Era has been recovering nicely. She mostly sleeps and eats and we only step out at night, so she can do her business. Due to the fast and clearly unexpected recovery that Era is making, Ira got lucky and Vona fixed his leg for him, the right way. I can't help Era move around by myself... Of course, the lack of meat and fish is getting to her... She's getting grumpier with each passing day.

“Why don't we go hunt ourselves? I doubt the hunts here can provide for everyone, let alone her.” I say.

“It's not a bad idea. That would help us.” Vona admits. “More than that, it would help her, above all.”

“Got any bows we can borrow?” Ira asks.

“You'll need to check with the Providers for that.” She answers and that's all he needs. Ira leaves the tent. I fidget...

“Sooooo, do you have anyone special...”

“Excuse me?” Vona stares at me.

“I mean, does the Temple allow...” Idiot...

“Yes. Relationships are allowed. Except for the Priestess. Least for her designated ruling period. Afterwards, she is set free.”

“Doesn't sound like you're looking forward to getting chosen?”

“I'm simply doing as I'm told.” She says, eyes gloomed up a bit...

“Does that mean you hate doing this?”

A headshake. “No. For this, I actually volunteered.”

“Why?”

“What's with all the questions?” Vona glares at me suddenly.

“Wanna know more about you. Is there something wrong with that?” I hold her stare. She shrugs.

“You're the first one to try.”

“Really? Then how about I be the last one too?” I grin. She glares at me again. “So what do you think of this fighting?” I quickly change the subject and my expression into something more fitting. Vona takes her time...

“I believe all of this fighting is senseless and pointless. But someone who's been sheltered within the Temple walls all her life, I lack the reality to comprehend the meaning for this. I figured that stepping onto the front lines will enlighten me and I will be able to fight too...”

“But?” I whisper.

“So far I haven't found a single reason to justify the lives lost.” She firms back up again. “Why do you fight?” Vona asks, without looking at me.

“I'm not sure. When I first heard about the fighting getting intense again, after so long, I felt an urge to help. My parents raised me with so much care, that I wanted to return that...” I hesitate...

“By getting yourself killed?” She gives me a different look now.

I smile like a moron that I am... “Yeah, I didn't think this through, did I?” She gets up to leave. “Ah, wait a sec!” I grab hold of her robe. Another glare. I quickly let go. “I wanted to ask something... About the Temple.” I add quickly.

“What?”

“Why is there a Priestess only?”

“Excuse me?” She stares at me confused.

“I mean, it takes both, a woman and a man to make new life, so why we only have a woman to represent Nature? Shouldn't there be a pair?”

“I... It never occurred to me...” She blinks fast. “I don't know. All we are thought that a Priestess is selected every fifty years or so. During that time, she needs to stay pure. Before and after don't matter. Once she's replaced, she can choose whether to go back to the Temple or not.”

“But, if a child is born to a ruling couple, wouldn't that make it easier? To have an heir? There wouldn't need to be gaps in between selections. We don't have a Priestess now, do we?”

“No. The last one stepped down early. Her time is still ongoing.” Vona answers. “But even if. Say there was a child right now. What good it would do to have something like a seven-year-old rule us?”

I laugh a little. “Well, none, when you put it like that.” I smile at her. “I was only wondering, a little bit. That's all. Sorry to bother you.” I bow my head a little.

“Right. Sure.” She walks out.

“It's not even Spring yet and you're already in heat.” Era growls inside my mind. I roar with laughter.

“What's with you?” Ira comes back.

“Era's making fun of me.” I tell him, smiling.

“Of course, she is. You make yourself an easy target for that.” He sits down. “Not that you need our help to embarrass you, though.”

“Ok ok, what's with all the love?” I throw him a look of my own. “How did it go?”

“Bad. Even with half of the hunts out of commission they have no weapons to spare.”

“How so?”

“Cause the bows get broken when the hunts get injured...” Ira sighs.

“Wait. Shouldn't hunts be accustomed to these conditions?”

He shakes his head. “Not the rookies, apparently.”

“Huh?”

“Word is, Cornutora is trying to push their luck and take some more land, hoping we won't notice, while being busy with the Balli. The main forces have been busy with Ballista's border but now they are splitting between West and East...”

“Where does that leave us?”

“With leftovers, obviously. With the weather conditions this season as they are, the rookies are told of this as nothing more than a training camp...”

“You're kidding.” I stare at Ira.

“Ask your pretty Cleanser. She should know more about what's really going on...”

“Speak of the Devil.” Era says. Huh? The tent opens and Vona shows herself again.

“I need your assistance. Follow me.” She says and leaves. Ira and I look at each other and get out the tent. We follow Vona to the other side of the camp where the heavily wounded are treated. There haven't been any fighting in weeks, though...

“I need you two to bring in as much snow as you can. We don't have enough water.” Vona tells us.

“That's a pain... Melting snow always gives less water than its amount...” Ira mumbles.

“We have no choice.” She answers him. “Use these or whatever else you can find.” She points to some wooden buckets and metal pitchers... I sigh too. This will be a pain. We can only use the pitchers to melt it, a soup kettle at best... Vona disappears into one of the tents. Ira and I get to work. We use a shield to place the buckets on, least that way the wood won't burn but it should allow us to make this easier... We try to work fast. As soon as the snow in the bucket melts, we add more into it and stir to speed it up. Once the water boils, we time it for a good five minutes and switch it out. Some others have copied our system and pitched in. Another Cleanser asks me to bring some water to Vona. I take a boiling bucket and take it to tent shown. I step inside and freeze. Balli soldiers lay wrapped up with Vona tending to them...

“Thank you for that.” She takes the water from me and begins mixing medicine on the spot.

“What is this?”

“Balli reinforcements that got caught up in the last blizzard.”

“That's not what I am asking...” I tell her. Vona ignores me. Another girl comes inside. She changes the bandages for one of the men. I continue to loom over the scene, unable to move or speak...

“Thank you...” The Balli speaks. “If there's anything we can do to repay you...”

“Go and die!” The girl snaps, throwing the gauze away. “Why should we help them! They are the reason we die! They are the enemy! Why should we show them mercy!” She screams the words out frustrated. No. Grieving?

“Get her out of here.” Vona says. I snap to it and take the girl out. She struggles. I hold her by the elbow, not sure what to do next. Vona steps out the next moment.

“Traitor!” The girl screams. “How dare you help those who bring nothing but death into our land! We should just kill them and be done with it!”

“Enough!” Vona stands in front of the girl. I let her go and step aside. “My orders are to help and heal. Not to kill.”

“Coward! Hiding behind orders!” The girl persists.

“WRONG! I choose to heal because killing is too easy. I know more than enough ways how take a life. Slicing throats and breaking bones does not require much skill or brains. Putting the body back together - does.” Oooh... Well now... Vona continues.

“I choose to heal because that is exactly I what I worked so hard for all these years. Don't get me wrong. If the order is given to me tomorrow to go fight on the front lines, then I will be more than happy to do so. But until that happens, I will save lives instead of taking them.” She steps closer to the other Cleanser. The girl instinctively takes a step back. I grin.

“I don't know about you, but I will not let all of my hard work to go to waste. If you have a problem with how I do things here then leave. But If I find those men dead tomorrow, I will have your head.” She hisses and pauses again. An exciting chill runs down my spine...

“Did you even bother asking them if they wish to fight? Did you ask them how many dear friends have they lost to this already?” The girl looks away. Vona keeps going.

“What is more important, your effort and hard work or your childish principles? Killing only brings more killing. No amount of dead bodies will change the world. Only the living have the power to do that. If you lack the brains to understand that much then get out.” Devona stands her ground strong and tall. The girl struggles to answer. Not that Vona needs an answer... The girl runs off.

“Bring more firewood. They almost froze to death. I need to keep them warm.” She tells me and goes back inside the tent. I quickly go get Ira to help me. We gather up two good bundles and bring them back to Vona. She has a few people working on something by the tent. They take the wood from us. A Mage juggles stones in and out of the fire, putting them inside fabric pouches. Another one keeps the fire from blowing out. The third girl takes the pouches back into the tent. Ira and I step inside. They use the pouches to keep the Balli men warm.

“Anything else you need help with?” Ira asks.

“That's all. Thank you.” Vona answers without looking. I crouch down by one of the soldiers.

“What orders were you given?”

“To scout the area. We didn't even know there was a party sent out before us...”

“How many of them have we already encountered?”

“This is the third one.” Vona answers Ira.

“What?” The Balli's face freezes over...

“What scouting were you supposed to be doing?” I ask again. Considering the season...

“If the land was fertile enough to start the planting in the Spring...” Another Balli says.

“What gave you the impression that you can use this land?” Ira says.

“Nothing. Those were the orders given... That's all...” They admit.

“Didn't you find it strange with the weather as it is?” I ask again. Silence.

“We have no right to refuse...”

“Meaning what?” Ira pushes.

“The gold we get for serving is the only thing that keeps us and our families alive...” One says. I look back at Ira. His face is unreadable...

“Has there been word about any other disturbances?” Ira asks Vona. She shakes her head.

“Your thoughts?” I ask him.

“Hard to say. But something has been bothering me ever since the first fight when we got here. We got attacked before the party from the mountains came down...” He takes a moment. “I think the mountain-range-troops were a decoy. The real hitmen were the Shamans, traveling underground. I'm inclined to believe that not even the mountain-range-troops were aware of them.”

“Based on?” Vona finally speaks again.

“On what they said a second ago.” Yeah... That could possibly be the case...

“What for though?” I wonder out loud.

“To invade from a different location. Most likely - the South.” Ira says and my blood freezes.

"There haven't been any reports of such.” Vona cuts in.

“Or they haven't told you.”

“I have my own connections.” Vona stands up. So do I. I rush out of the tent.

“Hey! Wait a second! Wykren!” A voice reaches for me as my body moves on its own. “HEY!” A face comes into my view.

“Outta my way!!” I growl.

“Where do you think you're going!” Ira stops me.

“Where else! Home!”

“In this freak of a Winter!”

“What choice do I have!” I try to push him away.

“None! Sit tight and wait for orders to come through!”

“What!”

“You signed up for the Military! This is the reality of that! You leave here now and you'll be labelled a traitor! You can't leave unless they send you back or relocate you!”

“The hell with that!” Ira and I struggle and fall into the snow.

“Then what the hell did you sign up for in the first place! HUH!” Ira yells at me over our brawl. “You think you can just come and go as you please! This ain't a free-range-get-together for you! You leave here now you won't ever be allowed to come back into the ranks!”

“He's right. You can't leave on your own.” Vona's feet come into my range. I look up. “There hasn't been word about anything besides Cornutora's attempt to sneak in. Even if we could move around freely. We wouldn't make it anywhere far in this weather. It would take you twice as long to get anywhere. If a blizzard hits - even longer. Your best option is to stay put and wait. No matter how hard that might be.” She quiets down. So does my sudden rage... I lower my fist and get off Ira. He helps me stand up and we go back to our tent... The both of us end up with a cold the next morning... I shut my thoughts down... For now...

“I was thinking.” Ira says. “Is Emerald able to use Magic, since she has Mana?” Oh. I had forgotten about that.

“Mana?” She says inside my mind.

“Yeah, Vona said you had some in you, that's why we were giving you Mana potions too, when you were unconscious.” Era doesn't answer that. “You didn't know? Did you?” I ask. Silence. “Well. Would you like to learn some?” Era looks at me again. “Hey, know anything she can learn?” I look back at Ira.

“Mana control? Maybe a detection spell?” He thinks about it. “As a beast, she already has good detection skills but she's not able to sense Mana. A Mana Detection spell is a pain in the ass but it could work for her.” He shrugs his shoulders.

“Why is it a pain?” I ask trough my coughs.

“Cause the caster needs to be standing still and it only works with a certain range. Varying dependent on the skill and Mana control ability of the user. It's similar to the Shadow Walk, since you need to make Mana float outwards. The trick is to make it stop and sustain it.” Somehow, I envy Ira's resistance to colds. He's getting better while I'm getting nowhere...

“If that's too difficult then she could try pouring more Mana into her ears and nose, enhancing her innate abilities. That could work nicely to widen her natural range, since she could focus on a specific part of her own body instead of thin air.”

“What do you say? Wanna try?” I ask her.

“Worth a shot. So. How do I focus Mana?”

“She wants to know how to focus her Mana.”

Ira coughs a bit. Ha! I knew it! All that talking was too smooth to be true. “What's with the grin.” He glares at me.

“Nothin'. Well?” I wait.

“She needs to envision the part where she wants the Mana to flow to and direct it there. Usually, we are thought to think of Mana the same as blood, flowing around inside us. Maybe that will help. Oh.” He sneezes. “There's also Meditation.”

“I know that! It helps to regain your Mana faster!” I answer.

“Correct. So maybe she should start there.” Ira explains the basics of that to Era and she begins her training. With nothing else much to do, it seems like the perfect thing to focus on.

Vona comes around less and less now that nobody in our trio needs healing. Ira and I help out around the camp as much as we can. I already went and made a bow for us to hunt with. The only problem left are the arrows. We managed to get some broken ones and been making new ones ourselves. The metal heads and feathers are all we need. I try to gather materials to make Era's reins too but that proves to be a difficult task... I run into Vona on my way back to our tent after working my shift with the "kitchen.”

“May I accompany you to where you’re going?” I ask her.

“Why?”

“Why not? I have time. Am I bothering you?” She doesn't answer. “I'll take that as a no.” I smile. She looks at me a bit annoyed.

“I was wondering. Why did you choose to serve the Temple?”

“I didn't. I was given away to it.”

I stop and stare at her. “Meaning what?”

“Meaning that someone gave me to the Temple when I was an infant. It doubles as an orphanage. For girls mostly though...”

“I'm sorry... I had no clue...”

“Now you do.” She answers me sharp.

“I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry if I have.” I bow.

“It's fine.” Vona speaks again after a long moment.

“Are you not allowed to leave?” I ask again, carefully.

“I didn't think about that. The Temple has been the only home I ever knew. Even though there's not much to do...”

“Is that why you worked so hard on your Cleanser skills?” I recall the incident by the Balli tent...

“Part of it. I had nothing but time, anyways. Seemed like a good idea at the time...”

“What about now?”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“What's your dream?” I ask, gazing at her.

“My dream?” She whispers. “Templeattes don't have dreams.”

“Everyone has a dream.”

“Then what's yours?” She scowls at me. The sight makes me giggle.

“Travel. See places. Do things. Taste the world. Spread my wings and fly!” I stretch my arms out. “And one day, settle down and have a huge family with my beloved.” I grin.

“Huh?” Vona stares at me a bit confused.

“I grew up an only child, I was kind of lonely. Till I met Era. So when I have my family, I want a big one. I never really thought much about it but I realize not everyone are fortune enough to experience a loving home...” My smile saddens up a bit...

“You're taking too long. Ira’s getting annoyed…”

“Oh. Sorry sorry. I'm on my way.” I grin again. “Anyways. It seems I need to get back. See you round.” I bow and quickly return to Era and Ira.

The long Winter nights are getting to me. It never bothered me before but being stuck in a tent like this is becoming a pain. Especially when a blizzard rages outside. Lucky us that we have Era. Least it's warmer with her around... Era comes back inside the tent, covered in snow. She lays down in her usual spot.

"Something on your mind?" Era opens one eye.

"Whether it's rain or snow it always makes your fur glisten... You look otherworldly. It's captivating... As if a patch of the starry night sky decided to take walk... I don't tire gazing at it..."

"Ever the child, I see..." Era closes her eye again. I laugh.

"That was a compliment. That's something you say to someone when you want to tell them that they are special to you."

"What should be my response then?"

"Thank you. You say thank you, Ren, I love you too." I grin silly.

"I believe you just answered yourself." Era's soft yet mockingly growl makes me roar with laughter again.

"What's going on?" Ira comes back with our dinner.

"Emerald's being a smartass. I can't tell if she means it or it just happens with her."

"Uh-huh..." Ira hands me my bowl. "Anyhow... Word is the Camp will get dissolved soon.” I thank him and take my bowl.

“Meaning?” I burn my tongue.

“Half will be sent out as a traveling aid. The rest will go back to base.”

“Is this something the Military does?”

“Not likely. My guess is. the Temple has something to do with it.”

“How so?” I ask.

“This is the first time the Sky Temple has mobilized and joined the front lines. Give or take. It could be used to boost the people's morale or something like that...”

“Why so sudden though?”

Ira gives me a shrug. “Maybe because the Spring is coming. It's not like we can stay up here forever.”

“Wait, what will happen to the Balli?”

“They will get sent back as if nothing ever happened.” Ira answers. Maybe that’s for the best… It clicks to me.

“Can we chose which half we end up as?”

“I think they are looking for volunteers for the aid. Why?” Ira sets his bite down and stares at me. “Don't tell me.”

“Come on! Let's join them!” I grin.

“What for?”

“Why not! What possible training you can get by going back? You're already a pro! Plus! You can train me on the road! It'll be fun!”

“It's not supposed to be fun.” Ira growls at me.

“Doesn't mean we can't make it be.” I keep grinning. I bet Vona is going with the aid.

“You just want an excuse to stay close to her.” Ira hits the nail on the head.

“So?” I admit.

“She ain’t the only one out there.”

“I like this one though. What's wrong with that.”

“Nothing. Do as you please and leave me out of it.” He mumbles.

“Oh come on! I don't trust anyone else around Era!” I pout.

“Wait. You're taking her with you?” Ira stares at me. I nod. “Why?”

“I'm not letting her out of my sight again. She'll be safer with me.” I hold his gaze.

“Idiot. Fine. Sign us up.” Ira sighs and hands me his bowl.

"Is it alright with you?" I ask Era.

"If that's your wish then so be it."

“Thanks!” I return our dishes to the kitchen tent. I ask about the aid and get sent to Vona. I knew it! She will be taking part! I find her in her tent.

“Knock knock!” I say loud enough.

“Yes?” A voice answers me. I step inside.

“I was told to speak with you about the traveling aid thing.” I sit down.

“Oh? You wish to join?” She asks, measuring out herbs with the tiniest scale I've ever seen.

“Yeah. Me, Era and Ira.”

“Why?”

“You will be going, won't you?”

She looks at me. “What's it to you?”

“I wanna come with you.” I tell her flat out.

“We'll probably be traveling all over the nation.”

“So?”

“What about your training?”

“What about it?”

“Isn't it important?”

“You're more important.”

She looks at me again. Blushing lightly. I grin. She turns away from me again and knocks the scales over. She scrambles around, gathering up the miniature jars into a basket.

“I need to take these to the others.” She tries to stand up. I stop her.

“You didn't answer me.”

“You're free to join.” She answers and stands up. I block her exit, towering over her... This feeling...

“I wanna know what you taste like...” My fingertips lift her face up for me...

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me...” I lean in closer and get stabbed in the throat.

“Do not. Toy. With me.”

“I'm dead serious.” I keep pressing into the tip of the blade. A red drop rolls down the metal...

“We move out in three days. Make sure that you and your cat are not a burden on us.” Vona sheaths her dagger back into its place on her hip and leaves me standing there in a storm of my own confusion... I've never felt this kind of hunger before... My heart races. Body trembles. My lips don't stop smiling...