Chapter 146 - Behemoth Wrangling!

Standing before the ominous entrance of the cave that allowed no light inside, both Lucas and Sirius turned to Sora like children in need of something.

"Alright, alright, I've got it. Feuer."

With the most basic call of magic, Sora conjured an orange orb that chased away the nearby darkness, leading the way inside of the abode of the behemoth.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with reliable comrades, Lucas felt any air of doubt fade away, looking up at the goofy, radiant smiles put on display by both of the men.

--Has it been long enough, Sebastian? Can I finally let go of that pain? Without you here...A void will always be occupying my heart, but I suppose it can be filled to some extent.

Waiting until they weren't looking, Lucas wore a melancholic smile, retrieving the watch from his coat once more as he ran his thumb over the chilled metal, feeling out every groove engraved within the refined steel.

Walking without any caution in his step, Sora came to an abrupt stop as he frantically waved his arms for balance to prevent an untimely fall. Grinding his boots to a halt, pebbles were dug from the ground, cascading down as they fell to the surface waiting below the precipice.

"...That was close."

Whispering with a relieved sigh following, Sora looked back at the other two with a slight chuckle. It wasn't a threatening height that waited below, however, the now present, booming snoring that released a vibration through the cave followed by a less than desirable stench made it clear that the beast they were looking for awaited them.

"How're we doing this?"

"Shh!"

Lucas raised his fingers to his lips as Sirius spoke, causing a raised eyebrow to look back at him in return.

"What? You think us talking is going to wake that damn thing up? It's sleeping like a rock. Chill out, man."

As reassuring as Sirius tried to be, giving Lucas a pat on his shoulder, the regally-dressed boy already knew of this fact but wished to act in caution; an option not available with these two with him.

"Well, we should see the thing first before we make any plans."

Sending the orb of orange light forward into the abode of the behemoth, he squeezed his palm to force the sphere to emit an even greater light, filling the dome-like cavern to be revealed.

The three watched in anticipation as the light ran itself across the slumbering form of the beast, unveiling it from the now dissipated darkness. Its skin was of stone, protected by a thick layer of this rocky, black hide.

The general shape of its body, stretching long in length with a spiky tail, possessing short, stubby limbs, the behemoth resembled a reptile.

"...We're supposed to tame that thing?"

Sora commented quietly as he found himself in awe of its size, fitting the rumbling snores it released from the bowels of its being.

"Someway or another, the people of Mastorn manage to do it...This should be no problem for us, right?"

Sirius had already begun rolling his sleeves up with an anxious smile, hopping down from the short ledge as his boots met with the damp stone below.

"They probably have some sort of secret trade technique or something we don't know about! Hey! Sirius!"

Watching the impatient man begin to make his move, Lucas called to him in a high-whisper, watching as the armor-clad man then followed behind him. As Sirius was the one carrying the sack of supplies they had brought, Lucas wasn't exactly happy about him approaching the beast with it on him.

Releasing a quick huff, the well-dressed boy begrudgingly followed behind them, sliding down the ledge as he held a repulsed expression from the grime of the cave now clung to his beloved attire.

Each sleeping breath that left through the nostrils and maw of the beast traveled through the air, tugging on Lucas' well-kempt hair with the brief winds conjured.

"You brought the rope, right?"

Sirius looked back at the scarlet-haired comrade of his, who was indeed carrying a circle of organized rope around his shoulder.

A confident nod from Sora came as he began to undo the line of tough material, gripping it between his hands and spinning it, "Yeah, I've got this!"

Even witnessing this confidence, Lucas had anything but faith in the results that the red-haired man would yield; keeping his guard up as he awaited whatever plan of action Sora had in mind. Walking as stealthily as a man clad in heavy armor could, Sora crept upon the slumbering behemoth, keeping his stance low as he circled around its massive form.

A battle cry unleashed from the man's throat as he jumped on the beast's rocky back, throwing the rope over its round, lengthy head that blended into its body without any neck to speak of. This sudden weight and yell yanked the behemoth straight out of its blissful sleep, rising up from its position of comfort as the cave seemed to rumble beneath the shifting of weight.

"--Idiot!" Lucas thought to himself, witnessing the less than tact approach to this situation.

"Hold its head down!"

Sora yelled out towards Sirius, who followed his frantic words by placing both of his hands on each side of the behemoth's massive snout as it roared out. The bellowing yell it released unleashed a haze of repugnant breath from within its parted lips; directly colliding with Sirius' poor noses as a wrinkled expression took over his fair face.

Taking such a stench directly to his nose, feeling it singe his minuscule hairs straight from his nostrils, Sirius was momentarily distracted from being able to garner his strength, resulting in the behemoth breaking free of his grasp with a surprisingly dexterous movement of its lumbering body.

Like a rookie cowboy trying to wrangle something more akin to an oversized rhino rather than a horse, Sora stayed atop its back as it wrestled about, likely in complete confusion from its sudden, abrupt awakening.

"--Calm down, damn you!"

Shifting the position of the rope, Sora managed to lodge it into the behemoth's mouth, securing a tight hold on it. Each stomp of its wide, stumpy legs made Lucas worry that the dome of stone would crash down on top of them, watching as Sirius finally shook off the awful breath of the beast after gagging a few times.

"Haven't you ever heard of dental hygiene!"

Sirius yelled at the beast as it wrestled against Sora's control, rearing his fist back before knocking it upside its stone-covered jaw. It was hard to tell if it was an action taken out of frustration from experiencing sewage to his nostrils or if it was a solid plan as the punch actually managed to bring the beast down into submission.

Whether it was frightened at the human's uncanny strength, respected his power, or just outright had its senses knocked from it--the behemoth dropped to its below, keeping its head down as it seemed to accept its new caretakers.

"...Hold on, we got pretty lucky, didn't we?"

Noticing the rather quick withdrawal to a submissive nature from the behemoth, Lucas came to a realization.

"What're you talking about?"

Sirius brushed his fist off against the air as he looked back at the androgynous Outlander.

"That carriage...This behemoth so conveniently close to it; it isn't just coincidence."

"You've lost me. Explain it, would ya'?"

Giving the beast a few loving pats on its back that were more like slaps for the sturdy beast, Sora squinted his eyes and raised an eyebrow at Lucas' words.

"If I had to guess, that behemoth used to pull that same cart; likely the old owner got into some sort of trouble and decided to leave it behind."

"...So you're saying this guy was left here all alone?"

Both of the other two men diverted their attention to the now quiet beast with melancholic looks.

"Whatever the case, he's with us now!"

Sora proclaimed, hopping down from the behemoth's back as he hoisted the beast that likely weighed a few tons of its own as if it were nothing more than a bag of potatoes.

"--What horrifying brawn...Though I'll admit, it's a good thing to have it right now."

Witnessing the crimson-haired man carry the tamed beast on his back, completely overshadowed by its size, Lucas held a shaking smile at the unorthodox sight, keeping in front of Sora while Sirius kept behind him for insurance.

Each step was taken with the gargantuan beast on his back, Sora's footsteps carried a similar sluggishness, just barely managing to squeeze out of the cave with the round creature.

Setting the behemoth down by the old carriage, it stood itself up with a bewildered sheen showing itself in its azure sclera. Sniffing the prickly wood that formed the base of the vehicular object, poking its head against the beige roof of the carriage--the three found themselves somewhat sad by its clear remembrance.

Setting the behemoth up properly with the rope, attaching it to the carriage while Sirius and Lucas handled the restoration of the cart, their brief sunlight left was dwindled before they were all set to head out.

"Well, she isn't exactly pretty, but she'll do…"

Sirius let out a huff, scratching his head as he looked up at the somewhat improved state of the shoddy carriage.

"We can't be very picky in a situation like this; nor do we have the time to waste doing so, let's move out," Lucas looked up at Sora, who took the position of the carriage driver, seating himself on the cab as he held onto the reins, "All set?"

"One-hundred-percent!"

Giving a thumbs-up, Sora responded with a boisterous yell, earning a bellowing call of a similar nature from their newly-acquired behemoth friend.

With that confirmation in mind, the lightning-wielding Outlander and the one of a feminine build climbed into the back of the carriage, adjusting to the uncomfortable, flat wooden floorboards before giving a slap to the roof to announce to their driver to take off.

"Let's go, Bemo!"

Sora called out with his usual excitement for life, giving the reins a crack as the behemoth began to move forward through the path abandoned by travelers.

"He already named it?"

Hearing Sora's announcement, Sirius let out a quiet chuckle, taking a bite out of an apple he had retrieved from the bag.

"...Are you in any way surprised at that?"

"Nope."

Setting off, an uneven, steep bump in the dirt road caused Sirius to bite his tongue as he went in for another chomp against the apple's hide, wincing at the sudden pain and letting out a "Goh!"

--I'll never quite understand Sirius; he's likely the strongest out of all of us, yet when it comes to anything besides fighting, he is a total klutz. Either way, I'm glad to have a comrade like him by my side, Beatrice said it herself before we left; his ability will prove invaluable against the husks.

Watching Sirius' failed attempt at devouring the apple in his hand, Lucas let out an unintentional chuckle between his soft, pink lips.