krystalkatzficz | No longer alone No part 20

“Are you warm enough?” Sho asked looking as though he was about to strip of his outer robe and wrap it around him and Nino waved him off. It was much colder down here and yet he felt very warm. Aran had shifted until he was nestled into his robe under his hair and Nino could hear him snoring every so often with a strange hooting sound. They had been walking for what felt like hours through increasingly smaller tunnels. Sho had told him that they had left the main channel but he had no idea where they were.

“Yes, I’m warm enough...” He answered with a smile from under the thick blanket of robes that he had been put in before coming into the tunnels. The further they went the more confused he was as to how the water reached the cabin in the woods. He wanted to ask Sho but he was sure that the man would think he was stupid. The light of his lantern flickered a little as wind whipped through the cave. “Are we...Are we near an opening?”

“...One is just up ahead” Sho answered reaching back and taking his hand. “I want you to stay as close to me as possible now”

“Okay...” Nino nodded almost nervously pressing his body into Sho’s as he held his lantern up. They took a few more feet and then the floor beside them seemed to fall away as the cavern opened up. It was only about as big as the cabin but it was almost as though they were outside as there were trees, grass, and even a waterfall over the other side of the space. “Is this the gorge?”

“No, it is a little disorientating when going through the tunnels but this is in the opposite direction to the gorge. When we return to the cabin I will show you a map your family created of all the tunnels they dug and found” Sho said with a smile leading him down a small sloped path to the ground below. It was chilly but there was no sign of the snow that was raging outside and the trees and plants seemed to be in full bloom. “This is a natural cave, it is fed by the same water that feeds the hot spring in the cabin. I have never seen anything like this anywhere else...I have always wanted to study it...”

“It’s beautiful...But...How...How is this is the cave system? It seems so unbelievable...” Nino whispered in confusion looking around the small glen. The sound of the waterfall was enough to wake Aran who bobbed up and down for a moment and then stretched his wings and flew towards the trees.

“Although I can’t be certain but I think this entire landscape has been created by your family. The will of thousands of alphas and omegas. They loved this land and the land loved them...” Sho hummed and Nino thought that that was a beautiful explanation even if it wasn’t true.

“Is that true?” He whispered setting his lantern down onto the grass which was springy under his feet. His fingers were wrapped in sheep skin gloves but when he pulled them off and touched the grass it was soft and mossy.

“I don’t know, but true alpha and omega have some power and this land has been shaped by it...At least that is what I believe. Or maybe all this was here and that is why the Ohno’s fell in love with it” Sho answered “Either way the area is unique...”

“All this is so close to the village that I hate, I can’t believe it” Nino whistled dropping down onto the grass. It wasn’t very warm but after being cooped up in he cabin this small glen was like paradise. Sho sat down beside him and Nino felt a wave of calm coming through the bond. “Sho...May I ask you a question?”

“Of course”

“Um...You speak a lot about my family but what about your own? Do you have parents?”

“I had parents, everybody does, I had a brother and a sister too...” Sho answered picking up a stick and staring at it in a way that Nino had when he had wanted to learn to set things on fire with his mind. A vast feeling of loneliness swept through their bond, so quick and fast that it was enough to knock the air from Nino’s lungs and make him want to cry. It was the same feeling he felt when he was shut away in his sty at night and he wished he could make it better and he was guilty that he had brought it up.

“Sorry, you don’t have to tell me if...”

“There is little to tell, I imagine that they are still alive somewhere or at the very least I hope they are, my parents disowned me shortly after my tenth summer. Unlike the Ohno’s the Sakurai’s are not a long line of respected alpha and I was a disappointment to them. At this point they had had both my sister and my brother and they felt that they did not need the burden of a son that was a disappointment” Sho informed him throwing the stick over the grass. “The Aiba’s took me in, they were poor but a happy family and would share what they did have. Your mother became my best friend and a like a sister to me and your grandparents became my parents, at least in my heart...”

“What happened to them?” Nino asked wishing he could stop this whole conversation, Sho had been nice to him brought him somewhere magical and he had ruined it by souring the air with should a hard subject.

“The supposed death of your mother and the loss of you and your father hit them hard, my guilt stopped me from visiting them as much as I should. I imagine that they are still alive but I have not seen them for many years...” Sho answered softly and Nino, not knowing what else to do, moved himself so he was pressed up against his side with his head resting lightly on his chest. The layers they were both wearing against the chill made it so it was impossible to hear his heart but he could feel it through their bond.

“We are no longer alone...” He said in a whisper that seemed to echo around the under earth glen. Sho let out a chuckle that sounded thick with emotion and wrapped an arm around him holding him closer to his body as he pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Nino smiled hoping that his emotions had travelled through the bond to the alpha as Aran took flight from the tree and circled around the glen a few times. They stayed together watching the owl in flight until Nino felt his teeth chattering and Sho said;

“We should start heading back up. The way is long...”

“Yeah...Thank-you for today, it has been amazing...”

“I am happy to share this with you...We should return in summer, I imagine that this is a wonderful place warm...” Sho said and Nino gave a nod looking around the glen again before whistling to Aran who flew directly towards him and nestled himself back in his hair. His little body was cold but he seemed to be happy and together the three made their way back through the caves.

TBC

A/N: I hope that this is okay ><