And so, the boys perched on Titi's back pressed on. The closer they got to their grandfather's house, the more the landscape changed, until there was almost no snow left.
The trees were already budding, their foliage lighter. Yet, the air was fresh and pleasant. The scent of flowers, the warmth of the sun... It was spring.
Birds sang, and small rodents had also come out of hiding. The forest finally seemed less hostile.
The kids were singing at the top of their lungs, while Titi walked along, snapping her fingers to the rhythm of their song:
"♫ Spring, oh, spring, light of heart, we sing! Spring, oh, spring, we'll savor every moment with our eyes! Spring, oh, spring, the birds are out, and so is the good weather...! ♫"
Titi started to sweat. Temperatures nearing sixty degrees were becoming hard for her to bear, but she wanted to keep going to help her new friends.
Seeing the state of his new friend, Vars smiled and said:
"You can put us down, Titi! We should be able to manage from here, don't worry. Thanks for everything."
Titi nodded and set the boys down. They said goodbye to their friend before parting ways. They walked on peacefully, then Vars turned around and shouted:
"I promise I'll do everything I can to save your babies!"
He kept waving goodbye. Titi did the same before heading back into the snowy forest.
Uyan then said:
"It's amazing that this Quashti understands us."
Vars replied with a smile:
"It's normal. She's a Quashti who's probably been around other humans."
Uyan thought to himself:
That would explain why the cave was so well set up...
Itoî took a deep breath and yelled:
"IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO BE ALIVE! WOOHOO!!!"
Vars imitated him:
"YEAH! LONG LIVE LIFE, LONG LIVE SPRING!"
Uyan looked embarrassed and blushed. Being introverted by nature, this kind of behavior made him uncomfortable. He muttered:
"Pfft, kids..."
Vars heard him and slapped his shoulder so hard the little boy pitched forward:
"Come on, Uyan, don't be a grump! We survived another day! I'm sure Mom is proud of us up there!"
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That last sentence echoed in Uyan's mind for a moment.
Is Mom proud of us up there? Even though we let her die?... I don't know... But I'll do my best for her.
He filled his lungs with air and screamed in a completely off-key voice:
"MOM, REST IN PEACE!"
Itoî and Vars burst out laughing. Uyan turned to them and yelled:
"Why are you laughing?! Did I say something funny?"
Itoî said:
"No! You said a beautiful thing, but your voice cracking when you scream at the top of your lungs...! Pfft hahaha!"
Vars cracked up and added:
"Uyan, what's with that voice? Did it go on vacation before we did? Hahahaha!"
The little boy blushed with shame and exclaimed:
"You bunch of jerks! You'll see!"
The kids bickered as they walked. They tossed their armor on the ground, as it hadn't been producing heat for a while anyway.
Uyan then asked Itoî, intrigued:
"Hey, why is your braid starting to turn white at the end? Are you getting white hair?"
Itoî looked at his braid. He didn't understand it either:
"I don't know. I didn't have this two weeks ago..."
Vars asked:
"Did it get like this since Mom died?"
Itoî thought about it, glancing briefly at the clouds in the sky:
"No. I was already starting to get two or three white hairs during that whole nightmare thing. But it was pretty faint. With Mom's death, I guess it got a bit more noticeable..."
"Hmm... I see," Vars said.
Uyan then said:
"Oh yeah, Vars, you need to make the same meds you make for me, but for Itoî!"
"Oh? He has the same issues as you?" Vars asked.
"Yeah, but worse," Uyan said, looking worried.
"I see. All the more reason to look into his case. Itoî, Uyan, when we get to Grandpa's, I'll need to examine you both more closely," Vars said seriously.
Vars understood it was probably an illness or something of the sort. However, he had already searched extensively through recent medical books, and nothing truly matched. Some diseases looked similar, sure, but nothing more.
He pulled a few pills from his pocket, split them in two, and gave half to each.
"Take these for now. I'll need a few days to prepare everything. Plus, Grandpa knows a lot about traditional medicine; he might be able to shed some light on this."
"I'll probably start by saving Titi's babies. Without her, we might never have found each other. She deserves my help without delay. I'll likely stay at Grandpa's for an hour, then head straight out to look for her babies in the area," Vars said as he walked.
Uyan nodded. But Itoî added:
"Alright, but on one condition!"
Vars asked:
"Uh... Go ahead, I'm listening."
"I want to come with you!"
He hesitated for a few seconds.
"Hmm..."
"Come on, please, please, pleeease!" Itoî insisted.
Uyan rolled his eyes and slapped a hand over his face in annoyance:
"When he gets going... Good grief..."
"Alright, fine," Vars said.
"Pleeease," Itoî continued, seemingly not having heard him.
"I said fine," Vars repeated.
"Pleeeease, please, please, please, please, please, please...!"
Uyan looked at the trees to his left, thinking:
Vars is gonna lose it...
"I SAID FINE, DAMN IT!" Vars roared, furious.
Uyan grimaced, as if experiencing déjà vu, and thought again:
What had I said...
Itoî then put on a tiny, mocking, childish voice:
"Oh, I didn't hear you, sorry!"
Then he made a face.
Vars clenched his fist.
When he gets going! Damn it!
"Stop messing with me, or I'm not taking you."
Itoî stopped dead in his tracks, then hunched over to apologize:
"I sincerely apologize, Master Vars," he said, looking dead serious.
He looked like he owed money to the mob or something.
Uyan sighed, snickering softly.
Then Vars added, hands on his hips and chest puffed out:
"Yeah, that's better. Yeah!"
The three of them burst out laughing.
They walked a bit further before coming to a steep promontory, in the middle of which sat a house.
And it wasn't just anyone's house: it was their grandfather's!
A young woman was hanging laundry outside. She was holding a laundry basket, dressed simply in a ponytail, a red top, and blue pants.
The boys raised a hand to their foreheads and squinted to see better. Then their eyes widened, and they all shouted in unison:
"KAELLE!!!"
The young woman turned toward the voice, dropped her laundry basket on the ground, and ran toward the children, crying.
"Boys!" she cried, in tears.