Chapter 63.5

“…Cuddles?” Amara asked.

Ciara nodded. “Yes. Cuddles. Now, unfortunately, we’re not in my domain, so the terrain isn’t well suited to this request… hm…”

Hellspawn cleared her throat to interject. “Amara, perhaps you have someplace hidden away? A quiet little glade, a secluded nest, maybe near the base of the tree? Ciara here is not looking for passage through the clearing, you see, merely a chance to cuddle with the one and only Amara.”

“Ah!” Amara leapt into the air with joy. “I know just the place! Come, follow me, friends.”

Hot on Amara’s heels, Hellspawn and Ciara walked alongside the base of the enormous fallen tree. On her last two visits to this clearing, Hellspawn had never bothered to explore this far to the side, as she’d only needed to get over the tree. Now, she was surprised to find a small grove of sorts jutting out from the side of the tree itself. This grove, a small collection of vines, branches, leaves and other exotic flora, extended out in a semicircle as if welcoming them home.

As Amara pushed aside a series of hanging purple vines, she puffed up her chest with pride. “This, my good friends, is where I like to escape to when I desire rest. You’ll notice a delightful little bed of leaves in the back corner, and I believe this location will be sequestered far enough away from the bustle of the forest for your liking, Ciara.”

Looking around, Hellspawn saw the bed of leaves in question. The rest of this small grove was much smaller than Ciara’s home, and much less extravagantly decorated. Before deciding to enter, however, Hellspawn hesitated just outside the hanging vines.

“It looks like a lovely place, Amara,” she said kindly, “do we have your permission to enter?”

Another deceptively wide smile slowly grew on Amara’s face, masking a faint hint of disappointment. “You, Hellspawn, and your lovely friend Ciara, both have permission to enter this little hideaway of mine.”

Purring with excitement, Ciara leapt out of Hellspawn’s arms. After gracefully landing on the ground, she trotted over to the bed leaves and circled around inside it several times. She sniffed the edges, pawed at a few spots, then looked back to Amara. “This will be suitable enough for my needs, Amara. Would you care to come lay down? I remember your chest, and the crook of your neck, being especially warm!”

Amara threw a quick glance at Hellspawn, one that seemed almost boastful, but Hellspawn paid it little mind. Instead, she watched with glee as Amara happily settled in on the bed of the leaves. The color of her skin faded to a collection of much duller greens and reds, and her glittering, iridescent wings folded behind her as she prepared herself. With a wide, over-exaggerated yawn, she laid down on her back and extended her arms to welcome Ciara into her lap. The cat, clearly the most excited of all of them, hopped onto Amara’s legs and carefully walked higher. As she found Amara’s chest, she circled once, twice, thrice, then laid down.

“Oooh… Yes, this feels familiar,” Ciara purred. A series of micro adjustments ran through her small, black fur, and within seconds she’d draped herself over Amara’s chest, pushing her adorable, fluffy face into the faerie’s neck.

Heavy purring filled the small grove, and while Ciara’s chest slowly rose and fell in time with her breathing, Amara looked over at Hellspawn once again. “I’m afraid your little game failed, Hellspawn. No matter how friendly you used to be with our adorable friend here, the power of the name Amara is too great to ignore.”

Hellspawn tried to mask her smile, but it broke through as she spoke up again. “Darn, I guess you really are Amara. You’ve bested me once again, I’m afraid! Care to shake on it? After you’re done cuddling, of course.”

“Oh, I believe my point is well and truly proven. I don’t think there’s any need to continue this simple little test of yours.” Amara shifted her legs as if getting ready to stand, but as she attempted to do so, her body refused to move. Eyes wide, she tried to push down with her arms next, but that failed as well. Her third attempt involved trying to push Ciara off her chest directly, but predictably, she was unable to move the napping cat. “What… what is going on?”

“Oh, can you not move her?” Hellspawn asked, mirroring Amara’s saccharine concern from earlier. “Shoot, that’s right, I forgot to mention this part of the cuddling. I’m afraid Ciara can’t be moved until she wakes up.”

“Excuse me?!” Amara gasped. “How long is that going to take?”

“Well, there’s this delightful little river near her clearing, and I believe she’s more than capable of napping until it changes direction once again.” Hellspawn leaned against the bark of the huge, fallen tree that formed one side of this glade with a smile on her face.

Amara’s deep green eyes began darting back and forth in a panic. “I… that’s perfectly acceptable. I would hate to disrupt my lovely guest here.” Her words were stilted, and seemed to be directly at odds with the incessant tapping of her fingers.

“Are you sure, Amara?” Hellspawn asked. “You seem a little anxious, if I say so myself.”

“Not at all!” Amara grit her teeth uncomfortably hard. “There’s nothing I love more than entertaining treasured guests.”

“Excellent! Well, I suppose I can just leave, then, since you’re otherwise occupied,” Hellspawn said. As she finished speaking, it was clear that Amara wanted to offer a retort, but her words were cut short as a mysterious new voice appeared in the clearing outside.

“H-hello?” the voice called out.

With an excited gasp, Hellspawn looked at the vines covering the grove’s entrance. When she started to leave, however, Amara hissed, “You wouldn’t dare!”

Hellspawn turned to look back at Amara, pinned beneath Ciara’s sleeping body. “Well, someone has to welcome our new friend!” Without a second thought, she pushed the vines aside and walked back towards the open clearing at the base of the tree. As she approached, the darkness retreated enough for her to see the person now standing, alone, near the base of the tree.

Except, it wasn’t a person at all. The creature Hellspawn saw stood roughly two feet tall, though its tall beige ears made it look closer to three. It was bipedal, standing proudly on two fluffy paws that shared the same beige color as their ears, only with the addition of small white tufts of fur atop them. Their muscular, digitigrade legs extended up before meeting with a small mammalian body that was mostly covered with a collection of thin, leather clothing. As Hellspawn walked closer, stepping on a dried leaf, this stranger’s head pivoted to face her, and she saw an adorable rabbit-like face staring back at her.

“W-who’s there?” the rabbitfolk asked with a slightly squeaky, feminine voice.

She’s so cute, but she seems terrified of me! Although, if she thinks I’m a faerie, that makes a lot of sense… Maybe if I lean into that, I can annoy Amara even more?

“Hello, friend!” Hellspawn said, kneeling down several feet away from the short rabbit girl. “I’m afraid the true owner of this clearing is unable to greet you herself, but I’m happy to explain the rules of passage for you. You can call me Hellspawn, kind soul. What can I call you?”

The rabbit girl’s face twitched as she looked around the clearing, her long whiskers nervously flicking up and down. “W-well, I-I’m… you can call me T-Truffle, Miss Hellspawn. If you would be so kind as to let me know the rules of passage for this place, I’d v-very much like to spend as little time as p-possible here. If that’s alright.”

What would she hate most? Simply not having a chance to talk with a guest? Or perhaps it would be more annoying if I had a bit of fun without her?

Hellspawn did her best to smile a little too wide, a little too eagerly. “Perhaps, in exchange for knowledge of those rules… we could play a game of sorts?”

Truffle shivered as Hellspawn mentioned games. “Oohhhhhh, I was af-f-fraid of that…”

“It’s a very simple game, Truffle, I promise!” As Hellspawn once again uttered a promise, she felt the latent magic of The Wilds clinging to her words. “See, I would very much like a small collection of flowers, and there happens to be my favorite kind higher up on this fallen tree. If you could be so kind as to fetch an armful of those flowers for me, I’ll exchange them for the rules of passage!”

With a quiet, whimpering voice, Truffle nodded. “Oh, g-golly… is that all you n-need? This isn’t some s-sort of t-t-trap?”

Hellspawn shook her head. “It is no trap, and to the best of my knowledge, there are no dangers in or on this tree. The only thing you need to know is that you should ask these flowers for permission before picking them.”

Truffle’s ears perked up. “Oh! I know just the kind! You say they’re up on the tree?”

“They are!” Hellspawn said excitedly. She angled herself towards the massive bark wall next to them and pointed in the general direction she remembered the flowers being. “They’re up that way, it’s just hard to see with all this pesky darkness.”

“P-pesky is the right word, I’ve n-never been in the Deep F-Forest before and I’m not having a fun time! But I can get those flowers for you! I’ll be right back!” Fierce determination appeared on Truffle’s face, and she crouched down before leaping up onto the tree. She moved with incredible speed, almost too fast for Hellspawn to follow, as she leapt from tiny ledge to tiny ledge.

Hellspawn had been prepared to wait for a while, especially with how long it took her to climb up the tree, but she was pleasantly surprised to see Truffle returning in no time at all. She was nearly impossible to see, however, as in her arms she held a thick bouquet of the exact flowers Hellspawn had seen earlier, the ones Imani had requested for some magical purpose. With a smile of gratitude, this one not forced, she took the bouquet and bowed politely to Truffle.

“Truffle, I can’t express how thankful I am for your assistance today.” Hellspawn thought back to her very first encounter with Amara, then repeated her words. “If you’re looking for safe passage, I can promise you that no payment or exchange of any kind is necessary to travel here. The way out is at the top of the tree; all you need to do is ascend over it in whatever manner you like.”

“Oh! That’s it?!” Truffle asked in surprise. “T-thank you so m-much, Miss Hellspawn! Have a good d-day!”

With their exchange over, the kindly rabbit girl once again leapt towards the tree. This time, she took a slightly different path, and vanished into the darkness in a matter of seconds. With a happy sigh, Hellspawn figured it was time to check on Amara and Ciara, still cuddling in the nearby grove. She took her time as she walked closer, hoping to run this small victory in Amara’s face, and she was delighted to see hints of anguish in the faerie’s eyes as she pushed past the hanging vines.

“Amara, you just missed the most adorable little rabbit girl! She was so scared, but thankfully I was there to help her out.”

Amara angrily clenched her fists. “Oh, she’s been wandering the Deep Forest for so long, and I was so looking forward to meeting her… But no matter! I’m sure there won’t be any other interesting guests. Nothing is more important than keeping Ciara here as happy as I can!” Tense, hollow laughter filled the grove.

Seeing that the faerie was growing more upset by the second, Hellspawn started backing towards the exit again. “Now, I hate to leave on such short notice, but I really do have somewhere I need to be. See, this little magic potion of mine? The one that you wanted so badly? I have a friend who needs it more than I need my name. So, unless you have anything else you’d like to say before I leave… I suppose I can come check on you later? Not that I’m in any rush to return, of course…”

The faerie, helplessly pinned beneath Ciara, glared at Hellspawn. “You’re bluffing. I know how important this name is to you.”

Hellspawn shrugged. “True, it’s very important. However, I know where you live, and I happen to know that you’re not planning on leaving anytime soon!” She laughed, making sure to stress just how devious she felt in this moment. “Goodbye, Amara! Have fun listening to all those interesting people passing through your clearing!”

The vines calmly fell into place behind Hellspawn as she left the grove. Was she bluffing? At first she’d been, she just wanted to force Amara to relinquish her name, but now she wasn’t so sure. Like she’d just told the faerie, she knew for a fact Amara wasn’t going to be moving any time soon. If Hellspawn returned to campus, cured Nick, and explained the situation, it was very likely that her friends would be willing to escort her back afterwards.

Despite the heavy knot forming in her stomach, she began to resign herself to this decision.

Nick needs this cure. He’s what matters right now.

A deep breath, a heavy sigh, and Hellspawn set her sights on the exit boundary. She briefly considered if she needed to pass over the tree again, but the more she thought about it, the less that made sense. She wasn’t passing through, she was returning the way she came: to Ciara’s clearing.

Moments away from the boundary, moments away from walking away from her name, Hellspawn heard a loud, frustrated shout from behind her.

“AAGGGHH! FINE! I, Féith, officially surrender the name Amara back to its original owner!!”

Amara briefly shuddered as an imperceptible blast of magic passed through her. She closed her eyes, briefly grabbing her head as the magic rattled around like a terrible migraine. It only took a moment for the sensation to pass, and as Amara shook herself back to her senses, she heard another voice coming from the nearby grove at the base of the tree.

“Hey, wait a minute, you’re not—” Ciara muttered.

Holy fuck, that worked!

Not wanting to linger any longer, Amara charged toward the boundary at the edge of Féith’s influence and disappeared into the underbrush, one step closer to escaping The Wilds.