Broken Chains

The first few days after their fight with the heart had been the hardest. Puck, completely helpless and in great pain most of the time, could do nothing to help Scarlet as she protected him, sought a place for them to recover, and helped heal him.

Most of the time, Puck had simply stayed in his soul, a place he could reach more easily and stay in for longer periods by now. By focusing on his own healing within his soul, Puck was able to be even more effective than when he simply meditated outside of it.

After about three days, Puck had recovered enough, and Scarlet found a place secure enough for her to finally decide to rest.

Sitting there in the darkness, his body still aching all over, Puck had tried to be as dutiful as possible while he stood guard over the sleeping Scarlet.

That had also been the first time the feline beast had come back. Simply standing in the darkness at a safe distance, it had watched. For some reason, feeling no danger, Puck had let Scarlet sleep. Only a few seconds later, it had been gone again.

That visit had not been the last one, though, as the days turned to weeks while Puck and Scarlet searched the new tunnel region for food, resources, and a way onward. Now and then, the beast simply stood at a distance and watched, never truly approaching or attacking.

As soon as their basic needs for survival had been secured, Puck’s training resumed. Hunting, fighting, magic, healing, or simply packing his backpack correctly and walking—all of it became a new habit as they searched for a way onward, either towards known tunnels or, better yet, upwards toward the surface that Puck so bitterly wanted to reach.

Standing at the edge of a wildly flowing glacier river, Puck stood completely still, his eyes tracking the water without moving a single muscle. The hunt for the fish in these rivers had proven exceedingly difficult, and Puck hadn’t yet managed to secure more than a single kill. Even then, that one had been washed away by the water as Puck had to save himself from falling into the dangerous current.

Waiting patiently, Puck finally saw his chance fifteen minutes later. Bringing his right arm forward, the makeshift spear left his grip. Biting his lip in hopes of success, Puck knew he would fail without intervention, as the spear veered a little too far to the right. Making a split-second decision, Puck called for the wind, and it answered. The spear adjusted, and the fish got impaled.

Filled with jubilation, Puck nearly forgot to pull on the line to secure the spear. Digging his feet into the ground, Puck used the footholds he had prepared earlier to overpower the wildly thrashing fish.

Finally managing to bring it on land, Puck grabbed the wooden club he had fashioned himself. One, two, three strikes, and the fish finally lay still as Puck panted from the adrenaline rushing through his system.

For a moment, Puck felt sad and guilty about killing the proud animal, but such was the way of nature. Eating and being eaten, nothing was wrong with that.

Bowing and giving the fish the respect it was owed, Puck soon returned with his tribute to their temporary base. After walking for about twenty minutes, Puck reached a great and uneven cavern. Targeting a certain spot, Puck began to climb, the fish and his spear secured on his back. Soon, about fifteen feet above the ground, Puck reached the alcove where they were residing.

It wasn’t too big, but it was relatively secure, and held heat of their bodies and the occasionally fire pretty good

Proudly approaching Scarlet, Puck couldn’t help but feel elated at the small nod of approval he received for his accomplishment. Not wanting to interrupt Scarlet in what she was doing, Puck simply sat down opposite her and watched.

With her natural grace and precision, Scarlet wove together moss over and over to create new clothing. Using nothing but a single needle made of bone and some thread out of ligaments and sturdier plants, something new was forming.

Watching intently, Puck tried to learn and not ogle Scarlet herself too much, as she would surely notice. Soon, it was his turn as Scarlet instructed him on the craft. As much as he had improved in hunting, looking at the work before him, Puck knew he still had much to learn.

Walking through the tunnels and caverns surrounding them for what felt like the hundredth time, Scarlet grew more and more worried. Many tunnels still had clear signs of the heart’s influence, and none seemed to connect to the greater tunnel system they had come from.

It seemed more and more like they were trapped. Scarlet knew Puck likely hadn’t noticed yet, but soon he would.

Smiling at the thought of her student, Scarlet had to admit that he had been, and still was, learning and improving at a terrifying pace.

Not only were his body, his skills and their application growing by the day, even his feeling for their social interactions grew by leaps and bounds. At the start, Scarlet had noticed him staring at her more often than not, but by now, he seemed more aware of himself and was characterlike growing up.

Even though they were nearly the same age, at the start, he had seemed like nothing but a child to her. Having been exiled by Gremlin society even more harshly than she had been, he hadn’t had much time to mature before.

More than anything, the Puck she had come to know at the start had been hurt and reclusive, seemingly distrustful of anybody and anything. Now, though, he was flourishing, evolving his character more and more, and simply learning how to be happy.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to bring him the bad news about them being caged in.

Soon, though, she would have to, in hopes that his ideal of freedom would find a way out.

Otherwise, they would have to dig for a long time to reach back to where they had come from. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, not only because of the delay that would create but also because something like that could inflict great damage to someone wielding the ideal of freedom.