Were they brave or stupid? Fauna supposed the only true difference was whether or not they survived, so… she just tried convincing herself that they were brave.
First, there was a low rumbling of something—a sound that went in and out, and wasn’t necessarily threatening. There were drawings on the cave walls, which they decided must have come from those who sought Daekai’s help. Kiah said the scattered pieces of writing were names and dates, which overall seemed to come in short bursts then disappear for decades. At least, she made it sound like they were the first group to come to the cave in a while.
“Do manticores have the same kind of presence as someone with powerful magic?” Samone eventually asked, a shred of uneasiness found within her overall nonchalant tone.
“I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” Kiah said.
“Well, then I suppose now might be the last time to turn around,” Samone remarked. “I’m sensing something.”
“That means we’re definitely close, right?” Lydia prompted. “Are we going to run into her soon? Do you think she’s going to give us some kind of exciting trial?”
“Maybe? I just hope it’s not the possibly-dangerous kind…” Dimas mumbled.
But Fauna found that she wasn’t excited, or even unsettled as she had been before. She felt more… melancholy. To her, those rumblings seemed more like crying. “I don’t… think we’re going to find anything you’re hoping for, Lydia…”
Lydia was most definitely about to question it, before the rumbling took on a more definitive form… the sound of a voice echoing through the caves.
“What are children like you doing here..?”
Imre cautiously took a step forward and tried to give some light to the area ahead of them. “Are you Daekai?”
“Yes… but if you’re here, that means you’ve wandered too far. I can’t protect you…”
“Can’t protect us from what?”
“What will take my place when I’m gone—the things she has planned. If my magic couldn’t stop you, then that means none of it remains. There’s not much left for me…”
Fauna felt something in the silence that followed. A… weird sense of familiarity? Empathy? Remorse? Either way, before she even had time to think it over, she found herself asking, “Can I try to help her? Or just talk to her. I promise I’ll come right back to you in a couple of minutes.”
“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Domenique quickly said. “What would you want to do that for? You are not the kind of person that usually wants to be alone. Definitely not in a dark cave.”
“I–I know, and I can’t explain it, but I want to talk with her.”
“I guess if you want to I won’t stop you, but alone? Someone else can definitely go with you. It feels safer given we have no idea what she could do…”
“I… don’t know how I know this, but she isn’t going to talk to all of us. I promise I won’t be gone long, I just want to see if there’s anything I can do.”
Domenique was about to protest some more, but Imre spoke before she did. “If she wants to do this on her own, let her. We can wait right here.”
Fauna gave him a nod of thanks and took the torch he offered her. She tried to give Domenique a reassuring look before she turned to find the voice’s owner—she had mixed feelings about staying in the cave for too long.
She didn’t need to walk far to find Daekai… an undoubtedly once-mighty manticore, now pressed against the cave wall. At first, Fauna thought Daekai had already lost all her strength but, looking closer, she still had slow and unsteady breaths.
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And despite being so much bigger than Fauna, she sat down next to Daekai. “You… won’t be dying alone anymore. I’m going to sit with you, if that’s okay.”
Daekai seemed aware of Fauna’s presence only then, desperately looking around until their eyes met. Weakly, Daekai scraped her paws against the rock, as if to put distance between them—there was something close to fear in her eyes. “What are you doing here, Child?”
“I didn’t want you to be alone,” Fauna answered quietly. “You’ve… done a lot, for a group of people that probably never thought to repay you. You’re dying now because of the sacrifices you made for them, right..? I don’t want you to suffer alone for helping…”
Daekai acted like she heard none of it. “Child, where are the others? Who else did you bring with you? I heard voices, but they weren’t theirs. They were supposed to be keeping you safe—Feldr, Tyrus, Komaeda, they promised to keep you safe…”
“I don’t—”
“If they’re not with you, then are you with her? She should’ve locked you away. You weren’t supposed to leave her. I know it’s scary there, Child, but she means well. That place was built to protect you—to protect them from you…”
“Who—”
But Daekai kept mumbling, “You shouldn’t be here—you should be safe. You should be with them—or with her, but not here. Not here…” She made weak gestures to shoo Fauna away. “Child, you can’t stay here. You need to go back to them or her. The world is not prepared for you. You never should have tried to seek me, not here. These lands are unstable. Someone like you could tip the scales without ever realizing. Please, leave, you don’t know what you’re risking by staying here…”
“I don’t know who you think I am,” Fauna said slowly, “but I don’t understand anything you’re trying to say.”
Daekai calmed down, slightly, when she realized it. There was still a hint of panic in her tone, though. “Who are you, then? You’re so much like her…”
“I’m Fauna Oriel, the daughter of Kamila and Silvain. My friends and I—Domenique, Imre, Dimas, Lydia, Samone, and Kiah—came to find you. We don’t need anything. Lydia just thought it would be fun.”
“I sensed children of Fleyw Bresh. Aside from you, there were three…”
“Dimas and Kiah are from Qizar. Mine and Domenique’s grandmother was also from Qizar. That was probably what you felt.”
“But that doesn’t explain… why you look so much like her. You feel like her, too. They speak of you the same. Yet… you claim you are not her. Do you… remember your youth, dear child?”
“I was raised mostly by my mother in Ryobel, since my father died when I was little. I… knew some kids there, but we didn’t really get along with each other. But then my mom started talking with Minne—Seothia’s current queen. They realized we were related, so our family was able to become a part of the nobility…”
It was hard to tell whether Daekai was letting out a sigh of relief or just another unsteady breath. “She may be capable of many things, but altering a person’s fate to that degree is not one of them. I might have hope yet that there is nothing significant about this encounter…”
Fauna, cautiously, asked, “Who… did you think I was, before? Could you tell me about her?”
Daekai gave a motion similar to shaking her head. “She should be sleeping in the darkness, where no one can hurt her, and she cannot hurt anyone else. That is where she belongs. Speaking of her could cause her to wake, and the proper time for that is still far away…”
“I don’t understand…”
“You don’t need to understand, dear child. But be wary—they speak of you the same, watch you as they did with her. She has plans for you. And as much as I wish I could, I cannot save you.”
“Who’s… they..?”
“The ones I am protecting you from—what’s eagerly waiting for the rest of my strength to fade…” Daekai seemed to have realized something else in that moment, too, because she acquired a more solemn air. “You’re here with your friends, are you not?”
“I am. They’re waiting for me not far from here.”
“All of you need to leave. When I go, nothing is going to stop them. You do not want to be there when they come. They feast on children like you… the ones who wander, who dare to see what lies just beyond light’s reach. Please, leave, before I can no longer hold them back…”
At first, Fauna considered asking for better explanations. But… she could recognize the urgency in Daekai’s tone, and had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about already. So, Fauna slowly nodded and stood up.
“I’m… glad we were able to talk,” she mumbled. “Thank you—for everything you’ve done. You’ve spent so long protecting the people here… I just wish your rest could’ve come as something a little more peaceful.”
“Leave,” Daekai whispered. “Please, leave—and don’t turn around. They will find you…”
Fauna walked quickly to where the others were. She decided not to wonder about whatever argument she must’ve walked in on and announced, “It’s time we go. We don’t want to be here after Daekai dies.”