175 Vol. 3 pt. 45 Patch 8.0: The Temple in the Fores (2/2)

”What… do you think they're saying?” Cassiel asks now that her head isn't a boiler on the verge of exploding.

Shogun barks at Rock, and then Rock barks back at him.

”I think they're… maybe having a fight?” Fenrir suggests.

The two pets start growling at each other.

”That was a short relationship,” Oleander says. ”Guess we won't be getting rocky fox puppies.”

”That's alright,” Fenrir says.

Then they hear the creaking of the tree that Rock and Shogun are standing in front of.

Nobody noticed it before, but the tree is cracked and partially uprooted already. It likely got bumped into by that monster as it was chasing them through the forest.

While Rock is distracted with stomping her paws against the ground to illustrate whatever point she's trying to make, Shogun takes notice of the now-falling tree.

It'll land directly on top of them.

”Move!” Fenrir and Rao both shout at once, rushing forward to try and save their pets, but they're not fast enough as the tree breaks in half and falls directly over them.

Shogun, extending his wings, summons a burst of speed to knock Rock out of the way!

All Fenrir and Rao hear are whimpers and cries coming from both of their pets as the tree obstructs what just happened.

When the dirt and leaves settle, they see Rock and Shogun safe next to the fallen tree.

Rock was only whimpering out of surprise from being rammed into by Shogun, and Shogun is trying his hardest not to cry more after slamming full-speed into solid rock.

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Rock looks at the tree and then Shogun.

The left side of his face is bruised and already swelling up from the impact, so when Rock realizes what just happened, that's where she gently licks and nuzzles her face against.

”Damn, bro, I would have asked you to teach me if I knew you were this smooth,” Rao says, watching the two canines make up and lick each other.

Shogun walks over to the rock that got pushed aside from the tree, picks it up, and sets it down in front of Rock.

Everybody thinks that the fight is going to start again, but instead, Rock licks Shogun and then eats the rock herself.

”My heart,” Oleander says.

”I know, right?!” Cassiel squeals before realizing that she's let out her girly side.

”I guess we're getting rocky fox puppies after all,” Fenrir says with a sigh. ”At least they're safe.”

”Bro, if they have kids, which one of us is the grandpa?” Rao asks.

”That's not… you can have multiple grandpas.”

”Yeah but like, which is the grandpa.”

”What do you even mean?”

”You know, like, the grandpa.”

”I don't… you can be the grandpa.”

”Seriously? Sweet! You're the best, bro,” Rao says with a bright smile. ”I'm gonna be a grandpa!”

Fenrir is starting to doubt that this man has a career and knows how to function as a normal human being in reality.

With Rock and Shogun leading the way, side by side once more, the group eventually reaches their destination.

A small, Greek-styled temple is standing before them. A few of the pillars have been knocked over, and it's overgrown with vegetation, but the marble structure is in remarkably good condition despite that.

Resting on a marble slab in the middle of the structure is a sword with a white and gold sheath. The handle and guard follow the same color scheme with the handle being white and the guard being gold.

Fenrir whistles. ”That's a pretty nice-looking sword. I can see why you wanted to get it. I wonder why this place is here, though.”

”Don't know, don't care. I just want that sword,” Cassiel says, approaching it while keeping an eye out for any more potential, oversized monsters.

”Hey! Looks like there's some stairs over there,” Rao calls out, pointing to the back corner of the temple.

Rock and Shogun run over to look down the stairs but see nothing other than the steps leading into darkness.

”Maybe it's like a dungeon?” Oleander suggests. ”It's been a while since we've gone dungeon diving, Fenny.”

”Yeah, but with that logic… if there was a sword up here and a giant boss monster, wouldn't the actual dungeon be even more defended? I doubt we'd be able to handle it on our own,” Fenrir says.

Cassiel picks up her new sword and unsheaths it, letting the silver blade reflect what little sunlight shines through the forest's canopy.

She's got a massive grin on her face as she unstraps her current sword from her side, tosses it away, and then straps her new sheath there.

”I feel kind of bad for the old sword,” Fenrir says.

”It was just a sword. Let's test this one out!” Cassiel says, walking over to where Rock and Shogun are.

As soon as Cassiel stands at the top of the stairs, she sees a dozen thick, slimy tentacles start reaching up out of the darkness.

”Nevermind. We're leaving,” Cassiel announces.

After seeing Nyaiko with the tentacled creature on the beach earlier, she already knows where this would go were they to descend the stairs.