11. Cleaning

After more than a bit of trial and error I've finally got a good grasp of the Winter Sprites. I can use the Winter Sprites to make snow, ice, and frost. One distinct difference between frost and ice is the fact that frost forms as a thin layer on something as long as there is some moisture around. Of course it also has to be cold enough. That isn't really important. What's important is how they're used.

The frost property of Winter Sprites is used to enhance other things. It can make things sharper, more durable, and many other things. Ice is used to attack and defend. Ice can also be used to increase mobility. How? Well by sliding on the ice. Not very practical though since I can't really control my movements. I'll have to think of a better way to use it for travel. 

Snow is a bit more special since it doesn't really have any attacking potential. I find that it can be used to block the view of something. The only problem is that doing that for an extended period of time is very taxing on my mind. I can make it snow heavier, but that's difficult. So I've found uses for my ability to control Winter Sprites, only that I can't really do anything with them. 

As disappointing as that is, I made it back home safely. The night was mostly uneventful. I luckily managed to kill a rabbit on my way back as well. I had stopped by the moose, but there was basically no meat left on it. The hide was too heavy for me to bring back. 

As I descended the little hole in my home, a somewhat bad smell hit me. I frowned, the smell only got stronger as I got further down. As I reached the chamber I knew why it smelled so bad. 

"Turns out leaving blood, organs, bones, and bloody fur of animals in an enclosed space is a bad idea. Cause now everything is rotting."

I looked around and sighed. I was a bit tired from my little outing. I couldn't just sleep, I would run the risk of getting sick doing that. I knew that sleeping would just make the problem worse. So I had little choice but to deal with it now. The only thing is I don't know how to go about it. Fortunately, an idea soon appears in my head. 

'I'll just freeze everything and then throw it out somewhere. I'll just bury the blood. Before doing all that I should probably eat first.'

With that thought I formed an icicle. I put holes in the rabbits fur before tearing it. It's easier than when I first did it, but still rather difficult. After tearing the fur off I use it as a plate. I eat the rabbit and get blood everywhere. I look at my hands which remind me of when I first did this.

"Well, I can't exactly say I feel much better about this. It certainly doesn't taste better. Hahaha. Well I have other things to do."

I freeze all the organs before picking them up. I can't take all of them in one trip but I place all of them on top of the snow. I look around for a bit before deciding to take them somewhere else. Since I couldn't carry them all by myself I made something similar to a bowl. My head started hurting a bit from my use of the Winter Sprites. 

I pile all the organs and some of the bones onto the ice bowl. I walk a couple minutes away before dumping them. With that done I walk back and start burying the blood. The dirt was quite hard but I use the bowl I made to shovel it easier. Eventually all the blood gets buried. This left the floor of my home quite bumpy. At this point my body felt a little weak.

 I didn't feel like pushing my body any further, so I smoothed out a space for me to lay in. I then cover it in a thin layer of frost. At this point I have 2 pieces of rabbit fur. I use them as a pillow. Of course as I've said a million times already, they are bloody. I don't mind it though since I'll just wash them tomorrow. With this in mind I soon fall asleep.

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3rd person POV

A woman with blurred features talked to a young girl with mid length white hair, and dark blue eyes that seemed to shine. 

"As ###### ###########, Winter Sprites are basically our children. Because of this their trust in us comes naturally. This is especially true for Lower Winter Sprites as their consciousness is barely there. They are basically infants. This is also why we can control them so easily. However, it's a bit different when we're talking about Middle Winter Sprites, also called Winter Sprites."

Among the small pale blue dots, also known as Lower Winter Sprites, a much bigger one appears. Around triple the size of the lower variants, its color is more pronounced. 

"This is a Winter Sprite. It contains around 5 times the power of the Lower Winter Sprites. They can only be found in places with dense snow, ice, or frost elements. They have a more developed conscience which makes them harder to deal with. This also makes them more aware. They won't place all their trust in you from the get go. You'll have to earn it. 

There are many things you can do with Winter Sprites that you can't do with Lower Winter Sprites. Lower Winter Sprites will have a hard time forming anything that can hurt or stop an Evolved Beast. But Winter Sprites can easily do so. Even Awakened Beast are much of a problem as long as you have a degree of mastery."

The young girl spoke up.

"How do you gain the complete trust of Winter Sprites then?"

The woman nodded.

"Well that's relatively simple. The best ways are to…"

Her words seemed to fade into silence as the pair seemed to be consumed by darkness.

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MC POV

I open my eyes and look up. I sit up with a groan. I rub my head while looking around.

"What a weird dream. I had a similar one not too long ago. I feel like I know those two though."