Chapter Text
Lamb felt a tug in his stomach, that always meant something was going to go wrong.
These kinds of feelings have been in his life since long before he had the red crown. He called it survival instinct, for many it was fear, however, he prefers to ignore it and attribute it to the fact that he has not done a crusade in a week.
Anura remained the same. No matter how much time passed, the domains of the former bishops did not change.
The lamb advances, fails and takes a few hits, but once it regains its rhythm it becomes more agile and faster.
He decided to go on a crusade as his bone stock was starting to dwindle, and he would also take advantage of the opportunity to collect more menticida mushrooms. He was not entirely fond of using the brainwashing ritual, but he had long since discovered that the same mushrooms worked to make painkillers.
He continued to advance through Anura with a sword in hand and a tightness in his chest that was not helping.
The next room he goes to is a heart room and he meets Ratoo.
Lamb smiles at him, it's been a few months since he helped the rat get his heart back and see his brother again.
Ratoo, noticing the lamb, greets him with his hoarse voice while he is doing something with the red potions that are on the table next to the giant beating heart. Lamb tilts his head curiously, walks quickly and then stands next to Ratoo to see what he is doing.
The rat looks at him, "Do you want to know what this is?" Lamb nods, his bell jingling at his movements.
"You see, Lamb, even though I have my heart back, I need to get on with my job as guardian of the healing spring," Ratoo explains, pointing to the pond where he sometimes fishes.
The lamb makes rapid gestures to communicate with the old man. Ratoo takes a while to translate Lamb's message but understands most of it.
"...Do you want to help me? Well, I'm almost done but if you insist" Ratoo hands him two bottles with the red liquid, Lamb takes them carefully and the aroma they give off is a combination of roses and blood.
"This is for the spring, every so often I must perform a ritual to purify it and keep its properties" explains the old rat walking towards where all the little hearts were waiting for him to start.
Lamb follows him silently, watching Ratoo's movements.
"When I'm saying the chant, sprinkle the bottles in the water and when you're done, stand behind me," he explains as he sits down on the ground with difficulty. He takes his staff and taps the ground three times, suddenly the water starts to glow a deep red.
The hearts immediately perk up, they start dancing in sync and humming a song. Ratoo sings in a language that Lamb barely recognizes, some of the rhymes, but he is watching everything carefully and after a few seconds he starts to spray the potions.
A white smoke comes out when it comes into contact with the water and no matter how beautiful or mystical it looks, Lamb feels the pull in his stomach again. He ignores it, staying alert to his surroundings and watching as if something were stalking him.
It doesn't take long for Ratoo to finish the ritual. The ending is striking to the eye, the spring letting out red and white lights as several hearts are formed in the air. Lamb somehow feels rejuvenated, if that makes sense.
Ratoo smiles proudly as the little hearts jump with cries of joy. Lamb takes this to mean that the ritual went perfectly.
Then...
Why does he still feel in danger?
Suddenly Ratoo tries to get up from the ground, but unfortunately, when he leans on his cane, he ends up slipping. He has nothing to hold on to avoid falling into the spring and all he does is close his eyes.
But he never falls into the water.
He feels something push him hard on the back. As he falls to the ground he can hear the splash of water behind him. Fearing the worst, he doesn't wait long enough to recover from the blow and gets up from the ground looking for the lamb.
There is no one.
He looks down at the spring and for a few seconds sees a figure sinking deeper and deeper into the water. He is too paralyzed to even do anything.
The pond turns a bright pink and the white smoke changes color as well, the air smells of vanilla which is too much for the rat's nose.
"Lamb! Damn it-" Ratoo curses everything his old mouth can say and tries to reach Lamb with his stick.
To the rat's surprise , a large black snake shoots out from the bottom of the spring and in its snout carries the lamb from his cloak.
Ratoo doesn't know what the hell is going on but as they both fall asleep the snake reverts to its signature crown and flies in circles around the lamb showing concern. The rat rushes over to check that Lamb is okay and hasn't suffered from some curse or-
Lamb coughs and coughs bringing up small amounts of water from his mouth, his breathing is labored and he trembles visibly.
"Calm down, try to breathe deeply" Ratoo tries to give Lamb some comfort but his expression falls and turns pale as he looks into the younger's eyes.
Lamb wipes his mouth and looks at Ratoo. Something is wrong, why does he look so scared?
"W-what happened?"
Ratoo doesn't answer and rubs his face with his hands, letting out an annoyed sigh.
Lamb didn't know.
But his eyes were no longer hazel.
They were now pastel pink and a small, barely visible heart was in his pupil.
"Shit..." is all Ratoo says knowing that big trouble was brewing.