wish, wish.

They heard the allures and legends of the great Wishing Pond set below the surface near the Great Mushroom, within old abandoned ruins and holding a deep magic that was said to grant your deepest and most desired wishes. Whatever wish it may be; a wish of wealth, of love, of fame and fortune… It seemed to grant it all. 

At least, with those it did grant. When the wishes succeeded, the FungalWing was said to prosper and become a very big image, especially locally. The main pondkeeper, rumors say, were someone who won the biggest fortune of all and believed in the water as if it was a living and breathing creature similar to who they were. They lived happily, not being around a lot of the time but cheerfully greeting guests and allowing those to try their luck when they wanted to go to the Wishing Pond.

But there were many, many others that were less fortunate. Those who said to not have that strong of a belief, those who have been told that they already have what they need. Others, simply, just seemed to be unlucky. There were quite a few disgruntled faces and mutters afterwards, especially if one donated their most expensive jewels or stash of coins they had saved. They accused the pondkeeper of stealing all of the money, to their vehement denial. No one ever really saw the money again; not with the pondkeeper, and not within the water itself. It was a mystery.

There were many theories around the magic of it all. Was it touched by Mages to have someone’s life wish on a gamble? Was something lingering from the Ruins, eons old, and seeping into the waters to give those who indulged in FungalWing history some sort of reward? Or was it some sort of supernatural deity that no one could ever truly fathom, possessing the waters and granting any and all wishes to the mortals it favored that time of day? Nothing was proven; there was still nothing to confirm nor deny any of the rumors whispered around. Even the pondkeeper was still mystified about it all.

Which is why Wither and Asper were more than keen on taking a trip to the pond themselves when the pondkeeper was said to not be there, not wanting their biases to tip either way and to see it for themselves. To form their own opinions and research like true scientists, as Asper wanted to believe.

“We need to bring a sacrifice to test out that variable,” Wither had noted as they wandered through an aquatics market just outside of the Great Mushroom next to lush and filled streams cascading around them, rickety stalls filled with fish still swimming around alive in canteens or small bowls depending on the dragon’s cruelty. The smaller black dragon was right beside Asper’s side, almost vanishing within the shaded canopy but highlighting his silver eyes round with curiosity as they flicked around. “Maybe the pond needs some company. If it’s sentient at all, maybe it’s lonely without any sort of company. Do you think there could be a certain fish species that can live in those waters?”

“I don’t know,” Asper admitted, his brain ticking as he tried to remember the myths and follow along Wither’s babbles out loud while he walked alongside his friend. His tail flicked, accidentally brushing Wither’s, but neither seemed to mind as he flicked an ear. “Something hardy, preferably. It can live in any condition of water; you never know what kind of minerals or bacteria that’s in there.”

He paused, glancing at the dragons around them and shying away from the bombastic laughter coming from vendors sharing in their stocks. He folded his wings closer to himself, adding wryly, “And I don’t think the pond is lonely. It’s got the pondkeeper occasionally, other dragons, and the fungi. It shouldn’t be lonely, right?”

“Perhaps so.” Wither let out a soft hum, clicking his tongue thoughtfully as he continued browsing their options of fish without any more theories. Asper let him look around and tried to scout out for him as well, but his eyes mostly strayed back to him with a shy smile and a twitch in his chest at his thoughtful expression and the glimpses of sunlight brushing over his smooth horns and face. 

I’m grateful I have a friend that’s just as invested as me in this, maybe even more-so than me, Asper thought with a brief flush of heat by his cheeks, hopping over a smaller rivulet to follow Wither’s twitching talons and slight frown while he searched for the best stall. He didn’t look at me weird when I talked about the pond, and he immediately had the same thoughts on it as I did. Moons, I don’t even think I would’ve been as detailed as he has with all of this. I’m happy I have a friend like him.

His heart twinged oddly at the word “friend” sticking in his mind like sickly moss, but Wither let out a small noise that stirred him and was hustling away before Asper could decipher his own barrage of thoughts and feelings as he followed after him to his target. It was a small booth tucked within the large roots of the tree with a small stream running just behind it, dangling blue and green glass jars fluorescent with fireflies and giving out a lively shimmer to the whole corner they were in. The shopkeeper gave them a polite smile, letting them surf along the options of fish with his claws tapping expectantly.

Wither greeted the shop owner and started browsing his options, Asper watching his eyes spin with calculations and notes while he considered their choices. Finally, Wither spotted what he was looking for as he gently placed a talon onto the glass container with a small but beautiful fish squirming around inside. He looked up with a hopeful shine in his eyes, smiling brightly. “Are these betta fish?”

“Born and bred,” The keeper responded with another smile and a drawal. “Wild variants, much more adapted to the waters around here. They can adapt to pretty much anything if they’re conditioned right, and these ones are.”

“I’ll take one!” Wither dug into his pouches, collecting out a few coins as he studied the fish with a grin before looking up at Asper hopefully. “Do you want to get some fish too? Maybe more of a variety would be nice, and it might be nice if it gets a gift from both of us.”

“Oh, uh…” Asper’s face flushed with heat again at Wither’s request, previously content in just watching Wither bustle around while he stayed in the background. But with the shine in his friend’s eyes, he couldn’t refute it at all as he ducked his head to look at a few more fish swimming around in the tanks settled at the booth. There were a few striped ones that caught his eye, only a sliver bigger than the betta now in Wither’s claws. I’m not really sure what they are, but they look cool… 

“I’ll get a few of these guys, please,” Asper requested with a small wince at his oddly wavering voice, the seller abiding his request without batting an eye at his anxiety and presenting a small bag now full of the fish while waiting for his change. He searched around for his own coins in his pouch tucked at his side, but jumped when Wither reached across and presented a few more coins to the keeper.

Asper shot Wither a small frown, the keeper bidding them farewell as Wither hustled away from the booth with an ecstatic grin as he observed his new fishy friend. He followed the black dragon slipping away, huffing, but was unable to fully pretend to carry the anger he didn’t even have as he mumbled, “You didn’t have to pay for me.”

“I wanted to.” Wither gave him an innocent smile and shrug with his simple answer, wings flapping in excitement as he presented Asper the shiny blue fish swimming around frantically in his claws. “Now we have sacrifices for the pond! Hopefully it will like them; I really wasn’t sure what to get, but I figured beautiful and hardy would be best.”

Asper wrinkled his nose at his odd conclusion, but didn’t try to refute him as Wither led the way along where they heard the pond was just beyond the Great Mushroom and the market they were currently in. Luckily, they weren’t too far from where it actually resided as they saw a few signs posted that even guided them along to where it was, but Asper was still trying to figure out whether that was a good thing or not that they were so close to this magical area. 

Being next to a pond with those supernatural powers… Cool and also unnerving in a way. Just need to figure out now where, if things go south, we can still flee and get away in time from whatever it might be…

His thoughts now trailed along back to the pond’s origins, remembering the whispers and talk when it was brought up briefly in a seminar he attended at his school. So many who shouted and claimed the pond was faulty luck, others who believed in it so strongly they devout a wish to it every day. Those who sacrificed goods to it, and others who simply prayed and hoped it would be enough for the pond to answer. Asper had listened to them all with an open mind as much as he could, but all of the theories and emotion from others alongside his own were enough to make his head hurt for the rest of that day.

Something so powerful and out of this world… Truly does sound like the Liminal Deity in a way. A small shiver ran through his wings at the idea of his favorite legend, tucking them closer as his mind went to the unknown figure he devoted his main freelance studies to. Although there’s rumors that the Liminal Deity was a real dragon before his godly form… Is that the same for the pond? Is there an essence there? Would they be familiar with each other in any way?

“What do you think the pond is?” Asper found himself asking out loud at last to Wither, ducking around low hanging branches and dangling vines threatening to ensnare their slick horns. The marshy forest floor below them was soft and crinkly, fungi and spores growing thicker by the second as they traversed through the land to the lower underground location. I know I’ve already asked his opinions on the matter, but… I want to hear them again. I want to see if anything’s changed.

Wither glanced back at him with a small head tilt, eyes glinting curiously with a faintly bemused smile. “What do you mean? We’ve talked about it already, haven’t we?”

“I mean…” Asper paused for a moment, maneuvering around a much larger mushroom and blinking at its thickened form for a moment before looking back over at Wither’s attentive expression. “I know we did discuss it, but just… Relating it to our other studies, especially with… Similar to the Liminal Deity, with all of its theories and such. What would you believe for the wishing pond? Do you think it’s something similar to that?”

Asper’s heart leaped happily seeing the twinkle in Wither’s eyes, the familiar look of deep contemplation with Asper’s heartfelt question as he hopped up on a moss-infected log to think. His slender legs and frame were able to balance on it easily, the betta fish hanging outside his bag swimming rapidly around while the dragon hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “Oh, interesting. I do like this kind of debate with these things.”

Wither continued to ponder, looking up through the trees and their thickened canopy as his wings twitched faintly with another small hum at the emerald sheen caressing both of their wings and eyes to highlight the faint glimpse of hesitance in his friend. “I’m… Not entirely sure yet. I think I’m leaning towards it being similar to the Liminal, though. Having some sort of spirit of its own. A lot of dragons state that it feels somewhat real and think it’s not just a body of water, but that could vary with who’s actually got their wish granted or not.”

Wither looked back down at Asper, a sudden shine glowing in his eyes that made the other FungalWing’s heart careen around for a moment, losing his breath. It was so fond, so excited as his smile grew wider. “I would really like to believe that it is a deity just like the Liminal. Maybe they know each other! Maybe if we give it our offerings and show it kindness, we’ll be in good favor. Maybe if we wished for something, it could be to find out more about the Liminal and find out more about the both of them. I think more knowledge about both of them would be really cool.”

Wither hopped back down off of the wood, tail flicking as the small fungal pieces and flowers growing within his fur shuffled with his movement. He continued leading the way, smiling faintly. “As long as a question like that doesn’t upset them. I wanna be in good favor with beings like that.”

I’d dethrone any god that didn’t think you’re lovely. Asper shrugged as he tried to remain nonchalant with the sudden intense thought that had crossed his mind, trotting up beside him with another small smile that definitely didn’t help hide his burning face. “Why wouldn’t you be? I think the gods would find you likable.”

Wither glanced back at him, another hopeful expression on his face that paired nicely with his lingering smile and not helping with Asper’s flipping heart. “You think so?”

Dear moons. Asper’s face continued to flush over with heat, any of his theories and thoughts about their mysterious pond now lost in the wake of Wither’s silvery eyes and the mysteries within them instead. He still kept his smile on, claws humming with energy and heart pounding as he nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

The two of them shared a long look for a moment underneath a faint patch of sun peeking through the trees, Wither only smiling and having the grace to look a bit embarrassed as he finally looked away with a soft giggle and his wings shuffling to try and hide his quirked snout. “Thanks. I think they’d find you likable too. We’re kind of two peas in a pod; if they like one of us, I’m sure they’d like the other.”

Asper’s heart clenched again, wings fluttering while his fungi seemed to puff out more with Wither’s flattery, but Wither’s eyes strayed back to the environment around them and catching hint of a small landmark beside them as he nodded, quickening his steps. “Here, let’s keep going. I think we’re almost there; it’s in that small divot.”

Wither gestured out to the opening under a large tree root arching above their heads, blue mushrooms decorating along the branch and the material around it while small decorations of hanging windchimes and glass-blown artifacts swayed around. There was an upturned sign covered in small bright blue flowers that matched the mushrooms around, but Asper could see the very faint spellings of “Wish” spelt out on the wood in curved writing with the rest of it either worn away by time or covered in vines and foliage. 

Both of the FungalWings hustled up to the maw yawning before them, but paused right before the cleft of light disappeared from view. Wither glanced up at Asper, his wings humming a little as he finally seemed to have a sliver of nervousness sneaking into his face to pour away some of his previous excitement and determination. “Stay close?”

“Always,” Asper whispered quietly, but he couldn’t hide his anxiety jumping up tenfold with the ominous energy rippling from the tunnel sinking much farther below unlike anything he had felt before. But when Wither took the first few steps forward, Asper was right beside him as they vanished underground and stepped out of the last trickles of light.

Instantly, the cave they were sucked in brought them down a few degrees cooler as moisture was sucked in from the branches and life around them to trap them in a humid dome. Small droplets trickled from the roof, a slower pattern than their already tender steps edging forward cautiously on the freshly pulped ground that smelt rich of moisture and felt soft enough with adequately watered plants and stone under their claws. There were scatters of mushrooms and fungi still around fastened between rocks in the walls and in the ground, casting a diluted blue glow down along the tunnel that seemed oddly hushed but granted at least a little room to see where they were putting their steps.

Wither and Asper stayed quiet, hitched in their own nervous breaths as their trek seemed to stretch on for a while, but Wither’s wing was still brushing against Asper’s as a silent support and an anchor for both of them to lean on. Asper was grateful to have his touch, especially since he almost vanished with his dark scales and fur in the dark majority of the tunnel. Even with the small bouts of light, it’s so hard to see…

Luckily, however, as they continued to descend, the light coming from below steadily grew brighter and flushed out the faint capsules of light from the mushrooms in the walls. Asper heard Wither’s talons pick up the pace and the relieved inhale of breath he took, Asper following right beside him as he caught the excited gleam returning into his eyes from the faint pass of light. They hustled down a slope, meeting up with a curve in the tunnel that parted away to reveal more moss and plant life than the rocks they were previously surrounded by as they finally turned the corner into more of the light and an even brighter glow as the tunnel opened into a room.

Both of them slowed their gait down, now walking up into the room instead. And as they stepped foot into the room, both of their bodies immediately became illuminated with cerulean waves and ripples of light beaming along the floors and walls, showering them as they stood before a glowing bioluminescent room. It was decorated in fluffy flooring with grass and other plants similar to what the tunnel felt like, softly waving in greeting while more mushrooms laid around them in much brighter splendor that appeared much bigger and more fruitful than the ones in the corridor. Circling around and partnered behind the ring of glowing fungi sat the pond itself, shining from the mirages of light but as still as stone with no breakage of the surface as they came into the room completely alone. There was a sign for it too, worn away as well but clearly reading, “Wishing Pond.”

They both took a simultaneous inhale, Asper’s brain still trying to process the smell of what seemed like sweetened fish and refreshing herbs while he stared into the room. It was like a breath of fresh air that somehow still seemed tainted, an air of both peace and unease brushing over his back similar to what he first felt coming down below into the cave system. Oh moons… What is this place?

“Woah…” Wither breathed out beside him, eyes as wide as the moons themselves when Asper glanced over at him. His smile seemed to stretch not quite as wide as before, but still taking over his snout as he took a few more steps down into the lower levels to peer closer at the glowing fungi and everything around them. He looked a bit overwhelmed as well, steps gentle and his words coming out breathlessly, “It’s really pretty…I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. Or felt anything like this.”

“It is pretty,” Asper could agree in a soft mumble, parting off from Wither to go scout the other direction while Wither examined his side of the cave. The grass under his claws was soft and cushioning as Asper leaned down and let his snout brush over the glowing mushrooms, getting a small trill of what felt like a warm welcome running through his chest as his eyes flicked around to the other members of the Mycelinae network residing within the cave. “Everything is glowing…”

Wither was still ogling around him, spinning slowly in a circle to absorb it all. Asper watched the way Wither seemed to shine down here much brighter than he normally did in a different glimmer; he looked as if he was carved of ebony himself and belonged to the grounds below with his natural sheen, billows of silver trailing through his body with the small branches of fungi running along his body and the darker roses swaying around his tail and within his fur. There was a small tug in Asper’s chest admiring him, but he didn’t let his guard falter as he continued rummaging through the grasses and material around and forced his eyes to move away. I really shouldn’t be having all of these… Hazy thoughts while we’re in an unknown place like this.

He turned his attention back to the room at hand, his wings and body humming as it did its best to try and adjust to whatever aura this place exuded. This energy is so odd… I’ve never felt a place so welcoming yet also wanting us to leave as soon as possible. How does that work? What exactly is this place?

“It feels…” Asper paused, weighing his response as he studied the still structure of water out beside them. He didn’t look at Wither’s curious eyes as he heard his shuffling stop while he waited for Asper to continue, feeling them on his neck as he settled for looking up into the small bits of glowing material up on the roof instead as he finished his sentence, “Different down here.”

“Different?” Wither echoed, clearly waiting for elaboration. There were a few more shuffles, followed by a quiet squeak that made Asper whip his head around quickly to find the source. There were a few ripples now on the water, scattered from Wither’s accidental stumble into the liquid paired by his guilty and nervous expression.

Both of them stretched their heads out to watch the ripples run along the glassy surface, both of them quiet until the ripples were no longer seen and it returned back to a resting state with no evidence of any consequence. Another uneasy shiver passed by Asper even with the odd silence of mercy, folding his wings tighter and curling his tail close. “Just… Different. Not in a bad way. Something… Otherworldly, I guess.”

I don’t entirely dislike it, Asper admitted as he wandered up to the water’s surface now. He saw his reflection gazing back at him when he tilted his chin down to look, watching the shifting of his face and the glowing bulbs of his fungi morph his image around. He felt an oddly dizzying spell course through him, making him stumble back and do his best to keep his footing while his heart missed a beat or so to gather himself. It doesn’t feel entirely safe though, either. Still getting the air of not being allowed in here. Something feels so… Off.

Wither seemed to be waiting to see if Asper was going to elaborate further on what he had been speaking about previously, but the purple FungalWing was shaking his head and gently cupping it in his claws to ease the faint headache throbbing there from the vertigo spell. With a soft hum, Wither finally came back up to the water’s surface and dug around in his bag, drawing out the small bag with the betta fish zooming around within. “Here, let’s put in our fish and see if that changes anything. Hopefully they’ll be able to withstand the water here and test out a few of our theories.”

“Do you think-” Asper started as he felt his brain bubbling further with spinning thoughts, but cut himself off as Wither sat himself down by the pond’s surface. When Wither looked up at him again, Asper couldn’t stop himself as he finally inquired quietly, “Are we really sure this is a good idea? What if the fish die or… Or what if something happens to us? Are we sure we want to do this?” Unspoken, his brain and heart added in a soft chime, I don’t want you getting hurt.

Wither’s eyes glowed softly in sympathy, tail curling close as he pondered Asper’s worries with a twitch in his snout. He looked down at the fish scurrying in the bag within his claws, eyes furrowing for a moment before looking back up at Asper with a reassuring smile. “I don’t think any harm will come to us. There is a possibility that the fish don’t acclimate and they could die, yes, but I don’t think it would mean anything bad, would it? It’s a sacrifice to the pond anyways, trying to be in its favor. We’re not trying to be malicious.”

Right… Asper sat himself down with a weighted gait, wings twitching and folding closer to himself as he finally decided to bring out the zebra-striped fish he had gotten from the booth with Wither’s gentle encouragement. They flurried around anxiously in his bag, Asper studying their small forms zipping around with an uneasy lurch in his chest. Something about it all still just feels… Off.

But he did his best not to question any further, simply nodding to Wither as he untied the small knot in his bag and balanced the fish in his claws so they didn’t slip out right away. Wither nodded back to him, focusing on his singular fish as he untied his knot and lowered the bag into the water. He let the fish slip out, the betta bubbling around for a moment before zipping away under the surface.

Wither looked up at Asper expectantly, the reassuring smile on his face comforting him enough to finally take a deep breath and lower his claws into the water with the fish. It was a cool touch, shivering briefly before appreciating the refreshing substance over his talons as the fish were released from their bags into the water. Those fish as well vanished quickly below the surface within a flicker, Asper watching them go with the feeling of skipping a heavy rock into the pond to sink away settled within his chest. Hopefully they’ll be okay…

“Farewell, fishies!” Wither’s voice chimed, bringing Asper out of the odd lull he felt his brain slipping into as he looked over at the flapping wings of his friend. Wither gave him another smile, shuffling a little closer but still staying in his own little quadrant as he nodded out to the water’s surface. “Let’s see if anything happens!”

Asper desperately wanted to sprint out of the cave, his talons ready to spring at any moment, but the hope in Wither’s eyes rooted him right to the ground with no intention of leaving. He let out a soft sigh, but Wither didn’t seem to notice as he rocked slightly on his feet in anticipation with his eyes fixed firmly on the pond beyond. Asper still felt the odd trickling feeling running down his back and chilling his bones, but they both remained silent as they watched the pond’s surface and waited. 

I really hope nothing bad occurs… Asper felt his eyes straining from staring out, but he did his best to remain focused and intent as his gaze flicked from the water back to his friend. And if anything does happen, please… Please don’t hurt Wither. He didn’t mean any harm. Neither of us did, but just… Don’t hurt him, please.

There was a lapse in the glow for a moment as the mushrooms flickered with their lights, hushing down as more shadows curled around them. Asper watched them all appear to blink at them, the lights slowly and steadily darkening before brightening. Asper’s claws gripped the ground below them, but before he could shout the lights came back on with no further flickers as it all seemed to return to normal. 

It all felt as if it had happened in the blink of an eye, an odd comparison as Asper felt more chills crawling down his spine and shoulders. It happened in the blink of an eye… Because it felt like the cave was blinking. At us. Staring at us, somehow. Is that… Possible? What does it mean?

Asper shot Wither a questioning look, trying to see if he felt it too. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on the matter, it did seem as if Wither was now feeling the same energy that Asper was as his brow was deeply furrowed with a troubled yet achingly curious look. When he caught Asper’s eyes, there was an unsettled twitch in his brow as his wings furled in a bit closer to himself as well. “Yeah, I feel it. That feels… Odd.”

“It is odd,” Asper mumbled in agreement, both of them falling into a moment of uneasy silence as they looked around the cave for any sort of creature to come at them or any other signs of odd activity like before. But nothing showed their face; the pond was now as clear as glass like before, and the mushrooms were bobbing along to their own little melody that seemed to run within their roots as they swayed gently with their glowing orbs for light. It was all still bright and enticing, still just as magical as they found it.

And that makes it all more frightening. Did that even… Happen? I didn’t hallucinate it since Wither saw it too, but… What even was that? Maybe it’s nothing, but… It doesn’t entirely feel like nothing…

Wither and Asper evaluated their surroundings again for another moment, but finally relented when there were no signs of life around them again. Wither let out a small sigh, seeming almost a bit disappointed as he tucked away his plastic bag before giving Asper a weaker smile. “Well, whatever that was… Do you think they liked our offerings?”

Asper couldn’t help himself from letting out a small huff, doing his best to hide a small smile while he looked away. Still trying to please others and get on their good side, even with ominous energy surrounding him. “I don’t know. Hopefully they do though; I don’t wanna be on any deity’s bad side.”

Wither giggled softly, Asper looking back up at him with his small smile as his friend looked out towards the pond once more. There was still something clouded beyond his gaze, not completely satisfied but staying silent on that matter as he simply hoped out loud, “Me neither.”

Wither’s oddly longing look continued to stir Asper’s uneasiness, glancing out at the pond before shuffling on his talons where they sat. Is he tranced by something? He’s not under any sort of spell or anything, right?

“Do you… Want to stay here for a bit longer?” Asper did his best to offer even though it felt like he was asking through sandpaper. He wanted to do anything but that, but if it was going to help Wither feel better… Hopefully if we stay it wouldn’t be for too long. I’ll stay if he wants to, but…

Wither tilted his head, eyes still casted out beyond into the lake for a moment as he considered Asper’s offer while also still being stuck in his odd little trance. But finally, his eyes flicked back with their usual shimmer as he finally rose back onto his claws and started towards where they came from, shaking his head with a small hum. He gave Asper a faint smile, shrugging as the previous wandering in his eyes dispersed. “Hm… No, we should probably go. I don’t wanna overstay our welcome. But…”

Wither paused on his small trek back up towards the entrance again, Asper rising to his feet and going up beside him but waiting as Wither looked back towards the lake. There was a brief hesitant flicker in his eyes, eyes quickly flicking to Asper before going back to its surface as he cleared his throat with an odd shuffle of wings. He seemed a bit embarrassed, his voice a little thinner from nerves but still clear as he called out to the water and the cave around them, “Um… Thank you, great Wishing Pond, for accepting our offerings. I can only hope you’ll enjoy the fish’s company. Thank you for… Granting blessings to those less fortunate. You have a good heart.”

Wither shut his snout after his saying, Asper seeing the creeping embarrassment as he buried the end of his chin down into his fur. But when he glanced up at Asper again, still looking sheepish, Asper did his best to smile and reassure him softly, “That’s nice of you.”

Wither seemed a bit more relaxed, seeing that Asper hadn’t made fun of him as he exhaled and nodded with softer features as his gaze remained on the water. His voice was still subdued, eyes still not completely tapped into reality as his words came out in a small whisper, “I hope so. I hope it’s nice enough.”

They both remained in the cave for a moment longer, Asper lingering and giving Wither as much time as he needed as the dragon seemed to fall into another miniature trance when looking out into the surface. Asper’s throat burned with questions that remained unspoken and unanswered, instead steeling his brain and heart away as he settled for simply remaining by his side until he was ready. He could see the pond’s reflection in his friend’s eyes, losing its glimmer for a moment as it became nothing but a cold, dark reflection that made his spine prickle once more with unease. I wonder what he’s thinking, what he’s seeing and feeling… I don’t know if I should ask. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to know.

Before Asper got the chance to ask at all, Wither seemed to finally snap out of it as he blinked a few times, shaking himself out. He let out a small huff, shaking his head once more as if clearing away whatever fog his brain had before giving Asper a tired smile that looked much too exhausted for the small jaunt they took. “Alright, let’s go. I’m tired now; the energy in here feels a little… Draining, in a way.”

Asper let out a quiet hum in agreement, letting Wither start the way out at a much easier pace than before as he clambered out of the cave and back into the tunnel system. Asper clambered through the cave and was about to follow him before he paused, feeling an odd pulse surrounding his body as he glanced back one more time at the still surface behind them. It all seemed so serene, so peaceful and mediating. 

I still don’t know what I entirely feel here. I don’t know how I should feel. But maybe… Asper studied the water’s surface for another moment before ducking his head, looking at his claws as he murmured out to the liquid mirror, “Thanks for… What he said. And for…”

He hesitated, definitely feeling his cheeks burn now as he added in a more muffled tone, “If you really do grant wishes… If there’s some sort of existence out here in the pond… Thanks for granting my wish in the form of Wither. I really appreciate it. I’m… Grateful for him. If you played any part in that… Thank you.”

No reply came from the water below, the pond remaining still and quiet as nothing interesting happened. Asper waited for a moment, closing his eyes to see if anything would appear in his mind as some sort of sign. There was a quiet hum in his talons, but nothing that felt off-putting or different from his usual jittering anxiety. Hm… Well… It was a nice thought…

Until… There was a smoothing around his head and a gentle touch around his shoulders and wings. It was only a brief second, a much calmer emotion than what he had been feeling previously in the cave, but it was a nice sigh of relief. A small sigh, as if it was saying “thank you” in a way. It made Asper’s eyes flare wider and quickly whip his head around to look for anything there, but nothing was present beside him with the only dragon much too far to touch him. 

What was… What was that? A chill passed through him to comb over the feeling, and he blinked before giving the pond one last nod before hurrying after his friend, certainly more than eager to be out of the water's reach. I don’t think it’s malicious, but I also don’t want to stick around to find out. Thanks, mysterious pond…

And as the two FungalWings vanished up the tunnel, the room around them seemed to blink again as the lights dulled. And as the two dragons escaped, a form stood out in the water to watch them go with eyes that revealed no sort of emotion behind them. No thoughts, no emotions; simply being as it watched them go.

As quickly as it came, the form vanished. The lights flickered back on, and the room of the Wishing Pond remained still and quiet as if nothing had ever existed within the cave in the first place.