"That might not be possible..." Garrett sighed.
The words fell like stones into still water.
Kari's entire body went rigid—spine straightening, muscles coiling beneath fur. Her claws extended involuntarily, scoring marks in the bark of the nearest tree.
"What do you mean, it's impossible?" Kari's voice rose, "Do you know how much trouble we went through coming here?" Her tail lashed once, twice.
"Do you know what we've been through—what we've lost—just to reach this place?"
She breathed rage. Her eyes burned with something between rage and desperation.
"We walked for days through mountains that tried to kill us," she continued, voice cracking. "We carried wounded who screamed with every step. "Her claws dug deeper into the tree. "And now you tell us it's impossible?"
Garrett raised one hand—slowly, carefully, the gesture of someone calming a spooked animal.
"Calm down," he said. "I said in the village, right now, it's not possible. I didn't say never."
Violet stared at him, "What do you mean?"
He sat down silently, following the quiet of forest.
"The village is in unrest," he said. Each word was measured, chosen with care. "News has been flying for days now. Traders coming through from the eastern routes, soldiers passing by on patrol—all carrying the same stories."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"Stories about Beastkin from the Valley of Winds," Garrett continued. "About a great battle. About refugees scattering into the mountains." His eyes found Violet's. "About imperial forces hunting survivors with orders to kill on sight."
The blood drained from Violet's face.
Kari's claws retracted slowly. Her breathing was still quick, but the edge of panic had dulled to something more controlled.
Bara's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "Let them come. We've fought armies. A handful of farmers with pitchforks won't—"
"No." Garrett's interruption was sharp. "This isn't a warzone, it's village where peace is only thing keeping people sane."
Bara's jaw clenched...
Violet's hands trembled. "But Papa... I promised them—"
She couldn't finish. Her throat closed around the words.
Garrett sighed—
" But there is one option..."
He looked past her to where Kari and Bara stood frozen, listening.
He stood up and grabbed Violets hand gently...
"Follow me."
***
They walked in silence through the forest.
Behind them, Bara moved beside Kari. The polar bear's massive frame was tense, shoulders hunched against more than just the cold.
After several minutes of walking, Kari spoke quietly. "What happened to you? You were all smug this morning. Now your face is nothing but stoic expression."
Bara cracked his neck—a nervous habit he'd developed after too many battles. "I almost died there. What expression do you expect me to wear?"
Kari's steps faltered mid-stride. "You almost died?" She stared at him, in disbelief. "You're the second strongest in our tribe. After Kael, there was no one—"
She stopped herself. Glanced ahead at Garrett's broad back, at the casual way he navigated the forest, at Violet walking beside him with a small smile despite everything.
The pieces clicked together.
"Her father," Kari breathed.
Bara's voice dropped lower, meant for her ears alone. "That man. The moment I mentioned Violet's name, it was like something inside him snapped." He flexed his hands unconsciously. "Whatever strength he was holding back—whatever he keeps buried under that quiet exterior—it all came flooding into his axe."
He paused, and when he continued, there was something like awe mixed with the fear in his tone.
"I've faced charging mammoths," Bara said quietly. "I've stood against war mages and their conjured nightmares. I've traded blows with Kael himself in Dra-za-li." His eyes never left Garrett's back. "But when that axe moved... I saw death. Clear as daylight. Clear as my own reflection in still water."
Kari listened without interrupting.
"If she hadn't arrived when she did," Bara continued, "that axe would've opened me from shoulder to hip. Without hesitation."
He touched his shoulder unconsciously. "And that isn't even the worst part."
"What could be worse than that?"
"He was aiming for my shoulder," Bara said. "Not my neck. Not my heart. My shoulder—to cripple, not kill. Because he wanted me alive."
His voice dropped to barely more than a whisper. "He wanted to question me. Maybe To find out why I knew his daughter's name. To learn where she was and what had happened."
The polar bear's eyes were distant now, reliving something.
Kari listen to him quietly,
"I thought the girl was abnormal," Bara continued. "The way she fights. The way she talks. The ice she wields that shouldn't be possible for someone her age." He glanced at Violet's small form walking ahead.
"But now, looking at her father... I understand. The way she can be gentle one moment and absolutely lethal the next."
"Just what are these two?" Kari murmured.
Neither had an answer.
They walked on in weighted silence until Garrett stopped at the mouth of a narrow mountain pass.
The opening was easy to miss—hidden behind an outcropping of rock and a tangle of winter-dead brambles.
Snow had drifted across the entrance, making it look like nothing more than a natural depression in the cliff face.
Garrett gestured into the darkness. "This is close to our village. Barely a few minutes if you move fast. But no one comes here."
"Why not?" Kari's nose twitched, scenting for danger.
"Monsters," Garrett said simply. "At least, that's what the villagers believe. The forest around this pass has a reputation. Strange sounds at night. Animals acting wrong. Bodies found torn apart." He paused. "Most people stay clear."
Kari's brow arched. "Monsters? You're saying there are monsters in the place where you want us to live?"
Garrett didn't looked at her,
"Were," he corrected.
Bara's eyes narrowed with doubt less than belief. "You killed them all?"
He grumbled in agreement...
He looked at them directly.
Violet stared at him.
She'd known her father hunted.
Everyone in Greyhollow knew Garrett was the strongest there...
But this—
When had he done this?
During his long hunts when she'd been sick?
During the nights she'd slept soundly in her bed?
How much had he done without her ever knowing?
Kari moved past them into the pass, her feline senses scanning for deception or hidden danger.
After a moment, Bara followed.
Garrett remained at the entrance with Violet.
"There's a lake a few miles east," he said quietly. "Good for fishing. The forest to the north is good for hunting, Deer, elk, boar. Enough game to feed your people without depleting the population."
He pointed to specific landmarks as he spoke. "Fresh water flows down from the peaks. Caves for shelter."
"When did you— how did you—" Violet had a lot of questions and Garrett understood them.
"I've thought about a lot of things." Garrett's hand rested on her head briefly. "Your mother and I... we knew the village might not always be safe." His jaw tightened. "I just wanted to make sure, we have a route or a shelter."
Violet's throat constricted.
Kari emerged from deeper in the pass, Bara close behind, her expression shifted from suspicion to cautious approval.
"It's good," she said simply. "Better than good. Defensible sight lines. Multiple escape routes. Water, food, shelter—everything we need." She looked at Garrett with new respect.
"Then..." Kari glanced at Bara, some silent communication passing between them. "Thank you. For trusting us with this."
Garrett nodded...
Violet looked up at her father. "Thank you, Papa."
"Well then." Garrett rubbed his hand through "Since this is done, shall we return home?"
Violet looked up at him, then back at Kari and Bara standing in the mouth of the pass.
"Yes," she said quietly. "Let's go home."