The night air cut like an icy blade, whistling through the gaunt trees of the Veridian forest with a hiss that seemed to mock anything alive. Dry leaves crunched under Kaili's boots, a steady, rhythmic sound filling the silence as she marched forward with a firm stride, her iridescent wings folded against her back, buzzing faintly like an echo of her past fury. In her arms, Sebastián hung like a poorly packed sack of roots, his bruised and heavy body limp, his head resting against her shoulder with a weight she pretended to find annoying. Dried blood stained his clothes, a sticky reminder of the massacre at the clearing, and his breathing was a weak rasp that slipped between the crackling of branches and the hoot of some night bird too bold to shut up.
"Damn gardener, you weigh more than you're worth," Kaili thought, shifting him in her arms with a low growl rumbling in her throat. Her runes glowed with a faint silver shimmer, barely lighting the path between twisted trunks, and the air smelled of damp moss and burnt pine, mingling with the ferrous tang of his blood. "A hundred years pounding him into shape, and he still manages to get himself into messes. If he weren't so busted up, I'd leave him here for the wolves to adopt." But she didn't. Her steps were steady, resolute, carrying him toward some place she knew would be safe, though she'd never admit it out loud. The forest gradually opened up, bare branches giving way to a clearing where moonlight spilled like liquid silver, reflecting off a small but deep lake, its crystal-clear waters trembling with every gust of wind.
Kaili reached the shore and dropped him—not exactly gently—onto a large rock covered in soft, green moss that cushioned the fall with a wet thud. Sebastián groaned, a hoarse sound escaping his chest like someone stepping on an old bellows, and his eyes cracked open, blinking against the silver light hitting his face.
—"For the love of… What the hell, Kaili?" —he muttered, his voice scratchy and weak, but with a hint of complaint that almost sounded alive—. "Couldn't you drop me on something less hard? My soul hurts."
She shot him a sidelong glance, crossing her arms with a creak of her liquid obsidian armor, which dripped shadows like it was sweating darkness.
—"Shut it, gardener," —she snapped, her tone gruff but edged with a playfulness she couldn't quite hide—. "I carried you here in my arms like some princess, and you still complain. If you want a feather bed, go find yourself a palace, not my forest."
Sebastián tried to laugh, but the sound twisted into a groan as the motion tugged at his broken ribs. He pressed a hand to his chest, breathing through his teeth, and looked up at her, his brown eyes glinting with a tiredness that didn't dim his stubborn spark.
—"Princess, huh?" —he said, forcing a crooked smile that came out more like a grimace—. "Then you'd be the grumpiest queen in the kingdom. But thanks for not leaving me as crow food."
Kaili snorted, a sound halfway between a huff and a stifled laugh, and knelt beside him with a crunch of boots against the damp earth. Her wings buzzed for a moment, sending a cold gust that rippled the lake's surface, and she stretched a hand over him, her long, purple fingers glowing with a dark shimmer that seemed to suck the light around it.
—"Don't thank me yet, gardener," —she said, her voice sharp but tinged with amusement—. "If my bugs don't stitch you up right, I'll kick you into the lake to drown and stop hearing you whine."
Before he could reply, dark energy flowed from her palm like a thread of living shadows, twisting in the air as if it had a mind of its own. The threads condensed into tiny black insects, no bigger than ants, but with sharp legs and bodies that gleamed with miniature silver runes, like fragments of her own essence. They buzzed with a high-pitched, annoying hum and swarmed over Sebastián's wounds like a hungry horde, crawling across his skin with a tickle that made him flinch.
—"Ow, damn it!" —he yelped, half groaning, half laughing as the bugs dug into the cuts on his shoulder and side—. "What the hell, Kaili? Don't your bugs know how to sew straight? This hurts worse than that brute's hammer!"
She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a crooked smile that flashed a sharp fang.
—"Whine more, gardener, and I'll tell them to sting you from the inside," —she shot back, leaning a bit closer, her black eyes locking onto his with a mix of mockery and curiosity—. "They're my best seamstresses, so thank them for not leaving you as a sieve."
Sebastián grunted, squirming against the rock as the insects stitched his wounds with shadow threads that burned and sewed at once. Dried blood flaked off in bits, falling to the moss with a soft plop, and the cuts slowly sealed, leaving dark lines that looked like crooked tattoos. He took a deep breath, the pain easing bit by bit, and between one groan and another, he looked up at her, his smile creeping back like a stubborn mutt that didn't know when to quit.
—"You know, Kaili," —he said, his voice shaky but laced with humor—, "I passed out back at the clearing, but before that… your backside gave me luck again. Didn't die, see? You should let me touch it more often."
Kaili blinked, her runes flaring with a brief silver glint, and then let out a low chuckle, a sound that echoed across the clearing like icy bells but warm in its own way.
—"By all the abyss, gardener," —she said, rolling her eyes with theatrical flair—. "I missed that mouth of yours. Stay alive just so I can kick you for being a loudmouth, not because your hands are lucky."
He laughed, a hoarse sound that broke into a groan as an especially eager bug jabbed his arm. He clutched his shoulder, rubbing it with a grimace, and looked at her with those brown eyes that seemed to shine brighter under the moon.
—"Hey, for real," —he said, his tone dropping to something softer, though still playful—. "I came to for a second back there, right when you showed up. And damn, Kaili, you're incredible. All that fire, ice, and blood, and you swoop in like you own the world. You saved my skin again."
She stared at him, her smile twisting into something more complex, a blend of mockery and something she didn't want to name. Before she could answer, he reached out a shaky hand, his calloused fingers brushing hers with an audacity she knew all too well. He took her hand gently, lifting it to his lips, and planted a soft kiss on her purple knuckles, a warm, stubborn touch that left an invisible mark on her skin.
—"Thanks, my grumpy one," —he murmured, his voice raspy but earnest, looking up at her with that spark that always made her want to kick him or laugh, or both at once.
Kaili froze, her wings buzzing for a split second as if they might betray her calm. She didn't pull her hand away, not this time. Her black eyes narrowed, but not with anger—more with a confusion that slipped into her mind like a cold current. "What the hell's this idiot doing now?" she thought, feeling the warmth of his lips lingering on her skin. Her free hand moved almost on its own, sliding to his face, and with a touch too soft—too careful for what she was—she brushed a sweaty lock of hair off his forehead, letting it fall aside with a gentleness she didn't understand.
—"You're an insufferable stubborn ass, gardener," —she said, her voice sharp but with a warm edge that slipped out unbidden—. "Stop doing weird stuff before I stitch your mouth shut with my bugs."
He grinned, a wide, tired smile that crinkled his eyes, and squeezed her hand a little tighter, like he wanted to etch the moment into his skin.
—"Admit it, Kaili," —he said, his tone playful but with a hint of truth—. "You like me being stubborn. If not, you'd have tossed me in the lake for running my mouth by now. And hey, those bugs of yours… can't they sew a bit faster? Feels like they're knitting me a blanket."
She snorted, yanking her hand free with a quick but not harsh tug, and leaned closer, her black hair falling like a curtain that brushed the moss beside him.
—"My bugs sew better than you with your pathetic plants, gardener," —she shot back, flicking his forehead with a finger, leaving a tiny black smudge that made him frown—. "And if I toss you in the lake, it's because your whining's giving me a headache. Hold still a bit, they're almost done."
Sebastián groaned, eyeing the bugs buzzing over his chest, stitching the wounds with shadow threads that burned like cold embers. One darted into a cut near his ribs, and he jolted, letting out a yelp that came out more like a squeak.
—"Ow, damn it, Kaili!" —he exclaimed, half laughing through the pain—. "Can't you send them a memo? Sew gentle, not stab me! What's next, you slap wings on me like yours?"
She laughed, a short but genuine burst that sent a soft ripple across the lake's surface.
—"Wings for you, gardener?" —she said, raising an eyebrow with a crooked grin—. "You wouldn't last a second flying. You'd crash into the first tree, and I'd have to pick you up again. Stick to your roots—it's the only thing you can handle."
He looked at her, still grinning, and leaned back against the rock, the moss crunching under his weight. The bugs finished their work, buzzing a final chorus before dissolving into wisps of shadow that faded into the air, leaving his skin marked with dark lines that looked like living scars. The pain ebbed, replaced by a heavy but bearable exhaustion, and he took a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs with a sting that didn't kill him anymore.
—"You know, Kaili," —he said, his voice lower, almost a murmur, as he watched her under the moonlight—. "You're a walking disaster, but… damn, I'm glad you're here. I don't know how you do it, but you always show up when I'm about to turn into fertilizer."
She went quiet for a second, her wings buzzing again, softer this time, like a purr she wouldn't own up to. Her fingers tapped against her knee, a nervous tic, and then she leaned toward him, her face so close he could smell the metallic, sweet scent of her armor.
—"Shut up, gardener," —she said, but her tone was gentler, almost a playful growl—. "I show up because you're a magnet for trouble. Someone's got to save your hide, and it looks like I drew the short straw. Don't get any weird ideas."
He laughed, a hoarse but warm sound that filled the clearing, and reached for her hand again, brushing it with that familiar audacity.
—"Weird ideas, huh?" —he said, winking at her with a tired smile—. "I say you like me a little, grumpy one. Otherwise, you wouldn't have carried me like a princess or patched me up with your crazy bugs. Admit it, I'm your favorite gardener."
She huffed, pulling her hand away with a quick motion, but her fingers lingered on his for a beat, as if reluctant to let go completely.
—"Favorite, says the idiot," —she retorted, rolling her eyes again—. "You're the only gardener I've got, and that's not a compliment. Keep talking, and I'll bury you right here, moss and all."
He laughed again, but this time it faded into a sigh, his eyes closing for a moment as exhaustion caught up with him. She watched him, her runes flaring with a silver glint that lit the moss around them, and for a second, her fingers drifted back to his face, brushing another lock of hair aside with a touch too soft, too careful for someone like her. "What the hell's wrong with me around this stubborn fool?" she thought, frowning as her hand hovered in the air, trembling slightly before dropping.
—"Rest, gardener," —she said at last, her voice sharp but with a warmth that slipped through uninvited—. "My bugs did their job, so don't make me stitch your mouth shut for spouting more nonsense. Stay put for a bit—I need… air."
Sebastián cracked one eye open, looking at her with a weak but mischievous grin.
—"Air, huh?" —he murmured, his voice raspy but brimming with humor—. "Come back soon, grumpy one. I get bored without you to rile up."
She let out a huff, standing with a creak of her armor, and gave him one last flick on the forehead, softer this time, like a disguised goodbye.
—"Stay alive, gardener, or I'll drag you back from the other side just to thrash you," —she said, her tone sarcastic but with a spark of amusement that echoed in the clearing—. "And don't touch anything—I'm not saving you again today."
She turned, her boots splashing at the lake's edge as she walked toward the water, the hum of her wings rising like a low song that made the crystal surface tremble. Moonlight glinted off her armor, painting dancing shadows on the water, and she stopped at the shore, staring at the reflection of the sky and stars as if they held answers she didn't want to find. Her hands clenched into fists, her runes flaring with a brief silver flash, and her mind spun in a whirlwind she couldn't grasp. "This stubborn idiot… Why do I keep listening to him? Why didn't I just toss him in the lake and be done with it?" she thought, her cold breath cutting the air as the water lapped at her boots. The forest fell silent, broken only by the distant crack of branches and Sebastián's soft, steady breathing behind her, and Kaili stood there, lost in the reflection, caught between the fury still smoldering inside her and a warmth she didn't know how to name.