Astel opened his eyes, light finally entering his irises — except there was something blocking it. A furry creature was staring deep inside his eyes, matching his gaze with a certain curiosity.
Out of instinct, Astel swatted at the creature, attempting to push it away. Monte dodged the poor attempt at an attack by barely moving his head, which he then tilted, looking even more intrigued.
Astel spun his body, quickly getting on his knees in order to get a more proper look at the strange creature. He readied his arms to fend off any attacks — but the creature stood still, watching him.
'Is that a… ferret?' He shook his head. 'No, not quite.'
Monte stood still, observing the odd human child.
'Is this the one Felix was interested in?'
He tilted his head to the other side, which made Astel even more anxious.
'What is it getting at?' he thought, not letting his body rest even for a moment. As his thoughts spiraled, he came to a conclusion.
'Ambush!'
His eyes darted from side to side, looking for anything out of the ordinary in the empty green fields. But there was nothing.
'Hey, are you by any chance called Astel?' Monte tried projecting his thoughts toward him — but Astel didn't look to have noticed anything.
'Hey. Don't ignore me just because I'm cute. I asked you a question,' Monte sent, approaching Astel with a stern look.
Astel's eyes finally stopped darting around, returning their focus to the small creature in front of him. He was just about ready to lunge at it and tear it apart.
With that thought, his stomach grumbled.
Monte stopped. 'Are you hungry?' He looked around for something to eat. 'Ah, I know — follow me.' He gestured with his limbs at Astel, who was still on edge, before dashing off away from the ravine.
Astel stood there frozen.
'Is it telling me to follow it?'
He looked around one more time for anything hiding nearby, but was met with silence. His gaze lingered on the ravine, which sent a shiver down his spine. He turned and followed Monte.
Before long, they stopped at what seemed to be just a pile of large rocks.
"What now?" Astel asked out loud, his voice raspy after not using it in so long.
He coughed — and something slithered beneath his skin and wrapped itself around his throat. With a few more coughs he fell to one knee, holding onto a nearby rock for support. Sweat started pouring down his face. Unable to catch his breath, he looked at Monte, who was watching him, unmoving.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he felt the thing slither away, leaving his throat open. He immediately took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air.
"Why are you just standing there?" he asked out loud, hoping the creature would understand him and somehow help him.
Although the creature didn't move, he noticed that his voice wasn't raspy anymore — that his throat didn't hurt as much. Only that he was out of breath, like he'd just run a marathon.
He stood back up, wiping the sweat off his tired face.
Noticing that he was fine, Monte turned around and dove in between the stones, his three tails disappearing behind him.
"Great. Now even that ferret left me."
Astel scanned his surroundings for anything to eat. He was at the edge of another forest — this one full of tall pine trees, much thicker and larger than anything he'd seen back home, even in the news. After not finding anything to eat, he decided to sit down on a nearby rock.
He looked up at the trees and the white sky, letting his thoughts run freely.
'This is actually quite nice.'
He took deep breaths, calming himself down and finally letting himself properly rest. Even after all that had happened, he was glad — in a way. Although lately he had started feeling bad about what he did to the other him, he thought it was for the best. He knew they weren't the same, even if they were both Astel. He also knew it would be hard for them to understand each other — but he hoped that at some point in the future, he could become friends with himself.
'I'm sure he would have enjoyed this view. This kingdom, or whatever it is.'
He smiled. Even if their memories were different, even if their thoughts were different, they were both inherently still the same.
'I hope you're watching — because I will get out of here and find Melody.'
He paused.
'I'll also make sure to avenge mom.'
Tears formed in his eyes. He let the thoughts go, deciding to simply enjoy the view for a little longer.
Then the stones he was sitting on started shifting.
They split cleanly in the middle, sliding loudly to the side as a passage leading underground opened. Astel jumped up, readying to fight — or run. He saw something move from the bottom of the now-revealed stairs. He swallowed his fear, shifting his back foot into a more stable stance.
A small brown-furred creature ran up the stairs, squeaking at Astel and gesturing with its little paws to come down.
Astel hesitated, his stomach growling again. Seeing that the creature seemed to be in a rush, he dropped his shoulders.
'Worst case scenario, I can just eat him I guess.'
His gaze met Monte's. A shiver ran down Monte's spine — but he ignored it, pointing urgently for Astel to come in.
'Come on, hurry! It won't stay open long.'
Astel slowly descended the stairs, taking extra careful steps, which looked to irritate Monte considerably.
'Damn it, can you walk any slower?' he said — though Astel didn't hear him again. 'Tsk. I thought Felix would've at least taught him to speak.'
The stones began sliding back into place, slowly casting a deep shadow over the short stairs and hallway. Astel turned around at the loud noise, his hairs standing on end. Looking at the calm creature still waiting for him to follow, he decided to drop his guard.
He casually strolled down the tunnel, barely able to see even a single step in front of him, when a thought — like a whisper — appeared in his mind.
'Trust is hard to come by.'
Astel stopped.
In that moment, it felt like how Felix used to speak to him through his mind — but at the same time, he knew the voice hadn't come from outside.
Noticing Astel had stopped, Monte ran up and tugged at the remains of his ragged clothes, as if urging him to keep going.
"Can I really trust you, little one?"
Monte tilted his head at Astel's words, clearly not understanding him — though Astel couldn't see that in the darkness. For a moment he hesitated, then took a deep breath and bent down, scooping Monte up into his arms.
'Hey! I'm not your toy — let me go!' Monte shouted, to no avail.
"You wouldn't hurt me, would you?" Astel slowly rubbed his hand along the top of Monte's head.
'Hey! Hey! Stop it or I will bite you.'
Monte squealed — then gradually let himself enjoy the nice feeling of having his fur stroked. As Astel continued petting him, Monte began lightly purring.
'Ah, yes, yes — right there. Right behind the ear.'
"Shall we continue?" Astel asked, stopping.
'No, no — why are you stopping?' Monte struggled in Astel's hand, attempting to reach the other one that had been petting him.
Astel didn't remove his hand from Monte's head until they reached the end of the tunnel.
"It seems to be a dead end. Is this where you wanted to take me?"
He looked at Monte, who was already slipping out of his hand. With a soft thud, Monte landed on the ground, raising a small cloud of dust before disappearing into some hole in the wall.
For a few moments it was quiet. Boredom slowly started to overtake Astel as he began touching the walls around him for at least some stimulation of his senses. The walls to his side weren't anything noteworthy — but the wall in front of him had a texture he could recognize almost anywhere.
Instantly, he was reminded of the other Astel's fight against the stalker beast inside the desert temple.
'Even at that time, he wouldn't have survived if it weren't for me.' He sighed, feeling a quiet pity for the other him. 'Although he didn't fight half bad,' he thought — a small smile creeping up his face.
Then the wall shifted with a loud sound, moving out of the way. Light poured in from the room beyond as his new small furry friend walked through the opening and climbed onto his shoulders.
"I guess you want me to go inside?"
He looked Monte in the eyes, then smiled.
"Alright. Let's see what it is that you wanted to show me."