She grinned and crouched down to pet the little dragon. "The tattoo is cool. And no one can take it away, like they could take a bracelet away. How did you find him?" She reached out and rubbed the back of Xi's head. "Are you a little fire breather?" she asked the dragon, a tiny part of her wondering where she could get a dragon like that… She wasn't a witch, so no familiar for her, but maybe as a pet. Except Xi was clearly to smart to be just a pet.
"Er, see, there's this spell witches can learn that lets you summon dragons. Normally it's a bad idea, because a lot of them are hostile towards witches, but a few years ago I wanted to try it anyways… The thing is, the more powerful of a witch you are, the stronger a dragon you'll end up summoning, or at least, that's the idea. I ended up summoning Xipil," he explained, laughing slightly. "It's weird," he mused. "Xi doesn't seem to have a human disguise, and he never speaks verbally. I wonder about him a lot, but he refuses to tell me anything useful." Wyn rubbed at the now bare place on his neck thoughtfully, then seemed to snap out of it. "He likes you, by the way." Xipil tensed and looked back at Wyn in indignation, huffing out a little burst of flame in annoyance. "Oops, wasn't supposed to tell you that," he chuckled, suddenly shouting, "Hey!" when the dragon leaped into the air and flew right onto his head. "Rude," Wyn remarked as tiny claws pricked his scalp lightly.
Asta laughed and stood up. "At least you didn't summon some huge dragon that would've eaten you. Xi's perfect." She hadn't ever seen a dragon close up, and it had been a long time since she'd seen a witch. Maybe the first time she'd had a non-aggressive conversation with a witch. "Do you live nearby?" She'd been through this way many times before, and had never noticed any kinds of settlement or inhabitants. He seemed at home, and she couldn't tell if that was because he lived there or simply because he was comfortable being outside with his dragon.
"That's exactly my line of thinking," Wyn told her with a smile. "Buuut, this isn't his true size, either." He pulled Xipil off his head and moved him to his shoulder, muttering, "Crescere," as he did so. Within moments the tiny dragon doubled in size, now taking up the same amount of space a house cat would. "Again, basically a cat," he laughed, scratching beneath Xipil's chin as the dragon looked like he was pouting. "Anyways, I don't live super far from here, but not in the forest, if that's what you were wondering. I wander around here a lot, though," he explained lightly. What about you? It could be a wolf thing, but you look kind of at peace out here."
"Oh, yeah. I mean, I don't live here exactly, but I almost always stay in the woods. It might be a wolf thing, I think it's an extreme sense of claustrophobia on my part." She looked around, loving the way the forest always looked familiar no matter where you were in it. It was never the same, just similar. She was familiar with most of the wildlife around, and Xi was the first unfamiliar creature she'd been able to see up close. She was somewhat less familiar with plants, knowing them only by memories of which she was allergic too and which would have flowers eventually.
He shrugged. "Makes sense," he said simply, following her gaze as she looked at the scenery. "So, question, what's it like? Being a werewolf, I mean? I imagine some parts are pretty cool, but then, I don't exactly know much about you guys." Xipil hopped off his shoulder again without warning and disappeared into some nearby bushes, but Wyn remained unconcerned.
"It's really awesome. Very freeing, and it gives you a way to be the predator all the time. It's a different kind of power that no one can take away. Except for full moons. Then it's pretty much the worst." She blinked and watched Xipil disappear. "The day after the full moon is almost the worst, because that's when you see all the chaos you cause. Then you have another few weeks of freedom again, and the pattern repeats itself." She didn't talk to other people interested in werewolves often, and she didn't know if she'd given away to much. Or if she cared that she might have given away too much…
"I'm sorry. That sounds…ruff," he said, suppressing a smile. His expression changed into something a little more serious after a moment, and he added, "I know we just met and all, but if you were comfortable with it, Xi and I can stay around to watch you. Just to make sure you don't do anything you regret. It's not like I have anything better to do, anyways."
She stiffened, looking at him curiously. "That would actually be nice. There's an old cave a few miles north, I usually try to trap myself in there for the night. I've gotten out a few times, though, and even if I think I didn't get out, I have no way of being sure. But I might kill you." She said it as matter-of-factly as she could.
"Eh, it happens more than you'd think. But don't worry about my safety—I have a few tricks up my sleeve," Wyn reassured her, wikinging as he finished speaking. "In that case, should we get going?" he asked, looking up at the sky. "I'm cool with running, but I'd bet you're a heck of a lot faster than me."
"I would agree with that." She grinned. "Unless, I might be big enough in my wolf form to carry you." Her eyes twinkled mischievously, and she pulled her hair out of her face to wait for his reaction. She was quite confident she could do it, but she really had no idea whether or not he would be alright with it.
Wyn tapped his foot at gave her a thoughtful look, biting his lower lip in deliberation. "Hmm, I suppose we could try that. Xi!" he called, crouching briefly to grab the messenger's bag he'd left on the ground. When the dragon came bounding back through the undergrowth, Wyn raised an arm for him to use as a perch, looking at him affectionately as he said, "Sorry bud, I'll let you go later," before pulling his shirt back some again and saying, "Minima," waiting until Xipil had changed back into his smaller size before uttering the spell that would return him to the tattoo form. "Okay then, whenever you're ready?" he asked, slinging the bag around his shoulder and straightening his shirt so all that could be seen of Xipil was a tiny head of ink.
She took a deep breath and let herself shift, closing her eyes as she felt herself change forms and grow taller, stronger, better. She was suddenly more aware of what was around her, from the sounds of baby birds in a nest up above, to the scent of faraway deer. She opened her eyes and shook out her silvery brown fur, growling gently, in as nonthreatening a way as possible, at Wyn.
The witch winced a little at the sound of bones popping and shifting, but looked on in interest as Asta became a wolf in front of his eyes. "See, that would be awesome!" he claimed enthusiastically. "So, uh, how are we doing this? 'Cause I doubt I would hurt you, but I also don't want to risk it.." He eyed the distance to her back, and wondered how hurt his pride would be if he failed this somehow.
She laughed inside. There was no way he could hurt her in this form unless he tried with his magic. She stretched and knelt down, getting her back as close to the ground as she could. Her paws were already itching to run, and she panted a little.
"Well then," he said, his voice light and optimistic. He put a hand on the spot between her shoulders and had to resist the urge to straight out pet her, throwing his leg over and pulling himself upright. "You are really soft, like gosh dang," he told her, his fingers gently holding onto her fur as he leaned forward so he wouldn't fall. "Ready when you are?" he added questioningly.
She smiled inside, feeling his hand and trying to make sure she didn't ask him to rub her ear. Hands were much better for rubbing fur than her paws were. Once he was on, she shook herself gently to warn him, and then started running. She kept it slower than usual, to make sure he could stay on and get used to the speed they were moving at. She settled down into a rhythm and kept running.
After a while, Wyn thought he could see the cave she'd referred to earlier. "That it?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard over the wind, even though it probably wasn't necessary. He'd never ridden on the back of a werewolf before, but it was certainly something he wouldn't mind doing again.
She slowed down and shook her head at the cave, leaning down for him to get off. She heard him better in wolf form, but she often liked to drown out everything but the wind when she ran. The cave was a short distance ahead of them, with the remnants of a torn and broken wooden door blocking it. She'd forgotten about the damage she'd left the last time she'd come.