“We should go.” I didn’t want to think about it any longer as with each passing moment the feeling only got stronger, showing no sign of stopping even though I couldn’t even start to remember why I felt them. As such I stood up, only to stop once more.

“Ouch.” A small crunch followed when her body fell back into the snow. Looking down I saw Homura sprawled in the snow, having fallen there because her body still didn’t support her movement.

“What are you even trying to do?” I suppressed a sigh while I crouched once more. As I neared her, she started to move.

“What are you doing? Stop…”

Her exhausted body however could do little to resist as I pushed my arms beneath her thigh and back. “Up we go.” In one swoop I shot upwards, carrying her in my arms.

“Let me go! I can walk on my own!” She tried to push herself away but did little more than further exhaust herself.

“I already saw you trying that. We won’t get anywhere like that.” She however just continued to struggle. “Just let me do this for now, okay?” Let me look after you. It’s the last I can do for now after leaving you to fight alone.

“Sorry.” I could barely hear it as the word ran over his lips. But with it my struggle receded. Taking this as a sign he started to move.

“Let’s go.” He started to move, each step sending a jolt through my body at first, making me twitch in pain, but soon he noticed my discomfort, shifting my body a little to relief me of the strain.

After a few steps however he stopped to look back at the people following us. “Stay closer. I won’t be able to defend you all if you’re too far behind me.” After a few seconds he looked back in front, the louder crunching telling me what I couldn’t see.

“At least let someone else carry me. There’s no way you can fight like this.” I said to him, though I couldn’t bring myself to look upwards.

“They are all exhausted, there’s no way they would keep up while carrying another person. And those that could are needed to defend the areas I can’t.” After walking silently for a moment, he continued. “But I can just split off my flames and let them fight for me.”

Before my eyes, his body began to flicker, small orbs of fire coming to life. They had the same color as those flames that destroyed part of our home when I fought against him. But opposed to those fearful flames these flickered softly.

“So you’re sad too.” He spoke silently. “Maybe I should have expected it.”

Of course I am. Who wouldn’t be sad to see someone die in front of their eyes?

“But rage is not the way to free oneself of theses emotion. You saw the destruction I brought when I lost control. In the end nothing but an ashen place will be left. And with nowhere left to direct this anger towards only the sadness will remain.”

I wanted to retort. How could I not try to avenge her after this beast killed her? But this question never left my mouth, as my mind ruminated over his words.

“We have to use this power to protect others, not to fulfill a mindless pursuit of destruction, or else there will be none left to protect.”

What do you know!? I closed my eyes as I no longer wanted to see his flames, but even then I couldn’t get his words out of my head, his flames enclosing me in a gentle warmth.

I looked at the black flame in front of me, as I felt its desire to destroy in order to relief itself from the pain it felt through me. But at the same time I knew that this would only make things worse, and it knew too, making it flicker quietly in remorse.

For the first time since it appeared I noticed that it wasn’t bent on destruction, that beneath the rage the same sadness lingered that now filled my heart too, only that the methods with which we tried to suppress it differed vastly. And for the first time I felt a connection towards it.

Looking downwards I saw that Homura closed her eyes. I should let her sleep for now, she needs to rest. And when I remained silent I felt her body soon relax, as her exhaustions took over and she fell asleep. Fixing my grip that I nearly lost through her shifting balance I continued onwards until I heard someone come nearer eventually.

Looking sideways I saw Narva coming back to my side. I greeted her silently, nodding my head at her.

She however just shook her head when she looked at me. “While I was inside that crowd, receiving one question after another, you were here alone with another girl, even laying your hands at her already. I thought you were a honest man, is that little dryad already history for you?” She asked with a smirk, though her next words showed her true feelings.

“How is she?”

I looked back towards Homura. Her wounds had already closed but I could still see the fresh marks left behind, not to mention the blood that now clogged her clothes and fur. And her usual bright expression was replaced by whitened frown.

“She needs rest. Her wounds are fine, healed by some kind of power I wish I had, but it didn’t do anything to replace the blood that she lost. Even then she shouldn’t stay long in this kind of environment. The cold will do even worse for her anemic body.”

“There is little we can do against that however, other than having you spend her warmth.”

“Yeah…” My words trailed off as I thought about what to do next. “Our best plan is to continue with the old one. We won’t find our way back inside this storm, as our steps are erased soon after us. We can only hope to come across a whisp soon enough. How’s the group behind us?”

She didn’t answer at first, making a troubled expression. Soon however she started after she sorted her thoughts. “The fighters and mages let go of their prejudices against you after you saved them. But the group as a whole is shrouded in a negative atmosphere because the one that lead them is in this shape. I could barely even prevent Charr from storming here as he heard about her state. He was enraged that it came to this, though most of it seemed to be projected at himself.”

She made a small smile, mismatching her earlier words. “But I think that the one which made him hold back the most was the little girl by his side. It seemed like he didn’t want to show her his bad side.” Saying this she even started to giggle.

“Well, I should probably go back for now. If he doesn’t hear back soon, he will probably storm up here either way.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she dismissed my words with a wave, “just take care of her for now.” Then she let herself fall back, disappearing into the mass once more.

I will.