Assistant Needed (Revised)
Arcanus squinted in an attempt to scan the darkened terrain in front of him, the thick vale of blackness ahead of him only illumined ever so slightly by the meager light that emanated from his horn. There was no doubt that the sun was hanging high in the sky, but precious few of its golden rays found there way this deep into the Everfree Forest, only cascading down in small, dim columns here and there. A ferocious snarling from behind Arcanus made his chance a glance backwards. Behind him was merely the faint outline of his pursuers, though their glowing green orbs were unmistakeable, and nearly impossible to miss. Unlike Arcanus, the three Timber Wolves appeared to be all but unimpeded by the lack of light, easily ducking under the low hanging branches, jumping over the large roots, and weaving between the large trees that dotted their path. Even in the brief moment that Arcanus had looked back, they had gained ground on him, albeit slowly. Now a mere 15 feet separated him from the masses of angry wood that chased him. Arcanus could only presume that their bark would be just as bad as their bite as well, though Arcanus had no intention of finding out anytime soon.
Looking forward once more, Arcanus was thrown slightly off balance as he nearly ran head-long into thick brambles, narrowly managing to side-step them at the last possible moment, though he could feel a sharp pain in his right hind-leg, indicating he had likely caught it on the brambles, though now was no time to be concerned with minor scratches. No doubt the Timber Wolves were now a mere 10 feet behind him. He could afford no more falters if he intended to get away without further injury. Arcanus managed to weave in and out of the next few obstacles, most of which were simply large tree trunks, though some of the lower hanging branches seemed to work to his advantage, seeing as how he was notably shorter than the Timber Wolves that chased him. As Arcanus maneuvered around one last tree, he was suddenly face-to-face with a large wall of foliage, a good foot taller than he was. Even in this moment, however, with the Timber Wolves bearing down upon him, and a 'wall' in front of him, Arcanus betrayed no hint of fear or concern upon his face. Instead, he quickly sized up the foliage. Contrary to his initial impressions, it was not so thick as to stop his current momentum, though it appeared as though it would be decent at blocking vision. There was no more time for thought as he did his best to aim for the thinnest part of the wall he could find, breaking through it as a few twigs pulled at his mane, one even catching his left cheek, just below his eye. Even as he was in mid air, he extinguished the light from his horn, having decided to take a gamble to escape the Timber Wolves which where now directly behind him.
On the opposite side of the foliage, Arcanus landed with a somewhat heavier thud than he had planned, the shock nearly causing him to fall, though he remained standing. Instead of bounding forward once more, however, Arcanus dug his hooves deep into the soil, turning to his left as he redirected all of his momentum in that direction as he dove for the ground, getting as low as possible as he hit the ground, sliding to a stop. This time, he felt a pain his his left foreleg, as it connected with an out of place root. Within a second of his passing through, the three Timber Wolves also careened through the wall of foliage, their eyes all glued forward as the raced off, no doubt still thinking they were chasing Arcanus. Arcanus let out his breath finally, the fatigue of the chase catching up with him all at once. His body ached from the continuous running, not to mention the areas where he had caught himself on the various obstacles in his hurry to escape more extreme bodily harm.
Even as he struggled to regain a normal breathing pattern, Arcanus turned to fiddle with the saddle-pack he wore, undoing a few buttons with his mouth. After only a moment of ruffling through the few items that his pack contained, he found what he was looking for, having reignited the light from his horn. He gripped a small ink vial, pulling it out and placing it just to his right as he used a bit of his magic to pull his quill from its resting place in one of the holders upon his grey vest. Also setting the quill just to his right, Arcanus turned to his left now, undoing a different pocket of his saddle-pack now. Unlike the other side, which was held shut by a flap and buttons, the left side of his saddle-pack was enclosed with a larger sized zipper, which Arcanus had to give a decent tug at to force it to move, eventually unzipping it enough to remove it's contents. Out of the pocket, Arcanus pulled a large tome, no doubt several hundred pages thick, and unusually wide, as it was tall. He set it down, undoing a small clasp on the front of it, the whole time his ears on alert for any indication that the Timber Wolves had returned.
The front of the tome was wordless, giving no indication as to what it may contain, thought it was obvious it was something of value. Instead of words, there was an intricate design, imprinted into the faux-leather that was used to bind the pages of parchment together. Each line seemed to have been hoof-pressed into the book, and was laced with a glowing gold gilding. The actual design seemed like something out of a fairy tale, as the generous curved lines each intersected here and there, forming an almost natural looking pattern. Arcanus barely glanced at the design, however, as he used a hoof to gently lift the front cover and several of the pages, intuitively knowing almost exactly where to look for what he sought, and within another second, he found what he was looking for. The top of the page was obviously hoof-written, with large and sweeping letters that read "Timber Wolves", a column of text occupying the space below the large text, though a good portion of the page, as well as that of the entire next page, remained blank.
Dipping his quill into the vial of ink, Arcanus used his mouth rather than his magic to begin writing in one of the blank areas of the page. Timber Wolves are beasts prone to territory disputes, quickly growing agitated towards those that encroach upon their borders. And while they appear to have a full social structure within their 'pack', the extent of their intelligence appears to be limited, leaving them susceptible to a plethora of tricks or traps. He managed to write down, the ink seeming to set and dry at an unusual fast pace. Arcanus was about to dip his quill into the ink once more, when a low and familiar rumbling caught his attention. Turning to his left to face the same wall of foliage he had came crashing through earlier, Arcanus was met with the sight of two dark-green orbs, peering through the leaves and darkness no more than a few feet away. By now, Arcanus had caught his breath once more, and with a calm air about him he turned back to his vial of ink, picking it up with his right hoof as he quickly dipped his quill in once last time. Turning once more to see the same eyes slowly moving closer, Arcanus proceeded to bring the ink vial about, letting momentum do the rest as the ink splashed out of the vial, directly into those very same eyes. A howl of pain and rage told him the tactic was effective as he turned back to the tome in front of him, quickly scribbling down one last note. Amendment: They are smarter than they first appear.
Arcanus quickly dropped his quill into the crease of the book, closing it with a gentle haste as the clasp re-fastened. Grabbing the tome with his mouth, Arcanus jumped to a standing position even as the other two Timber Wolves appeared through the dense forest around him. One was to his right, close enough to block any chance of escape that direction. Another rested directly ahead of him, blocking what appeared to be a narrow path with brambles on either side. Arcanus could also not risk crossing back over the foliage to his left, seeing as the third was flailing blindly, and it would take too long to turn to run, leaving him only one option. Arcanus left a small divot in the ground as he pushed himself forward, strait towards the Timber Wolf that was a good 20 feet in front of him. Even as he began to move, the Timber Wolf that had been to his right began to chase him, once again barking and snarling. Cocking his head back to the right, dipping it down slightly. In a great display of strength for such a small unicorn, Arcanus' head whipped back around, his mouth letting the Bestiary loose as he did so. The unusual act drew the attention of the Timber Wolf to his front as the large book flew in an arc, far over its head. Even as the book left his mouth, Arcanus began to thrust his hind-legs forward, letting the momentum of his gallop carry him under the larger creature, sliding as a baseball player might to get to a base at the last second. Arcanus then contorted his leading hoof, causing it to dig into the ground, his remaining momentum helping to just his back up to all fours as he once again caught his tome, only having to move his head a bit to the right to catch it properly. Out of the corner of his eye, and on the edge of the meager light from his horn, Arcanus could see the Timber Wolf that had been chasing him from behind slam into the other, even as it attempted to stop, the resulting collision causing them both to burst into a bundle of twigs and sticks.
Arcanus turned his gaze forward as he began to build more speed, though the only sound that met his ears was his own trotting, followed by a now distant howl. He ran for another five minutes before he even risked looking back once more. Behind him was only flora and the now more common sight of sunbeams, breaking through the ever lessening canopy. Panting heavily, Arcanus slowed to a light trot. As he continued, the light that filtered though from above grew brighter and brighter about him, at one point finally causing him to shield his eyes. He had been deep in the Everfree Forest for nearly one week now, and as such the sight of the sun was a bit of a shock to his eyes, though a pleasant one at that. It was at this point that he finally stopped, still breathing irregularly as he set the Bestiary down, making sure the pocket it belonged in was still unzipped and clear of anything that may harm the binding or pages. Once he determined that it was all clear, Arcanus returned the tome to his saddle-pack, making sure that the zipper was once more fully sealed before he returned his attention to his surrounding. All about him, thick beams of the Sun's rays cut through the canopy, cascading down in golden pillars. Each one illuminated a small area around it, helping to ease the darkness that had been plaguing the deep Forest Arcanus had just ventured from.
Arcanus made to stand, but a sharp pain to his right hind-leg stopped him from putting too much strain upon it. Looking back now, his ashen grey coat was stained with a crimson liquid. For the first time that day a small, if even noticeable, frown over took his normally rigid features. He attempted to locate the actual wound, but due to his physiology, he was unable to contort to position that allowed him to view it properly. He saw enough to understand that while the wound was painful, if not a bit gory, it was of no immediate concern to his overall health. He calmly stood, putting most of the pressure on his left hind-leg, even as his left foreleg protested its own injury. He stopped once more, though now standing as he balanced precariously on only two legs. Compared to the injury on his right hindquarters, the injury to his forward leg was nothing more than a scrape, and was barely bleeding. Arcanus still cursed his own carelessness as he gingerly set his hoof down, turning to look about for a plant that should be growing nearby. It did not take him very long to spot the white pedals that marked the "yarrow" flower. Arcanus cast one final glance from the direction he had come. There was no sign that the Timber Wolves had followed him this far from their den. He had taken note that while a few Timber Wolves would venture out towards the better lit areas of the Everfree Forest, many of the Timber Wolves seemed to have an aversion to any strong source of light. Of the many Arcanus had documented, many had light green eyes and stayed near to the den, though there were a select few that had a darker color of green in their eyes. Only those Wolves with dark eyes seemed to have a resistance to sunlight, presumably having spent more time in the brighter areas of the Everfree. It was now bright enough that none of the Timber Wolves without the resistance should have followed him, though he had taken note that one of the Timber Wolves, the leader of the small pack that had chased him, did indeed have dark green eyes.
Arcanus refocused his thoughts upon the yarrow as he approached it, reaching down to gently puck it from where it rested. After he pulled it free from the ground, he used his magic to pull a few leaves from the flower, which he then gently pressed against his wounds. Within a few moments, the effects of the yarrow was already noticeable, as the bleeding slowed considerably as his blood began to coagulate. Arcanus remember the effects of the plant from when he had studied it a few years prior, though he had never had the chance to use it, though it would make a valuable entry for his Bestiary at least.
With his wounds now treated in an acceptable manner, Arcanus adjusted his focus onto his entire condition. His coat was still wet from the sweat he had worked up while running, causing it to clump into fowl smelling tufts. Likewise, his mane was also a mess, though it also collected a few twigs and leaves. Heaving a sign, having finally caught his breath, Arcanus began to limp forward, his rear right leg still unwilling to support its usual load. Arcanus moved to set the yarrow in his pack as he slowly made his way to where he vaguely remembered some sort of natural spring. His plan was to use it to wash away at least a bit of the filth that now plagued him before finally leaving the Everfree Forest. Of course, his research of Timber Wolves still had a long way to go, and therefore he wished to stay, but he was nearly out of food, and was overdue on a trip to Canterlot as it was. Luckily, his 'editor' was very lax in the enforcement of their scheduled updates, granting Arcanus time to at least finish whatever project he was working on.
Unfortunately for Arcanus, however, he was still rushed, which lead to an unusual situation. He had spent a good week observing the Timber Wolves from a distance, documenting their behaviors, social structure, and diet. He had done a bit of research prior to his expedition into the Everfree, looking for any sort of myths of which to test. One such myth had been that Timber Wolves are born of vengeful trees that were once victims of ponies seeking materials for housing and the like. While Arcanus was unable to prove such a theory, he was equally incapable of disproving it. Likewise, another had stated that Timber Wolves were not only territorial, but shared a bond with the land they inhabited similar to that of Earth Ponies, which granted them unusual powers. Arcanus had managed to explain their ability to navigate the darkness, though his experiment with their territory had gone... Much differently. For all the time Arcanus had spent near their borders they had never once taken notice of him, though as soon as he had passed a certain point, their behavior changed drastically. A few began to sniff the air, seeming to be alerted by something, and suddenly Arcanus had three Timber Wolves bearing down upon him within minutes, despite his best attempts to remain undetected. How they had accomplished such was a mystery to Arcanus, though he was sure it had something to do with smell. Perhaps they marked their territory much like a dog would? Such would likely need to be renewed however, and for the whole week Arcanus had spent near them, never once did he notice them mark their territory in any such way.
Arcanus' mind continued to wander even as he began to approach the spring he recalled from earlier. It was as he remembered. The water that rested within the small oasis was crystal clear, and while its walls were very steep, it remained very shallow throughout. It was flanked on either side by bushes that seemed to hold some sort of berries Arcanus had yet to study. Now that Arcanus looked closer, the spring seemed unnaturally round, and the depth was almost too perfect for a pony to bathe in. This observation caused Arcanus to glance around once more, carefully taking in his surrounding. All around, there was only the untamed, if not deceptive, beauty of the Everfree Forest. No where could Arcanus spot so much as a trail to the spring, the lush grass beneath his hooves seeming to equally cover every inch of land that was not already occupied by another plant. Dismissing his doubts and concerns Arcanus carefully removed his saddle-pack, setting it down near the edge of the spring, which he now noticed was steaming lightly. Curious, Arcanus dipped a hoof in the water. To his surprise, the water was actually quite warm. Had he found a natural hot-spring? Sure, it was not impossible. It seemed nothing was in the Everfree Forest which he found to contain woodlands, swamps, bogs, and all manner of biomes within a very small area. Taking off his grey vest and transferring its contents to his pack, Arcanus dipped the fabric into the spring, rubbing the fabric together with his hooves as he attempted to clean it of sweat and dirt as best he could.
After Arcanus had finished with his vest, he set it to dry upon a low branch of a nearby tree. He himself then moved over to the water, slowly lowering himself into its embrace. At first, his wounds protested the intense heat, but before long he found it relaxing as his tired muscles began to loosen and relax. He checked once more to make sure the water had no reopened any of his wounds as he lightly scrubbed away at the blood that was partially obscuring his cutie mark. As he rubbed, more and more of his cutie mark was shown, and before long it was un-obscured. Resting on his flank was a large tome, identical in appearance to the one he kept in his saddle-pack. Into the book flowed magical tendrils, as well as the paw-print of a Timber Wolf, a bat wing, and what appeared to be a heart with the ears of a dog upon it. Upon finding no traces of blood in the crystal waters, Arcanus let himself sink in the spring until just the tip on his muzzle remained above the surface. Upon taking a deep breath, Arcanus submerged his entire body, thought he had to bend over a bit more to be fully submerged. After only a few seconds, his head broke the water once more. Looking down at his own reflection in the slowly rippling waters, Arcanus was greeted by a familiar face looking back. It wore the same dull grey coat as well as the same light grey mane, which had silver streaks racing through in small lines here and there, only his piercingly blue eyes providing any hint of color. Using the reflection to guide his movements he began to tug at the twigs that laced themselves within his mane, though his progress was slow. Arcanus only managed to tug one free (which took a few too much of his own mane with it) when he heard a slight rustling from one of the bushes close to the spring he was resting in.
Arcanus immediately stopped his attempts to remove a second twig as he dipped lower into the water. He was still a ways into the Everfree Forest, and considering how superstitious the local population had been about the place it was unlikely it was another pony. Had the last Timber Wolf followed him so far away? Arcanus thought of the possibilities, making up his mind to treat it as a worst case scenario that it was at least a Timber Wolf. Even as Arcanus made up his mind about this, the bush rustled once more accompanied by the sound of a snapping twig. Whatever was pushing its way through was heavy enough to snap a sizable twig, giving Arcanus the rough impression that it was indeed about the size of the Timber Wolf that had been previously chasing him. Arcanus looked down at the water now, which despite him bathing in it was still as clear as could be. No doubt it was helping to mask whatever smell had initially alerted the Timber Wolves, but even if he were to submerge himself entirely if the Wolf so much as glanced over at the pond he would be discovered.
Arcanus was not a violent pony, but in the situation his options were limited, and so he set upon a plan in his mind. Just as the leaves of the bush began to part, Arcanus whipped his right foreleg around, hoping to at least shock whatever was coming through with the sudden assault. It appears as though his plan worked at least somewhat, as whatever had been coming through seemed to jolt backwards in the bush a ways. Pushing off with an incredible amount of physical strength for a unicorn his size, Arcanus lunged towards the bush. To his surprise however, Arcanus was not meet with the feeling of rough wood, but rather he felt himself collide with something warm. In the end, he ended up on the other side of the bush, his would-be attacker pinned below him with one of his hooves pinning the forelegs, while he sat at the joint of the rear legs, forcing them to stretch out.
Looking down, Arcanus saw not glowing green eyes, but rather a pair of violet ones, which seemed to peer back with shock. A moment later, a mare's voice rang out in anger.
"What do you think you are doing?! You get off of me, or I swear to Celestia I will-!" she began to scream before Arcanus gently moved a hoof to her mouth, though he did not actually pressed against her muzzle. One again, her eyes went wide with surprise, though there also seemed to be confusion mixed in with them now. After a moment, the mare blushed lightly, though Arcanus chose not to take notice of it as he lifted himself off of her, moving slightly to her side. The mare seemed to grumble something inaudible as she sat up, turning to look at an overturned basket Arcanus presumed she had been carrying. All around the basket various types of berries lay scattered, likely having previously been the contents moment earlier. The mare let her head hang down now, letting out a light sigh.
It was now that Arcanus got a good look at the mare, who appeared to be around the same age as Arcanus, which was to say around the early years of adulthood. Her neon yellow mane was sharply contrasted by her burnt brown coat. She lacked wings or a horn, indicating that she was an Earth Pony. Beyond that she was now dripping wet, Arcanus having caught her square in the face with the water he had splashed moments earlier. Arcanus was about to turn his attention to her cutie mark when she suddenly whipped around, the look of anger in her eyes undeniable.
"Would you mind explaining yourself?" the mare asked with more than an edge of irritation in her voice. She was clearly upset, and rightly so considering she had just been assaulted by a stallion without warning.
"Ah, yes. I thought you were a Timber Wolf," Arcanus responded bluntly. The mare opened her mouth immediately as if she was about to say something before her look turned to one of confusion, then once again shifted to display a wry smile, before finally resettling on her irritated gaze.
"A Timber Wolf? They don't normally wander out this far. And come to think of it, why in Equestria are you even out here?" she asked, motioning around with her hoof.
"I was attempting to study a pack of Timber Wolves," Arcanus replied, once again keeping his answer short and simple. In response to his reply, the mare merely lifted an eyebrow, the anger slowly leaving her features and voice as she spoke once more.
"Study, huh? Let me guess, you are some sort of tourist that heard some wild tales about Timber Wolves and wanted to see one up close, then ended up wandering to close to their den, didn't you? They hate that you know," the mare said, rolling her eyes as she turned away, now beginning to return the berries to the basket she carried.
"No," Arcanus insisted, "I came here to research Timber Wolves. I have been in the Everfree Forest for the last week, observing them. Though, you are correct in one regard," he admitted. He intended to move to help her retrieve her berries, but a sharp pain drew his attention back to the cut on his hindquarters. Looking back he could once again see that there was blood flowing as a snails pace from the wound. No doubt he had reopened it during all the excitement. He now instead turned to his saddle-pack, to retrieve the yarrow he had kept while he finished his previous statement.
"They do dislike intruders." The mare, who was now a small ways to his right, turned to make what would no doubt be another smart comment, followed by a question, though her attention was caught be something entirely different.
"Hey, is that blood?" she asked, a concerned edge entering her voice. She immediately stopped collecting the spilled contents of the basket and moved over to Arcanus, who was lightly limping towards his saddle-pack. She gently set a hoof upon his shoulder, a signal for him to stop, though he continued to try and walk forward.
"Hey, stop moving for a second! You shouldn't even be up on his leg," she said. Her voice was gentle now, but also had a firm, commanding air about it. Arcanus considered ignoring it for only a moment before he relented, stopping his forward momentum. The mare gave a somber nod as she examined the cut more closely.
"This wound is pretty bad, where did you get it?" she asked. She had one of her hooves rested atop Arcanus' flank, just a bit higher than where his tail met his hind quarters, making even him feel slightly uncomfortable as he answered her question.
"I caught myself on some brambles while I was running from a few Timber Wolves," Arcanus admitted, a low heat beginning to rise in his face as her hoof moved from atop his flank to trace around the wound.
"Wait, you actually had a run in with Timber Wolves? You're crazy, you know that? Anyway, we need to staunch the bleeding," she said, looking around the nearby forest. She did not have her own saddle-pack, so it was obvious that she had no bandages or anything of that nature.
"I have yarrow in the buttoned pocket of my saddle-pack. Would you mind fetching it for me?" Arcanus asked. He was actually expecting a question after she raised an eyebrow again, though the question was not quite what he thought it would be.
"Yarrow? You are full of surprises, aren't you?" she said, moving over to his saddle-pack. Even as she reach down, she hesitated for a moment, as if she was uneasy at the thought of going through his possessions. Her hesitation only lasted a moment as she undid the buttons, carefully lifting the flap to rummage through the contents. It did not take her long to find what she sought. Pulling the flower from his pack, she moved over to Arcanus once more. She pulled a few leaved free of the stem, gently applying them to the wound even as she let out a sigh.
"Pure yarrow is good and all, but I wish I had the items to make a salve for this wound," she said low enough that she was likely talking to herself, though Arcanus did respond with a question.
"Surely the cut is not that bad," Arcanus said, having already looked it over earlier. "I should be fine after the blood clots once more. Thank you for your help," Arcanus said, finally seeming to find some manners. The mare just cast him a concerned look, however.
"Not that bad? A cut like this has to be painful, and I could see you limping! I am not sure what kind of brambles you hit, but there is all manner of dangerous plant life in the Everfree Forest. For all I know you cut yourself on some sort of poisonous plant that eats away at your muscle from the inside," she argued, clearly concerned for his health. Arcanus could do nothing but hang his head in defeat, knowing that while what she said was unlikely, it was actually not impossible. She had already known about yarrow, and how to apply it, so she had at least some basic knowledge of the Everfree, which also meant she could be right about poisonous brambles. Heaving a sigh of resignation, Arcanus looked at the mare.
"And what would you propose we do then?" Arcanus asked. He was uneasy, but he had little choice at the moment. The mare wasted almost no time in thought.
"I live in a house on the edge of the Everfree Forest, do you think you will be alright traveling that far?" the mare asked. Arcanus was actually shock by how concerned she appeared. It was more like she was looking at a life-long friend upon their deathbed rather than a stranger with a minor cut that had just assaulted her moments earlier.
"I am sure I can manage," Arcanus said, moving to retrieve his saddle-pack. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, he was stopped by the mare.
"I can carry that for you, don't worry about it. You should just focus on walking," she insisted. Arcanus could tell by the look in her eye that she was unlikely to take no for an answer. Once again, Arcanus sighed, giving in to the over protective mare. Though he felt compelled to ask once more.
"The cut cannot be that bad, can it?" The mare stopped part way to his saddle-pack, clearly uneasy about his question. As he thought, she had avoided it the first time he asked. It was now her turn to sigh as she turned to face him.
"At first the cut doesn't look so bad," she said, pausing for a moment as if she was working up the courage to say something she didn't want to. "but after a closer examination, it is a lot deeper than it seems. I am no medical expert, nor do I claim to be one, but even I can tell that a wound like that is dangerous. I think it may have cut down to the muscle, though considering you are still able to even limp, I guess it is not as bad as I am making it out to be," she admitted. Arcanus had no idea that it was as bad as all that. Sure it had hurt, and quite a bit at that, but he never expected that his lack of strength would have been the result of a possibly severed muscle. Arcanus gave in completely now.
"Sorry to press you about it. I'll grab my vest and we can be on our way," Arcanus said, his voice echoing the resignation to his fate that he had just felt. This time, the mare gave no protest as Arcanus moved carefully to retrieve his vest from the branch it rested upon. Both he and the vest were still a bit damp, prompting him to simply flop it onto his back instead of putting it back on. By the time he returned to where the mare was, she was casting a concerned, if not sad, look. The two of them began to walk, the mare carrying both the saddle-pack and basket. It appear that while she had retrieved a decent amount of berries, quite a few still lay on the ground where they had spilled. Looking back, Arcanus apologized. The mare giggled a bit before responding.
"Think nothing of it, this is much more important anyway," she replied, though Arcanus was unsure of why she had bother giggling. They continued to walk, thought the going was slow as Arcanus limped along, the mare continuously casting him concerned glances. After only a few minutes, the mare moved from his left side, to his right side. Arcanus was unsure if he was imagining things, but after she moved over, she seemed to be a bit fidgety. Once again, a minute or two passed, and just as Arcanus was about to ask if everything was all right, the mare seemed to steel herself, stopping mid stride. Arcanus stopped as well as she turned to face him, seeming unwilling to look him directly in the eye.
"You know... If you like I can help support you as you walk," she said, once more fidgeting side to side as what appeared to be a small blush found its way upon her face. If he did not know better, he would say she was taking the opportunity to live out some sort of odd fantasy. Regardless, the sharp pain in Arcanus' leg had been steadily growing more intense as his muscle strained to support his weight. As much as he hated to admit it, the help would be more than welcome. Arcanus merely nodded as she moved closer, gently lifting his front right leg over her mid-back. She did this to make sure that she did not brush up against his wound.
Once more, the duo began to walk, both of them quickly falling into a rhythm that was slightly faster than their previous pace. Having the pressure released from his back leg made him realized just how much pain he had actually been in. Even now he could feel a sharp pain that felt as though someone had pressed a hot knife against the side of his flank. Though thanks to the mare at his side, the pain was subsiding. Her heat upon his still slightly damp side was oddly comforting. With every step, he could feel her strong muscles contract, then relax. It was not long before he lost himself to the pattern of her walking, the calm and controlled pace she set making him lose track of time as they walked.
It was not long before the trees began to become sparse, giving way to rolling green fields of grass. There were gentle slopes that rose and fell almost like waves upon a calm sea, stretching out almost as far as the eye could see in most every direction. Behind them, the plains were broken by the Everfree Forest, while in front of the, the grass was broken only by Ponyville. They were following on a dirt path that seemed to lead almost directly to the quaint village, though after only a few minutes they turned to follow a split in the path, which lead them up one of the gently rolling hills. It was not until they crested the small mound that Arcanus finally saw their destination. A small ways away, nestled between two of the hills that dotted the area was a small hut, a garden of various herbs and plants seeming to all but surround it. A smile spread across the mare's lips as she saw her home, though she did not let her enthusiasm get the better of her, as she kept a steady pace for Arcanus as they descended the shallow hill.
The mare's relief was evident upon her face as she pushed on a small, though seemingly hand carved, dark oak door, opening the portal to her humble abode. The doorway was not wide enough for the both of them to fit in, so the mare let go, entering the house before Arcanus to make sure it was clear of any unnecessary obstacles. A moment later, a motioning hoof told Arcanus it was alright to enter. After Arcanus was inside, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust from the strong light of day to the more dimly lit hut. Looking around, Arcanus was left breathless. On the outside, the only discerning feature had been the door, which was engraved with various patterns that were not dissimilar from those on his Bestiary. On the inside however, there was hardly any words to describe what he saw. All around, there were pictures, each with what appeared to be a detailed history of the animal they depicted. There were some obvious ones, such as a blue jay, another of a St. Bernard, and one that depicted a goat. Elsewhere, however, there were a few that stood out. One picture detailed a manticore, though the picture was drawn, not a photograph like the rest. Another showed a phoenix, while yet another showed a dragon. Arcanus looked about, finding it hard to focus on a single picture, for as soon as he did, his attention would be drawn to another, and then another. He had already documented many of the animals he saw, but there were so many more that he had only heard about in passing. For the moment, his pain, as well as any thought of where he was, was forgotten. Only the mare tapping him on his shoulder while clearing her throat brought him back to reality.
"Excuse me, but if you don't mind..?" the mare said, almost seeming embarrassed by the interest Arcanus had taken with the photos upon the wall. Arcanus also felt a bit embarrassed now, no doubt having made a fool of himself as he moved from place to place blankly staring at the pictures.
"Sorry," he apologized "it is just that I have never seen a collection quite like this." The mare looked back to the wall with a look of longing that she was unable to hide. She looked over a few of the picture upon the wall before turning back to Arcanus.
"We should get you patched up," she said with a small melancholy smile upon her face. It seemed as though the pictures held memories, or perhaps dreams, for the mare, though Arcanus was not about to ask about them anytime soon. After she had spoken, she helped Arcanus over to a couch that sat in a small living room, barely large enough for the two of them to move freely. Arcanus laid the left side of his body down upon the couch, making sure he would not get any blood on the somewhat coarse fabric.
"You live her alone I presume?" Arcanus asked, looking about as she walked into a second room that looked like a kitchen. She returned with a different sort of smile, one that was not longer melancholy, but more of one you might see from a mother caring for her child. Arcanus felt his stomach start to flip at the thought for some reason he could not explain.
"You can tell?" she asked gently, moving to Arcanus' flank with a small pack that had a familiar red cross on it. She set it down, opening it and withdrawing a tube of cream to clean the wound. Without so much as a warning glance she smeared a bit of the cream into the wound, causing Arcanus to shift uncomfortably, though not enough to disrupt her work.
"An educated guess," Arcanus said, the smallest possible smile upon his lips as he looked about. The mare giggled a bit once more, obviously trying not to laugh.
"I could see why you would think that," she said looking around for a moment before returning her gaze to Arcanus' face. "I think that is the first smile I have seen you crack since we met," she then said in an almost teasing manner. Arcanus could feel the heat grow a little in his face even as he looked away, though the smile did not leave his face. After a brief silence he could feel her return her attention to the wound, carefully cleaning the remaining area before pulling out a few bandages. Even as she began to place some gauze before she wrapped the wound, she spoke once again.
"I don't suppose I can convince you to go to the Ponyville hospital?" she asked. Arcanus just shook his head, giving her all the answer she needed. Though, he still felt compelled to give a reason why.
"No, I am overdue to return to Canterlot as it is. While my editor may be lax, I doubt even he would appreciate me being very much later in my return," Arcanus said, once again letting his eyes wander. The living room also contained a few more animal pictures, most of which were on the more exotic side. Among them, a few stood out. One was what appeared to be a cryo-phoenix, another was a sphinx. Even among all of the unusual creature portraits, one stood out above all. A draconequus. Arcanus wished he could get up to read the text that sat below it, as the small lettering was all but impossible to read from where he sat.
"Editor? You had said you were studying the Timber Wolves in the Everfree Forest, so what exactly is it that you do?" she asked as she continued to pull the wrap tight around his wound, causing a little more discomfort. Arcanus barely even winced as he answered his question, his voice betraying no hint of the pain that he felt.
"My occupation? I suppose I am a bit of an explorer, but also a bit of biologist," Arcanus answered in a bit of a disinterested tone, his answer coming out automatically as all of his attention was focused on attempting to read the text below the draconequus, despite it proving to be nigh impossible.
"An explorer and a biologist?" she asked confused, finally looking up after setting the bandage and returning the remaining wrap to the pouch. She noticed Arcanus' gaze and followed it to the picture.
"Oh, interested in the pictures again? I realize they are a bit... Unusual," she admitted as she stood up, moving towards the picture. The melancholy smile Arcanus had noticed earlier returned as she gazed into the art.
"If I may ask, where did you acquire such oddities?" Arcanus asked, also gingerly standing. The placement of the picture was nearly dead center on the wall, allowing him to view it up close as well, even as cramped as the room was. Much to his surprise, the area under the picture he thought was text was not text at all, but rather seemed to be a random assortment of pictographs that seemed to range from a bird, to a fish, to a cloud. All of which made no sense to Arcanus. The mare laughed at the confused look upon his face as he looked at the 'text' closer, thinking he had missed something. He was in the middle of attempting to put the first letter of each picture together, though he only got three of which was 'E', 'O' and 'W', which made no sense either.
"Don't even try to make sense of that. Apparently way back when a draconequus named Discord ruled over Equestria many ponies took interest and attempted to document him in various way. Everything that was ever written, despite the best effort of earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi combined could not keep the text from turning to gibberish," she explained, running hoof over the pictographs. It was not until a little time after she had explained the 'text' that Arcanus realized she had actually dodged his question. While he should have dropped the issues, he was far too interested to stop pressing her for information.
"Hmm, I have never heard of such a tale. How did you come to hear about it?" he asked, hoping to lead his questions. To his dismay, this seemed to upset the mare though, as she just let out a deep sigh. Though, a moment later, his persistence seemed to pay off, though the mare spoke with an edge of sadness in her voice.
"I heard many such tales from my grandmother. She is also the one that collected many of these pictures that you see here, on the walls. I hear that many of these she took herself, her husband transcribing the descriptions below from old texts and manuscripts," she said, walking over to sit on the couch. She then turned slightly to the side, revealing her flank and thus her cutie mark. Her cutie mark seemed eerily familiar to Arcanus. It was in the shape of a heart, though upon the top rested two ears, one from a canine, the other that of a feline. Two wings also sprouted from either side of the heart, wrapping around from behind as if embracing the heart. One wing was feathered, the other that of a bat. The last feature was a tail that hung down from the bottom of the heart, resembling that of a reptile.
"She is the one that sparked my cutie mark actually. She always wove such detailed stories about the animals of Equestria, and how even the most ferocious dragon was likely just a misunderstood softie. Back then, I was taken by her stories. I wanted nothing more than to travel Equestria, seeking out the creatures she always raved about," she explained, once more sitting in a normal position.
"Instead, I ended up working on my parents ranch here in Ponyville. It is not a bad job, seeing as I get to work with so many wonderful animals, but it just seems... Mundane. Being near the Everfree Forest is nice at least. Every once and a while I get a bit adventurous as wander around the outskirts," she said, her voice rising and falling in a dramatic fashion as she talked about her life. Arcanus felt a bit uncomfortable. He hadn't meant to make her spill her entire lift out for him simply because he was curious about a few pictures. Still, he listened intently, making sure to not miss a single word that she spoke. At the end, however, she shot Arcanus a smug smile, almost teasingly so.
"Though I have never been fool enough to try and walk into a Timber Wolf den," she said, her voice doing well to convey her teasing. Arcanus just gave her a blank stare in return, before he once again smiled slightly. He turned back to the picture once more, before he turned wordlessly, looking for his saddle-pack. He quickly found it resting beside the couch. Moving over slowly so as to not pain himself, Arcanus unzipped the pocket that held his tome, withdrawing it and undoing the clasp upon the front, much to the obvious confusion of the mare. Arcanus flipped the Bestiary open to a page that appeared to have a detailed drawing of a Timber Wolf, his previous scrawling having filled in a good portion of the two pages he had allotted to the Timber Wolves, though there were still blank areas upon the page. The mare's eyes seemed to sparkle even as she glossed over the page, laughing lightly as she read the amendment he had made as he was escaping the Timber Wolves. After a moment, she looked up at Arcanus.
"What is this?" she asked, motioning to the book. Arcanus gave a small snort, as if it should have been obvious.
"What lies before you is the Lexicon Bestiary. My life's work," Arcanus said, his voice proud, but not overbearing or cocky. The mare looked back to the book, gently flipping to another page. The one she found was one detailing a plant found exclusively in the Everfree Forest, poison joke. She rose an eyebrow as she looked back up at Arcanus.
"I thought you said this was a bestiary, what are plants doing in here?" she asked. She did have a point, seeing as bestiary normally only contained information about animals and the like. Arcanus just shrugged nonchalantly.
"I what I hoped to make was the most extensive bestiary Equestria has ever seen, but I need a place to start before I could run around documenting living specimens. At some point, I found that animal life and plant life are often deeply related. The presence of plant life, or even lack there of, make a huge difference in the lives of any animals, ponies included," Arcanus explained, pointing to a few references at the bottom of the page, which were pages for animals that used or fed upon poison joke, thought the list was very limited.
"Oh, that actually makes a lot of sense," she said as if she were genuinely surprised. "So why is this the Lexicon Bestiary then? I thought that a lexicon was a sort of cypher?" the mare asked. Once again, Arcanus heard a question he had never been asked before. Her knowledge was surprising, considering she said she had been raised on a ranch.
"Actually, lexicon can also mean a 'branch of knowledge' which in this case it does. Beyond that, Lexicon is also part of my name. Arcanus Lexicon," he explained. Once again the mare nodded in understanding. It was a good three or four seconds before either of them realized the elephant in the room, however.
"I just realized, we were never properly introduced," the mare said, her eyes a bit wide at the sudden revelation. She quickly scrabbled to her hooves, extending one as she introduced herself.
"I am so sorry! My name is Terra, Terra Anima," she said. A moment later, Arcanus met her hoof with his own, the two shaking gently.
"As am I. My name is Arcanus Lexicon," Arcanus said, raising his eye brow. "Though I must say, I am surprised by your name. Terra Anima, was it? It is not everyday I hear a pair of old unicorn names like that, especially not from an earth pony, no offense," Arcanus admitted. Terra just gave a light laugh.
"My grandfather named me. He was an old fashioned kind of unicorn. I am told my name means "earth soul", something my grandfather and parents were proud of I guess, though if you like you can just call me Terra," she said, scratching the back of her head. Arcanus just nodded his head, a small grin still on his face.
"I think the name suits you well. Also, you can just call me Arcanus," he replied. A few seconds of silence pasted as the two of them stood across from one another, each unwilling to meet the others' gaze. In the end, it was Terra who ended up speaking.
"Well, now that we actually know each others names, is there anything you need?" she asked, no doubt trying to be a good host. Arcanus looked up towards his mane, which still carried a few twigs in it. Upon following his gaze, Terra gave an unladylike snort as she attempted not to laugh.
"Perhaps a bath is in order? Might do you a bit more good than the spring you were in before," she offered, though her gaze shifted to the bandage she had set only moments earlier. Obviously it would not be a good idea to hop into a tub fill of water with it on, but so also had it just been set. In the end, Terra just sighed.
"You're a bit hopeless, aren't you? Well, come on then, I guess I will just have to scrub you down with a sponge. No offense, but I'd prefer you not walk around my house as you are," said said, mockingly waving a hoof in front of her nose. Arcanus merely rolled his eyes as he trotted behind Terra. A few minutes later, the both of them were in an awkward situation, with Terra scrubbing Arcanus' back in the bathroom. Given pony physiology, it was not at all uncommon for two ponies to bathe together, though it was normally restricted to close friends or family. After his back had been thoroughly scrubbed, Terra handed Arcanus the sponge, allowing him to clean the areas he could reach as Terra carefully began to remove the twigs from his mane, so it could be washed as well.
"I am sorry about all the trouble," Arcanus said, Terra just let out a sigh as she struggled with a twig that was exceptionally knotted within his mane.
"Its fine, what are friends for after all?" she asked, finally just snapping the twig so she could slide part of it free from his mane's clutches.
"Friends, was it?" Arcanus asked beneath his breath, though it would appear that the tiled floor carried his voice a bit too well. Terra stopped what she was doing to give him an incredulous look.
"Yeah, friends. What, you never had a friend before?" Terra asked jokingly, thought the mood was quickly ruined.
"No," Arcanus replied softly, not turning around as he scrubbed his left foreleg down, suddenly hitting the area he had scraped, making him flinch for a moment. Even while he was recoiling from his accident, he was suddenly assaulted from behind as a pair of forelegs wrapped themselves around his neck loosely from behind. Arcanus could feel Terra pressed up gently against his back even as she spoke softly into his ear.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" she started to say, but once again she was interrupted by Arcanus moving a hoof over her mouth.
"It is fine, you meant no harm, and I have been far from alone," Arcanus said, giving her a small smile. Terra just sighed as she relinquished her grip on Arcanus, once again returning her attention to his mane, a trace of red still on her cheeks.
"You sure are a piece of work, you know that?" she asked, almost seeming irritated now. Arcanus, for the first time in a long time, chuckled lightly.
"So I have heard," he replied. The rest of the cleaning session passed uneventfully, ending for Arcanus when he scrubbed down Terra's back in return so she could bathe properly herself. Arcanus was left out in the living room to look at the various pictures, taking note of many within his Bestiary under a special "myth" section he used to keep track of myths from monsters he hoped to document, which was to say, all of them. After ten minutes or so, Terra finally reemerged from the bathroom, her mane and coat glistening slightly even as she continued to struggle with the towel she brought with her. She turned to look out the window. Outside was now dark, with a full moon raising in the distance. Once again she sighed, looking over to Arcanus, before looking back outside.
"You are free to stay here for the night if you wish, though I can only offer you... My bed," she said, nearly having to force the last part out as she sat on the couch once more. Suddenly she blushed deeply, as if a thought just hit her.
"Of course, that would mean I would be sleeping out here! On the couch!" she all but shouted hurriedly which elicited a small laugh from Arcanus.
"I figured as much, but this is your house, so you can keep the bed. The floor is plenty enough for me," Arcanus said, looking around for a good place to lay down to prove his point.
"Whoa, you can at least sleep on the couch," Terra said through a small frown. She appeared to have misinterpreted what Arcanus meant.
"Ah, I merely meant to say that I am used to sleeping on the ground, what with my travels and all. I don't know how well I would sleep on a couch, much less in a bed," Arcanus explained. This simply caused Terra to laugh now.
"You might not be able to sleep because it is too comfortable? That is a first!" she said, laughing even harder as she actually said it out loud. Arcanus just wanted for her to calm down.
"I'm glad to be of some excitement," he said wryly. Terra all but had to wipe a tear from her eye she was laughing so hard. What she found so funny, he was not certain, but eventually he actually began to laugh as well, though not nearly as hard as Terra. After a few moment, the both of them finally calmed down, Terra being left winded by the laughing fit. Though it was out of the blue, Arcanus decided to finally ask a question that had been on his mind.
"Terra, would you like to come with me?" he asked. For a moment, she just stared at Arcanus blankly. Then she just cocked her head in confusion.
"Wait, what do you mean, 'go with you'?" she asked, unsure if she had heard him right.
"What I mean is, would you like to become my assistant? After what all happened today, I have come to realize I cannot continue my work alone. I know it is a bit sudden, but you already know more than most anyone else I would be able to find in Canterlot," Arcanus elaborated. The whole time, Terra just stared at Arcanus in shock.
"I cannot offer that much in the way of pay, I fear, but my editor does sponsor all of the expeditions, so meals and the like are all paid for," he continued, though his voice and confidence were slowly tapering off with each word. Still Terra just stared blankly, making him wonder if he had been too forward, or perhaps demanding?
"If you do not want to come, it is alright to refuse," Arcanus told her. This seemed to finally snap her out of the trance she had been in.
"So wait, let me get this strait. You want me to travel with you across Equestria to catalog species of animals that no pony has ever documented before, for free?" she asked, the look of disbelief upon her face was almost comical. Almost.
"Well, actually, you would still be paid, just not a lot I fear, only about twenty bits a week," Arcanus clarified. At this, Terra's jaw all but dropped.
"Twenty bits a week!? I only get paid five on my parents' ranch!" Terra actually shouted now, completely slack-jawed.
"So, is that a yes then?" Arcanus asked, optimistically. Terra's response was immediate.
"Yes! YES!! I will gladly accept!" she shouted once more, jumping up out of her couch to rush over to Arcanus, giving him a small hug in her excitement, which she quickly broke with a blush.
"Oh, umm... Sorry boss," she said with a sheepish grin. "So when do we start?" she asked, a bit of her previous energy returning.
"Terra, Arcanus is still fine, you are my partner, not my underling. And we leave tomorrow at dawn," Arcanus said. Terra's energy seemed to drop a bit.
"Tomorrow? So soon?" she asked. No doubt she had a lot of things she wanted to do before they left, but Arcanus was overdue as it was.
"Sorry Terra, but I need to get back to Canterlot as soon as possible," Arcanus said regretfully. To his surprise, Terra just gave another smile.
"That is fine, my parents will understand. They are always talking about how I should follow my dreams. Besides, as I recall a young mare named Apple Bloom was interested in working at the ranch from time to time, so this should work out nicely!" Terra said enthusiastically.
Afterward, the duo bid each other a good night. Terra moved to her room to sleep while Arcanus was convinced to give the couch a chance. Even though they were both exhausted from the day's events, neither of them felt particularly tired, each thinking about the day that was creeping closer at an excruciatingly slow pace. The future was uncertain, but two things about it were. The future was full of promises of grandeur as well as strife, but no matter what came, they would be facing it together from then on.
That was Arcanus' last thought as the world finally faded to black around him, the fatigue of the day finally catching up to him in full. Tomorrow was going to be the first day of their travels together. At that truly final thought, Arcanus smiled as he finally succumbed to slumber.
Author's Note
The newly revised first chapter of To Build a Bestiary! I must say that I was unsatisfied with my original first chapter, even though I hit all the story points I intended. That said, nothing much has changed as far as the actual story goes, there is just a bit more character development, detail, and the like. I hope that you all enjoy the chapter! I hope to have more out soon though, seeing as this is a side-story I am working on, it may be a little while before you see a fully fleshed out chapter 2.
As always, a thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this! I do hope to have more out for all of you soon!
As a side note, I am (at least for the moment) deleting the first chapter to reduce confusion for those new to the story. If you never got a chance to read it, fear not! I will keep a copy, even though the revised version has everything from the old chapter (and more!).
