“Heheh. Look at her. She looks adorable. Has my hair and eyes. Nose looks a bit like yours though, eh? I think… I think I’ll call her Aryana, what do you think?”

  - Hannah O’Hagen, Whereabouts Unknown, “A Child” ,

  Day ??

  Aryana leapt forward, her excitement palpable to any around her. She turned towards Aileen, a toothy grin on her face. The other girl, slightly taller but no less mischievous, grinned back. Trotting along behind them, the more shy yet equally excitable Sarka bounced up and down.

  “Cookies.” Aryana stated proudly.

  “Yay!” Sarka joined in with a quiet cheer.

  Aileen did not sully herself with a cheer, choosing instead to pat the other two’s heads. The smaller girls playfully growling in sync.

  It was the third day of the week. The day when they shared little treats with each other. It was a tradition established by their parents when they were toddlers. Now, they were slightly larger than small children, their world had grown. But despite the new horizons, their desire for tasty foods guaranteed the ceremony a place in their lives.

  Aryana eagerly fished out a few cookies her mother had baked with some exotic herbs. She had, naturally, had a few on her own and delighted in them. Mom had called them ‘gingerbread cookies’, a delicacy made from an ingredient not found anywhere near the Frostwinds called ginger. Her mother was saddened that they lacked a few other things to make them properly in accordance with what was ‘back home’. But Aryana was smarter, she knew mama was wrong. For they tasted delicious to her, and she was always right in matters of food.

  Her room was near the kitchen, she had watched the oven fires and her mom baking them. The pleasant senses would not have led her wrong.

  She sneakily watched the others eat, feeling both the warmth of the cookie’s spices and the flood of joy at their wide-eyed looks of delight. Aileen pretended to be fancy, taking small bites to savor the tastes and sensations she felt. Sarka simply stuffed a big bite in her mouth and let it sit.

  Today would be a good day, she decided.

  Day ?? + 40

  “Up, a little higher!” Aileen ordered.

  Aryana chuckled seeing Galen lift Sarka into the air. The little girl letting out something between a wail and a laugh. When she noticed Aileen’s gaze wander over towards her however, she felt a small pang of fright run down her back. She did not like heights, a tragedy given that she lived atop mountains. Worried that she’d be next, she retreated next to her other compatriot and hid behind a lanky boy called Tristan.

  He looked at her curious and she shook her head, huddling up behind him like a goblin.

  “Alright, alright, brother. You’re scaring little Ari.” Aileen teased.

  Galen let out a bellyful laugh before slowly lowering Sarka. The girl landed slightly dizzily as she wobbled about the place.

  “Not looking forward to flying?” Galen queried.

  “Nnnhn.” Aryana vehemently disagreed.

  “Fine, suit yourself. You’re missing out though.”

  Aryana stuck her tongue out, one which was immediately pinched by Tristan.

  “Meweh?” Aryana gasped.

  She had been betrayed by the highest order. Her cover had turned against her!

  Tristan let go and chuckled. Aryana prepared herself for a fight. She snarled at him, ready for combat. He snarled back. Then he bopped her nose.

  It was like her memory had been momentarily reset and she recoiled in confusion.

  “Ari.” He chided.

  Like a wounded mountain goat, she was too proud to back down but flustered enough to fall over. Though it was jokingly so, Tristan quickly scooped her up mid air. A noble act enough to smoother the transgression he had done in the first place.

  She giggled at the heroic act. Tristan sighed but allowed himself a small smile.

  “Spirits below, you’re such a baby sometimes.” Aileen tsked.

  Aryana pouted, “No, you’re a baby.”

  “One that takes care of you.” The older girl aggressively rubbed her head with her knuckles.

  “Weeeh, stop, stop.” Aryana yielded.

  Aileen finished the assault with a firm bear hug, stealing her away from Tristan.

  “Big baby.” She teased.

  Fearing retaliation, Aryana merely grumbled. But she enjoyed the attention nonetheless, however much she disagreed about being the bigger baby than Aileen.

  Unaware of the constant going-ons, Sarka bounded over and leapt onto Aileen. The girl had increasingly taken after Aryana and after seeing her be embraced by the older girl, she wanted a part of it too.

  “Gah! It’s like two cold worn babies!” Aileen growled playfully.

  Another older girl, Moira, waved to them. The signal that lunch was ready.

  “Good luck, sis.” Galen casually waved. The older boy nonchalantly strutted away.

  Tristan followed, a half hearted bow given as he hastily followed his friend.

  “Oi, wait up. Help me you rockhead!” Aileen snarled towards her brother.

  The two hanger-ons giggled at the display. A small victory in the battle for supremacy. Together, they would be unstoppable.

  Day ?? + 457

  Aryana narrowed her eyes in displeasure, her lips trembling but unwilling to part to make a sound. Aileen gripped her shoulder tightly, steadying her. Sarka’s face was scrunched up into a frown of her own.

  Tristan appeared mildly upset, the boy more confused than anything. Galen too, showed his own disdain for the idea, though his role as the chieften’s son prevented him from speaking up. Only Aileen looked relatively stoic, though Aryana was certain that it was because her face had frozen from the cold, stopping it from displaying emotions.

  “It’s okay. We’ll meet again.” Aryana broke the silence.

  “Y-yer. Again.” Sarka sniffled, the girl furiously rubbing at her eyes.

  Seeing her friend in pain, Aryana inched closer. The two were now practically nose to nose, both their faces twisted with effort from holding back their emotions. But Aryana felt hurt, empty, and betrayed. They had all vowed to be friends together, the trio at minimum. To do that they had to be around each other. Yet, one was leaving. To be sent into the wider world without Aryana being able to follow.

  “Why… go?” Aryana’s voice warbled.

  “Parents.” Sarka sniffled some more.

  “No, stay?”

  “Can’t.”

  Their words were brief with much left unsaid. The two opted to just hold each other’s hands. Yet that was to be their downfall. For their closeness now spread the pain they felt between them. The hurt and the loss.

  “Waaah. Uwaahh.”

  Neither could tell who started crying first. Only that as one voice grew louder, the other would also match.

  Aryana and Sarka embraced as they shed more tears. The collective sorrow only grew ever greater the more memories flashed between them. They clung on tightly, neither willing to let go of the other. Aileen moved closer, the older girl’s arms enveloping both of them. Though she did not cry, putting on as brave a face as she could. Aryana could feel a few involuntary shudders. She, too, was hurting.

  No one could say how much more time had passed as they wept. Only that the snow continued to fall and chilly mountain air offered little comfort to them. It was a harsh place, a cruel place, but not devoid of joys or happiness. Yet it was a place where many preferred not to be, and for those with means, many would choose to leave. Just like Sarka’s parents.

  They were simple merchants and traders, having peddled goods up and down the mountain passes. Between the different clanholds. Even facilitating trades in the clan itself. They would be missed, though thankfully not a crucial merchant family. Though Aryana certainly considered them unexpendanble given that Sarka was counted amongst them.

  So it was, that on a day of contradictions. Where the sun light shined down despite the oncoming snow. Where warm tears trickled down frigid cheeks. And where a sisterhood is broken by the very ones who proposed it. Aryana made a vow.

  With reddened eyes, snot in her nose, Sarka’s hand in hers. She made a declaration befitting a heroine.

  “S-Sarka!” She declared.

  “Ary!” Sarka wailed.

  “I… I uwwweh, I won’t forget you. I’ll find you. I’ll find you again one day.” She promised.

  Her heart tightened, her body sore. Her throat had gone hoarse from the crying. Her eyes drying out between the tears and the frosts. She trembled, every muscle tense and unwilling to let go, yet her emotions had long surrendered control. Reality had torn asunder her beautiful fantasy.

  “Uuwwuh. Ary.” Sarka cried some more.

  For the girl who often followed. The one who was smaller than the others but just as brave. Her own world was now crumbling around her. Her wails the only thing left she could offer, the comfort of the others barely reaching her enshrouded soul. The loneliness would only get worse, that much she could predict.

  “Little Ari.” Aileen patted her head to little effect.

  “I will! I swear!”

  “Waaah, I know.” Sarka fought back a sob, “I’ll… I’ll find you too!”

  “No, you.”

  “No, I'll find you.”

  “No.”

  “Waah.” They cried some more.

  Aileen held them closer. The older girl had already come to terms with losing people at a far younger age than the others had. But parting felt worse. They were still there, still alive. They were there, but they would not be. For the two she treated as her own, much like her brother, she too, acutely felt this loss. But Aryana would need an exemplar, and that was the role she had entrusted to herself. She would help her move on, just as she would have to come to terms with losing Sarka.

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  Beside the older girl, Galen lent a hand in support. He knew her pain perhaps even more than she did. He knew that she saw the two children as part of their family. He smiled somberly at the thought. They had even come to be his friends. For him, the hurt his sister felt hit even worse. For Sarka’s parents had come to theirs for advice on the future. The clan chief advised them that there wouldn’t be much in terms of growing here, that a life down in the lowlands would offer more opportunities. He had overheard them talk, and he had kept it to himself, never having told Aileen. One day, he would explain, he reasoned. But today was a day for grief to be shared.

  There would be no more cookies. No more secret meetings to share food. For on that cold day, the distance between them grew. From promises unkept, to memories forgotten. Nothing would be the same.

  Day ?? + 822 -16th Hour

  “Ah-choo!” Aryana sneezed.

  “Enough. You’re lost. Admit it.” Aileen taunted.

  “I’m not.” Aryana hissed.

  They were part of a hunting party, practicing their skills for the betterment of the village. They had grown older, though not enough to participate with the older kids. Their job today was simple: find and report traces of animals, devise a hunting method, and return. In and of itself, it was an easy task.

  With Aileen dragging her heels and her own sense of direction being less than stellar however, their start had been anything but easy. They had originally thought that they stumbled upon rabbit tracks. After a few minutes of searching, they had descended down a slope and had then proceeded to get lost, or so Aileen said.

  Aryana bristled at the thought. She was ten. She would prove her worth, demonstrate her skill, and show Aileen that she was just as capable.

  The older girl was thirteen and had already done this multiple times. She was here to supervise. Aryana knew that she was failing in her eyes. She didn’t even need to look at Aileen to know.

  Aileen was the chieftain’s daughter, trained and groomed to take charge after him. That, or her brother Galen. Both of them had become shining beacons for the rest of the clan’s children. Role models on how to contribute.

  Not like me, Aryana cursed, just a useless little lump.

  She wasn’t fit enough to be part of the others. Not anymore. When they were younger, running around yards and the village, it wasn’t noticeable. But now, she could feel it. Her chest clamping up whenever she would exert herself just a bit too much. How quickly she’d have to stop for a breath compared to the others. And the shame it brought her.

  She sniffled her nose and looked up to the sky, hoping that the few stars there could offer some hints. After a few moments of searching, she knew that she was out of her depth.

  She sighed, the brief twinkle of a sparkling star keeping her focused on the goal at hand. She wanted to become useful and capable. To become a tracker and traverse the wilderness. For it had been a year since her dear friend Sarka had left. A year since she had vowed to find her, a vow she intended to fulfill.

  She wondered why she had stayed. Why her mother, who was also a supposed outsider, remained here. Keeping Aryana bound to the clan. She resolved to ask the next time she got the chance.

  “Little Ari, ready to say you’re lost yet?” Aileen teased, her jabs appearing to be unrelenting today.

  Aryana growled, her face twisted into a scowl. Feeling a snowflake drift onto her cheek, her strength seemed to dissipate with it, she relented. Her shoulders sagged as her expression drooped. A sense of relief and defeat intermingling to create an avalanche of feelings that overwhelmed her.

  “This is just this time.” She grumbled.

  “Pfft. Typical. Sure it is, then the next time, and the next.” Aileen pushed further.

  “Aileen.” She snarled.

  “Ari. You have many talents, but this is not one of them.”

  The younger girl turned on her heel to face off against the older one. A faint musky scent drfit pass her nose, heightening her senses. Aileen was always properly groomed, an almost perfect, flawless child. They were friends, or so they said. But lately, Aryana found her more and more irritating to be around.

  “Listen, I don’t mean ill with that. Just that your efforts could be better spent elsewhere. No need to be stubborn about this.”

  Aryana felt a flash of anger rise within her.

  “Stubborn? Okay. So? Tell me, what else can I do? I’m not like you. My mama and papa are too busy to just teach me how to be good at everything.”

  “Ari. My father is the clan chief, he needs to keep everything running. He doesn’t have it easy either. Besides, your mother is the flamebearer, of course she’d be busy. You will too.” Aileen narrowed her eyes threateningly.

  “To sit on his chair in the main keep for hours, to then disappear for more hours whenever he please. I know.”

  “Aryana, you take that back.”

  “Make me.”

  The two squared off against each other, pointed glares far from the friendly glances that they had often shared. Aryana could see it, the pity and the disdain in Aileen’s eyes. How the older girl likely felt shackled down by her presence.

  “You’re so… so… gah. Damn you, Aryana.” Aileen cursed and turned away, “Follow along or don’t. See if I give a damn.” The older girl finished with a snort.

  Hearing the venom laced in her words, Aryana flinched. Though her blood was boiling, hearing the pain in Aileen’s voice pierced directly through the veil and into her heart. Remorse clashed with pride within her. Wanting to quickly apologize but unable to force the words out. Instead, she glumly followed along.

  In silence, they began retreading the path they took to get here. Pass a bend here, a tree there, and with the occasional rocky outcropping.

  Slowly but surely, she gathered bits of humility, building herself up to speak and apologize.

  To her surprise, Aileen let out a tired sigh before slowing her pace to face her. The older girl looked ready to open her mouth when the two heard a branch snap nearby. They froze, their eyes immediately darting to the terrain around them to identify where it had come from.

  With their ears joining the hunt, they could hear the heavy footsteps of a beast trying to remain stealthy.

  Out of the corner of her eye, illuminated by moonlight, she could see a shadow creeping towards them. Following her gaze, Aileen trailed the shadow and quickly looked away. The older girl gently grabbed Aryana’s hand and motioned to follow.

  “Don’t look.” She whispered to Aryana.

  An instruction that Aryana hurriedly obeyed. Or at least tried to. For human nature was ever a fickle thing, curiosity a driver to success as much as it was one that motioned to disaster. She tried to sneak a glance at what hunted them, Aileen tried to stop her with a tug. Not expecting the pull, Aryana tripped a little.

  “Geh!” Aryana squeaked in alarm.

  Her fall made Aileen stumble. The sudden movement of both of them quickly provoked a deafening roar that disoriented them.

  Aryana scrambled back and turned around. The visage of a massive bear was growing closer.

  Her eyes widened in horror, the monster was bearing down on her. She tried to move but couldn’t get up. Her mind blanked, the primal fear of the creature making her stomach turn inside out. She was frozen on the spot.

  But she had made one calculation, her mind allowing just enough time to reach a conclusion. Aileen was standing and she wasn’t. Fate was cruel, but she was the shackle. The one that held her friend back.

  In a split second, her trembling hands scooped up some snow and she hurled it at the creature. She couldn’t tell if she hit it or not, only sparing the last moments of her life flashing a terrified glance towards where she assumed her friend was.

  “RUN!” She cried out.

  Her voice was drowned out by the roaring monster. Turning back to it, she found only a maw in front of her. Rows of thick teeth ready to gnash at her and a raised claw to bring this sorry excuse of a hunt to an end.

  She closed her eyes and awaited fate’s violent hand to close around her.

  Then something else hit the creature, momentarily staggering it. She heard it, a thud. She didn’t even have time to open her eyes. Only feeling the air rush pass her as a massive force rammed into her. Like a boulder crushing whatever was in its way. Bones cracked, flesh tore, and blood mixed with snow and fur. Agony wracked her entire form, every part of her crying out in pain, desperate for attention amidst the chaotic cacophony. Her body contorted in ways beyond imagination, there was little doubt in her mind that the darkness would claim her this day.

  She let out a blood curdling scream as something sharp pierced her sides. A million thoughts raced across her mind. A million plans she wanted to enact to save herself. Treated like a dirty rag, her tiny body twisted and broken in ways beyond comprehension. A dozen parts of her felt cold, flesh that had only ever been coated by warm blood and muscle now brutalized and exposed to the elements.

  There was no analyzing the situation, no thinking. Only the knowledge that something smashed her from behind, violently taking whatever air was left from screaming out of her lungs. A crack that shot through her entire back, and then it was all over.

  Day ?? + 822 - 17th Hour

  Blood spilled out of her without stopping. The sickening sensation of drowning and choking created an unholy marriage for one who couldn’t speak. Somehow, she was conscious. Enough strength left to open her eyes.

  The world was sideways. The red snow is pooling around her. She could faintly hear labored breaths. Her own.

  She tried to move her neck. She couldn’t.

  “Help-” A voice cried out before being abruptly silenced.

  No!

  She needed to move, had to. She failed.

  Her world then turned skywards, the bloodied underside of the bear above her. Whatever remained of her ribs shattered as its massive paw crushed her. She couldn’t even gasp anymore. Her senses had dulled, overwhelmed almost completely by pain to the point of incomprehension.

  But it didn’t look down.

  More liquid dripped down onto her.She could just about make out the shadow of something in its mouth.

  “Aryana!” A pained wail echoed nearby.

  Aileen, she wanted to call back.

  Using her as a stepping stone, it propelled itself forward and away, destroying anything else that remained.

  Her last thoughts were hopes that her friend could run. Her last sight was that of a piece of her own flesh being torn away from her, the bear’s trophy. Her mind couldn’t understand what was happening. In the next second, her last vestiges of consciousness faded.

  Day ?? + 822 - 20th Hour

  “What did you do?!” A voice screamed.

  She wanted to open her eyes, but nothing happened.

  “What. Did. You. Do?!” It roared once more.

  She was in pain, she was curious. She wanted to know. She was something.

  “Don’t make me ask agai-”

  “I…” A wisened female growl answered.

  She couldn’t feel anything at all.

  “Did what I had to.” The feminine voice answered.

  A flurry of noise erupted from everywhere and hurt her ears, still she could not see. But she thought of something. She was aware.

  “You bitch! You monster!” Another gruff voice yelled.

  “She is my daughter!”

  “And she is mine! She had a chance!” The first man roared.

  “She asked me to do this!”

  “Bullshit!”

  “Aileen! What-” A faintly familiar cry.

  “Shut up son, not now!”

  Aileen. Hearing her name brought great relief, that meant she was alive. Then, she was unconscious once more.

  Day ?? + 830

  She felt warmth, the first sensation beyond pain. The darkness that cushioned her now turned a stark white. Something was different.

  She heard a rasp. She paused, only to realize it was her own.

  She did not know where she was. She wanted to see.

  Images flashed in her mind. Strange buildings and lights. Fast moving things, long things, tall things. Lot’s of noise filled her ear, or her mind’s ear. She was confused, afraid.

  She heard the creaking of wood. The jostling of brass. The squelch of wet footsteps against floorboards.

  There was much she remembered, but she was lost. Pain flared up from within her, she cried out.

  Muffled voices surrounded her.

  With fierce determination, she yelled in pain as her eyes opened ever so slightly. She could make out hair and a face. Then another. Both meshed in darkness by a blinding light.

  Slowly, the fog lifted. The voices are growing clearer.

  “Aryana? Aryana! Oh by the spirits, praise be. Oh Gods, Aryana.” A shrill voice wept.

  “Aryana! Thank the heavens.” A gruff voice cried.

  It was too much, too confusing. Though something gave her power. A pleasant, spicy scent. Ginger, the word flooded to the forefront of her mind.

  Finally, she had enough strength to open her eyes fully. A strange red-haired woman beside her, her green eyes barely visible between the tears. Above her, a brown haired man with black eyes and a funny nose, scrunched his face up, trying his best to wipe away his own tears.

  “Aryana. You’re alright. Thank God.” The woman muttered between joyful sobs.

  Her mouth opened and closed, dry and unable to speak. Afraid but bewildered, she forced her weakened throat to action, the pain making her wince.

  “Who…” she weakly rasped, “who is… Aryana? Where am I? Who… who are you?”

  There was a moment of shock, of stunned silence. Then horror, as joyous sobs turned to saddened wails once more.

  Day ?? + 4117

  In the sanctum of frost and show, she stirred. Her eyes shot open, the memories returning. She remembered now. How she had forgotten her friends, the horrors and sorrows blocked in her mind, a feeble attempt to heal. Only now did she comprehend what Aileen had done all those years ago, what the words she heard meant. The girl had asked the healer to use her own life to save Ary's. Ary who had failed her. Ary who had gotten her into the mess in the first place.

  Then her memories had been scrambled. Her mother having performed an illegal transfusion using the clan's flame spirit. It fused itself and what was left of Aileen's life force into Ary, gave her a fighting chance.

  Aileen, Sarka. The names came racing back to haunt her. So it was, that in the sanctum of frost and snow, she bitterly wept. For three friends that were, of three friends who were no more.