The Crystal Swordsman: Alfheim's Awakening

Canticle Crystallization

A canticle cold swept over the top of the mountains ridge line and over top of us as we walked up the powdered path. Snow glided overhead like the tide of an ocean current and we trailed underneath it to ascend to the peak.

"We should get out of this before it gets worse!" Lizbeth didn't like the cold wind chill.

"Nonsense. We gain nothing without risk." K called back.

"Easy for you to s-s-say! You have f-feathered wings!" Lizbeth was shivering.

"I'll wrap them around you when we find a safe spot. You can hold out till then, can't you?" K teased.

"Ugh... asshole." Liz barked under her breath.

"How much further till we take rest?" Sinon asked just behind me.

"Not much further now. We'll find a cave or something to-" I peeked back and saw her in an all black trench coat with white fur along its collar.

"What is that?" I stopped us all and asked.

"It's a coat. Kirito gave it to me for the cold." Sinon gestured.

I glared at him for half a second.

"You're an ice elemental." I reminded her.

"I know, but the thought was nice." She smiled.

I clenched my teeth in my closed mouth and turned to lead us again with a huff.

"I don't think he liked that." Liz hushed to Sinon but I overheard as we rounded the next bend.

Cat Sith, Sharp, Ice Queen: Sinon

The blizzard raged on just outside the mouth of an icy cave that we had entered. K plopped down some spare firewood that he still had in his inventory from our sailing expedition. He popped a small flame from his finger to ignite the wood and sat down around it with the rest of us.

"Brrrrr, huff. Does this even produce heat?" Lizbeth rubbed her hands together before putting them close to the flames.

"Oh, right. Sorry." K tensed his open hand at the fire and turned it clockwise.

The flames grew a little and the heat from them was especially apparent now, but K's mind seemed elsewhere.

"You still offering those wings of yours?" Liz still shivered close to the fire.

"If you want them." K simply opened his wing closest to her and stared deep into the dancing purple embers.

"Yes please." Liz scurried and shuffled until she was huddle up close next to K.

He wrapped his one wing around her but kept his arms resting atop his knees. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was barely here with us.

"I wonder if we'll find special winter mobs out here." Asuna was excited by the idea of exploring in this region.

"Yeah! Like a Polar bear!" Leafa suggested.

"Polar bears aren't scary." Liz shrugged off.

"Perhaps not in real life. I bet they're very viscous looking in ALO." I thought of some ideas.

"Yea. No way they'd miss out on a design opportunity like that." Kirito agreed.

"What do you think, K?" Asuna asked.

Everyone looked to him but his eyes vividly reflected the fire before us.

"K?" I called.

He still didn't blink. Liz suddenly nudged him with her shoulder and he was suddenly knocked from his stare.