Episode 25 Snowy Fields

Arai grins as he leads the way up a long, narrow, rocky path winding upwards along the edge of a huge mountain, towering high above the El Nath valley. Above them are many clouds, gray with snow, and before them are the beginnings of a large, deep-cut valley, shrouded in darkness between the roots of two very large mountains.

“Stop prancing around like an idiot, this isn’t a field trip, you know,” Ryuu mutters irritably as Arai chews on a chocolate chip cookie.

Arai turns with a wink and gives Ryuu the thumbs up. “You’re just jealous that I’ve got such a delicious cookie, eh? I’ve got more if you want.”

“Jealous?! I couldn’t be more disgusted!” Ryuu growls scarily.

Arai jumps back slightly in surprise at Ryuu’s harsh words. “Haha! You don’t have to act all tough, Ryuu! Here! Have a cookie!” He then throws a cookie forward, watching as it bounces off of Ryuu’s forehead and falls off into the valley below. “Puu…you’re no fun, Ryuu! Hey! That rhymes!”

“WILL YOU CUT IT OUT?!” Ryuu yells suddenly, drawing his sword as it bursts into flames.

“Eek! You’re both gonna cause an avalanche with all that yelling!” Ivy screams.

Kunai sighs and places his index fingers in each ear. Suddenly he stares and nods his head off in the direction of the dark valley below. “That must be the valley Alcaster was talking about.”

“You know, this place is a little spooky…where are we gonna stay the night?” Ivy murmurs.

“I know what’ll cheer you up!” Arai says brightly.

“DON’T SAY COOKIE!” Ryuu cries.

Kunai smiles as he stares at the others, setting their sleeping bags up around a small fire built of several small twigs and fragments of frosted logs. Around them is a large, slightly rocky field, covered completely in snow.

It is completely night as they sit on the field, at the top of a large plateau overlooking the dark valley below. The tips of tundra grass poke out futilely in the snow-filled ground. Above them, several stars twinkle in formation within their constellations.

Arai glances up, sighing contentedly and watching his breath come out as fog. He waves it away and stares into the fire happily. “Well, this certainly looks like a happy place to stay for the night!”

“You and your cookies…” Ryuu grumbles to himself in a corner, as he polishes the blade of his sword with a small, dirty handkerchief.

Kunai strides over to Ivy, who is sitting on top of her own sleeping bag staring up into space, watching the twinkling of the stars. “You know, we haven’t had the chance to talk very much lately with everything that’s been going on.”

“Yeah, you’re right!” Ivy replies cheerfully. “Um…did you want to talk about anything in particular?”

Kunai blushes slightly, taken aback. “Ah…well, no, not really! I was just saying…I um—well, are you cold again or anything?”

“No, not really,” Ivy replies, “the fire’s pretty warm.”

“Oh…” Kunai murmurs. He shakes his head. “You know, thanks for your bracelet earlier. That was really nice of you.”

“Well, I was only trying to do what I could to help,” Ivy replies. “I figured you’ve saved me a couple times now, the least I could do was give you that to make your Hybrid seal with.”

“Hey!” Ivy cries suddenly, causing Kunai to look at her in surprise. She points upwards towards the sky. “Oh my gosh, look! It’s a shooting star! Make a wish!”

Ivy suddenly closes her eyes, her head still pointed upwards. Kunai smiles and closes his eyes as well, listening as Ivy mumbles something softly to herself.

The both of them suddenly open their eyes. Ivy turns to Kunai with a grin on her face. “So…Kunai! What did you wish for?”

Kunai smiles to himself, shaking his head slightly. “There’s no need to say it. It already came true.”

“Really? That’s great! I hope mine comes true too…I wished for you to get a new claw quick,” Ivy replies.

Kunai smiles again, blushing slightly. “You did, did you? I love that about you, how you’re always wishing the best for others, and never yourself…”

Kunai shakes his head, smiling still to himself. “You know, Ivy…as I’ve gotten to know you on this journey, I’ve begun to realize that…I think I lo—”

“Oh! Look!” Ivy suddenly cries, interrupting Kunai. “It’s snowing!” She reaches out her hands, grabbing the snowflakes as they fall from the sky. “It’s so beautiful!”

Kunai shakes his head, laughing out loud. “You really do love snow, don’t you? I’ve never seen you so happy as you are now.”

“Yeah!” Ivy replies. “I don’t know why, but ever since we’ve got here, I’ve had this weird feeling that I really love the snow! It’s almost nostalgic in a way…”

Kunai stares at Ivy as she begins playing with the already previously fallen snow, building a miniature snowman on the floor near her sleeping bag. He smiles as she gasps as the snowman collapses. ‘It’s such a great feeling to see her happy like this…considering everything that’s happened to her…I hope that smile never disappears from that face, because when I look at her, I know it’s the only thing that can erase the loneliness in my heart, even if it’s just for a little while…’

“Hey you two,” Ryuu says suddenly, “go to sleep. Arai and I will keep watch. We’re gonna be journeying a long way tomorrow.”

Ivy looks at Ryuu, slightly crestfallen. “Aww! But I wanna play in the snow!”

“What are you, six?” Ryuu mutters, turning away.

Kunai smiles at Ryuu’s back, then shrugs and walks over to his sleeping bag, laying down on it. He sighs and stretches his arms outward, gazing up at the starry sky, now slightly blurred due to clouds and the snow.

Kunai yawns and turns over, stirring slightly as the rays of the newly risen sun shine down on him. He turns over again and sits up, rubbing his eyes and gazing around him. Arai and Ryuu are sitting on logs nearby, staring down into the still darkened valley below. Ivy remains sleeping beside Kunai.

Kunai rises, joining the other two. “Is there ever light in that valley?”

Arai shrugs, shaking his head slightly. “Neither of us have ever journeyed this far into the Ossyrian Mountains, to be honest, Kunai. We are new to this area as well, so we don’t know what to expect.”

Ryuu shakes his head, reaching into his bags and withdraws from it a slightly battered, chipped Gephart. He hands it over to Kunai, who looks at it, puzzled.

“Huh? What’s this for?” Kunai asks, taking the Gephart and looking at it closely.

Ryuu shrugs, sighing as he stares at Kunai holding it. “We haven’t got the time to get you a fancy dagger or anything, so you’ll be using that in the meantime. Besides, you’re currently weaponless and it’s not a good idea to go into this valley without a weapon. It’ll also give you a nice chance to practice using daggers.”

Kunai suddenly reaches forward, bringing the Gephart down with a crash into a small log lying on the ground. After a moment, it neatly cracks in two. Kunai raises it again, but looks up as Arai grabs his wrist and holds it with a smile on his face.

“Strength obviously isn’t a factor,” Arai says, “but watch where you’re aiming. Your accuracy with the dagger still isn’t necessarily that good.”

Ivy suddenly stirs, shifting around in her sleeping bag and causing the other three to turn towards her. “Finally awake, huh?” Ryuu growls. “All right, now that the whole group’s awake, we’ve gotta get going.”

“Already?” Ivy replies sleepily, poking her head out over her sleeping bag.

“Of course,” Ryuu replies gruffly, standing up and grabbing the hilt of his sheathed sword at his side. “What do you expect, for us to hang around in this snowy field and play in the snow all day? We’ve got work to do.”