An Itch for Action: A new Quest

"This is all too much, but I am honored once again," Uravis repeated, his tone laced with gratitude. "I never expected this much from you all, after all I am just a stranger."

"Oh please, a stranger created this village," The old man answered, "We are glad to have you as one of us Drakonis," he added, titling his head to the side with a smile.

The others smiled, the wrinkles on their faces stretching as they did. "We believe that your skills and bravery will be a great asset to our village. And who knows, maybe one day you will become a leader of a city far bigger," One of them said earning a nervous laugh from him.

"If there is anything you need from us, feel free to ask," he added and the other men nodded in reply. The moment Uravis heard that, his mind drifted to Claire for no reason.

He wanted to do something for her, at least put a smile on her face since she has done so much for him, but then he did not want to be greedy. But she mattered most at the moment, greed or not, she deserved to be happy.

'Here goes,' he said internally and opened his mouth to speak."Your finest bouquet, maybe a combination of marigold and tiger lilies, then a bunch of clovers, any kind at all. And if it is not too much, emerald jewels, even if it is a tiny cut ring, Please."

The men were speechless, they imagined he would ask for a bag of gold, silver or diamonds, but he asked for flowers and jewelry.

"It seems our hero is in love and wants to make his lady happy," Another one said, laughing quietly with the others. Uravis felt slightly embarrassed, he had never asked for anything apart from food.

"It is not actually someone I am in love with, She is more like a sister to me," he replied, defending himself to avoid more embarrassments.

The men gave a brief nod. "Wait here, while we round up the items."

"That will not be necessary, I could do that myself while you all rest," he quickly said, worried he was sending men, old enough to be his grandfather on errands. "Or it can be prosponed, It's not urgent anyway."

The men shook their heads, "You are a hero indeed, young man, but we cannot prospone a gift meant for a lady. Come with us."

Uravis nodded and followed them, walking slowly behind them. His eyes scanning the village cautiously.

They arrived in front of a flower store, the men then walked in, leaving him outside to wait.

Few minutes later, they arrived with a bag, inside, were the items he asked for, but the jewelry was a medium cut emerald pendant, in the shape of a crescent moon with a silver chain. And a wrapped gift that he assumed was clothes.

"Is this not too much?" he inquired as he closed the box containing the Necklace, and raised his head to look at the men.

"Nothing is too much for someone with a kind heart, Besides, we could always make and grow more," The old man replied, receiving nods from the others.

Uravis gave a deep bow, deeply grateful for what they did for him, he bade farewell and made his way back to Claire's cottage, drafting up an explanation for the source of the gifts.

As he walked through the village, he spotted Claire walking towards him, a bag of fresh vegetables in her hand and another of packed food items in the other. She was struggling with them, however, she called no one for help.

He could not being himself to walk up to her and help, so he darted into a corner and quickly shifted back to his normal self, then he made his way towards her, acting as casual as he could.

"Uravis?" she muttered when she saw him, she placed the baskets on the ground and stood straight to look at him. "Why are you out of the house? And what is that in your hands?"

He chuckled nervously and pushed the bag into her arms, "Don't open it," he warned and picked up the bags of food and vegetables. "Shall we?"

"No, not until you explain to me," she said, crossing her arms under her breasts. Uravis rolled his eyes, she was exactly like his little sister, Bossy, Worrisome and....well protective.

He walked to her front and leaned closer, his face inches away from hers, "Claire, If you keep asking questions like this, I might just crack," he whispered and stepped back to let her process it. "Now can we go?"

"You never seem to amaze me, Uravis. Just a week and you're acting like a grown man now," she feigned a pained expression, earning a groan from him.

He walked off, ignoring her random chatter, but deep down he was happy.

______

Uravis sat with Claire, watching as she checked the items he got for her, he was impatient with how gently she did it. He wanted to transform back to Drakonis and roam the village in search of action because he was very impatient.

"Uhm, Claire."

"Yes," she answered, not sparing him a glance, she was too focused on the gifts he got her.

"I want to check out something in the village, You don't mind right?" He asked, remembering how he asked for permission to leave the house as a kid, but then get turned down after minutes of pleading.

She waved him off, giving him the answer he needed,but before he could walk off, she raised her head. "Come back early this time, please."

He gave her a nod and hurried off, switching quickly behind a tree and then appearing on the other side, sighing out lowly. "Close call."

'I felt like I was going to suffocate if I didn't change back,' he thought, patting his chest. 'i just have to move around a bit till I get exhausted and change back, Maybe the itch would vanish afterwards.'

Before he could take another step, a group of adventures approached him, led by a young warrior wearing the same thing Drakonis wore, only that his outfit was larger and styled different.

Arin's eyes widened when he saw Drakonis, then he grinned.

"You're the one they call Drakonis, the hero of the village!" Arin exclaimed, "We've heard so much about you since we arrived. I am Arin, the leader of the Dungeon Raiders Squad. We were on a quest to retrieve a sacred artifact from a nearby dungeon. And we could use a warrior like you."

Uravis stared at them, confused and curious, "What dungeon and what artifact?"

"A beast dungeon, beyond the village. Just after the forest. As for the artifact, it's a Life core, A rank and we need it to enhance our powers," Arin replied, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "That is why we need someone like you."

That was the action he needed, for a week he had been indoors, hiding and appearing, without anything good happening. He cleared his throat and smiled.

"I'll join you, but I will have to return home first then meet you guys in the forest."

"No problem," Arin replied, gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked off with the others, everyone of them flashing a smile at him.