feral | sting eucliffe

LVIII | SL

Episode 58: Silver Lining!

—

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Nikos angrily shouted in Chase's face, lifting him from the ground swiftly by the collar. Although Chase towered over Nikos by a few inches, the fury and rage of the snake boy didn't hold back his power. The white-haired boy blankly looked at him, no emotion in his eyes. "I did what I had to do." 

Nikos lifted his hand, dropping Chase and showing the array of destruction that they'd seen after Akane's barrier broke. "This is what you had to do?! Countless people died! They were kids, our age! Are you stupid or are you dumb?! Could you stop acting like an emotionless little⁠—" Nikos had gone on this rampage after seeing the destruction, Lily not answering back when he called her name. 

Chase growled back, clashing foreheads with the opposing boy. "⁠—would you rather them die now and get it over with or suffer for the rest of their lives?! I've been here longer than you have and it's always been endless torture, so you either get over it and work with what we have or you continue to complain and act like you have a stick up your ass!"

Nikos looked at him, eyes widening in shock. Chase was partially right and so was Nikos, Y/n frantically looking back and forth between the two. A passed-out Akane was in her arms, clutching a small phone while Galena fearfully held onto the end of her dirty white dress like a little kid. Y/n let out a loud animalistic roar, catching both boys' attentions.

She knew she'd have to be the mature one in this stance, no matter the age. "Break it up, you two. Nikos, why don't you go find a nice place to stay in the meantime? Chase and I can stay here and look for survivors using my senses and his chains. Matter of fact, take Akane with you." Y/n sent the snake boy a look, glancing over at the oldest male.

Nikos hissed under his breath, slowly taking Akane from her arms and heading for the forest through a broken hole of the building. Little Galena still tightly clutched onto Y/n's dress, watching the scene with hesitant green eyes. "Chase?" The h/c haired girl quietly mumbled as he stumbled over to her, falling into her open arms. 

He sobbed, breaking down into tears. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean for this to happen; I just wanted to protect her⁠—"  Y/n combed her right hand through his silver locks in a calming manner as she held him close, shushing him. "It's okay. We're free now, right? We're free because of you, so you did absolutely amazing. There's always a silver lining."

He looked up at her with teary eyes before pulling her closer, the two hugging tightly. Galena⁠—being a confused little four-year-old⁠—waved her hands as they turned bright green, shining as she approached Chase. Planting her much smaller hands onto his arm, she smiled, a few of her teeth showing. "No," He wiped his tears. "I'm fine."

He kissed the top of Galena's forehead, the girl wincing at the ticklish feeling as a bright smile adorned her face. "Thanks to you too," Chase looked over at Y/n, smiling broadly. She nodded, accepting his thanks. He looked around briefly, "So, are we actually going to look for survivors?" Y/n shook her head, expression falling.

"I can't smell any other scents except ours."

Chase meekly nodded, swallowing harshly as his lips pursed into a tight smile. Y/n looked over at him, grabbing his hand and leading him out through the same hole that Nikos and Akane had left through. Her nose twitched a few times before she started to head northeast, brushing past multitudes of trees and piles of foliage.

The male who was being led by her opened his mouth, but she quickly answered for him. "I'll talk to Nikos too, don't worry. He'll come around. . . eventually." Chase just let the tight-lipped smile remain on his face, following after her footsteps as they arrived at a small clearing. Nikos held a branch, a pile of leaves around him.

It was no doubt that he'd cleared some of the foliage. "There's a village about a mile away, I can smell the food and stuff from here. However, there's also edible berries and fruits around us." Y/n's nose twitched as he informed them about the perks of where they relocated to. A breeze passed them as she spoke.

"I smell something salty too. It smells. . . weird. Like water and salt?" She attempted to describe it, failing miserably. Galena was no help, being mute and having grown up in the Domum Dolorem her entire life. Chase was also of no assistance, being taken in as an infant. Nikos—having lived a few years in the regular world—sighed, answering her.

He crossed his arms. "It's the ocean. The village has a dock too and that's where they collect fish. However, it's a small one, so I doubt we can steal and then return. There's plenty of people there, no doubt." The older male tapped his foot, still refusing to even spare a glance at Chase as the white-haired male silently trudged over to Akane's limp form.

Nikos bared his fangs menacingly, his claws showing, but Y/n quickly hushed him up with her own quiet snarl. She showed off her canines as well, her pupils turning into the shape of a cat's. The older one quietly backed down, knowing that her usual form was a panther and that—by nature's laws—he'd be dead within seconds.

Chase's chains swirled around him briefly, hooking onto small, nonpoisonous leaves to make a softer bed. Gently lifting Akane up, he set her back down onto the bed. After adding a few more leaves, he told Galena to lay down too, the little girl complying. "Why did you name her Galena?" Y/n suddenly blurted, looking over at Chase.

He had taken care of the little girl for most of his time, watching over her and occasionally being there for her during her training sessions. "I'm not very sure. Galena is a pretty name and is something used to make silver. It's highly valuable on its own, but even richer when combined with other materials to create silver." He smiled gently.

Nikos blinked twice at him before a light 'tsk' left his lips. He looked to the side, brushing back his hair. "The sun's setting soon. We should go forage for some food."