Ryouichi is actually 27. Don't ask how I made such a silly error!
I hope to have Jackal's Diary completely finished by the time I finish MOV1
- ML
Chapter 11: Animal Soul Potion
Day Four
04 October X820
Reiji had woken up at the bright hour of 06:00. She wore one of her usual comfortable bras underneath a dark blue sweatshirt, and black pants tucked into her combat boots. With her hair tied in a bun, she felt prepared to begin her potion creation lesson with Ryouichi.
She embarked on her miniature hike to his cabin in one of the few neighborhoods located in the woods. Ryo's home was one of 25 homes in a circular community known as Loner Lumber Circle, numbered 101 to 125 for each house. The Beast Soul's cabin was tucked away on an island of an acre with several small bridges above gaps of flowing water between two and seven-feet wide. He also lived with Takeshiro, but the younger demon was out for the day.
The crimson sun shined through the trees, turning everything as red as its light. Reiji paused at a stream, facing the front of his house. She bent her knees, then jumped over the stream. The green haired demon smirked at her tiny victory.
Birds and other small wild creatures sang, screeched, or scurried to and fro. Clusters of fungi grew here and there, following two straight days of rain. Those days were quite uneventful. Work was essentially optional because the downpour was dreadful. But the aftermath—humidified air, the sun opening the sky, the mushroom foraging—that was the best part of rain.
Reiji walked up to the small door step and tapped an iron door knocker shaped like a bottle opener. Ryouichi flung the door open, catching her by surprise.
"You made it! Come in, come in!" he smiled with glee. The green haired demon yelped in surprise as he pulled her in. She nearly tripped over the rug by the door. Luckily, she caught herself using the bookshelf nearby, which was bolted in place.
"My bad, trigger-happy dog," he smiled sheepishly. "Totally wasn't waiting by the door."
"Heh, sure, Ryo," Reiji chuckled. She looked around, impressed with how clean the place was, for once. Reiji noticed all the hints of dark blue, specifically Aegean. She shot a suspicious look at her friend. His hair is the exact same shade.
"Did you make him decorate with your hair color?" Reiji asked him.
"I don't make him decorate, he loves decorating! He even helped me reorganize the furniture," Ryo said proudly.
"Fine, fine. I'm ready to begin the lesson."
"Great! First thing's first. What all do you know about potions?" he asked. He led her to what she assumed was a small study in place of a bedroom. The closet was turned into a bookshelf. The room also contained a desk, a leather rolling chair, and a lot of books, scrolls, and notes piles to the side of the desk. Ryouichi plopped down on his leather chair, scooting up to the desk.
"I've read a few books, but I've never actually made potions," she confessed.
"That's okay, I already looked up some things I want you to try," he replied. "And if you find one you like, you can use that for the assessment." Reiji looked at him with surprise.
"You did all that for me?"
"Obviously! Purple-green pride! And today, you're going to make three potions," he said with two fingers up. He noticed. "Uh, I meant two. One that'll turn me into a scary, ferocious bear! And a sleep potion. If we have time, we can probably make like three more." The green haired demon stared at him blankly. A beast?! Oh dear...
.
"Basically, a potion consists of some shit you forage in the woods, borrow from living or dead," Ryo trailed off. Reiji sat at the desk on the other side. She had mixed the wax of a black candle, mongoose ghoul blood, ice chips from an Ice Devil Feral, and a small bit of her hair. "And some potions require boiling, fermenting, or cooling." He pointed to a page of the recipe in a book on top of his stack of five more books.
"Firociiaal bur," he said.
"Oh, that's Kanaji," Reiji replied. "Sigh, I remember teaching myself how to write in Kanaji."
"Yeah, you were such a nerd," he snickered. Reiji stuck her tongue at him.
.
After boiling the ingredients for a few minutes, Ryo poured the mixture into a small tin. He turned his hands into those of a heat resistant beast when a bit of wax drops touched his skin. He placed the tin mold in his kitchen freezer to solidify. Reiji rested her elbows on the desk, silently meditating until Ryouichi returned.
"Tada!" He presented a rather small candle of less than two fluid ounces. Reiji raised a brow.
"Oh, a candle."
"It's supposed to be solid!" he huffed. He hurried out of the study, then opened a hall closet near the front door, just across from the bolted shelf. He returned with a small table. The surface was covered in scuff marks and black rings from past usage. He shoved everything off the desk and set the small table on top of the empty desk. Reiji began to pick up the books first in a hurry, placing them in the shelf.
"Try not to wreck the knowledge, Ryo!"
Ryouichi sighed, joining her to collect scattered scrolls and pages. He sorted them as he did, then slipped them in between a few books.
"Anyway, back to the potion! We have to use the flame of a Komodo bird dragon to light it up," he explained. "And I know just the place to find one."
"We can't use a lighter or match?" Reiji asked. She pushed her glasses up from slipping. Ryouichi looked dumbfounded at her suggestion.
"And remove the authenticity of this potion? Hell no! The fact that I used black bees wax instead of black tea oil was far enough! Now, let's go!" he ordered, marching out of the study. Reiji jogged out after him.
"Wait for me, Ryo!"
.
The Beast Soul demon had grown himself into his feral hound form, sniffing the ground a few miles beyond his cabin. Reiji sat on his back, leaning on her hands. The green haired demon enjoyed the sound of nature: the rustling of trees and plants, water flowing into ponds, streams and rivers, shuffling and scuttling of woodland creatures...
The search had only lasted about 20 minutes before Ryouichi stood up into his normal form suddenly, knocking Reiji to the ground. "Ouf! Hey!" she glared through crooked lenses. Then, she gasped. They had come to an opening in the woods, brought to life by the presence of about a dozen Komodo bird dragons. They squawked and shrieked through fire breathing. Ryo grinned at Reiji.
"Told you I knew the place. And now, we call one!"
Reiji got up, fixing her glasses. "Excuse me? Call it?"
"That's right! I even brought treats," he said, digging through his pockets. He pat them, furrowing his thick brows. "I swear I brought 'em... no biggie!"
He inhaled before he screamed at the cluster of Komodo bird dragons. Reiji plugged her ears. Only one of them screamed back. A black Komodo bird dragon jumped off its perch, soaring downward toward Ryouichi. The Beast Soul extended his forearm as the creature grabbed hold with its talons. Reiji looked on in awe, impressed by yet another hidden hobby of his. Ryo winced in pain as talons dug into his bleeding arm.
"How did you do that?" she asked.
"Well, they're kind of rare here, but I spent a good five years taming this one," Ryo replied, smiling proudly. "When I found out their fire is a valuable source in some potions, I started coaxing the little guy to share some.
The little creature hissed, expelling a small bit of its flammable breath. Reiji chuckled at the creature. "It's kind of cute. Shugo would probably try to eat the fire."
"But Jade Dragons don't breathe actual fire, right?"
"I have no idea, but Shugo still eats fire," Ro shrugged. "Back to the base!"
"Your house?"
"The base, Reiji. Get it right!"
.
Reiji held a wick in one hand which kept a small, scarlet flame alive. The green haired demon and her Beast Soul friend had moved their experimental potion candle outside. The back of the cabin contained a slightly bigger porch with a fire pit pushed into a corner of the porch. Reiji and Ryo sat with the small table and candle in the middle. The green haired demon held a thin wick with the Komodo bird dragon's flame burning the tip.
"Remember the words?" Ryo asked.
"Yes. Firociia—"
"Light the candle first!"
"R-right!" she chirped, before carefully lowering the wick. The tin had no mini wick inside, but a small flame began to soften the wax. Reiji glanced up at Ryo, then he nodded in approval.
"The phrase."
"Okay. Firociiaal bur."
"Again, a couple more times."
"Firociiaal bur. Firociiaal bur!" Reiji chanted. Fumes began to rise from the potion, spiraling around both Ryouichi and Reiji.
"Don't stop chanting yet," Ryo said calmly. Reiji felt a little nervous watching the smoke create sort of a screen as she chanted. Then, POOF!
The smoke blew up around them in an instant. Reiji covered her face with wads of hair wrapping around her mouth and nose. She swiped the air near her face, coughing a little.
"Did it work, Ryo?" she asked, squinting her eyes through the smoke. A small, dark figure sat across from her. Ryo gawked at her.
"Whatever you do, don't panic," Ryouichi spoke in a low voice, raising his hands with caution. "Just, don't look in the glass." Reiki tilted her head to the side.
"Why? Is something behind me?"
"Wait, wait, don't look at the—"
Reiji looked behind her at the back door. Through the glass window she saw just the fluffy chest of a bear. She looked at her hands, which had been turned into paws bigger than her actual head. The female yelped in surprise, jumping out of her sitting spot. She banged her head on the patio ceiling, cracking it as well. Ryo groaned in defeat as Reiji scrambled out from under the now small space, tripping and fall on her chin.
"Y-you turned me into a bear!" Reiji shouted. But all that came out was feral snarls and babbling of a beast. She growled in frustration. Even her clothes were torn. Reiji scratched her neck, as something had tightened around it. She snapped the rosary instantly. Ryouichi caught the broken rosary from landing in a stream.
I failed! I'm such an idiot! Reiji let out grief filled sobs, or whatever the best equivalent sounded like. The sat on the ground, hiding her face behind her paws. Ryouichi pat her legs.
"You're still cute as a bear!" he snickered. Reiji shot a glare at him, snarling. Ryo took several steps back, hands up in defense.
"It's okay, this is fine! This happens to beginners all the time! We just gotta wait for it to wear off," he said. "Just don't touch the house or you'll break it, alright?"
FIX ME NOW! she roared, climbing on her four paws. Her snot reached Roy's nose height. He laughed nervously. Then, a lightbulb flickered in his head. He grabbed Reiji's face, grinning.
"Hold still, I have an awesome idea!" he exclaimed. His muscles began to bulk, doubling in size. Reiji caught onto what he was doing as Ryo's human like form shapeshifted into the beast identical to her.
"Say something," he growled.
"I am mad at you."
"I can understand you! Solidarity!"
"SOLIDARITY MY BUTT!" Reiji plopped down on her belly, wailing in distress. Birds and other flying creatures ascended from the trees due to the noise.
"Hey, hey! Don't cry, we'll be fine!"
"We're not fine! I'll be fine when I'm back to normal!" she snapped at Ryo. Reiji exhaled, sprawled out on the ground.
"I think we casted a spell instead of a potion," Ryouichi murmured sheepishly.
"Go find a potion to turn me back," Reiji grumbled. Ryo had another lightbulb moment as he changed back to his human form, his torn clothes falling off his now smaller body. Reiji averted her gaze.
"You're right! Just chill out here, I'll be right... back."
As Ryouichi began to jog toward the back door, he came to a halt as Takeshiro stepped out. He had his index and middle finger on his right temple.
"Don't bother, I already know," he glared at Ryo, who chuckled wryly as he scratched the back of his head.
"I got this, Blue! I just need to borrow your magic reading glasses. Five minutes," the Beast Soul pleased with his hands together in prayer. Takeshiro was not humored.
"Absolutely not, they are expensive and you are also expensive," Takeshiro said, adjusting his glasses. Ryo groaned in defeat, hunching over. Reiji got up. Gale-Force reading glasses? Takeshiro, please let him use them! The telepathic order demon furrowed his brows in thought. Then he sighed.
"Fine, but do not let them out of my sight," he said sharply. Ryo sprout a tail to wag excitedly. He pumped his fists in the air with triumph, then ran inside.
.
Reiji sat just outside the patio. It was nearly 08:30 by now. Ryouichi sat at the tiny table where the dry candle still sat. Takeshiro sat across as the Beast Soul demon's glasses rapidly flipped the pages of book number six under a white magic circle. He slapped the book shut, smirking victoriously.
"Rei, I know how to turn you back! You are gonna cast a neutralization spell!" he announced. Reiji sat up from her dozing, shaking sleepiness from her head. Ryo hastily searched himself for a pen, finding one in his t-shirt chest pocket. He also wore plaid cotton pants, still barefoot.
He flipped to a page in the very last chapter of the book and showed it to Reiji.
Reiji squinted to read. But without her glasses, the words were no better than smudged ink.
"I need my glasses. Where are they?"
"What happened to her glasses, Ryo?" Takeshiro asked. Ryo flattened his lips in a thin line.
"Uuuuhhh... I. Don't know?" he shrugged. Takeshiro facepalmed.
"Ah, jeez. You two are ridiculous." The blue haired male took his glasses off. Reiji lowered herself to a loafing position as the male held up the glasses. The reading was better, barely.
"Neutralization Magic: a form of magic used to neutralize, eliminate, balance, and/or render certain magic spells or potions ineffective on oneself or others..."
Reiji continued to read the page in silence, but stopped after the third paragraph.
"This could work. We casted one spell over a candle potion, so perhaps we can just cast another."
"A candle potion is actually an air based potion," Takeshiro corrected her. He gave a thumbs up to Ryouichi. "This might work."
The Beast Soul smiled. "In order to neutralize the spell, you can either spend days creating a spell unique to feral animal soul, or put your lost magic artifact to use," he suggested, twitching his eyebrows with a smug look.
"Well, her life isn't exactly in danger," Takeshiro muttered.
"Exactly! That's why we're going to put her in danger!" Ryouichi grinned. Takeshiro facepalmed again.
.
Reiji sat atop a flat boulder, shaking like a leaf. Ryouichi stood several yards around, blindly aiming a rifle. To emphasize, he was actually blindfolded. Takeshiro spun him around six times, counting each rotation halfheartedly.
"Five, six, go," the telepathic demon said. Reiji looked at the blindfolded Beast Soul demon, whining in protest. "You could kill or injure me! Please, there has to be a better way!"
"Are you absolutely sure this is a good idea?" Takeshiro asked.
"Relax, Blue! I got this," he grinned, before firing. He completely missed Reiji, thankfully. He shot the ground instead. He loaded a new bullet, snapped the rifle shut, then cocked the firearm single handedly. Reiji shut her eyes tightly. Another gunshot. A piercing pain grazed her shoulder. Reiki roared, falling off the boulder in a panic. No bullet hole, but it stung badly, like a hot knife cutting.
Ryouichi lifted the blindfold, horrified. "Ohhh shit..."
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Takeshiro yelled his housemate. Ryo dropped the gun as he ran to the feral beast.
"Rei, I'm sorry! It was an accident, I-AAAHH!" Dark green-black locks of hair slammed his body across the clearing, throwing him into a small body of algae filled water. A cloud of smoke dispelled from Reiji's feral form, engulfing the whole several yards of radius, including part of the cabin island. The many long locks of hair retracted from Ryo, disappearing through the smoke. Takeshiro waved his arms around to fan the smoke, coughing.
"Rei, w-what happened?" the blue haired male asked. He walked up to the boulder, turning his head left and right.
Reiji couldn't feel the stinging anymore. Her knees bucked from the sudden wave of exhaustion. She leaned on the flat boulder, taking deep breaths. Through her poor vision, she could see that her skin was darker, containing what had to be black stripes. She heard Ryo splashing through the small pond back into land, breathing heavily.
"Jesus... f-fucking hell," he wheezed, resting his hands on his knees. He froze when he looked at Reiji. "Oh, fuck me," he muttered with a hint of dread.
"D-did it work?" Reiji asked in her own voice. She gasped. "I'm back, it worked!"
"You, uh, got a little something... everywhere?" Ryo tilted his head to the side, eyeing the stripes. Reiji covered her chest. "Stop staring, Ryo!"
"You changed back, but you're still not right," Takeshiro said, passing his glasses over. Reiji put them on, looking at the ground. Her mouth hung open in shock. Her whole body was darker brown with those same black stripes. Even her hair was a much darker green, nearly black.
"H-how? How am I awake"
"Ryo, it worked," Takeshiro clapped for him. The Beast Soul grinned, placing his hands on his hips.
"Told you I got—!"
Reiji collapsed to the ground. The two blue haired males rushed to her side to lift her up. The female returned to the lighter skin tone, as did her hair. Her energy was completely drained by then.
Takeshiro and Ryouichi took Reiji back to the cabin. At some point, the telepathic demon chuckled to himself. Ryo carried Reiji on his back with ease. He shot a look at his roommate.
"What?"
"You taught a spell and an air potion. The spell was my job," he snickered. Ryouichi rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, that was the original plan! Feed to ducks with one frog, duh."
"Whatever you say, dude."
"Whatever your face, Blue!"