FeiWan felt sleepy. He felt annoyingly weak and sleepy.
Well, that was to be expected, said a small voice inside his head. How much energy had he spent? He hadn’t the slightest idea. No other solution. He had to get some sleep, preferably throughout an entire day. He would be fine once he woke up.
It had been many years since he’d felt this spent. And he had the feeling that CalRimRan needed a lot more energy, if only he had any more to spare. Now he definitely needed a good rest. Maybe once he recovered, he could give him some more again.
Something comfortably warm covered his head, and FeiWan sighed, relaxing into that comforting touch. It had been a long time since he’d felt this way. Like someone was trying to protect him, but not because of who he was or on account of the title he held. An honest desire to protect him, born of something as simple as caring. It brought him memories he didn’t want to remember. It reminded him of NimTar’s gentle touch, of her warm, loving smile. And it made him feel cherished and sad at the same time.
Unfortunately, that warmth didn’t last for long and, soon enough it was gone. And FeiWan couldn’t help feeling strangely cold, even though he had been perfectly fine until just a moment ago.
Instead, a large hand grabbed his arm, making him straighten his back. He immediately frowned at that. He wanted to sleep! And who in their right mind dared disturb him like this? He hated having his well-deserved rest interrupted in such an intrusive way! He would burn them all to a crisp if they didn’t release him right away! But, it just wasn’t to be. Instead of releasing him, more hands seemed to grab him, pulling him left and right.
“Let … go …” he managed to mumble, his eyelids so heavy that he couldn’t pry them open even if his life depended on it.
No one answered. They didn’t let him go, either. The next thing he knew he was unquestionably being lifted. Lifted!, his mind repeated in indignation! No one had dared pick him up like this since he had been old enough to learn how to walk! He was an Imperial El’Gin! His body could not be handle like this just by anyone! Much less without his permission! But then … well, the feeling wasn’t completely uncomfortable, he had to admit. At least they had stopped pulling and pushing him left and right. And the surface he was now leaning into was, although a bit hard, was actually pleasantly warm, making for an acceptable pillow. Maybe now he would finally be able to get some well-deserved sleep, he hoped, already burrowing into his new pillow, searching for a comfortable position.
It felt as if he was floating, FeiWan sighed. Floating in a warm ocean of tranquil waters, somewhere safe, away from everyone and anything that might want to harm him. Eventually, he did fall asleep. He even dreamed.
In his dreams, he was on a tropical beach, even though he had never been to one before and had only seen the illustrations in the books he had been forced to study from. The sun felt pleasant and warm against his skin. The air smelled sweet, as if a field of wildflowers was blooming somewhere nearby. And the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the golden sand was soothing and relaxing.
The next thing he knew something was pulling his foot, and he couldn’t help frowning, annoyed with this new disturbance. He wanted to complain, to threaten them all with a violent, ugly death! But the only sounds that managed to leave his throat were a couple of unintelligible grunts.
But then, whatever had been constricting his foot was gone, and the feeling of sudden release was so pleasant that he didn’t mind as much when they started tugging at his other foot.
Once both his feet were blessedly free, something soft and warm covered his entire body, leaving a relaxed sigh on his lips.
Now, this was much better. Not that he had been cold, before. His body temperature was naturally so unusually high that he rarely felt truly cold. But he still felt a lot more comfortable now. He also felt as if he could finally sleep, he sighed, allowing his body to sink into the soft surface beneath him.
That warm touch returned, this time to comb away the stubborn locks of hair that had fallen across his forehead. He didn’t mind it. It was actually very comforting and soothing. It also lulled him to sleep even faster.
He had the feeling that his face was slowly and delicately being washed by small droplets of warm water, the sensation of them sliding across his skin leaving a sigh of contentment on his lips. Eyebrows, cheekbones, nose, jawline, even his neck, which kind of made him shiver a bit. Still, it felt good, he breathed. And then something a lot warmer covered his lips, making him mumble a smothered protest.
What the … How was he supposed to breathe like this? Of course, his nose was still free. But, somehow, it wasn’t easy to … conciliate things. Much less so when something extremely hot invaded his mouth.
It was almost as if he had taken a bite of a recently baked pastry, and it was bigger than he could chew. And so he had no other choice but to open his mouth and try to make space for it.
Strangely enough, whatever he had been fed, albeit hot, wasn’t sweet at all. It wasn’t savory either. It was, however, so hot that FeiWan feared it might actually burn him. And it did taste surprisingly good, he considered, trying to carefully lick it so he could get a better taste of it. Oddly enough, whatever was filling his mouth moved in response, almost like a living thing with a mind of its own. Feeling some strange thing move inside his mouth did scare him a bit, at first. But then … the more it moved the better it tasted, so much so that he could feel his heart beating faster inside his chest, hot excitement coursing through his veins.
Opening his eyes with a startle, FeiWan sat up on the bed, his heart beating furiously against his chest. His gasping breath filled the air around him, and the warm tingling sensation that had remained on his lips made him press the back of his hand against his own mouth.
What the …! What kind of dream was that?! And yet he couldn’t stop himself from blushing, when the memory of that wonderful sensation came back to him.
Shit! He definitely needed to pull himself together, he severely reprimanded himself. And where was he, anyway?, he wondered, looking around, easily recognizing the plain, white bedroom he had decided to occupy during his stay at the White Pavilion.
Recognizing the world around him allowed him to finally calm down a bit, his gaze falling over the soft white blanket covering him.
The last thing he remembered … Oh, right! He had been transferring some of his energy to CalRimRan!, he recalled, pulling the blanket away and swinging his legs out of bed.
Barefoot, he immediately realized, flexing his toes as if to make sure. It didn’t take him long to find his boots resting on the floor, tidily placed side by side, by the bed.
So, he hadn’t dreamed that, he considered, trying to keep his cool as he put on his boots. To exhausted, he must have fallen asleep. In the meanwhile, CalRimRan must have woken up. He must have carried him all the way back to his bedroom, or called one of FeiWan’s servants to do it.
Even though it was a thousand times more embarrassing, he was more inclined to believe that CalRimRan had carried him himself, since the stubborn man would most definitely prefer to deal with his problems himself. Besides, calling someone to carry him meant having to explain what had happened to leave FeiWan in such a pitiful state in the first place. And FeiWan was more than sure that that was something CalRimRan would want to avoid at all costs.
So it had to have been him, he decided, already making his way to the door. Which, on the other hand, meant CalRimRan had recovered enough, not only to be walking around again, but also to carry an adult man like FeiWan all the way to his bedroom.
So, he was alright!, he concluded, unable to stop himself from walking down the corridor in a much quicker pace than necessary. He hadn’t died, like FeiWan had feared! Even so, only when he was actually able to see him, sitting on one of those pillows in another of his deep meditations, was FeiWan finally able to relax.
Language:
[1] . FeiWan: Literally fei (raging / furious) + wan (fire)
[2] . CalRimRan: Literally cal (bright) + rim (cold) + ran (moon)
The feels are here ~