Note: the scene that begins with 'They lost' includes the aftermath of violence. There is a death of a very minor character, but if that is too much, then do skim over that part

______

“Come on,” Jungeun was laughing, “just do it.” She leaned against the tree. 

Yerim shook her head. “You’ll hate it.” 

“Probably.” She smiled at her. “But you need to see how strong you have to make it.” Her eyes were sparkling. 

Jinsoul was taken aback by the look there. She’d seen that playful challenge before, but never with a tenderness like that. 

“We won’t be moving on until you do it,” Jinsoul muttered beside her. “If you’re lucky, you’ll only have to do this twice.”

“Twice?” Yerim repeated, staring at her, before looking back to Jungeun. 

“You’ll see.” Jungeun winked. “Gimme the tree.” 

Yerim was frowning. “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

Her gaze softened immediately. “The worst I’ll get is a splinter.” She met Jinsoul’s eyes. “And this one here’d probably still try and take care of that.” 

Jinsoul just nodded. “You won’t be getting out of this.” She squeezed Yerim’s arm. “She made me wrap her arms in ice once because she was testing how she’d handle the cold.” 

“And it worked.” 

Jinsoul fought a smile in response. 

And then the tree rippled, its trunk opening in the next moment. 

Jungeun was right in front of them then, brushing off some moss from her arm. “A bit faster?” She raised a brow at Yerim. 

And then branches wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. 

Jungeun practically flipped, sharp cracks following as the branches were snapped off of her. 

Jinsoul glanced at Yerim, only to see that her brow was furrowed. 

The ground crumbled when Jungeun landed, enveloping her legs. Jungeun was smiling. Her hands dug into the still solid ground and she was out of the sinkhole, a few feet in front of them then. Her legs were covered in dirt and her arm had been scraped by a branch. Jinsoul saw how she was angling it away from Yerim. 

“That always works for me,” Yerim muttered. She didn’t look embarrassed, but more in shock and maybe a bit of awe. 

Jungeun brushed off her clothes. “It’s because I’m expecting it.” 

Yerim shook her head. “Even people who expected it didn’t do what you did.” 

“You’re also holding back on me.” She raised a brow. “You could’ve let me sink to my neck.” 

The ground gave out below her then. She was at her neck. 

Jungeun’s eyes had widened. Then she burst out laughing. 

“Is this a good sign?” Yerim whispered. 

“Very,” Jinsoul chuckled, “she’s in a good mood.” 

When Jungeun met her eyes, Jinsoul saw how what she’d said was actually true. 

The fire elf practically threw herself out of the ground then. She was covered in dirt then. 

“Tree. Make it quick. I’m just dodging.” Jungeun went back to the tree. “I won’t break out of it this time.” 

“This time,” Yerim repeated, eyes narrowing. “You’ve got a new training idea?”

“Maybe.” Jungeun tilted her head. “Don’t like it?”

The tree practically exploded behind her, with the branches shooting out to wrap around Jungeun several times. The ground turned to soft mud as Jungeun began to evade. She slipped, only to be caught by the tree and dragged back. 

The next thing they saw was Jungeun’s grin, her face rimmed by bark, legs poking out at the bottom. 

“Perfect!” She whooped. “I didn’t know you could make it muddy too.” Her eyes were practically shining. 

“I’ve never seen someone so happy to be in a tree.” Yerim went over, knocking gently on the wood. 

“Me neither,” Jinsoul fought a laugh, “but I’m not surprised.” She walked over as well. “Can you give her a fringe of moss?” 

Jungeun raised an eyebrow at her. Then her forehead was covered in moss. She was still smiling. 

“Didn’t you say you’d break out?” Yerim asked. She was laughing, but seemed a little cautious still. 

“I could,” Jungeun pursed her lips, “but that’d either involve breaking this tree or burning it.” She shook her head, at least as much as the tree let her. “And it’s not that bad.”

Jinsoul put a hand to her forehead and peeled the moss away. She brushed away the residue. 

“Ever thought of doing this to Sooyoung?” Jungeun asked. 

Yerim seemed to pale at the thought. “The rest wouldn’t let me.”

Jinsoul had to laugh at that. “They definitely would. And Sooyoung wouldn’t be all that mad. She’d just bribe you to do it to Chaewon.” 

Jungeun was moving her chin, nudging away bits of bark around her neck. 

“Comfortable?” Jinsoul asked. 

Jungeun chuckled. “It’s actually warm in here.” 

She looked to Yerim then. “Should we leave her here then?” 

A burst of warm air brushed past her then. “I’m not bad at breathing fire, but I’d rather not be fending off spirits as a tree.” 

Jinsoul smiled. “Too bad, it suits you.” 

The tree gave way, Jungeun stumbling slightly. Yerim and Jinsoul caught her. They started to brush away the moss and bark clinging to her. 

“Sorry.” Yerim was frowning at Jungeun’s arms. 

“Don’t worry,” Jungeun squeezed her arm, “see me after I’ve sparred with Seul and you’ll know this isn’t anything bad.” 

Yerim looked to Jinsoul then, confusion spreading across her features. “Is this supposed to be,” she trailed off. 

“Normal?” Jinsoul brought some water from the nearest stream. “Sort of.” She let it coat Jungeun’s arms, cleaning them, as well as the base of her neck and chin. 

“You make a single healing rune and I’ll say you’re hysterical.” Jungeun gave her a look. 

Jinsoul cast the spell. 

“Hysterical,” she muttered. 

Her good mood hadn’t faded at all. Jinsoul almost wondered if she’d missed something and Jungeun was forcing it. 

Except she wasn’t. She was just happy. 

“It’s good you didn’t, but a good hit to the head would’ve made that perfect,” Jungeun said. 

Yerim frowned. “So what, you’d have preferred it if I whacked a club to your head?”

“No,” Jungeun laughed slightly, “but it’d have been more effective. Then I’m either dazed or knocked out, and you’d have no problem trapping me.”

Yerim looked Jinsoul’s way again. “She’s crazy.” 

“Maybe.” 

Jungeun lightly elbowed her. “Not going to defend me?”

“I can’t if it’s true,” Jinsoul replied. 

“Yes you can.” She gave her a glare without any bite to it. 

“Sorry,” Jinsoul turned back to Yerim, “by her standards, she isn’t crazy.” 

A small flick to the back of her head. There was no strength behind it. 

Jinsoul laughed slightly. 

“Either way,” Jungeun started walking a bit faster, leaving the two of them behind, “one of the next things we can start doing, is seeing how you could get moonlight into those branches. Then you’d be able to trap a spirit easy if you needed to handle a group of them.” She glanced back. “Sound okay?”

Yerim nodded. “You’re not making yourself the test subject, are you?”

“We’ll try without one first,” she replied. “Then I’ll probably be it.” Her eyes slid to Jinsoul. “Unless?” She lifted a brow. 

“I’m too slow, and not as motivated.” Jinsoul shook her head. She couldn’t help but smile as she did. Something had shifted in Jungeun. She wasn’t sure what that was. 

It’d been weeks since the werewolf. Jungeun hadn’t left for a longer period of time. She’d just spent more of it training Yerim to summon the light. 

Yerim also wasn’t showing any signs that she’d be leaving. Jinsoul was still not sure yet, but she was starting to hope. 

Maybe Jungeun was too. Or maybe she could see better what Yerim was going to decide. 

______

“I don’t think this’s a good idea,” Jungeun said. “The runes I cast are weak.”

“It takes practice to make them stronger,” Jinsoul told her. “Whatever you do, it probably won’t hurt me.” And whatever it was going to be, her arm hurt more. A spirit had bitten it, turning a part of the skin grey. It’d also been the hand she’d gotten a nasty cut on before the spirits attacked. Her foot was also freezing. 

“Probably,” she repeated. “We could get Nuala and one of the others. And didn’t you say your magic works fine? I mean, I’ll do it, but it’ll take longer than the others.”

“Jungeun,” she squeezed her arm, “it doesn’t matter if it takes a bit longer.” She looked around the forest. Yerim was jogging back, holding a small sack in one hand and a full waterskin in the other. “Still have some light?”

Yerim summoned another piece and gave it to Jungeun, who still looked like she was close to being sick. 

“Can’t you do it?” Yerim asked. 

Jinsoul shrugged. “I don’t really have a lot of light for it.” She nodded once at Jungeun. “And she’ll get a bit of training for it.” 

Jungeun looked at her once, before rinsing the cut with water. They’d already gotten most of the dirt away. 

“You told me you don’t heal,” Yerim said then. 

“I don’t.”

Jinsoul pinched her arm once. “You have. And you’re not bad.”

“It doesn’t feel right,” Jungeun muttered. She put her hands on her foot and arm, right over where most of the shadows had come. Her skin glowed. 

“Slowly,” Jinsoul said. “Don’t take too much, and don’t give it too quickly.” 

Jungeun’s jaw tightened. She closed her eyes. 

She felt an unfamiliar warmth then. It wasn’t the kind that normally came from Jungeun, the one that felt like it came from a fire. It also wasn’t what she’d grown used to with the light. This was almost in between that. 

And then the spindles of darkness slowly rose up Jungeun’s wrists. 

“Next,” Jinsoul nodded at Yerim, “Nuala told me it could work even better with a type of stencil.”

Yerim summoned a thin stake and held it out. 

Jungeun opened her eyes and took it. The darkness was at her elbows now. 

“Use a bit more light,” Jinsoul said. 

Jungeun was glowing even more now, the light reaching her hair too. 

Jinsoul forced herself to look at the stencil. “Draw it.”

Jungeun drew it. The darkness was fading from her arms, burned away by the light. 

There was the rush of healing magic. Jinsoul sighed as some of the cold faded. The sting to the cut also eased, but not much. Not yet. 

Jungeun drew another. Jinsoul watched as a muscle in her cheek twitched. Jungeun had told her it hurt, but whenever she did try to heal someone, she always used too much magic. Then she wouldn’t heal anyone for weeks, sometimes even months, before overdoing it again. 

She was about to draw another, but Jinsoul grabbed her wrist. “Now absorb it.” 

“Nuala said to do that too?” 

“My light’ll get rid of anything that’s left,” Jinsoul replied. “This gets rid of more of what you took.” 

Jungeun gave her a look, but took in the light. She slowly let go of Jinsoul’s arm as well. Then she let out a sigh. 

“It’s not red anymore,” Yerim said, smiling. “The spell worked fast.” She looked between Jinsoul and Jungeun, the briefest of questions there. 

Jinsoul wondered why Jungeun had told Yerim she didn’t heal. Especially when she’d done it enough times to be relatively experienced with it. 

Did she not want that to be an expectation? Or just something that wasn’t obvious?

Jungeun lifted a hand to the side of her head. She looked disappointed. 

“You were healing three things at once,” Jinsoul said. “Was it too much?” She almost lifted a hand to her temple. Maybe if she let light flow in that way, it’d soothe whatever pain was there. 

“No,” she shook her head, “it just hurts like the last time.” She grit her teeth. “Even when I pushed myself, I never felt something like that.” There was a familiar expression of shame. 

“You think your magic’s fighting it?” 

She could feel Yerim looking her way. A part of her wondered if she should even be seeing this side of Jungeun. 

Then again, Jungeun wasn’t really hiding her frustration. She’d tried to hide worse before, so she was probably fine with it. 

Jungeun hadn’t replied either. Did she believe that?

“My head hurt when I first started using magic,” Yerim said then. “What if this’s like that too?”

“It’s not the first time I’m using it.”

“You might not be using it enough,” Yerim replied. “Or you don’t want it.” 

Jungeun looked up then, frowning slightly. 

Jinsoul almost expected her to avoid the question, but she didn’t say anything. She was waiting for Yerim to go on. 

“I stopped being being able to control trees,” Yerim said. “It took me years to learn how to again.” Her gaze shuttered slightly. “That was after the first time I’d actually fought—killed anyone.”

Jungeun’s frown vanished. 

Jinsoul didn’t say anything. Yerim had avoided saying much about herself beyond what her magic could do. She’d managed to do it by asking them about the camp or their own lives. 

“I could still use the earth, because I hadn’t done anything with it. I could grow seeds too, help plants along, but when it came to shifting the bark, or anything like that, I got this ache in my head if I tried.” Yerim gave Jungeun another piece of light. “Hold that to your head, maybe it’ll do something?” She glanced Jinsoul’s way. 

She could only nod, feeling a flicker of pride at how she was so ready to help, even if it was a small thing. 

“And when I actually managed to pull on a branch, it just got worse,” Yerim said. “Because I kept remembering what happened.” 

No one said anything for a little bit. Jinsoul couldn’t help but think of what she’d seen then. Yerim hadn’t meant to do it, but she had. Seeing it had made it all the more worse. 

“You’re not remembering anything while you heal,” Yerim said slowly. “Or are you?” 

Jungeun shook her head. She also looked torn between asking a question and not saying anything else. 

“You don’t think it’s right for you to use it, do you?” 

She was silent. Jinsoul could see her reflex of avoidance. She also watched it fade. 

“But it is,” Yerim said. “Just like the fire and the light, this’s something you can use.” 

“I never said I couldn't." Jungeun's voice was quiet. She cleaned the cut again before wrapping a bandage around it. She stood up. “There’s a spirit coming our way. I’ll deal with it.” Then she was walking away. 

“Did I say something wrong?” she mouthed it, already looking worried. 

Jinsoul was already shaking her head. It was a far cry from what she’d been before. Jinsoul wondered if this was what it was like when Jungeun tried to keep herself together. She was open to the best parts of the day, but vulnerable to the harder ones. 

Once she was sure Jungeun was far enough away, Jinsoul let herself talk. 

“Nothing wrong,” Jinsoul said. “I promise.”

“She looked hurt,” Yerim grimaced, “did I remind her of before?”

“She does that already,” she told her. So did I. “It could be the darkness, but it’s mostly just everything she doesn’t want to think about.” 

“But she does that anyway.” 

Jinsoul frowned. 

Yerim shrugged. “You know better than I do, don’t you?” She lifted a brow. “The blame doesn’t stop. She just forgets about it, until she doesn’t.” 

She didn’t say anything to that. What could she? 

“But I reminded her, didn’t I?” 

“No,” Jinsoul said. “Her head was already there.” 

Yerim looked down at the ground. “Should I have even said anything?” 

“I think you’re right,” Jinsoul told her. “And it’s better that than her thinking she’s just,” she bit her lip, “not meant to use the magic.” 

Yerim nodded once. She still looked guilty. She'd been here almost three months now. The three of them had grown closer, but there were still things Yerim didn't know yet. Some of those things she'd figure out, but others she'd have to hear. 

She reached out and took her hand. Luckily, Yerim didn’t pull away. “You don’t have to avoid saying any of that. She knows what you mean. She knows you’re just trying to help.” 

“Is that how you do it?” Yerim asked. “The way you two act, it always feels like you understand.”

Jinsoul’s face warmed, but with shame. “I didn’t at first. Not for a while.” 

Bewilderment crossed her features. “What?” 

“I thought I’d hate her,” Jinsoul said, looking to make sure Jungeun wasn’t there. “I’d healed people she’d hurt. I’d seen some of the bodies she’d left.” She let go of Yerim. “And she still helped me. Just like she did for you.” 

“You both did,” Yerim said quietly. 

“Over ten years later.” 

Then Yerim was reaching out, taking both of her hands and squeezing them. “I think you feel worse about that than she does.” 

Jinsoul could’ve told her that it was only because there were people who treated Jungeun worse than she had. She could’ve told her that Jungeun didn’t hold grudges and would never believe that Jinsoul had been wrong. Not even if it hurt her. 

And then Jungeun was jogging back. She reached them in a few seconds. Her eyes were a bright red and gold now. “The second came around, but we’re fine now.” She sat down, almost too quickly. “Everything okay?” A flicker of worry came over her face. 

“All good,” Yerim said. “I was just telling Jinsoul here she should think about charging us for all the times she’s healed us.” She said it easily. Almost too easily, but she squeezed Jinsoul’s hands once, before letting go. Her smile was warm. 

Jungeun relaxed, meeting Jinsoul’s eyes once. “I offered, but all she’ll accept is a detour to the local craftsman or bookbinder.”

“Not a library?”

“That too,” Jungeun replied. “But I’m not good at sneaking into places.”

“She’s terrible,” Jinsoul said. “Apparently, the solution to opening a locked door is melting the lock.” 

Yerim raised a brow. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one who knows how to blend in the best?”

“Blend in,” Jungeun protested. “Not break into their homes.”

“It’s hardly breaking in if they barely read their own texts.”

Then Yerim straightened. “So that’s where Hyunjin’s going?” 

They both looked at her. 

“She asked me if my magic worked on human constructs.” She frowned slightly. “And of course it does.” The frown deepened. “She asked me if I’d come with her next week. Some kind of trip. Three day’s walk? I think it was Hyejoo going with her?”

Jinsoul smiled. “And you think she’ll be borrowing some books?”

“Borrowing?” Yerim scoffed. “She told me not to tell Heejin. That definitely means we’re taking something.”

“You’ll go?” Jungeun asked. Jinsoul knew she was hopeful, but it wasn’t showing in her voice yet. 

“I think so,” Yerim shrugged, “just as long as you two tell me I’m not committing some terrible deed that’ll be hurting these mortals.” She paused. “And that Hyunjin’s not going to end up ruining some guard’s job or anything.” 

“She usually doesn’t,” Jinsoul said. “Ever since Hyejoo learned how to change their logs, they’ve made sure no one misses anything.” 

“So forgery,” Yerim said. “And theft.”

“They’d say it’s fun,” Jungeun shrugged, rolling her eyes slightly, “and if the lord or his family aren’t all that terrible, you’ll be leaving a bit of gold or something anyway for compensation.”

“You two’re just accepting this?” Yerim frowned at them. 

“They’re usually the ones who start a needless fight, or lift the taxes,” she explained. “Hyunjin thinks it’s fun. Hyejoo says it’s worth it.”

“And why isn’t Chaewon with them?” 

“She’s covering for them.” 

Yerim laughed. She pulled at the earth below her. It formed a small model of a house. “Would we count as rich, or very, very poor to them?” 

“Technically without any property, or anything close to citizenship,” Jungeun replied. “Hyunjin thinks that gets us out of their laws, also the fact that we don’t technically exist.” She made a face. “And she let them put her in a rock cell before. She broke out.” 

“And how do you two know so much about that?” 

“I went once,” Jungeun said. 

“I went a few times,” Jinsoul added. 

Yerim hummed once. “So I probably shouldn’t tell Heejin or Haseul how much you’re encouraging stealing, right?” 

“Nope,” Jinsoul said. “We’re both technically innocent.”

“Technically,” Yerim repeated. Her eyes glittered. “So technically, I’m not going with them.”

Jinsoul felt her heart soar.

Jungeun’s expression lit up completely then. 

It wasn’t huge, but it was something. 

Yerim’s smile grew. “Should I bring anything back?”

______

“Took on the first bigger group tonight,” Jungeun sat down by the fire, “one spirit grazed her leg, but she managed fine.” 

Jiwoo handed her a bowl. “And now?”

“She wanted to try again,” she said. “Jinsoul needed to get something from Yeri, and they sent me back here.” Four months in and the two were getting along better with each day. 

“And you listened?” Hyejoo raised a brow. “They didn’t have to threaten you?”

“First, it’s a spirit. They don’t need me there,” Jungeun smiled slightly, “second, how do you think either of them would threaten me?”

“Yerim could dangle you upside-down,” Sooyoung said. “And Jinsoul could bring a fish.” 

“She showed me what they actually look like alive,” Jungeun scowled at her, “they’re tiny.”

“But you’re still terrified of them.” 

“You try getting surrounded by a swarm of them,” she muttered, “and then tell me that’s not scary.”

“Next time you do a trip to the sea, I’ll come with.” Sooyoung grinned. “Unless I’ll be interrupting something?”

“Yerim’s there,” Chaewon smacked her arm, “they don’t do that around her.”

“We don’t do anything.” 

“Then why did she ask me what the deal was with you two?” Hyejoo asked. 

Jungeun frowned. “And what did you tell her?” 

“That I had no idea,” she smirked at her, “or should I’ve cleared something up?”

Jungeun wished she could retaliate, but it wasn’t possible with all four of them here. Two of them kept passing by each other, either because of time, or some other relationship they were chasing, while the other two seemed content with the line just at the edge of friendship. 

“You’re all impossible,” Jungeun said instead. “There’s nothing to clear up or interrupt.” 

“And why not?” Jiwoo lifted a brow. 

Jungeun frowned. “It’s not happening.”

They looked like each of them wanted to say something. 

“It isn’t.” Jungeun started to eat her food. She hoped that’d be enough to drop it. 

Surprisingly, it was. 

______

There was the sound of a splash in the air. A small slip of paper appeared, droplets of water falling into her lap. Jinsoul took it. 

She knew the rest were watching her, but it didn’t matter. This was from her people. They’d never sent her anything before. 

When she read the words, cold washed over her. 

“What is it?” Jungeun asked. 

“I need to go,” Jinsoul pushed herself to her feet, “they need my help.” She practically ran to their tent. 

She heard Jungeun following. She almost told her to stay where she was. 

Jinsoul immediately started to pack her things. She didn’t know how long they’d be there. She needed water too. She’d get that along the way. 

Jungeun's voice reached her ears then. “Should I ask Yeri to prepare something? She’d have it ready by the time you get there.” 

Jinsoul looked back, frowning. “How do you know I’d need something?”

“They’d need you if someone was hurt,” Jungeun was already writing something down on a piece of paper, “what do you think you’d need?”

Jinsoul told her which ointments they needed, as well as binding materials and some potions. They'd have a few more things to do for her, but that wouldn't matter. They also wanted to spend more time helping Yeri. The necromancy her family had engaged with was going to be forgiven in the next years, at least once there was new leadership. Then Yeri could finally join a proper coven.

Jungeun muttered something, before she enveloped the paper in flames. “Who’s attacking them?”

“Crosa, south-west,” Jinsoul replied as she kept packing. “They might already be finished by the time I get there.” She nearly tore the bag when she tried to close it. Her hands were shaking. 

The air warmed slightly when Jungeun came to her side.

“Let me,” Jungeun took the bag from her, pulling the strings at the top, “do you want someone to come with you?” 

“They don’t trust the Astra enough to have them there,” she said. She thought of when she’d come to Yerim’s people. “And they wouldn’t want them there after either.”

“And me?” Jungeun gave her the bag. “I could stay behind once you get there. Unless that’s too big of a risk.” 

What was a risk was Jinsoul going off alone, barely able to conceal her worry. Spirits would come and she’d expend too much of her light before she even got there. 

“When we get to Yeri, she’ll tell us if someone’s following you or not.” 

Jungeun went back to the table and wrote another note, before sending it off in flash of fire. Then she packed a few things, before slinging the bag over her shoulder. She didn’t pick up any of her other weapons, save for a dagger she strapped to her ankle. 

Jinsoul wondered if that was because she didn’t intend to fight. 

And then they were leaving. 

______

The entire journey was spent in relative silence. Jungeun asked her what she knew about the group of Crosa, but left it at that. They just ran through the forest, going in the direction Yeri had pointed them in. 

They’d come across some spirits, but they’d not been hard to turn. Having Jungeun with her hadn’t slowed them down. She was grateful that she’d come with, even if she didn’t want to voice her worries. 

She was also thankful that Yerim was off with Hyunjin and Hyejoo. She was almost certain the girl would’ve come with them, but to help the people who’d once attacked hers, even if it’d been years ago, wasn’t something Jinsoul wanted Yerim to ever have to do. Even if it was her own family. 

Someone called her name then. It was Hyewon. Her sides were coated with red, but it wasn’t hers. 

“It’s not finished,” she said, leading them off to the side. “But we need you.” Her eyes flicked over Jungeun. “Can she help too?”

Jinsoul nearly said something, but she broke off when Jungeun nodded. 

“I’ll do what I can.” 

______

They’d lost. 

That was all Jinsoul could think of when she took in the injured. Her feet carried her to where the worst injuries were. A punctured lung, a slit throat, a stab to the stomach—it was all what she could heal. It needed more than just her water. 

She used light sparingly, but enough to have an effect. 

She made countless runes for each, enough to stop the blood flow. Then she had someone else put pressure on the wound before she went to the next person. 

Her mother was among the injured, but nothing was life-threatening. Jinsoul saw Jungeun working to straighten her arm. 

And then Sehun brought another elf to her. Her head was at an angle that didn’t look right, but there was a gaping wound in her chest that was more dangerous. She was young. Very young. 

Jinsoul immediately drew water from the large basin. She cleaned what she could around the wound. There was water in the wound, so she drew it out. The injury had been caused by ice. Some of the blood was frozen. Jinsoul unfroze it, warming it enough so it wouldn’t shock her body completely. She didn’t know how far it went.

The girl didn’t make a sound, other than a low groan. She was delirious. 

Jinsoul summoned a thin sheet of light and laid it over the wound. She drew several runes, one after the other. She poured a potion into the girl’s mouth, urging her to swallow. 

Her eyes kept falling shut. Her breaths were quick, barely bringing any air in. When she coughed, something dribbled from her chin. Her heart was slowing. 

Jinsoul cast more runes. It stung, but she had enough magic left. 

She drew on the water, wrapping it around most of the girl’s body. She cast the next spells, feeling how the magic drew on her more, tightening its hold. 

Jinsoul couldn’t hear if she was breathing. 

The bleeding had stopped, but the wounds weren’t even starting to seal. 

And then Jinsoul heard her heart still. 

She put her hands over the girl’s chest and began to press. Even with the wound, she needed to keep the heart beating. She drew more water and wrapped it around her neck, warming it so that there might be more blood flow there. She summoned the light to draw the next healing rune. She felt the magic flood her body. 

Her heart didn’t continue to beat. 

It wasn’t possible. It shouldn’t have been. The wound was something she’d healed hundreds of times over. 

“Jinsoul,” it was her mother, “she’s gone. Others need your help.” She pulled her up. 

Jinsoul felt numb as she healed the next person. It was another blow to the abdomen. She healed it quickly. Too quickly. Their heart beat fast too. 

The one that followed had also been struck in the chest. She’d been able to heal it. He’d live. 

It blurred together, marked only by the deep pain starting to bury itself into her chest. 

She stood, only to stumble, narrowly avoiding someone who steadied her.

“It’s finished,” Eunbi said, sending her a weak smile. “The rest of the wounds aren’t life-threatening.” She took her shoulders and pushed her in one direction. “Go rest.” She waved someone over. “Take her to the river.”

Jungeun was there then. Her eyes were a dim red. Her hands were smeared with blood, but Jinsoul knew this hadn’t been from fighting. Not this time. 

Jinsoul spotted the rest around them. There were five bodies, but the others were alive. She saw the form of the girl. Motionless. 

She turned away, focusing on the pull of the river. She started walking. Each step felt difficult. 

Jungeun said nothing. 

Jinsoul could still hear the sounds of pain behind her. She’d given Hyewon draughts for the pain, but there were too many who’d been wounded. 

She braced herself for when she’d hear the sounds of grief as well. 

An hour later, they reached the river. Jinsoul immediately knelt beside it, letting the water rise to clean her hands. She’d done it between each person, but this was still from the last. There was also the blood of others along her wrists, on her clothes. 

She saw the girl again, heard how she’d tried to keep breathing, but it’d only come in shallow gasps. 

Jungeun was a small way’s away, also rinsing off her hands. Her brow was furrowed. She kept wincing, but when she glanced Jinsoul's way, all of that vanished. She looked like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. 

Then Jungeun stood, the water still dripping from her arms. “Should I go?” She wasn’t turning around. 

Just at the sound of her voice, of the hesitance there, Jinsoul felt a surge of anger that she barely managed to push away. “Yes,” she said sharply. She wished she didn’t sound like that. 

Jungeun needed to leave before Jinsoul said something hurtful. She didn’t know how to tell her that. 

Jungeun nodded once, taking a step back. “Should I tell someone where you are?” 

“No.” 

Another nod. Her eyes were slowly showing the worry in them, but she wasn't walking away. 

“If you want to say something, say it,” Jinsoul snapped. “Then go.” 

“She was going to die anyway,” Jungeun said slowly. 

Jinsoul frowned. “You don’t know that.” 

“I do.” 

She shook her head. “You don’t. I know how to save them. I’ve done it before. I—this wasn’t that bad. She could’ve lived, I know she could have.” There it was. She was saying too much. 

“There was a blow to the head, so that was already making its way through,” Jungeun said. “Her neck was twisted, but not broken, and whatever got her went through parts of the heart and the lungs.” Her hands were clasped behind her back. “With everything else, she wasn’t going to live longer than a few minutes. The only good thing was that she didn’t feel most of it.” 

Jinsoul had seen the injuries. She’d seen how the blood had seeped into the girl’s eye. 

“All of that can be healed,” Jinsoul said. “I've healed all of it before.”

“But together,” Jungeun shook her head, “it happens too fast.” Her jaw tightened. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“Of course it was.” She felt the tears come. She forced them away, letting them fall to the ground. “If they’re alive before they get to me, I can save them.” 

“Jinsoul, they made sure you wouldn’t have been able to.” Shame flickered in her eyes, but it disappeared. “You can’t always save them, because whoever attacked her, knew what to do to make sure that any healing magic wouldn’t help.” 

“So they targeted her,” Jinsoul said. She remembered where Jungeun’s flames had gone before. “Is that how you did it?”

Jungeun winced. She knew exactly how this worked. 

All of her anger drained away. 

Jinsoul felt something break. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She stood immediately. “I should’ve never—”

Jungeun walked back over to her. “It’s okay,” she said. “That’s what I did. I still do.” Her eyes fell to the ground. “That’s how we’re trained. That’s why I know.”

Jinsoul shook her head. Jungeun had come with her to help her. “You’ve healed people—you did that today.” She grit her teeth. “And you tried to heal someone you lost as well.” She hated that she’d ignored that. She hated that she’d attacked her. 

Jungeun gently took her hand. Her skin was warm. “Come here.” It sounded like it was just about to become a question. 

Jinsoul let herself be pulled into Jungeun’s side. She was as warm as a fire. She felt all the comfort she felt when sitting beside one on a cold night. 

“Don’t blame yourself for this,” Jungeun said. “Regretting it is one thing, but saying it’s your fault isn’t true.” 

She didn’t say anything to that. A part of her knew Jungeun was right. She’d had to learn that so many times—that it wasn’t always her fault. 

That never made it feel any better. 

“What do you want to do now?” Jungeun asked. “Go with them? Go back ho—the Astra, or the sea, but not with them?”

Jinsoul looked up at her. “What?”

“The coast goes on for a long time,” she replied. “You could be a league or so away from there and just stay there for a bit.” 

“That feels like I’m avoiding something.”

Jungeun shrugged. “Or you don’t,” she said. “Lanah told me that you don’t need to go home. She’ll—well, she’ll handle everything.”

Jinsoul sighed. Her mother always did that. 

“You don’t have to decide now.” Jungeun patted her shoulder. “We’ve got time.” 

Jinsoul was well aware that they’d rarely been this close. The closest might’ve been when Jungeun had first gone into the ocean. 

Except now it wasn’t because one of them was afraid. 

“How’s your head?”

“My head?” Jungeun repeated. 

“Is it hurting from earlier?” Jinsoul asked. 

“Not much, it—” She stopped talking when Jinsoul lifted her hand. 

She pressed her fingers lightly to Jungeun’s temple. She let some light seep in that way. 

There was the slightest of aches in her chest, but she ignored it. 

Jungeun was looking at her, the light in her eyes brightening a bit. She looked confused. 

And then she sighed slightly, leaning in to her hand. 

“Better?” Jinsoul asked. 

“Much.”

“Then what was that about it not hurting much?” 

Jungeun smiled. “It was already starting to feel better.”

Jinsoul pulled her hand away. Her fingers still felt warm. 

She realised then that the pain she’d gotten from the healing earlier had also dulled. She wondered how long they’d been here. The water usually helped when she’d used too much magic. 

“Thank you.”

Jinsoul nodded once. “I think that’s enough healing for the both of us tonight.” She slowly let her head sink onto Jungeun’s shoulder, wondering if that was alright. "We'll go back to the sea. I still need to know more about what happened. There'll also be other injuries they missed in the retreat." Nothing pressing, but nothing pleasant either. 

"But not yet?"

"Not yet," Jinsoul said. 

Then Jungeun pulled her a bit closer. The warmth of her magic enveloped her, not too much as being by a fire sometimes did. It was just comfortable. 

Neither of them said anything else. The river filled the silence, along with the distant brushes of wind that slid through the trees. 

They didn’t doze off, but Jinsoul heard how Jungeun’s heart slowed to a calm rhythm. She hadn’t realised it’d been quicker before. 

______

“I’ll stay up here,” Jungeun gave her a small smile, “tell people not to look for you.” 

Jinsoul raised a brow. “I might be long.” Her mother had already broken the news to the families, but she'd still seen the family of that girl. They hadn't turned her way. Her father had thanked her for trying. 

Her heart still felt like a stone. All she wanted was to sink beneath the waves, at least for a little while. 

“I’ll wait,” Jungeun said. “It’s nice here.” She smiled out at the sea, no hesitation in her eyes. 

“Okay,” Jinsoul nodded, “but if you go back to bed, I won’t blame you.” 

Her smile grew. “I know.” She leaned back, resting her elbows on the sand. 

The moonlight framed her, almost perfectly. Jungeun’s hair turned a pale gold with only the natural light around her. 

Jungeun looked up at her. “Something on your mind?” 

Jinsoul blinked once, before looking away. “Just thinking about where I’ll go.” 

“The deep cities?” Jungeun suggested. “You did say you always feel at ease there.” 

She shrugged. “I’ll make my way down.” She went over to the water. The tide enveloped her feet. “And Jungeun?” She looked back. 

“Hm?” Jungeun sat up. 

“Thank you,” she said. “For coming with me.” And everything else. 

The smile that got her was warm. “Of course.” Her gaze softened. 

Jinsoul felt an odd lightness in her chest then. It almost tickled. “I’ll see you when I surface.” 

“See you.” 

______

Jungeun couldn’t say she loved the sea, but she loved to sit by it. The sounds filled her ears, giving her a calm she wasn’t used to. It let her think of how hauntingly endless the sea was, but also how peaceful it could be. 

The moon was half full tonight. It illuminated a path along the water. Jungeun could almost imagine walking across it. 

She could see Jinsoul walking across it. She saw how the moon would turn her hair a silvery-white and how her eyes would light up, glowing a beautiful blue. 

Jungeun let herself watch the sea. She let herself wonder where Jinsoul was going. She hoped the time in the sea was helpful. It wouldn’t heal anything, but it’d make it all less severe. Hopefully. 

An hour might've passed, or it could've been three. It was one of those nights where she could just let time wash over her. Her mind was relatively free of thought too. 

And then the ocean rippled. Jinsoul appeared about a hundred metres away. The top of her head reflected the moonlight as she swam across, smaller ripples moving away from her. 

Jungeun could only watch as Jinsoul rose slightly in the water, gracefully shifting to stand on the shallow waters, before walking over across them. She was glowing slightly. 

Jungeun smiled. It was like what she’d thought of, only water dripped from Jinsoul's hair and she was smiling. It wasn’t a grin, but it was something halfway there. It was better than what she’d seen before. 

“Hi.” Jinsoul came over to her. “You stayed." A pause. "Or you timed it so that you’d be here when I came back.”

“Either way, I’m here,” Jungeun chuckled, “how was it?” 

“Good.” She sat down beside her. The water on her skin was flowing into a small ball in front of them. “I saw my first spirit in the shape of a tuna.” 

Jungeun had to smile. “Any others?” 

“The usual, an eel and a shark pair. I turned them.” She sighed slightly, leaning back on the sand. “Haven’t seen a whale spirit yet.” Then she looked over and smiled. “Don’t like the idea of that?” 

“A bright one sounds good,” Jungeun said. “But if I had to fight one—“ She shuddered. 

“They don’t move that quickly,” Jinsoul said. “And their heart is pretty big. Not something you’d miss easily.” There was a small frown. The thought of hurting a whale, even if it was a spirit, didn't seem to sit well with her. 

Jungeun shook her head. “They move fast. You’re just faster.” Then she added, “in the water at least.” 

Jinsoul gave her a look. “I’m fast on land too.” When Jungeun didn’t reply, she poked her side. “We both have heightened speed. You can’t say you’re faster than I am.”

“But I am.” 

Jinsoul pushed herself to her feet. “Prove it.” 

Jungeun grinned. “Haven’t I already?”

“You react faster. Doesn’t mean you move quicker too.” She nodded to the beach, where a column of water slowly bent over the shore. “We’re running to that arch. Don’t cheat.” 

“I’m too old to cheat,” Jungeun replied. “And I won’t need it.” She took a step to the side. “You’ll do the count?” 

Jinsoul did. 

Jungeun kicked off. Her feet sank into the sand, but she knew how to angle it so that she didn’t fall.

Jinsoul wasn’t too far behind, but she was struggling with the sand. Not much, but enough. 

She passed the arch, Jinsoul following a few seconds after. 

“What was that about—“ She broke off when Jinsoul tackled her. It wasn’t really a tackle, but she threw her to the ground, almost gently. It was still so unexpected. 

“Did you train on sand too?” Jinsoul was kneeling over her, eyes narrowed. 

“If I say yes, are you gonna throw me in the water?” Jungeun lifted her hands to defend herself. It didn’t terrify her to unexpectedly be put in the water, but she still hated the brief moments of being submerged. 

“I was tempted.” Jinsoul’s foot dug lightly into her side. “But I’m worried you’ll end up wanting to train for that too.” She narrowed her eyes. “Which isn’t happening. Yet.” 

“Yet?” she repeated, sitting up. “You’re saying you would?” 

Jinsoul raised a brow. “You sound hopeful.”

“Getting my head dunked or being caught in a wave can only work if I trust you.” Even saying it, Jungeun felt a small flicker of panic. 

Jinsoul seemed to catch it. “Patience too,” she said. “And I wouldn’t do any of those things just because you want to know how to fight it.” 

“Why would you then?” Jungeun wasn't sure what to make of the lightheartedness they had now. She’d almost expected Jinsoul to stop talking to her after today. She wondered if it’d actually sunk in what Jungeun had told her before. 

“Just to get you to see the ocean even better than you already do.” A smile started to appear. “I want you to really like being here.” 

“I like it.”

“I know,” Jinsoul nudged her shoulder, “but that doesn’t mean you don’t sometimes look at it like it’ll bite you.” 

Jungeun laughed slightly. It was true, but she’d meant what she’d said. The ocean was daunting and she didn’t really think it’d become any less so for a long time. 

“Was it part of your training, or did you choose to go to the south?” Jinsoul was looking out at the water. She looked completely at ease. There was still a hint of the smile from before. Her eyes were bright, both dark and light blue held within them. It looked like the colours were flowing around each other, like slow-moving currents. It was almost hypnotising to watch. 

“No one wanted me to go there,” Jungeun replied, thinking back to the time on the ice and snow. “It drains any magic to do with heat. Lightning less than fire.” She remembered the incredulous looks when she’d first suggested it. “My mother helped me sneak out the first time.” 

“Sneak out?” Jinsoul turned to her, frowning. 

Oops. “They just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t try it.” She shrugged. “But I did.”

“You did,” Jinsoul said. Her eyebrows were starting to arch upwards, the disbelief growing. She already didn’t believe her. 

Was Jungeun that easy to read? 

Jinsoul then looked away. She wasn’t going to push it. 

Jungeun decided then she’d just tell her. “They didn’t want me going away,” she said. “Not to the mortal world, or really anywhere else.” She chuckled. “They were a little paranoid. With good reason.”

“But you thought they were hysterical.”

Jungeun smiled. “Maybe.”

Jinsoul rolled her eyes. “They might’ve had a point.” Then her gaze softened slightly. “But Thea let you go?”

“She knew I’d go anyway,” she explained. “And that actually ended up being the reason why I survived.” She looked to the sand then, tracing a few Korean letters in it. “You saw a bit of what went wrong.”

“I did.”

Jungeun didn’t feel embarrassed to say the truth. She’d gotten what she’d wanted and seen where her limits were. She’d done exactly what she hadn’t wanted to and fought someone, but she’d survived. Thanks to them. 

“My father knew where I’d gone pretty quickly, then my mother’d told him where exactly I’d gone, so there was a search party out.” 

“And when did they reach you?”

“During a snow storm,” Jungeun replied. “I’d gone on alright without it, but when it came, that might’ve been the coldest I’d ever been—falling into a frozen lake included—but they got to me at the right time.” 

“Good timing,” Jinsoul said slowly. Her brow was furrowed. “How close were they behind you?” 

“They followed me.” 

“What?” Jinsoul turned to face her completely. “For how long?”

“Probably before I got to the ice cap,” Jungeun said. “They knew soon enough where I was going.”

“But what about the person who attacked you? Did they come and help you?” Her voice sounded oddly strained. 

It was Jungeun’s turn to frown. Then she remembered that Jinsoul wouldn’t know that. Was she supposed to tell her that? How would that even sound? 

Jinsoul was still looking at her. There was concern there too. 

“I,” Jungeun started. It sounded worse the more she thought it over. 

“You wouldn’t have let them?” Jinsoul asked. 

Jungeun shook her head. “Would you? If someone had come after you, and only you?”

She didn’t reply. 

Jungeun didn’t want to have another silence like this. They’d become a lot rarer over the years, but they always came when something like this came up. 

“But if you told me not to step in, I’m not sure if I would’ve listened.”

Jungeun laughed. “You didn’t.” 

Jinsoul was quiet for a moment. Then she shook her head. “I just watched.” 

“You helped her too,” Jungeun said. “Made sure Chaewon didn’t sink another arrow in too.” She shrugged, torn between shaking her head and laughing. “The others don’t really listen either when I tell them to stay out of it.”

“Which is a good thing.” 

Jungeun almost said that wasn’t true. She stopped herself easily enough. In a lot of ways, maybe it was true. 

She’d seen that with Haseul too, who’d made a few of her own enemies. She hadn’t wanted to let her go off alone, neither had Sooyoung. 

Except Haseul had done the same as Jungeun and told them not to act like her guards. They’d both ignored her. It’d been the right thing, because those enemies had sent a group after her. 

“Are you agreeing with me?” Jinsoul asked, tilting her head. “Or just staying quiet so we’ll move on?” 

“Both.” 

She bumped her shoulder. “Glad you’re seeing a little sense.” 

The silence that came then was so much more comfortable. Jungeun was almost relieved. 

Except Jinsoul was getting ready to say something else. There was always a miniature frown when she was thinking it through, an edge of hesitation while she debated on whether or not to say it. 

Jungeun braced herself for what would come next. 

“I’m sorry for what I said.”

Jungeun turned her way. “Jinsoul, I—“ 

“Don’t say it’s fine,” Jinsoul said. “You always do.” 

Because I mean it, she wanted to say. 

“You came with me here,” Jinsoul continued. “You didn’t have to, and I’m not sure if you even wanted to, because I didn’t even want to go.” She was looking at the ocean again. “You didn't want to use healing magic, but you did.” 

“It would’ve been awful if I hadn’t.”

“True,” Jinsoul cracked a small smile, “but you didn’t have to help as many as you did.” 

“I didn’t,” Jungeun said. She was about to add something when Jinsoul lifted a hand. 

“I spoke to some,” Jinsoul told her. “They said you healed about fifteen people.” 

It took some time for the words to sink in. 

“I might’ve got twenty, but you weren’t all that bad.” 

“Twenty?” 

Jinsoul’s smile grew a bit. “Ten, actually.” There was a flicker of something, but it went away. 

Jungeun debated what she was supposed to do, or say, next. She urged herself to decided. 

Jinsoul’s eyes went to hers when Jungeun took her hand. She didn’t pull away. ”It wasn’t the first time.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s any different.” Jungeun hated that she could say that and mean it. She hated that it wasn’t for the same reason. 

Except Jinsoul was still looking at her, eyes not hiding much. They weren’t filling with uncertainty, suspicion, or anger. There was something else. 

Jungeun didn’t want to look away. 

“I kept wanting to heal the mortals. I learned from some how the mortal healers, but all it ever showed me was how fragile mortality is.” She shook her head. “But over the years I saw just how vulnerable our own eternities are.” She took a deep breath. She was quiet for a few seconds. 

Jungeun waited. 

“It’s why I wanted to stop,” Jinsoul said then. “Why I didn’t want to keep going.” She sighed. “Because it hurt.” 

Jungeun carefully took her other hand. She waited for Jinsoul to stiffen, or pull away. She didn’t. 

“You told me the Astra don’t force us into anything.” She paused, frowning for a second before her brow smoothed over again. “Is it the same for healers?”

Jungeun nodded. Even if Haseul and Sooyoung would always have the future of being elder hanging over their heads, they could do more than that. Jungeun liked to believe she could do more. She actually did for some of the time. 

She’d seen how Jinsoul worked. Today had shown that more than anything else. Her focus was practically unbreakable. Even after what’d happened, she’d went on to the next without slowing. 

“Good,” Jinsoul smiled ever so slightly, “because I want to keep things the way they are.” She looked between their hands and Jungeun. “And if I’m not wrong, I think Yerim might really be considering staying.” 

Jungeun thought of when she’d seen those three planning their trip to the mortal towns. Yerim had been listening intently, eyes wide and open. It’d been one of the first times she hadn’t eaten with Jinsoul and Jungeun. 

“I think she’s staying.” Jungeun had to smile. “And if things stay the way they are?” She didn’t imagine the lightness in her chest at the thought. 

“Then it’s the three of us,” Jinsoul said. “She’ll come with us when we go to our homes before. If the time comes, and she’s ready, then we go to hers.” Her eyes saddened for a moment, before lighting up again. “We’ll keep doing what we are, but we can do more too. You know, explore a bit, because there’s always spirit sightings in different parts of the world.” Then she looked a bit hesitant. “Sound good?” 

She nodded once. Twice. “I love it,” she said. “There’s a lot of places I know we can stay in between. They’re either friendly to Astra or open to me coming to stay.” 

Jinsoul’s eyes were almost sparkling now. “Then that’ll be the plan?” 

Jungeun squeezed her hands once. She almost didn’t want to, but she let go. “Definitely.” 

It felt as if a weight had been lifted from the night. Jungeun didn’t know if it was just the way the night had gone, or just the way it was when it was the two of them like this. 

Jinsoul was looking tired again. Drained.

“Should we go back?” Jungeun asked. 

She shook her head, laying down. “Unless you want to?” 

“I’m not tired.” Jungeun put her hand on the sand and warmed it. 

Jinsoul hummed lightly. “That’s nice.” She her side. “You don’t have to stay. I’ve been pulled in by the tide before, so I’m used to that.” 

“I’ll stay,” Jungeun said. “Just have to get something.” She quickly got up and went to where they’d started the short race. She got the bag and went back. “Want one?” She held up a blanket. 

Jinsoul peered up at her. “Maybe.” 

She chuckled and threw it over her. She sat down and straightened it a bit. 

One of Jinsoul’s eyes had closed. “You’ve got one for you too, don’t you? The wind might come at one point.” 

Jungeun nodded, pulling it from the pack. 

She closed her eyes. “Good night.” 

“Sleep well.”

Another small hum. Then, in what seemed like seconds, her breathing slowed. 

Jungeun was almost amazed at how quickly she fell asleep. It made sense with all the tension of the day, with the amount of magic she’d used. 

Jungeun wondered if the lightness that’d settled over her chest was normal. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt it. 

She looked away and towards the ocean. It held a world she’d only caught glimpses of. A part of her was still content without seeing any of it. The other wanted to know about everything that was there. 

Jinsoul shifted on her side again, mumbling something intelligible. 

Jungeun turned her attention back to the sea. The tide near to them rose a bit higher. Was that how Jinsoul had been pulled into the sea before? 

And was Jungeun supposed to wake her if that happened?

Time flew by beside the ocean. Jungeun was both surprised and happy with how the hours passed by easily. Her thoughts were simple, going from the routes they could take around the world to what she’d be willing to see in the ocean. 

They settled on the person beside her again. Would she become a healer now? Even if Jinsoul had once wanted to stop before, she’d never really stopped healing. She’d stepped in when she could. It made a lot of patrols so much less daunting, because the risk of having to walk all the way back to camp, kept together by some sort of makeshift piece of moonlight and poorly drawn runes, was gone. Despite what they’d thought in the beginning, Sooyoung and the others had come to respect Jinsoul because of how ready Jinsoul had been to help, regardless of whether or not that was healing or joining in the fight. 

Maybe that would be how it stayed. Unless Jinsoul wanted to actually stop fighting. She’d never said much more about that, but she’d usually not needed to. 

Then again, she’d had the chance to stop in the past years. Haseul, Sooyoung, and Jungeun had all tried to make it clear that she could stop, but she hadn’t. 

Jungeun pushed the thoughts from her mind. Whatever happened was out of her control. 

Then it’s the three of us. 

Jungeun smiled just thinking of the words. She couldn’t help but think of what that would be like. There were so many places she knew they’d like. From the large forests in the east across the ocean, to even the southern and northernmost parts of the world. She couldn’t wait to see what they thought of those places. She wondered what they would think of the desert. 

The sun was rising. Jungeun’s breath caught in as she saw how the sky slowly went from an inky black to a blue that almost matched Jinsoul’s eyes. The moon was still in the sky, but it was hovering above the sea, as if waiting to sink down below its surface. 

She stared at the horizon, wondering how far away she was seeing it. They said the world was round, so was she seeing one of the many edges of the world in the distance? 

The sounds of the water still filled the silence. The ocean had rushed in and out of her ears, despite its flow being constant. Before, she’d never been able to drown it out when she was awake. It’d been hard to fall asleep. Usually. 

“You’re still awake?” A sleep-ridden voice broke her from her thoughts. 

Jungeun looked down. She had to smile in the next moment. “Morning.”

Jinsoul was squinting against the sunlight, brow deeply furrowed. She slowly pushed herself up. Her shoulders were drooped and her head bowed as she yawned. “Good morning,” she mumbled. She slowly straightened, but then pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. Then she laughed softly. “Are we always going to be in the middle of saying that and goodnight?” 

“I think so.” 

Then Jinsoul nodded slightly, as if she’d just thought of something. “If poor sleep is bad for us, I don’t know what the effects of an inconstant sleep cycle are.” 

“We’re immortal.” 

The words seemed to wake her up a bit more. “That doesn’t mean we won’t be affected by it.” She narrowed her eyes. “You get a cold every year.”

Jungeun laughed. “Alright, then it’s not healthy, but would you rather stay nocturnal around your family?” 

Jinsoul was quiet for a few seconds. She looked like she was actually thinking it through. 

“I was going to say we’d just take the potions, but that’s also unhealthy.” She frowned, slowly blinking as she looked at the ground. “Did you have to ask me a good question now?”

“You started it.”

Jinsoul sent her what seemed to be a glare. It was softened by the sleep that still hadn’t left her eyes. “You’re immortal, remember?” She leaned her full weight into Jungeun’s side, as if to push her over. “Act like it.”

“Don’t start with that,” Jungeun pushed back a bit, “I’d have plenty of things I could raise with you.” 

“If that includes sea slugs, I might really just drag you down to meet them. Or throw you in.” 

“It wasn’t the slugs,” Jungeun replied. “I was thinking more about those contraptions you seem to adore.” 

“They’re interesting.” She lifted a brow at her. “Don’t start mocking me for it.”

“I wasn’t!” Jungeun protested. “It’s a way to stay young. Sort of.”

The corner of Jinsoul’s mouth tilted up. “We’re also eternally young, by other definitions.” 

“I’m still younger than you are.” 

“Not much.” Jinsoul lightly shoved her. “And like you said, we don’t start with that. The flow of time is nothing you or I know enough about.” 

“Alright,” Jungeun laughed, “hungry enough for breakfast?” 

“Not yet.” She looked her way. “Are you?” 

“I’ll be alright for a few more hours.” She nodded at the sky. “The nocturnal time’s also turned into being hungry during the night.” 

Jinsoul lifted a brow. “Let’s start going back.” She grabbed her arm and got up, pulling her with her. Jungeun must’ve looked confused, because Jinsoul just shrugged. “The moment you smell breakfast, you’ll get hungry. So will I.” She let go of her to start rolling up the blanket. 

“Are you sure you’re not just hungry?”

Jinsoul shook her head. “I just know you are.” She smiled at her once, before she started to walk back across the beach, a bit closer to the edge of the tide. 

Jungeun followed. The water enveloped her feet when the tide came. She felt a small flicker of panic, but reminded herself that it was extremely shallow where they were. 

“What do you think?” Jinsoul looked back, a question starting to form in her eyes. 

She looked out at the ocean. It was different when she was standing so close to it. “It’s still scary,” she admitted. “But it really is beautiful.” She smiled slightly. “The more I’m here, the more I see why I,” she trailed off. She wasn't sure if she wanted to finish that sentence. 

“So it’s getting better?” Jinsoul asked. 

Jungeun looked from the horizon to her. The sight that greeted her almost made her think she’d dozed off on the beach. 

The rising sun bathed Jinsoul in a pale yellow glow. It wasn’t like cool like the light, but warm. She still looked completely relaxed as she walked along the shore. There was the lightest of smiles on her face, along with a growing hope. Was that because of what Jungeun had said?

“It is,” Jungeun nodded. “I’m really seeing why,” the words were hard to find, “well, why you love it.” 

Jinsoul’s smile brightened. It reminded her of the sunrise. Her voice felt weighed down in her chest. 

“Really?” Jinsoul slowed slightly. “You do?” Her eyes were sparkling in the sunlight. 

Jungeun could only nod. She couldn’t speak. 

She was grinning. “I’ve been waiting to hear that,” she said, chuckling softly. 

Jungeun found her voice again. “You were?” 

“Of course.” Jinsoul nodded. “Only seeing this,” she looked at the ocean once before looking back, “as some terrifying, dangerous force of nature—I knew why you did, but—” She bit her lip and stopped walking. Her eyes locked onto Jungeun’s, widening slightly. It was as if she’d realised something. 

Jungeun wondered if she’d say it. 

“But it’s brought me a lot of peace over the years,” Jinsoul said. “The water’s always been my home and it’s been a threat for so many others.” She frowned. “Especially you.” 

Jungeun chuckled. “Some would say it’s a natural opposition.”

“Maybe,” Jinsoul was shaking her head, “but it isn’t. Like me not being able to breathe it in at first didn’t mean I didn’t belong in the water.” 

Jungeun just nodded. Jinsoul never seemed out of place on land, but there was something about seeing her by or surrounded by water that brought out a change. It was subtle, but certainly there. 

“You being scared of it, so much that even if you wanted to, you couldn’t see what else there was,” she faltered again. “I’m just glad you’re seeing those things.” A small smile appeared. 

Jungeun found her next words easily enough. “You’re one of the reasons I can.”

Jinsoul was quiet for a moment, still looking at her. Then she cleared . “Good—I mean, great.” She laughed softly. “But I guess you won’t be swimming any time soon?”

“Don’t push it,” Jungeun smiled, “that won’t be for another few years.”

“I’m patient.”

“I know.” 

They walked along the beach in a silence that was only broken by the shore. 

Jungeun felt relaxed. That same deep sense of comfort was there from when it’d been dark by the sea. 

She looked to where Jinsoul was. She was drawing on the water, letting it circle through the air. Her eyes glittered as she used her magic. 

Jungeun watched as she created a large arc of it through the air, letting the water solidify into different patterns, before it fell into the ocean. 

Something else joined the calm. It began as a flicker of lightness in her chest, which settled there, growing a bit heavier. 

And then Jinsoul met her eyes. The feeling vanished. 

“Something on your mind?” 

Jungeun shook her head. 

They kept walking. There was the smallest of aches in her chest now. It was easy to ignore. 

______

Author's Note 

I do not condone crime, even if some of my stories end up making it something comical or normal. It's either fantasy or a sci-fi world and I stand by the mentality that there are different standards in those stories than in our world. That's my disclaimer.

On that note, the triplet line wreaking a bit of havoc is a fun concept. The stories in this universe aren't exactly 'light', but being immortality can bring about its own brand of absurdity. That's both to do with time and perspectives on different aspects of our lives and all that. 

I apologise for the tone shift. I'm hoping it wasn't too abrupt? It made sense in my mind to make some jumps in time, mostly because this story wasn't actually planned to be neatly chronological. In the beginning, I needed to have time going a little slower, to really show how things between Jungeun and Jinsoul were developing. 

Either way, I hope you're all doing well and are staying safe. See you next chapter!

Twt: hblake44

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