Aura of Creation and Destruction

Epilogue

Gaito listened to the sounds of the stream as he came to from a nap. Scratching his head of green hair, he had a dream he once had a crest on his head, but never remembered such a thing being real. He was a normal neanderthal as far as he knew. The warrior thought of his bewitching friend, his opponents fought on his dream-like journey. Was what he was seeing real, or was this a dream too?

Next to him sat a woman, a brown-furred bipedal mink, donned in purple clothes. She appeared to be unconscious, but waking up. He knew her name as...

"Ouuugh" Faosha spoke, waking up after a stray mist of water splashed towards her face from the nearby river. Her eyes darted open after laying them upon her student.

"Gaito!" She cried.

"Faosha!" He replied.

In furred arms, the two embraced.

Gaito spoke next. "Faosha, are you okay, are you hurt? Where is everyone else? Is aura still with the world right now?"

His master looked at him. Still dazed, her reflection bouncing off his eyes. "I-I'm not sure. Do you know what happened after the Wishmaker appeared?"

Gaito, remembering the torn worlds, acknowledged it.

Out of the will to protect her from some false truth said, "Well it was like a dream. I'm not sure what happened, but they said we've won."

Faosha, now more alert, gave her notorious scorn. She flashed a mind-reading glint into his eyes for a moment. She saw through a part of his lies and then suddenly stopped.

"Hm?" She said.

Her vision was always accurate but she blinked blankly. "That's odd, looks like you weren't lying this time."

She sighed, the two got each other up again.

"I guess that means no homework for the next week right master?" Gaito jokingly asked.

Faosha too looked a little confused. "Hmm, well lets go see the others at the bar first, then we'll figure out if I'd want you losing to other fighters. We got a reputation to uphold as the temple of aura after all."

She used her robed red cloth whip to bat him on the head.

* * *

Celebration took place. Time came and went, but there was one thing that both Gaito and Faosha felt was not resolved in their hearts. They sat down to chat about it one night at Alabastro's bar.

"So, we haven't talked to Ophera in a bit." Gaito said across the table from his teacher.

"Yeah, she seemed like a sweet girl. I'm honestly concerned that she lost too much of her innocence with that fight." Faosha reflected on the queen, her memory holding up from some kind of possession. She bashfully flicked her paws and fancy outing robe.

"Yeah." Gaito said, kicking the dirt from the floor, wondering how his friend was doing.

Faosha got up suddenly. "I'm gonna go visit her. She's probably incredibly conflicted and alone."

"We've... definitely got some things to figure out, all of us."Gaito replied hesitant and equally awkward.

"Well, we figured ourselves out, lets help her through this one too." Faosha wasted no time planning the next day.

The two packed their belongings, heading for the winding roads of the wilderness. They hummed a song together for a moment before beginning their journey to the valley where Ophera was waiting.

At the entrance the guard informed the duo they were ordered to disallow entrance to the party from entering the kingdom. "The queen as seen enough. Her message to you is that she's thankful, but needs time away from you both."

"That was an old decree, Griswold." From the gate, a tail and a robed royalty figure emerged. Donned in a pink crown, and blue painted specs across her face, the queen emerged. Her silver and brown fur shined in the autumn sunlight. She gave a peaceful greeting of a hug to both Gaito and Faosha. In her arms, it felt like a moment that lasted forever.

The party walked outside the kingdom for a bit.

"So whats say you two, it matters not what we know now, but what we do with it?" Ophera tried to smile as she talked, but her composure was heavy and her mind was abuzz with uncertainty.

Faosha started off before Gaito had a chance to butt in. "Well, lets start with hello, perhaps a meal after that. It's about time we got to meet for the cause of peace."

Gaito nodded, waiting his turn. "I'm sure you'll learn a lot more from us than just thinking about your past."

The queen's spirit lit up having learned how well they responded to her feelings. Her adventurous side took hold. Throwing her arms around her reliable friends. "Well have at it then, for the glory of the valley. The regal champion, and his cute sensei. Let thunder roar with your true names here, and no more murals." Ophera howled. Gaito howled. Faosha took a moment, looked at how happy her lynx friend was, and gave it her best howl too.

Under the skies of Aura, unity had come again.

~FIN~

To be continued in a prequel

Enduring Princess Ophera. 2021?