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Dan Heng. Stoic, intellectual, and the embodiment of perseverance. He fights for those he loves with strength as fierce as stormy seas.
The general looks to the birds on the other side of the window sill. Resting his chin to his fist, he lazily taps his document with his ink quill. It would be a shame to stay cooped up inside and not enjoy the mellow sun. With a hum he stands, and enters the garden.
Slowly, birds flock to him. Landing on the lion's mane he calls hair, and on his fingers when he reaches out to them.
The loud click of his front door being opened brings him out of his noon reverie. And the birds too, fly away.
“General, I have your immortals' delight!” Yanqing sets the cardboard cup holder on the table and takes one cup out. “Oh, and Dan Heng asked for you.”
Jing Yuan turns to Yanqing, and his eyes widen for a second at seeing Dan Heng behind him. With his usual gentle smile he grabs his cup. “What a pleasant surprise, I didn't expect you here.”
“Mm.” Dan Heng sets a few more bags down. “I apologize if it is not to your convenience right now, general.”
“On the contrary, you're an honored guest of the Xianzhou.”
Dan Heng looks directly into his eyes and then glances at a very much distracted Yanqing also drinking immortal’s delight with a deep determination in his eyes.
Like son, like father.
“Yanqing, could you leave us, we’ll have lunch later.” Jing Yuan ruffles the boy’s hair.
With a ‘huh? Oh, okay!’ Yanqing runs out of the door. Once the door clicks, Dan Heng sighs and walks in circles around the table
“Vidyadhara go through a molting period.” Dan Heng takes out an aloe vera container from a separate plastic bag. “Lady Bailu prescribed me with lubricants to lessen the friction…”
Jing Yuan's cheeks turn rosy. “So you came to me.” Dan Heng nods. He would be touching him. Not any part, but his tail.
The general turns his back to him with a ‘come here’ motion with his hand. The hall is long, displaying white on the walls, green on the baseboard; a brown for the wood floor.
“I hope I'm not asking too much for you to take a few hours off and help me in this endeavor.” Dan Heng says as Jing Yuan opens the door at the end of the corridor.
“No.” A white cushy bed is displayed in the middle. The glass sliding doors lining the whole of the wall right to the bed stream in sunlight to the potted plants. “I'd much rather be with you than my papers.”
“High praise from the general.” Dan Heng's voice is laced with sarcasm. He sets the bag down on a wooden nightstand. They both know he would prefer anything over work.
The general looks back at him. Is he not close enough to him to be on a first name basis? “You can call me Jing Yuan. We are friends, no?”
“You mean to Dan Feng?”
“No, you are different from him.”
“Yet your eyes linger with affection for who I was.”
His smile falters.“It is true I once held feelings for Dan Feng. That was centuries ago, and I have had my time to mourn him.”
“Shall we begin now, Dan Heng?”
“Hm.” Stubby turquoise horns materialize at his head. His outfit changes to a completely different one and hair grows down to his hips. A translucent tail extends till the tuft at the end signals its end.
Jing Yuan's breath hitches. His eyes utterly captivated at the mesmerizing sight. The thumps of items being set down doesn't process in his mind until Dan Heng's bright ocean eyes look back at him from the bed expectantly.
He clears his throat and sits behind him. He grabs the container; sliding it open. Jing Yuan's fingers scoop out the thick clear liquid and he spreads it over the scales of the tail.
Dan Heng's back goes rigid. Jing Yuan's brow quirks at a noise Dan Heng makes. “Is it painful?” He asks while sliding his besmear hand on his tail.
“No. Just… strange.”
“Hmm.”
In the silence, he drinks in the details of the man in front of him. The horns had grown taller and branched out. The lotus cut showed his lower back nicely.
“Did you ever… do this with him?” His voice is unsually hesitant. Strangely timid, almost like he is scared to break the tranquility. “You seem quite adept.”
Jing Yuan's chest rumbles with laughter, not of ridicule, but of melancholy. “You flatter me. Dan Feng never let me touch his tail, let alone see it.”
It goes quiet again, and he relishes in the sensation of the cool scales against his warm hands. The scales are rough against his calloused fingers. Sunlight reflects and emphasizes the old skin ready to shed. And Dan Heng grumbles. Low and hushed, but loud enough for the two of them to hear.
Jing Yuan hums in content with the domesticity of the situation. As he reaches the end of the tail, his heart pangs. The vidyadhara will leave after this won't he?
Jing Yuan pushes his fears into a box and hides them. He wipes his hands.
“Done. Your horns?”
Dan Heng whimpers at the loss of contact, and Jing Yuan ponders if he would like his tail touched even under different circumstances.
“Already did them.” An unfamiliar red coats his cheeks and spreads to his neck.
“Then I suppose this is where we depart.”
Dan Heng's tail goes to the warm dented spot left by the general on the bed. His blown out eyes track every movement he makes to the door and his mouth parts but nothing comes out.
“You can stay here for the remainder of your molting, Dan Heng.” Jing Yuan’s eyes linger on him. “And if you wish to stay for dinner, please do advise me.” His lips move, ‘stay, please’, he wants to say, but nothing comes out. Delicately, he shuts the door.
Their longing dances in the shadows, their sentiments left unsaid.
One day in the distant future, their past will reconcile and they will pave a journey of fulfilled desires.