Chapter IX

Sejuani sat down at the table while I looked through the library for a book on the artefact we had acquired. Weirdly, the actual books we obtained the necklace from held no information themselves.

"Ah..." I heard Sejuani mutter to herself. "Beh..." Pause. "Cah, ceh, cee..." She paused again and looked up. "Why does this one have more than one pronunciation?"

I sighed. "It depends on the letter that follows. It usually merges with their sound. A lot of letters do this. I remember telling you this at the beginning."

She nodded. "Sorry. I forgot."

"That's ok. Carry on practicing."I felt guilty for my previous tone.

I had given her two pieces of paper - I had written the alphabet on one and left the other blank for her to copy it again and again. I told her the sounds all the letters made and after some time, she managed to remember most of them.

She didn't say much to me after we had left the healer's hut, as if she seemed embarrassed. I tried to engage into a fuller conversation, but her cold personality made it difficult, no matter what. I didn't mind, of course, but I just wanted her to know that everything's alright. That she will learn even if it takes all the time I have in a lifetime.

I scanned through book after book, trying to find anything that might at least set us on the right path, but there was nothing. All the non-fiction books were useless, and I hadn't bothered checking the fiction, as they were all children's stories.

For some reason, I had taken a particular interest in a series of books about Freljord's healing techniques and mysteries. I had taken time to learn about peculiar herbs that seemed to grow specially in these northern and bitter lands, hoping that it might be of some use, rather than for my personal selfish curiosity. As I read, I recalled most of the described plants, as I had seen them scattered about in the healer's hut, although I seemed to better remember their stinging smell. As my knowledge on said irrelevant topics grew, my annoyance intensified.

"Nothing." I said in frustration. "Not a single book talks of a glowy ruby attached to a golden thread, found in two separate books which are numbered two and three..." I chuckled. "Huh, it sounds weirder out loud."

I looked at Sejuani, and although she was still looking down at the paper, I could see half of a wonderful smile.

"How are your letter doing?" I asked her.

She sighed. "Alright. I've copied them out." She rubbed her eyes wearily. "Is my vision supposed to go funny?"

I pulled a chair and sat next to her, examining her handwriting. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Now what happened here?" I pointed at her trembling S's. "Just because it's cold doesn't mean your letters have to shiver."

She grabbed the pencil and wrote another S, but not with much improval.

"Right. Hold still for a second." I took hold of her hand and clumsily positioned her fingers correctly on the pencil (my own numb purple fingers didn't make it easy). Then, I carried on holding her hand as I brought it down to the paper and wrote an S simultaneously, hoping she'd remember the movement. "Now try it on your own."

She did so hesitantly, but succeeded in writing a nearly perfect S.

Then, I got her to remember every sound of each letter, before announcing that we'll be spelling an actual word.

"Let's write your name." I said. "Think about it and th..."

"Can I," she interrupted, "write yours? Your name I mean."

"Are you sure? Why mine?"

She stuttered. "B-because... it might be easier? And you're the one who taught me after all... A-and..."

I chuckled. "Alright. Think about it, then write whatever you think is right. Then I'll check it."

I tried my best to not sound as if I was teaching a child, but I didn't Sejuani seemed to mind. She stared at the paper for a while before writing something. It read Cuin.

"Almost." I said. "My name is confusing to spell, you could say." I took the pencil and wrote Quinn.

She frowned. "But C, K and Q have the same sounds, why does it matter? And why do you need a double N?"

"I don't know, it's just the way things work. You just have to remember the correct way."

She nodded and spelt my name right the second time. Shortly, the page was filled up with other words and names which she wanted to know the spelling of. The tribe leader had also managed to read some words that I had given her, even though with a lot of difficulty.

"Maybe you'd like to practice with an actual book?" I asked her, gesturing towards the shelves. "Go pick one. Any."

Sejuani stood up and walked alongside the shelves, looking at each book in turn. Finally, she had picked up one that seemed less dusty than the others and brought it onto the table.

Suddenly, a loud noise pierced the library, coming from outside. We rushed to the door.

"Oh, not him again." I heard Sejuani mutter.

Outside, rummaging through the snow and piles of rubbish was a giant poro. It had knocked over a pile of old and rusty pans that were piled up outside someone's house, while the owner tried to shoo him away.

In the distance, Makechau was running towards the big fluffy thing, waving his arms in the air.

"Mah parah, mah parah." He yelled, a long thread of saliva hanging from his mouth.

"That's his... pet?" I asked Sejuani. "What on earth... why is it so massive?"

"The Mega Poro? Yeah, it's his." She noticed my confused expression. "I don't know what the hell he feeds him, but that fluff ball is as big as Bristle."

"Wow."

She nodded. "I wonder how it must feel like to ride it into battle."

I elbowed her gently. "You can't seriously be thinking of..."

She smiled. "Try me."

I couldn't help but smile back.

Makechau turned towards us and added his own toothless smile to the equation, before looking past the library, replacing his happiness with terror. "B-big cloud... cahming... IT'S CAHMING! STAHP ET!" He began pulling his beloved pet away at a hasty pace.

"What the f..." Sejuani took a few steps forward and turned to look behind the building. Her eyes widened, but a smirk spread across her lips. "I WANT MY SOLDIERS READY NOW!" She yelled, making the ground shake, summoning a horde of armed men and women almost instantly.

She mounted Bristle and took hold of her weapon as I called for Valor. In the distance, I saw what looked like a crowd of people, with a single one running faster than everyone else, heading towards us. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that was Fiora. But further away than them was a dark and dense cloud of blackness, getting closer and closer, as if it was going to reach us in mere moments. My heart skipped a beat. Or two. Maybe three. I'm surprised it didn't stop all together.

"Sejuani, they're the monst..."

"I know." She looked at me. "Trust me. I know. Take care Quinn."

"You too."

She smiled one last time before leading us forward. "KILL ALL THE BEASTS, LEAVE THE HUMANS! AND PROTECT THE HEALER'S HUT AT ALL COSTS!" As we charged, I heard her mutter, "Don't worry about Shyv, Quinn. I keep promises."