CIATB Chapter 246 – John Wayne, The Other, Other, Other White Meat
Chapter 246 – John Wayne, The Other, Other, Other White Meat
*Grrrrr*
"Easy," John said, raising his hands slowly in front of him, not wanting to make any sudden moves in front of the giant grey and white wolf. He cycled his Ki and Wind Magic, readying himself to activate his invulnerability and dive towards his belt buckle and sword.
He knew normal wolves were much larger than most dogs, but he had no clue that these giant wolves were the same size as a Clydesdale. Just sitting on the ground, the wolf in front of him was nearly ten feet tall. It reminded him of the Wolves that the orcs rode in WC, though maybe a bit taller and skinnier.
I mean, armed, I wouldn't be terribly concerned, but how did this thing even sneak up on me? My back was only turned for a moment.
The clouds above moved past the moon, bathing their standoff in soft light, letting John get a better look at the beast. Its mouth was large enough that it could probably swallow his head whole; its lips were raised in a snarl, baring its teeth at him. Its amber eyes glistened in the moonlight, appearing hungry and ready to eat him.
Its thick fur was dull in tone and hung loosely on its body, giving some credence to the animal being malnourished. If he wasn't about to become its next meal, he would actually feel bad for the animal. He took a careful step forward, then paused again as the wolf shifted, completely blocking off the route to his equipment.
*Grrrr*
"So much for that plan." He sighed. He was about to cast darkness and waterball on the animal's head when he noticed the mass of bloody wounds on its side, now visible when it shifted. It looked like it had been hacked at with axes and swords, then torn at with teeth. Most of the wounds looked to have partially healed over, while a few looked fresh, blood staining what fur remained.
"You got in a fight with those undead, didn't you? Poor thing." He said, activating his Sage Quirk as a radical idea formed in his head. He had no idea if an animal would listen to him, but he hoped that, with his tone and his skills, he could get out of this situation before he was attacked unarmed.
He took another step through the knee-deep water, maintaining eye contact with the wolf, speaking in a gentle, calming tone. It eyed him warily, not expecting this small human to actually approach it.
"Easy, easy. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You're just hungry and in pain, aren't you? Here, let me help you." He said, approaching even closer. He was ready with his divine shield at a moment's notice, but he didn't want to startle the beast when he started to glow.
What are you even doing, John? You came out here to hunt these things. It isn't a damn dog.
*Grrrr- Errrp*
It shifted again, preparing to lunge at him, then paused, apparently causing itself even more pain as it stopped growling for a moment and whined. He continued to approach it and raised his hand, activating his healing hands skill.
"Easy, little one. See, I'm not going to hurt you." He said again, watching its eyes. It wasn't a human, but its face was expressive enough that he knew it was in pain. It towered over him as he stood directly in front of it, easily in range of its claws and maw full of sharp teeth. He stopped, hovering his hand right in front of its nose. "It's up to you now. I can help you, but you need to trust me."
It whined, then growled, peeling its lips back again, then whined again. It inched closer to his hand, sniffing it, before giving it a lick.
"See. I'm not going to hurt you." He said, letting it get comfortable with the idea that he wasn't a threat.
It cocked its head to the side inquisitively then licked his hand again, its rough tongue feeling rather abrasive against his skin.
Then it bit him.
"OUCH! SON OF A-" He shouted, activating his divine shield, but it wasn't necessary. It had already released his hand, then jumped back at his outburst, twisting in the air and started to run away. Well, it tried anyway, as the sudden motion caused its wounds to reopen, and it collapsed to the ground with a yelp, then started to whine in pain.
Now invulnerable, John cycled his healing magic to repair his slightly mangled hand, then turned towards the wolf. "Alright, ya damn mutt. I'm going to heal you, and you're going to like it!" He said, now determined to heal this majestic animal, guild job be damned.
He rushed to where it collapsed and placed his hands into its massive torso. It tried to turn its head towards him, but apparently that jerking motion pushed it beyond the limits of its endurance. "Easy. You're gonna be fine. Middle Heal!"
His magic entered the animal and began mending its wounds. It shook as he forced as much mana into it as he could, amplified by the anger he was feeling at himself for being so dumb to think he wasn't going to get bitten by a wounded animal. He even pushed some Ki into it, though that was more like it was leaking into it alongside the mana.
It started to shake as its wounds closed, then raised its head and gave a hearty *AAAAAWHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!* before swinging its head back to look at him. He just looked back up at the wolf, releasing his grip from its side.
"You're a She-Wolf, aren't you?" He said with a sigh, not wanting to think about the side effects of his magic right then. (See A/N)
It just stared at him for a moment, then lunged.
A Few Hours Later
Chris/Eris POV
"JOHN! JOHN! WHERE ARE YOU!" A chorus of voices shouted, searching the forest for the lost Paladin. Darkness, noticing he hadn't returned after an hour, had gone out in search of him. Finding his clothing and equipment at the waterfall, and some signs of a scuffle with what appeared to be a giant wolf, she rushed back to the camp. After reporting her findings and the lack of blood, they broke camp and began to search for him.
"Were you able to find any more signs of the wolf?" Darkness asked Chris, hoping that she had found something further.
"No. Tracking isn't a primary skill for a thief, but I'll keep trying." She replied. This wouldn't be a problem if she returned to heaven and searched from there, but she needed to be near one of her churches to do that*. Right now, she was limited as Aqua was, with mostly mortal abilities.
Megumin and Yunyun were just as useless in the search, neither having learned any scrying spells from their classes; they had mainly attack magics and little else. Which left them searching the old-fashioned way for any signs of their passage, with Chris leading them, mainly hoping her luck stat would point them in the right direction.
"Don't worry. Even if he died, we just need to find part of his body, then I can resurrect him. I am an Arch Priest, after all." Aqua said to Darkness, awkwardly trying to calm the Crusader's concerns.
Chris sighed at that. Aqua wasn't allowed to resurrect reincarnators if they died in this world, but she wasn't going to point that out now. She hadn't yet decided to tell her that she was actually Eris. They were actually getting along right now, and she didn't want to break this illusion, not yet anyway.
She was concerned for John, too. His arrival was the best bet they had at defeating the Devil King and bringing a measure of peace to her world. Being killed by a wolf while he was washing up seemed like such an anti-climactic way for someone like him to go. Not to mention, he appeared to have caught Darkness's attention and seemed up to the task of dealing with her friend's issues.
"Oh, if it were only me that was taken! I would gladly sacrifice my body to save his, to be torn apart by their teeth while being pinned underneath their paws! Would they do strange things to me before finishing me off? Ahhh!" Darkness shouted into the night, starting to lose whatever self-control she had gained earlier that day.
"What did I tell you about that masochistic side, Darlin'? When we get back to town, you and I are going dress shopping!"
Chris whipped her head to the side. Not 3 metres away from them was John, a wide smile on his face, sitting astride a massive Giant Wolf's shoulders. The animal lay down, letting him slide off the side and approach them. Butt naked.
Oh my. I know I have seen them before, but only with my omnipresence from heaven, seeing them with my avatar in person... oh, Me! What an Ass he has!
"John! You're okay! Ack! You're n-n-naked!?!" Aqua said, pointing at John's-
"Penis," Yunyun said, gawking at him, a deep blush on her face.
"Hah, Nice! M-my future disciple of Explosion magic is p-p-packing!" Megumin said, trying to sound confident in front of her archrival, but she was gawking just as much as Yunyun, her face turning nearly as red as her dress.
"JOHN! I'M HAPPY YOU'RE SAFE, BUT COVER YOURSELF! DON'T YOU KNOW THERE ARE KIDS HERE?" Darkness shouted, trying to cover the eyes of both wizards.
He just smiled at them and then pointed at the two wizards. "She is 19, and she is 18 turning 19 in a month**. You, my dear, are the youngest one here. Besides, I kind of left my clothes behind when Nebula took me for a ride. I don't exactly have a choice in the matter." He then grabbed the wolf behind the ears and started to scratch it. It looked very content.
There was a commotion of voices then, mainly the wizards squabbling with Darkness while she was still trying to cover their eyes, but Chris ignored them and approached John. "What happened? How are you not dead? And how are you petting one of these?"
"Well, I'm not a 100% sure, since my card is in my jacket, but I think I might have an affinity with animals. Is there a class with that?"
"Beast Tamer? Really? I thought you would have been a healer or a fighter of some sort, even a mage."
"I’m already all of those, I'm a Jack of All Trades, Darlin. Now, can we get back to camp? I don't mind being naked if I have no other choice, but it's getting a bit cool here. I'll tell you all my story then."
"It's a bit of a walk."
"No problem. We will be quick." He replied, then whistled loudly.
From the darkness, three more wolves stalked into the clearing, circling the group before lying down beside the wolf that John called Nebula. He climbed up on its back, then spoke to their now somewhat terrified party. "They won't hurt you; in fact, they are willing to give you a ride. Just be careful when you climb up and try to stay close to their front shoulders. Megumin and Yunyun, you will have to share one, so mind your manners when you're riding it."
He then offered her a hand up. She hesitated a moment, then took his hand. He pulled her up behind him and tucked her right up against his back. She hesitated again, then wrapped her arms around his waist as best she could.
Me, I know I made my avatar small and cute, but I can barely wrap my arms halfway around him. What are these odd feelings he is giving me? It's like a trashy romance story that Aqua talks about from Earth. I need to go back to heaven and think about this. I don't think I can make rational decisions down here right now.
After some jostling and convincing, he managed to get the rest of the party mounted on the wolves, then Nebula shot off into the night, the rest in hot pursuit.
* - AU. No clue how Chris/Eris moves back and forth.
** - AU. I want them of age, though they are not necessarily going to be any part of John's harem. Going with the demon blood from their clan gives them this doll-like appearance, as Megumin’s mother is 44 but looks barely past 20.