Fluttershy's Cottage
Frightfang was led to a small and cozy-looking home on the outskirts of the town. There was a small stream in front of the house with a small bridge for crossing it and a scattering of animal dens throughout the home's perimeter. Frightfang lifted his head to the air and sniffed.
The entire place smelled like mortal animals. They all smelled sweet, like other mortal creatures. As soon as they approached, all of the various birds and animals ran away in fear. It only made sense, given that mortal animals are very sensitive to the dark energy of the Underworld. Even a huge bear ran away in terror.
Fluttershy seemed to understand their fear. After all, a creature as naturally as dark as a Hellhound would send even a Hydra running fear, according to Twilight's book.
Twilight had Fluttershy take the book with her so that she could find a way to properly care for Frightfang until he could be returned to the Underworld.
Fluttershy opened the door and welcomed Frightfang inside. Once inside, Frightfang's stomach started to growl like a terrifying beast. He looked at Fluttershy with pleading eyes.
"Oh, you must be quite hungry. I'll see what the book says about a Hellhound's typical diet," Fluttershy said.
I kind of want to see her react to what exactly Hellhounds eat, Frightfang thought.
As Fluttershy flipped through the book, a small white rabbit with a sour look on his face hopped into the room. This rabbit was interesting to Frightfang since he was actively approaching him instead of running in fear. He stopped in front Frightfang's snout and glared up at him.
"And just who the hell are you supposed to be?" the rabbit asked rudely.
"My name is Frightfang. Who are you, a glorified white rat?" he replied with equal rudeness.
The white rabbit turned red with anger. "I'm a rabbit, and my name is Angel!!"
Frightfang raised an eyebrow. "You? An angel? Ha! If you're an angel, then I'm a tarantula".
The rabbit tried to punch him, but his soft paws did nothing to him. Frightfang simply pushed him away with his paw. Another rumble from his stomach made Frightfang glare at Angel with glowing eyes and slobbering fangs.
The rabbit's bravado went away in an instant. He suddenly turned into a regular rabbit and ran away at full speed. Frightfang looked back at Fluttershy just in time to see her finally find the part of the book that describes the usual diet of Hellhounds.
"Let's see. 'The typical diet that Hellhounds adhere to is... the souls of those condemned to the Underworld for eternity. Once the souls of sinners are torn apart and eaten, the soul respawns in a random spot in the Underworld just to be hunted and eaten again'," Fluttershy read with a pale face.
She looked at Frightfang with a worried look on her face.
"Well, we don't have any of those around here. I wonder if the books states anything else that Hellhounds eat," Fluttershy said looking back in the book.
After a few minutes, Fluttershy's face and demeanor seemed to relax. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and a small smile appeared.
"The book also says that Hellhounds are carnivores who enjoy eating various kinds of meat. I think I have some leftover meat from feeding the carnivores," Fluttershy said.
Fluttershy walked into a room in the far corner of the cottage and returned with a plate filled with various bits of raw red meat. She set it on the ground in front of Frightfang and gave him a large bowl full of water.
Frightfang sniffed at the meat and took a smile bite. It was wonderful! Not as good as the meat of the different murderers and fornicators he usually ate, but it was really good, nonetheless. He scarfed down the entire plate of meat in a matter of minutes and drank almost half the bowl of water. Fluttershy giggled.
"I'm glad to see that you enjoyed that," Fluttershy said. "We'll have to find you a place to sleep for the night."
Fluttershy walked up a set of stairs and tried to look around for anything she could give him as a bed. She looked in every nook and cranny, but found nothing. Soon enough, both she and Frightfang let out yawns.
"Well, you can sleep in my bed tonight if you want," Fluttershy said as she climbed into bed.
Frightfang jumped up onto the bed, circled around for a bit, and finally settled down on the bed. He used his teeth to pull some of the blankets on top of himself. After he got himself settled, Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around him in a cuddling position. Using his internal flame, Frightfang raised his body temperature to keep both himself and Fluttershy warm.
"Oh, Hellhounds are warmer than I thought," Fluttershy said.
Frightfang rested his head near Fluttershy's and started to lick her forehead. Fluttershy didn't seem to mind the act of affection, as she simply fell asleep instead of trying to stop him.
Frightfang looked out the window at the cloudless night sky lit up by the stars and the full moon. It was a peaceful departure from what nights in the Underworld were like. In the Underworld, there were no stars, just a moon that gave off dim red light.
I hope my family's doing okay. I wonder what Blight's doing right now? Probably fighting some other Hound, Frightfang thought to himself.
He swore that he'd find a way back home, no matter how long it takes.
The Underworld
A male Hellhound pup was sent flying through the air to crash into a blackened tree. He landed on his back with a thudding sound. An angry-looking Blight stared after him with all the telltale body language of aggression in their species.
Ever since Frightfang was sent to the mortal world, Blight had not taken the news well. They've been friends and sparring partners for as long as she could remember. And now that her best friend was gone, she always felt angry and depressed.
Even fighting and hunting weren't fun anymore if she couldn't do those things with the only true friend she ever had. She was quite powerful for a pup of her age, and that meant that not many other pups would even want to approach her, much less challenge her. The only one who stuck by her, despite being weaker than her, was Frightfang.
Frightfang, where are you?, Blight thought to herself.
Blight turned around, formed a green fireball in her mouth, and fired it at a small tree to destroy it. She thought that training and fighting would distract her from becoming too distracted on Frightfang's absence. However, there was a silver lining to all of this.
Since she and Frightfang were almost adults, they would be able to produce the necessary magic needed to travel to and from the mortal world. For now, it seemed that the best thing she can do is wait.
"I'll see you again, Frightfang. I hope you're doing okay," Blight whispered to herself.