8. Laurence
The rumble of a husky voice woke Laurence from his slumber. "It's time to wake."
Slowly he rubbed his eyes to find they were not deceiving him. He was greeted with a world of nothingness. Darkness enveloped everything around him, leaving only his form illuminated in the void. The essence that lingered from Avni and Cora felt absent, replaced by something primal, wild, and it stirred from within.
He glanced down at his hands, human hands, not the sturdy paws of the wolf he had been. The scars of battles past were etched upon his skin, proof and reassurance that he was no longer in the wolf's body and had returned to his normal self, although, he stood in the surreal landscape of obsidian darkness.
A presence lingered, its shadowy outline dancing at the limits of his vision, drawing his gaze towards its source. Two piercing blue eyes glimmered in the shadows, fixed upon him. Within the circle of light where he stood, the world seemed to converge, focusing solely on him and him alone, as if the sun had peeked down through the clouds like a finger of the gods. Curiosity propelled him forwards, each step echoing softly on the cobblestone path beneath his feet, the light following and staying fixed on his presence.
"Who are you?" he inquired. His voice echoed into the void.
"My name is not important," came the enigmatic reply, "What matters is that I am free from my tomb."
Laurence furrowed his brow in confusion. "Tomb? What tomb?" His gaze followed the movements of the creature as it emerged into the light. A massive grey wolf, ancient and powerful, circled him before retreating once more into the darkness. "You're the wolf from the book?"
The creature's eyes glowed with an ethereal blue light, casting an aura on him. "The book was my tomb, and yes. I am the first and the last wolf."
Laurence pondered, his mind swirling with questions.
The first and the last wolf? What could that possibly mean?
With a puzzled expression he studied the wolf, uncertain of its actions or desires. "What do you want from me?" he asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Your help, Laurence. I want your help." The wolf's voice sounded from behind him now. Its tone urgent.
Startled, he turned, only to find the wolf charging towards him. Instinctively, he braced himself as the creature lunged, its eyes closing in on him with rapid intensity. He tensed up as the essence from within his body stirred. The wolf's body merged with his own, twisting and churning on the inside.
"This isn't the time for sleeping." Cora's voice interrupted, her tiny finger flicking Laurence on the nose. He blinked open his eyes to find the miniature elf standing on his chest, a mischievous glint in her gaze.
"Well, hello there. Nice to finally see you awake!" she greeted him with a playful smirk.
"That took a while," Avni added. "Almost had to call a lumberjack," she said, flashing him a grin as Cora slid off his chest.
Laurence looked down at his naked lower half as the girls giggled. He took note of the remnants of his shredded clothing tangled around his neck and waist. "Either of you want a ride?" he joked as Cora rolled her eyes. Although he felt exposed, the uneasiness and unnerving feeling didn't strike until he spotted Mazella sitting a few meters away, fixated on his morning wood.
"Aww! It like elephant. Can drink from it?" Mazella's tone was innocent, soliciting further amusement from the girls. The nimbat blinked, staring in awe as the unexpected question pierced the air prompting more laughter from Cora and Avni.
Covering himself, Laurence grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it at the curious nimbat. "What the fuck is he doing here?" he muttered, his frustration evident.
Amidst their laughter, Avni managed to speak up. "It's... it's okay. We can explain," she wheezed between breaths of laughter.
Laurence focused on the struggling pair, choosing to ignore the nimbat for now. "I don't suppose you found any clothing?" he inquired, his tone tinged with frustration.
Mazella took flight and hovered above Laurence, offering a glimmer of hope. "Yes, Maz find clothing for you. I get," he announced before vanishing momentarily. Upon his return, he dropped a bundle of fabric over a nearby log, providing Laurence with some much-needed cover.
Laurence reached down and retrieved the garment, revealing what seemed to be a peasant's dress. He shot a questioning glance at Cora and Avni, who sat with poorly disguised amusement, watching him struggle to figure out how to put it on. Pulling the dress over his head, Laurence stood before the girls, seeking their opinion. "How do I look?"
Cora's attempt to maintain composure crumbled and Avni averted her gaze in embarrassment. "It's not exactly flattering, unless we are camping out. I mean you already have the tent pitched," Cora managed between fits of laughter.
Avni added her own assessment: "It doesn't do much to hide your junk either!"
Mazella flew over to inspect, but Laurence brushed him off. "Where is Junk? You mean trunk?" the nimbat inquired innocently.
Cora's laughter intensified, causing her to fall over, while Avni, still hiding her face, joined in.
Laurence swatted at Mazella, annoyed. "Get lost, traitor!"
"I not traitor. Why you say I traitor?" he protested, retreating to perch on a nearby log.
Struggling with the ill-fitting dress, Laurence adjusted the fabric around himself, clearly designed for a smaller frame, and tucked himself into the tight waistband. He glanced back at Cora and Avni, who had composed themselves, somewhat. "Things would be a lot better if I had clothes that fit."
Mazella hovered nearby. "That what Mazella do," he declared.
Laurence looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean, it's what you do?"
"You need clothes. Maz go get clothes," he chirped cheerfully.
"Clothes that fit!"
"You is in them, they is fit," Maz insisted, his tail flicking happily from side to side.
Laurence rolled his eyes, then turned to the girls. "You want to tell me what he is doing here now? We lost the book because of him."
"No," Avni said, wiping the tears from her little eyes. "He followed us with the book." She lifted open his satchel, lifting the book out from within.
"Give me that," he said, reaching over.
Avni attempted to pass him the book, but he swatted it away and seized the satchel instead.
"What are you doing with that?" Cora inquired as the girls exchanged confused glances.
"Underpants," he replied with a grin, then attempted to open the seams in the corners, but quickly gave up, unable to undo the stitching.
Mazella landed next to Cora and Avni, "Why he want to cover trunk? You human types weird. He just grow fur, like you?" he asked, gesturing subtly on Avni's lower body. His implication clear enough to cause Avni to flush bright red and hide herself.
Laurence glanced at Cora, noticing her shocked expression at the nimbat's words. "You haven't had a lot of integration with humans or elves, have you?"
"No. I not seen many. You first I talk too for long time. But there small town not far."
"Okay, well this is what I want you to do. You go to the town and find some clothes. Bigger clothes and smaller clothes. Can you do that for us?"
Mazella nodded eagerly, then started off into the bush, his wings flapping with purpose. The clearing fell into a hushed quiet, the tension of the moment dissipating. Avni, shifting the focus, settled down and cradled the large book on her lap. "So now what do we do? I don't want to be this little forever," she voiced, steering the conversation in a new direction.
Cora interjected with a playful punch to Avni's leg, albeit a futile gesture considering her size.
"You're telling me, at least you aren't 'fun sized'," she quipped, illustrating her point with a gesture. Laurence scooped up Cora and settled beside Avni, placing the elf on his lap before reaching down to open the book, which Avni adjusted between them. Avni's face brightened as she spoke, "The book of the gods."
"You can read this?" Laurence asked.
"Not all of it. Only some of the characters. I don't know the ancient language but some of it is a derivative of Old Elvish," Avni explained.
Cora knelt beside the book, scanning its pages eagerly. "Is there anything in there that can make us grow back to our normal sizes again?" she asked, her voice tinged with hope.
Avni flipped through the pages, her fingers tracing ancient symbols. "There should be something. This is the book of the gods, after all. That's why we have Wolf Boy over here."
"That's not funny," Laurence retorted.
"I can't see anything that would make this normal again. Not here anyway, but I know someone who does, Avni replied confidently.
Laurence glanced at Avni with scepticism. "We're not going to see Yadiel. He isn't getting this book."
"Why not? It's not like you can do anything with it," Avni countered.
"Laurence," Cora interjected with a hint of concern. "Remember the bar? The Dark Elves are after this book too. And you kinda ate one of their business partners. They are going to be after us."
"We don't know that for sure. What are they going to say? A wolf and two shrunken girls stole a book from the Rajani Alliance? You know how stupid that sounds?"
"About as stupid as the origins of that cervitaur you got a little friendly with in Wellhorm? I still can't believe you went as far as you did with that," Cora teased.
"Hey, come on. Do you blame me? I thought she was a faun. I mean, it could have saved us about a week on that job."
Avni looked at them confused. "Cervitaur? You slept with a deer person?"
