Lydia: The Role Of A Big Sister, Part Two

The massive black, demon lion cat...thing, was right in front of Lydia, breathing hot, steamy air into her face. The elven girl was frozen with unbelievable fear, unable to move a single muscle.

"What do we do?" Maria whispered from behind her, asking the question on behalf of the group.

They all remained crouched on the ground where they had initially toppled over. None of them had gotten back to their feet, feeling that the monster might attack if they moved, ripping them to shreds as it had done to the other two demons.

Lydia's brain had gone numb with fear for a moment, unable to do anything but mumble incoherently while gazing at the beast, whose large, crystal-like red eyes were fixed on her.

Time was running out. The monster was going to tear them to pieces at any moment.

She wished she had some of her holy oils with her. But she doubted she would even be able to reach for one and throw it before the thing sliced her arm off with its claws.

The beast began letting out a growl, rumbling from deep within its throat as it slowly opened its mouth, revealing its foot-long fangs.

Time was running out. The monster slowly raised its front paw into the night. This was it. It was preparing to cut her open.

Lydia closed her eyes. She was about to die. She wished she would have protected the other girls, her sisters, better. But now, their road had ended.

She missed her mom. She missed her home. She missed her brothers and sisters back in Elen, the Elven Empire. She guessed she would never see them again.

The monster's paw came down swiftly with a single swipe. But instead of striking her, it gently settled on her left shoulder.

"...!?"

Wait, what?

Lydia shuddered with fear but gradually reopened her eyes. The beast was staring directly at her.

"Hold on."

She suddenly heard Snowpoppy's voice call out from behind the group.

"Is that you, Gustav?" the snow bunny asked.

"Huh?"

Lydia stared back for a moment into the demon's eyes, those, somewhat familiar bright red eyes.

No... it can't be.

"Gustav?"

Suddenly, Lydia found the courage to scamper to her feet. She quickly stood up and ushered the girls backward, moving them away from the creature.

"W-what are you talking about, Snowpoppy?" Lydia asked, pointing at the creature. "That does not look like Mary's cat."

The massive beast was no longer stalking after them. It simply sat there on its hind legs, observing the group.

"Well, of course it is," Snowpoppy said softly as she moved past Lydia and walked over to the creature.

"Snowpoppy, are you crazy?" Maria shouted.

"Yeah, what do you think you're doing?" Lydia added.

Even Leafy, Minimo, and Chanchan, who had all been quiet until now, spoke up in protest, but the bunny girl refused to listen. She walked over to the creature and cautiously placed her palm against its nose, letting it sniff her hand. The beast was much taller and bigger than her, yet, not a single bone in her body was vibrating with fear.

Then Snowpoppy turned around and stood beside it, looking back at the others as she brushed along its mane with her hand.

"You see?" she said. "It is Gustav."

All of the girls had their mouths hanging open in shock.

"But what? But how? But when? But huh?"

Lydia mumbled more nonsense as she tried to figure out everything that was going on.

"How are you so sure, then?" she asked the bunny girl.

"Well, for starters, I'm still alive, aren't I?" the girl said with a deadpan expression.

"Good point," Lydia replied.

"Plus, don't you see?" Snowpoppy gestured around at the fallen demons. "He sought us out to keep us safe. Mary must have told him to do so. He came to protect us."

Lydia and the skeptical bunch first looked at each other, checking to see if everyone was on board with what they were about to do. Then, slowly and with cautious steps, Lydia approached the massive demon cat, with the rest of the girls trailing behind her on wobbly legs. She wanted to verify for herself whether all of this was true. If it wasn't, she had basically just doomed all of them once again. But somehow, she could sense that what Snowpoppy was saying might actually be right.

When she finally arrived in front of the creature, she nervously spoke up.

"H-hey, M-Mr. Kitty... i-is that really you?"

The large beast moved its head up and down, nodding in confirmation.

Lydia couldn't believe it. And from the collective gasp that echoed from behind her, the rest of the girls couldn't either.

"But how did you get so big?" Lydia asked, staring up at the lion cat. "And where is Mary? Is she okay? How did you find us?"

Gustav, the demon cat, tilted his head to the side for a moment, as if he didn't understand what the girl was saying. Then he began growling, a steady rumbling coming from deep within his throat.

Lydia quickly figured out the problem. They couldn't understand him.

"Looks like communication might be an issue."

Leafy finally spoke up after being quiet for a while, moving to the front of the group. Her expression was calm and reserved, almost accepting, rather than the loud, hurt, and betrayed expression she'd had a few minutes ago.

"Minimo," she continued, turning around to gaze at the catgirl waitress behind the group. "You studied magic communications, right? You can use it to talk to intelligent animals, right? So, can you help us figure out a way to communicate with Gustav here?"

"I-I can try." Minimo took a shaky step forward, her legs trembling. "I-I might just need to touch his forehead to p-perform the-the-the, the spell."

The girl was still stuttering like crazy, clearly terrified that the creature might turn out to be an evil demon. But before Lydia could reassure her, Leafy reached for Minimo's hand and held it.

"Don't worry, Minimo. It's really Gustav. He won't hurt you. Just like Mary never did. Not once, in all the time we spent together."

Leafy paused, her voice softening as she lowered her gaze in shame.

"I just panicked and said all those things to her. I didn't even think..."

Lydia moved in and interrupted the girl by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," she said, glancing at the shorter girl. "Don't dwell on that right now. There'll be plenty of time later to discuss apologies, all right?"

"Hm," Leafy nodded.

"And as for you, Minimo," Lydia said, placing her other hand on the catgirl's shoulder. "Try and do your best, okay? Let's see if we can communicate with him, so he can tell us where Mary is and whether she needs our help."

Minimo finally took a deep breath and exhaled.

"O-okay," she said.

Rejuvenated by Lydia's words, Minimo took a few more steps closer to the giant creature. She looked up at him nervously.

"M-Mr. Kitty, sir," she said. "C-could you please lie down for me?"

Gustav did as she requested, lowering himself completely until he was lying flat against the ground.

Lydia watched as the girl struggled to keep herself composed. She was clearly still frightened, but she ultimately managed to steady herself.

With her free hand that wasn't holding the bat she was carrying, Minimo placed a single palm against Gustav's forehead and began reciting something Lydia couldn't fully make out. Her palm began to glow softly. But then, before she could finish, the light suddenly seemed to fizzle out.

"Is everything all right?" Lydia asked, stepping closer to the girl.

"Y-yes. I-I just need to stay focused."

"Oh, okay," Lydia replied, moving back to give the girl more room.

Minimo tried a second time, reciting the spell as the hand she had placed on Gustav's forehead reignited with a soft glow. But once again, the magic fizzled out before it could fully take effect.

Minimo tried a third time, a little more frustrated now. She recited the spell faster and louder as her hands once again began to glow, this time shining even brighter with magical power. But just as it seemed like it was finally going to work, a loud crash a echoed from behind the girls. Another demon had landed on the cobblestones behind them.

Gustav instantly shot up to his full height, easily towering over all of them. He quickly lunged forward with incredible speed, slamming into the demon and taking it down in a single bite.

The girls gasped, trying to catch their breath after the sudden close-quarters ambush, their fourth one of the night.

"Okay, you know what?" Lydia said. "Let's just go."

"But what about Gustav?" Leafy asked.

"He can obviously handle himself. Let's just get back to the guild and lock ourselves in with Miss Eleanor."

"B-but I think the magic worked this time," Minimo said.

"Maybe, but it seems like you're having trouble with it, Minimo. Let's just get to safety. Hopefully, we'll find Mary after all of this is over."

Lydia gathered up the girls in preparation to run away. But Minimo quickly reached out and grabbed her hand.

"No, wait. Just listen. He's talking."

As soon as the catgirl's hand made contact with her skin, Lydia suddenly heard a deep voice boom from inside her head.

"Lady Lydia, the waitress madam speaks the truth."