Chapter 328 (Incomplete) (Patreon)

Was really struggling to finish this, but I think I need to sleep on it, or at least step away for a bit. Not happy with how it went, but can't quite say why. I haven't written the ending yet, so it's missing like a fifth or mebbe more. Sorry bout this, but i might just rewrite the whole thing. We'll see.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b3ssX2MihsXEXi0lnbRNeaydEy0ihcn1BK7oKz7AKJU/edit?usp=sharing

Waking to the smell of fragrant, roasted meat, Song gingerly extracted herself from the pile of slumbering animals and Lin’s tangled embrace. Frowning in her sleep, Lin grumbled in her sleep and rolled over to claim another victim, clinging tightly to the comatose Mila with a contented murmur. Gazing upon their peaceful and contented expressions, Song imagined herself looking the same, lying there beside them with the same serene smile and slack expression, her hair in disarray and limbs akimbo. Even in her mind it looked bizarre and unusual, her familiar features twisted in a foreign look of serenity and comfort, but she held the image anyways, a slow smile spreading across her face.

Perhaps someday.

Reluctant to wake them, Song left Lin and Mila to slumber and let the animals out, the three wildcats and two bears already waiting by the door. Bounding away with a leap, Jimjam bolted towards the aromatic cooking fire like a streak of lightning, only to come to a skidding halt as Rain interposed himself between the wildcat and his prey. “No,” Rain said, freezing Jimjam with a ferocious scowl. “Bad Jimjam. No stealing.”

Likely spooked by Rain’s insidious Aura, Jimjam pressed his belly to the dirt and let out a pitiable mewl, half in challenge and half in surrender. Still scowling, Rain gave the frightened wildcat a cursory pat before shooing him away, turning back to his cooking without apology or greeting Song and the other animals. How strange. Usually, Rain had nothing but smiles and hugs for his precious ‘fur-babies’, not to mention how he always looked the other when Jimjam was on the prowl, but today, he all but ignored them except to keep them away from the food. Why? Besides, it wasn’t right to treat Jimjam like that, stealing food was a bad habit Rain encouraged through neglect, and now he terrorized Jimjam for it?

Hugging unnerved wildcat to her chest, Song brushed her hair out of the way to glare at Rain’s back, struggling to compose a scathing condemnation. Unfortunately, eloquence was not her strong suit and all she could come up with was, “You shouldn’t scare Jimjam.”

Rain answered without looking back, fending Sarankho’s claws away from the roast with a wooden ladle. “Jimjam will be fine, he could use a little discipline. They all could. I’ve been too lenient. It’s cute now, but what happens when Jimjam grows to the size of a pony? Or Banjo and Baloo become full-sized?” Annoyed by Rain’s lack of attention, Aurie flopped to his side to chew on Rain’s boot, but this too failed to elicit a smile from the taciturn man. Banjo’s attempt to climb onto his back was thwarted with a hip bump and Baloo’s adorable chortling did nothing to sway him, nor did Sarankho’s grasping paws batting at the air as she laid on her back, exposing her belly for a scratch that would never come.

Something wasn’t right. Any one of those behaviours were usually enough to set Rain to cooing, but today, he hardly spared the animals a glance. No smiles either, though his frown slowly dissipated as the animals played out their best tricks, his expression reverting to a surly but neutral demeanour. Nor did he bother to ogle Song, focused only on his cooking and nothing else. All this after hiding in his yurt and out in the bay for three consecutive days and largely ignoring his pets, Lin, and Sister.

Not that Song minded his absence, but Lin and Sister grew grouchier by the day, constantly grumbling about his lack of affection and discussion solutions to win him back. First they tried giving him space and waiting him out, then they tried assaulting him with affection, and when that didn’t work, they took all his pets away in a fit of pique, but still nothing happened. It was almost like they were dealing with a new Rain, a grouchy, dour, sullen Rain who cared about nothing besides his Awakening.

Glancing around for clues as to why he was behaving oddly, she spotted an unfamiliar Spiritual Weapon laying at Rain’s side, an ominous, jet-black glaive. Sister’s work no doubt and soon to be Rain’s third weapon. Drawing closer for a better look, she reached out to grab it but caught herself just in time, scolding herself for overstepping her bounds. No warrior would feel safe letting another touch an unbound Spiritual Weapon and who knew how this temperamental new Rain would react?

“Beautiful right?” he asked, barely looking away from the pot as he slid it towards her. “Give it a couple swings, but be careful. It’s heavy and already bound.”

Already bound? Just last night Sister was complaining about Rain’s lack of interest and appreciation for her hard work, which meant he bound the weapon in a single night. “How did you bind it so quickly?”

The question slipped out but Rain answered without pause. “Having a Natal Palace helps. I just imagined the weapon in there with me and bam, weapon bound. Still took the better part of four hours, but it’s an improvement. The sword took more than a week and the shield almost half a day and the entire night. I was worried I wouldn’t finish in time, but it wasn’t a problem. I even had the time to cook a big breakfast.”

‘More than a week’, as if it were an unacceptable amount of time. How would he react if he knew Song had taken months to bind her saber? His advice wasn’t even useful since she lacked a Natal Palace. Mother above, how can You favour one man so? Dispirited by Rain’s overabundance of talent, Song gave the glaive a perfunctory examination before handing it back. “Sister’s work is sublime.”

“Sure is.” Glancing at her for the first time as he took the weapon, Rain’s eyes lingered on Song’s face and he raised an eyebrow. “Your hair isn’t braided.” The aimless statement threw Song for a loop and she raised her eyebrow back, waiting to see where he was going with this line of conversation. Shrugging, he added, “I’ve never seen you with your hair down. It’s new.” Still unsure, Song slowly drew back, worried he had ulterior motives, but Rain merely rolled his eyes and went back to cooking. “Relax, I’m just making small talk. Yea, I’m terrible at it. Whatever, let’s forget about it and move on. Breakfast is almost ready, so could you please wake Mila and Lin?”

Refusing just because she wanted to, Song shook her head. “Let them sleep in. I’m going to see Mama.” It’d become her new morning ritual now, Mama braiding Song’s hair into a neat little bun while Papa snored softly beside them. Where she used to love mornings for the solitude they provided, Song now loved mornings because it was a time for family and companionship.

“I sent someone to fetch them. Made enough for everyone.” Gesturing at the roast and simmering pot of congee, he gave a wry smile and added, “Figured we might as well enjoy a hot meal while we can. If I screw things up with the Legate later, it’ll be awhile before anyone has time to cook again.”

How true. Snickering beneath her breath, Song turned to do as he said before changing her mind. Although Sister and Lin were unhappy with Rain, Song felt like Sister and Lin were overreacting to his recent change in behaviour. In truth, she preferred this new attitude and thought it a major improvement, more in line with how a proper young hero should behave, dignified and disciplined instead of the odd, foolish little man who liked to roll around in the grass with his rabbits. While tempted to stand by and let his cold attitude push away Sister, Lin, and his pets, it wouldn’t be right to punish Rain’s self improvement like that.

Turning back, she stated, “I am going to meet Mama and Papa. You go wake Sister and Lin.” Summoning the pets to her side with a clap of her hands, she herded them off towards Mama and Papa’s yurt, hoping to make it there before they left. This was the perfect solution, Rain could make amends for his rude behaviour, Sister and Lin would both be happier for his attention, and Song wouldn’t have to suffer through Sister’s angry scowls or Lin’s piteous groans.

Never let it be said Song didn’t do anything nice for her future brother-in-law.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mila my love, time to wake up.”

Groaning at the intrusion, Mila buried her face deeper into her pillow. “No... five more minutes.”

“That’s what you said five minutes ago. C’mon, our breakfast is getting overcooked.” Grabbing her shoulder, the intruder shook her lightly and Mila groaned in response. Fully awake now, Mila opened her eyes and found Rain sitting beside her, his pretty amber eyes almost glowing in the dim interior of Song’s yurt. “There we go,” he said, tapping her nose. “I thought you’d never open your eyes.”

“Mm... what time is it?”

“Sunrise.”

“Too early.” Why didn’t he lie down beside her? Or wake her with a kiss or a nibble of her ear, like he did while they were in Sanshu? Was Rain truly so fickle, his passion cooled so much after a single month apart? Rubbing her eyes with a pout, she shook her head and said, “Don’t want to wake up. Lie down with me?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Did her breath smell? Or something worse?

“Well, for starters, your parents will be here soon and I’d rather not upset them.” Pinching her nose, he continued, “Since I like having all my parts attached, I asked Tursinai to come in and vouch for my good behaviour-”

“Oh don’t mind me,” Tursinai interrupted, grinning from ear to ear as she stood by the door. “You lovebirds go ahead and pretend I’m not here. I won’t say a word to the Lieutenant General, long as I get to watch.”

“...Which I now realize was a mistake.” Rain glowered at the leering Sentinel, but Mila brushed it aside. Tursinai was always making lewd jokes but lately, it seemed like Rain had lost his sense of humour and always in a foul mood. He didn’t even smile when Mila listened to Lin and threw herself at him like a depraved harlot. Turning her back to the infuriating man, Mila cuddled with the still sleeping Lin and huffed in displeasure, hoping to go back to sleep and perhaps dream of a sweeter, more attentive betrothed. With a long sigh, Rain sat silently beside her for several minutes, before finally laying down on top of the blanket, lounging on his side with his head propped up and plenty of space between them. “Happy now?”

No, she wasn’t. She didn’t want him to feel obligated to show affection, but how was she supposed to tell him that with Tursinai around? Expressing her displeasure with a wordless snarl earned her another sigh and a pat on the shoulder from Rain. “Thank you for the weapon,” he said, voice hushed and subdued like he was thanking her for a cabbage. “It’s a beautiful work of art and I’m sure it’ll be the envy of nobles and warriors from all around the Empire.”

Chest filling with pride, Mila squashed down her satisfaction and snorted in reply, her eyes clenched shut and arms wrapped around Lin. Ignorant to their dispute, Lin slept soundly in Mila’s embrace, her soft, steady breathing never wavering once despite the noise and delicious aroma wafting into the yurt. Pressing his cheek against Mila’s shoulder, Rain continued chatting. “I bound the weapon this morning and I’m awed by how smooth the transitions are. Honestly, I’m still shocked you even made it work.”

“It wasn’t easy.” And if it weren’t for the excitement in his eyes, she wouldn’t have bothered spending so much time trying to come up with a suitable solution, but she wanted to make him happy. It was rare to see such childish enthusiasm from him, so passionate about something as simple as a transforming weapon, she couldn’t bear to disappoint him. That’s why she’d been so upset when he said it slipped his mind, especially after all the suffering she went through without him.

Smiling, he nuzzled her shoulder. “Well I knew you could do it. You’re so incredible, I don’t deserve someone like you.”

Swallowing her smug retort about settling for him, she opened her eyes to study his expression. He’d joked about things like this before, but today, he actually sounded like he meant it. Scowling as she leaned back into him, she settled into his shoulder with a grunt. “Don’t be stupid,” she said, stifling a yawn. “You’re plenty incredible yourself, didn’t you just learn how to bind water last night? And even if you weren’t incredible, I’d still want to marry you. I don’t care about your achievements, I love who you are, my kind, caring, hard-working Rain.”

“Yea? You mean it?”

“Of course.” Looking into his eyes, she snuggled against his shoulder and asked, “Tell me beloved, what’s wrong? You’ve been so distant lately.” Was it because of Yan? Or maybe he’d met a lovely young lady, a human one who could bear his children...

“It’s nothing,” he lied, his sad eyes giving it away. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been distracted, you know with my Awakening, the meeting with the Legate, wondering who’s trying to kill me, and all this business with the Canston Trading Group... Anyway, I’m sorry I haven’t been more attentive.” Kissing her shoulder, he closed his eyes and sighed. “I love you too, you know. You’re so confident and courageous, and you put up with all my flaws and quirks, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Really?”

“Yea.” Stroking her cheek, he gave her a tired half-smile. “Now come eat breakfast? You can go back to sleep afterwards.”

Shaking her head, Mila grinned and said, “A few more minutes.” Pressed between Rain and Lin, Mila wanted to stretch this out for as long as possible, bundled between her beloved betrothed and future sister-wife. “Tell me about your binding ceremony. Did you stab yourself again?”

“Ha, no. It was me using the weapon to fight imaginary foes... fairly standard stuff.” Then why did he sound so sad? Kissing her temple, Rain continued, “Gave me a lot to think about though, about life in general.” After a short paused, he changed the subject. “You made yourself a weapon too right? Where is it?”

“Hmph. And here I thought you forgot all about me.” Elbowing him gently in the ribs, she turned away to hide her smile. “It’s a secret. If you want to find out more, then you’ll have to challenge me to a spar and be strong enough to make me use it.” Her new weapon was far more impressive than Rain’s, especially since she didn’t have to build it around a spring-powered rifle. A proper bow was far easier to use and had a faster rate of fire too, though she had to admit, the guns were much easier to learn.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare.” Nuzzling against her shoulder, Rain finally wrapped his arm around her in a proper embrace, though he ruined it by yawning. “My beloved betrothed is far too powerful to subdue. Woe is me, destined to be a battered husband for all my years, a most... unfortunate... fate.” Sagging in place, Rain finally fell asleep and Mila almost couldn’t believe it. Oh no, did he stay up to bind his new weapon because of how they’d left things last night? Her poor, sweet Rain, he barely got enough sleep as it was and now he had to face the Legate like this?

No matter. Let him sleep now and they could all wake at a more appropriate hour. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

Only to be rudely awakened by Tursinai. “This was all very heartwarming, but the Lieutenant General should be arriving soon.”