A Broken Spark - A Feral Story

Chapter 3: A Small Haven

"Maxwell, wait!" Azar Yelled As she reached out for the kitsune as he ran out the market's entrance. He didn't listen to her pleads.
"Dammit. I should've calmed him down..."
Azar looked around at all the injured people, who were only muttering to themselves. She then looked at her broken wing, sighing and wincing. She used the wall to push herself onto her talons. She ran to the entrance of the market to find where Maxwell ran off to.
She exited the marketplace and went out into the snowy landscape. The winds were picking up. Visibility was dropping because it was nighttime.
"Maxwell? Maxwell!!" Azar screamed. She tried yelling for him, but to no avail.
She did however, find a trail. A trail of paw prints and leaves. Undoubtedly left by Maxwell.
Azar nodded and followed the trail. It went across the snowfields of the barren landscape.
On the way, Azar found a pile of crystal pieces, like a massive crystal just collapsed. She wasn't fazed by it, and followed the paw prints.

The wind was picking up. A blizzard must be forming. She had to hurry, she didn't want to be lost in the tundra.
She continued following, wincing in pain about her broken wing.
"Maxwell, please. Come out. It's not your fault."

She continued following until the snow turned into grass. She was approaching the grassy oasis of the tundra, a hidden sanctuary of nature amongst the snowy landscape.
"Maxwell! Where are you?" She called out once more, looking around.
She then saw him, curled up. Sitting among the flowers and grass, facing away from her.
"M-Maxwell!" She Yelled, finally having found him.
Max turned his head towards her, his face soaked with the stream of his tears. He faced away from her again. "Don't. Leave. Please." His voice was breaking. "Before I hurt you further."
"Maxwell, n-no. I'm not going to leave you. I don't care about anything else, I just want to help-"
"There's nothing anyone can do, Azar! The best choice I got is to wait out the rest of my days alone. You saw what happened. I'm a threat by merely living."
Azar inched closer to him. "But... we were able to control it for so long. What happened, that only occurred because you got angry. It wasn't your fault, because that witch wasn't exactly nice."
"It's my fault you got hurt. All of this is my fault. So please, leave me be. I've accepted this as my life." He sniffed.
"That's not a life to life, Maxwell. And it was a mistake; mistakes can be fixed."
"Azar... if we confront that witch, you'll end up like me. You'll be forced to live with uncontrollable magic, and you'll hurt everyone you care about around you..."
Azar shook her head. "That's not true! It's a possibility, but it's worth the risk to help my new friend, and all the Feralians who also have cracked sparks. Maxwell, you're such a great friend, and I don't want to see you like this..." she began tearing up.
"...why help me? What makes you think... that I'm worthy of your sympathy and compassion?" He wiped away his tears, but more followed.
"Because... it's not as often you find people who are caring, compassionate, funny and smart as you. Those are the friends to keep, the ones who are there for you and have your back at all times to make sure you're alright. That's friendship, and unfortunately, that's hard to find in people nowadays." She said as she stepped closer to him.
Maxwell remained silent, as her words echoed through his head.
"So please... don't live like this, Max. Please..."
Deep down, Maxwell could feel the pain Azar was going through. He had to make it up to her. She merely looked at him with pleading eyes.
"My mother, always told me this." Maxwell wiped his tears and stood up. "If there's a small chance, even a silver to fix something, then I have to take it." He turned around and faced her.
Azar defied the pain of her wing and the cold and ruffled her feathers. "That's the spirit!" She smiled.
Wiping away his last tear, Max hugged Azar out of thanks. "Thank you, Azar. For not giving up on me."
It caught her off guard at first, but she wrapped her good wing around him. "I'll never give up on you, Max." She smiled.
His spirts raised once more, another one of those beautiful flowers bloomed on his horn, but this time, two of them bloomed at once.

Max released his grasp on her. "No amount of sorry can make up for what I did to you. How can I help with your wing?" He concerned, gesturing towards it.
Azar was flattered by his concern. "I just need to wrap it up in some bandages, and let it rest overnight. Being a phoenix, injures heal faster. Not sure if you knew that." She chuckled then sighed. "Shame I can't just... heal myself."
Maxwell pondered for a few, then had an idea. "I know a place to find some supplies to help. Come here." He led the way, and Azar followed.
He led her to a seemingly normal boulder. Max pushed it out of the way, revealing a door.
"Whoa..." Azar gasped.

Maxwell opened the door, revealing a cute secret hideout. It resembled a small sanctuary. There were bookcases, lined with books to last several years.
"Oh! This is cute!" Azar exclaimed.
"I've had this place since I was a pup. It's a perfect to go and forget the troubles of the outside world." Max sighed nostalgically and walked to a drawer, and pulled out some medical supplies.
Azar looked around, admiring the hideout. She then saw Maxwell with the bandages and prepared herself.
"Okay, hold still." He then spent the next few minutes wrapping her wing in bandages. She winced every now and then.
Max finished up. "Okay, How does it feel?"
"It feels... so much better now. Thank you so much, Max."
Max was one to blush ever so slightly when thanked or complimented, and he did so, which was barely noticeable. "Well, you've been helping me all this time, so it's about time I helped you." He smiled. "Anyway, the night brings a greater chill. Let's rest up tonight, because, I for one do not want to wander through the midnight blizzards."
She nodded. "Good idea. We'll see where we can go in the morning."

Max led Azar to a small bedroom, holding a candle. There was a single bed with a nightstand next to it.
"Use this, you need it more than I." He offered.
"Oh, thank you, Max." She smiled. "Wait, What about you?"
"There's a couch in there. It's not that bad. The cushions are a little stiff, but they're manageable." He stated.
"Oh... okay." She said, before getting up on the bed. She tucked her wings close to her as she got in. She then saw that she only took up half of the bed, and thought for a second. "H-hey Max."
"Yeah?"
"I don't take up much room on the bed. You could... probably fit too." She suggested.
Maxwell paused, and faced away from her, his face getting hot. "Y-you mean, share a bed? Are you sure? I don't wanna hurt your wing or anything..."
"Don't worry it's fine. Don't want you to be uncomfortable on that dusty couch." She smiled brightly, welcoming him onto the bed with her good wing.
Maxwell paused, but got on the bed with her, his back facing her. She couldn't see it, but his face was quite pink indeed.
"See? It works." She said.
"J-Just to clarify, if you snore, I'm taking my chances and going to sleep outside." He jokingly said, with an unnoticeable touch of sheepishness in his voice.
"Heh, okay then, that's fair. Good night, Maximus." She said, before settling and closing her eyes.
'M-Maximus? Did she just call me that?' He smiled slightly. "Goodnight, Azar." He then blew out the candle on the nightstand, and tried to go to sleep.

But he didn't. At least not straight away. Something was on his mind.
He then reached for his pouch and the foot of the bed and grabbed something...

Author's Note: We're takin' our first steps into shippin' territory lads. The ship had sailed, I repeat, the ship has sailed. Now to find the perfect couple name...
Oh right, see y'all next time! Stay feral.