Chapter Text
There are certain things Shen Yuan knows, even if he doesn't know he knows them. Actually, if he had to explain why he knows it out loud, he couldn't. It's difficult! They're just things that are there! In his head, going around and around!
But they are important things. They are important things that he cannot forget.
The first of these, repeated ad nauseam by his mother, his Da-ge, and his Er-ge, is that he must never talk to strangers. Never. Not even if they tell him they're his mother's friends, or that his Da-ge sent for him. Shen Yuan must never talk to strange adults!
The second is that the strange, tall grass with the small yellow dots that look like toad eyes is a Carnivorous Root Fern.
The third is that this plant only wants to eat big things, leaving the small ones free to run around, grow very, very large, and be able to hunt them when they're bigger. If they're bigger, they can fill their tummies with carnivorous roots for longer! They expend less energy and hunt more!
And that's why, following all those weird rules running around in his head, Shen Yuan has completely ignored the weird stranger who kept offering him milk candies to get him closer, run to the edge of the forest when the weird guy wouldn't accept his no and tried to pick him up against his will, and led him into a Carnivorous Root Fern trap when the man started chasing him with a long knife in his hand.
Shen Yuan is too small! The roots won't attack him even if he jumps on them! They're good girls and only hungry for big things, big like the bad guy with the knife!
Shen Yuan clutches his knees, watching the ground crack open beneath the evil, weird man, making him make ugly noises as roots wrap around him and pull him underground. There's... there's a weird tightness in his chest. He thinks he should be scared, and maybe he is a little scared, like when he secretly watches one of Da-ge's horror movies and sees blood and weird stuff, but he feels too tired to be really scared.
It feels like when he falls to his knees and there's no one to watch him. There's no Mom to kiss his wounds, no Da-ge to carry him on his hip, and no Er-ge to pinch his cheeks. And Shen Yuan doesn't like having his cheeks pinched! But if it's Er-ge, he can endure it to make Er-ge smile. Er-ge smiles a little, and he has a pretty smile, like an amusement park princess!
He's been walking alone all day through the woods, though he doesn't remember how he got there either. He's very tired, and his stomach hurts from hunger, and he can't remember the last time he ate anything other than little red berries that taste like prunes, and he misses his mom. He doesn't know where she is, but he knows she isn't there and that he won't be able to find her. He doesn't know how he knows either; he just knows, and his head hurts a little trying to think about it.
There are things Shen Yuan knows. He doesn't know why he knows. It's like when he sees the sky and knows it's the sky because what else would it be? And maybe someone told him that's the sky. Or that that's the sun. But he doesn't remember where or who; he only remembers that it has a name, and that it exists, that it's there. His head feels a bit like that. Like remembering things but not knowing who told him.
If Da-ge or Er-ge were there…
But he knows they're gone. Shen Yuan hugs his knees tighter to his chest, trying to make the strange pain there not dangerous so he doesn't have to go to the doctors again. It had hurt so much when Shen Yuan was very, very little! Shen Yuan remembered the pain. And the white walls. And the doctors. He remembered his brothers running around pushing him in a huge wheelchair. And Mom scolding them a lot. Now, remembering all that makes his throat feel pretty weird and his face wet. He's not crying! He's a big boy! He's... he's... six? Over six! Six years and... and six months! Six and a half years! He's not crying!
He wipes his face, snorting as he realizes the long, long sleeves have more dirt on them than anything else. He rolled a couple of times in the dirt! So what? He doesn't have any shoes. The clothes he does have are weird and very long, and even though Shen Yuan cut them as best he could with that cool sword he found nearby, it's actually a mess! He left several of those heavy, very beautiful fabrics uncut—they must have been too valuable for that! And he only cut the white clothes that were directly against his skin.
It was hard work! And the sword was heavy! And it vanished out of nowhere when Shen Yuan lost sight of it! But that's just as well. That way he didn't have to carry it all the way.
His legs ache from the thought of standing up and continuing to walk. But he knows he has to. It's getting dark! The sun was very high when Shen Yuan… woke up? He's not sure he'd even been asleep. But now the sky is turning orange and pink, with clouds that look like something out of one of his mom's old paintings. It's getting dark! And the forest is dangerous at night!
He have to keep walking.
He stands up with difficulty. It doesn't hurt as much as when he had to use the wheelchair and his brothers pushed him, but oh, it hurts! Walking a lot is difficult. And he had to run from the mean man! Shen Yuan pouts. What if he had real milk candies? He hadn't shown them to him. Shen Yuan could have kept them before the little plant ate him.
He follows his path. There isn't a path, really, but maybe there is? It's as if he knows it, and not at the same time. I mean, he knows the trees! And the plants! And he's not going to eat those berries; they're poisonous. And that flower looks pretty, but it has poisonous thorns that snozz like in that fairy tale! Shen Yuan wrinkles his nose, annoyed. Plagiarism!
For a long, long time, Shen Yuan walks. He thinks it's been days! A year! A century! But in reality, it's not even nighttime yet. And there are many orange leaves on the ground that crunch under his steps. Shen Yuan doesn't believe it's autumn yet. His birthday is in the fall, and he doesn't remember it being recently! His mom would never let him spend his birthday alone. Maybe they're just trees that lose leaves every season. That makes sense. Or trap trees that make cradles of leaves for children to jump on and WHAM they catch them in their branches to eat! Shen Yuan squeals and runs away from the leaves, his heart pounding in his ears, but he doesn't see the tree bending down to grab anything. It's just a tree. It doesn't even have a face or a mouth or sharp teeth.
Shen Yuan pouts. He's very sleepy. So he keeps walking.
He wants a bed. Any bed. He even accepts those ugly hospital beds covered in paper! He doesn't care! He feels that strange, ugly sensation in his throat, which makes him feel small and stupid and useless, but his not-crying because he doesn't cry, because he's a big boy, is interrupted when he sees a butterfly.
And. SHINE!
Nightlight, it's called. Shen Yuan doesn't know how he knows, but he does, and the butterfly is the size of his hand and a pretty orange color, with wings that glow like fireflies. It's pretty! And Nightlight butterflies are always near... people! Real people! They lay eggs in flowers that ladies keep in houses! That means Shen Yuan is near a place where there are people with houses and flowers in houses and ladies and food and beds!
Shen Yuan scampers after the butterfly. And it's elusive! He has trouble keeping track of it. If it weren't shining, he'd have lost it by now! He runs between trees, jumps over roots, is only slightly distracted by some closed Rainbells (closed means it's not going to rain! And they're pretty! Blue!), and only stops when he feels a tremor in the ground.
Is it a... really a tremor? An earthquake? Is the ground going to open up beneath him like when the roots swallowed the bad guy?!
But none of that happens. Shen Yuan remains frozen in place: the trembling doesn't stop. On the contrary, it grows, stronger and stronger and stronger until—
WOAH. WOAH!!
It's a Silver Mist Tiger. IT'S A SILVER MIST TIGER CUB!!
Shen Yuan knows it's a cub because, although it's as big as a normal adult tiger, mist tigers are MUCH BIGGER! And the mist on its tail is tiny, so it's hardly a distraction! He also knows it's a cub because its silver stripes are very short, pale grey, and not as deep as an adult's. And its cute eyes are rounder, not as fierce as adult eyes!
It's a baby! A huge baby that stops right in front of him, with enormous crystal-blue eyes! More signs that it's a baby, beautiful, beautiful baby tiger! The adults mature their eyes to a whitish gray that mesmerizes their future meals!
A baby who wrinkles his mouth and shows teeth. Each of his teeth is the size of Shen Yuan's entire hand! But they're still tiny. Rounded tips, not that sharp! He can't eat alone! He needs prey cut by mommy's teeth!
Shen Yuan reaches out his hand toward him. He's not going to bite him, he knows it, he's very sure of it! It's a baby! And the tiger sniffs at him, suspicious at first. Shen Yuan looks at him, patiently, without taking his eyes off the cub's clear eyes. He's so cute! He wants to stroke him all over! But he can't get ahead of himself. The tiger isn't going to try to bite him, but he needs to see that Shen Yuan doesn't either first!
The tiger comes just a little closer. Its snout bumps against Shen Yuan's hand, almost making him squeal with excitement as the tiger seems to relax all the tension in its body, letting out a sound that sounds like a dove purring. And Shen Yuan is touching it! It's getting petted by a baby tiger! He did it!!
So, something's up!
Shen Yuan rolls on the ground before he realizes it. Bad tiger! He pushed him with his head and so hard! Bad, bad friend! Shen Yuan didn't mean to do anything bad to you! Just to play and stroke your soft fur!
But… the tiger doesn’t eat him, nor does it jump on him like those animal hunting movies! It’s all over him, growling so loudly that Shen Yuan feels the trees around him shake! But it’s not growling at Shen Yuan! It’s growling in the direction where it came from!
Oh no, oh no! HUNTERS? Shen Yuan squeals in horror. Silver mist tigers are harmless! They don't hunt humans, humans are just snacks that don't fill them up! And some humans have... those golden magic-giving things inside! For these tigers, it makes them sick! Stomach ache!
But there are evil humans who hunt mist tigers for their fur! Beautiful fur! And even more beautiful if it's stuck to their pets! Shen Yuan would growl at the hunter too, if he could! In fact, he's going to growl back!!
He gets to his feet as quickly as he can, still behind the tiger. He's shivering, but he's not afraid. He's cold and his legs hurt! He's not afraid! And he's angry. He's just made a friend, and a mean hunter wants to hunt him! Mean!
Shen Yuan growls!
The hunter stares at him.
It's as if, just before, he hadn't even noticed him. Shen Yuan would be offended! He's a smart, bright boy, says his mother! Adults should take notice!
But now, Shen Yuan guesses he doesn't look smart or bright. He has weird clothes and awkwardly long hair all over the place, and he's covered in dirt. But he made a tiger friend! That's great! Although his mom probably won't be too pleased to know he was in the forest. And it wasn't so late! The sun has almost gone to sleep!
The hunter has a huge sword! Shen Yuan would be fascinated if it weren't for the fact that the sword looks dangerous and his tiger friend is in danger. Besides, he's not an ugly man! Not at all!
He's not like the ugly weirdo man who chased him with a knife, with a weird beard and messy hair. The hunter has a pretty face and intense dark eyes and dresses like an anime villain, with red and black and many layers of pretty fabrics, a belt that shines. And his hair! Shen Yuan watches in fascination how long and beautiful and fluffy and shiny it is. Bad hunter, don't be cute!
The tiger growls again. The hunter tightens his grip on the sword and raises it.
Shen Yuan screams.
“NO!” he squeals, running and wrapping his whole body (arms and legs included!) around one of the tiger’s front paws. His tiger friend doesn’t push him away; the growl that rips through him makes Shen Yuan tremble all over, but it’s not growling at him! It’s growling at the hunter! Shen Yuan already likes his tiger friend a lot. He’ll call him Yunhu. “DON’T HURT HIM!”
The hunter… lowers his sword. His pretty face looks whiter. Looks like he's seen a ghost! Shen Yuan isn't afraid of ghosts, nu-uh. He's a big boy and knows ghosts don't exist. But he holds Yunhu's paw tighter, just in case. Surely Yunhu can protect him from ghosts too.
The pretty man doesn't move immediately. His brows are tightly furrowed, like angry caterpillars, and his eyes dart from the tiger to Shen Yuan and back again, as if his brain were trying to solve a very difficult puzzle. Shen Yuan understands about solving difficult puzzles: Er-ge likes them! Especially the ones with numbers! And Shen Yuan never understands them.
What he does understand, now: he stares back at the cute-faced hunter with the full force of his frown. He just made a friend! The hunter isn't going to steal him away! Shen Yuan is going to protect him!
Then the man does something strange. Very strange. Very, very strange.
He keeps the sword.
He slowly slides it behind his back, where the sword disappears as if swallowed by air. Then... he raises his hands!! Both of them! High and high! Shen Yuan blinks. The man... is he surrendering? Yes!! His friend is safe!
The man seems to move very, very slowly. Shen Yuan likes it when he does that. It gives him confidence! He's not going to pull another strange sword out of nowhere and chase his friend with it! That's good. The man approaches slowly, as if he were approaching a scared fawn. Shen Yuan isn't a fawn, he's a fierce child!!
But Yunhu, uh, poor little baby. He could be like a giant fawn. One with big teeth. But a baby!!
“I don’t want to hurt you,” the man says, his voice so low it barely sounds like a soft murmur, as if the wind were speaking. “Aren’t you hurt? Didn’t the beast hurt you?”
Shen Yuan growls. His growl isn't intimidating, not by a long shot, but he's practiced watching TV with Da-ge a long time ago! And when he growls, Yunhu growls back! Good boy, good boy, good boy!
“Yunhu didn’t hurt me!” he complains, clinging tighter to the tiger’s soft paw. He knows they’re… good friends if he does something nice for them? Big hearts? He can’t find the word, but he knows! Kindness is repaid with kindness! “You scared him! You mean hunter!”
The man holds his hands up. He blinks. He looks as if he's not very intelligent, or as if he's not understanding the things he's seeing. Hmph. His Er-ge would say rude things to him, which Shen Yuan can hear even if he covers his ears with his hands.
“Yunhu,” he mentions, raising his eyebrows a little, speaking very carefully, “is your… pet?”
Shen Yuan pouts.
“No!” he whines. How silly! Why would I confine a baby like Yunhu to being a locked-up pet? He belongs in the wild! He must have strayed far from his parents. That’s not right. “Yunhu is my friend. Don’t hunt him… or I’ll hunt you!”
The man blinks. His hands haven't lowered. His pale face keeps staring at him, and Shen Yuan feels his ears burning. It feels like he's still in the hospital, in those paper gowns that left his entire body exposed. They wouldn't even let him wear pajamas! It was so uncomfortable! At least these clothes covered him, but they were cut poorly all over!! He did his best until the pretty sword disappeared. It's not Shen Yuan's fault!
“I see” the man says, nodding his head, as if he’s not entirely sure. Shen Yuan has no idea what the man sees, but pouts nonetheless. “Well, Xiao Gongzi, you should know that your… friend, Yunhu, has been attacking a nearby cultivator sect, hurting many innocent people. Does Xiao Gongzi know that his friend is a Stormcloud Tiger, and is very dangerous?”
Shen Yuan looks at Yunhu, as far as he can see from his position. Yunhu, his tiny round eyebrows raised, lets out a low, sweet growl. Shen Yuan pats him on the muzzle, nearly falling over with the weight of the tiger's head rubbing against him for more pats.
“That’s a lie” he says resolutely. He lifts his chin, even though he’s now sitting more on the floor than standing, still hugging Yunhu’s front paw. So soft! And warm!
The man looks angry. Hmph. Shen Yuan doesn't like that he looks so angry. He also doesn't like that even with that ugly angry face, he doesn't look ugly.
“Xiao Gongzi should be aware of the danger of…”
“No” Shen Yuan cuts him off, staring at him firmly. The man stops, even his words, as if he’s choked on them. Ha! He’s using the Er-ge-stare! It always comes in handy when his classmates tease him for bringing tubes and medical supplies to class! “That’s a lie! Yunhu isn’t dangerous. He’s a baby.”
The man lowers his hands. He crosses them over his chest, looking at him with a hardness that Shen Yuan often sees in his mother when she finds him reading under the covers with a flashlight well past his bedtime. It's not his fault his bedtime is so early, way, way before he's finished reading!
“It’s not” Shen Yuan insists. “Yunhu isn’t a Stormcloud Tiger, anyway,” he says, wrinkling his nose. He knows they’re similar species, but there’s a lot of difference between them! Mainly their size, diet, and where they tend to live! Plus, Silver Mist Tigers are much, much more peaceful. “Stormcloud Tigers have stripes that change color with the weather! For them to be that gray, it would have to be really, really cloudy! And no!”
The man raises his eyebrow. His brow furrows, but in reality, he doesn't seem to be angry-angry, but thinking. Thinking and thinking and thinking. Shen Yuan puffs out his chest, feeling happy that the man isn't reacting hastily, truly paying attention to what Shen Yuan is telling him. He's being listened to!
“That’s true,” the man concedes after a long, thoughtful eternity of silence, and Shen Yuan smiles broadly. “Xiao Gongzi knows a lot. So what species is Yunhu, then?”
“A Mist Silver Tiger” he says firmly. He continues patting Yunhu, who, at this point, has even abandoned his defensive stance. He’s a very cute, well-behaved baby! “He’s a baby. His tail only has a tiny bit of mist in it, and his eyes can’t do eye-things that make people stunned. He’s a baby!” he repeats, puffing out his cheeks. Yunhu is an adorable baby! Very, very big, but adults of his kind are MUCH, MUCH BIG! And then he wrinkles his nose: “Don’t hunt Yunhu. Yunhu doesn’t do anything wrong. Yunhu can’t hunt those… sect cultivators. He can’t hurt them. His teeths aren’t sharp enough yet to hunt big things. And their… golden thing of those cultivators!! They give him tummy aches if he eats them.”
The pretty man makes a strange choking sound. Shen Yuan ignores him in favor of stroking Yunhu's fur more, softly softly. It's not his fault that adults choke on air! He choked a lot, and adults said it was normal! Let it be normal for them now!
“Xiao Gongzi seems very knowledgeable about beasts,” the man hums, taking just a step forward. Shen Yuan can feel Yunhu tense, the faint growl leaving his mouth making Shen Yuan tremble all over as he stands, releasing his paw to pat and stroke the fur on Yunhu’s neck and behind his ears as he stands.
“Beasts are cool!” he says cheerfully, scratching behind Yunhu’s ears. He has to stand on his tiptoes to reach them, but that’s okay. His Da-ge and Er-ge are tall, so Shen Yuan will be much, much taller when he grows up, just like them! “I like them a lot. Especially the big ones. And powerful ones. And the ones that glow! And the ones that change color. And the ones with horns! Oh, oh, and the dangerous ones!”
The hunter takes another step toward them. Shen Yuan only notices because Yunhu's growl is louder. He glares at the hunter, once again imitating Da-ge, until the pretty man raises both hands, again, showing that he's unarmed. He'd better!
“Are Xiao Gongzi's parents cultivators?” the man asks. Shen Yuan wrinkles his nose.
“No,” he says, grimacing. He doesn’t like thinking about his parents, about both of them together, any more than he does his mom. She’s a good mom. Even when she does things that hurt sometimes, like getting needles or using nasty medicine that makes him nauseous, she’s always a very good mom. “Mom’s a doctor. Dad’s gone.” And then he frowns, looking at him. “I shouldn’t tell you this. Mom and Da-ge say I shouldn’t talk to strangers. Er-ge says if a stranger talks to me, I have to kick them and run, but Mom doesn’t like that. She says violence is unnecessary. Er-ge doesn’t agree.”
The handsome man nods, smiling a little. He squats on the ground where he is, still several steps away. Shen Yuan is startled even though the movement is gentle, because... the man is so pretty, even up close!! He has doll-like eyelashes and his face is even more beautiful! Like something out of Mom's fashion magazine! He's so, so cute!
“That’s good. Xiao Gongzi is smart” he congratulates him. Shen Yuan feels himself swell with pride. He’s very smart, of course! Mom always tells him so! He learned to read before all the other children in his class! “My name is Luo Binghe. What is Xiao Gongzi’s name?”
Shen Yuan wrinkles his nose. He doesn't want to tell him, because he's a stranger, and he shouldn't answer questions from strangers, but he's a beauty stranger-hunter who stopped hunting and listened to Shen Yuan without thinking his ideas were silly just because he was a little boy, and he seems kind, so Shen Yuan has no problem saying:
“Shen Yuan.”
Luo Binghe blinks. His expression is bewildered. Like when Da-ge opens a gift from Er-ge and it turns out to be an ugly piece of nonsense wrapped in pretty colors that make him expect a better gift. As if he was expecting something and it wasn't what he had thought in the first place.
“Shen?” Luo Binghe repeats, curious. Shen Yuan pouts, hiding his face in the tiger’s fur. Soft, soft. He should have named him Yunzhen.
“That’s my name!” he snorts, pouting.
“Alright, alright” Luo Binghe says, only a moment later. His gaze is gentle and calm, along with a sweet, reassuring smile. Shen Yuan does find it reassuring, especially because it doesn’t look fake, like the smile of a nurse who says it won’t hurt and ends up hurting a lot. “Now, Xiao Gongzi knows my name, and this Binghe knows Xiao Gongzi’s name. We’re not strangers. Xiao Gongzi can talk to me now.”
Luo Binghe's words is quite serious and completely logical. Shen Yuan nods, because he thinks it makes perfect sense.
Also, even though Luo Binghe had had a giant, dangerous sword, he had put it away, and listened to what Shen Yuan had to say, and hadn't tried to attack Yunhu again. Hmn. Shen Yuan can think of Luo Binghe as an adult who isn't too bad of a friend in the near future. Like by dinnertime. Sort of.
Now that he's not trying to save Yunhu's life, or running around in confusion, he has to grit his teeth to hold back a yawn. He's walked a long way. A very long long way. He can't remember the last time he walked so far without his brothers nearby with his wheelchair, waiting to seat him as soon as he gives in to the weight of his own discomfort.
He wrinkles his face. He has to contain the strange sensations rising in his throat. He's a big boy, and he's not going to cry. He's not going to cry. He's not going to…
“Is Xiao Gongzi crying?” Luo Binghe asks. Shen Yuan hides his face against Yunhu’s soft fur.
“No!” he replies, more of a scream than an answer. Yunhu shifts uncomfortably, and before Shen Yuan can figure out what’s happening, Yunhu pushes him down onto the floor with his enormous head. His long, raspy tongue licks his face. “No, no! Bad kitty!”
Luo Binghe seems to have no idea how to react. He takes just one step closer and Yunhu growls! But it's not a playful little growly! It's a GROWL!
“Shh, Yunhu, it’s okay” he tries to reassure it. His voice sounds strange, and Yunhu looks at him with bright, jewel-like eyes, but sad, like Mom’s when she sees him with too many medical tubes. Shen Yuan pats and scratches most of Yunhu’s soft fur until he stops growling. “Luo Binghe is a good friend. Not a bad friend! He doesn’t hunt or harm. Not anymore. Right?”
He glances at Luo Binghe. He nods seriously.
“Right” he confirms. Shen Yuan sniffs, wiping his face with the back of his hand, suppressing the unpleasant sensation in his mouth. He’s a big boy who doesn’t cry!
“Put your hand like this” Shen Yuan says, sipping again before showing Luo Binghe his open, outstretched hand. “So Yunhu sees that there’s no danger. You're good and Yunhu will see it.”
Luo Binghe obeys with surprising patience. Shen Yuan interrupts the unpleasant sensations only to feel pleased with himself. Strange! Adults rarely listen to him. Luo Binghe seems to be a very intelligent adult, because he listens to him even though Shen Yuan is tiny. He knows he's intelligent!
With his hand outstretched, Luo Binghe waits. Yunhu takes only a moment longer to touch it with his nose, but when he does, the vibrations… aren't a growl! He's purring! Good baby, good baby!
Shen Yuan sips harder.
“It’s alright to cry” Luo Binghe says, his voice soft and low, his palm still gently stroking Yunhu’s muzzle. He sounds like his Da-ge, and that makes the sickening feeling in Shen Yuan’s chest worse, more like his heart needs medicine. “It’s already so late, and night will soon fall. Does Xiao Gongzi know how to get home?”
Shen Yuan knows it's a simple question, but for some reason, he finds it difficult to think about it. As if there were a pile of cotton in his head. Does he know how to get back home? Actually, he's not sure about that. He just has the strange, very ugly feeling that he hasn't been home in a long, long time.
He shakes his head. He sniffs again, taking deep breaths that sound like hiccups. He's too big to cry! He's a big boy who isn't crying at all!
“Alright, alright” Luo Binghe spoke in a low voice, soft as a lullaby. Shen Yuan allowed himself to be dragged away from Yunhu. When had he gotten so close? Shen Yuan felt it was unfair. Now even Yunhu, his most disloyal friend, was pushing his head into the hands of the unknown man! Even though he had proven to be… less dangerous than the weird knife guy. “Take a deep breath with me, Xiao Gongzi. Just like that, very well… Everything will be fine. This Binghe will help Xiao Gongzi get home.”
Shen Yuan obeys despite himself. These are the same instructions he received when he was very sick, feverish, and with tubes everywhere. Take a deep breath. It's much easier now, without tubes, he realizes, but it still hurts a little. But it's a pain that isn't in his body, even though his whole body hurts a little. It's like wanting to cry a lot. Even though he's a big kid who doesn't cry.
“Very well” says Luo Binghe, wiping Yunhu’s drool off his face with the sleeve of his weird anime villain outfit. It’s soft, at least. Shen Yuan realizes he’s touching it with very dirty hands only when he takes his hands away, leaving dirt marks on the fabric. “Ah, it’s all right, Xiao Gongzi. How would Xiao Gongzi feel if this Binghe carries him the rest of the way? He must be very tired and sore.”
Shen Yuan takes a deep breath. Now that he thinks about it, yeah… his legs still hurt a little, like they're going to get a lot of cramps. And his arms feel weird. And the dried mud on his knees stings. There are scrapes on his palms too, and he thinks there are greenish stains on his legs from the times he fell running through the forest and stumbling among the tall roots and gnarled trunks. Shen Yuan is used to bruises and purple spots. Especially where needles went! But it's weird to see them now, like paint flecks spreading almost randomly.
Making a sad face, Shen Yuan nods his head.
Luo Binghe moves forward a little further and picks it up as easily as if Shen Yuan were nothing more heavy than a sack of rice. He seems very careful, though! He's using both hands, moving it away and away from Yunhu, and his movements are slow, as if Shen Yuan were a very fragile egg that might break if dropped.
Yunhu follows their movements with his eyes, tense as if considering whether to jump on Luo Binghe or not, but in the end he doesn't attack. He doesn't move either, except for the tip of his tail twitching in annoyance. He just watches them.
“Let’s get out of this forest before nightfall” Luo Binghe says gently. He stands up, shifting Shen Yuan into his arms. Shen Yuan finds a comfortable hold on him, almost sitting on his hip. It’s almost the way his mom carries him sometimes! And then Luo Binghe looks down at the baby tiger, who’s making tiny whining sounds. “You can come, if you want. But you can’t growl at me the whole way. I’m carrying him safely. Alright?”
Yunhu snorts, but seems to agree. Shen Yuan smiles even though his face feels hot and wet. Yunhu is smart! A cute, sweet, and very intelligent baby. Shen Yuan already loves him very much. And when Luo Binghe starts walking, carrying him with a strong but careful grip in his arms, Yunhu stands up and follows. Good boy, good boy!
After a long, chaotic day, Shen Yuan smiles, tired but a little happier. He allows himself to yawn and settle further into the warm grasp of his new friend, who only squeezes him a little tighter, making him more comfortable. He's sure he can't go home, and that neither Mom nor Da-ge nor Er-ge will be there for him anytime soon, but he'll figure out what to do.
For now, he's gathering lots of adventure stories to tell them!! He's made friends with a baby tiger and a cute hunter who called him smart and has lots of shiny fluffy hair! It's like living a storybook adventure, but for real!