[Aster]

Drops of water fell from the ceiling, making a small, hushed sound each time they hit the cold stone floor,fillingthe dark cave with a pleasant, relaxing rhythm.Slowly, the drops turned into trickles of water, flowing between rocks like tiny, silver snakes, leaving trails of dark, moist stone behind. Walls cried silently as the water ran down their rugged surface, joining their siblings at the bottom and escaping the icyprisontheyfound themselves in.

Many formed shallow, icy pools that covered the cave floor in many places, making it slippery and treacherous to walk on. Others triedtoreachthe hot spring,desperateto wake it from its slumber and bring it back to life, so that it could steam and bubble again like it used to.All around, the air smelled of fresh, crisp water, an unmistakable sign that spring was finally approaching.

Winter was finally coming to an end, at last,and the sight of it was a beautiful one, almostmagical. So many months of darkness, cold, and boredom, just the three of them in that small, cramped shelter hidden in the far corner of the cave, with nothing to do but to wait, and wait, and wait. Days and nights blurred together until there was no way to tell how long it had been.

They had toguess based on how much food theyate, but even then, they weren't sure. At some point, they started rationing it quite heavily, thinking they hadsomehow messed up the dates, or that maybe the winter would last longer than usual.Luckily, their fears turned out to be justthat—fears, and nothing more.It all turned out to be okay in the end, the food lasted, and now, the first days of spring were finally here.

'Yeah, it was pretty rough...' Aster sighed quietly to himself, his golden eyes following the path of a single, small drop of water that formed on an icicle above him, watching it grow bigger and bigger, until it finally fell to the groundwithasatisfying, quiet "plop".

He and Silvia were sittingona smooth, flat rock, just outside the entrance to their shelter, facing theopenspace of the cave before them. The girl wiggled herself between his legs, her back pressing against his warm chest, while he wrapped his arms around hersmall,skinny shoulders and held her in a loose hug.The cold made hercurl in on herself, knees pulled up to her flat chest as she hugged her legs, her silver hair spilling over herpaleshoulders and covering most of herunderdevelopedbody.

Aster, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the chilly air. His warm body pressed against hers, and whenever his sister trembled, he would gently pull her closer until she stopped, until their skin betweenthem wasdampwith sweat. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his small, limp manhood pressed softly against the curve of her soft butt.Hersmell filled his nostrils with each breath, a delicate, flowery scent that was distinctly hers.

Their mother was resting behind them, in their little nest, protected bythe warm mist. They could hear her regular, soft breaths, andevenaquiet snore or two now and then, which always brought smiles to their faces. It was a peaceful, quiet morning. A bit chilly, yeah, but still a nice one. No need to talk, just sit there, in each other's arms, and watch theice melt awayinto the dark, icy puddles below.

As Aster watched the iciclesdrip, a small, sad sigh escaped his lips as memories of the winter months filled his headonce again. All those days, weeks, and months he spent in that shelter, doing his best to gather enough mana to keep the girls warm and comfortable. It was a difficult, almost impossible task,having to constantly cast that mist spell of his, over and over again, without any pause, never stoppinguntil therewas not even a single drop of mana left in him.Andthe next day, everythingwouldrepeat.Again, and again, and again.

The first few months were the hardest by far, asthere simply wasn't enough mana in him tokeep themist going. Many hours each day, the three of them had no choice but to huddle together for warmth,trembling against the cold.He felt the chill just as much, since he had no mana to keep even himself warm.

It was truly a miserable time, marked by fear, frustration, and constant worry. Aster had more nosebleeds than he could count, and the headaches were even worse,like someone was smashing his brain with a hammer. Once, he thought he might actually die from overexerting himself;the pain was that bad.He did his best not to showmost of that tohisfamily, though, and tried to hide just how bad it was for him.

Luckily, he had his mother and sister by his side to take care of him when he felt like shit, which helped a lot. Pushupsalso didthe trick when he wanted to take his mind off things. But nothing compared to the massages, kisses,and cuddles he received from the girls.Theymade sure to shower him with all the love they had to ease his burden.Sleep on top of Silvia?You got it. Snuggle againstMom's breasts all night? Sure thing.Whatever he needed, he got, and then some more.

'Mom was especially caring...' Aster smiled faintly whennaughtymemories flashed in his mind, of his mother's soft fingers gently wrapped around his boyhood, stroking him slowly and lovingly, her face so close, and her sweet voice in his ear, whispering how proud she was. His small shaft twitched gently against his sister's buttocks at the thought of it all,the memory of his mother's sweet, soft hands on his body. That part of the winter wasn't boring at all. 'Not boring at all...'

With every passing week,themore he used his magic, the more his body grew used to thestrain. His mana started to recover slightly faster, spells lasted a bit longer, and by the end of winter, he was able to keep the mist going on without any breaks. The girls no longer needed to huddle together and shiver in his arms, and could complainallthey wanted about how boringitwas,orhow stuffy the shelterhadbecome.

His headachesbecameless frequent and less painful, and nosebleeds almost vanished entirely. It was still exhausting and uncomfortable at times, but manageable. 'Yeah, it's finally over,'the boy sighed quietly, giving his sister's small, skinny body a gentle squeeze, smiling at the thoughtthatsoon, very soon,he won'thave tocastthat stupid, tiring mist spell of his anymore.

Aster'sgolden irises flicked to Silvia,watchingher closely for a moment, how her shoulders and flat chest moved with each breath, and the soft, barely noticeable sounds that escaped her pink lips.It took her a minute or two tonoticehiscurious stare, and only when she did, he finally spoke, "We'llhave tostartgoing outside soon. The whole 'find a way out' thing and all that," he whispered, taking a glance at the sealed cave entrancebeforereturning his eyes to the girl.

Silvia hummed softly, her own gaze following his, settling on the same place he'd been looking at. "...I know," she replied quietly,leaningher head against his, her silver locks mixing with his own. All those tunnels, endless, dark, and dangerous, lurking with monsters of all kinds... The thought of going back out there made her grimace slightly, and she let out a long, tired sigh. "Not excited for that, that's for sure," she added after a moment, hershouldersslumping a little."But, like...It's not like we have any choice."

With a nod, Aster ran his scarred palms over his sister's arms, feeling her smooth skin under his fingers, and gave them a comforting squeeze. "Imagine if we find a way out on our first try. Like, just a few hours of tunnels, that's all, and then..." he whispered before nuzzling his face into her neck and giving her a playful, yet quiet raspberry.

A cute giggle escaped the girl's throat when she felt his warm breath on her skin, and a shy smile formed on her lips as she looked back at him. "Yeah, that'd be nice, wouldn't it..." Silvia murmured, wiggling her hips left and right to geta bit more comfortable on the rough stone, her soft cheeks rubbing against her brother in the process.

Onceshefounda good position, the girl let herself relax in her brother's embrace."The first thing I'm going to do when I'm out there..." she paused for a moment, letting her eyes wander around the dim, cold cave,"...sunbathe. I want a sunburn so bad. Like, a really nasty one. That would be awesome," the girl said in a quiet, serious voice, biting her lower lip as she pictured the warmth of the sunlight on her pale, naked skin.

Aster snorted quietly before looking down at his forearm, noticing just how pale he was, too. Not the natural kind of paleness that they inherited from their mother, but a ghostly, unnatural sortofwhite that came from the lack of any sunlight in this dark place. Almost a year in this cave would do that to anyone. 'Sunbathing does sound pretty nice...' he thought to himself before replying to his sister. "I'll join you on that one.Though...there's probably still a lot of snow outside, so we might have to wait a month or two for proper weather. Oh, and don't forget about the rainy season..." he trailedoff when the girl's shoulders suddenly slumped even further.

"Urgh... you're no fun. You're ruining the fantasy here, Asty. Let me enjoy it. Gods," Silvia sighed, nudging her brother with her elbow in a playful way, earning herself a faint chuckle from him. He stuck his tongue outbeforegently pinching her side, making her squealquietly.

When she tried to do it back, the boy quicklywrappedhis arms around hers, pinning them to her flat chest in a gentle bear hug."Close your eyes," Aster whispered to her ear, his warm breath tickling the delicate skin of her neck.

Silviashothim a curious glanceover her bare shoulder. "Why?" she asked, but Aster only repeated the request, squeezing her gently until she finally did as she was told,letting her soft eyelashesrest against her cheeks."Okay... they're closed. Now what?" Silvia mumbled,shuffling her bottomarounda bit,justto annoy him a little.

—"Now... shh... just wait a bit, okay? And don't peek," Aster hushed her softly. Slowly, carefully, he released one arm from around her, raising his right hand just above her knees, with his scarred palm facing upward.Silvia's eyes stayed closed, but her small nose twitched slightly as she triedto sniff out what her brother was planning.

After a moment of silence, his body tensed up a little, and she could feel his heartbeat picking up its pace against her back. Soon after,hisvoice sounded in her ear again, soft, barely above a whisper. "Imagine grass everywhere around you. How it feels under your feet, how it smells, the wind that rustles through it," he said quietly, and she could hear a faint smile in his words.

Aster waited patiently,watching her expression turn from "seriously?" to"alright, fine..." until she finally did what he asked her to.Only then did he continue. "Here's the sun, peeking from between the clouds, shining down on us," he whispered, his words accompanied by a small flame that burst to life on his open palm, warming his fingers with its heat.It quicklygrew bigger until it was the size of a small apple, its orange glow illuminating their pale bodies, casting long shadows across the groundaroundthem. Its warmth washed over their pale, bare skin,drawingquite a few goosebumpson both of them.

"Oh..." the girl gasped softly,notdaring to open her eyes, knowing it was just a trick, a magic spell. Her heart picked up its pace, thumping faster in her small chest, and a faint smile formed on her pink lips. Slumpingin his arms, she let her mind wander to a place where the grass grew tall, greener than anything they had ever seen. She could almost feel it tickling her toes and brushing against her calves,so softand pleasant.

Above her, the sun shone brightly in the blue sky, bathing her pale body in its warm, golden light. There was a smell of spring in the air, of fresh, moist grass and pine trees. In the distance, birds chirped to one another, filling the forest with their sweet, melodic sounds.Not faraway, she could almost hear asmall streamrunning over smooth rocks, its gentle splashing as it flowed through the forest.

Fora few minutes, the two of them sat in silence, enjoying the warmth and quiet of the illusion.It wasn't very smart to have an open fire for too long in a cave as small as this one; who knows how quickly the oxygen seeps through the tiny cracks in the ceiling and walls?So, eventually, the flame flickered out of existence, and the cave turned cold once more. With a contented sigh, Silvia opened her eyes, the fantasy fading away to be replaced by the familiar, dark walls andthe icy, wet floor.

Turning her head, the girl looked at her brother's face, finding him staring back at her with a shy smile. "That was... really nice," Silvia murmured before leaning forward, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thanks," she added with a smile of her own. "We should do that more often. With Mom as well. She'd love it too," the girl added, earning herself a nod from Aster.

—"Yeah. We definitely should," hemurmured,pressing his lips against her shoulder andjust below her neck,leavingafewgentle kisses on her soft skin beforesettlingback into his spot, chin resting on her shoulder.She squirmed a little at that, asittickled her, butdidn't say anything, justsmiledto herself.

For quite a while, the two of them stayedthat way, just cuddling and enjoying each other's warmth,their eyes wanderingaround the cave,watching all the water dripping from the ceiling, the only sound around them, aside from their breaths and the quiet, occasional snores from their mother in the bed.

However, that soonchanged when Aster spoke up, breakingthelongsilence that had settled between them."Hey,"he murmuredin his sister's ear, "Wanna see something cool?" Hischildishvoicecarrieda hint of excitementas he shifted slightly, trying to sit up straighter. When she hummedback curiously, he continued. "I kinda made a new spell yesterday after you went to sleep. Had a bit of mana to spare and got a little creative," he told her with a smile.

Silviaglancedback at him, blinking her golden eyes at him a couple of times. "You did... what? No way," she replied,shakingher head slightly. "Really? Show me, show me," the girl urged, wiggling her bottom against himeagerly, a big grin on hersoftlips.

A quiet chuckle escaped Aster's throat as he raised his right hand, once again hovering just above her knees.Silvia's gaze followed it, eagerly waiting to see what new spell her brother hadcomeup with. For a moment, nothing happened, and only a concentrated frown formed on his face as if he needed to poop, his heartbeat picking up its paceagainsther back, even more so thanfromtheearlierflamespell."Ohh, must be something big..." she mumbled, only to get shushed by him asecond later. "Okay, okay, shush, I know," she muttered,hereyes glued to his palm.

All of a sudden, a small cloud of mist began to form around his fingers, the same one he used to keep them warm throughout the winter. Pale golden hue swirled and danced around untilit covered his forearm, wrapping itself around it like a snake would do to its prey.

Unlike before, where it would slowly float in the air, creating a warm, steamy bubble for them to sit in, it clung to his paleskin and grew denserwith every heartbeat his chest took, hiding the ugly scarsbeneath.Not quite as heavy as Silvia's ice mist, it was a different, much lighter kind, one that reminded her of the wisps of steam rising from a cup of hot pine tea, rather than an icy cloud.

Aster'smind struggled to keep the magic going, making him wince slightly as a sharp, stabbing pain formed in the back of his head. But he kept pushing, forcing the mist to thicken even more until, finally, the spell stabilized, and his pain subsided a little.Maintaining it was much simplerthan conjuring it.

When it did, he couldn't help but smile, looking down at his forearm wrapped in a thin yet dense, pale-golden layer of warm, protective mist.It resembled an odd blend of a glove, a gauntlet, and a sleeve, with wispy tendrils constantly drifting away into the cold air."Ta-da," he said with a grin, moving his hand and fingers, watching the mist follow his movements with a faint delay,desperately tryingto stay close to his skin.

"Whoa..." Silviagasped,staringat her brother's hand in awe, her golden eyes wide. Slowly, carefully, she raised her own hand and hesitantly poked her finger into the mist, wanting to see what it would do. As soon as she did, it parted before her, letting her finger pass through and touch the boy's warm skin.

"That's... cool.Iguess?" Silviamumbled with a slight disappointment in her voice, pulling her hand back and watching the mist quickly fill the void left by her finger."What does it do? Does it just keep you warm, oris it something else?"the girlasked curiously,turningher golden eyes towards her brother's face."I don't think you need that, though. You're already warm as you are," the girl pointed out,takinghis other, uncovered arm and pressing it against her naked chest.

— "Well, it looks really badass for one thing. Just look at it!See these littleswirls here? So cool," Asterwhisperedexcitedly, only to earn himself a snort and an eye roll from his sister.He then took a moment to wave his hand around in front of them, showing off his new, magical glove, howmisty tendrilstrailed behind his movements, almost like flames would on a torch, only much lazier."And yeah, it does that too, but not just that," he murmured, a sly smile creeping onto his face. "Check this out..."

Feeling his hand on her chest trying to free itself, Silvia reluctantly let it go. She watched as Aster brought a single finger to the gloved wrist, just beneath the layer of mist. She didn't have to wait long until a small, orange flame burst to life, no bigger than a flickering candle. The heat quickly reached her thighs and knees, casting a gentle glow over their pale skin.

"Uh-huh… and…?" the girl mumbled, tilting her head to one side, her golden eyes reflecting the tiny flame. "Please tell me it's not going to turn your arm into fire. Thatwould besooodumband not safe at all. Sure, it might look cooler, but it won't make your punches any stronger. You'd just..." Silvia rambled nervously, her small fingers digging into his forearm to stop the flame from getting any closer to the mist.

Shushing his sister, Aster gently shook his arm in her nervous-yet-gentle grasp, causing the flame to wobble side to side. "I'm not thatstupid. I have more than enough burns on my hands as is, so... No fire-fist for me, thanks. Maybe later," he said with a chuckle. "Just trust me and watch," he added, waiting until she nodded ever so slightly and released hisforearm, her pink lips pressed together into a thin line on her worried, cute face.

Once the flame steadied on his finger, Aster took a deep breath and moved it closer to his mist-wrapped wrist, slowly and carefully. Silvia watched with bated breath, her heart skipping a beat when the flame finally made contact with the mist, then even closer to the boy's pale skin. She expected a loud yelp of pain and thefamiliar scentof burntflesh,andwas already planning how to deal with the burn, but... nothing like that happened.

Instead, the flame simply flickered harmlessly on the edge of the mist, not going any further, no matter how hard Aster pushed it in. The heat was there; she could feel it, yet her brother's skin showed no signs of getting hurt, not a single blister orreddening.He didn'teven twitch or show any sign of discomfort. "It's the opposite. I was thinking about how to avoid burns. It's what I came up with," Aster whispered proudly to her pointed ear, his golden eyes glued to the flame."Well,Ican't use it with my spells just yet, but with some practice..." heshyly addedbefore trailing off into silence.

Silvia stared at her brother's hand for a long, silent moment,blinking her golden eyes a couple of times, before turning her gaze to his face. "This is our first real protection spell... that's... holy crap, that's awesome!" shewhispered excitedly before turningback to theflame again."It doesn't hurt at all?"the girlaskedhim curiously.

Asterjustshookhis head in reply,"It tingles a bit, but that'sit."

Hummingquietly,Silvialooked at her brother's arm for another long moment, studying it intently beforebringing her little finger closer to the flame, only to hiss and pull awaya momentlater. "Oww. Okay, yeah, that's definitely a real flame. Damn, that stings," she cursed, bringing her finger to her lips and giving it a gentle suck to soothe the pain, all whilefrowning at herstupidbrother for making such a mean spell.

Chuckling, Aster dismissed the flame with a flick of his wrist, the warm, orange glow vanishing from the cold, dim cave. "Eh... It's not really a protection spell, though. It doesn't do much against claws or teeth, I'd still get torn up pretty badly.Butit should helpa lot with how I dofire. Maybe even with that wild, misty ice of yours, I'm not sure. Everything else? Meh," the boy shruggedthosesmall shoulders of his.

A gentle "pop" sounded around the cave as Silvia pulled her finger out of her mouth, a thin string of saliva connecting it to her lips for a moment. She thenpointedit attheverytip of his hazy forefinger. After a few heartbeats of concentration,a small gust of freezing, icy mist burst from her fingertip to his.

Unlike the fire, her mist didn't struggle to dive beneath the golden one, chasing it away like a pack of angry dogs would do to a stray cat, and quickly reachedthatpoor,scarredfingerof his. A soft, surprised yelp filled the cave as Aster felt the suddenstingof cold.His arm jerked away instinctively, the ice mist, as well as his cool-looking glove, vanishing shortly after. "Ouch..." he whimpered quietly,shakinghis hand in pain."Okay, only fire," he concluded.

Silvia snorted quietly, nodding her head in agreement."Yeah. But that's still really neat. No more nasty burns that take forever to heal," she whispered, taking his hand into hers andbringingit up to her lips, giving his hurtfingera gentle, apologetic suckle. "If you find a way to use it in your spells, that is. You need to make it much faster," the girl added between the soft, quiet noises of her lipsaround theboy'sdigit.

Aster watched his sister for a moment, how her eyes closed and her cute, silver brows furrowed in a frown,while her small tongue did wonderson his frostbitten fingertip. The warmth of her mouth felt amazing, and the softness of her lips made his heart beat a little faster. "I... yeah, I'm sure I will," he whispered,pushingthe digit a little further into her mouth,letting her wet, slippery tongueswirl aroundit. His other hand traveled to her soft tummy,givingit a few gentle rubs. "Itcouldbethat your ice is just too darn strong, and I need to work on this spell a bit more," the boy mumbled quietly,enjoyingthe feeling of her warm, wet mouth.

Pulling his finger out with a soft pop,leavingbehind ashiny coatof saliva on hisscarreddigit, Silvia nodded. "Probably, yeah. I'm just too strong,what can I say?" she giggled,her head leaning back against his shoulder. "Ireallyneed to figure out something similar, but with my frost. So I can hold things without my fingers freezing off, that would be nice," the girl whispered, sighing quietly as she lethersmall bodygolimp in his arms.

Humming quietly in agreement, Aster continued watching the icicle above them drip water into the shallow puddle below, all while trying to secretlywipe the drool from his finger on herchest, without her noticing.

But the silence didn'tlast long, and a moment later, her quiet voice caught his attention. "Speaking of ice and holding... I kinda came up with a new spell, too.I wanted to showit toyoufora while, but..."She trailed off, her words turning into a quiet mumble, almost as if she were nervous. "Anyway," she spoke up again, looking up at him with a shy smile, "It takes a while to cast, so... I kinda need you to close your eyes for a moment, okay? And no peeking, or else..."she said with aseriousexpression on her cute face.

— "You do...?" Aster asked, raising his eyebrow at her. "What kind of spell?" he tried to ask, but all he got was a hush and another shy request to cover his eyes. With a sigh, he did as she asked him to, closing his eyes tightly shut. "Alright, they're closed. How long am I going to stay like this?"

"Just... shhh, just a moment. I don't know. I need to focus..." Silvia quietly murmured, her voice barely audible over the soft sounds of dripping water around them. The last mumbles he heard from her lips were, "It's a little something I practiced a lot during the winter... with mom..." which made him even more curious. But the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that he had just misheard things, as he was sure he would have noticed her practicing anything new. And with Mom? What?That doesn't make any sense.

...

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