He really should have seen that trap. But he'd been distracted. It was hard to remember sometimes that humans could be just as dangerous as wizards if you let them.
His foot was lodged and bleeding.
He had already diagnosed the problem and the solution, but unfortunately the solution would require a form he couldn't take at the moment.
He never did like humans in the first place.
For now, the only thing to do was wait. The first few escape attempts had only dug the skewers further into his leg. It was such a simple trap, a small pit in the ground edged with sticks. Funny how simple things could be so dangerous.
How becoming of him. How expected.
Something rustled the nearby branches. Lotor couldn't stop himself from trying to leap out of his spot again. He really wished he hadn't, though.
The thing that came from the bushes was a human. One of the two things he didn't want to see right now. Three if he counted wild animals.
His eyes darted over the human's gear. There would be a hunting knife somewhere. A knife and a dog and a rope to drag him away.
The human stared. Lotor wanted to spit at him.
"Whoa…" the human breathed. "Never seen a WHITE one before."
Of course, and if things had been going decently at all, he never would have.
The human knelt down next to him.
"Who would have tried to hurt such a pretty thing?"
If Lotor were in human form, he'd have laughed. Who DIDN'T want to hurt such a 'pretty thing?'
"Shhh, it's okay," the boy said. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
Shh. As if he'd been making noise. Humans were stupid that way.
Lotor swung a hoof at the boy's head as he tried to touch him.
The boy put his hands up.
"Okay, okay, I know. You're scared."
How intelligent.
He still didn't see a hunting knife or a dog. The only thing he saw was a mandolin.
The boy took it off his back and strummed a chord.
"What do YOU like? You look like a… love song type."
Well. There was human idiocy for you.
The boy played a couple more chords. If Lotor were in a better place, he wouldn't have denied how nice they sounded, but he wasn't in a better place and he DID deny it.
When the boy started singing, Lotor knew something was wrong. He had felt that kind of energy before. It was magic.
"Oh, the summer time is coming… and the leaves are sweetly blooming…"
It was a spell that worked like a drug. The kind that altered one's mental state against their will.
He kicked in protest before starting to feel tired.
Impressive magic for a human.
His hold on reality was faltering. He couldn't feel the pain as strongly, even though he knew it was still there. He didn't feel as afraid, even though he knew he had reason to.
A blank mind could be convinced of a lot of things.
"Will ye go, lassie, go?" the boy sang. Then suddenly he stopped playing. Lotor hated himself for missing it.
"I suppose you're more of a laddie, aren't you?" the boy said, nodding at an antler. He picked back up again. "Will ye go, laddie, go?"
Yes, he would go. That was how this sort of spell worked.
And worst of all, he didn't mind.
He didn't move as the song ended and the boy started to pull the sticks from his leg. He didn't want to anymore. For just that moment, he didn't want anything.
"There, that's all done," the boy said. Even with his eyes shut, Lotor could hear the grimace in his voice. "That looks pretty nasty."
No doubt it did. It was starting to hurt again.
"Sorry, friend, but I don't have anything to put on it."
He was not this boy's friend.
But he was going to follow him. And until he had a chance to explain himself, a friend was what he would look like.