"Snow?"
Snow opened his eyes but didn't move one inch. He felt too comfortable exactly where he was. There was no way he was going to move.
RyuXin gave him a wide smile that failed to reach his dark eyes.
"I see you're feeling better," he declared, peering through the wood bars of their prison cart. "You're glowing."
Of course he was glowing. He had been using his daitai since sunrise, to protect himself from the foul air surrounding them. He should have done so the day before, right from the moment he'd stepped out of that portal. But, by the time he'd realized what was happening, it had been too late. Besides, ZaiWin had always told him not to use his daitai under those circumstances, and so he had subconsciously followed his instructions. Anyway, now that he was sitting there, peacefully leaning against ZaiWin's chest, he was kind of happy he hadn't used them. If he had known that fainting was all he had to do so that they would allow them to travel together, he would have fallen off his horse a long time ago.
"He's glowing as well. What are you doing?"
As if that were any of his concern!
"Won't you exhaust your energy if you keep doing that?"
Of course he would. Even if he hadn't included ZaiWin in his 'mantle' of purifying energy, he would still eventually have to get some rest. He wasn't an idiot. There was no way he could keep that going endlessly. He knew that. ZaiWin knew that as well. And yet, even without exchanging a single word, he seemed to understand what Snow meant to do, since he still hadn't tried to stop him like he normally did.
"Don't tell me you're trying to heal him from his corruption. Because if you are it's no use, you know? It's too ingrained into his body. It makes my skin crawl, just standing next to him," RyuXin declared with a disgusted expression on his face, and Snow felt the warm fingers pressed against his back twitch ever so slightly.
He immediately frowned angrily at RyuXin. Who the heck did he think he was?! As if he could be one to talk! If ZaiWin's energy was corrupted so was his, and everyone else's in that group, even the two small children that sat quietly together on the other corner of the prison cart. Right now he was the only one whose energy remained clean and loyal to its true nature. And that was all thanks to ZaiWin! And what was he talking about? Making his skin crawl! Snow had never felt anything like that near him, not even once! Even back at the Fortress, when all he had been able to see was a dark, scary monster. He had been afraid, sure. And he had even distrusted him deeply. Who wouldn't, in his position? But he had never once felt anything like disgust or repulsion. He would have never allowed ZaiWin to even touch him if he had!
Of course, he could waste his time trying to tell him all that, but he had long decided that he would not spend another second of his life indulging that person. Let him think whatever he wanted. He couldn't care less. He hoped ZaiWin could also ignore him, he thought, softly rubbing his cheek against his chest.
The warm fingers that immediately caressed his hair assured him that he understood. Snow couldn't explain how. They hadn't exchanged a single word in nine days. And yet, he had never felt closer to him than he now felt. As if he could instinctively understand what ZaiWin was thinking and feeling. Don't mind them. Conserve your strength. Remain as healthy as possible. Buy your time. Wait for the right moment. In the meanwhile, learn as much as possible. About their enemy. About that place. About their plans. About the way they interacted with each other. About the reason why they had gone to all this trouble just to make sure Snow would peacefully agree to follow them. About that InnArg they were supposed to meet once they reached their destination.
RyuXin took a step back, his disgusted expression even heavier, as if he were about to get sick at any moment.
"Is that bastard still ordering you around? Forcing you to do things you don't want?" he demanded and Snow's pale eyes turned cold and hard.
Yes, he understood what ZaiWin had in mind all too well. But would it be all that wrong to freeze that idiot to the ground?!
The warm hand that had been playing with his hair slid down his face and gently covered his eyes, hiding RyuXin from his sight.
Sighing inwardly, Snow forced himself to obey and closed his eyes, as if that could erase RyuXin's presence from his mind.
Having successfully fulfilled its objective, ZaiWin's warm hand returned to its place amongst his hair, gently caressing his head, and Snow almost smiled at how good it felt.
"You bastard!! Stop touching him with those filthy hands at once!" he still heard RyuXin demand, but it all felt so far away now that he really couldn't care less. ZaiWin too, remained undisturbed, his heartbeat steady and calm, his breathing slow and deep.
Snow pressed his head against his chest and took a deep breath of contentment. He didn't know if ZaiWin had truly meant it when he'd said it, but, for the first time, he could clearly feel it. That being, that life, that beating heart, even the poisonous dark energy flowing inside his body, even the twisted daitai impressed on his back, all that belonged to him. And the more aware of that he became, the deeper he could feel him. ZaiWin was calm now, his mind almost half-asleep. And he felt good, his body relaxed, the air flowing easily into his chest, because Snow kept his purifying shield around him.
Thanks to Snow's shield, ZaiWin had been able to cleanse the corrupted energy he had accumulated throughout the day before, and that he had absorbed from Snow's body during the night. Because even though ZaiWin's energy was in fact also corrupted, it was still very different from the tainted air they were now forced to breathe. ZaiWin's energy may be dark, but there were wind and fire mixed with it. The land around them had only death. And it went so deep that Snow couldn't feel a single pulse of life emanate from it. Not from the dirt, not from the darkened trees, not from anywhere around them. And sure, ZaiWin was unbelievably resistant to it, but it was still a violence against his body, forcing himself to absorb that kind of tainted energy. And so Snow was happy that he was able to help him cleanse it, that ZaiWin was allowing him to help him after all that he'd done, especially since they both knew that, sooner or later, Snow would have to stop using his daitai and would then have to depend on ZaiWin to keep him balanced again.
"Stop shouting! You're giving me a headache," a female voice sighed, and Snow knew HuaQin had approached them.
"Sister Qin! Please help me get Snow out of there!" RyuXin urgently pleaded.
"Hmm, why?"
"Why?! Can't you see that that bastard is still using him?!" RyuXin insisted and HuaQin released a deep, bored sigh.
"You know, I think you have to stop thinking about that brat as one of us. He is nothing like us."
"He is one of us!" RyuXin immediately countered. "InnArg said so himself!"
HuaQin shrugged nonchalantly.
"Whatever. Just let him be. He looks comfortable enough to me."
"He's being used!"
"Enough!" MaoHan finally intervened. "We were ordered to deliver him safe and sound and in one piece. He seems fine to me. So let him be!"
"But …!" RyuXin started but RimJan grabbed his sleeve, pulling him away from the cart.
"Snow is feeling much better now. Do you want him to feel sick again?" the little girl asked and RyuXin frowned.
"Of course I don't! It's exactly because he's feeling better that I think he should get away from that bastard as soon as possible! Would you like it if other people just threw you into your worst enemy's hands?!"
"If you take him away he'll get sick again. I don't really understand it either. But whether we like it or not, their energies are connected."
"You mean that bastard can harm him if he wants to?!" RyuXin demanded in outrage and RimJan shrugged.
"That much I don't know. I only know what I can see. And what I see is that Snow's energy is much brighter now, like it was when we first met him. Since we crossed YunZen's last portal it was becoming darker and darker. Now it's back to normal. So let him be."
Which meant they couldn't feel it, Snow realized. None of them could feel it. The horrible distortion that surrounded them, the clear oppressive air they were breathing, the open disrespect and corruption of nature's most sacred laws. Everything there was wrong. And, even though they were all Tien'Elhar just like him, none of them could feel it. They just kept acting and behaving like everything was fine.
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Author's Note: So, if Snow is right and these are in fact Tien'Elhar I probably have to start reviewing what makes a Tien'Elhar a Tien'Elhar. If having daitai in the shape of wings on their backs is enough. I'm more inclined to go with ZaiWin in this. These people may look like Tien'Elhar but they're fundamentally something else entirely 🤔
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