Asuren was still leaning on a tree and looking at the clear blue sky when Thea returned to the backyard.
"Here. My peace offering," Thea had given Asuren one of the two mugs she was holding. "That is safe to drink. If you want, I can take a sip from that mug."
Asuren took a sip and his eyes widened with delight. "This is… delicious…"
"I can't cook well," Thea confessed with a smile. "But I can always make a delicious chocolate drink."
"Thank you," Asuren sipped more from the mug and then carefully put it down on the grass-covered ground. "This is my peace offering," he pulled something from the pocket of his pants and covered it well with his tightly closed fist.
Thea reached out her palm and Asuren dropped a tiny sculpture of a chrysanthemum flower.
"I know you hate the flower but it still helped with your recovery," Asuren carefully explained. "I hope that token will always remind you to keep yourself safe."
Thea smiled and told him, "This token will always remind me of our first meeting."
"I hope not. I look pitiful back then. I always do when we see each other," Asuren looked away, embarrassed.
Thea beamed wider and magically hid the token within her palm, where it would never get lost. None of them said another word. They just leaned on the same tree and stared at the clear blue sky in silence.
^#############^
Thea jolted awake when she heard someone screaming. For a moment, she thought that she was having a nightmare, but she heard it again.
"Gia!!! Help me!!!"
It was coming from the backyard, where she should be sitting. She had no idea when and how she got inside the house and in that bed. She could not ask anyone because she was the only one left in there.
"GIA!!!" The voice shrieking from the backyard seemed familiar.
Thea hurried outside the house. Asuren was there, pointing a wind blade at someone lying terrified on the grass-covered ground.
"Wait!" Thea grabbed Asuren and pulled him away from the terrified stranger. "I don't think he is dangerous."
"Is this strange mortal your friend?" Asuren lowered his wind blade but kept his vigilant glare at the stranger.
"I helped you get out of that prison cell! I mean no harm! Why are you pointing your blade at me?" the stranger looked dejected instead of mad.
"Why are you always appearing in front of me?" Asuren was still suspicious of the extraordinary mortal.
"I…"
"Henry Riverstream?" Thea asked and the stranger nodded with a wide smile. "Gia told me that you are a disciple of our deceased mortal friend."
"Master Henry Riverstream adopted me twenty years ago. He had given me the same name because, according to him, our souls are alike and his name will be useful to me in the future. And just a year ago, I was coming back and forth from Fairy Realm to Mortal Realm. I honestly cannot control this ability. I don't even know why this is suddenly happening to me. But I've got to meet Gia, Riz, and Sel. We became friends and they told me things that my master never mentioned to me, that he can also travel like this."
"Your master suddenly stopped visiting us. I thought it was because he got married and built a family."
"Master and I only had each other. He took me in when I was a baby. He said I was abandoned near a riverbank. We spent almost two decades together and he taught me a lot about medicine but not about this ability. After he passed away, I became the owner of his pharmacy," there was sorrow in his eyes when he added, "I know a lot about medicine but I still failed to cure him."
"He was old," Thea told him. "He lived his life at his fullest."
"You must be Thea. I heard that you recuperated inside a chrysanthemum bud."
"I got out a few days ago," Thea helped him up on his feet. "One day I will visit your Master's grave. The technique he told me had helped save a life."
"Master will be happy. His grave is at the backyard of our pharmacy. Once I learn how to control my transporting ability, I will take you there."
"Thank you," Thea smiled then glanced at Asuren. "This mortal is a disciple of our friend. We can trust him."
"You are friends with mortals?" Asuren was told that they were evil creatures.
"Not all of them are bad," Thea seemed to have read his mind.
"You've got yourself cursed again," Henry stepped closer to Asuren with those silver eyes. "Hmmm…" his brows had furrowed.
"What?" Asuren stepped away from the unnerving mortal.
"Nothing," Henry looked away and opened the back door. His eyes returned to brown. "I'm hungry. I'll use Gia's kitchen for a moment. I'll see you later," he waved a hand before dashing inside the house.
"How did you become friends with such a strange mortal?" Asuren curiously asked.
"Henry's Master fell from the sky and plunged into the balcony of my room," Thea beamed reminiscently. "Just like what happened to his disciple. They had this ability to travel through those slits. They can also diagnose patients just by looking at them with those silver eyes."
"Are you sure he cannot control such a useful ability?"
"His Master eventually got the hang of it after a year of magically transporting between the Fairy Realm and the Mortal Realm. I don't think he ever learned the reason behind it or the ways of controlling it. If he did, he would certainly share it to his disciple," Thea looked reminiscently at the clear blue sky. "He lived his life at its fullest," she muttered and then sighed. "Where are our friends? Why are we the only ones left here?"
"Ayhan and Riz are searching at the south. Juliann and Gia are examining the forests at the west. Calix and Sel are at the eastern region. They don't want to wake you up. They said that we can search the northern region once you are ready."
"I am ready," Thea touched her stomach. "But we should eat first. I will ask Henry to cook more food for us."
"I can cook," Asuren said and he was probably worried about poison.
"He is a healer," Thea reminded him. "He already helped you twice, right? You can trust him. He will not poison you. But if you are still anxious, we can watch him cook."
"I'll just… wait here…" Asuren was still anxious but he chose to trust more.
"I'll call you when the food is ready," Thea smiled and hurried back to the house.
^########^