237 Kori Village

-What do you think you're doing, boy?- Aether asked as he shot the owl a cold stare. 

The owl was desperately flapping its wings, trying to get away from the fae kin but unsuccessfully. 

"I was just trying to see if you're awake," Lycster replied in his owl form, as he tried to play it off. 

Aether let go of the owl and Lycster turned back into his human form. The fae kin woke Vy up as she had instructed him to do so. But she did not stir awake immediately. 

"I found a village! I think we should be able to seek shelter there." Lycster explained. 

He had circled the surrounding area, looking for any signs of life. The boy had hoped that this would lead him to find a village. Just as he was about to give up hope, he noticed a crater-like structure. 

He was delighted to find a cluster of houses made out of wood and stone in the crater itself and what looked like elvish-like creatures living in there. A faint scent of sulfur was also in the air. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a series of hot spring pools not too far from the crater. 

-That's perfect!- Aether exclaimed. 

Vy still had not stirred awake, which was a worrying sight. Not wanting to waste any more time, they decided to pack up their things and head to the location at once. But with Vy unable to walk, Lycster wondered how they would get there. It would take them at least half a day to get there on foot and night was settling in fast. 

"Maybe we should leave tomorrow morning," Lycster suggested. 

Aether shook his head. -The longer we wait, her condition worsens.- 

He touched Vy's forehead and realised that her temperature was increasing. A fever was the last thing they needed. Once everything was packed and ready for them to go, Aether took to his winged serpent form. 

He held cradled Vy in his arms as Lycster took to his owl form. 

-Lead the way.- he said to the boy. 

As they flew out of the cave, it was apparent that they were losing daylight fast. Lucky for Lycster, he was still able to find his way back to the crater despite the lowering visibility. The boy flew as fast as he could, knowing that Aether could keep up. 

Soon enough, they spotted a light in the distance as they came upon the crater. They flew down to the entrance point of the crater and took to their human forms, with Vy in Aether's arms. There were no guards at the entrance but as soon as they entered, a villager came up to greet them. 

"Welcome to Kori Village[1], if you're looking for a place to stay, please follow me!" the villager welcomed them. 

Under the dim light of the fire nearby, the villager seemed to have pale skin, silver-coloured hair and pointed ears. Aether was a little weary of the kind hospitality the villager seemed to notice his discomfort and suspicions. 

"We don't get many visitors in our village and you all certainly do not look like you're from around here. I assume you're travelling through the Bleak Lands to get to your destination?" the villager asked. 

"Yes, we're travelling," Lycster replied with a smile. 

"My name is Lycster Blackfire and this is my…" the boy looked up to Aether and thought for a moment before continuing, "brother, Aether. Our sister was hurt so we came looking for a place to stay. Does your village have a healer?"

The villager looked at Vy for a moment before he replied, "Yes we do! I will go call for one after I guide you to the inn."

Lycster lit up with a smile, "Thank you!"

Aether did not voice out his concerns. He merely followed along with Vy in his arms. The villager introduced himself as Shin, a frost elf. He guided them to the inn where they were given their own hut to stay in. 

There were three beds, one for each of them, and a burning coal heater in the middle of the room. The smoke was funnelled out through a chimney, while still able to provide heat for them to battle the cold. Aether placed Vy down on one of the beds and tucked her in. 

He placed the fur coats over her and placed his hand on her forehead. The fever was not going down. The villager, Shin, seeing that they have settled quickly left to get the healer. Lycster noticed Aether's tensed expressions. 

Before he could ask anything, Shin returned with a bag in his hands. 

"Where���s the healer?" Lycster asked with a puzzled expression. 

Only Shin had returned and no one else. 

"Oh," Shin laughed, "I forgot to mention, I'm the village healer." 

The frost elf walked over to Vy's bedside to check on her. Aether did not say anything, so it was up to Lycster to explain the situation. The boy did not go into too much detail on how his sister had gotten injured, but he described the injuries she had received and where they were. 

Aether left the hut to explore the town on his own, leaving Vy in Lycster's care. Shin examined the wounds on Vy's back and noted that her temperature was higher than it should be. From the bag he brought, he brought out packs of iced water to help bring her temperature down. 

Shin also brought out two bottles of medicine. He instructed Lycster to feed it to Vy twice a day. 

"What would these medicines do?" the boy asked. 

"These are extracts from medicinal herbs found in the underground caverns and in the mountains. It will help to accelerate the speed of her recovery and heal the wounds in no time."Shin explained. 

Lycster thanked the frost elf profusely for the medicine, promising to feed the medicine accordingly to his sister. Just as Shin was about to take his leave, Lycster stopped him to ask one more question. 

He asked if bringing his sister to soak in the hot springs would help speed up her recovery.

"Yes, it would. The hot springs are open for all to use at any time," Shin replied. 

He also gave Lycster a set of directions on how to get there. With everything taken care of, the frost elf left the hut. The boy looked around, hoping to get help from Aether. But seeing that the winged serpent was nowhere to be found, he did not waste any time and got to work to take care of his sister. 

As it was late in the night, he decided to take Vy to the hot springs the next day instead. As per Shin's instruction, he fed his sister the medicine and placed the pack of ice water on her forehead to fight the fever. 

Lycster pulled his bed to be next to his sister and got in bed. He huddled close to her, holding his sister's hand. 

"I'll take care of you, sis. I'll take care of you…" the boy whispered to his sister as he drifted off into slumber. 

[1] Kori in Japanese, roughly translates to 'ice' in English. So yes, 'Ice Village' very innovative XD I also like the sound of the word so I went with it~