Reine pov: I stared at the silver snow falling from the sky, just glancing at its beauty. The snow was chilly, yet it also didn't nip at my skin as much as I thought it would.
"Reine, you need to focus!" My small, brown-haired friend said I looked down at her, sighing slightly.
"Sorry, Anya, I'm just really focused on the snow." I told her. Anya tilted her head to the side and murmured something that I couldn't quite make out: "huh?" I said gently, hearing her reply again after
"You said that when we got her, you kept admiring the scenery, but didn't you want to meet up with Kiara-senpai?" Anya asked me
Her name sank into my ears and made me jolt up. Shoot, I forgot!" I said it loudly, only to get shushed by nearby bystanders.
Anya looked around and said, "I can take you there." She told me I agreed that it may be better if she goes with me so she can at least help me explain why I am late.
I forced her to transform into her Keris form and ran down the path with her, telling me directions. We came to a broken stone wall, and I was told to jump over it, so I did just that. As soon as I got to the summit, I saw Kiara standing at the rendezvous area.
"Kiara-senpai!!" I called out, getting the orange-haired girl's attention. She looked as if she were pouting.
"I told you not to call me senpai." Kiara spoke quietly. She walked up to me and clasped my hand tightly; yet, with a ton of care, I felt my face get flushed.
"K-Kiara, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." I stated apologetically
"No worries; I was running late and just got here!" Kiara responded cheerfully.
Her face had a light tint to it, but nothing that was prominent on her face filled me with disappointment. "Why were you late?" I asked the Phoenix
"Ah, you see, I have a friend from another school, Pomu; I was just checking on her," she told me.
"Did you talk to her about Calli?" I asked her, and Kiara nervously fiddled with her fingers.
"Not necessarily; I mean, I don't really have much to tell her about Calli anymore; the two of us worked out our relationship and made it to the next step," She said.
I sighed bitterly and nodded in response to her: "You two are cute together." I responded
Kiara opened her mouth. "Are you-" There was a loud noise that interrupted our conversation. We both looked in the direction of the noise, and I saw a blonde girl.
"Hey Kiara!" Pomu yelled out to the girl, who was stunned by this.
"I guess you can meet her after all," Kiara laughed. I squeezed Anya, causing her to undo her transformation.
"Hi Kiara-senpai, how are you?" Anya asked
"Pretty good. I mean, I'm happy I get to talk to Reine." Kiara said to her:
"Don't ignore me!" Pomu ragefully shouted out as she flew over to the phoenix.
Kiara laughed at the fairy, who was pouting. "I didn't mean to ignore you," she said before patting the blonde girl's shoulder.
The fairy girl stared at me, causing me to sweat nervously. "Who is this?" She asked Kiara
"Ah, I'm Pavolia Reine. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." I formally said, making sure to bow to be more polite.
Kiara circled behind me and patted my back repeatedly, saying, "No need to be so formal!" She laughed at me.
"But this is my first time meeting your friend, so I want to at least make a good first impression!" I told her
Pomu seemed to be wondering about something. "So this is the girl I've heard so much about. I thought you were lying when you said she was cute," the fairy said.
"Why would I be lying about that? Weine is one of, if not the cutest, girls I know!" Kiara sighed
"I know-I know by now I should understand your one state of mind is cute girls, but still, she's drop dead gorgeous," Pomu stated.
Anya looked at me in shock as she noticed I was in a daze, and she began to shake me intensely. "Focus Reine!" She said it in a loud whisper. She then slapped me a little bit to make me come back to reality.
"Sorry..." I told her as my mind re-entered my body.
"Reine, aren't you cold?" Kiwawa asked me as she stared at my body. I looked down and saw my exposed stomach and my exposed feet.
"Well, I am a little chilly," I replied to her. Kiara took off her black wooly jacket and draped it around my body, zipping it up so it would at least cover my upper half more. Won't you be cold?" I asked
She shook her head. "I'm a phoenix, and the only reason I brought the jacket is because the school required it," she laughed.
I felt really warm, as if she had hugged me. "Is this insulated?" I asked
"It is that I absorb my body heat, which is always really hot, and it then insulates the inside," Kiara explained.
"Reine, why didn't you wear your warm clothes in the first place?" Anya questioned
"Well, I did bring them as it was mandatory; however, remember that I handed my jacket to Ollie for a second and then she disappeared with it." I laughed.
"Wait... can Ollie even feel cold?" Kiara questioned
"I mean, Mumei would probably say no because she doesn't have pain receptors," I said.
Kiara laughed at my comment. "Yeah," She said cheerfully.
"Speaking of that Mumei girl, where is she?" Pomu asked
"Well, I saw her and talked to her; she said something about wanting to go somewhere called an icicle cave," Kiara mentioned.
"She took Zeta, Kronii, and Fauna with her as well," I added.
"I don't know who those people are!" Pomu yelled
"I could possibly take you to them," a familiar girl said. I looked, and immediately my heart skipped a beat.
Moona-senpai stood there, her hair flowing in the breeze. The silver snow landed in her hair, making an illusion of stars in a beautiful galaxy.
"You know where she is, senpai?" Anya wondered
"I guess..." Moona-senpai replied to us.
"What do you mean by I guess?" Kiara questioned
"I mean, I don't definitely know my way to the icicle cave; I just know it exists, and I can sense Zeta from her," Moona stated.
"Wait... how?" Anya asked
"I just feel like it," Moona-senpai stated.
Anya didn't seem to want to accept that, but Moona-senpai reminded Kris that she is stronger than her, so she has to agree with her about being able to sense Zeta
"Didn't Mumei say she didn't want to be bothered?" I questioned only getting a nod from Kiara.
"I mean, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if the two of us dropped by, but I don't think she would be happy to have all five of us coming to see her," Kiara said.
Well, I want to see what's so cool about this Nanashi Mumei chick." Pomu huffed
Kiara exhaled, creating a deep sigh. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," she responded.
"Wait-what is that supposed to mean!?" Pomu frantically asked
"Nothing other than the fact that Mumei is at a far enough location that she can get away with anything," Kiara mumbled.
I looked at her and scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, Mumei is kind of a wild card." I laughed.
Kiara stared deep into my eyes. "Weine, it's unrelated, but how are you always so beautiful?" Kiara asked
She reached her hand out and gently caressed my face while staring at me. "Well, you see, I use aur-." My explanation was cut off by Pomu.
"Who cares? Just take me to Mumei!" She said loudly
"Ugh... Fine Pomu I'll take you there, I guess, but next time don't interrupt Reine," Kiara scolded.
"I apologize, but I'm in a hurry, so please take me to her!" Pomu shouted
Anya glared at the blonde fairy, saying, "You didn't seem to care until we mentioned Mumei, so it can't be that urgent." She pointed it out.
"Damn, just take me!" Pomu yelled
"You know, Pomu, out of context, that sounds pretty bad." Kiara said
Pomu began to blush in embarrassment at the prospect of what she said being lewd, but she just accepted it.
"Are we going?" She asked once again.
"Yes!" Kiara groaned
All of us moved and made our way to the icicle cave. We got to the entrance and peered in.
"They should be here!" Moona-senpai stated
"Maybe they're in the heart of the cave." Anya sighed with sarcasm.
Moona-senpai grabbed her shoulder roughly and said, Owww, you're going to break me!" Anya cried out.
Pomu was going to step in, but I stopped her. "Wait, this is a heat potion," I said while summoning the vile. I quickly threw it in to see what would happen, and much to my theory, it instantly froze over.
"Okay, so everyone except for me will probably have to use mana coating," Kiara said.
"Well, I'm not," I said while stepping into the cave. Kiara's eyes lit up with shock that I wasn't frozen over. She ran in and jumped into my arms, hugging me.
"Weine, you're so cool!" Kiwawa cheered
"Kiwawa-you're so close!" I squealed, getting a soft gaze after that.
"You are a little red; am I heating you up too much?" She whispered into my ear.
"No..." I said briefly, only to get yanked away from her by Anya.
"You're so hopeless..." She stated
Moona-senpai and Pomu stepped inside the cave. I don't know why it took Moona so long to walk into the cave.
"We should probably split up to locate those four," I mentioned.
"No, if I let you girls out of my sight, how do I know you aren't going to just ditch me?" Pomu asked
"I wouldn't ditch you, Pomu, but no one else here has any obligation to be here to help you; besides, I don't know what you want from Mumei, but if you try to harm her, I'll have to fight you," Kiara said.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything like that!" Pomu said loudly:
An icicle fell from the ceiling and was about to skewer Kiara, I pulled out a feather blade and swiftly slashed it into pieces as more icicles began to fall. Anya just stood there, and they shattered on her body. Moona-senpai just dodged them, and as for the fairy girl, she almost was hit multiple times, but Kiara saved her.
"We should probably move from this spot before someone gets hurt." Moona-senpai stated
"Yes, I agree. I don't want to see Reine get any injuries on her body!" Kiara said
"Only her!" Pomu yelled
"I can't hear you; I'm too busy trying to see my friends!" Kiara yelled She grabbed my hand and ran with me down the cave path.
It was almost as if the cave was alive and was trying to kill us. The walls would get slimmer, the icicles would fall rapidly without warning, and the floor would get way more slippery, but eventually we got to an ice wall where we clearly could see Mumei on the other side. It was the most serious feeling I ever had. She was training with someone I don't know.
"We need to break through the wall," Kiara said as she stretched.
"Use fire!" Pomu demanded
"It won't be that easy since this cave can freeze my heat potion; why wouldn't it be able to freeze Phoenix fire, especially since Kiara can't risk using too much output in the ice cave?" I said.
"Reine, can you help me?" Kiara asked
"Yeah, let me warm up my mana and stuff first," I said.
I took a deep breath, knowing it'd been a while since I'd used this ability. I stared at Kiara and took in her beauty.
"Let's break down the wall," I finally said.
We will be through soon. I took one last look at Kiara; she is still too dazzling.