Chapter 90, Hot Springs

"Ugh... it's sooo... freezing... cold!!" Adele complained.

"I'm with you there." I answered. "Ethan can you put up a barrier for the cold or something?"

"I'll try." He answered and created a barrier. "How is it?"

"A bit better." I answered. "The Frozen Lake is so far north, I hate it!"

"Keep walking. We're half way there." Van said equally tired of the snow.

We've been walking in the snow for the whole day trying to reach the Frozen Lake. We've already entered the Snowfall Area. It's a place where snow continously falls from the sky. Of course it's freezing cold and we're all wearing mutiple layers of warmers but it's still cold. The worst part is that it's an incline so its difficult to move. The cold, the rising elevation, the deep snow that makes you sink, it's very dangerous and difficult alright.

"Can we take a break?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, I'm with Alexis." Zhen stated.

"I'd love to but where do we hide?" I asked.

"How about in that cave?" Leon pointed to a cave to our right and I nodded my head.

We've only just enetred the cave when a blizzard begins outside. I light a fire inside the cave and with Andrew's wind ability he cleans the floor a bit and we all sit down and farm ourselves back up.

"Looks like we'll be here for a while." Liam said as he stared at the snow outside.

As we all huddled close to the fire, I look the chance to have Growth explore the cave and it looks like it goes far but there aren't any monsters or Chimeras. What it does have is a hot spring!

"Whaa! There's a hot spring!" I exclaimed and bolted upright.

"Really?! Where?!" Adele asked.

"Up ahead." I answered.

"Let's go!!" Zhen stated and everyone nodded.

We walked deeper into the cave and arrived at a large opening where there were large pools of bubbling water. I don't hesitate to strip off my clothes and jump into the water.

"Wait up!" Will called out and stripped his clothes to follow me in.

"Hey!" Rachel got angry and I realized we aren't all boys anymore like before.

"There's another pool around that corner, there's a cave wall seperating us, you girls go there." I told them and they nodded.

The moment the girls have turned the corner and disappeared, the others all strip off and we all soak in the water. It feels great and it really warms a person up.

"It's so good." Mitan stated and I smiled.

As we were soaking, I noticed a large scar on Theo's chest. It was three claw marks down his chest.

"Theo, were did you get the scar?" I asked him.

"Oh? This? Ah, you did disappear the night I got this." He answered. "It was the night the village was attacked and we were fighting the Chimeras."

"Ah... that night." Was all I could say.

"It feels really good in the water." Mitan said with a smile.

"Yeah." Alistar seconded.

"Arata, want me to scrub your back?" Reinhardt offered.

"No thank you." I answered. "I can handle that part, but could you help me with my hair instead?"

"Sure." He answered with a smile as I swam closer to him. "What should I do?"

"It be great if you could help me undo the knots." I told him. "They get really tangled up and they're annoying."

"Why don't you have it cut?" Adonis asked.

"No way!" Will, Liam, Reinhardt, Alexis, Alistar, Andrew, Zhen and Ethan exclaimed.

"Ehh?" He made a surprised voice. "Is there something about his hair?"

"It's not like that. It's just... it seems like waste to cut it. Since it looks so nice and is really fluffy." Will stated. "It feels good to the touch. Especially when you pet him."

"Yeah." Andrew seconded and the others nodded.

"I don't really dislike the fact that it's longer but I suppose it has gotten a bit too long for comfort." I answered as I tucked a strand back.

I've let my hair grow long alright. It's nearly touched my shoulder. I've been tying it up but maybe I should have it cut but for some reason I can't bring myself to do that. Besides, it seems like Will and the others really like my long hair so I couldn't bring myself to cut it even more.

"Just leave it be." Alexis smiled and had Reinhardt move aside so he could treat my hair. "It just needs a bit of love and care."

"Thanks." I answered.

After we soaked and warmed up, we all decided to spend the night in cave since it didn't look like the blizzard wasn't about to stop forr a while. The others made dinner while I began setting up our sleeping bags. Thankfully, Ethan set up a barrier that prevents bugs and snakes from entering the cave.

After dinner, we all gather around the fire and huddle close while singing campfire songs. Lia even sings her songs for us and the warmth of the melody fills me. As I leaned my head on Will's shoulder, I smiled as the light of the fire lit the inside of the cave.

As I slept watching the snow fall outside, I couldn't help but smile as I closed my eyes. Today has been a fun and enjoyable day. A peaceful day full of adventure and excitement, I wish that in the future I could have something like this as well. I'll make it with these hands, a future where we can enjoy our lives with peace and no fear, no need for haste. I swear it, that I'll accomplish it.

When I opened my eyes again, the sun has just begun to rise but the blizzard has ended so I rouse everyone so that we could watch the sun rise together. After a bit, we all stood outside the cave watching the run rise on the horizon illuminating the whole land. I couldn't help but smile, wishing that peaceful days like these would go on.