Echoes of the Past Pt. 7

"... No... Aspen...?" Celeste's eyes widened before she uncharacteristically forced the door open and tightly embraced her brother.

"Um-" Hubert, or rather, Aspen dressed as a retired elderly man, meekly hugged his younger sister back. "Celeste, um..."

Celeste only hugged tighter in response, her speech being reduced to thankful tears.

In all her struggling and pain on her journey, Celeste never imagined she would ever see one of her siblings again unless it was at their graveside. To know someone other than her nephew was alive in her family brought her great peace that she wouldn't have to do this alone.

Aspen struggled to find words to explain himself but evidently, none came out the way they were supposed to. Instead, he found himself just embracing his younger sister in silence with a struggling expression on his face.

"What'sss all the yelling out here?" Nibble asked Zarabean, who was still perched on the railing.

"I think... Celeste is hugging that strange scientist fellow." Zarabean replied with his head tilted in confusion.

"Whaaat?!" Nibble exclaimed. "Does she know him?"

The ridgerunner shrugged in response. "It appears so. I haven't seen her hug many people like that before."

A small yawn was heard behind the fang and his small friend, causing the two of them to look over at the young cloven, Cynthia.

"What's all the yelling...?" She yawned tiredly, carefully rubbing one of her eyes with the palm of her hand, as to avoid poking her eye out with her claw.

"Celessste is hugging the ssscientist guy." Nibble said with a shrug, not understanding Celeste was actually hugging her older brother as the whole crew still thought her family was dead.

"Oh...?" Cynthia tilted her head and came to Zarabean's side to look what Celeste was up to.

"... Celeste..." Aspen could feel the presence of others looking down at them and he began to worry they might find out who he was. He carefully pulled away from the hug to look at his sister. "You can't tell anyone who I am."

Celeste's joy soon shifted to confusion upon hearing her brother's request. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Aspen averted his eyes with a grimace. "... I don't think you should tell anyone who you are either. It isn't safe in Skree."

"I know it isn't safe but... can't I at least tell my crew who you are?" Celeste asked, not completely understanding her brother's off behavior.

"... Only if they're good at keeping secrets." He looked back into Celeste's brown eyes with his vibrant hazel ones. "Ever since the fall of the Torr Dynasty, fangs..." Aspen sighed. "They've been scurrying everywhere in search of me and anyone who sides with Anniera. I fear you being here could be a danger in and of itself."

"Fangs?" Celeste paused and began to think about the vision Echo had received back on the ship in the Dark Sea of Darkness. "... A sea dragon... She gave us a vision of fangs in a cave south of here." She looked away. "... I think they're practicing the song of the ancient stones. Princess Cynthia was partly melded when we found her."

"What?" Aspen gasped. "You found the lost princess?"

Celeste fell silent before she looked up at her three friends, who were watching them with curious eyes.

Aspen carefully peeked out of his door and saw the three outcasts on the second floor balcony. He quickly spotted the young girl, who he recognized had melded cloven hands of her own. After seeing them, Aspen stepped back into his room rather meekly to avoid being stared at.

"What are they talking about?" Cynthia asked, upon seeing Aspen's strange face when he looked at her.

Zarabean shrugged. "Perhaps we should join the others for breakfast and figure out what's going on.

The other two agreed and followed the small ridgerunner down the stairs while Celeste and Aspen continued to talk.

"I think mom and dad might be in the southern caves as well." Celeste added nervously. "You don't think... They would have tried to meld them, do you?"

Aspen's eyes fell to the floor as he went quiet for a long time, his silence speaking louder than his words. He did believe their parents had been melded but not for the reason Celeste expected.

"Um... about that..."

Celeste looked back at her brother upon hearing his mumbling. "What?"

"..." Aspen sighed and shook his head in a manner Celeste found suspicious. "Nevermind... I hope they're okay."

It was clear to Celeste that Aspen had wanted to say something but chickened out of telling her out of fear of what she might think of him.

"You're hiding something aren't you?" Celeste gently tugged on her brother's ridiculously huge robe. "You're practically wearing a tent for a disguise..."

"It's... more than a disguise..." He sighed again with his eyes still looking away. "I um... May have... I mean... I am... um... A cloven too. Of sorts."

"What do you mean?" She asked, observing that Aspen had visible abnormalities showing. "You look perfectly fine."

"This is so embarrassing." Aspen mumbled in a way that was almost like a whine. He forced himself to look at his little sister. "... I have a tail."

Celeste scrunched her face up with confusion. "You... What?"

"I... I literally have a tail." Aspen admitted as he lifted up the back of his robe and showed her a poofy fox tail that was sticking out of a hole in his trousers.

"Oh." Celeste remarked with her eyes widened with surprise. "You... really do have a tail."

Aspen dropped the robe back over his tail and faced her in shame. "..."

"Did they... They made you sing the song as well?" Celeste asked.

"Well... Yes... It's um... a bit painful to explain." He shook his head. "Now... I've been trying to... experiment ways to get rid of it but at best, I've only made a type of fox shampoo. It really makes the fur silky."

"What exactly have you been experimenting on to get rid of your tail? I thought only water from the first well could heal that." Celeste inquired, semi concerned since there were explosions the day they arrived.

Aspen shrugged. "I don't really know what I'm doing so I've been trying anything and everything... From bomnubble drool to... fazzledove droppings."

"EW! Aspen!" Celeste gagged, prompting Aspen to chuckle.

"I'll figure it out! Probably... Just be glad I washed my hands before making the pancakes this morning." He teased playfully, sounding more like himself than the silly persona he was putting on.

"You can be so gross." She gently nudged him. "But... I'm glad you're alive. Even if you smell."

"What?! I do not smell!-" Aspen paused and sniffed his robe. He made a face of disgust. "... I need to clean this."

"Well... I'll let you get to your laundry. I need to make sure Echo eats." Celeste gave Aspen one last tight hug. "I love you. I'll see you in a little bit." She said before letting go and hurrying upstairs to see how her nephew was doing.