Life in the forest became… somewhat tolerable after she acquired the Ghastlies.
The rabbits proved surprisingly useful. They could sense large monsters above ground, often before danger fully revealed itself. With their help, Jemina carved out a temporary home beneath the hollow of a massive tree stump. Food arrived without fail: fruits, berries, and whatever else the forest begrudgingly offered.
"It's all right," she murmured one day. "I can live like this from now on."
She laughed.
It came out thin. Awkward. Unconvincing.
"…Oh, screw it! Fine!"
She sprang up from her makeshift bed of straw.
The rabbits immediately stirred, alert and ready, as if they had already anticipated her decision. Even so, Jemina placed her hands on her hips and addressed them properly.
"Okay, my lovelies, we are going out to find new friends. I repeat, friends. Preferably ones with fewer teeth. Or at least less enthusiasm for biting."
The rabbits glanced at one another, visibly confused.
"…Right. We'll figure it out as we go. Let's move."
When Jemina was afraid, she had a habit of talking too much or, worse, singing strange little songs to herself.
This time, she stayed quiet.
Ghastly number one walked beside her. The others followed in a loose formation behind.
She had learned to trust one thing: the moment the rabbits bared their teeth, danger was near.
So she watched them closely.
And kept walking.
She trusted their system.
…Until it failed.
They reached a wide clearing.
Too wide.
The ground was flat. Still. Suspiciously stable.
Cliffs rose on both sides, leaving no other path forward.
Jemina glanced at the rabbits.
No reaction.
No bared teeth.
Maybe it's fine…
She ignored the uneasy twist in her chest and stepped forward.
Halfway through,
the ground trembled.
"Oh no, no, no run!"
But it was too late.
Something beneath the earth moved.
A Ghastly vanished mid-step, dragged down before it could even cry out.
Jemina recoiled.
"What?!"
The soil smoothed over as if nothing had happened.
The rabbits scattered.
Then, they emerged.
Mudwolves burst from the ground in violent surges, their massive bodies coated in wet soil. Jaws snapped as they lunged, then vanished again, sinking back beneath the earth as quickly as they came.
The rabbits fought back, leaping, biting, throwing themselves at enemies that were already gone.
Too slow.
"We need to get out of here!"
But they were far from the trees.
Too exposed.
Too vulnerable.
"Goddess! Goddess, help!!!"
Silence.
A mudwolf erupted from the ground directly in front of her, jaws snapping toward her legs, but Ghastly number one intercepted it, biting down fiercely.
The mudwolf retaliated instantly.
It clamped down on Ghastly and flung it aside before disappearing beneath the earth.
"NO!!!"
Jemina rushed forward, dropping to her knees.
"Ghastly!"
The small body twitched.
It was breathing.
Shallow but steady.
Relief hit her so suddenly it almost hurt.
"Ohoh, thank goodness…"
Its movements were weak, but it tried to push itself up.
"Don't move!" she snapped, voice shaking. "You've done enough!"
The rabbit stilled, though its ears twitched stubbornly.
Jemina gathered it carefully into her arms.
"You're not allowed to die, do you understand me?" she muttered, half command, half plea.
Behind her, the ground trembled again.
She tightened her hold just as the earth gave way beneath her.
When she opened her eyes, she thought she had died.
It was completely dark.
Silent.
Heavy.
The soft glow of the rabbits filled the darkness.
Jemina shifted, adjusting the weight in her arms.
"…Ghastly?"
A small movement.
Its ears twitched.
Then slowly, very slowly, it lifted its head.
Jemina froze.
"…You're awake."
Relief softened her voice.
The rabbit wobbled slightly but managed to sit up, leaning weakly against her.
"…Of course you are," she whispered, smiling faintly. "You're stubborn like that."
It wasn't fully recovered, not yet.
But it was alive.
They were in a pit deep underground. At least twenty feet.
"Did we just become their emergency food supply?"
No answer.
But across the darkness, something moved.
Shapes.
Large ones.
Huddled together.
Jemina swallowed.
"…Please don't resist me," she whispered. "If you become my familiars… maybe just maybe we can all get out of here."
Thirty minutes passed.
Nothing.
She hadn't managed to tame a single one.
The light from her rabbits wasn't strong enough to see clearly, and she didn't dare get closer.
"Are they dead…?"
One of the shapes shifted.
"…Okay. Not dead. That's worse."
She tried again.
The connection formed
and snapped.
The recoil hit harder this time.
She collapsed, gasping.
"Goddess! Are you there?!"
No response.
"…Ugh! Fine!"
She forced herself upright, glaring into the darkness.
Her instincts screamed at her.
That one.
"Don't you want to get out of here? Come on!"
She reached again
and failed.
The backlash sent her crashing down once more.
Frustration boiled over.
She grabbed a stone and hurled it.
It struck something solid.
Not a cluster.
A single shape.
It shifted
and stepped forward.
A mudwolf.
Larger than the others.
Wounded.
"…How are you even here?" she muttered.
It didn't snarl.
It simply watched her.
Calm.
Judging.
And for some reason
that annoyed her.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," she snapped. "You're a mudwolf, and you're stuck here too! Who's more pathetic now?"
The mudwolf's expression tightened.
She held her ground.
"If you don't want to stay a pitiful mudwolf… then come with us."
Silence.
Then, , a shift.
A hesitation.
That was enough.
Jemina pushed her will forward.
The resistance came
but weaker this time.
A crack in its defenses.
She pressed harder, and the connection snapped into place.
The mudwolf's leg was injured.
That explained everything.
It hadn't been able to escape.
Up close, it was even larger, likely an elder.
Jemina tore a strip from her skirt and wrapped it around the wound.
"…So. You're our guide now."
The mudwolf shoved her.
She fell face-first into mud.
"What?! What is wrong with you?"
It kicked more mud at her.
"Ew! That got in my mouth!"
Then it began pushing the rabbits toward the puddle.
Jemina blinked.
"…Oh."
Understanding dawned.
"Oh! This is to mask our scent."
She scooped up mud and began smearing it over herself.
"Well. If this ruins my skin, I'm blaming you."
Once they were coated, the mudwolf led them into a narrow tunnel.
Deeper.
And deeper.
Until
light.
A narrow opening ahead.
The rabbits slipped through easily.
Jemina followed.
But the mudwolf stopped.
The gap was too small.
Stone blocked the way.
"…I can't leave you here."
The mudwolf said nothing.
Instead, it reached into the pouch at its stomach
and pulled something out.
Two tiny mudwolves.
"…You're a marsupial?" she blinked. "I did not expect that."
It nudged them toward her.
Her chest tightened.
"No. No, we're all going together."
The mudwolf only watched her.
And she understood.
"…You want me to take them."
Her voice wavered.
"…Fine."
She swallowed hard.
"Stay here. I'll come back with something that can break that rock. I promise."
The babies whimpered as she carried them through.
"I'll bring you back," she whispered. "I swear it."
Once outside, Jemina made a plan.
A reckless one.
With her rabbits, she lured a massive horned beetle toward the tunnel.
It charged.
They dodged.
It slammed into the rock wall.
Once.
Twice
Cracks spread.
Inside, the mudwolves stirred.
They burst out, attacking the beetle.
Chaos erupted.
Jemina, already covered in mud, slipped back inside with a few of her rabbits.
They found the elder.
Weaker now.
Barely holding on.
She knelt beside it.
"…Come on," she said softly, steady despite everything.
"Let's go, elder."