The forest swallowed the frantic figures pattering through its heart. Nao-Zai gripped his sword, never once letting it go. No one knew when the time he would need to swing it would come. Every footfall, every rustle of leaves in the canopy—Nao-Zai drank it all in like he would to a warm cup of tea. He'd make sure they were in considerable distance from their pursuers before going back to help Kai-Se.

They tore through the undergrowth. The greens and browns had turned into staples in Nao-Zai's memory, so much he didn't even bother registering them apart from the occasional flashes of silver darting between the spaces in the canopies. If this clan was as smart as they appeared to be, they'd consider bringing down the rain.

A dark shadow flitted through the branches. They hit some leaves on their way, eliciting a raucous crackle. Nao-Zai whirled towards the Queen in alarm, only to find her having snatched a bow from one of the women he spotted earlier. The string thwanged, launching the arrow into a deadly arc. A loud squelch. A few seconds later, a lump thudded to the ground, disturbing the soil and the drooping leaves of some shrubs.

"Be alert," the Queen turned to them, unfazed at the prospect of having killed someone by forcing them on a fall of such height. Her eyes zeroed in on Nao-Zai. "Where's Kai-Se?"

Oh, right. "I'll go and get him," Nao-Zai said. "We'll catch up."

Shima-e narrowed her eyes, getting her message across. You must. After seeing how she didn't even blink at burying an arrow into flesh, he turned and sprinted up the incline. Commotion rose up bars and knots higher as the trail turned more and more treacherous. He reached the small peak, expecting to see Kai-Se holding ground.

Instead, the prince stood in the middle of battle, with An-Ri flitting in and out of the soldiers' pointed weapons. Her claws glinted against the newly-risen sun, her ears standing in rigid towers over her head. Only two of her tails were whishing behind her as she darted from the ground, the air, and past the soldiers' defenses.

"An-Ri!" Nao-Zai called, rushing through the fray after drawing his sword and meeting the first soldier to take a swing at him. "I got you! Retreat. We can't get them all here."

In an uneven terrain which could collapse any time under them, it's risky to use An-Ri's destructive spells, especially if she hasn't any control over them. But she learned how to summon two of her tails, so maybe that's a good sign?

Still, Nao-Zai wasn't going to let it up to chance when their lives were at play. He slammed his foot into a soldier's gut, wincing at the stabbing pain it brought to his ankles. A sword slashed for his head as he ducked and rolled out of the way. His blade swung in revenge, this time, hitting flesh. A pained cry erupted from the wounded soldier as he stumbled backwards. Nao-Zai gritted his teeth and waded his way towards Kai-Se. Without An-Ri, the prince would have been skewered already.

What was Kai-Se doing in the first place?

The prince's face was slack, his eyes the same, blank expanse back in Dangrao. His lips moved but no words came out. He whirled to one side, their gazes locking. Nao-Zai had a glimpse of how empty Kai-Se's expression was. What's going on? Was he alright?

A blur of white zipped past him. An-Ri's fluffy tail brushed against his cheek. Someone screamed about demon children behind him as they went down. The spirit saved his back. Which meant—

He lunged, stopping a blow aimed for Kai-Se's unprotected back. His arm wrapped around the prince's shoulders, yanking him back as he raised his sword arm to block another slash. The impact sent vibrations up his muscles, urging him to let go of his sword. Well, not this time.

"Kai-Se," he called, giving the prince a brief shake. Kai-Se didn't respond. It's like his body was here but his consciousness was somewhere else. Nao-Zai cursed and swung around, parrying a sword out of the way. "An-Ri, let's go!"

The spirit looked up from sinking her claws from a soldier's neck before leaping to the ground and landing with a soft thump. She didn't look older than a toddler, but seeing how the blood curled and dripped down her arms, her fangs, and her fenhai, one would think and look twice.

Nao-Zai dragged Kai-Se closer to An-Ri as she flew towards the direction where the Noryeong clan had gone. He was about to catch up, enough to grab the spirit by the foot, when her heard a string being pulled taut. Multiple strings, in fact. He cursed.

The strings thwacked.

He dove, tackling Kai-Se to the ground. The prince's cheek slammed into the dirt. A scream broke out of Nao-Zai's lips as warmth bloomed everywhere. Was he hit? Probably. He stumbled away from Kai-Se who groaned and clutched at his head. "Nao-Zai?" the prince's weak voice blended with the crunch of boots and bows being refilled. "What's going on?"

"Focus on running," Nao-Zai hissed through his teeth. It came out like an order, using a tone he only brought out when talking to his comrades. "Take An-Ri."

Kai-Se staggered up. The soldiers closed in. "Nao-Zai, I—"

"Now!" he yelled just as he met the first blade with his own. With a cry, he drove the enemy back. Arrows and small knives pecked the ground between his feet as he tackled soldier after soldier. Another sword made a wide slashed at him. This time, he didn't hesitate to stick his sword straight into the enemy's gut through the gap in the lamellar. The blade made a sickening squelch as he yanked it off the body. Red painted the ground like spilled tar.

He didn't look back to check if Kai-Se followed. What was he supposed to do if the prince hadn't? Here he was, getting his ass knocked off. The least Kai-Se could do was to ease some of his worries by moving out of the way if he didn't have any will to draw blood.

And he couldn't keep this up forever. The soldiers weren't running out and Nao-Zai was only a man who got lucky with a sword. Pain made him gasp when he slammed the butt of his sword against an exposed nape. It registered how he had an arrow sticking out of his arm. Blood drenched his whole sleeve, all hot and sticky.

He needed to finish this. Quickly. And to do that, magic was the best way to go. Forget about playing it safe in this ledge. He stuck his sword into the rising wall of dirt and tree roots. Calling into the thread connecting him and Kai-Se, he drew a sliver of warmth and passed it to the sword. Then, he yanked the blade out, letting the magic flare out in a huge explosion of sparks. Dust and chunks of rock and soil flew into the air, a curtain of haze rising from the ground with a silent hiss.

That should do it.

Nao-Zai was about to rub his hands together and call it a day of his handiwork when the entire mountain rumbled. Before any of them could scream, the ground beneath their feet buckled. His heart leaped to his throat as he stumbled back and started scrambling down the incline. Shin-Ki was right when they said one should not play with things one didn't understand, even if Nao-Zai didn't want to admit it.

People screamed in fear and anger as the entire face of the hill groaned and peeled away from the mound, taking them along for the ride. Nao-Zai, with blood draining out of his face and the countless wounds poked into his muscles, raced down before the muddy avalanche did it for him.

Kai-Se sat in the corner of their tent, eyes trained to the spot between Nao-Zai's feet where a pile of bloody fabric grew by the second. Nao-Zai gritted his teeth, knowing how the prince watched him check himself for more wounds in need of binding. He had already done one of his injured arms as well as the back of his shin. That's going to hurt like hell over the next few days with every step he takes. But he'd manage. He always did.

While his fenhai was being repaired by one of the Noryeong ladies who was nice enough to offer her services, he languished inside their hastily-built tent in nothing but his trousers. Kai-Se retreated inside not long after, sparing Nao-Zai a brief glance before claiming his place in the corner and never moving since. All he did now was stare at the bundle of fabric dipped in red.

Nao-Zai gathered it in his hands and marched to the campfire before Kai-Se tortured himself with the sight farther. He fed the bloodstained cloths into the fire, giving it more strength to burn brighter. When he made it back to the tent, Kai-Se had tucked his hands into himself and had drawn his knees to his chest. He was worse than when Nao-Zai found him behaving the same way in Dangrao. They'd be entering Torake tomorrow and whatever's bothering the prince still hasn't let up. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse.

"Kai, will you tell me what's really going on?" Nao-Zai asked. He didn't dare approach Kai-Se who seemed adamant in keeping him at the farthest distance their tent could allow. "That's the second time you froze in the middle of important things. You can talk to me."

The prince didn't move from his stance, but his gaze flicked towards Nao-Zai. "I'm fine," he whispered. His words were almost lost to the loud crackle of flames and the bustle of the Noryeong clan outside. "You don't need to worry about me."

"But I am," Nao-Zai interjected before kai-Se spout more nonsense. "I do worry about you, Kai-Se. Something's going on and I can't help you if you don't tell me anything. I want to help."

Kai-Se sighed, his lips pressing into a thin line, so thin it almost disappeared through his skin. "The willingness to help is appreciated," he said. His gaze flashed with torment Nao-Zai had never seen even in the most battle-hardened soldiers in the Fortress. "But I don't need it."

"Why?" Nao-Zai's voice was quiet. Defeated.

The piper raised his head from being rested against the tent's walls. "Why what?"

Was he faking not knowing what Nao-Zai was talking about? Still, it wouldn't hurt to spell it out as clearly as he could. "Why don't you want to tell me?" he said. "If you say it's something only you can worry about, I'm going to flip."

"That's the thing," Kai-Se's legs lengthened as if he was somehow preparing to lunge towards the opening and dart out into the foreign forest. "You don't need to nose into all of my damned business. There are some things I don't need you to worry about because I got it. Don't you understand?"

Nao-Zai blinked. Kai-Se had never used this tone with him before. It's somewhere between being sardonic and frustrated. Strained—that's a perfect word for what's happening between them. "I'm not going to stand to the side when your damned business is eating you up like this," he said. "Yes, this sucked. Yes, running for our lives and avoiding getting speared through the ass almost everyday is tough, but that doesn't mean you're supposed to take it all on your own. Because you're not alone."

Kai-Se's eyes hardened. He would be bringing his rank into his play at this point in the conversation, but they both knew he couldn't. Not anymore. And it's taking a toll on him. Nao-Zai didn't know how else to help, or if he was even supposed to help at this point. Kai-Se clearly want him out of the equation and that's fine. But how could he stay at a distance knowing he could prevent a destruction that's bound to follow?

"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier," Nao-Zai pivoted. The past thread has long frayed at the edges. "I didn't mean it."

Kai-Se flashed him a small smile. "It's fine," he said. "You saved me back there so I deserved to be yelled at a little bit."

Nao-Zai blew a breath. "No, you don't deserve to be yelled at, at all," he insisted. "What I did was wrong. I shouldn't have let the heat of the battle get to me. But please, take care of yourself. That's all I ask."

"I can do that," Kai-Se said, more to himself than to Nao-Zai. His eyes were descending into a dark void Nao-Zai never knew how to pull them back from. "I can do that."

"I'm here if you want to talk, Kai," Nao-Zai stood up and brushed his hair off his face. His fingers came up slick with dust and dried blood. He needed a bath, even if just a small one. "Anytime."

With that, he left Kai-Se inside the tent. His mind recycled through age-old thoughts. Maybe the reason why Kai-Se didn't want to talk to him was because the piper had found someone else. Maybe he realized Nao-Zai wasn't to his liking after all and was now looking for a way to get rid of him without being too upfront about it. He shook his head. Whatever it was, Nao-Zai had never felt this defeated since the last time he returned from one of his failed assignments.

But was that really how he saw Kai-Se? Just an assignment he needed to fulfill, one he needed to fix? The age where they were simply a guard and his charge had long passed. Which left the question he had been skirting around since that night in Trahn-gwok-tan.

What was he to Kai-Se now? And what was Kai-Se to him?

A Noryeong scout, a teenage boy Nao-Zai had sent to scour the perimeter before they retire for the night, whizzed into view, huffing and sweaty. "Nao-Zai," he breathed with wide eyes. "They're coming."

Nao-Zai cursed. "Find Shima-e," he said. "Tell her to gather everyone. We'll move out."

He trudged back to the tent, aiming for the last fenhai he had in his stash. The tent flap flew back as he pulled at it. It was empty. No sign of Kai-Se whom he was sure remained inside when he walked out. Did Kai-Se run away? Where would he go at this hour, in a place like this?

Nao-Zai closed his eyes and ground his teeth. He donned the fenhai, letting it fall over his bandages and chase away the cold nipping at his skin. He began pulling the tent down, as fast as his hands could allow. The rest of the Noryeong clan undid everything they set up just a few hours ago.

One thing at a time, Nao-Zai told himself as he put out the campfire with his boot and the last splash of river water left in his waterskin.

One problem at a time.