Chapter 6;

For Each Petal…

The talisman Miran had made and hung around her neck proved to be quite effective. She ventured into the forest sometime in the afternoon to look for materials to craft a weapon out of. And food – Baekhyun either fed her carrots or berries. Miran was craving something different, though she didn’t quite know what the spirit realm had to offer in terms of food.

The deeper she walked into the forest, the thicker the mist-like miasma became. It bore no strong odour, and didn’t hinder her vision much either. It simply lingered around, casting a ghastly gray colour against the scenery. Unlike the first time she had ventured into the (spirit realm’s) Forest of Silence, the miasma no longer weakened Miran.

She knew the talisman was functioning because occasionally tiny sparks of white and blue would flicker off the stone. They didn’t shock her, nor hurt. They seemed to react with the miasma to purify the trail that she walked on.

Miran remembered the first time the sparks had flied off the stone; she had yelped in surprise and was tempted to rip the talisman off her neck. The same markings that decorated her talisman filled the Temple in the human world, yet she had never seen anything such as sparks fly off them. And while it proved to her that the talisman was somehow working, she questioned why she had never seen it in the human world.

She stepped over twigs and passed by large branches that had fallen from trees. Miran picked a large stick up and waved it around in the air. In a way, the stick reminded her of the staffs that priests used to fight with, but she had had no training in using one before.

Miran let out a sigh of disappointment. If a demon approached her, how would a stick be useful? Hit it until the demon passed out? Even though the stick was long and thin like a staff, it wasn’t enchanted. Staffs were made of special metals, dipped in holy water, and carved with spiritual markings. The stick she held looked like it would snap in half if she hit something with it.

She heard a snicker behind her. Miran turned to face the source of the laughter, and found a handful of green goblins staring at her from a few feet away. They charged after her, screeching and laughing so loudly that Miran wanted cover her ears.

Miran held the stick with both hands, and kept a firm grip on it. One goblin jumped up and while it was in midair, she hit it to the side. Another goblin ensued, and she smacked it to the other side. The remainder of the goblins – only 4 or 5 were left now – stopped in their tracks and slowly started backing away.

Miran smiled in triumph at the sight of the goblins scrambling to run away from her. She had won the battle, and she felt proud of it. The goblins she had hit rubbed their heads and growled at her. But no sooner than they had met her eyes did they start to whimper. Their whimpering turned into fearful yelling, and they their heels to run away from her.

Were they that afraid of her? A bubbling sense of accomplishment filled her chest, and so did pride. Something behind her snapped, and footsteps she hadn’t heard earlier seemed to get louder with each passing second. When she heard a low growling sound behind her, the feeling of victory she just experienced crashed to the ground and shattered. Miran slowly looked behind her back, and met the eyes of a much larger demon.

His skin was red all over, and he wore nothing except a loincloth around his waist. His black hair was disheveled and resembled a bird’s nest, with two triangular horns sticking out of his head. He held a stone bat in his arm, and stared down at her with his black eyes.

Miran’s first instinct was to let out a scream, but she didn’t actually do it until he breathed on her. The ogre was much taller than she was, and it was then that she realized the tiny goblins didn’t flee because of her. They had spotted the red ogre and ran away in fear.

The red ogre glanced at the stick she held in her hands and let out a low rumbling sound that resembled laughter. The ogre grabbed the stick with his free hand and snapped it in half.

“You smell… different,” he said in a low, but amused voice.

Miran reached into her pockets and grabbed a stone talisman. She threw it at the ogre, and when it touched his skin white sparks flew off. The ogre stepped back and covered the spot that had been hit. When he lifted his hand, a black bruise of sorts stained his skin. His already menacing face became livid as he shouted, “That hurt! Insolent wench!”

He lifted his bat into the air and swung it in her direction. Miran barely managed to dodge the attack, and fell backwards. She scrambled to her knees and forced herself to get up. Her heels dug into the dirt from the pressure she was applying with her feet, and she sprinted away from the monster.

Miran could hear his heavy footsteps chasing after her, but she didn’t dare look behind her. The last time she did that, the goblins had snagged the opportunity to latch onto her leg. Miran’s heart pounded against her chest but she forced herself to run faster.

She didn’t know where she was in the forest. Was she heading back to her camp? Or was she running deeper into the Forest of Silence?

Miran slowed her running when she realized a wall of trees and giant boulders blocked her path. She turned around, and the angry ogre was right in front of her.

“Wench, you’ve made me run for you. Prepare to die,” he exclaimed.

The ogre swung his bat at Miran, and she instinctively lifted her arm up to defend herself. Something flared up, and Miran didn’t know what was happening because suddenly she was covered in blue – blue flames, she quickly realized.

The blue fire swirled around her and wisped towards the ogre’s arm. It encircled his stone bat, then trickled up his muscular arm. He let out a cry of pain and dropped the bat to the ground. The ogre immediately stepped away from Miran, his once red arm now charcoal black.

“What are you?” he shouted angrily at her. When the ogre saw that the flames didn’t come from Miran, but rather the white coat she wore, he snorted.

“You have the protection of a kitsune,” he said, sounding angrier than ever.

The flames grew more violent, twirling around her torso and spreading to nearby trees. The ogre clicked his tongue then yelled at her, “Control the damn thing before the entire forest catches on fire!”

“I – I don’t know how to!” she cried.

The blue flames jumped up and a fireball lunged itself at the red ogre’s chest. He flew backwards and landed on his back with a groan of pain. He got up slowly, and cackled, “You don’t know how to control something that was meant for you?”

Without explaining himself further, the ogre his heel and fled from the scene. As soon as he left, the flames on Baekhyun’s coat died down, but the ones that had already spread to the trees continued to grow.

“Foxfire can’t be extinguished by water.”

“This coat is resistant to fire.”

Miran slipped the white jacket off and brought it to one of the growing fires. She remembered how Baekhyun had cupped his hand over his own flame once to extinguish it. In a similar fashion, Miran draped the white coat over the blue fire. It died down within seconds, leaving a charred spot of bark in its place.

“, what happened here?!”

Miran didn’t have to turn around to know Baekhyun was around. She had grown used to his voice, and was almost relieved to hear it.

Baekhyun ran up to her, clearly in a panic. “What happened, Miran?!”

“An ogre chased after me, and when it attacked blue fire sprouted from your coat,” she answered in a daze, still trying to process the entire event.

Baekhyun didn’t seem surprised by her answer, and grabbed the white coat from her hands. He leaped to each tree and doused the flames with the coat. Once all the fires had been put out, he handed the jacket back to her.

“I should have stayed with you,” he sighed.

“Why did the coat light on fire by itself?” Miran asked.

Without answering her question, Baekhyn declared, “The forest is too dangerous right now. You should turn back.”

.::.        .::.        .::.

For the next few days, Baekhyun was never too far away, Miran found. Sometimes all she’d have to do was look up to spot his figure somewhere in the trees. Other times, he’d be sitting near her. Every night, he made sure to light up the fireplace with his golden flame.

She didn’t mind the company, in fact she rather enjoyed it. If Baekhyun wasn’t around, she’d feel lonely in the woods. Food was never an issue when he was around either, and after he learned that carrots and berries were not the only foods she could eat, he started to bring her a variety of other foods.

Baekhyun handed her a stick with cooked meat on it, and said, “Eat.”

Baekhyun took a bite from the skewer in his other hand. She accepted the stick and bit into the meat. It was gamey and hard to chew, and didn’t quite taste like pork, or beef, or chicken, or lamb.

“What is this?” she inquired as she narrowed her eyes on the food.

“Goblin meat,” he replied bluntly.

Miran spit the meat out and coughed. “Goblin what?!”

“Goblin meat,” Baekhyun repeated himself.

“Oh my heavens,” Miran exclaimed. She threw the stick of meat towards Baekhyun. “I’m not eating that!”

“But you said humans liked meat!” Behind his mask, Baekhyun wore a perplexed expression.

“Not demon meat!” Miran shouted.

“Well what other meat can you eat?! I admit imp meat is better tasting, but they’re so damn hard to hunt down,” he scowled.

“Beef, or pork. Chicken, even!” Miran told him.

“Beef? What’s pork?” Baekhyun cocked his head to the side.

“Like, cows and pigs.”

“Oh, you mean cow demons and pig demons.” Baekhyun nodded his head to show he understood.

“I’ll just stick to eating carrots and berries then,” she sighed.

Baekhyun plucked a nearby red flower from the ground and twirled it in his fingers. “Humans don’t eat flowers, right?”

“I don’t,” Miran replied. A soft wind blew past her, and Miran felt the silk-like fabric of the white coat brush against her skin. It had been a few days since she bumped into the red ogre, and while she no longer thought of the demon she found herself constantly thinking about blue flames.

Baekhyun’s fire was a golden colour, and he had used it to save her from the goblins. He hadn’t been around to save her from the red ogre, so where did the flames come from? Besides, Baekhyun’s flames weren’t blue.

Baekyun threw the red flower in her direction and she caught it with both hands. The flower had 4 petals, and a yellow centre. She looked up at him, and even though she couldn’t see it, Miran was sure he was smiling behind his mask.

Baekhyun picked up a second red flower. “Let’s play a game. I don’t know a whole lot about humans, sadly. But I want to learn more. I’ll ask you a question for each petal on this flower, and you can do the same for me.”

“Sure,” she obliged. She had a few questions she wanted to ask him as well.

Baekhyun plucked one of the red petals off and let it fly away in the wind. “How did you get here?”

“I gazed at my reflection in the river and a water demon grabbed me and dragged me past the border, I suppose.”

“Ah, makes sense,” Baekhyun said quietly. “Water demons are constantly flipping between the realms, which requires a lot of energy. Because of that, they don’t have a lot of energy reserved for fighting, which is why they’re weak in combat.”

Baekhyun plucked another petal off and asked, “Why do you have so much spiritual energy?”

“I’m a priestess in training,” she told him. “My spiritual levels are higher because of my practice.”

Baekhyun nodded his head, then plucked another petal. “Can you tell me why humans are so strong?”

Miran blinked at him, unsure of what to say. “Humans aren’t very strong,” she muttered. “Not compared to demons, at least. I don’t know why you’re asking me this.”

“Humans are strong! They’re supposed to be strong, otherwise –“ Baekhyun exclaimed passionately. Then, he let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped. In a quieter voice, he continued, “Never mind, forget it.”

The kitsune stared at the flower in his hand. It had only one red petal left, and he plucked it out. He threw the stem to the side, then got up and approached Miran. “My last question; can I have my coat back?”

“Oh, yeah sure, of course,” Miran said embarrassedly. She quickly slipped out of it and handed it to Baekhyun. Her cheeks reddened because the jacket belonged to him, yet she had been wearing it around like she owned it.

“Your turn,” Baekhyun said as he draped the white coat over his shoulders. It covered most of his red shirt, and somehow his appearance looked complete because of it.

Miran plucked one of the petals off and released it into the wind. Now was her opportunity to ask Baekhuyn the questions that floated in her mind without seeming suspicious. “Why are you doing all this? Protecting me from harm, and making sure the fireplace is lit every night, I mean. You even gave me your jacket to wear.”

Baekhyun crossed his legs and flicked his tails behind him. “You’re a human.”

“That doesn’t answer my question though,” Miran huffed. “Why are you so fixated on humans?”

Baekhyun pointed a finger to her red flower. “Hey, no cheating. You need to remove another petal.”

Miran did as she was told, and repeated the question. “Why are you so fixated on humans?”

He shrugged and answered, “I don’t know a whole lot about them. Isn’t it natural to want to learn more about something that’s unknown to you? That’s what I think, at least.”

For some reason, Miran wasn’t satisfied with his answer. There had to be more, she just knew it. She plucked another petal and let it dance in the wind. “Why is your coat so special? The ogre said something about it having the protection of a kitsune or something. And the blue flames…”

“I told you before, that coat was given to me by a very stupid woman,” he scowled. He sighed again – she found he had been doing that a lot – then continued in a very quiet voice, “My mother gave that to me. The reason why it’s resistant to fire, foxfire included, is because she made it with her hair. She was a 9-tailed fox, and once a kitsune ascends to 9 tails, their flame turns blue.”

“Oh,” Miran murmured. She hadn’t expected such a detailed response, and one that sounded so truthful at that. Baekhyun clicked his tongue and slashed through some dirt with his hand.

He was quiet, disturbingly so. Baekhyun obviously seemed bitter about something. She plucked the last petal off the stem. Miran gulped and asked in a shaky voice, “Do you hate your mother?”

He chuckled softly, and turned his head to the side. “No,” his voice cracked. “You can’t hate the dead.”

The sun was starting to set. Baekhyun stood up and walked to the fireplace. He brought a hand over the pile of wood, and kept it in place for a few seconds. Then, the wood ignited with his gold flames and crackled to cast a soft glow around them.

“I’m going now,” he told her. “And I won’t be coming back to see you for a few days. I’ve got matters to deal with. In the meantime, one of my friends will keep you company. He’s a good demon.”

“Wait, Baekhyun. I have one more question. Why do you always wear that mask?” Miran asked. His face had no scars, so she wondered why he felt the need to cover it up.

“You’re out of petals,” Baekhyun told her. He pointed at the empty stem she held between her fingers. “Out of questions.”

Then he jumped into a tree. He landed gracefully on a branch, and leaped to another one. Baekhyun continued hopping from tree to tree, shaking the leaves around to produce a melodic jingle. The sounds faded as the distance between Baekhyun and Miran grew. When she could no longer hear anything but the sound of the wind, Miran knew Baekhyun was far, far away. Gone, and out of her reach.

When night fell, Miran laid down on the grass and curled up. If the spirit realm mirrored the human world’s seasons, then it was currently summer. It was anything but cold out, but without Baekhyun’s coat she lacked warmth. She stared at the gold flames dancing in the night, and scooched closer to the source of heat.

Miran watched the sparks jump up from the fire. Smoke trailed up to touch the sky, but they mended into the grayness of the clouds before they ever got to reach it. Through the thick clouds, Miran spotted a sliver of light. She assumed it to be the moon. It resembled a thin smile, or perhaps it was a frown. Either way, the slimness of the waning crescent would eventually disappear within the next few days.

For some reason, an ominous feeling crept into Miran’s stomach. It was a ridiculous thought, but she believed that when the shadows enveloped the moon completely and its light gone, Baekhyun would disappear as well.

A/N: I think this is one of the best chapters I've ever written for a fic(?). Idk I really like how it came out :D What did you guys think of their little game? It's a shame Miran ran out of petals. What would you guys have asked Baekhyun? Let me know!

\\ xoxo