SINCERITY (2)

For a second, it almost seemed that the blessing had come from the heavens. But as Marshall turned his head, he caught a glimpse of white robes floating in the wind.

"Oh, thank you," Marshall responded, giving the snow deity a quick smile. "Did the creaky stairs wake you? Sometimes they make sounds on their own as if a ghost is walking over them... Though, this time it was just me, heh."

Wyn walked closer, stopping by the bench. "I followed you out in case you wanted to talk," he remarked with a leveled tone that sounded warmer than usual.

Marshall nodded slowly but didn't know what to say. So, he leaned back, looking at the dark clouds slipping out of the moon's way. The deep purple hue of heliotropes seemed to come to life as the pale glow reached the blooms.

"If you..." Wyn reached to touch the disciple's shoulder, but the latter dodged. The snow deity lowered his arm, watching him without taking offense.

Marshall felt irritated at people trying to touch him, but he felt apologetic despite it. "Sorry. It's nothing personal."

Initially, he didn't want to tell Wyn anything about the cavern, but they were on the same team. At least he hoped they still were. The snow deity deserved an explanation.

The disciple cleared his throat and tried to sound casual about it, "I happened to run into the Stygian Overlord. He pushed me down by my shoulder, so it's uncomfortable if anyone touches it."

Wyn's brow arched. "You ran into the Stygian Overlord?" He took a step closer, scanning Marshall up and down as if checking to see if he was hiding any more injuries. "Is your shoulder still hurt? Do you need me to check on it?"

"No," Marshall shook his head, chuckling at Wyn's readiness to play nurse again. It was somewhat endearing.

"It's fine. My demonic energy healed everything," he assured. "At least one good thing came from it. A decent healing boost."

Wyn regarded him with a solemn look, waiting to see whether an elaboration would follow. Marshall stretched his arms to get ready. The sooner he would tell it to the snow deity, the sooner he would be off the hook.

He briefly summed up everything that happened – the three stages of gaining unlocking over demonic energy, specifically the last one, that led him to meet the Stygian Overlord. Most of the details were left out, but, for some reason, he felt the need to tell Wyn about the healing pond.

Wyn remained silent the entire time—even after the story had been finished, he didn't say anything. As Marshall's words faded into a reflective quiet, and a sense of uncertainty crept up to him. 

The disciple's tongue moved against his own will, "So, I recall you saying that you wouldn't tolerate any demonic presence." The moment he said it, he mentally kicked himself. Why did he have to bring it up?

But since he had already brought it up, he had to finish, "Well, I am the demonic presence now."

The minute he waited for Wyn to speak seemed to stretch into an eternity even if it didn't take too much time for him to answer.

"I meant that I would not tolerate any demonic threats," the snow deity pointed out, subtly touching the disciple's arm to make him look up. "You are not a threat, Marshall."

At least three variations of confusion crossed Marshall's face. He hadn't expected such an answer. But the simplicity of Wyn's words seemed to brighten the colors of the world again. It was silly how little reassurance was needed for hope to be born.

Wyn offered, "Would you like me to explain what happened outside while you were stuck in the cavern?"

The disciple's gaze ran over the garden, thinking for a few moments, but then he shook his head, "A bit later."

Marshall was busy mentally stuffing the memories back under the rug, he remembered about the little stone in his pocket.

He dug reached in and pulled out the labradorite, then held it out in front of the snow deity. "Here. It's nothing big, but it's a small thanks for, uh... everything. I'll try to figure out a way to repay you properly once I can."

The cool gaze flickered between Marshall and the stone with a puzzled expression. "You do not need to give me anything in return."

"Oh, come on, just accept it," he picked up Wyn's hand, placing the small object in his palm. "It looks like you anyway."

Wyn focused on the stone, studying its mesmerizing pattern of grey and blue gleaming under the dim light. Amusement crossed the snowy face as the words settled in. "It looks like me?"

"Yeah, with your hidden colors and sparkles," Marshall joked, looking away. His gaze flickered from the heliotropes to the sky, trying to set on something. The silence felt a bit uncomfortable.

He changed the topic. "Hey, can we stay at the garden a little longer? How about two more days before we leave?"

Wyn gave him a subtle nod, agreeing easily. "Two days it is," he said softly.

The two crept back up the creaky stairs in complete darkness. As they reached the bedroom, the bright moonlight coming in through the window allowed them to see each other's faces. It was as if every last cloud had shifted out of the moon's way.

Muyang had sprawled across two of the mattresses, clutching onto them with no intention to let go. Marshall exhaled in a silent laugh.

"Personal space hoarder, huh?" he whispered to Wyn as they tiptoed their way into the room.

The snow deity nodded in agreement, fondness softening the sharpness of his brows. "He has always been like that."

Marshall chuckled quietly as they navigated around Muyang's sleeping form.

"Well, it's better not to wake him up. You should have seen how he was complaining and kicking the blankets the night before," he whispered.

However, Wyn didn't heed the warning, easily peeling off the stubborn hand holding onto the middle mattress. He gently rolled the kid to the side without waking him up.

"Muyang does not wake easily," Wyn mentioned, retrieving the hogged blanket at well.

Marshall crouched next to him. "Then why are we whispering?"

The snow deity turned to look at him with slightly raised brows. "You whispered and I whispered back."

They stared at each other in silence, and Marshall's heart skipped a beat. Caught off guard, he abruptly shifted to lie down, breaking the moment. 

Wyn was left with no choice but to take the middle mattress, but he didn't seem to mind.

Five minutes of deafening quiet passed, then Muyang switched positions, slinging his arm over Wyn's shoulder heavily. His hand landed on Marshall on the other side with a slap.

The disciple grunted in dismay, rubbing his forehead with a sour grimace. A soft huff of laughter came from right next to him. He looked over to find Wyn hiding a chuckle beneath his hand.

"Eh?" Marshall poked the snow deity's shoulder. "You're supposed to show a bit of sympathy, you know. I might have ended up getting knocked unconscious. What would you do then?"

Wyn's eyes scrunched as he stifled laughter. A muffled "Absurd," came from him.

As their eyes met, a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of the snow deity's lips. There it was again, that unusual smile... Why was it that everything about Wyn was somehow charming? 

Marshall forced his mind to to shut up. He cleared his throat quietly, turning onto his back and closing his eyes. He shouldn't have thought too deeply about it. Wyn was only trying to be reassuring. There was nothing more to it.

After pretending to be asleep for long enough, Marshall drifted off into a dreamless slumber.