The snow fell delicately on the ground as Wolf stood in the middle of the park, taking a long, satisfying drag of his cigarette. He let the taste linger on his tongue for a few moments before exhaling. The smoke and his hot breath intermingled with the frosty winter air, and he watched it as it swirled upward and rapidly dissipated. Taking one last drag of the cigarette, he dropped it onto the layer of fresh snow and listened to it hiss as the spent cigarette touched the ice.

The silent snowfall was very unsettling; it wasn’t the first snow he’d experienced, but he could never quite get used to how quiet it made everything seem. Wolf looked around the park: there was a wooden table and bench off to his left, illuminated by the harsh yellow light of an overhead streetlamp. To his right was the border of the forest, just as dark as he remembered it to be. His gaze lingered, almost hypnotically, on the edge of it, studying the shadows and reflecting on what lay hidden within them. He shuddered as unwanted memories arose in the forefront of his mind.

That forest is cursed.

Reluctantly, Wolf pulled his gaze from the edge of the forest. He zipped up his jacket and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked around the dimly illuminated park for any sign that he was not alone, but found none.  The overhanging streetlamp flickered for a few moments, and Wolf froze. He watched it intently, and it flickered one last time before going out. Feeling a rising sense of panic, Wolf took a few steps backward, snow crunching underfoot. He reached for his hunting knife in his belt and whipped it out, listening carefully to the darkness.

“Don’t tell me that after all of this time, you’re still afraid of the dark.”

Regaining his calm, Wolf stopped and stood up straight. He felt relieved, but he berated himself for panicking. After all, it was only her.

“You should know by now that it’s not the dark I have to be afraid of; it’s what hides within it, sweetheart,” he finally replied. As he exhaled, the park light flickered back on, and Wolf was faced with an all-too familiar young woman.

She was at least a foot shorter than him; her mousy brown hair fell in front of her eyes as it always did, and she shook her head to move it. She gave him the same lopsided, toothy grin she always wore. Her green eyes sparkled, and her cheeks glowed pink in the frigid night air. She silently rocked back and forth on her heels, her hands in the pockets of her jeans.

It was only Elise.

Elise tilted her head to the side as she studied Wolf. “Waiting for me to show up?”

He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “I wasn’t so sure I’d see you. Guess I was wrong.”

She beamed. “Come on, Wolf, you know you were waiting for me.”

He cracked a smile, and she laughed. “I guess I was, love. What’s with the flickering lights and shadow play though?”

“I missed playing around. You know me,” Elise said with a guilty grin.

Wolf’s smile began to fade. “Better than anyone,” he mumbled.

Elise’s smile faltered. “Don’t be sad, Wolf; I’m here, aren’t I?”

He nodded. “But it’s not enough, Elise,” he said sadly. Wolf pulled his hand from his jacket pocket and stuck it out in front of him. He reached for her face, but was met with an illusion. He and Elise sighed in unison.

“I would be here if I could. You know that.”

“Well why can’t you?” he growled in frustration.

“Wolf, sweetheart, please don’t be upset. I would give anything to be with you tonight,” she whispered. Her green eyes met his, and his resolve began to crumble. His shoulders slumped forward, and he brought his hand back into his pocket. The ghost of Elise’s hand touched his cheek.

“I’ll see you sooner than you know it. Come on,” she said, stepping away from him. “Walk with me a while, Wolf.”

He nodded and moved to join her. The two walked to the edge of the forest, and Wolf stopped in his tracks. Elise did not realize he had ceased to follow her until she turned to her side to find him gone.

“Wolf, are you coming?” she asked. Elise realized he was still fearful of the forest ahead and she moved to his side.

“The forest will not harm you; not tonight, Wolf. Not as long as you’re with me.”

Wolf was still hesitant, but he stepped forward anyway. The two of them proceeded across the forest border. Wolf remained wary of his surroundings, and Elise tried to ease his worried mind.

“I wonder what your parents would think, if they knew you were in love with a sorceress,” Elise said aloud. Wolf raised an eyebrow and looked at her strangely; she only replied with a half smirk.

“They would think I was out of my mind, and have me committed. Or, at least, my dad would. My mum would love you though,” he replied after a moment of thought. Elise laughed.

“That’s great to hear. Funny enough though, I’ve met your parents,” she said offhandedly. Wolf stopped short.

“Come again?”

“Yeah. I saw them last week. Bumped into them. Nice people, really.”

“You’re joking.”

Elise shrugged. “Well, I didn’t formally meet them, but I did see them. They were shopping for the holidays.” She paused. “They’re really looking forward to seeing you, Wolf. Are you going to visit them this year?”

Wolf shrugged. “Dunno. That depends on if my dad decides not to be an a—“

“Knock it off, Wolf. He’s your dad. He loves you a lot, you know. He just…doesn’t know how to go about it.”

“Yeah? And how would you know that?”

“I have my ways, Wolf,” she said slyly. He rolled his eyes and continued walking. The snow crunched beneath his boots.

“So, do you know what you want for Christmas, Wolf?” Elise asked, changing the subject.

“You know what I want.”

“Something different.”

“Maybe a new hunting knife or a pair of durable boots. Or a leather jacket that isn’t so torn up.”

“Well, the jacket is your own fault. If you weren’t so hell-bent on demon-hunting, maybe you’d have a leather jacket that wasn’t torn to shreds,” she retorted. Wolf snorted.

“Hey, you asked, love.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” she acquiesced. “And hey, you never know; you might just get what you ask for.”

“That would be nice for a change,” he replied with a chuckle. His laugh was followed by Elise’s own light laughter, and the familiar sound warmed his heart.

“What about you, Elise? Anything you’ve wanted?”

The illusion of her shrugged minutely. “I guess it would be nice not to have to spend so much time away from you; especially tonight.” She sighed. “This exile has been much worse than I thought it would be.”

“I’ll say,” Wolf grumbled.

Elise’s double stepped in front of Wolf and faced him. “Hey now. This has been tough for the both of us. But you know, while I’ve been in exile, I’ve still been able to protect you. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

“I don’t need protecting, Elise,” he retorted. She raised her eyebrows.

“Oh yeah? What about the attack a few months ago with the group of rogue demons? It was lucky I was watching over you that time; you would have been torn to shreds. Or even that ambush last week. I saved your sorry ass from being hauled back to the depths of hell,” Elise pointed out. Wolf only grunted in response.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She snorted. “You’re the only reason we’re in this mess,” she continued jokingly. Wolf narrowed his eyes.

“You shouldn’t joke about that, love.”

“Well, I need to try and say something to make you smile.” She gave him a half grin. “As bad as the situation may be, you have to admit that the circumstances were pretty funny at the time.”

“Sending you to exile was funny?” Wolf asked incredulously. “Seriously Elise? It’s because I wasn’t careful enough that you’re not here!”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Wolf. Things like this happen—“

“Don’t give me that, Elise. You know that if I had just watched out, just been a little bit more careful, this would have never happened.”

Elise pressed her lips together and sighed. “Wolf…that doesn’t matter anymore. What’s done is done. It’ll get better soon. Everything will be back to the way it was,” she explained softly.

“How do you know?” Wolf whispered. He felt the ghost of her touch against his cheek, but when he leaned into it, it vanished.

“Do you trust me?”

Wolf smiled. “Though I shouldn’t, I do.”

“Walk with me. Just for a little while longer.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Do you really think I’m going to tell you?”

Wolf snorted. “No, I suppose not.”

“Besides, you’re supposed to trust me. So that means no more questions.”

Wolf reluctantly nodded. He kept pace with her, and the remainder of the trek was spent in comfortable silence. The frigid air bit at Wolf’s face, but he didn’t mind too much. The cold wasn’t the first thing on his mind. He only pulled his jacket tighter around himself and followed Elise’s illusion further into the shadows.

The snow began to fall more heavily, and it soon became difficult for Wolf to clearly see where they were headed. He struggled to follow Elise, and soon enough, her transparent visage disappeared among the snowfall. Wolf brought his hand up in front of his eyes and searched for Elise.

“Lis? You still there? I lost you!” he called out. “Elise?”

Hearing movement behind him, Wolf tore his knife from his belt and whipped around; he was met with nothing but shadows. He spun wildly, eyes scanning every which way as he frantically searched for her.

“Elise!” he shouted.

Everything stopped.

The wind stopped blowing about, and the snow stopped falling. Wolf stopped spinning and took in his surroundings. Elise had taken him to the middle of a clearing.

“Elise?” he called out again, softer this time. The fresh powder crunched beneath his boots as he walked around the open space in the darkness. He gripped the hilt of his knife tightly as he proceeded to search the area. The trees no longer stirred, and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of his footsteps. His mind began to swim with dreadful thoughts, and he tried to prepare himself for what might happen.

“Wolf,” he heard her finally call back. Still on his guard, he lowered the knife and stood up straighter.

“You left,” he remarked.

“Only for a moment,” she replied. “I thought you said you didn’t need protection?” she finished teasingly.

Wolf turned toward the direction in which her voice was coming from, and he immediately took a step back, dropping his knife.

It can’t be.

Elise stepped forward to meet Wolf; he began to shake his head.

“But...I thought you were sentenced to exile for an indefinite amount of time?” he wondered aloud. He nearly thought her another illusion, a conjured trick of her own doing, but it was the sound of her feet on the snowy ground that confirmed she was no artifice.

“Things changed; the Order’s need for me has grown considerably since I’ve left, and they’ve so graciously shortened my sentence.” She stopped a few feet away from where he stood. “That, and I need you just as much as you need me.”

“Elise…” he whispered in disbelief. “You’re back? Really back?”

She nodded. “I’m really back. For good.”

Something cracked within Wolf, and he closed the distance between the two of them, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her slender arms around his large form, and hugged him tightly.

“I missed you,” she mumbled against the leather of this jacket. He inhaled sharply and exhaled shakily.

“I missed you too, love.”

Elise buried her face in his chest, and Wolf rested his chin on the crown of her head. He gently ran his fingers through her hair.

“Hey Wolf.”

“Yeah, Lis?”