Moth and Moon

Persimmon

San Lang’s and Xie Lian's wounds healed quickly, and San Lang began helping around the house again. Xie Lian did his best to sew holes in some of his garments for San Lang’s wings to go through, and although his handiwork was far from perfect, it did its job. In his true form with his newly-adjusted robes and gifted hairpin glittering in his hair, he was quite the sight to behold. Xie Lian often found himself caught off-guard, glimpsing San Lang’s wings out of the corner of his eye- it had been a very long time since he’d been around another fairy, afterall. 

The long winter began to show signs of lifting, and the snow in the forest started to melt. With this came Xie Lian having to try and explain why there was a deceased elderly man in the garden. It was clear that something needed to be done about the body now that the snow was gone, and they spoke about going into the village to try and find the man’s family. 

When San Lang heard that Bai Wuxiang's human puppet had been able to enter the cottage to intimidate Xie Lian, his expression darkened and he folded his arms. 

“Ah, San Lang! It’s okay, I had the situation completely under control.” 

San Lang’s arms stayed folded, expression stormy. “Of course Gege is strong and can take care of himself, but that thing shouldn’t have been able to get in in the first place.” 

Xie Lian laughed awkwardly. “You see, because I don’t have my magic anymore, I’ve been using the mushroom ring for protection.” It wasn’t ideal, because anything with strong enough magic could easily overpower the barrier and waltz in. (San Lang, for example.) That thought gave him an idea. “San Lang, you have magic, right? Do you think you could cast a protection spell?” Before San Lang had a chance to reply, Xie Lian waved his hands. “If it’s not too much trouble.” 

When he heard those words, the smile on San Lang’s face fell. He looked down, but not before Xie Lian could miss the pain shining in his eye. San Lang gently kicked at the moss carpet. 

“What’s wrong?” Xie Lian asked. 

“Ah, well… Gege, doesn’t the owner of the home have to perform the spell? Otherwise I would have done one a long time ago.” 

How could Xie Lian have forgotten that? He used to be proficient at magic, casting spells without a second thought, and now he couldn’t even remember the basics. It had been so many years since he’d lost his magic... They were stuck in a predicament now; if only San Lang could somehow let him borrow some of his magic… Ordinarily, a simple touch was enough to transfer magic from one person to another, however, Xie Lian feared that the instant magic flooded his system, his iron shackles would snuff it out. He would need a constant stream of magic to perform the spell, but how? He glanced over at San Lang, and everything suddenly came together in his mind. The only problem was that he had to work up the courage to ask him...

Xie Lian shyly held out his hand. 

“Can you hold my hand?” he asked. San Lang blinked in surprise.“If you lend me some magic, then I might be able to get the spell to work,” Xie Lian quickly elaborated. “I’ll pay you back later.” Both of them knew, of course, that this was impossible. How could he return the magic when he didn’t have any of his own? 

Xie Lian prepared himself for a rejection. His hands were probably so dirty, San Lang wouldn't want to touch them. He tried to surreptitiously wipe his hand on his robes, but San Lang reached out and took his hand. 

“Alright,” San Lang said softly. His skin was warm, and his hand seemed larger than it had been in his human form. San Lang’s silver fairy glow grew brighter where their hands were touching, and Xie Lian could feel the magic flowing into him. The magic was a steady drip at first, but quickly became so strong that it was almost too much to bear. It was like a dried-up riverbed that had been empty for many years was suddenly flooded with water, the waves crashing and flowing through his long-empty magical pathways.