An-Ri setting herself on fire wasn't what Kai-Se envisioned to be what would get him out of bed. He groaned, rubbed his face, and tried blinking away the dream he'd had. It became evident later on that he couldn't. The images of the beautiful landscape, filled with bright spalshes of pink, blue, green, and purple, raged at the back of his mind. Unlike the dreams he was used to, this simple scene never faded long after he's up and bustling around. And it's the same thing. Over and over.

It would start with him looking over this bubbling stream flowing from east to west. The rush of water slapping against the rocks it shaped over the years was loud. Too loud that it seemed real. Like it's also happening in the waking world. Then, he would watch a woman dressed in a garb he had only seen in the historical records in the palace saunter out of a hut and towards the stream, a clay jar tucked underneath an arm.

The grass would crunch under her soles. Her clothes would rustle against the splotches of flowers. The wind would pick up and ruffle her waist-length strands of hair. An arm would reach up, fingers tucking most behind one ear to avoid it from obscuring her vision.

Pale. She was pale enough to match the bright morning sunlight coloring the flat expanse. No other people milled about. She was alone. And she would crouch next to the stream's edge and dip her jar into the flowing water.

Then, she would lift her head a little, her foamy reflection in the water twitching to do the same. She would look at what's supposed to be empty air. She would look at him. A smile would always start to pull at the corner of her lips, before the noise of the water being disturbed into splashes made her turn to the source.

When Kai-Se followed the direction her gaze, his eyes fell over a crane, tucking its long wings closer to its body, tilting its head to study him and the woman with its eye. It's beak would open, like a human voice would flow out of it.

That's when Kai-Se's eyes would open, bringing his consciousness back into the real world. Usually, it was because of the sun scorching his face and eyelids. But now...a weight bore down him like a snake squeezing him to death.

Only it wasn't a snake. Far from it.

Through his sleepy and hooded gaze, he traced the weight to an arm draped over his side and the familiar warmth pressing against his back. He closed his eyes and exhaled, relaxing under the hold. It's been a while since they had started doing this—more for space conservation than anything else—but he still couldn't wrap his head around...well, Nao-Zai. And the thing they now shared. One thing Kai-Se was sure of, though—it's more than a bed.

That's why he turned, ever so slowly, as to never wake Nao-Zai. Kai-Se tensed when Nao-Zai's hold tightened a little, locking him in a thousand times over. He tried to ignore the deep pounding in his temples so early in the morning. Instead, he rested his head against Nao-Zai's outstretched arm, gazing up the man's face like all the times he woke up first.

Nao-Zai's hair, now sheared to the base of his neck, spilled past his forehead and into the only pillow they shared. The way it glinted against the sunlight the cloth tarp above their heads couldn't keep out still left a sense of marvel in Kai-Se's gut. Slowly, his fingers trailed towards those ink-like waves and brushed them away.

With Nao-Zai's eyes closed and his chest rising and falling with every fitful breath, he looked like a man without worry. Like the only thing that mattered to him was to get his required hours and to do it in a relatively safe environment. A small smile crept past Kai-Se's defenses as he stroked Nao-Zai's face. Unlike their first week together, when Nao-Zai would awake at the slightest noise or movement from Kai-Se, the ex-soldier stayed asleep this time.

Kai-Se prefered it that way. He always worried about Nao-Zai not really getting enough rest due to the nature of his work, despite his insistence that he's used to it. Kai-Se's lips folded into a thin line as he laid a hand on Nao-Zai's chest, his fingers inches from the scar neither of them wanted to talk about. How many more times was he supposed to Nao-Zai get hurt all because he got tangled with the wrong bunch? Was the "wrong bunch" had been Kai-Se all along?

A weak chuckle speared through his thoughts, making him raise his eyes towards Nao-Zai's face. The soldier's eyes were open now, albeit a little squinted. It gave Kai-Se a good look at just how dark those irises could become. "It's early," Nao-Zai moved the arm underneath Kai-Se's head, pinning their bodies closer. "What are you thinking about at this hour?"

Kai-Se let all the tension in his muscles go, sagging against Nao-Zai's grip. His mind latched on the fact that Nao-Zai's fingers had buried themselves in his hair and that he liked how they ran down the length, soothing out the tangled mess. Nao-Zai seemed to think the gesture's able to untangle the clutter in Kai-Se's head as well, and for the record, it's working.

"Nothing," Kai-Se sighed at the knowing gaze Nao-Zai flashed him. "Everything."

A soft kiss brushed against Kai-Se's forehead, the weight of Nao-Zai's lips leaving his skin hollowed a cave of want in his gut. "What did we say about thinking about everything?" Nao-Zai's voice was gentle and thick. They had just woken up, after all.

"It's best done together," Kai-Se finished the thought despite not wholly agreeing with it. After all, there were things only he would be able to mind.

Nao-Zai's grin petered out. "What is it?"

Kai-Se met his gaze and not dropping it for as long as he could. Over the weeks, he lasted longer and longer. He could handle staring at nothing but Nao-Zai's face without melting into a puddle of blubbers for at least a full two minutes now. "What was what?"

"Your topic of worry today."

He looked away. Had to. It's not like he wanted to. What was the best course of action for this situation? "You," he admitted. No use lying. Nao-Zai could see through Kai-Se as well as looking through a transparent mirror for reasons still unknown.

Nao-Zai raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Kai-Se retorted, backhanding him on the chest lightly. He doubted Nao-Zai even felt it. "What's up with all the squeezing?"

A red tinge crept up into Nao-Zai's cheeks as he relaxed his hold on Kai-Se. "Sorry," he said. "Are you hurt?"

At that, a laugh bubbled out of Kai-Se's throat. Nao-Zai blinked. Kai-Se stilled and leaned closer without Nao-Zai's grip to aid him. The sheets rustled beneath him as their knees knocked together. "Why would I be hurt?" he let his breath brush against Nao-Zai's skin. The hand resting on Kai-Se's waist twitched.

"I...don't know," Nao-Zai cleared his throat, looking everywhere but at him. "I don't know why I asked that question. I guess I was used to it and—"

Kai-Se cut him off from whatever rambling he was about to do when he pressed his lips against Nao-Zai's. His eyes closed but he felt everything—how Nao-Zai swept him up, letting Kai-Se drape all over him; how his hand sat at the base of Kai-Se's neck, pressing their heads closer, deeper; and how Nao-Zai tilted his head to the side, allowing Kai-Se to claim him more, to taste him more.

A deep groan arose from Nao-Zai, making Kai-Se's mind lose all sense. Nao-Zai's lips parted, allowing Kai-Se in, the expanding cavern in his gut getting filled the deeper he went. His fingers dug into Nao-Zai's hair when he broke their kiss to come up for air. Slowly, he brushed his lips against Nao-Zai's jaw. Another groan. Nails bit down at Kai-Se's back as Nao-Zai's grip tightened. Smiling, Kai-Se slid his kisses up, to the spot near the ear. And there, he stayed. Just ran circles over soft skin until Nao-Zai's breathing turned ragged.

He would have gone further or even kissed Nao-Zai one more time but metal clattered behind him, its stringent rings snapping him back to reality. Gurgling noises followed by a familiar crackle of flames were what made him roll off the mattress and check what in Shaoryeong's nethers caused them. His gaze fell over a child with white hair and white-furred fox ears sitting atop her head. And said child was covered in a blazing layer of white-hot flames.

"An-Ri—"

Whatever he was supposed to say was flushed out by the rush of water dousing An-Ri from the top. He turned to find Nao-Zai shaking the last drops of the rim of a wooden bucket. The soldier flashed Kai-Se a sheepish look. "She'd burn the tent down if I didn't," he said.

Kai-Se opened his mouth when An-Ri burst into a fullblown toddler meltdown. "You ruined it!" she wailed, red in the face with tears streaming down her cheeks. She flailed on the ground, her arms and legs jerking in a tantrum. "You ruined it!"

Irritation burned at the base of Kai-Se's gut as brightly as the flames Nao-Zai had just doused. He massaged the bridge of his nose, before letting his shoulders slump. He turned to An-Ri. "What did I say about letting your powers out of control?" he said, folding his legs to a crouch to get eye-level with An-Ri. The immortal fox spirit blubbered, meaty hands wiping her big, round, purple eyes. "When you feel like it has to go, you call me. I'll deal with it."

And that's how it had been for the last few weeks. Since An-Ri moved from an infant who did nothing but sleep and sneeze magical sparks, she had developed urges to burn entire forests down with her magic and dry seas with her might, and it's up to Kai-Se to make sure neither happened.

He touched An-Ri's forehead, still hot from the flames she cast around herself, and closed his eyes. He blew a breath, feeling the raging magical currents around him. Then, with a practiced maneuver, he leashed An-Ri's excess magic and drew it upon himself. A strange but comforting tingling shiver ran down his arms—a sign of success.

Now, he realized why An-Ri taught him how to sense, channel, and absorb korza from everything and everywhere. She must have been preparing him for this exact task.

Of being a spirit nanny.

You'd make a great father. Kaname's voice taunted at the back of his mind and memory. He shook his head and reach out to smooth An-Ri's sopping hair off her forehead. If this was being a father was supposed to be, then he's doing the most stellar job. But it wasn't. "Come on," he said, his ears throbbing with the incessant noise of An-Ri's shrieks. "I'll dry you up."

Exerting a small portion of the energy he got from An-Ri, he weaved it between the water and the spirit's body and clothes. Slowly, the heat chased away the rebellious droplets and a fully-dried An-Ri sat before him.

Kai-Se gripped An-Ri below the arms and hoisted her up, tucking her to his side. His arms and shoulder already hurt and felt numb but it's not like he could pass her over to Nao-Zai who had to move around the camp. He rocked An-Ri. "It's alright," he cooed to the best of his ability. He didn't dare admit he had to ask Nao-Zai to help him practice how to calm a shrieking toddler down. "It's fine now. See?"

He opened his hand and summoned three blobs of light into his palm. He made it dance, spin, and hover in the air. An-Ri's eyes stopped leaking, her lips quivering with the remnants of the meltdown. She watched with distracted interest. Through the spirit's shoulder, he glanced at Nao-Zai and nodded. The soldier understood and began bustling about, preparing for another long day ahead.

While he entertained An-Ri, Nao-Zai bundled everything up into one over-sized satchel. Kai-Se had come to appreciate how Nao-Zai lived as a soldier. All his life in one trunk. That's all they were reduced to now.

"How about we see the birds outside, yeah?" he told An-Ri whose eyes gleamed not from the prospect of watching the birds but from the thought of eating them. He could tell. Her fangs were out.

That's the least of his concerns, though. As they emerged from the tent flap, the rest of Xuijae bled before them, reminding Kai-Se of the reason why they came here.

And why they have to go down, to the place he swore he would never return to. The place of his childhood as well as his first love. It's a place he thought he'd never walk through as a fugitive.

Kai-Se's grip around An-Ri tightened, stilling the child as she played with the earring dangling from his lobe. She seemed to sense the shift in the mood around him because she rested her head against his shoulder, her ears tickling his neck.

Because right now, standing at the precipice of the last peak separating him and his goal, he had no choice but to look at it.

The Xuijae Empire's Palace.

His home.

Or at least, it had been.