For Peace

1. The Morden Mountains

Seonghwa shivered in the night, even when the temperatures weren't as biting anymore as two weeks ago. The pain in his heart was like a tug on a string, insistent and not yet violent, but noticeable. If he didn't dread Mingi's touch upon his skin so much, he would ask him to relieve him of its itch, but since Mingi had defiled Seonghwa, robbed him of his virtue in all senses of the word, the priest recoiled from his touch.

As quietly as possible, Seonghwa rolled around to ease his restlessness by relaxing his muscles. A stone dug into his hip now so he nudged at it under his blanket until he couldn't feel it through his bedroll anymore.

His mind was wide awake; his heart throbbed. Seonghwa wondered when he last felt hungry.

Tired eyes fluttered open to stare at the blanket of stars. The soothing crackle of the fire by his side lulled him in a sense of security, but it wasn't security that he lacked to find his rest.

It was reassurance that he would wake up again. That he didn't waste precious time while sleeping.

The stars blanketed the mountains to the east and the spread of forest in which the group had found shelter. It wouldn't rain tonight, but they always preferred the hideout of the woodlands over a large open field, where their bodies were vulnerable to all attacks.

The first sprouting leaves of the lime tree above them rustled in the breeze and waved up and down in front of the sky. Another motion that usually would have drawn every attention from Seonghwa's burning eyes.

The hypnotic swish of a tail from the very branch he was looking at distracted him. Interested, his eyes flicked over when that tail was so much larger than Perie's and he had seen the wyvern roll up next to Yunho's head earlier.

Hongjoong stretched out on the sturdy branch. His wings tucked in the surrounding treetop, resting weightlessly. He supported his head with his arm and faced to the side so his arching horns wouldn't get caught on his branch. The low dangle of his long, salamander-like tail gave away his being awake.

Seonghwa lifted his head from his bedroll. The motion made Yongguk look up where he sat by the fire and sharpened a stick with a knife.

Hongjoong had been against letting the Red be their guard since he was a stranger, but since neither the gargoyle nor Mingi slept much, they trusted him with one eye open each.

Before the Red could ask why Seonghwa was still up among his dozing companions, Hongjoong turned his head. His amber eyes glowed between the branches obscuring him.

When a lazy arm dropped from the tree to extend in Seonghwa's direction and a clawed hand opened to offer itself, the priest shuffled to his knees. Wrapped in his cape that also served as his blanket, he tiptoed between his sleeping companions.

His fingers just barely reached high enough to graze Hongjoong's hand, but it was enough for the gargoyle. He seized Seonghwa in a secure grip and the entire tree shuddered when he hauled him up.

The noise startled Perie and, by extension, Yunho. After a bleary blink around the fireplace, the adventurer dropped his head back onto the garment he used as a pillow.

Seonghwa's heart hammered in his chest. Pressed right up against him, Hongjoong's heart dully echoed the sound.

The priest was sprawled over the gargoyle's body, balanced by the other man in the tree. The heated, dark grey skin underneath his fingertips made for an excellent cushion, and their legs tangled so both could nestle.

Hongjoong trailed his knuckles down Seonghwa's neck and to his chest. He relished in the man's shudder when the priest's body seemed to melt into a shape that made it most easy for the gargoyle to touch him.