𝚰 𝐖𝗂ᥣᥣ 𝐓𝗋α𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌𝖾 𝐓ɦ𝖾 𝐒𝗍α𝗋𝗌 𝐖𝗂𝗍ɦ 𝐘ⱺυ || 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐥

𝐉𝐢𝐚𝐨𝐪𝐢𝐮

ᴿᵉˢᵗ

You paced back and forth, many Xianzhou citizens were told to stay indoors and be as silent as possible, especially foxians such as yourself. But you were not pacing in fear of your own life, you were pacing in fear for your lovers.

You were not a capable fighter anymore, you only traveled here with the general and her retainers because you were Jiaoqiu's assistant, doing your best as a retired soldier to learn the doctors ways. Gradually you both got quite close over time, and that landed you both here in the middle of a borisin crisis.

"Be safe Jiaoqiu, please.." and since you were not capable of fighting, Feixiao made it an order so you would have no choice but to stay behind, you didn't know where Jiaoqiu was, you didn't know of his hostage status.

Hoolay had him, and you knew nothing about it, here you thought the worst that could happen is that he kills him, you couldn't imagine how worse it was.

After the crisis had passed and the cloud knights had taken care of the borisin, you left your shelter as fast as possible- or, well, if not being stopped by one of the nameless, March.

"Woah! Slow down for a sec!" she squeaked as you nearly passed by her, you looked at her, not meaning to look angry, but stress only made you antsy, you had people to check up on after all. "Feixiao is at the alchemy commission, so is Moze and Jiaoqiu! She just wanted me to tell you so you don't panic!"

You blinked owlishly before grabbing her, "How bad are they hurt? Tell me!" March jumped and swallowed before lowering her head, "Lingsha said all of them were in bad shape.." she lowered her head and scratched her cheek.

You scowled and let go of her before making a mad dash through the blockade of cloud knights, narrowly avoiding the corpses of borisin wolves as you searched desperately for a stray starskiff you could borrow amidst the chaos.

And luck for you, you found one, although it was a bit bashed up, it was still able to operate safely, so you took the opportunity and started it up and headed straight for the alchemy commission.

"please be ok..please.." You prayed, your shaky hands steering the starskiff steadily, and thanks to the negative amount of traffic you made it to the alchemy commission before you could even finish your prayer.

And it seems Feixiao knew you'd show up, she and Lingsha stood there, clearly the cauldron master was only there in case Feixiao needed to return to rest. She had her arms crossed with a stern expression on her face, though you could tell she was also relieved seeing you safe.

"Y/n." she greeted but knew you would be too frantic to greet her back, not that she entirely minded "Where's Jiaoqiu, is he alright?!" she sighed and lowered her head as she tried to think of a good way to put it before she shook her head.

"He's alive, but.." she muttered, guilt flooded her tone as she put a hand over her chest, "You should go see him yourself..I probably need to go back and rest." she frowned and pat your shoulder, before looking at Lingsha, the two taking the path back to the heart of the commission.

You blinked owlishly before putting your hand over your heart and trying to calm down as you followed them, branching off to look around. It was full of injured cloud knights, you even caught sight of the dragon lady..but she looked incredibly busy.

You continued on, eventually spotting the fiery red coat and salmon pink hair, "Jiaoqiu!" You called and hurried over, his ears instantly perked up before lowering as he let out a relived sigh. "You're safe..thank goodness." he hummed and turned around once you got close, giving him a strong hug.

He winced, prompting you to quickly loosen up, His eyes were closed as usual, but expression seemed far sadder then what you were expecting. "Y/n, i-.." he muttered and lowered his head, You held his face, rubbing his cheeks with your thumbs.

"I-i..your face, i can't see.." he muttered and lowered his head, he had endured so much over the past few hours, and barely did he shed a tear then, but his tough facade faded away almost instantly when faced with your warm touch.

You quickly realized what he meant, and frowned, "Oh Jiao.." you muttered softly, he opened his eyes to reveal the slightly more dull pigment of his fiery eyes, but he quickly closed them again.

You wiped his eyes and tilted your head, smiling slightly, "It's a small price to pay for your life, my love." you smiled and combed your hand through his hair, listening to his soft chuckle before he sobbed with a smile.

"I told Feixiao i..i had no regrets." he sighed and leaned his forehead on yours and bit his lip to hold back a sob, "I couldn't tell her, my one regret, was that i cannot see your face again..your smile, your eyes..i can't.." now he had gone and made you tear up.

"Shh.." you hushed softly and tried not to cry, rubbing his back and kissing his cheek, "You haven't lost me, you can hear my voice, feel my love, i am here for you always." you assured and felt tears slip from the corners of your eyes seeing his slightly dumbfound expression.

He sniffled and lowered his head, "hah..i guess you're right." he smiled and rested his head on your shoulder, opening his eyes slightly as he listened to your breathing, your heartbeat.

"I love you, no matter what ailment you sustain, no matter what happens." you hummed and rubbed his back, you didn't mean to make him cry more, but surely it was going to make him feel better in the long run.

He squeezed you and tried to stop crying, "I-i love you too- thank you so much.." he muttered. The two of you remained there, standing still listening to the waves as Jiaoqiu found it far easier to relax with your arms around him.

Love is blind, after all.

𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨