Chapter Text
The Luofu Alchemy Commission was normally a quiet place, with the staff members working on their activities, however, with the crisis that had happened with Hoolay's escape, they were busier than usual.
Moze heard the commotion from the medical room he was in, the leader Lingsha was just finishing checking him over.
“I recommend that you don't move yet, your wounds might open up again.”
“... Jiaoqiu.”
Lingsha understood his question, put the medical supplies aside, and replied while searching through the medicines she was carrying, “He's getting better, you'll be able to see him once you heal.”
Moze said nothing, but he was dissatisfied with this answer. He had not seen Jiaoqiu since he arrived at the Alchemy Commission, so he felt uncomfortable not knowing his condition. The last time he saw him, the Foxian was near death, he wanted to confirm with his own eyes that he was fine.
“Here, take this.”
He looked at the pills Lingsha was handing him but did not raise his hand to pick them up. The vidyadhara pursed her lips, not as annoyed at his uncooperativeness as he had expected.
“You have to comply with the treatment plan before I let you out, it's up to you how much you want to see Mr. Jiaoqiu.”
With an annoyed look, he took the pills from the woman's hand, inwardly grateful that it wasn't a horrible tonic. He swallowed them in one gulp, drinking water to make them pass quickly.
Satisfied, Lingsha left the room, stressing to him to stay put.
Moze, of course, didn't listen to her. He got up once he was sure that not even vidyadhara ears would hear him, activating his invisibility before leaving the room.
The problem was that he didn't know the layout of the rooms in this place, and searching blindly would take too long as well and he might end up running into Lingsha. He knew the office of the Alchemy Commission Leader, so he headed there first, hoping to find clues to the foxian healer's whereabouts.
His muscles protested every movement he made, but Moze ignored everything and slipped through the shadows until he came to a well-furnished, incense-scented office.
If he got into trouble, he could always blame Feixiao. With that in mind, Moze flipped through the papers scattered on the table, found the patient reports, and flipped through his and the general's before finding the one he was looking for.
Jiaoqiu's Medical Report
Name: Jiaoqiu
Sex: Male
Place of birth: Yaoqing
Race: Raposian
Observation Report
1. Bite wounds extending widely from the patient's neck to the chest. Toxins in the wounds caused the surrounding flesh to decompose and atrophy. The patient is in acute shock due to extreme blood loss. A clavicle fracture is noted.
2. The patient was observed to have consumed Lethargy Potion, resulting in poor blood circulation, massive internal bleeding, neurological atrophy, and optic neuropathy. Functionally blind.
3. Loss of liver and kidney functions, and impairment of the lymphatic and immune systems due to toxins in the body.
4. Severe blood loss, exacerbated by myelosuppression. Inflammation is observed.
5. The patient had dilated pupils and abnormally low body temperature when found.
Below was a treatment plan and other indications, but Moze's eyes were delayed in one part of the report.
Blind.
He left the reports in place before he could screw it up and left the office with his invisibility, he already had Jiaoqiu's location, so he immediately headed there.
He sneaked inside a room that was in the intensive care area. There was a strong aroma of medicines that caused a deep sense of repulsion in Moze. On the bed, lay the Foxian, with his chest bandaged up to his neck and a thin patient robe.
Moze removed his invisibility, gasping as one of his wounds protested. He had a high threshold of pain, left by everything the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus did to his body, but seeing Jiaoqiu like this made him aware of his own wounds.
He shook off the thought quickly, he couldn't compare his superficial wounds to what Jiaoqiu had experienced.
The Foxian was asleep, his eyebrows were furrowed and sweat was running down his forehead, he had his tail clutched between his hands and was squeezing it tightly. He was experiencing a nightmare. Moze went to the closet, found a thick quilt, and placed it on top of the Foxian. The healer curled up, sighing contentedly as he felt warmer.
Moze reached out his hand - free of his equipment that was confiscated by Lingsha - and brought it up to the Foxian's face. He stopped a few inches away, clenched his hand into a fist, and withdrew it.
How could he dare touch him when this was his fault? His fault for not arriving fast enough, for not being able to stand up to those Borisin beasts, he couldn't protect Jiaoqiu and this was the result.
A heavy feeling settled in his chest, preventing him from breathing properly. Moze activated his invisibility when he saw the Foxian's ears twitch, he came out using the shadows before the other woke up.
He considered escaping, but if he did Feixiao would bring him back and Lingsha still had his gauntlet and some of his weapons. Thinking of his possessions, he returned to his designated room.
He lay down heavily on the bed, at least he knew Jiaoqiu was alive. When he found him, he...
Moze ignored the disturbance forming in the arena, following Jiaoqiu's trail with quick steps. The Trailblazer kept pace with him, though they stumbled from time to time because Moze didn't warn when he turned a corner. He ignored the other for a moment , feeling the healer's presence closer.
Finally, he made the last turn, his breath catching when he saw the foxian's condition.
“Jiaoqiu!”
It felt strange to hear his voice raised like that, but at that moment, he felt his body hot and cold at the same time, he didn't think anything and just jumped towards the healer, trying to find his pulse on his neck.
He only touched something liquid and warm, his fingers trembled when he withdrew his hand and found it stained with blood.
“Quick, we have to get him to the Alchemy Commission!”
The Trailblazer's voice anchored him to the ground, he brought his ear closer and sighed as he heard Jiaoqiu's slow (but still there) breathing. He held him in his arms and ran after the Trailblazer this time.
There was a starskiff waiting at one of the ports, they quickly got on and the driver didn't wait before starting. Moze didn't let go of Jiaoqiu's body, which was too cold to be normal, he pulled him closer to his body to convey some warmth.
“... Moze?”
He met Jiaoqiu's eyes; they were dull, completely devoid of the usual golden glow, they looked so lifeless that the shock almost made him forget to answer.
“I'm here, it's me, Jiaoqiu.”
The Foxian said nothing, he sank his face into Moze's neck and sniffed his scent. Moze settled him so that he was not uncomfortable, feeling a little relieved that the other was not unconscious.
“Don't fall asleep, we'll be there soon.”
Jiaoqiu remained speechless, but Moze could feel his deep breaths against his neck and was a little reassured by that.
The Trailblazer was looking at their phone, they didn't look at them when he announced, “The doctors are ready to receive us.”
Moze didn't respond.
When they arrived and removed Jiaoqiu's body from his arms, he protested, wanting to follow the medics to see for himself.
“You are also injured, the general will be angry if you aggravate the situation.”
That was the last thing Moze heard before he felt a needle sticking into his skin and his world went black.
“...Jiaoqiu.”
Moze's blood felt hot, he was furious, but he didn't know with whom. With the Borisin, for doing that to the healer? With Feixiao for allowing the F oxian to spend so much time with those beasts instead of killing them quickly? Or with Jiaoqiu, for using that stupid plan at the cost of his own life?
Maybe he was furious with himself, for not being able to protect Jiaoqiu when it was his duty... Since when was it?
Yes, Feixiao had given him the order to take care of him and protect him, Moze always took his orders for what they were, orders, he shouldn't be feeling so frustrated that he couldn't comply as he should. Nor should he be feeling this desire for revenge that he hadn't felt in a long time.
When Feixiao murdered the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus whom Moze considered “family” he had felt a similar rage, even attacking the general futilely. Now he knew what had really happened to that family of his, but the oath of vengeance was the only thing he had and he would keep it to the end.
So why was he feeling that right now? Had he come to regard Jiaoqiu as... family?
The thought settled in Moze's chest, it felt right to call Jiaoqiu his family. Since when was it like that?
Maybe it was when Jiaoqiu started asking him his opinions, listening to Moze's few words and not ignoring them. Or maybe when the healer lectured him about his safety when he came back with new injuries. Perhaps it started that time when Jiaoqiu had been so distracted eating that his tail had curled around Moze's leg and the foxian had reddened as soon as he noticed.
Moze didn't know what to make of this discovery. His concept of family had not been the best, but Jiaoqiu had taught him so many things that now his perception had changed.
But now Jiaoqiu was still hurt, and there was no one to take revenge against.
What could he do?
There were a few things Moze was good at, one of them was mimicking in the shadows and the other was murder; the two were related. He had already been discharged, and Jiaoqiu had also started taking little walks around the Alchemy Commission after applying to Lingsha for discharge.
Moze had not yet spoken to Jiaoqiu, he had been watching him from the shadows since he was able to free himself from the clutches of that vidyadhara. He didn't even need invisibility, he had just stood at a safe distance and the Foxian couldn't see him.
The Foxian's senses were exceptional, Jiaoqiu should have already smelled it at some point, but the healer was so lost in thought that he never noticed it. This only worried Moze, recalling another line from Jiaoqiu's medical report.
The patient experiences nightmares.
Everything Jiaoqiu suffered during the time with Hoolay affected him strongly and added to his bad memories of the war, Moze assumes that the other is not at his best despite maintaining a relaxed and friendly attitude with everyone.
Jiaoqiu was standing by the railing overlooking the Selenite Sea, Moze sensed Feixiao and listened to her talk with the healer from the side. He moved closer to say something right at the end, feeling something bitter as he heard the Foxian ask “Moze, were you here too?” giving away that he hadn't really felt him.
Feixiao retreated to continue fulfilling her duties, Moze knew that she would keep her promise to return Jiaoqiu's sight, he would make sure she kept it, so he only glanced at her as she left.
“I want a nice plate of spicy food right now,” Jiaoqiu declared, sounding so relaxed despite everything.
“You can't eat anything spicy.”
“Who told you that?”
Moze paused, he couldn't tell Jiaoqiu that he had been infiltrating Lingsha's office to read the progress of his condition, much less could he tell him that he had been watching him the whole time, so he said, “Lingsha told me.”
Jiaoqiu went “hmph” and pulled out his feather fan from somewhere, “Why did you ask her? Were you worried about me?"
“Yes.”
Stunned, the healer stopped his hand movement, it only took him a second to react and pretend nothing had happened, though the tip of his tail was still wagging.
“Moze,” The other said his name seriously, which caused him to unconsciously straighten up, ”My eyes may not work anymore, but I'm not an invalid, okay? I don't need you to feel sorry for me.”
How had Jiaoqiu assumed that? Not wanting to let this misunderstanding go, he spoke, “It's not that...”
“Then what is it? Why do you suddenly care about me? Just because I lost my eyesight do I seem useless to you now?"
How could he? Moze cursed his poor speaking skills, he quickly thought of something to say before this ended badly.
“I respect you,” the words felt right on his tongue. With more confidence, he continued, “What you did there... I couldn't have done it. You are strong, Jiaoqiu.”
The Foxian fell silent, his ears twitched and Moze put all his effort into not fizzling out at that moment.
“Oh... I've been discharged, shall we go back to the inn?”
Moze looked at the healer, this was his way of avoiding further conversation, he nodded and felt stupid immediately because the other couldn't see him. He would have to get used to talking, but that was okay, he could do that.
“Okay.”
Jiaoqiu clung to his arm shyly, Moze took a deep breath, starting to walk towards the port to catch a starskiff to take them. He pointed out to Jiaoqiu where there were stairs and when they had to turn, he knew the other felt a little annoyed by that, but Moze felt better being helpful.
Once at the inn, he ordered simple meals before the other could order spicy things, which earned him a painful pinch on his arm, but he didn't flinch. They ate in the room, Jiaoqiu's muscle memory helped, though Moze still snorted when the other messed up his face because he miscalculated where his mouth was.
“Don't tease, it's not funny.”
It wasn't. Moze looked at Jiaoqiu's droopy ears and didn't think before blurting out, “Shall I help you?”
Jiaoqiu lifted his head - Moze tried not to think that if he could the other would be watching him with that golden gleam in his eyes - and opened his mouth in surprise, “Will you feed me?”
“Yes.”
A few moments of silence passed until the other nodded, “Well, I've helped you before too.”
A few moments of silence passed until the other nodded, “Well, I've helped you before too.”
Once, when Moze had fractured his elbows and had to have his arms in a cast in an awkward position, Jiaoqiu had fed him personally, three times a day for a few weeks.
He switched places, sitting on one side of the healer instead of facing him, grabbed the chopsticks from Jiaoqiu's hands took a spring roll from the plate, blew on it until it was warm, and brought it to the Foxian's lips.
“Here.”
With his tail wagging behind him, Jiaoqiu opened his mouth, biting into the spring roll. Moze didn't ask him if it tasted good, he knew that Jiaoqiu's taste buds only sensed the stronger flavors like spicy. He fed the other with different dishes until the Foxian raised his hand.
“That's enough, I'm already full.”
“Mm.”
“Now you eat.”
Moze didn't have much of an appetite, but Jiaoqiu would be firm about this and there was no point fighting over something like this, so he sighed. He looked at his chopsticks that were across the table and then looked at the chopsticks he had just fed Jiaoqiu, he should have felt disgusted at the mere thought of using the same utensils as someone else, but his face felt warm as he began to eat with those chopsticks that had been on the Foxian's lips.
He tidied up the dining room when they were done, led Jiaoqiu through the connecting door to his room, and the Foxian stopped him when he wanted to leave.
“You, ahem, Lingsha told me I should take medicinal baths without touching the wounds... could you help me?”
Moze shuddered, thinking about Jiaoqiu's skin during the bath... No, this was to help him.
“It's okay."
The bathroom was naturally Luofu style, with a wooden tub that was filled with the shower and a wooden floor, there were stools and other sinks. Jiaoqiu took out the bag of herbs he was given from the Alchemy Commission, Moze filled the tub and dropped the right amount, ignoring the sound of clothes rubbing behind him.
“Is it ready yet?”
“Yes.”
Moze turned around, relieved when he saw that Jiaoqiu remained in his underpants. He took off his jacket and glove, helped the other into the water, and indicated when he should stop submerging so as not to get the bandages wet.
“Won't you change them?”
“... later.”
He asked no more, held the shower head, and instructed Jiaoqiu to tilt his head back to wash his hair. The salmon-colored locks slipped through his fingers, Moze applied soap and lathered, then reached for the oils the Foxian indicated, poured a good amount into the other's hair, and used a comb to untangle the knots.
Once Jiaoqiu finished the bath, Moze left him the change of clothes and honestly left the room. He headed to his own and plopped down on the bed again. He took a quick shower and remembered that he left his jacket and glove in the foxian's bathroom. He wouldn't need them yet, but he wanted to clean his glove of any traces of blood that might have been left behind (even if he had already done it several times).
Thinking about that, he knocked on the door connecting Jiaoqiu's room a couple of times.
“Did something happen?”
The Foxian's muffled voice came through the door, Moze licked his lips and spoke a little louder than usual, “I left my things in the bathroom.”
A few moments of silence passed until the door opened, and Moze's eyes fell on the claw-like scars that ran from the base of Jiaoqiu's neck to his chest.
“You didn't tell me you were...”
“It's okay,” Jiaoqiu smiled, ”You have worse, don't you?”
Yes, but to Moze, every scar was proof of his path to revenge. Jiaoqiu's skin had been perfect before he had that big scar, and somehow that made it more significant than all of Moze's scars put together.
He reached out and brushed his fingers gently across the uneven skin of the scar, Jiaoqiu flinched but made no effort to move away from the touch.
Moze pulled away, “I'll get my things.”
He didn't wait for a reply and headed for the bathroom, his jacket and glove were in the same place, he picked them up with one hand and went out. Jiaoqiu was finishing bandaging himself, with an ease that indicated his years as a healer.
“Jiaoqiu.”
“Yes?”
“...Nothing.”
Jiaoqiu chuckled softly, put on his clothes with neat movements, and tied up his hair, fully aware of his presence.
They departed days later back to Yaoqing, Moze continued to hover around Jiaoqiu, taking care of the Foxian's condition with care. Feixiao had already given him “her permission” officially, knowing that Moze would not leave Jiaoqiu's side in the coming days.
Moze felt a bit conflicted leaving his duties and so many opportunities to assassinate Feixiao, but he quickly forgot it when Jiaoqiu used him as his guide.
He performed that duty religiously, taking the Foxian to the market, to Feixiao's office, and home.
He was currently cleaning the windows, although they had left people in charge of cleaning while they were gone, he still felt better about cleaning more thoroughly himself.
He had one eye on the Foxian, Jiaoqiu had insisted on continuing to cook (especially now that he could eat spicy again), so he could only keep an eye on it. The cook's sense of smell and hearing were still exceptional, so besides some help here and there, he was able to incorporate himself back into the cooking as if it were second nature. And maybe it was.
When Moze was satisfied with the cleanup, he took a bath and left the door open to listen for any mishaps that might occur. He came out and the food was ready, so he helped the Foxian carry the dishes to the table. Feixiao joined them, the general had been busy writing reports and meeting with the other generals to finish tying up all the loose ends of the incident.
They ate the spicier-than-usual meal without saying anything, but Moze shared a glance with the general at the sight of the angry red on the plates. They swallowed their complaints, and although Feixiao had more tolerance for the spiciness, even she grimaced from time to time and her ears twitched.
“How was the meal?”
“Delicious, Master Jiao.”
“Very good, you really didn't get rusty, Master Jiao!”
Jiaoqiu seemed pleased with the praise, so Feixiao just gave him a wry smile before finishing the broth in one gulp, her eyes watering, but she didn't flinch.
Their taste buds would suffer for a while.
Feixiao entrusted him with a mission, Moze knew she had done it because he was the right person to do it, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed. He knew this would have to happen someday, he was an experienced assassin who was left with dirty tasks and someone he trusted, this was just the usual. In fact, it was his real job.
With some sense of reluctance, he told Jiaoqiu that he would be gone for a couple of days.
“I'm not a child, you saw that I'm capable of doing things on my own. We can't let Merlin Claw's two hands be incapacitated, right?”
“I'll come quickly.”
Jiaoqiu sighed, Moze immediately departed, heading to the location Feixiao had given him. Another group of Sanctus Medicus Disciples was trying to smuggle in some suspicious medicines. With what had happened in Luofu, they were no longer slow to intercept shipments when they received alerts, who knew if they were still producing that drug that changed the Borisin's appearance?
Of course, Moze's mission was not to intercept the shipment, only the criminals. He had to track them down and ask around a couple of times before he stumbled upon an inn, the disciples had disguised themselves as humble healers and were staying at this inn in exchange for “treating” the bedridden wife of the inn's boss.
Moze could not help but remember the “medicines” used by these people, his body still remembered the stabbing pain and the slimy sensation of the tonics running down his throat. He didn't delay any longer, moving through the shadows, he cut the neck of his first target.
The disciple who was carrying a bowl of dark concoction to the lips of the woman on the bed fell heavily to the side, spilling the mixture along with a trickle of blood that spurted from his wound.
There were three other disciples, Moze passed between them and killed them cleanly before any of them could react. The inn owner had already stood in front of his wife, trembling, but still protecting the woman on the bed.
“Lao Zhao?”
The woman sounded confused, when Moze rested his eyes on her, he saw that her pupils were gray and lifeless.
Appearing from the shadows, Moze spoke, “General Feixiao sent me, these guys were disciples of Sanctus Medicus.”
Comprehension filled the man's eyes, followed by resignation, “I see, you must be the crow-feather weirdo.”
Moze said nothing, people were always calling him different names, so there was no point in getting mad at them. The man turned to look at his wife, “Lan-er, I'm sorry.”
The woman had overheard the conversation, she too understood that the healers were not real. She smiled sadly, squeezing her husband's hand between hers, “Don't worry, Lao Zhao.”
“Have you taken her to the Alchemy Commission?” The words were out of his mouth before he could think of them. The couple turned to him.
“There were some healers who checked her out, but they said there was no cure.”
“How long ago?”
“Hmm? It's been a couple of decades now, we haven't given up hope, so we've tried different remedies.”
Moze looked at the blind woman who was still smiling as she held her husband's hand, he thought of the Foxian and his golden eyes that had lost their luster, how many years would it be until Jiaoqiu regained his sight?
As a long-lived species, he could certainly wait a long time. But what about Moze? While it was true that Sanctus Medicus' experiments allowed him a higher life expectancy, how many years did he have left? Even Lingsha had not been able to give him an answer. His body, which was used for experiments, was riddled with mysteries that even the vidyadhara had not been able to decipher.
“Go again, new medicines have been implemented these past few years. Use this token and they will receive you.”
He handed him a token that Jiaoqiu had given him, “in case you ever have the decency to walk through the door,” the foxian told him when he gave it to him. He would never use it, and Jiaoqiu was currently not going to the Alchemy Commission as a healer, not until he fully recovered from the wounds inside him.
The man looked at him in surprise before reaching out and taking the token gratefully.
In truth, Moze didn't know why he did this. The normal thing would be to think that he felt sorry for this woman, but what if this woman had a problem similar to the foxian's and they managed to cure her? Even if she didn't have a similar problem or they didn't heal her, it could still be a good breakthrough in the research to cure Jiaoqiu's eyes. Moze did not feel bad about using other people for this purpose.
He communicated with Feixiao's staff to clean the bodies, feeling that this mission could not be as simple as these four disciples. He examined their bodies as he waited for them to arrive to be taken away.
There was one with a different smell, it was a raposian, Moze got closer and finally identified the smell as that medicine with which the Borisin changed their form.
“Feixiao.”
“Are you done?”
The general's voice came out of the communicator, Moze searched the corpse, finding the bag with the medicines, “There was a Borisin among them.”
Feixiao hummed contemplatively, Moze identified the clicking sound of the jade abacus and waited, “I can't believe they're trying to sneak into Yaoqing. But what do they want from here? Hoolay was executed and we already know they can disguise themselves as raposians.”
Moze didn't know either, surely these guys weren't that dumb. Rummaging through the medicine bag, he found some he had never seen before, “There are some pills in here I don't recognize.”
“Oh? Bring a sample and let them take the rest with the corpses.”
He put some pills in his pocket and left the evidence as it was. When Feixiao's staff arrived, they cleaned up the bodies and Moze headed for the port, where they had intercepted the shipment through which these disciples had been trying to escape.
The officers of the Celestial Transport Commission recognized him and gave him a free pass. Moze inspected the shipment, they were all medicines he knew, what the disciples used when someone came to them looking for help.
There were none of those strange medicines or the ones that changed the Borisin's appearance. Moze frowned, informed Feixiao and she gave him the order to return.
He felt that something was missing, but since everything was in order, he headed back to Jiaoqiu's residence. It only took him one day to do the mission, he arrived at dusk and all the lights were off.
Moze decided to look at Jiaoqiu first, he went to the Foxian's room and quietly opened the door. The bed was tidy and there was no sign that anyone had slept there.
“Jiaoqiu?”
He headed for the kitchen, expecting the healer to be there. No one was there. Neither in the back garden nor in the living rooms. Moze made his way to his room (this wasn't his house, but all the time he'd spent here lately caused the guest room to become his) and yanked open the door.
The pressure in his chest disappeared when he saw him, curled up on his bed, one of his jackets pressed against his nose. He sighed, “Jiaoqiu.”
The Foxian twitched his ears and his nose sniffed, he sat bolt upright with his back pressed against the wall, “Who's there?”
Moze's breathing stalled, he didn't approach Jiaoqiu and only replied in a low voice, “I'm Moze.”
The tension in the healer's body disappeared, his nose sniffed a couple of times and then the Foxian used Moze's jacket in his hands to cover his nose, “Why do you have that smell on you? Did you meet the Borisin?"
“Only one.”
Jiaoqiu frowned, he sniffed harder after putting the jacket down, “Do you bring anything?”
Carefully, Moze took out the pills kept in his pocket. Immediately, Jiaoqiu tensed up, he pressed himself against the wall and his breathing quickened.
“Get that smell out of here.”
The Foxian's voice trembled, his ears had flattened against his head, his tail was curled around his body and his face was now completely buried in Moze's jacket.
Moze obeyed, left the room, and went to the kitchen, he searched through the drawers until he found an empty bottle where he deposited the pills. Then he went to the bathroom in Jiaoqiu's room, took a shower, and scrubbed his body vigorously before entering a bathtub filled with aromatic herbs. He stood there for a while, waiting for the smell to disappear.
He knew Jiaoqiu's nose was sensitive, not for nothing had he been suspicious from the beginning just from the scent of some soldiers in the prison, even before that. He hadn't thought he might be left with the scent of borisin after murdering one, but those suspicious pills seemed to have influenced him as well. Maybe because they were on the borisin's corpse, unless... those pills were made from borisin parts.
Jiaoqiu was still in his room, lying on Moze's bed with his jacket in his hands. He was still awake, his tail wagging agitatedly. The Foxian sensed his scent as he entered.
“Hmm, you smell better now.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked, at least Jiaoqiu hadn't seen his brief moment of panic when he couldn't find him earlier.
The healer tensed, his tail bristling behind him, “I...”
Moze slid onto the bed, ignored the Foxian's startled noise, and threw the blanket over them both, there was a respectable space between them, though he felt like he'd fall off if he moved a little to the side.
“Nightmare?”
Jiaoqiu pulled him closer, Moze settled in and slipped an arm behind the Foxian.
“...Yes.”
He knew the other had been suffering from nightmares, but besides giving him the sleep inducers Lingsha prescribed, there wasn't much he could do. Moze turned so that he was on his side, wrapped both arms around Jiaoqiu, and buried his head in his hair.
“Moze?”
“Sleep.”
Jiaoqiu was silent, he listened as the other pushed his jacket aside and instead clung to Moze's tank top, his hands slipped under his shirt and he suppressed the shiver he felt when those cold fingers touched his scars. Jiaoqiu dipped his head into his neck and stood sniffing there.
That movement reminded him of Moze when he took Jiaoqiu to the Alchemy Commission, his arms warm from the healer's blood and a heavy feeling when he thought that maybe Jiaoqiu wouldn't make it.
He tightened his grip, and the foxian's invasive hands stopped, “Moze, are you okay?”
“There was so much blood,” he murmured, feeling the body in his arms tensing again, ”For a moment I thought you...”
Jiaoqiu rubbed his back, Moze could feel how the other was warmer now, not so cold anymore, he breathed shakily as he remembered the feeling of the still body in his arms.
“I'm here, Moze. You're right on time.”
If he had arrived a little later, Jiaoqiu really might have died, thinking about that made Moze's heart sink deeper.
“I should have arrived earlier,” he blurted out, he took the other's face in his hands, gently stroking the closed eyelids with his fingers, ”It's my fault.”
“What?” Jiaoqiu took a deep breath.
“I couldn't save you, I was too weak to stand up to those Borisin and let them take you away. This is my fault.”
“You, what are you talking about?” Jiaoqiu sat up, Moze looked at him in confusion and leaned against the headboard of the bed. “Did you force me to take the Lethargy Potion? Did you push me to follow Hoolay?"
“... No, but...”
“Are you an idiot?” Moze was stunned, Jiaoqiu grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, but his hands were shaking, ”Have you been blaming yourself for this all along?”
Moze didn't answer, but his silence was all the answer Jiaoqiu needed.
“Listen to me, it was me who took that poison to weaken Hoolay and it was me who willingly followed him. Had it not been for you, I would have bled to death in that place!”
“But your eyes...”
“I'm a healer, I knew perfectly well what I was up against. Don't feel sorry for that.”
Moze was silent for a long time, Jiaoqiu raised a hand and touched his cheek. The healer gasped, “You're crying.”
Ah, that was what he was feeling then. Moze doesn't remember the last time he cried, it wasn't when his “family” was killed, it was probably when they were experimenting on his body before he realized that they would just ignore him no matter when he cried and screamed.
“You knew... Jiaoqiu, you were almost killed, you lost your eyesight, and your body was badly injured, and you're just comforting me with the fact that you knew?”
Jiaoqiu's ears twitched, and his tail twitched nervously. Moze pulled away the Foxian's hand and wiped away the hot tears.
Between the two of them, who was the bigger idiot?
“Are we even then?”
Moze looked at the healer in disbelief, he snorted and placed a hand on the Foxian's chin, “You made me carry your dying body after I promised to find you, how are you going to repay me, Master Jiao?”
Jiaoqiu's tail wagged, his eyebrows raised before a sly smile broke out on his face, “Ah, I don't seem to have my bag with me at the moment, would Xiao Mo like something special from this master?”
Moze took a deep breath, brought his face close to the Foxian's, and took the time to appreciate his thick eyelashes and full lips. After so long, he claimed those lips with his own, feeling a tingle that traveled from the juncture of their bodies throughout his entire body.
Jiaoqiu wrapped his arms around his neck, moving his head to make the kiss more comfortable. Moze let himself go and kissed the other trying to convey everything he couldn't say in words. When they broke apart, he marveled at the sight of the other's flushed face.
Wordlessly, he pulled the other back onto the bed and pulled the blanket over them again.
“Moze?”
“Mm?”
“What are you doing?”
“Let's go to sleep.”
“...O-oh, okay.”
Jiaoqiu had slept without nightmares, so Moze could guess that it would become routine. In the morning, he showed the healer the bottle where he had kept the pills. The lid was tightly closed and let no smell escape.
The Foxian examined the pills through the glass, shaking them. When that yielded no results, he opened the lid a little and sniffed a bit before closing it again and sniffing Moze's neck to get the Borisin scent out of his nose.
Moze looked at him curiously, waiting as the healer frowned and thought. Feixiao was called by the Foxian, she arrived and the two listened to Jiaoqiu's words.
“This pill is similar to the one Sanctus Medicus' disciples created to advance the mara, but its main ingredient is not vidyadhara marrow, but borisin.”
Feixiao gasped, her fist slammed against the table and Jiaoqiu frowned when he heard the creaking of wood.
“Those beasts of abundance!”
Moze, who had only listened, cocked his head, “Is it dope for Moon Rage to show up?”
“Yes,” Jiaoqiu nodded, frowning as he looked at the pills in the bottle, ”I can guess it's another plan since Hoolay's escape failed and Feixiao ate that stuff. They probably knew Moze would bring you a sample personally.”
That made sense, seeing as even Jiaoqiu reacted badly to the scent of the pill, Feixiao would have instantly lost control. The thought that he was used as a chess piece left a bad taste in his mouth, but at least the general's advisor was still competent, so Moze felt better.
“But I thought only the Alpha could induce Moon Rage in others?” Feixiao sounded confused.
“It's Hoolay's bone marrow.”
Jiaoqiu's statement shocked both of them.
“How...?”
“Bone marrow was periodically extracted from Hoolay to find a cure, since the disciples of Sanctus Medicus even got bone marrow from vidyadhara, it's not impossible that they got this inmate's.”
Feixiao cupped her forehead between her hands, “I have to inform Divine Prevision about this.”
Jiaoqiu nodded, “That would be good, but send an order to the Yaoqing Alchemy Commission to not allow the raposians to get near the samples that Moze brought.
“I'll do that, thank you for your wisdom, Master Jiao.”
“Hmph, don't joke at a time like this.”
Feixiao laughed and bid them farewell, she would be busier soon, that's for sure.
Moze and Jiaoqiu were left alone, the atmosphere was stagnant for a moment before the assassin got up to put the vial away safely away from the Foxian.
“Moze.”
“Yes?”
“Will you help me wash my hair?”
Moze felt there was an odd tilt to his lips; a smile, “Okay.”
Even if there were things left to resolve, even if he couldn't take revenge against a beast that had already died, he could still stay by Jiaoqiu's side. Because even though he had been injured, he was stillalive, and that was the most important thing.
A cure for him, he would definitely find it.
Chapter 2
Summary:
He knew Moze was someone extremely loyal. But he hadn't done all those things to earn his loyalty, he just did the right thing. Not that it bothered him, Moze was a funny guy; socially awkward despite his trade, but it was a strange feeling.
Moze considered him family...
Notes:
Sorry for the long wait! Jiaoqiu's pov turned out to be more difficult than I expected and I had to delete and rewrite a lot of things.
Thanks for reading, English is not my language so if I have mistakes you can tell me!
Chapter Text
Jiaoqiu sensed the medicinal scent even before he fully awoke. He opened his eyes, tensing up as nothing but darkness showed in his vision. Where was he? Hoolay had tossed him aside after he was of no use, did the plan fail?
No, at that moment he remembered a voice calling him and a firm, warm grip against his body. His vision was already blurred then, but he recognized Moze's silhouette and his voice. He had arrived at a time when he felt his life was hanging by a thread.
The smell of medicine and the heavy feeling in his body could only mean that he had been taken to the Alchemy Commission. Closing his eyes again, he patted the surface where he lay. The bed was a typical patient bed, he could feel the bandages running from his neck to his chest and other gauze covering minor wounds.
He sat up carefully, groaning as his wounds protested the movement. He touched behind him and confirmed there was a bedside before arranging the pillow to sit comfortably and wait for someone to come and see that he was awake.
He wondered if everything had gone well. Hoolay should have been weakened with the Lethargy Potion so Feixiao could defeat him more easily (not that Jiaoqiu doubted her ability, but it was always better to make sure), he had to ask how she was once someone came.
He breathed in the scent of soothing incense that helped with sleep and could only assume that he had suffered from nightmares while unconscious, which was not strange. He had been by Hoolay's side even as the medication that reduced the affection against the lupitoxin wore off and just being near the Alpha Borisin made him feel a deep amount of fear.
The strong smell of blood emanating from that Borisin was nauseating. Jiaoqiu, with his line of work, thought he had long since gotten used to that rusty stench, but the scent emanating from Hoolay was a thousand times worse; strong and heavy, with an obvious purpose to make the weak submit.
As Jiaoqiu tried to turn his thoughts away from that smell, the door opened, he followed the direction of the sound and the voice of the Luofu Alchemy Commission Leader reached his ears, “You have awakened, how do your wounds feel?”
Lingsha went straight to the point, Jiaoqiu liked that, “They hurt a little when I sat up, but it's just the usual for wounds like these.”
“Good to know, I changed the bandages in the morning when you were still asleep. I had a feeling you might have woken up so I brought you something to eat.”
“Thank you very much, how is General Feixiao?”
He heard the vidyadhara putting the food down on a table that was apparently at the side of the bed.
“She just had a lot of exhaustion and her qi was unbalanced, I gave her some concoctions and she is already active again. I will inform her that you woke up.”
Jiaoqiu nodded, Feixiao's “health problems” always showed up that way; she would get irritable out of nowhere and her qi would fluctuate. A good rest and the right medicines were enough to improve her condition.
Lingsha had to feed him so he wouldn't make a mess trying to do it on his own (mainly because his hands were still shaking from blood loss and nerve damage), and when she saw the grimace on his lips she told him he couldn't eat spicy food for a while.
Aiya, had he known that he would undergo this punishment would have stayed at the Yaoqing attending to the paperwork.
As Lingsha was about to leave, Jiaoqiu stopped her.
“What about Moze?”
Jiaoqiu hadn't seen, but Hoolay left the shadow guard surrounded by Borisin, had he been injured? Moze was not weak, not for nothing was he Feixiao's assigned guard, but his specialty was assassinations, not direct confrontation.
“He was badly wounded,” Lingsha stated, Jiaoqiu felt his stomach sink, but the vidyadhara continued, ”I confined him to remain at rest and removed his equipment so he wouldn't escape. He is still sedated, but I think he will wake up later or tomorrow.”
“Sedated?”
Moze was a difficult patient, he never revealed the severity of his injuries and didn't enjoy staying in bed, he also didn't like to drink concoctions let alone be in clinic-like places.
Lingsha sighed, “He didn't want to let you go, but his injuries also required attention and it would only aggravate his situation if you allowed him to stay by your side.”
“Oh,” he replied, that was odd from someone like Moze, but also... cute. “He doesn't like bitter medicines, you're better off providing pills or sweetened remedies.”
The vidyadhara didn't answer him, but Jiaoqiu knew she was still there, so he waited until she spoke, “Alright. You two must be close.”
“Well, we both work for the general, it wouldn't work if we didn't get along.” Although he was confused by this change of subject he responded calmly.
Lingsha laughed, “Well, I'll leave you to rest. There's water on the little table to your right in case you get thirsty.”
“Thank you.”
The door closed again, and Jiaoqiu was left alone in the room. He couldn't see anything and didn't ask Lingsha anything because he knew he couldn't get it back. His optic nerves had been damaged due to the Lethargy Potion. It was already good to have survived, considering all the blood he lost.
With a sigh, he decided to lie down again, what else could he do? He would have to learn to live using his other senses, but it was sure to take a while.
Drowsiness hit him, but he settled better and fell asleep, hoping he wouldn't have any nightmares.
“Doctor, the soup you gave us really boosted my energy, I'm ready to fight now!”
“So am I!”
Jiaoqiu laughed, looked at the enthusiastic Yaoqing soldiers who were facing another Borisin army, and said, “Just make sure you come back in one piece, okay? Soup doesn't make you immortal.”
“Of course, doctor! Wait for our return!”
The bodies of those soldiers were not even recovered, completely torn apart by the hungry Borisin attacking their ranks.
Jiaoqiu was always faced with this, to see warriors leave for battle and return only bad news. Healing the wounded to keep them fighting and helping those who returned.
Before, when he still thought he could heal everyone, he had been happy to be able to offer his services for such a noble cause, but he didn't even see the point anymore . Every day dozens of patients came to his store and the vast majority of them left again when they were healed and never came back.
Jiaoqiu could only watch them leave, knowing that no one would return.
Jiaoqiu managed to convince Lingsha that he was well enough to be discharged. He felt embarrassed every time someone had to help him with things like going to the bathroom or taking a herbal bath, but he already learned to do basic things without help.
He was also a healer, so the vidyadhara listened to him listing his progress and why he should leave the Alchemy Commission in earnest. She let him go, saying she would send the treatment plans to General Feixiao later.
He followed the sound until he came to a pier overlooking the sea that he could no longer see, but still heard perfectly. The wounds left by Hoolay were already healing, the bandages were hidden under his clothes, but he could still feel them squeezing his chest.
He still had nightmares; he opened his eyes, but there was only darkness in front of him. The only thing that calmed him was the scent of incense and the quiet sounds filtering in from the door and the window. At least this way he knew he was alive and safe.
Jiaoqiu's ear turned as he heard a series of rhythmic footsteps, he could recognize Feixiao's walk from miles away; confident, steady, and proud.
He was the healer, but Feixiao was promising to heal him. Jiaoqiu thought of the girl he had to save from death's door and how she became this great general, she was always true to her ideals even with her condition and he could watch her for much of the way.
He was not surprised to hear Moze, as Feixiao's shadow guard must have been close to her, but he was surprised when he stayed by his side, even though the general had already left to fulfill her duties.
He guessed that Feixiao had ordered him to rest, after all, Moze had also been injured at that time when Jiaoqiu told him to leave, but the stubborn man insisted on trying to rescue him.
Even if Jiaoqiu said he could do everything as usual, he still clung to Moze's arm on the way to the inn. It was more convenient, he told himself, he wouldn't have to walk blindly and he wouldn't be able to keep up with the other's step because Moze's walk didn't produce any sound.
So Jiaoqiu allowed himself a moment of weakness, two, counting that then Moze had to feed him (Jiaoqiu had already learned to eat by himself, but the intense gaze he was receiving distracted him a bit). Then he wanted to have a little fun, testing Moze's limits by asking for help with his bath.
(He was sure his request would be rejected, after all, Moze was quite rigid and rarely interacted with others, including him, they didn't have that level of intimacy to help each other with this sort of thing.)
But Moze was willing to surprise him. He agreed and Jiaoqiu had to put all his effort into not purring when the other's fingers massaged his scalp. Those hands that were trained to murder turned out to be gentle.
Jiaoqiu didn't understand what Moze wanted to accomplish with all this.
Jiaoqiu was in Feixiao's office today, he couldn't see, but he could still help as an advisor to the general. That made him feel useful. Moze, who had received a medical leave even though the healer was sure he was recovered, had accompanied him and should now be in his invisible mode or out of the office.
“Hmm, I don't understand why they keep harping on this, you're not part of the Artisanship Commission and you can't rush them into making starkiffs faster when they're already working on them with much of their staff.”
Feixiao nodded, “That's exactly what I said, we also don't have any big emergencies and we need to have a lot of troops available. Let's ignore this one and move on to the next.”
The general took another scroll and read another problem, that's how they spent the afternoon: drafting letters and sending orders. When he knew Feixiao was about to send him home again, he leaned over to ask quietly, “Is he here?”
Feixiao knew who he was talking about, she laughed and said, “Nope, does he bother you?”
“Of course not,” He denied it quickly, looking in the general direction of where he knew Feixiao was, and continued; “Did you order him to follow me?”
That would make sense, Moze always followed Feixiao's orders even if he didn't like them, always complying neatly without questioning too much. If she had told him to stay with Jiaoqiu, then he could understand.
“Not at first,” the general said, “He just didn't show up for his position, but ah, I couldn't explain in the account reports why we keep paying someone no one has seen this long. And we know no one looks at Moze much, but it's obvious when I've been delegating missions that he would normally do to others and there's no one trying to cut my throat. So the official order is that he's looking out for you because you're more vulnerable right now, no offense.”
“No offense taken,” he replied, thinking about what Feixiao had just said. Although it was annoying, he knew that the general's move of stating that Moze was Jiaoqiu's bodyguard at this time was both so that no one would question the assassin's absence, and so that no one would dare try anything against the healer.
Being a general brought discontent to many, it would not be the first nor the last time someone tried to take advantage of the weak link that was Jiaoqiu. Of course, before, he would still have been able to defend himself, but his blindness had not been a secret and they could not afford to show weakness.
And yet, that still didn't explain anything.
“Why?” he whispered, still trying to make sense of Moze's actions.
“Why is Moze following you around, Jiaoqiu, it's just a guess I've made considering everything I know about that guy, but I think he sees you as family.”
“Excuse me?”
That was... even more surprising than knowing that the ever-dutiful Moze had abandoned his position without notice.
“Well, you treat him pretty well, don't you? It seems to me that he respects you and seeing you so hurt probably affected him.”
“I respect you, Jiaoqiu.”
The words embedded themselves in his skull, taking his breath away for a moment. He didn't think Moze would look at him like family. Jiaoqiu didn't think he had treated the shadow guard particularly well. He tended to his wounds as his duties indicated and always invited him to eat together with him and Feixiao. It was only natural because they were coworkers.
He knew a little of what Moze had lived through since his childhood, but as far as he knew, the only ones the assassin considered family were that group of Sanctus Medicus Disciples who had done nothing but experiment on his body and mind.
It was twisted; to consider those people who only used him as a guinea pig as family. But of course, they also took it upon themselves to teach Moze, who was but an infant at the time, to consider what they were doing to him as the normal thing to do. Jiaoqiu had to do a lot of lecturing until Moze began to tell him where he was hurt, where it hurt, and how much. Before that, the other seemed to think he should keep quiet about everything because no one would listen to him.
Maybe that was it, Jiaoqiu was the first to try to teach Moze the right things and not the inhuman ways that were engraved in his mind for the mere benefit of those people.
He knew Moze was someone extremely loyal. But he hadn't done all those things to earn his loyalty, he just did the right thing. Not that it bothered him, Moze was a funny guy; socially awkward despite his trade, but it was a strange feeling.
Moze considered him family...
“Jiaoqiu.”
Feixiao's voice brought him out of his train of thought.
“Yes?”
“You always do everything, so it's not bad to get help from time to time, right?”
Feixiao was saying that because she knew Jiaoqiu hated feeling like he was now less useful without his eyesight. The healer sighed.
“It's okay. It's not like he'll go away if I tell him.”
He'd tried that before.
“I was talking about me too.”
Jiaoqiu laughed, just from the tone of voice he knew there was a pout on Feixiao's face. The incredible Merlin's Claw was incredibly childish.
Moze returned after that, Feixiao had sent him to bring back some important information from the Sky-Faring Commission and he handed the papers to the general.
“Then we will leave, remember to rest.”
“Yes, yes, Master Jiao!”
Cooking was not a difficult matter once he got used to the distances of everything. Moze wasn't good at cooking, so Jiaoqiu didn't want to leave him in charge of preparing their meals either. The guy would set about doing other chores while the Foxian cooked.
Moze used to live in a house attached to Feixiao's residence, always ready in case anything unexpected happened, but now one of the guest rooms in Jiaoqiu's house had become Moze's room.
The assassin was a good housemate, always kept everything clean and Jiaoqiu - who used to spend much of his time accompanying Feixiao or at the Alchemy Commission - felt that this place now felt more like home.
He smiled at the thought, throwing more chili into the stew. When he tasted it, there was a sting on his tongue from the spiciness. Perfect.
He checked to see if the rice was ready. Moze, although he always told him everything was delicious and would eat anything he prepared, couldn't stand the spiciness very much, so the white rice should at least dampen the flavor.
Everything was ready, he called Moze to bring the dishes to the table and they had a leisurely lunch. After the other washed the dishes, he said, “I need to buy some things.”
“Okay.”
They went in a starkiff to the shopping area, the Yaoqing did not have a market like the Luofu, now there were different stores and a supermarket. Jiaoqiu entered the supermarket and Moze grabbed a cart to carry things.
“What do you need?”
“Tea, meats, vegetables, oil...”
“Kitchen, I understand.”
Jiaoqiu closed his mouth, let Moze lead him to the right area, and indicated to the other what they had to carry. For the vegetables, he selected things himself. When he had everything on his list, he turned to the assassin, “What about you?”
“Me?” Moze questioned, confused by the question.
“Are you missing anything?”
The other was silent for a while, “Disinfectant.”
“Wasn't there plenty at home?”
“I already used it.”
True, Moze was a neat freak and if Jiaoqiu had his eyesight, he would probably look at his face on every reflective surface at home.
“Well, let's go then.”
Once they had everything they occupied, they returned home. Jiaoqiu felt something in his chest when he noticed that he and Moze had just carried out daily activities as if they were a real family.
How strange...
“...qiu.”
“Jiaoqiu!”
He startled, and squinted his eyes and there was only darkness before him, so he closed them again, calming his breathing and concentrating on identifying the sounds in his surroundings.
The TV was on on the news channel, the sound of rain was coming from outside and a worried voice spoke to him from beside him.
“Jiaoqiu, are you awake?”
With a last shaky breath, he replied, “Yes, what happened?”
Moze didn't say anything, but Jiaoqiu waited and sat on the sofa, a blanket piled up in his lap, so he folded it.
“You were having a nightmare.”
Jiaoqiu tensed up, he had already guessed that was the case, but he still felt embarrassed that Moze saw him in that state.
“I see, thank you for waking me up.”
“Are you okay?” Moze asked, Jiaoqiu felt the other sit beside him on the sofa.
“Of course, it's just a bad dream.”
They were silent for a while, Jiaoqiu tried to forget his dream, but the feeling of being oppressed by the scent of Alpha Borisin was still in his body. He concentrated on listening to the news, even though he wasn't understanding anything they were saying. He felt like he was underwater, listening to everything in a drowning way, he reacted when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Master Jiao, I'm hungry, can you prepare something?”
Jiaoqiu laughed, feeling amused to have Moze acting like a child, “Alright, is there anything you want to eat?”
“...Pancakes.”
Hmm, although they weren't his favorite food, they weren't hard to make. Jiaoqiu headed to the kitchen, he knew where everything was and felt in his element. He prepared a big mountain of pancakes to the point where he thought he had overdone it.
By the time he was with Moze eating the pancakes, the scheduled rain had stopped and a commercial was playing on TV. Jiaoqiu was a bit taken aback when he noticed that the nightmare he had been having was long forgotten. His thoughts had vanished as soon as he started cooking, entering a routine familiar to him, he simply went blank.
The corners of his mouth turned up, Jiaoqiu turned to the direction where he could hear the faint sound of Moze eating and asked; “Are they good?”
“Yes, Master Jiao is the best.”
He didn't usually use his fan at home, but he covered the lower half of his face with it, as he couldn't contain the smile on his face.
Moze was too cute, causing his thoughts to wander without being too obvious.
When Moze told him that Feixiao had assigned him a mission, he told him to go quietly. He could sense the other's reluctance, but Jiaoqiu could manage on his own and the assassin had his job to do.
He prepared the food as usual and then stood still when he noticed that he prepared too much. With a sigh, he took out his part of the food and kept the other part in a container, thinking to give some to Suyi, who seemed not to have a shift on duty today.
After finishing lunch and washing the dishes, he took what was left and headed for the neighboring house. He counted his steps and walked slowly until he felt the door in front of him. He groped for the doorbell and pressed it, he didn't wait long for the door to open.
“Jiaoqiu, what a surprise, how have you been?”
Suyi was a Cloud Knight, Jiaoqiu had known her for a long time, long enough to consider her a friend. She was kind and dedicated, strict when it came to her daughter, but quite reasonable with others. Suyi had gone to visit him a week after he returned to Yaoqing, but they had not met since.
“I'm feeling better, thank you for your concern. I prepared too much food today, so I brought you some.”
He lifted the things in his arms and felt a hand grab his arm, “Come in, come in!”
Suyi guided him to the sofa and Jiaoqiu sat down, he listened to the woman as she took the things to the kitchen and then the aroma of green tea came when Suyi returned.
“Have some tea, isn't Moze at home today?”
Jiaoqiu grabbed the offered cup, he was a little puzzled by Suyi's question, but still replied; “No, he has a mission.”
“Ah, I see. He seems nice.”
“Have you seen him?” he asked, a little surprised because he knew Moze always passed by him all the time.
“I saw him a couple of times when I was coming back late on the roof of your house. He lives with you now, doesn't he?”
He felt it was getting warmer all of a sudden, “Yes,” he cupped the mug in his hands and took a sip, “The general ordered him to take care of me,” he clarified, though he immediately chided himself as there was no point in getting defensive about it.
Moze now lived in his house, and it seemed it wasn't a secret. Jiaoqiu felt embarrassed as he thought about the implications of that, taking another sip of tea without caring about burning his tongue.
Suyi snorted, she didn't say anything, but Jiaoqiu could feel her gaze burning on him. Then, he decided to continue, “Anyway, you rarely trust someone so quickly, how can you say they're nice if you've only met them a couple of times?”
Jiaoqiu remembers Suyi stressing to her daughter not to trust anyone easily when Sushang left for the Luofu, but she seemed to have no problem judging Moze.
Not that she was wrong, despite his nil social skills, Moze was still good company; he listened to everything he told him and his opinions were always concise.
“He helped me clean up the garden.”
Jiaoqiu sighed, put the subject of Moze aside, and chatted casually with Suyi for a while before he felt it was time to leave. She took the food out of the containers and washed them to return them to him.
“Do you need me to come with you?”
“Don't worry, I made it here.”
“Well, take care then, give my regards to Moze.”
“I will, thank you, Suyi.”
When he arrived at the house, everything was quiet. Moze didn't make much noise, but sometimes he was engaged in cleaning, although everything was sparkling, and the TV was kept on. Jiaoqiu also noticed that the other one started to make occasional sounds with his footsteps when he entered or left any room. Now everything was quiet, and Jiaoqiu felt a little uncomfortable.
He hadn't had a problem with loneliness before, he had lived alone for a long time and believed he didn't need someone else. But Moze had inserted himself into his life with ease and Jiaoqiu didn't realize until now that he too had become too attached.
He busied himself tending to his chili plants and other condiments he had in the back garden to divert his thoughts. Then he sat for a while listening to the news; always the same gossip about important figures and reports on scheduled weather changes, sometimes there were notes of relevance, but it wasn't very substantial. At dinner time, he wasn't hungry, but still made himself something simpler and spicier to eat.
Afterwards, he took a bath, ran a hand over the scars on his chest, and sighed. Although he would soon be able to erase the scars by following a treatment, feeling them on his skin reminded him of everything he went through.
He had felt fear being near this Borisin, knowing that he could murder him whenever he wanted, but he forced himself to stand firm in order to help Feixiao. Although he didn't know if he would survive or not, he felt relieved that at least he had done something useful and that his death would not be in vain.
He had not thought about those who would be left behind because that would have wavered his resolve. Although the plan was to help at the cost of his safety, he knew that his death would still leave a mark despite the benefits. When he thought of all those soldiers he had watched leave for imminent death, he finally recognized that the sacrifice they made had a different value to each.
All those soldiers faced death knowing that their actions would open a path for those coming behind them, however minuscule, it all had meaning to them.
That did not lighten the burden of their memories.
Jiaoqiu stopped thinking about it, came out of the bathroom, and dried his hair. When he sat down on his bed, he lay still.
The nightmares, though not as recurrent as at first, still happened frequently. The incense Lingsha prescribed for him wasn't working much either. He tried changing them, but nothing worked.
Every time he woke up, his mind evoked the memory of that terrible Borisin smell. He had thought about... asking Moze for some garment that smelled like him, even though it was ridiculous, but the clean, fresh scent of the other was the first thing he smelled when he woke up after being wounded by Hoolay. He just wanted to test that theory.
Thinking about that, Jiaoqiu got up and headed for Moze's room. When he was at the door, with one hand on the doorknob, he went over his plan: go in, take a garment, and come back. Steeling himself, he turned the knob and the door swung open.
The room barely smelled of Moze, he could smell the minty scent of the other's shampoo and the faint odor of metal that would never come off the killer no matter how hard he tried.
He groped around the room, stumbled upon the closet and opened it, smelled the clothes until he found a jacket that smelled better than the others and took it. The cleanliness freak had all his clothes well washed, so everything smelled of disinfectants and mint. Underneath it all, Jiaoqiu could discern the scent of blood.
Moze was always trying to get rid of that smell, but with his job, it was unavoidable. These days that the assassin was not performing his job, the smell had become fainter, but it was still there. With his foxian nose, Jiaoqiu felt it well.
When he walked back to look for the door, he bumped into the bed. Jiaoqiu hesitated, Moze said he would be back in a day or two.
The other always took good care of his things, would he be upset if Jiaoqqiu invaded such a private space as his bed was?
Jiaoqiu lay down stiffly, but all tension left him when he breathed in the scent clinging to the pillow and sheets. It smelled of mint, blood, and a tinge of sweat. He hugged the jacket tightly in his arms, feeling his heart begin to beat rapidly.
He could clearly hear his heart pumping, so loudly that he wondered if he was sick. He knew he wasn't, of course, but thinking about the reason for his racing heart was...
This was all Moze's fault. He thought as he settled back on the bed. His fault for thinking of Jiaoqiu as a family when he was just showing him basic decency, his fault for going to rescue him despite everything, and his fault for staying by his side all this time.
Jiaoqiu felt his face grow hot, groaned, and buried his face in the pillow. He couldn't allow his thoughts to venture any further. He didn't even know what kind of family Moze was thinking about. Maybe he looked at Jiaoqiu as a good big brother or a kind cousin.
He didn't know, but here he was, with his heart racing as he had Moze's scent surrounding him. Jiaoqiu took a deep breath to calm himself down, which was a mistake when he could only think of Moze.
Yes, it was definitely Moze's fault.
Jiaoqiu calmed his thoughts, breathed in the scent shyly, and fell asleep.
He woke up when someone called out to him, he had been sleeping soundly for once, which proved that his theory was correct, but he immediately tensed up when the Borisin scent assaulted his nostrils.
It was only Moze, but Jiaoqiu felt his whole skin tingling from Borisin's scent and sent him to get rid of the smell. When the other left the room, he controlled his labored breathing, inhaling the scent of Moze's jacket. He didn't even have time to be embarrassed about being found here and not in his room.
Moze had killed some Borisin on his mission, but he hadn't been prepared to smell that scent again. His body was still tense even though he knew there was no danger because of that most animal instinct that reacted to the scent, he hated that feeling because it made him feel useless.
When Moze came in again, he smelled not of mint, but of jasmine. He should have used Jiaoqiu's bath.
It smelled better now.
Moze lay down on the bed with him, Jiaoqiu was shocked for a moment, then he moved closer, and put his hands under Moze's shirt, running along the scars he could feel. His body felt more... safe because he trusted Moze and knew the other wouldn't hurt him. He placed his nose on the other's neck to better envelop himself in the scent, but the assassin immediately tensed.
The arms that had wrapped around him tightened, almost knocking the air out of him, “Moze, are you okay?”
Their bodies were pressed together, Jiaoqiu could feel how fast the other's heart was beating and felt the trembling breath.
“There was so much blood,” Moze said, and Jiaoqiu knew what he was talking about, ”For a moment, I thought you...”
Jiaoqiu realized that the shock of that occasion was greater than he thought for Moze, he rubbed his back to calm him down, “I'm here, Moze. You made it in time.”
He was sure he would die, he knew what he was risking when he took the Lethargy Potion. He was willing to accept the consequences if it meant that things would get better; that there would no longer be so many soldiers leaving to certain death and that civilians would no longer have to abandon their homes when the Borisin invaded. The death of their Alpha would put them in a state of alertness and caution that the Yaoqing would not squander.
But Moze arrived, followed him despite his orders not to, and saved him at the right time. Jiaoqiu was happy with that, even if his eyesight was ruined, he was still alive.
“I should have come earlier,” Moze blurted out, the assassin's hands cupped his face, gently stroking the closed eyelids with his fingers, ”It's my fault.”
“What?”
Jiaoqiu thought he was mishearing.
“I couldn't save you, I was too weak to face those Borisin and let them take you away. This is my fault.”
He felt a rage boiling fast under his skin, he clenched his hands into fists and sat up, “What are you talking about?” he couldn't believe that this foolish man had been blaming himself all along.
Jiaoqiu yelled at him and told Moze that he was an idiot and made his decisions knowing the consequences. It was ridiculous for the other to feel guilty for decisions that weren't his in the first place, the shadow guard had no way of knowing what Jiaoqiu would do, and the fact that he still followed him had saved him.
When Moze fell silent, Jiaoqiu raised his hand and groped for his face, he met the other's wet cheek and was shocked.
Moze was crying.
The assassin rarely showed his true feelings, always with his expressionless face, Jiaoqiu didn't think this guy could cry.
“You knew... Jiaoqiu, you were almost killed, you lost your eyesight, and your body was badly injured, and you're just comforting me with the fact that you knew ?”
It sounded much worse if he said it that way. Jiaoqiu stood there awkwardly, Moze pushed his hand away, but he wasn't bothered by it.
Jiaoqiu didn't regret his actions, he would do them again if he had to go through it all over again, but he never thought he could affect this person so much.
They... had maintained a purely professional relationship before this. Sure, Jiaoqiu was in charge of tending to Moze's wounds and always cooked a portion for him when he prepared Feixiao's meal, but he didn't think his actions would cause this level of attachment.
“Are we even then?” he said tentatively, because despite everything he didn't want the other to continue to be upset, let alone continue to feel this senseless guilt, he heard Moze's snort and knew everything would be okay.
His heart raced as a hand grabbed his chin, Moze's hands without his gloves were soft, perfectly clean, and manicured, “You made me carry your dying body after I promised to find you, how are you going to repay me, Master Jiao?”
Oh, Moze's voice - probably from crying, or something else - sounded a tone hoarser than usual. Jiaoqiu got excited, after all, it seemed Moze did look at him as that kind of family. Acting flirtatiously, he replied, “Ah, I don't seem to have my bag with me at the moment, would Xiao Mo like something special from this master?”
He felt the other's face close to his and his breath caught, Moze took his time, he was probably staring at him, but Jiaoqiu was patient. When the other's lips finally landed on his, Jiaoqiu felt a shiver run through his body. He sighed into the kiss and slipped his arms around the other's neck.
Everything felt too strongly, every place where their bodies touched was hot, and Jiaoqiu knew he was completely flushed. When they separated and Moze pulled him to the bed, he wondered if Moze could hear his heartbeat.
Jiaoqiu's expectations were crushed when the assassin simply threw the covers over them. “Moze?”
“Moze?”
“What are you doing?”
“Let's go to sleep.”
“...O-oh, right.”
This was all Moze's fault!
Jiaoqiu scolded the other in his mind, if it wasn't because Moze was so chivalrous, cute, and silly, he would have jumped on him and claimed his own! What's this about kissing him and not doing anything?
Oh, could it be that Moze is shy? Jiaoqiu knew that the other was inexperienced in this kind of thing, so... should he take the initiative?
“What's wrong?”
The other's voice startled him, Moze used one hand to pull down Jiaoqiu's tail which was wagging under the blanket. Jiaoqiu moved a little closer and spoke softly, “Will you kiss me again?”
They shared a few more kisses; slow and lazy, Jiaoqiu decided he liked the feeling, so he didn't press for more.
When he was finally able to fall asleep, surrounded by Moze's warmth and scent, he felt safe and had a good night's sleep.
The next day, after Feixiao left to further investigate the pills Moze brought, the assassin helped him wash his hair. Jiaoqiu allowed himself to relax against the other's hands and felt that this was also quite good.
Then, when he came out and changed from the bathroom, he found Moze in the “training room”, which was Feixiao's designated guest room that she simply filled with exercise machines and where she forced Jiaoqiu to train whenever she felt like it.
Fortunately, Jiaoqiu had not been able to do strenuous exercises after receiving his injuries, and Feixiao was too busy now to worry about his physical condition.
Moze enjoyed training more than him, as his goal was to defeat Feixiao, he could not neglect his training if he wanted to surpass her. The smell of sweat hit his nose as he walked through the door, he heard an exhale and the sound of metal clanging and knew Moze had been with the weights.
“What happened?” The assassin asked, approaching the Foxian.
“It's nothing,” he said, ”I want a kiss.” There was silence from the other and Jiaoqiu's tail wagged with amusement.
“All right.”
The other's bare hand rested on his cheek and then soft lips covered his own. Jiaoqiu sighed, his arms wrapped around Moze's neck, and realized he had to stand on the tips of his toes to reach.
He bit Moze's lip lightly and the other hesitantly opened his mouth, moaning as Jiaoqiu's tongue entered and met his. They broke apart panting, Jiaoqiu gently kissed the other's neck, feeling his pulse quicken, pulled away slightly, and asked, “Can we do anything else?”
Moze kissed his forehead and then his eyelids, his voice was hoarse when he answered, but firm and determined, “Jiaoqiu, I want to court you.”
The healer stood still, one of his ears twitched and then he buried his head in the other's neck, trying his hardest not to laugh.
Courting? Who did that sort of antiquated thing nowadays? Although there were families that maintained those kinds of customs, the Yaoqing had long since adopted the freer lifestyle of other civilizations due to the influence of the IPC. It was uncommon to see someone (young, moreover) who still followed those rituals.
“Are you going to give me presents?”
“Yes, is there anything you want?”
“No, I'll wait for you to bring a surprise.”
“Okay.”
Jiaoqiu laughed, his heart pounding hard in his chest as it occurred to him what happened after courtship: marriage. His face grew hot and he stayed hidden in Moze's neck for another while before recomposing himself and pulling away.
“I'll leave you to continue training.”
“Mm.”
“You never train at this hour.”
“I do in the mornings, but today...”
Moze didn't finish the sentence, but Jiaoqiu knew what he meant. When he woke up, his body was tightly clinging to the other, Moze hadn't moved for fear of waking him up and he started his day later than usual.
“Ah, I understand.”
“Yes.”
Jiaoqiu coughed softly, “Well, I'll be in the living room.”
He went to the living room and sat down on a sofa, feeling rather silly, why were they so nervous talking about hugging each other in the mornings after they had kissed each other? How ridiculous!
He fumbled for the remote control and turned on the TV, looking for something to distract himself.
“I'll have to go away for a while,” Moze said a few days later, ”It'll be longer this time. Your phone is already set up by voice and I told Suyi to keep an eye on you. When you need to buy something tell Feixiao. I'll call you if I can.”
Jiaoqiu was speechless, “I'm not a child, I can take care of myself.”
Moze replied, “I know, but I'm worried.”
Ah, that was...
“Still, there was no need to bother Suyi,” Jiaoqiu felt embarrassed, even though the woman had been his neighbor for many years and they had a good level of trust, he still felt like he wanted to bury himself somewhere at the thought of facing Suyi's teasing about her being a caretaker of sorts.
Moze didn't answer him.
“Where will you go?” he asked, knowing he could no longer do anything about it.
“It's confidential, but I'll keep you in the loop.”
“Well,” he pouted, feeling his cheeks heating up, “when will you be leaving?”
“In the morning.”
“Well, you'd better contact me.”
The sound of the front door bursting open startled Jiaoqiu.
“I brought breakfast!” Feixiao's shrill voice sounded muffled from the other side of his room door. Jiaoqiu sighed, patted the bed beside him, and found that it was already cold.
Sure enough, Moze had already left. He probably didn't want to wake him up, even though the gesture was sweet, he still would have liked a goodbye kiss. Jiaoqiu got up and shouted, “I'm coming.”
Since it was only Feixiao, he didn't bother to change out of his pajamas and just brushed his face and teeth before leaving. The smell of food came from the dining room and Jiaoqiu already knew it was those general egg and toast breakfasts.
“Good morning, Feixiao.”
“It's already 9 o'clock! You should get up to train.”
Jiaoqiu sat up and heard a plate of breakfast being passed to him, “No, thank you.”
Feixiao snorted, she was silent for a moment before asking, “Where's Moze?”
Jiaoqiu froze, “He left this morning, I thought you assigned him a mission.”
Although, if he remembered, Moze had never said he was going on Feixiao's orders. But if she wasn't the one who gave him the order, where did he go? He frowned, but he was more worried than annoyed.
“Wait, I'll ask something.”
Feixiao made a call to her assistant, Jiaoqiu didn't hear much, he was thinking about what Moze might be doing at the moment. The assassin said he would be gone for a while, what warranted so much effort, what if something happened to him? Although he said he would keep in touch, how would he know if the other was hurt if he couldn't see him?
“Jiaoqiu, calm down.”
He took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts out of his head, he turned in the general direction where Feixiao's voice was coming from and heard her say, “He asked for a one-month vacation, it wasn't denied because they thought I had approved it and he has never asked for a vacation so it can't be denied. He went to the Luofu, I'll call him later and if I feel he's in danger I'll drag him back, okay? Don't worry about it.”
Moze was an adult who could take care of himself, although Feixiao's reassurance calmed his thoughts, he was now upset again that he hadn't gotten more information out of the other where he was headed.
What was he doing in Luofu? At least it was safe there. General Jing Yuan would contact Feixiao if anything happened regarding Moze and there was also Miss Yukong to go to.
“I will scold him when he comes. Causing my old bones to suffer like this.” Jiaoqiu complained, drawing a laugh from Feixiao.
“Well, now eat your breakfast and then we'll train!”
His tail twitched, “We won't train!”
“I asked Lingsha and she said it would be good for your recovery, you can't lag behind!”
Thus, Jiaoqiu could only complain about Moze in his heart, he left him alone in this hell! Traitor!
The positive news of the day: Today, the delegation that left Luofu for the planet Jarilo-VI under the command of Helm Master Yukong has returned after successful negotiations for an alliance with this planet that is reintegrating after having suffered the Eternal Ice due to the Cancer of the Worlds. Details about this new alliance will be announced by the Six Charioteers of Luofu in the coming days.
Jiaoqiu had the TV on as he ground the chili peppers he had dried, his tail was wagging behind him and he was humming a tune. He kept the crushed chili powder in a jar and stored it with the rest of his seasonings.
Satisfied, he cleaned up the kitchen and then took a bath. After drying his hair, he headed to the living room to turn off the television. Although Moze was not a talkative presence, he still felt the house was too quiet without him.
It had been 27 days since Moze had left, the other sent him messages or voice recordings every 3 days, except for one time when he went an entire week without contact. Although s}he didn't know where the other had gone, and Feixiao only seemed slightly annoyed, he felt better every time he received a communication.
Jiaoqiu would go to the office with Feixiao some days, she would spend it picking him up and he would fulfill his job as a counselor. He had also gone to the Alchemy Commission a couple of times to help accompanied by Suyi.
Today he had no commitments to fulfill, so he stayed home all day. He grabbed his cell phone and stayed waiting for Moze's communication that should arrive soon.
Some time passed, but no message came, let alone a call. Jiaoqiu frowned, tucked himself with a blanket on the couch, and decided to wait a little longer. He fell asleep unknowingly, and when he woke up it was because he heard the door opening with a quiet click.
The door closed and Jiaoqiu couldn't hear anything else, “Moze?”
He sat up on the couch, and his ears picked up the sound of something being left on the kitchen counter before he heard a voice near him, “I came back.”
“Where did you go?”
Moze sat down beside him on the sofa, grabbed Jiaoqiu's hand, and placed a wooden box on top of it.
“Courtship gift.”
The box was cold, so the trembling of his fingers could be attributed to that. Jiaoqiu grabbed the box with both hands; he could feel the details of the wood, there was an ornamental design on the box and a metal clasp. When he opened the box, a cold current ran through him, Jiaoqiu touched what was inside the box.
Resting on a velvety lining, there were flowers , Jiaoqiu brought his nose close, but he couldn't sense any scent coming from it and the shape of the petals didn't give him much of a clue either. In the end, he gave up and asked, “What are these?”
“They are called Eternal Ice Flowers, their medicinal properties have not yet been fully explored, but they are beneficial for blood circulation and regeneration. They are difficult to obtain, but their results are very good.”
Eternal Ice? Where had I heard that today?
Jiaoqiu hummed, his mind was recalling the information about Eternal Ice.
Ah, Jarilo-VI.
“You went with Miss Yukong to Jarilo-VI?”
“Something like that.”
“Moze.”
“I snuck in, but I told her when they were entering the planet.”
Jiaoqiu sighed, closed the lid carefully, and held the box tightly, “Don't leave like that again, you worried me. But... ahem, thank you for the gift. I accept it.”
Moze hugged him, gave him a kiss on the corner of his eye, and said, “I brought some other things too, I'll tell you later.”
“Well, are you hungry? You're a little cold.”
“Mm, I want one of your spicy soups.”
“Oh? Okay, I'll prepare it.”
Under Moze's directions, he left the flowers in the freezer. The assassin went to take a bath while Jiaoqiu cooked, prepared a spicy broth to the point that his tongue hurt when he tasted it, and prepared stir-fried steak to which he added hot sauce, he also prepared white rice so that Moze wouldn't feel so overwhelmed.
Satisfied, he placed things carefully on the table, there was something there and when he touched it was a package of books. He guessed that Moze had brought them, he put them aside and finished putting everything on the table.
“Master Jiao, I missed your food,” Moze told him when he got to the table, Jiaoqiu scoffed, but they both sat down and ate in silence.
Later, with Moze clinging to Jiaoqiu on the bed, the Foxian asked with amusement, “Why are you so clingy?”
“Because I missed you. It was so cold on that planet, all I could think about was how nice it would be if you could be there to cook spicy meals and tuck yourself in with me at night.”
Jiaoqiu blushed, tucked his head under Moze's chin, and changed the conversation, “What did you do there?”
Moze, against all odds, perked up, “I met this girl from the Investigation Department and she was the one who told me about the flowers. Since we had to go somewhere away from the patrols and her brother couldn't go with her, she hadn't explored that territory yet, so I went with her. She's good at survival.”
Surprisingly, Moze could talk so much, Jiaoqiu felt it was funny that the ever-indifferent assassin could act this excited, “You liked her.”
“Yeah, she doesn't like to talk much either.”
Jiaoqiu laughed, gave Moze a kiss which was reciprocated, and then continued chatting, “There were some books on the table, what are they?”
“Oh, they are a famous novel over there, they gave me a copy, I'll read it to you anytime. I also brought some blue flared mushrooms that you can cook with spicy and other things.”
I felt as if Moze had had fun. The other wouldn't admit it, but his tone of voice sounded relaxed and he was talking more than usual. Moze had spent his childhood cooped up somewhere, then he had only spent his time following Feixiao, he hadn't had the chance to see many other places, but it was obvious that he had liked going to another planet.
Jiaoqiu kept this information, he was already thinking about also asking Feixiao for permission to go with Moze somewhere.
“It's good to know that everything went well, but you should give more details next time, do you know how worried I was when you didn't respond for a week?”
“Ah, that... The place we went to had no reception, it was too far away, but we didn't want to go back after we got that far either. That girl's brothers were waiting to scold her when we got back, it was funny.”
He had nothing more to ask, so he pulled Moze into a longer, lingering kiss. Jiaoqiu wondered if he could get the other to make a move this time, but Moze buried his head in the Foxian's pink hair and murmured; “Master Jiao, I'm tired.”
With a sense of indulgence, he slipped his arms around the other, “It's okay, sleep.”
Moze had gone to explore who knows where just to get him flowers that would help him recover, Jiaoqiu just felt that this was too good.
This whole courtship and gifts thing, Jiaoqiu didn't expect Moze to take it so seriously. But it was quite cute and seeing the dedication left him feeling like he was underwater.
The assassin had already fallen asleep, a sign of weakness that was only for Jiaoqiu, with whom he felt safe enough to let his guard down. Jiaoqiu entwined his legs with Moze's, pressed his head against that strong chest, and listened to the heartbeat with a smile on his face.
He might not be able to see anymore, but he still had people around him who cared about him.
fluffysocks on Chapter 1 Thu 12 Sep 2024 06:48PM UTC
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Albedo_Alberich on Chapter 1 Thu 12 Sep 2024 08:59PM UTC
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Verzy on Chapter 1 Thu 12 Sep 2024 09:42PM UTC
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Baka_Chuu on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Sep 2024 10:13AM UTC
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LaCreme on Chapter 1 Mon 16 Sep 2024 01:17AM UTC
Last Edited Mon 16 Sep 2024 01:18AM UTC
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seiyaaaauh on Chapter 1 Mon 16 Sep 2024 08:56AM UTC
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UnenthusiasticNerd on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Oct 2024 02:48PM UTC
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MugiPyon on Chapter 2 Mon 28 Oct 2024 07:08AM UTC
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13th on Chapter 2 Thu 05 Dec 2024 05:06AM UTC
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time1ess_spac3 on Chapter 2 Mon 05 May 2025 09:42AM UTC
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