tpn cuties

Where It is Warm In The Ice

*Note: this chapter occurs in the cuvitidala arc so don't read unless you got that far in the manga.

Cold, fear, worry, yet Emma and the others moved forward facing the unknown. It was the beginning of the year, the winds were as icy as ever. Facing new species of demon don't make anyone feel relieved. The worry of their family's safety still haunts them every night.

Yet they somehow have faith, that it'll be okay.

"Let's move this way" Ray said as the path they where taking unexpectedly led to a dead end. Rocks were blocking their way, maybe due to the windy weather or the storms that were going recently.

Everyone nodded and took the narrow path behind, not losing track of their way they needed to keep in mind where they're going.

(these rocks are new, I'm assuming they have fallen yesterday. It sure was windy, but there were no thunderstorms in particular. Can the wind in this area push such huge rocks?) Ray thought to himself. He got lost in his thoughts while walking.

Is taking this path the best option? Should they have climbed the rocks instead? The rocks looked sloppy but they could have climbed them with some scratches.

The path they were taking was too silent. Silence can mean one thing, trouble. "let's make it quickly so we don't lose streak" Emma said, her instincts were telling her to get out of the path as soon as possible.

Soon they started running. The atmosphere was calling for bad news. They noticed that some of the trees don't have some of their roots attached to the ground. The wind rose from behind, it couldn't be nature this time.

It was a demon

Unlike the ones they dealt with before. This demon had wings and big claws. "on your guards" Zack shouted preparing for battle. Everyone held their guns on hand but still it was a species they never encountered. They needed a plan.

"we'll distract it, while you guys will kill it" Ray said and Emma nodded. They ran while the others were aiming at the demons eye.

Gilda aimed at the demon's eye and shot, But due to her beginner skills. She missed. The demon screamed in pain as the gunshot got to it's body. Now it got pissed.

"Argh!" Emma got distracted and her body slammed into the ground. Ray let out a tsk and picked her up. "let's split" Ray shouted as he helped Emma to get on her legs and ran away from the demon.

The gang split up into 3 directions as the demon hesitated to which one it'll get.

Ray saw a little cave and took Emma to it. Now that the demon took it's eyes off them, they can rest in the cave. Ray scanned the cave quickly before entering it and lying Emma down. She was wincing in the pain that got to her leg. She twisted her leg while running which slowed her movements.

"I'll be back rest up for now" Ray told Emma and got out quickly to take a glance at their surroundings. Other demons might be nearby. He noticed a bunch of demons on the other side of their way, he noticed Zack waving at him and assuring him that the others are fine.

He waved back at him and made gestures to him, he understood they won't join the gang tonight. Staying in their place tonight and wait till the demons nearby are gone was their best option. Going now with Emma's case won't be the wisest choice.

"are you okay?" Ray said after entering the cave again. "I think I'll be fine" Emma replied resting her leg so it won't hurt. Ray came close and examined her leg there was some scratches but there was nothing to worry about. Emma was staring at him as he bandaged her wounds that she got from the fall.

"sorry about that, if I was in a better shape we could have been with everyone now" she said in a saddened voice. "it's okay, it could've been worse than that so cheer up" he replied and patted her head. She smiled and nodded as she received his care.

It was almost midnight Emma closed her eyes but she couldn't bring herself to sleep. It was cold, and their sleeping bags weren't doing that much. "can't sleep?" Ray spoke and she nodded.

"it's a little bit cold here don't you think?" Emma said and Ray agreed. He was feeling cold too. "can we sleep together tonight? " Emma said after cleaning her throat, her tone showed that she was a bit nervous.

After a while Ray brought himself and nodded"okay". Due to their skinny features, sharing a sleeping bag was nothing to worry about. Ray got to her sleeping bag not facing her yet. And after a while of silence Emma spoke:"do you think the other in the shelter are alright?"

"what if the Ratri clan attacked the shelter while we were away?" Emma mumbled. Her worries were taking the best of her that night. "they should be safe" Ray replied, "but what if-" she stuttered as his hand reached her head, he turned around now facing her. "you worry too much, if anything happens they have yuugo and Lucas. They are way more experienced than us,if anything they'll manage" Ray said but still Emma's concern didn't shake.

"they'll be okay let's not have our worry get the worse of us and let's focus on our goal... So we can return as quick as possible" now smiling at him her heart eased a bit, with her smiling a smile grew on his face too.

He turned around and tried to close his eyes, but suddenly she wrapped her hands around his waist the made him flinch a bit.

"I missed our days at the house..." Emma said with a voice that's about to break. "I missed the house, our siblings, mom..." she continued but on the verge of crying.

He turned around and hugged her cold body "I'm here for you now, don't you remember my promise, I promised you that I'll protect them and that we'll create a world where we all can be alive, happy and smiling" he hugged her tighter. It was raining and the sound of thunder was roaring in the earth.

He patted her head and buried his face in her hair she smiled as his warmth got to her, she was really grateful she have him here and now. She relaxed and fell asleep. As he saw her sleeping face, her smile wore her face he kissed her head and closed his eyes.