Cold Blooded

Pets

The night ended and the morning sun rose. Chongyun had claimed a blanket and a portion of the floor for his bed and Saya had taken over a couch in the living room.

"Wake up, friend!"

Chongyun jumped from the floor and looked around desperately for where Three's familiar greeting had come from. It took Chongyun a moment to realize that it was only Teucer in front of him. Three wasn't here. Here was safe.

"What's wrong, Chongyun?" Teucer asked, tilting his head to the side. "Did you have a nightmare? It's okay. I get nightmares sometimes, but Ajax promised me that he'll always keep me safe from the bad guys. We'll keep you safe here."

Teucer smiled so wide that Chongyun's fears melted away. Chongyun stood up and helped Teucer stand up. Teucer wrapped his small fingers around Chongyun's hand and pulled him over to the table where plates of eggs were laid out. It appeared that Teucer, Chongyun, and Ma were the only ones awake so far.

"Good morning, hun," Ma said with a smile, but she seemed to be hiding something. She wore a smile as a mask just like her son. "Your food is all set out. Teucer is very excited to play with you today. Just don't stay out too late, alright?"

"Yesh, ma'am," Teucer said, already shoveling eggs into his mouth. "We're going to take out my kite today!"

Chongyun couldn't help but smile and began to dig into his own eggs. The two boys were out the door in minutes, fully dressed in a mix of used jackets and scarves. The sun had just risen over the mountains and the snowy landscape sparkled like millions of diamonds. Teucer carried a thin kite under his arm and in no time at all, the kite was flying through the sky.

The sun rose high into the sky and the two raced through the thin trees at the edge of the forest and created tiny snowmen in the cold snow. Teucer showed Chongyun how, if you cleared the snow off the ice, you could see small fish swimming underneath. In fact, later into the afternoon, Ajax came out and began to fish with a small pole in a hole in the ice.

"Oh, I wanna show you my new toy that Brother got me!" Teucer said with a grin. "Stay right here, I'll be right back."

Chongyun smiled and leaned back against a tree as Teucer ran off towards the house. Chongyun looked down at their small gathering of snowmen with their rock eyes and stick arms. Teucer had gifted his hat to one of the snow people and had named it "Teucer the Second."

"Chongyun!" Teucer called as he hopped through the snow with a figurine in his hands. "I got i- Woah! Ow!"

Teucer tripped over a rock and fell into the snow. Chongyun ran over to the little boy's aid and Ajax looked up from his fishing.

"It's okay," Teucer said. Looking up at Chongyun. "I just scraped my hands a bit."

The small boy raised up the palms of his hands where they had been scraped. The tiniest bit of blood rose up from the cuts.

Do it, my love. You know you want to.

Chongyun reached up and grabbed his head. He took a few steps away from Teucer and shook his head. No, not now. He couldn't hurt Teucer. He had to stop. The voice needed to stop.

Darling, why do you ignore me?

"Ch- Chongyun?" Teucer tilted his head to the side. "Is- is everything alright?"

"TEUCER!" Ajax cried as he raced towards them. He jumped and flew through the air until he landed in front of Teucer. He spread his arms wide to protect his little brother and looked up at Chongyun. He desperately looked from Chongyun to Teucer to the house in the distance. He didn't know what to do.

Come on, my pet.

The voice sounded annoyed. Its usual calmness seemed frail. Its aura was still overpowering, but not as strong as it had before.

They're right there, please, do it for me.

"No..." Chongyun whispered, shaking his head furiously. "Get out of my head. Get out. Get out! GET OUT!"

The voice was silent for a moment and whispered something quietly.

Hmm... Interesting...

The voice disappeared and Chongyun fell into the snow. He was panting and his heart was beating too fast. He couldn't rise to his feet, but he had done it. He had beaten the voice, but how?

Chongyun wasn't exactly sure what happened next, but he realized he was back in the house. He was lying on the couch with a blanket thrown over him and Teucer and Saya staring at him.

"Are you okay, Chongyun?" Saya whispered. Chongyun nodded and sat up. Teucer jumped into his arms and started to wail.

"Chongyuuuuun!" Teucer cried, his tears making Chongyun's shirt wet. "You should have told us all that you were sick! I wouldn't have made you play with me so much."

Chongyun looked up at Saya with a q question in his eyes. She cleared her throat a bit before she explained.

"Well, yeah. Ajax just told everyone about the sickness that you have. Y'know the one that gives you headaches and makes you faint sometimes..."

Chongyun nodded slowly, accepting the lie and trying to commit it to memory in case he needed it later. He then turned back to Teucer and patted the boy on the back.

"We- We can just play around the house tomorrow, okay?" Teucer said, looking up at Chongyun. "That way you won't get any bad headaches."

Chongyun nodded and gave Teucer a hug.

"Okay, okay, hunny," Ma said, walking over with a spoon. "It is way past your bedtime now and Chongyun needs his rest. Go run along now."

"Yes, ma'am!" Teucer called, his normal cheery attitude returning. He skipped off towards his room with a smile on his face.

"How are you, darling?" Ma asked, a small smile on her face. She reached her hand up and rested the back of her hand against Chongyun's forehead. "My! Well, I thought you would be burning up, but you're as cold as death!"

"Ha, I wouldn't put it past Ajax to bring the dead into our home." Tonia sniffed from a corner.

"Tonia! Would you stop it already?" Ma snapped, turning towards her daughter. "He hasn't done anything wrong the entire time he's been here! Why won't you just leave him alone?"

"Him?!" Tonia hissed. "That thing is a monster! You didn't see it when Teucer fell. That monster was hungry, it was in his eyes! He looked like he was going to devour Teucer. He has a mouth full of fangs. Mom! What more proof do you need! He's just another fatui monster!"

"Hey," Saya jumped in front of Tonia and raised her finger up at the girl. "Chongyun has been through years of pain and suffering! You think that you're all smart and that you understand what is happening, but you don't! Don't you DARE call him a monster!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tonia said with mock repentance. "Did I insult your little fatui pet?! You're all monsters. That's all the fatui does! They just make monsters to fight endlessly in the Tsaritsa's great war for 'peace.'"

"Tonia," Ajax said, coming in from the hallway. "I get it. You're mad that I suddenly dropped in here with a bunch of strangers, but, please, just drop it."

"Pfft," Tonia shoved past Ajax and left for her room. "If it isn't one of Tsaritsa's favorite monsters."

"Tonia..." Ajax turned towards her, but didn't follow her.

"I'll talk to her," Ma whispered, her strong voice suddenly weak. "You all... just get some shut eye, okay?"

"I- okay, Ma," Ajax whispered, running his finger through his hair. He looked at Saya and Chongyun and then slowly retreated to his room.

"Goodnight, Chongyun," Saya said with a sigh. "Sleep well and know that I'll never see you as a monster."

Chongyun nodded and laid back down on the couch. Saya went off into another room and Chongyun was alone. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but the night had only begun.

chapter art by @petrangsiro808