[Aster]
An entire week slipped by in the blink of an eye, almost too quickly to comprehend. Those days were remarkably lazy, as they didn't do much besides relax, eat, and sleep. It may not have been the most comfortable stay, far from it; they were trapped deep underground in a small cave with just enough room to lie down and sit. There were no pillows, and they had only their clothes to use as a blanket, which barely softened the bare rocks. The air was stale, and the temperature was fairly cold. Yet, despite these discomforts, it was the best week Aster ever had. His entire world consisted of nothing but his mom and sister.
Every day began with a morning routine that started with the necessary peeing and pooping. They didn't want to leave each other even for a moment, so they simply handled those embarrassing bathroom things together as a family. It was quite a weird experience doing it side by side, butts facing some random corner. Quite embarrassing at first, it quickly became a new normal for them and hilariously funny, too. The amount of poop jokes they cracked was diabolical. By the way, girls do fart.
Before returning to their little cave and sealing themselves away once again, they usually took a moment to wash themselves. Well, girls did most of the job for him since he was responsible for keeping the light on. It wasn't anything fancy, just ice and a lot of scrubbing until they all felt squeaky clean, but it did the trick.
Once back at the cave and safe from any danger of the dark tunnels, breakfast followed. Although it was incredibly disgusting, it was at least filling. Since Silvia couldn't bring herself to eat any of the worm meat, Aster did all the chewing for her. She made a fuss about it every single time, complaining about how it tasted and how disgusting it was. So, like any good brother should, he made sure to properly fill his sister's belly, even if that involved a lot of tongue kissing.
As a result, there was a lot of kicking, tickling, and wrestling, as it always happens between siblings. But Aster never gave up; with patience, he always managed to make her swallow everything down in the end. No matter how much she pouted, she never spent a day starving.
The rest of the day was spent lazing around. There was nothing else to do but relax, talk, cuddle, and play with each other. This alone made all these days feel like heaven compared to everything else they had gone through. But all the naughty things they did between those activities... that was something else entirely.
Aster lost count of how many times his mother did those wonderful things to his penis to ease the pain and make it go soft. Her hand almost never left his boy parts alone, even while they slept. It quickly became so natural, so right for him to wake up with her fingers gently playing with his testicles or stroking his shaft ever so slowly. He also did quite a lot of humping; her poor navel received some serious pounding, one time even when she was sleeping.
Silvia didn't get left out, either. She was always present during these naughty activities, most of the time just hugging Aster tightly and whispering into his ear all kinds of silly things while he made a mess of Nivalis' hand. Every evening, they also did their mana invasion to one another. If boredom struck them hard enough that even playing together didn't help, they would do it during the day. Just because they could, the only reason.
Thanks to Aster finally figuring out the trick of keeping the flame alive without needing constant focus, it never got dark anymore. The presence of light at all times truly lifted their spirits, making it easier to sleep and feel safe. The flame was even smaller than that of a candle, hovering just above the ground. So fragile that a gentle breeze could easily blow it out. Yet words couldn't describe how much of a difference it made to their mood.
'Who would have thought that mixing my ignited mana with the raw one was all I needed to do?' Aster thought as he stared at the tiny flame, the soft orange light caressing his youthful face. His cheek was pressed against the rough cloth that served as their bed, lying on his stomach. 'It smells even more than before... what the hell is this...?' he wondered, taking a sniff of the cloth beneath him. His nose scrunched up cutely as an oddly familiar scent wafted into his nostrils, yet he couldn't quite place what it was. 'Must be from all the sweat and stuff,' he concluded after a moment, returning his attention back to the flame.
The raw mana surrounding them was akin to the very air they breathed... present everywhere. That strange feeling Aster and Silvia felt during the chase was most likely the higher concentration of it down here in this cave system. Inert and useless, it just slowly fills one's body with every breath taken, lazily floating inside veins no different than blood. Only when your heart ignites it with whatever affinity you may have—whether fire, ice, or another element—could it be turned into usable energy for spells. Basics.
Honestly, Aster wasn't quite sure how any of it worked; those were all the assumptions based on the vague feelings that arose in his chest whenever he used his magic. And, of course, there were countless talks with Silvia where they bounced around ideas and theories they had come up with.
The flame, naturally, goes wild for as long as it has enough fuel. Uncontrollable, unpredictable, dangerous. His idea—the one Nivalis "helped" with—was to mix the raw mana back into his ignited one, thus making it more stable. Aster would do this by spinning the ignited mana around until enough of that raw one got mixed into it, as simple as that.
As a result, the flame became much smaller and the light weaker. However, because mana wasn't pure anymore, the spell consumed it slowly and gradually. In simpler terms, more mana results in longer-lasting spells rather than stronger ones. More control, exactly what Aster had hoped for.
"What are you thinking about?" Silvia asked quietly from behind his shoulder, wrapping her hands around his chest. She pressed herself tightly against him, enjoying the warmth he radiated and the softness of his butt against her hips.
Smirking slightly, Aster glanced over his shoulder at her with a playful glint in his eyes. "How smart I am, obviously," he murmured in reply. "Who knows what amazing ideas I'll come up with next? Flying? Turning stuff into cheese?"
Silvia snorted in amusement at his words before gently poking him in the nose. A warm smile lit up her face as she locked eyes with him. "Sure you will, oh mighty cheese wizard," she teased, her voice soft and playful. Do you even know what it tastes like? You've never tried it."
Aster rolled his eyes at her, sticking out his tongue in response as he turned around to wrap his arms tightly around her waist, pulling their naked bodies together. Goosebumps that covered her flatness slid against his slightly sweaty skin, pink nipples brushing against each other. "Of course I do. You said it's quite smelly, right?" he asked, receiving a hum of confirmation from the girl in his arms. Yet another smirk on Aster's face appeared as an omen of some silly thing he was about to do. "Then it must taste just like my smelly sister."
"What are you—oh my gosh! You dummy!" Silvia shrieked with laughter as her little brother's mouth found her neck, repeatedly blowing raspberries that sent her into fits of giggles. Her feet thrashed against the bed, slender legs intertwining with his own while silver hair sprawled across the ground, tickling their faces from time to time.
"You better save this energy for later. We're almost ready," Nivalis said with a faint smile, looking up from a particularly gory piece of meat she had cut from the ice. She sat near their usual cooking area, next to a small hole in the wall used for food storage; Silvia had filled it with ice to keep their supplies from spoiling.
A torn piece of Aster's cloak lay on the ground beside her, soon to be turned into a little sack. Nivalis was preparing for the upcoming walk through the tunnels, packing all their food for the journey. Today, they would once again try to find a way out.
Silvia playfully pinched him in his side, earning a yelp from the boy, but his mouth still clung to her delicate neck like a leech, slurping and licking the skin there. "You heard it," she whispered, flicking one of his pointy ears with her fingers.
With a wet pop sound, Aster finally pulled away. He flashed Silvia a grin before giving her a quick, innocent peck on her soft lips. "Alright, alright..." he sighed, rolling onto his back and glancing at the rocky ceiling. "I so don't want to go there," he muttered under his breath, watching the shadows dance above.
"Mhm, me neither. But we gotta try to find a way out," she replied with a sigh, snuggling up to him again with her head resting on his chest, one hand around his waist. For a minute or two, they stayed like this in comfortable silence until Silvia spoke up again, her voice soft. "Let's get dressed, shall we? Mom is almost ready," she said while yawning and stretching lazily, toes wiggling.
Aster nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as he glanced at his mother's slender back, her silver hair cascading just below her waist and draping over her pale skin. She was carefully tying the knot on their makeshift sack, which was stuffed with strips of worm meat, attempting to fashion a small backpack out of it. "Yeah..." he murmured, pulling away from his sister and reaching for Silvia's cloak beneath him. He got up on his knees, the cold, rough stones pressing against his skin, and in one swift motion, wrapped it around her petite form, covering her flat chest with the fabric.
Silvia returned the favor and took Aster's cloak, which was now missing a big chunk from it thanks to their impromptu bag, throwing it over his shoulders and fastening it under his neck. However, as she did so, a giggle escaped her lips. She couldn't help but notice how the cloak, now shortened, looked more like a dress, leaving his legs completely uncovered. "Don't you look cute," she teased, pinching his butt that peeked from under his hem, a grin on her face. "Shame that we lost that dress mom made for my birthday. If I knew you would look this good in it, I would have let you borrow it."
— "Har-har, very funny," the boy huffed, rubbing his buttcheek where she'd pinched him. The only reason it was his cloak and not hers that got chopped was the biting cold outside. While he could handle it, Silvia would undoubtedly freeze if she had to wear what was left of his cloak.
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Again and again, he tried to adjust the garment to make it look less... girly. But no matter how hard Aster tried, it was either his butt or his penis peeked out from underneath. And his long hair didn't help at all. "Damn it. It does look like a dress! Mom!" he exclaimed after a few more seconds of struggling. Silvia laughed loudly at her brother, rolling on the ground and clutching her stomach.
"What's the matter?" Nivalis asked with a raised eyebrow, looking up at him with concern on her face. "Oh... oh dear, you look lovely in that. Very pretty," she commented, making Silvia's laughing fit even worse.
Aster's cheeks turned into a charming shade of rosy red as he pouted adorably. "Mom."
With a soft giggle of her own, Nivalis got closer and knelt before her son. "I'm sorry, my love. Don't be mad. It was just too funny. Obviously, cute little dresses like this don't suit my handsome little boy," she murmured, barely managing to hold back her laughter. She kept adjusting his totally-not-dress but soon faced the same problem he had. His pale thighs brushed against each other cutely whenever he moved, his delicate boy parts constantly peeking out no matter what she did. "Yeah... we need to think of something."
...
The tunnels were as dark and terrifying as ever, with every shuffle of their feet echoing off the jagged, dark stones, getting distorted and amplified, making everything feel even creepier than it already was. The air was thick with an odd mustiness that clung heavily to their lungs, making each breath feel laborious.
Once again, the small silver-haired family of three followed along the right wall, desperately trying to find a way out from this godsforsaken place. Aster walked silently at the front, his golden eyes faintly glowing in the shadows as he scanned the surroundings, ears straining to hear any noises, good or bad.
He had his cloak tied around his waist like a skirt—a very manly one!—leaving his skinny torso completely bare. It was the best Nivalis could do without making him look like Silvia's little sister. His pale skin glistened heavily with sweat, now even more so than before, thanks to all the ignited mana in his chest that boiled and was ready to be used at any moment.
Silvia trailed closely behind him, gripping his wrist tightly, careful not to touch his bandaged palm. The biggest fear she had was to turn around and not see her mother, so she also clasped Nivalis' hand with her other one, ensuring they wouldn't get separated no matter what. Her cloak fluttered with every step, with nothing but her boots beneath it.
As for Nivalis, she wore her ragged clothes that barely held together, revealing a great deal of her soft, creamy breasts and smooth stomach. With a dagger in hand and a makeshift backpack slung over her shoulder, one filled to the brim with strips of cooked meat, she kept a sharp eye out for anything unusual.
For what felt like nearly two hours, they moved forward like this, in complete silence, not a single word exchanged between them. Their hopes of finding a way out were getting dimmer with each passing minute as the tunnel kept going down and down without end. Not a single change in the environment; the same stale smell hung in the air, the same jagged rocks on both sides, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing through the darkness. Same everything.
'How is it possible that this place is so huge? We are definitely not moving in circles,' Aster thought to himself as he stared into the shadows ahead, only seeing about five steps forward before everything got swallowed by them. He kept imagining how nice it would be to finally leave this cursed place and feel that nice, beautiful spring going on above them. Surely, the weather must be nice up there. Birds chirping and singing, flowers blossoming everywhere, grass soft and pleasant against bare feet. Find some quiet river and wash themselves, then lay down on the shore under the warm sun and relax... He couldn't get these thoughts out of his mind.
"Wait..." Silvia's voice suddenly broke through the silence, her hand tugging at Aster's wrist to make him stop. All his thoughts were put aside instantly after noticing her eyes narrowing at something ahead. The three of them stood still, barely daring to breathe.
Up ahead, Aster noticed a spot on the wall that was a half-tone brighter than the surrounding rock. It looked no different from any other part of the tunnel and lacked any openings or cracks that might suggest something was hidden here. It was simply a spot with a slightly different rock texture—nothing more. Still, it was the first change in their environment since... ever. And unknown, especially here, always felt risky. "Do you think it could be some kind of ore, like iron or something?" Aster asked quietly, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for this odd spot on the wall. His voice sounded too loud in the silence that followed, even though he tried his best to whisper.
The girls simply shook their heads at him, eyes locked onto that strange spot ahead. Nothing seemed to lurk around the corner or anywhere else that could have given away a hidden danger. And yet, there was something... not quite right about this place. A strange, unshakable feeling of unease settled over them all as they gazed at the seemingly ordinary spot on the wall.
Nivalis knelt and picked up a rock roughly the size of her fist from the ground. Standing up with a groan, she weighed the rock in her palm, adjusting her grip before throwing it into the tunnel ahead. When it hit the ground, dull thuds echoed eerily off the tunnel walls, much louder than she wished it to be—almost deafening, given the complete silence around them. They watched it stop rolling just short of the odd area on the wall.
Nivalis held her breath while waiting for some unknown threat, yet another abomination, to reveal itself. Luckily, nothing happened. "You might be right, probably just some ore. But let's stick to the opposite wall and walk past it. Just in case," she suggested, patting her daughter's head reassuringly, noticing how nervous she was.
Aster nodded calmly, taking a cautious step forward, with both girls following close behind. He ignited a bit more mana in his chest, his mind already preparing mental images of an inferno should things take a turn for the worse. Silvia did the same, an icicle hovering above her hand, its sharp, deadly tip aimed directly at the wall.
'Please don't be some weird-ass monster...' Aster begged to himself as they moved cautiously towards that strange spot along the opposite wall, trying to keep as much distance as possible. With their backs firmly against the rocks, they took slow, deliberate steps.
However, just as the trio reached the halfway point, the peculiar texture on the wall shifted slightly, almost as if it were breathing. It was a subtle shift, but it instantly caught Aster's attention. 'Well, shit,' he thought, raising his hand towards it with mana dancing in his palm, about to unleash hell upon whatever it was. But before he could do so, those rocks suddenly shifted so swiftly that his eyes could barely register it, revealing a pale lizard about the size of his entire arm hidden beneath, red eyes peering back at him. It had rocks growing out of its back, blending seamlessly with its surroundings.
A loud whoosh filled the air just as suddenly, accompanied by a small cloud of dust coming right at them from the rock lizard. Aster felt a sudden sharp pain shoot through his bare chest, making him cry out in surprise. A long tongue, like a whip, traced a line just beneath his collarbone, leaving a faint line—no longer than a finger—on his pale, glistening skin. A tiny trickle of blood appeared there a moment later, running down his torso. It stung badly, like being burned by scalding water. "Back, go back!" he shouted, pushing Silvia away from him, her hand releasing his wrist.
The whip-like tongue withdrew as quickly as it came, retreating into the creature's mouth with a slurping sound; rows of sharp teeth were visible for a split second. Simultaneously, Aster unleashed everything he had in his chest at that ugly lizard, its beady eyes reflecting the bright flash of flames coming towards it. The entire tunnel was lit up like daylight, with shadows flickering on the jagged walls. Silvia and Nivalis turned their faces away from the intense heat and the blinding light.
Three seconds of roaring and crackling noises later, Aster stopped, breathing heavily. Sweat ran down his forehead and chest as he stared at the rocks before him, darkened by soot, steaming gently in the cool air. White spots dotted his vision, making it difficult to see clearly. "Are you two alright?" he asked worriedly, glancing away from the wall to check on his mother and sister, afraid they might have gotten hurt.
But the moment Aster did that, those rocks shifted again, revealing a completely unharmed pale lizard, even though Aster used everything he had. It simply shielded itself with its rocky back, hiding from flames like some sort of turtle. "What the—?!" was all he could say before another whoosh of air came at him.
Nivalis and her motherly instincts kicked in first; she immediately moved to shield her son from harm with her own body. A thin line of blood suddenly appeared on her left shoulder blade, staining her ragged tunic with red droplets as the tongue hit her delicate skin, causing a grunt of pain from the woman. The whip-like appendage quickly retreated into its mouth before shooting forward again, hitting her just when she tried to lift her boy and run back down the tunnel they came from. Then another one, the curve of her spine arching as she cried out in pain.
Silvia, despite her pounding heart that threatened to burst through her chest, launched an icicle at the creature a moment after that tongue landed on her mother's forearm. The whoosh it produced was twice as loud, the icicle hitting the lizard directly into its open mouth, nailing it against the wall with a sickening crunch. Limbs flailed for a split second before finally going limp and motionless, the rocks around painted in a dark green color of its blood.
From the moment Aster's fire ended to this point, barely five seconds had passed, so quickly that it almost didn't feel real. Nivalis stumbled forward and collapsed to her knees, her legs failing her at that moment. "Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked quickly, her worried blue eyes looking up at the cut on Aster's chest, even though she had quite a few of those thin lines herself. Each burned terribly, stinging no different than acid would.
— "Yeah..." he mumbled uncertainly, touching his wound with a shaky hand before asking, "...are you?" His words were a bit slower than usual, and he had a weird, unreadable expression as he looked at her. Almost as if he couldn't trust his own eyes. "How did I not notice it before?" Aster mumbled ever so quietly that even his ears struggled to pick up on the sound.
Silvia approached her mother from behind and lifted that ragged tunic, wincing slightly upon seeing quite a few of those cuts all along Nivalis' back, trickles of blood slowly making their way down. Each was not very big, though, merely a scratch. "It doesn't look too bad," she said with a relieved sigh. "But I think we should get out of here in case there are more of them." She glanced up at her brother, noticing his weird expression; it made her frown.
"It stings quite a lot..." Nivalis muttered quietly while standing up with a groan, steadying herself against the wall for support. "You're right. Let's find ourselves a place for the night," she added, glancing over her shoulder at the dead creature, a shudder running through her body at the realization that it could very well be poisonous.
Just as she was about to say that they should hurry up and take her children's hands, Aster spoke up, his gaze entirely fixed on her. His pupils were so large that they almost swallowed all the golden hue. "Mom, I know it's a bad time and all, but... when did you get those fluffy, big... bunny ears?" he asked slowly while reaching out to touch them with his bandaged fingers. However, being much shorter than her, he could not do so; instead, he just stood on his tiptoes, moving his fingers around as if already touching the soft fur. "Do you have a tail, too? Is it cute? Can I see?"
