Temperamental

Chapter 7

Roan had been having a relatively normal day. As normal as could get after being reborn as a unicorn and becoming a celestial beast worshipped by everything in the forest.

It was normal up until the point he found a collapsed human boy. A young child? Roan guessed the boy's age to be between ten and fifteen. He was lying face first among a pile of leaves. His once lustrous and fine clothing were torn and muddied and there was a stain that looked suspiciously like blood.

Roan had experienced an almost constant brainwashing against humans. It was to the point where, despite the fact he used to be human, he now held them all in contempt. His contempt had not failed to grow each day that he failed to accumulate enough magic to transform.

Roan's first thought when seeing the comatose human was "help it's going to eat me". His shying action as well as his futile attempt to hide behind a tree sent the little golden bird rolling on the ground chirping in laughter.

Roan's second thought when seeing the human was, "wait, it's not moving". He eyeballed the figure. After the propaganda the fairies had given him, he expected the knocked out person to jump up with a saw and cut his horn off. Forget the fact that the person was unconscious and his only weapon, a sword, had fallen on the ground a fair distance away.

It was Roan's third thought upon seeing the boy that freaked him out the most. "It smells like a virgin". He couldn't place the exact origin of the scent. It was sweet and tempting and clearly... virgin. Roan's confusion over why the virgin maiden could capture the unicorn vanished. They simply smelt way too good.

Without noticing, Roan had emerged from behind his tree and trotted up to the comatose human. His nose buried itself into the crook of the human's neck and he allowed himself to enjoy the scent. Conveniently forgetting the warnings from his previous life, Roan decided that someone who smelt that good wouldn't ruin their image by capturing him.

Roan's ear flicked when he heard a pained groan. Although he couldn't see red, he could still smell blood and see a brown-black stain. In that moment Roan desperately wished he had his human eyes.

Roan continued to ponder over the dilemma in the form of an unconscious human. Should he keep him? He had enough power to look after a pet and the boy looked harmless enough. Even if the boy wasn't harmless, Roan had enough magic to put an end to the evil.

What finalized Roan's decision was the distant sound of shouting. He could vaguely make out words like "find him" and "don't let him escape". He snorted at the cliche "villain" dialogue before manipulating a vine to relocate the boy onto his back. He realized that the boy was much lighter then he had expected. Didn't his parents feed him enough?

With a soft whiny to call the little golden bird, Roan left the area. As he left he conveniently called upon nature to erase any proof of their tracks. Being a unicorn had some conveniences.

Roan's long term residence had been with the fairies. Although far more open then his previous cave, the place felt more secure. The spirit parent of the fairies was an ancient tree that looked like an oak tree. It was growing in the middle of an island created by the vein like branching off of the streams. In fact the streams were narrow and would flow around flat rocks in a way that looked like a naturally formed mosaic. At night time, the scene was exceedingly beautiful as the glowing fairies would light up the area.

On clear days, Roan would sleep in the soft moss beneath the great oak. When the weather got to cold or it rained, he would take shelter under a rocky overhang. The fairies had kept Roan's comfort in mind and would move soft grasses under the overhang for Roan's comfort.

It was upon these soft grasses under the overhang that Roan lay the unconscious boy. Healing magic requires a certain amount of time to activate and he had been worried about the hostile people disturbing his efforts.