336 RTYY 333 - Unwavering Pools of Darkness

Snow opened his eyes with a startle. It had been a while since he'd last had one of those disturbing dreams. Well, truth be told, it had also been a while since he'd last had a good night's sleep.

As always, his heart ached a little at the loss of LanWan's warmth, his joyful laughter still echoing in his ears. This time, however, he didn't have time to dwell on the contents of his strange dream. Better yet, he didn't allow himself to do so, since he'd just opened his eyes to find little RimJan standing right outside the wooden bars, staring intently at him, her black eyes as listless as unwavering pools of darkness.

She still looked very much like a doll, even though her clothes were in clear need of a good wash, and her black hair was now greasy, sticking to her small head. Well, they were all in need of a good bath, Snow thought, himself included. Still, right now, what really worried him was the reason why she was standing there, staring fixedly at him. Better yet, he couldn't help wondering what she was seeing, since it was now obvious to him that RimJan had the ability to see well beyond what was visible. Was she able to see into his dreams as well? Somehow, that possibility made him very uncomfortable. He didn't want to share his dreams with anyone else! Above all, he didn't want to share LanWan's bright and warm existence! It was bad enough that he was only able to see him in his dreams, and only once in a while.

"Hmm … energetically speaking you're still doing fine, I guess," RimJan declared, the same way she had done two days ago. Apparently, since she had the ability to see what normal people couldn't, she had been entrusted with the task of checking on Snow's health, from time to time. "But you look weaker. Are you eating enough?" she wondered, but Snow didn't even blink, much less move from where he sat, comfortably leaning against ZaiWin's chest.

ZaiWin was still absorbing his dark energy, while they waited for Snow's energy levels to return to normal. But for that to happen as smoothly as possible, and without placing an extra strain on ZaiWin, Snow had to allow him complete access to his daitai and energy channels. He couldn't really explain how that happened, though. He only knew that if he relaxed and didn't think about much of anything, ZaiWin could freely use the link they shared and take away the dark energy Snow kept absorbing just by being in that place. Much like he'd done, back at that small icy cave, when he'd saved his life.

Of course, once ZaiWin was granted that kind of access, he could pretty much do as he pleased. He could, for example, completely drain Snow of all his energy. He could also inject some of his dark energy, making him even sicker. Snow had the feeling he could even manipulate the nature of his daitai, if he wanted to. And so, it was a bit scary, completely lowering his guard like that. Not that he had ever doubted ZaiWin's intentions. Snow was sure he'd only do what was best for him, that he would never intentionally harm him ... like Snow had done, openly betraying his trust like that. It was just ... strange. And it always made him feel drowsy, as if somehow part of his body wasn't his anymore, leaving him unwilling to move, much less think or speak.

ZaiWin's warm fingers softly caressed his temple, then lightly traced his eyebrows, and Snow simply closed his eyes, his gentle touch helping him relax even further, leaving his heart fluttering pleasantly.

"You do care for him, don't you?" Snow heard RimJan ask, but he couldn't even trouble himself to try and understand what she was saying.

ZaiWin, on the other hand, had been coldly watching the little girl standing on the other side of the prison cart, and so he could clearly tell that, for once, she was actually talking to him.

RimJan tilted her head to one side with a pensive expression on her doll-like face.

"Snow is nothing like us. He's nothing like the golden-ones either," she stated, and ZaiWin made his best to keep his facial expression as immutable as possible.

Nothing like them?! Nothing like the golden-ones?! Was she actually talking about Celestials? Because if she was, then she was damned right about that! The golden-ones apart, of course Snow was nothing like them! ZaiWin didn't know what they were, or how they'd apparently convinced Snow that they were all the same. But there was no way in ZaiWin's mind that was even remotely true! For starters, there was no way those bastards were Celestials! And yet … they seemed to have somehow convinced Snow that they were. How else could he explain the fact that Snow had blindly trusted them right from the start? Explain why he had kept all that from him? Because now it was more than obvious that Snow had known a lot more about them, a lot more than the mere group-of-people-trying-to-rescue-Tien'Elhar he had told him about.

"But you," RimJan continued, her dark eyes like deep wells of nothingness. "You're different from the rest of them as well. Even though your energy is corrupted and you're clearly of noble blood, you actually truly care for him, don't you?"

ZaiWin instinctively placed a hand over Snow's head, the feeling of his cool skin telling him that he was successfully absorbing any dark energy that may have found its way into his body.

Where was she trying to go with that conversation?

RimJan sighed.

"A shame they can't all be like you. If they were, things would have never reached this point. I know you can't understand what we're trying to do," she went on, her serious tone straying farther and farther away from what a little girl her age should sound like.

"Not even Snow can understand," she sounded sorry for that. "And I guess you probably want to kill us all. But hopefully you will both soon understand that we had no other choice. Sure, our means may look a bit … extreme, cruel even. But this is the only way we have to survive and fight against the oppression the rest of the world has forced us to endure. So, I guess I just wanted to tell you that, unlike some of the others, I don't personally dislike you. And I hope you can hold back on whatever plans you may have, to try and strike back. I really don't want any of you getting hurt."

The rush of anger that suddenly turned Snow's gentle and warm energy ice-cold was all the warning ZaiWin got. And then he was violently kicked back, across the energetic bridge they shared, as the rightful owner took command of the energy channels he had been trying his best to maintain clean.

A thick wall of ice immediately covered the bars of the cart, a cold barrier that successfully separated them from the rest of the world, and sharp spikes of ice erupted from the ground, forcing RimJan to quickly step back.

"What happened?!" HuaQin urgently asked, jumping from where she had been sitting, as did RyuXin, a deep scowl marking his forehead.

"Nothing. It's nothing," RimJan reassured them, making her way back to where the others were sitting.

MaoHan looked back and frowned at the sight of the frozen cart.

"Are you sure? What if RyuXin is right, and he can use their bond to freely use Snow's daitai?"

RimJan shook her head.

"That might have been possible, if their bond was complete. As things stand, their energies remain completely separated. There's no way that man could command Snow's daitai. No. This was all Snow's doing. I guess he kind of … got angry at something I said," she admitted.

"What did you tell him?!" RyuXin demanded, now sounding angry, as if she had dared disturb someone very important.

"I only said that they should behave for the time being, because I didn't want to see them getting hurt."

"That's … all …?" ZwaKim asked in disbelief.

RimJan nodded.

HuaQin released a long whistle, an amused smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"Guess our little Snow didn't like the underlined threat present in your words."

RimJan lowered her gaze, looking embarrassed.

"That was never my intention …"

"Who would have guessed? Such a quiet, well-behaved-looking child. In the end, he has such a short temperament. You were really deceived, hmm?, RyuXin," HuaQin purposely tried to provoke him, and RyuXin sat down again, crossing his arms, clearly sulking.

"You're … such … a … baby …" ZwaKim added, despise dripping from her every word.

"Enough!" MaoHan finally interceded. "Rest. Eat. And let's leave as soon as possible. Three more portals and we'll reach our destination. Don't forget to feed YunZen his medicine."

Snow immediately perked up at the sound of those words, turning to look at ZaiWin with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. It had been seven days, since they'd crossed YunZen's portal into that sad place. And, since then, they had crossed another five portals, including the one from that morning. Now there were only three portals to go, which meant only three more days of effective travel, since they forced YunZen to open a new portal every other day.

ZaiWin's cold blue eyes immediately softened, and that subtle difference was enough to change his entire demeanor, melting Snow's heart a little.

Raising his hand, Snow touched his fingers to the cold metal collar around his neck. He could try and freeze it enough to try and break it. But ZaiWin gently held his hand and simply pulled him closer, back into his embrace.

Snow closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't know what ZaiWin was planning, but he was more than willing to follow his plan, whatever it might be. It was the least he could do, after dragging them both into that messy situation.

Grabbing the two crystals ZaiWin now always kept with him during the hours he wasn't able to shield him, Snow focused on recharging them. He knew that what he was doing was against the law, but he just couldn't care less. Purify. Cleanse. Heal. Snow poured into those crystals anything he might think of that might defend ZaiWin from the dark energy around them. No matter what, above all, he had to make sure that the darkness inside him didn't get any darker.

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Author's Note: I guess Snow is really on edge, freezing everything around him at the mere mention of a possible threat. They think he's short tempered? Hm, they still haven't seen anything 😑

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