The fireplace in the theater burned from afternoon until nightfall.
Odette was waiting in the small living room, still in her dance costume from the morning rehearsal, her coat crumpled up in her hands.
After leaving the Snezhnaya Palace, she ran all the way back to the theater.
Capitano told her to go back and wait. The word "wait" is the most agonizing.
She would walk to the window and lift the curtain to look outside, then return to the fireplace, repeating this cycle over and over.
"... Come back soon." Odette looked towards the door, her voice so soft it sounded like she was pleading with someone, "Come back soon, everyone."
As if in response to her words, the figures of Columbina and Varesa appeared on the road in the distance outside the window.
Odette jumped up, the chair legs scraping sharply on the floor.
She practically leaped out of the room and ran to the theater entrance.
Arriving at the theater entrance, he opened the door and said:
"You guys are something else—"
The words caught in his throat.
Under the lamplight outside the door, Varesa stood at the front, holding someone horizontally in her arms, with Columbina supporting her arm, both of their shoulders covered in snow.
The coat that belonged to Varesa was wrapped tightly around the person being held, revealing only a small section of her pale, bloodless chin.
Varesa's eyes were empty, and the tear tracks on her face were stiffened by the wind and snow.
Upon seeing Odette, she opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
The hint of expectant joy on Odette's face gradually froze.
"... What's wrong?" She heard her own voice trembling. She quickened her pace to meet her. " Bai You, what happened? Is she hurt? Where is she hurt? I'll go get some medicine—"
Columbina, her eyes red, shook her head very slightly. "Let's go inside first, it's cold outside. Carry her inside first, and I'll explain to you slowly later."
Odette stood frozen in place, watching Varesa carrying the person as she slowly walked past her, step by step.
As if possessed, she reached out and gently touched the small face peeking out from the gap in her clothes with her fingertips.
Icy.
It wasn't the chill brought on by wind and snow, but a deep, penetrating cold. There wasn't even the slightest rise and fall of breath on that face.
Odette abruptly pulled her hand back, panicking as she did so.
She staggered after him, supporting herself against the wall to keep from collapsing on the spot.
Varesa, carrying Bai You, went straight upstairs and opened the door to her room.
Varesa stood by the bed for a long time before bending down extremely slowly and carefully to place the person in her arms onto the bed, her movements as gentle as if she were placing a piece of porcelain that would break at the slightest touch.
Odette leaned against the doorframe, straining with all her might to make her voice sound coherent, " Columbina, what happened...?" " The Captain," she thought, "Wasn't he gone?"
Columbina stood at the doorway, wearily pinching her brow as she spoke slowly.
"Perhaps because of my problem, the second-in-command, ' The Doctor ' Dottore, has his eye on the Bai You..."
Columbina slowly recounted the events to Odette.
"Then the last Bai You..." Odette's voice tightened.
Columbina closed her eyes. " Capitano investigated it himself, and I investigated it too. We've tried the Kuuvahki."
She didn't say the word aloud, but Odette understood everything.
There was a moment of silence outside the room.
Odette's hand, gripping the doorframe, tightened little by little, her knuckles turning white.
Inside the room, Varesa helped Bai You change out of her tattered and blood-stained clothes and into clean, soft pajamas.
She tidied Bai You's disheveled hair, then pulled the blanket over her and covered her completely, leaving only her face exposed.
He then took Bai You's cold little hand into his own palm, lowered his head, and gently warmed it with his own body heat.
She warmed one lip, then switched to the other. She even scooped up a small spoonful of warm water and brought it to Bai You's lips, patiently and gently moistening those two bloodless lips.
Water trickled down her lip, so she wiped it off with a handkerchief and tried again.
"You're just tired, aren't you?" She finally spoke, her voice hoarse and almost inaudible, yet incredibly gentle.
"You must be exhausted after playing for so long. It's okay, you go to sleep, I'll stay with you."
"Once you've had enough sleep and wake up, we'll go back to decorating the cave."
She spoke slowly and deliberately, as if coaxing someone to take a normal afternoon nap. "I'm not going anywhere, I'll just wait for you here. Take your time, there's no rush."
Odette stood to the side, her heart aching as she listened, and she couldn't help but want to go forward and say something—
Columbina gently raised her hand to stop her and shook her head at her.
Let her do it.
When people are in the deepest pain, they always have to grab onto something.
For Varesa now, this meticulous care and unwavering belief are the only things she can still hold onto.
If you take that away too, she'll really collapse.
Let's not bother her for now.
Columbina secretly channeled another Kuuvahki, reaching towards Bai You on the bed, but just like in the wild, it was like throwing a stone into the sea—no response whatsoever.
She sadly withdrew her hand, said nothing, and simply got up and led Odette away.
Outside the window, the Snezhnaya snow fell silently, creating a deathly stillness.
I knew I shouldn't have written that fight scene. This whole section was poorly written, and since it already had few readers, now it's been cut short. ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅
If it weren't for everyone's love and support, the book would have completely died out. Thank you all for your support! つ♡⊂
After another two or three chapters to get through this transition, we'll return to normalcy.
School's starting soon, so I'm writing some drafts to use when school starts. I'll try to update three times a day for now, and then I'll start updating more frequently once I'm settled in at school. ⊂ (◉‿◉) つ