When she entered the portal, everything around her went pitch black. It felt like she was still falling until a small spark of light appeared in front of her, then its intensity began increasing until it completely engulfed her. When the light finally faded away, she was at a place near a lake. Judging from the young grass and the lack of clouds floating around the sky, it was the start of summer time; preferably one of those days where you could enjoy the warm embrace of the sun while relishing in the cool breeze of the wind. In other words, this was the perfect day for Tsung Yue. She took in her surroundings in concealed excitement and saw that the lake was filled with migratory birds swimming and flying around the area.
Yue decided to go to the lake to cool off a bit, and while walking there, she didn't forget to think about where she was and what was awaiting her in this realm.
The water looked clear as glass, as the waves hit the sand gently, but sometimes a little harder due to the wind. Surrounding her were multiple kinds of grass and aquatic plants, which led even more expanse species of bugs to reside in them. But she couldn't care less about them at that moment. Her eyes were glued to the glistening parts of the lake, as they shone like diamonds under the sunlight. She could also see shadows of cranes and ducks floating and flying around the water, seemingly indifferent to her stares.
-"Maybe this is where there's eternal summer…"
Yue mumbled as she was already mesmerized by the sight before her. Although she had seen similar scenarios multiple times, she never paid much attention to them. But as the cool entrance of fall had come, she had realized that she wasn't fully grateful for the lives living among her. The thought made her sigh in slight melancholy and regret, as she couldn't help but think about the times when summer and Hairong had been with her.
Just as she was in deep thought, a sudden shrill of a crane broke out. When Yue looked where the cry had come, she saw a group of cranes. It was hard to see what they were doing, but it was clear that they were ganging up on something. Yue tilted her head in confusion but didn't dare interfere. This could be *mobbing*, or *an attack of intra-species*, so she couldn't just jump to conclusions yet. But she slowly approached them, and when the cranes felt something was coming their way, they all fled away.
Yue wasn't surprised at the commotion, as she came close enough to see what the birds had attacked; her eyes widened slightly. There it was, a singular crane lying there, its body twitching in pain, its feathers splayed out everywhere, as well as drops of blood. The assault was so severe that the crane had lost its eye as well. It seemed to be much smaller than their peers; its remaining feathers of different shades and shapes must've been the reason why it had been targeted. The bird kept letting out weak noises with all the energy it had left. Yue wasn't sure who the bird was calling out for, nor did she think that the parent-offspring bond was strong enough for the crane to seek its mother, of all things.
So she slowly approached the bird, settled down in front of it and gently held its head up. She didn't know what she was doing, but for some reason, she was carefully stroking the bird's remaining feathers to show comfort. Part of her wanted to end the bird's suffering entirely, but her almighty fist that pierced through the skull of a ginormous creature somehow couldn't press against its body any harder.
She sat there, holding and caressing until the crane's body turned cold and limp against her touch. Yue was so focused on the dead body that she didn't realize that someone was approaching her.
Only when she felt a hand against her shoulder did she turn around to see a person looking at her questioningly.
It was a young man, preferably in his early twenties, smiling gently at her. He was fairly handsome, his face brown from being under the sun for too long, long, thick eyebrows that seemed to complement his calf-black eyes. His short hair that reached his forehead swayed slightly from the wind, and from the looks of his overall persona, he was the type to take care of his appearance pretty well.
-"Oh, miss, what are you doing here? You shouldn't touch a dirty bird like that…"
He asked before smiling at Yue appreciatively.
And it was fair to say that the dragon was shocked. From her carelessness to not being more wary of her surroundings, to the person who dared to just touch her like that. Yue also realized that her horns and tail were still visible, so before the man could register it, she needed to distract him.
-"I was gazing at a star, right there!" She pointed at the sky, faking a serious expression. And once the man looked behind him to see where she was pointing, she quickly sealed her draconic features.
How, you may ask? It's magic. I ain't gotta explain this one.
-"What star?" He replied while looking back at her with a raised eyebrow after staring at the sky.
-"The sun…is a star, you know." Yue grinned awkwardly, trying to sound matter-of-factly.
The man let out a sound of realization before giggling softly.
-"You must be so smart, miss…but you weren't looking at the sun, were you?"
His laugh felt somewhat raging for Yue to hear.
-"So what if I was touching a bird? It doesn't harm you, now does it? Learn to mind your business." She retorted, expressing her displeasure openly as the grin turned into a scowl.
-"Oh, I am so sorry, miss. I didn't mean to upset you, I was just curious, that's all!" He quickly defended himself, holding his hands up in surrender. But before Yue could tell him off, he looked down at her hands and reached out to hold them without her permission.
-"Your hands became dirty…I'll help you wash them, come on." He urged before pulling Yue closer to him and heading to the lakeshore. While she was pulled by him while HOLDING HANDS, Yue's mind couldn't understand the balls of this man to even dare show his lowly presence to a celestial beast like her in the first place. Her ego was quite high, but in her defense, she had been surrounded by spiritually powerful entities the moment she woke up, so she was not the one to blame.
When they reached the shore, he crouched down and started washing her hands thoroughly. Yue couldn't believe what he was doing, but at this point, she just stopped caring altogether and kneeled beside him to let him do his thing.
-"There. They look much better now. Although…your hands are a little rough." The man said while inspecting her hands and, of course, still holding them.
Yue didn't respond, but roughly pulled her hands away from his hold, creating invisible boundaries that she hoped he wouldn't overstep.
-"And who the hell are you, huh?"
-"Oh, my apologies. My name is Yuchen. I feel really happy to meet such a beautiful lady here…what's your name?"
-"Tsung Yue."
-"Oh, what a beautiful name, just like you! It means full moon, correct?"
-"I don't care what my name means, bastard. Why did you approach me?" Yue demanded, feeling extremely distrustful of him.
-"I was just walking around the lakeshore when I saw you! I was curious about who was there alone…I mean no harm." He reassured her, his hands coming up in defense once again.
-"Although…what are you doing here? A beautiful maiden like yourself should be somewhere like a palace, don't you think? Or at least…someone to accompany you."
-"That's none of your damn business, soil boy."
-"Are you always this sharp, or is it just for me?" Yuchen asked before laughing at Yue's response. He then continued;
-"You must be some very powerful man's kid or you won't be talking like that. So who is it? Whose daughter are you?"
This question was a perfect chance to blend in and give herself a believable background, and Yue was internally leaping in joy at her luck and at the man's stupidity for giving her something to work with.
-"My father…he just passed away." Yue suddenly frowned, trying to make her expression solemn and sad as if she was mourning her supposed "dad". From Yuchen's question, she could also understand the societal hierarchy of this world, and in this case, it was heavily male-dominated.
Luckily, in Yuchen's mind, he was only trying to remember any recent deaths of a rich man. It wasn't long until he snapped his fingers and looked at Yue with pity.
-"Oh, you're Yan Chuan's daughter? I am very sorry for your loss…he was a great man, but I didn't know he had a daughter."
-"Yes, he would hide me as if I was too fragile for the world to handle…he loved me that much."
Yue looked down and wiped a tear that was never there in her eye.
-"Oh…no wonder you're here alone…but don't worry. You mustn't suffer alone. I'm here for you."
When Yuchen placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, it took all of Yue's strength to bite his hand off. It was clear he was a handsy person, but that doesn't mean she didn't have to like his touches. All she could do for now was to tolerate him a little longer until she found the right time to strike.
-"You know what? Come with me. I'll be with you for the day and bring you back to your home."
Yue looked up at him with feigned innocence, trying to appear grateful for his kindness. But inside, she was cursing at her fate that she was going to spend more time with him. She looked back at the crane, then at him and smiled.
-"Thank you…I would definitely love your company…"
***
Mobbing: A phenomenon of a group of prey animals ganging up on their natural predator, chasing it away. This occurs most commonly in birds.
An attack of intra-species: Similar to mobbing, but in this case, it happens in the same species of animal.