Eight Intertwined

123 - Whitewood

Once the travelers finished their preparations for the journey ahead, H'aanit led them down the path toward the white forest stretching out behind Stillsnow. The trees were thick, and the snow was even thicker. A nearby river had entirely frozen over from the bitter cold of the air, and H'aanit's breath fogged up in front of her face each time she exhaled. The huntress had thought she was prepared for the environment the Whitewood of Stillsnow had to offer her, but she was clearly mistaken. Not even H'aanit's thick fur wraps could keep her safe from the deep chill of the wind. Ophilia was the most used to the cold out of the travelers, but that did little to save her from the snow coming down in massive flakes all around them. Linde was the only one who seemed at all at home, and she purred gladly as she walked through the snow, her tail keeping her balanced against the risk of ice beneath the flakes below.

Alaic was already waiting for the travelers just as Susanna had said he would be. He was bundled up tightly in a black coat lined with white, and somehow, the darkness of his jacket only made him look even paler than usual. He had bounced back quickly from his fright earlier, and H'aanit was admittedly impressed. Even so, Alaic kept one wary eye on Linde just to make sure she wasn't going to pounce at him again. Linde, however, was entirely unaware of the fear she had garnered, and she rubbed her cheek against H'aanit's leg without a care in the world.

"Grim whiteness as far as the eye can seen..." H'aanit murmured as she glanced around at the forest. "'Tis colder here too. The wind cutteth to the bone." 

"You're tellin' me," Alfyn chimed in. He was bundled up in a thick coat on top of his regular green overshirt, but that did little to fend off the chill in the air. He rubbed at his upper arms as he shivered slightly, and Therion took a step closer to him as he nursed a small flame in one hand. The apothecary gladly huddled closer to the flare, and Therion watched the way it danced in his palm with an intense glare, no doubt because his focus was the only thing keeping him from succumbing fully to the despair that came with being in such bitter cold.

"This way," Alaic instructed. He took a few steps off to the left before he looked down to the ground in between two prominent trees. 

H'aanit was quick to follow him, and she frowned as she looked at the path ahead. There was a trail weathered into the snow, barely visible but still a break from the constant drifts of whiteness that surrounded the travelers on all sides. "A trail..." she murmured. 

"A secret path only the mistress knows. It leads straight to the heart of the forest," Alaic explained. "Out here, the snow never melts. It covers landmarks and make every direction look much like the other. The herb of grace grows somewhere deep within this forest. But be wary... Many dangerous fiends lurk within. That is why Susanna keeps the knowledge of this path a secret." H'aanit passively recognized somewhere in the back of her mind that this was the most she had heard him speak. Alaic hadn't even bothered to entertain the other visitors who came by earlier in the day, but now, he was holding a conversation with H'aanit... Or at least as much of a conversation as he was willing to carry on. It wasn't much, but it was still a notable difference.

"So thou dost speaken, and as well as any man," H'aanit remarked when she came to such a conclusion. It was a simple observation, and she watched him cautiously as he came up with the words he needed to reply.

Alaic thought it through far more than H'aanit would have expected before he offered a shrug so small it was almost imperceptible. "Only when I have something to say," he explained.

"Will that more people in this world followed the same principle," H'aanit murmured. She had always been a woman of few words, and she doubted that would ever change. Being around the rest of the travelers had made her slightly more talkative, but the fact remained that she simply preferred to listen to others instead of getting herself involved in their discussions. She was a woman of action, and everyone knew it.