[Nivalis Silverfrost]
A long, cute yawn escaped Nivalis' lips as she stretched her slender arms above her head, her back arching beautifully, a series of satisfying pops resonating throughout the cave. The faint light from the glowing crystals scattered across the ceiling bathed the cavern in a soft glow, casting gentle shadows around her. Her long, silky silver hair cascaded messily down her shoulders, still heavy and damp from her bath earlier, the tips brushing lightly against the ragged fabric of their bed. "Ugh... that was nice," she mumbled to herself, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the gentle touch of her slender fingers before blinking them open.
The water droplets that clung to the silver strands sparkled gently in the dim light as she looked down at her pale, bruised knees, her toes gently splashing in the still-cold water of the spring. Not as freezing as before, but not warm yet either. 'Should be perfect in a week, maybe two,' she thought as she watched the ripples travel lazily across its calm surface, a fond smile tugging at her pink lips.
But that smile quickly faded away as her fingers ran along the painful bruises and scratches on her otherwise perfect, delicate skin, the tender, swollen spots on her hips, her thighs... reminders of that terrifying, horrible day. Each hurt badly, but not nearly as much as her heart. Her son had fared far worse than she had; his legs and hips were still painful to look at.
Eight long days had passed. Eight days of constant fear, worry, and barely any sleep. It showed on Nivalis' face, the dark circles under her eyes, the extra paleness that shouldn't have been there. And not just because of that creature lurking outside their home, but also because of Aster. Seeing him fall unconscious like that, with blood gushing out of his nose, scared Silvia and her to death. If it weren't for the fact that he was just trying to help, she would give him a hell of a spanking, one that'd leave his cute little bottom glowing red for a long, long while.
For two whole hours, Nivalis and Silvia cried their eyes out as they dealt with his bloody nose, hugging his tiny, unconscious form and praying that he would wake up. The fear of losing him was so real and raw back then... one of the most horrible two hours of her life. Luckily, it turned out that the boy simply needed a good nap, and when he woke up, he was more confused than anything by the amount of attention he was receiving. "Hehe, I did it," was the first thing he said, earning a bit more crying and a bunch of scoldings from the girls.
Pulling her toes out of the chilly water and curling them against the rough ground, Nivalis leaned her head back and glanced in the direction of a quiet mumbling coming from across the cave. 'It's getting late... We should probably call it a day,' she thought, watching her daughter speak into the darkness of the narrow tunnel where Aster was, her pale bum wiggling from side to side as she leaned into the opening. It was strange to think that just a few days ago, there was nothing but a solid rock there, now slowly turning into a small tunnel, about three steps deep.
With a fond, albeit tired, smile on her face, Nivalis got up from the bed with a quiet grunt. "Alright, let's wrap it up for today, loves. You've done enough," she whispered as she walked over to the pair, her bare feet gently shuffling against the rough floor. Her long, damp hair clung to her breasts, hiding them from view as she approached. "Come on out. You can finish tomorrow," she whispered to the boy as she crouched down beside the girl, peering into the hole while running her hands through Silvia's soft hair.
From within, Aster's muffled voice replied, "Mmm'kay, Mom. Just... ten more minutes."
Silvia sighed heavily and looked up at her mother with a small, sad smile on her lips. "He said that an hour ago."
Nivalis squinted into the darkness, catching a glimpse of her son's glowing eyes, so tired and weak, the golden hue noticeably duller than usual. She sighed as well. "Now, honey," she insisted, her voice gentle yet firm.
Every waking moment he could, the boy spent melting through the dark stone, barely taking breaks and hardly eating anything, even when she forced him to. The worst part was that she couldn't bring herself to tell him to stop, not if there was even a glimpse of hope for them to get out of here without risking their lives again. She couldn't tell him to eat as much as he wanted without worry, not with how little food they had left.
Her voice cracked with emotion as Nivalis pleaded softly, "Sweetie, I know you're worried. I know... we all are. But you'll hurt yourself again if you keep this up, and it won't do us any good. Please, come out." Her gaze returned to the girl, noticing the same tiredness and sadness reflected on her face as well.
"F-Five... minutes..." came Aster's breathless reply, echoing faintly in the dark tunnel.
Taking a moment to rub her forehead, Nivalis took a deep breath and shook her head. "Asty... please."
A tense silence hung in the air, broken only by his little grunts and groans as he tried to scoop a bit more of the gooey blackness from the walls, followed by a faint shuffling as he slowly crawled back toward the exit. His sweaty hair, all dirty and messy, was the first thing to peek out of the darkness. The rest of his pale skin, covered in gray smudges, soon followed.
As his golden eyes met hers, she saw the same stubbornness and exhaustion that she had seen every day since the day of the incident. His ribs were so much more pronounced than they used to be, and his cheeks had lost some of their roundness. "One more... It's still warm," he mumbled as he dropped the gooey, molten rock onto a little pile beside the entrance, but her hands on his cheeks stopped him before he could crawl back inside again.
— "Aster," was all that Nivalis said, and it was enough. She felt him relax beneath her fingers, as if he were ready to fall asleep right then and there. His gaunt features softened, and he looked up at her with those big, golden eyes of his, sleepy and weak. After a few moments of silence, he finally gave her a little nod. A nod that said more than any words ever could.
Nivalis helped him climb out and pulled him into a gentle hug. "I know, I know," she mumbled, stroking his messy, dirty hair while her other hand rubbed his back, feeling a bit of wetness on her shoulder as his head dropped against it. He let go of that little stone he used for work, letting it clatter to the ground. Turning her attention to her daughter, Nivalis whispered, "Go help him wash up a little. And yourself, while you're at it. I'll prepare something for us to eat in the meantime." She smiled warmly, slowly letting go of the boy and grabbing the children's shoulders to guide them towards the hot spring.
"Mmm," Silvia hummed in agreement, taking her brother's hand in hers and dragging him along, her soft bottom jiggling cutely with each step. "Come on, I'll scrub your hair for you," she muttered quietly, glancing back at Aster, who could barely keep his eyes open.
As she watched the two of them step into the chilly pool, hissing slightly at the coldness of the water, Nivalis smiled to herself and made her way over to the furthest corner of the cave to gather their dinner. However, the moment she spotted the small pile of ice where they stored their food, her smile vanished, leaving nothing but a worried frown in its place. Before winter arrived, this corner had been filled with meat stacked all the way to the ceiling. But now, there was barely enough to fill a small basket, if they even had one, and it continued to diminish with each passing day.
With a deep breath, Nivalis picked up her knife from the ground and got to work. The sound of steel hitting the ice echoed throughout the cave as she struggled to free a few meat slices from their icy prison. Splashes of water, hushed whispers, and occasional giggles from the children were drowned out by her grunts and the piercing, scraping noises of the blade.
Once Nivalis succeeded and had them lying on her palm, Nivalis took a moment to just look at them. It wasn't much, hardly a few bites for each of them, but it was all they could spare for tonight, in hopes of lasting long enough for the tunnels to return to their old, worm-filled normalcy. Which was a big, fat if, one she could only pray to the gods to come true.
Her stomach growled almost like a wolf as she looked at the sad excuse of a meal. 'It's going to be okay. It has to be okay...' Nivalis tried to convince herself, standing up and going over to the pile of molten rock Aster left near the entrance of the tunnel. It was still hot, perfect for heating their dinner.
Sitting next to the gooey pile of blackness, Nivalis carefully placed the pieces of meat on top of it. A loud hiss filled the air as the hot surface of the stone melted away the ice still clinging to the slices. Using her knife, she kept flipping the worm meat over to ensure it wouldn't turn to charcoal... well, at least not more than usual. Her mouth watered at the sizzling sound, even though the meat smelled and tasted like someone had already eaten it at least once; her hunger was simply too great to care.
As she waited for the food to be ready, her gaze fell upon the small hole in the wall, her heart sinking in her chest. 'Aster won't be able to get us out in time,' Nivalis realized, biting her lip as a wave of anxiety washed over her. She couldn't even guess how long it would take him to burn through all these layers of rock. Who knew how deep they were underground? There could easily be a mountain just above them, for all they knew. It could be months or even years. They simply didn't have enough food for that.
The smell of burned meat snapped Nivalis out of her dark thoughts. "Shit," she cursed under her breath, quickly scooping the blackened slices up with her knife and blowing on them to cool them down. Getting up from the ground, she carried their dinner towards the bed, watching Silvia help Aster wash the filth out of his hair, both of them shivering like newborn puppies, their naked bodies covered in goosebumps. "Hurry up. Food's done," she announced softly, sitting down on the edge of the ruffled blankets and placing the food beside her on a rock. Their bedside table, so to speak. Kind of. If squinting hard enough.
"Mmm'kay—" Aster barely got a word out before his sister grabbed him by the shoulders and dunked him into the chilly water, pulling him back up a moment later. "A-Aah!" he squeaked, spitting out water and shaking his silver locks like a wet dog. The girl behind him scrubbed his head vigorously, her little fingers tangled in his damp, white locks, her nails scratching lightly against his scalp. "H-Hey! Siiiiilviaaa!" Aster whined with the most adorable voice, his golden eyes wide and pleading as he tried to escape his sister's merciless washing. But, to no avail.
A stern look on her youthful face, Silvia ignored his pleas and continued, making sure to get all the dirt and dust out of his silver strands. Only after a solid minute of that did she let him go. "There, all clean," Silvia said with a satisfied hum, giving her brother a playful spank on his cute, round ass as he climbed out of the pool, running away from her and straight into the safety of their mother's embrace. "I'm done too," the girl muttered as she trailed behind Aster and plopped her little butt on the ground beside their bed, crossing her legs. Her little nipples, perked from the cold, peeked through her wet locks.
Chuckling softly, Nivalis gave the boy a little brush with her fingers before placing him gently on the bed near his sister, so that the water dripping from his body would land on the stone instead of their blankets. With a warm smile, she grabbed the food and handed each of them a piece of meat, keeping hers in her other hand. "Don't eat it too fast. Chew properly," she made sure to remind the kids, her eyes flicking between them as they eagerly took their meals.
Grimacing slightly, she took a small bite of her own and tried her hardest to ignore the unpleasant, burned taste of the worm flesh. No matter how many times they had to eat this, it never got any better. It always left a bitter aftertaste lingering on her tongue and an awful, greasy sensation in her throat, her teeth sticking together uncomfortably the more she chewed
Silvia, as always, was on the verge of gagging the moment she put the slice in her mouth. But with a few deep breaths and a quick prayer to the gods, the girl managed to force herself to chew and eventually swallow it down into the abyss of her tummy. Unlike before, she no longer needed any help eating it; she had grown somewhat accustomed to its awfulness over the long months of winter.
The boy, on the other hand, ate without much care. He took his time, quietly stuffing his cheeks to the brim, a shy and slightly forced smile on his lips as he did so. Nivalis noticed that he would often look at her and the girl while he ate, a hint of worry flickering behind his tired gaze. For a while, nothing but the sounds of chewing and gulping broke the silence of their little cave. Simple moments like these were the best. No monsters, no danger, just a family, enjoying their dinner together.
Nivalis was the first to finish her food, despite trying her hardest to make it last, and now she just sat there, watching her kids eat with a sad look on her face. "M-Mom... I'm full... Have some," Aster lied, offering her a piece of his, but the woman shook her head and pushed his scarred hand away.
— "No, honey. Eat. It's okay," she whispered, watching the child hesitate for a moment before turning to his sister, offering the piece to her instead. Silvia's reaction was similar to hers, shaking her head and pushing his hand back towards his mouth. With a quiet sigh, Aster reluctantly continued to munch on his meal, albeit with a thoughtful look on his gaunt, tired face.
...
The dinner was over, the blankets were straightened up, and the children were all dry and warm. It was time to call yet another long, tiring day to a close, hoping that tomorrow would be a bit better. Without much talk, the three of them lay down in the small bed, Aster in the middle, his sister to his right, and his mother to his left, their arms wrapped around his tiny, bony form.
Surprisingly, it was Silvia who fell asleep first, her silver hair a messy tangle, mouth slightly open as she breathed softly, a bit of drool trickling from the corner of her lips onto the boy's shoulder. The same couldn't be said about Aster, though, his eyes remaining wide open, reflecting the pale stars on the ceiling above, deep in thought. "Mom?" he mumbled under his breath, careful not to wake his sister.
Turning her head a little, Nivalis hummed softly. "Yes, sweetie?" she asked in a gentle, sleepy voice, her fingers tracing soothing circles on the softness of his belly, right below his ribs.
He went silent for a moment, the beating of his heart growing a little louder beneath her palm. "I-I... I don't think I can get us out in time," the boy admitted quietly after a while, swallowing hard. "I've been thinking... and... It's...it's impossible. I'm sorry, but I just can't burn through so much stone... not fast enough."
Raising herself a bit to meet his worried gaze, Nivalis gave him a comforting kiss on his forehead, lingering there for a long moment, her warm, sweet lips pressed against his slightly sweaty skin. "Actually... I was hoping to talk to you about this in the morning and ask you not to strain yourself so much," she murmured, tucking his long, white locks behind his half-elven ear and gently brushing her palm against his cheek, wiping away the wetness that had fallen from his golden eyes. "I've been thinking about it too, and... I'm afraid we don't have a choice but to go back out there," Nivalis whispered, her blue irises flicking toward the wall of ice on the far side of the cave, a dark tunnel hidden in its blurry depths.
"S-Sorry..." Aster sniffled in response, his breath hitching in his throat as he tried to stifle a sob.
— "Shhh," she shushed him gently, tucking him closer to her, his little body warm against her soft skin, his head resting on her arm. She leaned in and kissed his nose. Then his cheek. His chin. And finally, she kissed him softly on his quivering lips, their noses rubbing lightly against each other. "It's okay. You did great, sweetie. You did your best. We'll manage, I promise," she murmured against his salty, wet mouth, his tears mixing with her saliva. "Just a quick trip, get a few worms, and be back in no time." She kissed him again. And again. "And then we'll continue digging our way out of here, okay? Without overworking ourselves."
Giving her lower lip a little bite, Aster let out a shaky breath and nodded meekly, blinking away tears as he met her worried gaze. "Mhm..." he nodded, his voice barely audible, a tiny hum in the vast silence of their cave. Suddenly, it turned into a "...hmm?" when he noticed a hint of shyness on her face; the same expression she wore whenever she was about to ask or do something naughty.
...