Over the past few days, Arras had found himself growing more and more relaxed with his situation. It was nothing like the safety he felt within the presence of his family, but Illia's presence had certainly helped to circumvent the ever growing pit of dread in his stomach.
Speaking of Illia's presence, it had been about five days since she and Arras had started living together. They'd had minor spats, some playful arguments, nothing ever important really, just minor annoyances with each other. Over all, the general consensus of a healthy relationship certainly leaned towards yes, they got along perfectly fine. Though over time, Arras learned more about mental magic usage and had begun to block out some of his emotions so that they didn't leak into conversations.
Arras found himself cracking, just a little bit, over time. He'd actively chosen not to acknowledge his own repressed worries until he had resolved them by simply reuniting with his family, but there was someone present who was willing and wanted to hear... The question was just, did he want to tell them? The better question he supposed, would be if he wanted her to come with him.
Their wings have mostly healed up and she'll probably be fine within a day or two. Same for my ribs, so we could easily part ways without much issue... But, self admittedly, she doesn't have anywhere to go. I'd like to think I've rubbed off on her somewhat in the ways of not getting yourself killed, but I'd rather not think about what might happen to Illia should she go off on their own.
I'm sure my family wouldn't exactly mind a different species staying with us as long as they were friendly, it might be somewhat uncomfortable but I suppose it could work. Especially given they have healing magic, Mother would certainly appreciate assistance... Well, I may as well ask them about it, if she wants to go off on her own that would certainly be fine, I'd miss having company for the time I need to travel back to my families den but... Oh well.
Normally, Illia would have already heard this inner monologue, but they were currently asleep. Arras had woken up first this morning and was pacing back and forth deep in thought. The dull throb in his ribs was barely noticeable at this point, and he was fairly certain he could make the trip back up the waterfall right now, even with his still slightly damaged bones.
Speaking of that trip, for the past two days Arras had made a slight addendum to the getting a drink part of his and Illia's day, Both times that he had reached the stream, he made it a point to scout out the general vicinity around the falls. He hadn't found anything on the first day, but on the second, after taking a closer look near the left side of the falls, there appeared to have been a somewhat rocky climb up the cliff. Arras was confident he could make that, even in his weakened state. Though, back to his prior train of thought.
If Illia does end up accepting my offer we will need to wait until both of our wounds have fully recovered, I doubt my companion could make the climb what not with her appendages... She doesn't know any transformation magic either, otherwise she could just swap out her wings for something else temporarily... No, that's wishful thinking. I've been practicing the entire time I've been stranded and I can still barely modify parts of my body. Reconstructing ones own limbs would be exceedingly difficult.
Arras turned his head and saw Illia stirring. It would seem it was time to make the proposition. He told himself he didn't exactly care about it, but something a little deeper told him he would. If they want to leave it wouldn't bother me. "Would you really be fine losing the one creature who was there for you?" His subconscious questioned him in response, but he shut its question down without room for compromise.
Arras knew well how the spell Illia managed to keep active (even while asleep, turns out healing wasn't her thing, mental magic was.) at all times worked by this point. Any stray thought can and will leak through into the conversation, thus it was necessary to keep your own thoughts in check unless you just absolutely didn't care about anything you said.
Ironically, this was probably detrimental to the one thing Illia was looking to get out of the fox during her stay with them, friendship. Because in the end Arras suppressed a fair majority of his feelings in fear of making things awkward along the communications. The only time he really gave his own inner thoughts a chance would be when Illia wasn't there to nudge it along. Regardless of that however, she was waking.
"Illia?"
Her thoughts were slow and groggy, but after a short moment she pieced together a response. "Yes? What?"
"I'd like to speak to you about something in a moment, please wake yourself up."
"Alright... Give me a few... Minutes..."
Minutes, what a funny little measure. Arras had initially been told, "Give me a few seconds" the first time he'd woken Illia, when he later asked what "seconds" were she told him "They're basically short little moments, I'm losing you, uh, like this, one second, two seconds, three seconds fo-" and so on. So, the next time that she'd woken up and said "give me a few seconds", Arras took it quite literally. And literally a few seconds later was right up in Illia's face.
Ever since that little incident, she'd made sure to correct her "seconds" to "minutes" because surprise surprise the wild animal didn't understand what figurative language was. Not that she was even sure how to explain what that meant.
So, after a few minutes, Illia was up. Wings actually folded in now instead of lying limp on the ground helplessly. "What did you want to talk to me about?" She asked with a bit of morning cheer in her voice.
Arras cut straight to the point, he wasn't a fan of "small talk" as Illia had introduced it to him. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me when I leave."
"Well, what do you mean?" She asked curiously. "Leave for where? Going where? You've told me you've lost your family before but that's about it... I wouldn't want to pry into something you're uncomfortable with, but if you're going to ask me something like that I'd like you to clarify."
"I see, that's fair. Allow me to be more clear then, I'll be retracing the river I was washed down when I was separated from my family. I'd like to find my way back to my family's den. And I'm inviting you to come with me."
Arras recognized a familiar slowing of Illia's thoughts as their eyes went a little wide in shock, before the inevitable rebound came flooding forth. "You-you want me to what?!" If one were to read their body language, you'd assume they were furious, but the underlying... Happiness? Was the guess Arras took anyways, served to contest that notion quite fiercely.
"I'd like you to come with me. You don't need to if you don't wish to, we can go our separate ways if you want."
"No! No-no it's fine! I'd be happy to come with you if you'd have me Arras."
At those words, a little glimmer of joy managed to seep through Arras's own mental barriers, though he quickly patched the leak.
"Then we'll leave in a day or two. As soon as your wings have fully healed we can be on our way."
"Can't wait! Can't wait to meet your family too, I was always curious how exactly species like you operated in The Grand Forest."
Arras looked at her funny before asking, "what's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing, my parents had us read a lot during our upbringing, it's ashwing stuff, and well, you probably wouldn't know what reading is. Just think of it as me having extra know how about stuff."
Arras couldn't stop himself... "Extra know how but not enough to go a day without falling flat on your face."
"Shut up!" She practically barked back, with an emotion that Arras had now recognized a few days ago as a distinct form of embarrassment.
...
The next few days passed without much incident, wounds healed, magic progressed, the two children grew, Arras got closer to his second month on the face of Araia while Illia approached her third with little time to spare. If Arras could help it, he wanted to be with family for that second month, he was sure Illia would enjoy extra company as well. She did seem to practically thrive off of it.
So after all that time had passed, after almost two weeks in total of simply recovering out here, because when Illia had said "three days of contact" she meant that quite literally not periodically. He was finally all healed up, Illia's wings had completely recovered shortly after his ribs did. So, he was ready to go.
He was sure his parents would be proud of him, he remembered what he was taught, continued to grow and develop, he'd even be coming back with a second tail! But above all else, when life had given him Wila herbs, he'd made a nutritious Wila slush. And he wanted his parents to know that. That he had gone out (not by choice) and survived the world. Came back stronger, and come back with a companion.
Arras could hardly stop himself from bolting straight to the waterfall this morning, he didn't know the lay of the land up above so he needed to be as full as possible, same for Illia. He recognized that between himself and Illia, the pair had a tremendous advantage with their respective mastery of both the ground and the sky, but you could never be too careful. It was your LIFE at stake if a mistake was made.
So after eating as much as they could stomach, both Arras and Illia arrived at the falls that unbeknownst to, (or well, mostly unbeknownst to Illia, she'd managed to pick up bits and pieces of what exactly had happened to Arras.) Illia, had ripped Arras away from his family.
"Are you ready to fly once more?" Arras asked Illia with a steady stream of excitement managing to blip through his mental barriers, barely containing the urge to bound up the side of the falls.
"I thought you'd never ask." They spoke with a hint of pride, before unfurling their wings in a magnificent sight. A single red feather drifted away as Illa shook her wings, the weeks of no use getting them to be quite stiff. After a little bit more shaking, she stood at her full height. "Alright, taking off the ground. See you at the top Arras!"
For the first time in weeks, Illia took to the skies. She'd made sure to keep it brief though, flying predators weren't exactly uncommon in the forest. So within short order, she touched down on the side of the river up above. Well, can't very well keep them waiting now can I?"
So he took off running, finally putting his body to a physical test after all that time barely moving, instead resting and practicing basic magic. Now he'd be able to go back into combat training, hunting, movement based practice, it was all so exciting! And what not with his boosted magical prowess and newfound power over earth, he was sure his growth would be explosive! Maybe even enough to... Pass... Suddenly, he didn't care very much anymore about getting stronger or his growth. He put his focus solely on climbing.
...
"Did something happen? Just a moment ago you were unusually enthusiastic... Now you just sound... Tired?"
"I'm fine." Arras spoke flatly, he'd come around to using mental magic purely for the purpose of masking his own feelings. From both himself and others. When he felt a second surge of emotion coming, this time something much less positive, he simply upped the amount of magic he was using. The barriers holding back that figurative flood reinforced to the point of obscenity. Though he was starting to feel a little light headed from the constant spell usage... He was draining his magic just as fast as it naturally recovered. Maintaining what was just barely a stable equilibrium.
"Are you... Really? You know I don't like to push... Please just tell me if something is wrong?"
"I said I'm fine, don't worry about it."
"Alright... Well, we're up now. I'm in new territory so I've got no idea what to do, where are we going?"
"We just need to follow along the river, eventually we'll reach a spot I recognize. I'll be able to trace my steps from there."
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"Oh, alright, so?"
"Yes, follow after me. Try to stay on the ground if you can help it though, I'd rather we not attract unnecessary attention."
"Gotcha!" She chirped happily once (OUT LOUD), though when Arras whipped his head around to face her she quickly realized her mistake. "My bad..."
"Keep quiet! We're back in a part of the forest that will have actual predators, there's no VIlo Parasites up here. If we get ambushed we're in serious trouble. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sorry. I'm not used to all this."
Arras didn't bother with a specified response, as long as she got the message it was fine. So instead, he began to walk. He wouldn't just trace the exact edge of the river, because what kind of idiot would do that? You'd be in the open the entire trip, and Arras figured this would be at least half a moons journey. So instead, he dipped into the tree line near the river and began from there.
Illia appeared to be in that "kind of idiot" category as she'd assumed they would just follow the river. She was a little surprised Arras was taking a small detour, but she thought about it for a moment and agreed with the course of action. They hadn't stopped following the fox even before coming to that conclusion though. She did trust him.
And thus, began their trek.
...
Within the first hour, nothing eventful had happened. Arras continued to walk while suppressing his emotions with mental magic, which by the way was not getting easier, walking along the river he'd almost drowned in two weeks ago was rather unsettling. Illia followed along with him. attempting to occasionally make minor conversation. Which he usually shushed her for, focus was paramount.
By the second hour, Illia had mostly stopped trying to make small talk. She'd also started to use her wings again. She wasn't outright flying, but little flaps helped her to get a boost over tall obstacles she'd normally trip over like exposed roots, so she was doing better on that front. It had taken her a bit to get back into it, because after all, she had lived for almost a third of her total life without using her wings. But Arras was happy with the development, not that it managed to leak past the dams he'd put up.
By the third hour, Arras was getting antsy. He hadn't expected anxiety to be getting to him like this. If I wasn't blocking my own emotions, would I even still be moving right now?
Regardless, he carried on. Though he started paying more attention to everything around himself. Eventually, he noticed a little something in the dirt beneath his paws. Prints, he didn't recognize exactly what they were, but they weren't similar to his own.
By the fourth hour, Arras was getting paranoid. His body language was more jumpy, jolting when he heard Illia's voice. She was of course worried, but it wasn't like they could stop at this point. He was starting to wish something would just attack at this point, the suspense was going to kill him at this rate! He took another few steps forward, before he noticed a sharp sense of alarm in Illia's mind.
By the fifth hour, he had gotten his wish.
...
"Arras!"
"What?" He turned rapidly, glancing in every angle around himself.
"I saw something, in the distance behind us. It was small, but it's following us."
"Illia, get off the ground."
"But-"
"NOW!
She didn't bother arguing any further, that was a tone that left no room for discussion. After a short moment, she took off and landed on a tree branch up above.
"Okay, now what?"
Arras was still spinning around every which way, all while walking backwards towards a tree. He felt a little something else prick at the mental barriers he had constructed, but he didn't quite notice it in the heat of the moment. Eventually, he had his back to the tree and was now looking in every other direction. Slowly, earth had begun to rise from the sides of the tree, leaving any would be aggressors only one way to attack, from head on.
"Look for it from up there, if you can get eyes on it we'll have a significant advantage. I have a fire spell ready to cast a moments notice, if it attacks me or if you find it I should be able to burn it immediately." He glanced up at Illia's grey form in the trees above, standing stock still.
"Well? Go! Get moving, look!"
"Right-sorry!"
He would've yelled at her to not be sorry and to instead do what he asked, but she'd fluttered out of range of the mind link. It'd reestablish itself when she got closer but for now she was out of range. Now all he had to do was wait.
When Arras said he had a "fire spell ready to cast at a moments notice", he might've not given it the proper description. The better assessment would be that he had a fire spell ready to cast at a moments notice which also happened to be charging by the moment, gaining in power the longer he waited. Though he had to divert power from his mental spells to be stabilizing this one properly.
There was only so much magic he had to spare, and this was quickly draining through any reserves he had. Running out of magic was not an issue Arras often faced, but the constant use of magic that he'd been forcing himself through might've been the catalyst for such a problem.
As the mental barriers he had erected began to degrade in favor of his fire bomb, Arras could feel his emotions start to break free from their restraints, they began to lash out as his focus. Eventually, he had to make a call and balance the flow of magic. If he took too much from his mental protections, he'd freak out and lose control of the fire bomb and kill himself. The anxiety from the past four hours had been tearing at him, and if that all hit at once he was sure he'd lose control.
So after the fire bomb was (not quite) fully charged, there he waited. Up until Illia had arrived in the trees once more. "I saw it, it's a small creature circling around you. I couldn't quite get a good look at you but it's coming around to the front of where you are. Be careful!"
"Could you tell me what it looks like? If it's something like a Firus I'm going to be cornered without an effective attack."
"Right, it's coming around, it doesn't have any legs, looks like a snake of some kind-" Arras's eyes widened "-Scales are a somewhat dull green, that's all I can see, are you going to be alright?"
"Sounds like a Rootland Viper, they lived in our part of the forest. Tell me when it reaches the front of my semi circle."
"Will do, it's coming around any moment now. Three... Two... One! It's there!"
FWOOSH
A torrent of flame rocketed out from in front of Arras, bathing the terrain in front of him in cleansing fire. The steady stream of power continued for a few seconds, absolutely roasting everything in front of him for a few seconds. After the flames had dissipated, the heat they had created had still lit the forest on fire. The two would have to leave quickly. "Did I get it?!"
"It was caught in the blast, I don't think it would've survived that but I don't see it any more, let's just get out of here, okay?"
"Alright..." Arras took a few steps outside of his protective cage, letting the earth spell he'd used fade away. He sighed as he let all traces of his spells fade, except for one. One little spell he was keeping ready just in case... There was no body after all.
"We need to get out of here before something else comes to check it out. This much fire is bound to draw attention."
He took a step, and then another, then another. Am I really that worried over nothing? Arras sighed again, almost letting his spell unravel, but then he heard something behind him.
Entirely on instinct, Arras threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding an incredibly quick strike from the charred form of the Viper. His heart almost stopped, and he could hear Illia scream immediately after the attack. But, he wasn't dead. A superior, physically enhanced enemy was mere inches from him and he had no way to make distance. He quickly thanked the part of himself that hadn't let his paranoia die down these past few hours.
Arras launched a fireball straight into the Vipers face, knocking it back with a hissing cry and setting its head on fire. It didn't last much longer after such an attack, quickly burning to death.
"ARRAS! Are you alright?!"
He could still hear his heart in his ears. He had no idea why the viper would be that vindictive, but it was dead now.
"I'm fine, just shaken." Literally, his mental spells were threatening to shatter and leave him a gibbering mess. He redirected some of his focus to keeping them active. "We need to go right now, it won't be long till other creatures arrive."
So, he took off running. Having every confidence Illia would be able to follow after him. Which she did, because he could still hear her thoughts.
"It shouldn't be long to reach my families den, Rootland Vipers lived within a short trek of our tree. I think I recognize some of the terrain as well, we're almost there."
...
Arras had made the correct assumption, he was close, very close. He recognized familiar sights and scents. His families den wasn't far from here. All the anxiety had begun to melt away, and he couldn't stop himself from running. Not out of fear, but in anticipation. He'd soon see his family again! He could name every rock and tree by now, the den was just up ahead!
At last, it had come into view, a magnificent tree that pierced up into the skies above. "That's it!" He cried out, accompanied by a small yip, he just couldn't stop himself from doing it. Eventually, he came to a stop in front of one of the entrances, smelling the familiar scent of his family. He finally let his own mental barriers go, melting into a sense of relief comfort and excitement all bundled into one.
He turned to face Illia, a bright light shining in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. "Would you mind waiting outside for a moment? I'll introduce my family to you as soon as I see them. I just don't want them to have any misunderstandings."
"Oh, uh, sure! That's fine! Do you think I could wait up in the tree instead of on the ground?"
"Please do, I'd hate for you to get hurt now of all times." And with that, he dipped inside, into the familiar hollowed out roots that served as tunnels for the den. How his parents even managed to do that? He wasn't quite sure. Building one into only the dirt was challenging enough! He'd have to ask about it.
He yipped out in excitement as he bounded through the tunnels,. "Mother! Father! Everybody, I'm home! I made it back!"
But he got no response, that wasn't right. He could smell his family, everybody, even Darai! When he first smelled that scent the grin on his face couldn't have possibly gotten any larger. He was alive! Though, the lack of response was still an issue.
"Hello? Everyone?" His trot gradually slowed, sheer excitement slowly starting to shift into worry. "...Hello?"
He sniffed again, then twice. "No." Once again. "No..." He started running again, this time it wasn't a happy jaunt. "No! NO!" The sleeping quarters were empty, there was no food, nobody was here, the scents were stale. Nobody had been here for days. "WHY?!"
Everybody was gone.
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Bestiary
Firus
One of few elemental creatures known to the wider world. Such creatures are generally only exist in Prominent Magic Rich locations, and they are primarily non sentient. As you would expect, this creature is mostly based off of the element of fire.
It has no wider mating habits, or diet, or even familial ties. It is one of the more basic elementals in existence. All it seeks is to burn other living things.
Easily destructible, all one would need to counteract these elementals is a simple water spell. Or, really, any kind of defensive ability. They could be dangerous if they got into close contact with their target though, their flames can be rather deadly.