Finding Contentus

Chapter 112: Hate And Hope

★★★★★

They reached the outskirts of Kimba, traveling through the Sayas river. Vreys was upon them, and soon, they would stop in Minaleese's homeland.

Before they left, Minaleese bought fur clothing for Ishthrylla in Phountain. Minaleese still wore her snow-white clothing since the extreme cold felt natural to her, good even. She didn't need the extra fur.

V already had her vibrant winter clothing stocked in her quarters. Currently, she was sleeping, or rather, trying to sleep. She had fallen ill. Very ill. Minaleese made her drink hot tea with a sedative potion. She directed the winds of Veronica by crafting a snowstorm.

Ishthrylla's teeth were chattering like they would fall off as she stood next to Minaleese by the rails, in wide eyed wonder. Her fur cloak covered her body like a polar shelter.

Minaleese looked at her, smiling faintly. "A lot of firsts for you, don't you think my baby badger?" She jested.

"There's... it's just white!" Ishthrylla shivered tremendously and sneezed, scanning the wintry landscape. She held her hands out to feel the falling snow. She couldn't see a thing in front of her. It was like Kimba was as angry as her, but on the cold scale of temperature. It was so cold and bleak.

"Why would anyone wanna live here?" Ishthrylla sounded baffled. "Imagine if I didn't have any Eifri blood in me veins. I'd have frozen to death by now! My face feels like it's about to fall off!"

Minaleese snickered. "The cold gives us our strength, our power," she said plainly. "It's the opposite with the people of Metero. The heat gives them their strength and power."

Minaleese's eyes glossed over the winter land. It had been so many years, and yet, it felt like she had never left. Things had changed drastically. And she had to be a crucial part of that change.

She wanted to go straight to Platoo, to her people, but they had to seal the deal with Koobus and Kaikara. V had insisted they get that out of the way before things got even more messy. V had also asked Javulani for metal prosthetics. She attached and fixed them to the Koobus, giving him metal arms and legs for his... "Ishing" with Ishthrylla, and final fight with Kaikara.

Ishthrylla was beginning to worry about V, she hadn't come out. V's grief irritated Ishthrylla to hell and back because she didn't know what to do to help. She didn't know how to make it go away.

"Knot and tie my daughter." Niccoli's will reverberated in her head.

"Go," Minaleese said without taking her eyes off their destination. V had already given Minaleese instructions beforehand.

Ishthrylla nodded. "I'll be back once we've landed."

Minaleese smiled at her. "Won't be too long now, we're close. She needs you."

Ishthrylla blinked slowly like she was digesting those words. She wondered, did Niccoli perhaps know Tita? There was something familiar about the way Niccoli looked at Ishthrylla, specifically at her red hair.

The answer came to Ishthrylla like a cigarette being branded into her chest. She asked Tita to be her daughter's lover, just as V would later ask Javulani to marry her mother.

Niccoli really did try to love her daughter. Valiantly. She fought her hardest to make amends for her abuse in whatever way she could by hooking her daughter up with Tita. Only for the venom of Vickus to ruin everything.

I fooking hate these Eifri. Ishthrylla snarled, only to remember herself. This wasn't about her. This was about her violet viper. She went straight for her.