Calista blushed, looking away when he caught her staring at her. Sitting down on the side of the dirt road, she tapped her shoes together awkwardly.
"Shoulder..."
She hummed questioningly, looking up at the still standing dragon now looming over her. Leaning on her hands, she craned her neck to get a better look, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
He crouched down in front of her, examining her closely.
Coughing to disguise her stutter as she realized how close he was, her gaze darted away from his. He frowned, lifting a hand to cup her chin and tilt her face so that she didn't shy away from him.
"You're hurt." He commented softly, brushing her cheek as he saw the faint bruise under her eye.
Calista removed his hands, bringing them back down gently. "It's nothing, really." She insisted.
She had gone through worse.
But he didn't leave it alone. Dipping into her satchel on her hip, he pulled out a roll of gauze and a small container of ointment Yoon had put there for emergencies.
She hissed slightly in discomfort as he pushed off the shoulder of her shirt, revealing the bloody mess left behind. At the frown that set across his features, she smiled sheepishly.
"I was going to get around to it soon..."
He gestured for her to remove her shirt so that he could take care of it now, then blushed when he realized that her torso would practically be bare. Images of her taking a bath in the stream resurfaced in his mind and he silently begged the heavens above to get rid of the burning that had spread across his face.
She wondered why he looked so flushed all of the sudden.
Calista turned around and he unbuttoned the well-made shirt from behind, peeling off the layer by her shoulder to clean and bandage the wound. It wasn't bad, but if left untreated for another day, it was going to become infected.
The extensive scars on her back had all finally closed, but he still couldn't contain the anger bubbling up inside of him at the sight of the jagged scars.
"I think I bashed it against a boulder in the valley." She confessed sheepishly as his brow furrowed.
He cleaned it swiftly, jaw clenching as the deep, ugly wound revealed itself to him.
She flinched in pain as he swiped ointment over it, then sighed as his nimble fingers swiftly wrapped the cotton around it, closing the gaping injury.
"Thanks, Shin-ah."
He nodded, kneeling down to put away the rest of the supplies in her satchel. She watched him for a while before realizing why it looked so familiar to her. It was just like when she first met him, back when he saved her in the catacombs.
"Did you ever think you would end up here?"
Tilting his head curiously, he waited for her to elaborate.
Calista lifted her eyes to his, silver swirling with emotion. "I mean, you lived all of your life in the dark, with people who didn't treasure you and now look," She waved to the air around them excitedly. "You're with people who love you and you're thriving!!"
Shin-ah was speechless.
Resting her chin in the palm of her hand, her silver eyes sparkled in the sun. "I'm just so happy that you chose to join us that day."
He sat down beside her, angling his body so that he was still facing her.
"... Really?"
Calista smiled widely. "Yeah, Shin-ah. I am."
His hand reached out for hers and clasped it, thumb softly running over her bruised knuckles in concern after he cleaned them.
"I'm alright, Shin-ah. I promise." She murmured comfortingly, before straightening up a bit. "You can walk around if you need to stretch your legs, I don't mind."
He shook his head firmly.
"Shin-ah, if you want to, you can. I don't want you to feel obligated to stay here just because of me. I promise you I can handle myself and if it gets too much, I'll come get you, okay?"
He still refused and at this point, she was really confused.
"But you've been stuck here all morning, aren't you feeling restless?"
She shot him a doubtful look as he shook his head again.
"You're lying." Before he could even think up an excuse, she rushed out. "Your knee is bouncing anxiously, you're chewing the inside of your mouth nervously and Ao is about to go flying off your shoulder with how often you're getting startled."
Calista patted his shoulder encouragingly. "Go do something fun, I'll keep an eye out, okay?"
He still hesitated and she had enough.
"Go!!" She shoved him playfully. "I'll be here when you get back."
He scrambled to his feet, only to double back.
"Did you forget something?" She asked genuinely, worried that he had forgotten something important.
"Don't get hurt." He instructed sternly and her jaw dropped at his spot-on imitation of Yoon. Although, his voice wasn't as nearly as strong as the pretty boy's was when he scolded them.
She was surprised to find that she actually kind of liked him looking out for her.
"Me? I would never!" Calista announced with a dramatic flair, placing a hand over her heart.
He was staring at her seriously and she cleared her throat when she saw that he wasn't amused.
"Alright, alright, I'll be careful." She reassured him quickly.
But instead of leaving, Shin-ah walked a few paces away from her and started practicing his swordsmanship. The fast and elegant strokes of his blade took her breath away. Her eyes filled with awe at his graceful swings and clean footwork. Before she even realized what she was doing, she was in front of him, tapping his shoulder.
"Let's spar."
He immediately shook his head so vigorously at her invitation that Ao went flying off of his fluff. Luckily, the perky squirrel landed safely on her feet, scampering up his leg to his shoulder.
"Please, Shin-ah!!" She begged, wanting to fight.
He gripped his sword with two hands, holding it close to his chest, adamantly refusing. She was still recovering from whatever happened last night, there was no way he was going to.
Calista pouted, disappointed. "Why not?"
She sniffled and his eyes widened behind his mask as he realized that she was going to cry. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Her mouth parted slightly, unprepared for the sudden hug. Her heart skipped a beat as warm breaths puffed out against her ear.
"I don't... want to hurt you." He said quietly, but with conviction. If there was one thing he wasn't going to do, it was that.
Her eyes softened, and she reached up to pat his back reassuringly. "Oh, Shin-ah. You're not going to hurt me."
When he stiffened and pulled away, she realized what he was referring to something else.
"You..." She covered her mouth in shock, whispering, " You don't mean with your blade, do you?"
There was only one thing it could be that she was aware of. The only thing he had briefly mentioned several days ago before changing the subject.
"Is that what your power is? Shin-ah, are you worried you'll hurt me with your eyes?"
He didn't get a chance to answer her as two children ran up to her, tugging on her pant leg eagerly. Another wasn't far behind, but he was much slower than his friends.
"Miss, Miss!!" The older of the two cried out. "I'm hungry."
They held out their hands for the candy that Yona was giving out earlier, but she didn't have any left. Lowering herself down to his level, she patted his head apologetically. Trying to find game and kill them with her knives wouldn't be very successful, especially in such a barren wasteland.
"I'm sorry, I don't have any candy, but how about I go look for some fruit and see what I can find, okay?"
They three nodded their heads so fast a chuckle escaped her.
"Stay here with Shin-ah." She told them gently, before turning to him. "Be careful."
He rushed to her side. "I can go." He pleaded, but she shook her head, tying a strip of cloth around her face. In case she ran into anyone, her identity needed to remain a secret since she was aligned with the Happy Hungry Bunch.
"No, stay here with them. I'll be fine." Calista smiled convincingly before putting up her hood.
He watched her walk away from him the second time, wondering why it was so hard to let her go this time compared to the first. Maybe it was because he knew she was injured, maybe it was because he knew she had a habit of getting hurt more often than he liked or maybe it was because he wanted to be by her side even if she was just on the outskirts of town to find food for a few hungry children.
Either way, he was certain of one thing: he didn't like being away from her.
Sure, he felt that way towards Yona too, but not as strongly or intensely. With the others, he recognized their skills and limits. Though even though he knew and understood Calista's, it didn't dissipate the desire to protect her.
Especially since she was always getting hurt.
A tug on his coat jolted him out of his thoughts, and he found out that the rascals had taken his sword and were fooling around with it. As he chased them around, trying to get it back and coming up unsuccessful, he failed to see the band of armed men marching towards him.
Back at the edge of the small village, Calista had plucked some peaches, surprised to find a healthy tree so far away from a river. But it was the only one in the area, so all the nutrients in the ground probably went to it.
That's when she heard it.
The rumbling of heavy footfalls shaking the leaves off of the trees, and her eyes shot open when she realized there were too many of them to belong to her friends.
She sprinted back in a blur, bursting through the gates, frantically shouting for the villagers to hide. In the middle of the panic arising, she couldn't make out Shin-ah or the children that were supposed to be with him.
Shin-ah, Shin-ah, come on, where are you?!?!
She tore through the streets, and nearly twisted her ankle as she felt it give out. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself into an even faster pace. Then, she spotted three small figures at the east entrance.
No.
A man with a scar on his face had confronted the children, scaring one of them off and backing the other two into a corner.
No.
The kid was wielding a familiar black sword, with its original handler nowhere to be found.
No.
Calista whipped past the remains of the houses, stretching out her arm in a silent plea as she was forced to watch the leader of the bandits take the little one with dark hair.
No, don't touch him! There were so many things she wanted to say, but never got a chance to. Blood was pumping through her veins, pressure pushing up against the inside of her ear as she finally reached their side.
The sadistic gleam in the bandit's eye made her sick. He snatched Shin-ah's blade away from the kids, raising it up high.
No.
"Get behind me!!" She yelled, the smaller of the two stumbling back behind her, trembling in fear. The other was too stricken with fear to move.
She was too late.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream as her fingertips slipped past the child's sleeve as he was yanked away from her.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Calista screamed as blood gushed out of the gaping wound over his heart, staining her cheeks with a crimson that could never be washed away.
Her heart twisted in agony as she was forced to watch the light fade from his eyes. Pained regret and throbbing sorrow stabbed her in the gut as he fell to the ground.
He didn't rise again.
A grieving mother's wail pierced through the air, shattering her out of her horror. The gaunt sick and elderly had come out to see what was going on when the gruesome sight sent most of them running back inside.
"TAE-SIK!!!!!!"