"Achoo!"
Daiyu felt something cold tickle her nose, causing something on her shoulder to fall off. Blinking her eyes open, she noticed a pile of snow stuck to her hair and clothes. "Brr! Why is it so cold?!" She jumped to her feet, feeling her whole body shivering head to toe. Scanning around her, she saw the area she slept outside in was covered with snow. "It must've snowed when I was asleep." She said, recalling how it wasn't like this before as she felt her nose getting wet and dripping.
"Oh no! Jing Yuan! If he finds out-achoo!" She started to panicked until a sneeze cut her off. Groaning in worry, she raced back inside where the warm air greeted her, much to her relief.
"Gotta take care of this cold before the general finds out that I've been sleeping outside again." She told herself, hearing her own voice change from the arriving cold. While she would scold the general for dozing off, he would do the same to her, but only when she slept outside in the worst weather.
The day he caught her sleeping in the rain shocked him. That time, she didn't get sick, thankfully since she was underneath a ceiling that protected her from the rain, but he was not happy. She got quite the lecture and wanted to avoid that again.
"So, it was exactly as I thought."
She jumped and turned around with eyes wide as plates, looking at the person she was trying to avoid. Jing Yuan stared down at her sternly, with his arms crossed. "You were sleeping outside again, weren't you?" He told her, scanning her. Her ears were drooping. Tail was slumped on the floor. Her nose was red, and she kept sniffling.
"Jingy. I didn't expect you to come back from sparring with the Trailblazer so early." She told him with a nervous smile, unable to hide the change in her voice from the flu. The general wasn't convinced, seeing the clear signs that his favorite panthera had gotten herself sick.
"I thought I told you to stop sleeping outside." He said, upset to see her in such a state as his hand went to feel her forehead. "And now you're burning up." He noted, feeling her skin warm.
She swatted his hand away, glaring at him, annoyed. "It's just a cold. And how do you even know if I was...achoo!" Another sneeze interrupted her. She moaned in discomfort at the feeling of her throat getting scratchy. Jing Yuan could sigh, seeing that a lecture would be no good in helping her fever.
"J-Jing Yuan!!!"
Daiyu felt her feet leave the floor and found herself being lifted up in his arms. She got so flustered as her spotted cheeks got very hot. "What are you doing?!" The general spared no answer to her as he started walking. "Getting you somewhere to rest. Then we'll see what to do about that cold of yours." He explained to her. She looked at him with an annoyed pout and immense embarrassment. While he had good intentions, she didn't want anyone to see them like this.
"I can walk by myself, Jing Yuan! Put me-achoo!" A sneeze stopped her complaining and feeling no more energy to talk back, Daiyu accepted defeat and slumped against his chest for his support. Her ears drooped down, feeling worse than before. She felt Jing Yuan gently pick up her tail and set it on her stomach so it wouldn't be dragging across the floor. The last thing she remembered was seeing him look down at her symphatically before a soft kiss was on her forehead before she fell asleep.
"Hm?"
When she woke up, Daiyu found herself in bed with a blanket on top of her. She felt a warm towel rest on her forehead. Her green eyes scanned around, recognizing it as Jing Yuan's bedroom.
"Groowl."
Mimi appeared in her vision, walking around until he spotted her awake. Perking up, the white liom trotted torwards her and started licking her face gently. "Heh heh. Hey, Mimi. Did I scare you? I'm sorry." She told him softly, cupping his cheek and moving to scratch his ear.
"Mimi refused to leave your side."
Her ears perked a little at hearing the general's voice. "Come here, Mimi. Let Daiyu rest." He commanded as the white lion returned to his master. She saw him bring a bowl with steam coming out as he set down on the night stand next to her.
Sitting up, she could see mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and day lilies. She sniffed it to smell it, but to her disappointment, her cold had dampened her senses. She sat back down, groaning upset as Jing Yuan chuckled amusingly. "It would seem that when you get sick, you start to act like a child." He noted to her in amusement as he scooped some of the and carefully held the spoon out to her while his other hand was under it to make sure nothing fell.
Daiyu wanted to complain that she could eat on her own. But she swallowed her childish attitude and accepted his help, taking a gulp of the soup. She could taste chili oil, tofu, pork, and black vinegar. The warm liquid running down her sore throat was a nice feeling.
"Thank you, Jingy." She croaked to him gratefully as he set the spoon down. "I brought some medicine that Bailu gave me. You can take it after you finish your meal." He informed her, gently taking her hands and dressing a kiss on her knuckles. "Jing Yuan, you shouldn't be close to me. You'll get sick too." She insisted to him, but he just smiled at her fondly.
"I'll take my chances if it means I can assure you get better." He explained to her, leaning against her forehead to nuzzle. She weakly returned the nuzzle, pleased to see him looking out for her. "However, would you please stop sleeping outside? If this goes on, then I may have to intervene." He told her half serious and half jokingly as she smiled sheepishly at him. "After this, I don't think I'll sleep outside for a while." She told him as he chuckled amusingly, sensing she wouldn't risk a fever just for a cat nap.
The soup here is a Chinese dish called hot and sour soup
