Chapter 4
"Is everyone packed and present?" Shino's commanding voice could be heard from over the men's heads. They nodded sheepishly before double checking their bag packs. There were about ten of them and way too many baggages. The ice mage slipped through the crowd and made his way to the girl. "Miho." He greeted politely as he edged towards her. She jumped slightly at the mention of her name and flushed a light shade of red. This was the first time he had called her by her name and she definitely did not hate it.
"Good morning, Shino." She greeted back softly, plastering a small smile onto her face. He reached into his oversized knapsack and fumbled through it for a while. Miho peeked over his shoulder in curiosity. Before her eyes could register, a thick white cloth was wrapped around her; so big that it wound up until her nose. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Extra layers, as promised." Shino laughed before closing their distance to adjust her new cape. He looked genuinely amused and she was glad.
"I'm glad you remembered." She smiled back, letting her hands drop to her sides to allow him to do all the work. He let out a small chuckle and a puff of steam drifted from his mouth in the frosty air. "Wouldn't want a frozen summoner." "Summoner?" She quirked, blue eyes gleaming with curiosity. He looked bewildered for a split second but regained his composure shortly after. "Here, you look cozy as ever." He exclaimed, changing the subject, as he took a few steps back to marvel at his work.
"I feel like a burrito," Miho laughed lightly as she twirled around to make it evident, "And I can barely lift my arms. How am I going to fight like this?" Shino's arms shot out to loosen the wrappings slightly, "You won't have to fight, Miho. I sealed your magic remember?" He sighed. She lowered her head in response, suddenly remembering the loss of her powers. "Right..." But she blurted quickly after, "When will you trust me enough to give me my powers back?" The poor girl sounded so miserable and eager that Shino felt a tad bit of sympathy for her.
"It's not that I don't trust you, its just," He paused, unsure of how to get his sentence across without causing any misunderstanding, "I will, eventually, but we need to get somewhere safer first." And Miho shut up as she realized that she wouldn't get anything much out of the boy, not yet. He reached out to rub at the back of his neck nervously before stalking off to the rest without a word. The girl heaved a heavy sigh and hugged herself under the soothing layers.
They traveled to Wyvern valley on foot. The journey was long and tedious and everyone eventually lost track of time. Miho had no clue how long she had been walking, but it almost felt like days. The forest was dense with trees and the beating snow wasn't helping. "How much longer?" Someone exclaimed from the back. He sounded extremely worn out, struggling to finish his sentence. "A half day's walk and we should come to a tiny rest area." Shino replied coolly, his voice still remaining strong and sturdy. Miho guessed that he was more accustomed to extreme weather like this since he was an ice mage. Fireborn witches like her dreaded it so.
It was an enormous struggle. The snow had to be at least a foot thick and every step she took tired her. The temperature remained stagnant and her layers seemed to be becoming less effective. Exhausted. Freezing. Dirty. She mustered up all her energy to turn around to get a good look of the rest of the gang. They all looked equally as terrible as she did, which made her feel slightly better as she was not the only one struggling.
"Do not let the cold get to you." Shino ordered icily from the front of the entourage, his steps never faltering and his posture still straight and perky, as if he had just began the journey. "If you all start falling behind, it'll take more than a day to reach our destination." Miho gulped at this. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take this. A few steps were all it took to send her toppling face-first into the snow. The men gasped and quickly trudged forward to surround her small fallen frame.
"Should we just leave her?" "I knew she wouldn't be able to take it." "Well, it is quite an achievement to have made it this far." They breathed between pants. Shino had turned back and pushed his way through the human circle. He dropped onto the ground, the snow coming up to his thighs, and wrapped his arms around the girl. With a deep breath, he hoisted her up in his arms and spun around to face the rest. "No stopping. We will continue our journey." He said as he started walking again. His guild mates looked at him wide eyed but didn't protest.
She awoke with a start. Her surroundings slowly came into view and she stared into a low wooden ceiling. She let out a small moan and hoisted herself into a sitting position, but her attempts were futile. Her eyes widened in horror. It was as if her arms had been paralyzed. She tried to move once again but was simply too weak. Then she remembered. She remembered a blur of white snow. The cold burying her body. Being cradled in the ice mage's arms. As if reading her thoughts, the room door creaked open and said ice mage walked in quietly, afraid to wake her. When he saw that she had already come to, he rushed towards the bed.
"You're awake," He breathed lowly, his blue orbs boring into hers, "Miho." She averted her gaze and nodded slowly, afraid she would injure something. "Are you alright? Do you feel cold? Do you need something to drink?" He shot questions at her almost all at once. He looked almost genuinely concerned. "I-I want to sit up." She croaked miserably, finally turning her head to face him. Immediately he sat himself on the edge of the bed and placed an arm around her back to help her up. Her whole body ached but she scrunched her face to keep tears from falling.
When she finally managed to sit, she let out a deep sigh. "You're still weak." Shino said worriedly. As if she didn't know that. His arm was still around her and his warmth was so tempting she wanted to lean in closer. "Why did you bother? Now you see how weak I am without my magic. I'll only be a burden to you." She stifled a sob, frustration pooling inside her. "You're not a burden, Miho," Shino assured, running a hand through his disheveled white locks, and Miho could've sworn he, too, was fed up with her, "I've told you before; we need you." "Why? For what reason?" She asked louder this time in a more demanding tone, venting her frustration.
"Just because." Was the only reply she received and this made her erupt in sobs. The ice mage hesistated for a split second before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her against him. Miho buried her face in his chest, staining his cloak with tears. His embrace was the most comfortable she had felt in days and she never wanted to leave it. "You never tell me anything." She mumbled against the fabric after a long while, her small hands fisting the back of his cape. "You motivate us, Miho," Shino smiled, resting his chin on the top of her head, "Every time I look at you, I feel motivated. Like they all say, even the toughest men need a woman around." Her heart warmed at the sound of his laugh.
"You're not even making sense anymore." She said as they pulled away almost reluctantly. Shino smiled again, "Are you warmer now?" She nodded, feeling much less lethargic compared to when she'd first woke up. Much to her dismay, he stood from his seat next to her on the bed and headed towards the door. "I'll come back to check on you again later. We'll be spending the night here because of you," He stated before opening the door, "The guys are overjoyed, so expect them to come rushing over to thank you." With a final grin, he left the room.
Miho lay back down onto the bed. Her muscles ached less and everything seemed a hundred times better. Her heart was beating so rapidly, she had to place her hands over her chest to contain it.
The temple keeper had fallen in love with the ruthless ice mage.
No comments:
Post a Comment