The wind blew through the cold open space in gradual, icy flows, also bringing the stress that was between Blizzard and the criminal under him. The other three criminals, hurt and injured, kept watch from a safe spot. No one had the courage to move. Blizzard being there kept them still, even more than the vrytin explosion that trapped his group. His eyes showed tiredness, anger, and strong hope as he stared at the shaking wolf who said he knew the truth.
"Speak," Blizzard said, his tone even, with no patience left.
The criminal struggled to swallow. "Y-you will let us go? We all heard you make that promise,"
"I said I might think about it." Blizzard held the wolf's neck tighter. "Now speak before I decide not to."
Fear showed in the criminal's eyes, and Blizzard could see worry making his face look sharp. The criminal nodded very fast so it looked painful. "Okay, okay. I will tell you all that I know."
Blizzard did not let go. He did not even blink. He did not take a breath. He had to know the truth, no matter how bad it was.
The criminal breathed in shakily. "There is a story, just a story, we heard from the groups that go past the cliffs up north. A story from a long time ago. They say… they say the only way to stop a vrytin time-freeze is with a giving up of something."
Blizzard felt uneasy. "Giving up what?"
The criminal was unsure.
"Don't try me," Blizzard warned him.
The criminal's voice got very quiet. "A child."
The words hit Blizzard like a punch. His hand got stiff, but he did not let go. A cold feeling much worse than the air went down his spine. The criminal went on quickly, hurrying to say all he knew before Blizzard got too angry.
"N-not just any child. It has to be someone from your family. And, " He swallowed again. "And a royal from the Night Walker group. Their family line is most connected to the moon, and the moon's power can fight the vrytin's change to time. That is what the story says. That's all it says."
Blizzard's heart beat so hard it filled his ears. Giving up something. A child. Someone from his family. Royal moon family. The thought was awful, unreal, something no normal wolf would think about. But the criminal said it had power. Enough power to save everyone frozen in Blizzard's home.
Blizzard closed his eyes for a second, taking a breath that shook. He saw his mother's frozen face. His father's still pose, stuck in one step. Young wolves stopped playing, old ones stuck mid-story. His whole world, stuck in time.
And here was a story, scary, wrong, crazy, but a story that hinted at a fix.
Blizzard opened his eyes again.
"Who told you this?" he asked.
"Just a traveler," the bad guy spoke up fast. "A seller from the far east. He claimed he was told it by someone in the Night Walker area. We didn't even think it was real! It was just chat around the fire. Only a made-up story. Please, you have to know, that's all it was! Just something someone heard!"
Blizzard looked hard at him, his mind going in a lot of ways. He felt very angry deep down, but it wasn't at the bad guy. It was about what was happening, the bad luck, how unfair things were. He would never hurt a kid. Never ever. Just thinking about it made him sick. No matter what this story said, it was just too much, it was awful.
But something still didn't feel right.
Blizzard moved in closer. "Why say anything about it? Why talk about something you don't even think is true?"
The bad guy was shaking. "Because… because maybe it's the one thing anyone has ever said about undoing a vrytin freeze. W-we checked this place before you got here! Your people are frozen, and nothing helps them! Not heat, not strength, not magic! It was the one thing we heard that sounded like it could help."
The open area seemed to get even colder.
For a little while, Blizzard didn't say anything. He felt mixed up inside, with lots of worry, hurt, and wanting something badly. He had to know things for sure. Real answers. Not just stories. Not things people heard from others who didn't know how serious it was.
And then Blizzard knew what he would do.
He wasn't going to hurt a child to save others.
But he was going to make sure this bad guy knew how bad it was to tell such an awful story.
"You think I will believe you?" Blizzard said softly. Almost too softly.
The bad guy stopped breathing for a moment. "I, I'm being honest!"
Blizzard's eyes got tough. "Lies or honesty, it doesn't matter at all. You shouldn't have said anything about it."
The bad guy made a small noise as Blizzard suddenly grabbed him hard and pushed him all the way to the icy ground. The other bad guys jumped back, taking shaky steps, looking very scared. Blizzard didn't hit, didn't scratch, didn't try to bite. Instead, he made the bad guy look right at him.
"Listen good," Blizzard said meanly, his voice going low and steady. "If this story is real, I will find proof. If it's not true, I'll find out the truth myself. But I will never, not ever, do something that hurts a child. Do you understand what I mean?"
The bad guy nodded really hard. "Y-yes! Yes! I promise!"
"You will never say this story again," Blizzard told him. "Not to your friends, not to people passing by, not to anybody at all."
"I won't! I promise you!"
Blizzard looked at him for a few more seconds, then let him go and stood up. The bad guy moved back so fast he almost fell. His friends came to help him, holding him up, shaking with being happy it was over and being scared.
Blizzard moved away, making a soft noise as his boots pressed into the snow. The chilly air pulled on his coat, bringing with it the quiet of his icy group. The story stayed in his thoughts like something sharp, unwanted, but he couldn't push it away. Not because he thought it was true, but because it meant something bigger was happening: there were answers to be found. Maybe in the Night Walker's land. Maybe in old writings. Maybe in magic that was lost.
But he would locate them.
It didn't matter how long it would take. It didn't matter how unsafe it was. It didn't matter what he had to pay.
He turned back to the bad guys with one last warning. "Leave now. If I catch you close to my group again, story or no story, you won't get away."
The bad guys ran off, vanishing into the woods very quickly.
Blizzard watched them leave, then looked at his quiet place.
He wouldn't stop trying.
He never would.