Spirit Animals: The Keeper's Book

Chapter Seven: The Stag & The Lynx

Worthy, Jenna, and Destiny have moved from their original place and set up a fireplace together in their campsite. They started roasting bacon, marshmallows for s'mores, and jerky. The fiery light from the campfire flickered warmly in the underground tunnel.
Jenna smiled softly as Worthy laid his head on her chest as he snuggled next to her. Her hands gently scratched across his hair, and he closed his eyes blissfully like a cat. His hair is so soft and silky to the touch. The silent tension that weighed on his shoulders was started to fade by her gentle fingers, causing him to relax like a sleepy cat. She chuckled at the amusingly cute sight. He was so adorable.
Worthy went for a relaxed sigh, but a different sound left him; a low rumble came from deep within his chest, and they both had to take pause at the odd reverberation. Her fingers stopped scratching. His bliss came to a screeching halt. Their eyes met in confusion.
"...What was that?" Confused, her fingers returned to gentle scratching, and then paused when Worthy's eyes closed and the low sound was made again. His eyes snapped open and stared at her in embarrassment.
"I—" His whispered insistence came to an end as fast as it began. He wasn't exactly the prime example of a human. "I sometimes do that."
"Aww!" Jenna cooed, gently playing with his dark brown hair. This was the best discovery of her life. Her new friend could purr like a cat. "You're so cute! My little kitty!"
Before Worthy could protest, Jenna brought Worthy into an embrace. She quickly returned to her gentle scratching, and smiled warmly as his eyes closed and the purring was heard again. The perfect mix of her relaxing embrace and her gentle scratching caused Worthy to fall into her arms limply and she smiled as his face was laid on her left shoulder, completely relaxed. Worthy's breathing evened out and he stilled nearly all movement, making her certain he was asleep up and she soon fell asleep next to him peacefully too.

Jenna gazed at the glowing crystals in the underground tunnels, unsure of the situation. She was waiting for Worthy to return from his scouting. Jenna perked up when she heard Worthy's almost feline footsteps and Destiny followed her gaze, alert and curious. Though, he sounded rushed and worried.
"Worthy?" Jenna stood up with Destiny by her side.
"Another corrupted animal is down this tunnel," said Worthy worriedly. "Once it was a proud stag. Be careful, Keeper."
They walked through the tunnels below the world, casting a train of eerie silhouettes, all stretched out and flickering against the cave walls. Jenna tried to focus on her companions instead of their monstrous shadows, but she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering to the rock walls, where their distorted versions twisted and hovered. Worthy's shadow was also in a spindly form while Destiny's shadow spread in the tunnel.
But at that moment, they had entered a giant cave that had four ancient pillars in the shape of a square. Jenna frowned when she saw a giant stag walking in an abandoned courtyard. She spotted a disturbing gray spiral on the giant stag's forehead. Jenna noticed that Destiny started growling and Worthy became tensed at the sight of the beast.
Jenna caught Destiny's eye and they both exchanged a knowing glance. With a slight nod, the two partners both ran towards the infected stag together. That's when a fierce battle has begun between the bonded partners and the infected stag. The infected stag against the young Keeper, the stag is enforced by the spiral while the other is bonded by Nectar. The stag was a fierce opponent, but so was Jenna and Destiny. Her weapon clashed against the infected stag, powers against power and enemy against enemy. Destiny's agility and strength is a strong match against the infected stag's abilities. Jenna had used her skills and powers to get out of trouble more than once from stag's attempted attacks at her and Destiny. After a few more hits, there was a white flash and it turned back into an ordinary stag. Everyone watched as the stag bounded away.
Worthy soon joined Jenna's side and nodded to her gratefully, but he knew that he has to explain the situation to Jenna. "My friend and I were here on a mission. We were searching for someone dangerous who escaped into the tunnels."
"Really?" Jenna gazed at him curiously, being patient with Worthy. "Who was it?"
Worthy was nervous and hesitant about answering Jenna's question, so he decided to change the subject. "Have you seen the ruins that dot these caves? People lived down here once." Jenna eyed the ancient ruins in the underground ground world. "Where did they go?"
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By the next hour, Worthy, Jenna, and Destiny have moved from their original place and sat down to catch their breaths.
"I'm starving." Worthy looked around curiously. "This seems like a good place to stop." Jenna hummed her agreement. "Let's open the provisions."
Jenna started going through her leather satchel to find her sandwich packet and gave some jerky to Destiny, who laid down next to her and started chewing on the jerky eagerly. Worthy was also going through his leather satchel to find his sandwich packet. But they heard a loud yowl echoing through the underground tunnel.
"Wait... Did you hear that?" Worthy glanced at Jenna, who nodded her agreement and Destiny perked up. They put their sandwiches back into their respective bags and came to a fork in the road. "There's something nearby! I'll check the west tunnel. You try over there." At that, they went in different directions.
They ran through the tunnels below the world, casting a train of eerie silhouettes, all stretched out and flickering against the cave walls. Jenna tried to focus on Destiny instead of their monstrous shadows, but she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering to the rock walls, where their distorted versions twisted and hovered.
But at that moment, they had entered a giant cave that had four ancient pillars in the shape of a square. Jenna frowned when she saw a giant lynx walking in an abandoned courtyard. She spotted a disturbing gray spiral on the giant lynx's forehead too. Jenna noticed that Destiny started growling.
Jenna caught Destiny's eye and they both exchanged a knowing glance. With a slight nod, the two partners both ran towards the infected lynx together. That's when a fierce battle has begun between the bonded partners and the infected lynx. The infected lynx against the young Keeper, the lynx is enforced by the spiral while the other is bonded by Nectar. The lynx was a strong opponent, but so was Jenna and Destiny. Her weapon clashed against the infected lynx, powers against power and enemy against enemy. Destiny's agility and strength is a strong match against the infected lynx's abilities. Jenna had used her skills and the wall of wildfire to get out of trouble more than once from lynx's attempted attacks at her and Destiny. After a few more wildfires, there was a white flash and it turned back into an ordinary lynx. Jenna and Destiny both watched as the lynx bounded away.
"Keeper!" Jenna and Destiny turned to see Worthy running towards them. "Are you alright?"
She smiled softly at him. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Worthy let out a sigh of relief. "Let's eat." The three of them sat down on the ground. "We'll need our strength for the rest of the journey."
Jenna started going through her leather satchel to find her sandwich packet and gave some jerky to Destiny, who laid down next to her and started chewing on the jerky eagerly. Worthy was also going through his leather satchel to find his sandwich packet. But she heard a bit of scuffling from Worthy, she noticed that he was having trouble eating his sandwich with his mask on.
"Hm." Worthy gazed at his sandwich quizzically as he tried to deal with his problem. "Sort of... difficult... with a mask." He soon slid his sandwich underneath his mask, but Jenna didn't catch sight of his face. "Just have to... slide the food... under. Ah!" He soon started chewing excitedly, but he caught sight of the amused expressions on Jenna and Destiny's expressions. "What?" Jenna laughed softly and Destiny panted a wolfish grin to show her amusement.
Worthy gave a hidden smile as he listened to her amused laughter before she calmed down and started eating too. Worthy's breath was hitched in his throat when he and her briefly locked eyes. Worthy had seen many girls, but not like her; the others were quick to judge him for his past mishaps. This girl was definitely attractive, but unlike some he had came across, she wasn't jumping to any sudden conclusions immediately. Her eyes were... very distracting, like pools of pure water. Worthy felt something pounding in chest as he continue to watch her.
Worthy soon realized he was still in love with her.