haven - zb1

28

The next morning, since Jiwoong was still incapacitated, they were free to do whatever they pleased. The second they were up and ready, the water boys headed to the House of fire's room, and the five hardly budged for the next few hours.

The House of Air heirs were lounging in the gardens, as were the House of Earth, but not in the same way. While Yujin and Gyuvin were comfortably resting under a small shelter, manipulating the breeze to offer coolness in the heat, the earth heirs were a little different.

Gunwook was slung in a "hammock" of leaves and branches curved to carry his weight, his hands behind his head as he swung lightly. Similarly, Taerae was perched on a large branch a distance away, legs hanging down, his hands tightly gripping his extended bow as a vine curled near him to catch him should he fall.

Occasionally, he'd fire an arrow towards Gunwook, but instead of aiming it straight at the other, he shoots at the vines holding his hammock, in a cheeky attempt to make him tumble to the ground.

Completely at ease, Gunwook will simply summon another vine to replace, without even batting an eyelid. After the sixth arrow cut through a particularly thick vine, causing Gunwook's hammock to jerk downwards, he finally had enough. Like a snake, a new vine slithered up the tree Taerae rested in and attacked him. Taerae went falling off his branch, his own vine narrowly encircling his waist before he dropped face first.

"Good one," Taerae laughed, dangling from the vine as he slowly lowered himself to the floor. Wordlessly, Gunwook twitched a finger and his vine plucked Taerae's bow from where it was caught in the trees, but instead of returning it to its owner, Gunwook suddenly flashed a mischievous grin, then flung the bow off into the garden.

Shouting a string of curses and threats to Gunwook, Taerae had to run off in that direction, grumbling to himself.

When Gunwook turned he was greeted with the air heirs' baffled and concerned looks, and he chuckled. "Don't worry, he knows exactly where it is."

And surely enough, Taerae emerged from the foliage mere moments later gripping his bow, only flushed cheeks and a smile dancing at his lips to be seen.

-

Zhang Hao was the first to start their attempt to heal Jiwoong. Seated stiffly by Jiwoong's bedside, Zhang Hao carefully coaxed glimmering water out of a wooden pail and onto Jiwoong's body.

Jiwoong sucked in a breath when the icy water coated his skin, but gradually got used to the sensation. Zhang Hao's eyes fluttered shut as he concentrated, his breathing careful and rhythmic. Jiwoong too, closed his eyes, mainly to avoid making eye contact with the rest.

Woohyun exhaled slowly as he sank into a chair, "This will take some time. Might as well relax, Quanrui." The other only nodded sharply, but remained standing with arms tightly folded.

Hanbin on the other hand headed to the door. "I'll get him something sweet, he'll be tired after this," Hanbin informed before he ducked out of the room. "And probably really grouchy," Woohyun added.

Quanrui shot him a quizzical look, so Woohyun added, "Usually when we heal, we tend to also be influenced by the emotions the patient is feeling. Maybe fear, if they received their injuries through a sudden attack. Or grief, if someone else had passed before them. It depends."

They returned their focus on Jiwoong and Zhang Hao, the latter's face scrunched with determination and exertion. Mere minutes later, Zhang Hao sat back, slumping against his chair. The water, no longer controlled by him, seeped into Jiwoong's clothes and sheets. The fire heir didn't budge, however, it appears he fell asleep.

"What's wrong?"

"This is gonna be a tough one," Zhang Hao replied hoarsely, his lashes moist, "We might take longer than expected."

Quanrui's face visibly fell, so Zhang Hao quickly added, "But he'll be okay. This is gonna be difficult but doable. Promise."

So as Quanrui accompanied Zhang Hao to find refreshments, Woohyun quickly withdrew the water soaking Jiwoong. The duo had already left, so Woohyun thought no harm trying something. With the small ball of collected water, he pressed his palm to Jiwoong's skin, and recoiled mere seconds later.

It was as if Jiwoong was on fire internally, the heat emitting from within him was shocking and the emotions stirring in him were intense and raw. How did he tolerate it?