My Arch Nemesis (ZiLing/LongLing)

III ; Wordless Affection

af·fec·tion
/əˈfekSH(ə)n/

a gentle feeling of fondness or liking.

▪ ▪ ▪

Candles lit upon the vast hall, festive meals set upon the excellently decorated tables, and disciples of the Great Dragon crowding the space with cheery chit-chat. It's a mini gathering to celebrate the safe return of the grandmaster's successor.

The mixture of lights within the dinner, along with the half moon were the only sources of luminescence that gleamed amid the dark skies of the Hidden Land of the Dragon.

But the man in question was not present.

Amongst the crowded group, Wanwan asked, "Where is Zilong-gege?"

"I don't know. He'll show up eventually I hope," said one of the Great Dragon's younger students.

With a sigh, the agile girl continued, "Well he better, it's his gathering after all."

Suddenly, a voice emerged from behind exclaiming, "Wanwan, I've been looking for you!"

"Yin! Sorry, I got lost in a chain of conversations and sort of forgot about you!"

"How could you, Xiao Gongju?" Yin fake pouted with a sad face.

"Cheer up, Shagua, we're both here now!" She grinned.

"Uhm- Should I leave?"

"No, no. Here, let me introduce you to my ahem- close acquaintance, Yin. We've known each other for years now, but he moved far from Cadia and we barely interacted then. Now's a rare opportunity to meet up with him as you can see."

The trio continued on various topics adrift from the introduction. It seemed as if it were going to be endless.

On the far end of the hall, sat the Great Dragon in his human form. He supposed himself to check on the little gathering that was made. With a gesture of a rub of his beard and a nod of acknowledgment, he downed a cup of tea whilst still watching every move under his watchful gaze.

And so the event continued to rage on without the brunet.

▪ ▪ ▪

A gentle, chilly breeze greets my face as I sit on a roof. My light hair swayed ever so little as it gleaned a shiny silver tone. I looked at a far distance, trying to ignore the ratched the other disciples were making down the festivities.

An expected guest has slipped beside me with such stealth that I nearly deem him non-existent. I took a deep breath of fresh air and braced myself for what was to come.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," I exhaled nervously.

As usual, I find myself avoiding his watchful orbs. Instead, I stared at the Meihua trees across the buildings.

"How are you on this elegant night, Ling-er?"

"Good before you came."

"Ah, I see. Up for small talk?"

"Will you leave if I said no?"

He sighed at me and said, "Why are you always like this? It's so hard to... reach for you."

...

"Ling, I care for you. I can't show you I care because you don't allow me to. I-"

"Just cut to the point already, Zilong. You and I, both know why you're up here speaking to me instead of being down there celebrating with your juniors. You've always been a guy who likes company anyway. This isn't quite like you."