Snow opened his eyes and immediately closed them again, a painful grunt escaping his lips. There was something heavy placed across his chest, and he was holding on to something warm. He was also lying on his back, which immediately left his heart beating anxiously faster.

A warm breath caressed his face. And then again. And again, in a constant rhythm. ZaiWin¹Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos). was there, he immediately knew, using that knowledge to force himself to calm down, to assure himself that he was not back in that bedroom.

Trying to open his eyes again, he released whatever he had been holding and pressed down on his aching forehead. He felt dizzy and sick, reminding him of the time he had been a prisoner in the Fortress, when that man would come every day to shove that green mix down his throat. No, that had been worse, he told himself, trying to remain positive.

A low chuckle reached his ears and then the heavy thing across his chest was pulled away.

“I told you you’d feel miserable in the morning.”

Snow tried to look at him but the mere attempt to open his eyes was enough to send sharp nails piercing through his brain.

“Here. Let me help you.”

A warm hand pushed his away, and then hard fingers pressed against his forehead. Though his touch was far from being gentle or soft, ZaiWin kept pressing here and there, around his eyes, on his temples, some places aching more than others, overall allowing him to relax, his headache slowly fading away.

“I believe you’re supposed to heal faster than most, so you’ll probably be fine in no time at all.”

Taking a deep breath, Snow allowed himself to sink into the sensation of relief brought by that touch and almost fell asleep again.

“Feeling better?”

He blinked, easily opening his eyes now, and nodded. ZaiWin gave him a small smile and pulled away, sitting up.

Turning his head, Snow just laid there, looking at him.

With his back to him, ZaiWin pulled his long braid over his shoulder and started to undo it. He had worn his hair braided since the day before and, after sleeping like that, it had become partly undone. His long hands worked swiftly, showing he was more than used to perform that kind of task. And, in no time at all, his hair fell free from the ponytail at the top of his head.

Sitting up, Snow reached out and swiftly pulled the black hairpin that held that dark mass in place, long locks of dark-bluish hair cascading down ZaiWin’s back and pooling on the bed.

For a moment they just sat like that. Snow holding his hairpin in one hand, unable to come up with a plausible justification for what he had just done. ZaiWin with his back to him, his heart slamming against his chest, an old fear coiling at the bottom of his stomach.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to stop his heart from beating so fast, ZaiWin finally moved, but only enough to be able to stretch out his arm.

“Can I have it back?” he asked and Snow immediately shook his head. But then remembered that ZaiWin wasn’t looking at him, which meant he could not see him, and so decided to use words instead.

“No.”
ZaiWin’s hand froze midair, as if he had no clue about what to say to that.

“Well, I really need it.”

Snow looked at the simple hairpin he held in his hand, made of plain, black leather.

“All the rich, noblemen I met had long hair like yours. But they always wore it full of braids and knots, with lots of golden, shiny ornaments. You have long hair like them, but you only wear it tied up.”

ZaiWin lowered his arm, raking a nervous hand through his hair, pulling the long locks back from his face before he finally turned to look at him.

“I guess I just don’t have the patience to deal with it.”

Snow tilted his head to one side and curiously scooted closer to him. Grabbing one lock of black hair, he allowed his fingers to slowly slide through it, all the way to its end.

ZaiWin couldn’t help stare in amazement at that small hand, at the way it touched his hair with such ease, when others would normally frown in disgust at the mere sight of it.

“And yet you keep it so long.”

Snow took one hand to his own head and smiled timidly.

“I was really happy when you didn’t shave my head,” he confessed. “When I was small, Sand would always keep it as short as possible, so it would be easier to wash and quicker to dry. Then … that woman shaved my head, and I was never allowed to have any hair again. I thought it was because she hated me. But now I understand. It’s because its color is all wrong. I really wish I could have hair like yours.”

So he wasn't going to tell him that his hair was too long, that since he had such dark hair he should feel ashamed and at least wear it short. Well, of course he wasn't going to say any of that. Snow knew nothing about such things, about the ridiculous importance of one's hair color when you were born into a noble family. The silly boy actually wanted to have hair like his. It was kind of ironic really, since he too had once coveted the beautiful golden hair of a Tien'Elhar.

Suddenly feeling much more relaxed, ZaiWin ruffled Snow's silver hair and flicked his forehead.

“Don’t be silly. There’s nothing wrong with your hair color. It’s actually very pretty. And if you’re going to wish for someone else’s hair, make sure you wish for red, or blond. Black hair like mine won’t take you anywhere.”

“And yet you keep it so long …” Snow pointed out again and ZaiWin gave him a cold, defiant grin.

“That’s because I know that keeping it long like this pisses off a lot of annoying people.”

Snow blinked, unable to understand, but ended up shrugging.

“I still think it's beautiful. Will you teach me how to braid it?”

ZaiWin’s eyebrows shot up at that.

“Braid it?”

Snow nodded and he simply sighed, patting the bed beside him, so that Snow would sit closer. At least he wasn’t glaring angrily at him, or accusing him of trying to molest him. In fact, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, since ZaiWin had been slowly growing accustomed to his unpredictable behavior fluctuations. And so he happily convinced himself that Snow couldn’t remember anything about what had happened the night before.

When they finally went downstairs, Storm and Grisly were both sitting at the table, both holding their heads between their hands, both looking miserable. Looking at Snow, calmly standing beside him, ZaiWin couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for the both of them. Apparently Celestials did recover faster than normal people, even from hangovers.

“Oh, you’re finally up!” Rain greeted them, and the two sitting at the table grimaced painfully. Crossing the room, she placed two plates with slices of bread and fried meat on the table. “Eat! You’ll feel better,” she told them, making them wince in pain, and Snow immediately took a step back, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell of the cooked meat.

“Want some?” Rain happily offered but, noticing the boy’s sickened expression, quickly amended her ways. “How about some cheese instead?”

They ate sitting on the stone couch, since Snow wouldn’t get any closer than that to those plates filled with meat, and then stepped outside, the boy taking a deep breath of relief.

“So you never ate meat?” ZaiWin asked curiously and Snow shook his head with a disgusted expression on his face. “Even when you were little?”

Another shake of his head.

“There was never any.”

Of course there wasn’t. But he had lived by the river, right?

“What about fish?”

Snow shook his head.

“I used to catch crab-fish, though, for Sand. But she normally ended up selling them.”

Without exchanging a single word about their destination, they both started walking towards where Snow had left his bow the day before, by the village’s entrance.

It was rare of Snow to offer him full replies without ZaiWin having to pry them word by word out of him, and so ZaiWin decided to take advantage of the rare occasion.

“This Sand of yours, could she have been your mother?”

Snow shook his head.

“Sand … she picked me up when no one else would. I remember … it was very cold. Her hands were very cold too. And she hid me under her tunic, next to her chest, where it was warm.”

Snow squinted his eyes, as if he were trying to see beyond something, or maybe give meaning to some strange memory.

“It was a very large room, with a very large bed, a fire burning. There were large, tall windows that led to a small garden with a lake. And there was a chair facing outside. The garden was full of red flowers, and some of the petals flew inside, covering the floor, a white wood floor. But … it didn’t smell right. Not until Sand picked me up. And then she took me away.”

“How old were you? If you can remember this much?” ZaiWin asked, looking back at his own memories. The earlier he could remember he must have been maybe three, four years of age.

“Small, very small. I was always sleepy. And I fit right into Sand’s arms.”

A baby?!, ZaiWin wondered but immediately discarded that possibility. There was no way he would be able to remember all that! Then again, Snow was a Celestial, he conceded, and he immediately made a mental note to ask VinWei²Literally vin (hard) + wei (crystal) about Celestial's ability to remember things the next time he saw her.

As if his thoughts had the power to bend reality according to his will, they had just reached the village's entrance, when they noticed a man and a woman stepping out of the stone tunnel leading down the mountain.

“Are you really sure this is the place?” the woman was asking, sounding doubtful, and the man sighed in exasperation, as if he had heard that same question all too many times.

“I’ve told you I’ve been here before. More than once!” he added and then they both noticed their presence, huge smiles stretching their lips.

The woman was the first to act, running to cross the distance between them, her blond hair braided and tied into a practical bun atop her head, her purplish eyes gleaming when touched by the sun.

“ZaiWin!” she called happily, holding his hands in hers, looking eagerly at him. And then she turned her gaze towards the boy standing beside him. “Snow! It’s so good to see you!” she went on, releasing one of ZaiWin’s hands to hold one of Snow’s. “How have you been? Has this idiot been treating you right? He hasn't bullied you, right?”

ZaiWin grimaced and averted his gaze at that. Bully? No, no bullying. Right out attacking him while he was drunk? Well …

With a shy smile on his face, Snow shook his head.

“That’s good! That’s really good! I was so worried about you!” And she did look genuine, while saying those words.

“Vin, what are you doing here?” ZaiWin asked and she frowned up at him.

“Is that any way to greet a concerned friend?”

“That depends. Does your father know that you left Weiin³ Literally wei (crystal / precious stone) + suffix in (center), meaning the center of the Province of Wei, in other words, Wei’s Capital. All Capitals of all Provinces are named as such. again?”

“You tell her,” ZenTar⁴Literally zen (silent) + tar (wind) intervened with a critical expression on his face.

“You shut it!” she immediately rebuked, flashing an angry glare at him. “Would you even have been able to get here this soon if it weren’t for me?”

ZenTar’s lips twitched but he didn’t utter another word.

“You flew all the way here?” ZaiWin asked, already knowing the answer, and ZenTar awkwardly scratched his head.

“Most of the time.” Which explained VinWei’s words and her sickening pale color.

Flying would consume too much energy, which meant that ZenTar was only able to so across short distances. VinWei, who had at her disposal a much deeper well of energy than him, had probably been sharing her energy, using her crystals to replenish him, much the same way Snow had done with him.

“And so I had to bring her,” ZenTar concluded, as if he had followed his line of thought.

VinWei raised her head proudly.

“Of course I had to come! I was already trying to find a way to reach you, when I received word from Zen, saying that your bond had been broken, that Snow had disappeared and that you had left him to look for him. I am so glad you found him!” She squeezed ZaiWin’s hand, her purplish eyes looking adoringly at him, as if he were her savior. And then she quickly turned to Snow again.

“And you! You shouldn’t scare other people like that!” she chastised him but, in the next moment, she was smiling again. “It’s really good to see you together.” She squeezed both their hands.

“Okay, okay, enough of that! You need to rest. I need to rest,” ZenTar quickly added when she turned to him ready to contest. “There will be plenty of time for all that."

Taking a deep sigh, VinWei turned to Snow with an excited smile on her face, and ended up releasing ZaiWin’s hand to lace her arm with Snow’s.

“Let’s find some place we can rest, then,” she decided and promptly started dragging him towards the village. In the end, nothing could beat her obsession with everything Celestial, ZaiWin sighed. Worried friend indeed!

“What happened?” ZenTar’s grave tone made him wait a few moments before he answered, making sure Snow and VinWei were far enough that they wouldn’t be able to overhear them.

“I followed him all the way to Pon⁵Literally pon (mountain). Where Pon is the name of the Clan, also the name of a Province.. Found him in a cavern …”

“I don’t mean that!” ZenTar cut in, his intense green eyes looking straight at him, the same way he used to glare at him when trying to make him confess some misdeed he was certain he'd committed, back when ZaiWin had been a child. “Of course I want to know all about that. But that’s not what I meant.”

ZaiWin raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that.

“What happened between you two!”

Completely taken aback, ZaiWin opened his mouth to speak but for a moment no words came out.

“What happened between …? What do you mean?” he practically stammered, and ZenTar frowned the same way he used to do, when he would catch him trying to tell him a lie.

“Even a blind man can see that there is something going on between you two!”

“What’s going on …? It’s the same as always. We are stuck together, just like before,” ZaiWin replied, honestly unable to understand where he was trying to get with those questions, and ZenTar leaned closer to him, as if doing so would allow him to better read the truth in his eyes.

“I told you you had changed, before. But now … It’s like you’re a completely different person.”

ZaiWin waved a dismissive hand, a cold smile taking over his face as he turned to follow VinWei and Snow back to the village.

“You’re seeing things. I’m exactly the same. A person can’t change that easily.”

“You are not the same!” ZenTar declared, unwilling to concede. “Nox⁶Literally nox (night). Nox is the name of the Clan (family name), also the name of a Province.? Are you infatuated with that kid?”

It was as if someone had just frozen his feet to the ground. In front of him, Snow and VinWei kept slowly walking away. Where ZaiWin stood was as if a dark hole had just opened beneath his feet. Even his heart had stopped beating for a split second at the sound of those words, before it began slamming loudly against his chest.

“Shit!” he heard ZenTar curse above the raging beat of his own heart. “He’s a freaking kid! A freaking Celestial! Before, I thought you were simply pissed, because he had one-sidedly decided to dump you! He was supposed to be your Celestial and someone had just took him away from you! Of course you had every right to get pissed and to want to take back what is righteously yours! But that is that! And this … this is a completely different pile of crap!”

“Enough …” he mumbled, trying to force his feet to move, but the ice-cold darkness that held him prisoner there wouldn’t let him go.

“Nox! Look at me!”

Warm, calloused hands framed his face, guiding his gaze towards that all too familiar face.

“He’s a freaking Celestial! I know, and you know. Celestials are not made like that. They cannot see the world the same way we do! They cannot feel the same way we do! That kid chose you! And that’s the only reason why he’s staying by your side. And he will probably always be there, looking after you, loyal to you. But that’s all there will ever be!”

“I know!” ZaiWin declared, raising his voice, pushing those familiar hands away, a deep frown marking his forehead. “I know it already! So just cut the crap and let me be!”

In front of him Snow halted for a moment and turned back to look at them, an inquisitive expression on his face. And, as if his pale gaze had the power to chase the darkness away, he was finally released from his prison and allowed to step forward.

“Nox!” ZenTar called him again, rushing to keep up with his wide, angry footsteps.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore, Zen! No matter what you say, or what you may think you’re seeing, I am me! That will never change!”

ZenTar sighed and closed his mouth. That was exactly what he was afraid of.

Silvareiel

Oh, ZenTar is so perceptive ? Well, he does know ZaiWin better than anyone ?At least, like this, he won't be able to stubbornly deny his own feelings anymore. ? All hail the mighty ZenTar! ?