HEIR || Jikook

Chapter 35: Precious Tears

"Jungkook!" he called desperately.

Unaccepting of the tragedy, Jimin's hands found the other's chest, bumping rhythmically to waken his heart. Yong's frantic neighs ever so distracting while he tried to focus on his count. With one hand relentlessly compressing and decompressing, his other sent a whip of water to scramble through his medicinal bag, aiming for a particular pocket. 

Once found, he created a thin needle and wet it into the liquid in the small flask, then inserted it in the center of Jungkook's ink mark, hoping it wasn't too late. This was one of the things he purchased in their last pitstop, liquid energy the merchant described it-- or how the professionals would say-- Adrenaline. Who knew it would be of use so soon.

By the means of a miracle, he felt the first heartbeat through his fingers, but no sign of consciousness just yet. He leaned over and pinched Jungkook's nose closed before blowing air through his mouth into his lungs to have them started again, then sat back once slow air autonomously entered and left the Pyre's body. 

Before he could shift away, tears finally broke free from Jimin's eyes, tracing their path down his cheeks. Hesitant hiccups escalated into unrestrained sobs as he wailed against the Prince's chest. He yearned to ease the burden of his pain, yet the weight of guilt he grappled with seemed boundless.

Forcing himself to calm down and pull away, he let his arms fall limp by his side, and only now could he feel his own body shaking in the fear that hasn't left him. The blood drenching Jungkook's clothes had stained his own, it wet his porcelain skin along with his silver hair in a splash of crimson red. As such, the only vestige of untainted white amidst the bloodbath had been obliterated.

Allowing himself a moment of gratitude, he looked up to the sky to thank God for not giving him a cross too heavy to bear, then roamed his eyes around the Gemas which followed him from the pond to illuminate the massacre surrounding him. 

Beauty and horror often share a fragile boundary, a boundary that had been brutally crossed before his very eyes. He never wants to see this flower again. 

His work was far from over, the crystal sheet he created was but a temporary solution. Trouble is, he was no surgeon, and the most he could do was stitch the stab wound closed, hoping his organs would Pyre-like heal themselves properly. It was true that fire wielders had such a gift, and he hoped it would be enough this time.

One stitch at a time, alternating between a saline-damp cloth and his needle, he managed to close the gash and cleaned it before wrapping it covered. He picked the Prince up on a water cloud and hovered him under the destroyed tent, but after whatever happened while he was gone, he felt it necessary to create a stronger shelter for them, and what better than his trusted crystal once again.

Building something so big and thick surely required a lot of energy, and it was no surprise to find himself collapsing to his knees as soon as it was done. He needed food and rest but couldn't get any, not at this time where Jungkook was battling for his life because of him. 

He fed and quenched the horse's thirst instead before going back to its forever companion's unmoving body, using all of their blankets to keep the man warm and revive his fire, then drowning himself in his craft. He made a mental note of the herbs he needed for different medicines to help Jungkook's recovery, and took off as soon as the first sun ray hit his face. 

Stepping out of the hard shell, Jimin made it a staple not to look at the damage he did. He rather walked the opposite direction from the chaos, heading to the closest meadows they had passed by the day before for a brief gathering quest, then made his way back with the same resolution, carving an opening into the crystal and shutting it behind without looking back.