As the duo wandered the lands under the hazy sky, Yue realized the breeze had become much colder than in the morning, signaling the end of summer. Only then did she start to see the environment around her slowly changing into its golden hues, preparing for the coldness ahead. The dragon took a deep breath, taking in the cool air before sighing in melancholy as if she didn't want things to leave abode. But that's where the beauty in fall lies. It's not the leaves falling as they change color, not the migratory birds dancing across the sky hurriedly; it's all about embracing change for the better. However, Yue was extremely sentimental. She didn't like how her world was moving on without her. She couldn't appreciate the silent beauty of death, nor the serene absence of the lakes, as she reminisced about the old times when everything was lively.
-"I wish I could live where there's eternal summer…" she thought before looking down at the very countable few leaves fallen across her way. It was clear that she was stuck in the past, and couldn't bother trying to get out any time soon.
Just when she was so deep in thought, Hairong lifted her wing to stop Yue in her tracks. "Look, food!" She said excitedly as the smaller dragon looked at the rock bull lounging about. The difference between these enormous creatures and normal bulls is that they're somehow solitary herbivores, meaning that they've evolved to withstand and counterattack any potential predators. While its singular existence was a huge advantage, its strength was also unfortunately otherworldly. No wonder Hairong wanted to test Yue by making her jump the bull head on, because of its sheer defense and offense, it'll be a suitable challenge for her. She was also internally leaping in joy at her luck in stumbling upon this particular prey of all animals.
-"Go on," she urged, nudging Yue with her tail expectantly.
-"Why don't you just eat me instead, you big-backed fatty?" Yue responded lazily as she looked down at Hairong with a challenging gaze.
To clarify things, Hairong was not actually overweight. It was only because of her reptile-like eating habits that made her look like she could handle a few more bites down her stomach, that's all. Don't call her fat, it'll make her sad.
-"Oh Yue…have you seen yourself? I could choke on your bones trying to give it a nibble." Hairong shrugged as she responded with an innocent smile. Unfortunately for Yue, Hairong didn't often get her remarks and always took her seriously.
Yue then begrudgingly approached the bull, quietly seething from Hairong's words as she prepared to attack. She didn't forget to send her a glare, too. Unfortunately, her anger had blinded her from thinking clearly; her unconscious mind caused her to walk over to the bull as if they were friends who hadn't met in a long time.
This was a huge mistake on her part, and the bull took full advantage of it. It dashed right at her to inflict its signature physical and psychological damage. But this time, Hairong didn't, or wouldn't, save her. This was a test, something that Hairong was certain Yue could handle alone. Another thing to note was that this was not the first time Tsung Yue had encountered this animal. She may be inexperienced and have started her test with a mistake, but she wasn't stupid. She already remembered its defense mechanism, and yet she felt slightly anxious to fight back this time.
When the bull inched closer, she shifted her right leg to the side and focused all her strength on her fist, then aimed right at its skull. Although it wasn't the best part of the body to strike at, if she succeeded in the punch, it would be a fatal blow. Secondly, this decision was made right after the bull ran towards her, so her fear had made her choices incredibly irrational and unplanned.
When the punch landed on its head, the animal's brain was shot out everywhere, its blood painting the ground beneath to a messy crimson hue. Its legs quickly gave out as it collapsed on the spot. A scary but painless way to go, as one would say. When Yue looked down at her bloody fist, she felt pride for the first time. The fact that she just took a life so ruthlessly didn't matter to her somehow, but the raw power now coursing through her body made her feel like she was invincible.
At this moment, you probably realized that Yue was not exactly a good soul, and that might be closer to the truth than you might think.
-"Hey Hairong! Did you see that, or shall I do it again?" Yue turned around excitedly, clearly waiting for praise for her bravery and strength.
Sure, in Hairong's eyes, Yue literally just walked up to a bull, punched its brains out as if it occurred regularly, so she was extremely proud. But Hairong was staring at her with a hint of sadness before showing the dragon that prideful smile. Now that some time has passed since their encounter, Hairong could barely accept the fact that Tsung Yue didn't need her anymore. Unless they'd become friends instead of apprentice and teacher, but something in Hairong told her that Yue didn't feel the same.
As she approached Yue with false excitement, she tried her very best to hide her rising tears. Luckily, Yue didn't even realize her expression because she was busy focused on her successful hunt, but a part of Hairong wished she would…
-"Did you see how I punched the absolute sh** out of this thing? Didn't even break a sweat." Yue boasted loudly as she lifted her chin, clearly forgetting about her bloodied fist, and she probably wouldn't bother cleaning it unless she was asked to.
-"Yes, it was really great…You're learning so fast." Hairong quietly sighed before preparing to eat the thing whole.
While Hairong was busying herself with the meat, Yue went out to collect extra ingredients like usual. She enjoyed exotic and sharp flavors, and the thought of eating something without even remotely salty was impossible for her.
When she came back, Hairong had already prepared a leg and brought a makeshift pot to help her with cooking. Then, they started the fire and began putting the vegetables and meat.
As Yue was inspecting her soup, she couldn't help but think that the flavor was bland.
After all, she couldn't add much except for sea salt and wild onions, because who in their right mind would add a bunch of unknown herbs and pray it wouldn't kill you? But then, a wild idea appeared, and she carefully pulled out the orange flower she was keeping. Hairong, who was lounging beside Yue, suddenly looked up to figure out what the hell the other dragon was thinking until it quickly dawned on her that Yue was going to add it into the soup.
When it was finally time to taste the "potion", Yue took a small sip before humming in delight.
-"Oh my word, Hairong! This tastes so good! You should try it." She brought the pot full of soup in front of the lounging dragon.
-"I told you I don't eat plants, it smells terrible…"Hairong huffed annoyedly as she jerked her head back in retaliation.
- "Fine, more for me then." Yue says before indulging herself in the new and flavorful soup. Apparently, the flower gave the soup a spicy taste, which Yue found oddly delicious. Key word, oddly. Because this was Hairong's perspective as she saw the other dragon wolf down an entire pot full of soup with that "atrocious palate" almost without chewing.
- " Whew, I'm so gonna explode if I take another bite, but that would be so worth it…"
Yue huffed contentedly as she patted her stomach.
-"And you call me fat..." Hairong mumbled back, even though she knew Yue's calling her that lacked any real bite. After her silent retort, she looked up at Yue to realize that a part of her hair had started to glow orange.
-"Hey Yue? What's wrong with your hair!? Are you turning into a fish?"
"What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean, my hair is glowing?"Yue asked with slight annoyance as she started to pull her hair closer to inspect it.
And surprisingly so, she did see a small portion of her hair glowing in orange, much like the flower.
-"Hah, would you look at that..." Yue responds nonchalantly as she gently touches the strands. A sudden thought occurred to her as she looked back at Harrong with a hopeful expression.
-"Does this mean I got superpowers?"
-"No. Why would you think that, silly?" Hairong responded innocently. However, Yue contorted back with a scowl on her face.
- "A lie would've been better...You know what? I'm gonna try anyway."
She then stood up and spread her legs to her shoulders' length and raised her arms to appear intimidating.
Pause.
After a good minute of Tsung Yue's supposed intimidation against the world, not even a gust of wind bothered to flow against her. In fact, everything went completely silent, as if they were waiting with bated breath that something would actually happen.
-"Yue…?" Hairong spoke softly as if she was worried she would make her upset if she was any louder.
-"Ugh, this is stupid! So all I got was bioluminescence!?" She snapped, stomping the ground in irritation, flaying her arms like she was fighting against something. But as she was thrashing about, the orange streaks in her hair glowed brighter, and a slight spark jolted from her hand to blast the ground.
The ground she smote quickly burst into smoke as it revealed a portal, quickly swallowing the dragon into its depths. All this happened in a matter of seconds so Hairong couldn't react in time to save Yue. As Hairong was calling out for her from the edge of the portal, Yue leaped out of it, then landed right beside her before throwing her hair back in dramatic fashion.
-"It's really deep in there…and dark." Yue spoke solemnly; her previous frustration or playfulness had completely disappeared as she looked down at Hairong for an explanation.
-"It's clear that this is your power, Yue! To make portals, apparently."
-"And how would I know where this thing will take me?"
-"I guess you should just trust it. It's from Yun Meeren after all."
Yue huffed in acceptance, finding truth in her words. Yun Meeren had told her already that the flower would guide her, and this portal was the key to reaching her goal.
-"Well then…what are we waiting for? Let's go."
Just as Yue was about to jump into the portal, she saw Hairong stepping back from the corner of her eye. She turned around to see something she hadn't seen before. Hairong's always-happy and cheerful face had turned into something uncertain and longing, which didn't fit her well, or so Yue thought.
-"What's wrong? Are you scared or something?"
Before Yue could register, Hairong dashed into her arms, clinging onto her tightly, her claws desperately holding her clothes like a cat. Yue almost fell into the portal, but she quickly gained control of her step and looked down at Hairong, her gaze questioning what had happened.
-"I can't go with you!" Hairong spoke out, her tone etched with sadness.
-"And why?"
-"Because Yun Meeren forbade me to be with you anymore."
-"What? Why would she?" Yue asked her incredulously, and Hairong could hear a hint of doubt in her voice.
-"I was never meant to help you, Yue…it was supposed to be Yun Meeren's job to take you out of the cave and teach you about the pearl. But I couldn't leave because I thought we were friends…"
Her confession made Yue contemplate the past times when she had met the spiritual woman and how Hairong was constantly uneasy around her. It all made sense now.
-"If I keep being with you, Yun Meeren wouldn't like it…So I will have to leave."
The last sentence made Yue feel extremely upset. Like I said, she was sentimental, and wouldn't allow change until she felt like it.
-"You can't just leave me like that! Am I nothing to you?"
-"Of course not! You're my friend, my first ever friend, I would never want to leave you…"
-"Then why do you want to go now?" Yue demanded, her arms slowly starting to hold Hairong a little tighter now.
-"Because I'm scared…I'm scared because I might never see you again if I keep denying Yun Meeren!"
Yue was silent. Then took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.
-"So you're really going, huh?"
-"I'll come back, I promise. I just need some time to make sure I can be with you again. Until then…you should go and explore on your own."
Yue slowly nodded and tightened her hold again before she finally let go. On cue, Hairong took off and fled to the sky, occasionally looking back and returning, then finally leaving Yue's sight once and for all.
Yue stared at Hairong's retreating silhouette until she disappeared. From the sky, a singular pink feather slowly descended and fell right on her palms. This feather felt much heavier than it should be, as if Yue couldn't lift it without using both of her hands. She looked at it, then placed it between her shirt and pants before turning around to the portal once again.
***