Astra stirred, her fingers twitching slightly against the soft grass. Her lashes fluttered open, and for a moment, the sky above looked far too bright—blurred clouds swirling in patches of white and gold. Her head throbbed faintly, and everything around her seemed distant, like a dream just out of reach.
Then, suddenly, a shadow shifted into her vision.
A figure.
Her eyes widened instantly, and she scrambled back on instinct, heart racing.
But as her vision cleared, the shape became familiar the furrowed brows, the sharp frown, his hairs slightly tousled by the wind.
Daita.
He was kneeling in front of her, arms crossed and clearly annoyed.
Astra exhaled, slumping slightly.
"Oh… Daita… it's you…"
He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, or who else would be here with you on this mountain? The spider demon?"
The words sent a chill down her spine. Her entire body stiffened.
"Spider!" she gasped, twisting around frantically. "Where is it?!"
"Hey, calm down," Daita said quickly, reaching out to steady her. "It's gone now."
"Gone?" she echoed, disbelief still lingering in her voice.
"Yes, it's gone," Daita said calmly. "But first—tell me, how are you feeling?"
Astra frowned, her brows knitting together as she moved slightly. A sharp sting pulsed through her shoulder, right where the venom had struck. She winced, hissing through her teeth as her hand instinctively gripped the spot.
Daita leaned in, concern flickering through his eyes. "Does it hurt?"
"What do you think?" she snapped softly. "Of course it does."
"Wait… don't move," he said, reaching out. He extended two fingers, pointing them toward the wounded area, a faint glow beginning to spark.
Astra's eyes immediately widened. "Wait—are you trying to heal my wound?!"
Daita blinked, confused. "Yes? Why? What's wrong?"
She quickly stopped his hand. "Don't do it," she muttered, shaking her head. "You keep reminding me of someone. And not just you—the whole situation feels exactly the same."
Daita crossed his arms with an exasperated sigh. "You've said that before. I really want to know now—who do I remind you of? And what situation are you talking about?"
Astra hesitated. She bit her lip, looking down, then spoke quietly under her breath.
"You remind me of someone I met by accident… during a honeybee incident."
"A… honeybee incident?"
She nodded slowly. "We got lost in the forest—almost…" She held up two fingers, then hesitated, raising another. "Three days."
"You were lost for three- Um, two days?"
"Mm-hmm. And he… used almost all of his spiritual power trying to treat my wound and stop the venom from spreading. It was a sting from the Queen Bee."
"You got stung by the Queen bee?" Daita eyes widened. "Ow. That's horrible."
"Yeah, it was. But somehow I found the anti-venom… and I was cured. Still…" Her eyes flicked toward his fingers again, still slightly glowing. "When I saw you going to do the same thing as him, it… it looked so similar."
Daita frowned, glancing at his fingers as the faint glow disappeared instantly.
"Well…" he said after a pause, "do you remember his name?"
Astra nodded slowly and muttered under her breath, "Kriya… his name was Kriya."
Hearing that, Daita turned to her swiftly, the sudden movement making her flinch. His face was unreadable for a moment, but his eyes his eyes betrayed a jolt of recognition.
"Huh? Kriya?!" he repeated, almost in disbelief.
"Yes Kriya," Astra replied, puzzled.
Daita leaned in slightly, taken aback, his voice tense. "Can you tell me his full name?"
The thought raced through his mind, He shouldn't be the one I'm thinking of…
Astra frowned, trying to recall. "He only told me his name was just Kriya…"
"Anything else?" Daita pressed, his tone sharpening with urgency.
She hesitated, then added, "He said he was a traveler. Liked exploring. His father kicked him out after… something he did, I don't really know. But why are you asking me all this?"
Daita didn't answer. Instead, he asked more, even faster now. "That's all? Anything more—like… do you remember how he looked? His face, his height, his skin tone was he blindfolded?"
Astra squinted, struggling to piece together the memories. Her brows drew together in concentration before she finally nodded.
"Yes, I remember now. He was taller than me, about your height. His face was so pale, like snow… and soft—like cotton candy." She paused, a little dazed in thought. "He looked like a lost kid… didn't speak much. Always kept looking at me… with those beautiful eyes I've ever seen."
"Soft?! Like cotton candy?! And wait—looking at you?!" Daita's voice cracked slightly as he leaned back, clearly in disbelief. "What was the color of his eyes?"
"Ashen grey..," Astra replied softly… then narrowed her eyes. "Wait. Why are you asking all this? Do you know him?!"
Daita, as if he had just heard something utterly unbelievable, jolted back with such force that he landed flat on the grass, staring up at the sky in complete shock. His breath hitched.
It can't be him… It's just someone else… Someone with similar features… That's all… It has to be…
Astra blinked, stunned by his reaction. She leaned over him, lightly shaking his shoulder.
"Hey Daita? What happened?" she asked, eyes wide with concern.
————
Shion trudged through the snow, arms flailing in exaggerated annoyance as he swung his flute wildly in the air like a sword. His feet sank with every step, leaving a dramatic trail behind him.
"Why? why—did she even come here?! What was the need to, huh?! If she wanted to see snow so badly, Kaen could've painted some on a scroll and shaken it in front of her face! Instant snowfall! But nooo! she had to climb a cursed mountain!"
He swung the flute at a tree branch, missing it entirely and almost slipping. "Stupid snow, stupid mountain, stupid Astra….ugh!"
Ryoma, completely unfazed, walked steadily ahead with his hands in his sleeves, barely reacting to the chaos behind him.
"I mean it, Ryoma!" Shion continued, catching up beside him. "She's gonna catch frostbite and then what? We have to carry her frozen self back and tell everyone, 'Sorry guys, she just loved snow a bit too much'? Absolutely not—"
He stopped mid-rant, eyes narrowing ahead.
Ryoma, too, had halted. Both now stared in silence.
In front of them stood a pack of giant wolves, their snowy white fur blending almost perfectly with the surroundings. Except for the faint glow in their ice-blue eyes… and the steam that rose as they exhaled into the cold air.
"…they look like friendly, oversized sled dogs," Shion whispered, hiding half his face behind his flute.
Ryoma's expression didn't change. "They're not."
"Perfect," Shion muttered. "Of course they're not."
Ryoma took a calm step back, hands still tucked neatly inside his sleeves, his sharp gaze never leaving the massive wolves in front of them.
Shion, however, stood rooted in place, blinking rapidly as one of the enormous white-furred beasts stepped forward with a low growl, its breath fogging in the cold air.
He glanced sideways. "Uh… Ryoma? Why did you just step back?"
Ryoma, cool as ever, replied without looking away, "Shion… talk to them."
Shion blinked. "What?"
"Try talking to them."
Shion threw both arms up. "They're wolves!"
Ryoma gave the faintest shrug. "Not much difference. Give it a try."
Muttering something that sounded like "This is how I die," Shion reluctantly took a step forward, clearing his throat.
"Well, hello there, my canine friends…" he began with a sheepish smile.
One of the wolves growled, its fur bristling as it bared its teeth. The others followed suit, growls echoing like distant thunder.
Shion immediately threw himself backwards with a yelp. "Nope! Nope! Told you—they're wolves!"
Ryoma didn't move, but the faintest twitch in the corner of his mouth might have been the ghost of a smirk. "You spoke. They responded."
"By trying to eat me!"
"Still counts as communication."
Shion dusted snow off his sleeves with a huff. "Ryoma, stop teasing me!"
"I'm not," Ryoma replied blandly.
"You so are!" Shion pointed his flute at him accusingly. "Your voice has that tone. That 'I'm silently laughing at you while pretending I'm above emotions' tone!"
Ryoma raised a brow. "I wasn't aware tones could be that specific."
"They are when it's you! I've spent years decoding your expressions."
"I mean, you did try to greet a wolf like it was a tea guest."
Shion puffed out his cheeks. "That's not the point—!"
But before he could finish, one of the wolves, now snarling and agitated, lunged straight at him.
Shion without even glancing casually swung his flute in a wide arc and smacked the wolf mid-air, sending it flying into a nearby tree with a solid thud. The beast slid down into the snow with a groan.
"You hurt your friends," Ryoma remarked, a faint smirk tugging at his lips as he looked at the slumped creature.
"They are not my friends!" Shion snapped, pointing the flute accusingly. "They tried hurt my face!"
"Well, look how angry you made them now," Ryoma sighed, hands still tucked in his sleeves. "Oh ho, Shion… I wanted you to be friendly, not smack them into trees."
Just as he said that, the rest of the wolf pack growled louder, their fury erupting in bone-chilling howls. Their white fangs gleamed under the snowlight as they slowly began circling the two, eyes burning with rage.
Shion shrugged lazily, Before he could respond, two wolves from behind Ryoma suddenly lunged fast, jaws wide, mid-air.
Ryoma didn't flinch.
He simply turned his head.
His calm blue eyes, sharp as tempered ice, locked onto the wolves mid-leap. The air grew heavy for a heartbeat.
The wolves halted in midair, a visible shudder running through them. Their ears flattened in pure instinctive fear, eyes wide with terror.
Then… whoosh…they spun around before even landing, hit the snow awkwardly, and bolted into the forest with tails tucked tight behind them, yelping like scolded pups.
Ryoma blinked lazily.
The rest of the wolves paused their circling, uncertain, casting wary glances between the strange pair especially the one with the blue eyes.
Ryoma stepped forward calmly, raising a hand and with zero warning, smacked Shion on the back of the head.
"Ow!" Shion yelped, rubbing the spot. "What was that for?!"
Ryoma didn't look at him. "Have you forgotten what I told you before we came here? No hurting the living. It's their territory we're the intruders. We stay friendly, we find her, and we leave."
Shion huffed, "Yeah, but what if we have to face some furious demon or something? Then we fight, right?"
"That," Ryoma said, eyes glinting as he walked past, "you leave to me. All you have to do is stop yapping and follow."
Shion pointed at the wolves. "What about them?!"
"Make them sleep. You know how to."
With that, Ryoma strolled ahead through the snow without looking back.
Shion sighed, raising his flute to his lips. "He really thinks my skills are just to make things sleep?"
He shook his head and took a deep breath, letting the first soft, hypnotic notes float into the air.