Archive of Our Own

“You damn idiot,” he rasped hoarsely.

The sound of his own footsteps echoed in his head along with his racing pulse. He could feel himself slowly losing the strength to keep running, but he knew that Ewron wasn’t going to let up. He was too stubborn, especially when someone struck at his pride. Nexe hadn’t particularly planned to argue with him in the middle of the forest where they found themselves, but his resolve was fading as things unfolded. He’d wanted to gently point out that a late November evening wasn’t exactly the ideal time for a pointless stroll through the woods; instead, they’d ended up in a situation where they’d probably gotten lost.

“Stop, damn it. You’re making the situation worse.” With one hand, he grabbed the red panda-hybrid’s robe as he came within arm’s reach, stopping her in her tracks. “Calm down.” A wheezing breath escaped Ewron’s lungs. “Do you remember which way you were running?”

“I wasn’t looking at the path," he said contritely. With every word, he sounded more and more lost. The trembling tone of his voice was almost drowned out by his rapid, desperate breathing. “W-wait.” Unexpectedly, he dropped his backpack from his shoulder onto the ground. “I took my communicator. I’m sure of it. I packed it before we left. I never go out without, obviously…”

“Ewron,” Nexe’s sharp voice cut through the red panda’s torrent of words.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s got to be around here somewhere.” He rummaged through more items, tossing some of them onto the wet ground as he went. “Oh, here it is! I found it! Wait, wait, wait.” With trembling hands, he picked up the communicator, but it slipped out of his grasp instantly. “Shit…”

“Ewron,” he repeated much louder, yet the red panda-hybrid still didn’t react, continuing to try to catch the communicator. Nexe could feel his patience hanging by a thread. He stepped closer, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder and clenching his fingers to distract him. "Ewron!" He finally looked up at him. The confusion mixed with worry radiating from him made Nexe feel as if something heavy were settling on his chest, filling the entire space. “Calm down, idiot. The communicator isn’t going to work in the middle of the forest anyway,” he reminded him, at which a quiet ‘oh’ escaped his lips. “You have to try to remember something.”

"Nexe."

"We’re getting out of here" the firmness in his voice cut off any further comments from Ewron, though it didn’t quite break down all the walls he’d built out of fear. "Focus."

“I don’t fucking know,” he closed his eyes, trying to picture the route in his head. "There was some tall pole I almost ran into. I was wondering who the fuck puts stuff like that in the middle of the woods. But that was somewhere at the beginning of the road. I don’t fucking know, Nexe. Shit. I didn’t think we’d get lost."

His voice began to take on a tone dangerously close to desperation. Every movement he made looked unnaturally stiff and labored, as if his limbs had been set in concrete.

“Of course. You never think about things like that.” Nexe rolled his eyes, taking a few steps back to lean against one of the tree trunks. He was still wet from the recent downpour, but the dog-hybrid didn’t even notice. Standing before him was Ewron, who once again – whether by accident or not – had dragged him into a situation Nexe would never have gotten himself into. If he could, he’d take Ewron’s life with his own hands right now. However, he’d seen far better opportunities to do so. He had no choice but to grit his teeth.

“Of course I’m not thinking about things like that! No one but you does. You could’ve been watching too, for fuck’s sake,” he blurted out in a single breath.

“Well, not really, because I had to focus on not losing sight of that fucking idiot who didn’t think that running blindly into the woods was probably the worst idea of all.”

“You should’ve just left me behind, then.”

Nexe snorted in frustration at the absurdity of those words, but let them hang in the air. He had a bigger problem than the red panda’s latest mood swings. Somehow – unfortunately, together – they had to find their way back. He already knew they certainly wouldn’t be able to return the way they’d come, since neither of them remembered enough details. The wet ground had likely already erased their tracks as well. They couldn’t count on outside help either, since the communicator had no signal in such a remote place, and even if they managed to get the faintest bar of signal at some point, no one would know where to look for them.

After all, they themselves had no idea where they were. The situation didn’t look too promising, but Nexe decided to keep that thought to himself. Ewron already seemed emotionally shaken enough by the situation, and any further news might not sit well with him.

A fragment of Graf’s words echoed in his head. Nexe couldn’t recall the circumstances or exactly what they had discussed, but the words were so clear that he could almost swear he could hear Graf’s voice right next to his ear.

“The forests and fields are laid out in such a way that if you head north, you’ll always come out onto a road.”

“Follow me,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Ewron before setting off toward the north.

Nexe wasn’t sure how many kilometers they’d managed to cover when all he could hear was Ewron’s ragged breathing and the leaves rustling under their boots. When the sound became unnaturally loud, he stopped in his tracks to scrutinize the red panda-hybrid.

“You’re starting to panic.” Nexe furrowed his brow, unable to take his eyes off the rapid, labored pace at which Ewron was trying to draw air into his lungs. His shoulders were shaking unnaturally hard – and certainly not from the cold.

“I'm fine.”

“Ewron,” he tried again to get his attention. The words sounded both firm and, in some inexplicable way, gentle. “You’re going to choke in a moment.”

“No…” He didn’t even have time to finish, as Nexe cut him off immediately.

“Sit down. We won’t go any further unless you calm down.”

Ewron, however, seemed not to hear a single word Nexe said, as he continued to walk forward maniacally. Nexe felt that these were his last few seconds to intervene before something bad happened – something he wouldn’t be able to control. In a few strides, he overtook Ewron and shoved him against one of the tree trunks. As the red panda-hybrid staggered a few steps backward and his back collided with the bark, Nexe placed both hands on his shoulders to force him into a kneeling position. A desperate rasp escaped his lips.

“I don’t know what’s–” he trailed off, frantically trying to take another breath. His chest rose and fell at a frantic pace, but it still seemed just out of reach of a deeper breath. Ewron didn’t even notice when he had tangled his long, trembling fingers in his hair. A searing pain shot down his spine as he pulled on them with all his might.

“Damn it,” Nexe gasped. He hurriedly knelt in front of the red panda-hybrid, trying to gently but firmly pry his hands away. The pulse raced beneath his fingers as he clasped his hands around the boy’s wrists. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Come on.” With one strong motion, he pulled the hybrid’s head toward him so it rested on his shoulder, but he didn’t remove his hand, letting it stay there a little longer. “Breathe. Everything’s okay, all right?” Ewron clenched his fingers on the dog’s sweatshirt, as if that could keep him grounded. He wanted to scream right in his face that he couldn’t breathe, even though he wanted to so damn badly, but not a single word could escape his lips. He felt as if he were stuck inside his own head, with no emergency exit. “We’re in this together. I won’t leave you, okay? You know I do stupid shit sometimes, but I’d never in a million years leave you.” The pain in his chest was tearing him apart as if a huge tree were growing inside him. He felt like throwing up everything onto the ground, just to get it out of his system. He wanted to shove his fingers down his throat so deep that he couldn’t help but bring up the contents of his stomach. If only he could loosen his grip on his sweatshirt, he probably would have done it. His hand, however, remained in place, paralyzed. “We’ll get out of here soon.” He closed his eyes as the scene before him became too bright. The light, though, seemed to seep in even through his tightly shut eyelids. He pressed his head harder against Nexe’s shoulder. “It’s okay, right?” Each word vanished before he could grasp its meaning, drowned out by the frantic pounding of his heart in ears. He could have sworn he heard his blood boiling in veins, circulating from toes to the very top of his head. He clenched jaw until the pressure of his teeth against each other caused a burning pain. “Nothing’s happening.” “He wanted to break free from this cage. To rip it open lengthwise, stick his hand inside, and tear out the ribs that were blocking his breath. If he’d done it fast enough, Nexe wouldn’t have been able to stop him. ‘You just have to breathe, Ewron.’

“I can’t.” He wasn’t sure if those words had actually been spoken or if, like everything else, they were just stuck in his head.

He felt as if he were standing on the sidelines, watching the whole farce unfold. As if his mind had been violently severed from his body. The whole moment seemed like nothing more than a figment of his imagination – a nasty fantasy over which, for some reason, he had no control. Once again, he felt the contents of his stomach rise into his throat. He drew a breath through his nose with difficulty, pressing his lips together.

“I know you can do it. One more time, please.”

A few breaths of air made their way into his lungs, causing him to choke on them in shock. Not enough. Not enough. Not enough.

“There you go. It’s okay. Breathe, all right?”

The tightness around his sweatshirt began to slowly ease, replaced by numbness. He felt as if he’d suddenly become terribly cold. An unpleasant shiver ran down his spine, leaving a trail behind it. Each subsequent breath was slower and deeper, yet still seemed insufficient. He felt a sudden, burning need to claim all the air for himself.

Fatigue washed over him in waves. The moment silence finally reigned in his head – almost as if someone had suddenly turned off the power – all his limbs became incredibly heavy.

Pulling away from Nexe was harder than he could have imagined, for many reasons. He didn’t know how he was supposed to look him in the face with complete seriousness now without wanting to sink into the ground. This was Nexe. The most docile and affectionate dog-hybrid he could ever meet. So Nexe didn’t deserve to see him like this. He should be able to rely on him. To believe that he’d get them out of this situation, just like any other. Just like when a whole pack of monsters attacked them, and just like when Grzegorz died. He was supposed to be his pillar of support, not a fucking rock tied to his ankles. He wanted to turn back time. Or better yet, for once in his life, listen to him and never set foot in that cursed forest.

Secondly, the warmth radiating from Nexe was too pleasant for him to want to give it up. The weight of his hand on his head instilled in him an inexplicable sense of security. He wanted to sink into that feeling. To drown in it, completely enveloped by the scent of the dog-hybrid.

Finally, however, he looked up.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled sheepishly, leaning more comfortably against the tree trunk. He tilted his head away so he wouldn’t have to look at Nexe’s worried face, which flashed before his eyes. “We can keep going.”

“We can’t,” he replied almost immediately. “You need to rest.”

“It’s fine. The sun’s about to set; we have to get out of here,” he shrugged. “Please,” added imploringly, sensing that the dog-hybrid was still hesitating.

Nexe looked uncertainly at Ewron, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to win this verbal battle. Not the moment their eyes met, and the hope shining through her blue irises threw him off balance.

“Okay.” His voice didn’t sound at all as if he believed it was a good idea, yet he stood up straight and held out his hand to him.

Nexe didn't have the faintest idea what they should do next, let alone which way they should go. The forest was vast and still unpredictable. From their perspective, one might assume there was no way out. It was like a closed maze with dead ends. They could circle around, looking for any other path, but all of them would lead to the same place. He knew, however, that they should conserve their strength. There was no point in aimlessly wandering through the forest in the hope that they would suddenly stumble upon an exit, since the odds were too slim to make it worth the risk anyway. With every passing minute, the icy wind grew stronger, meaning they were just a few steps away from being frozen to the bone, especially in clothes so ill-suited for late fall. They had to stay warm for as long as they possibly could.

So they had no choice but to continue heading north, searching in the meantime for a place where they could stay. In the middle of a dense forest, there wasn’t much chance of finding an abandoned house, but they might still come across an unused shelter or other structures that other inhabitants had hastily built to take temporary refuge.

Nexe thought that fate was clearly not on their side when, after several more hours of walking, the only thing they found was… more trees. With every kilometer, he had the impression that their density was increasing, as if they were trying to surround them on all sides. The paved road gave way to soggy soil that slowed their progress, and the branches sagged under their own weight, blocking part of the path.

The alarm bells in Nexe’s head began to ring with terrifying intensity.

“We should stop,” he said, glancing furtively at Ewron, who had just clasped his hands tighter around his shoulders. “It’s too dark, and you’re about to pass out from the cold.”

Nexe really didn’t want to be overly concerned, but the sight of his almost blood-red cheeks and the violent shivers that shook him every so often filled him with worry. Nexe was a dog-hybrid. Genetically, he was partially adapted to cold temperatures and harsh conditions. He’d be lying if he said he liked them, but he was able to endure them. With Ewron, it was a different story. The red panda was a small animal, so he felt every change more acutely.

“I’m not dying.” His tail was trembling too much, and his voice seemed too quiet for Nexe to believe those words.

“And yet you look like you’re doing just that,” he remarked.

Not intending to wait for a response, he pulled off his sweatshirt and spread it out under one of the trees as carefully as possible, so that it took up as much space as possible.

“I think you’ve finally lost your mind.”

“We have to secure ourselves from below,” Nexe explained.

“But maybe not at your expense, for example?”

“Got a better idea?” he turned toward him, instantly locking eyes with those blue irises. In this light, they seemed much darker, like lapis lazuli. For some reason, Nexe had always found their color mesmerizing. The deep hue seemed more intriguing than even that of an emerald or a diamond. Graf had once mentioned to him that this was due to a shade of ultramarine unnatural to the human eye, but he had retained far too little of that information. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Ewron to utter a single word, but was met only with silence. “Just as I thought,” he snorted. Setting his backpack on the ground, he sat down, leaning his back against a tree trunk. With a wave of his hand, he motioned for the red panda to finally take a seat instead of standing there.

“I don’t like this idea,” he sighed one last time, but gave up on resisting any further. The sweatshirt – even when spread out so carefully – still didn’t offer a particularly large surface area. So when they both finally found themselves on it, every possible part of their bodies was touching. Ewron felt Nexe tense every muscle in his body in response. He wanted to keep from smiling, but that smile stormed its way onto his lips. “Don’t act like you’ve never touched a human before.”

Nexe let those words go in one ear and out the other, not intending to get drawn into yet another one of this idiot’s games. He carefully slipped one hand around Ewron’s back to grab him by the waist and pull him a little closer. The skin beneath his fingers instantly grew warmer.

‘It’s for safety,’ he repeated maniacally in his head, as if any other version seemed too inappropriate to linger in his mind for long.

“You’re shaking terribly.” The words slipped from his lips far too quietly to sound carefree. The pale-red hue his skin had taken on worried him far too intensely. The red panda’s body was reacting to this situation in a way he’d probably never seen before – and certainly not in this particular individual. Its tail had bristled several hours ago, as if bracing for danger, and had wrapped itself around their legs, resting on the sweatshirt, while its ears twitched at the slightest rustle of leaves. A prolonged defensive reaction in hybrids never boded well.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

Ewron, apparently seizing the moment, rested his head on the dog-hybrid’s shoulder, as if he wanted to sink into it, and gently closed his eyes.

“You need to rest,” he murmured, trying not to disturb the peace they’d managed to build in the meantime.

Ewron couldn’t bring himself to comment on those words, though he would usually have started arguing with Nexe. After all, he felt fine. He was the one who should be taking care of that stupid dog, not the other way around. He should have held him tight, patting his head soothingly. And yet, somehow, they found themselves in the exact opposite situation. Ewron felt a bitter regret leave a nasty aftertaste in his throat. A weight he’d never felt before settled on his chest, preventing him from uttering a single word. He wanted to turn this situation around as quickly as possible. He was supposed to be a source of support for Nexe, not a burden.

Nexe deserved to have at least some of his worries lifted from his shoulders. Ewron knew that Nexe wasn’t exactly the type to open up. He usually bottled up most of his problems until they began to fester. He was sure that the current situation was taking a toll on him as well, but years of practice had taught him to control his emotions.

“You’re thinking so out loud that I can hear the gears turning in your head.” Nexe snorted, but more out of tenderness than a desire to mock the red panda. The weight lifted from his shoulder as Ewron began to raise his head. However, he couldn’t even sit up straight, because the dog-hybrid pulled his head back toward her with one swift movement. “Lie down. You need to gather your strength for when it gets colder,” he declared firmly, tightening his grip around the red panda’s waist.

The sun had almost completely disappeared behind the horizon, and their faces were illuminated only by the pale glow of the full moon. Darkness spread around them, seeping into their surroundings like ink, but that wasn’t the main problem. You could get used to the darkness once your eyes adjusted to it. The chill that came with the onset of night was much worse. It squeezed the last breath out of them, making it nearly impossible to keep a clear head. Their only source of warmth was their bodies pressed tightly together, leaving not even a millimeter of space between them. But even that was only a temporary solution – a band-aid for a gunshot wound. Eventually, the cold gust of the night wind would penetrate every cell of their bodies, taking away all the warmth they were giving each other.

Ewron realized that in this situation, there was a real chance that, because of the freezing weather, they might not live to see tomorrow. He was also certain that Nexe knew this too, but apparently he was trying to keep that thought to himself.

He wanted to tell him that none of this was supposed to turn out this way. They were supposed to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, which was starting to overwhelm him, and then return to the Polish Cave. There, Graf would be waiting for them, joking as always that they’d gone on another date, and Multi would lean out of the reactor for a moment, just to mock them. Ewron would snap back something about how he should mind his own romantic life, and Nexe would stand right next to him, watching the whole scene with embarrassment. They were supposed to warm each other with the heat of their bodies, but not with the fucking awareness that otherwise they’d freeze to death. Ewron would have given his last breath just so that, at that moment, Nexe would tell him to “keep those dirty hands to himself.” Instead, the dog-hybrid stared at him with such intense focus – driven perhaps by genuine concern, or perhaps by compassion – that Ewron felt as if he were shattering into such tiny pieces that it would be impossible to put them back together. He felt as if that gaze were stripping him of every thick layer of clothing he wore, but not in the way he might have wanted. He felt vulnerable and naked in the truest sense of the word. Above all, however, he was suffocated by a sense of guilt. First, he’d dragged him here, even though Nexe had insisted it was a really bad idea, and then he’d sort of forced him – even if not entirely on purpose – to momentarily set aside his combative nature, that of a rebellious dog, replacing it with the most sincere kind of concern Ewron had ever seen.

“Nexe?” His voice was barely a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“Sleep, Ewron. I’m here,” Nexe assured him, placing one hand on the red panda’s head. Ewron didn’t want to fall asleep – not under these circumstances – but with every passing moment his eyelids grew heavier, and keeping his eyes open became nearly impossible. He kept telling himself it was just for a moment.

Just for a moment.
Just for a moment.

He vaguely remembered the moment when he woke up to slide off Nexe’s shoulder onto his thighs. Their warmth made him purr under his breath as he sank deeper into them.

He felt as if Nexe’s body heat and scent were enveloping him from all sides, forming a cocoon. He wanted to open his eyes, but instantly all his thoughts scattered again, turning into a mere colorless mush.

“Stop squirming like that, idiot."

When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the sun rising above the horizon. Its faint rays filtered through the sparse tree canopy. He figured they might be slowly approaching late morning.

“Hi, Nexe,” he smiled sleepily, even though he didn’t feel like it was the right moment at all. “Were you sleeping?”

Well. The state Nexe had been in all night could hardly be called “sleep,” but that didn’t mean he was going to admit it.

“I was sleeping.”

“You need to learn to lie better. Maybe I should give you a few lessons, just in case.” Ewron lazily sat up straight, stretching his curled limbs, which had kept him warm for most of the freezing night.

Nexe instinctively, almost without thinking, wanted to respond to that stupid provocation. After all, that’s what their relationship had always been about. They were just two idiots who derived some inexplicable pleasure from getting on each other’s nerves. So Nexe would have blurted out something like, “Maybe I should teach you a thing or two about not panicking at the drop of a hat.” It quickly dawned on him, however, that this was completely reckless. Arguments weren’t in their best interest right now. They should stick as close together as possible if they both wanted to get out of this cursed forest in one piece. Besides, he knew that his thought was still an exaggeration. Ewron was a fucking assassin. He killed people without hesitation, with that roguish, vile smile of his, without batting an eye. If there was one thing you could say about him, it certainly wasn’t that he was weak.

Nexe felt that once they finally got out of here and their emotions had completely subsided, he would seize every opportunity, when they were alone, to remind Ewron just how insignificant he’d become in the face of this situation – even though he was a terror to half the island’s inhabitants.

“We have to get going,” he sighed, getting up from the ground. He brushed off the debris that had settled on his clothes and bent down to his backpack. “Drink this so you don’t drop out on the first kilometer.” Their fingers brushed against each other as Ewron took the glass bottle from Nexe.

“Are you going to poison me?” The corner of the red panda’s mouth curled into a mischievous smile, and her ears twitched with amusement.

The dog merely sighed heavily in response.

“Yes.”

Ewron, apparently encouraged by this assurance, raised the bottle without breaking eye contact and brought it to his lips. He nodded one last time, as if he truly believed the liquid in the glass could kill him, and downed the entire contents in a single gulp.

When they set off again, this time heading east with the help of the sun, the atmosphere between them still seemed lighter than it had been yesterday. The red-haired panda, as always, didn’t stop talking for a moment, though almost nothing he said was worth saying. He noticed a puddle of fallen leaves that had arranged themselves into various shapes, even though Nexe was certain he was simply imagining what he wanted to see in them. He grabbed the lower branches of the trees – which he somehow managed to reach – to swing himself forward and get a few steps ahead of the dog-hybrid. He seemed to be regaining all the vigor he’d lost the previous day.

For Nexe, however, the situation was exactly the opposite. He felt as if with every step he was losing all the strength he’d been trying to keep in check. He lost his thoughts before they could leave his lips, and each one seemed to be shrouded in a fog of exhaustion. Each step was heavier than the last. More difficult, as if someone had tied his legs together and ordered him to keep running. He had no intention of stopping, however.

The dark clouds gathering above them were covering an ever-larger area. Nexe sincerely hoped that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him due to lack of sleep. For he was well aware that, at that moment, a storm was the worst thing that could happen to them. They could get out of any situation, as long as it wasn’t something beyond their control and over which they had no influence. The weather was definitely one of those things. Their clothes wouldn’t withstand the rain alone – they were far too delicate and definitely not waterproof. They’d end up soaked to the skin on a windy November afternoon with no way to warm up quickly. Nexe didn’t even want to imagine how that might end.

The high-pitched sound struck him with such force that he froze in his tracks. His ears involuntarily began to follow the sound, quivering with impatience. For a moment, Nexe was sure he’d merely imagined it, but before long, the sound grew louder. It was clearer, yet still faint – easy to ignore. He narrowed his eyes, as if that might help him pinpoint its source. Instead, the only thing he picked up was Ewron’s unbearably loud voice, which still hadn’t shut up.

Too focused to pay him any attention – hoping he’d finally shut up for a moment – he grabbed him by the sleeve, pulling him toward him. With one hand, he pinned him in a bear hug so he couldn’t break free. With his other hand, he covered his mouth, silencing him instantly. Ewron muttered something, but his words got stuck between Nexe’s fingers. Nexe pressed him closer, which finally seemed to work on that stupid red panda, because he stopped struggling.

When silence fell around them, Nexe finally focused on the sound. He had the overwhelming impression that he knew it inside and out. As if it had been etched into his mind over the years he’d spent on the island. Squeaky, grating on the ears, and uneven, like metal scraping against itself. It reminded him of the moment when he and Alondrissa were standing on the tracks, and a… train? was heading straight toward them.

The dog-hybrid furrowed his brows.

“Damn, that’s right,” he muttered under his breath, glancing at one of the side paths from which the sound was coming. “A train.”

“Hm?” A quiet sound escaped the red panda’s lips, but it was still too faint to penetrate his hand. The realization that they were still stuck in the same position came far too late. The warmth radiating from Ewron’s heated skin and the gentle breeze of his breath suddenly became absurdly – even uncomfortably – palpable, even though Nexe hadn’t paid any attention to it before. The sensation was… all too pleasant, considering he wanted to end it. In a few hours, it would be a full day since they’d left the warm cave, trading it for the cool gusts of wind. Nexe felt a sudden urge to immerse himself in that gentle suffocation. He had no choice, however. With a quick movement, he pulled away from the red panda-hybrid, feeling the cold plunder his body from within once more.

“Do you trust me?”

“You know the answer,” he pointed out.

With a single motion, Nexe grabbed his chin, forcing his gaze back to himself. The chill of their bodies mingled once more.

“Do you trust me?”

“No, I don’t trust you. I’m sure you’re going to lead us down a dead-end path now, where a lake will be waiting for you to drown me in” – with every word, a defiant smile spread across his lips. Nexe couldn’t help but look at it. “Well, I do trust you. Don’t change that.”

“Follow me and watch your step.”

The side paths were characterized by particularly dense tree cover and narrow widths. It was therefore impossible for the two of them to walk side by side. The dog-hybrid hooked fingers onto one of the layers of clothing Ewron was wearing, to make sure he didn’t lose sight of him, and set off without turning around.

“Sure, Dad.”

Nexe would be lying if he said this discovery hadn’t given him strength. Exhaustion took a back seat as focus took its place. He felt that the only thing driving him now was the vision that they might be just a few kilometers away from leaving this cursed place. However, there was also a chance that they were merely venturing even deeper into the vast forest, moving further away from the exit. Nexe tried not to let that thought take hold.

Ewron returned to his aimless chatter, but this time not even that could distract the dog-hybrid. He let the distinctive high-pitched voice fill the silence, thereby keeping him grounded and preventing his mind from wandering too far. Nexe would probably never admit it out loud, but that silly red panda was helping him keep from going completely crazy. He knew that right now he wasn’t just making decisions for himself, but for the panda as well. He had to keep himself in check, because he felt that otherwise they’d really be stuck here until they died.

A broad streak of light filtering through the trees made him feel every muscle in his body finally relax. Calm washed over his mind in waves. He didn’t let it take him over completely, though.

It wasn’t until they emerged onto the main road cutting through the dense forest that he leaned on his knees to catch his breath. Nexe wasn’t particularly good at navigating the terrain. He sensed they were a dozen or so minutes from the center, but he didn’t trust himself to be completely sure.

“I know where we are!” Hearing that characteristic enthusiasm back in his voice after such a long time was like a cool shower on a sweltering day for Nexe.

“I don’t know if we should trust your hunch,” he snorted. The red panda-hybrid had already started to open her mouth, but when it apparently dawned on her that he couldn’t deny it, he closed it, huffing under her breath. Nexe felt laughter scratching at the back of his throat, but letting it out would have taken too much effort, so he merely muttered, “Lead the way.”

If, later on, Nexe were to describe those last few kilometers, he would be at a loss for words. He remembered only the sun fading beyond the horizon and the heaviness with which each subsequent step came to him. He wanted to sit down. He wasn’t sure if, the moment he tried to take another step, he wouldn’t fall right onto the concrete road, scraping his hands raw. However, Ewron, walking ahead of him, was pulling him with such force that he had no chance to slow down. So he let him lead the way. The warmth of his hands, in contrast to the chilly wind, sent shivers down his spine, which helped him keep his eyes open.

He remembered, though, exactly the feeling that overwhelmed him the moment they crossed the threshold of the Polish Cave. Nexe could have sworn that a single tear of relief rolled down his cheek, eventually soaking into the fabric of his sweatshirt. He would never leave this place again – especially not with Ewron.

A weight suddenly settled on his body as the red panda-hybrid lunged at him. His arms wrapped around the dog’s waist, burying his head in the crook of its neck. The tips of its ears teased the sensitive skin there. The reddish-white tail wrapped itself around their legs, as if to claim space for them. Nexe felt as though he were disappearing into that embrace, like a small child. He had no intention of protesting.

“I’m so damn sorry,” Ewron muttered contritely, but his voice was barely audible because of their closeness. “I know I screwed up again because I wanted to spend some time with you, and instead…”

“Oh, just shut up already. Nexe sighed heavily, burying his face deeper into the reddish hair. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep his eyes open, as he felt as if some inexplicable force were trying to shut them. Exhaustion hit him with such force that he staggered, going limp in Ewron’s arms. If not for the firm grip holding him, he would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

“Come on. You deserve the longest sleep of your life.”

The red panda-hybrid led them straight toward the bed, finally throwing themselves onto it with the full weight of their two bodies, almost glued together. Nexe felt himself melt into the softness of the mattress, and the warmth radiating from Ewron only intensified the foggy sensation in his mind. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as Ewron tangled his fingers in Nexe’s hair, gently running them through its length.

He didn’t even notice when his eyelids finally closed, but he was certain that no force could make him open them now. He felt as if he were drifting away almost immediately, losing the boundaries of his surroundings. As if the world were beginning to melt.

“I hate you so much.”

With the last remnants of his consciousness, he formed one final, faint thought before everything began to vanish into blackness.