Heading back

John followed Cyn through the barrier as quickly as he could. Cynthia’s eyes moved just like her father’s had done before. John picked up some sounds in the background, the sound of hooves in the distance as well as a scree from Marco. It sounded like something was up, but as they were ordered to get out, that is what they did. John saw some animals rushing away below them too; whatever was happening, even animals felt the danger and decided to get the fuck out.

When they made it to the barrier’s edge, Cynthia looked rather anxious. “John, we need to go to the camp right now. Mom needs to know. I don’t think dad will get hurt here, but I don’t like leaving it to chance either. He ordered me to take you back, otherwise I would have gone with him, you know this.”

John hugged her tightly, kissing her cheek as he nodded. “I know. I don’t want your father to be hurt either, but think like this: he is one of the most powerful people in the camp. I doubt anyone that money can buy could go against him, well, at least not if the person is being as stingy as Ellen said,” he tried to reassure her.

Cynthia calmed down slightly, kissing John’s lips briefly before she nodded. “I know, but still, it’s best that Mom knows about it asap.” Cynthia then slipped out of John’s embrace and left the barrier, followed directly by John who switched to his civilian clothing with the press of a button, running after Cynthia who, for once, didn’t match her speed to John’s and dashed full **** to the camp.

John normally managed to keep up, his speed increases along with his increase in power made him think that he could keep up with Cynthia for a bit, but she sped off like an arrow out of a bow; even running full speed, John saw the gap between them increasing rapidly.

A few moments later Cynthia disappeared into the barrier of the camp. John still cringed slightly as she ran full speed at the wall. Even while he knew that it was a hidden entrance, seeing someone run into a wall subconsciously made him feel a sense of dread.

When John entered the barrier about a minute after Cynthia, she was of course nowhere to be found. The camp was back to its bustling state, even if the camp’s people had an air of urgency around them, their carefree way of interacting replaced by a friendly yet slightly **** behavior. It seemed that while the hunters knew something was going on, they tried to not let it affect them more than necessary. If you let an enemy put you on edge at all times, you won’t be as effective during the eventual battle.

As John walked through the camp, he saw a few hunters entangled in a rather naked version of twister. One of them waved at him and promptly fell down, impaling herself on one of the men’s cocks which was met with loud laughter. John nodded politely and waved back, laughing and shaking his head. The thought that all people in the Abyss were weirdos popping up in his head once more, yet he didn’t think they were bad weirdos, no, they were his weirdos.

John was walking through the camp aimlessly, unsure if he should go and help Cynthia report to Miranda, which would be problematic as he had no idea where Miranda was at this moment, so he started to gradually walk towards the smithy of Old Fred and Ilis, wanting to make sure his ‘personal engineer’ settled in fine. However, when he was walking over the dirt road between the pet area of the camp that led to the smithy, a purple haired girl waved at him from the enclosure.

“John! I was looking for you earlier!” Nissa cheerfully called out to him. John walked over and almost got hit in the head by a small green beam of light, one of Nibble’s tiny heads sticking it’s tongue out at him. “Bad nibbles, don’t try to blind hunters,” Nissa chastised the head, the other heads staring at the mischievous one causing it to drop and look remorseful.

“Nissa, what can I do for you?” John asked with a smile, caught off guard as Nissa pulled him in for a kiss, her plump lips mashing against his for a brief moment, until she pulled back and continued to play with her own pet.

“Well, Arnold and I were talking earlier about your nightmare. She seems to show no more signs of hostility. I think it might be time for you to actually name her and form a bond. You hadn’t forgotten about her, did you?” Nissa inquired.

“Of course not, things just kinda kept on happening and I didn’t have the time to properly name her yet. Also, what do you mean by bond?” John asked.

“Ah, yeah, we all have those moments where time just won’t slow down, I know the feeling. But why don’t you come in here then, hm? As for what a bond is, it’s what you have with Toph and Jack, it allows your spirits to connect to each other. What, are you telling me you didn’t know this? Then how did you even manage to connect with your other two pets?” Nissa seemed incredulous.

“I think… Gaia?” John asked sheepishly.

“Right, if we don’t know the answer in regards to you, lets just blame Gaia,” Nissa teased, gesturing for John to join her in the pet area, which he did.

As John hopped the fence, he saw Jack and Toph chasing Mimi and a little dragon around the place, Toph burrowing after Mimi, peeping gleefully as she popped out of the ground in front of her, causing Mimi’s snakes to hiss in laughter.

“Pst, where did Mimi get that dragon?” John asked Nissa as she led him to the little barn where he had last seen his nightmare.

“She apparently hatched from the egg. Her name is Yaya or something, though I also heard her be called Yatina. It’s a long story, but it should do for now to know this much,” Nissa explained with a wink.

“If you say so,” John said with a shrug; he had long ago given up on understanding Mimi. Instead, he focused on the beautiful black unicorn he was walking towards. The nightmare he had rescued from its corruption was gently eating some hay inside the barrier that was still up, just in case.

“First off, you should call her by her new name,” Nissa instructed John, who nodded and walked towards the foal, his hand stretched out to her.

“Nyxx, hi there, girl. From here on out, your name shall be Nyxx, and as per tradition, I will also give you a last name. Nyxx Nightmane, I am sorry I didn’t come to see you yesterday. I missed you, girl,” John said tenderly to the foal. The newly named Nyxx neighed happily, nuzzling into his palm as she blinked a few times. She snorted some air out her nose before taking a few careful steps, then licked John’s shoulder, causing John to shake his head.

“It’s alright, girl, it is fully healed, I only have a scar there. I’m sorry I had to kill your mother.” John patted Nyxx again, rubbing her mane as she made a content little noise, shaking her head at the mention of her mother, giving another snort, then licking his palm.

“I think she forgives you. I like the name Nyxx, one of the most inactive goddesses, so you shouldn’t be afraid of her getting upset with using her name,” Nissa spoke softly behind John.

“So, how do I go about forming a bond with her?” John asked as he combed his fingers through the foal’s mane, the dark colored unicorn closing her eyes in contentment.

“Well, you simply have to put your hand on her forehead, close your eyes, and reach out to her. If she is willing too, your spirits will connect, and a bond will be formed.”

“Thanks, Nissa, for helping with this. How do you even know all of this by the way?” John asked curiously as he continued to comb Nyxx’ mane.

“I didn’t tell you? I’m training under Arnold to become a pet expert for the hunters. While Cynthia is being groomed to take over for Miranda eventually, I am walking a different path.”

John nodded, smiling as he responded, “Ah, so that’s why. Cool. I’ll be sure to thank you properly sometime soon,” before he placed his hand on Nyxx’ head and closed his eyes. He thought about Nyxx, about reaching out to her, about wanting the foal he rescued to join Toph and Jack in his stable of pets. Then, he felt something stir. In the nothingness that was the world of his thoughts, he felt another entity appear. He reached out to it. And the entity reached out to him too. When they touched one another, John experienced a couple of different things, pain, anguish, madness. He felt his body wracked with negative emotions. Then out of nowhere, he saw himself, and like snow in the sun, the crippling emotions subsided and disappeared. He felt free and grateful. It took him a moment to realize that he was experiencing part of Nyxx’ memories. He realized that Nyxx had been in incredible pain while the corruption coursed through her body, and that, when he finally dispelled it, she at last felt freed. That must be why she didn’t hold him killing her mother against him, because ever since she had been born she had felt nothing but pain.

John’s thoughts turned gentle. He tried to send her images of his life before he joined the Abyss, to let her get to know him better too. It felt like they stayed like that for hours, showing each other parts of their life, but in reality, only a few seconds passed. Eventually, John opened his eyes, and so did Nyxx.

Pet Bond Created
Nyxx Nightmane has been integrated in your Gaia style pet powers. You’re welcome.

John smiled at her. “Welcome to the team, girl.” Nyxx neighed happily, licking his palm once more as Nissa joined John in the box.

“Good job, not many people manage to find a young unicorn or nightmare; they make for great mounts. Lucky bastard.”

“Hey, I kinda paid for it with my life, I think you can call it even!” John replied indignantly much to Nissa’s amusement.