Everlasting dream (18+)

Chapter 84 — Our little swamp

[Nivalis Silverfrost]

The girls kept walking forward, barely making any stops. Their heavy breathing filled the air as they struggled to put one foot ahead of the other in this endless, damp forest. The sun from earlier had long hidden behind dark clouds once more, leaving them with gloomy shadows all around once more.

Nivalis's muscles ached from exhaustion from carrying Aster for so long in her arms. Silvia stumbled beside her, holding onto her forearm. Her small feet dragged through the muddy, mushy ground, and a loud, ragged pant came after each step. Mud caked on their skin, clothes, and hair.

But they didn't stop. No matter how tired they felt, how much their legs hurt, or how much their lungs burned, they pushed forward, holding onto hope that they were nearing the edge of this suffocating forest. Nearing a place where they could finally rest without fear of attack from those monstrous plants or whatever else lurked in shadows around them.

Nivalis looked down at Silvia. Her daughter was a mess of mud, sweat, and tangled silver hair, which clung to her dirty cheeks under the girl's hood. Only golden eyes remained unchanged, looking back at Nivalis with such exhaustion and desperation that it hurt to see. "Climb on my back," Nivalis said breathlessly. She knelt beside Silvia and removed the leather backpack from one shoulder so she could climb up; her bow was attached to its side. "Come on, hop on," she repeated tiredly.

"I-I'm okay..." Silvia whispered in response, but it didn't sound convincing at all. The girl was trembling from cold and exhaustion, her tiny frame barely able to hold herself upright anymore. She had clearly already pushed herself beyond any limits her petite body could handle. Ever since she awakened her affinity many years ago, she hadn't grown even a little, and now more than ever, it showed. Usually, it's not a problem, but in this dire situation, where they have to cover long distances through terrain like this... It was a huge issue.

— "Please, honey," Nivalis pleaded quietly while kneeling. "Just for a few minutes so you could rest a bit, alright?" she asked, strained and tired but still full of motherly care.

Wiping her forehead on her dirty sleeve, Silvia reluctantly nodded in response to her words. She climbed weakly onto her mother's back and wrapped her skinny arms around the soft neck, putting her legs over the woman's forearms so they dangled limply. "T-thank you," she whispered before letting out a sigh of relief as all tension left her muscles. Her body instantly slumped against Nivalis's as exhaustion washed over her like a tidal wave, and her eyelids grew heavy.

With a grunt of effort, Nivalis rose again, Silvia hanging off her back, and Aster cradled in her arms. It was a lot to carry — two backpacks that the girl carried, her own being the heaviest, and two kids: son in her arms, daughter clung to her back. 'Just a bit more...' she thought, feeling her legs tremble with each step. 'Just a little bit further...'

But what a mother wouldn't do for her children? Nivalis was ready to carry them both for the entire day if that's what it takes.

...

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Nivalis didn't know how long she walked like that. Silvia fell asleep almost instantly when Nivalis picked her up. The poor child couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. The girl's soft, rhythmic breathing warmed the back of her neck as the elven woman kept walking.

When the surroundings began darkening once more, signaling the arrival of another night, Nivalis felt her heart sink at the thought of spending another dreadful night in this horrible place. She hoped today would be the last day here, but everything hinted that it wasn't.

Aster's moans grew louder and more frequent with each passing hour, his body burning with fever. 'How long will he last like this?' was a question that haunted Nivalis every minute, reminding her why she kept moving forward no matter how much her whole body hurt or how tired she felt. She clung to hope that it was not an infection that caused his fewer but just the overuse of his fire magic. However, after each glance at his palms, she found herself doubting.

But just as Nivalis was about to start looking for a place for the night, the forest around them began changing slowly, much to her surprise. Her boots pounded against mud with renewed vigor, squelching and squashing beneath her steps, propelling her faster and farther than she thought possible as the ancient forest thinned little by little. The massive trees became less frequent, replaced instead by bushes and grass. "P-please..." Nivalis whispered desperately under her breath, hope blooming in her chest again. 'Please let this be the edge of it... Please.'

After some time more, the faint light of sunset greeted Nivalis' exhausted face. The pinky-orange sky above, which felt like she hadn't seen for years now, made tears of relief well in her blue eyes. "It's over," she whispered, barely believing what she saw before her. The wind lovingly caressed her dirty cheeks as she stood there, staring at the vast, unobstructed horizon ahead of them, watching the sun slowly dip below the distant hills. It was a sight that left her breathless, the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen.

They finally made it out. That thought made Nivalis smile like she had never smiled before. "We are out..." she breathed out.

"Ugh," Silvia moaned behind her back, her soft hands tightening around her mother's neck as she stirred, still half asleep, the warm sunlight caressed her pale, youthful face. It took her a moment for her brain to register the change, but when it did, her golden eyes snapped open and blinked rapidly before widening. "Woah..." The girl whispered, resting her chin on her mother's shoulder, her golden irises reflecting the warm rays of sunshine. "Mom... are we..."

— "Mhm," Nivalis hummed quietly in response, her tired feet squashing loudly through the mushy ground as she slowly walked forward, finally leaving this terrible place behind them. The girls simply turned their heads around, watching in awe how familiar green pines and spruces had replaced those massive dark trees. The smell of dirt, mud, moss, and rotten leaves was slowly replaced by pine and freshness. "We need to find a place for the night. But let's walk a bit further away, alright? Just in case." Nivalis said quietly.

Silvia nodded against her shoulder, yawning widely. "I can walk," she mumbled, half-asleep still.

— "Don't worry about it. Rest while you can, alright? I got you," Nivalis whispered back, adjusting her children before continuing to walk. Somehow, they now didn't feel like a burden anymore, even though she had been carrying them for so long. It felt like she could do it forever without a single sweat.

A tiny peck soon followed against the side of the woman's cheek. "I'll give you the best massage once we set up camp..." Silvia mumbled, snuggling closer to her mother as her heavy eyelids slowly closed again, slipping back into the land of dreams.

...

Hard to tell how long Nivalis walked around looking for a decent spot for the night. She just wanted to ensure it was far from that godsforsaken place, and only when the sun disappeared completely did she finally find one.

It was a small clearing surrounded by thick bushes and tall trees. At its center was a small swampy pond, likely just a remnant of yesterday's rain. It wasn't very large, just a few steps of water and shallow enough to barely reach her ankles. Toads and other critters swam inside it while cicadas and crickets started their nightly serenade all around it. It wasn't the best spot she had ever camped in, but right now, even this felt like paradise compared to that place.

Her legs and arms ached with exhaustion, and her back screamed in pain; every single muscle in her body felt sore. She slowly lowered herself onto her knees and gently laid Aster's unconscious form down beside her on his back. The poor boy was still burning up with fever, moaning quietly in pain. "Shh," Nivalis softly whispered, brushing some dirty hair strands from his sweaty forehead.

Silvia groaned weakly, still holding onto her mother from behind. Her golden eyes fluttered open and blinked a couple of times before focusing on their surroundings. "Morning..." she mumbled quietly, yawning widely as she loosened her grip and climbed down, landing on all fours with a slight thud. She stretched her petite frame like an oversized and incredibly dirty kitten. "Mmmh... I'm so tired," the girl whispered, rubbing her eyes.

Nivalis chuckled softly at that, reaching up to gently ruffle Silvia's silver hair. "It's not morning. The night only started, my love. I'm not sure how far away I got us, so no magic, alright? Who knows what other things still could be nearby?" she said quietly, slowly rising back onto her feet while trying to ignore the throbbing pain all over her body; every single muscle screamed in protest at even that small movement. "Ugh," Nivalis groaned through gritted teeth, stretching her sore back and shoulders. It didn't help much; if anything, it only made things worse. "I think we are safe to remove our cloaks in here. It's a nice spot I found," she added, looking at the surrounding trees and bushes with a smile.

Silvia simply nodded at her mother's words, still rubbing her tired eyes. "Mhm..." she mumbled, slowly removing her muddy cloak and revealing her equally dirty tunic and pants. Nivalis did the same, the only difference being that she was topless underneath, so her heavy breasts felt the gentle breeze of the night. Both daughter and mother were dirty beyond measure, with barely a hint of their natural paleness left on their skin.

Then Silvia crawled to Aster's side, gently touching his sweaty forehead with her dirty palm. "How is he?" she asked quietly, looking up at Nivalis with concern in her golden eyes.

— "Same... but he will be better once we get the fire going," Nivalis sighed, glancing down at their son's pale face. He didn't look well; his breathing was quick and shallow, sweat covering his forehead as fever ravaged his tiny body. The smell of pus seeped through the cloth wrapped around his hands. "Could you help me gather wood? Just don't wander off too far. I need to see you at all times," she said while rummaging through their backpacks in search of their old flint to start a fire.

"Of course. I've got this," Silvia whispered, gently kissing Aster's sweaty forehead before getting up and looking for branches for the campfire. Nivalis watched as her daughter walked among familiar green trees again and how unusual it was for her to breathe in fresh pine-scented air again after all those days stuck inside that horrible place. This made her smile a little.

'Oh, here is our flint. Alright, let's start the fire,' Nivalis nodded when she found what she was looking for among their stuff. She knelt next to Aster when Silvia brought the first batch of twigs for her to use. As much as she wished it only took a few minutes to get the fire going, she would be lying through her teeth if she said that. Every single arm muscle screamed in protest, feeling like they were about to fall off when a small flame finally appeared after some time. 'Years of experience, my ass,' Nivalis thought tiredly to herself before adding more twigs and branches onto it until an actual roaring fire warmed up their camp with its bright orange glow.

Silvia never stopped bringing in more branches and even some pine needles for Aster's wounds during that entire time, not once stopping or complaining about anything. "Thank you, honey," Nivalis mumbled tiredly once Silvia sat beside her little brother, resting her hands on his heaving chest.

"Don't mention it..." the girl whispered back quietly, looking down at Aster with concern in her golden eyes as they reflected the warm glow of the campfire. The soft crackling of burning wood and chirping crickets filled the silence.

— "Let's see..." Nivalis said softly, carefully removing her dirty tunic from around his neck, revealing his delicate skin covered in dried blood and green paste from before. "Alright... Now we need to boil the water," she continued, retrieving all three wooden bowls from their backpack and setting the smallest one on the ground. With a tired sigh, Nivalis stood up and walked to the small pond nearby, filling two bowls with cold, muddy water before returning.

As the moon rose higher in the night sky, the girls kept themselves busy crushing pine needles in the third bowl, waiting for the rocks they had gathered earlier to heat up in the flames. Nivalis even took a moment to rinse her tunic in the pond, planning to use it as a rag later. She didn't dare wash the rest as it would take hours, and she was too exhausted after all that had happened.

When the rocks were hot enough, Nivalis started heating the water with sticks to swap them around once they cooled down. It didn't take long for the water to boil; as soon as it did, Nivalis poured their crushed pine needles into one, keeping another bowl with clean water to wash wounds. The hissing sound could be heard all around the small clearing.

— "Could you tend the paste while I clean him?" Nivalis asked quietly, receiving a simple nod in response as her daughter took the sticks from her hands. With that, Nivalis carefully brought the bowl with clean water closer to Aster's unconscious form and began undressing him. She removed his dirty clothes one by one until he was completely exposed under the warm glow of the campfire nearby. Her eyes briefly stopped on his limp member, wrinkled and as small as half of her pinky, hanging limply above his smooth testicles. She quickly looked away and got to work.

Firstly, Nivalis cleaned Aster's dirty neck using her tunic as a rag. She gently wiped away all the old mush and dried blood from around the five relatively long but not deep claw marks spread across his delicate skin. Once clean, they didn't look nearly as bad as she imagined.

After that, she moved down to Aster's hands, unwrapping them with a frown. The smell coming off them made her stomach turn; even though she expected it, she couldn't help but gag quietly at the sight of open wounds on his raw, tender flesh. Pus oozed from the blisters that covered his palms, a sight she wished she could erase from her memory forever. She carefully cleaned all the disgusting yellowish-green substance off using almost all the boiled water they had prepared before refilling it again with water from their nearby pond. It wasn't the cleanest water in the world, but it should be alright if she's careful not to get any of it into his wounds.

"How long do we need to boil it?" Silvia asked quietly while lowering a hot stone into the green mush, which immediately started bubbling. With each new stone added, the mush became thicker and more intense in smell.

— "Twenty minutes should be enough..." Nivalis replied distractedly, focusing on Aster's feverish body. She used her tunic to wipe away all traces of mud, sweat, and grime, starting with his shoulders down to his skinny chest and then onto his tummy and legs. When she finished with his face, hair, and back, it was time for his private parts. The last thing they needed right now was some kind of infection to happen down there simply because she was not thorough enough while cleaning him.

Putting her now dirty again tunic aside, Nivalis took her little boy's tiny penis in between her thumb and forefinger as gently as she could. His soft skin felt delicate to the touch. As carefully as possible, she started cleaning him with her fingers. She pulled down his foreskin that was attached to the tip, revealing a pink head no bigger than a pea underneath, a sight so cute that it almost made Nivalis chuckle.

Silvia's golden, curious eyes followed her mother's every move, watching how she cleaned her little brother. Doing such things in front of her daughter made Nivalis feel weird and nervous, but not that she had much choice now. Who knows what that mud was filled with?

But it wasn't just that. What made Nivalis even more nervous was when Aster started to... grow... right between her fingers. 'Great... Just great...' Nivalis thought, feeling how this tiny thing twitched while his heavy breathing became louder and faster. It felt so incredibly awkward. And her daughter's gaze didn't help either.

After a moment of hesitation, she decided to continue as if nothing happened. She gently wiped his cute little balls next, barely larger than two cherries each. They lay in her palm as she cleaned them, rolling them between her fingers delicately, being careful not to hurt him. His member kept throbbing this whole time. It made Nivalis remember all those nights when this little guy humped her navel.

"I think the mush is done..." Silvia whispered after some time, her eyes glued onto her mother's hands holding her little brother's thingy.

Nivalis almost jumped at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Yes. Please put it aside to cool down..." she mumbled in response, letting go of Aster's sack and moving onto his butt. She lifted his legs gently and spread him open with one hand while cleaning him with the other using her tunic.

He looked much better once fully cleaned, although his face still twisted uncomfortably with pain. Or were those moans from her touch? It was damn hard to tell now. And Nivalis didn't want to know either, not really. "Alright... that should be enough..." Nivalis said softly, gently lowering his legs again. His tiny penis stood proudly for them both to witness, twitching every few seconds as if begging to be touched.

"Let's go wash ourselves real quick while the paste cools off," Nivalis sighed, covering his shame with her dirty tunic and getting up with another tired groan.

"O-okay..." Silvia mumbled in response, slowly getting up and following her mother to the pond nearby. At the shore, Nivalis removed the few pieces of clothing she had left on her body before helping Silvia do the same. She then took her small hand into hers, and the girls stepped into the cold, murky water. It was filled with mud, small plants, and all kinds of things that tickled their feet, but they were willing to tolerate it if only for a chance to get clean again after so long.

They crouched down, their naked bodies shivering from the chill of the water. Goosebumps formed on their smooth skin as nipples hardened from the cold breeze blowing against them. Taking Silvia's tunic from the shore, Nivalis carefully washed her daughter's body, watching how dirt immediately started falling off her pale skin and disappearing into the muddy water surrounding them.

Nivalis started from her face, working down her neck, shoulders, chest, and stomach before moving onto her butt, legs, and feet. Silvia remained quiet during this time, only shivering a little from the coldness of the water while occasionally gasping softly at her mother's tender touch upon her delicate skin.

After finishing working on her petite body, Nivalis started to clean herself next; however, Silvia didn't let her. The girl simply took the brown tunic from between her hands and began scrubbing as hard as she could against every part of her mother's pale body, trying to remove all grime covering it. "So dirty..." Silvia quietly whispered every few minutes as she worked while Nivalis just sat there, her hands resting between her soft thighs to keep them warm in this coldness. Not a single word was spoken between them.

Once they had cleaned each other, they rinsed their long silver hair until no more dirt could be seen. Their bodies trembled from the cold when it was finally over. "L-let's get b-back to the fire..." Nivalis stuttered out through chattering teeth before quickly getting out of the water, holding her small daughter's hand tightly in hers; their bare feet squished loudly against the muddy ground beneath them with each step back towards their campfire.

Once there, Nivalis sat on the ground next to her son and the fire a soft thud of her perfectly-shaped butt against the ground. She then softly patted her thighs, signaling the girl to sit on her lap instead, and Silvia did so without any hesitation. Her little butt pressed against one of her mother's thighs as she wrapped both arms around Nivalis' waist tightly for warmth, resting her head upon the softness of her breasts.

Nivalis embraced her daughter in return, letting out a long, satisfied sigh as she felt the warmth from the nearby fire. "There, better..." she whispered down at Silvia with a tired but content smile, feeling her tiny body trembling heavily in her embrace. "We did it, honey... we made it..." she added, running her fingers through the silver locks of her little girl.