NOVEL WEB Chapter 39: Domain of Fiends
As Aster's group neared the exit, Rust's anxiety got the better of him, and the young fox rushed ahead towards the light, leaving the prince and the stumbling human behind to yell out cautionary measures that the cub just wasn't hearing.
Rust stopped dead in his tracks as he came up from within the mouth of the cave. Aster tensed, fearing he may face another opponent in his condition right before they were finally clear of the godsforsaken natural oven, but soon heard the fox yell out words that made his heavy limbs feel lighter than air as the fox darted forward to embrace another figure instead.
"AUNTIE STAHL!"
The she-wolf's attention was jerked from her conversation about scouting for survivors with the other beasts presently gathered near the main cavern entrance by the call. By the time the she-wolf had turned around to see the fox, Rust had already latched on around her cleavage in a trembling embrace.
"RUST? HOW- ARE YOU ALRIGHT? ARE YOU HURT?" Of all the people Stahl had been silently praying would make it safely through the tunnel, she never even considered her nephew should be counted among them. The fox was sobbing in relief again but managed to get out his answer between stammering breaths.
"I-I'm ok. I was scared, but- but Aster saved me..." The she-wolf's heart filled and drained of blood all at the same time. Aster was here. He was alive, but was he alright?
"Saved you? Does that mean... Where is he? Is he alright? Did something happen to Aster, RUST? IS-" The small fox flinched back and released his grip on the she-wolf from the tone his auntie was using. She sounded angry or worried, but the fox managed to point towards the entrance with a shaky hand.
Stahl was running off in that direction immediately, her heart pulsing faster than she felt it should be able to as she closed the distance and disappeared into the mouth of the sweltering cave. She immediately saw Aster and Prince Tyfin nearly to the exit, but the she-wolf was already running to them.
Aster felt like taking a page from Rust's book and letting out sobs of relief when the pretty face of the she-wolf appeared in his view, but he was far too tired for even that. The light streaming in from outside of the cave framed the sprinting silhouette from behind with dazzling imagery and symbolism that just felt right to him.
Stahl was alive. It was definitely her. She had made it. She was here for him, and for a second, that was all that seemed to matter to the depleted human. The she-wolf was nearly to Aster when he felt his body finally give way to his exhaustion, his knees buckling beneath both his own weight and the subconscious acceptance that his duties had been fulfilled.
Both of his charges were safe now.
The slender she-wolf caught him before his knees ever reached the ground. Aster's body involuntarily slumped forward into the embrace, dropping his staff as his consciousness faded off once again. The last thing he registered before drifting away completely was the safe and warm feeling of the she-wolf's furry chest pressing against his cheek, gently cradling his head against her beating heart. He could finally rest now. His knight was here.
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It was dusk when Aster woke up yet again in an unfamiliar surrounding, the last few rays of the desert sun were just fading from view in the final moment of their descent beyond the horizon, bathing the barren, cracked earth below it in swirls of orange and golden hues.
His head was pounding, his throat was impossibly hoarse, and his lips felt badly blistered, but more than anything, he was still just tired beyond all belief. His armor was neatly piled on his left side with his boots and staff, and he was only in his shirt and pants with the red headband now lowered to hang around his neck.
It was still pretty warm where he was, but nothing like the unbearably stale, draining heat he had awoken to and endured earlier. It seemed he was now leaning up against a stone, and a voice nearby caught his attention.
"ASTER! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"
It was Rust who had spoken. Aster wasn't certain, 'Alright,' was the word he would use to describe how he was feeling at that time, but he was alive anyway. The human craned his neck to look towards the young fox. His voice was hoarse and very raspy.
"All thanks to your help. Where is Stahl? What did I miss?"
So, the young fox went about filling in the human to the best of his knowledge. It would seem the she-wolf was among other parties making a final check through the cave for possible survivors, as well as any supplies that could be helpful.
Apparently, there were roughly twenty soldiers present, with a handful of citizens that had also been sucked into this mess by the stray beams from the dark attack.
Aster looked around a bit and spotted a few scattered beasts resting nearby. Many were already hard at work, tending away at various tasks to keep their minds and hands busy.
Some of the soldiers among them still bore scowls of distrust in the human's direction, seeming he wasn't out of the woods yet, but still, some seemed friendly enough. One such beast was making its way over to the now conscious human.
The humanoid rabbit could only be described as cute. She had a light brown coat of fur, with speckles of an off-white creamy color dotted over her cheeks and her waist area. The humanoid rabbit had two long, springy ears pointing far above her head that lightly bobbed with her stubby tail as the soft natured beast made silent steps towards the recovering human.
The beast was pretty short by most beastmen standards, at barely 6'2 if you didn't count the ears. She came to a halt right in front of the human and began quietly chanting a short incantation, holding her palm face up as a small orb of water began gathering there.
When the humanoid rabbit finished, she knelt down, still holding the suspended liquid in an invisible grasp where it hovered just above her hand. She moved her hand before Aster and spoke in a bit of a squeaky voice.
"Drink."
Aster hesitated for a bit but didn't wait to be told twice. He greedily pressed his chapped lips to the chilly orb, drinking it all away in seconds as his dry throat was finally relieved of some of the fiery, cracking feeling that burned within.
He got a bit ahead of himself in his thirst even and lightly began choking on some of the fluid. The rabbit just chuckled softly and began chanting again, manifesting another good bit of water for the human.
Aster swallowed this one with a little more restraint. When he had finished, he attempted to speak but had to stop to clear his relieved throat before he could speak to the humanoid rabbit through his raspy voice, bowing his head lightly as he did
"Thank you."
That was all he could really say. The rabbit gave the boy a reassuring, compassionate smile. "Anytime, cutie."
Aster's blush at the unexpected compliment was thankfully hidden beneath his already red skin. The rabbit turned to the young fox next.
"How are you holding up? Do you need more yet?"
The shy fox only shook his head as reply, the cute rabbit nodded at him then and stood, moving on to tend to others nearby. Aster watched her go before he turned back to the humanoid fox, speaking with much less difficulty now.
"How are you holding up, buddy?"
The disheartened fox looked to the earth below before responding.
"I'm ok. Auntie Stahl talked me through a lot of the big feelings earlier... My dad isn't here... But I'm glad I have my auntie and uncle, at least."
The meek beast let out a small squeak of surprise, realizing he had referred to the human in that manner out loud. Aster was certainly taken aback by the title, considering he had only known the fox for a few weeks, but it felt accurate.
Rust really was like part of his family now. The thought warmed Aster's heart more than he had expected it to.
"Well, I'm glad Stahl is here too. She's good at calming things down. I know I'm not your real family, but I'll help however I can, Rust."
"She wasn't always like that, but she's changed a lot since you showed up. She's really started opening up." The little fox let out an innocent laugh.
"She used to be pretty grumpy all the time, but she seems a lot happier now. I'm glad she found you. I'm glad to have another awesome uncle watching out for me! You are part of my real family now, Aster." The humanoid fox was only speaking from observation, not realizing exactly how much those words meant to the human.
Aster was glad Stahl had found him too, although he was clearly missing what the young beast was really implying. Rust just figured the two were together now, going off of the conversations his dad and his mom had in their quarters, not realizing it wasn't so much official yet.
Aster found he had plenty of questions for clarification, but none seemed to matter when he heard a beast exclaim that the search parties had returned. The human finally stood up, only possible now by the rejuvenating water gifting life throughout his body, and began making his way to the mouth of the cave with the fox in tow.
Stahl quickly sprinted up to meet Aster, relieved to see he was awake. After a bit of catching up and reporting on the situation, all present were called to gather around Prince Tyfin as he began to address their course of action going forward.
It was then that Aster first noticed that the orange tinted white tiger, Oust Candori, was among those present, scowling towards him as usual.
"My soldiers and my people, I will not lie to you. We find ourselves in a less than ideal situation and know even less about the fate of our kin. All we can do is propel forward in spite of that uncertainty and work together to get all of us back home with our loved ones. I've been speaking with many of you already, pooling what knowledge we have of our situation. I'll try to summarize it as best as I can. Mollis, if you would?"
The same friendly, cute brown rabbit that brought water to Aster earlier took a step forward and muttered a quick spell, as a large outline of their continent was displayed above the gathered beasts. The prince pointed towards the center of the continent and spoke clearly.
"As most of you know, this is where the Capitol of Alora is, where we all were just a few hours ago." The lion moved his claw from the location and shifted his arm to the right and upwards, going to nearly the far right corner of the magical map before he stopped.
"And this is the Crimson Sands, a desolate wasteland perched upon the ends of our world, far outside of our borders and into the domain of ferals and fiends where we believe ourselves to be now."
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