Two – Who are you?

 

 

Under the shade of dark ashen skies, sheltered by the glowing branches of the magnificent tree in the heart of the Hollowing Woods, no one would be able to tell the time and day. And so when the young Aeri opened his pair of amethyst orbs, he wasn’t aware on how long he had fallen into the threads of his dreams. Not that they brought comfort to him anyway.

The image of his father, slowly disintegrating with every of the flame, and the burning tears that traced his beautiful mother’s cheeks which reeled back in his unconscious state didn’t only brought his sorrow on surface but also, it ignited fire inside his chest. He felt betrayed by his own Queen, by his own family whom he looked up to since childhood. He lied there on his side, unknowingly shedding his own beads of liquid crystals from his swollen eyes. What could’ve happened, if he fought for his right? What could have happened, if he escaped before the judgement? Would it lead to a different life? A better one? Probably not.

He would wallow in regret leaving his mother to shoulder the responsibilities his father had forgotten, and he had escaped from if he had, indeed, left. Deep inside the young Aeri thought that these feelings should be buried in him. As he was told before, it was better to be hurt than hurt others, it was better to bleed than cut others, and it was better to die… than kill others.

Baekhyun frowned when an opposing thought whispered to him.

Even if it’s injustice, should I let myself be harmed? Be killed?

He could have gotten into another inner battle from there, if it wasn’t for the noise that disturbed him. It took a moment for him to realize that it was his stomach. With a groan, he sat up from moistened bed of grass, stretching his limbs and groaning when the scratched skin of his limbs stung from the action.

Suddenly there was a noise from the back, a familiar clinking of metals. It sounded almost like chains. Baekhyun turned to ice for a second, then he remembered—

The Daevric man who was bound to the tree.

With a gasp, the young Aeri stood from his spot and skipped the gigantic roots of the tree. What he saw nearly broke his heart.

The man was fast asleep, curled up in the corner of the tree roots, almost and pitifully shivering. Baekhyun bit his lower lip for a moment, thought that maybe he should share his cloth to him, since he had two layers anyway. He didn’t know if the man would appreciate it, but he wasn’t going to hope. After all, the Daevric had already lashed out at him even when he wasn’t doing anything.

Baekhyun shrugged off his first layer of robe, tentatively walking closer to the sleeping Daevric. He stretched out his robe, ready to cover the man with it, when suddenly he was yanked down with a great force, his back hitting the trunk of the tree with a great impact, not to mention that he hit his head pretty bad.

When the Aeri opened his eyes again, he found himself under the Daevric man, the latter’s large muddy hands wrapped around his neck with a good grip, and the other one was ready to attack him with his dark, soil colored talons. Baekhyun made a choking sound, hands flying to grab the Daevric man’s wrist when it growled at him.

The look on his eyes was nothing short of murder. His intent to kill was only hindered when he saw the fear in the Aeri’s eyes. And when the grip loosened, the Aeri chose to say, “I-I thought you were cold…I-I was only giving you a cover…”

His eyes fell on the torn and dirty robe thrown on the ground, the one he saw the Aeri was using before. He looked at him suspiciously one more time before he retreated back. He watched the light haired man cough and regain his normal pattern of breathing as he kicked himself away from the Daevric’s grasp. He thought that he’d leave him alone, that he would stay away or maybe treated him differently at least from the rough treatment and the cold greeting, but the Daevric man was surprised, when the smaller man took the robe back and said, “H-Here…u-use this… it will w-warm you up…,” while stretching his shaking hands out.

Why? Why are you so kind-hearted? It makes me sick.

It makes me want to rip your crystalline eyes because they’re full of deceit.

How will I know if this is some kind of trick?

For all I know everyone bears darkness hidden in the deep.

Instead of taking the gift, the Daevric man turned away and sat back on his place, huffing. It didn’t matter if he was cold or not. He wouldn’t be the same naïve child they had taken advantage of. No—he couldn’t trust anymore. He didn’t know if he would still be able to.

 

∞ ♡ ∞ ♡ ∞

 

The following day, the Daevric man watched the young Aeri collected some berries from the bushes that surrounded the tree. He used the lower layer of his robe as his pouch. With all his hatred and doubt set aside, he definitely found the man attractive enough to be a part of royalty, to challenge the other princes from the other kingdoms. What he noticed the most was the Aeri’s beautiful hands and long, candle-like fingers. And then his pretty pink lips, which he always abused with his teeth when he was nervous or anxious.

There it was again, the thought of why was the man here in the Hollowing Woods. This had always been a forsaken place. He knew men who were consumed with darkness inside, how they act, how they were so desperate to climb on top. But this Aeri seemed so satisfied in this place. He woke up from his naps stretching like a Sabre feline, as if he was in his room and not in the place where he was sentenced to death. He hummed beautiful melodies whenever he picked the berries, as if he was just in the garden and not trapped in here.

So much questions, so much curiosity. But he couldn’t find it in him to ask.

He couldn’t, and even if otherwise, he wouldn’t.

“H-Hey… I got some berries,” Baekhyun said carefully to the man. With small, cautious steps he closed the distance between them again. He didn’t know where he got the courage to talk to this man, or even stand close to him when he basically attacked him twice. One, he did not get to hurt him, but the other one had him bleeding. Of course, the man didn’t notice, and he didn’t too, until he touched the part and found dried blood against his palm.

It must have healed already, so he didn’t give it much thought.

When the Daevric man answered him with a deadly glare and a resonating growl, Baekhyun jumped back a foot again and winced in fright, however this time he gathered his courage and insisted. “Y-You haven’t eaten r-right? You’ve been chained there f-for who knows how l-long.”

The Daevric man could have said, You have no idea, but he chose not to. Not that he could. Instead of another verbal response, he chose to slap away the Aeri’s hand in pure disgust, sending the berries on the ground, and some flew to the body of water that surrounded the tree.

Baekhyun gasped and ran to find the food. It would be such a waste if they would leave it there to rot. Unfortunately he could only find a few of it.

Baekhyun took a deep breath of frustration. He couldn’t understand why this man was being so difficult. He knew that their races weren’t in good terms since the history. But Baekhyun never meant harm, he just wanted to help, especially now that they were the only one in the forest.

“Why are you being like this? Is it that hard for you to say no if you really don’t want to?” Baekhyun muttered, but it was loud enough for the other to hear. Baekhyun stood up from kneeling, holding the berries in his left palm. The Daevric man was surprised himself when he saw how Baekhyun’s gaze seemed so tough yet tired at the same time. “I know your kind and my kind isn’t the best allies of all the citizen in Cepherus, but right now, it’s only us.” Baekhyun’s lower lip trembled when he crushed the berries in his palms, leaving the purplish juice burst and dripped in between his fingers.

“I don’t understand why you hate me so much, and why are you so hostile towards me,” Baekhyun whispered. “But all you have to say is that you don’t like me and leave me alone, and I promise you I will not disturb you again.”

Baekhyun ran towards the other side of the tree so he wouldn’t be able to see the man again. Confused and hurt, he sat and pulled his knees on his chest, embracing it tight while he cried himself to sleep.

 

∞ ♡ ∞ ♡ ∞

 

There haven’t been any interactions after that. The Daevric man didn’t see the young Aeri anymore, but he could tell that he was on the other side of the tree. However, he kept his promise and never showed himself again. From time to time, he wouldd hear the splashing of water from the other side, he couldn’t tell if the Aeri was taking a bath, or trying to find some fish. He could only imagine how stupid he’d look like for there wasn’t any fish here.

Sometimes he would hear him yelp for certain reasons. He was unaware of the things the young Aeri was doing. Somehow all the things he had said the other day had cut him deep inside.

It was true, he might had judged him too early. It was true that he hated his kind, but the Aeri was right. Only they could help themselves. It had been long since he had any contact with any other folk, and no one survived the Hollowing Woods enough to enter the heart of it and found him. This man didn’t know his identity, and he wasn’t even from the time when all of the people turned his back on him and betrayed him. How could he even blame a young Aeri for the mistakes his forefathers made?

Somehow the Daevric man wished he had taken the robe from him, and even let him gave him the berries. Truth to be told, it reminded him of the days when Cepherus was still peaceful. Just by thinking that Daevrics and Aeries would be on the same ground without trying to kill each other seemed too good to be true.

He might not admit, but a part of him felt regretful.

The Daevric man, in deep slumber, dreamed of the same thing again. The same dream he’d been seeing for the past years, the one that kept him alive, the one that pushed him to survive. In his dream he was screaming, and it became a normalcy for him to hear. But what surprised him was another scream that accompanied his.

Awakened, the Daevric man realized that it had been the young Aeri’s voice. He heard him panting and groaning. But the thing was, he didn’t know what happened.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun dragged his feet off the water. He was in the middle of rinsing himself when he felt something bit his ankle. Looking down, he found that it was some kind of aquatic creature, body resembling a snake but with head and sting of a lionfish. And now that he was on the surface and sitting on the ground, he didn’t know what to do. He whimpered at the sight of blood, but most of all, he was nervous because he felt something wrong with his leg.

He couldn’t feel his feet up to his knee.

He thought of asking for help, but he remembered that the Daevric man wouldn’t want him to disturb him. Just then, he heard a voice out of nowhere.

What happened?

He whipped his head around, looking for the source of the voice. He found no one. He thought it was another trick of the woods, but it happened again, Aeri, answer me!

It was a deep, echoing voice. It held so much authority, and it him brought chills in his spine.

“Who are you… for the love of heavens please…” Baekhyun sobbed. “Help me… S-something bit me and… and I couldn’t feel my leg anymore.”

There was a moment of silence, before Baekhyun heard the chains from the other side of the tree clank and made some noise. Come here on the other side of the tree…

Young Aeri could’ve sworn he didn’t expected that the man talking to him in his head was the Daevric man bound on the other side. He realized this when he managed to get there, and the man gestured for him to sit in front of him, where he could reach it with a voice accompanying, Show your injury.

And that was the last time he heard his voice. The Daevric man took the sap of the tree with two of his long fingers. It was the one which glowed like moonlight and he applied it to the infected wound, the pad of his fingers brushing lightly against the injury. Baekhyun whimpered when it stung, but the whole time, he kept his eyes on the man. He looked so serious, and he was frowning all the time. Baekhyun realized that after some minute, he couldn’t feel any pain on his leg anymore. He stared in wonder at the sap of the tree against his now scarred skin.

“T-The sap… could heal?” he asked in bewilderment.

The man in front of him nodded, leaning back against the tree. The Young Aeri looked down and clutched the hem of his robe. He wanted to ask why the man was talking through minds, or asked why he helped him, but the only thing he had manage to croak out was a soft, “Thank you.”

When the young Aeri looked up, he met the man’s eyes. Unlike before, it held nothing malicious and murderous. What lied there might not be comprehensible for the Aeri however, the Daevric thought that this man might not be so bad at all.

 

 

 

beta-ed. 

5.6.16

 

a.n.

hey cherubs! it's been a while , i know it's shorter than last chap, but i think the next scenes should be in the next chapter.

>3< is their development slow or fast? or is it right? well it's just the second chap though o3o

please do leave a comment! i'd love to read your thoughts! 

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