If there's one thing making him relaxed, that is knowing that even if he dies the kingdom won't fall because he has good companions left. Hsy might be annoying af but he can't deny she'll make a great ruler in his stead. that's what he thinks about now, when his forces had been

ambushed, resulting in him being the sole survivor who managed to escape - though badly wounded. The enemies won't find him, as he used an ability to go a long distance from the massacre's location, but this is in the middle on nowhere and he isn't sure he'll survive his wound.

Yjh uses another ability to turn into a kid; with his body smaller the mana should be a little better at healing the pierced flesh. Then he loses consciousness. Surprisingly tho, he didn't die. He wakes up to a wooden ceiling, still looking like a child

and a smiling man next to the bed he's laying in. The man introduces himself as kdj, tells him he found yjh in the woods and after asking about their location he says that his house is a little further from a village called "--". Yjh thinks for a while and he recalls

this is one of the smallest, furthest and unimportant parts of his territory. Kdj seems to really be a normal person taking care of him, but he still can't let his guard down. 'everyone has hidden purposes' yjh thinks as he watches the slim man, dark hair and eyes

contrasting with a skin so pale, it looks like it's made out of glass. He could snap kdj in half in his real adult form, he notes. 'he could be just pretending' yjh thinks after kdj tries to feed him some inedible food, so after bickering on

yjh wanting to cook and kdj saying he needs to rest, the compromise is that kdj will cook under yjh instructions. 'he...could actually be a terrible person.' yjh tries to convince himself after days of living together, this person assuring he's comfortable and healing well.

he was strong enough to walk for a while now, and once kdj took him to the village. It's small, incomparable with the capital yjh is used to. But this kind of quiet peace and friendly people have their perks. He looks to his side, and for some reason kdj seems

terribly lonely while smiling and chatting with the villagers. Yjh thinks he can almost see a wall between him and the rest. "Why don't you live in the village?" he asks that night. "Hm, I like silence." the man clearly lies and yjh doesn't pursue the subject.

Kdj is a fool. A complete, absolute moron that keeps his distance from people but also has no personal space or shame when he consideres someone 'not a threat', he supposes. Yjh is sure of this, now that they're bathing together. The fool said he can't let a wounded brat drown

himself in the river and proceeded to undress, now washing stark naked, unaware of how hard yjh was trying not to look at those rosy nipples catching water droplets. He was an adult, not a real child. Yjh very much had naturnal needs, currently all

having somethig to do with the one in front of him. ....the hell didn't end there. Kdj finished cleaning himself and moved to the 'child' he was helping, letting out that teasing voice while his hands washed yjh's back. How satisfying would it be to hear that smug voice

cry out in pleasure under him? Panting and filled with need and urgency. '....' Not even the cold river's water could help yjh that day, and seeing kdj naked made him even more aware of the man he was sleeping next to every night.

There was something bugging him after the passing of weeks. Once again, yjh moved through the forest and reached a clearing. Or more like an edge, huge cliffs overseeing the lake spreading from under them. And again, kdj was there, ominously staring into the distance

Yjh couldn't tell what about that sight made him sweat, but from the first time he found the man like that his heart begun beating so fast, it almost jumped out of his chest. The image of kdj's lonely looking face blend in yjh's mind with

the one of him standing over the edge of the cliffs, and he found himself hurrying by that person's side, grabbing kdj's shirt and seeing the man turn to look down at him. "I'm hungry." he'd lie, but something would clear in kdj's eyes and

reaching out a had, the man would pat his head and tell him 'let's go home'. What would kdj do if there wasn't a child he had to take care of? If yjh, who's wounds already healed left and went back to the castle? ....he didn't want to know.

He thought many times about taking kdj back with him, but yjh knew what kind of life it was back there. Constant battles and plots, different from the peace of this place. Would kdj be happy living like that? Would kdj even forgive him for pretending to be a child?

Yjh didn't know, and therefore days would pass with him unable to do anything but continue his life in this place. By the side of that strange, secluded person who almost every day walks to the cliffs, staring for hours into the distance. Sooner or later, he'll have to decide.

Yjh's eyes opened, immediately waking up with a horrible feeling in his chest. He looked to his right. The bed was empty. Kdj wasn't there nor anywhere else in the house. He ran, barefoot. He ran and ran, the only sound he could hear being his own fast heartbeats.

One single image in his head, of someone with the back at him. Yjh reached the clearing out of breath, and the image in his mind was an almost perfect copy of the one he was seeing in front of his eyes. Almost. Something was different, but what?

Kdj was there, the cliffs were there, lake in the distance, trees, grass, everything was the same except- Yjh was still running towards that person, and by getting closer he could now distinguish everything better.

Kdj wasn't staring into the distance. He was looking down. The man must've been so deep in his trance that he didn't even hear the urgent footsteps approaching from behind. Yjh reached out towards the lonely back, now leaning over the edge.

He grabbed that person, wrapping his hands around the waist, and kdj finally turned to look at him with big, surprised eyes. . . . They fell down together.

"W-what do you think you're doing?!" kdj's shock and disbelief was clear on both his face and voice. They were falling to their death but yjh only glared at him, hands still not wanting to let go of this person. Kdj watched him with shaky eyes before clicking his tongue

"Tsk." In that moment, everything turned dark and it was yjh's turn to be surprised. The darkness spread around them in the form or huge feathery wings absorbing the light. A small pair of glossy horns grew on top of his forehead, and yjh instantly recognized the being.

How could he not, after having fought against them for so long. This was clearly a demon. Kdj changed their positions, from him falling with yjh on top of him, to him flying back to the top of the cliffs with the boy in his arms.

When they touched the ground he let yjh down, giving him a reprimanding look before saying 'let's go home'. Unlike before, this time his voice had restrained anger in it. They walked in silence, only after closing the door to the house speaking again.

kdj : "what were you thinking? you could've died!" yjh : "says the one who jumped" kdj : "you saw, right? I can fly dammit, I was never in danger." "Were you?" yjh asks, despite a part of him not wanting to know the answer. He grit his teeth and glared at kdj.

"Were you going to take out your wings if I hadn't been there?" Kdj hesitated for a moment before responding "of course.", but both of them knew it was a lie. The day continued as if nothing happened. Preparing a meal together, gathering herbs and wood for the fire.