Chapter Text
“Rosemary, Oregano, Lavender, Marigold, Lion’s Mane…” Vash heaved a sigh. He was missing a couple of herbs and more than a few fungi. It was a dry autumn this year and it was starting to affect the witches in the area. Everyone was on edge, worried over the likelihood of a harsh winter.
“Guess I’ll just have to stop by Roberto’s,” He mumbled to himself as he stood, pulling his large, red hat over his shoulder length blond hair. He pulled the brim over his blue eyes to block the light of the twin suns. “Maybe I’ll make a little detour and grab some donuts on the way home.”
He started in the direction of Roberto’s Apothecary Shoppe, the dejection of a half empty basket outweighed by the promise of pastries. As he made it back to the cobblestone path, Vash took in the sights of the village. He’d been living near the settlement for around a half-century, but the residents had yet to chase him away. Honestly, it seemed as though they didn’t plan to. A rare find.
The merchant stalls had long been open, peddling their wares to the villagers eager to stock up before the cold season began. The children ran between the stalls to gawk at the jewelry, snacks, and toys, but among the adults there was a strong undercurrent of anxiety. Even the humans who couldn’t access the magic of this world weren’t spared from this feeling. Afterall, if the village’s witches weren’t able to properly work, they lost healers, artificers, and, of course, entertainment.
Vash wondered what the other magical beings in the area were planning. He knew Roberto got his herbs specially imported and kept them fresh using an advanced charm that was passed down from generation to generation, but this charm was a family secret. Sure, others could do what Vash was doing and simply buy from Roberto, and plenty of witches would, but witches weren’t the only beings that would be affected. There were changelings, sprites, merfolk, and plenty of others who would never deign to bow their heads and ask a human for aid. Those stubborn little things always worried Vash in times of crisis. Perhaps it was just that this type of creature’s mentality was far too familiar and nostalgic for him to ignore.
Due to his fretting, Vash didn’t realize he’d arrived at the Apothecary until he heard Milly’s cheery voice calling out to him.
“Mr. Vash! Hello!” She shouted while waving. She had a slightly oversized scythe and seemed to be harvesting some crops from their private garden. There weren’t as many as last year.
“Hello!” Somehow, Milly always managed to put a smile on his face. The problem didn’t go away, but it definitely felt less pressing. “Is Roberto around?”
“Yup! Uncle Roberto’s teaching Meryl right now, but, honestly, I think they could both use a break.” She seemed to forget her scythe existed as she turned, nearly knocking into Vash with the handle. “I’ll go get them for you!”
Sometimes, Vash found himself in awe of Milly. She was, to put it bluntly, a large woman. Large, strong, and endlessly gentle. Her father had a significant amount of giant ancestry, and it showed through his children. Many humans who had little contact with giants only saw them in a specific, stereotypical light. They were assumed to be violent, unreasonable, and of a lower intelligence, but it would be obvious to anyone who tried to learn about them and their culture that this was extremely reductionist and offensive. Unfortunately, people rarely stepped outside of their own biases. Despite this, Milly remained kind to everyone. In Vash’s opinion, it was her most admirable quality, if not her most striking.
Milly ducked under the door frame and disappeared into the shop.
“You can follow me, Mr. Vash! You don’t have to stay outside.”
He followed her through the door frame, marveling at the inside of the apothecary. He always had to take a second to stare in awe at the sheer amount of herbs Roberto managed to have. It wasn’t as though Roberto only sold certain herbs during certain seasons. He sold all of them year round. Whatever charm his family created, it was a powerful one. It was no wonder it was such a heavily guarded secret.
“Uncle Roberto! Mr. Vash is here!”
“Hey, Vash!” Meryl greeted him.
“Gimme a second,” Roberto grumbled from the front desk.
It looked like Roberto was trying to teach Meryl how to make a particularly complex potion. They seemed to be nearly finished, but the stressful air of the situation was obvious even to someone like Vash, who had only just walked into it.
Roberto was one of the best apothecaries, not just in this village, but likely in the country. This was due in part to the aforementioned family charm and unusually fresh herbs, but also his oddly sharp intuition. He was always able to look past what one said and connect with the root of the problem. His gruff demeanor paradoxically made him more comfortable to speak with, which was always a plus when handling customers with more…uncomfortable issues. His experience only added to his competence.
But intuition was difficult to teach.
Meryl was, in some ways, the polar opposite to Roberto. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a strong sense of intuition; it could even be said to rival Roberto’s. It was just that Meryl’s use of it was completely different. More interrogative. She was able to put things together quickly and find effective solutions for them, but sometimes she could let her logical conclusions take away from the emotional connection and the information that could be gathered from that.
Roberto was also someone who didn’t always strictly abide by measurements and rules. The whole family seemed to be like this; at least the ones that Vash had met, which really only consisted of Roberto and Milly. He could accurately adjust on the spot, seemingly based only on his knowledge of the customer and his herbs. Meryl tended to struggle with this aspect. Her measurements were always accurate to an honestly scary degree and deviating from recipes often made her anxious. Unfortunately, potions can be fickle, and improvising is often necessary, so sometimes Meryl ended up flubbing her creations. This always resulted in a bit of a spiral for her. Her perfectionism meant that she took these moments more personally than she should.
Despite all of this, their dynamic seemed to work. Meryl hadn’t initially wanted to apprentice under Roberto and Roberto hadn’t wanted an apprentice at all. She’d shown up on his doorstep around 5 years ago, obviously a runaway wearing clothes indicating she came from a wealthy background, and promptly passed out from dehydration. Roberto and Milly took care of her for a while, but Roberto didn’t want the trouble of a runaway rich kid. Or at least, that’s what he said. He also said he only took care of her because of his “professional obligation,” so Vash always took his words with a grain of salt. Meryl, for her part, wasn’t looking to be anyone’s apprentice. She just wanted a stable job, whatever that entailed.
She’d worked the front desk at Roberto’s for a while (Roberto would call it “charity”), but the moment Vash met her he could sense her intense magical ability. Soon enough, Roberto sensed it too. A customer came in needing a very specific potion that had an extremely grueling mixing process. Roberto wasn’t exactly young, and Milly was visiting the rest of her family at the time, so Meryl had to help. Lo and behold, she was a natural. A natural with an inclination toward earth magic. Perfect for an apothecary. A little pushing from Vash and Milly and voila!
Roberto guided Meryl towards the right direction and Meryl kept Roberto focused.
After a few minutes, Roberto and Meryl finished their concoction and turned their attention to Vash.
“How was the haul?” Roberto asked, gently knocking on the woven basket Vash had on his back.
“I wouldn’t be here if it were good,” Vash sighs. “Whatcha got?”
“What do ya need?”
Vash prattled off a list of everything he missed on his outing while Roberto and Meryl picked the matching herb jars. They worked quickly and efficiently, with Meryl grabbing what Roberto couldn't. Occasionally, they’d come upon a jar neither could reach. In those cases, Meryl would call Milly over to help, ignoring the ladder sitting dusty in the corner.
If Roberto and Meryl could be said to be different, Meryl and Milly would be complete opposites. Meryl was petite where Milly was large; fierce and stern where Milly was gentle and comforting; laser focused where Milly was easily distracted. Despite all of this, those two got along almost immediately. Vash couldn’t remember there being a conflict that they couldn’t resolve within an hour. Even then, those conflicts were extremely rare.
Less than 3 months into her apprenticeship, Meryl asked Milly if she wanted to be her familiar. She had all of the logical points prepared: Milly’s giantess ancestry would be a perfect match for Meryl’s earth-based magic, they already got along so well, Milly’s family connection to Roberto meant the two were on a similar academic path, and so on. Milly had to interrupt her multiple times just to find the time to accept.
Vash had been overjoyed when he’d found out. If any two people were meant to entangle their magic and their souls together, it was Milly and Meryl.
“And one pound of nettle,” Meryl said as she placed the last jar on the counter. “Are you sure that’s it?”
“Should be,” Vash went through his stock again. “I think I can make it through the winter well enough with this.”
“It’s gonna be brutal this year,” Roberto predicted while writing the prices into the account book. Vash could tell he was being undercharged. Not a problem. He’d just overpay. “Even our stocks are lower than usual.”
That was…concerning.
“We’ll get through it!” Milly’s endless cheer somehow never ran out. “Our stocks aren’t so low that we can’t help the village and winter’s only a few months. By the time spring hits, it’ll all feel like a dream.”
Vash gave her a small smile. He hoped so, but he was planning for the worst-case scenario. After all, less to stock up on for winter meant more hunger. And humans weren’t the only beings who got hungry.
Vash paid for his herbs and made to leave, but Milly stopped him at the door before he could.
“Wait!” She shouted as she spread her arms as wide as she could. “Don’t leave just yet!”
“Milly, you can just tell me to wait. You don’t have to do…that.”
“Oh. Well,” She walked over to the kitchen area of the shop and rummaged around for a while. “I know you said that you have enough for the winter, and I’m not saying you don’t, but I really wish you’d come by more often so we can be sure you’re okay.”
Milly walked back to the door frame with three glass containers and stuffed them in Vash’s basket with the rest of the herb jars.
“Here! I made you a few meals. Come back sometime if you want some more. I’d love to hear how you liked it next time you visit.”
Vash was screwing up his face in a desperate attempt to keep his emotions in check. He wasn’t human. He didn’t need food in the same way they did. Milly knew this, even if she didn’t quite know what he was. And yet, she made him food. She wanted him to visit again. She wanted him to be okay.
He quickly schooled his expression and plastered on the largest smile he could manage.
“I’ll make sure to give you a full review, Mills!”
With that said, he left the shop. Walking deeper into the village, he made his way to Rosa’s pastry stall without really processing the journey. He arrived, ordered his donuts, played a bit with Rosa’s young son, and quickly said his goodbyes. He couldn’t stop thinking about Milly’s words.
I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve her concern. I don’t deserve the food. She could’ve saved it for herself. I’m not worth it.
Vash cycled through these thoughts until he got to the edge of the village. He’d lingered a bit too long; the suns had set long ago. That left the forest in front of him washed in darkness.
Vash lived away from the village. His cottage wasn’t so far that walking was unjustifiable, but not so close that people thought it worth the hike to visit. The fact that it was close to the deepest part of the forest added to this. The dark forest was avoided by the villagers. Even the most experienced of witches steered clear of it when they could, and for good reason. Humans shared this world with a multitude of other creatures. For the most part, they had managed to make this a peaceful allotment, but there were always exceptions. The forest did not exist for humans. They were allowed to enter, just as they were allowed to enter any place on this planet, but there was an understanding that they would not be protected from those beings who called the forest their home. Especially at night.
Vash, however, had nothing to fear. He wasn’t human. He got along quite well with the forest and its creatures. At first, the villagers found this suspicious. They were worried that he’d come to claim their settlement for the forest-dwellers, but they saw the truth after a few years. They even let him negotiate for them at times. He was now seen as something of a mediator between these opposing worlds. Someone who maintained the tentative, fragile balance that kept everyone relatively happy. This was something he was quite proud of.
But right now, with a heavy basket of herbs on his back and a bag of pastries waiting to be devoured, he almost wished he hadn’t chosen to live so far away.
“Time to start walking,” Vash sighed.
Vash may not have been human, but he wasn’t native to the dark forest. Many creatures still attempted to intimidate him, even after all these years. As he walked, he heard the grunts and wails of forest-dwellers. He met them with a smile. Some would come to snarl and gnash their teeth. He welcomed them with bright greetings. Many didn’t take too kindly to this, but they were used to him. They wouldn’t harm Vash, and they knew Vash wouldn’t harm them. There was even a banshee near the cottage who seemed to take a liking to him. The collective consciousness of the forest had accepted him, and the creatures acknowledged this. They were just a little mischievous.
Tonight, though, the area closer to his cottage was quiet.
Odd. The deeper into the forest you go, the more active the residents normally are. Why’d they all go silent?
And then, he heard it. Growling. Snarling. Hissing. These sounds weren’t unusual here, but Vash didn’t recognize the tone of this creature’s voice. Its cadence was different from the forest-dweller’s. This was an outsider.
Vash proceeded cautiously. The closer to his cottage he got, the louder the sounds became. When he got to the clearing, he called home, he saw the source of the noises.
A large, black wolf was writhing on the ground a few feet from his front door. Its right hind leg was stuck in what appeared to be a poacher’s trap and it was trying its best to crawl into the cottage. It looked to be in extreme pain.
Poachers were rare within the forest, but they weren’t unheard of. Vash would sometimes help chase off any who were brave enough to intrude, so that he could mitigate casualties. It seemed some had slipped through his fingers.
Vash tried to carefully approach the wolf. He needed to help it, somehow. It wouldn’t live much longer otherwise. Unfortunately, Vash wasn’t careful enough.
The wolf heard his footsteps and quickly turned to assess this new threat. It redoubled its snarling, trying to drive Vash away, but its thrashing made the teeth of the trap dig further into his leg. The wound was widening, causing more blood to flow out.
“Woah, there,” Vash gently said as the wolf started to wobble. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help. Let’s get you out of that trap, yeah?”
The wolf continued to growl, but it faded more to a low rumble as it watched Vash circle around to its hind leg. It was tense. That was understandable. Vash was working in an area that was essentially a blind spot. If he were in this situation, he’d also be tense.
Vash tried his best to work quickly, but there was no way to avoid hurting it. The wolf let out a particularly heartbreaking whine when Vash began to pry open the teeth of the trap.
“Okay, pretty wolf,” Vash grunted. The trap was beginning to dig into his fingers, the blood making things slippery. “I’m going to need you to pull your leg out. Can you do that for me?”
The wolf whimpered, but slowly pulled its injured leg up and out of the open trap. As soon as it was free, Vash released his hold. The wolf attempted to make a quick exit, but it had lost too much blood to go far. It quickly fell to the ground with a short, pained yelp.
“Oh! Don’t move,” Vash had run to the wolf’s side the moment he noticed it fall. “I’m going to bring you into my cottage, okay? So, I can wrap the wound and make sure it doesn’t get infected.”
When Vash picked it up, he was worried it would fight him, but it seemed…resigned. Maybe a bit confused. As though, whatever happened next was out of its control.
Vash rushed into the cottage and gingerly laid the wolf onto the floor. He then quickly grabbed the herbs he had left outside and set them next to the door.
“Honey, honey, honey…oh! There it is!”
Vash grabbed some honey and quickly mixed it with his aloe vera gel and oregano oil.
“This will help keep the wound from getting infected,” He rambled to the wolf. “But first…”
When Vash looked back toward the wolf, he saw that it was following his movements with an oddly human gaze.
“I’m sorry, but I need to stitch the wound,” Vash apologized. “It’ll hurt.”
The wolf huffed before laying its head down. It had agreed.
Vash quickly grabbed his medical kit, a towel, and a bowl of clean water. He gently, but rapidly cleaned the blood off of its fur and prepared for stitches.
“I’m about to begin.”
The wolf gave only a small whine when the needle passed through for the first time but laid silent after that. Vash was concerned that it had passed out, or worse, but everytime he looked to be sure, the wolf would be awake. It would just stare with its unnerving gaze and make no noise. Only when Vash tied off the last stitch did the wolf close its eyes.
When he finished applying the improvised salve and bandaging the leg, Vash moved the wolf to his bed while avoiding the injury. He carefully stroked its head. Vash wanted it to know that it was safe. That it didn’t need to stay tense.
“You can relax, you know,” Vash whispered. “You don’t have to stay in this form the entire night.”
This didn’t have the intended effect. As soon as Vash said these words, the wolf’s eyes flew open in a panic. It tried to scramble backwards, forgetting about its hurt leg. It began to whimper but refused to stop its attempt to get away.
“Wait! No! Don’t do that! You’re going to hurt yourself more,” Vash held the wolf down to the best of his abilities, but he couldn’t stop it completely. He wasn’t a weak being by any measure, but this wolf was determined. “I didn’t lie to you before! I don’t want to hurt you! The only reason I brought it up is because I want you to be comfortable!”
Vash’s words seemed to be working. It slowly began to stop its movements, but the suspicion from before was still there.
“You don’t have to change anything if you don’t want to,” Vash said, reaching out to pet the wolf again. It allowed him to continue. “If you want to stay a wolf, then stay a wolf. Just know that you have the option. I won’t judge you. I have no right.”
The wolf studied Vash’s face for a while, looking for signs of deceit. It must not have found any because it closed its eyes and let Vash continue running his fingers through its fur.
After a few minutes of this, its form began to shift. Vash leaned slightly back as the form of a wolf started to disappear. In its place was the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his long life.
The man was dark in every way. Coal black hair with large, brown eyes and tanned skin. Muscles rippled under the surface as he rolled onto his side and decided to rest for the night. Vash watched, entranced, until he was broken out of his gawking by an important realization.
The man was completely, utterly naked.