Submission (#3362) Approved

Amidst the snow in my heart, there is you

It seemed like yesterday when her precious pomu was cuddling in her arms and she was stroking his silky fur, as if his was made of feathers from a baby bird... Enaga was sheltered in a small but sturdy cabin in the middle of the forest from the heavy snowfall outside. A couple of days ago she had come to Strynhalde to take care of some business and enjoy the early spring snow with her companion, but right now she missed him terribly. Her little pomu had always loved playing in the snow, but he had barely had time to enjoy it before they were surprised by this inconvenient snowfall and the sudden and unusual increase in miasma. Enaga was able to find shelter thanks to the warm light emanating from the crystal that little Tori (as she lovingly called him) had been transformed into. Right now, it was floating in front of her, faintly illuminating her as if to say, "don't worry, we will see each other again soon". Enaga's eyes watered, and she could not suppress a soft lament. She knew that this moment was coming, and that like every year they would be reunited in the warmest embrace one again. Her little one now needed some rest.

She spent some time watching the snow fall until she resigned herself to put her sadness aside. Tori was always asking her to design him a nice lantern that would remind her of him, so that it would make the time he was going to be away more bearable. But that was just a saying. Tori meant a lot to Enaga and he also assisted her in her daily work as a maid, so she missed him both emotionally and physically. The customers at the hot springs would also notice the absence of the little pomu: they could no longer find a sweet on their towels, nor had the essential oils been chosen according to his personal taste... Nor would they find a smile on the white elnin's face. Enaga would try to cover the work the little one was taking care of, but with all her chores sometimes there was simply no time. In the hot springs there was a little Draphibi helping them, the companion of a kittom employee, but this one specialized more in contributing to the mystical atmosphere of the baths with little wisps of fire and guttural sounds.

Thus, one more year, Enaga would decorate the lantern with scenes of adorable little chubby birds, with drawings and silhouettes of their favorite food and small memories and recollections of the two of them together, unable to wait for his hibernation to end. At first Enaga was dying of embarrassment at how personal and unstylish her lantern tended to look compared to the high-cache lanterns of other elnin, but it wore off year after year; Tori's smile as he would return to her would throw any gossip from the others to the ground.

She looked through the window. The pines were getting so covered in snow that the branches were starting to give away and the snow was beginning to pile up at their base. Enaga had enough fur to withstand the cold of Strynhalde, but she still wasn't in a hurry and could entertain herself with the lantern while the snowfall subsided. The landscape was getting whiter and whiter, with not the nearest tree to be distinguished. She turned away to light the fireplace and searched around the place a bit. She found plenty of materials to start her craft project and thank goodness she also found food and water. She looked out the window again and beautiful snowflakes were being formed on the glass. "There's the inspiration for the lantern this year," she thought.