Interrogation

Emma took a step back, figuratively and literally, creating some distance between herself and this mysterious man. She mentally slapped herself yet again and forcefully suppressed her confused feelings. She reminded herself that she didn't really know this man at all, and he apparently wasn't even a man. Trust was something that didn't come naturally to Emma, and in this case it was actually a good thing, refocusing her on the situation at hand.

First she should focus on the facts. This man claimed to be some sort of supernatural being, and indeed she had seen him do things that no ordinary human could do. But there may still be some trickery involved.

Gathering her thoughts for a few moments, she asked the first question.

"That... dog which I met on the mountain that day," she began, thinking of the big black dog that she had met while gathering herbs for Auntie Sun, "was it you?"

"Wolf" Ying said.

"What?"

"Wolf, not dog," he replied, looking a bit offended at being mistaken for a mere domesticated canine. "And yes, it was me. The wolf," he added.

Emma wanted to roll her eyes, but managed to control the urge.

"Why were you there?" she said curtly.

"To see you." Ying looked up at her pacing in front of him, again with that obvious adoration shining in his eyes. Emma felt compelled to look away.

"Why?" she asked.

His gaze quivered with uncertainty for a moment. "I wanted to see you," he replied evasively.

Emma narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"But why?" she pressed. "Why at that moment? You say you're my guardian spirit, and that you're here to protect me. Why do you have to protect me? Why did you appear at that exact moment on the mountain?" In her head she added, 'And why do I find you so damn attractive and alluring?!'

Ying looked at her for a long thoughtful moment. Emma waited in silence, carefully observing him, trying to analyse every thought and emotion of his. Finally, he sighed.

"It is all rather complicated," he began. "That day on the mountain, yes, that was me in my other form. As for why I appeared at that exact moment..." He paused for a moment, and a pained look flashed across his eyes, before he continued with a voice containing a slight quiver. "I spent a long time looking for you, and finally found you that day on that mountain."

Emma felt her heart tighten at the emotion in his quivering voice. It was obvious that he spoke, trying to suppress great emotion.

"Then my sudden appearance startled you, and you got hurt. I felt bad. So I healed you."

"You... healed me?"

"Yes, you were injured. So I healed you," he said in a matter of fact tone. "Like just now," he continued, standing up, moving in close to her and lightly touching her forehead.

"You were hurting, so I took the pain away," he whispered, looking at her tenderly.

Emma gulped, suddenly very aware of their closeness. She tried very hard not to think about how very pleasant his voice sounded to her ears, or how it made her feel all warm and gooey inside.

Pursing her lips in annoyance, she pushed what she was starting to think of as her inner fangirl to the back of her mind. Letting out an embarrassed cough, she took a step back.