Ciaran woke up and went to the side of the hill he had been sleeping on. He unleashed his golden blessing and hoped it reached a member of the bird species. It had been a few days after their battle with the Hawks, and he was starting to get used to his new body.
At first, his lack of limbs was a real problem. Not only did he have to hop on one leg, but he also couldn't even grab or hold things. He only had one arm and one leg left, and his right arm was very badly bruised.
Ariadne was in an even worse state. The left side of her body was missing all of her limbs and she was immobile. In this state they could hardly hunt, however, their benefactor had been very homely and fed them a few times a day.
They had been taken in by a Rank Four mountain goat, and she was raising them along with her young. The little goat was still barely a few months old and it was already a Rank Two. After seeing it in action Ciaran even guessed it was stronger than the hawk they had killed.
"Come here boy, it's time for breakfast." The mother goat said as she laid down next to Ariadne not feeding her.
As a Rank Four she could easily speak the human tongue, the strange part was why she bothered to help them at all.
Ciaran could guess it had something to do with his sister, but he didn't ask. The fact he had to lay down and suck the milk out of a goat that could kill him before he even knew what was happening was more than awkward enough.
The boy and the spider dreaded the arrival of Verdania. The day their sister arrived, was probably going to be very hectic.
Not only did they get hurt again, but they were also currently residing near the top of the mountain. With only a few kilometers left, before the very peak.
Even if they were completely healthy, if they took one step outside the goat's territory, they were as good as dead.
The boy had seen countless Rank Threes and a few Rank Fours. The fact none dared to cross a line after a certain point, meaning that there was also probably a Rank Five residing at the top.
For now, the boy decided to just rest and recover his strength. This went on for a few days, but Verdania never came. Ciaran thought she had decided to just skip her visit to the end of the month, and didn't worry too much.
The problem came a week after they were taken in by the goat. He was bored out of his mind. They practiced his Wind magic and her new Fire magic every day, but it grew ever so dull doing it for sixteen hours straight every day for seven days.
"Can you teach me to hop on the mountain like you Miss, I am kind of bored and you seem very proficient in balancing your body." He had asked only half-jokingly, but to his surprise, his caretaker agreed.
She was a goat of a few words, but she was by no means negligent. She thought of him and her young at the same time, even giving him tips on how to utilize his Wind to better support his body.
"Your balance has changed, you can force your body to stabilize. Do it!" She told him.
At first, she only wanted him to learn how to keep his balance on even ground when moving slowly. Whit each success she asked more out of the boy. First, he was made to jump faster, to race against her young.
When the Mama goat was satisfied with his performance, he was taught how to climb. With no hands, he had to learn the goat way. One hop to the next he learned to scale sheer walls, both upwards and downwards. When that was learned she thought him how to move sideways on the wall.
It basically involved using the Wind for balance as well as keeping enough speed, not to fall off. Of course, there were mess-ups, but she was always there to catch him when he fell.
Ariadne was happy her human was learning new things, not so much that she couldn't follow him. The goat didn't have anything to teach her in regard to fire, that simply wasn't her element. But she kept the spider company and consoled her on her worries.
In ways the goat was Ariadne's first real mother as in the nest, she was part of a group collective. The spider and the Mama goat got along great, but the young goat and Ciaran had hit it off even better.
Usually, the boy wouldn't like hyperactive children, but thanks to his boredom and that the little kid was very competitive, they had spent a lot of time racing.
By the tenth day they had been staying there, the boy had no problem moving and went wherever he pleased, with the permission of the Mama goat of course.
The morning of the eleventh day was turning up to be nothing special as well. He woke up and rubbed his sleepy eyes, both of them. It took him a second to realize that his limbs were back, and when he looked at Ariadne she was in perfect health, looking at him with fear in her eyes.
"Well hello there sleepy head, how have you been? "Eleftherios asked, trying to mimic the calm rage he had seen in both his sister and Elizabeth. He was failing miserably though, the man had not one deceptive bone in his body, and by the veins all over his face, the two could tell he was beyond mad.
"Big bro, the goat is a good goat, I swear, she helped us and-"
Verdania appeared and put her hand on his mouth, then pointed at the two goats minding their own business.
His siblings knew what had happened. He had seen his sister glimpse into the past before, hell, he even felt it.
He wanted to speak, but there was a hand on his mouth. He looked at Verdania but she was also staying silent. It seemed she was late because she was trying to persuade her brother not to come, and she failed.
"Did I or did I not tell you to be FUCKING CAREFUL, AND NOT TO TAKE ANY DAMN RISK YOU STUPID BRATS!" He began calmly but lost his composure halfway into his sentence. What ensued was an ass beating, unlike anything neither Ciaran nor Ariadne had ever experienced before.
He beat them, then he healed them, over and over again. He never stopped yelling at them. The wind was howling and the whole mountain was shaking. Eleftherios was only done after a whole hour of this. Then he dropped down to his knees and hugged the two.
"NEVER AGAIN!"
"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, NEVER AGAIN! I DON'T FUCKING CARE IF YOU WANT REVENGE OR WHAT, NEVER RISK YOUR LIVES LIKE THAT." He screamed, tears in his eyes.
The two promised, and then he sighed, relief on his face.
"No more trips without my consent Verdania, or I will not be responsible for my actions." He said, and she nodded. Verdania believed that hardships would push the children to greatness, but her young were too reckless. She thought they had learned their lesson when they got burnt before, but they were simply preparing their selves to slam their hand on the stove harder.
"They will not be left without supervision ever again." She agreed, then she turned to the goat and bowed.
The goats, both young and old came and rubbed their heads onto the duo. They understood that this was a goodbye and that they would not see each other any time soon.
For all his fury Eleftherios still looked at the mother and son goat duo with nothing but gratitude. She had saved his kids. Fed them, and kept them safe. Few would do that in this place, fewer still with no ulterior motif. And he knew they had none, he felt it, the goat just saw wounded children and decided to help on a whim.
"We are going home kids, and this is not over. We are going to spend A LOT of time on why we must not do any of the shit you pulled while here. But for now, at least for the next few days, you will rest. No training and no magic." He said and even though all three other members of his family wanted to protest, no one said anything.
With one last goodbye, Verdania took her family from the mountain, all the way back to the Maze.
The duo looked around. What was not so long ago their home felt so foreign now. The lack of any sense of danger around them creeped them out more than anything else.
The peace they felt at this place felt false, and it showed on their face.
"You are home and you are safe. Nothing will hurt you here, I promise you." Verdania promised, guilt eating away at her heart. She wanted them to grow faster, to become stronger, and they did. And all they had to give up in return was a little piece of themselves. One, they would never get back.