Origin of Werewolves

5. Laurence

Laurence looked at Cora's tiny form, shrunken between his paws, his senses now sharpened and attuned to his new lupine form. As the effects of the sap wore off Cora, panic washed across her face and the moment she was capable of conscious thought, she scrambled to cover herself, her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red.

"My clothes!" she exclaimed, alarm filling her voice.

"Your clothes? You're the size of my boot," Laurence quipped with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Boots? All I see are paws," shock evident in Cora's gaze as he watched her look up at Laurence, realising he was no illusion. "You're a, a..."

"A wolf?" Trust me, I'm well aware," he replied, as he approached the flower. Still not keen on trying out the hand of Midas?"

Cora crossed her arms, her expression a mix of fury and disbelief. "That isn't funny, Laurence. I look like a child's toy."

Laurence reached into the flower with his muzzle, and bit down on Cora's dress, lifting it free of the Sap. "A toy? You remind me more of the pixies from the brothel in Stanburh."

Cora rolled her eyes. "Oh, haha. Don't get any funny ideas, wolf boy. This was your fault."

"What? The brothel incident or your current size?" Laurence teased; his tone playful but laced with concern.

Cora, frustrated, raised her hand and with a pointed finger. Laurence held back his urge to provoke her further, instead dropping her clothing at her feet and lilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" Cora demanded as she stood naked before him her arms folded across her chest.

Laurence took the drawstring of her cloak in his mouth and walked backwards, pulling it free from the clothing then dropped it next to her. "Hold the sleeve up," he instructed.

"Why? You're not going to ruin it, are you? This cost me a lot," Cora said in protest.

"Do you have a better solution? It's not like you fit in it," Laurence countered, stepping forward and placing his claw on the sleeve seams.

Cora sighed, and reluctantly held up the sleeve as Laurence carefully severed it from the rest of her outfit with his claw. She watched him intently as he made two holes for her arms. He dropped the makeshift clothing in front of Cora and watched as she quickly scrambled to pull it over her exposed body. Once dressed, she used a stand of lace from tattered remains as a drawstring around her small figure.

She smiled and looked up at him, "how do I look?"

"Small and cute. I could take you home and gobble you up," Laurence said, his tail wagging with playful energy.

Cora narrowed her eyes at him. "You like this?"

"No, I don't. I'm merely trying to help," he responded, his new wolf-like instincts guiding his actions, as his human mind grappled with the situation.

She strolled beneath his body, her fingers trailing along the fur until she reached his tail. "This tells a different story; your tail is wagging." Laurence turned to see the tiny elf grinning, as she grasped his tail, fighting it as it swished back and forth. Until now, Laurence hadn't fully grasped the reality of his wolfen form; is tail's movement felt as natural as breathing, until the moment he saw it. "I can't help it."

"Sure you can," Cora replied with a smirk, circling back to face his head. "Com on wolfy, let me hitch a ride on your back."

"Why would I want to do that?" But before he could get a reply Cora was already pulling at his whiskers. "Quit that!"

"You think I'm going to walk?" Look at me, 'the size of a boot' you said."

With a huff he lowered his head, allowing Cora to clamber up his muzzle. As she crawled across his face, he couldn't resist the instinct to lick the sap from her foot. She yelped in surprise and scrambled up behind his ears. "You taste sweet. I stand by my statement earlier, I could one hundred percent gobble you up."

"You're gross, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Lick me!"

Laurence pondered for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. It's just an instinct I suppose. Anything on my nose makes me want to lick it."

He could feel Cora settling behind his head, her tiny hands gripping the fur behind his ears and her legs around the back of his neck.

"Where's Avni?"

"Back where I came from. She got caught in a flower too."

"Good. Hopefully she's small enough to step on," she said, malice in her tone.

"Not quite," Laurence muttered, correcting her and disregarding the comment. He stepped over the remnants of the plant and ventured back into the dark corridor. "She's a little bigger than you still."

"A little bit?" Cora asked tugging at his ear.

Laurence fought the tug, resisting the urge to turn his head as he walked back into the library. "She looks about the height of a child, you look like a child's plaything." Cora huffed then let out a disapproving moan. He knew something had happened inside the plants to their essence, and somehow it had affected their size, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. For now, his priority was getting the book and finding somewhere safe. He pressed on into the now dark chamber of the library, stumbling over piles of books in the dark. He attempted to call upon his essence to light the lanterns once more, but this proved futile without hands. Luckly, the moonlight still filtered in through holes in the roof and illuminated the pedestal where the book once sat. As he climbed the stack of books up to the landing his eyes scanned the area, searching for his bag. He knew that the book was within but couldn't recall what had happened during his transformation.

Cora leaned over his head, "What's that?" she asked, extending her hand towards an object in the exit passage towards the second garden.

Laurence tilted his head, feeling Cora grip his fur tightly, almost loosing her balance. He jumped off the platform onto the ground, hearing the huff from Cora as her body made impact with the back of his head. As he steadied himself, he approached the object, his bag. With a nudge of his head, he pulled the strap over his neck and let the bag fall to the side.

Well, at least that was easy enough,

he thought looking at the light in the passage where Avni lay.

He proceeded into the light, finding Avni, draped in what was left of Laurence's clothing and her dress over her body, attempting to cover herself. Laurence could hear Cora muttering angrily as they observed the half-sized woman lying naked in a pool of plant sap. Despite her situation, she seemed oddly content, playfully toying with the tattoo on the right of her stomach. With a mischievous grin, she lifted her hands and waved slowly at Cora and Laurence. "I want to pet the kitty."

He cocked his head, feeling a gust of air brush against his fur as a set of wings fluttered behind him. He glanced back to see a small, orange, catlike creature carrying a satchel filled with glass vials. "Looks like I missed party," it said in a feminine voice.

"That's a Nimbat, right?" Cora whispered in Laurence's ear.

He nodded, "Yeah, this is what I thought they looked like. Not like that thing from the bar the other night. I thought you knew that."

"To be honest, no," Cora admitted. "I can hardly make out that thing as it is, especially with all this sap still on my body, and in my eyes," she said as she wiped her face on his ear.

The nimbat landed gracefully beside Laurence, folding its batlike wings against its body before turning its attention to Cora. "Aww, you are cutie aren't you," it cooed.

Cora huffed, crossing her arms and avoiding the nimbats gaze. "I would appreciate it if you didn't stare."

"You lucky, that all I say," it continued, ignoring Cora's irritation. "By dawn, flower would have finish you off and you be small like ant. At least you can still be appreciate for what are." It then turned to Laurence. "And you," it scratched its head, "I have not idea what happen to you."

Laurence tilted his head in confusion. The nimbat nonchalantly shrugged, then wandered towards Avni. It extended a tiny hand, offering support as she stumbled to her feet. The moment she was upright, her garments fell to the ground, leaving her standing on display in her birthday suit. She sported a bewildered smile, her hands finding the nimbats head, showering it with affectionate pats. "Stop that!" the creature protested, playfully swiping at her hands before taking off and doing a little orbit around her.

Avni's attention drifted to Laurence and Cora, standing a short distance away, just as the nimbat completed its circuit. Cora's curiosity piqued, and she pointed to the flowers. "Any idea what these are?"

"Corse I do. It why I here," the nimbat responded, its voice carrying a hint of pride. "These...," it gestured towards the flowers with a delicate wing, "known as hibiscus pitcher. It sap, highly sort after, rare aphrodisiac. Cost lot to buy, illegal in most place."

Laurence's gaze moved between the flower and Avni, a spark of realisation in his eyes as the nimbat playfully tugged at a strand of Avni's hair. "Aphrodisiac? I thought hibiscus was just for tea... you know, for health reasons," he questioned, confused.

"Different, sold as HP. As is said, rare, but also expensive." The nimbat clarified, eager to educate.

Avni's face turned a deep shade of red, her voice quivering with disbelief, "HP... it makes you smaller?" Her little astonishment voice echoed off the walls.

Laurence felt Cora lean into his ear, and with a low mischiefs voice whispered, "Seems like someone's been down this road before," she teased. Laurence couldn't see it but from the tone of her voice, she was smirking.

"Yeah," Laurence responded with a half-smirk of his own, his mind starting to wander with unspoken ideas. "Feeling adventurous?"

Cora swatted at the back of his head, "Timing Laurence, Timing."

The nimbat let out a chuckle, its small body shaking with delight. "No not by self, not in small dose. Just make tingle, feel relax, feel dopey, and frisky." It explained, its tiny paws mimicking the sensation. "If plant capture you, it feed off you essence, and suck from you body. HP made from the essence of those it consume, and it keep those who it capture in place with sap. It probably do same if you swim in tub but who have that money?" It shrugged off the absurdity as it skilfully collected sap from Avni's hair into one of the vials from its bag.

"Ouch, easy there lady!" Avni winced, feeling the pull at her scalp.

The nimbat paused, its expression a mix of annoyance and resignation. "What it with you human types? I not female. Why do human types always misgender me?" he sighed.

Avni blinked, confused, "But your voice—"

"Because me sound like woman in you voice?" The nimbat said as he landed in front of her. His voice now slightly raised, a hint of frustration breaking though. "Yeah, you know nimbat aren't like all. I can't help that nimbat have such tiny voice like mouse."

Laurence offered and apologetic glance, "Sorry for the mix-up. Nimbats aren't exactly common where we're from."

He turned to look at Laurence with a shocked look, "You talk a lot for wolf. I not think wolf could talk."

"I'm aware of that." Laurence quipped, a playful smile spreading across his face.

"You an awarewolf?" The nimbat asked holding in a laugh.

"I guess so. Well, you seem to know these parts. Do you know a way out of here sir?"

"Sir was father, nimbat name Mazella, Maz is short name."

"Nice to meet you, Maz. I'm Laurence, this little one behind my head is Cora, and the half sized one is Avni." As everyone turned to look at Avni, Mazella, fluttered higher, then pointed out the obvious, "Well, Avni going to need some clothes first."

Turning at Maz's words, the whole group's attention focused on the mage, who, her face now a brighter shade of crimson, scrambled for the pile of clothes she'd been separated from, her actions spurred by a sudden acute awareness of her nakedness.