Mohsen's face quickly reddened by the thought of being so closed to a female. Though experienced in battle and strategy, Mohsen was only 21 years of age, until now the most interaction he had with females was with Mame, his employer, and master. And of course, Mohsen had always seen her as a teacher and a mother figure.
His heart started to beat on its own rhythm and ignored all the efforts Mohsen had put in to calm it down. 'Calm down heart, what are you doing to me?' Mohsen thought to himself. He had seen many beasts who lost themselves and acted foolishly to get a female's attention. Therefore he had sworn to neglect his feelings and urges and focused on the career his father had passed down on him. This was why Mohsen at the current moment had no idea why he reacted so strangely, he simply thought it was the consequence of how angry he was with Yilas.
"Stupid female! If they found us, both of us would be in trouble. Now stop complaining and get back in there!"
Mohsen once again mercilessly scolded Yilas, he grabbed her by the waist and dragged her like a rag doll back the place she came from. Once they safely reached the tent, Mohsen closed the draping cloth blind and made sure every light source was turned off. They couldn't risk letting anyone see them.
"Hey! Mohsen, I can't see anything." Yilas whispered loudly, her hands swerved around in the air, looking for some assurance.
Compared to Yilas's damaged vision, Mohsen's eyes were 1000 times better. It wasn't as great as the eyes of a bird beast but it was still much better than Yilas.
"Your eyes will get used to the darkness shortly, just sit down and keep quiet." Mohsen scolded Yilas again, this time in his whispered voice. He could clearly see the foolish Yilas was acting, she was desperately looking for him in the dark. The more he watched, the more pitiful he felt for her. After a few minutes, he soon realized how bad Yilas's eyes were, they couldn't see a thing in the dark.
"Haizz…How annoying…" Mohsen murmured to himself before reaching out a hand to catch Yilas's.
Yilas was like a tired bird finally found a branch to rest on, her face quickly shown a beautiful bright smile that only Mohsen could see. Caught off guard by the sight, he blushed and turned away immediately, thinking the female was too naive and silly. Later when Mohsen thought back to this moment, he realized he was the silly one for being foolishly embarrassed by just a smile from Yilas.
They sat next to each other for a long while but no one spoke a word, all they could hear was the frequent sound of each other breaths. But somehow, it was more peaceful and endearing than any word could communicate.
Yilas didn't say a word, her body was exhausted from all the training and a part of her afraid of being yelled at by her teacher again. She tugged her legs to her chest and rest her head on the knees and closed her eyes. Soon enough, the tiredness took over Yilas, she was drifting into dreamland in her sitting position.
Noticing Yilas breathing had calmed down slowly, Mohsen turned his head to take a peek. The little female was all curled up into a white ball next to him. Yilas was sound asleep since who knew when. Without realizing, Mohsen's eyes were glued to the little creature, there was something that kept his gaze from leaving her side.
Her long silvery-white hair covered all her back and shoulders, some even swept on the floor. It danced freely on her pale petite face. Her eyelashes were also a white, transparence color, it almost blended completely into her lids if they hadn't moved ever so slightly. The pinky scar which was burning from the heat during the day had finally calmed down and appeared less gory. Mohsen somewhat felt bad for thinking Yilas was a disgusting creature at fight sight. The more he admired her, the less scary it looked, the more heart-rending it felt.
Unconsciously, Mohsen reached out his hand to swept the hair covering Yilas face away. He was surprised that her hair was smooth like silk, it had a cooling effect on the tip of his fingers. Though Mohsen and Yilas hair color was similar, it was much different upon closer inspection. If Yilas locks had a superb texture like water running through the hands, Mohsen's fur was soft and fluffy like a bed of cotton. Moreover, his coat was much thicker, providing a heat protectant layer to his skin. Though the benefit had much become an annoyance within the desert land.
Mohsen fingers lingered at the tip of Yilas's strand of hair. It was so long that he brought it all the way to his side and it was still stretching. Mohsen's quick sense of smell once again picked up the little female unique scent. It was sweet, yet floral and fresh like a bed of flowers. It was also this scent that had led him to leave his tent and followed Yilas to the oasis. He didn't mean to watch her washed-up but apart of him was curious about what a nine-tail fox actually looked like.
And to his surprise, it was nothing like he had ever imagined.
According to Bryok and a few other elderlies, the nine-tail fox was a powerful creature. It cultivated for many years and could perform even the wildest wonder. Some even said it had the strength to unite all beasts. But many believe the magical power the nine-tail fox possessed ran in its vein, therefore, even one bite of its meat could give a beast the strength to prolong its life, curing all illness and diseases.
At first, Mohsen blindly believed in what he had been told. But after seeing Yilas, he had his doubt about the fact that she was actually the nine-tail fox or not. In his eyes, she was weak, stupidly reckless, naive, and childish. Not to mention, she was horrible at cultivating energy. Besides the similar appearance, Yilas was nothing like the nine-tail fox in the legend.
The more Mohsen thought about it, the more doubts started to grow in his heart. He couldn't believe that somebody like her could have to 'strength to unite all beasts'. It seemed too out of reach for a youngster like her.
It wasn't sure what Yilas was dreaming about but her face was gifted with a smile, it bloomed beautifully like a flower on a spring day.
*ba-dum*
Mohsen's heart started to pounced louder and louder, he even had his hand on his chest, trying to calm down its wild beating. Ever since they were at the oasis, his heart seemed to have a mind of its own, giving him all sorts of confusion.
"What is this feeling?" Mohsen whispered to himself. The more he looked at Yilas's smile, the more he wanted to caress her cheek, feel the tip of his fingers on her skin, brushing up her lashes that were flustering, rubbing on the pinky scar on her face.
A strange urge overtook his mind like the devil, telling him to touch her, feel her skin. Mohsen slowly reached out his hand and finally landed on Yilas's cheek. His whole body frozen up at the moment they touched, his heart was the only thing capable of moving.