A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Not long after the trio of Erik, Emma, and Emily left the cabin, they walked under the watery northern sun as it cast elongated shadows on the snow that blanketed the ground.

The air was crisp, filling their lungs with cold, clean, and sharp air as they walked along a rough, barely used road through a taiga forest with ancient pine trees on all sides, their branches heavy with snow.

Emma was basically skipping and couldn't stop smiling as her gaze switched between Erik and Emily. Even the visible puffs of air coming from her mouth seemed to twirl with happiness, reflecting her infectious energy.

Erik just took it in stride, a small smile playing on his lips, enjoying the lightness of the moment. Emily, however, seemed to be getting a little annoyed, sighed, exasperated, and rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, little Em. You're acting like you've found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," Emily teased, her tone a mix of amusement and mild irritation.

Emma, undeterred by her big sister's attitude, continued to skip along as the skirt of her maid outfit danced in the wind. "Can you blame me, big Em? My two favourite people in the world are getting along now! What could be better than that!"

While the sisters still had plenty of things to sort out, it was clear that Emma was making every effort to mend fences and start over, just like they promised each other back in Kirkenes.

Although whether Emma's current mood was permanent or even entirely genuine, only time would tell. After all, back on the boat, she gave Emily a pretty desperate speech, during which her usually cheerful attitude was replaced by a haunted look.

It seemed unlikely that part of Emma had wholly and suddenly disappeared.

But Emily wouldn't bring that up now. The raven-haired woman scoffed and turned her head away, trying to avoid her little sister's probing and teasing. "We're not getting along! I just… decided not to be so combative all the time…"

But Emma was having none of it. "You can't fool me, big Em! You know how Sir explained I have a great intuition due to my nature affinity? Well, it's telling me that you like him!"

Emily palmed her head and sighed, a mixture of frustration and affection in her voice. "I love you, little Em, but you can be very annoying, you know that?"

Completely ignoring her sister's comment, Emma began to sing, "♩Erik and Emily, sitting in a tree. K. I. S. S. I.

N. G.♩" The words floated through the air, light and teasing.

As it turned out, Emma was already awake by the time Erik and Emily started kissing earlier and had seen the whole thing.

Emily groaned, "Are you sure you're eighteen? I feel like I'm talking to a child."

Still cheery, Emma just said, "Impossible!"

"Why?" Emily asked, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

Appearing as if her words couldn't be more obvious, Emma grinned, "Because I've also kissed Sir, and if I was a child, that would make him a child molester, and Sir is not a terrible person. Therefore, he can't be a child molester, and thus, I can't be a child!"

Erik, who walked a few meters ahead of them, couldn't help but chuckle and nod, "Can't argue with that logic."

Emily glared ahead and disagreed. "Yes, you can! Very easily! I'm sure plenty of people out there consider you a terrible person!"

Erik thought back to some of the things he'd done back on Söl and nodded casually, "Can't argue with that either, to be honest."

Finally, the bright smile slipped from Emma's face and was replaced by a disgruntled huff, "Lies and slander!"

Erik laughed loudly, his heart warmed by Emma's faith in him. Inside his soul, Elora also couldn't help laughing at the young woman's loyalty. "I bet you could slaughter an entire village, and that girl will find a way to justify it." She said to him through their link.

He smirked in response, "Maybe, but let's hope we never have to find out."

Meanwhile, Emily relented a little, knowing the argument was pointless. "Fine, he's a saint. Why do you like this situation so much anyway? You do know it's not exactly normal for a girl to want to see their sister kissing the same guy they like, right? Not to mention, that guy is basically married!"

Immediately, Emma blushed and quickly glanced at Erik in front of them before shushing Emily, "Shhhh. Do you have to say that out loud?"

Emily rolled her eyes but waited with Emma to see if Erik would respond, as they knew perfectly well there was no way Erik wouldn't hear every word they said, no matter how softy, from just a few meters away.

But Erik smirked and ignored the chatter behind him. He enjoyed listening to the sisters as they bickered and played around. It felt refreshing.

When she realised Erik wouldn't embarrass her today, Emma sighed in relief before turning to her sister. She pouted and said softly, "I don't care about any of that! All I want is for the two most important people in my life to be happy. And if they are, then I am, too!"

Inside Erik's soul, Elora groaned. "By the spirits. I bet she really means that. How does a girl like her even exist? Especially after all she's been through?!"

Truly, Emma was an extraordinary yet wounded soul, and she had latched on to Erik with all four limbs.

Emily sighed and finally gave in, "Ugh, I can't argue with you when you're like this… I love you, little Em. And there is no one in the world like you."

Emma puffed up her moderate chest in pride, "That's right! I'm unique!"

Meanwhile, in front of them, Erik's senses suddenly picked up something they hadn't in a long time.

His senses were still very powerful even in human form, especially as a second-rank Runebound, so it was no surprise he picked up a familiar smell, even from a long distance away.

He abruptly stopped walking without explanation, immediately causing the sisters to do the same. Emily scanned the surroundings suspiciously while Emma looked anxious, thinking Erik had stopped because of nearby danger.

Suddenly, Erik shifted to his werewolf form, stuck his nose in the air and sniffed like a dog searching for a scent.

After a few moments, he looked in a particular direction and frowned. A complicated look appeared on his face as he looked behind him at the two sisters and seemed to debate something inwardly, either with Elora or himself.

Eventually, he seemed to come to a decision. He sighed before moving in the direction the smell came from while looking at the two sisters behind him. "Come on, we're making a detour. Be prepared because we might be in for a fight."

He didn't change back to human form and continued to move in the same direction.

The sisters shared a look before following behind him: Emily was stern yet eager for a fight, while Emma was a little anxious yet mostly calm.

They rushed quickly yet silently through the frozen pine trees. Naturally, Erik was holding back quite a bit in order for the girls to keep up with him. He could rush ahead, but he didn't want to leave the sisters alone, and the smell was not travelling away from them anyway.

After about fifteen minutes of this, Erik held up his hand, and the girls stopped. From here, they began to crouch and move slowly while using the trees for cover.

Luckily, the snow muffled their steps, and soon, they were standing on top of a ridge while looking down at their target. A dominion ghoul patrol.

About fifty first-rank ghouls were shuffling along a relatively wide and well-maintained road, travelling parallel to the gritty, narrow roads that Erik took.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not, the ghouls were carrying a metal sheet attached to wooden poles with a regular lazy chair on top of it. And in the lazy chair sat a bored-looking, second-rank female vampire.

Except for the leader's gender, this patrol seemed to be a carbon copy of the previous one they encountered, with one other exception. At the front of the ghoul pack was another ghoul, but this one was a second rather than a first rank.

This ghoul was a woman, and she wore a few more clothes than the others. Plus, she looked more like a regular vampire than the other ghouls. Not too much, though.

She was still a pale and dried-up husk, but unlike the bald first-rank ghouls, she still had her strawberry blond hair, even if it was quickly greying. Her eyes showed the same level of barely contained, destructive insanity as the other ghouls, however.

It was this ghoul that Erik had his eyes on and whose smell he recognised. This woman was someone from his past.

His eyes narrowed with complicated emotions, "Astrid," he whispered.