A King's Legacy Ch. 08

"ASH PELT WOLF! GOOD! ANOTHER STRONG FIGHTER!" The wolf groaned to himself at the bovine getting his name wrong once again, but was relieved to hear there were apparently other strong fighters already gathered up there. Maybe even Aster.

"Aschefell... But good to see you too, Captain... Any idea where we are by chance?" Stahl wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised when the large beast nodded, and offered a hand down to assist the warrior up and out of the sweltering, stale cavern air.

As Aster's group neared the exit, Rust's anxiety got the better of him, and the young fox rushed ahead towards the light, leaving the prince and the stumbling human behind to yell out cautionary measures that the cub just wasn't hearing. Rust stopped dead in his tracks as he came up from within the mouth of the cave. Aster tensed, fearing he may face another opponent in his condition right before they were finally clear of the godsforsaken natural oven, but soon heard the fox yell out words that made his heavy limbs feel lighter than air as the fox darted forward to embrace another figure instead.

"UNCLE STAHL!"

The wolf's attention was jerked from his conversation about scouting for survivors with the other beasts presently gathered near the main cavern entrance by the call. By the time the wolf had turned around to see the fox, Rust had already latched on around his bare chest in a trembling embrace.

"RUST? HOW- ARE YOU ALRIGHT? ARE YOU HURT?" Of all the people Stahl had been silently praying would make it safely through the tunnel, he never even considered his nephew should be counted among them. The fox was sobbing in relief again, but managed to get out his answer between stammering breaths.

"I-I'm ok. I was scared, but- but Aster saved me..." The wolf's heart filled and drained of blood all at the same time. Aster was here, he was alive, but was he alright?

"Saved you? Does that mean... Where is he? Is he alright? Did something happen to Aster, RUST? IS-" The small fox flinched back and released his grip on the wolf from the tone his uncle was using. He sounded angry or worried, but the fox managed to point towards the entrance with a shaky hand. Stahl was running off in that direction immediately, his heart pulsing faster than he felt it should be able to as he closed the distance and disappeared into the mouth of the sweltering cave. He immediately saw his human and Prince Tyfin himself nearly to the exit, but the wolf was already running to them.

Aster felt like taking a page from Rust's book, and letting out sobs of relief when the noble wolf appeared in his view, but he was far too tired for even that. The light streaming in from outside of the cave framed the sprinting silhouette from behind with dazzling imagery and symbolism that just felt right to the boy. Stahl was alive. He had made it. He was here for him, and for a second, that was all that seemed to matter to the depleted human. The wolf was nearly to Aster when the boy felt his body finally give way to his exhaustion, his knees buckling beneath both his own weight, and the subconscious acceptance that his duties had been fulfilled. Both of his charges were safe now. The larger wolf caught him before his knees ever reached the ground. Aster's body involuntarily slumped forward into the embrace, dropping his staff as his consciousness faded off once again. The last thing he registered before drifting away completely was the safe and warm feeling of the wolf's furry chest pressing against his cheek, gently cradling his head against his beating heart. He could finally rest now, his knight was here.

It was dusk when Aster woke up yet again in an unfamiliar surrounding, the last few rays of the desert sun were just fading from view in the final moment of their descent beyond the horizon, bathing the barren, cracked earth below it in swirls of orange and golden hues. His head was pounding, his throat was impossibly hoarse, and his lips felt badly blistered, but more than anything, he was still just tired beyond all belief. His armor was neatly piled on his left side with his boots and staff, and he was only in his shirt and pants with the red headband now lowered to hang around his neck. It was still pretty warm where he was, but nothing like the unbearably stale, draining heat he had awoken to and endured earlier. It seemed he was now leaned up against a stone, and a voice nearby caught his attention.

"ASTER! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" It was Rust who had spoken. Aster wasn't certain 'Alright,' was the word he would use to describe how he was feeling at that time, but he was alive anyways. The human craned his neck to look towards the young fox, his voice was hoarse and very raspy.

"All thanks to your help. Where is Stahl? What did I miss?" So the young fox went about filling in the human to the best of his knowledge. It would seem the wolf was among other parties making a final check through the cave for possible survivors, as well as any supplies that could be helpful. Apparently, there were roughly 20 soldiers present, with a handful of citizens that had also been sucked into this mess by the stray beams from the dark attack. Aster looked around a bit and spotted a few scattered beasts resting nearby. Many were already hard at work, tending away at various tasks to keep their minds and hands busy. Some of the soldiers among them still bore scowls of distrust in the boy's direction, seeming he wasn't out of the woods yet, but still, some seemed friendly enough. One such beast was making it's way over to the now conscious human.

The slender, shirtless rabbit had a light brown coat of fur, with speckles of an off-white creamy color dotted over his cheeks and his waist area. The hare had two long, springy ears pointing far above his head that lightly bobbed with his stubby tail as the soft natured beast made silent steps towards the recovering boy. This beast was pretty short by most beastmen standards, at barely 6'2 if you didn't count the ears. The rabbit came to a halt right in front of the human, and began quietly chanting a short incantation, holding his palm face up as a small orb of water began gathering there. When the rabbit finished, he knelt down, still holding the suspended liquid in an invisible grasp where it hovered just above his hand. The hare moved his hand before the boy and spoke in a bit of a squeaky voice.

"Drink." Aster didn't have to be told twice, and greedily pressed his chapped lips to the chilly orb, drinking it all away in seconds as his dry throat was finally relieved some of the fiery, cracking feeling that burned within. The human got a bit ahead of himself in his thirst, and lightly began choking on some of the fluid. The hare just chuckled softly, and began chanting again, manifesting another good bit of water for the human. Aster swallowed this one with a little more restraint. When he had finished, he attempted to speak, but had to stop to clear his relieved throat before he could speak to the hare through his raspy voice, bowing his head lightly as he did.

"Thank you." That was all he could really say. The rabbit gave the boy a reassuring, compassionate smile.

"Anytime, cutie." Aster's blush at the unexpected compliment was thankfully hidden beneath his already red skin. The hare turned to the young fox next. "How are you holding up? Do you need more yet?" The shy fox only shook his head as reply, the gentle hare nodded at him then, and stood, moving on to tend to others nearby. Aster watched the hare go before he turned back to the fox, speaking with much less difficulty now.

"How are you holding up, buddy?" The disheartened fox looked to the earth below before responding.

"I'm ok. Uncle Stahl talked me through a lot of the big feelings earlier... My dad isn't here... But I'm glad I have my uncles at least." The meek beast let out a small squeak of surprise, realizing he had referred to the human in that manner out loud. Aster was certainly taken aback by the title, considering he had only known the fox for a few weeks, but it felt accurate. Rust really was like part of his family now. The thought warmed the human's heart more than he had expected it to.

"Well, I'm glad Stahl is here too. He's good at calming things down. I know I'm not your real family, but I'll help however I can Rust." The little fox let out an innocent laugh.

"He wasn't always like that, but he's changed a lot since you showed up. He's really started opening up. He used to be pretty grumpy all the time, but he seems a lot happier now. I'm glad he found you. I'm glad to have another awesome uncle watching out for me! You are part of my real family now, Aster." The fox was only speaking from observation, not realizing exactly how much those words meant to the human. Aster was glad the wolf had found him too, although, the boy was clearly missing what the young beast was really implying. Rust just figured the two were together now, going off of the conversations his dad and his mom had in their quarters, not realizing it wasn't so much official yet. Aster found he had plenty of questions for clarification, but none seemed to matter when he heard a beast exclaim that the search parties had returned. The human finally stood up, only possible now by the rejuvenating water gifting life throughout his body, and began making his way to the mouth of the cave with the fox in tow. The ashen wolf quickly sprinted up to meet his human, relieved to see he was awake. After a bit of catching up and reporting on the situation, all present were called to gather around Prince Tyfin as he began to address their course of action going forward. It was then that Aster first noticed that the orange tinted white tiger, Oust Candori, was among those present, scowling towards the boy as usual.

"My soldiers and my people, I will not lie to you, we find ourselves in a less than ideal situation, and know even less about the fate of our kin. All we can do is propel forward in spite of that uncertainty, and work together to get all of us back home with our loved ones. I've been speaking with many of you already, pooling what knowledge we have of our situation. I'll try to summarize it as best as I can. Mollis, if you would?" The same friendly brown hare that brought water to Aster earlier took a step forward, and muttered a quick spell, as a large outline of their continent was displayed above the gathered beasts. The prince pointed towards the center of the continent, and spoke clearly.

"As most of you know, this is where the Capitol of Alora is, where we all were just a few hours ago." The lion moved his claw from the location, and shifted his arm to the right, and upwards, going to nearly the far right corner of the magical map before he stopped. "And this is the Crimson Sands, a desolate wasteland perched upon the ends of our world, far outside of our borders and into the domain of ferals and fiends where we believe ourselves to be now." Many in the crowd muttered hushed worries to each other. Had they really been sent so far from home, to such a dangerous place? The prince continued in spite of them, moving his hand as he outlined their planned path home, listing places and obstacles they would have to overcome as they went. Aster was familiar with the layout of the continent, but obviously had no personal accounts of any of it. Even still, the boy realized this was no leisurely stroll they had before them, this would be a long, and demanding journey. The prince lowered his arm when he finally made it back to the capitol, pausing just a moment before turning back to the crowd.

"I know it is far, but we find ourselves with little choice. We have a warrior with a long-distance communication bloodskill among us, but even that has limited range, as such, we have no knowledge of the current state of our home. We will be moving behind enemy territory with many threats around us. We have no way to know our exact location, and can only get a general idea of which direction to move... Worst case, it could take nearly two weeks to even escape this desert on foot. We have gathered what food we could manage from the ferals within the cave, and our two mages present can handle our thirst. We unfortunately have nobody capable of healing magic here with us, but we have many strong warriors among us, ones that will fight to ensure all the citizens here make it back to their families. My people, and my soldiers, I ask you to remain strong in this uncertainty, and to help each other however we can... For that is now our only hope of survival. Please, put your faith in your prince, and each other. Trust that we will overcome this, as the mighty beastmen of Alora have always risen above any obstacle that was placed before us. Thank you." A large bull standing near the king huffed, and stomped a hoof. Aster was a bit surprised as the soldiers around him, Stahl included, sounded out in perfect unison. "Yes Sir!" The group disbanded shortly after, breaking off into smaller groups in the now silent and dark land in their vicinity.

A while later, while the wolf, the fox, and the human were idly talking in attempt to lighten the small canine's spirits, the smaller group was approached by the bull, the hare, and the prince himself. The two sitting warriors kneeled to greet their prince, which was quickly dismissed with a wave. The rabbit spoke to the human first, giving a little bow.

"Evening. I realize I failed to introduce myself earlier, so let me start with that. I am Mollis Macula, a mage who has been working with Captain Carcer Rixator here for quite some time. I am sorry it is under such circumstances, but I look forward to working with you." The hare turned to Stahl then. "Good to fight alongside you again, Aschefell." The wolf smiled at the hare and nodded in return. It was then that Prince Tyfin cut in, gesturing towards the bull.

"Stahl, Aster, I've charged Captain Rixator here with the task of keeping our soldiers in shape, as well as further instructing and improving with them. I expect you two to join him tomorrow night when he begins training. I know the timing seems off considering our circumstances, but he made a valid point, we need to improve all we can to face a demon capable of such brutality." The two warriors simply replied with a hearty, "My prince," before the bull spoke next in his gruff, booming voice.

"ASH PELT WOLF IS GOOD FIGHTER, WILL HELP ME TEACH!" Stahl nodded in spite of the wrong name again, already assuming as much. Still, the wolf was a bit worried when the massive beast turned to the smaller human next. Captain Rix had a reputation among the military for his overbearing and extreme training methods.

"BOY! YOU ARE ONE I WILL TEACH! YOU ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH! YOUR WEAKNESS IS OUR WEAKNESS. I DO NOT LIKE WEAKNESS. YOUR SHIELD NEEDS TO BE STRONGER. YOU NEED TO BE STRONGER. I WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER!" Aster just gulped as the heavy bull just bellowed down at him. It seemed Captain Rixator wasn't capable of speaking in anything short of a yell. It was then that the last name clicked into place for the boy, and he stared up at the bovine with a new feeling, remorse. Aster took to a kneel again, addressing the beast with somber respect.

"Captain Rixator... Your father was one of the only beasts that believed I should be allowed to fight during my trial. Without him, I wouldn't even be here. He gave me his approval when few others would... I am sorry for what happened to him back there. I will do my best to make you see me in the same light of worth. I am honored to have the opportunity to learn under the Rixator clan." The bull huffed proudly, crossing his arms as he answered the human.

"MY FATHER FELL TO A DEATH WORTHY OF GREATNESS. HE BATTLES WITH THE GODS NOW. BUT, I AM NOT AS EASILY PLEASED, BOY. YOU'LL LEARN SOON ENOUGH." The bull stepped off to the side a bit, the human followed his movement, and was alarmed when the bovine reached down and grabbed his staff. The great bull turned back to the boy with a smirk.

"I WILL TAKE THIS. YOU MUST EARN THE RIGHT TO WIELD IT BACK FROM ME." Aster was simply stunned, many people he cared for put effort into that gift, and now he's told it will be taken from him by someone he had just met? The human was feeling an anger welling up from within himself, but being as he wasn't one to ever run away from a challenge, the boy only closed his eyes to hide the rage that was surely transparent behind them, and answered his superior.

"Then earn it back is exactly what I will do. I will show you my worth." The boy looked to his prince for a moment, recalling his words to him earlier in the cavern before he continued. " I will show, no, PROVE to each of you my value, my resolve, and so much more than you ever could have imagined from a single human. I will prove it to myself." The bull let out a snort of nonbelief, he wasn't much for big talk. The prince and the rabbit, however, were happy to hear such an answer. A short while later, and the three were leaving to speak to the next group over. Aster watched with an uneasy feeling as the bull strutted away with his staff casually thrown over his shoulder. Stahl had noticed this, and felt he should try to ease Aster's worries.

"Yeah... Captain Rix can seem a little extreme at times, but he really is amazing at pushing his soldiers far beyond their limits. It won't be easy to make him acknowledge you, Aster, but not impossible. Just... Remember to keep your cool, he can be pretty ruthless when it comes to attacking your weakest points and insecurities." The boy looked to the wolf with a serious look, and only nodded in acknowledgement. Despite everything, Stahl loved to see his human fired up like that. When his determination to fight showed this strongly, the wolf always found himself completely encaptivated by his small friend.

A few hours later, after Rust, Stahl, And Aster had fallen sound asleep, Aster found himself waking up with an entirely new problem. He was freezing. When the desert sun faded away, it took with it the scorching heat that burned down upon the Crimson Sands, leaving the temperature to rapidly fall in it's absence. Most of the beastmen were fine, their fur kept them plenty warm enough, and the cool night air was a much needed reprieve for them from such extreme heat. Even Aster was at first grateful for the soothing, chilly touch on his burned skin, which finally allowed him to drift off to sleep earlier. Though now, the boy was miserable and shivering violently with only his thin trousers and shirt to cover his vulnerable skin. The human sat up, drawing in his frozen limbs into a tight ball in a vain attempt to bring warmth back to them. He remained that way for over twenty minutes, losing in his struggle.

It was the chattering sound of Aster's teeth that had caused the light sleeping wolf to stir from his dreams. He glanced over with groggy vision, and was immediately pulled from his semiconscious state when his eyes focused of the boy. Aster was huddled up into a ball, his face was tucked down towards his chest, desperately trying to use the warmth of his own visible breath to bring some sort of relief to the bitter, stinging cold that stole away any warmth he could generate. Stahl felt his heart sink into his stomach at the sight, cursing himself for not realizing such an obvious oversight sooner. The human didn't have fur to keep him warm, and not a single beast there had even considered it. Why would they? This wasn't something they had to worry about.

The wolf stood, causing Aster to turn his head to the sound of the crunching dirt. The human just looked at his friend apologetically, speaking between the clacking from his jaw.

"S-sorry, I ha-ave been trying t-to stop them, b-but I can't b-bite down h-ha-ard enough t-to do it. S-sorry to wake y-you." Stahl didn't answer, instead the ashen wolf only walked the few steps over to his armor, pulled his blue cape from the pile, and then strutted back over to his friend, crouching down behind him. Aster audibly exhaled in surprise when Stahl sat down, extended his legs around the boy, and pulled him in close, pressing the warm fur of his bare chest into the boy's back. The wolf spoke softly then.