Matriarch pet prompt 3 - Taha, Elise, Lillie

The air in the tunnels was thick with dampness as they made their way back to the Martiarch's cave. Taha, Elise, Lillie and Haldor had left the cave in a hurry, following the poor nyxthorn who had ran away once the bigger crystals started falling off the matriarch's body and made a loud sound, so they had followed them, lured them with berries, and were now making their way back.

 

"If only i remembered which way we went" said Lillie, who was leading the four of them as she had flown ahead to block the nyxthorn's path. She had landed in front of them, cornered them before they could split into smaller groups at a bifurcation in the tunnels, and stopped them in their tracks. They had lured the creatures, and they were now following willingly, but remembering the way backwards was proving difficult. Elise had tried, and Haldor as well, but the only ones who seemed to know the way were Lillie, who had flown so she had seen it only in passing, very fast, and Taha, who was a haedian and was keener in spotting the subtle differences in the tunnels. 

 

They all had their wings folded against their body, all except Haldor of course, and they were all keeping their eyes on the path ahead. Their paws were sore, their impromptu run having left them no choice but to step on shards of crystals who had embedded in their paws, but it was worth if they could bring back the Matriarch's pet. 

 

The nyxthorn seemed comfortable following, and they rubbed against each other and against the four reos' legs as they slowly moved forwards, their quills pressed low on their bodies so they were hurting nobody. 

 

At one point, one of the nyxthorn squeaked and ran ahead, and the others soon followd, and the four reos exchanged worried glances before throwing themselves once again to the chase, afriaid that the nyxthorn would be lost once again. But there was no need to be afraid, as the porcupine like creatures went straight to the chamber where the matriarch resided on their own as soon as they were close enough to know the way.

 

As soon as they saw the Matriarch, they all emitted squeaks of joy, and rushed towards the Matriarch. She lifted her head and one of her massive paws, and she started caressing the nyxthorn with her massive claw, as well as pushing her face against their small bodies. 

 

She then noticed the four reos that came in right after the nyxthorn, ragged breaths and slightly bleeding palms, and she smiled at them and said thank you, in a voice rough from disuse.

 

From their position at the entrance of the cave, they four reos did not realize what scene they were putting up, too mesmerized at seeing the Matriarch getting heathier and cuddling her pets, and just snapped out of it only after Cailu had approached and started dragging them towards the medical team. They had snapped their eyes away from the scene then, and followed him, leaving bloody pawprints all over. 

 

As they got their paws healed by a reos with a healing spell, they realized that work had not proceeded while they were gone, and Taha asked "Why did the work stop? Did something happen?" 

and Cailu looked at her, smiled, and said "The Matriarch wanted to make sure that her pets were ok. She's closely connected with the tunnels via the crystals, even the ones further away from her, so she wanted them all to stop so she could hear better what was happening. She was very anxious at first, when you all ran after them, but she knew before any of us that you had managed to convince the nyxthorn to follow you."

 

Haldor said "Then why did she wait?" 

Lillie elbowed him, "She clearly finds comfort in them, you idiot! Would you want dozen of flies circling you, making noise, while you're thinking about someone bringing your pet back? of course not!"

Elise laughed, and Taha and Cailu smiled, thankful that most of them had understood the situation.

 

Elise looked back at the matriarch, at her playing with the pets, and the Matriarch, feeling eyes intently on her looked up, directly at her group. She motioned with her head at Elise to approach, and she stood to go towards her. From behind her, Taha, Lillie and Haldor followed as well, confused but healed from the cuts. 

 

They approached the matriarch slowly as to not spook the nyxthorn once more, but there was no reason to as they were content to cuddle in the palm of her hand, half asleep. 

 

"Thank you, for making sure they were safe, and for bringing them back to me."

 

They all nodded and told her that it was no problem, "we could see how worried you were when they took of running" Taha said, and the matriarch smiled.