The skin on Luan's feet is about to rub off completely due to constant walking, and wearing shoes that aren't made for long-distance trekking, more for looking good and impressing others. Although, now that Luan is disguised as a child, and a human child, no less, there isn't really anyone worth impressing with shiny shoes.
After Luan's fiftieth stumble and face-plant of the day, he finally lays still, too tired to raise his head. Nai stops too, and with a sigh hauls Luan up into his arms.
"I must be feeding you too much, you're starting to get heavy," Nai complains with a grunt as he continues on their trek through the forest. Lumbering, bright green trees with trunks as thick as four men standing side-by-side line either side of a well-worn path and stretch on as far as the eye can see.
'Considering the lethargic state I'm in, I would say I'm not actually eating enough,' Luan cannot help but let a small grin fall across his face. For a human, Nai doesn't seem to be bothered that much by food or water. In fact, Luan has barely even seen him sleep. Perhaps it's another benefit of being the Blessing from the Sun?
"I'm not too sure how accurate I am, but I am pretty sure there's a town here somewhere," Nai says, eyes fixed on the path ahead. "How 'bout we rest there for the night since the sun is starting to set? We can find something to eat and a nice inn to sleep at. I'm sure you're growing sick of sleeping on my lap every night, haha~"
'I could never get sick of that,' Luan's cheeks flush and he buries his face in Nai's chest. How could he think like that?!
After another hour's walk, the pair arrive at a large town. A sign at the entrance to the town says 'Welcome to Kem', and Nai reads it aloud as they pass through it, imagining the child in his arms cannot read. After passing through a small residential area full of large wooden houses - and even a small brothel where pretty women were desperately waving at Nai, begging him to come over - the two arrive at a large tavern, one of the town's inns right beside it.
Nai puts Luan down and holds his tiny hand as they walk through the doors. The inside is warm and full of energy. Yellow light fills the large space from dozens of lanterns and candles hanging from ceilings and protruding from walls. The tavern is very spacious, able to fit many people inside. A long bar lines the back wall of the tavern, where two bartenders serve drinks and talk to customers. A young boy rushes over to Nai and Luan with a welcoming smile.
"Just the two of you?" The young waiter asks in a friendly tone. Nai nods. "Apologies but our only vacant seats are up at the bar. I hope you do not mind."
Nai smiles and nods again. "That sounds just fine, thank you."
The young waiter leads the pair through the tavern, dodging drunk, loud men who stagger all over the place. Once settled into their seats, the waiter hands them a sliver of paper with a small number of items written down messily.
"What can I get you two to eat this evening?" He says, waiting patiently by Nai's side.
Nai looks over the menu a few times before saying, "Whatever your suggestion is."
The waiter nods with a smile, says "Your food will be out shortly," and wanders off to another table.
After a short few moments of silence, one of the bartenders, a large, stocky man with a greying beard and long nose wanders over to their side of the bar. "You sure aren't from around here, are ya? What's got you in the small town of Kem, eh?"
"Oh we're just passing through," Nai says. "We needed a place to stay for the night and some food to fill our stomachs."
The bartender nods his head approvingly. "Just passin' though, eh? Good, good. Don't wanna be stayin' 'round 'ere for too long. 'Specially with a young'an by your side."
"Hmm? How come?"
"There are witches in this town. They eat young kids like 'im."
Nai blinks several times. "Witches. Hm? Then why do you stay, if there are witches? Wouldn't it be better to leave than risk being taken?"
The bartender shakes his head. "They haven't taken any adults yet, only young kids. Ain't bothered anyone older than ten yet, but once they do, I'm outta here."
"And how do you know they're witches? Why not some feral animal, or a demon, even? Or maybe it's a human, and people have disguised it as witches taking the children?"
"Ya think I'm lyin', do ya?! Who do you think you are?" The bartender growls, setting down a cup in his hands heavily on the table.
Nai shakes his head. "Of course not, of course not. I'm not saying you're lying. I am merely curious. I need to know what I'm dealing with."
The bartender's scowl softens. "Oh? Ya here to help, are ya? No wonder you're dressed so fancy. Some young lord, are ya? With a knack for solving crimes or somethin'?"
Nai brushes off his questions. "I can help to some extent, but I'll need a few details, and I can't guarantee these 'witches' will go away for good. Now, I would really appreciate it if you could tell me as much as you know about these witches."
"Well ... I ain't got much, but ... Once a month, 'round midnight during the full moon, three children disappear from their homes and are never seen again. If you take a good look around, you'll notice there are hardly any young family's 'round these parts. Most of 'em have left long ago in fear of losing their children. Or they've already lost them ..."
"And how long has this been going on?"
"'Bound six months,"
"And every child has disappeared from their homes? You're sure they weren't taken from the streets?"
The bartender nods. "Absolutely. Victims' parents said they remember putting their children to sleep, then waking up to find them gone," - the waiter arrives with their food: a bowl of mutton soup and some crispy dipping bread - "some even stayed in the same room as their children, and didn't ever hear any commotions. Just, as soon as they looked away, the child was gone."
Luan digs into the food, wolfing it down hurriedly. Nai pushes his bowl towards the child, offering his share of the food too. In no time, Luan has finished eating, patting his stomach, and taking deep breaths. "Well then, thank you for everything. That is all the information I need. Noah, have you finished? Let us be on our way, then."
The bartender tilts his head. "Are ya sure that's all ya need? That's not much to go off."
Nai nods. "Really, it's fine."
And with that, Nai lifts Luan into his arms and places two gold coins on the table before walking away and out of the tavern. Nai starts towards the inn next door, asking the innkeeper at the front desk for a room. Luan can sense Nai's uneasiness, feeling his arms shaking and palms growing sweaty. After the innkeeper directed the pair to the room, Nai instantly puts Luan to bed and tucks the sheets up to his chin. He then closes the windows in the room, making sure they are locked tightly, and sits down in the armchair beside the bed, spacing out as he stares out the window.
Luan looks across at Nai and can't help but speak up. "Will you sleep?"
Nai looks slightly startled. "Ah. No, I won't be. I must stay up all night tonight, no matter how tired I am. Our timing is rather poor. It seems we've arrived at this town during a full moon. I must stay up to make sure nothing takes you during the dead of night."
"You aren't going to look for them yourself?"
"My, aren't you chatty tonight?" Nai says with a smile. "Might I take this as you opening up to me?"
Luan nods.
Nai chuckles briefly. "I'm afraid I cannot leave you to be alone, and it would be too dangerous to take you with me. So no, I will not be hunting down these 'witches'. Now, off to sleep, you. We'll leave first thing in the morning. Get away from this dangerous town. And we'll have to leave early if we want to make it to the next town before nightfall, so get a good sleep."
Luan stares at Nai, blinking slowly. 'You're the Blessing from the Sun, what's got you so afraid?' "Are you afraid of witches?"
Nai hesitates. "No. No, witches do not exist. I'm sure it's just a hungry demon. And I can handle those just fine."
He's avoiding the question. Luan had asked if he was afraid, not if he could handle them. Luan gets the sneaking suspicion that Nai doesn't like demons, as he's so quick to blame them for things like this. Although it shouldn't be all that surprising seeing as he's the Blessing from the Sun. Luan subconsciously snuggles up under the blankets and frowns.
"Are you scared of demons?"
Nai looks sideways at Luan with an icy gaze, making the demon lord shiver. "No. Stop asking questions and go to sleep."
Luan swallows heavily and closes his eyes, but never falls asleep. He waits for a long time until he can hear Nai's steady, shallow breathing from next to him. Looks like Nai's sleep deprivation had finally caught up to him. 'Good,' Luan thinks, 'he needs his sleep.'
Luan's eyes snap open and he slowly sits up in his bed, stretching his arms above his head he takes a deep breath, his appearance shifting from that of a child's to his usual, adult figure. He breathes a sigh of relief. It's good to be his normal self again.
A moment of hesitation makes the demon lord waver, before he quietly rises from the bed, shuffling over to the chair Nai currently sleeps on. He may be sleeping for now, but who knows how long it will take him to wake? Luan bites his lip. There's a way for demons to make humans fall into deep periods of sleep. It's what helps them capture them so easily. But it's a bit ... Inappropriate. And Luan really doesn't think he'll have the guts to stop once he starts.
The demon lord takes a deep shaky breath before leaning forward, cupping Nai's face with both his hands. Luan studies the man's face momentarily, making sure he really is asleep before he gently puts their lips together.
A hard thumping rises in Luan's chest as he uses his tongue to force Nai's mouth open, gradually working his way from the man's lips to the inside of his mouth. Luan feels a sort of incompleteness from not having the sleeping man kiss him back, but he can feel himself growing excited as the minutes pass. Luan's hands start to shake as his chest grows tighter, his stomach doing flips until he starts to feel sick. Luan's tongue retreats from the sleeping man's mouth and he nips at his lips briefly before pushing himself away, breathing hard. Nai's whole body slumps into Luan's arms. Just a brief mixing of saliva with a demon using this power will knock someone out for an hour. After this encounter, Nai won't be waking up any time soon.
Luan's face flushes a deep red as he breathes out a heavy sigh, cradling Nai in his arms and moving him to the bed, lifting the blanket up to his chin. Still shaking slightly from excitement and nerves, Luan plants a kiss on Nai's forehead before leaving the room from one of the windows.