A Bittersweet Conclusion

Orano slowly kept walking towards where the sound was coming from. 

Was there something dangerous? Or was it a person that was hiding? They didn't know, but they kept walking to find out.

And after getting close enough, they heard a sound once more. This time more boxes fell on the ground and it was quite louder.  

"Looks like it didn't leave." Orano said.

They slowly made their way and entered the backside of the storage. 

Then Caitrin whispered and said,

"Hey! Do you think it's right that we go ahead like this? What if it's dangerous?"

"I think I have found it." Orano replied as he suddenly looked somewhere.

Then he approached the box that was on the shelf, knocked on it, and waited.

Caitrin then asked,

"What are you doing?"

And suddenly, the box moved and fell to the ground.

Among the vegetables in the box, a Pertinger cub appeared. It had wrapped itself around the vegetable and it was trying to eat it. Then it realized Orano and Caitrin and started to growl towards them.

Caitrin got back a little bit and said,

"A Pertinger? Why is there a Pertinger hiding here?"

"When it smelled us, it must have noticed a stranger coming here. So it hid from us. Then it thought I was attacking the box, so it moved and fell." Orano replied.

Then he picked up one of the vegetables on the ground and said while passing it to the Pertinger,

"It might be nervous about us getting here, but it will not attack."

Then he stood up and said,

"And as for why it was here, we've actually found the answer to the question we've been looking for all along."

"Which question exactly?" Caitrin asked.

"Remember when I said I didn't know why the Pertingers were so aggressive?"

Caitrin suddenly looked at the cub and said,

"Do you mean it was because of this little guy?"

"Exactly. It was reasonable for them to try to enter the town from there, as they did not have a route to travel. If they don't like seeing humans anyway, it would be illogical for them to attack the village from the beginning. And it's weird that they haven't moved their nests anywhere yet. So If this cub is from their herd, it answers everything."

Then Caitrin crouched took a vegetable and stretched it towards the Pertinger. And when it approached and started eating the vegetable, she then looked at the creature in a sad way and said,

"So this poor thing's been away from his family a long time, huh?"

"Yes. In addition, the road covered with snow that we see also explains why this creature did not leave before. He probably couldn't smell his herd, so he found it safe to wait here." Orano replied.

Caitrin then said,

"So what are going to do?"

"We are bringing that cub to its herd, no matter what."

She got very happy and said,

"Really?"

She then changed her expression again and said,

"But how are we going to do that? We don't know exactly where are their nest is. Also, Miss Mai told that they try to attack whenever they see a person."

"Like we did all the way here. We are going to explore. Also, the real reason for them to attack is probably that they thought their cub was caught by the people. That is why they were so aggressive."

He then approached the door and said,

"Come on let's go."

Caitrin smiled at him, then she slowly took the creature slowly into her bag, saying,

"Come on little guy, we have to go."

And followed him.

They were out in the freezing cold once more. But this time, it was for to finish it.

Orano said,

"Do you remember where you last saw the nest?"

"It was above the beginning of the path. If we can get to the top of the mountain maybe we can see it again. But this path is very dangerous. I don't know we should go up the mountain or not."

Orano said,

"We have no choice. If we don't, we are not going to find the nest. We have to select the quickest option for us since it's the best for both sides."

Caitrin then looked at the creature thoughtfully and said to herself,

*He is right. This cub has to find its nest and its herd. Otherwise, another bad thing can happen to both the village and the cub. *sigh* I guess we have to step into the danger once more.*

She then said,

"Okay. Let's go."

Then they started to walk again, but this time, they took the path that was in the middle of the two paths, that went to the top of the mountain. 

But there was something they didn't know.

A blizzard was coming.

They stepped into the unknown way of the mountain and kept walking, slowly.  It was getting colder and colder as they got higher and higher. And as the wind got stronger, they started to shout for communication.

Caitrin shouted,

"Can you see anything?"

Orano shouted back,

"Not yet. There is no track of anything. We have to walk further away."

"Okay!"

It was getting harder to move and harder to see further away. But every time Caitrin looked at the scarred face of the little Pertinger, she got faster and faster. And at that very moment, when they thought they didn't found anything, they heard a howling.

Then the cub immedaitly got its head out of the bag and howled too.

Caitrin and Orano looked at each other. 

"Pertingers!" Caitrin said.

Orano turned to the sound and replied,

"This way!"

Then they quickly made their way to the sound. 

And after walking for another couple of minutes, they reached a cave. It was dark but they could still hear the howlings.

Caitrin said while gasping for air,

"Is this their nest?"

When Orano was about to reply, they began to hear footsteps.

 Caitrin said anxiously,

"Something is coming!"

It was the Pertingers. There were about five to six of them, approaching them slowly. And as soon as they saw their cub in their bag they started to growl at them.

Caitrin got the cub from the bag and slowly put it down.

She said,

"Come on little guy, go."

The cub turned its head and looked at her with a sad expression. It was like It was sad for leaving.

Then Caitrin said once more,

"Come on! Go!"

Then the cub licked her hand and ran towards the herd.

She slowly stood up and said,

"So it is done, huh?"

"They will probably move their nests to somewhere else in a couple of days. So we don't have to worry about it anymore." Orano replied.

Then he turned to exit and said,

"Come on let's return to the village."

It was over. 

The cub was safe and the village wasn't going to get scared whenever they take care of their farm.

Caitrin and Orano had returned from the path they took and stopped at the storage. Orano walked towards the pile of snow and stopped there.

Then Caitrin asked,

"Why did you stop?"

Orano took out his sword and said,

"We are not going to take the same path for the second time."

"But this path is blocked, how are we going to go back from here?" Caitrin said,

Orano examined the snow in front of him and said,

"The snow got frozen and got stuck? This will be hard."

At that moment, Orano hit the snow multiple times, making it fall while breaking the ice into multiple pieces. The snow then fell over the other side and opened a path towards Frostford Village.

Caitrin said with amazement,

"Oh! So this was the path that Miss Mai was talking about!"

"Come on, let's follow this path." Orano said.

They walked for a couple of minutes and they have finally reached the village.

And when Mai saw them, she ran towards them.

She said with an anxious tone,

"Oh, you two are safe. I thought something happened to you when you didn't return!"

Then she said with a confused tone,

"But how did you come back here?"

Caitrin smiled and said,

"Well, In short, you no longer have to worry about the mass of snow blocking the road."

"We have taken care of the creatures. They will not be a bother to you anymore." Orano said.

Mai took a deep breath and said,

"I can't thank you enough. I am truly grateful for what you two have done for this village." 

Then she looked at them and said,

"Thank you again."

After their conversation, they returned to Mai's house.

And while they were walking they realized that the village started celebrating when they saw them.

Caitrin asked,

"Why is everyone this happy?"

Mai smiled and replied,

"These creatures have been bothering them for weeks. And after they heard that you two will take care of them, they got excited. Now that you two have arrived, they know that you took care of creatures. So they become very happy. They might not want others, but...." 

While she was talking, a group of kids approached them and said,

"Thank you, Big Sis!",

"Thank you! Now we can play with our friends!",

"We can now play so many games together!",

Then Mai turned to them, smiled, and said,

"This is their way to thank others."

Caitrin smiled. 

The thought of helping somebody made her feel way better.