The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 108: Caring

Calista awoke to the steady gait of someone walking.

Blinking heavy eyelids open, she yawned, fingers bumping against something fuzzy as she stretched.

"Wha—" She struggled for a second against the strong arms supporting her back and knees.

"Don't move... too much." Came the quiet plea from above her.

Ceasing her squirming, Calista gazed up at Shin-ah curiously as he walked away from their friends still sleeping underneath the trees. "Where are we going?"

He carried her through the forest to a destination she couldn't see. Her injured arm was draped carefully over her stomach, legs swinging as he strode through the trees. Sunlight peeking through the leaves dotted the grass under his feet in shimmering gold and a light breeze blew lazily through the woods.

The tranquility was almost enough to make her forget what happened yesterday.

Almost.

Her heart started to beat faster at how close the call was. How close she came to losing him. Weakly, she clung to his robe, needing the reassurance that he was still here.

Still breathing.

The trees thinned out as he started to slow and she faintly heard the bubbling of rushing water. Twisting her head around, she nearly fell out of Shin-ah's hold in her excitement, momentarily forgetting her wounds and thinking that they were about to go swimming. His arms tightened around her to keep her secure and she couldn't prevent the wide grin that split across her face.

"The river?!"

Even though his eyes were obscured from her vision by his mask, a small smile tipped up the edge of his mouth. "Yoon said... to keep it clean..."

At the mention of cleaning it in the freezing water, she stiffened, smile disappearing instantly. Shin-ah hushed her softly, nudging his nose against her temple comfortingly.

"... I'll be gentle." He murmured softly in her ear.

Calista managed a wobbly smile as he set her down on her feet. Her knees buckled when they hit the ground though, and she braced her good arm on the grass to keep steady.

Shin-ah tried to help her, but she pushed him away, gritting her teeth with pained effort as she awkwardly crawled toward the stream.

I can do this much... I don't want to be helpless.

She yelped as she dipped a hand in, but it was ice cold and she backpedaled so fast that she lost her balance. She would have fallen if the man behind her didn't catch her in time, and fully aware of that fact, she smiled up at him sheepishly.

He didn't say anything, but his shoulders were tense.

After examining her to ensure that she hadn't hurt herself further, he helped her right herself, now being met with no resistance.

Carefully, he maneuvered her so that she was sitting by the edge of the river. Deft but gentle fingers unwound Yoon's handiwork from last night to reveal the bloody wound oozing a disgusting mixture of blood and something else he couldn't identify.

He frowned deeply. He didn't know that there was such a thing as white blood.

"It looks like pus." Calista noted with a resigned sigh, sensing his confusion.

Seeing her wound for the first time in daylight made bile rise in her throat for reasons she couldn't fathom. She was no stranger to injury, on both the recipient end and she had witnessed fatal violence many times over. So she did not know why this was so jarring.