Back in Mane's room, Sunflower was lying prone on the bed wearing nothing but a large black T-shirt. The size of the attire suggested that it wasn't hers but was likely Mane's. But since she was wearing it now, Mane could probably say goodbye to it. For there was no way he was getting it back, and events of the past had proven that retrieving any of his own clothing articles from Sunflower was akin to fighting a Battle God.
"I thought he said he would only be out for a couple of hours?" Sunflower furrowed her lovely eyebrows with slight concern showing on her face.
The sun had already gone down and the night had come yet Mane had still not returned. Considering that the young man told her that repairing the barrier would not take much time so he would be back soon, this was worrying. For though Mane was strong enough to fend off an Ancestor or two, he wasn't even at the Pseudo Phenom level. Even as the young Supreme it would be difficult for Mane to hold back the Ancestors if they decided to attack him in case he offended them in one way or the other. And Sunflower who knew how vengeful Ancestor Origin could be was quite worried considering how Mane disregarded the oldest ancestor whenever they spoke. Besides, Sunflower knew about Mane requesting for Dan's help. And it didn't take a genius to know that inviting an Ancient here was the ultimate form of disrespect an outsider could display to the Ancestors.
"This isn't interesting anymore," Sunflower sighed before tossing the book she was reading to the side. She rolled expertly to the end of the bed to reach the lamp and turned it off, engulfing the room in darkness.
The book she had been reading until just this moment had kept her company the entire day, and had served her well in Mane's absence. It was an intriguing book that explored the mysteries of intellectual battles between two opposing forces, and she was almost at its end. However, her worry for Mane had made what would have been the climax to this interesting book dull, and her initial impatience to get to the last chapter was replaced with indifference.
She turned over so she could lay on her back and tried to get some sleep, hoping that she would wake up to see the familiar figure of the boy she spent every day with for the past two years, seated at the work desk, pondering some other issue. But try as she could, sleep did not come. For her mind kept playing several deadly scenarios that could lead to dire consequences for Mane.
Suddenly, in the midst of her sleeping woes, the beautiful Elemental heard the door click open and her eyes lit up. For there was only one person who had the right to enter this room without her permission. And when that person spoke she was confident that it was indeed the one she was worried about.
"Huh? Why are the lights out?" Mane walked into the dark room whiles pulling off his blindfold. He had spent longer in the home of Ancestor Ice than he anticipated; mainly because of the last part of their conversation. And when he returned, he and the twins retreated to Lily's room where they spoke about a few other things before Mane eventually left. And with that he left after lulling Lily to sleep.
"Oh? She's asleep? That explains why the place is so quiet." Mane mumbled silently. But it wasn't quiet enough. For Sunflower's eyebrows twitched in the darkness. She was trying her best to pretend that she was asleep. If not she would have rushed to smack Mane on the head for his comments.
"She does look peaceful – and beautiful," Mane sighed whiles appreciating Sunflower's beauty. Sunflower could feel joy bubbling within her. Mane seldom praised her to her face; he hardly admitted that she was beautiful even though he knew she was. Unfortunately for Sunflower, her joy was short lived. For Mane's next comment destroyed the positive effect of his good words.
"If only she kept quiet more," Mane chuckled before placing a kiss on her forehead. Sunflower immediately sprang to action once Mane's lips touched her forehead. She pulled him down and twisted her body so that Mane was pinned below her as she mounted him. Her eyes showed her annoyance with the young Supreme. And Mane's sharp vision which could easily ignore the dark meant that he could see every expression on her face.
"I'm loud?!" Sunflower exclaimed as she smacked Mane's chest over and over again.
"Hahaha," Mane laughed in response to her actions. He could easily push her away from him, but he chose not to. She may struggle, and Mane didn't want her to get hurt.
"It's not funny!" Sunflower huffed as she kept striking Mane's broad chest. But without any inner energy her hits were like pats to Mane's strong physique. And as an Elemental even if she did resort to strengthening herself with inner energy, the effects would be minimal.
"I was wondering how long you were going to pretend to be asleep," Mane grinned as his hands pierced the space around him and clutched Sunflower's wayward hands. He held her by the wrists with enough energy to keep her stable, but not so much that he would hurt or bruise her.
Mane obviously knew that Sunflower was awake. Even a Trainee Scholar wouldn't miss that. And Mane would have to be pretty lousy Scholar King not to sense this. Sunflower's breathing pattern was too irregular for someone who was asleep. Besides, the shifts in her breaths whenever he said something she didn't like would have given her away if Mane didn't already know that she was just pretending.
"Humph," Sunflower snorted with displeasure and finally stopped struggling.
She knew that to struggle physically with Mane was futile. The only way she could pose a threat to him was by resorting to her element. But fire was too destructive to use in such a small area. Besides, Mane wasn't the weak kid who couldn't handle her two years ago. Now she wasn't a match for him even if she went all out.
"You were worried," Mane pulled Sunflower onto his chest gently and whispered into her ear. After his breakthrough the emotions of others became much clearer to him. He could sense joy, grief, anxiety, and worry, to name a few. As for complex emotions like love, Mane could sense them too. But he wasn't able to differentiate between familial love, friendship love and the love between couples. For they all felt the same.
"Yes," Sunflower admitted while making herself comfortable on Mane's chest. Since he was larger than she was, it was pretty easy to find a comfortable spot on the young Supreme. She didn't know how many times she had fallen asleep in such a position, but she knew they were many.
"Where did you go? I thought you said fixing the Nature Barrier would only take a few hours at most. It's been several hours!" Sunflower tried to scream at the end, but she was so comfortable that her tone came out as sultry and seductive. Luckily the man here was Mane, for any other person may have lost control of themselves. For simply having a beautiful woman in one's arms was trying enough. Not to mention her flimsy clothes.
"I went to see the twins first," Mane stated and went on to describe the day he had to Sunflower.
He told her about the mission he gave the twins and the results they brought him. Sunflower took the news of the betrayal pretty well, suggesting that Ashera may have suspected that her race was already ready to rebel and had told Sunflower. Mane also mentioned the Dark Spear and what Dan was now up to. As for his time with Hildegarde, that was naturally hidden. The news about the Dark Spear intrigued Sunflower greatly, for she didn't know of this legend. And she hoped that the spear could be found. As for how Mane was going to handle the traitors, she didn't know. But she trusted that he had already thought of a way. The boy never did anything halfheartedly after all.
"I see," Sunflower groaned as she repositioned herself so that her head was on Mane's neck. "It seems like you did a lot today," Sunflower droned.
"Yeah," Mane admitted with a slight smile on his face. Today had indeed been a very full day. And when one considered the fact that the time he spent within the barrier was technically just one day, then it meant that today was indeed one chockfull of activities.
"I also learned something new – something about Mistress Ashera," Mane stated, and Sunflower's curiosity was piqued.
"Oh? What did you learn," she gorgeous Elemental wondered, eager to know if it was something she didn't already know about her mistress.
"Actually it is something I suspect you already know. Why didn't you tell me that Pazuzu wanted Mistress Ashera?" Mane revealed his new knowledge in an interrogative.