Inanimate Insanity AU - Spring's Heart

Chapter 13.5 - Mirror Man

(Context - No Episode, Pine Kingdom's Camp within the Crystal Cave)

[A song reference? Wow! And a Jack Stauber song at that]

~⚠️ Minor Gore and Implied Skinning ⚠️~

Lemonstream's POV

I don't know what I was thinking. Seeing Greenmint's body, I started pelting back towards Pine Kingdom Territory. I should've stayed with Spring and helped her, comforted her, but I ran back to that place. That horrid place. Just to tell Redmint his mate had died. I regret my stupid decision... Take it from me. DON'T LISTEN TO STUPID IMPULSES.

As I stepped into camp and the Castle came into view, Wolf Dragons looked at me with confusion, or perhaps... rage?

"Where have you been?"

"Have you been spying on Spring?"

"What have you been doing this whole time?"

I nervously walked through the group of Wolves, ignoring their questions, but once I got up to the Front Door to the Castle, Redmint stepped out and blocked my path. "Uh... H-Hi R-R-Redm-mint...." my body tensed in terror as the larger Wolf Dragon stood over me. He leaned in and put his muzzle next to my ear, "Don't play stupid with me, Lemon. I saw you with Spring". My whole body shivers in terror, "I-I-I don't... Uhm.... I came to t-tell you that.... that-" "Greenmint is dead? I know" Redmint growled. Wh- What?! How does he know?! Un-Unless..... "Go to King Foreststorm now. He will punish you accordingly. He is in the Crystal Cave". Redmint pushed me away from the Castle Door, forcing me to go find the Crystal Cave. I haven't been in that odd, shiny cave out back behind the Castle in a while...

Why would Foreststorm be in the Crystal Cave?

As I slowly made my way around the Castle, past the Castle Guards that stood watch, I eventually made it behind the Castle. The garden was huge, and looked overgrown. The King and Queen of the Kingdom, alongside the Prince, Princess, and their closest members, always tended to the Garden every month, harvesting the fruits and berries, picking plants, and digging up weeds, even cutting down or pulling out plants that were getting too big... Seems like Foreststar and Redmint have been ignoring it this whole time, as huge weeds stood at least a few feet tall, suffocating the Plants that were actually meant to be here. I looked around, dug, sniffed, but I couldn't find a trace of any berries, fruits, or even any of the flowers. Sadly, I looked away. This place was so much better when I first got taken into this Kingdom...

I stepped away from the Garden and carefully moved my way to the Crystal Cave. It looked a lot darker than usual... I very nervously stepped onto the cold, slightly jagged cave floor. My paws shivered and I nervously called out, "King Foreststorm?". My voice echoed down into the darkness, bouncing off of all these shiny, multi-colored crystals that line the walls. But, there was no response.... "Uhm. Redmint sent me to..... talk to you" I called out once more. Something moved in the shadows and a shiver racked my whole body. "Ah, I thought nobody would ever come to talk to me after what that little bitch did to my face" Foreststar's voiced echoed back to me from the shadows, and my lip peeled back. He just called Spring a- a- a bitch! Y-You're the bitch Foreststorm!... If only I actually said that to him, but if I even dared to speak back... he'd kill me. He's already killed 4 Wolf Dragons for just speaking their opinions.... "Come closer now, I can't see you too well, you know, missing an eye over here!" He snorted at his own joke. Rolling my eyes, I slowly wandered deeper into the cave, my Night Vision slowly kicking in the deeper I walked into the shadows....

Then I saw him.