Chapter Text
The soothing smell of sea salt and the sound of crashing waves filled the air as we marched down the soft sandy beach south of Eldergrove. The road down this way was back along the stoney cliff above us with several farms alongside it. The map had directed us off the road and onto the beach, the entrance to the dungeon was close. My focus remained on the ocean before us. The waters covered in white foamy waves as they crested and crashed against the beach. The boats out in the water weren’t as numerous this far away from the harbor at the heart of Eldergrove. There were still a few still about. The water wasn’t as perfect or reflective from my dream. A pang in my gut wishing for the presence of the shinx. I wasn’t able to learn wherever he was. But he had to be out there. I knew I would find him eventually.
The beach wasn’t as desolate as I expected it to be. There wasn’t a swarm of krabby to make bubbles, but there were a few pokemon about enjoying the beach and surf. A coldness in the air told me that summer was on its way out and autumn was fast approaching. It felt weird since it was the middle of autumn back home before I came here. The seasons not perfectly lining up was a bit strange, but I figured it was just another difference between here and home.
I turned my focus to the pokemon sharing the beach with us. A pair of slowpoke with yellow heads rested on a black boulder with their tails entwinned. A purugly sat on a towel watching over a glameow and a purrloin building a sandcastle. A red furred growlithe with a floofier grey mane and tail rested alongside a rockruff. A corsola happily performed a solo swim routine in the shallow waters. A pompous looking white and blue duck with a massive head of hair laid down on a towel with a pair of black sunglasses over their eyes. A pale green and black lizard pokemon that resembled a motorcycle greedily soaked up the sun next to them. A diglett and a long white noodle diglett like pokemon played around in the rolling surf. A flock of wingull flew by overhead heading out to sea. A large spout of water out in the middle of the water herald the breach of a massive wailord.
A buizel and brionne swam through the water together. A green cat that looked like a bigger version of me tailed behind the adept water types. I was half tempted to call out the pokemon to maybe get some insight on their evolution. Whether they truly were the next stage in my evolutionary line or not. And I wanted to know how they evolved. Whether it was simply level, or activated by a stone, or friendship, or some other factor. But I also felt it would be a bit weird to jump a random stranger asking questions that any normal sprigatito probably knew. The one positive I did take away was the fact they seemed to be bipedal. A bit of happiness finding its way into my day at the revelation I will have hands as soon as I did evolve. A happiness I was more than glad to have after everything that had happened.
It didn’t take long for us to finally reach the point our wonder map had brought us to. There were no pokemon on this section of the long beach. No doubt none of them wanted to venture too close to the mystery dungeon just sitting out in the open. I got the faint recollection of the beach cave from my dream. The cliff rose a bit higher, and a massive cave shrouded in darkness sat in the center. Etched in the boulder at the peak of the entrance was the same upside down triangle with a tear drop. The sand of the beach gave way to a small tide pool that sat in front of the cave entrance. Jagged black rocks sprouted from around the edge of the shallow pool. Nestled off to the side was a small rocky statue reminiscent of a substitute doll. I figured that was the totem thing that was linked to the storage system.
A feeling of unease washed over me as the shadow of the cliff loomed over us. A shiver racing across my body. Brooke took a step towards the black veil blocking the entrance to the cave. She gave it a cursory glance before turning back and asking, “This it?”
“Yeah,” Hanna answered rolling up the wonder map and stowing it in her bag. She faced the dungeon entrance. “That’s Salty Cove.”
“I assume we’ll encounter a lot of water types?”
“Most likely,” Brooke said stepping back to my side. That fact made me a bit happy. At least I’ll have a type advantage for once.
“So we just have to find the bell and then we can get out of there,” Hanna said stepping up and correcting her bandana and righting her badge.
“With no idea where it can be. We’ll have to search everywhere in the dungeon for it, we can’t leave any stone unturned.” I got two sets of nods from the foxes. I returned it and stepped towards the dungeon entrance. “Let’s go, Team Star.”
Brooke nudged me with a giggle and rushed across the distance. Her form vanishing as she crossed the inky blackness of the dungeon entrance. I following her wake with Hanna hot on my heals. The salty aroma and the crashing waves vanished as reality blinked away. I skid to a stop in a circular sandy room lined with rough chalky white walls. The sand here was nearly bleached white. The ceiling above was a thick blanket of white clouds. The light coming through again not feeling natural, it felt like what came out of an old fluorescent tube. Water trickled down the walls and formed a thin moat of water around the edge of the room. The air felt damp, but there was a faint bit of salt to it. It was a bit harsher than the natural smell from the beach. Brooke was standing off to the side dipping a paw in the water. Hanna landed with a huff at my side, sending sand everywhere. She gagged and tried to spit the offending material that had invaded her mouth.
I stepped towards her and tried to whip the sand out of her fur. She stood up and shook herself, sending more flying. I flinched back and hissed. She gave me a sheepish smile in response. Brooke’s voiced echoed off the white walls, “You two goofballs done over there?”
“You try getting sand out of fur this thick,” Hanna countered stepping towards the way forward. I rushed up and we made our way down the path. The short hallway leading us towards a square room at the end. It was exactly like the last room, just different in shape. A shellder entered from another path on the right. Its eyes pure white circles with no pupils. Its tongue lazily dragging along with sand sticking to it. I charged up a leafage and hit the bivalve pokemon before it was even aware of our presence. It let off a yelp as it was sent tumbling by the flurry of leaves. Brooke rushed forward with a quick attack, and it vanished in a cloud of mist.
Taking the path the shellder had come down opened up to a long room filled with water. The entrance sat on a raised cliff with a ramp leading down to the water below. Reaching out of the water were pillars of light blue stone topped with sand. They were staggered in a strange pattern, all leading to another cliff on the opposite end of the room. Is this a…
“A jumping puzzle?” Hanna voiced exactly what I was thinking. I didn’t doubt our ability to clear the jumps, but the pair of corsola floating in the water below wouldn’t make it easy. We decided to head back and take the other path from the previous room, just to check before we attempted to cross the pillars. The other path was a long winding hallway of sand, but it was a dead end. I hung my head with a sigh, “Of course it’s a dead end.”
We turned and made our way back. A white noodle diglett sprung from the sand the second we entered the square room, a cloud of sand kicked in our direction. I screwed my eyes shut as the coarse particles descended upon us. A second later a blast of water sent me flying backwards. Brooke rushed in with a quick attack, the pokemon bending its slender snake like body out of her path. She hit the ground face first, her body going limp. Hanna stepped back to me and helped me out of the sand. A shove to the side kept me out of the path of another water gun.
I fired off a leafage, the cloud of leaves too large for the noodle to dodge. It collapsed to the ground and sunk back down the small hole it had emerged from. In its wake was a bronze coin. Brooke picked herself up with a groan and shook herself free of sand. She spat a glob of spit and grit and brushed a leg against her tongue. She moaned out, “That hurt.”
Hanna scooped up the coin as I made my way over to the eevee. I asked, “You good?”
“Yeah,” she shook the last bit of sand from her body.
With no more adversaries, we made our way back to the pillar room. The corsola were still floating about, but they were not close enough for me to fire a leafage at them. Going out in the water wasn’t a good idea, battling while swimming against a water type was a recipe for disaster. Crossing the pillars and giving the two of them free rain to snipe at us was equally as bad. I need a better move…
I need to be better. I closed my eyes as I focused on the draw of energy for a leafage. It was a close range attack, but still acted on the principle of summoning grass type energy laden leaves. There were other stronger moves that did just the same. And there was one I was told I could work my leafage towards. I just had to figure out how to make my leafage become magical leaf. It was still a leaf based attack. But it wasn’t a cloud of them sent out, it was only a few enchanted leaves. These leaves stronger and having the ability to lock on to a target. I didn’t care about the locking on mechanic, I cared more about actually performing the move. It was a special type attack, which offered me more range than leafage did.
I drew the energy for a leafage, my crest glowing with light. I focused on the energy flow more intently. The transfer from my core and through the kernel. It was a slow pull that grew with time as I pulled more energy. I held the draw back, feeling that too much energy would just make a large cloud of leaves, which is exactly not what I wanted. The energy for my attack lessened and I felt it contract in on itself. The glow lessened and I felt it was right. Something within me telling me that the amount of energy and concentration pulled into the attack was just right. I opened my eyes and zeroed in on the nearest corsola. I released a small collection of large dark green leaves at the pokemon. They fell to the water in a cloud of green dust. The attack never reaching its target. The pupilless corsola noticed my actions and swam towards us.
“What was that?” Brooke asked stepping up to my side with a confused look on her face.
I sighed hanging my head, “That was supposed to be magical leaf.”
“You know magical leaf?” She asked a bit surprised.
“I wish,” I said looking to the remnants of the failed attack on the water’s surface. I pointed a paw at the decayed leaves, “That was supposed to be it.”
“Doesn’t look like you gave it enough power,” Hanna said stepping forward.
“You think?” I asked cocking my head. She nodded.
“It died before it could reach its target,” she said pointing at the corsola rounding a pillar and closing the distance. We all took a step away from the edge. She then offered, “Try putting more into it.”
More into it? It didn’t make sense since I felt more power would just give me another leafage. But who was I to argue against the actual pokemon. I glanced down at the crest of fur on my chest, then past it and to my claws. Memories of the hone claws move I used on that beach with Nyx flashed in my mind. I knew it was a dream, but I also knew it was more real than that. It felt real enough to me.
My claws popped out and I felt the energy course through them as I slashed them against each other. The power of hone claws pulsed through me, and I pulled the grass type energy like I did before. My crest began to glow again. I compressed the energy as I did before. Only this time, I pulled a bit more grass type energy. The coral pokemon fired off a water gun. I tanked the hit and responded with my attack. Dark green leaves with a faint tint of rainbow light on them rushed out and all zoomed towards the pink and blue pokemon. Each one hit, knocking the corsola back with each strike. It winced in pain with each leaf. By the fourth it collapsed and vanished, the last few leaves hitting the water and fading away. Warmth welled up in my chest as I felt a click in the back of my head. Aster has learned Magical Leaf.
“You did it.” Brooke stepped forward and said in a somewhat surprised tone. It almost sounded like a question, like she wasn’t believing what she was seeing.
“You did it!” Hanna exclaimed as she rushed to my side and nuzzled me. I smiled and couldn’t help but return the affection. I stepped back and charged up another magical leaf. The pull was much easier, and it felt even quicker than when I did leafage. I released the dark green leaves, and they flew off towards the remaining corsola. The leaves did quick work of it as well and the room was empty of any hostile pokemon.
“How’d you know that would work?” I asked the zorsune.
“My mama taught me.” She turned away and stared off at nothing. A wistfulness washed over her face as she said, “Zorsune can’t use dark moves like zorua can because of our ghostly nature. I wanted to learn some to better hide that I was a ghost, and she taught me sucker punch.”
She flashed me a smile as she lifted a paw, her claws glowing white. “She taught me how to channel dark type energy into my scratch to make it a dark type move. I mirrored her sucker punch and learned it that way. But she always told me to put more energy than I thought the move would need. And since dark type moves are emotion driven they really rely on type energy to be effective.”
The white energy turned a noxious black as it bubbled over and covered her entire limb. “The amount of energy you pull can spell the difference between life and death. Too little and you can never fight back. Too much and you might just kill someone. It’s a delicate balance.”
The dark type energy faded as she set her paw down in the sand. “But only you can figure out what the balance is.”
“Wise words,” Brooke said sitting down next to the zorsune.
“I miss her,” Hanna hung her head as a stray tear fell.
“You’ll see her again,” I said sitting down on her other side. “We’ll all go see her someday.”
“Thanks.” She said with a smile. She sniffled and used the back of her paw to wipe away the wetness on her face. We sat there in silence for a good minute, just resting in the presence of each other with no one else around. The gentle sounds of running water filled the salty air.
“We should probably get going,” Hanna finally said sitting up and shaking herself free of sand. We agreed and stepped up to the edge of the cliff, near to the closest pillar.
Brooke gave the series of pillars, six in total, an analytical glance as she asked, “So, we just jump to them?”
“Probably would have been a lot harder if the corsola were still here,” I said stepping up to her side.
Brooke leapt and cleared the distance with no trouble, sand displaced by her landing falling to the water below. She peered over the edge then back to us. She asked the zorsune, “Can you swim?”
“I can,” Hanna answered.
I opened my mouth to say we all could, but I stopped. My mouth shutting with a click. I gave my green furred body and four legs a once over. I gulped. “I don’t think I can.”
“You can’t?”
“I mean,” I turned away from the white fox, my face heating up. I faked a cough. “I used to when I was human.”
“Oh,” Hanna said when the realization struck.
“Don’t fall?” Brooke offered with a fake smile.
“Thanks,” I deadpanned at my partner.
“You go before me,” Hanna said with a nod of her head towards the pillar.
I ordered the eevee, “You go ahead, we shouldn’t crowd the pillars.”
Brooke nodded. She got in a pouncing stance, her tail wagging before she rushed forward and cleared the distance to the second pillar. I made my way towards the ledge and the first pillar. My confidence quickly vanishing as I peered down at the water below. I had no idea how deep it was, but that didn’t matter. I had no experience swimming as a pokemon. I had no idea if I could swim or float anymore. I wasn’t a water type so I couldn’t even bullshit my way with any natural instincts of this body. Most pokemon could swim, that was a fact. But they still needed to learn, and some learned better than others. Bipedal pokemon learned the easiest. Quadrupeds really depended on what animal they were related to. Cats could swim naturally and cat like pokemon learned just as easily, if not better. But there was the whole fact of it being a learned skill. I knew how to swim with two arms and two legs. I now had four legs, which was a completely different scenario. The mechanism was not the same in the slightest. I gulped as I watch a few flakes of sand fall to the crystal blue waters below.
Hanna shuffled up to my side and asked, “You want me to go?”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head, “You should stay back just in case I fall in.”
“We need someone to save his ass,” Brooke chimed in from the fourth pillar.
“Maybe it should be you,” I shot back pointing a paw at the eevee.
“I’ve saved your ass enough times already, give Hanna a chance.” Brooke countered as she cleared the jump to the fifth pillar with ease.
“Thanks,” I said with a roll of my eyes. The eevee just cackled from her perch. I stepped back to give myself a bit of a running start. Hanna stepped off to the side to give me room. I took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I held it for a second. I can do this.
I rushed forward and jumped. I crossed the distance and landed on the sandy pillar. I lost my footing and slipped off the edge. Spinning around I dug my claws in the soft rock and kept myself from tumbling to the waters below. Hanna gasped and shouted out, “Aster! You good?”
“Yeah,” I answered picking myself up and shaking the sand off. I moved towards the second pillar and jumped to it. I landed on all four paws and didn’t nearly fall this time. It was quick work, and I made it across the simple jumping puzzle and joined Brooke at the end of the room. Hanna was right behind and finished right after me. Once we were all across, we made our way towards the next room. Which contained the mystical stairs leading down to the next floor of the dungeon. There was not a single pokemon or loot in sight. But there was another path leading off of this one. Since we had no idea where the golden soothe bell was, we needed to check every inch of the dungeon. With it being gold and metal it would stick out like a sore thumb in this white washed placed.
The path was short and opened up to a small room with a lobster like pokemon in the center. It screeched and clanked its large claws. It rushed forward and I charged up a magical leaf. The rainbow leaves sliced through the feral and it collapsed in a cloud of mist. An oran berry was left in its wake. There was no sign of the lost bell. With no path leading off of this room we grabbed the berry and turned back to head to the next floor. I stowed the berry in my bag and tailed the two foxes as we walked back. The two walking at each other’s side, their tails waving with their strides.
But I stopped in my tracks when I saw under them. With the block that wouldn’t be something that would concern me. I wouldn’t check because it wasn’t polite, but my eyes were drawn to their backsides for a fleeting second with them being right in front of me. And I didn’t see what I expected. Instead of featureless fur I saw their spades. I screamed as I collapsed to the ground and screwed my eyes shut as tightly as I could. I covered my eyes with my paws. I tried to dispel the sight I just saw. But I could still see it. It was burned in my eyes. I could still see Brooke’s slate grey spade and Hanna’s black one. Why can I see them?!
My face felt warm as I tried to find an answer to that question. I shouldn’t be able to see anything. The block would prevent me from doing so. Yet here I was able to see them both. It made no sense. The block was still there. I knew it. It had to be. Yet I saw what I saw. Which meant only one thing. Lily’s words ringing through my head like a deadly gong. ‘The block will not be able to work on ones you desire’.
But that couldn’t be true. I couldn’t have feelings for them. I just couldn’t. Brooke was my eevee. My partner. Almost like a pet. And Hanna, she was a friend. And they both were pokemon. I couldn’t think of either of them like that. It was so wrong. My face felt warmer as I couldn’t dispel the image. It was burned in my mind, and it wouldn’t go away. I felt warm all over and my chest hurt. I couldn’t breathe. I stiffened when a paw landed on my shoulder. I jumped up and leapt away from the shiny eevee with a scream, “Don’t touch me!”
“Aster?” Brooke took a hesitant step back with a paw remaining where I once was. Her eyes were wide and filled with shock. Hanna was at her side with a worried expression all over her muzzle.
“Don’t touch me!” I ordered again stepping further back from the two. I kept my eyes off them and trained on the sand in front of me. My voice quivered and died as I meekly said, “Please, don’t touch me.”
“Aster,” Brooke said in a broken voice. She took a step forward, but Hanna held a paw out stopping her from advancing.
“What’s the matter?” Hanna asked.
“I,” my voiced died as I tried to answer her. How could I answer them? How could I tell them what I saw? I was a freak. I had feelings for both of them. I didn’t want these feelings. The block was meant to stop me from having these feelings. But now it wasn’t working on either of them. I couldn’t look at them. I couldn’t face them. I didn’t want to see them. I didn’t want these desires. But I knew I didn’t have feelings for them. I didn’t see them in that way. It was this pokemon body that had these desires, not me. Then how come the block isn’t working?
I gulped as my throat ran dry. Camille. The damn jolteon messed with my head. He must have messed with the block somehow. He must have ruined it, broken it, or something. It wasn’t working anymore, and it was that damn jolteon’s fault. That’s why Elizabeth didn’t say anything when she checked my head, she didn’t find the block because it didn’t exist anymore. I hissed out, “Fuck that jolteon.”
“Excuse me?” Brooke asked back.
“Fuck him!” I shouted slamming my paws down, sending a puff of sand up. I fumed. “The block isn’t working! He must have ruined it when he tried to…”
I lost my voice and collapsed to the sand with a wail. I couldn’t hold back the tears. I curled up in a ball as my mind raced. A ringing buzzed through my ears. This was just too much for me. Everything had gone wrong since coming to this world. Learning to be a pokemon was novel, but it has been nothing but trouble after trouble. I’m weak. I can’t really fight. This body not agreeing with me and forcing these urges on me. The Reaping. Camille. This whole dang quest. I can’t do this.
A paw on my shoulder froze me to the bone, but I couldn’t muster the strength to run from it. I quivered at the contact. I kept my eyes shut and let the tears fall. Brooke’s broken voice pierced the collapsing bubble I had erected around myself, “Aster.”
Her voice was weak, trembling almost. My breath hitched as I peeked a glance at her. She had laid down in front of me. Her paw slowly withdrawing back to her body as she sat down in a loaf. Her ears were splayed backwards and her body limp. A deep frown etched across her muzzle and her eyes were misty. She didn’t take them off me as she softly declared, “You’re going to be okay. We’re here for you.”
Hanna stepped in and sat down next to the silver eevee. She too was concerned, a deep frown over her face with sad eyes. I turned away and pawed at the sand in front of me. I hated the pitying looks. I didn’t want to feel fragile. I didn’t want to be something others tried to fix. To swaddle and baby.
But I was. I was a broken mess. I have been ever since I came here. I didn’t belong and the cracks showed more with each passing moment. I didn’t want any of this anymore. I was blinded by the grandeur of this world, but that luster had vanished already. I didn’t want to be a pokemon anymore. I want to go home.
“Please,” Brooke pleaded, “Talk to me, Aster.”
My eyes flashed to the eevee, but quickly went back to the divot I had dug in the sand. Her voice was on the verge of breaking. She pressed, “I don’t like seeing you like this. I want to help. Please let us help you.”
“Just tell us,” Hanna begged. She was doing no better than Brooke.
A shuttering tremor wracked my body as my paw jolted to a stop in my musings. I pulled it back and hung my head. I finally answered them, “I don’t want to be here.”
“We can leave the dungeon,” Brooke offered.
I shook my head vehemently. I tapped the sand and corrected, “I don’t want to be here. This pokemon world. I want to go home. I hate this. I don’t want to be a pokemon anymore. I want to be me.”
“Aster,” Brooke softly said. She inched forward and placed a paw on mine. She grabbed it as she said, “You are still you. It doesn’t matter if you are a sprigatito, a human, or a fucking magikarp. None of that makes you, you. You will always be you.”
“But I don’t feel like me,” I said pulling my paw out of her grasp.
She shuffled closer and continued, “I know you, Aster. You are still you. You haven’t changed in the slightest. Nothing has changed. You haven’t lost yourself. You never will. I’ll never let that happen.”
“But,” I sniffled back the tears. I turned to her, “But the block.”
“Fuck the block,” she bit back with a hard look. “I hated that you got that damn thing. I only let you keep it because it gave you peace of mind, but that was a mistake.”
“But the desires.”
“Do you love me?”
“What?” I asked pulling back from the shiny eevee.
She hardened her glare and asked the same question, tapping the sand with a paw with each word. “Do. You. Love. Me.”
“No,” I answered back with a shake of my head.
“Do you love Hanna?” Brooke pointed a paw at the zorsune. Hanna let off a small eep and covered her face with her paws.
“No,” I answered a bit more grounded.
“Do you want us in that way?”
“Never!”
“Then there’s nothing to be concerned about,” She stood up, “Pokemon are naked all the time. Pokemon’s bits are on display all the time. Just looking doesn’t mean shit. You’re still thinking of it like a human where you are always covered up. Don’t you look at human girls all the time?”
“Yeah.” I hated to admit that, but she was more or less spot on with that one.
“Do you want to have sex with every single one you see?”
“No.” I hesitantly answered.
“Is looking at them at all mean you want to?”
“No.” I responded with a bit more strength.
She waved a paw towards her backside, “So what if you see our spades.”
She pointed at me, “So what if I see your balls and sheath.”
“It doesn’t mean shit,” she stamped a paw in the sand, “Looking doesn’t mean you want to fuck us. The block just kept it out of mind. But having it or not doesn’t mean anything. You are still you. You know you aren’t attracted to pokemon, and you never will be. Okay?”
Her voice quieted to a whimper at her last word. She stared me down, her eyes hard and full of power. Her words ran through my head. They chased away the fear as I realized she was right. I was so focused on not looking at pokemon. Treating their naked nature as something taboo. Like I shouldn’t see anything. That it was wrong for me to see anything. But that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t wrong to look. It wasn’t wrong to see it. The shock of seeing Lily no doubt messed with me. But I didn’t have feelings for the espeon. Brooke was right, I didn’t have feelings for anyone. There wasn’t anything wrong with me. That block was a mistake.
“Do you want to leave?” Hanna asked picking herself up.
“The dungeon?” I asked back.
“The world,” she corrected.
“I don’t know,” I hung my head and went back to playing with the sand. “I don’t really want to think about that right now.”
“Then let’s not,” Brooke said holding a paw out for me. I accepted the offering, and she pulled me to my paws. She nudged me forward and said, “Let’s find that bell, then just do nothing for the rest of the day.”
Her offer was tempting. I shook myself free of sand and made my way back towards the stairs. Brooke right at my side and Hanna behind us. The eevee leaned close to me, her warmth a welcome comfort. She softly said, “You’re not weak.”
I came to a stop at the edge of the staircase leading down. I separated from the eevee and countered, “But I am. I- “
“What that jolteon did doesn’t count,” she cut me off, “He’s a dick and he took advantage of you and other pokemon. But that does not make you weak. You are the strongest pokemon I know.”
“You don’t know that many pokemon,” I bit back.
“Still doesn’t change the fact that you are strong and brave. You are the greatest, kindest, noblest person I know, Aster. You are anything but weak and I will not stand to hear you call yourself that. Saying that makes that jolteon win. Is that what you want?”
“No,” I answered weakly hanging my head.
Brooke bumped her chest against mine, forcing me to look at her. Her face had hardened once again. She flashed her fangs as she asked, “Do you want to let him win?”
“No.” I said with a bit more strength.
“Then calling yourself weak lets him. You are not weak. You were never weak.”
“But,” I hung my head, “It was only because of Hanna- “
“So what?” Brooke thumped me in the side of the head with a paw. “Hanna will always be there for you.”
Hanna started from the attention and declaration. But she righted herself and gave a determined nod. Brooke pulled my head back to her with a gentle nudge of a paw. She added, “I will always be there for you. We’re a team. We face anything together. You are not alone in this, Aster. And you never will be.”
She gave me a soft smile, one I happily returned. She pulled her paw away and said, “You’ll let us know what you’re thinking, okay. I don’t want you wallowing inside your own head ever again. We’re here for you.”
“Okay,” I answered with a nod. She closed the distance and wrapped me in a hug. I returned it. Her sweet scent a welcome comfort.
Hanna stepped up and joined in as well. The ghostly fox added, “We’re a team, Aster. We look out for each other.”
“Thanks,” I said to both of them.
The two just tightened their hold on me. We stayed like that for a few more minutes. It was just us in our cuddly bundle of warmth in the middle of the damp mystery dungeon. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. We parted and I felt in better spirits. The pain of yesterday was dulled significantly. I didn’t feel the cold presence of Camille looming over me. I didn’t feel weak. I felt more like myself. I felt happy for once. I sobbed trying to fight back the new set of tears forming. But I let them out. These were tears of happiness this time.
“Let’s go find that bell,” Brooke said as she made her way down the staircase. I followed right behind her with Hanna right on my heels.