I stood in front of the request board, looking for a job to take. Bixlow stood by my side, waiting for me to pick one. Since Freed and Evergreen still weren't back, it would just be Bixlow and me again.

I finally decided on a job that required delivering some kind of herbs that increase magic power to a young mage in training. Bixlow grinned at me when I pointed it out.

"Better dress warmly then because we're going to Mt. Hakobe."

The two of us bought some winter clothes to wear on the mountain. My outfit was very similar to what I normally wear except my top had sleeves and I had pants instead of shorts. I even got another cloak that was a dark grey color and lined with fuzzy fur to keep me warm.

Bixlow's outfit was practically the same except a little thicker and he still wore his hood and visor. We hitched a ride in the back of a truck to get a little ways up the mountain.

I watched as the scenery slowly turned to white while the temperature dropped. The truck soon stopped.

"Alright, this is as far as I go!" the driver yelled over the howling of the wind.

Bixlow and I hopped out and began walking, hearing the truck drive away. Flakes fell all around us as we slowly trudged through the thick snow. With the wind blowing my hair around, I had to constantly brush it out of my face.

The wind started to pick up and more snow began falling. My vision was becoming obscured. It seemed like we were in the middle of a blizzard.

"How are we ever going to find the herbs in this snowstorm?!" I yelled to Bixlow.

"We won't! We should find some shelter until this blizzard dies down!"

I glanced around before spotting an opening in the side of the mountain. "Over there! I see a cave!"

The two of us rushed over and went inside. I stared out at the raging storm outside and sighed.

"Looks like this mission is going to be harder than I thought," I muttered mostly to myself.

Bixlow answered, "That's why I'm here, baby. To make sure nothing bad happens."

I smiled at him before looking back at the winding path inside the cave. "Let's follow the caves then. Perhaps they'll lead us to where we need to go."

Bixlow nodded and we walked down the path inside the cave. It soon led to an open cavern where a group of mountain vulcans resided. I froze, and when they noticed us, they charged toward us.

"Shadow Kitsune!"

I summoned a group of large, shadow-made foxes that ran forward and fought against the vulcans. One of the white-furred beasts managed to get past my foxes and attacked us.

I dodged to the right while Bixlow dodged to the left. It suddenly seemed like more vulcans were showing up while my foxes were slowly defeated.

With Bixlow and me being separated in the swarm of ape-like monsters, I decided to run through the nearest tunnel to escape. I'm pretty sure Bixlow did the same since there were too many vulcans to fight.

With some of the beasts following me, I stopped in another smaller cavern to stand and fight. "Shadow Sphere!"

I threw multiple black orbs, hitting the vulcans before rushing toward them. "Shadow Claws!"

I dodged around them as they attempted to hit me and clawed at them. At one point, I lost my footing on the slick, icey ground below me and fell on my butt.

One of the vulcans lifted his fists above me. I quickly rolled out of the way as his fists slammed down onto the ground where I was. I jumped back onto my feet only to hear a loud crack.

The vulcans and I both froze and looked down at the ground. There was now a large crack where the beast's fists hit. My eyes widened when the crack quickly spread out under our feet.

Before I could react, the ground beneath us gave way and all of us fell. I shut my eyes and screamed, hearing the vulcan's wails along with mine. I suddenly felt myself hit something, but it wasn't the ground.

I snapped my eyes open to see that I had landed on Bixlow. Unfortunately, the way I landed pushed my breasts against his face. Feeling my face heat up, I quickly got off him.

"Bixlow! I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen!"

He laid there for a moment with a red face before sitting up and smirking. "Don't worry about it, baby! It's not like it hurt or anything!"

"So big and soft!"

That comment from his babies made me completely embarrassed and I instinctively pulled my cloak around me to cover myself. Bixlow seemed to chuckle.

"Hey, that doesn't mean you have to hide. You've got a nice body, Freya. No reason to cover it up, especially from me. Now come on, let's get out of here."

I simply nodded and followed him down yet another tunnel, leaving behind the unconscious vulcans that fell with me. We soon came upon yet another large cavern with a group of vulcans.

Most of them seemed to be napping, so Bixlow and I hid before they noticed us. One of the beasts seemed to be a bit larger than the others and was blocking the only other tunnel.

"That is one big vulcan," I whispered.

"Yeah, but there aren't as many this time. I think we can take them."

Before Bixlow could move, I held my hand out and stopped him. "I don't think so. The floor has too many cracks in it. It probably won't hold our weight along with the vulcans."

"Then what do we do? Sneak around them?"

I smirked. "We could, but I have a better way of dealing with large vulcans. This isn't the first time I've run into these creatures. I'll just use my "nice body" to my advantage."

Bixlow seem to stare at me for a moment. I moved my cloak out of the way and casually strolled out from where we hid. I cleared my throat and put on my best cute, innocent act.

"Oh no, I seem to be lost!"

The group of vulcans all perked up and looked at me. I watched as their eyes turned into hearts and they started jumping up in excitement. I could hear them chattering about a "pretty woman".

The larger one then stepped forward and gazed down at me. "Pretty woman lost?"

I faked a sad face. "Yes, I'm sorry to intrude but I can't seem to find my way out. Now I'm lost and cold."

"Me like pretty woman," the big one stated. "You stay here. Me keep you safe and warm."

I batted my eyelashes and smiled slightly. "Really? You'd let me stay here?"

"You be wife. We stay here together."

"Well, okay, you've twisted my leg. I'd be happy to stay here...with you," I said in the softest, sexiest voice.

The large vulcan began jumping slightly in joy. I could see the middle of the icey floor beginning to crack. I inwardly smirked.

Once he calmed down, he too looked at me with heart eyes and said, "Now we play. Me take you to private cave."

"Oooh, you naughty, naughty monkey. But if you really want it..."

I smirked and bent forward slightly. "...then come and get some, you sexy animal."

The large vulcan started coming toward me. I watched as his feet caused more small cracks to spread around on the floor. I carefully backed away, urging him to come closer.

"Come on, big boy. Don't you want to have some fun?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The large ape-like beast became overly excited and started jumping around again. A loud cracking sound caused him to freeze. He looked down only for the floor to split apart.

He fell through the floor with the other vulcans following. My eyes widened when I saw the cracks heading my way. Before I could even move, I was already falling in.

In an instant, I felt a hand grab mine and looked up to see Bixlow. He quickly pulled me up and grinned.

"That was quite the act you put on, baby!"

I smiled and flicked a bit of hair out of my face. "Thanks. I have my moments. Now let's go."

We carefully went around the broken floor and into the tunnel ahead. We soon made it back out into the snowstorm outside.

"I guess we'll keep going for now, despite the blizzard!" I yelled over the wind.

"Alright! Lead the way, baby!"

"Lead the way! Lead the way!"

We continued traversing the mountain, climbing higher and higher. But it seemed like the farther we went, the harsher the storm got. My pace had slowed and I struggled to see through the wind and snow.

I suddenly felt Bixlow grab my arm. I looked back at him questioningly, but instead of speaking, he simply pulled me over to a nearby cave.

Unlike the other caves, this one didn't lead anywhere. It was just a small, hollowed out place in the mountain.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"I just figured we could take a break and wait for the snowstorm to die down. Besides, you look pretty cold."

I only just realized I was shivering and rubbed my arms. "Yeah, I guess a quick rest will be okay."

Bixlow sat down on the ground while I began pacing while still rubbing my arms. I heard him chuckle and stopped to look at him.

"Freya, give your legs a break. Sit down and rest."

I sighed and sat in front of him. "Well how else am I supposed to warm up?"

He grinned and stretched his arms out. "If you're that cold, then come here."

I stared at him for a moment and felt my cheeks heat up a bit. He stayed in that same position, waiting for me to come over. I finally gave in and moved over to him.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap. I was immediately enveloped by his warmth.

"There. Is that better?" he asked me.

I couldn't help but smile as I lay against him. "Yeah."

I felt him rest his chin on my head as he held me. He was so warm. Without realizing it, my eyes slowly closed.