Tonight there were no frogs croaking, no rats squeaking, no owls hooting. Except for the silent cries for the two star-crossed lovers, so near yet so far apart. The colds winds violated Onew under his thin clothing repeatedly with no mercy. He pulled his knees close to his chest, trying to insulate as much warm as possible. He found no strength to move, anyway.

Jonghyun, Key and Minho sat further away from Onew, back leaning against the robust tree. At least it provided them some shelter from the rain and winds. They agreed Onew wanted some time alone to himself.

“I miss Taemin, so much. I haven’t told him I loved him. I can’t just leave like this.” Onew’s wretched heart bled.

He held himself tighter. He wondered how Taemin was, if he was just as broken as Onew is.

“Onew-sshi.”

Onew felt the same gust of wind in his face as when he was atop the tree branch yesterday. He recognized the lion-eagle. He quickly dried his tears with the back of his hands, already well-rehearsed.

“Onew, Taemin is hurting so much. I’ve never heard him cry so intensely before.” Rainicorn spoke, as if Onew’s heart wasn’t shattered enough.

“Onew, what do you plan to do?” Griffin asked.

“I don’t know. What can I do? Adam hates me so much, right into my bones!” Onew almost yelled.

“Wait, Onew.” Griffin advised, as if expecting Onew to understand immediately “The approach is to wait.”

“What an irony!” Minho scoffed under his breath, rolling his eyes.

“By waiting, Onew, Adam will come to you.” Po explained, “He will succumb to his love for his family, his Taemin.”

The advice was pretty much useless to him because it meant that he had to wait passively. And he doesn’t even know how long he’ll have to wait, or rather how long can he wait? Onew ducked his head in his thigh, arms around his knees. He’s really not in the mood for anything, he doesn’t want to hear anything, and he doesn’t want to do anything.

Without Taemin, Onew is nothing but an empty shell without a soul for life. He sat there quietly in his wet clothes, shivering, thinking of nothing else but the young boy.

“It’s all grandpa’s fault…why do I have to bear it for him.” Onew sobbed to himself.

Even so, it was of Onew’s own accord that he wanted to come. He was the cause of his weakness for Taemin. Who else could he really blame?

Rainicorn shook her horse head, eyeing Griffin and Po to leave as well. They had done all that they could for the night. It was up to the humans to take their actions. They were often envious of Taemin as a human, for he taught his friends how to be generous, how to be passionate and how to love their kind. For once, they were glad that their beastly hearts didn’t hold so many emotions like the mortal beings.

The next morning, Onew was ill with a high temperature from the rain. Nobody knew at first because Onew’s head was still in between his thighs, sitting in that position like a statue for the rest of the night after the mystics left. Minho noticed first when he went over to tap Onew’s shoulder to wake him up, he felt Onew’s neck burning hot.

“Onew hyung!”Minho pulled Onew’s head up into his arms as he kneeled down, “Hyung! You’re running a temperature!”

Minho quickly put his hand on Onew’s forehead to check, which was unnecessary, and laid him down on the ever-soft grass. Beads of sweat forming like morning dew on his forehead, the temperature translated into heavy pounding in his skull. Onew groaned in pain, eyes shut tight.

“Key! Key! Do you have some medication?” Minho called out to Key, still napping beside Jonghyun.

Key woke up from the shouting, but he was quite lethargic from the tearing yesterday night. All that crying has built up some tense energy within, tiring them physically and emotionally. He rubbed his kitty-sharp eyes and strained to listen to Minho’s yelling.

“KEY! ONEW IS RUNNING A TEMPERATURE!” Minho almost screamed, waking all the baby birds sleeping peacefully in the trees.

“Omo jinjia?!” Key dashed over from his lover’s side, leaving Jonghyun to fall to the roots of the old tree.

Key confirmed the continual burning on Onew’s forehead with the back of his right hand.

“Aspirin! I have some!” Key remembered and stood up, “But they’re at Taem’s!”

“Aish!” Minho sighed in exasperation, “That’s as good as not having it!”

“You think you’re so smart?” Key retaliated.

But they knew they were not in the mood for arguing, Onew is in pain and there was nothing they can do to soothe him.

Minho and Key took off their cardigans and wrapped Onew. Well Key was right, cardigans are only for fashion, not for the cold. Onew was still trembling in Minho’s arms, his fingers dug into the younger’s flesh, drawing a wince.

“I don’t even care anymore, let’s bring Onew back to Taemin’s. I’ll get my meds and we’ll leave. This place holds to much sadness.” Key decided.

He had to do what he had to do: bring Onew away from this place, bring Onew away from all his unhappiness.

Minho, without a moment’s hesitation, carried Onew over his shoulders roughly and ran back to Taemin’s penthouse as fast as his long legs could carry him. Onew wailed deliriously. The heat was surely taking over Onew’s mind, virtually burning all sanity out of him.

Key darted to Jonghyun, waking him up gently and told him of Onew. Both of them quickly bolted down the hill hand in hand, following closely behind Minho.

Is this really the end? ;(

Thanks for reading! ♥