𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓 || skz

CHAPTER 6: A GENTLE WIND

Felix blinked awake, squinting in the bright light. They had forgotten to pull the curtains in front of the window before going to bed, resulting in a cascade of light in the morning. The smell of freshly baked bread filled his nostrils as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes, his chest feeling a bit heavy as he recalled the dream from the previous night.

"What a confusing dream," he muttered to himself, staring at his hands. There was some dirt under his nails, but otherwise his hands were clean. He sighed, his hands falling down to rest in his lap. He would have to talk to Hyunjung later, and he could only hope that Hyunjung would be able to decode what his dream meant.

He looked around the room, eyes eventually falling on the empty side of the bed. He reached out to touch it, his gut twisting as he realized it was cold. Chan must have left a while ago at least. There was an ache in his chest and Felix frowned. He didn't like this uneasy feeling.

The floor was cold against his feet as he padded across the floor, from the bed to the armchair where he had left his clothes. He frowned as he reached for the set of folded, linen clothes. Someone had changed his clothes while he had slept. They smelled fresh and way nicer than his own clothes at the moment so he decided to not worry about that and instead got dressed. The fabric was course against his skin, way rougher than the usual silk and cotton he wore. However, they were clean and he wasn't going to complain.

When he exited the room, it turned out that it had been moving during the night. The previous night, when they had entered the room, it had been further into the hallway. Now he could see the main room from the doorway.

The house was empty. He entered the main room, taking a deep breath and the smell of bread made him feel warm inside. He stood in the main room for a moment, just by the table, and looked around.

Then he heard the voices from outside.

He was greeted by the warm, bright light of the sun as he pushed the door and he shielded his eyes. Ahead of him was Changbin, Chan and Jisung, all three busy sparring. Chan was the only one wearing a shirt, sleeves not quite long enough and his scales exposed. Without the shirts, Changbin and Jisung's scales were fully on display.

Jisung's scales grew in patches on his arms and a larger patch right over his heart.

Changbin had his arm fully covered, but the large patch of scales continued up his neck and covered almost half of his chest and back.

"Good morning, Felix," a soft voice said and Felix snapped his head around to see Jiyeon. She was standing in the garden, hanging the laundry. She was wearing the same dress as the night before, the white one with asymmetrical sleeves. "Did you sleep well?"

"I... I guess I did," Felix said as he walked over to her. He sat down on the bench beside her, rubbing his face. "Have they been here for a long time?" he asked, turning his attention to the dragonguards.

"For quite some time, yes," Jiyeon said as she pinned Felix's newly washed shirt to the clothing line. "I thought I'd wash your clothes," she continued, gesturing to the garment. "I think you all needed some new clothes. And maybe a bath later."

"I think we need that too," Felix murmured. He rubbed his eyes again, attempting to get the sleep out of his eyes. "Thank you, Jiyeon."

"Don't mention it," she replied, shaking her head and as she did, some of the flowers in her hair fell to the ground.

"Can I ask you something?" Felix asked.

Jiyeon studied his face for a moment. "You want to know what I am, correct?"

"How did you..?"

"When you live with a seer for a couple of decades, you learn one or two things," she said, a wide smile on her lips as she pinned the last garment to the clothing line, Changbin's undershirt. She sat down beside Felix. "I'm a forest spirit," she said, holding out her left arm with the short sleeve to display the moss growing on her. "I have a tree growing in this forest." She leaned back a bit and looked towards the woods. "I may have become a bit too used to life here. If you meet other spirits that aren't from this area, they may be staying in the woods, closer to their tree."