Sparkless - A Fer.al Novel (DISCONTINUED)

[3] - The Plan

It felt like hours by the time the group reached their destination.

    They'd been trekking through Mugmyre Marsh for a while, and Auris' paws were beginning to get sore due to all of the mud they'd had to step through. Judging from the tired expressions of the other Sparkless, she guessed they were feeling the same.

    At long last, the dragon entered into an opening in the ground. The jackalope sped to the front of the two, assuring them before following the dragon themself.

    Auris was next to enter the strange burrow. Immediately, the scent of earth hit her nose, and she nearly gagged due to its strength.

    "Creature-scent is a lot more different than human scent, isn't it? Don't worry, you get used to it. Just a bit farther!" The jackalope noticed her struggle. "And don't worry about rushing! The game can't sense us down here. Take your time!"

    Soon, the two emerged into an underground den. The muddy walls were crammed with crystals and rocks of various shapes and colors, giving the entire burrow a mystical feeling. As Auris peered closer at the rocks, she noticed that they had small paintings on them, appearing almost like fossils.

    She reached out to touch one that displayed a nine-tailed kitsune when the dragon spoke up. "Don't." They warned.

    "Satoru!" The jackalope sighed. "We need to make them feel welcome here, not like prisoners! Here, why don't you two take a seat. I'll explain everything."

    As they sat in a corner of the burrow, Auris took a moment to look at the dragon themself. Satoru's scales were a mixture of dark red and orange, light blue strands of hair flowing from their head, back, cheeks, arms, and at the end of their tail. Small diamond symbols of the same shade were located on their arms and legs, and another arrow-like symbol below both of their eyes. Grey horns poked out from behind their red ears at the top of their head.

    Satoru's green spark was cut in half just as Auris' was, except his indentation was a bit more to the left side. As the kitsune studied this, she realized that the dragon, too, was looking right back at her with narrow eyes. She quickly turned her head away from them, feeling threatened.

    "Oh, don't let Satoru get you all riled up. He's harmless, really." The jackalope huffed.

    "Haki--"

    "Enough, you!" Haki, the jackalope, silenced the dragon, much to their shock. "We can trust them. It's okay. You don't always need to be on guard."

    "Alright. But I'll be watching over, just in case." Satoru promised, his eyes never leaving the two.

    "Sorry about that." Haki apologized. "I'm Haki, as you probably know by now. My pronouns are they/them. That grump over there is Satoru, he/him." The jackalope smiled warmly. "And you two are?"

    "Oh, we're introducing ourselves with usernames! That's cool!" Auris grinned, her tail wagging again. "I'm Auris! My pronouns are she/her."

    All eyes turned towards the senri, who, after rolling their eyes and groaning, finally introduced themself. "Kaya. She/her."

    "Excellent! Nice to meet you, Auris and Kaya. Right, Satoru?" Haki turned towards the dragon, whose green slitted eyes were still locked on the guests.

    "Yes. Of course." He agreed.

    "Just give him some time," Haki promised. "He just needs to get used to you, is all."

    "You know I can hear you, right?" Satoru frowned.

    "Sure do, you grump," Haki hopped back towards the opposite wall, taking a seat of their own. "I'm sure you two have some questions, correct?"