You stay silent, and his words fall above your mind like heavy stones you cannot understand, blocking your way to talk.
Me defeating him?
You watch his fire calming down little by little as he falls asleep.
It takes some time before you get out of the trance and tie the fabric around the wound.
And as the pain eases, you freeze down completely from surprise. Never in your life before had anyone given you treatment for injuries.
Why him? Why the man who feels disgusted just by looking into my eyes?
And without no real reason, you start smiling and press your lips to the fabric. The bitter taste reaches your mouth, but it doesn't bother you. Your tears make it salty.
Someone gave you something to heal.
And he smiled. Why was he smiling?
Having seen that, you don't regret asking him to show his face. Whatever price you will have to pay for it, now you feel only gratitude.
The first time, you only felt threat and cruelty radiating from his words, his movements.
But the more he lets his past filter through that wall of pain, the more you feel his sorrow and anger, even more than all you have in yourself.
He had things he lost until they turned him into the broken, unstable shape he is now.
You never really had anything to lose. Maybe that makes more difference than whatever you imagined before.
You shiver from the cool room and huddle yourself up to keep the warmth of your body.
Without any real reason or hope, you repeat the movements of the dance from earlier, trying to create fire.
From his words, you understand how much this power means.
And as you try over and over again, your eyes keep wandering to King's calm flames.
The exhaustion and cold slowly take over you, and you stand up, walking closer to him as quietly as possible.
You are not afraid now since you still don't have anything to lose.
You only stop half a meter far from his back. The Lunarian is breathing steadily, and you shake your head after you see yourself reflecting in the fire for a moment.
As you feel the radiating heat of the flames, you collect all your bravery and sit on his bed, then lay down next to the fire.
You frown as you feel the feathers of his right wing under you, but he doesn't wake up.
You turn to your side the same way he sleeps, but you can't hide your figure like him since your wings can't move.
As he covers himself so softly, he seems to be hiding from the world. In this state, even the most terrifying men can look vulnerable.
Your cold body slowly warms up, but you can't fall asleep. Your thoughts have stopped, and somehow all your worries disappeared.
The happenings of this day play in your mind like the pages of an ancient book, ready to rust away in the wind.
You don't understand.
After Kaido captured you, you thought your life was over. But this man might know something about who you are, who you should be.
This place is filled with knowledge and culture of this almost extinct, proud, and special tribe.
You hate him but feel empathy for his suffering, which might not be that different from yours.
"What kind of Haldblood are you?"
And as your eyes slowly close, you subconsciously reach for the fire that your blood is longing for.
Before passing to the land of dreams, you see a glazy, blurry sight, and you can not understand its importance just yet.
As your intact hand touches the flames, they run over your skin, this time without causing any pain.
As the fire turns blue around your flesh, King's left wing moves in his dream.
You feel safe like never before, as it covers your body gently, at the cost of revealing his own to the darkness.
.
.
.
As you wake up in the morning you startle when you feel metal around your wrist. You try to move, and a shackle clings with a clear and disturbing noise.
You freeze down with fear, but as you look around you can't see the Lunarian anywhere. The light enters through the distant windows, letting you see again.
And you frown when you realize it's not the only source of light in the room.
When you look down, you see the shape of a large hand under your neck and collarbone, above your breasts.
A shape, burning with tiny, calm flames that spread warmth through every inch of your body.
You scream shortly as you startle and hit your skin to put out the fire, but it doesn't go away.
You start to panic even if it doesn't hurt you, yet you stop when a sudden voice sounds from the ground.
"You can't make it disappear that way!"
You bump your head into the table, which King handcuffed you to. You hiss from the slight pain and look down, then you get surprised so much that you forget the burning mark.
An adorable little girl is smiling at you brighter than anyone you have met before.
She has white hair on top, which fades into aqua green, then into clear blue. You lour as you see two horns on her head.
The child's not even the size of your shin.
"Who are you?" she asks excitedly, running to your foot. You gulp and recoil again, massaging your slightly aching head. "Uncle King never lets anyone inside this room!"
Your jaw drops, and you feel the air running out of your lungs as you try to process the last sentence. As you ask back, your voice distorts into a weak, high-pitched whine.
"Uncle what?"
The child chuckles sweetly and hurries to your free arm, starting to climb up on it as if it was a tree.
You shake your head in disbelief and lift it. She laughs as she slips down, now hanging from your wrist.
"Oi, I wanna help you!" she protests. "You should remove the flames. Just because they don't hurt you, you shouldn't set anything on fire."
"Why am I burning?" you whisper shockedly, watching as the child climbs to your elbow like a little monkey.
She jumps to your knee and sticks out her tongue in concentration as she finds balance on it.
"It's Lunarian magic, you know!" she laughs. "Uncle King does it to me all the time, when I have a nightmare. He lights his finger up and draws a circle over my palm like whoosh! And after it goes up in flames, it will help you sleep. Makes you feel warm and safe."
"I don't want it," you murmur scaredly, looking at the fire on your skin again. It's like feeling his touch on your skin. The child tilts her head and pouts.
"You're a strange one," she says. "If you're a Lunarian, why did you need it at all? And how do you not know how to make it disappear?"
"I'm not a Lunarian," you answer, somehow feeling ashamed of the answer. You turn bright red but raise your head with pride as you continue. "I'm a Halfblood."
"You look Lunarian to me," she chuckles, leaning forward.
You shriek briefly as you catch her in the air after she falls, but the little girl laughs even louder.
"I'll show you, then! Let me closer," she says. You lift a brow but do as she wants, mostly because you are still too surprised to do anything else.
You open your hand so she can cling to your fingers while sitting on your forearm as you bring her closer to the burning mark.
The child smiles and bows to it slightly.
"Thank you," she says politely. "The Sun has come out again."
And you see the flames disappearing in the reflection of her deep brown eyes. The fire didn't leave any sign behind on your skin, but the world feels colder again.
"He taught you this?" you whisper.
"Mhm!" she nods excitedly. "I'm Yamato, by the way."
"[Y/N]," you answer with a soft smile. You bethink for a second since this is the second time you said it for a long time.
"That's a pretty name," she says. "It suits you."
You blush slightly and cast down your eyes.
But before you could ask her where she came from, you hear the key of the door turning.
You get scared about King hurting the child for sneaking in here, so you take her in your hand and cover her mouth, hiding Yamato behind your back.
She protests at first, but you manage to whisper a "stay silent" before the Lunarian steps inside.
He doesn't even look at you until he locked the door again. You try to calm your heartbeat down, and clear the emotions from your face.
King removes his mask, and takes a deep breath, then turns to you with displease written on his features.
"What were you thinking?" he growls deeply, and you shiver from the threat of his voice. "You think I would- Where's your mark?"
You hesitate with the answer, and anger distorts his face.
But the man stops when Yamato bites your hand, and you hiss from the slight pain, letting her go.
Your eyes widen as you see King's reaction when he sees her.
His gaze and attention abandon you in a split second, and you are blessed to see that beautiful, one-of-a-kind smile once again. He crouches down and even closes his eyes for a moment.
You feel like the room becomes brighter with light as the child laughs and runs closer to the Lunarian, climbing on his palm that he offers to lift her.
"What are you doing here, little one?" he asks with a soft, gentle voice like you have never heard before. "Did something happen?"
This can't be happening.
"Dad's drunk again," pouts Yamato, catching a braided lock of white hair. The man patiently endures as she starts pulling it. "I rather wanted to be with you, Uncle King."
"Uncle what?" you repeat your question from earlier, without being able to control yourself. The Lunarian looks at you, and disdain falls over his gaze.
You get ready for him to shout at you, but he only sighs deeply as the child starts loosening his braid. King shakes his head slightly but doesn't stop her.
"Why is she chained to your table?" asks Yamato, swinging her legs in the air.
King doesn't answer at first, and you cast your eyes down.
Because I went close to him.
"She would have burned something down with the mark," says the Lunarian, making you freeze. "It was safer this way."
"You never chained me down for that!" objects Yamato, pulling the white hair strong enough to make his head tilt.
Your chains clank as you try to stand up, scared of him losing control and hurting the child.
But the man just grimaces a little, then gently frees the silky lock from the tiny hand.
"Because you're much more clever," he answers. You turn bright red but can't react with words. You feel the red eyes on you for a brief time, but his attention turns back to the child right away. "I can't play with you now, Yamato. And for a while, I need you to stop coming here through the window. If you need me, just come by the door and knock."
"Why?" she pouts.
And you can't hear the King's answer because his enormous wings open, resonating with the air once again, creating the strange melody.
Your breath stops as you watch him flying up to the windows over the infinite rows of books.
You can't explain the thick, flowing wave of happiness that shakes every inch of your body.
This is your first time seeing a Lunarian fly, and you feel that it's truly a gift to be so perfect, balanced, and marvelous.
Maybe King was right about the wonder of his race.
After he arrives back at the floor, you see the child nowhere. His wings expand one last time before he looks at you.
You don't feel fear anymore, neither you have questions. King's eyes widen as he sees you.
"Why the hell are you crying, Halfblood?" he asks, too surprised to raise his voice. You cover your mouth and shake your head.
King's left hand twitches, and he crouches down opposite you, grabbing your wrist to force it away from your lips. He leans closer to you.
"I asked you a question," he whispers calmly, but his tense arms show his annoyance.
"Why do your wings sing?" you ask back, and the Lunarian's hand drops.
All the muscles of your body tense up as he recoils, the dark skin turning paler.
He shakes his head with disbelief and glares into nothing. You tremble as you see the pain on his features.
"What-"
You can't finish the sentence as King hits you so hard that your lower lip rips, and your blood flows down your chin. Your breathing fastens as you raise your head again frightenedly.
It was much stronger than the slap yesterday.
But all your fear turns into sadness as you see the Lunarian shaking. His eyes are gleaming with water, but no tear falls.
His teeth are pressed together, and a drop of your blood drips down his palm.
"Don't you dare talk like that ever again," he says silently, his shoulders dropping. You don't react, trying to stay still, not even breathe.
The man calms himself down little by little, and you avoid looking into his eyes.
You thrill as he opens the shackle.
King the Wildfire pinches your chin and makes you look at him again, wiping the blood away with his thumb.
His deep emotions altered into the strange, usual mixture of anger and indifference.
"You can't hear that," he whispers, then lets you go, standing up.
His wings move up and down upsetly, and you shake your head as you hear their song faintly again.
You barely understand what the Lunarian says after, almost just exhaling the words to himself.
"You are not her."
.
.
.