"Ya got him, fish man?" The biggest rock lady yelled, laughing already. Leeyoon stiffened, his hands wanting to turn to fists and claws without his consent, and Lunisa, in his embrace, shrank and turned to jelly there. He could see her mind go blank behind wide eyes; she really was terrified of them.
He stiffened further, unsure what to do, but he could tell that Lunisa was even more unsure than he was. So, with a deep breath, he whipped around, Lunisa still in his grip, and laughed, "Absolutely! Nasty little bugger, but I got her!" He made a point of shoving her against her will, but she was like putty, and moved where he wanted, only hesitating insomuch as her physical ability forced her to.
"Good, good!" The same lady said, grinning, knocking her compatriots on the shoulder as if she'd proved them wrong. Leeyoon felt safe to leave, walking forward, Lunisa in his grip and trusting him still, but the rock lady looked down at him, her arms spreading to stop him from passing. "Now, let us take care of her."
"P-pardon?" That wasn't what he'd expected.
"She terrorized our town, messed with our silo- I think we deserve to met out her punishment." The lady's smile, broad and toothy, dropped.
"But I- She needs to come home." He said, pulling her close, pushing her behind him. The rock lady only approached.
"But I say she needs to be punished." She growled, looming low over him. She wasn't much taller than he, but she was made of rock, and that made her dangerous.
"She- she will be punished." Leeyoon said, eyebrows knit tight together.
"Oh?" She obviously doubted him, but wanted to see what he would say.
"Of course! For wandering out of her territory, for making me come and get her, you think she won't be punished!? I don't belong in the day anymore than she does, after all!" He jerked Lunisa, just a bit, to sell his point, snarling up at the rock lady with an expectant pout. He had to make her believe he expected and deserved to punish Lunisa, or else she'd take his friend away. The living mountain snarled down at him, but her friends laughed.
"What'll you do, bury her?" They knickered.
"Oh, yes! To be encased in the earth is the worst punishment!" He said, wasting no time.
"Don't you all sleep in the earth?" Asked one.
"Yes, but to be buried is hell. She will surely receive no less for sneaking away!" Leeyoon clutched Lunisa close, hoping that he wasn't being too violent with her. She didn't resist him dragging her about, and looked frightened regardless, it seemed, and his words only made that much worse.
"So you say, fish man,", said the largest again, "But how do we know for sure you mean to punish her? We don't take lightly to your people-" She jabbed him in the chest, "-messing with our stuff."
He puffed up at her derogatory jab, as if all his muscles became iron, hot with the fury that she was unknowingly stoking."I am Leeyoon, former guardian to be! No one takes the balance between night and day more seriously than I save a guardian themself! If you really think it demands a higher authority than I, feel free to flag down Sohone!" He snarled up at her, his scales and fins rising in anger. How dare they question him! How dare they look down! How dare-
"Fine! Take the bitch and go!" The big rock lady didn't look impressed, but the confidence of her lackey, even against her will, was such that to contradict her would make them all look bad. The crew member didn't seem aware of this, nor did the others, just himself and the big one.
"I will! Thank you, ladies, for your supreme cooperation!" He said, thankfully, sporting that full grin as he guided Lunisa out. Even as they slipped past, he couldn't help but feel that this wasn't over.
Nobody stopped them, though, as they walked down the hill, as he made sure his hand was on hers the whole way. He didn't dare look behind him, though he saw Lunisa checked a few times. It wasn't until they were back in the forest before he let go of her hand and picked her up in a hug.
"Are you alright? I'm so sorry for being so rough but if they thought I was going to be soft with you they'd have filleted us both!" Leeyoon wanted to cry, exhausted and worried and still so furious that he'd had to behave that way. She nodded against him, and returned the hug, and he let out a deep sigh.
"What was that about?" She asked as he pulled away. She was still scared, but she was, at least, able to think again.
"They thought you were trespassing or stealing or something.. the big one clearly wanted to beat you for it.. We're lucky we got away.." He heaved, thinking about the damage she could have done. She could've broken their spines, snapped their limbs, possibly ripped them in half.. The images of the damage she could've done to them flashed dangerously close in his mind. It sparked an equal amount of fear and… something horrendous in him. Those violent urges he'd felt, and the strange confidence that he could have undoubtedly carried them out.. he shuddered at his own mind.
"I'm sorry.." Lunisa said, looking past their tree, up the hill. "I was worried.."
"No, it's fine.." He sighed. "Kindle said you'd be up there and I almost didn't believe them.. Are you okay? You said you were chased."
"I'm fine." Lunisa said with a shake of her head. "Are you? It's hot out.."
"I'm fine. Kindle splashed me and I think there was magic in the water.." He was joking, but as he thought about it, he didn't feel as dried out as he should, given his hike and the lack of shade on his way both up and down the hill. It wasn't even close to sundown yet, but he felt positively fine.
"We should go." Lunisa said, putting a hand out for Leeyoon.
"Right." He nodded and took her hand. They didn't need to run; their departure wasn't quite as dramatic as that, but they went swiftly, hand in hand. Leeyoon led the way to more night-friendly woods, those they'd both traveled before, and Lunisa followed dutifully behind. She didn't say it, but Leeyoon felt from the silence and her refusal to stop that she was unnerved by her time in the day village.
Leeyoon remembered when he'd visited, officially, as soon-to-be- guardian of the night. People there were… well, less than receptive. He'd stayed away since then. He could only imagine how an errant denizen of night might fare, unexpected and unannounced and unwanted. The people of the day were, beyond stereotyping, much more violent than those of the night. Fauns were, by vow and coming of age, pacifists, but the day people made no such vows, not ever. They did as they pleased, and as the sun was won by conquests, so did they regard the world. They did as they pleased.
But, they were beyond the village borders. They were safe. He firmly held Lunisa's hand in his own as they walked further and further into the woods. With each tree that they passed, his heart calmed further. The near jog that they started at slowed to a trot, to a walk, to a saunter.
Still, he held her hand. They'd done this dozens of times by now, but never after such a charged moment. He felt.. not silly, not childish, but something else as he held her hand. She was so important to him, had grown so near and dear to him in the past few weeks.
She was, without a doubt, the most important person in the world to him. All he wanted in life was to tell her stories, sing to her, and keep her safe. That he very nearly failed to do that by returning a book was not lost on him.
Still, he'd gotten there in time, and now they surely had all the time in the world again. He wanted to spend his time with her in the woods, trading stories, traveling, swimming, her dancing, him singing, and them just being.
He looked back at her, hand gripped in his. She seemed somber, but her hand was tight in his, and she kept pace with him no matter how quickly he felt he was going. Her ears were low, a sure sign of displeasure, but her expression was neutral. Leeyoon couldn't guess what she was feeling. It was a tense situation he'd managed to pull her out of, for sure, but she didn't seem either exceptionally relieved or stressed about it.
She caught his eye, and looked up with a smile. Though he'd only looked at her through a side eye, she'd noticed his attention, and she smiled.