The cave was a brief refuge, nothing more. It gave them a moment to catch their breath, but they couldn't linger—not with the merfolk hunting them like bloodhounds. Kui didn't have a clue why they were being chased, and honestly, he was too tired to even guess anymore.
He glanced over at Aok, who was struggling to keep up. The kid had barely figured out how to walk on his new legs after shedding his tail, and it showed. He was drenched in sweat, his breath coming in ragged gasps, but still, he refused Kui's help.
"I'm not gonna let you carry me," Aok snapped, his voice a little wobbly from exhaustion. "You're a delicate hybrid, Kui. You'd probably drop me halfway and then we'd both be in trouble."
Kui rolled his eyes so hard he was sure they almost got stuck. "Right, because I'm the fragile one here," he muttered under his breath, but he didn't argue. What was the point? Aok was as stubborn as they came.
Still, every time the kid stumbled, Kui was there to catch him. He did it without saying anything, just a quick hand to steady him before moving on. Aok didn't thank him, and Kui didn't expect him to. The kid was too proud for that, and Kui wasn't about to waste energy teasing him—not when they were both running on fumes.
Eventually, it got to be too much. Kui watched Aok stumble again, barely keeping himself upright, and decided enough was enough. "Alright, we're stopping," Kui said, planting his feet and crossing his arms.
"What? No way. We don't have time to stop," Aok shot back, glaring up at him like Kui had just suggested they camp out for a week.
Kui sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, you're not exactly crushing this whole 'walking' thing right now. If you keep pushing yourself, you're gonna collapse, and guess who'll have to carry your sorry ass then?"
Aok opened his mouth, probably to protest again, but Kui cut him off. "Don't even start with the 'delicate hybrid' crap. Sit down for five minutes, drink some water, and let me think about how we're getting out of this mess alive."
Aok grumbled under his breath but didn't argue further. He slumped against a tree, accepting the canteen Kui handed him without meeting his eyes. Kui sat beside him, keeping an ear out for any sounds of pursuit.
"Five minutes," Aok muttered, more to himself than Kui. "Then we're moving."
Kui smirked but didn't reply. If the kid needed to think he was calling the shots, fine. As long as he didn't keel over, Kui didn't care who got the credit.
his gaze flickered between Aok's mud-caked feet and his own relatively unscathed, shoe-protected ones. His stomach twisted with guilt. Shit, why didn't I think of this earlier? Without a second thought, he sat down, yanked off his shoes, and began cleaning the insides with a leaf, muttering under his breath. Once satisfied, he shoved them toward Aok.
"Here, wear these."
Aok stared at the shoes like they were some kind of alien contraption. "I'm not wearing that," he said flatly.
Kui raised an eyebrow. "These will protect your delicate feet from getting cut."
"Delicate my ass!" Aok snapped, his voice rising in indignation. "I'm not delicate. You are! I'm a powerful mer, and my skin isn't that easy to cut."
To prove his point, Aok grabbed a leaf, bent down, and wiped the mud off his feet, revealing his perfectly smooth, undamaged soles. "See? I'm strong. You're not. You need those shoes."
Kui's jaw dropped. "Excuse me? I'm strong too! And, in case you forgot, I'm the adult here! You're just a kid—you need these more!" He shoved the shoes closer to Aok's face, determined to win this ridiculous argument.
"No, you need them!" Aok huffed, pushing them away.
"No, you do!" Kui snapped back, his pride now firmly in the driver's seat. No way was he going to be the only one wearing shoes after being labeled weak.
"I said no!"
In their tug-of-war over the battered shoes, they managed to drop them straight into a puddle of muddy water. Both of them froze, staring in horror as the shoes soaked in the murky mess.
Kui groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Great. Just great."
Aok crossed his arms, pouting slightly. "You did that. I didn't do anything."
With a reluctant sigh, the boy bent down, fished the shoes out of the puddle, and started patting them dry. "They're still wearable," he said, more to himself than Kui. "Look, there's some moss over there. I'll stuff it inside. It'll dry while we rest."
Kui watched as Aok darted off, plucked some dry moss from a nearby branch, and stuffed it into the shoes with an air of determined focus. When he was done, he held them up proudly. "See? All new."
Kui couldn't help but smile, ruffling the boy's messy hair. "Thank you, Mr. Fix-It."
Aok's cheeks flushed pink. "Stop treating me like a kid," he grumbled, swatting Kui's hand away. "I'm a man."
"Of course, you are. The manliest man I've ever met," Kui teased with a smirk.
Aok narrowed his eyes, glaring up at him with all the intensity of a stormy sea. "One day, I'll prove to you just how much of a man I am."
Kui leaned back, grinning like an idiot. "Oh, I'm waiting for that day." His voice turned sing-songy as he chuckled gleefully.
"Stop mocking me!" Aok snapped, his tiny fists clenching at his sides. "You'll regret it, Kui!"
Kui snorted, pulling the boy into a side hug and patting his head again. "Oh, I bet I will," he said, laughing softly.
Aok huffed, his face burning red, but he didn't pull away. Deep down, even he couldn't deny that Kui's laughter was kind of nice.