𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐒

#.. TWENTY

arriving at the western water tribe, jooyeon quickly jumped down from bird, marching forward.

he was glad to see it still standing, no harm done. but he noticed something else from the corner of his eyes.

his people came forward to talk to him, all of them were glad their leader was well and alive, but he just ignored them as he paced forward towards the field they shared close to the shore.

the other five followed him, trying to talk to him, calling out to make him stop moving.

he was walking towards a farmer. at least it looked like farming. being an earthbender, seungmin quickly felt the man bending.

it was one of his father's spies.

they didn't know what jooyeon was capable of, seeing him suddenly control the man with small hand movements.

it was scary. "jooyeon-" gunil called out, taking a few steps closer and putting his hand on his shoulder, but jooyeon slapped it away.

"traitors deserve death - the first rule of the western water tribe." jooyeon's glare was cold and serious, startling the elder.

jooyeon looked like switched up, his usual personality gone. revenge and hatred was blinding him.

he let the man dive his head in the sea, drowning him, as confused screams of agony appeared as bubbles coming up from the water.

gunil tried talking to jooyeon, the rest debating whether they should intervene, but every word just bounced off of jooyeon. the boy seemed unreachable, determined.

after a few minutes, jooyeon lost his grasp on the man's body - he was dead. just then he snapped back, looking at gunil, who just looked at him in shock.

turning around, he saw many of his people staring at him, along with his four friends. just them, jooyeon made an important decision.

"it's time we rejoin the war again!" he announced and everyone fell quiet for a few seconds.

they just stared at jooyeon, who looked dead serious, before starting to mumble amongst each other.

gunil leaned closer. "don't pull them in, as well" he hissed into the teen's ear, but he just grumbled.

"nothing will change if we continue hiding. the six of us won't have an influence on anything.

all these years i've been scared to lose my tribe. i can live with the risk if it means that we get to stop the tyranny."

he was right, but it didn't feel right. "so we'll fight among the western water tribe?"

jooyeon shook his head, his gaze turning into a vengeful one.

"i'll reunite the remaining water tribes."

[...]

jooyeon sent out a request to the other tribes, using their messenger seals that transported letters among the water tribe.

they stayed at the village in the meanwhile. jiseok practiced his senses with seungmin and jungsu, jooyeon was busy stressing about everything, creating plans in order to attack the earth kingdom effectively.

hyeongjun and gunil decided to take a small break. all the travelling and adventures were getting the best of them, feeling tired and drained.

lying in the bed of one of the huts, their hands intertwined, as hyeongjun laid his head on gunil's chest.

warm energy flooded through their veins and gunil sighed, contently. "i completely forgot your body does that" he chuckled, patting hyeongjun's head.

the younger laughed. "me too. being a spirit does have its advantages."

instead of blood, hyeongjun had liquified energy running through his veins - he wasn't human after all.

and whenever a spirit connects with its soulmate, the energy starts to lighten up, radiating warmth.

this warmth subconsciously made the soulmate feel better. long story short - soulmates were each other's charging station.

gunil's lips curved into a smile as he leaned down to kiss hyeongjun's head, continuing to run his fingers through his hair.

"i hope all of this is over soon" gunil groaned. "can't wait to lie with you like that daily... without the conscience that an entire kingdom wants to see our dead bodies."

then hyeongjun remembered. they'd really have to hurry up with cleaning all the mess, hyeongjun didn't have long anymore.

did gunil know? should he tell him now? was now a good time?

"i know we should relax now.." hyeongjun started, his voice suddenly shaking. the elder noticed that something was wrong, immediately sitting both of them up so he could look the spirit in the eyes.

his warm and inviting eyes would be the end of him one day. in order to calm down a little, hyeongjun just had to lean forward and kiss him.

gunil didn't hesitate either, his hand gently against the back of hyeongjun's head, as he kissed hyeongjun as if he was worshipping him.

soft and gentle yet so searing and passionate, hyeongjun couldn't help but sigh contently in the kiss, holding onto gunil's shoulders before moving away again.

this time his eyes were teary, his nose and cheeks turned red. gunil was worried about him, his brows furrowing as he put his hand on the spirit's cheek, smearing the salty tear over hyeongjun's tan skin.

"whatever it is, we'll try to find a solution" gunil tried to encourage him with a small smile but hyeongjun shook his head. the elder obviously didn't understand the heaviness of the situation yet.

"i fear there's no solution for this one.." hyeongjun mumbled in between sobs. "the life spirit will take me when i turn 18... i'll be gone in a few months.."

this didn't sound real. gunil's eyes widened a tad bit, taking a few moments to realise everything.

"oh.." was the only thing he was able to say, as hyeongjun broke down into tears. not having the opportunity to really process the information, gunil started to comfort the younger.

he held onto the spirit's body, hugging him gently as he just cried. "i don't care about dying. i don't want to put you in grief.. you still have so much to do, i would hold you back.."

gunil just sighed. this was the first time he had no words left to say. so he just kissed hyeongjun's forehead.

"everything will be okay.."