The moonlight flickered through the leaves, falling on Ceni's hand that protectively hovered above Hao Xuan's face.
Ceni's other hand was below his head, acting as a cushion between her legs and Hao Xuan's head.
She had already dressed him just like all those times before on the ship, becoming almost second nature to her now.
Her lips couldn't help but arch into an innocent little smile as she explored Hao Xuan's face, scrutinizing every little detail, trying to ingrain his visage in her memory.
Her pupils were dilated to the extreme. It wouldn't be far fetched to say that she was properly bewitched at the moment, forced to wake up from that dazed state after hearing the rustling caused by Haeti.
Haeti ran up to Ceni on all fours and neatly placed an assortment of 'fine' sticks on the ground beside her.
"My lady, which do you like the best??" he asked excitedly, but only got a "Hmm" in response.
Ceni didn't even bother looking up.
Surprised, Haeti moved closer and inspect Hao Xuan's face from several different directions before giving up.
Stumped, he sat down on his hind legs like a person. Overcome by curiosity he could not help but inquire further.
"Why does my lady like this human so much?"
The smile widened, covering almost the entire bottom half of her face.
"Because he is everything that I am not," she replied absentmindedly.
Haeti's brow scrunched up in confusion and after a moment of contemplation he spoke up again.
"Ugly? Does my lady like ugly things? No, that cannot be. My lady loves me so that cannot be true!" he shook his head, answering his own question.
Ceni couldn't help but giggle, finally looking towards Haeti.
"No silly. It's because he is a nice person. Even though he tries to be mean, but deep down he is always worried about others. He cares for people that have nothing to do with him. He can feel their pain and empathize with them in a way I could never do."
"He is warm and loving, like my very own sun…"
She looked back down again as her smile widened once more, "And he's not too bad to look at either," she mumbled as a red hue overtook her cheeks.
Haeti's head turned 90 degrees to the left with one brow shooting upwards, "But I thought he already had a mate?"
Ceni's smile faltered but she still nodded slowly.
"Then will you also become his mate too?"
Ceni shook her head firmly, releasing a small amount of killing intent unconsciously.
"Of course not. I'm more than enough for him. As long as I stay beside him, he won't need anyone else. I will make him forget everything and everyone else, so he can only look at me," her eyes turned a shade of crimson for an instant before returning to normal.
Haeti was about to speak up again but his ears suddenly perked up. He quickly stood up and unsheathed the small blade on his back.
Looking towards the lake he let out a low growl.
"What is it?" his sudden movements successfully caught Ceni's attention.
"Enemies. The water is angry and sad, hurting. They are coming!" Haeti replied through his teeth.
Even though he was talking normally, his expression resembled that of a wild dog that was about to go against a much bigger foe.
Ceni quickly shook her head and stood up, holding Hao Xuan in her arms.
"No, we can't fight here. Let's go, now!" she ordered.
She had only taken a single step when she suddenly froze and slowly looked down, seeing a pair of misty green eyes staring up at her.
"What are you doing?" Hao Xuan's apathetic voice reached her ears.
Ceni let out a shriek and jumped, dropping Hao Xuan.
"PERVERT!" she shouted while covering her chest.
Hao Xuan's head hit the ground hard, cracking it (the ground).
He slowly stood up and rubbed the back of his head, still a little confused.
"I asked you a question, Princess."
"S-Saving you!" Ceni replied, flustered. But then she pointed towards him with mock anger, "But you! How could you do that!? I was only trying to help and yo-you-"
"You what?" he asked unhurriedly, dusting off his clothes.
"You looked!" Ceni shouted, her face beet red by now.
Haeti switched targets, standing between Hao Xuan and Ceni now, his blade pointing towards Hao Xuan.
Hao Xuan stretched his back and legs, getting a few cracks before replying.
"All I did was open my eyes and catch a kidnapper in the act. Are you mad because you got caught?" he looked towards her with an expressionless face.
Mad, Ceni bent down and took off her shoe to throw towards Hao Xuan's face but was stopped by the sound of water waves.
All three of them looked towards the lake and saw the bubbling water.
Hundreds of water bubbles kept coming up to the surface every second and the water level kept rising continuously.
In the last couple of minutes that they had been talking, it had risen more than 3 feet, reaching the base of the forest by now.
Hao Xuan's pupils contracted to the size of needles as he leaped towards Ceni, grabbing her arm and running in the opposite direction.
"RUN!"
