Rhys was travelling now with Wolf in tow.
Wolf’s injury still hadn’t healed, which had been worrying Rhys for the past 10 minutes.
There’s also another thing that’s been bothering him as well.
Rhys: Oh yeah… my forehead…
He wiped his wound repeatedly and saw how much blood was on his hand.
It seemed pretty bad, which startled him on the inside.
Rhys: [Hold on for a second, Wolf.]
He put Wolf down, laying on her left side.
Then, he goes over to a broken-off branch and picks a couple of leaves off it.
Rhys: [This should do I guess…]
He rubbed the leaves onto his wound, leaving behind a tingly and minty feeling on contact.
It also stung a little too, but he could handle that.
Then, he rubbed the leaves on Wolf’s bleeding leg as well.
Cleaning the wound well, so she doesn’t get infected.
Rhys: [Wait a sec…]
He is absolutely astonished to see that Wolf’s cut had essentially disappeared.
He had maybe thought for a second that it might be something else’s blood, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Rhys: Wow!
My forehead is completely clear as well…!
He looks at the leaves once more and sees that they were faintly glowing somewhat.
Not enough to be noticed from ahead, or in sunlight.
Rhys: [What is this?
Magic?]
He collected more leaves from this same tree, plucking every single one slowly to make sure not to break them.
He didn’t know whether the magic would leave.
Then, he takes one lap around the entire trunk, just to get a feel of what it looked like before heading off forward.
Rhys: Whoa…
On the other side, there was this delicate circle of clear grass that was surrounded almost entirely by extended roots.
There was also this cool shape on the trunk ahead.
It looked like some complex spell from a fantasy book.
Rhys: Sooo… Cool….
He laid down all the magic leaves right at the end of the circle, night below the magic spell, all in the effort of making a cozy pseudo-bed.
The result was pretty messy, but it worked fine for him.
Rhys: [Hey Wolf.
Come look at our new bed.]
He half-sprints his way around the trunk and picks up Wolf for a spin back.
Wolf takes one look at it and is unimpressed with the final product.
Rhys: [Oh, c’mon!
Wolf: [Woof!]
Rhys: Oh, right, she can’t talk.
Rhys waddles over to his new bed with Wolf still in his arms.
Right as he got to the edge, he flopped his body right onto all the leaves.
The magic on them gives a calming, yet tingly and minty feeling all over his skin.
Even through his sweater and gloves, which was strange.
Wolf laid down on Rhys’s chest as well, letting the soft sweater engulf her in happy hormones.
Rhys: [Doens’t this feel good Wolf?]
Wolf: [Woof!]
They both lay there for about five minutes, letting the breeze flow across their bodies.
These days were going to be the last warm ones for a while.
Rhys: [Hey… what happened to you?
Did your family leave you there to die or something?]
Wolf: [Woof!]
Rhys: [Or maybe… did they all die on you?
Leaving you all alone?]
Wolf looks up at Rhys.
If she could show her concern on her face, she would.
Rhys: [If you’re wondering, that’s how I got here!
Yeah, this world is cruel… but what’s the point of sulking about it forever, I guess…]
His voice carried a hint of sadness at the end.
Wolf thought it would be a better time than ever, rubbing her snout into his chest.
The warm affection felt off to Rhys.
Before he knew it, he started getting emotional all over again.
Rhys: [Hold on, I’m sorry.]
He wiped the tears from his face.
Rhys: [It’s just, I’ve never felt this way before… It caught me off guard for a moment.]
He collects his thoughts and emotions back up.
Storing them deep inside to focus on other things more important at the moment.
Rhys: I’ve got to stay strong.
This time, I can’t lose her too.
About an hour had passed, with them well into the morning.
Rhys was slowly getting more bored and irritated by the minute.
Although he doesn’t want to wake Wolf, who was sleeping soundly on his chest.
The ultimate predicament.
Rhys: Goddammit… What do I do now?
He tried to wiggle his way to an upward position, but as soon as Wolf started showing signs of movement, he went right back down to square one. Read this novel at novelping . com for the best experience.
Rhys: Well, shit… I guess I’ll take a nap too…
He closes his eyes and waits patiently for the melatonin to knock him out clean.
Since he was so comfortable, though, it didn’t take long.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, he reflects on all the things that have happened in this new world.
Wondering what it would’ve been like if he had just not been selfish, and left them alone forever.
Rhys: At least I have Wolf now, I guess…
He thinks to himself before finally knocking out cold.
Whilst he was dreaming, a warm sensation could be felt on his chest, where Wolf had laid down.
It could’ve been her body heat, but it felt way too warm and comforting to be natural.
He felt as though a weighted blanket were folded on top of his heart.
This was probably the best snooze Rhys had ever felt in his life.
So cozy and cuddly and soft, nothing like his sleep at home.
So cozy, in fact, that by the time he woke up, 5 hours of the day had passed.
Rhys: [Oh, god.
How long has it been?]
He looked up to see that the sun was now in the centre of the forest canopy.
Rhys: No way, it’s already noon—
He tilted his head down and saw the same flaw on the leaves, now on Wolf.
She was sleeping peacefully still, as she shone onto his skin.
Rhys: [Hey!
Hey Wolf!
Wake up!]
He nudged his body until movement started showing.
She slowly stretched out her whole body whilst laying on one side.
Then gets back on her feet and does the same process as Rhys watches.
Rhys: [Hey.
Can you do magic and stuff?]
Wolf looked at him in confusion, and then she started glowing a lot more.
With magic expelling much further than before.
Rhys was so amazed; the bright light looked so cool.
Not enough to make his rainbow eyes come back, though.
Rhys: [Wait hold on!]
He got up, placed Wolf onto the ground near their bed, and then crouched down to around her level.
Rhys: [What other kind of magic can you do?]
Wolf hears the request and points her snout up before a tiny flame emerges a couple of millimetres from her body.
Rhys: [Wow!
That’s awesome!]
She turns her head back in his direction and starts panting whilst wagging her tail.
They seemed to love each other already.