It had been 2 days since Arktos had set off for Grünland and now he had finally reached Grünland's forest on the border of Grünland and Eiswelt. James had to be here, somewhere in Grünland. James wasn't stupid enough to go anywhere near the desert, James would've died if he went there. And Arktos had already searched every inch of Eiswelt, and James wasn't anywhere in Eiswelt. So that meant James had to be here, he just had to be.
As Arktos entered the woods, he started to shout, "Tabaluga! Tabalu-uu-ga!" He knew Tabaluga was probably somewhere around here and would most likely know where James was. "Where are you stupid little dragon?! I want—no, I, unfortunately, need your help! Now come out and help me before I freeze the entire forest!"
A couple of seconds passed before Arktos started to hear the sound of wings flapping. He looked up and saw that Tabaluga was flying towards his direction. He watched as the dragon lowered towards the ground and landed in front of him.
"What do you want, Arktos?" the dragon asked, looking up at the snowman.
"I need to ask you something, Tabaluga. It's very important to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't ask for your help. You know that." Arktos told Tabaluga.
"Alright then, what do you need to know?" Tabaluga questioned.
"I need to know where…where James is… Please, I miss him, Tabaluga… I need to know where he is. Please." Arktos responded, his voice cracking a little as he spoke.
For a few seconds, Tabaluga was quiet, seemingly considering what to say to the snowman, before sighing tiredly and saying, "Follow me." Tabaluga turned around and started to walk away. Arktos quickly followed after the dragon, a mix of excitement and nervousness starting to rise in his chest.
Oh! I'll be very excited to see James! I mean, I… haven't seen him in 4 years. But James… might not be really all that.. excited to see me. Arktos thought as he followed Tabaluga. Soon, a couple minutes later, Tabaluga stopped at the top of a hill, and Arktos quickly stopped behind the dragon. An entrance of a town could be seen in a big, green, colorful meadow at the bottom of the hill.
"We're here, Arktos." Tabaluga said, as he turned around and looked at Arktos. "Are you sure you really want to see James? I'm not sure that he'll really even want to see you. At all." Tabaluga added on, asking the tall snowman.
"I've searched for James for 4 years, Tabaluga, 4 years. Do you think I'm really turning back now, when I finally am THIS CLOSE to finally seeing his face again? I'm not turning back, Tabaluga. Not now." Arktos replied, determined.
"Alright then." Tabaluga responded. He turned back towards the direction of the town and pointed towards a small wood cabin at the very back of the town. "There. There he is. That's where you'll find James."
"... Thank you, Tabaluga." Arktos replied, surprising the green and yellow little dragon, before Arktos headed off towards the cabin Tabaluga had pointed to.
The town looked surprisingly empty, probably because it was the middle of summer, and everyone was just trying to stay cool. As Arktos stepped onto the porch of the cabin, he slowly raised his hand. He gulped nervously, and then knocked quietly on the wooden door.
For a couple of seconds, it was silent. Then a familiar and very missed voice asked, "Who is it?".
Arktos felt a nice and warm fluttering he hadn't felt in years, rise in his chest. He felt a smile slowly grow across his face, and his voice slightly shook as he replied, "It's me, James. It's…It's me."
It was silent for a minute, and Arktos patiently waited for James to do or say something. Finally, he heard James start to speak again, and listened intently as the penguin spoke.
"Arktos… What are you doing here?" James questioned. "What do you want?"
Arktos replied, sighing wistfully, "Why do you think I'm here, James? What do you think I want? You. You're why I'm here. And you're what I want James. I… I need you, James. I miss you. Please, just give me one chance to show you that I really do truly miss you. Please, James..please… just one…" Icy tears had started to fall from Arktos' face as he spoke, and Arktos quickly wiped them away, slightly embarrassed by how pathetic the tears made him look.
He waited for a response from James, and after a couple of minutes of no response, Arktos sighed and turned away. He was about to leave, about to accept James hated him and never wanted to see him again, but then he heard James start to speak again. Arktos froze and quickly turned around and started to listen again.
"Come in…Arktos. Come in."
