Stella:
"Hot in here, isn't it?"
This time, this line had a more literal meaning. Smothered in a bundle of dresses of different sizes and colors, Stella and Lien had only a tiny hole at the top so oxygen could flow inside. Meanwhile, they were transported through the Spiders' Atelier, the canary yellow glow of the sikpha crystals constantly peeking from the negligible tear.
Convincing the Spider couple for their aid was... tough at the beginning. As Stella came to the realization her packmate was the Destroyer Anut once mentioned, with fear dripping from his words, she desperately pleaded for help, explaining the suicidal, altruistic quest they volunteered for. Sort of...
The results? Well, I suppose they spoke for themselves.
"Tell me about it..." Lien's tongue hung out while her chest heaved in short, quick movements. "Are we close, Mr. Anut?"
A sparkly, tiger-orange bowtie crawled out of Stella's head, then jumped onto Lien's. "Soon, dear. Apologies if we're too slow, but my wife is understandably weary after what happened to all those crystals."
I forgot to mention, but a freak phenomenon happened a few minutes ago. The tunnel they dwelled in trembled before all sikpha retreated into its walls. Anut theorized that someone was tampering with earth magic, but to use that sheer quantity of sikpha crystals, someone must have been in the fight for their life...
...
Oh well. A worthless detail.
"It's alright, Stella," the Human assured herself, touching over her running heart. "When you show yourself out there, this will be over soon..."
She tried not to think about the reflection's double meaning. Still, facing Lien only made her mind consider the worst.
Perhaps she shouldn't have brought the pup. However, Lien was too stubborn to be grounded in Pantsti, regardless of how hard Hōkō would insist by words or force.
Yes, she would be better left where Stella could keep an eye on her. The Human wouldn't doubt she would flip those ice walls upside down to stay at her girlfriend's side.
"I hope Yuki-onna's winter is as chilly as they said," Lien moaned, crossing her arms. "Are you sure your wife is not just cooking us as revenge for what I did?" she asked genuinely, her uncovered feet turning side to side as if they had a life of their own.
Anut giggled. "Oh, that was so long ago!"
"It doesn't feel like it for a lot of us..." Jakaang, who bravely carried them, interjected, her muffled voice still ringing through the walls of multicolored cloth around them. "I'm only agreeing to rid these caverns from The Destroyer. And, let me remind you, I'm NOT helping you go back."
"That's the third time you're saying that." Stella huffed, grimacing. "We're not deaf. Also, we're on a mission to end a whole crisis on the surface. You could be less of a prick about it."
"Yes, that is all so endearing, but that doesn't take the fact I'm carrying the most wanted criminal for my entire people on my back. So, forgive me for the lack of enthusiasm," the large spider spoke with a sweet tone slathered with sarcasm.
The Human sighed, staring at the smaller arachnid with reprimanding eyes.
"J-Jakaang is still hurt by all the work wasted by Lien's... misadventure." Anut laughed nervously. "She will come around with time."
"Never." Jakaang interposed, prompting her husband to stroke his own head in exasperation.
Lien smiled. "It's okay, Mr. Anut. If that didn't happen, I wouldn't have met The Silver Knight!" Her entire body jerked towards Stella as a wave of realization crashed upon her. "Oh! I never told you the story!" She firmly grasped her girlfriend's thighs.
"Actually..." The Human girl blushed, taking the Wolf's paws and leading them away from the embarrassing position. "The Knight already told me how you met."
"Aw..." She hung her head down. However, before Stella could comfort her, her enthusiasm rekindled even louder. "Wait!" She took her girlfriend's shoulders, jiggling them harder with each passing second. "The Knight talks about me? YOU talk about me to the Knight?! HOW OFTEN!?"
The Human was unshaken (pun intended) by her packmate's antics due to closeness. Jakaang, on the other tarsus...
"QUIT WIGGLING AROUND, YOU RASCALS!!!" A swift bulge repeatedly burst through the bundle, definitely the large spider's leg. "By the Great Golden's silk, you three..."
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Stella's eyes darted to the crawling Anut, who traveled up her arm. "Is she talking about your boss?"
"It's a long story. The Great Golden is to us as Tizohi is to most other Monoke species."
Lien groaned, miraculously sitting down. "Don't hit us with a history lesson, please! I'll get bored to death!"
Anut sheepishly retreated close to the Human's neck. "R-Right. I apologize, Destro- I mean, Lien!" He tried to laugh his evident fear off with... questionable results.
Stella disagreed vehemently, always welcoming another piece of Monoke lore. Nonetheless, it was best to support her packmate, especially when her fate was still... undetermined.
...
They needed to have an ACTUAL conversation about it, didn't they?
After a few minutes of silence and an unbearable heat, Stella broke the former by clearing her throat. "Lien?"
The pup's ears twitched, pointing at her.
"We need to talk."
Lien froze. "Oh no. Are you breaking up with me?"
Stella's face scrunched in confusion. "Excuse me?!"
"That was what Maro's first girlfriend told him before they broke up. She did it in front of a bunch of Monoke, including me." Her entire body trembled from the recollection. "Cousin Tolin's wedding got a lot awkward after."
Brushing the story aside, no matter how many more details she hungered for, Stella reassured her. "No, I don't want to break up. But what I have to say is about us, in a way..."
Lien leaned closer.
The Human's hands motioned aimlessly as if she had lost control to a drunken ghost. "You're... aware this mission carries a lot of danger, right?" The words thickened and clustered in her throat, her heart hammering like a drum set. "L-Like... those terrorists... they want to KILL me."
Lien nodded. "Yeah. I'm aware of that, dummy. I still haven't forgotten those Weasels and their freaky lady friend."
"So..." Stella carefully takes her packmate's paw with both hands, using the opportunity to gently caress it and feel her warm palm and fingers under the thick, greasy fur. "We should talk about what will happen if I... don't return with you." Once those words came out of her mouth, her entire body shook, her stinging and blurring with heat and unshed tears. She felt like her strength regressed back to her pre-Sayama days.
Lien gently landed her other paw above Stella's hands. "Oh..." She squeezed them harder. "I-I was thinking about it too, but..." The Human could feel her anxiety seeping through her wavering hold. "I didn't want to make our last moments so sad. At least we could've had some fun before you..." Crystal-clear tears trickled down from her milky eyes. "Y-You..."
Stella's body embraced the Wolf faster than her mind could perceive, her strength returning as fast as it vanished as her hold on her dear pup became an unbreakable shield.
"Oh, Lien..." She allowed her feelings to flow as seamlessly as the saline stream warming her cheeks. "I'm so sorry for thinking you didn't understand..." She buried her face in the canine's fluffy, welcoming neck. "I swear I wanted to spend so much more time with you. I should've known those terrorists would do anything to get to me..."
The pup's sobs heightened with each passing second. "W-Why do they want to kill you so badly? If only they knew you..."
Stella's heart clenched. Perhaps she wasn't as worthy of the benefit of the doubt as her packmate claimed. Still, she couldn't bring herself to dump all those thoughts onto her. Those would follow the girl to her grave.
"I love you, Lien..." she quietly proclaimed before pressing her lips on her girlfriend's neck.
"I love you too, Stella..." Lien reciprocated, a sudden thrill coursing down the Human's spine from her tongue running over her cheek.
Before any foul thoughts could cluster in her mind, Stella broke the passionate embrace. "The thing is, you don't need to lie to me about your feelings." She held the pup's chest with a feather-light touch, her forehead leaning on hers. "You can be as brutally honest with me as you can get. If anything, your honesty is what I love about you the most."
Namadi's light. Why were those words coming from her heart making her almost as nervous as the night she confessed to Lien? Was it that hard for her to say anything real to anyone?
"Okay." The Wolf sniffled, cleaning her tears with her wrist. "Here's another." She took a deep breath. "The danger you're in makes me so anxious, but... when I think about all the action waiting for us outside, I can't help but feel excited about it?"
Stella's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
Lien nodded, fidgeting with her fingers. "Does that... make me a bad Monoke?"
The Human immediately shook her head. "No, it doesn't." She smiled while caressing her beloved's cheek. "There's another thing I adore about you. I wish I could go with the flow and find the silver lining in everything, even while everything is set to harm me in this forest."
Stella jerked backward when Lien's paws cupped her face. "Sorry for being such a lousy girlfriend. I have no idea how to be one, but I swear I'm trying my best."
The Human beamed, her cheeks flushing, adding to the heat her packmate's furry hands brought. "From where I stand, you're the best girlfriend to ever exist in the history of girlfriends." She giggled. "Seriously, you did wonders for my nerves since we met." She leaned closer, planting a peck on her forehead. "I love you so much."
A loud sniffle cut through the moment like a hot knife on those trendy videos from eight years ago.
Man, it's been eight years since then? I feel old...
Well, old-er...
"Anut?" Stella searched for the tiny arachnid throughout the dimly lit bundle. "That you?"
"I-Indeed..." His voice echoed somewhere in the pup's right side. "Don't bother with this old romantic. I get too emotional nowadays..."
Before the girl could say anything else, they ceased moving. Was it the yellow tunnels' sentry? Could they be the same asshole she and Maro fought twice? Judging by her insurmountable, horrible luck, she wouldn't dismiss those odds.
"M-My dear?" Anut murmured.
A louder, shrilled sniffle sent goosebumps under the Human's skin.
"I-It's all fine, Anut," Jakaang assured, her voice... thick with emotion? "We've arrived at Chikukei's entrance tunnel. You better get a hold of something..." The last sentence came out as a whimper.
"They also reminded you of our courting days?" Anut asked, his orange bowtie coming into view.
A few seconds of silence ensued.
"Y-Yes..."
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