The Storyteller

A Story of their own

Her shadow moved about the cave quietly as Mo Yuan remained stretched out on the pallet resting which was something he would never have dreamed of doing in his other life.  He felt incredicbly lazy, just lying there while she did all the work only the one time he had risen to assist her with the water at least, then she threw a fit and demanded he return to bed before severely angering at him for wasting his precious energy.

It seemed she had taken Di Juns order that he should rest to heart.  That had been four days ago and though she had informed him that the mist was definitely lightening in density, they still had a way to go yet and the suggestion that he had rested enough and should be out there helping to get it gone quicker, had her growling him all over again before throwing her arms about his shouders to apologize for being so grumpy.

"Why are you you grumpy?" he asked trying to gain a little understanding as to what had changed.  She had been out overnight again to gather the supplies that her friend had brought with him, so he really didn't understand.  If anything, she should have been grumpy all those days they had no food.

"I guess its just the unknown." she replied quietly.

"I don't understand." he replied frowning.

"I mean.  Di Jun has a reputation for being an ice face, a closed and unapproachable ice face, everyone knows this." she began tentatively.   "But there's something unusual about the amount of effort he is putting into saving you.  It almost seems as if he is hellbent on getting his hands on you." she said softly and not really sure how else to explain what it was she was feeling.

"Did he say something?" Mo Yuan asked knowing he couldn't have, because Di Jun, as she so eloquently put it, was an ice face, he did not speak about anything unless it pertained to you directly.

"No.  He hasn't said much to me at all, other than to enquire about your health and if you are still resting.  But I can feel it Shibing.  He is up to something, I know he is." she stated flatly before quietly sitting down beside him and gathering his hand into her own.  "Are you in trouble Shibing?  Is that why he seems a little angry, because I can definitely feel something of the sort coming from him." she tried to make him understand without giving away the fact that she had a gift for reading aura which was not a common gift, not to the extent that she could which was aided by her High Goddess energy.

Saying nothing for a while as she waited quietly for him to speak, Mo Yuan really didn't know what to say to her.  He most certainly was in trouble, but in all the time they had been there, he had purposely not given it much thought.  Dwelling on it would have only made his predicament that much harder to cope with, only now, the time drew closer to leaving and facing the outside world again,  and his thoughts immediately went to Haode, Di Jun and Lord Pua who would absolutely hold him accountable for the deaths of so many lives.

There would be a trial of course, and he would have to account for every vital decision he had made in the last few days of the war.  He would also have to explain why he had not considered a temporary truce, which was something Qing Cang had sought many times over the years, in fact, most wars saw temporary truces called so each side could strengthen their defences, it was actually common sense.  There was no dishonour in calling for a temporary truce, because it meant both sides could deal with their dead while also using the time to asess their positions.  This was actually a righteous move and though he had considered it, his refusal to do so had cost them all.

But he could not tell her any of this, mainly because deep down, he did not want to lose her friendship.  The weeks he had spent in her company had seen their souls unite in a way that not even a life time of marriage could achieve.  There was something very deep and meaningful about his friendship with this woman that he would most likely never find again.  And what he also realized at that moment, was these kinds of friendships were always born out of trauma and dislocation of the spirit, so usually wars,  but the thought of losing her respect and what he considered to be a deep soul binding friendship, was too much to bear and so he couldn't hlep but reach out towards the shadow that was sitting directly in front of him and pulling her into his arms.