Enoria is preparing for war with Irithara, and the team sans Kaleth are doing the best they can to put a stop to it before it progresses even further.
Their plan? Find Mereria, get her help with killing Relioth, and save Kaleth in the process. They...
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Since they were afraid that they'd be spotted and recaptured by Irif's forces, Yorin had stayed on the ground, resorting to running. This meant that the trip would take twice as long at least and was about three times as uncomfortable.
Even with his time manipulations, he just couldn't run as fast as he could fly. And Nira couldn't push him to run faster—it was clear he was already pushing himself as it was with how tired he looked when they finally stopped for the night. At least the break wasn't just for her and her father's benefit anymore.
Nira watched Yorin as he started running around their makeshift campsite for tonight, collecting firewood with his beak. She couldn't help but smile a little. It was good seeing him like this—energetic and determined, despite the obvious tiredness he was trying to hide.
Nira wasn't completely sure why he was acting this way, but she was just glad he wasn't depressed anymore. Especially after what had happened with Irif. Yorin had looked so sure he wouldn't be alone anymore that he had been completely heartbroken when she'd turned on him.
Maybe he realized he didn't need to hang out with other Eternals in order not to feel lonely? Nira immediately disregarded that thought, though. Yorin was millennia old, and he wasn't an idiot—there was no way he hadn't tried being around normal people.
When she heard a quiet hiss behind her, she turned to look and found her father stretching his arm. He stopped as soon as he noticed her watching him, though, and gave Nira a very awkward smile.
"This way of traveling doesn't agree with me," he explained with a soft laugh. "I'm not as young as I used to be."
Nira narrowed her eyes. "I bet the bruises don't help either."
She was mostly guessing, but since it made no sense for her father's arm to hurt after traveling with Yorin, she was pretty sure she was right. And that feeling only multiplied when he broke eye contact and stared at the dead leaves and snow on the forest floor.
"You could ask Yorin to heal you, you know," Nira continued, and her father sighed.
"I suppose."
That was enough for Nira to know that her father wasn't going to tell Yorin anything. Nira would have to do it for him, then. Why did he feel such a need to punish himself?
Thankfully, a few seconds later, Yorin arrived, formed a perfect pyre with his telekinesis, and set it on fire. Even after witnessing it several times, it still amazed Nira how the wood and stones swirled through the air and set themselves down exactly where they should be.
I'll go find a deer, Yorin announced, running away again, and Nira sighed. At least now with her father here, they would manage to eat more of it, so it wouldn't be a complete waste. She sat down in front of the fire, having brushed some of the snow off the ground. Her hands were cold.
"What's wrong? Don't you like meat anymore?" her father asked, sitting down next to her, albeit not without a flinch that he tried very hard to cover up.
