Under the Whitethorn Tree

18. Free spirits in love

One year later 

"You can squeeze the bottle'' Tay says. He is wreaking havoc as usual in New's chamber demanding to be included in whatever New is doing. Some things never change despite the passage of time. 

"No. Just shake the bottle'' New counters. "It doesn't matter, does it? What matters is that we empty the bottle of its contents either way. So why bother about how we do it?'' 

"We have to do it elegantly. ELE …GAN...TLY '' Tay spells the word with a lot of emphasis. 

"Oh to hear that word coming from you… it sounds really odd.'' New mocks. 

"Only you two can argue about something petty as this.'' Gun interrupts the petty argument of his friends. 

"Through an argument we reach an understanding………...so I don't consider myself at a disadvantage here. " Tay offers to answer and Gun obviously knows what kind of advantage Tay gets by arguing with New. 

Gun completely ignores Tay's presence and beams at New. 
"I heard you have exactly what I was looking for.''

"Yes''  New offers him a little bottle. "So with this you'll feel completely like a human. No traces of fairy at all. No side effects. Specially made for you.'' New adds with a wink. 

"Thank you so much.'' Gun clutches the bottle and hugs New tightly. 

"We all need to thank Off. If he didn't help me with my experiments before he left, I wouldn't have been able to come up with this potion.'' New says still holding Gun. 

"Yeah but without you, nothing would be possible. You have all the credit for that.'' Gun says with all sincerity. 

"New saves the day. Yay..'' Tay cheers from the corner.  

．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．

On one fine summer day he threw himself into adventure foraging a new path solely for himself and met Off. This is yet another summer day. 
Gun treads the path of the woodland that is not at all novel to him, drifting through all those beautiful memories and his heart is pounding with anticipation at meeting Off after a year of separation.  

He doesn't regret the choice they took, the compromise he was willing to make, only for the sake of Off's safety. Off had initially protested against his suggestion under that whitethorn tree, not willing to be separated even for a moment after all that they had been put through. It took him a while to convince his Protector but he eventually did, soothing his tensed lover with kisses and promising him that they'll meet again after a year no matter what.   

To think back to that day, he has done what he had vowed he would never do in any lifetime- to let go of his Off. 
 New and Tay stood by his side comforting him saying that he was brave and courageous. But in fact he knows he was very very scared, scared of what those hunters would do to Off. No matter how strong Off was or how clever he can be, a malicious grudge that is held on by others is far more powerful and dangerous than any weapon. He couldn't lose Off so he suggested that he went into hiding as long as he could,  until hunters got weary of searching for Off. And if luck be on his side, they'll completely forget about Off. 

On the other hand fairies lost faith in their system, having some Elders decide all for them. Now they act with caution, they act responsibly not trying to burden another for what they want for themselves. It took them a while with New's experiments finally starting to show signs of success. Now they can go out without fear because they can literally be invisible. Mika is enjoying this very much now and Gun finds it hearty to listen to her stories about pranking innocent by-passers in the woods with this new ability. Fairies are so savage. He finds himself thinking at times.