Salvagars

5. Forest Guardians

They both fell silent in fear, only able to look at the strange creature that was in front of them. I don't know what the proper name is. But, with its absurd shape, this creature is too strange to describe.

The body is large and sturdy like the body of a Grizzly bear with slightly brownish colored fur. The tail was very long, light blue, just as Arlon had seen it disappear from the tree. A mix of colors that makes him look weird. But what was terrible was that his head was like the head of a man. The human head in general.

The strange creature looked at the two of them with a sharp gaze. Moreover, his height that exceeds the height of two normal humans in front of him, making Arlon and Marvin look small and want to immediately lift their feet from there.

"Who are you?", asked the creature with his heavy voice. His eyes had not blinked in the least. His teeth looked longer as he spoke. Arlon and Marvin were still silent looking at the creature.

Slightly lowered, the creature observed Arlon and Marvin more closely, making them have to take a step back. His breath was heavy and smelled very foul. There was also a wrinkle on his face that seemed to be starting to age.

Not hearing an answer, the strange creature came forward again and repeated the question "Who are you?", this time his voice was louder and stern. This surprised them greatly. Marvin, who is hiding behind Arlon, forces Arlon to answer the creature's questions.

"I.. Arlones.. And this is Marvin" said Arlon stammering while pointing at Marvin. Not one bit he took his eyes off the creature, and vice versa.

The creature circled around them and watched from top to bottom continuously. The blue tail turned out to be much longer than they expected. Its length is about 2 times its body length. When considered more carefully, it turns out there are small spikes scattered around the tail that looks adorable.

"Do you want to come here?", he asked, looking at their full-looking backpack. His big step made Marvin more and more stick his body to Arlon.

Secretly, Arlon's hand touched his pants pocket, trying to pick up the knife he had prepared earlier. But when his hand almost held the knife, the strange creature gripped Arlon's hand firmly, as if he already knew what Arlon was thinking at that time.

"Aaaaah! Please come off!", said Arlon shouting while grimacing in pain. His grip was tight and felt hot in his hand. It feels like burning. Even when Arlon tried to rebel, the creature did not budge at all. He realized that it was almost impossible against his enormous power. "I'm sorry, please let go now", he continued pleading while still holding back the pain.

The creature let go of his hand and remained silent while still staring fixedly at Arlon. "Do you want to come here?", he repeated.

"We just hitchhiked through. We want to go to the Salvagar forest and these people say the shortcut" Arlon said. He immediately saw his hand that still felt hot even though it had been removed by the creature. It looks faintly the shape of the creature's hand was stuck in his hand. Makes his hands become red.

"Do you want to go there?", he asked curiously. This time he was already standing where he first appeared before Arlon and Marvin. Meanwhile, his tail surrounded the bodies of the two of them.

"There's business that we have to do" said Marvin who was still swearing behind Arlon. His hand held the back of Arlon's shirt quite tightly.

"I'm Xeron. The guardians of this forest" he said authoritatively. His tail moved to and fro, just like a kitten that his master wanted to play with.

"Hi Xeron, forgive our attitude if it disturbs your calmness and makes you uncomfortable with our existence" said Arlon trying to keep his words as good as possible.

Xeron just nodded while looking at the two of them. One thing that Arlon realized was that this strange creature had never once blinked since the beginning he appeared. His eyes looked big with eyes that were like they were almost out. Arlon realized that this creature did not have eyelids.

"Thank you, Xeron. We're leaving now" said Marvin, pushing Arlon's back to leave.

But Xeron did not flinch in front of them. Still standing straight while staring. Arlon hesitated to step up and preferred silence until the ranger made peace and gave them a way. Moreover, his hands still felt sore.

"Sorry Xeron, we're leaving now and won't bother you anymore" Arlon said trying as calmly as possible. Xeron still did not flinch as if he had not heard their words.

Arlon decided to walk around Xeron. But his huge body was always blocking wherever they would step, as if not allowing them to just walk away from there. The tail also moves erratically around them. Makes more wary considering the number of thorns there.

"I haven't seen a human being here in a long time" he said, smiling horribly. Makes Arlon and Marvin feel sure the creature has a sinister plan. His rather long fangs made his face even more terrifying. "Look, the last time there was an old man who liked to pick up wood at will, but he never asked me for permission. And until now, he is still there", continued Xeron while pointing behind them. But when they looked, no one was there. There is only a dense forest like a quiet forest in general.

"Where?", asked Marvin while looking back and forth following the direction of Xeron's index finger that was still looking pointed somewhere. Let alone the human figure, the voice of the animal was no longer heard since Xeron was present.

"Did you see that little tree over there? The trunked one was thinner than the others and looked rather fragile", asked Xeron. They also look for a tree that is in accordance with Xeron's direction and it turns out that there is a tree like that behind them. Looks small and frail, with leaves that are slightly pale and dry. But even so, the tree still stands tall and firm.

"Then, where is the old man?", asked Arlon who still did not understand what Xeron meant.

"That's him" replied Xeron. They both still had confused faces. The answer given only made the two of them even more curious.

"I mean?", asked Marvin puzzled. He was still looking around looking for the human figure in question, but in reality there was still no one but the three of them.

"Thin tree is the old man in question. As a result of his arbitrary actions, he must accompany me in this forest forever", replied Xeron with a sinless evil smile.