Isher Notra

Hari-onagu:

The cold crept down her spine.

Hari-onagu flew with the aid of her three friends/paid mercenaries. It was a weird relationship, but it helped her get a discount for their services!

She could fly alone, but the Kamaitachi were almost living manifestations of pure wind magic. Together, they were one of the fastest Monoke in Sayama. As for her, she could barely levitate over the trees.

As the temperature dropped, anxiety fed the Yūrei's heartbeats. The one who waited for them would be less than pleased when she heard about their failure.

The worst part was that the ambush wasn't even in her plans. Not only did Hari diverge from her strategy, but she made everything worse by doing it.

Yuki was terrifying when things didn't go her way.

After a few minutes, the Yūrei could feel a few cold, ticklish sensations on her hair and shoulders. It was snowing outside of the right season. Anyone knew what that meant.

...Except you, I suppose.

The pine trees that covered the earth with its green were strangely absent in a tiny corner of the woods. Not coincidentally, a blue glow emanated from there as the sunlight clashed against an unusual construct.

The Kamaitachi slowly landed on the clearing alongside Hari, feasting their eyes on a blueish minka. However, a chilling mist ran through the Yūrei's sickly pale skin. Her body was hardly adapted to these temperatures, which was not the case for the sculptor of this artistic show of delicate skill.

Every inch of the house was created by the Icy Sorceress. Its posts and roofing were carved from solid ice. Its walls, windows, and room dividers were composed of ice and a thin layer of water, which had a firm, gelatinous property. And yet, it never lost a single drop of moisture for the unforgiving sphere of searing heat that ruled over their heads.

As Hari and the Weasels entered the minka, her teeth clattered, and her body shuddered when her feet stepped into the compacted earth. No matter how often she visited her friend, the Yūrei couldn't handle the cold, which wasn't an issue for her ninja companions.

She should have levitated.

In the middle of the room, another one of Hari's kind waited patiently for them on top of an ice platform at the center of the earth floor. She shared many racial characteristics with the hairy Monoke, differing in her choice of garbs, a kimono composed solely of many different tones of blue, and hair, a hime cut with strands falling down to her waist.

The Icy Sorceress, Yuki-onna. She bowed at them, and they reciprocated the gesture.

"Greetings, Hari." She lowered her bulged eyes at the ninjas. "You three."

Right. How could Hari have forgotten? Yuki had adopted the telepathic way of speaking. It was hard communicating with other Monoke because of their lack of lips. Still, Hari preferred her "broken" dialect. It was one of the features that distinguished their species from all others.

However, she didn't judge her best friend's choice at all. She had to admit it gave a valuable edge on the intimidation department.

"Yuki. There's not good news."

The cold Monoke's indifferent eyes contacted with hers. Along with communicating without ever moving her jaw, it was an uncanny experience. "Please, let us discuss this over tea." She motioned to a rectangular table, so low it could almost touch the floor, surrounded by cushions with properties similar to those of the water doors.

Hari sat on the squishy pillow, and so did the Kamaitachi. Everyone awaited their host to serve the tea, unable to create small talk due to their past failure. The thought of upsetting Yuki-onna was horrifying, even for someone close to her, like the hairy maiden.

Thankfully, the temperature had become much less bone-chilling. Yuki had control of every single detail of the houses she birthed. The exact details of the advanced Saniya techniques involved eluded Hari. She was always more comfortable with straightforward body magic rather than elemental spells. Although she needed some knowledge of the wind and earth routes to get by.

The sorceress brought handleless teacups with a pretty nemophila illustration engraved on each. Then she grabbed a brownish teapot from a hearth in the middle of the ice platform, quickly filling her guests' cups.

Hari couldn't start to describe the bliss from her warm hands when they gently wrapped around the teacup. She slowly took a sip in a contained, graceful manner since she shouldn't act unrefined among comrades. It was better to leave that wilder side for her enemies.

Water sept through the pores of Yuki-onna's forearm, slowly dripping on the dirt but not dissolving into it. Instead, the puddle converged into a blob, slowly growing until it became another cushion.

The Kamaitachi gave space for their host, who was now sitting while facing directly at the hairy maiden. "Is my tea pleasing your taste, old friend?"

Of course, she didn't even pay attention to the flavor. Matcha, just the way she liked it. The bitterness with a subtle touch of sweetness hit the spot just right.

"I-It's delicious, dear Yuki."

Without a single change in her features, she asked. "What bad news do you bring?"

Hari took a big gulp. She put the cup on the table and opened her mandible. However, it was challenging for her to utter a single word.

"I-I..."

"Please, speak."

"I didn't go along with your tlan. I tried to attack the Hunan."

Yuki's eyes closed, and the room's temperature dropped to numbing levels. Her heart hammered as her coursing blood was the only source of heat left for the Yūrei. Her once-liquid tea turned into a solid piece of frozen substance.

The usually stoic faces of the Kamaitachi were also slowly twisted by the absence of warmth. Was Yuki going to kill them?

"Why have you done this?"

Hari-onagu desperately explained her reasoning, longing for the cold to stop. "A Daku had knocked out all the girl's dodyguards exccet one! I was sure I could handle it!" Her cheek warmed up from her tears. "Sorry! Tlease! Stot!"

The cold had ceased. Slowly, Hari's articulations regained their motion again. She could open and close her hand with little difficulty, and her heart thumped stably.

"This is bad. Now, the Dragon's Guard knows we're coming for that Human." She took a sip of her tea.

Hari's eyes were filled with confusion and resentment. She had almost frozen her completely solid. Yuki had never contemplated such an act before. Why now? What changed?

Was it all of this because of the queen's announcement?

The Icy Sorceress saw right through it, her face contorting into the closest thing for a scowl it could muster for such a long time. "Next time, follow my plan, Hari-onagu."

Referring to Hari by her full name. She might as well have spat on her face. The hairy Monoke didn't feel so terrible in decades. She just wanted this heartache to stop.

"They are going to Pantsti, correct?"

Hari-onagu weakly nodded while focusing her gaze on the beautiful teacup. It was the only thing worth staring at, except for the Weasels.

"That means they will cross Chikukei first. Thankfully, I have already sent Hibagon there to keep track of their movements."

No response from Hari.

"The Kamaitachi can quickly support him if anything goes awry." She turned to the tiny mercenaries. "Finish your tea and join Hibagon."

Cold tea wasn't the tastiest thing, but the Weasels seemed to have no problem with their beverage. After drinking it all, they bowed to the two Yūrei and launched themselves into the wind.

Now, it was just the two of them. Just like old times...

Hari's hair shifted without a clear course. Strands wrapped around one another, reflecting her emotional clash. How did she feel about Yuki-onna? Sad? Angry?

Honestly, she was tired. There once was a time when her friend's personality didn't match her skill set. Her smile, toothy and horrifying for Humans, shone with compassion and love.

And yet, it was taken away in one fell swoop in the most atrocious of ways, leaving someone who acted too much like a corpse, even for their species' standards.

Of course, everyone knew who to blame for this crime. The same culprits for everyone else's tragedy. This was the sole reason for her recklessness, so why did Yuki-

"Hari." Her eyes jolted at the feeling of her friend's cold hands touching hers. "I know you meant well."

That little piece of acknowledgment broke Hari into a silent sobbing. Yuki-onna's fingers tightened their hold on hers.

"I only ask you to trust my judgment. I need to see this through. If you want to help me, you do as I say."

Their hands interlocked, forming an unbreakable bond. Finally, Hari-onagu was glimpsing her dear friend again. Maybe she could make things right. She could fix her tormented companion for millennia.

Yuki-onna could smile again. And it all depends on her.

She freed her hands and wiped out her tears. "What can I do, Yuki?"

The sorceress took one final sip. "About this third party..."