After a while, Kaeldor turned to Ili with a grin. "So, ready to go hunting?"

  Ili, already expecting the question, responded casually, "Yeah, sure! Let’s go!"

  Kaeldor went to a chest, retrieving a long crossbow and a smaller bow with arrows. Handing the bow to Ili, he asked, "You know how to use this?"

  "Yeah, I do!" Ili replied confidently. "I practiced with a bow when I was younger, back when I wasn’t strong enough to wield a sword. My master said it might come in handy someday."

  "Sounds like you had a wise master then!" Kaeldor said with a reassuring smile. "Alright, let’s go!"

  They left the house, heading higher up the mountain pass. As they progressed, snow eventually reached ankle-deep. Ili followed in Kaeldor’s footsteps as before, avoiding the snow. After about half an hour of walking, Kaeldor stopped.

  "Alright, let's head this way," Kaeldor said, looking toward the top of the valley. "There’s a forest on the other side. We can hunt there!"

  "Ok!" Ili responded, her excitement evident.

  Kaeldor led the way, climbing up a rocky path. After struggling a bit, he managed to reach the top and turned to check on Ili, but she effortlessly leaped to the top, landing gracefully on a stone not covered in snow.

  "Well, you’re full of surprises, aren’t you?" Kaeldor laughed, impressed by her agility.

  Ili smiled sweetly, and they continued, Ili still following in Kaeldor’s tracks. Soon, they entered the deep forest. Sunlight filtered through the branches, illuminating patches of ground where a few blades of grass poked through the snow. Despite the sunlight, most of the forest was blanketed in snow nearly reaching their knees. Ili shivered when some snow touched her uncovered feet and quickly shook it off.

  "You didn’t really think this through, did you?" Kaeldor asked, amused. "How did you plan to get through the mountain pass in a skirt? Why didn’t you bring some pants or something warmer?"

  "Well, I..." Ili trailed off, realizing she had no good excuse. She hadn’t expected the cold and didn’t want to carry an extra bag just for winter clothes. Her face flushed with embarrassment. "I kind of forgot... And I didn’t have anything too warm anyway. I never thought I’d be traveling through such places, so I guess I never bothered to buy, or ask my master to buy clothes for this."

  Kaeldor laughed at her embarrassment. "Don’t worry! We’ll find something to help you on your journey until you can buy better clothes. But for now, try not to move too much. If you get too sweaty, you might catch a cold."

  "Yeah, yeah, I know..." Ili replied, grateful for his concern. Suddenly, she spotted something. "Oh, look! There’s a stream not far from here. We might find some animals along it!"

  "Good thinking!" Kaeldor said, impressed. "Where there’s water, there usually are animals. Let’s go!"

  They approached the stream cautiously, moving more carefully now. Kaeldor stopped and whispered, "Look up there! It’s a silver-skin deer!"

  The gray animal was drinking from the stream, unaware of their presence, masked by the running water. Kaeldor quietly loaded a metallic bolt into his crossbow.

  "Do you want to take this one?" Kaeldor offered, his finger resting on the trigger.

  "You can take it," Ili whispered, watching the deer.

  "Alright," Kaeldor replied, aiming at the deer’s head before pulling the trigger.

  The deer fell instantly, motionless. A bit of blood seeped into the water, but it quickly froze. Kaeldor and Ili made their way to the animal. Kneeling beside it, Ili gently closed its eyes and murmured a quiet prayer, which Kaeldor couldn’t hear. When she finished, she stood and looked at Kaeldor with a puzzled expression.

  "So... how do we bring it back to the village?" Ili asked, confused.

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  Kaeldor pulled some rope from his bag and tied the deer’s legs together. Then he spread a large piece of leather on the ground, placed the deer on it, and tied it up securely.

  "Like this!" Kaeldor said proudly, showing off the makeshift sled he could slide on the snow. "We can probably fit a few smaller animals in here too, if you’re up for it. We could stock up on provisions."

  "Sounds good!" Ili agreed, taking her bow. "I’ll go see what I can find. No need for you to follow while carrying the deer."

  "Alright, but don’t wander off too far," Kaeldor responded, handing her a piece of rope.

  "Thanks! I’ll be back soon!" Ili said, slinging the rope over her shoulder and heading deeper into the forest.

  Walking uphill, Ili soon lost sight of Kaeldor. She continued moving through the snow, with her bow drawn, but to her surprise, there were no animals around.

  Going deeper into the forest, a few birds could be heard flying through the tree branches. Ili aimed her bow at one, but decided not to shoot, as it was too small to even feed one person.

  “Just where did all of the animals go...” Ili thought out loud, looking confused around her.

  Not even small rabbits could be seen, despite them being one of the more common species in these forests. Somewhere in the distance, Ili spotted one of these creatures. She quietly pulled the string of her bow, aiming above the animal and a bit to the right, due to the direction of the wind and distance that the animal was from her. She took a deep breath, and gently let loose of the string. The arrow flew through the branches of the trees, and soon hit its target. A quiet scream was heard before the animal fell in the snow, dead.

  Ili put her bow on her back and began walking towards the small animal. Despite the girl’s kind and gentle nature, Ili’s past taught her how the world works and what everyone has to do to survive in these lands. So killing an animal while hunting was something normal for her, something that she could do without the burden of emotions, carrying the act out with a calm and composed figure. Reaching the small animal, she knelt down next to it, closing her eyes as she said a short prayer.

  “May you rest in peace...”, Ili finished, opening her eyes and taking the arrow out of the animal’s body. Taking the white rabbit by the ears, she tied it up with the rope and put it back on her shoulder.

  “A few more should be enough,” she said quietly, continuing to move deeper into the forest.

  The light that was shining through the branches of the trees started to slowly fade away, thin fog starting to appear all around. Clouds began covering the sky, replacing the blue of the atmosphere with a light grey. The air got colder, making Ili regret her decision of not taking any winter clothes even more. But despite her trembling and the lowering visibility in the forest, she kept moving forward. The few leaves left rustled as the wind blew through them, adding to the few sounds that were heard through the silence.

  Seeing another white rabbit in the distance, Ili pulled her bow, aiming at its heart. Just when she was ready to let loose, a loud growl was heard in the distance, which startled her, making the arrow move off-course and hit a tree, right next to the rabbit. The creature ran before Ili could take another arrow, disappearing behind a fallen log.

  “Dammit!” Ili sighed in frustration, having lost the opportunity she’d been searching for, through the cold.

  She clenched her teeth, but soon regained her composure, taking a deep breath. Thinking for a bit, Ili decided to go and check the place where the growl was heard, more out of curiosity rather than anything else. Putting the bow next to a tree, Ili positioned her sword at the ready, touching the handle slightly with her right hand, just in case.

  As Ili continued moving forward, her foot slipped, and if it weren’t for her quick reflexes, she would have fallen into the just revealed ravine. Catching her breath, she looked down as the snow that was previously beneath her feet fell into the dark void.

  Looking in front of her, she finally saw what she was looking for. On the other side of the ravine, lower than the place she was standing, a pack of six wolves was surrounding a tree, growling as they prepared to attack. Looking at the tree, Ili froze as she saw a person, half frozen in ice, standing on the ground with its back at the tree, not moving a muscle. The person seemed to be breathing, but barely, its eyes almost fully closed, as the pack of wolves was surrounding him, ready to attack.

  Thinking quickly, as she knew she needed some distance to make the jump, Ili ran a few steps back to the place she had left her bow. Knowing she wouldn’t make it in time, she took the bow and pulled the string, igniting the arrow with fire magic before shooting it at the ground between the person and the wolves. The fire soon died out, but it was enough to push the wolves back a little. Then, throwing the bow away and picking up a thick stick from the ground, Ili ran to the edge of the ravine, leaping over it to the other side, placing herself between the wolves and the person.

  “Stay back!” she shouted at the wolves, igniting the stick in her left hand, brandishing it towards the wolves.

  It didn’t seem to do much, but at least it made them hesitate for a bit, being afraid of the fire. From behind Ili, a wolf jumped and attacked, aiming to bite her neck and kill her. With a swift turn, Ili struck the wolf with her quickly drawn sword, impaling the animal through the neck and killing it instantly, keeping her left hand with the burning stick still at the rest of the pack. Glancing back, Ili saw the pack spreading through the forest, trying to surround her. The fire from the stick started to burn her hand, making her drop it in the snow.

  “Are you alright?” Ili shouted to the person behind her, but didn’t get any response. She turned her head to verify that the person was still breathing, which he was, making her calm down a little. Recomposing herself, Ili exhaled, calming her frustration. She put both of her arms on the sword, straightening her back, glancing around at the wolves that were surrounding her. She was hesitating, waiting to see what the wolves would do next.