Still recuperating and reeling from being beaten around by demons and darkness incarnate, Russo is not in much of a mood to do anything other than laze about and sleep all day. A rather forceful and needy wolf desperate for more lessons in the magical arts is more than enough to ruin the mage's lethargy however.


Note: Icon is © to  citrusfreebies


FIRST , PREVIOUS , NEXT

---

Chapter 32

“Good morning, Russo!” The long brown hair draping over the mage’s eyes flit about to and fro across his face as a gentle breeze kicked up, the furious wagging of the gray wolf’s tail circulating the room’s stale air.

“Go back to bed,” the human grumped as he creaked his eyelids open just enough to glare at the wound up wannabe, the fluffy wolf’s smiling face hovering not even a foot before his own. Pulling the bed covers over himself, Russo buried his head into the two pillows he had stacked upon one another.

“Awww come on! You’ve done nothing but sleep and bum around ever since you got back from your trip!” Stifling a soft growl, the impatient wolf pulled back down the covers. “When do I get more magic lessons?”

“When I feel like it,” Russo curtly replied as he pulled the covers back over his head. A tug of war ensued, pitting the human’s sloth against the wolf’s thirst for knowledge. Conceding defeat once it became clear it would require actual effort on his end to remain in bed, the mage rolled off his mattress and onto the floor.

Grinning in delight at having finally gotten his way, Dax swelled a foot or so in size and hefted Russo off the ground. Carrying the human over to the lump of clothing that he thought constituted of the mage’s full-assed attempt at a dresser, the wolf set him down before it. Or maybe that was his laundry pile, Dax couldn’t tell.

“So freakin’ needy,” Russo mouthed off as slipped out of his shirt. Tossing it off into the other pile of clothes across the room, he slid on another undershirt and a tan tunic over that.

Set in place in front of the door, Dax did his best to ensure that his self-appointed magic teacher didn’t run off. Oh wait that’s right he could teleport. Crap.

Pulling his dark brown boots tight onto his feet and stuffing his pants legs into the ankles of his footwear, Russo exhaled loudly, trying to puff away at the unruly hair obscuring his vision. Yanking his crimson cloak over his shoulders, the human stormed over towards the wolf. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

Eeeing in delight, Dax nearly ripped the door off its hinges as he tossed it open and dragged his teacher out of the guild. “So what do I get to learn today?” Eyes lit up with excitement, the wolf carved out a path through the waist high snow drifts that had accumulated along Tedrah’s streets over the past week.

“Your first elemental spell I suppose,” Russo sighed as he stumbled along, the snow crunching and compacting beneath his feet as his legs frantically tried to keep up with Dax. Damn wolf would be dragging him through the snow otherwise. “Dax. Dax. DAX.”

“What?”

“You can stop now.”

Looking over his shoulder, the wolf laughed sheepishly as the town sat far behind them. Rising plumes of black and gray smoke dotted the city’s stout sky line, nearly every chimney that was still functioning being put to good use. Wafting up, the plumes vanished into the pale blue sky stretching out above them.

“Alright then. The first elemental spell I learned was Fire. For you… I’m thinking we’ll start off with a basic Ice spell.”

“Why’s that?”

“Trust me, it’ll be infinitely easier. You remember my whole spiel about how magic is just energy willed into the form you desire? Doing that takes a great deal of imagination and a smidgeon of experience. You’ve got the fundamentals of the gathering and channeling magic down, so you’ve got a pretty solid foundation going for you. Now I guess we’ll need to start building on that.”

“How do I do that?”

“Just watch.” Holding his left hand out before him, Russo concentrated as wisps of magical energy rose out of his fingers and circled about his palm. Coalescing almost immediately, they melded together to form a simple but brilliant orb of blue white magical energy. Fingers twitching slightly, the orb of energy radiated a small burst of light. As his eyes adjusted to the increase in brightness, Dax oohed as he observed at the dark blue hue the orb had taken on. Before his very eyes it hardened into a crystalline sphere, its surface glistening in the sun’s rays bouncing off the snow all around them. Chilled air flowed down its sides, collecting in the mage’s palm briefly before cascading down between his fingertips. “I really should’ve worn my gloves,” Russo whined as he felt his digits go frigid. “This is your basic ice spell. Just a solid chunk of ice to hurl at whoever or whatever. If you can launch these things hard enough, you’d be surprised at the blunt force damage you can inflict.”

“Okay then! …Ummm. How do I go from one spell to another though?” Plucking a threaded magical crystal from a pocket, Dax wrapped the wiry and coarse material around his furry fingers. Slowly but surely he drew magic forth from the crystal into a lumpy, but stable, sphere of energy. “I can get this far. So what do I do next?”

“This is where that mix and match of imagination and experience comes into play. Once the magic is gathered, you’ll need to intently imagine how it would feel to have something that frigid and cold held between your fingers. Thing is, you kind of sort of need to truly know before-hand how that would feel before you can go imagining it. Or at least I’ve found it’s easier that way. For instance, when I was first learning how to cast fire spells I ran into a lot of trouble thinking of how it would feel to hold a miniature inferno within the palm of my hand. Mainly due to the fact that I had never been burned before. I had no idea what the feeling of grasping a flame in your hand was like, so I ran into a brick wall so to speak.”

“How did you get past that?” Dax arfed as he cocked his head.

“Master… in his infinite and asinine wisdom, brought it upon himself to lend a helping hand. One cold winter night, you know, kind of like the ones we’ve been having lately, Jem and I were huddled around the guild’s main fireplace. Jem was being his usual supportive self, encouraging me to keep at it. The old man, overhearing my fussing and moaning, stooped down besides us and imparted that little kernel of wisdom to me. Of course I wasn’t exactly too keen on purposefully injuring myself so that got me nowhere. Understanding my hesitations, he decided to help me speedily conquer my fears by making the decision for me. Old bastard pushed me into the fireplace.”

Ears pulled back flat against his head, Dax went mum after letting out a soft whine.

“Yeahhhhh that was a pretty traumatizing episode. Haha, I mean, shit, that’s nothing compared to what I’ve put up with lately, but still.”

“Uhhhh… you’re not going to set me on fire are you, Russo?” Dax whined pathetically as his tail went limp, brushing against the powdery snow.

“No, of course not. Anyway that’s beside the point. After my physical and emotional scars healed up, I found I had a hell of a lot easier time imagining how it felt to clench an inferno within my grip. My first successful casting of a fire spell came shortly after that.”

“Soooo… the reason you want me to try and ice spell first is because… of all the snow around? That way it’ll be really easy to know how it feels to hold a big glob of cold stuff in my hand?”

“There you go. Now get to it.” Russo smirked, concealing just a teensy amount of pride. The wolf was catching on fast.

“Okay!” Dax replied eagerly as he shoved both his hands into the snow piled up around them.

“Awesome. Now while you work on that… I’m going back to the guild. It’s too damn cold out here.” Shivering, Russo wrapped his cloak around his body tight as he turned his back on the wolf.

“Wait! What if I need more help?” Dax butted in as he yanked his arms out of the field of snow, powdery flakes clinging to fur.

“You know where to find me,” the mage callously replied with a wave of his hand. Readying the magic needed to teleport, the energy gathering in his hand dissipated instantaneously as a snowball whumped against the back of his head. “Oh you little…” Russo drifted off as he turned back towards the wolf. His eyes went wide as a great shadow spread over him, the wolf looming tall in his stretched thin clothing as a massive blanket of snow floated down towards him, much the way a brick would. “You suck, Dax,” Russo muttered as the massive wall of fluffy white stuff flumped down upon him.

Sticking his tongue out playfully as he shrunk down, Dax giggled to himself as he plodded over towards the mage. Shoving a hand down deep into the newly christened hill of snow, he grabbed around for the human a smile lighting up his face as he felt Russo’s cloak between his fingers. Yanking up on it hard a dazed and confused mage was discovered to be his haul. Draping him across the top of the snow bank Dax began practicing in earnest, shoving his hands back into another drift of snow and leaving them there until his furry padded fingers went numb. Ignoring the first couple answers Russo provided to further queries, given mostly in the form of middle fingers, Dax eventually began to make noticeable progress.

“Okay okay okay, so once I have the magic gathered that’s when I get my imagination going! All the while I need to keep the spell stable as it takes on an element…” Dax thought out loud as he wrapped another threaded crystal between his digits. “Ooh ooh steady… steady,” the wolf mouthed excitedly as the magic gathered in his hand slowly began to shimmer and harden. He imagined his fingers becoming covered with frost, going numb as a dull stinging pain spread out from them up into his palm. A weak flicker of light spit forth from the coalesced magic as it turned a dark blue and plopped down into the wolf’s palm. A pleased toothy grin spread across the Dax’s muzzle as his fingers ran over the lump of ice he had created. It wasn’t quite casting an Ice spell, but he was getting really close after just his first day! “Russo! Russo look!”

“No.”

“Awww please!”

“Hell no,” the mage blurted out through his chattering teeth. Perched atop the blanket of snow he had briefly been buried under, the human’s mental faculties and tolerance for bullshit plummeted along with the sun as he became preoccupied with thoughts of warmth. And fire. Like setting things on fire. All the things on fire.

“Well I guess this is okay for one day,” Dax said somewhat disappointed as he let the chunk of ice tumble out of his hand and watched it sink through the layers of accumulated snow.

“That’s plenty for one day,” Russo remarked irritably as he rose to his feet and trudged towards Tedrah. The snowy field practically glowed as the moon took its position high in the sky. As the human’s eyes settled on the waxing lunar object, he shuddered briefly. He hadn’t bothered retelling all of what had happened in Yash yet. Not like anyone would believe him.

---

Back at the guild

---

“Where’d you two run off today?” Jem inquired in between slurps of piping hot soup.

“Russo gave me more magic lessons!” Dax barked happily as he devoured a loaf of bread. A tired groan slipped forth from Russo as he slumped onto the tabletop, his head bumping against the hard wood.

“You alright, Russo?” Sliding up the mage’s hair out of the way, the collie pressed his palm against the human’s forehead.

“I’m fine. Just… tired.”

Hmming softly, Jem gently patted Russo’s back. “It doesn’t feel like you have a fever. Just what all did those magic lessons involve anyway?”

“Lots and lots of practice!” Dax chirped in between bites.

“Sitting out in the snow all day basically…” Russo barely replied above a whisper.

“Well no wonder you’re not feeling too hot. Humans aren’t cut out for weather like that, you don’t have built in fur coats like we do,” Jem chided his friend softly as he pulled at the edges of his cloak. “Come on, I think it’s time you headed in for the night.” Slipping his arms underneath Russo’s, the warrior collie pulled his friend up into standing position. Wrapping an arm snug around his back, Jem slowly led him to a guest room.

“Quit your doting,” Russo mumbled as Jem laid him down onto a mattress. Cracking a grin, Jem tossed an assortment of bed sheets and comforters onto the human, burying the mage under layers of cloth.

“See you in the morning,” Jem smirked as he padded out the door.

“Night,” Russo thought in reply as he briefly contemplated slipping out of his heavier clothes for the night. “Ehh, screw it.”

---

“Morning, Russo.” A familiar voice called out as a wave of moist hot air washed over the mage’s face.

“Again? Go back to bed, Dax.” A furred finger promptly whapped against the human’s skull. “Augh. What the hell?”

“Since when do I sound anything like Dax?” Arms crossed in front of his chest, the collie looked down at the human rather miffed.

“Who else would try to wake me up this early?” Russo retorted as he slunk out of bed.

“It’s nearly noon. You slept half the day away.”

“Oh.”

“Clean yourself up and let’s grab some lunch. There’s something I was hoping to talk to you about,” Jem barked softly as he rubbed an arm.

“O-okay…” Grabbing up a smattering of clean clothes from his dresser pile errr… wait no that was the laundry pile, redo. Grabbing up a random assortment of clean clothes from his dresser pile, Russo uneasily tread by the collie as he exited the guest room. Jem’s ‘giant’ reveal had been plenty significant, well for the collie anyway. Just what else was that fur ball hiding? “I’ll find out soon enough I guess,” Russo mused as he stepped into the baths, careful not to poke too much at any of the bruises from Dark’s most recent bout of abuse. Most of the skin on his back and chest was still colored a sickly mix of purples and yellow hues. “That abomination really knows how to leave his mark,” Russo grunted painfully as he slid into the heated bath. Dunking his head beneath the water, he quickly resurfaced and slid back his hair. Slapping at his cheeks, he did his best to shuttle any and all thoughts of that psychotic darkness out from his mind. “Maybe this is something I should try and talk over with someone after all,” he rambled as he slid back against the side of the bath.

Adopting the same sitting position at one of the booth seats at the pub, Russo ate his lunch in silence. His collie companion seated across from him, Jem looked at the human worriedly.

“You’re awfully quiet today, Russo. Something wrong?”

“I’ve just been thinking a lot. Sorry to worry you,” the mage apologized before gulping down some bitter cider. Biting his lip as he tried to ignore his friend’s genuine concern, the mage quickly changed the subject. “You said there was something you wanted to speak to me about?”

“Y-yes. I’ve been doing some thinking of my own lately, especially since yesterday. I’d prefer if we could discuss this in private though,” the collie shyly replied as he scratched at his furry cheek.

“Alright then,” Russo affirmed with a shrug as he finished his drink. Quickly scarfing down his remaining food, Jem pushed his plates aside and the two chipped in for the meal. Slinking their way out of the pub, Russo hmmed in curiosity as the fur led him outside the city limits. The clouds hanging low in the gray sky had begun to spit out flakes, the flurries slowly filling in the fresh tracks in the snow that the duo made. Flipping up his hood as he brushed aside the snow accumulating on his shoulders, the human dutifully followed his furry friend as they encroached upon the forest. “You’re leading me out into the middle of a forest just to chat?” Eyebrows arched, a fair amount of incredulity was present in Russo’s tone.

Dipping his head down and tensing his shoulders, Jem growled softly. Exhaling loudly as his body shook, the collie merfed loudly as he turned towards the human, pressing his back against a tree. “The topic I want to speak to you about is an embarrassing one.” Eyes darting towards the ground, Jem felt his ears burn hot as he avoided his best friend’s eye contact.

“Kayyyyyyy.”

“What is it like… teaching Dax?” Tail wagging slowly, Jem looked down at Russo’s feet as he awaited a response.

“You’re still hung up on that?”

“N-no! I’m just… curious is all.”

“Uh huh.”

“FINE. I am still hung up on it.”

Ignoring the glare he elicited from the collie as he began to laugh, Russo stifled his chuckling long enough to maintain a straight face. “I suppose I could indulge your curiosity.” Grinning, Russo lightly tapped Jem on the shoulder. Rolling his eyes, the collie couldn’t help but soften his gaze. “He’s a handful, for one. That wolf is freaking insatiable and is never satisfied with what I teach him. He always wants to learn or try something new, something more. Dax is always pestering me for lessons, or tips, or clarifications, you name it. I honestly can’t see why you’d want to take him under your wing; he’s more trouble than he’s worth.”

“It’s because I know what would be best for him. You know how lax he is with his size. He needs to have it drilled into him that it’s something he shouldn’t bank on while living here, it’s just not appropriate given the setting.”

“Have you even told him that YOU’RE a giant yet?” Russo prodded as he poked the collie’s chest.

“Not quite…” Jem tapered off grumpily.

“Heh. Hmmm, he certainly does like to throw his weight around,” Russo grimaced as he recalled the lopsided snow ball fight the day before.

“That’s what I’m talking about! That kind of behavior isn’t acceptable here! If he wants to live amongst you smaller mortals he needs to behave like one and abide by the same realities you do. When I first moved here that was all I ever heard about giants, that they abused their size and power. I grew up here determined not to become someone like that and it’s something Dax needs to take to heart!” As he ranted the collie’s voice grew in pitch and took on an angry tone.

“Easy there, Jem.” Russo gently urged his canine companion as he held up his hands in a placating gesture.

Swatting at the flakes steadily drifting through the air, the collie continued on. “All I’ve ever heard from you and everyone else here is that my people and I are monsters! We have our good and our bad, just like you!”

“Okay, okay, I think we’re getting just a little off topic here,” the mage gingerly noted as the conversation grew more and more awkward. Hell, the human was honestly much more comfortable being thrown into scenarios where he had to run from people and things that wanted to kill him than he was with helping his closest friend deal with his insecurities.

“This is completely relevant! I’ve lived by self-imposed rules my entire time here to prove you all wrong! That I’m not some mindless monster… that I’m a person! If I have to live this way then so should Dax! How can I ever hope to have your people think differently of me and my own if that dumbass just falls straight in line with their preconceived notions and stereotypes!?” As Jem continued airing out his grievances his body began to swell and slowly creep up in height. The collie wasn’t even consciously unaware that he had begun to look down upon the human as he kept speaking.

“Jem…”

“I don’t even know why I bother sometimes though! With so many fuckups out there ruining our reputation, my efforts might as well be for nothing!” Jem’s leggings and armor groaned as they compressed against his swelling form. Tearing up along their sides as they crept up his legs, the collie’s pants deteriorated quickly. Plates of armor buckled off as his chest piece began to bow outward, unable to contain the mass of muscle expanding out of it.

“Jem…” Russo repeated again nervously, backing away from the collie’s tremendous and growing paws.

“I’m not simple minded idiot who can only get his way through force and intimidation! I’m just as intelligent and hard working as you or anyone else! I don’t need to use my size as a crutch, I’m better than that!”

“Jem.”

“WHAT?” The collie snarled, his booming voice rattling the diminutive human. Teeth bared and lips pulled back, Jem glared down at the human who now barely came up past his furry ankles.

“I think you made your point,” Russo responded embarrassedly as he averted the fur’s glowering gaze.

Clamping his teeth together, Jem sucked air in between his impressive fangs. Clenching his fists as he growled, he let out a frustrated sigh as he hung his head low. Shaking his head shamefully, he sank to the ground heavily sending a wall of snow flying at the mage. Crossing his legs and draping his tail across his lap, the collie bunched his shoulders together as he looked away from his tiny friend. “I’m sorry, Russo,” he rumbled softly as he buried his muzzle between his hands.

“I-it’s fine.” Trembling slightly, Russo couldn’t help but find himself intimidated by his friend’s imposing form. The collie had bulked up significantly as he grew, his body overflowing with thick and well-defined muscle. Jesus, Jem made nearly every other giant Russo had tangled with look absolutely pitiful and scrawny in comparison.

Casting a furtive glance at the human, Jem let out a tired moan as he observed him taking a few steps back. “J-just forget I said anything. Sorry to have wasted your time like this,” the giant whispered.

Freezing in place, Russo furrowed his brows as his shoulders slumped. …How often had Jem put up with his petty bullshit without a fuss? “N-no. It’s fine, really.” Snuffing out any and all trepidation, Russo advanced towards the giant. “I ufff… well… shit. Jem, I doubt I can really begin to understand just what the hell it’s been like, to have all of this eating away at you. But the least I can do is lend you an ear. You’ve done the same for me countless times in the past. It’s time I returned the favor.” Patting a gloved hand against the side of a paw that was bigger than he was, Russo locked stares with his best friend.

Tail patting back and forth gently in his lap, a soft smile curled up on the collie’s lips. “Thank you, Russo.” Slowly, the collie extended a hand out towards the human. Not entirely unfamiliar with the prospect from prior encounters, the mage watched on bemusedly as the giant delicately wrapped a hand around him and gently lifted him up into the air. Unfurling his fingers timidly, Jem eased Russo back against his palm as he brought him towards his big furry mug. “T-that’s really the first time I’ve laid into you like that, isn’t it?” Jem shyly inquired as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

“Ehhhh I was long overdue for something like that from you, anyway,” Russo shrugged as he reclined back against the giant’s fingers. Curling his digits forward over the human’s head, the furred fingers provided some shelter for the mage against the deluge of flurries that had started blowing down.

“True enough,” Jem smirked as he bore a toothy grin. “So how was your trip to Yash? You’ve hardly said a word about it since you got back.”

“Oh God, where to begin…” Russo grimaced, gritting his teeth in response.

“Did you at least make amends with Morgan?” Cocking an ear, the collie poked at his tiny friend playfully.

“She’s not outright hostile towards me anymore.”

“That’s not what I was asking,” Jem cheekily prodded as he poked at Russo once more.

“Yeah yeah I did get around to apologizing to her.” Pushing away at Jem’s furry finger, Russo ignored some gentle laughter rumbling out from the fur’s chest. Rolling his eyes, he continued on. “Hell, I even got acquainted with a good friend of Morgan’s while I was there.”

“Woah now, look at you establishing relationships instead of burning bridges. Color me impressed!”

“Shush. Say uhh… aren’t you cold at all?” Scanning his eyes up and down the collie’s face and torso, snow had begun to accumulate in patches all over his fluffy body. Noticeable piles had already formed upon his shoulders and muzzle.

“I think you’re underestimating just how thick my fur is at this size,” Jem replied matter of factly as he paid the frozen moisture no heed.

“What, so giants just ignore the freezing weather come winter?” Russo inquired, his tone seeping with sarcasm.

“Pretty much.” The gigantic collie made an effort to look as smug as possible as he settled in comfortably upon the frozen forest floor as more and more snow clung to his body.

“Ass.” Wrapping his cloak tightly around his frame, the human scooched back as far as he could under Jem’s curled fingers. His tail crunching down the snow as it whapped back and forth, the giant watched on amusedly as his smaller companion tried to take shelter from the elements.

“I’d eagerly trade it away for the amenities and way of life that you and the smaller furs enjoy though,” Jem conceded as he shook his head, sending blankets of snow swirling off his muzzle and top of his head.

“…Really?”

“Russo. Could you even imagine how many trees it would take to build a shack, much less a house, to accommodate someone of my size?”

“No. I guess not.”

“Well neither can I.”

“Huh. I’d… wow. I’ve never really gone about thinking about it like that. Just what the hell is the life of a giant like?” Curiosity aroused, Russo poked his head out from under Jem’s fingers to gaze up at his friend’s face.

“Fairly nomadic,” Jem shrugged as he pressed back his broad back against a tree, arfing in surprise as he felt it began to creak under his weight. “My clan and I would just tend to follow the food wherever it went, that was that.”

“Clans?”

“Nothing as big as you’re thinking. Maybe a dozen people at most, usually all from a single family. We can’t afford to let our numbers get too big, there’s just not enough game to go around.”

“So farming really isn’t a thing for you all?”

“What would we eat? The trees? Oh yes we just freaking love our fiber, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK? Dumby,” Jem teased as a broad smirk spread across his muzzle. “Not like they’re even that filling.”

Brushing down his hair that had been blown back by the collie’s outburst, Russo bit his tongue as he dwelled on not asking another stupid question.

“No, there are no giant plants to go along with giant furs before you even ask. Well… at least not in the sense you’re thinking of.” Jem merfed as his tail swished to and fro, whipping up a swirl of snow.

“Do I even want to ask you to elaborate further?” Pulling down his hood, the mage had given up on brushing down his hair.

“There are some stories passed down from one generation to the next about massive world trees looming over us much the way these little twigs tower over you.” Flicking a clawed finger against a neighboring tree, the collie left a noticeable indent in its bark.

“Heh, so giants don’t like it when they aren’t the tallest things around?” The human mouthed off snarkily.

“No, we just know better to venture too close to things that drain the life and magic from the land itself. No matter who I’ve heard retell the old stories, the one constant tying them together has been the tales of the barren and unforgiving land surrounding them.”

“I’ve heard of petrified forests before… but never world trees.” Hmm. Might be something to pester Dark about one of these days.

“The world’s a big place, even for us.” Smiling gently, the collie cupped his hands around his friend to help further shield him from the cold. “Anyway, farming in any form isn’t a feasible option, if that’s what you were getting at.”

“So what makes you so sure life at this size is so much better?” Gathering magic at his fingertips, Russo cast a basic flame spell to keep himself warm as the downfall of snow intensified. Careful not to let it grow too great in size, the mage made an active effort to not singe the collie’s fingers.

“Easy, it’s because of the stability. Do you know what our lives were like year in and year out? Having to constantly uproot what few worldly possessions we owned as we practically starved ourselves each day, struggling to keep a herd of deer or elk eking out an existence for as long as we can. The peace of mind knowing there’s always a home for you to return to and food to fill you isn’t something giants are fortunate enough to possess. Our existence doesn’t allow for it.” Grinding his teeth together, the rough collie bobbed his head back and forth. “Just think about it, a ravenous fur my size could easily gorge themselves on an entire herd of elk in a single day if they felt like it. To make them last as long as you can, we can only pick off a few a day at the absolute most. Otherwise they’ll just be eaten to extinction.”

“That sounds like a miserable way to live.”

“You get used to it. But yes, it does leave a lot to be desired.”

“Huh. Okay. That kind of actually goes a long way in explaining why so many of you might constantly be bitter and on edge.”

“Still doesn’t excuse it though,” Jem sighed as he slid down further against the tree. “I’m kind of rambling on, aren’t I?”

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s been a while since we just chatted like this. It’s been nice.”

“It has, hasn’t it?” Hmming softly, Jem sighed happily as the weather worsened.

“…Talking out your problems and learning more about you has been nice and all but uhh could we maybe continue this back indoors? I’m freezing to death here.” Russo chattered as he huddled around the flames he’d conjured. A fierce wind whipped out and promptly extinguished the gathered flames, as if to push home the point.

“Care to do us the honors?” Perking his ears up, the fluffy giant panted happily as layers of snow slid off his erect ears.

“You’re gigantic and naked. Either of those things would be more than enough to cause a bit of a stir in town when we reappear there. Just saying.”

“Woops.”

“Please shrink your frozen fluffy ass back down so I can teleport us,” Russo pleaded in polite desperation. Nodding in implicit agreement, the towering fur rapidly shrank down in height, setting his less fluffy friend on the ground before he tumbled out of his shrinking grip. Hurling his cloak onto the collie for the sake of modesty as soon as he was within the threshold of ten feet, Russo immediately warped the both of them back to the now buried street running along in front of the Tedrah guild. Trudging through the rising snow drifts the duo barged their way into the warm and golden halls. Eager to resume their conversation, Jem led Russo along by the arm to the guest rooms. The various guild members they blew by couldn’t help but imagine rather creative and suggestive explanations as to the half-naked collie’s and human’s behavior.

---

FIRST , PREVIOUS , NEXT