FORSAKEN CHILDREN

CHAPTER 4

    The lake was immense. Only shadows hinted at the forest on the other side, judging by its length. Night had fallen recently, and the storm had subsided. Fortunately. The small group moved more easily now, all gathered in one block.

— "Do you think we should cross it?" Sélina asked.

She had just lowered her woolen hood, revealing her blood-colored hair. The blood of glaciers. She had always been uncomfortable with this color, feeling uneasy around strangers because of it. Yet, Tobias found them incredibly delicate, like cherry blossoms, from the tree described to him with branches of pure pink. Reflecting his tenderness, the one he had the privilege of sharing many times. Next to her, he must not seem long, with his tousled brown hair. He had never managed to keep it in place properly, except when it was wet. Tobias had given up on the task, letting it roam free, pushing in all directions. He liked to say it was just a messy-cool effect. Yu-Jin probably hiding some baldness. He heard her respond.

— "Just say you want to kill us," Yu-Jin said wearily.

She spoke little. But always managed to unsettle them.

— "Do you have something against me?" Sélina retorted.

Sometimes he forgot how sharp Sélina could be too. Perhaps because she saved her sweetness for him.

— "You control ice, cool for you. Not us."

— "She's not wrong, Ashryn," Tobias began.

But a testosterone-filled voice cut in.

— "We're the hunters tonight! We go over the ice, no time to waste."

— "We could split up," Tobias suggested again.

— "Okay, you stay here, we'll go," Virgill asserted.

— "And if you go now, then I break the ice?"

Yu-Jin had almost no expression when she spoke, making it unclear if she was joking or not. For his part, he preferred her not to joke. Seriously, he couldn't get a word in without being cut off. All because he only wanted to bring the corpse back to Snorra Edda. He was sure that for him, it was just a competition with Davys' group. Besides, they must not have found their target yet, since they had received no signal from them. They must already be on their way to find them. Ha... That's why the other was in such a hurry. Moreover, Virgill ran his hand through his long blond hair while looking disgustedly at the girl who kept clinging to him. Ashryn, who was supposed to emit the signal in case of victory, finally spoke up.

— "Okay, Sélina and Virgill with me, you two here."

— "I'll stay here," reacted the rose next to him.

Tobias recoiled a bit instinctively. Why was she acting like this with him in front of others? Didn't she believe him to be capable of investigating on his own, without her babysitting him?

— "But you're the one who enjoys the snow the most after me," Ashryn contradicted. "And she was right."

— "It's true," she was probably thinking up an excuse. "It's better if we each stay with part of the group to get out of it more easily, and that's it."

— "No one stays with me," Yu-Jin reacted, already heading to the other side of the valley. Even this reaction was more logical than leaving Sélina with him.

— "Oook....Good hunting then?"

After the groups dispersed, Tobias and Sélina moved through the muddy terrain. They were delving into the dark woods. He then pulled out a small piece of wood from his pocket, to which a stone was attached, only by small branches. It allowed them to see better, shimmering.