After reuniting with her fox and sparing herself a brief respite, Kyva rose once more and resumed the journey, this time trailing after the fox.
It baffled her still– the manner in which the creature's wound had mended. When she had last seen it, the injury had been grievous enough to slow even the hardiest beast. Yet now he walked with near ease, and if he so desired, he could break into a run the same way he did before.
Her own steps faltered more than this.
'How could such a thing be?' she thought.
Wounds did not close so swiftly… did they? Or perhaps the laws that governed animals were not the same as those that ruled men. She would have to take a proper look at his injury later.
Still, the thought stirred a quiet comfort within her. At least one of them was mending. And it would not be long before the fox might return to wherever his kin awaited him.
A faint smile brushed her lips at the notion. Hopefully he had somewhere to go, and not stuck in this endless forest like her. For now, she only hoped the little fox possessed some knowledge of where, precisely, he was leading her.
But where were they going?
The fox halted suddenly, making Kyva pause as well. She looked up just in time to see the fox had glanced back.
His amber eyes narrowed, keen and measuring, as though he was weighing some silent judgment upon her. Kyva merely blinked at the scrutiny,then offered him a small, almost sheepish smile.
With an arrogant flick of his tail, the fox turned his head away and continued onward.
Calhoun could scarcely believe this woman. Now what was she busy smiling about? Earlier, he had discovered the dagger lying carelessly beside her, and he could only imagine what absurd scheme must have taken root in that troublesome mind whilst he was away.
Truly, she possessed the most remarkable talent for courting disaster.
A low breath escaped him.
It seemed he would have to keep a far closer watch upon her henceforth.
Left unattended for a moment, the ridiculous woman might well contrive to end her life before the forest itself had the chance.
And for reasons he scarcely cared to examine,the notion displeased him greatly.
"There's so many medicinal roots here," Calhoun heard her murmur behind, and he looked back to see she had halted once more. She was already kneeling upon the forest floor, tugging at a stubborn root that grew between the stones. Then, with a small grunt of effort, she freed it from the earth.
Kyva had never laid eyes on so many before. She had seen such things only in the illustrated pages of the establishment's old books. They contained inked drawings of herbs and roots, each labeled with their curious properties. But never had she chanced upon the ingredients.
Not until now.
Her eyes shone with delight as she turned the root over in her hands.
She could scarcely wait to test them properly, to grind and brew them into something useful. Out here, far from the establishment, coin was not a luxury she possessed. Thus, whatever she required at the moment, she would simply have to make with her own hands.
"This will prove useful," her eyes brightened. "Oh! Look, there is another."
Calhoun watched in mounting disbelief as she proceeded to uproot every manner of root and leaf within her reach, examining each with earnest fascination,even going as far as tasting them to confirm if any was as poisonous as the books claimed.
He stood but a single step away from abandoning her here amidst the undergrowth.
'Focus woman,' he thought irritably, turning his golden gaze upon her. Why was she so inexhaustibly lively all of a sudden? She did not look like the same woman crying to herself earlier.
It was an oddly disarming sight. He had never seen her so unguarded– so completely enthralled by something as simple as roots and leaves.
And yet— much to his displeasure, he found himself waiting.
At last, she hurried to his side, arms half-filled with her newfound treasures. Kyva seemed entirely oblivious to the fox's mounting impatience. Instead, she began chattering as they moved on.
"Hey… if we are to remain together for a while, perhaps I ought to give you a name. What do you think?"
'Absolutely not.'
Calhoun fixed her with a sharp glare.
Kyva blinked at him, clearly misinterpreting the outright refusal in his expression as mild reluctance.
"But you need a name," she continued thoughtfully, her voice soft with consideration. "I am rather good at making them. I promise."
She studied him with grave deliberation, as though bestowing titles upon wandering creatures were a matter of utmost importance.
"How about winter?" she suggested. "Your fur reminds me of falling snow on a winter day."
She paused, as if considering the name and tasting the sound on her lips. "Winter… hmm.. winter is too serious."
Then her face lit with sudden inspiration, as though a lantern had been lit within her mind.
"Oh! Wait– I have an even better one."
Calhoun did not like the sound of that.
"For a cute little thing like you…" she said brightly. "Snowpuff!"
Calhoun stared at her.
For a long moment, the forest itself seemed to fall into silence.
Of all the indignities he had endured in his life as a prince of his realm, never– never had he been burdened with so thoroughly a humiliating title.
Snowpuff.
The very word was an affront.
If this woman possessed any sense at all, she would never utter that name again.
Yet, as he regarded her hopeful expression, blissfully indifferent to his undisguised refusal, he suspected, with grim clarity, that she intended to do precisely that. Were it not for those curious, near-magical hands of hers, he would have seen to it that she regretted ever placing such a title upon him.
"Oh! You like it, don't you?" Kyva said with obvious delight, feeling exceedingly pleased with herself. "I knew it. It suits you really well, snowpuff."
She said it again.
Calhoun closed his eyes. For a brief moment, he stood there, silently contemplating several deeply regrettable decisions. One of them involved leaving her in the forest to fend for herself. Another involved revealing his true identity simply so he might inform her, at considerable length and in great detail, how profoundly offensive the name snowpuff was.
Perhaps he ought to teach the fugitive woman a lesson or two for daring to address him so.
Instead of indulging the impulse, Calhoun merely exhaled slowly through his nose and turned away, resuming the measured stride along the forest path. His current situation only made him want to spite his people terribly.
"Wait for me, snowpuff," Kyva immediately hurried after the annoyed fox.
But there were more pressing matters at hand.
The reason Calhoun had taken the lead was not by chance. He had sensed it some time ago while searching for the human, another presence within the woods.
Not just one, but several.
He had assumed the scent belonged to hunters, but the more he listened, the more certain he became that something was amiss. The scent that drifted through the trees was not wholly human, and no ordinary person would venture this deep into the forest— none, except for his troublesome human.
The distant clatter of life beyond the trees, mingled with the scent of smoke made him realize they were far from human settlement.
He could track it easily with senses far keener than those of any ordinary beast, and he could tell they were close.
When at last, they reached the end of the narrow forest path, Kyva halted the instant the clearing came into view.
Before them stretched a wide gathering of people. Young men and women, including teens, children, stood clustered together in small circles, their voices low and restrained.
For a moment, relief washed over her.
The sight of so many people after the long, lonely stretch of forest nearly drew a grateful sigh from her lips.
But she caught herself.
Instead of stepping forward, Kyva immediately bent down and scooped snowpuff into her arms before he could wander ahead.
Something about the gathering felt… strange. The people gathered ahead were no common villagers. Their garments were rich and finely tailored, their posture dignified, and their manners composed. It looked like they were young nobles awaiting some occasion.
At the heart of the clearing stood something even stranger. Behind the gathered crowd, a great swirling portal shimmered in the air like liquid light, its surface rippling with slow, luminous current. It looked like a passage, like an opening into some distant place beyond the mortal world. The more Kyva stared at the swirling portal, the more utterly speechless she became.
"...what is that?" she whispered.
She had never seen anything like it in her life.
What was happening here?
Maybe they shouldn't even be here at all.
"Snowpuff," she whispered softly, holding him close. "I think we should leave."
As she turned around, Kyva found herself unable to leave. It felt as though there was an invisible wall blocking her path.
"What tha–!!" she panicked.
Calhoun, who was now in her arms, realized far too late where he had brought this hopelessly oblivious human.
What she did not know, and could not see, was the invisible barricade that stretched across the clearings edge. A veil of spiritual energy shimmered faintly through the air, subtle to human senses, yet painfully obvious to his own.
The entire place had been purified.
Such wards repelled creatures like him. Demons could not cross such a boundary. Not even she should be able to pass through the barrier.
Yet, somehow, they had both made it in, and could not get out.