Better and worse at the same time

Loneliness grew in the absence of reflection

And, most of the time, Lingshi felt more lonely in the company of those who didn't resemble him then he did when he was utterly alone. Although it had been at least ten years since he was last by himself completely.

“Itou?” he murmured, twisting wire around the end of an arrow shaft to hold its feathers in place.

Even though he wasn't an elf, his brother always seemed to hear him. He stopped sharpening his sword and looked up, his dark brown eyebrows half furrowed.

“Did you say something, Ling?” He had only just turned fourteen but his voice had started to crumble into the deeper pitch of men like their father.

Lingshi tried to hide how much it bothered him but often worried that his brother would notice how he sometimes flinched went Itou spoke unexpectedly or from somewhere beyond his sight.

“Why do you think I'm the only elf in this village?” His gaze switched back to the task at hand.

“Because all of the other survivors had to go somewhere else, I guess.” Itou shrugged one shoulder but his grey eyes didn't feel like they had left Lingshi's bowed head. “Why? What do you think?”

“It's strange that none of the others came here too,” he replied slowly, his face warming beneath the attention. “I haven't even seen another elf since I woke up here. Not even a visitor.”

“Well I heard it was a pretty big accident.” His brother lifted the sword and closed one eye, peering down its length. “Maybe they're all still healing.”

“After a decade?” asked Lingshi incredulously. “Then why wasn't I hurt? I was there too.”

“You –” Itou stopped himself and shook his head when the young elf looked at him. “We don't know how close you were to it, do we? You might've been closer to the border when it happened.”

“But then how did I get here?” Maybe it was because the younger boy was bigger than him. Maybe that was why he believed they could solve the mystery of his true origins together. “Even if I floated up the river, there's no way I could get here all the way from Muzai by myself. Someone must have brought me here.”

“Probably.” Itou shrugged again with both shoulders this time.

“So why hasn't that person come back to see me then?” Lingshi twisted the wire savagely. “Why didn't they take me with them instead?”

“Is that what you want?” Itou put his sword down atop a tree stump beside him, his expression troubled as he turned towards the elf. “Don't you like being here with us, Ling?”

“No, no, I do,” said Lingshi hastily. “It's just – ouch!”

The end of the wire sliced into the side of his left thumb. Itou was at this side instantly, using his own dull green tunic to stem the blood flow as he pressed down on the wound.

“You should be more care-” Once again the young human stopped himself from saying the wrong thing as Lingshi flinched, the ear closest to him fluttering instinctively. “Is it because of father?”

The brown elf pressed his lips together without a word but the wound stung and his eyes watered.

“Is that why you wish someone would take you away from here?” Itou was persistent both in his treatment of the cut and his attempts to find out the truth. “We all hate how he talks to you sometimes. You know that, don't you?”

Lingshi nodded, blinking away tears. “I know.”

“But I didn't know it was hurting you this much.” Regret mingled with anger in his brother's tone. “You always smile and act like it's all okay afterwards.”

“Mother and father have both looked after me all this time,” he said quietly, trying to free his hands from the other's grip. “The least I could do is be patient for them.”

“Yeah but you shouldn't get told off if you haven't done something wrong,” said Itou, releasing his uninjured hand and peering at the wound. “It's not fair.”

“I don't always do the right thing,” he replied, rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes. “So it's no surprise father gets –”

“None of us do the right thing all the time though,” said Itou. “But he doesn't always tell us off like that.”

Lingshi cleared his throat and wormed his hand beneath his brother's to apply pressure to the wound. A wave of light-headedness nearly toppled him as he was pulled to his feet.

“It's still bleeding. Let's show mother.” Itou pulled Lingshi back towards the farmhouse, pausing to shoot him a quizzical look when the elf resisted him.

“Is-is father home?” He asked looking away from the flinty eyes that also made the breath flee from his chest at times.

“I'll talk to father.” Itou patted his shoulder until he stopped shaking his head and smiled at him. “Don't worry, Ling. I'm always on your side, even if I have to go up against father to be there.”

But Lingshi didn't know how to explain why those words made him feel better and worse at the same time

*

“I didn't think we would meet again,” said Lingshi as Chi eyed his half-empty tea cup. “Have you eaten already?”

She nodded, her hair even fluffier in broad daylight, green eyes narrowing further against the early afternoon rays that managed to slip into the shaded area

“I had some money left over,” she said. “Since you didn't let me pay for the room last night.”

Rensetsu choked on his juice and Lingshi shielded them from a mouthful of light green liquid with his wide sleeve, the embroidery glowing as the fabric repelled it instantly.

“Are you okay?” he asked carefully when the giant's coughing died down and he stopped thumping his chest. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, that's okay, sir.” Despite his attempt to sound civil, Rensetsu's eyes lost some of their warmth behind his glasses. “Perhaps you can introduce me to this friend of yours instead?”

“This is Chi,” said Lingshi, keeping his tone light but not flippant. “I met her yesterday in Kinshu and we just happened to be travelling in the same direction.”

“So you got a room with a child you met yesterday?”

“For her, not with her. “ He chose his words carefully in case the human girl hadn't realised the situation she had put him in.

Her mischievous chuckle revealed that he had been worrying needlessly as she picked up his cup and sniffed its contents, grimacing instantly.

“For her. I see.” Rensetsu smiled but his gaze wondered over to Chi as if he could confirm the claim with a single glance.

Knowing the root of a giant's power, this was more possible than most would think.

“I didn't realise these were all words,” said Chi, examining the embroidery on the hem of his robe and flowing sleeves. “What does it say?”

“Lots of things,” Lingshi stood up and the fabric slipped from her hands. “Mostly protective spells.”

“Protective spells?” she mused as she passed him the tea cup. “You mean like the ones we have on talismans?”

He nodded and finished the now lukewarm cherry blossom tea, much to her evident disgust

“They're very handy,” said Rensetsu as he retrieved the cup from Lingshi. “I've got some elf enchanted clothes my-”

He pressed his palm to his mouth, clearly horrified.

“Don't worry,” said Chi after exchanging a glance with Lingshi. “I know what Ling-Ling is.”

“Please don't call me that,” said the elf at once.

“Why not?” She grinned. “There's nothing wrong with having a cute name.”

“I'm so sorry, Ling,” said Rensetsu between his fingers, eyes still wide. “That was careless of me.”

Lingshi was reminded once again why he had always questioned the belief that safety came in numbers. It was a lot easier to hide his identity when he was alone. He wondered how the dragon lady had found him as he smiled reassuringly at Rensetsu, who left to return the cup and the mug to the seller's tray.

Was she just looking for elves in general? Or was she looking for the Hooded Hero specifically? If it's the first, she could have tracked me down with information from the carriage dwarf. Or maybe the workers at the inn. But if it wasn't them –

“When I left this morning, I didn't think you'd be the one in danger,” said Chi as she rose to her feet and dusted off her clothes.

“Can I ask what made you go if you thought it might be dangerous for you?” he asked, carefully skirting around her unspoken question.

She frowned as if she had noticed.

“I didn't leave home to become a burden on someone else,” she said.

Rensetsu had started a conversation about tea with the stall owner.

“You left home?” murmured Lingshi.

“Why are you pretending you didn't know that already?” she asked with a dry half smile.

“I didn't,” he replied. She tilted her head doubtfully. “Not for sure.”

“But you suspected it, didn't you?” Her direct stare warned him against lying to her. “That's why you told me about the shelter.”

“Did you find it?” he asked. She shook her head. “Oh, how come?”

“Because then I would have lost track of you.”

“If you were planning to stay with me, I can't help wondering why you left in the first place.”

Rensetsu and the stall owner started discuss good places to buy quality herbs.

“I wasn't,” admitted Chi. “I just thought it'd be a good way to keep my options open.”

“Did you think I would keep you with me against your will?” He barely managed to keep the shock out of his mild tone, making sure Yokanna was okay in the back of his hood.

“I wasn't going to give you the chance to,” she replied, glancing in Rensetsu's direction. “So about that dragon woman ... Do you really not to know her?”

“Was I supposed to?” An uncomfortable prickling in the back of his mind strengthened. He had experienced the same sensation when crossing a sea of grass in the middle of a thunderstorm once. “Do you know her?”

She shook her head. “It's weird. She sounded like she knew who you really are.”

She did and I don't think there's anything I can do about it.

“She could have been guessing, for all we know,” he reassured her. “Maybe she wants to free Yoka from me.”

“Your dragon?” Her nose wrinkled. “She didn't seem like the type who would care

“You'd be surprised,” he said. “Souls like that can come in many different shapes. I think this might have something to do with the dragon murders.”

“You think she thinks you're the one who's doing it?” Anxiety tightened her posture. Lingshi wished he could trust it.

“It's possible,” he said slowly. “Hopefully she'll realise she's got the wrong person sooner rather than later.”

“Hm.”

“Do you, perhaps, think she might be right?” He chuckled awkwardly and wanted to don his mask but she already seemed a little tense. “Is that why you went off on your own?”

“I already told you, I'm not going to be a burden to anyone else,” she said firmly but her gaze flitted away. “I just want to get as far away from Kinshu as possible and it looks like you know your way around so here I am.”

“I'm sorry if you were made to feel like a burden by someone else,” he replied earnestly. “You're welcome to stay and go whenever and however you want.”

A small scowl passed over her features like a river spirit.

“Why are you always okay with everything I do?” she asked.

“I don't think we've known each other long enough for anyone to come to that conclusion yet,” he said, rubbing the side of his neck and trying not to laugh as Yokanna's tongue tickled his fingers. “But, even if we did, why would I have to be okay with everything you do?”

She looked like she had an answer, albeit a hesitant one, but then simply shrugged and faced Rensetsu as he rejoined them.

“Does anyone mind if I go back to the market before we leave the village?” he asked, looking from Lingshi to Chi and then back again as if they had all agreed to travel together.

“I don't mind,” said Chi. “As long as that dragon woman doesn't show up again.”

The thought alone made Lingshi's stomach turn.

“It didn't seem like she would but don't worry,” he said. “I'll handle it if she does.”

“Me too.” Rensetsu patted him on the back. His entire hand seemed as long as Lingshi's upper body. “We'll look after you, Chi.”

As her gaze shifted between them, she didn't look reassured by either of their declarations.