The switch of topic took him aback slightly, especially with how heated and annoyed the old man seemed moments ago, but then he looked at the cut palm, choosing to take the old man's words to heart, promising to himself to be less reckless from now on. Twice he had acted impulsively, and twice now it had cost him something.
"Nothing right now besides a soft snoring. I… it was panicked before, but it sounded just like you or me, albeit more childlike? I can hear it a lot better when I focus on it, and clearly they can scream to get my attention without my focus, but I don't know if that extends to talking with me constantly. But right now, I think it's sleeping after what happened. It didn't grow that much either; it's not what I expected at all, so maybe it's just processing the nutrients it just got and my blood?" Chris said, unsure about what was really happening.
"Well, whatever is going on with it, what's done is done. Let's move on to something far more practical. If something that amazing could grow so fast, then regular plants would no doubt grow a lot easier. Did your world have any plants that held water or made it?" the old man asked, causing Chris to look at the small sprout and mentally ask how such little growth could be amazing to the old man.
It took a moment for him to think about the question before shaking his head. "We had things like cacti, with some of them producing fruit. They were large, green, spiky plants that would store water in them and could grow in dry areas, but I don't think they make water," he finally said, making the old man nod.
"Sounds similar to our spike bushes. They're ground-level shrubs and often found in deserts. Their roots dig through the soil and always seem to find water far underground. We also have cloud trees. They're large, ribbed trees with wide, fan-like leaves. They grow extremely tall upon maturity and pull water from high up in the sky. Farmers sometimes use a couple spread out in their fields as a way to water them a bit easier and for relief during the dry times," he told Chris, surprising him once more, making him realize how different a fantasy world really was, but question why his first seed didn't grow then.
"Okay." The old man said, breaking him from his thoughts. "Go grab some seeds. We will grow these 'cacti' things and then see if you can grow a spike bush and maybe even a cloud tree. If you can grow all three, it means you can grow stuff from your old world and those from this one just by having their descriptions and properties," he said tapping his cane before freezing up and snapping his head to the door.
Chris wanted to ask what was wrong, only for a familiar smell to hit him along with a distant howl. His eyes widened, his breathing became erratic as fear and panic began to set in. "No, no, no, no, not again," he whispered.
"Stay here!" The old man ordered. "I'll try to draw it away," he added before rushing out and closing the door behind him. Chris wanted to stop him, to tell him not to go, but the words wouldn't come out; he stood rooted in place.
Soon there was a heavy slam against the door and the familiar sound of scraping and scratching.
He rushed over, pressing his body against it in pure dread, even knowing the door wouldn't give due to its enchantments. The scratching soon became more frantic, more manic than the previous night. Soon there was a loud whine of pain followed by a meaty crunch that caused the scratching to stop.
"Open the door, lad; it's safe now," he heard the old man say firmly. Hesitantly, he cracked it open, his eyes going to the blood and rust-covered blade in his hand, then to the body of the mad wolf, its bloodshot eyes still fixed on him, its mouth open as blood slowly pooled under it.
"Seems we will also need to grow something to deter the pests. Help me with this thing, will ya? We need to move it far from the village and then dig up some soil to try and clean the blood. Hopefully there isn't enough to draw more beasts here. But it brought up another issue, lad; this beast was manic. It didn't even care about me as I got close to finish it off," he continued, giving him a suspicious and pensive look while ignoring the way Chris paled.