--------///----Eclina's? POV----\\\--------

Although i wasn't in the air anymore, it didn't matter. The creature had no escape, even if this area hadn't been cordoned off by Garris i wouldn't allow it to escape. I howled and sent out darkness tendrils to capture the creature but its speed surpassed that of my tendrils... I would need to cripple its wings first. To do so i stripped off darkness from my tendrils and compressed them into the form of needles. I compressed and compressed until each needle was incapable of being compressed anymore. There would be no point in unleashing them at a target that i hadn't held down, so i saved them until i could accurately unleash them.

The creature seemed to be looking at me differently and held back from charging in blindly. The way it viewed me didn't matter however its reluctance did. The creature needed to be within my range to attack but the same applied to me. If this annoyance stayed out of my reach i would have a much harder time of ending its life... However harder does not mean impossible.

(Eclina?) " ... Foolish. "

I slammed my tails against the ground with enough force to launch me into the air. When i reached the peak of my jump, i created small light platforms beneath my paws and chased the creature down. It began to fly away from me and sharpened its scythes at the same time, however running away was useless. I created a solid light trap and encased the creature within it. It tried to cut through but i repaired any damages and began to create small holes to send my darkness needles through. However the creature suddenly stopped flying and used the small amount of momentum along with its scyth arms to cut through my trap and escape. However instead of falling all the way down it started to beat its wings and take flight again.

The creature seemed to know it barely escaped death and kept a fearful and careful attitude towards me. Yet its change in attitude didn't matter because it was going to die no matter what changed about it. In order to tear it apart i would need to keep it within range and trap it in darkness to keep it from escaping. However this was annoying as it continued to fly around and kept hitting the walls Garris had made surrounding the plataeu. But the more it tried to escape, the more energy it would expend. So by waiting and charging more needles, spears, tendrils and shackles i would have the advantage while it would be impossible for it to escape.

The creature continued to struggle and flew around the cage however i slowly followed while charging and compressing my attacks. Eventually the creature understood there was no escape and begun to face me and seemed to be prepared to fight to the death.However i was prepared and sent out tendrils of darkness to pin it down in order for my shackles to latch onto its joints and corrode them off. Despite being able to avoid my tendrils, the creature had expended a lot of energy trying to escape and it must've been tired from our earlier fight a long with its molting process.

With all those pilling up, despite avoiding some of my tendrils it couldn't avoid them all. A tendril of mine latched onto its mid section and as soon as i felt it connect, i squeezed. It couldn't move anymore so i sent my shackles forward and connected them to the exposed joints and to my tails. As i kept getting closer and closer to the creature, the more it screeched in pain. The closer i got the more it suffered. But it wasn't enough. As i moved directly in front of its face, I latched more tendrils onto its body, its scyth arms, and around its back. It would suffer far more then what Espiral felt. I controlled and moved my darkness spaers to destroy its antenna.

The sound of its screeching was disgusting yet pleasent at the same time... Strange. Yet it hadn't suffered enough. I sent some needles into its wounded antenna and moved them closer to its skull while making sure the corrosion they spread would not reach its brain. Then i raised my remaining spears and aimed them towards the shackled joints. The creature knew what i was doing, and despite me being right in front of its face, it could not do anything. No matter how many times it flailed about, no matter how many times it cut me, i would not care. My light had repaired any damage i took and made me unmovable. The creature did not stop despite this, and it was getting annoying.

I created a few more spears and aimed them towards its scyth arms and prepared to launch them all. I started with its joints and destroyed them one at a time. However, its screeches begun to sound more and more hoarse... How boring. I let my darkness spears go and let them all destroy its scyth arms and enjoyed the sounds of its suffering. Yet all good things must come to an end. I made two tendrils corrode the mandibles around its mouth and gathered a small ball of darkness and shot it down its throat. When it reached the creatures stomach, i made it burst.

The creature turned into a mess of chitin, blood and guts. I had no reason to keep holding it in place so i detached my tendrils and shackles and let it fall to the ground. There wasn't much of it left so its impact against the ground was minimal yet the sound was somewhat pleasent to hear. I dropped down to the ground and took a final look at the creature and its fresh carcass and decided to destroy it. I instinctivly knew i would gain nothing from devouring it so i just washed my darkness over its remains and erased it from our world.

After that was done, i walked over to the barrier created by Garris and shattered it. If his barrier was shattered he would come and know that I was the one in control. Eclina would need years to do this however as we were now, i could do this now. I began to wait and not even a few seconds later, he came down. However the look in his eyes and his demeanor were completly different.

(Garris) " ... Who are you? Eclina is incappable of destroying my barriars. "

(Eclina?) " I am a shadow of who Eclina can be. "

(Garris) " What..? Do you mean her harm? "

(Eclina?) " The opposite. I am here to do what she cannot. I am only here to protect her until she no longer needs protection. In time i will disappear and Eclina will no longer require my aid. However that is not what i called you here for. "

As he heard that, his gaze changed and took a more serious look at me,

(Garris) " What did you call me for exactly? "

(Eclina?) " Why was Espiral included in the hunt of that creature? He is still too young to handle these threats. His contribution was already minimal and his abilities have yet to fully manifest. Including a child that is limited with its abilities against an unknown enemy is akin to herding a lamb to slaughter. So answer me, why was he included? "

Now that the creature was dealt with, i could focus on the matter that forced me out in the first place. With Espiral's injuries, Eclina had lost concentration and would've been unable to take care of the creature with a clear mind. If i let that go by then the chances of a fatal injury being inflicted upon her were dramatically higher. However i couldn't keep myself from sounding agitated at the thought of his injuries being avoidable.

(Garris) " ... He needs the training. Without manifesting th- "

(Eclina?) "That is where i'll stop you. "Without manifesting", that is my point. You let a child who has yet to manifest and is limited in his capabilities assist against a creature from another dimension. That is not training. That would only instill him with a sense of weakness. It will break his spirits. He is aware that he is weak yet he continues to try. He will overcome this due to his drive to assist Eclina, however this entire situation could have been avoided. Give him time to manifest and time to get used to whatever abilities he gains. Only then can you include him in these kinds of hunts. "

(Garris) " ... I understand. However i must ask... Is Eclina the only one with a shadow? "

(Eclina?) " No. The other children will awaken their shadows after their evolutions. They will be like me, only surfacing to handle situations that our current selves cannot. Now then, i'll be returning to my dormant state... And Eclina shall not remember this conversation so do not bring it up to her. I will be blocking the memories starting from shattering your barrier however she will remember Espirals injury, be sure he is healed when she wakes up. "

I didn't give Garris a chance to respond as i relinquished my control and allowed Eclina to collapse.

~ Despite handling the creature, i did expend a vast amount of her energy by using solid light structures which she has yet to master... She'll most likely need a few hours to recover... Well, that's no longer my problem. ~

I entered my slumber and let Garris return Eclina towards The Arbor.

--------///----Eclina's POV----\\\--------

I didn't know how much time passed but all i knew waas i was tired... I felt groggy and didn't want to wake up, but when i remembered what happened to Espiral, i couldn't stop myself from waking up and frantically start looking for him. We were back at the tree and Mr.Garris was looking at me. I wanted to say something but he just shook his head and lowered his gaze. I followed to see what he was looking at and i saw Espiral sleeping at my side. His wings looked fine but he seemed to be shivering a bit. I could tell that he wasn't cold but he was just scared. I laid back down and curled my tails against him and slept.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The next day when we woke up, Espiral still seemed to be shaking a bit but something about him seemed different. I couldn't put my paw on it but something was different. I put that thought at the back of my mind and looked up at Mr.Garris. He hadn't gone off to the dryads yet and was still watching over us since last night.

(Garris) " Now that the both of you are up, how do you feel? "

(Eclina) " I feel fine... But. "

I couldn't help but look over to Espiral who look down in both meanings.

(Espiral) " ... I couldn't do anything... It was supposed to be weak but i couldn't help big sis at all... "

(Eclina) " That's not true! You flashed it! "

(Espiral) " But thats all i did... I couldn't do anything to help and i only got hurt... I couldn't even shock it anymore and just held you back... "

(Eclina) " ... Then get stronger. Maybe you can do something to the next one. "

(Espiral) " But how am i going to get stronger? I don't feel like i can get any better with my fire or lightning? What do i do? "

(Eclina) " Wait until you can manifest. Then you'll be way stronger then you are now! "

(Espiral) " Do you think so big sis? "

(Eclina) " I know it! "

Even though he was still shaking, he looked a little better and let out a small smile. It didn't fix the problem but it was a nice step in the right direction.

(Garris) " Building onto that, until you manifest i'll be keeping you away from any creatures that come from the rifts. Eclina is capable of fighting and growing from them yet as you are now Espiral, you won't be able to grow from them. "

(Espiral) " ... Ok. But when am i going to manifest? "

(Garris) " Mmm... You're almost a year old so normally a year later would be the expected time. However if you keep training and growing, you may manifest sooner then that. "

(Eclina) " Yea, yea! There's definetly something different too! Maybe you'll manifest soon. "

(Espiral) " ... Then i'll try my best. "

It was probably because of what just happened, but i was content that Espiral would be kept away from the things that he couldn't handle. Though i wasn't sure if he was close to manifesting, saying it just felt right. I knew that he wasn't strong enough but i didn't want to put him down because of it. It was great that he was going to be safe but i was a little worried about how he would take it.

(Garris) " Now then, for now get some rest, the both of you. I'll head over to the dryads and see if there's any new information about rifts and then we'll search when i come back. "

(Espiral & Eclina) " Ok. "

Then, Mr.Garris took off and left us at the tree. I didn't know what to do for now so i just stayed with him. He seemed to be fine with it and it helped him feel better. But after some time he got up extended and started to look at his wings. There didn't seem to be any marks of scars but he obviously still knew and felt what had happened to them. He tried to fly and managed to do it but after a bit he just stopped and came back down. It probably wasn't going to be simple just because they were healed.

I walked over to him but he just shook his head at me and seemed like he wanted to do this on his own. So i just sat back and watched as he kept flapping his wings trying to fly. Every time he flapped them he had a pained look on his face which confused me because there shouldn't be anything wrong with them. He kept that up and eventually came back as he plopped down beside me.

(Eclina) " What's wrong? "

(Espiral) " I don't know... Whenever i move my wings i feel like they're going to fall off. Nothings wrong with them and i know that... But it still feels like there is... I don't get it. "

(Garris) " Phantom pain... I think that's what the bipeds call the phenomenon "

Mr.Garris had come back while we were just dealing with that. But thething he just said was something i never heard about before so it confused me.

(Eclina) " What's phantom pain? "

(Garris) " Hmm... From the bipeds i've talked too it was described as this. Whenever someone loses a limb, they will still feel as if they can use it. In Espiral's case, he had almost lost his wings yet despite them being repaired, his mind feels as if they should not be there and is actively rejecting them. it'll take time but the pain will stop. "

(Eclina) " But what about his eye? Shouldn't his eye have that phantom pain thing? "

(Garris) " No. That's why i did it slowly. I took my time to allow his body and mind prepare itself for his eye to heal. When i healed his wings i did it quickly which resulted in a minor shock to his mind as it had accepted the loss of its wings. "

(Espiral) " ... So... Does that mean i'm useless again? "

(Garris) " No. You are not useless, you can still train you just have to wait until your wings can be used again. "

(Espiral) " And how long is that going to take? "

(Garris) " That will be up to you. I can heal you physically but i cannot heal you mentally. "

Espiral started to look sad again but i didn't know what to say that wouldn't just sound a bit patronizing. So i just cuddled him for a bit and got ready to go deal with the rifts. Though i was worried about how Espiral would come along, if he could, but Mr.Garris knelt down and let him get on his back.

(Garris) " The dryads have only located two rifts so we will be heading to them first, but if you sense any along the way we can deal with them. "

(Eclina) " Ok. "

Then we set off. The trip was uneventful and there weren't many rifts to find. There was only one rift on the way and two otthers that Mr.Garris was able to close so we didn't have anything to worry about. Though all along the trip, Espiral didn't really say anything. Whenever i would look over i would see him just looking at his wings. I didn't know what the feeling was like so i couldn't say i knew what he was going through, but i still wanted to be there for him. After we cleared all the rifts that we could find we went back to the big tree and just took time to train. We couldn't spar since Espiral couldn't fly his best but we could still work on our elements.

Though i could see that Espiral was struggling with that too. Whenever he made a bolt or a fireball, they would breakdown without him making them do that. Me and Mr.Garris saw that but he said he was fine and he'd do better. But after a few minutes the issue was still there and eventually minutes turned into hours and the problem kept happening. At first we didn't say anything else but then we started getting involved and tried to figure out what was wrong. I tried to sense for anythhing messing them up but whenever i did, i couldn't find anything.

(Espiral) " What am i doing wrong? This never happened before... Why now? Why does this have to happen to me now? "

He sounded more desperate then frustrated and even tried to wrap his wings around him but flinched, probably from some kind of pain. He just looked down and i could tell that what little progress we tried to make today was already undone. I didn't know how to help him so i just did what i always did. I cuddled up against him but that didn't seem to help at all. Actions were definetly better then words but the same action probably wasn't going to actually help all the time.

(Garris) " For now, continue trying tomorrow. You've gone through an ordeal today so things not working the way they should isn't that surprising. Rest and take some time to heal. "

Espiral just nodded at Mr.Garris and plopped down next to me. He was still sad but for now he just went along with the suggestion to go to sleep. Though a few hours later, i felt movement and slowly opened my eyes despite being tired. I saw Espiral nudging his way out but i was curious about what he was doing so i didn't say anything. When he got out, he walked a bit away and started beating his wings. He tried flying and and managed for a few minutes before coming back down. I could tell he was drained but then he did it again, and again and again.

I didn't get why he kept doing it but just seeing him do that hurt. He kept that up for atleast an hour before he was too tired to do anything else. He waddled back and just collapsed down next to me. He was exhausted and instantly fell asleep. I couldn't just not do something so i decided to turn on my light tail and let it slowly wash over him so it wouldn't wake him up. When i started he just snuggled closer to me and relaxed. Since i couldn't really help with his wings or elements this was the best that i could do.

The next morning we repeated the training and searching and found another rift that couldn't be closed. And just like Mr.Garris said, Espiral wasn't included in this hunt. The rift was by the ocean and opened there but the thing that came out was so weak that i didn't have to use any of my elements. It was some small bird like thing that i killed by smashing my tails into it. Mr.Garris said the small rifts were for weak things but after the bug i was expecting something different.

After that we went on with the rest of our day and eventually got back to the big tree. We did some more training and Espiral kept trying to fly and use his elements but it didn't seem like there was much progress on his end. His elements were still unstable and would keep collapsing without him making them do it which seemed to make him more desperate to keep trying and fix them. I didn't know why he was trying to force it but if he wanted to tell me then he would've... But i was still really curious and wanted to know. So i decided i'd wait until tonight to ask him about it.

Like i expected, he snuck away again and started to train while i was "sleeping", but i didn't know when to bring up the question so i just watched and waited. After another hour of him training, he was exhausted and started to waddle back. That was when i decided to raise my head and fully open my eyes. He flinched and stopped moving to stare at me. He seemed... Embarassed. But he started to walk over again and plopped down next to me again.

(Espiral) " ...How much did you see? "

(Eclina) " I saw you do this last night... But i didn't really know what to say. "

(Espiral) " ... Oh... I'm... Umm- "

(Eclina) " Why? You don't have to force yourself so why? "

(Espiral) " Because i don't want to be left behind... I thought that i would be able to keep up when we went on the wolf hunt but then the bug thing happened... I know that until i manifest i'm going to be weak... I know that i'm normal compared to big sis... I know that i can't be compared to big sis but if i just stay normal i'll end up holding big sis back and get left behind. Especially with me being this weak... When i can't even fly or use my elements... It's only a matter of time till i get left behind. "

(Eclina) " That's why? I'll never leave you behind. We'll get stronger together. We're family, family stays together and helps each other! "

(Espiral) " But then you'll always have to protect me. There's no way i'll ever be as strong as big sis. "

(Ecllina) " You don't know that. Maybe you'll get super strong in the future, we won't know until it happens. "

(Espiral) " ... But what if i never fly or get to use my elements the right way again? "

(Eclina) " You don't know if that'll happen. If you keep working hard enough then maybe it'll all be fixed by tomorrow. "

(Espiral) " ... I don't know... "

(Eclina) " Then let's just work on it together. We can work through anything together. "

(Espiral) " ... Ok. I'll try sis. "

(Eclina) " Good. Then lets go to sleep. We can work on stuff tomorrow. "

He nodded and just curled up against me. He seemed to be better and i could even see him smiling as he went to sleep. I turned my light tail on again and went to sleep. Though at some point, i felt something changing with Espiral. But i didn't think much of it. Then that next morning i figured out what i was feeling. When i woke up, i saw that Espiral was still asleep, normally i wouldn't think much of it but then i felt it. I felt that he was manifesting his elements.