"Uhghu... I don't feel so good."
Trevor's body trembled violently, his voice raspy as he clung desperately to Aldrich's neck.
Together, they crawled their way out of the hole and into the open air.
"Nothing to worry about, Trevor. It's just the chill from the night wind. That's all," Aldrich lied, his voice steady despite the tension in his chest.
In this unpredictable situation, a lie was all he had to offer.
"You'll feel better soon."
Aldrich gently laid Trevor on the cold ground, pulling him apart as best he could.
Trevor didn't have the strength to argue or resist; he just let it happen, drifting in and out of consciousness as his body screamed in pain.
"He's going to be okay, right?" He asked quietly, his voice laced with uncertainty.
Aldrich glanced at Fiona, needing reassurance, even though he knew the odds weren't in their favour.
"Do you see me wearing a stethoscope around my neck?" Fiona shot back, a touch of sarcasm in her tone, but her words lacked conviction.
"Ahah, funny," Aldrich muttered dryly, forcing a weak smile.
"But seriously, Al," she continued, her voice growing more urgent, "something has to be done soon. If we leave him like this, he could die."
The weight of her words settled in Aldrich's chest like a stone.
She was right, Trevor was slipping away.
The reality they were facing was impossible to ignore.
"First things first, we need to make fire. Unless we're all okay with freezing to death out here."
The temperature in the forest at night was brutal.
Even Aldrich, uninjured, felt his fingers growing numb from the cold.
What more Trevor with a gaping hole in his leg?
"I have an idea. Can you guys gather the wood for me?" Fiona directed, her mind working quickly despite the overwhelming situation.
Camelia and Aldrich went to work, gathering bark and breaking it into pieces before arranging them to form a small bonfire.
"Step back, both of you!" Fiona commanded, stepping forward with a determined look.
She drew an intricate inscription on the ground, and with a flick of her wrist, she bit her thumb, drawing blood.
She let the blood drip onto the inscription, at the very centre of it.
As the blood slowly fell, what little of it that reached the centre was enough to make the air hum with energy.
"A summoning Art?" Aldrich observed in awe, witnessing it for the first time.
The air was thick with mysticism.
Summoning Art was a rare and advanced technique, used to call upon a familiar from its realm.
Familiars, beings tied to a mystic's very essence, resided in a realm separate from the physical world.
The bond between a mystic and their familiar was forged through a contract, and blood was the key that allowed the familiar to be summoned.
'If she's using Summoning Art, that means her familiar egg has hatched?' Aldrich thought, his mind racing.
There was no telling when a familiar's egg would hatch.
It could take months, days or never at all.
The timing was unpredictable, just like the bond between the mystic and their familiar.
The inscription began to glow as a small, mammal-like creature appeared.
It was a four-legged animal with red, silky fur and a single tail.
"Is that... a fox?" Camelia asked, her voice filled with surprise as she cautiously approached the tiny creature, which lay curled up on the ground inside the circle.
She reached out to touch it, but as soon as her fingers neared the fox, they were met with an intense heat.
The burn was so severe, that she pulled her hand back quickly, shocked.
"What just happened?" Camelia gasped, inspecting her hand.
The fingers were already showing signs of a third-degree burn.
"My familiar hatched as a red fox. A crimson-type red fox," Fiona explained calmly, though a hint of pride tinged her words.
"A flame fox," Aldrich added, understanding immediately.
"A flame fox?" Camelia repeated, bewildered. "But I thought your primary element was water. Can a mystic have a familiar with an opposing element?"
Fiona smiled, shrugging slightly. "It's not about opposing elements. A familiar is meant to help the mystic develop a secondary elemental not to pry into what said mystic's primary Art is."
While Fiona speaks the truth, the majority of cases do not tend to work in that direction.
Familiar in common sense, do often have an element that is easy to fuse with the primary element of whoever their mystic counterpart is.
In Fiona's case, her familiar being a fire type familiar does not mean she can't fuse with Fiona's primary element.
After all, the range of available secondary elements is almost endless, and not even the concept of opposites can stop the rise of a secondary element.
"And to clarify, Water and wind are my primary elements, not just water."
With a gentle motion, Fiona picked up the tiny creature, holding it in her arms with ease.
She guided the fox toward the bonfire, carefully positioning it near the flames.
The little creature opened its mouth and, to their astonishment, fire spewed from it, sparking the wood into flames.
"Using a familiar to make your bonfire?" Aldrich remarked with a wry grin. "Somehow, that doesn't feel right."
"At least we don't have to freeze to death," Fiona shot back, her voice with dry humour.
Aldrich moved Trevor's body closer to the warmth of the fire, hoping it would help stabilize him.
The cold night air was still biting, but the fire offered a small, much-needed reprieve.
"Fiona, do you think your firefox can do one last thing for us?" Aldrich asked, his request crammed with urgency.
The firefox, still a young and fragile creature, could only offer so much.
It had barely begun to tap into its potential, and yet Aldrich hoped it could do what they desperately needed.
"I can," Fiona replied, her tone resolute. "What do you need?"
"I want you to burn Trevor's leg."
The words hung in the air, shocking everyone.
"Are you crazy?" Camelia snapped, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Yeah, Aldrich. Burning his leg?" Fiona echoed, her surprise evident.
"No, not like that," Aldrich clarified quickly. "I mean the wounded area. If we can burn it, we can seal the wound and prevent infection. The pain will also help him stay conscious, keep him aware. It'll keep him alive a little longer."
"I see your point," Fiona said, after a moment of hesitation.
It does end up confusing if that was all the information he sent out first.
Though the process would be painful for Trevor, it could mean the difference between life and death.
With a deep breath, Fiona leaned over Trevor and positioned her firefox carefully.
The young familiar, despite its small size, was powerful enough to do what was needed.
Fiona guided the fox to the wound, and with a soft command, the fox released a burst of fire.
Trevor's body jerked in response, his screams muffled by Aldrich and Camelia's quick actions.
His body thrashed, but they held him firmly, desperate to prevent the noise from drawing unwanted attention.
The heat from the fire cauterized the wound, sealing it, but it also pushed Trevor's body to the brink.
And then, unable to withstand it, he passed out.
For now, at least, Trevor was alive.
His body was no longer freezing, and the wound had been sealed, though it was far from healing.
Though, it would do them an even greater good if they were quick to find the exit and get him actual help!