was more suspicious than anything else. “What’s gotten into you?”
Roman tried hard not to tense. “What? I have no idea what you are talking about.” He continued to watch the meat sizzle, not meeting Virgil’s eyes.
“You’re never this jumpy.” Virgil squinted, leaning closer. “It’s like the human’s rubbing off on you or something.”
Roman frowned. “He isn’t and I am perfectly fine. You are just being your paranoid self.” Roman flipped the meat to darken the other side, hoping this would cook faster so he could get away from Virgil’s questions.
“Yeah, and my paranoid self is what keeps us out of danger when you rush in.” Virgil reminded him.
“Okay, well...yes, but look I’m fine. I just wanted to help a poor human out. Is that a crime?” Roman put out the fire as the meat was done cooking and slid it on a plate. “Now, I am going back to my room for dinner. Goodnight.”
“Where’s my food?” Virgil raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and stepping to block Roman’s path.
Roman paused, forgetting to make enough for Virgil as well. He sighed. “I’m sorry but can you make your own tonight? I promise I’ll make dinner for the next week, I just need to get back to Logan.”
Virgil growled at him, but with a roll of his eyes, he seemed to accept this agreement as he sulked over to feed himself.
“You’re the best!” Roman called out before running up the stairs. He took a deep breath, thankful he was able to lie out of that whole conversation and then opened the door to greet Logan with a grin. “Dinner is served!” Roman said, putting the plate down on the desk next to Logan.
“Oh, ah, thank you.” Logan’s eyes widened at the sight of such a massive steak. Although he should have figured: Giant werewolves would eat giant animals. “Which portion is mine?”
“Hmm? Oh, right.” Roman looked from the steak to Logan sheepishly. “Here, let me just-” He used a knife to cut off a small corner and then handed that to Logan. “There we go.”
“...Thank you.” Logan held the dripping meat slightly away from himself, trying not to drip onto his clothes.
Roman nodded and then started ripping into his own portion. Quite literally, as he picked up the entire steak with his hands and used his fangs to rip it apart and eat it.
Logan paused, trying not to let his surprise at Roman’s actions show. He regarded his own piece of steak, realizing then that he did not have any proper dinner utensils.
Well, when in Rome. Logan shrugged and bit into the meat as best he could, tearing off a chunk.
Roman finished the steak in record time, sighing in contentment as he felt full. He looked down at Logan to see that he was still working on his piece. He smiled, letting his head fall into his hand as he simply watched Logan with a small smile.
Logan noticed Roman was watching him, giving him a strange look. “What?” Logan asked, looking to see if he had made a mess.
Roman realized what he was doing and let out a fake cough to hide his red cheeks. “Um, nothing, sorry.” Curse this bond. He turned back to Logan once his cheeks were back to their original color. “So, where would you be comfortable sleeping tonight? My bed has more than enough room, or I could always give you a blanket and you can sleep on the desk?”
“The desk should be fine,” Logan answered, not wanting Roman to accidentally roll over in his sleep or any other number of accidents.
Roman nodded and dug around for a blanket, setting it up in a sort of nest type thing on the desk next to Logan. “There we go.” He then went to change for bed but stopped. He realized that he might need to warn Logan first.
“Hey, um, so...are you okay with me turning into a wolf for bed?” Roman asked, wanting Logan to feel comfortable.
Logan’s eyebrows raised. “You can do that? I thought werewolves only transformed during a full moon.”
Roman actually laughed at that. “That’s just an old myth! No, we have no choice but to transform during the full moon but any other day we have full control whether we do or not.” Roman explained. “And you don’t have to worry about my wolf form either. I may not be able to talk but I am in complete control.”
“Good.” That had indeed been Logan’s next question. “Well, then, by all means, go ahead. Frankly, I’m intrigued by the process.”
Roman grinned and nodded and then closed his eyes as he let the transformation take over him. His bones began to shift and slowly fell to the ground, onto all fours. His fur grew and his face formed a snout. In minutes, where Roman once stood was now a giant wolf. He shook himself before coming up to the desk to see Logan.
“Extraordinary.” Logan murmured, leaning further towards the wolf and reaching out a hand. “Roman, can you understand me?”
Roman let out a little ‘boof!’ and nodded his head. He then put his hand forward so Logan was now touching Roman’s snout.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Logan chuckled, rubbing his hand along Roman’s coarse fur.
Roman panted happily and then licked Logan’s face.
Logan was frozen in shock for a moment, only able to stare straight ahead with his arm still outstretched.
...did that really just happen?
“I should have expected that.” Logan muttered to himself, leaning back to wipe the drool off his glasses. He looked at the wolf, putting them back on with a stern look.
Roman was grinning as best he could in wolf form. But he took pity of Logan and walked over to grab a cloth in his mouth. He set it in front of Logan to use to get cleaned off a little better.
It took Logan a moment to realize what Roman was doing. With a grateful nod, Logan wiped his glasses off on the cloth.
“Goodnight, Roman,” Logan said, tucking himself into the blanket.
Roman barked a goodnight himself before jumping up onto the bed and settling in for the night.
Warnings: Fighting, injury, talk of eating someone, and fear
(Check the reblog for links to the previous chapters!)
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Roman’s tail wagged as he watched Logan gather yet another ingredient. He was having so much fun hanging out with his unofficial packmate.
Speaking of, he had yet to tell Logan about the bond but it was fine. He’d tell him...eventually. “So, what’s the next item on the list?”
The next was perhaps one of the most dangerous ingredients of all. Logan wasn’t planning on retrieving them on his own, but now, with a giant werewolf as his protector… “naga scales.”
Roman blinked, not having expected something like that. “Well...I do know where those are but it’s out of my territory.” Roman explained.
“Oh, right.” Logan deflated slightly. “I suppose I should have expected such. I understand if you are unable to help me acquire them.”
Roman’s ears flattened against his head at Logan’s sad look. Oh, oh no. He didn’t like that. “B-But it’s perfectly fine! We can find a scale on the ground left from a previous molt and we can be in and out of there before the guy even realizes we’re there.” Roman gave Logan a confident smile.
“...are you certain?” Logan asked, noticing how far Roman seemed to be willing to go for what was ultimately Logan’s task. It was admittedly odd behavior. Logan had never experienced anything like it. “I do not wish to push the boundaries of your hospitality.”
“It’s fine! Really! Come on! Let’s go right now!” Roman grabbed Logan and began to head towards the naga’s territory.
“Why are you so eager to help me?” Logan asked, adjusting his glasses.
Roman tensed slightly but tried to laugh it off. “Can’t a guy just help another guy out?” Roman chuckled nervously.
“I suppose.” Logan frowned. “But it seems as though you’re going through an awful lot of trouble. Aren’t there other tasks you need to accomplish today?”
Roman bit his lip as he realized there were some things he had planned on doing today. Refilling their food supply being one of them. But Logan was more important than that at the moment. “Nah.” He lied. “Well, other than relaxing but I wouldn’t exactly call that important. And I am happy to help.”
“I see.” Logan didn’t trust Roman’s answer. It was rare that a wild forest creature would be so inherently lazy. There were always tasks that needed to be done if only to ensure survival. Not to say Roman was a creature, but… well, he was a half-wolf living in the middle of the woods.
Roman continued to walk but paused as he was at the barrier between leaving his territory and stepping into the naga’s. With a deep breath, he passed over and kept on walking. He walked a few feet before kneeling down and letting Logan off. “Alright, hopefully there should be some scales down here somewhere.” Roman kept his voice down as he said this and scanned the area to see if he could find anything.
Logan scanned the forest floor as well, not quite sure what size they would be. He began to wander further in, hoping to catch a glimpse of some in the light, though here the trees were so intertwined it was hard for much sunlight to shine down.
Roman was careful to keep an eye on Logan as he looked but his ear twitched as he caught the sound of something moving not too far away from them. His head snapped over in that direction and he growled.
Logan looked in that direction as well, taking a few steps back towards the wolf. “What is it?” He asked quietly.
Roman continued to glare in that direction. “I’m not sure.” Roman admitted. He sent a quick glance to Logan. “Stay here, I’m gonna check it out.” Roman carefully stalked in that direction, exiting the clearing and leaving Logan alone for a moment.
Logan felt himself becoming nervous, hand once again going to his dagger. He turned slowly in a circle, trying to survey his surroundings.
“Well well well. What do we have here?” A smooth voice spoke, seemingly echoing across the clearing. “Seems like the wolf has left his prey alone.”
Logan stiffened, pulling out his weapon. “Who’s there?” His tone was threatening as he whirled around, unable to spot the source.
The voice chuckled. “Such a cute weapon you have there. What? Have you come to slay a ladybug?” The voice had a slight hiss to it.
“Show yourself.” Logan insisted, becoming unnerved as he had an inkling to whom he might be addressing.
The voice let out a hum. “Are you sure? You might not like what you see.”
“And why is that?” Logan asked, backing up.
A chuckle echoed around the clearing once more. But this time, it seemed to come from...right behind Logan. “Why don’t you turn around and see for yourself.”
The hairs on the back of Logan’s neck stood up, and cautiously he turned to face his foe.
Dee towered above the tiny human, his giant half cut off at the waist and turning into a large snake tail. A snake tail that started to make its way around the human. Though not touching him...yet. He leaned down and smiled, showing his sharp fangs. “Well, hello there.”
Logan paled, craning his neck back to look the predator in the eye. Something told him that this naga would not be as forgiving about trespassing as Roman had back in the werewolf’s neck of the woods.
“Ah, hello.” Logan tried to back up, only to find his way had been blocked by more of the massive yellow tail covered in those precious scales. “Apologies for trespassing, we did not mean to disturb you.”
“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t,” Dee replied. His yellow eyes looking the human up and down. “And tell me, what exactly are you doing here with that...wolf of all things.” He said it as if the word wolf disgusted him.
Note to self: Werewolves and Nagas don’t mix.
“He offered to assist me in gathering various ingredients,” Logan explained, knowing deception might be worse.
“Hmm…” The naga hummed as he started to circle around the human. “Well, it’s a wonder why he didn’t just eat you...Or maybe he is simply playing with his food.” Dee nodded to himself. “Yes, that makes much more sense. So immature.” He shook his head.
Logan gulped, trying to keep his eyes on the creature- or, more importantly now, its fangs. “I’d hardly make a decent meal, I’m all skin and bones,” Logan argued, watching the circle around him grow slightly smaller as the naga drew closer.
“Yes, you are rather skinny,” Dee said with a raised eyebrow. “You aren’t worth much, which is probably why the wolf wants to get the most out of you,” Dee smirked as he stopped in front of Logan once more. “To bad for him, leaving you alone out here. You will certainly make a decent snack.”
“No, I- I’m inclined to disagree.” Logan felt the blood draining from his face, with one step back finding himself pressed against scales. Where was Roman? He should be back by now.
Dee chuckled. “Well, I’m inclined to not listen to what you think.” Dee reached forward, intending to grab the human and finally make him his snack when a loud growl broke through the clearing. Dee didn’t have any time to react as a figure slammed into him, sending them both flying back and away from Logan.
Logan ducked just in time, nearly hit in the head as the two giants went flying. He looked over, heart rapidly beating as he recognized his furry savior.
Roman had shifted into wolf form almost immediately after he saw the scene of the naga reaching for Logan. He was arguably stronger in that form, so it only made sense. He was on top of the naga, growling loudly. Dee grunted.
“Well, hello wolf.” Dee wrapped his tail around one of the wolf’s legs. “And goodbye.” He tugged, sending Roman flying off of him and to the ground a few feet away. Roman landed with a small whine, but he quickly got back up.
Logan fell to the forest floor, knocked prone by the sheer force of Roman’s landing. He scrambled to his feet, desperately running back the way they had come from.
Dee noticed this and tried to get in the human’s way but Roman ran to block his path. “Stay away from him!” He growled in his wolf tongue. And while the human may not have been able to understand, Dee did. He narrowed his eyes.
“You came into my territory. That human is mine now. So move aside.” Dee hissed out before lunging at Roman again. Roman struggled but managed to throw him off. He was starting to breathe heavily as he glared at Dee.
Dee wiped away some blood from his mouth and looked at for a second. “Well, just for that, I’m going to make sure you watch as I eat your little human pet.” He spit out the word as he slithered to an upright position.
Logan’s blood ran cold, glancing over to shoulder to try and see who had the upper hand. It was impossible to tell, considering both contestants were beginning to look a bit weary. He didn’t like the implications that were being thrown around, and briefly, Logan wondered if he’d come out of this alive with either victor.
No, he had to stay vigilant. Just because Roman was a terrifying wolf creature now did not mean that he wanted to swallow Logan down.
Roman’s growl was harsher at Dee’s words and Roman prepared himself before launching at Dee, tackling him to the ground once more. They rolled around on the ground for a bit before Dee was able to lash out and sink his fangs into Roman’s shoulder. Roman howled in pain but viciously shook Dee off of him.
Roman bit the end of the naga’s tail, causing the whole body to seize up and curl into itself. Roman took this opportunity to grab Logan with his mouth by the back of his shirt and speeding off and away from Dee and his territory.
Logan let out a slight scream, startled as he felt himself swing back and forth as the world rushed rapidly past. His back muscles tensed, curling in on himself slightly as he felt Roman’s fangs pressed directly behind him.
Roman didn’t stop until he was well within his own territory. He collapsed to the ground but was still mindful of Logan as he set the human down on the ground gently. He let out a low whine as he tried to move his shoulder. But his eyes were focused on Logan, looking him over for any sort of pain.
Logan paused to catch his breath, getting shakily to his feet. He still felt as though he might collapse, the adrenaline from that scare still coursing through his veins. He turned around to inspect his rescuer, noticing how exhausted the wolf looked.
“Roman...you’re hurt.” Logan realized, looking at the wolf’s wound.
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.
