Elements of Emotion

Chapter 25: Dearest

A couple of days had passed since the group's arrival to Zinnia's home. Evelyn had returned with a doctor from the Eternal Forest, who had announced that Zephyr's leg was broken in two different places. He was able to place it in a cast, with instructions to stay off of it, before returning to the forest. Thankfully spirits healed quickly, and they wouldn't have to stay waiting for too long.

Caelian hadn't left Zephyr's side. He was worried for him, and felt like something bad would happen if he left him for too long.

Zephyr was gently applying ointment and wrapping Caelian's burn marks. He didn't have enough energy to use healing magic, or else he would have. Caelian had to mostly undress so that Zephyr could get to the ones on his legs. Thankfully, Caelian felt comfortable enough around him to not mind.

"Shouldn't you do yours first?" Caelian asked as he slathered ointment onto a burn on his thigh.

"I did them this morning while you were still asleep," Zephyr said. Seeing the look he gave him, he said, "I'm fine, stop worrying so much."

"Let me do it next time," he whined. "You're more hurt than I am. I should be taking care of you, not the other way around."

"It's fine," Zephyr said. He wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed pampering him. "I'm a water spirit, I heal quicker than you do."

"Yeah, but—"

"No buts," Zephyr said as he picked up the roll of bandages and began to gently wrap them around Caelian's leg. "You should go see what Damien and Ev are up to when I'm done. You've been stuck in this room with me for two days now."

"But I don't want to leave you," Caelian said.

"I know, but I'll be fine, I promise. You've been pacing non-stop, I can tell you're bored. Just go out and do something, I'll still be here when you come back."

"Are you sure?" Caelian asked as Zephyr tied off the bandages.

"Well, it's not like I can walk right now," Zephyr laughed. "It's fine, I promise, Caelian."

"Okay..." Caelian said as he stood up and gently tugged his pants back on. He winced as they slid over his burns. He fixed his shirt as he decided he'd stay without his shoes. His socks padded across the floor, as he walked over to the door. He turned and looked at Zephyr, who gave him a reassuring smile. Finally, Caelian stepped out of the room.

Zephyr couldn't help but look after him wistfully. He let out a sigh. More and more he wanted to tell Caelian about his feelings for him. He wished Evelyn didn't encourage him. It was funny. At first he wasn't sure if he'd really like Caelian. Nothing more but thinking he was cute, if not a little rude. But as he got more of his personality back, he fell for him. Hard.

Zephyr snuggled up into the blankets, being mindful of his broken leg. Even though he wanted to, he knew neither of them were ready for it. He'd have to keep it to himself for now, as much as it hurt him.

The only times Caelian had left the room was when he needed to use the restroom. He hadn't actually explored any of the house yet. It seemed to be of decent size, and had two stories. Caelian had figured that out when he looked out the window. They were on the second floor. The floor and walls were a smooth dark oak. Caelian ran his fingers along the wall as he walked down the hallway, the floor underneath him squeaking with each step. Hearing a sneeze, Caelian looked inside of an open door.

Inside he saw Damien sitting on the floor rubbing at their nose, surrounded by a mountain of books, which were then surrounded by numerous bookshelves.

"Oh, wow. It's almost like a library," Caelian said as he stepped into the room. Damien looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"So you finally decided to leave your room, huh?" They asked. "But yes, she seems to have amassed quite the collection."