The Peculiar Alchemist

76 || A Curious Stone

Traversing the forest at night will always be dangerous, even when following a path. There were so many creatures that lurk in the shadows and most were dangerous. No matter how many times Aubrey had taken that path, he'd always make sure to be careful of anything hidden away in the dark.

He was a bit less careful now after learning he could cast spells, and he found the time he chose to return back home to become later each time. It was nearly pitch black outside and he hugged himself for warmth as he made his way back, and was notably a lot less nervous and fearful from back then when he wasn't used to all of this.

Now he actually finds comfort in a quiet sinister place like this, and he couldn't help but sigh, feeling himself relax in this quiet walk.

It was halfway through his walk that he finally encountered something – an occurrence that was rarer than he thought – and he knew that it wasn't wise to engage with creatures like that. Not when they were dragging a fresh kill behind them. So Aubrey picked up his pace and continued on his way, hoping that he wasn't noticed, but unfortunately he wasn't so lucky this time.

Moments after he quickened his pace, he stepped on a twig making it snap loudly under his feet.

"Ah, hell." He muttered knowing that he got the creature's attention, and he heard a sound that was suspiciously close to a limp body being dropped on the ground.

With that, he debated his choices wanting nothing more than to return home and get an early night's sleep. He had gone too long dealing with sleep deprivation, but he felt that he wouldn't be so lucky this time. This creature was particularly hard to shake off.

Any hopes of returning home early were immediately crushed.

"Oh, it's you." Aubrey knew immediately who it was even before they emerged from behind the tree, and exactly as expected, there was a limp body being dragged. "This is actually convenient, I really need your help with something."

Looking down at the bleeding dying person, Aubrey decided that he wanted no part in that mess. "Goodnight, Kel."

"At least hear me out?" The amused tone alone told him he should get out of there as soon as possible, so he shook his head and walked away but Kellen only began to follow him while dragging the body behind him. "Come on, aren't you at least a little bit curious?"

Aubrey answered him immediately as he continued walking. "Not at all."

A sound of displeasure came out of Kellen who let go of the dying person's leg, and he instead reached for Aubrey to stop him from leaving. "It's really important. Come on, how many times did I ever ask for help?"

"All the time." Aubrey sighed, already accepting that he was going to be dragged into whatever mess Kellen had in mind. "Is what you need help with illegal?"

Kellen grinned at him. "Is this even a question?"

"Had to make sure." He muttered in response, not even moving when Kellen came closer, bumping their foreheads as another sneaky tactic to get his way. Too bad he was succeeding. All Aubrey did was let out a groan knowing he lost, and was very disappointed in himself as he weakly protested. "I don't want any more surprise dates. They're always bloody or smelly."

"Please." Kellen pleaded a bit childishly, but all Aubrey could think of was how gently he was being kissed. Everything about this plea was sneaky. He knew it, yet he still hated how well it worked on him. "It'll only take a few minutes, I promise."

He was embarrassingly easy to be pulled into doing things, so he decided to indulge himself with another kiss as a treat for himself before undoubtedly experiencing something that he expected to be unpleasant. If Kellen had noticed that Aubrey wasn't too keen on pulling away just yet, he didn't say anything opting to let Aubrey have his fun.