It was nighttime in the Luofu as Jing Yian, Daiyu, and Yanqing were walking, quietly enjoying the peaceful quiet night. "I can't believe I actually beat you in training general! I must be getting real good! Soon, I'll catch up to you!" Yanqing boasted confidently and proud. In training today, he was able to beat his master. Even Jing Yuan was surprised.
Speaking of Jing Yuan, Diayu noticed no response from him and took a glance. He rubbed his head tiredly, and his yellow eyes did look dim. "Jing Yuan? Are you alright? "she asked himself softly, holding his shoulder as her ears lowered. He smiled at her assuringly, holding her hand. She noticed how warm it felt which didn't feel right.
"Yes. I'm fine. Just tired" he assured her, and then he heard Yanqing yawning, stretching his arms. He chuckled at the boy, seeing his child self showing. "Well. I think I'm going to bed" he said, turning to the adults.
"Mmm. Rest well..." Jing Yuan told his student fondly, rubbing his brownish blonde hair. The general then let out a tired yawn, covering his mouth. Daiyu chuckled and Yanqing amusingly, seeing why he was called the Dozing General.
"My apologies. There is still some work to be done, and I can't see you out properly" he told him, not looking forward to it. His energy was really drained but there was so much to do. The two looked at eachother and back at him. The whole day he didn't seem like himself. "Um, general. Don't you think you should rest for tonight? It could wait for a bit" Yanqing suggested as Daiyu nodded in agreement to him. "I won't be out for long. Not with my current mood tonight he assured then tiredly but assuringly.
"I'll come back to check on you, general" Daiyu told him, turning back to the young boy, rubbing his shoulder. "Come on, let's get you to bed" she told him, walking away as the white hair general went the other direction to continue his work. However, he felt his head spinning and it felt hotter too. His vision started to fade to black.
Thump!
The last thing he heard was Yanqing and Daiyu's voices.
"Jing Yuan!!!"
Later...
Jing Yuan's eyes opened, blinking a few times to adjust his vision. He could see what looked like to be a blue ceiling. Turning his face to scan his surroundings, he realize he was in his bedroom. The last thing he remembered was passing out. The general caught a glimpse of brownish blonde hair. His eyes glanced down to find Yanqing, nestled by his side, sound asleep.
It did surprise him, but Jing Yuan smiled fondly at the boy, finding it cute that he stuck by his side. His hand brushed Yanqing's hair. His face tilted down and found something white falling. It was a warm damp towel, resting on his forehead. When his other hand moved to adjust the towel, his yellow eyes caught that he was holding something. A pair of slim brown fingers . Following them, his eyes widen at what he saw.
Daiyu was here, too. Sound asleep with her head on the bed, and chair pulled close. She was holding his hand. Jing Yuan smiled fondly at her. It was touching to see them carefully for him to the extent of staying with him for the night. Despite the amount of the work he had, they still stuck by him, and remained to support him always.
He glanced at his window to know what time it was. It was still dark, but the clock read 3 AM. Sitting up, he yawned tiredly, feeling his energy very drained from the fever. It got to Daiyu's ears perking up, and she lifted her head, slowly waking up.
"Mmm...Jing Yuan?"
His tired yellow eyes went back to her. When he did that, her head lifted up, smiling in relief to see him awake. "Good morning, Daiyu" he croaked as she sat up, stretching her back that was sore from staying in that position for a while. She moved to sit on the bed to feel his forehead again, moving the towel off. She frowned to see he still felt warm.
Jing Yuan glanced down to hide the blush. Hers were so soft when they touched him. He hoped the fever would make it look like the blush was from that. Suddenly, Jing Yuan suddenly felt the towel smack his face hard, snapping him out of his daze. He looked at her surprised, finding the panther beast woman glaring at him upset.
"How long did you know you were sick?" She asked him upset but kept her voice down to avoid waking up Yanqing. Jing Yuan kept his eyes down to avoid her. It was like a mom who caught her son in trouble. "Well....it wasn't bad in the morning..." he said hesitantly, making her eyes widen to hear that.
"Jing Yuan" she told him angrily, crossing her arms, demanding a further explanation for his neglect to his health. He turned his face away from her, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Well, at first, it was just a mild cold. So, I thought it would pass. Heh. A lousy strategy, I'll admit that" he explained to her, genuinely thinking he could pull through
"Why didn't you take the dayoff? Do you have any idea how worried Yanqing was? How worried I was when you collapsed, Jing Yuan?" She asked him, with a look of hurt and her ears down. That look tugged at his heart, making him feeling guilty for causing them such concern. He knew he was sick but thought he could pull through it. But he guessed that working today worsened it.
"My apologies, Daiyu. I didn't mean to worry you. Or Yanqing" he apologized sincerely, glancing at his student fast asleep. He could imagine how upset his prodigy was. She noticed where he was looking at it, and her face soften. While they were master and student, it was always more father and son in her eyes.
"Yanqing refused to leave you. He insisted to spend the night here by your side. So, I stayed too to make sure you didn't wake up and do something reckless" she explained to him, the last part got them both chuckling.
They were met with silence for awhile. Daiyu then realized she still had the towel so she dumped into the bowl to make it wet, squeezing it and putting it back on his head. He lied back down to make it easy for her, smiling gratefully at her. Knowing her more, he felt he could count on her for anything.
"I understand that being general, you have responsibilities. But everyone needs a break once a while. Please, don't hurt yourself just for sake of your duties" she asked him, tenderly running her hand down his warm cheek. Jing Yaun that it the fever made him dream, he didn't want it to end. Her touch was so soft and cold. The coolness of her skin was nice contrast to his hot skin from the fever. He leaned his face into her palm, wanting more of it, and she blushed, uncertain what to do.
"I will take it easy next time. That way I don't pass out again, and cause you and Yanqing some grief" he assured her, smiling softly at her. Daiyu smiled back as she stood up. "I will head to my room so you can sleep easily" she told him, removing her hand away from his face. But Jing Yuan gently caught her hand, making her stop.
She turned her head around to look back at him. To her confusion, Jing Yuan moved himself and Yanqing gently to the other side of the bed, leaving some room. "You're already here, Daiyu. You might as well spend the night here" he suggested to her, his fingers hooked beneath her slim ones.
The panther blushed pink at that suggestion, her ears flat. "Jing Yuan...if you..." she was about to warn him but he understood her concern. "Don't worry. I would never do anything without your permission. Besides, Yanqing's here and I don't have the energy to do anything right now" he assured her, rubbing her thumb across her knuckles to ease her.
It did get her nervous but at the same time, he had a point. Plus, her energy was drain too from sleeping on a chair and waking up too early. Thinking about it, she lied down next to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Her tail curled up to her legs, glancing up at him to find him smiling at her. Daiyu glanced away, shyly.
Her ears tilted at his soft chuckling before he softly hummed, and let his head lean on hers. "Daiyu...." he whispered, making her glance up. Her eyes sparkled at him, making him smile. They were beautiful to him. "Thank you" he told her, grateful for her care as he fell asleep. Daiyu smiled warmly, glad to see him rest as she fell asleep comfortably. Tomorrow, she and Yanqing would make sure Jing Yuan got a proper dayoff.
