A Tear Frozen in Time

Allegiences

"My time on Kunlun mountain lasted almost as long as yours did.  It is not a lot of time in the Immortal sense, but long enough for me to make friends with boys I grew up with including Mo Yuan.  Back then, he was a brother to me, but only in the Disciple sense.  It was strong enough, but not blood strong, like I had with my own brothers, after all we are from opposite sides of the veil." he continued on while she listened mesmerized.

"I returned home to continue studying under my old tutors, while also learning the same peaceful ways that my father lived by.  However, my brothers preferred to battle, it is in their blood, so would travel the world looking for fights while my sisters merely wanted to marry a good man, settle down and have children.  It wasn't to be." he said sadly and though she was holding his hand, he had gone inwards as if he no longer noticed.

"Husbands had been found for them within our own tribe, unfortunately, one of my sisters had sneaked away with my second brother in order to see a little of the world, and while she was out, a prince from the far north saw her." he said softly as his eyes began to hood over as a pinch of sadness filled his eyes.

"He took an immediate liking to her, and decided that she would be his wife, only instead of approaching father like any decent man would do, he kidnapped her which sparked a major war between our tribes.  It was also the beginning of the Demon Wars which saw all of my brothers and sisters die." he said coming to a short halt as he regathered himself.  

This was a part of his life he had shared with no outsiders, she was his first and she knew it, because the telling was very difficult for him.  But she appreciated him so much more for it, because not only was he sharing a part of himself that still sat raw on his heart, but he had chosen her to share it with.  It was a very big step in their friendship and she felt it keenly in fact she was close to tears as her other hand reached out to hold his on hand that was now shaking.

It wasn't exactly what she had in mind in regards to learning more about him, but she certainly learned why he was so loathe to create alliances, especially with the Celestials, who he said had sided with the Northern Territories rather than his people who had a legitamate reason to take retribution.

"Life for me took a turn after that first war and I was thrown head first into specialized training in all areas of combat.  I was still young, only eighty thousand years of age, but after that first war and the loss of my sister to a man she supposedly fell in love with and married, my people lost all respect for all outsiders, in fact, we learned to loathe them.  Unfortunately, that war led to many more, including against those who were deemed brothers." he remarked pointedly at Mo Yuan in particular.

"And so after many more smaller wars, the Demon Wars as they are known flared into life.  It was bloody, violent and deadly for the entire world.  My siblings all perished in that war, and with them went my father who was taken prisoner and tortured to death.  My mother followed not long after having given up on life which she saw as meaningless without him."  

"So my dear, you ask about my childhood.  It was both happy and sad, but I am still here and though life has thrown many tragedies my way, there are still little pleasures to be gained from living." he said softly and ending it with his eyes fully on her face and looking at her in a way that only one other man had ever managed to achieve.

And so for the longest moment, she had held his hand, and sat quietly with him as every manner of emotion passed between them.  If in years to come she was asked when her feelings for this man really changed, it would have been at that moment.  When he had literally given her his heart without reservation or even a desire for reciprocation and it only deepened her affections for him.