Eight Intertwined

199 - Northreach

It was safe to say that Therion didn't like snow. 

Over the course of the last few months with the travelers, Therion had spent more time in the snow than ever before. It was hard to be swift when he felt like his shoes were always bogged down by clumps of ice. On top of that, he had learned to avoid the Frostlands from his mother's constant evasion when he was a child, and luckily for her spirit, Therion hated the cold on his own. If not for how important it was to him and his friends' missions, he never would have strayed this far north. 

As it turned out, the town of Northreach had gained its name for a reason. It took much longer than Therion was comfortable with for the travelers to trudge through the snow up to the entrance of the town. He sunk into his scarf the best he could to block out the cold, but it didn't help him much at all. His breath still fogged up just in front of him, and not even an hour of walking in Alfyn's grasp had helped. Therion ignored the smirks Primrose and Tressa were sending him as he walked side by side with his new partner up to Northreach. It wasn't his fault Alfyn always ran warm while Therion skewed toward being cold. It was practicality, or at the very least, that was what he would tell anyone who asked. 

But deep down, Therion knew that wasn't the truth. He and Darius had wandered through the snow a few times, though Darius wasn't fond of traveling through the Frostlands either. They had huddled for warmth a handful of times, but it never quite felt as comfortable as it did with Alfyn. In the midst of a snowstorm, Therion knew he could turn to Alfyn for warmth and safety, but he had never been given that option with Darius. It was ironic to think that Therion was arriving at Northreach in the arms of the person who had taught him green was something he could love. Darius would be defeated by the man that Therion was happy to spend the rest of his life with. Years ago, Therion would have been offended by the idea that he and Darius would ever go their separate ways, but now, he was glad they had. He never would have found Alfyn if he was still glued to Darius' side as he had been so long ago. 

The snow settled by the time the travelers arrived, and if Therion had to guess, he would have said they were nearing midmorning now. The group had traveled to Stillsnow with the Warp Staff, but since they hadn't ever been given a reason to traverse the frosty wilderness up to Northreach, they had to make the trek themselves this time. Therion certainly wasn't looking forward to having to do this again when the group went to Grandport later on, but he could suck it up. The Coastlands at least maintained a decent temperature instead of being cold enough to threaten to suffocate him beneath the snow.

Therion let out a sigh as he stepped through the gate leading into Northreach. There were a few stray snowflakes drifting down from the sky, but they were small and overall harmless. "So this is Northreach," he muttered. The town was a small one, the kind of city that could be blown off the wind by a powerful blizzard, but it found a way to endure regardless. Therion glanced around, expecting to find empty streets and minimal activity, but his eyes instead caught on a loud conversation happening just in front of the Northreach general store. He could already tell two of the people involved were thieves, and if he had to guess, they were two of Darius' lackeys causing trouble. "And it's eager to make a first impression."

The thieves had taken to harassing a traveler clearly unfamiliar with Northreach. "Stop!" the merchant cried out. "Those are mine--"

"Not anymore, they ain't!" one of the thieves cut in, yanking a coin purse of leaves from the traveler's bag. The other thief delivered a swift punch to the traveler's stomach, sending the man crashing to the ground and clutching at his new bruise. The two thieves barely spared a glance at one another before they took off running through the streets to look through the goods they had just stolen. 

The traveler wouldn't give up just yet, and he pointed after the thieves in vain. "Thieves! Someone, stop them!" he cried out. None of the people on the streets responded though, and the traveler's arm fell back to his side as he let out a heavy sigh of defeat.