Caelum blinked, his gaze still blurry with the fog of despair clouding his mind. His body felt heavy as though even the smallest movement was too much of an effort. But there was something pulling him out of the suffocating darkness—Aurelia’s quiet presence beside him, and the strange object she was pushing toward him with her tiny larval legs.

He blinked again, focusing on the small, oddly shaped thing she held. It was… a leaf? No, it wasn’t just any leaf. This one was bright, a deep shade of emerald green with hints of gold around the edges. It had a slight shimmer to it, like it was glowing faintly in the dim light of the burrow.

“What…?” he began, his voice sounding hoarse even through their telepathic link. He hadn’t spoken much in days, his words feeling like they carried the weight of his soul with them.

Aurelia nudged the leaf toward him a little more, her movements still sluggish from her own fatigue, but determined nonetheless. There was a soft hum of emotion from her, a mixture of hope and concern.

I found this outside, she said softly through their telepathic link, her voice gentle but insistent. It’s… not much, but I thought it might cheer you up.

Caelum stared at the shimmering leaf, its soft glow a sharp contrast to the dark feelings swirling inside him. For a moment, he didn’t know how to react. Cheer him up? How could something so small, so insignificant, possibly change the way he felt? He was drowning in hopelessness, in the weight of their reality. A glowing leaf wouldn’t fix that.

But then he felt something else from Aurelia—her determination, her stubborn will pushing through her own exhaustion. She wasn’t just trying to give him a pretty object. She was trying to remind him of something.

I know it’s been hard, she continued, her telepathic voice stronger now, more insistent. But we’ve survived. We’ve fought through so much, and we’re still here.

Caelum’s gaze remained fixed on the leaf, but his thoughts wandered. Survived. Yes, they had. But at what cost? What kind of life was this, constantly on the edge of death, always one step away from disaster?

We survived, she repeated, more forcefully this time. And not just barely. We’re stronger than we were when we started. We have each other, Caelum. That has to count for something.

Her words were like a small spark in the dark void that had consumed him. Caelum looked at Aurelia, really looked at her for the first time since the snake attack. She was still battered, still tired, but there was a fire in her that refused to go out. The same fire that had pushed her to fight by his side, to face dangers that should have been too much for creatures their size.

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But it’s so dangerous out there, Caelum thought, his voice weak and filled with doubt. Everything wants to kill us. How can we… how can I keep going when every time we fight, it feels like we’re just delaying the inevitable?

Aurelia’s small body tensed, and her telepathic voice grew sharper, more assertive. Don’t talk like that, she snapped. Yes, it’s dangerous. Yes, it’s hard. But we’ve made it this far. We’ve leveled up, we’ve learned new skills, we’ve faced things that should have killed us, and we’re still here.

Caelum felt a flicker of something—was it hope?—in the back of his mind. But the darkness still clung to him, a heavy blanket of doubt that was hard to shake off. He opened his mouth to protest, to say something about how it wasn’t enough, how he didn’t know if they could keep surviving, but Aurelia cut him off.

No, she said firmly, her voice filled with a surprising amount of force. We’re not giving up, Caelum. We’ve come too far to just let the fear win. We’re in this together, and as long as we have each other, we’ll keep pushing forward.

Caelum blinked at her, taken aback by the sudden fierceness in her voice. Aurelia wasn’t usually this aggressive, but there was something in her words that struck a chord deep inside him. For a moment, he was quiet, unsure of what to say.

But what if… he started, his mind still filled with doubts.

No, she interrupted again, her telepathic voice sharp. No more doubting. We’re alive, Caelum. We survived that snake, and we’ll survive whatever else comes next. But we’re not going to do it by sitting around and wallowing in fear. We fight. We learn. We live.

A soft, awkward chuckle escaped Caelum’s mouth, the absurdity of the situation hitting him all at once. Here they were—two tiny larvae, barely surviving in a world full of predators—and yet Aurelia was talking like they had a choice. Like they could take on the world.

And maybe… just maybe, she was right.

You’re really something, Caelum muttered through their link, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his thoughts. I didn’t think a leaf could make me feel better, but… thank you.

Aurelia huffed, her tone light but tinged with affection. Of course. You were being way too mopey. Somebody had to snap you out of it.

Caelum let out a genuine laugh, the sound soft and slightly strained but real. It had been so long since he had laughed like that. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed it.

You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you? he teased, his mind slowly lifting out of the darkness that had consumed him. The doubts were still there, lingering, but they didn’t feel as heavy now. Not with Aurelia by his side, pushing him forward with her unyielding determination.