Chapter 103: Chapter 103
On its usual snowy day inside Gale Territory, Ica and her older brother, Ko, were hunting inside the mountain. As usual, Ko would be the one to track and kill the prey while Ica was the one to skin the prey. They hailed from a tiny mountain village where everyone knew each other. Since the village they’re from was near the mountains, they rarely saw sunlight as snow covered the village all year long. The siblings went out on their usual path after preparing their equipment.
The hunting went smoothly for the pair, and they filled their quota for the day. But, suddenly, Ica, the younger of the siblings, heard something across the distance. “Hmm? What was that?”, Ica curiously looked around, “I think it came from that way?” she asked herself. “Should I check it out?” she muttered. Ica’s curious nature got the best of her as she went towards the direction of the sound she heard. Seeing that, Ko grumbled, “Hey, Ica, where are you going?” but his little sister was already far away to hear what Ko had said. “Tch, don’t go too far without me” Ko clicked his tongue, then he followed behind Ica hurriedly.
“It should be around here”, Ica arrived at her destination, scanning the area with her adorable blue eyes. Then, Ica’s blue eyes widened in surprise when she saw a massive crater right beside the forest. “Whoa, what could’ve caused this?” Ica wondered while approaching the massive crater carefully. As she arrived at the edge of the massive crater, Ica looked down inside the hole, finding something that resembled a human. “That’s…. a human?” Ica jumped down. Her upbringing, coupled with her natural agility, made jumping down from that height relatively safe for Ica.
Ica approached the humanoid figure slowly but surely. She crouched down, parting the snow that covered the figure’s body, “It really is a human. But, what is a human like him doing inside a crater?”, Ica wondered as she continued cleaning the snow. When Ica cleared most of the snow covering the man, she gasped. Ica saw a handsome young man. The young man had raven-coloured hair and pretty fair skin. Ica watched as the young man’s delicate yet manly face contorted in pain.
Ica’s eyes flashed with worry. She tried carrying the young man, but he was just too heavy for her. Feeling that the weather around her had gone colder, Ica tried waking the young man up by poking him, “Wake up, wake up”, she said. Ica tried shaking the young man, rocking him hard. However, the young man still did not wake up, making Ica worried. Just as Ica was about to give up, she heard the voice of her brother, “Ica! Where are you? A storm is coming”, her brother, Ko, warned. An idea flashed inside of Ica’s little head, “Ko, come here! I need help with something.”
Ica’s brother, Ko, followed her voice until he finally arrived right near the crater. “Ica, you in there?” Ko asked while looking around his surrounding. ‘What could’ve made this crater here?’ Ko pondered. “Get in here”, Ica barked, startling Ko. “Are you in there?” Ko once again asked. “Yes, just get in here, hurry”, Ica prodded. “Fine”, Ko sighed before jumping down to the bottom of the crater. Like Ica, Ko’s upbringing and his job as a hunter require him to have agility and nimbleness. Because of that, Ko landed on the bottom of the crater safely.
When Ko landed, he saw her little sister was crouching near an unconscious, unknown young man. Ko’s expression was unsightly, “Who is this?” he asked Ica. “Don’t know. I just found him right at the bottom of the crater”, Ica answered, “Don’t just stand there, help me carry him out.” Ko looked at the unconscious young man and somehow found that he was threatened, “Why should I?” he scoffed. “Just do as I say”, Ica barked, “If not, no dinner for you today.” Ko sighed, “Fine”, he said as he lifted the unconscious young man up to his shoulder reluctantly.
“Let’s go! We got to hurry. A storm is coming.”
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“Urgh”, Eru groaned. He tried to sit up, but he immediately clutched his chest. “What an awful dream”, Eru sighed, shaking his head. Eru wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Why am I dreaming about that right now?” pondered Eru while he scanned the area around him. “By the way, where am I?” Eru muttered. He found himself on a bed with bandages all over his body. “From what I’ve seen so far, it seemed like I’m in someone’s house”, Eru sighed. “At least I’m not dead”, Eru patted his chest, and he once again looked at the room that he was in.
Humble wooden furniture surrounded Eru. The chair, the table, and even the kitchen were all made of wood. However, the fireplace was the only one that was made of ceramic. “Hmm, I seemed to be on some kind of mountain village judging by the snow outside”, Eru pondered, rubbing his chin. “Oh, you’re awake”, then Eru heard the voice of a young girl coming from behind the door. Eru looked at the newcomer before him and found that the young girl was quite attractive. Her petite body, coupled with her innocent face, short light blue hair, and green eyes, could mesmerize anybody.
The young girl brought a tray with a bowl of hot porridge, “For some reason, I have a feeling that you will be awake, so I brought you this”, the young girl slightly smiled, putting the bowl of hot porridge down on the table near Eru. “Thanks, uh, where-?” before Eru finished, the young girl shook her head, “Ah, ah, ah. We’ll talk later. But for now, you need to rest up. Eat if you can. As for water, I’ll bring it to you later”, the young girl insisted before leaving the room. Eru sat dumbfounded at the bed, “Huh, what a strange one”, he said while letting out a small smile. Eru felt that suddenly his stomach was rumbling, so he grabbed the bowl of hot porridge beside him, “I guess I’ll eat.”
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“It’s actually quite good”, exclaimed Eru as he finished up the last of the porridge. “Glad you like it”, a voice interrupted Eru. Eru looked at the door, finding the young girl smiling, holding a glass of water in her hand. “Why do you always know when I’m about to do something? Did you spy on me?” Eru raised his eyebrow. The young girl giggled, “I had good intuition. Here you go”, the young girl said; she approached Eru before handing Eru the glass of water. “Thanks”, Eru gulped down the glass of water instantly.
“So, who are you? And how did you end up inside that crater?” the young girl sat down on the bed, her lips curled up in curiosity. “Crater?” Eru rubbed his chin, “I guess I did kind of fall down hard. My name is Eru; what’s yours?” Eru asked back. “Eru huh, I’m Ica, nice to meet you”, the young girl introduced herself; she bowed forty-five degrees. “Nice to meet you too, Ica”, Eru bowed back to her, “Can you tell me where I am? Am I still inside the Gale Territory?” Ica nodded, “Yes, we’re still inside of Gale Territory. We’re in Gale Mountain Range, precisely at Snow Slide Village”, she explained.
“Gale Mountain Range?”
Ica nodded, “Uh, huh.” Eru rubbed his chin, “How far are we from Tailwind City?” he asked. “Quite far, actually. After all, we’re literally at the centre of the Gale Territory”, Ica answered, “Tailwind City was right at the edge of Gale Territory. Quite ironic actually, since Tailwind City is the biggest settlement inside of Gale Territory and where the governor resides.” Then, Ica stood up she dusted her clothes, “Do you want to take a look around the village?”
Eru nodded, “If you’re offering”, he said as he, too, stood up following Ica. The latter looked at Eru’s naked body up and down before giggling, “Hehe, before that, please wear something first. You don’t want people looking at you like this, right?” Eru sighed, ‘How can I forget I’m naked?’ Eru shook his head, “Yeah, yeah. Get out!” he said. Ica continued giggling as she left Eru alone. A couple of minutes later, Eru went out with a fresh winter outfit provided by Ica.
“Ready?” Ica asked. “Sure, lead the way”, Eru said as he followed Ica outside. Once outside, Eru saw the Snow Slide Village in its entirety. Humble and rural feeling with buildings made of mostly wood filled the village. The size of the village was quite small compared to Lan Di’s village. However, once Eru came out, all the villagers immediately stared at Eru and Ica. “So the foreigner is awake”, an elderly, burly man quipped while approaching both Eru and Ica.
“Hello, chief”, Ica greeted, “This one is Eru, a visitor from below the mountain.” Eru bowed, “Greetings,” he said. The burly Village Chief nodded, “Right, feel free to stay here until you recovered. So, what are you going to do now?” he asked. “For the moment, Ica will be giving me tours of the village”, Eru explained. The Village Chief nodded, “It will be a very short tour, though. Not many you could see in this tiny village.” Just as Eru was about to reply, loud wolves howl could be heard, making the Village Chief’s expression turn ugly.
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