A rough road

Mimi's soul hurt from the idea of leaving her Master behind in danger. But she believed in him, and in her Mistress… and knew that they believed in her. That knowledge brought a bubbly, heady feeling to her chest.

She also understood enough to know that she was in terrible danger herself. Mimi couldn't sense mana, but even she could see its mysterious glow when it poured out of the ice. Its touch hurt worse than any wound, and only Master's touch protected her.

So as soon as her legs touched the snow, Mimi ignored the sting of the cold and ran forward as quickly as she could, pulling Niko and Myrna with her. They ran, too, shouting something that Mimi didn't have in her head to listen to.

Ice kept trembling and cracking under their feet, but this time, they were faster. Maybe only by a hair's breadth, but they were.

After running, running and more running, Mimi finally could feel no trembling under her feet and see no glow in the air.