Fuyu no Tenshi

There is misty greyness that lingers in the air. It swirls in your throat whenever you take that vital breath of life. This monotonously dull world is painted by sorrow. In amidst the mistiness that is everywhere is Kari. He isn't afraid even though this place is foreign to him. He looks to the ground.

The flooring is sturdy and secure. He starts to walk forward. The atmosphere is clear and seems to cleanse his mouth with every breath. He lifts his head to stare directly ahead. The mistiness has begun to change before his very eyes. The texture and the sensations coming from ahead are nothing like that where he stands.

A hand grasps at his arm. He spins around only for the feeling to vanish. There is no one there. He frowns as magic feels as though it is gathering and pulsing around him. The feather light touch caresses his skin once more. He turns again only to find the air as empty as it always was.

He changes his stance, straightening up and standing taller, as he ponders the unexplainable touches. His shoulders grow stiff as he becomes defensive despite still being lost in his thoughts. His head turns so that he looks to the ground. The intensity of his gaze is striking even though he isn't seeing anything but his own thoughts.

"Don't look,"

He flinches but a hand touches his back to stop him. He stays still for a moment. Then, with such suddenness that he almost collapses, the events and the place become apparent to him.

"Jessa…"

The smile is evident in her voice. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? You look as good as always, but… you're burdened. Is it because of me?"

"I'm going to find you," he says, adamant.

She presses herself up against his back. Her hands hold onto his shoulders as she sighs. She had never said anything before but his presence has always soothed her.

"I don't want to talk about this," she whispers, her voice laced with sorrow. "Can we not just be friends for this short while that I have with you?"

"You sound like you've given up," Kari replies.

"I feel ill. Even in this form I know that I'm sickly. This ailment is carried through me and it will not stop," she looks to the floor. "… It's growing colder."

"What's growing colder?" he asks, worriedly.

"Everything; I can feel the chill," she answers.

They lapse into silence. Kari knows that it sounds as though her soul is growing more and more distanced from her body. He daren't tell her that in case she really does surrender. She radiates hopelessness and, as much as he wishes it weren't true, he knows that she's come to bid her farewells. He refuses to stop searching despite her silent pleading.

"Don't think badly of yourself. You aren't weak," he tells her.

"I thought you vowed to never read minds," she muses.

"I wasn't reading your mind. I can't connect with you, but I know you well enough to know that the first person you would blame is yourself. It isn't your fault. You could never have combatted this power," Kari answers, growing frustrated with himself.

"Alright, but if it isn't my fault it isn't yours either," he can feel her smiling into his back. "You've worked really hard, Kari, you can rest now. I don't mind waiting. I know that you'll find me. I trust you."

Tentatively, he raises his right hand. He places it over where her wrist should be. His eyes close as he tries not to allow his disappointment taint the air. She's like a spirit – she can be felt but she can also be passed through. Jessa looks at him and suddenly she knows that she's slowly fading away. She's fading beyond the places that they can reach.

The solitude is stifling. It wraps around Thorkil and his Machiavellian companion. He shivers from the cold and presses on with determination to right his wrongs. She, on the other hand, is distant and aloof. Her eyes are narrowed and facing downwards as she concentrates.

Something is wrong. Her mind slips to that place where she's holding the girl. The body is there, fragments of her soul are there and so is some of her consciousness. It's clear that the girl has split herself in two so that she could sneak away to spend time with one of her allies.

Under these circumstances she would usually drag her captive back regardless of the damage. She would be lying if she said nani mo kawatte imasen - nothing has changed. This once she allows the girl to stay with her companion. There is a great deal of harm which could be dealt to her plans if the girl continues to stay where she is but she allows it.

Her cold eyes turn to Thorkil as she re-emerges in reality. A wintry glow appears around her iris. Her victim is primarily Jessa but she supposes the boy could of use as well.

Jessa sighs. The beginning of growing weak has already taken hold of her. She doesn't want to leave. The thought of fully returning to that other place causes fear to strike at her core. Kari flinches and she looks up. As she does so she notices small droplets of liquid on the back on his tunic. Her hand rises to touch her eye and she finds an intangible liquid coating her eye lashes. Judging from Kari's reaction he hasn't encountered anything like this before.

"Am I going to disappear?" she asks fearfully.

"No, I'm going to find you. I promised you that I would."

"Why are you so scared?"

"I don't want to let you down,"

"That could never happen. You're too good to let anyone down,"

"I miss you," Kari says, softly.

She holds him tighter. "I miss you too,"

He sounds like a vulnerable young boy. In many ways he is one. He's only begun to have the affection that is given in childhood. He's only begun to fully trust people. He's only beginning to know what loss is. There's still so much that he doesn't know and she feels terrible for being the one to teach him about loss.

"Your mother was wrong," she tells him, believe and strength arising in her voice for this one statement. "There is nobody who trusts you more than I. I believe in you wholeheartedly."

In the following silence she wonders, just out of curiosity, what would have happened if she hadn't been so foolish. She thinks of the future that seems to distant to be real. Her heart whispers love and her mind tells her of contentedness. She daren't take those thoughts any further.

Author's Note: Hello! Yes, this chapter is sorrowful and dreary but I decided to end it on my strength. Technically, this isn't the end, but I am going to be focusing more on one-shots and short stories for a while. Don't worry I'll be sure to have a Snow Walker one-shot, but I'll be focusing on French and Spanish one-shots as I'm trying to learn those languages. My publishing company and I have reached a disagreement and I have no choice but to write a novel of short stories and publish it by printer to try and regain my loss of something in the region of £1,300. I don't have the time to be looking over previous chapters and panicking over whether it is correct or not and whether I've forgotten something important and gone off the rails. Besides, I still haven't found my Snow Walker trilogy book and I have no idea what the scenery is like after that forest. I think it's all snowy. I know about the village thing, but I'm really stumped for where they are right now.

Anyway, thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I apologise sincerely if you haven't.

For anyone interested I was listening to Before The Dawn and Breathe No More by Evanescence. It really sets the mood quite nicely – I think.