It took more time for Mark to fall asleep and it did for the other two.
His thoughts ran and ran in circles for a while. But eventually, he slept.
No nightmare plagued his sleep.
She didn't appear once.
Mark slept peacefully for a couple of hours.
"Ah..."
For the first time in a long time, he wished he could sleep some more.
Mark slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the two of them.
"Amazing..." Elisa, her knees, whispered.
The Moonlit Feline was seated by her side.
Their eyes were wide open.
Their pupils reflected an external light.
It was the first time in a while that Mark could see them clearly.
Their chins were slightly raised. They were watching something.
Something amazing, as Elisa had described.
Mark was curious about, but he remained unmoving for a bit longer.
The way it illuminated Elisa's yellowish pupils.
The way the light illuminated Krista's blue eyes. Clear and bright. Infinite and deep. Mark wasn't sure whether those eyes reminded him more of the sea or of the sky.
Finally, he followed their gaze, and looked in the same direction.
They danced freely and majestically, high above the earth.
Colorful and vivid, they lit everything below them.
The green, red, and blueish hues moved with grace.
They danced with one another, mixed, and exchanged partners.
A waltz high up in the sky.
The sky's darkness allowed them to stand out even more, even though they certainly didn't need assistance to stand out.
Their light was reflected by the colorless snow below, giving it life.
A simple meteorological phenomenon?
Traces left by mysterious flying creatures?
A Goddess racing across the sky in her chariot?
The first seemed the most probable.
But even Mark did not know which one it truly was.
His leg twitched.
He wanted to know.
To go there.
Still, he remained seated.
The three remained seated and unmoving.
Silently, they watched the spectacle occurring in the distance unfold.
The wind wasn't as violent or cold.
They could finally see their surroundings properly.
The blizzard that had caused unease and worry had disappeared.
Yet, none of the three had taken the time to check their surroundings upon waking up.
The seemingly never-ending waltz had stolen their attention just as soon as they had opened their eyes.
They stared at it.
At the beauty.
They didn't look away, not even for a second.
Something so beautiful.
They couldn't look away.
Perhaps, because they knew that something this beautiful wouldn't last forever. That it couldn't.
That in a bit, it would fade and disappear. Quietly, as if it had never been there.
So they watched the spectacle.
Silently.
Together.
A Monster, an Elf, and a Lioness.
...
Step-
Step-
"Well, that was something."
Mark nodded.
The two were walking side by side, a couple of steps separating them.
"Haha, she's still amazed by it."
Indeed, the Moonlit Feline that was seated on Mark's shoulder remained facing the opposite way. Its eyes, fixated on the area where the moving lights used to be.
'Now that I think about it, Krista has a Skill that has something to with them, doesn't she...? Huh...'
"It really struck a chord with her." Elisa commented.
It didn't take much time before,
"Ah." She turned towards Mark with a puzzled expression before directing her gaze to the snow below.
Stomp-
Stomp-
"True..." Mark muttered.
The Moonlit Feline jumped off his shoulder and landed on the ground.
After taking a couple of steps, it nodded.
"The layer of snow is a lot thinner now..."
Slowly but surely, the scenery changed.
The more they walked, the more it changed.
Both Mark and Elisa thought that Krista's heartbroken expression, as she noticed the first plot of land that wasn't covered by snow, was very comical.
As the snowy terrain slowly morphed into a forest, a peculiar creature appeared in the distance.
[Your Title "Devourer" is starving!]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" stares with sparkling eyes!]
Mark immediately extended his claws.
"Can you not?"
"I can not. But I want to."
The creature slowly approached, before stopping midway.
Elisa and the Moonlit Feline walked closer.
"Hey, youu!" She said in a cheerful voice as she approached.
Bugle-
'A reindeer? Or an Elk, I guess...?' Mark asked himself.
The Moonlit Feline stared with wide eyes at the creature's white coat.
"I'm friendly..." Elisa whispered once the distance between her and the Elk was two or three steps. "Are you?" She asked as she reached forward.
The Elk brought its head a bit closer.
Ffffu-
A thick and moist cloud of air exited its nostrils and surrounded Elisa's hand.
"Uhh... Please don't do that."
The Elk sniffed around for a bit, before pushing its head against the hand extended to it.
"See... No reason to attack."
"Right. Whatever..."
Elisa gently caressed the Elk's coat.
"Wanna touch it?" She suggested.
"Why would I?"
Without turning away from the Elk, Elisa's gaze moved.
Mark rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I guess."
He walked closer.
The next instant, the Elk pushed back.
"Hey. Hey... It's okay... It's alright..." Elisa reassured it while petting its head.
"I don't think it's alright."
"Why? You scared?"
"Not scared. But I will kill it if it does something."
"You mean if it startles you?"
"No. I mean if it tries something."
"So you are scared."
Mark stared in disbelief for a bit.
"Scared that it'll try something, if you insist." He said as he took another step closer.
"No need to be scared." Elisa moved her gaze back to the Elk. "No need to be scared, right?"
Another hand was extended.
A rough one, with claws and covered with scales.
An ugly hand.
The Elk stepped back, its nose twitching.
"Alright, he is a bit scared of you." Elisa admitted. "But still, no reason to attack right away."
"Right. What am I supposed to do? Befriend Monsters."
"Yes. That's exactly it actually."
"No thanks."
"You've already done it though."
The Moonlit Feline walked closer, and the Elk lowered its head.
The two stared at one another for a bit.
Mark walked away.
"System. What is it?" He whispered.
He just had to ask.
Not only because of the alluring blueish light emanating from the gigantic horns as if they were made of sapphires, but mostly because of the way his stomach growled.
[Moonlit Elk: [D] Ranked Beast.
A Species of Beasts that can be found in a multitude of different areas, the main point in common between those areas being snow and nature...]
'One Rank lower than a Growing Yeti? How...?'
Mark read the information carefully.
'They always travel in groups of... Huh? Is this one-'
Only then, did he notice the twenty or so Moonlit Elk that stood a dozen steps away from the one that had approached.
All of them stared. They didn't seem scared one bit.
'The... They just appeared out of nowhere? How didn't I notice them sooner?'
Elisa gently caressed the Moonlit Elk.
"Alright. Can't let them wait too long, right? Gotta get going." She whispered before tapping the Moonlit Elk's side.
Elisa walked back to Mark's side.
Krista stared at the Moonlit Elk for a bit longer, before parting ways.
She climbed up Mark's body, and they started walking once more.
"See? You don't have to get all... Monstrous right away."
"Yeah, okay. I'll think a bout it."
Elisa chuckled at the response.
"So what are you? Some kind of animal whisperer?"
"Pfahaha! Animal whisperer?? Never heard that before. Sounds like a fun Title to have though. A Beast Tamer, I assume you mean? Nope. Not one. Would've liked to be one though, I guess."
"How come it didn't get scared then? Wait... Could it understand your words? Can all animals understand words?"
"Nope. Krista is... Somewhat special. I'm not sure why though." Elisa glanced at the Moonlit Feline that was proudly puffing its chest up. "Why it didn't get scared... Mmm... I guess..."
Mark waited for a dozen seconds, but finding an answer seemed like a struggle for Elisa.
"So you're like... Pfff! A friend of the animals or something."
The words surprised her.
She looked away as she blushed lightly.
"Or a friend of nature, I should say."
Elisa immediately turned back towards him.
She was blushing, and smiling widely.
"A friend of nature." Elisa said as she pointed towards him. "That's exactly what I am!"
Mark was slightly taken aback by the energetic response.
"O-Okay...?"
"Friend of nature..." She whispered to herself. "Yeah."
Elisa walked, with her gaze fixated on the horizon.
A victorious smile on her face.
'Are all Elves like that...?' Mark asked himself.
