Wolfram pushed through the tunnel, beginning to wonder if it was even the right one. Suddenly, his paws met air, and he fell. With a deafening yowl, he tumbled onto the ground. As he collided with a hard surface for the second time, his vision flickered black, and what he could see was utterly distorted and blurred.By the dying light of the pixie's wings, now Bleddyn could see and was seeing alone.
She made her way over to the fading girl on her knees, drawn to what lay beside the glow.
She didn't want to touch him.
She didn't deserve to be close to him.
But the next thing she knew was his still-warm fur pressing against her face. Despite the body heat that his thick pelt clutched, he was certainly gone. Her quaking fingers first gently pried him out of the slender girl's grasp, then felt for his face. Then she bent down and rubbed her nose to his muzzle, just as he'd done to send her off into every single night of dreams.
The only difference now was it was her sending him off into a night from which he would not wake.
And for a delusional moment, she wanted nothing than to bring him back to the surface. I can't leave my daddy lost down here. He has to come home with us. Home.
"But M-mom would want you to stay here, w-wouldn't she?"
She pulled away for good then. If it were just me, I would be staying.
"Okay. Okay." When her throat expelled a sob-residual gasp, she found that the thick air she got in return wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her lungs. With renewed urgency, she began to gather the fragile pixie into her arms. "We're not risking any other way out then the way we came."
She'd already promised herself that she wouldn't look again, but she had to. She stole one last glance at her magnificent father, to remember him as no more diminished by death than by mere sleep.
She went to take a huge inhale and realized her mistake only when the comparably steady illumination began to flicker for her. "You first." Just those two words even came out alarmingly slurred. Just how much time had passed since their arrival in here exactly? She hobbled over to what she hoped was the tunnel they'd taken in and offered the pixie's upper body to Sherri. "I'll push."
For a moment, he lay still, gasping. Then he pried his eyes open, and was surprised to find that his vision had cleared enough for him to realize that he had not taken the tunnel Bleddyn and Sherri had. He scrambled to his paws, grimacing as he felt one to his chest. Something glowing vanished into the tunnel, leaving Bleddyn behind. Bleddyn and...
No...
Connie's limp form. He gave a weak meow of greeting to Bleddyn, and slowly, half-limping and half-dragging himself, over to her and the dead wolf. He stared at Connor, and gave a weak shudder. You'll go down in history, Connor. Everyone who has died will.
Slowly, he lived his head to fix his stare on Bleddyn. He blinked once, his ears flattening slightly. She wouldn't understand his words, but maybe body language. He indicated with his tail toward Connor's, his eyes glowing. 'I'm so, so sorry, Bleddyn.'
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