He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Two - The Male Village Witch

He was not much taller than the boy and did not appear to be that much older, but he did not have the youthful softness of the teenager.  His skin was a deep gold tone, from what he could tell for there was a crusty, grey substance marking his cheeks, arms and legs.  His clothing appeared just for modesty purposes, a skirt of some sort wrapped around his waist.  His skinny chest was covered by varying lengths of beads and bones threaded upon string.  His sharp eyes were a deep brown and his black hair wirey and reached past his shoulders.  Upon seeing the pale youth before him, he gave a wide grin filled with white teeth.

"An Exile!" he beamed, completely unthreatened by the boy's fighting posture.  "It has been so long since we have found one of you, alive or dead!"  He glanced over the beautiful child.  "The Elders will definitely be most pleased to see you!"

Seven's eyes narrowed, he did not like the sound of that and neither did little Yin, who hissed angrily at the young man.  He remained undisturbed however and approached them without fear, withdrawing a pouch of something from the sack he held as he did.
The stench coming from the small pouch was fairly potent, in fact this man also was emanating waves of the same odour.  The man scooped out some of the contents onto his fingers.  The gunk was grey and lumpy, it looked unpleasant.

"We need to put this on you," he was saying, "it is made up from crushed wandering 'shrooms.  The plants will not touch us if they scent this."  He reached to touch Seven's face, who flinched backwards instinctively.  The young man paused for a moment, unsure what to make of the boy's skittishness.  In truth, he had never personally come across an Exile, unlike his predecessor, though he knew it was likely to happen sooner or later, so this was all new to him.  A struggle seemed to occur behind the eyes of the boy, but eventually he nodded and allowed his exposed skin to be painted with the foul concoction. 

"Wandering 'shrooms do not attack people or animals," the young man was telling him as he scooped more goop out of the pouch, careful to avoid the abrasions upon the boy's skin.  "But they search the forest for weakened plants and trees to place their spores, which in turn feed off of the essence of those plants. So the plants remain dormant when a 'shroom passes in order not to become a host. Not that it works, 'shrooms sense the rot in the air and make a beeline for it. Most plants are not known for having intelligence."

"Most plants?" Seven found himself say in a hoarse whisper. He disliked the sensation when using his vocal chords.

The man grinned, happy that the boy seemed to be accepting his presence. "I heard that those from the underground categorise all plants as 'man-eating' monsters and that's not strictly true. Take ancient trees for example. They are lazy and like to just sleep, so as long as you don't do anything stupid like cut off branches or try chop them down, they won't bother you. And there some plants that just want to lay their seeds in you... not that that doesn't make them dangerous, but as long as you have the right potion, you can stop them from sprouting. But Treants and Dryads are not only dangerous but intelligent. Treants just hate any lifeforms but plantlife. If they find you,  they can move around on their own roots, they will stomp you flat. Dryads are more twisted. Not only do they take you in order to feed your corpse to their trees, they take a host body in order to move about the forest. Then feed it to their trees when it is too old and find a new host. But neither species live in these parts... too cold in the winter I think, so don't worry about it too much."

He stepped back to look at his handy work before putting away the pouch. "So what were you exiled for?" He asked, but Seven simply shook his head, not willing to reveal that he was not an Exile, but was supposed to assassinate one of his own people. "Not time to share, huh? Oh well. Come with me, I have something I need to do before I return to the village, so I will have to take you with me. Oh my name is Leif Sanguine, by the way." Seven hesitated and glanced in the direction of which he was dragged from.

*Mission; Follow and protect Leif Sanguine*

Seven glanced at the small viper, who seemed to 'hear' the question silent on the tip of his tongue.

*Stating that it is a mission makes it sound more official* the little snake appeared to grumble. A small smile appeared upon Seven's face as he gave a slight nod, agreeing with Leif's request to follow him. Once more the man grinned broadly.

They traipsed through the growth, the plants all still and silent about them just as Leif promised, though Seven remained on alert.  Due to the nature of the man, they did not journey in silence.  "I came out to collect the essence of the greater orchid flower.  It blossoms once a year and it's flowers then explode to send its pollen on the west wind towards the females of its species.  During the process, it secrets a sweet liquid.  That's what I need to collect.  Ah but remember not to breathe in the pollen, it's a bit of an hallucinogenic."

Seven gave him a nod then slowly asked; "What is the liquid for?"

"It's the main ingredient of an aphrodisiac," Leif replied without censure and laughed at the boy's startled look.  "Elder Barkridge might be old, but still wants to enjoy his wedding night to its fullest.  His bride will be without, should I not brew the potion for his impotency." Seven's small nose scrunched up considering Leif's words as being just too much unnecessary information.

"The other Elders will take one look at you and want you for their harems," Leif continued, carelessly.

Seven's eyes narrowed as he let loose a slightly growled warning. "I think I'll pass. I already have an intended."

"Ah, but you are exiled now, your partner is part of the underground world, are they not?" Leif mentioned. "I know it is difficult to accept, but this is the way that our village works, the youth of age serving the Elders until they pass on and then they are able to bid for youthful partners themselves. The Elders are responsible for taking care of the young and the young are responsible for serving the Elders and any children that come from their union."

"He will come for me," Seven said, his firm tone finally giving Leif pause.

"To be honest," he finally admitted, "I wouldn't want to be beneath one of those wrinkled old men either. But I was fortunate enough to be apprenticed to the Witch and she wasn't into men." He tapped his chin in thought. "I'll tell them you are below age, I mean you look fairly young, like fourteen, that would be believable so they would have to wait the two years until you came officially of age anyway. Hopefully your man will come for you by then? Otherwise, I might be able to claim you." He glanced down at the boy's marked wrist. "Not as a Witch though. I don't think I have ever seen anyone with less magic than you. That and even were it different, you would require markings such as these." He revealed the unpainted underarm and the mark that wrapped around it in swirls and scrolls and clear leaf shapes.

"Plant user," Seven said upon seeing them.

Leif nodded, "That's correct. Something feared by undergrounders right? My mistress' ancestors were Plant users that were forced into exile just due to their powers. They were amongst the ones who formed the village as well. My mistress was the last of her line. But fortunately for the village, I came to be in possession of plant powers too, so I became the Witch and the village remains safe. I will have to produce offspring at some point though, but no one in the village tempts me to partner with them. Most of the females have been claimed by the Elders and the pretty boys like you. The other men usually have to serve as servants or train as warriors... not clicked with any of them either and it's unlikely they would be the ones to give birth." He rubbed his flat stomach. "I don't want that duty."

Seven frowned. "Give birth? They are men?"

"Oh," Leif replied. "That really isn't an issue. Most of the first exiles were men, so they had to do something to ensure the growth of the village or what would be the point? So the first Witches created a potion. Once a man drinks it, he will form a womb and ovary in order to produce and carry a child." He tilted his head to one side. "The Elders will make you drink it as well, I doubt I will be able to prevent that."

Seven paled and had to focus hard upon his footing to prevent his mind curling into itself and retreating.

Author's note; By the way, I would not get too hopeful if I was you!