"Mmm mmm mmm..." The cold human in my arms began to hum a song while I had to bend my body forward to fit into the tight tunnel. At least I didn't have to hold a torch any longer.

The fire spirit was hopping just in front of me, illuminating the small corridor in a warm orange light. Thankfully I could easily regenerate the mana required to keep this spirit with a large surplus at that! I think I will wait for my mana to regenerate to full and then give the fire spirit more mana, something I can easily maintain without being slowly drained.

I'm feeling my legs under me slowly giving up as my spine also began to hurt. Didn't help that I couldn't rest my hands on my body and I had to carry the necromancer which hung under my chest like a chick. My head starting to hurt now too.

"Can you shut it? I'm trying to concentrate." I said as the blue mist showing me the path to the Spiritpool began to fade slightly.

"'Gor." Kia quietly responded the instant my words interrupted her humming.

"What did you call me?" How old is she, she sounds like one of the elders in my village. "What you called- huh?"

I looked down and saw that Kia was curled into a ball in my hands. Not knowing why the girl was so tense her hands were shaking I put her down on the floor.

"I guess we will have to rest here." My voice caused the fire spirit to realise we had stopped and to come back closer. Its fiery body tiptoed toward me and hugged my arm while never looking away from Kia's back.

"MMM MMm mmm..." Kia hummed even louder than before for some reason as she curled into an even smaller ball. The human's voice appeared a little off than before which irritated her even more for some reason.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you crying?" The girl started to sob causing her pale face to start gleaming with cold purple and orange light.

"I feel empty, I don't want to forget, I-I-I..."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I didn't know why but I felt that I should calm down the soft and pathetic human instead of letting her cry over nothing. I laid down on the cold rock in front of the even colder mage. Although I was a shaman and considered spoiled by Shiro and many others I was given nothing comparable to what Kia had. I saw the small and fragile girl being pampered by the undead elf more during our short travels together than any self-respecting member of my kind would ever receive in their life.

Kia's cheek felt like a rock as I began to mirror how Iris gently stroked the girl.

"I don't want it, I want to come back," Kia jerked violently trying to get rid of my hand. "I want Iris back."

"But you wanted to go?"

"And?! I want Iris back." I lifted my fingers off Kia as through her bandages, the black liquid began to slowly seep out, solidifying into slates of black stone as she grew frustrated with me. I'm not used to being this nice.

"Wouldn't Iris be disappointed with you? She barely managed to let you go after you basically begged her and now you are asking to go back?" For some reason my words caused the necromancer to look up at me without moving her head. For a split moment, I felt the darkness around us stir with anger before a large confused frown appeared on Kia's face. Without hesitating to let Kia think my words through I lunged for the kill. "We are very close to the Spiritpool." I began lightly rubbing Kia's shoulder up and down, trying my best not to resemble Iris.

"How close?" Kia asked while sounding utterly serious.

"A day from here," I flashed a smile at her. Hopefully, that will make her stop crying. "And then we can run back to your Iris." Oh, no.

"My Iris?" Her lips began to tremble and her face turned into a red and puffy fruit with tears streaming down her cheeks. Why is she crying now, isn't that a good thing? Didn't she made her?

"I meant to say that Iris will be waiting for you and will be incredibly happy and proud of you... especially if you would stop crying and be quiet. You and I can keep this little incident our secret, you know? Iris doesn't have to know."

"Sh-she will?" Kia's large eyes opened wide and stared at me with hope.

"She will." Ahh, she is easier to fool than a cub. I just have to not mess up now.

The human in front of me, shifted her eyes away from me as she looked to be thinking about if she can manage to be without Iris for at least two days before her eyes shifted back onto me. She was looking at me as if I was her saviour and even pinched my shirt and pulled it closer to herself.

Thanks I guess?

"Spark." I quietly called out the fire spirit who was watching us the entire time. Even if his face couldn't show surprise, the way he pointed to himself with his thumb was enough to show how surprised he was about being named. I'm a little tired of calling him a fire spirit constantly so I guess this name is now his... or hers. Meh, he is a spirit shouldn't matter what I call him.

Kia looked to be in a world of her own as I grabbed my backpack and fished out a rag. I rubbed the rough rag all over her snotty face before I pinched her nose waiting for her to blow. The necromancer's glowing eyes watched me in confusion before I threw the rag on the ground behind me. Does she knows how to blow her nose, even? She is truly spoiled unlike me, of course.

Kia rested her head on my arm and closed her eyes, looking completely exhausted. Her grip on my dress was impressive and I expected the girl to worm her way closer to me as she usually did to Iris but she seemed to be frozen at a respectable distance from me and my tail.

"Thanks," I said to Spark as he lay down on the other side of my right hand. "Now I'm both freezing and boiling."

My complaint seemed to reach exactly no one, leaving me alone in the dark tunnel. Whenever I slowed in rubbing Kia's boney shoulder, she hissed at me just like Shiro which somehow caused me to not be capable of lifting my arm.

My arm hurts so much, why is rubbing my hand up and down so tiring?!