Yao Yue collapsed onto the ground, panting. They had been practicing for more than four hours straight now, with little success. It seemed that swordplay just wasn't for her, but if she wasn't able to master the Mo Wu Swordplay to go with Tian Ying's Tian Jian Swordplay, both she and Tian Ying would be trapped here.
Tian Ying sat down next to her, wiping the sweat from his face. He took a deep breath, gathering himself together in order to prepare himself for another round of practice. But then his stomach began to growl, as lunch time had already passed a few hours ago. Yao Yue glanced over at him with a small smile on her face, before casting a small spell. A red meal box slowly appeared onto her lap, which she held towards Tian Ying. He looked at her with a slight look of confusion, to which she gave a small laugh. She set it down in between them and opened the lid, revealing eighteen stale rolls of steamed buns.
Tian Ying stared at the buns in surprise as Yao Yue picked up the freshest stale steamed bun, handing it to Tian Ying. "We only have this much for rations," she smiled at him. "since you're already hungry, go ahead and eat."
He stared at the steamed bun, before taking a huge bite. He took another bite, and another, and it wasn't long until he had eaten the whole bun. Yao Yue stared at him as he did so, a small look of shock on her face. In a way, he looked so animalistic to her as he wolfed down the steamed bun. It was so interesting to her, but at the same time it made sense. The Mo Sect can't go hungry for too long.
"How is the practice going?" came the voice of Tian WuLai.
A dejected smile found its way to Yao Yue's face as she looked up. "Not well, on my part at least. Childe Tian seems to be making a lot of progress though." she reached into the meal box and pulled out a steamed bun. "Are you hungry?"
He shook his head and sat down next to her. "I'm just a part of a soul, I don't need to eat. You eat it instead." he glanced over at the Mo Wu Swordplay that laid on the ground. "What are you struggling with?"
"Everything," Yao Yue grabbed her sword and just stared at it. "The Mo Sect specializes in magic spells after all. I've never held a sword until today."
Tian WuLai nodded. "Ah, that's right. I remember the first time I taught QianGui how to wield a sword." he gave a small laugh, reminiscing his past memories. "He had such a hard time, he almost cut my head off at one point."
Yao Yue also let out a laugh, except hers was filled with a bit of bitterness. "That does sound like Sect Leader QianGui. But I don't have the luxury of having much time to learn how to wield a sword, if I don't learn the Mo Wu before our rations of steamed buns run out, both Tian Ying and I will die of hunger."
"Well here's a question, why do you have so much steam buns?" Tian WuLai reached in and watched as his hand phased through the steamed bun. "Man, it's been so long since I've eaten..."
"It is said that if a member of the Mo Sect is left hungry, they have a possibility of losing control of their powers. The more hungry they are, the greater the possibility and the more crazed they get." Yao Yue then took a bite of the steamed bun that was in her hand. "During my stay at Yun Tian Di, Sect Leader QiuYan ordered that with every meal I receive, I am also to get a steamed bun in case I get hungry again." she took another bite, "but I don't usually get hungry after a meal, so I've only been eating half a steamed bun after each meal. And since I don't like wasting food, I've been putting the extra steam in this meal box to prepare for my return home."
After Yao Yue spoke, silence filled the air. It began to sink in for her, that if she really wasn't able to master the Mo Wu Swordplay, she really would be stuck here forever. She'd never be able to return home. She wouldn't be able to fulfill her mission. And with that, she didn't know how she would be able to face her deceased family. Not to mention, she wouldn't be able to see her brother before... before he...
Yao Yue got up from the ground and picked up the manual of the Mo Wu Swordplay. "Well, I guess it's time to get back to work." she held up her sword as she got back into the first stance of the swordplay. "It's better to get this done sooner, than later."
*****
Although the Leng Yue Tian Yi Cave was still brightly lit and it seemed like it was still day time, it was in fact getting close to midnight. That meant that it was about time that Yao Yue and Tian Ying slept in this cold cave. At first while they were practicing and working together, it didn't seem like the cave was too cold. But now that they were feeling tired and getting ready for sleep, the cave felt so cold.
Yao Yue laid down on the freezing ground, curling herself into a small ball so her clothes would be able to cover her bare feet. Of her whole body, her feet were the coldest and were actually starting to feel numb. Oh how she wished she hadn't taken off her shoes and socks when she got into the Yue Yi Lake.
"Are you cold?"
Yao Yue turned her head to see Tian Ying standing over her, holding a few different variations of the Tian Sect clothing in his arms. He placed an outer coat onto the ground next to Yao Yue before motioning for her to lay on it. She did as he asked before he placed another outer coat on top of her.
"This should help." he said, pulling out an inner garment from the clothing that he was holding and wrapping it around Yao Yue's feet.
A blush appeared on her face as she watched Tian Ying wrap her feet. This act was strangely intimate, and it felt so odd to her. But at the same time, Yao Yue felt a strange feeling of happiness inside her. And... it seemed as if someone had done this to her, once in the past.
She watched him finish, muttering a soft "thank you" to him as he walked a bit away to prepare his own sleeping area. Yao Yue listened to him set down an outer coat onto the ground before covering himself with an inner garment.
"Goodnight, Childe Tian." she called out, closing her eyes.
And much to her surprise, he answered back. "Goodnight, Miss Yao."