Epilogue.

The scent of autumn was heavy in the air. A sort of residual warmth that was baked into everything, the remnants of summer wrapping themselves into packages to survive the cold that would soon be sweeping across the land. The two suns lazily made their way across the sky, clouds forming their eternal patterns as a high wind whipped through them, shadows erratically dancing across the ground. The leaves of the trees were a riot of yellows and oranges, overripe fruit and dark coloured nuts laying on the ground as small animals ran around trying to collect what they could that was still usable.

Not that Stella was paying much attention to that, her focus entirely elsewhere as she tried to ignore the trickle of sweat running down her bare skin. She shifted her weight a little, sliding her foot a fraction as she tried to read her opponent. Or more accurately, tried not to just stare at her opponent. Yiria was cute, and she only got cuter each time that Stella saw her, and today was no exception. The soft lines of her face, the way her mouth curved when she smiled, the sparkle in her eyes. And that was ignoring her big fluffy blue-gray wolf ears, her fluffy tail that rivalled Stella’s own in size, or her fit tone body that glistened in the light as she shifted slightly herself to match Stella’s movement. She smelled nice as well, her blood possessing an attractive tang to it. When had she become so obsessed with her best friend? Probably when mum had finally declared her an adult and allowed her to get a nose piercing just like she had. A cute little ruby that sat on her nose, that Yiria had declared as being cute, and the feelings had only been growing stronger since then.

Her parents were there on the stands watching of course. It was the Festival of the Hunt after all, which only occurred once every year, and for which they had specifically returned. Not that the locals would have any issues dealing with the shadows that would invariably show, but her parents always like to be present. Stella was definitely not complaining about that. She liked it here. Yiria was here, and she’d spent a lot of her life here, this realm one of her favourites alongside the one from which her parents originally came. And their presence was always welcome. They were well known after all, everyone calling mum the fox witch. It wasn’t entirely correct, given that mum was The Witch – capital T, capital W – but she had never bothered correcting them. Some things were best left unsaid apparently.

Looking at them, sometimes it was hard to tell. Mum was, after all, probably one of the most powerful people in the realm, if you ignored Aunty Amber, who was just scary on another whole level. But yet, she didn’t seem to stand out. Sure, her eyes had that look to them, lightning seeming to arc within them, and she had collected quite a few piercings, studs and rings in her ears, and a cute sapphire stud in her nose, but she looked rather normal. Casual even, dressed in her exercise gear like maj did. She was currently snuggling up with dad, her head resting on his chest, her eyes watching the fight with interest. A fight that Stella was doing a brilliant job of being distracted from at the moment.

It was the same with maj as well. Ignore her fangs and glowing red eyes, and she was just another normal person. Except she was anything but. And there she was just sitting there on dad’s other side, leaning against him with that cocky smile on her face. Stella had learnt quick enough that having four parents was unusual, and yet, no one seemed to pay their affection any mind. Not that she did either – she was used to it. Growing up with it had that effect.

Muf was there too, just not in her human form. She was lying beneath the seat in her fox form, three tails lazily moving in the sun. That was the minimum number that she could have now. Something to do with her growth in power. Muf seemed to fluctuate between the two forms equally, and was just as potent with her magic in either form. Stella had always understood that muf was special in that way, but it really hadn’t sunk in till a few years ago just how special it really was, and exactly what her connection with mum was. Not only were they spouses, there was another level to it entirely. Another reason why mum was The Witch. It was kind of weird in a way, but also just them. Just her parents. There was a lot of history between them, and a lot of love. She’d made faces about that when she’d been younger, but now... now there was Yiria.

Stella moved, Yiria’s swing just missing her, their skin touching as she dodged. Another swipe, another dodge, Stella giving her a teasing smile. “You’re cute.”

Okay, that wasn’t what she’d meant to say, both of them blushing. Stella tried looking embarrassed, and failing, as she’d meant it, shifting slightly and taking a lazy swing at Yiria. Who just stepped to the side. She’d expected that though, stepping in closer, till she could feel her friend’s breath, stealing a kiss on the cheek before stepping back.

“Stella!” Yiria huffed. “Come on, take it seriously.”

“Sorry,” Stella mumbled, trying to focus more. On the sparring match, not directly on Yiria. She wanted to take it seriously, take Yiria seriously. Like really seriously. But she wasn’t sure what Yiria would say.

She could feel the magic gather within her best friend, accentuating her figure as she moved with grace, closing in again. She let her, bringing up her own magic at the last moment, just enough to deflect the blow and spin around her other side, giving her a tap on the shoulder as she passed. And then blocked another blow as Yiria spun around and pressed into it, their bodies touching again.

“Are you going to be staying long this time?” Yiria asked, not stepping back, but not making any move either.

“Umm. Maybe?” Stella wasn’t sure. But she wanted to change that, in another way.

She took a step back, trying to be respectful, finding herself backwards instead and taking Yiria down with her. Had Yiria tripped her? It was possible, the grin there on her best friend’s face as she lay on top of her. The referee was saying something, but she wasn’t paying enough attention, her all focused on Yiria’s pretty face, and her rose red lips.

“I missed you,” Yiria said, not moving from her position on top of her.

“Missed you too,” Stella mumbled back, going very red. Redder than her piercing she was sure.

“I wish you could stay around for longer this time.” There was a wistfulness there that Stella had never heard before, and it was doing things to her.

“Why don’t you come with us?” Stella asked. She’d entertain the former, but her parents still travelled around a lot, and she wasn’t quite ready to go her own way yet. She loved the exploring, the sense of adventure, the seeing new places. It was in her blood, and it was too strong to deny. But that didn’t mean that she had to do it alone.

“I didn’t think I could?”

That wasn’t a no, Stella picking up the courage.

“Be my girlfriend, Yiria? Be mine?” she quickly blurted out before she had the chance to change her mind.

The smile was instant, radiant, travelling across Yiria’s face. “I never thought you’d ask!”

Yiria leaned down, her lips touching, teasing. Stella didn’t hesitate, happily accepting the kiss.

mogust

And that concludes What Lies Within. It has certainly been a journey writing this story, and I hope that you've enjoyed reading it! I'm certainly going to miss the characters. They've been part of my life for so long now.

What Lies Within has been published and is available on all Amazon stores (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5BVVGTS) in both ebook (kindle) and paperback versions. If you buy a paperback version, remember to chose your local Amazon store if you're outside of the US.

If you'd like to support my writing, please consider supporting my Patreon. It currently has a couple of chapters for Soul Flames volume 4, and a short story. All new content will be posted there first. You can also find published versions of my stories on all amazon stores (Amazon US store). If you do purchase, please consider rating as well. Please. It means a lot. They are also all listed on Goodreads.
[Published stories at this point in time being Dawn Weaver, Soul Flames vol 1-3, Esper and the Witch, and What Lies Within].

Anyways, thanks for reading. Comments etc are welcome. There is also a discord Server if you'd just like to chat: https://discord.gg/Y2gaPFB6X6 (as well as a bunch of other stuff; we're nice people). It also has a channel with larger versions of all of the covers, since SH and RR only store tiny versions.

And don't forget to check out my other stories if you like my writing. ^^