A small smile came to Aska's lips as he felt Syri wake up. One of the zeta's eyes turned from aqua to brown as the two became harmonious.
"How are you?" Aska inquired of his human partner.
Silence filled the void for a few moments before Syri replied, "I'm...I'm okay. I'm ready to move on."
"So am I," Aska agreed.
"How are you, Aska?" Syri inquired about his wolf. A tear fell from the zeta's brown eye as he continued, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. You were in so much pain. I-"
"Stop, Syri," Aska cut off his human partner. "If I wouldn't have been able to handle it, I wouldn't have done it. So, there's nothing for you to be sorry about."
Syri reached his hand up and wiped the tear from his cheek before nodding in agreement. "Okay. Thank you, Aska."
A moment passed before the wolf said, "Now that we're free of that bastard, what do you want to do?"
Syri's heart skipped as he heard Aska's question. He had thought about that many times: what he would do once he was free from Jisue. A determined look came into the zeta's eyes as Syri answered, "I want to pay them back, all of them, for being so good to us. I didn't deserve their support and care, and yet they took us in and protected us."
"Okay...how do you suppose we do that? We have no money, no honor to our name, no family. We have nothing, Syri."
"Right...well, I was thinking we could start by cleaning Estan's cabin. And when we go back to the castle, I would get a position as a squire or something."
"Mm-hmm." Aska knew that Jae would never allow Syri to clean the castle but did not want to crush innocent Syri's dreams. It was sweet of him to want to pay everyone back, but Aska knew that none of them would want anything in return as they were genuine, good people. "Okay, then let's start with the small things."
A smile came to Syri's lips as Aska agreed. The aqua eye turned brown as Aska withdrew. The wolf was still present; however, as he no longer needed to hibernate to heal their wounds. 'Let's get back to the cabin. Estan must be worried about us.' Aska told Syri as the zeta rose to his feet.
'Agreed.' Syri nodded his head. 'We need to thank him for caring for us so well.'
And so, the zeta left the hilltop that was stained with his sweat and tears where he cried out his soul to the moon. Syri took his time as he walked through the cluster of trees that broke into the grove, admiring the beautiful flora and gazing at the rays piercing through the leaves and branches with wide eyes.
Estan's eyes widened as he smelled the scent of the approaching zeta. The gamma stood to his feet and left his fresh cup of tea on the table as he made his way to the door. Opening the wooden door, Estan poked his head out to see Syri dipping his feet into the stream. Laughter floated from the zeta as he splashed around. Estan's heart felt light as he saw the wide smile covering Syri's face.
'He's okay.' A sigh left the gamma as he leaned against the door frame and watched the zeta enjoy the beautiful day.
"Oh? Estan!!" Syri's call startled the gamma and caused him to lift his brows. The zeta had spotted the gamma and was motioning for Estan to join him in the stream. Estan shook his head and waved his hand in a soft 'no' only for Syri to increase his gesturing to 'come.' A smile came to Estan's lips as he dramatically gave in and walked over to the laughing zeta.
A splash of cold water greeted the gamma as he neared Syri, who threw back his head and laughed at the gamma's startled expression. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be!" Estan declared as he challenged the zeta and stooped down to put his hands in the stream, flinging up a wave of water. A squeal left Syri as he threw his hands up to protect his face from Estan's attack. Once the zeta recovered from the gamma's bombardment of water, the fight began!
<<<<<>>>>>
"We're soaked!" Syri let out a cute shriek as he and Estan returned to the cabin after their time of fun.
"Wait here," Estan told Syri at the entrance to the cabin. "I'll get us some towels." The gamma's face was bright as he entered the humble abode and retrieved two towels. Once the two werewolves were adequately dry, they went to rest at the four-person table. Syri towel-dried his hair as Estan made the zeta a fresh cup of cold-brewed tea.
The gamma's cup of tea was now cooled, and Estan happily downed the refreshing drink. Syri gratefully accepted the cup of tea from the gamma once it had brewed for a reasonable amount of time and set it on the table before standing to his feet. Estan, who had sat back down, looked up at the zeta in shock as Syri folded his torso into a ninety-degree bow.
"Oi, Syri, what are you doing?" Estan gasped as he quickly stood to his feet and had the zeta stand up straight.
"Thank you for caring for me these fast few weeks. I appreciate everything you, Yejin, and Jae have done for me, and I would like to pay you back. Please allow me to maintain your cabin and do errands for you!" Syri stated quite proudly.
A surprised, short chuckle come from the gamma as Syri left Estan speechless. Estan had the zeta sit back down before taking his seat. "Syri, you don't owe me anything," the gamma began. "I would do it all over again. No person deserves to be treated poorly by anyone, no matter who they are."
"But you have given me so much-"
"Syri-"
"I insist, Estan." The zeta grew flustered as he cut off the gamma. "Please."
Estan released a small sigh as he looked at the zeta's determined expression. Syri was showing his stubborn side, and Estan knew that Syri felt as if he was taking advantage of the gamma. And Estan did not want the zeta to feel that way, so he agreed. "Okay. You may pay me back, but it must be on my terms."
A smile came to the zeta's face as he nodded happily. "Thank you, Inso!"
Before Estan knew it, Syri was scurrying around the cabin clearing the sparse layer of dust and sweeping the floor. The gamma shook his head slightly as he watched the zeta clean the cabin before standing to his feet and grabbing the mop.