A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

So they went back to running.

With Emma in Erik's arms, Emily in Astrid's, and Victor running with a vacant stare, they raced across Scandinavia's rugged and breathtaking landscape.

They traveled over large expanses of Arctic tundra, with its low shrubs, mosses, and lichens clinging to life in an awakened Earth's harsh and quickly changing environment. The ground was a patchwork of frost and thaw, with icy rocks shimmering like jewels.

The group's steps were deliberate and fast, thudding against the frozen ground.

For the first hour of their travel, they silently sprinted at maximum speed, focusing on covering as much ground as possible while Frostfang was still occupied with Björn.

During this time, they had already crossed the once-border between Norway and Finland, which was extremely close to Frostvik.

Naturally, Erik also used various methods he had picked up on Söl, both magical and otherwise, to obscure any signs of their passage so that Frostfang would be unable to follow them.

While Emily remained unconscious in Astrid's arms, Emma didn't stay idle. She kept flooding Erik with as much healing as she could. It still didn't have much effect on actually stitching his body back together, but it did give Erik a soothing feeling that reduced the pain in his aching body.

Finally, after an hour, Erik thought, 'That should be good enough,' and began slowing down a little. He was still running, but it was more of a travel pace now rather than a sprint.

After all, they had many more hours to go, and it wouldn't have been wise to tire themselves out in the first half of their journey.

Noticing Erik was slowing down, Astrid did the same. "Are we far enough away?" she asked Erik while they continued to move.

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Erik nodded while he ran, "Should be. Frostfang's speed would allow him to catch up to us in about half an hour, but he should have no idea where we're going. Our scent is obscured, we're way out of reach for his omnisense, and I've been covering any tracks we left behind. His speed won't avail him."

Astrid nodded with relief. "That's good."

Emma had little reaction, however. She focused on healing Erik and trusted Erik to handle their safety anyway.

"So when can I go back to myself?" Astrid suddenly asked with an annoyed huff.

Erik chuckled when he realized Astrid's hair was still crimson, and her eyes were still green. "What? Don't like your new look? Elora would be hurt, you know!"

"It's a fine look, but I want my own!" Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright. Well, you'll have to wait for Emily to wake up. Or Elora, but Emily will likely be first." His last words were accompanied by a tinge of pain in his voice.

"How is Elora?" Emma's concerned voice suddenly came from Erik's chest as the conversation had reached a part she was interested in. "What happened at the end?"

Erik sighed. He didn't really want to think about the scene of Elora getting wounded again, but he also didn't want to keep anything from them.

So he told them everything that happened from the moment they left, including how Elora got wounded and about using Björn to delay Frostfang.

"How the hell is she still alive after receiving those kinds of wounds?!" Astrid exclaimed and staggered a little when Erik got to that point.

Emma had small tears in her eyes as she whispered, "Poor Elora…" Ever since becoming sister-wives with the fairy, Emma's care for Elora had grown exponentially. She didn't see Elora as a true sister yet, but certainly as a very good friend, and also somewhat of an authority figure.

"It's one of the benefits of being a fairy with a protector," Erik explained with a soft smile. "Her soul can survive inside mine just fine, even without a body. At the same time, my body is essentially meant to be a recovery vessel for both her physical and metaphysical essence."

All living beings were essentially made up of physical and metaphysical essence, encapsulating the body and the soul. For most people, that meant very little, as the ability to alter, leave, or interact at all with either of those essences was impossible until they reached a very high level of power.

But it was different for bonded fairies, whose very existence was essentially broken down into their essences, which was the only reason they were able to merge with their protector.

"Basically, her wounded body and soul are currently being nourished by mine," he continued. He didn't mind the fact that their bond was still based on this type of relationship. In fact, he loved that he was able to save her life like this. Besides, it was a small price to pay for the benefits he received in return.

"Her soul should recover in a day at most," he finished. "But she won't be able to leave my body for a while. Her physical essence received heavy wounds and needs more time to recover."

Immediately after he finished, Emma's determined voice came from below his chin. "When she wakes up, tell her I wouldn't mind if she wanted to use my body occasionally while hers recovers."

"Really?" Erik asked in wonder. It wasn't an easy thing to give up your body to someone else, after all.

Emma nodded while she continued to heal the running Erik. "Yeah… I trust her. But, more importantly, I trust you. Besides, what kind of sister-wife would I be if I allowed her to remain locked inside somewhere when I could provide a way for her to leave, even if temporarily?"

Erik smiled warmly, grateful for Emma's kindness. "I'll let her know, little Glimmer. Thank you," he said. "But you don't need to worry too much. She always says that my soul is very comfortable."

Emma nodded with a bright smile. She was always happy to help those she cared about. Especially Erik and Emily, of course, but Elora as well.

Now, it was Astrid's turn to speak up. "I'm glad Elora is going to be alright," she said. "I honestly still have my doubts about her, but I wouldn't want her to get hurt."

Erik nodded, not minding her words.

Then, Astrid continued, "So I suppose we're on our way to rescue Björn's daughter then, according to your deal?"

The running, armored werewolf nodded again. "That's the idea. I still don't know where she is exactly, but we suspect she's somewhere in what used to be Sweden, as that area is almost completely occupied by the council."

He turned towards the black-haired, unconscious girl in Astrid's arms. "We'll have to wait for Emily to wake up before we can ask Victor for the exact location, though."