Winter.

The tiger rushes the two brothers through the forests for a long wild, until it reaches a cliff, falling over a semi-frozen river.
Tero tries to climb down, but there is no safe path and eventually, his hands slips on the wet rock, causing them both to fall.
In the air, Tero struggles to reach TaMu, always unconscious, and cling to him, making sure it will be his own body to hit the water and not his.
The impact with the water is paralyzing at first, due to how cold it is, but thankfully, the fishes and other creatures of the river hurry to support him and actually help him to get out.
The cold, outside, is unbearable, but he can't stop. He changes to another guardian and starts to walk again, with TaMu on his back.

He is followed and assisted to many animals on the way, but his own shape is not the best. He still has the arrows he was shot with in his body and the cold turns harder at every step. Plus, the fact TaMu doesn't seem to show any sign of life doesn't make it better.

To cut things short, walking through the wilds, including a quite desolated iced wasteland, he manages to cross the Northern Border undetected.
He walks by foot all the wilds siding with Heinmenhos until he finds a spot he studied in the maps previously.
He takes out a piece of map he had previously torn off and on which he had written 'meet me here now, I need help' with the spot marked, places it on a mail amulet he stole from one of the eunuchs and sends the mail. He isn't even sure Christoph will come at all.

Boy of little faith, barely some minutes after sending that message, Christoph indeed shows up. He finds Tero half naked, as he put all of his top clothes on TaMu to keep him warmer.
The man rushes to them. "Tero?" he gasps, totally baffled.
Tero collapses shortly after, but still conscious. "Save my brother... he is human... only you can save him..." He is totally exhausted and shaken.
"By the Gods..." Christoph kneels to check TaMu's pulse, making a strange expression, then focuses on Tero. "Wear this, hurry!" He takes off his own cost and hands it to him, then picks the other boy up in his arms.
"Aniyo, give it to him, he needs it!" says Tero, but Christoph just hands him a pair of sunglasses.
"Wear them, you can't be recognized." Then grabs his hand and teleports with the two near the city where his home is.

Christoph makes sure to cover the identity of the brothers, but there aren't people around. It's winter II and the cold is simply deadly. No other words to describe it.
The doctor hurries to unlock the door of his home and they all get inside.
"You have to save him", Tero repeats, struggling to keep himself conscious too. "You must..."
"Tero, your condition is critical, you need to be treated... Try to remain conscious, Tero... Tero!"
Blackness.