As I run to the opposite side of the glade something orange and round goes flying past my head. No, he didn’t. I skid to a stop and spin around to see that Alex has also stopped running. Instead he has opted to start throwing fireballs, in the middle of a forest. I don’t have time to think about whether this guy is stupid or courageous as another fireball forces me to duck. It goes flying over my head, sailing straight into the tree directly behind me. But not lighting it on fire. In fact all of the impact points for the fireballs are just scorch marks, no ignitions, not even on the grass.

That’s all fine and dandy but I’m still 100% sure getting hit by one of those would fucking suck, so I keep my head down and start moving in zigzags throughout the glade. Alex throws another three fireballs around where he last saw me before giving up on his attempted murder. Now he is just standing about halfway out from the center of the glade, just frantically looking around.

I really want to kick his shit in for throwing fireballs at me. But for now, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt because that fiasco scared even me. Yea, for the first time since I got here, not counting the dream, I’ve felt fear. It was only a smidge for a split second, but it was there. Let me give this one more try. If he throws another fireball at me, I will beat his ass and break his arms so he can’t throw another one.

“Hey asshole, quit trying to burn my house down.” I call out to him in an annoyed tone.

Alex snaps his head to my location in the grass and conjures up another fireball. I put my hands up and out of the grass, palms open and fingers spread. I wave my arms a little to try and show I mean no harm. I wait a moment and no fireball comes. I start to slowly rise up out of the grass, arms still up above my head. Alex seems hesitant, like he does not want to accept what he is seeing. I slowly move my hand and gesture to my mouth, then point at Alex, then at my ear. Lets see if our fire mage is courageous or stupid. He seems to pick up on my message after a few seconds, and does not seem pleased with it.

“So @#$ can understand %$?” He asks. I nod pinch my thumb and pointer finger together in reply.

“Bullocks, %#@$%#@ are @#% of control.” He says.

“Can you understand me?” I ask him. His response is just a confused and annoyed look.

So that’s a no, I’m going to guess. I slowly rotate my head around the glade, surveying the damage. A bunch of burned plants, scorch marks in the mud. Nothing is on fire so eventually it will be fine. Alex lets out a grunt, I can see he is trying to keep his weight off his right leg but between the mud and uneven ground it’s not going well for him. He needs to sit down and rest, or he will pass out from exhaustion here in a minute. I slowly move my hand down and point to my right calve then point at Alex, then to the unburned Corso bush near him. He looks at me, then looks at the bush, then back to me.

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“$#@% no.” He says.

Dude, I know they may cause paralysis but it’s not like I’m going to eat you. Wait, he doesn’t know that and has no reason to trust me. I gesture to Alex and then to the ground near the pod.

“No thanks.” He says.

OK, need to think of something else. The dude won’t get himself healing, and won’t sit down. And does not trust me enough to put the damn fireballs away. I know it sucks to have a shredded limb but he needs to chill out before he bleeds out. Reminds me of my time with the big wolf. Wait, that’s it! As memories of my fiasco with the big wolf resurface so does the awakening the next morning after I had healed up. I spent the night in the sap and was completely fine the next day, so surely that sap must have health benefits. I gesture to myself, then point at the pod, then point at Alex’s mangled leg. He seems to have gotten the message but did not like it.

“Not $%##%^#.” He says.

I just can not win with this guy. I’m half tempted to let him bleed out, only reason I am not is my assumption that he assumes I am a monster trying to do him in. Once we get over that notion hopefully, he will be more receptive to my assistance. Wait, if that’s what he is thinking then why he hasn’t blasted me already? Unless he is out of juice and that’s his last fireball. If I think about it, it makes sense. He came in wounded, so it’s safe to say that he was in a fight beforehand and expended a lot of energy and mana. Plus, what he threw at me earlier means he is on empty. So, if I tank this fireball, he won’t have any more left. Now the question is if it will kill me. Eh, I’ll try to dodge it, not like he can get very far in the interim anyway. My concerned expression is replaced by a savage grin as I really lay on the intimidation factor. I want him to throw that fireball as soon as possible so it’s easier to dodge.

Simultaneously Alex’s face shifts from pain and anxiety to fear and dread. He knows I’ve figured it out, good. I put my hands down and confidently stride towards him. He starts to panic and hobble backwards while facing me. All that does is lead to him ending up falling over into the mud. In his panicked state he throws his last fireball, it goes up, up and away from me, flying over the trees and off into the distance. Now that his only means of ruining my day are gone, I drop the savage grin. I approach the squirming man as he tries to kick and claw his way through the grass and mud away from me. I reach down and grab his shoulder, which he responds to by flipping over and trying to fight me. Frantically kicking, punching, and screaming Alex makes what he thinks is his last stand, tears running down his face.

“No! $ don’t #$%@ to die! #$@% off! #$%#% me alone!” he screams

One of his kicks gets me in the shin, ouch. Then a fist connects with my jaw, it hurts a good bit but otherwise does nothing. I’m getting sick of his shit. I grab him by the collar with my left hand and pull him up to me, then rear my right hand back. Only quarter power, I don’t want to knock his head off I tell myself.

A resounding smack reverberates through the glade as I slap Alex across the face to get him to calm the fuck down. The shock seems to have worked, as he just stares at me with puffy eyes and a now very red hand mark on the left side of his face. I make a slit throat gesture with my free hand then shake my head back and forth. He seems to understand, and immediately starts bawling his eyes out, ugly cry style. Well at least now he understands that I’m not trying to kill him. I move around behind him and hook my arms under his shoulders and start dragging him back to my pod. He doesn’t resist, just lays flopped crying his eyes out.

Once I get him back to my pod I lay him on one of the petals. His leg is in even worse shape than before, bleeding everywhere and caked in mud. Time to perform some first aid.