Chapter 512: Snow Between What Must Wait

Orion stepped out into the compound with Sophia still in his arms.

Cold met them immediately.

Soft snow fell from the sky, drifting slowly.

Sophia tucked her face slightly into his chest without thinking.

"You’re still not putting me down?" she asked quietly.

"No, and you should stop asking me that," Orion told her.

She huffed a quiet laugh.

Members of the pack moved around the compound, children playing with their friends too.

Orion adjusted his grip without slowing down. One of her arms rested around his neck. The other was tucked between them, her fingers curled into the fabric of his cloak.

"Orion," she called out.

"Hm."

"We should take a detour."

He stopped then and looked down at her, one brow lifting slowly.

"A detour?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

His gaze slid ahead briefly. Then back to her.

"To where, shorty?"

"To Lysander. I’m certain he would be at his home with Brynhild and Raina now," she told him.

"Why?" he asked her.

"Because I need to talk to him."

"We just finished having a meeting where he was present. Was that not enough to count as a conversation with him?" he asked her. "And besides, you need to rest."

"I know I need to rest, but I need to speak with him, especially given the fact that I now remember," she told him.

"Again, what is it that you need to speak with him about?"

"The tonic in the vial," she told him.

Orion stared at her, his brows furrowed in confusion.

She rolled her eyes at that. "Orion, you are forgetting that I am now recalling my memories, and we agreed to ask Lysander about the tonic I saw and drank," she told him.

Snow brushed against Orion’s shoulders and the dark of his hair. A few flakes clung to Sophia’s lashes.

"You can talk to him after you rest," he said.

She shook her head.

"No."

He exhaled.

"Shorty," he called out.

"I told you before, but I don’t want to forget, Orion. The tonic could be important," she told him.

"And honestly, after the drawing—after what I saw there in the hall, I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m even more determined now," she said. "To get my memories back."

"And besides, Oculum said it... and also Lysander. My memories being inaccessible isn’t just because I hit my head, it’s a means of protection," she told him.

"My brain is protecting me from something I suspect is important and now... now I want to know. It could be something important."

"It could hurt you," Orion told her. "You only recover most things when you are either sick..." He shook his head. "It’s always something relating to your health, making you end up in the medical facility."

"I know that," she told him softly. "But it still doesn’t change the fact that I want to know more. I want to know why my brain is protecting me. I want to speak with my wolf, perhaps she’ll be able to even give me answers. Maybe if I get her back, I’ll be able to unlock and understand everything."

"And I also need to go back to the shrine. To continue the translations, and I’m even more determined to do it now, especially after finding out the shrine was also the grave of the goddess. Maybe she can also show up like she did in the nest and explain to me why some things are happening."

"I doubt that," Orion told her.

"I do too, but I do feel like I need to camp there for a while. Not for long, but just until I can get the translations and everything. I don’t know if it could be linked to the rocks. And perhaps if I can get answers, I can help prevent what’s going to happen. I can stop th—"

Orion leaned down and pressed his mouth over hers. The kiss cut her sentence off completely.

It was soft and gentle.

Sophia blinked when he pulled back, a startled expression on her face.

"...What was that for?"

"Do you not understand the concept of rest?" he asked instead of answering her question.

She frowned slightly as he continued.

"I literally just told you to rest, to calm down. And your brain," he added quietly, "is already travelling a mile a minute trying to solve what could happen in the future."

"But—" she tried.

"Sophia," he said firmly. "Stop running. Calm down."

"Prevention is better than cure," she said stubbornly.

A faint huff of breath left him.

"That’s true, but only people of sound mind can keep fighting for the future without destroying themselves," he told her. "You need to understand the concept of taking things steadily and not pushing yourself too much."

"We can visit Lysander, but as for the rest, take your time, shorty. Don’t rush and overwork yourself, thereby missing things that you wouldn’t have missed if you were not tired," he told her.

"But things... things are happening fast, Orion, I—"

"I know that, but that doesn’t mean you should beat yourself up just to save other people. Being Luna does not mean you are a martyr," he told her.

She did not answer.

"I will not let you turn yourself into the solution for everything," he told her. "And I will not let you trade your health for answers."

She swallowed at that.

"Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should stop searching for answers... I’m saying pace yourself," he told her softly.

Snow brushed against her cheek.

They stood there longer than either of them realized.

Sophia released a sigh. She understood what he was telling her to do and she also understood where he was coming from. An oaf he may be, but Orion was a caring one.

"Fine," she told him.

"After meeting Lysander, you’ll take the time to rest a bit?" he asked her.

"You wouldn’t let me do anything else," she told him, making him chuckle.

Orion began walking again, making his way to Lysander and Brynhild’s home.