Cold Blooded

Sleep Talks

 Chongyun woke up at the top of a mountain. All around him the world stretched out into a great sea of mist. The mountain seemed familiar, but in the way a dream is familiar. The more he tried to focus on it, the harder it was.

"My love?" A voice whispered behind Chongyun. "Why do you fight me? Why are you trying to save those weaklings?"

"I-" Chongyun spun around and was face to face with a beautiful woman. She wore a dress the color of the sky and the clouds and stood with grace. Her long white sleeves fell far past her hands and her eyes were soft and warm.

"Why? Why won't you let me take care of you, my child?"

"I- I'm not your child." Chongyun muttered, taking a step back. His throat and voice didn't hurt, but it just felt so meaningless in comparison to her voice.

"Maybe not," The woman reached up towards Chongyun and caressed his face. "But you never had a mother. Everyone abandoned you, didn't they? They all left you, but I will never leave you."

Chongyun knew that this was wrong, something was wrong, but as her hand brushed over his cheek all of his reservations melted away. The strength and the fight drained out of him. What had they even been talking about?

"I love you, Chongyun."

"You-" Chongyun fell to his knees, the world around him blurring. His words came out in shaky breaths. "You love... me."

"You will listen to me, because I will never leave you."

"I will..." Chongyun fell forward, his face against the dirt. He could hear his heart beating in his ears. His eyelids were so heavy, he kept blinking to keep them open. Why am I even fighting? "I will- listen... to you, be- cause... you will- never... leave me."

"Even if I ask you to deal with the weak ones?"

"Even if," Chongyun curled in on himself, desperately fighting for breath. "Even- if you... ask me- to... deal with the- weak... ones."

"Good," The woman pulled her hand away as Chongyun began to cough and twist. "Now it's time for you to go be a good little boy, okay?"

"Yes," Chongyun whispered, his eyes slowly closing. "O-okay."

Chongyun sat up quickly, gasping and panting. His heartbeat was running a million miles per second. He looked around frantically, hardly able to take in the faces and building around him.

"Chongyun?" A small voice whispered. "Are you- are you okay?"

Chongyun turned quickly towards the voice to discover a very worried Teucer looking up at him. Teucer's worry was nothing compared to the fear and concern in the faces of Ajax, Saya, Ma, and surprisingly Tonia.

"He's all good, Teucer," Ajax said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Go help Anton with whatever he's doing outside, okay?"

"I-" Teucer looked up at Chongyun. Chongyun warily smiled and a smile returned to Teucer's face. "Okay, big brother." Teucer grabbed a coat from the wall and hurried out the door to find Anton.

"Okay," Ma sighed, taking a step back. She turned towards Tonia. "Now that he's gone and Chongyun is awake, you are going to tell us all what happened last night."

"I- I'm so sorry, Chongyun," Tonia whispered, her eyes wet with tears. Chongyun hadn't noticed before how red her eyes were. "I never should have tricked you like that. I thought that I was protecting my family, but I wasn't really thinking at all. I have been just awful to you ever since you got here and I am just so, so sorry."

"I- I tricked you into following me into the woods and then I tried to trigger whatever the other thing is." Tonia wiped away the tears that had started to fall. "I- Ajax told me later that if you had fully given into the monster, we would both be dead right now. You fought the monster and allowed us to live. I never should have done what I did to you and I am so, so sorry. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I promise I- I will do everything I can to protect you to make up for what I did."

Chongyun opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He couldn't manage a single word, so instead he just nodded and gave her a small smile.

"I-" Tonia wiped away the last few tears with a small laugh. "Thanks, Chongyun. You really are too good for this world."

"You've been out for almost a whole day and you were kicking and muttering the entire time," Ajax rested a hand on Chongyun's shoulder. "Is there anything you need to tell us?"

Chongyun thought about the beautiful woman and everything she had said. He remembered her calm, gentle voice and the way she had touched him. He wanted to tell them all about her, but he knew that she wouldn't want that. Instead, he just shook his head and smiled.

"Okay, that- that's good," Ajax ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. "Okay, yeah."

"Ajax!" Teucer and Anton called in unison, as they hopped through the door. "Mr. Pulcinella is on his way!"

chapter art posted by @luminsw·ela/dela/-a

Sorry this is so late, also all chapter art is picked by the author.