Minor laughed as Kat followed behind her. Minor wasn't really running much faster than before and Kat made sure that she only gained the ground in small increments as she chased after the fox. That was until Minor stopped and put her hand up. Kat froze in place and watched Minor's ears twitch constantly as if searching for something.
"Can you hear that?" asked Minor
"No what is it?" asked Kat
"I think I can hear rushing water; do you see anything in the tunnel up ahead?" asked Minor. Kat walked up to stand even with Minor and peered down the tunnel and was disappointed to see the plane flat walls.
"It all looks the same to me Minor" said Kat
"It must be further up, follow me" said Minor
The two girls picked up their pace, Kat managed it easily but Minor struggled to maintain their increased speed. Despite this she led the way without complaint until Kat did see something. At the edge of her vision she could see the tunnel starting to expand.
"The tunnel opens up at the edge of my vision, that must be where the water is" said Kat. Minor picked up the pace once again for the final sprint before charging into the opening.
They stood in a smallish cave with a river rushing through the centre. It contained crystal clear water to Kat's eyes and a dark abyss to Minors. This didn't stop her from charging to the edge and dunking her head in.
"Minor, does that actually make it easier to drink then say, cupping your hands" said Kat looking down at the princess.
Pulling her head free from the water with a gasp Minor replied "Nope it's wildly impractical, I swallowed basically no water and my face is freezing" despite her words though Minor had a big grin on her face.
"Why do you seem so happy then?" asked Kat
"Haven't you always wanted to dunk your head in a river? It's pretty cool" said Minor with a wink
"Points for trying Minor" said Kat
"Come on, that was great. Gave me a real rush" said Minor.
It was at that moment that Minor's grin rapidly retreated and was replaced with a look of concern.
"What's wrong Minor? Did the puns catch up to you?" asked Kat
"This is a body of water Kat" said Minor
"Thanks for the observations there Minor" said Kat
"No, it's just… You don't understand" said Minor
"Nope, not at all, are you going to tell me what's up or keep making funny faces" said Kat
"This room is a dead end, and the enchantments are nudging me to backtrack we were lead here so that we could get water" said Minor
"Right but how is that a bad thing?" said Kat
"It means that we won't be reaching our goal anytime soon, and that Major is unlikely to wake up for quite some time" said Minor
"Shit. Because the enchantment sends us places it had to send us here so we could stay hydrated…" said Kat
"Exactly, and while I am very thankful for the water is has some bad implications. Like should we turn around. We've committed a lot of time to this, but with water here I don't know how much longer we need to walk. And what about food? The enchantment will probably do its best, but it can't give us something that isn't there" said Minor
"Well, it's entirely up to you if you want to turn back. As for the food situation can't we just fish in the river?" said Kat
"Ah yes, let me just pull my fishing rod out of Major's storage ring. If we're lucky she might even have bait in there" said Minor with a big grin and strained enthusiasm
"You have a storage ring? That seems really useful why didn't you pack it with food" said Kat
"Wait you thought I was serious? Kat storage rings pretty much don't exist. Someone made a few of them a long time ago. We're not sure how many, but they appear in legends. Basically unbreakable, can store almost anything. Why would I ever hide something so useful when I've been in desperate need of water for at least a few hours" said Minor with confusion
"Um, it just seemed pretty useful to have. And the enchantment on the tunnels seems really powerful, I just assumed that it was possible. I didn't know they were so rare. Or that they existed at all for that matter" said Kat
"Right, um sorry. I shouldn't have done that, your calming aura helped me realise I shouldn't have said that, and I did it anyway. Guess it doesn't prevent poor decision making huh. I keep forgetting what it really means that you've been summoned here, and I started saying that as a joke, but I was sorta venting at the end. Sorry, it's just. I know you can see but I can't really. It's getting really hard to keep the little bit of mana in my eyes to barely see. My control is slipping and I'm freaking out a little bit because I don't want to stop and rest, but I can't see, and I'm a bit scared" said Minor staring at the river to avoid looking at Kat
Walking up behind the fox girl Kat brought Minor into her embrace, covering Minor with her wings and wrapping the girl up Kat spoke "It's fine Minor. I can see everything bright as day, literally. I have no idea how that works, or even makes sense at all, but I can see. I won't let anything happen to you" said Kat. Minor lent back putting her full weight on Kat.
"Sorry I keep breaking down so much. I'm a little unstable, but I'm not sure increasing the power of your calming aura would help me. I mean in the short term maybe, but what you are doing with it now, it's helping my deal with things but not ignore them, if that makes sense. You're right we will get through this. I want to keep going. Major planned this escape for months. Sure we completely botched the plan less then a day away from the castle. Sure Major's basically in a coma, but who cares. We are visiting Grandma, going on an adventure, and tricking the Beast King. What could be more fun" said Minor.
*It's hard to keep up with this girl's mood swings. I probably would have amped up calm if she hadn't said anything because the poor girl needs help. Now is really not the time or place though. Pitch darkness, on the run, cold stone floor. It can wait, or better, perhaps her grandmother can deal with it.*
"Minor, we are taking a short break" said Kat
"Wait, but Kat I can-" Minor was interrupted as Kat squeezed her hand. Not enough to truly hurt her but enough to interrupt Minor's words.
"It was a statement not a question" said Kat
"Ok, but just. Just. Just a little. Bit" said Minor head drooping immediately.
* I didn't expect she was that tired. How was she comfortable saying that she could keep going when she's passed out in front of me. Seriously Minor take better care of yourself. Now the question is should I keep walking while she's asleep. It's tempting, I think if Minor had actually taken a proper drink before she passed out I would but I'm not sure she actually drank any of the water. Guess I'm committing to sitting in this position until she wakes up.*
Kat set her mind adrift. She wasn't in a position to be sleeping, and the sound of the water was a soothing thing, especially with the contrasting silence of everything else. Kat let the sound float around her, keeping her calm and relaxed. When Minor started stirring it was hard for Kat to know how long it had been. It hadn't felt like much time at all, but time was rather inconsistent in this place. Slowly opening her eyes Minor looked around at the cocoon of wings she was in and sighed contentedly before starting to get up.
"We have to backtrack, likely to the intersection and head the other way. Are you ready to leave" said Minor
"Yeah, let's go" said Kat.. The girls took another gulp of water before heading out back into the endlessly repetitive tunnels.