Soul of a Human

The three big gliders circled the village for a bit, looking for a good landing spot, which, of course, wasn't available within the fortifications. Without any better place to land, they set down in front of the gate, landing in a half circle in a protective arrangement. The Ice-kin guards watched in interest as a few nervous Soul-kin flocked out from the gliders, constantly glancing back until a trio of female Souls appeared. To the amusement of the Ice-kin on watch, the other Soul-kin gave the trio a wide berth as they approached the gate, seemingly in fear or a similar feeling.

Saphine, Clare, and Tiara left the glider. They had more or less bullied the Soul-kin traders into changing their destination by flexing their political muscles. According to the usual flight plan, they were expected to land at the glacial fortress, the main settlement of the Ice-kin. However, after getting the headmaster to reveal where "Snow" had been from, they decided to change the destination to this backwater village. Which had another advantage as it was far closer to Amethyst Isle, meaning less travel time.

"It's cold," Tiara grumbled, rubbing her arms. The girls had prepared for some cold by packing warm clothes, but it seemed they had underestimated the freezing temperatures.

"Don't complain," Clare said while Saphine already went ahead to the gate.

The Soul-kin girl could hear that their arrival had gathered quite a bit of commotion, as somebody was calling for someone called the chief, probably the village leader. However, the three guards, who were keeping watch over the gate, just watched them with interest.

After a few moments, a truly impressive Ice-kin appeared next to the guards and looked down at the visitors. Saphine could understand why they were careful, as unannounced visitors often brought problems. Still, she was annoyed at the treatment and stood there, glaring up, both her hands in her side, displaying her annoyance.

"Why are you here?" The newly arrived Ice-warrior called down.

"We're here to see a woman named Snow!" Saphine answered. "Also, state your name!"

"Right, I'm the chief of the Snow tribe, Odrin Snow. And with whom do I have the pleasure?"

"My name is Lady Saphine of the Sapphire family, and Lady Clare and Lady Tiara accompany me." The two other girls stood next to their designated spokesperson.

"And you want to see a woman named Snow. Are you sure?" The chief asked to be sure.

"Yes!" came the instant answer.

"Why?"

"Because she is an acquaintance of a friend, and we have to give her some grim news," Saphine answered.

"I see. What news?" The chief continued. "So that I can inform her accurately."

The Soul-girl talking to the chief fidgeted for a bit before answering, " Her acquaintance has died, and can't keep his promise to visit."

This confused the chief, as he was pretty sure that Lize had only been close enough to one Soul-kin to invite him here. But that one was still alive, except he died in the last hour, but this was quite improbable within the village. He looked at the gate guards and ordered them to open the gates. The Wooden barrier opened up and freed the way for the Soul-kin visitors, who entered without hesitation. Only flinching when the chief jumped down the catwalk and landed right in front of them. In a less loud voice, he then addressed them anew.

"Welcome again. I have sent for Snow and our resident Soul-kin. He will do fine as a mediator at our talks."

The mention of a resident Soul-kin brought quite a bit of confusion to the girls, as they were not aware any would be staying with the Ice-kin. At least Tiara should have heard about something like this after talking with Dino about their little vacation.

The mediator was finally closing up his travel pack, then again checked if he had packed his rations, making the human wish they had a head to hit against the next wooden pillar repeatedly. Then, remembering there was one they could use. Elly entered the room in a hurry, breathing heavily, then watched in surprise as Mor's head collided with the wall, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Ow! Motherfucker!" Mor shouted.

°What? This is better than watching you pack this thing again. You didn't miss anything! You made sure ten times already!°

°No reason to throw my head against a wall! I'm nervous and don't want to be unprepared.° Mor grumbled.

°Yeah, yeah. Built like a brick outhouse and still a whimp.° The human retorted.

Elly watched Mor wildly, gesturing for a second before remembering why she had come here. The chief had seen her and sent her to fetch her mother and Mor, as the visitors were Soul-kin.

"Mor!" she called to the boy. We have visitors, and the chief wants you and your mother to take care of them. Stop playing with your human and get going!"

"Visitors?" Mor asked.

"Yeah, get your ass moving!" Elly herded the confused boy out of his room, and with a shout for her mother, the trio rushed to the gate, where the chief said he would wait.

It seemed the outsiders had attracted quite the attention, as almost the whole village was gathered around the village entrance. Mor quickly found a waving Gorn, who proceeded to escort his wife, daughter, and adoptive son to the chief.

Clare and Saphine instantly recognized the Ice-kin woman as Snow, and the younger woman next to her seemed to be that rumored daughter. However, the two men were strange. One was an actual mountain of muscles and radiated barbaric strength, while the other also had quite a developed physique but seemed calmer, at least until the younger man got a good look at the three girls. His eyes widened in shock, surprise, and happiness. Though none of the girls could be sure of that last one.

The young and strangely familiar Ice-kin took a step forward and opened his mouth to say something. However, the chief was faster, shutting the boy up, as he was conditioned to keep silent while the elders had something to say.

"Lize, those three wanted to tell you something." The chief started, then recognized that the woman had Mor fixed in her gaze.

°How the fuck are they here?° The human asked.°And where is Orth? Or your parents, for that matter.°

°I don't know, but it's good to see them. Maybe they wanted to search for me, ° Mor answered.

°I'm betting on a big fat coincidence. Look at them. They don't recognize you at all.° The human dampens Mor's expectations.

°Well, yes, but honestly, I'm not the same as last year.°

°Right, you exchanged your brains for muscle.° The human teased, and Mor let out a sigh in annoyance.

Something in the boy's behavior made Saphine and Tiara remember their old crush. Mor also made those interesting facial expressions when he was talking to the human. This lasted until the boy opened his mouth.

"Girls?" He asked, and only then did they recognize his eye coloration.

The surrounding Ice-kin watched in amazement as the three girls rushed their resident Soul-kin and tried to tackle him to the ground. Tried being the operative word, Mor had grown quite a bit more heavy and sturdy to be thrown to the ground by even three simple Soul-kin.

"Mor!" Clare stated with a bright smile and got one in return.

"How?" Saphine added.

"Everyone said you were dead!" Tiara finished.

"Wait a second!" All three said, then got serious.

"Why didn't you call?" Clare asked before the others could.

"It didn't work," Mor answered dejectedly. "I tried."

Clare paused for a moment, then nodded a few times. "It works just fine. Also, talking to Orth made me remember something."

Mor didn't see the slap coming but took it without flinching, just as three more followed, as both Saphine and Tiara added their punishment and scolded Mor for making them grieve needlessly. Much to the amusement of the gathered Ice-kin, though only because they recognized that there wasn't any force behind the hits. It was just a way to show displeasement without doing any harm. The last one, though, hurt like a bitch, as Elly didn't want to feel left out and added a full-power slap, and Mor even thought she added a bit of strengthening magic.

"Why?" Mor groaned while holding his cheek, which displayed a perfect copy of Elly's handprint.

"Because I didn't want to feel left out?" The girl said, making the boy groan.

Mor then wanted to address the girls but was silenced by Clare and Saphine. Tiara used the long-range communication spell to inform three specific persons of Mor's miraculous revival. Leading Mor to dread what would happen next because he would bet everything he owned that his mother would now rush with all speed to meet up with him as soon as possible, which led to the next problem, as he couldn't return home right now. He still had a promise to fulfill to his step-sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law, namely, accompanying the two Ice-kin on their first hunt.