Sons of Nature

4 The Last Rose of Winter (2)

While Fu Yun walked away with reluctance, Yue Ji stood in place quietly. His gaze was still at the spot where the human hunter had vanished between the trees as if he could still see his figure there or expected him to reappear at any moment. It almost seemed as if he would stand right there until the next day when Fu Yun would return.

After a long time had passed, Yue Ji awoke from his frozen state. He raised his hands and covered his lips with his fingertips. "Was I wrong?" It was unclear what he meant but his gaze was filled with emotions that he hadn't shown when Fu Yun stood in front of him. Clearly, there was more on his mind than only the encounter just now.

Only the wind answered Yue Ji's question, not any different from before. With the hunter's departure, the forest had fallen silent again, not even the birds chirping in this cold weather as if they were huddled together somewhere, fleeing the ice and snow.

Yue Ji himself hardly seemed to notice the temperature that had dropped further these days. He looked into the depths of the forest for a while longer until he finally turned around, stepping past the tree he had been hidden behind earlier when Fu Yun appeared.

A clearing came into view, the trees around it almost standing in a perfect circle. In the middle grew a cluster of roses, the petals covered with frost and the leaves buried in the snow. Only here and there did a hint of dark green or bright red shimmer beneath the seemingly endless white of this day.

Yue Ji walked to the roses and reached out, brushing off the snow. He had told Fu Yun that he was a plant spirit but hadn't bothered to explain more. Humans usually didn't get it. Unless they saw, they just couldn't imagine it so it made little sense to give a long speech if it wasn't going to be understood anyway. He had made that mistake often enough in the past.

While Yue Ji was in a daze again, the branches of the rose shook and finally, a fairy flew out. It shook itself when the cold air hit it and then wrapped its arms around its tiny body before flying up until it hovered in front of Yue Ji's face. Seeing his gaze that exposed that his thoughts had long flown far away, the fairy sighed. "Yue Ji, Yue Ji! You wake up fast, ah!"

Yue Ji blinked his eyes and finally noticed the fairy. He reached up and cupped his hands, allowing the tiny creature to sit down. "What's the matter, petal?"

The fairy pursed her lips. "That's what I want to ask! Didn't you go out to see the human that lost its way? You were gone for so long, I was really afraid you wouldn't return at all." She scrunched up her face and then reached out, hugging Yue Ji's thumb as if her life depended on it.

Well, it also wasn't wrong to say that it did. Just like plant spirits were born from plants, so were fairies. But in this cold weather, the latter were much less resilient. As for petal, she relied on Yue Ji to keep her alive now that the temperatures had dropped so much. His leaving for so long had really scared her.

Yue Ji smiled faintly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stay out for so long. It's just ... it has been so long." His gaze turned nostalgic and he finally sighed. "Well, let's not stay out here. He won't return until tomorrow morning at the very earliest. So we might as well go home."

Petal nodded and retreated between the petals. As a fairy, she had been born from one of the fruits of the plant so now, she could only stay outside and rely on the plant to keep her safe.

Yue Ji as the spirit of this cluster of roses instead retreated to the inside, making the branches shake slightly. He moved the leaves a little, adding a few layers of protection for petal. In such cold weather, it wasn't much but it was the only thing he could do for her.

He thought of the fur around the hunter's shoulders and how such a fluffy thing probably would have kept petal warm much better. It was a pity he hadn't stayed longer so the two of them could meet as well. But then, remembering the coldness of Fu Yun's cheeks when he touched them, it was probably better that he had left. Humans also couldn't stand the cold even if they were stronger than fairies in that regard.