Immortal Mortals

Playtime

That day, Jie forced himself from his bed without her help or her permission while the children stood by anxiously in fear of Ais temper which was contained but still raging beneath the small smile she was able to throw their way.  And not only did she say nothing, he refused to allow any of them near him while he tentatively took his first steps  after being in bed for 2 weeks.  Though he did accept the makeshift walking stick Chang Li had found for him while ignoring Ais hand that she extended to help him when he stumbled.

"I don't need your help." he roughly barked her as he made his way to the main room completely ignoring her angry look and his childrens sad eyes.

Ai may have got the upper hand that day, but Jie did not give up.  Changing tactics, he went in the complete opposite direction.  For the next 2 weeks, he barely spoke to her, never looked at her, barely acknowledged her presence and when he had no option but to speak to her, it was blunt and forced, refusing anything she offered him, including the carved walking stick she had spent weeks making for him.  His whole demeanor changed whenever he had to interact with her, though he remained the same Jie towards the children and Chang Li.

He knew his new tactic was having an affect on her, she did everything in her power to make up with him, but he refused her.  Instead , by the time it came to removing the bandages,  he demanded that Tai and Chang Li help him, while having Ai and Meili forced from the room so he could undress in private, explaining to Meili in front of Ai, that it was improper for a woman to be present when he undressed.  Had the door not closed when it did, he would have seen the absolute devastation in her eyes, a pain Meili could not help but shed tears for.

It took 4 hours to break through the hardened slurry before they could begin to break apart the cast but once off, Jie let out a huge sigh of relief as he rose immediately to try out his newly healed leg.  Though he still needed the stick Chang Li had found for him to keep his balance, he knew it would be only for another day or two before he could let that go too.  But he did marvel at Ais healing technique, that she had come up with a unique yet genius way of healing broken bones was amazing, and one he would ensure she gained full credit for as a plan began to develop.

Though the one highlight that brought loud laughter to everyone but Jie, was Meilis family portrait. In the center of the Painting was Ai and her arm rested lightly around Meilis shoulders, both were looking absolutely beautiful in their loveliest dresses, on the other side was Tai looking directly at Ai with a look of absolute love on his face, and though he never showed much in the way of emotion, it was a look he never knew he showed whenever he saw her. Through the window behind them was Chang Li, who was cutting wood, the axe was in full swing but what had everyone laughing and Ai terrified, was the head of the axe was around the wrong way.

And the best part of the portrait of course, was Jie.  Spread out on the floor in front of them, with his broken leg partially raised in the air, his brows furrowed,  lips slightly parted and one hand curled into a tight fist, was Jie who was looking straight up at Ai, yet the emotions Meili had managed to capture had them all laughing and bickering at the same time.  She had managed to capture anger, annoyance, sadness, happiness, mischief, adoration, love and even desire, all of which Ai saw clearly.

Tai who had already created a beautiful frame for her painting, hung it pride of place on the wall in the main room where it stayed despite Jies protests, though he did love the painting, he would forever treasure it.

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Now that Jie was fully able to move around, though not as well as he used to, he could still mount his horse and do the many things he used to do.  Rising at dawn and leaving the house the moment he woke, he would spend the whole day away from the house, fixing the fences, because even though Tai had done a good enough job, it needed to be completed before winter set in, and having visited their neighbor regarding their boundary, they had eventually come to a compromise.  Jie could keep his fences where they were, but the farmer could have access through his land if he needed the extra feed for his own horses once winter hit.