He wasted no time lingering in the forest; if Arietta had been there she would have smelled him and let her presence be known. Ion left the overly wooded area , his patience dwindling in slight contrast to his worry.

He approached the small village, his eyes actively scanning the area as he came in. His looking was not in vain; in an almost anticlimactic manner, his eyes fell upon the limping and flushed form a great distance away from him. Ion knew immediately from the fragility of her appearance and the shock of pink hair that it was indeed Arietta.

His face remained as stoic as ever as he quickly approached the ill form, calling her name but once upon drawing near enough to her. Her acute hearing would pick it up, and internally he hoped the sound of his voice for the first time in years would be enough to soothe her soul for at least a moment.