Teach Me Magic - Teach Me How To Fly

8th Tea part three

"You shouldn't have grabbed on it so tight, your hands are full of splinters now," Zhao Yunlan scolded the still slightly zoned-out Shen Wei while gently treating his bruised palms. "But I guess, I will take that as a compliment." He smirked, pecking Shen Wei's left cheek.

"Nnn..." it was hard for Shen Wei to keep his eyes open so he slid under the covers.

Smiling, Captain pulled on his trousers and layed down next to Shen Wei, stroking his hair. "Let's see if you'll scold me tomorrow..."

* * *

A sudden movement woke Shen Wei up in the middle of the night. He sat up and looked around. "Yunlan...?"

Then he noticed him standing by the window, staring terrified into the darkness of the night. Hearing Shen Wei, he turned to him. "She fell, Xiao Wei! She fell from the tower!" He pointed at the fog enveloped top of the stone tower before running for the door and down the stairs to check the dark part of the courtyard where "she" should have landed.

Shen Wei jumped from the bed, following closely behind. "Who? Yunlan!" On his way out, Shen Wei glanced briefly out of the window but didn't see anything in the dark. There were various magical creatures who had the ability to induce hallucinations but Yunlan was immune towards magic...

Arriving finally in the courtyard, Zhao Yunlan started frantically searching the bushes under the tower. Shen Wei quickly joined him but neither could find anything.

After a few minutes Captain Zhao just sat down on the ground, laughing. "I guess I just saw the ghost!"

Shen Wei tilted his head. "Was it the White Lady? What colour were her gloves?"

Zhao Yunlan sighed. "Well, she was in white but all I've seen was her falling down. Just falling down. I definitely didn't think at that moment, I was supposed to check her gloves... I guess, that's a waste of free fortune telling, hmm?"

"Mmm... or it is just a man-made rumour about her gloves?" Shen Wei speculated.

Zhao Yunlan smirked, looking up at his lover. "Anyway, it was worth it, seeing you run out only in your underwear..."

The wizzard averted the perverted gaze of the other man bashfully, gulping nervously. "You... Don't speak nonsense," he mumbled. "Let's go to sleep..." He turned around and headed back towards their chamber.

The Captain rose up and hurried to join him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Then he leaned over and just as Shen Wei braced himself to be kissed, he felt a tug at the strap with his amber pendant.

"I wanted to ask you this, Xiao Wei..." Zhao Yunlan kept on his mischievious smile. "When you were feeling really good earlier..." He made a pause to watch Shen Wei's ears turn bright red. "...your amulet kept glowing. What's that about?"

Shen Wei looked elsewhere. "Really...? It must have been nothing... a coincidence."

"Ohhhh! I see..." Zhao Yunlan could see right through that lie but he knew that even if he pressed on, Shen Wei wouldn't admit anything. "I hope it lights up again soon." Captain winked.

Smiling slightly, Shen Wei was just glad that Yunlan looks cheerfull again. Whatever the ghost's appearence meant. He will consult books when they're back at the Academy.

* * *

An unspecified amount of time in the future...

Da Qing jumped up on the bed with the comatose Captain. Zhao Yunlan was dressed in a freshly new white gawn that Shen Wei had changed him into just moments ago before going to get something for breakfast.

The spymaster and self-proclaimed best-friend of Zhao Yunlan didn't visit often. In half a year this was his second visit and this time he came only because he met Shen Wei outside of the hospital and it was too awkward to explain to the for-once-smiling wizzard that he had no intention of comming inside.

Captain Zhao in his memory was the strongest soldier, the Master Griffin Rider, the cheerfull, mischievous and laughing boy that he had watched grow into a splendid healthy young man. Not this... this... shell of a used-to-be man.

The sleeping corpse under him looked nothing like the Captain he'd remembered and he hated the sight.

Da Qing felt the anger rise within himself, standing on the barely moving chest. "You have no idea..." he muttered but, of course, there was no reaction. "You just keep lying here for all these days... only breathing. You know what all Shen Wei had sacrificed for you? What we all sacrificed for you? Only thanks to me he's still alive and caring for you. Everyone else had left you. You think that stupid stunt had cost only you? I gave up the most valuable pieces of information to give your wizzard a chance to avoid death penalty. Chu went into a zombie rage while defending the little wizzard with pure core in the Academy because of what happened with Shen Wei and they both had to flee the Capitol. Zhu Hong is on suspension for helping Rosie escape when they wanted to put her down. All while Zhu Jiu is...!"

"Da Qing!" Shen Wei yelled as he entered the room. "You're hurting Yunlan!"

The spymaster looked at his paws and their nails that were digging through the gawn into Zhao Yunlan's skin, drawing out drops of blood. He quickly retracted them, noticing Captain's face looking slightly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled, jumping down from the bed. "I didn't mean..."

Shen Wei sighed, going to check on the wounds. He sat down on the edge of the bed, opening the clothes' neckline. "It's shallow. I will desinfect it and he'll be alright. Need to change the clothes again, too."

Da Qing hanged his head and tail low. "I'm sorry..." Then he felt a gentle hand stroke his head lightly.

"I know. It's a hard time for all of us. But we need to be strong. He will wake up one day and he will want to see smiles," Shen Wei's voice carried an unwavering sense of hope.

Da Qing turned around, ready to leave. "What will you do if he never wakes up, though?"