A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

After eight hours of continuous running, Erik and Astrid finally halted at the edge of town.

While their stamina as both second-rank Runebound and supernaturals was genuinely astounding, even they had gotten a little winded after such a journey.

"Pffff," Astrid exhaled when she stopped. She bent over a little and panted, although she couldn't go far since she still carried Emily in her arms. "It's been a while since I had a workout like that. It felt good, though!"

Erik chuckled as he put Emma on her feet, "Same here." Then he stretched his aching body and yawned a little. While the heavy movement during their journey had not prevented his body from stitching quite a bit of itself back together, he really needed a good rest to fully recover.

Emma staggered a little when she finally stood on her own two feet again after being carried around by Erik for eight hours. When she found her footing, she looked up at Erik and Astrid. "For my part, the view was amazing. Scandinavia is a beautiful place," she said, smiling brightly.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Erik laughed as he patted her head.

"Yeah, yeah, so am I," Astrid interrupted a little impatiently. "But can we get a move on now? I'd really like to finally put the edgy sister down somewhere."

"Oh?" Erik turned to her with a teasing grin. "Unable to keep carrying her, huh? Well, no problem. Let me take her instead, then," he said, extending his arms towards her in a grabbing motion.

But he had achieved exactly what he was aiming for when Astrid's pride was clearly pricked. She turned away from him with a huff. "Who said anything about being unable to carry her?! I'm perfectly happy to go another eight hours like this. How about you?"

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"Oh no, not me," Erik chuckled indulgently. "I definitely need some rest. Luckily, I've got the powerful Astrid to carry poor Emily for me."

"That's right!" Astrid nodded pridefully before walking into town. "Now, let's go find you a place to rest!" she said confidently, trying desperately to hide the slight trembling in her arms and back.

Emma giggled at Astrid's reaction before grabbing Erik's hand with a bright smile and walking into town with him.

Muonio was a little smaller than Kirkenes, but it also had a heavy focus on tourism. Or at least, it did before the awakening.

Currently, it appears to be entirely abandoned by humans and supernaturals while having been reclaimed by nature.

The reason for the abandonment was uncertain, but there were plenty of possibilities. There was a small chance there simply lived no supernaturals here, while all the humans died in the awakening.

More likely, however, was that the humans migrated south to escape the far harsher winters of a newly awakened Earth, while the supernaturals either stayed behind and eventually got wiped out by a pack of rank-one beasts, or traveled to Finnmark to join either the Enclave or the Dominion.

Alternatively, the vampires and shapeshifters might have simply gone with them since the extreme hatred of humans that was rampant in Finnmark was mostly a result of the hunter raids that happened at the same time as the awakening. It was entirely possible that the three races got along perfectly fine in this place.

Whatever the case, Muonio had no intelligent beings left inside it. The town's structures, consisting primarily of businesses catering to tourists, stood silent as nature slowly reclaimed their exteriors.

With Earth's current development phase altering and enhancing the biosphere, plant life could survive here, even with the more extreme temperatures. Thus, ivy and other climbing plants covered walls and roofs, while some trees started to take root in less stable structures.

Wildlife had also taken the opportunity to extend its territory, as many creatures like reindeer, foxes, and even lynxes had made their homes in this place. Of course, they were all altered in some way, much like the tidal tempest Erik encountered during the boat ride.

But unlike that ravenous school of fish, these creatures knew when they were out of their league and stayed well away from the newcomers in town.

However, Erik and Astrid kept their eyes peeled for any possible second-rank beasts. Rare they may be, but non-existent they were not. And despite their love of fighting, neither Erik nor Astrid was in the right mood or the proper shape for such a thing.

They slowly walked through what used to be the town's roads but were now barely recognizable as such. Traces of the town's once tourism-driven economy were everywhere, such as abandoned snowmobiles, skis, and hiking equipment.

Naturally, everything was covered in ice and snow, with icicles abound and water puddles everywhere, as the current summer climate had temperatures that went at least slightly over the freezing point, causing some subtle thawing.

Erik looked around with slight curiosity. After all, this was only the fourth inhabited place he had seen on Earth. There was Frostvik, Kirkenes, London, and now this place. All of these places had their own image, from small community to harbor town to metropolis and now tourism town.

Finally, they found a hotel and ski lodge that appeared reasonably intact.

The harsh weather, and particularly the slight thawing from the current summer climate compared to the harsh winters, had created some cracks in the walls, but it didn't appear to be on the verge of crumbling down, and thus, was good enough to house them for a night.

The insides were slightly damp yet desolate and harsh. Mementos of winter sports were on display, some Sámi art was scattered around, and display cases held entirely unrecognizable and decayed photographs.

The trio made their way inside, causing some small, rank-one beasts to scatter around due fear. Astrid continued to carry Emily and Victor followed them like a trained dog.

"I guess this will do for a night," Erik remarked as he looked around and scratched his head. "Perhaps two if we want to take the risk regarding Alice and fully recover before we head out again."

He smiled at Astrid and Emma, "Let's go find a room."