Fenrir - The Gemstone

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The Gemstone

[ “All at once, the stars in the sky vanished and the world swallowed me whole. Lucky I had my lantern handy; there was no light in this place. I tried to call out and see if anyone - or anything - was down here, and only my voice sang back to me. That, and…a terrible scraping noise.” ]

- Fenrir, recalling ‘The Gemstone’ 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Stars danced and fought in the sky above, casting brilliant grayscale light across a barren plateau. A warm stream of breath broke the static clearing as a figure emerged from a small tent, positioned between two towering boulders that looked as if they’d been dropped from the sky itself, smashed down to the earth to create a sort of natural archway. The patchy, dusk-colored creature admired his makeshift setup, noting how the boulders would break away strong winds with a satisfactory nod to himself. The male Xero stood upright on two paws, with a leather satchel resting diagonally across his shoulder and torso. His dark fur ruffled in the light breeze, providing wonderful camouflage against the drab, broken ground beneath him.

It had taken some convincing to gain approval to traverse this strange, seemingly empty moon-like planet. Fenrir had an unmatched thirst for exploration and the thrill of discovery, so much so that he’d devoted his life’s work to field research. However, it wasn’t recognition or praise he desired, like so many others seemed to be driven by. Simply put, the mere adrenaline of unveiling the multiverse’s enigmatic secrets was enough to make his life feel complete, taking stories and relics of his travels back to his home to share with friends and family who often struggled to grasp many of his adventurous tales. As the long breath he exhaled danced in the air before him, he pulled a high-tech tablet device from his satchel and made a marking on it so he’d be able to relocate back to the tent once he’d found something significant on the expedition. 

Smooth stone felt nice under the male’s burly paws as he walked. The ground was smooth to the touch, yet its surface broke and reconnected with large web-like lines, like a vile that had been dropped but not fully shattered. Fenrir held a single lantern-like medallion from a chain in his right forepaw, lighting his path with a bright blue bioluminescent matter encased within. He had to keep close watch of his paws as he strode along, taking care not to snag himself on the occasional jagged stone or briar that sprouted in sparse patches between crevices. “I want to know what secrets you’re hiding,” he said absentmindedly as he walked, making a game out of not stepping on the many cracks in the terrain. “Many Alurizans called me mad for even coming here, they’re convinced this is just an insignificant moon. Sure, it’s not the prettiest, or even really that interesting in comparison to most others, but…I can feel something here. Everything has a secret to be uncovered.”

Minutes turned to what seemed like hours as Fenrir hiked on, trying to keep a straight path but not paying his tracker much attention. He whistled songs as he walked, yellow eyes sparkling in the darkness as he looked for signs of life. “Oh- OH SH-”, his whistle suddenly broke into a high-pitched slur of curses as he misstepped and began to fall forward, finding a small, unexpected gap in the gray wasteland. Sharply he turned, instincts kicking in without hesitation, sinking his claws into the stone crag where he’d stood just heartbeats ago. The patchy male clung to the cliff’s side with adrenaline-filled intensity, as the sound of pebbles breaking beneath his grip and falling into the abyss was easily overpowered by the thumping of his own heart. The blue medallion swung wildly in the open air, casting a faint gleam on the wall but revealing only blackness beneath his free-hanging hind paws. There was a small climbing pick inside the satchel; however, getting to it would mean letting go of the wall, which wouldn’t be practical. Fenrir’s mind raced frantically as he searched for a strategy, knowing his grip would not hold long. 

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted what he’d hoped for - a notch, a small indent in the cliff’s face that he could use to haul himself to safety. Not wasting time, Fenrir braced his body and lurched upward towards it with all his might, knowing that even the slightest miscalculation would likely mean death. His mind fogged with concentration, reaching up for the ledge with claws outstretched. The medallion slipped from his arm in this instant, falling down into the expanse beneath him, the blue glow fading to black. 

He grabbed the ledge. 

Fenrir winced, clinging to the small indentation with his front paws with great difficulty. There was no longer light to reveal his footing, though he could see the top of the cliff’s face where he’d fallen, lit dimly by starlight that did not quite reach him. Suspended above the black expanse, he began to muscle himself upward. In that moment, so close to death - he felt truly alive. The Xero’s yellow eyes glinted in the darkness, a smile of pure exhilaration and adrenaline etched onto his muzzle. The next maneuver to scale the wall would bring him to the top of the crag, where he could escape to safety. One, two…three!, he shouted within his mind, drawing a sharp breath of air and swinging his body towards the next indent. 

This time, Fenrir’s ashen paws made contact with the next rock-step, but it was…warm?, he thought with a scowl of confusion. In fact, the face of the rock where he had gripped seemed to steam with sudden heat. “What is this…?”, he trailed, gripping it tighter against his body’s screams as the scorching heat from the stone began to irritate his paw pads. In the same instant, the presumed heating stone began to light up with a great green and red woven brilliance, like lava pouring down onto grass. This was no simple stone, but something else entirely. 

The secret. I knew. It’s here. 

Fenrir strained a grin and reached the paw that had gripped the lower stone to the top of the pitfall. Small golden horns on the top of his head scraped against the cliffside in his desperation, his body growing weaker with each passing heartbeat. 

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

The dusky male’s paw gripped air. Sickening noises of hard, shell-like carapace grinding against stone directly below him suddenly filled the vertical corridor, shaking the world with unnatural force. In an instant, Fenrir fell backwards. His eyes glazed with horror, reaching towards the night sky in a feeble attempt to stop his descent. The world went dark, swallowing him head-first as his consciousness dimmed. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Fenrir,” a deep masculine voice spoke to him. Death. He pondered for a moment as the shattered plains faded back into focus, searching for the source of the voice absently. Fenrir looked down, his satchel no longer at his side, his patchy fur unkempt. He half-expected the figure standing before him to be cloaked or at least somewhat grotesque, but it was not. It was…another Xero? 

“One of me? Am I dead? What happens next?”, Fenrir asked coolly, though the fear in his voice could not be masked. He studied the shining midnight blue and green figure, their emerald accents within their pelt glowing brightly as any lantern. The mysterious Xero looked down to Fenrir, standing above him holding a peculiar, smoldering green-and-red stone. Fenrir’s eyebrows raised momentarily, before a feeling of shock washed over him. Realization. “The rock! How…?”, he breathed out with a raspy, tired tone. A token of my last adventure? But…who will I share it with? A single tear fell from his dull yellow eyes, mulling over the magnitude of the situation, of dying. 

The larger, bioluminescent Xero closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Yes, but no.” All at once, the stranger’s words brought with it a new, yet familiar sensation - debilitating pain. “No, you’re not dead. I’m an Alurizan, X-064. And, you’re welcome.” The faintest hint of a grin danced on his jawline, amusement, as he threw the glowing shale to Fenrir. “This belongs to you.” Fenrir blinked, but grabbed the stone hesitantly after a moment’s consideration. Warm to the touch, the large gemstone gleamed in Fenrir’s paws, dancing with impossible lights like blood and jade. It must have been the same stone he had clinged to before falling. 

Fenrir cocked his head to one side, looking up at the unnamed Xero. “I’m alive?”, he questioned. The traveler could not move, his body sprawled out across the broken slab-like terrain. When the blue-and-green stranger nodded, Fenrir let out a long sigh of relief. “You saved me then. Thanks. Why and how are you even here?”. 

The other Xero shrugged, coming to sit beside Fenrir. “Chance,” he admitted, leaning backwards. “I have been looking for what you seemed to stumble upon. Weeks. Good thing you fell into that hole.” His sarcasm was deadpan, no laugh coming after what Fenrir guessed was a joke. “Right place, right time. I’ve always wanted to yank on a fluffy tail for the fun of it, but under any other circumstances that’d likely break laws. Anyways.” X-064 looked to the starry night sky, letting his breath out in a small stream against the crisp air. 

Fenrir collected his thoughts, the memories of the climb and subsequent fall flooding to him almost as fast as pain and fatigue. “Wait,” he spoke apprehensively, but sternly. “What caused the tremor? I would have made it up on my own if it weren’t for that horrible crunching sound. It was like shells against stone, but so loud my head is still ringing.” 

“Ah…that,” X-064 trailed, his gaze unwavering from the bright stars above the two. “I believe that’s a discovery for a different adventure. Let’s go home.” 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───