Note: Above art "Dark North Tunnel" by me.
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Pinti, Daero, and Deel stepped paw onto the dirt path surrounded in frosted charcoal. Ice had spread part way, crawling across the black like white veins. A striking red tint touched the white as a large red sun rose in the black sky behind the Edgling castle, but not completely. It was like a child hiding behind a mother's leg, peeking out to see who was there.
Curving left and right, the path wormed its way through the icy field. It would have been shorter to walk straight, but it was better than walking over ice. Much too cold and slippery.
"You know, I don't think that red thing's a sun," Daero said, breaking the silence. "See how dark it is? We're in the Sixth Ring, the outermost Ring. The closest to actual space. And if that's the sun, why is it getting so cold? I think it's a moon or maybe another planet."
"But if it's not a sun, how was it hot there?"
"Probably the volcanic action heats the air," he answered. "Heatwaves from chemicals reacting to each other."
"How do you know so much about this stuff?"
Deel answered instead. "He likes science."
She suddenly remembered the Human slang term for citizens that liked science without being scientists. "Oh, so a nerd."
Daero chuckled. "How do you pick up those words? Gamble, nerd, what else do you know?"
She pondered for a moment and chose one that was probably unique. "Starsurfing, but they called it shimmy," she said recalling the many Humans that took small flying vehicles up at night and raced each other, causing a ruckus. "They say things like, 'Hey, you wanna go up on a shimmy?' or 'Shimmy with me tonight?' I just listen to them talking."
He cocked his head. "Did all survivors do that?"
"Daero, Daero!" Deel squealed, tugging his paw. "Look!"
Pinti shook her head. "No, mostly just me. Most of them didn't even bother to learn much. They figured they would get to go home, soon."
"Daero!" Deel said, sounding impatient. But Daero ignored him.
"But in two years you got this far, it's impressive. I do hear a little bit of awkwardness in your pronunciations, but you sound almost like an everyday Universal speaker." He smiled as Pinti licked her shoulder. To her, she was just too stubborn to give up. Besides, she didn't want Humans to think less of her because she couldn't speak Universal.
Suddenly, Deel tugged her paw and a bit of claw grazed her skin.
"Heizak!" she said and glared at him, but he was gone. She searched and found him standing before the tunnel. Before she knew it, they had arrived.
"Look!" he said again and pointed to his stomach. "I can see more through me. Maybe I'll get to see what my guts look like?"
Daero made a gagging sound. "I wouldn't want to. Maybe something to do with the Dark North. If it's the birthplace of magick..."
As Daero mumbled to himself, Pinti let her eyes wander. The charcoal path turned to cracked asphalt which stretched into the mouth of the tunnel. On either side of the tunnel were smooth snow walls. A frosty mist hovered overhead, concealing the sky, and she couldn't see how far up the walls went.
The tunnel itself was the exact one from her dreams. She only saw it from the outside once, but without the snow or mist. Her heart began to thump. This was it. The tunnel to the Dark North. She was sure of it. Daero was examining Deel making him stand on the charcoal path and then back in front of the tunnel. Deel was definitely more transparent nearer to the tunnel.
"I don't know," Daero said at last as Deel slipped back inside of him. "I don't feel good about this."
Pinti twitched her whiskers. "But that's the Dark North beyond this tunnel."
"No doubt."
Then what? she tail-signed.
"I don't know magick-wise." He crossed his arms and his tailtip twitched in thought. "Deel's never been that see-through before. I'm worried he might disappear altogether."
Well, I think you're worrying too much! Pinti scowled at him. They were about to get her Lunality back and save Kathula. Deel might be see-through for an entirely different reason. It might not have to do with the Dark North at all.
If he's worried, I'll go alone. She decided and began to make her way towards the tunnel when Daero grabbed her wrist.
"Pinti, wait—"
She gave a short hiss. "I thought we were in this together!" She yanked her wrist free. "If you don't want to follow me in, that's okay. I'll go by myself. I'll get my Lunality. You just wait here," she said. They'd come this far, so they might as well go all the way. Besides, Pinti wanted to hang onto the hope that she could get her Lunality back.
Even if Saboteur might ambush us on the other side.
"It's okay, it's fine," Daero gave a loud sigh, "I'm just worrying too much, let's go." He swatted at the air, indicating in Universal signage to her to not bother with what he just said. "I just worry about him, you know? He's like a brother to me."
Pinti nodded. She understood. But where would any of them be if Kathula were destroyed?
Just then, snow began to fall from the sky. It was the most curious thing to Pinti because she had never been in a place where it was cold enough for this to happen. For some reason, it was snowing inside the tunnel too with specks falling from the ceiling. Snow had accumulated already from a past snowfall and they had to kick their way through it. Daero bent down to scoop some in his paw.
"Real snow," he said. As if he expected it not to be for some reason.
"It's so cold!" Pinti exclaimed and her breath was white. Having lived in a much warmer climate than this all her life, this coldness was new to her. Beside her, Daero breathed out from his nose. The white breath looked like smoke curling from his nostrils.
Seeing that reminded her of this forbidden, dangerous game she used to play with Tendri and Kirlan when they were little. They'd make a fire in the forest, away from the eyes of adults, and put all kinds of combinations of herbal essences together changing the color of the smoke. Neither of them burned the forest, but they did come close a couple times.
If Father ever knew we did that... Pinti paused on that thought with a smile playing on her lips. Nothing negative or sad came along with that memory. Just good thoughts.
The end of the tunnel came fast. Outside was white and it took her a moment to realize it was just a fierce, but silent snowfall. What were individual flakes were now indistinguishable streaks of white blowing sideways or crossing paths with each other completely obscuring anything beyond.
"Feigat..." Daero breathed out and shivered once.
Pinti had no words to say. The stillness of the cold, crisp air and the silence of the snow was disturbing. She was used to rain making a sound as it rocks, the road, or a roof, but snow said nothing, almost creeping along, slowly freezing her to the bones. Feeling disoriented, she rested her foot on the snowbank. The snow sucked her leg into the depths of its frost. She pressed down into the hole she just made, squishing the final layer of snow and leaving a clear pawprint. Each step was effort and the white clung to her fur making her legs heavy.
Daero held out his paw. "We'll do it together."
"Together!" sang Deel who came out of the body was just the same amount of see-through.
Pinti accepted his paw. "What-t are you d-doing out?" Her teeth chattered and the brutal cold nipped at her skin between her fur.
"Because I feel good now." He grinned and Pinti noticed the connected tailtips of Deel and Daero looked almost separated.
"It's like—uh, never mind." Daero shook his head and went in front of her. "Step where I step." Slowly they trudged their way forward. Deel hopped around them but soon slipped back inside Daero.
White mist, white snow, white path, everything looked the same. Briefly, she glanced behind, but the tunnel was gone—completely obscured behind the frosty sheets like a milky lace veil was hiding it. Without the tunnel, her sense of direction was lost. Only Daero's grip on her paw and slight tug meant they were still going forward.
Her mind numbed, her cheeks hurt from her teeth chattering, and lethargy weighed on her shoulders. Sniffing the air only made her colder. She wished desperately for warmth before a nice fire and some hot Keibeck at Thereanbold's. If not that, she wished for sun. Basking in the golden rays and feeling the lull of sun-sleep—since leaving home, she never had time for that.
But maybe soon?
Staring out into the endless white, only occasional gray spots dotted the way—frozen chunks of charcoal—but nothing else entertained her.
Except maybe Daero's head. Her lips trembled as she smirked. Snow had accumulated atop his head like a white hat. The fur on his back stood on end. A single purple light sparked once. Seeing that reminded her of something about Daero—the giant flying lizard he showed to her in the Forest Crup.
She trilled a call to him, and his ears twitched. "Why can't we use Ryderden to get there?" Her voice shivered.
"Ryerden," Daero corrected her with slight growl, "and after Emphrelius tampered with my magick, I can't seem to get it all back." Annoyance tainted his voice and the grip on her paw strengthened a little. "I would do it if I could. Believe me."
After that, they were silent again. Daero's baby steps became more aggressive big steps as if he were trying to find the end of this snow place faster. Pinti struggled to keep up with him, stepping in the holes his feet made in the snow. Each step, the cold seeped into her fur, reaching her skin.
From the tips of her ears to the tip of her tail, the cold numbed her. She couldn't feel any part of her body except the paw that held Daero's. It was the only warm part.
"P-Pinti," Daero rasped, stuttering as his teeth chattered. "I feel magick."
Were they finally near Dark North? Pinti stared hard at the whiteness before them, but nothing revealed itself. If there was anything there, it was concealed probably until they were right on top of it. Daero took a few more steps forward and stopped. Pinti came to stand next to him and Deel emerged.
"Heizak," Pinti gasped when she saw him. He wasn't transparent. Deel was staring at his paws with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. At that moment, her paw fell from Daero's grip.
"Feigat!" Daero bristled and hurried to grab her paw again, but it went through hers. He was becoming more and more transparent as Deel became solid. Now Pinti could touch Deel's soft child-Kathula fur.
"What's going on? You're reversing?" She looked over at Daero who was staggering forward. The tails connecting the two tugged on Deel and he stumbled after Daero.
"Where are you going?" Deel called when Daero fell to his knees. He let out a yowl and purple sparks rippled across his fur. Deel ran over to him.
"You'll be okay, we'll figure something out," he said and began to cry. "I don't want to lose you, Daero."
Although her heart went out to them, Pinti didn't know how to react, but she had a feeling this was the Dark North's doing. If it was the birthplace of magick, maybe it was trying to restore Deel? But just at that moment, the roles were reversed again. Now Daero was solid and Deel was disappearing. Confused, but worried, Pinti took a step forward.
Daero hissed with bared teeth and she stopped. "Our magick is acting up! Don't get near!" he shouted.
A sudden burst of blue and yellow light blinded her. An ear-shattering BOOM made the ground tremble and crack beneath her. The snow field before her crumbled.
"Run!"
She couldn't tell if the voice belonged to Daero or Deel, but she turned to run when the ground caved beneath her feet. Extending her claws, she gripped the ground, grabbing the ledge just in time. Her legs dangled off the edge. A deep crevice yawned below her. Snow tumbled towards her, hitting her in the face and falling down the dark hole. Breathing heavily, she tried to heave herself out of the hole when something tugged at her from below.
Her heart thumped against her chest. The memory of the waterfall in the Forest Crup returned her to a sense of panic. Even though a part of her knew this wasn't the same thing, tears blurred her vision.
No, I'm okay, I'm okay. She tried to console herself. Her elbows were on the ledge and all she needed to do was get traction with her feet to push herself up. Pinti kicked at the wall and tried to push herself up. Left paw, right paw, pulling herself up, she reached further away from her body.
A pillar of golden-yellow light sprung from the hole. The ground trembled. Tumbling snow came towards her, roaring like a beast. She gripped the ledge with her claws as hard as she could, bracing for impact.
The snow smacked her, pushing her back. Her claws ripped across the ledge shooting pain up her arm. Yowling, her arms flailed to grab the ledge. Snow blocked her view, taking her with it down the hole.
"Pinti!" Daero's panicked call came bombarding into her ears. Chunks of snow and rock skittered out of the way. His arms latched around her waist and his long bangs flew up over his head. White sparkles shined in his eyes. They were falling together. It was too late.
What are you doing here? Save yourself! Such thoughts screamed in her mind, but she was too cold and numbed to say them out loud. Blood rushed to her head and instincts told her the end was near. Cold air nipped at her back. When they plunged into dense darkness, she could no longer see Daero. Still, she could feel him as his body warmed. Her eyes met his. He smiled and whispered,
"Foh Kattola, Pinti."
Before she could respond, purple lightning zipped across his body.
"Anskeh entiwiz jansteh!" he growled.
A soft, indigo blanket of light cocooned her, and her fall slowed. No longer was she falling with force but floating and gently swaying. Pinti breathed out a sigh of relief. Somehow, he had saved them both.
But the next second, a tremor of shock shot through her body as she realized Daero's arms were no longer around her waist.