From Harley's Perspective

What kind of reactions do we have in familiar and ongoing situations? We either use learned knowledge or take another path, right? In this case, things either become complicated or come to a resolution. I was experiencing this very dilemma while hunting; I would either hunt to fill my stomach or allow it to live and choose another prey. Looking at the outcome, neither option was being allowed, so I decided to hunt at night.

I had come across a herd during the full moon and was taking my position to hunt. Watching the herd graze made me feel strange emotions; at one moment, I could feel the drool flowing from my teeth, and at another, I could taste the blood coursing through their bodies. This is the scent of blood; it drives a fox wild, much like a vampire standing before a feast that satisfies its thirst for blood. But a wolf does not crave blood; it is more concerned with meat and is not prey-focused. The best part about us foxes is the absence of compassion. If something is prey, it is prey; there is no mercy, no allowance for it to live, nor is it befriended.

While enjoying the feast, I noticed some voices echoing in my head. "Spiritus iam restituitur et renascens." and "Surge parve lupus." These words were the essence of a spirit passing into a soon-to-be-born wolf cub. I lifted my head and went to look at the cub standing there among the dark trees. It was sleeping with its tiny wings and adorable tail. I looked into its mind and saw its future; it was becoming a savior, its enormous icy feathers and the antlers on either side of its skull made it look very majestic. This was Amarok, having taken on a new body after the last century. And seeing a dragon in such a small mind was not a good omen; I stopped observing its mind and began to watch it carefully.

This was a newborn, and the pack would quickly find the new offspring. When a spirit was granted, the council would see it in the spirit sphere and they would disperse to search for the new cub; whoever found it would be responsible for its care and upbringing. However, since this was not an ordinary cub, the council would raise it themselves.

I had started to hear footsteps and breathing sounds in the forest just as I was in the middle of a beautiful hunt. What was that now? I hid myself and climbed up to a high branch of a tree so that they couldn't see or hear me, but I could watch them comfortably. A few minutes later, the sounds grew louder, and the footsteps began to increase. When I started to look towards the darkness, I realized that these were my brother, Alvin, and his friends. I didn't make a sound to avoid being caught. They were searching for the newborn cub. But before them, another group had already found it and started shouting. Alvin began to walk towards the direction of the sounds with a sigh, and my brother was following closely behind.

When they found the cub and went to take it to the council, I checked my surroundings and climbed down from where I was. In the chaos, the pack had scattered, and consequently, my dinner had escaped. As I was thinking about whether to go home and eat something normal, I felt a warm breath on my neck and, with a sudden movement, I turned around and threw a punch.

Merlin: You could hit harder.

Harley: Wizard, I'm sorry, why are you sneaking up on me?

Merlin: You came to see the new cub too, right? I wanted to watch you when I saw you up there.

Harley: How long have you been watching me?

Merlin: Since we came here with Alpha for the cub.

Harley: But were you with them?

Merlin: I hid when I saw you and came closer. Why were you hiding? *becomes aware* Wait a minute.

Harley: *becomes anxious* What happened?

Merlin: Why were you hiding here?

Harley: I was hunting, but Alpha didn't know that, and I was very curious about the cub.

Merlin: Well then, come on, let me take you home, young lady.

I wanted to hunt, not go home, but it seemed like Merlin wouldn't let me. So, I planted an idea in his mind.

Merlin: Or are you hungry?

Harley: I think I'm a little hungry. *stomach growls*

Merlin: Yes, young lady, we are quite hungry, so let's go hunting then.

Harley: What a lovely offer! Who are you, and what have you done to Merlin? *laughs*

Merlin: Hahaha, I am the Great Merlin, a part-time fox and a full-time Casanova.

Harley: So, you're hitting below the belt, huh, Casanova?

Merlin: The one who has entered my heart is you, right? No need to question that then.

Sometimes I liked the beautiful words he said, but I couldn't understand whether he was saying them because I manipulated him or because he truly felt that way in his heart. He took my hand, and we went deep into the forest to hunt. After this lovely feast, he was going to drop me off at home.

Merlin: Hey Harley, I want to ask you something.

Harley: Of course, go ahead.

Merlin: You know the flowers you brought me...

Harley: Did you let them wilt? *worried*

Merlin: No, no, don’t worry, they’re all quite healthy and colorful, but I was curious where you found them.

Harley: Haha, magicians don’t reveal their secrets.

Merlin: I thought I was the magician.

Harley: Don’t worry about it; they are special flowers, and I found them while going through the legends my grandmother told me. But you are a special person to me, so I wanted to give them to you. *manipulates*

Merlin: So I’m a special person? Do you love me that much? *starts to change his mind*

Harley: *her eyes start to sparkle* I love you more than you can imagine, wizard.

She came closer and kissed me before walking away. Feeling her love became more and more exciting for me every day. And in the end, I would be the one to win the bet; she was the first to approach. But sometimes, because I confused her mind, she would forget about the bet.

From Merlin's Perspective

After dropping Harley off at home, I returned and started preparing my new potions. The workshop was a mess, and I wanted to tidy up and try the new spells I had learned. But my head started to spin, and I felt saliva pooling in my mouth. At that moment, I must have collapsed; I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I woke up with a terrible headache. It wasn’t just waking up; I was shaken and motionless on the floor, trying to regain my senses. My movements were so slow and heavy that it felt like a three-hundred-kilogram elephant was lying on me. To overcome this fatigue, I tried to reach for the potion bottle on the table next to me. "Ad me veni." and the bottle came to me, turning towards my hand. I quickly opened the cap and drank it.

Now I felt better; for a moment, my mind began to swirl, and memories came alive before my eyes. How many times had I done this? It seemed like I had implanted a message in my mind. Or could it be? No, that couldn’t be; I didn’t want to believe it, but I had to find out whether it was true or not. I stood in front of my mirror and rewound everything back to a week ago in the cabin and started watching.

What was this nonsense about?! I was speechless in the face of what I saw, my hands were trembling with anger, and I was sparking everywhere. The love, compassion, and passion in my heart had long been replaced by anger, hatred, resentment, and their derivatives. I was starting to doubt the very existence of the love within me. It turned out I had been manipulated all this time; I thought I was feeling something, but I had been deceived, and I had been playing the role of a puppet all along. You can't even imagine the rage that came with this realization.

I threw and shattered the first thing that came to my hand, then another thing, and before I knew it, I found myself sitting among the shards of glass. My body was trembling with anger, and my eyes were bloodshot from rage. At that moment, I heard the creaking of the door opening and turned my head toward it.

Alvin: Merlin? Are you here? He-yy-y *surprised*

Merlin: The place is a bit messy.

Alvin: A bit?! Is this a bit? What happened here, which mountain did Gryffin die on to leave you in this state?

Merlin: It's very complicated, but since this mess has been disrupted, I need to show you myself.

Alvin: What does that mean?

Merlin: Trust me, my friend, I really wanted to listen to you, but this love that blinded my eyes turned out to be a deception.

I placed my hands on Alvin's temples and created a veil through which he could see my memories. This was a process that could be quite painful; it involved entering the mind of the being in front of me with an intensity of energy that could cause a person to have a stroke. This was a skill that not every fox could perform, but in that moment of needing to clear my name and in my state of anger, I had managed to do it instantaneously.

Alvin: Just admit you were right, say it, Alvin, I made a mistake.

Merlin: YOU WERE RIGHT! *raises his voice* You were right, Alvin, but love can blind a person.

Alvin: Do you think this is something special to us? Every living being that falls in love becomes blind to it, but this is a very different situation. You need to explain to Alpha what Harley did in a different way; otherwise, he will set a trap for you just like he did before.

Merlin: I can't do that, or I'm not sure I can. Everything was recorded in my mirror, but in my anger, I shattered that too, and what I did to you was an instantaneous burst of power.

Alvin: So?

Merlin: What I mean is, I'm moving to Plan B and directly separating from him. Whether it hurts him, breaks him, or devastates him, he doesn't deserve the love I gave him, and he is abusing it, so that must be what he wants.

Alvin: Before making a wrong decision, sit down and think it through in detail. Whatever conclusion you come to, I’m behind you.

Merlin: Thanks, my friend. *hugs*

After Alvin left, I returned the surroundings to their former state. I tried my mirror again to see if it would work, but magical gadgets don't get repaired that easily, especially if it's a technology that requires such fine craftsmanship; it could even be called impossible. I moved to my bed and firmly settled in my mind the idea of canceling our dinner plan for tomorrow and taking him to the meadow, aiming to part ways with him with minimal damage.

To clear my head, I picked up a book and was looking at the plants he had given me. The last ones they provided were very interesting, and I had come across one in the book.

"Germibulus" is a tree that grows mini buds. The particles that disperse from its buds into the atmospheric and air environment settle on the skin, lungs, heart, and nails of the desired person, making it easy to manipulate them and shutting their mind off from the outside.

After reading this, I went into another shock. I tried to find others using magic and runes. Among what I found was a plant with a slimy structure that grows on an interesting type of tree.

"Adhaerofila" is a clinging vine that evokes feelings of attachment, dependency, obsession, and adoption towards the person it is sealed to, implanting these feelings in their mind. The person breathing in the air is exposed to these feelings, and the one who drinks tea with them enters into deep emotions towards the person serving the tea. Finally, the one left in the vapor becomes bound to a single person, surpassing the dimension of love.

All this time, I thought he loved me; when he said I was valuable, he was just trying to make me a crazy person bound to him. What a despicable act this is! How could I have been subjected to this for so long and not awakened? I really can't believe it, but if I hadn't been allergic to one of them and fainted, I would have remained in this state longer, and he was using this to win the bet. Oh my God, how foolish I am! There was no need for all this nonsense for him to see that I loved him; if he had looked with his heart, he could have seen it, that cursed woman. This realization became a lesson for me, and I immediately went down to the cellar to work on developing antidotes, at least to have some effect at the moment of my departure and to prevent him from changing my decision, so that I could finish this with an open mind...