Over the past month winter slowly crept into the isolated forest, thankfully the large tree canopies caught the majority of the snow before it could hit the ground.
While the air still gets fairly cool, there are still many things that can be foraged at this time of the year. Mainly roots, various tubers, and some fruit trees that are produced in the forest like apricots and figs that thrive in cold air.
Kaida also has some knitted mantles she and her mother made to stay warm this time of the year, so she took one her mother used and adjusted it for Firion to wear.
Since they stay inside more often due to the cold weather, Firion has taken the time to teach Kaida how to read from the few books that she had that were written in elven writing.
"Oh! I see! This word means the moon!" She said in a joyful tone. Every new word she learns makes her ecstatic that she will be able to read all of her books someday.
Though she learns rather fast, she still needs more time before she can read a whole book.
In the meantime, Firion just lets her sit on his lap as he reads them to her and explains the nature of the text they would read. Sometimes Kaida would fall asleep on his chest as he did.
Then one day the maiden became very feverish, causing the elf to dote on her so she would stay in bed and try to get better. During this time he would make mint tea for them, which she loved very much.
But recently, Misha has been barely coming back to the rock dwelling, and one evening she did not return at all, so they decided to go look for her, despite Kaida's fever.
"MISHA!" "MISHA!" Kaida shouted with her hands surrounding her mouth. She has a worried and tired expression in addition to her skin being flushed.
Firion followed along, but he was more concerned about Kaida's health, as she was still recovering from a cold. "Has Misha ever ventured out this far? Doesn't she just come back?" he asked.
The blue horned girl started to cry, The wolf has always been good at coming back home. But why did this situation feel different than before? It worried her.
Suddenly they both heard a howl come from behind.
Still feverish, Kaida slowly turned her head and saw Misha and her frown became a relieved smile, with Firion doing the same."MISHA! There you are! Where have you...???" she stopped from finishing her question.
But as she approached the red wolf, Firion put his hand on her shoulder and held her back. "Wait, I can hear something else moving behind her." He said cautiously as his ears twitched.
Nervously they analyzed the loud rustling coming from behind the bush next to Misha, then suddenly another massive wolf came out! It was black and even bigger than Misha and affectionately nuzzled her.
As an elf who has practiced Druidism, Firion understood what this meant. Misha was still a wolf, and it appears she has found the pack she truly belongs with.
"Kaida....I believe this is where you must part ways with Misha, she belongs to the wild gods." he said in a sympathetic tone while putting his hand on her shoulder.
She just looked at him and understood what he meant, Misha is an adult now and she wants to be with other wolves and start her own family.
She began to cry slightly as she turned away as she now understood the situation, but how could she be happy about it? Misha was leaving her!
Then Kaida felt a cold wet nose touch the back of her hand. She turned around and saw that both wolves were now wagging their tails at her.
"Kaida, Misha may have to leave you now, but I think she wants you to know that you will always be friends." Firion consoled.
Kaida sniffled, but started feeling better at the elf's words and smiled back softly as she hugged the two wolves one final time. Firion just lightly petted their heads.
Both of the wolves trotted off into the distance with Misha giving one more howl of reassurance as she disappeared from Kaida for the last time.
The pair started walking home with the forest maiden still crying and sniffling and Firion becoming worried about her state as it seems like she could be running a high fever.
She started wobbling as the air became thicker and warmer for her, then suddenly she stumbled backwards!
But the muscular elf caught her with this massive arm first! "Why don't we rest for a bit Kaida?" he cooed while feeling her head.
Though her face was red from the fever, it became redder from the elf's soft touch. She nodded her head, as they sat against a large tree, Firion noticed she looked a little worse than earlier and offered his lap for her to rest on.
"Kaida...if you want you can sit on my lap and rest your head." he offered while slightly blushing. Though she was still sad about Misha's departure, Firion's gesture made her feel a little better.
Carefully, she positioned herself between his legs as she cuddled up to him affectionately and he in turn started lightly petting her head as she breathed lightly.
He then took out a satchel and poured some cool water onto his hands and let Kaida sip from it.
As she wept quietly Firion felt her forehead and knew her temperature went up again! "Kaida when we get home you need to go to sleep early...I will make you a special tea to make you feel better." he said warmly.
But Kaida was still just crying and looked away, surprising Firion. "What's wrong?" he asked, caressing her head.
Her tears started streaming down her face. "Are you gonna leave me too? Just like mom, just like Misha." she said, weeping heavily.
Firion then realized from her expression that there were feelings of insecurity, and that now was the opportunity to explain to her what he truly felt.
But then Firion started finding words, "Kaida...I will never leave you, I want to be with you forever."
Her eyes became wider, and her tears paused, there was something he was gonna say, something Kaida wanted to hear so badly!
"Firion...what do you mean by....." but before she could finish her sentence she went silent and lost consciousness, terrifying the elf.
'KAIDA!!!!" He screamed as he held her.