Rest and Relaxation

Without a trace from the world, the Fell Hero vanished. The Queens of Mir, Aerendyl, the angels... all left clueless- but they didn't look, either. Sometimes, heroes are meant to die, and to leave their legends, their lessons, for the world, rather than continue on.

Aerendyl could be found playing with the village children, laughing and singing, about as human as they come- though the power of a god lay within him, it was sealed away, until a moment, should one ever come, in which he must rise again to power for a purpose of true, unadulterated selflessness.

That night in Underland, the Wolves' bar was silent, the atmosphere heavy, defeated. It was not a story of victory but of survival- even with Underland saved and restored, Lily and Hina sobbed for the loss of Thorn, one much more heartbroken than the other. Bad memories were shared, locked away; the girls broke down, exhausted. 

"I was just a normal girl..."

"I never asked for any of this..."

"I just wanted to avenge my master, not become whatever this is..."

"Would my mom and dad be able to look at me, now...?"

Akihiro, too, was heartbroken- he knew loss, and to see his daughter suffering so, to know that he couldn't help at all... 

The sun rose. The Wolves left. The heroes returned home, unsure whether they may meet the wolves again- truly, Fang left as suddenly as she arrived. Never having saved the day, and only created an opening- this was their curse, to aid but never to save. Always the savior, and never the saved, wasn't that how the saying went...?

The heroes returned home, yes, but they couldn't stay... and so they vanished in a flash of light, leaving flaming trees in their wake. That was the end of Hina, whether people liked it or not.

=

"I am still sorry that we never got to have our vacation to Underland the day that we were meant to," Charlotte sighed, stretching and slowly sitting down beside Hina, crossing her legs, and looking sideways at the badger girl. "How are you feeling, Hina?"

"I ah... I'm okay," The badger girl mumbled quietly, stretching and dipping her feet into the stream below her, letting the small creek babble over her digits. "I still, just..." Hina shook her head, eyes glassy. For a while, they only sat there in a slow, peaceful silence, and then Charlotte gently reached out, resting a hand on her lover's shoulder.

"We're all worried about you, you know? We're here for you- not, asking you to be okay before you're ready to be okay, just... we all love you, okay?" Charlotte murmured quietly, and Hina nodded, silent, looking down.

For a while, again, they sat in silence, just the two of them, relaxing, Hina with her feet in the stream, Charlotte with her legs crossed, eyes closed.

"Hina...?"

"Yeah?"

"I really am sorry, you know..."

"What, do you mean?" Hina mumbled, running one of her hands through the grass between herself and Charlotte, looking around.

"All of that... everything in Underland, it was my fault. I trustred, Lu," Charlotte whispered, looking away, eyes almost fully closed. "Like an idiot, I... I've been your worst lover, by far, and I nearly got all of you killed. Even myself."

"I don't blame you," Hina whispered just as quietly, closing her eyes now, as well, still idly toying with the grass.

"You should-"

"I don't-"

"-but you SHOULD, Hina-!!" Charlotte suddenly shouted, eyes opening, widening, and Hina, tired, returned her gaze through slitted eyes.

"Maybe. It was a mistake, though. We all make mistakes."

"I'm the only reason we almost died- are you stupid, Hina?! Why would you forgive that- YOU SHOULD HATE ME-!!" Charlotte shouted vehemently, glaring, chest heaving. When Hina didn't answer, she growled in frustration and stood, storming off, her tail thrashing slowly about. There was anger in her posture, but Hina was lucid enough to recognize the anger was in no way directed at her.

Slowly, she looked down, closing her eyes again, thinking. She hadn't really known where she was going, when they took off- her thoughts were just to get as far away as possible from everything that she knew and loved. When she'd woken up, she didn't know where she was- there was only the sun warming her skin, and the girls sleeping around her. She began to explore, but there was... nothing?

"Where am I...?" Hina remembered whispering into the air, looking down at the fractured flute that had come from her jacket pocket. On, she wandered, away from the girls where they lay in a clearing with an abandoned cabin. The woods were empty, though, and eventually, Hina reached a cliff that looked out into the world- and that, too, was empty. Just an endless sea of trees sprawling into the distance....

Is this real, or some sort of simulation...? Hina wondered, but she couldn't be sure. Maybe it was a dream, or a coma... laughing tiredly, she even tried punching the air a few times to see if anything changed or shifted, but no such luck.

Underland... she remembered it all, horribly so, but the memories felt... blurry and indistinct, as if they hadn't happened to her but rather been seen through a movie. Left with many questions about this empty world, Hina had sighed and turned back the way she came, toward that clearing, that cabin, and her partners.

"Hina!! I was about to scream- you can't just wander off, not after that!!" Aurelia had cried out, hugging her tightly, burying her head in the badger girl's shoulder just before the rest arrived, and she, the 'Fell Hero', found herself in the midst of a violent pile of hugs and affection.

A few days later, Aurelia sighed and questioned it, crossing her legs as she lay under the sun, nude, tanning. "Shouldn't we be questioning it? Trying to get home?"

"Why?" Hina had asked back quietly, despondent, slowly washing her clothes in a basin she'd found in the cabin. "My father... Aerendyl will be keeping him safe, you know? Aside from that... none of us have a reason to go back. Family, work, attachments... Emily, your parents are gone. Charlotte, your god betrayed you and died. Aurelia, I'm all you've got left. Nao, you're here under the same reasons as me... there's no reason for us to be rushing to find a way back is there? Not really. What, so nations can take advantage of us, so nobles can try to win us over, so the angels can make us a weapon and aim us? Getting back... let's figure that out some other time. I want to rest, a while longer."

None of them spoke.

"Well speak up," Hina challenged- but gently, genuinely. "If any of you disagree, and you think we should be fighting to find a way back... say it. Any of you. I won't argue, let's debate." 

There was no answer, though, not for quite a while. 

When one came, it was Emily, blinking tiredly, her white lashes framing those beautiful pink-violet eyes as she spoke, rustling her wings, the sound of razor blades clinking together echoing faintly behind her.

"You're right, Hina. All of us... we've lost so much. Maybe... maybe we can start over, and get to know each other properly, like we never really got to before. Your father, though..."

"I thought about that a lot," Hina admitted, blinking slowly and returning her attention to the wash basin. "Aerendyl will know where we are, I'm sure of it. I think, if we really wanted to fight, to escape, we'd be let out from the outside. After all, this isn't malicious, and we found whatever place this is while looking for a place to rest. So we found this place, we came here, albeit unconsciously. Somebody, has to know we're here. I'm sure my father will know, then, that I'm just, resting," Hina whispered, sighing, closing her eyes and letting herself fall still. "I'm... tired. He's going to understand that..."

And then, there was no argument. Just an easy silence.

Now that the decision had been made, Hina was able to relax- and then, Charlotte. Now, storming off, angry with herself. Hina sighed, letting her head loll to one side, resting against her shoulder, thinking. The sun was so warm, on her breasts, her hair, her lap... she didn't want to get up, but she supposed she ought to...

Standing slowly, Hina began to walk after the Cheshire Cat Girl, rolling her shoulders. She, Charlotte, was pacing about near the tree line, lost in thought.

"Lottie," Hina called out as she neared. "You're not a bad partner, and let me tell you why."

"Yeah? Because I nearly got ALL OF US KILLED, IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS JUST TELLING ME IT'S OKAY, IT'S NOT-"

"If you really feel you're to blame then shut up and listen to me," Hina spoke levelly, near coldly, narrowing her eyes, and Charlotte, to her credit, shut her mouth, eyes softening. They were wet, and part of Hina wanted to reach out, cup her lover's cheek, promise that everything would be okay- but it wasn't as simple as that, was it?

"Lottie, what do you know, in life? What was taught to you?"

"War, killing," Charlotte snarled, narrowing her eyes. 

"When you met me, Charlotte, you offered to teach us to fight. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah? Spreading my- sorry, yes. Yeah. What of it?"

"When you met me," Hina continued, walking slowly closer, but not reaching out to touch the cat. "You offered to share with me all that you knew- violence or not, it was all that you knew and you shared it. Then, you trusted the wrong person- and who hasn't, once in a while? You were tricked. Fooled. We've all been there, sorry Lottie, but you aren't special because somebody was smarter than you. What's the saying... a man is to his king, as a king is to his god? You're a king, Lottie, but you're no god. You've done nothing but give me your all, and as honestly as you can."

"I nearly got us killed," Charlotte whispered, eyes leaking fat tears. Her voice was a whisper, as if she desperately needed Hina to get angry, to hate her- and the badger girl stood resolute, now finally reaching up and slowly, gently hugging Charlotte's neck, meshing their breasts together, standing on tiptoe and nuzzling into the Cheshire Cat's shoulder.

"What I need right now, Charlotte- it's not a scapegoat. We all just need to lean on each other and relax, heal. Would you blame me if a god manipulated me into a bad decision?"

"No-"

"You aren't the one who killed us, Lottie. Besides- if you hadn't listened, Underland has a lot of other warriors to send. So, try and relax, just a little?"

"A-Alright," Charlotte whispered, and Hina slowly, gently kissed her, angling her head, cupping Lottie's cheek.

"I love you, Charlotte. Why don't we go inside and have lunch? Emily caught a deer, earlier today- we can have steak, and talk about our favorite colors and our childhoods, however sucky they might have been."

"Har har," Charlotte laughed amusedly, shaking her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry you need to see me like this I'm sorry but I was trained not to love anybody, they beat it out of me again and again and again and again and then finally, I find people to care about and I almost get them KILLED and I can't forgive myself because if I do, I might do it again and-"

A kiss, slowly. Hina meshed her lips to those of her purple-haired lover and then broke free, eyes half clsoed.

"If you forgive me then-"

Kiss. Slow, gentle, warm.

"If I let myself stop feeling guilty,"

Another slow, gentle kiss.

"If I..."

Kiss.

"If..."

Kiss.

"Hina..."

Kiss. Slow, deep.

"Lottie," Hina whispered softly, running her fingers in slow circles along Charlotte's shoulder. "Let's go and see about that steak, hm?"

"Alright," The purple-haired woman smiled tiredly, wiping tears off her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry you're seeing me this way, crying like an idiot,"

"Shut up, cat, or I punish you," Hina hummed tiredly, smirking, then smiling genuinely back at Lottie as she began to walk for the cabin. "Come on, let's eat."

"It's yellow, by the way."

"Yellow?"

"My favorite color. Yellow is the opposite of Underland, of purple. It reminds me of sun, of real warmth, of safety."

"Good girl," Hina winked, continuing on, suppressing a giggle. "Now come! Follow your mistress to be fed, bimbo cat!!"

"B-Bimbo?!"

"Don't argue, slut muffin, your tits are bigger than my head!!" Hina laughed, quickening her steps; her eyes were still heavy-lidded, but just a bit more open than before.

"Welcome back cutie," Nao greeted her at the door, kissing Hina's cheek, and before she could answer, Aurelia crashed into her other side, pushing into a deep kiss, hard, tail curling around Hina's waist.

"Have I told you I love you?" Aurelia snickered as they staggered back, and Hina gasped, as Emily joined the pile, kissing Hina's noise, whispering soft nothings as they all fell to the floor, Hina starting to snort, giggle.

"Get the hell off of me, I hunger," Hina mumbled, shivering and stretching. "I love you, I love you too,"

"Mmmm, tell me you love me more," Nao purred, pushing into another kiss, and then Aurelia used her tail to pull Nao's face around, kissing the chochin obake, smirking.

"Hey, don't leave me out," Emily whispered, kissing Hina again, gently, forcefully.

"W-Wait, please, wait," Hina whispered, swallowing and looking up at the doorway. The girls listened, pausing and all three looking down at her. Hina jerked her chin up, and the girls looked, too; Charlotte hovered in the doorway, a look of guilt on her face. For a moment, there was only silence, and then...

"Bitch come HERE!!" Aurelia snickered, and her tail grabbed Charlotte round the back of her neck, hooking on her wrist and yanking her down, into a rough, heated kiss. Before Hina could react, Emily's lips were on her neck, and Nao captured her own in a deep, searing, loving kiss. Amazingly, they didn't go further- lips swollen, chests heaving, breaths ragged, the girls eventually devolved into a panting, sighing, comfortable pile of warmth.

"It's okay to just, rest a while longer," Hina whispered, closing her eyes slowly, yawning.

=

"Hina- how is she doing? My flute has shattered, and I cannot hear her," a beautiful young man with long, flowing white hair asked, looking down at the strong young man below him.

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm not that god anymore," Aerendyl grinned loosely, lopsided. "You're gonna have to ask somebody else this time."

"Oh spare me your childish humor, I am a god of trickery and you will not pull a fast one on me," The more feminine of the two replied. "You care too much to not have asked already on your own."

"Fine, fine, you got me- she's resting in a very safe place. Why, are you hoping to bring her a new flute~?"

"The deal was that when the time comes that I need her help, she will help."

"Has that time come?" Aerendyl asked, raising an eyebrow slowly.

"No, that is not it. I simply wish to..." The snow-haired man thought, or at least he pretended to. "Well, I simply wish to check in on my ally, is that so wrong? Hina is an... interesting creature. You have my word, mortal. As that is your friend, I will spare you my games; I have no needs. I have a friendly inclination toward the Fell Hero, and wish to give her my regards during her recovery."

"Then, lean closer, and I'll tell you where she is," Aerendyl smirked, and as the other leaned down, he explained where to find his friend.

"Thank you, mortal. I will allow no harm to reach her by my hand, and I offer her no mission, not today, not now, and as far as I know not in the near future, either."

"Thank you, Inari." Aerendyl whispered, genuinely, his smile fading.

"Shall I leave one of my foxes in your care?"

"Well, I wouldn't say no, you know," Aerendyl smirked, but there was melancholy in his eyes, and Inari smiled knowingly, turning on his heel and beginning to walk.

"Feel better, old friend. Tis a noble thing you did."