Cllueless hamster

The silence was suffocating. Only the sound of labored breathing and the distant dripping of water filled the cavern. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and gunpowder.

Then—

"What the fuck just happened?"

Osbert's voice shattered the quiet as he landed with a soft thud, shifting back into his human form. His wings folded inward, bones snapping and reshaping as he fully transformed.

His sharp gaze swept over them, and then his eyes locked onto Ariel—bruised, bleeding, barely staying on her feet. His expression darkened.

"We were attacked," Frank answered, his voice steady but edged with tension.

"By who? A feral? Another shelter?"

"Neither," Rolf muttered, wiping blood from his jaw.

Osbert frowned. "Then who the hell was it?"

Ariel exhaled sharply, forcing herself upright despite the pain screaming through her body.

"The in-between," she said.

Osbert stilled.

For a long moment, no one spoke. The words settled over them, heavy and unbelievable.

"I've heard rumors," Violet murmured as she knelt beside Rolf. She placed her hands on his torn chest, her fingers glowing faintly as she began to chant. "But I didn't think they were real."

A soft golden light spread from her fingertips, sinking into Rolf's wounds. The gashes in his skin knitted together, closing inch by inch. His breathing eased, his body relaxing under the spell.

Not as fast as Elias' regeneration, of course.

Ariel pulled a small vial from her belt—a healing potion. She uncorked it with her teeth and swallowed the thick, bitter liquid in one gulp. The taste burned, but the pain in her ribs immediately dulled.

Violet turned to her next.

"Hold still," she murmured.

Ariel clenched her jaw as warmth spread through her battered body. Bones realigning. Bruises fading. It wasn't instant, but it was better.

Osbert stood with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Then, quietly, he asked—

"How come I didn't sense him?"

There was something rare in his voice.

Guilt.

Ariel had been hurt the most. And the thought that he—one of the strongest among them—hadn't even noticed the threat gnawed at him.

"Because you and him aren't the same," Rolf answered, flexing his freshly healed arm. "You were born with your abilities. You evolved naturally."

He turned his gaze to the darkened cave where Elias had vanished.

"He wasn't. He's a mistake that survived."

"The Broken Ones," Violet whispered. She sat back on her heels, her magic now spent. "I still can't believe they actually exist."

Ariel didn't answer. She was too busy listening.

Something was off.

Her hand instinctively went to her belt. The small, familiar weight was missing.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"…Where's my hamster?"

Violet blinked. "Oh yeah. Your little hamster. He earned an apology." She smirked. "For once, the fluffball was right."

But Ariel didn't laugh.

Because Damon was gone.

Her sharp eyes scanned the cave. No small, twitching nose. No soft gray fur. No sign of the only creature in this world she trusted.

Her stomach twisted.

Unbeknownst to her, from the moment Elias had emerged, Damon had fled.

A strange emotion twisted inside her. Not shock. Not fear.

Anger.

A raw, burning betrayal that made her grip her gun tighter.

She wasn't mad at herself for almost getting killed.

She wasn't mad at Elias for nearly ripping them apart.

She was mad at Damon.

Because deep down, she had never seen him as a pet.

She had seen him as a soldier.

A comrade-in-arms.

A warrior who should have stayed and fought.

Who should have died with them, if necessary.

But he had run.

Coward.

Ariel exhaled sharply, swallowing down the emotion that had no place in her chest. She clenched her fists and turned away.

"Forget it," she muttered. "Let's move before he comes back."

And just like that, they proceeded back to the shelter. 

...

As they arrived back at the shelter, others divided the loot. Ariel kept the blueprints and research papers. The value of these items was insurmountable. Her name rose to the top of the shelter.

She handed them over. Everyone was excited. 

It was like top-class map work to fight the purebloods.

The inevitable fight that awaited the day their shelter was discovered among the trees of the thick forest. 

Ariel had been in a bad mood ever since she came back. Others couldn't figure it out. She had won such great treasure for the shelter. Everyone was praising her. Why did she look so abysmal?

Little did they know that something or someone who always accompanied her was missing. 

...

Ariel entered her room and slammed the door shut. She went ahead and changed back into casual clothes. She was about to read the copy of research papers when she noticed a brown fluffy thing wiggling on the bed.

"You...!" The very reason of her anger, the betraying hamster, now laid in her bed within the warmth and comfort of her blanket. It stretched its limb and yawned and sat on its butt as if welcoming Ariel.

Ariel popped a never. She strided to the bed, picked up the hamster by its neck fur, stomped back her door and kicked the hamster out.