Two hundred and fifty Solars. Holy hell.

Seiya ain't fond of the idea that dignity has a price tag, but when the price is somethin' like that, the kind of money that could buy you a house or something like it twice over, he sort of starts to understand the idea. Still, thankfully, it's startin' to look like neither of 'em are gonna have to toss their dignity on the line for the sake of payment, not as Xalmann stares Rajesh down with the fire of a thousand dying suns, his voice as low and angry as the hiss of a seething dragon. There's a kind of justice in seein' the way Rajesh flinches at the feeling of Xalmann's hand against his, the searing touch doubtlessly uncomfortable, and it takes all Seiya has not to laugh.

Still, when he's offered a handshake in turn, he takes it, brisk and easy, lettin' go as quick as he grabs on. His touch ain't a thing like Xalmann's; it doesn't usher in a wildfire, doesn't harbor the promise of danger, but he does take care to make sure Rajesh can feel the edge of shadow-touched claws against his skin, even if they don't sting. Just a little reminder of the kind of men he's dealin' with.

Men. Not tools.

"Alrighty then," Seiya clears his throat, carefully purging any remnants of amusement from his tone as he glances back out into the whirl of snow behind them, eyes narrowing as he stares into the blizzard. "Uh, ain't blizzards in the Frost Gale supposed to be capable of lastin' a while? What're the odds of us gettin' stuck out here for a full day or longer?"

One of the merchants still packed in the corner of the wagon, a lady all in green silk and fur, hums, her painted lips pursed. "Well, surely it cannot last too long, yes? The snow has to stop eventually. We have places to get to, after all."

"...and you expect nature to go cavin' to that," Seiya says, trying to mask his disbelief.

"Ah," the lady laughs quietly, the sound muffled behind her hand. "No, of course not. That would be ludicrous. But truly, what are the odds of a blizzard trapping us for so long?"

With the inside of the wagon warm, Rajesh quickly closed the doors to keep the heat inside. He didn't want to have to make Xalmann angry again to keep the place warm. He wasn't sure the Lizardman would be willing to stick around if he did.

"The blizzard should blow over in a day or two at most, I believe. There's a limit to how much snow can fall from the sky at one time, it's got to run out!" He said, outwardly maintaining his chipper attitude to attempt to keep everyone at ease. Honestly, he had no idea how long this blizzard might last and Seiya was right. Nature didn't bow to their schedules even if they wished it would. "With our friends here helping us, we'll be fine, I'm sure!"

Xalmann sat in the corner with his arms crossed in front of him, still a bit ticked off at his earlier treatment. He had no experience with blizzards, so he couldn't really tell how long it would last either, but he could tell Rajesh was just saying what these people wanted to hear. The Lizardman's social skills might be garbage, but he wasn't an idiot. The merchants on the other hand all sighed in relief and went about their business trying to keep from becoming bored. Some of them hummed tunes to themself while others pulled out books or handcrafts.

Time passed by, and eventually something seemed off. Xalmann suddenly realized the sound of the blizzard was completely gone. It would have been eerily silent if not for the presence of a new sound. A feminine voice humming a tune. All of the merchants looked around to see that it wasn't any of them. The tune was haunting, and reverberated around the wagon as if it was coming from every direction but was quiet as if their lips were only inches away.

As hollow as the promise that falls from Rajesh's lips are, it sure as hell seems to satisfy his little band of merchants-- there's a wave of chatter, of approving murmurs and high-spirited laughter, as if one or two days is nothin' to 'em. Quite frankly, Seiya ain't entirely sure he's gonna last more than a couple hours with these folks, let alone a couple days. And yet they're all actin' like this ain't a big deal, pullin' out knittin' projects and books and other such things-- Gods above, seein' 'em all act so nonchalant is makin' Seiya start to wish he'd brought a decent cut of wood to get set on a wood carvin' project. He's got his shortknife in one of his pouches at his waist, but nothin' to use it on.

He can't help but let out a sigh of mild irritation. It's a rare thing that Seiya's one of the people in the room with the most sense; he ain't exactly known for havin' much in the way of brains, after all. He shoots Xalmann a look of exhaustion, one colored by apology, before he just sits against one of the walls of the wagon and resigns himself to boredom, not sure of what the hell he can really do to keep himself entertained.

But then there's that singin'.

It's loud, eerily so, and yet quiet all at once; it resonates through the whole wagon though not a one of 'em is the one singin' it, the low, pretty melody all-encompassing. There ain't wind or the whip of snow against wood, and the chatter of the merchants has fallen to dead silence as the song carries on. Seiya lifts his head, ears perking up, brows furrowing with the strange familiarity of it. He doesn't know this music, and yet he does-- he's never heard it in his life, and yet he knows it by heart. The owner of the voice is a stranger. He knows her. He does not.

It all melts together in one of those weird paradoxes, and Seiya immediately gets a weird feeling that he might know what they're dealin' with-- not the specifics, but a general idea.

The yokai of the Crescent Isles are strange, mystical creatures; they are impossibly varied and capable of all manner of wild powers. There are those who favor humanoid forms, those who can shift freely between, those with animalistic bodies, and those who reside within objects. Some of 'em are real contradictory; they lure you in with familiar stuff until it's too late for you to realize that it can't be familiar. Seiya ain't sure how a yokai could've wandered out this way, but hey, it ain't like he knows shit about the world beyond his homeland.

He rises to his feet, pushin' the door of the wagon open and slippin' out into the cold, Rajesh's protests goin' ignored behind him.

"Hey, hey, wait-- don't let the cold in!"

"One second."

Sure enough, in the distance, through the veil of ice and snow, there's the distant silhouette of a lady-- it's hard to make out any distinguishing details from here, but he can see the familiar structure of a kimono, a parasol loosely set against her shoulder. The song is just as inescapable out here as it was in there, and it all leads back to her.

Seiya turns back to the wagon, lookin' to Xalmann immediately.

"Hey, uh, I think I might've found an answer 'bout the blizzard..."

Xalmann followed Seiya out of the wagon, much to Rajesh and the other merchants chagrin. He heard the singing as much as anyone and didn't like it. There was clearly something wrong here, and whatever that was was waiting outside. Rajesh grimaced and shut the doors behind Xalmann as he stepped down onto the snow with a crunch and a hiss. Out in the distance, the silhouette of a woman with a parasol stopped and turned to face them.

It was like time suddenly stopped. The winds ceased howling, giving way to a deafening silence and the falling snow hung suspended in the air all around them as the woman looked directly at Seiya and Xalmann. Her lips that were far too red curled into a smile. Even with the foreboding calm, her kimono swayed as if the wind was still flowing gently around her. The kimono was as blindingly white and shimmery as the snow with not a single stain or flaw. Her pale skin had a slight blue tint, but her hair and eyes were like darkness made solid, contrasting so starkly against the world of white all around that it almost hurt to look at. She would have been incredibly beautiful if she wasn't so unnerving. Even Xalmann felt a chill as she looked in his direction.

A soft, elegant giggle escaped her lips as she stood there, just watching. Waiting.

Seiya's brushed with a lot of strange yokai in his considerably short lifetime.

He's seen one of the kitsune before, though he's known to keep his distance-- she'd offered him a bright, too-sharp and too-red smile, her eyes twinklin' beneath the moonlight as she'd disappeared into the forest, some stranger's blood still fresh on her claws as she practically danced away. He's seen the spectral blue lanterns of an aoandon glisten between the bamboo stalks, her glowing form distant and indistinguishable among the shadows of night. Hell, he's had sake with an uwabami and a kawauso before, sat and watched 'em chatter away beneath the hazy night, blinkin' back the tipsiness with heavy eyelids.

He's well-acquainted with the kind of odd energy they give off-- the shift in the world that seems to follow 'em, the change in the fabric of the earth. This lady ain't an exception. Time itself seems to freeze around her, a perfect portrait of snowfall pausin' in place by her side, and yet she's still in motion, always in motion, part of the wind and frost and snow itself. It's like they ain't in the Frost Gale anymore-- like the merchants and their wagon are a whole other world away.

It's... confusin'. He still ain't sure why a lady who so clearly is one of the yokai is all the way out here, but he supposes it makes sense. Snow seems like it's her calling, after all. Still...

"...hey," he calls out, voice as clear as he can make it. "You-- Uh-- What're ya doin' out here?"

The woman giggles again, elegantly, gracefully, the noise gently tucked away behind her hand, and Seiya's almost sure she's gonna dodge the question until her fingertips slide away, those red-painted lips partin' to speak in a voice as clear as a bell.

"Why, I think it's quite clear," she says simply, easily, voice as resonant in speech as in song. "I am merely enjoying a nice walk. Do you take issue with such a thing?"

"Nah, uh, ain't no problem with a walk-- this blizzard's another thing, though," Seiya says, eyeing the lady carefully, pickin' his words carefully. "This your doin'?"

"I believe snowfall is quite commonplace within the Frost Gale," the woman continues serenely. "It is strange to place the blame on another, don't you both think?"

Xalmann observed the conversation between Seiya and the strange woman silently through narrowed eyes. He didn't trust anything about her. She was enjoying this conversation that she wouldn't allow to go anywhere, a wagon stuck in snow that was endlessly deep. The snow was definitely her doing, but she wouldn't admit it. She would toy with them until they were frozen solid. Xalmann took a step forward, his axe and dagger in his hands.

The woman saw this and turned to look directly at him, her smile never fading. She lowered the parasol in front of her, hiding her from view for a moment, and then the parasol fell to the ground, burying itself in the snow. She was gone. It didn't last long though, as hands suddenly reached from around Xalmann's sides, arms wrapping around him. Her head came forward to rest on his shoulder.

"Mmm, so warm." she whispered flirtatiously. Her hands glided over his chest and stomach, feeling the muscles beneath his scales. "And strong!" her hand came up to touch his reptilian face, turning it to look at her. "But I'm afraid I don't like lizards."

Xalmann wanted so badly to swing his axe, to stab with his dagger, but he couldn't move a muscle. He felt as if his bones had been frozen in place. All he could do was watch wide-eyed until she stepped away. Once she was detached from him, he felt as if his whole body had suddenly thawed and the coldness he hadn't even realized he was feeling, that he had never felt before, suddenly vanished. He turned to swing his axe, slicing straight through her.

Her smile never faded. The axe went through and her body fell apart, collapsing into a pile of snow on the ground. But the snow and the wind stayed frozen around them.

"Now you look more my type." her voice whispered softly from behind Seiya.

It’s apparent right off the bat that this ain’t gonna go anywhere meaningful anytime soon.

The woman’s a damn master in the trickster’s art of makin’ a conversation last forever without it really goin’ anywhere– she parries any question thrown her way like it’s some particularly pathetic sword strike, findin’ a way to excuse her presence in this strange blizzard like it’s the most natural damn thing in the world, even if her claims are all feeble and see-through. Of course it ain't natural-- what kind of normal person goes for a walk in the middle of a blizzard wearin' just a kimono?! Seiya opens his mouth to retort again, armed with a line about how damn obvious it is that she’s the cause of all this, and then–

And then her parasol drops to the ground, snow flutterin’ about in the air, and she’s all cozied up by Xalmann’s side, nuzzlin’ into him like she belongs there or somethin’, and Seiya hears those warning bells start ringin’ all over again, loud and relentless. The lizardfolk’s poised to move, poised to strike, but for some reason, he ain’t movin’, ain’t strikin’ out like he looks like he wants to; he looks frozen stiff, like a statue instead of a livin’, breathin’ person.

It ain’t until her touch slips away from him that he finally moves, and even then, when his blades cleave through her body, the bisected fragments burst into snowflakes, fluttering down in heavy clumps to join the rest on the ground, leaving nothing but empty space where she once stood. And then her voice sounds behind Seiya, soft and sweet and deceptively pretty, and her palm is against his shoulder, and--

And the stardust that roars in his veins goes dim and stiff and silent, frozen beneath her boreal touch.

"Now you look more my type."

What the hell?

"...uh?" Seiya manages, unable to piece together anything more solid, anything more coherent, not for a moment, at least. All of this is makin' his skin crawl-- just what does this lady want? "Sorry, pal, I may be your type, but, uh... you ain't mine."

"Pity," the strange lady whispers, her volume never lifting, that flirtatious edge still skating along her every word. "It's always the ones you want most who don't want you."

Even so, she does not withdraw her touch-- not immediately. Her fingertips dance along Seiya's shoulder, eerily frigid, like ice breezing over his skin, lingering like winter looms on the skin well after you've found shelter. When her hand finally moves, it's like a shock to his system-- like his blood's remembered how to flow again, like his body's remembered how to move.

What the hell are they gonna do?

"...why are you here?" he elects to ask, gettin' straight to the point. "Wh... What're you lookin' for all the way out here?"

She just hid her crimson smile behind her hand again as she let out a delicate laugh as if what Seiya had just asked was nothing more than a little joke. This was all just a game to her.

"Why do you think I'm looking for something? Didn't I already say I'm just on a walk?" She asked, speaking slowly as if trying to explain something to a child. Comparatively, both Xalmann and Seiya might as well be children to her. In terms of her sheer power, likely her age as well though she didn't show it in the slightest. There was no way of knowing just what kind of being they were dealing with but it was clear from the way she toyed with them that they were nothing in her eyes.

With a sigh, she continued. "If I have to be looking for something, then I guess I'm looking for a little fun. Is that so bad?" She teased, tilting her head slightly.

The door of the wagon cracked open ever so slightly as Rajesh looked out to see what the hell was going on out here. Why did he hear a woman's voice? Why were his two new hires taking so long to see what was out there in the middle of this blasted blizzard?

The woman suddenly turned her head unnaturally fast toward the door to the wagon with an annoyed look on her face. A huge icicle suddenly sprouted out of the ground and slammed the door closed, staying there to lock it in place. Immediately after, she looked back to Seiya and Xalmann with the same smile she'd had before.

Holy shit.

It ain't like Seiya's ever been all that great at playin' the part of a stoic guy, in truth-- he wears his heart on his nonexistent sleeve, wears every feeling that settles in his chest as naturally as he wears the strips of cloth wrapped 'round his forearms, but the surprise that flashes across his face when the woman shuts Rajesh and the other merchants away inside their wagon is especially prominent. His eyes fly wide as he snaps his head back to stare at the snow-sealed door, mouth hanging open in silent surprise-- it ain't like he didn't know she was powerful as is, but hot damn, that kind of control over the environment takes a special kind of power.

He's really startin' to wonder how the hell he and Xalmann are gonna fix this-- this woman doesn't seem like she's all that keen on simply lettin' the blizzard fade away, her eyes fixed readily on her possible prize, and yet she's too damned strong to combat. When they can't land a hit on her and can't hope to contest against the kind of power that can conjure up a storm like this, then what the hell are they supposed to do?

"Ah, uh... a little fun, eh?" he winds up asking, his tone a bit strained, awkward, unsure of how to proceed. Are simple pleasantries gonna be enough to do much of anything? "Guess that's fair-- always good to, uh... take a chance to have a good time, I guess."

Seiya's face colors a bit at the way the woman giggles, clearly amused by the shift in his tone, the way he fumbles over his words like he doesn't know what the hell he's saying.

"...Listen, lady," he says after a moment. "This blizzard's all your doing, yea? What... exactly would we have to do to get ya to get it to stop? What's your idea of fun?"

Gods above, he hopes she's the sort who can be reasoned with.

The woman put a fingertip on her bottom lip, trying to act innocent and cute as she smiled, but her eyes had a sinister glint to them as she looked at Seiya.

"Hmmm, something fun..." She looked back and forth between Xalmann and Seya and her smile widened, slowly becoming inhumanly wide. She knew them fighting her wasn't an option, so asking for a fight wouldn't be fun at all. They wanted to do something fun to avoid a fight with her.

Xalmann looked at Seiya, just hoping he knew what he was doing. Fighting was all Xalmann was really good at, and knowing just how outclassed he was right now was frustrating. He wasn't good at talking, so letting Seiya talk them out of this situation was all he could do right now. His grip tightened on his axe as he glared at the snow woman.

"Oh, I know. How about this? You both tell me a little secret. Something nice and juicy. If I think it's fun enough, I'll leave." She smirked and looked at the two men. She caught Xalmann's glare and giggled. "Why don't we start with you then?" She asked, looking straight at the Lizardman.

Xalmann grimaced. A secret. He didn't have a lot of secrets. He glanced at Seiya and the woman noticed that too.

"Oh, the other hearing your secret is half the fun."

Despite awareness of his surroundings not being one of Seiya’s better qualities, he does catch the way Xalmann glances over at him when the lady gives her little proposal– and so does the lady, apparently, honin’ in on Xalmann like a wolf jumps on a rabbit. Well, that ain’t gonna do– he’s been pretty quiet, after all. Best to jump in.

“Ay, why don’tcha let me answer first instead? Give my pal here a minute to think on it,” Seiya says, directing a slightly-crooked smile toward the woman– one of the ones where his fangs don’t rest properly against the rest of his teeth, throwin’ ‘em out of alignment. It’s the way he learned to smile when he wanted people not to give him weird looks– the way he learned to smile when he wanted someone’s trust.

Even so, now that he’s said it… what exactly is this lady lookin’ for?

There’s all kindsa secrets out there, and Seiya’s got a fair share of ‘em, however open of a book he is– embarrassin’ things from when he was basically a pup, secrets that ain’t his to keep, things that hurt and things that he hopes will one day have their use. It ain’t easy to say what exactly would fit the bill of what she’s lookin’ for. Nothin’ mundane, obviously, at least– err, maybe the time he ran off with a kawauso when he was thirteen, beyond wasted off ethereal sake, and got into a couple’a wild shenanigans in some of the smaller villages…? Nah, that ain’t embarrassin’ or dark enough. Mama scolded him for it and all, but it ain’t that bad…

…..

Oh. Well.

“Well, I couuuuld tell ya about my hunt for my old man, but I don’t think that’s what you’re lookin’ for,” Seiya begins with a laugh, foldin’ his arms, eyes shining with manufactured mirth. “So, you’re from the Crescent Isles. I’m from the Crescent Isles. You’re a yokai, I’m a half-yokai– least I’m guessin’ you are. Seems like it, at least.”

He pauses for a minute, trying to figure out where exactly he’d been going with this.

“Oh– well, anyway, my old man’s an inugami. Y’know, sharp teeth, fluffy ears, tail, that kinda thing. I’ve got ‘em, too– but, uh… I ain’t got the best control of some of my less human stuff? And one time, I was out gettin’ stuff for my mama in another village, and to make a long, long story short, I wound up… waggin’ my tail so hard it knocked their chief down a hill and into a river. Got a lifelong ban from that little place. Hehe…”

He lets out an embarrassed chuckle as he wraps up the poorly-told story, his face flushing from a little more than the cold. He supposes it ain’t that bad in theory, but no self-respectin’ inugami flops on the ground like a puppy and takes an old man out at the knees from the force of their tail alone! Accidentally!

“So, that enough for ya?”

The Yuki-onna's icy gaze turned to Seiya as he spoke up, interrupting her playtime with the Lizardman. But, she didn't stop him from telling his little story. She listened to the whole thing without speaking or showing any emotion on her face at all. When he was finished, she stared at him a moment longer before her lips curled into a smile again.

"I asked for a secret, not a story... But it was at least a little entertaining. Fine. I'll accept it."

Her gaze turned back to Xalmann and he felt a shiver down his spine. But, there was also a new understanding to this whole ordeal. She accepted the story because it entertained her. He didn't need to tell a secret that was some deep, hidden part of himself he didn't want to share with anyone. He just needed to tell her something that would entertain her. Still not something he was happy about, but easier.

Without a word, Xalmann reached into his bag and pulled out a raw egg before lying on the ground. With the expertise of someone who had done it countless times, he cracked the egg with one hand and let it fall onto his abdomin where it immediately began to sizzle like it had been dropped into a frying pan.

"Pfft-" The Yuki-onna quickly stifled a laugh, holding a fan over her mouth. Now that had caught her off guard. In a million years, she wouldn't have expected the Lizardman to suddenly cook an egg on his abs. In a million years, Xalmann also never expected to show this dumb ability to anyone either. He just kept his face as stoic as possible as the egg cooked.

The Yuki-onna stifled another laugh as Xalmann flipped the egg over with his dagger.

Despite himself, Seiya can’t help the way he huffs a little bit over the Yuki-onna’s almost reluctant acceptance of his secret slash story; there’s a lotta overlap between the two! Stories can have secrets, and what’s a secret without a story behind it, huh? Ah, well, long as the lady’s pleased with it, he ain’t too plussed about it. Maybe it’s not as embarrassin’ as he thought it was if she didn’t find it all that interestin’– which, really, is a good thing. He ain’t even told his mama ‘bout that one, which has led to more than one raised eyebrow when he’s had to run out to the next next town out for specific textiles when she needs ‘em.

Well, worryin’ about whether it’s actually all that embarrassin’ is somethin’ he can save for much, much later; for now, he looks to Xalmann with a mild flash of worry flickerin’ in those rose-and-violet eyes. Just what kinda secret is he holdin’ onto?

He doesn’t seem like the comedic sort, like the kind who’s ever let his guard down much for anyone, but surely everyone has some kinda embarrassment holdin’ ‘em back? That’s just part of livin’ – he guesses the question is if Xalmann’s willin’ to talk about it. Maybe he’ll opt for a different kind of secret, somethin’ a little darker, or a little drearier, somethin’ from a dark and grisly past, or maybe he’ll surprise ‘em both and have somethin’ completely mundane to lay down on the table. Either way, Seiya ain’t supposed to be, but he’s… curious to hear exactly what it’s gonna be.

But Xalmann doesn’t open his mouth– no, he doesn’t speak at all.

He reaches for an egg (where’d he get that?), lays on the snow, and cracks it open on his stomach, and–

Holy fuckin’ shit.

The damn thing is cookin’.

Seiya can hear the Yuki-onna laughin’, but there’s nothin’ but admiration in his eyes as he watches Xalmann flip the egg over with a dagger, envy and respect alike surging to life through him– what kind of raw power does it take to achieve that?! Holy hell, if Seiya could make yakitori on his abs, his life would be ten times easier! Ten times better! He ain’t good at math, but he’s pretty sure that’s a significant increase! So cool!

“A-Alright, al– pfft– right,” the Yuki-onna croons, still half-chokin’ on laughter the whole time. It’s kind of funny to see that composed, regal image crackin’ around the edges, disrupted by somethin’ as mundane and ordinary as laughter. She coughs once before smoothing out her tone, her expression pinched with amusement at the edges. “I believe I am.. Satisfied. I suppose I will keep up my end of the bargain.”

She flutters her fingers in a wave, offerin’ a little wink toward Xalmann– deserved, the man can fry eggs on himself, damnit– before turnin’ away and startin’ to walk, the snow whirlin’ around her, the wind howlin’ and singin’ until her form becomes nigh indistinguishable in the veil of what was once a blizzard, until nothin’ is left of her except some gentle snowfall and the faintest outline of what might’ve been footprints.

Seiya lets a few seconds pass before he lets out a sigh of relief, glancin’ over to Xalmann with big eyes.

“...Dude.”

Mortified.

The snow woman was finally gone. They gave her what she wanted and she left just like that. It should be a moment of relief, victory, joy. But the only emotion Xalmann could feel at the moment was absolutely mortified. He just laid in the snow, egg still sizzling in its spot in the center of his abdomen. If they weren't already that way normally, it would have been quite the sight to see the scales on his face red and burning hot. The snow around him melted and steamed from it.

The most humiliating thing was that the two of them stood no chance of fighting that creature. Having to stoop to fulfilling its demands just to survive. If he couldn't defeat some snow woman in a fight, what chance did he have of defeating a literal god? No, he'd get stronger. One day, he'd return and show her she couldn't do that to him again.

"...Dude."

Xalmann stood up, taking the now fully cooked and slightly burnt egg between two clawed fingertips. Seiya was the only one besides that damn snow woman who saw. The others had all been trapped inside the frozen shut wagon, the ice around it now crumbling away.

"Tell no one." He said with a serious look and then tossed the egg into his mouth, disposing of the evidence before the ice broke enough that the merchants were able to push the door of the wagon open and ask what just happened.

The mystified look on Seiya’s face doesn’t fall away even when Xalmann gets back to his feet, pluckin’ the egg off of his abdomen with ease and tossin’ it right into his mouth. It’s really somethin’ else, to be able to do that– it’s gotta be convenient for travelin’ if you ain’t gotta worry about settin’ up a fire to make a meal. Gods above, it’s so cool, so efficient; Seiya’s pretty sure he’s gonna be lamentin’ his own inability to do such a thing for the rest of his days.

Ah, alas, whatever Gods there are or were sure ain’t fair.

He’s almost so caught up in his envy that he nearly misses Xalmann’s insistence that this revelation stays between the two of ‘em. Seiya blinks as if only now realizin’ what Xalmann said to him, before vigorously noddin’, not wantin’ to give Xalmann a reason to be upset. Uh, more upset, apparently.

“You’ve got my word, pal,” he says, bringin’ a hand to his heart. “I promise I ain’t gonna tell anyone else. I am gonna think it’s cool, though– ‘cause it is.”

It’s so cool.

Still, it ain’t like they’ve got a whole lotta time to talk about it– as much as Seiya would like to fawn over Xalmann’s very cool ability some more, the snow’s dyin’ down, and the merchants are finally emergin’ from their wagon, curious about just what they’d done to fix it. And Seiya just made a promise to hush about what Xalmann had done, and he ain’t gonna break it– especially not to a bunch of merchants right after promisin’.

He can see Rajesh peekin’ out of the wagon, as if dubious about the fadin’ blizzard, but a look of relief flashes across the man’s face when he sees the storm’s left. He and a few other merchants start floodin’ out of the cramped wagon, clearly happy to see the weather’s shifted for the better.

“Oh, thank the Gods,” the lead merchant sighs, rubbin’ his temples like his headache’s fadin’ or somethin’. “I’m not sure how you did it, and quite frankly, I don’t care– the blizzard’s gone at last!”

“Yea, sure is,” Seiya mumbles, a bit unenthusiastic– he still ain’t fond of these guys, after all–, but he lifts his head up to at least give the merchants a wry grin. “That all ya need? Think you can go forward on your own now?”