The moment Sol turned into a cat, he got crushed under the person's weight. He had not had enough time to get away.
He was used to pain. Used to injuries mostly caused by monstrous creatures outside, bruises, and even broken bones. But right now, he felt something else entirely foreign.
A heavy, suffocating sensation flooded through his body, making his limbs weak and unresponsive.
A second later, he realized that it was panic, and it did not belong to him.
Well… it made sense, considering the kid had just fallen out of a tree.
Or so he thought, until he understood the panic was surging because of him.
His vision was sharper in this form. He could see the boy clearly. Young. Fifteen or sixteen at most. White hair that caught the sunlight like frost. Brown eyes wide with fear. Fingers trembling as they pressed gently into his fur.
Huh?
Get your dumb hands off me. I'm not a pet.
Of course, what came out was another weak, pitiful meow.
"Thank God it's beating," the kid said softly, voice thick with worry.
That was when Sol realized the boy was worried about him.
Not about the fact that a person had apparently fallen out of a tree out of nowhere.
About him.
And the kid had already awakened his power. He was using it without even knowing. Sol could feel his physical condition improving, warmth spreading through his body as a faint glow seeped from the boy's palms into his fur.
Healing?
Gentle. Careful. Kind.
Such care was something Sol had neither accepted nor needed before.
Because he was the strongest.
Everyone looked up to him.
Eventually, this kid would too and wouldn't even dare to look at him in this cursed form.
And he was not being sulky about it.
Sol grumbled internally and tried to push himself free, but the overflowing panic pouring into him through his own abilities overloaded his senses. His cat instincts tangled with the foreign emotions, leaving him unable to move a muscle. Meanwhile, the kid only held him tighter, as if trying to protect him from the world.
The warmth of the boy's body was steady and comforting, and despite himself, Sol felt sleep pulling at him. His cat's body betrayed him easily.
He hated this form.
And today might actually be the day Elowen died.
Until now, no one had dared lay a finger on him while he was like this after he gave Ilden a dislocated shoulder for attempted petting. And now he was being held. Carried around by a pet.
Fucking cradled.
Sol was not sure whether the boy would pass out first from overusing his powers or whether he himself would pass out from drowning in the boy's panic.
As he drifted closer to unconsciousness, comfortably sinking into sleep despite his annoyance, he heard a familiar voice.
Mira.
Good. That meant the stall keeper had found the kid first. She was one of the kindest people in Nemeteia, a broad-shouldered woman with laugh lines around her eyes and the firm presence of someone who had raised half the village like her own children.
He shot her a glare anyway at her mocking laugh and comment to put him down, his slit pupils sharp. Then he saw Idlen joining in, laughing as well.
Fucking great. More people are gathering.
He counted silently. Two minutes left until the fifteen-minute limit of this transformation ended.
Which meant he was about to turn back naked in front of them.
Again.
About ten houses away, Elowen sneezed repeatedly, rubbing his nose and blaming the flower pollen for it.
What bothered Sol the most was how the kid had flinched and pulled him back protectively when Idlen reached out to help. The boy had been terrified, clutching him like he was something precious without even bothering to protect himself.
Sol wanted to tell him he was fine. That the villagers were safe. That they were not going to hurt him.
Then the movement shifted. He felt the boy's body drop to his knees before collapsing fully onto the ground, still holding him tightly.
Must be at his power limit. Will it kill you to let go of me!!?
"I think he has some sort of animal-calming ability," Mira said nearby. "Otherwise, Sol would have scratched his way out already."
Well, she was wrong. Surely, there was a sense of calm, safety that he felt, but it was more of a healing zone, or acceleration of healing, and what kept Sol immobile was his panic.
And why the hell would I scratch a kid, you inconsiderate woman?
Idlen carefully pried the boy's hands open and lifted Sol away, away from the comfortable warmth that could bring an end to his sleepless nights, setting him down a few feet from the unconscious kid.
"Are you okay?" Idlen asked.
The distance helped. Sol gathered himself and gave a small nod, forcibly resisting the urge to start licking his fur clean.
The villagers focused on the boy, lifting him and carrying him toward the healing house at the center of Nemeteia, the circular stone building with open archways and hanging bundles of dried herbs swaying under the roof beams.
Taking the opportunity, Sol sprinted toward his own house and slipped inside just in time to reach his room before the transformation ended.
At least the girls would have appreciated the view if he transformed on his way.
The moment he shifted back, his voice thundered through the house.
"ELOWEN!!"
He grabbed a square cloth and wrapped it around his waist. He desperately needed a bath, but first, he had someone to skin alive.
"Yes, honey…?" came the awfully cheery, completely unbothered reply from Elowen's alchemy workshop.
The room was officially called the Aetherium Lab by Elowen, though most people just called it Elowen's disaster hut. Shelves lined every wall, packed with glass vials glowing in soft blues and greens, bundles of dried plants hanging upside down, crystals suspended in frames made of indal, and half-finished potion circles etched into the stone floor. Among all of that, there was a large worktable, cluttered with mortars, pestles, stained parchment notes, and bubbling concoctions that hissed faintly.
"Honey my—" Sol clenched his teeth, swallowing another curse before it could trigger another transformation.
Instead, he put his arm around Elowen's neck, who was sitting on the chair, focused on mixing goddess knows what to make goddess knows what. Veins bulged along Sol's forearm as he tightened the hold. Elowen immediately started tapping his arm with stained fingers, choking and struggling for air.
A few months ago, Elowen had decided to play a prank.
Sol did not talk much, but when he did, he had an impressive vocabulary of curses. So Elowen had created a potion with a trigger spell. If Sol said a curse word on that day, he would turn into a cat.
It was supposed to be a one-time joke.
Unfortunately for Sol, it had become semi-permanent until Elowen could create an antidote.
Which he still had not.
Mostly because he found the entire situation hilarious, but for Sol, it was the most humiliating experience of his life.
"I'm giving you one week," Sol growled. "One week. After that, you're dead."
"Fix this."
"Your wish is my command, Lord Sol."
He smacked the back of Elowen's head, sending auburn curls flying everywhere, then stormed out to take a bath.
After that, he planned to go straight to the healing house. He needed to remind people to shut up about his cat form before rumors spread.
Not many people knew, and it wasn't just because of the embarrassment, but any weakness of their best hunter would lead to inevitable anxiousness, which could grow in numbers strong enough to weaken the great tree.
And he absolutely was not going to let that new kid find out either.