Chapter 6
The dell proved to be more secluded than they thought, and it wasn't long before they began to see why it had been able to house refugees and vigilantes. The trees were thick and grew close together, and the plants grew tall enough to hide just about anyone who wished to stay hidden from view. It sat a short way off from the foothills, and clusters of flora dotted the landscape. Hopefully they wouldn't need to expect such company tonight; they needed the dingle to themselves.
Bolin had lugged the sack of supplies into the large thicket they'd chosen to take refuge in. They were lucky to have found such a hiding place to conceal their presence, but if the masters of Gongmen City did choose to pursue them - even if it was over a matter of days - they would need more than a bunch of trees to protect them.
Zhong stood beside them, glancing from Bolin to Renshu, who had lain the unconscious ewe down onto the sack she had been kept in. After a few minutes of silence, Zhong pressed his earlier request onto Renshu.
"Well? What about your story?"
Renshu leaned up, his gaze still lingering on Jia. "How long will she be unconscious?"
Zhong's shoulders rose. "Long enough. I don't know - we weren't sure of how much to give her, so we erred on the side of more instead of less. We couldn't have her waking up and sounding the alarm." He started, as if catching himself in a mistake, and said, "Why am I explaining myself to you? And what is it to you when she wakes up?" He strode up to him. "What, did you make friends with this sheep or something? How did she know your name?"
Renshu, unsure of what to say all in a moment, turned to face Zhong; he supposed that telling his friends the truth wouldn't do much harm. Besides, it didn't appear as though he had a choice, in the long run.
When it came down to it, the wolves weren't truly evil in their own right. They had merely been misled, and as such, without a dictator to pull their strings they were more at liberty to be open to things that they wouldn't have before. As such, Renshu sensed that maybe Zhong and Bolin wouldn't look down on him for admitting that Jia was, indeed, the closest thing to a friend that he had, next to the two of them. And he said as much.
"How on earth did you befriend this sheep, being a refugee and all?" Bolin, who was more diplomatic than his companions, asked.
"Again, it's a long story," Renshu replied.
"It's not like we don't have time." Zhong had retrieved the single weapon provided to them by the boar, and took a seat on the ground, studying it with mild interest. "The least he could'a done was given us a good one," he murmured to no one in particular.
Renshu still wasn't entirely at ease fessing up to his friends, but decided to tell them the full truth in spite of his better judgement. He related everything starting from his escape from the caravan, the critters driving it who, as soon as the wolves had fled, cried out to some nearby guards that they'd been forced to bring them into the city. He shuddered at the memory and continued his spiel, telling them about how he had flitted through the shadows trying to avoid detection, and had stumbled upon a sheep who was unaware of what had been going on. At the time, he hadn't had any more of a plan than they did, but upon seeing Jia standing by the pond, he'd been struck with inspiration and decided to make her his hostage, albeit in a roundabout sort of way.
"You know it's almost funny," he paused, with a grin, "I threatened this sheep twice before, and this was the third time I'd done it. I think we're destined to keep running into each other." He laughed, but the others were silent, as if they feared that there was more truth in this statement than he was letting on.
He told them the rest, about how he'd forced Jia and her sisters to give him refuge so that he could find a way out of the city, alive. He purposely left out details, deciding that they weren't important. Besides, the thought of having to explain such oddments as to why he had sat outside with the sheep for several days, wearing a silly mask, was wearisome. He wasn't in the mood to make them understand, not after such a stressful day.
"That sums it up," he finished, unceremoniously.
"Does it? ...I wonder," Zhong murmured to Bolin, who chuckled.
Renshu frowned. "What was that?"
Ignoring him, Zhong straightened his back and leaned toward his friend. "But what went on while you were hiding, huh?"
His frown deepened. "What do you mean 'what went on'?"
"You had to have spent a lot of time in that house. What did you do the whole time, knit?"
"Why you -"
"In all seriousness, Renshu," Bolin cut in, "whatever went on, let's just be glad the three of us made it out alive. We don't realize how fortune has smiled down on us these past several weeks."
Renshu, glad for the interruption, straightened. "It would have smiled down on us a lot more if bozo here hadn't brought his baggage along." He cast a surreptitious glance at Jia, still sound asleep. "By the ancestors, how much 'medicine' did you give her?" He burst out, in surprising anger.
They stared at him. There was a glint in Zhong's eye as he answered, "Why do you care about this sheep so much?"
Renshu tensed, and turned to face him. "I don't care about her! I'm just wondering how much medicine you gave her! What was it you gave her, anyway?"
Zhong stood up. "I wanna know why you're so concerned about this girl -"
"Zhong -" Bolin tried cutting in.
"No!" He snapped. "I wanna know why our comrade here has gotten his head in a whirl over this girl!" He stared the wolf down. "Renshu!"
Renshu, who had turned away from his companions, forced himself to acknowledge the two wolves staring intently at him.
"This girl knew your name, we know that much - and now we know why," Zhong said, trying to keep his voice level. It wouldn't do to alert outsiders as to their presence. "But why the concern, hm?"
Renshu sighed. He decided maybe it was time to force himself to do something very difficult. He'd have to be up front not just with his friends, but with himself as well. "...Well guys, you want the truth…" He stalled, and they waited, still as statues. "I've gotten to know this girl...Jia. And her sisters. They didn't treat me half bad while I forced them to let me stay, and I guess I owe it to them to return her to her family. It's a matter of honor," he finished earnestly, trying to downplay what he'd just confessed. .
Neither Zhong nor Bolin knew what to say, but finally Zhong remarked, "That still doesn't -"
A soft noise cut him off. The three wolves turned their attention to their captive, and saw that she was waking.
Renshu's first impulse was to go to her side, knowing she would be startled to find herself in a thicket, far from home, and in the company of three wolves. She probably wouldn't even remember what had happened. But before he moved he shot his companions a warning glance, daring them to say anything against his going to her aid.
He stood up and walked over to where she was lightly stirring. Her voice came out soft, muffled, confused. A single arm stretched out against the cloth sack. Her eyes opened slowly; they looked even deeper at night, and Renshu wondered that any light could still reach her eyes in such darkness. His heart skipped a beat as she gradually came to.
The first thing she focused on was him, but full consciousness hadn't registered yet. She didn't even have the strength to wonder where she was.
"What…" she said in a feeble voice, struggling to get her thoughts together.
He reached out a paw to her shoulder. "You're alright, kiddo." He heard movement beside him and saw that Bolin had kneeled down on the sack.
He, too, stared at Jia for a moment, as if trying to glean what it was that had made her so important to Renshu - which she clearly was, even if he refused to admit it.
"Look, Ren...I don't know how this all started, but Zhong may be right about her. If the masters of Gongmen City decide to give chase, she'd be the only ace in the hole we have." He paused, letting the statement sink in. "I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" He growled softly, not wanting to alarm his charge. "You're not the one who got kidnapped, and what's more -"
"What's going on?" Her face contorted in a soft frown. Her voice was still weak, but it cut through the heated voices of the wolves like a knife. She was coming to; her eyes began to regain their focus, and a look of growing alarm came over her.
'Here it comes,' thought Renshu. He leaned over her, placing what he hoped was a reassuring paw on her shoulder. "It's alright, kiddo."
"Renshu...what's going on?" She repeated, her voice gaining strength. "Where am I?"
He sighed. "It's...a long story. Try not to move too much, ok?"
Of course, in her alarm she wouldn't listen. She tried sitting up, and he let her; forcing her down would only worry her more.
"Where am I?" She steadied herself on wobbly limbs, but looked around, trying to find something familiar. The poor ewe was thoroughly perplexed.
Trying to abate his frustration with Zhong and Bolin, he focused on doing his best to downplay her predicament. "You're in a thicket outside Gongmen City, Jia." His sharp eyes never left her face, and it troubled him the way she kept looking around, first at her surroundings, then at the two wolves who sat nearby.
"Why am I here?" This time she was fairly shrieking, and Renshu moved in front of her line of vision. "Renshu, what's going on?"
"Hey," he said, keeping his face resolute, "I'll explain everything, but you've got to rest. Nothing bad's gonna happen to you, I promise." He encouraged her to lie down and let the drugs wear off. She reluctantly obeyed.
After a minute, she asked, "What happened to me?"
"...You've...been given a little sleep aid, that's all. It'll wear off."
"But why? ...I don't remember what happened…"
He sighed, then allowed himself a grim chuckle. "I swear...even when drugged, you can be stubborn, kiddo. I'll give you that."
"Renshu," Zhong's voice brought his attention back. "D'you mind if we have a word?"
Renshu shook his head and stood up. He gave her a reassuring pat on the arm before leaving her side.
Zhong motioned his head away from Jia, and he stepped out of earshot of the sheep.
"Listen, Ren," Zhong stated in all seriousness; something he rarely felt the need to do. "I can't help but think that you haven't fessed up as to what really went on at your...friend's domicile."
It was about all Renshu could take. He bared his teeth and his ears laid almost flat. "Alright, Zhong, what do you want? A full confession? Are you accusing me of actually having feelings for this sheep?"
"Hey!" Bolin's voice drifted over to them in a sharp whisper. "Could you keep the accusations down?"
Renshu checked his voice, and continued, "You've done nothing but circle around me like a blasted vulture ever since I met back up with you two!"
"Yeah?" Zhong shot back. "And why do you think that is?" He gave a short sigh, and shook his head. "Ren, look - it's none of my business who you choose to give your attentions to, but...remember that our kind have been declared traitors. We've been banished from Gongmen City ever since Lord Shen had us carry out his dirty work, annihilating those pandas -"
"I know what he made us do," he cut in severely, not wishing to remember what his people had done to the panda race. He himself hadn't partaken in it, as he was only a pup at the time. But his parents had, and although his allegiance to Lord Shen had never wavered, the thought of putting an end to an entire race was something even he recoiled at. Yet, it had been his own alpha that had led the attack. His parents had spoken of the panda's massacre only fleetingly, and many times in his life Renshu wondered what he would have done if their Wolf Boss had ordered the very same of him and his generation. Would he have obeyed? Killing off an entire race could not be an honorable thing, and yet...he had committed many acts in his life that lacked honor, when it came down to it.
Zhong chose his next words carefully. "Do you really think that you and that girl have a chance?"
His fur nearly stood on end at the audacity. "You complete idiot! What makes you think I'm even interested in her?!"
Zhong wasn't fooled, though. He stared at his friend for a long time before replying, "What about the way you reacted when you saw she'd been kidnapped? Huh? What was that all about?" He paused. "You've never jumped me in all the years we've known each other, and we've known each other a long time."
This time it was Renshu who had no answer. He remained scowling, but much of his resolve had melted at the realization - at the truth - of Zhong's words. Leaping on Zhong had been the wrong thing to do; his rage had betrayed him in more ways than one. But he didn't want it to be true; he didn't want to acknowledge the attraction he felt toward Jia.
Briefly, the memory of the uncomfortable dream he'd had flashed through his mind. And the moment he had taunted her, actually daring to stroke her face for the sheer enjoyment of terror in her eyes. Problem was, that hadn't been the reason at all...even if he'd believed it at the time.
He grew frustrated; he definitely did not need to have such recollections right now.
Unable to see a way to turn the conversation in a safe direction, he erred on the side of honesty - without having to be too honest. "Being around the girl has been a distraction...I'll give you that. But the distraction is gone now that we're free from the city."
Zhong folded his arms. He was a bold wolf by nature, rarely concerned with social etiquette or protocol. His delight was the humor, unpredictability, and irony that life so often brought. He lived for the thrill of things, often laughed in the face of danger, and reveled in the moments when adrenaline ran wild through his veins. Not to say he enjoyed being a fugitive in Gongmen City, but he had his moments.
This change in Renshu, however, unnerved him.
Deciding not to cast away boldness for caution, he pressed, "Renshu, if you like the girl -"
He tensed. "I don't like her."
Zhong actually chuckled, and shook his head. "Ok, you don't like her. But you're attracted to her."
Renshu made no answer, which was all Zhong needed.
"Listen," he strode up to his friend, "no one would blame you. She's a cute little doll, to be sure. But do you really think she'd be up for a life on the run?"
"I have no intention of introducing her to a vigilante's life, Zhong. In case you've forgotten, I was angry that you kidnapped her."
The other held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Wasn't sure how far you'd taken it."
"I haven't taken it anywhere."
"Were you planning to?"
Renshu couldn't help but grin. He folded his arms. "No, no...I couldn't do that. I mean I…" He caught himself.
"What...care about her?" Zhong grinned. "Come on, Ren. I know you better than that. You can be honest with me. Well, this time."
Renshu trembled in utter frustration, but finally conceded. "Alright Zhong, you win...I do care about the girl…" He shook his head. "By the ancestors, you don't miss a thing, do you?"
Zhong shrugged. "I figured. Like I said, no shame...I mean we all have our flings. They come and they go, and there's always an end of it."
Renshu nodded. He'd heard such words before, had heard them most of his life. What burned wasn't the truth behind them, but rather that the truth, for some reason, bothered him. Jia and he were two very different people. He was a warrior, an outlaw who had grown up under unforgiving conditions. Ruthlessness and ferocity had been his teachers, whereas Jia was a sweet, kind-hearted woman who had lived a quiet lifestyle. She had had the privilege of knowing what love and gentleness were, unlike himself. They were as night and day.
"Renshu," Bolin's voice drifted over to them, "the sheep is asking for you."
Zhong made no comment as Renshu left - a fact he was infinitely grateful for. Bolin stepped aside as Renshu knelt down by Jia, who seemed more alert, but still exhausted.
"Renshu," she said when his face was within view, "can you take me home?"
He feared that something like this would come up. Naturally she would want to be back in Gongmen City as soon as possible, by any means possible. He had a feeling, though, that she didn't understand the situation he and his friends were in, and that getting her home might not be as easy as it sounded. Nevertheless, he didn't want to overburden her with the truth, not just yet.
"We'll get you home somehow, kiddo." He tilted his head to the side, and asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"
She closed her eyes briefly. They fluttered open, and she said, "I...I remember being at my vending cart...then something happened after, I think…" She drew in a soft breath. "Miss Yun...I'd spoken to her and then heard news of your friends...that's when I left and ran into one of them...That's all…"
He nodded. "That'd be about right."
She looked at him, and her gaze went through him like a spear. "Did you do this to me?"
"No," he said, more fiercely than he'd meant to. "I didn't mean for you to get kidnapped, Jia."
He saw from her face that she was doubtful, but...good-natured as she was, willed herself to give him the benefit of the doubt. "...I believe you…"
Her voice was so weak, he'd barely heard her response. He shook his head and studied her for a moment. "I'll tell you one thing, kid...you're a better person than I am."
The four inhabitants of the glade got very little sleep.
When morning dawned, they were up with the sun, and all were tired and weary. Jia had hardly spoken a word to either Zhong or Bolin, but that was largely due to the fact that the wolves purposefully maintained a respectful distance from her. Though they were by no means gentlemen, instinct told them that Renshu would retaliate if they dared bother her.
This time Zhong took it upon himself to divvy out rations between them. He handed Renshu a larger portion of rice cakes.
"The ewe will be hungry too, I'm thinking," he said dismissively, at the look on Renshu's face.
He gave half of it to Jia, who sat huddled on the cloth sack with her arms wrapped protectively around her. She looked vastly uncomfortable, and he wished there was something he could do to ease her distress.
He said, half jokingly, "Don't tell me you're cold."
She shook her head. "No, I'm not cold." She gave a weak smile. "Not with this coat of fleece."
"I'd forgotten." He sat down beside her. "Must be torture during summer."
"You should see me when I'm sheared. I'm...actually quite small."
Unbidden, the image of her without as much fleece came to his mind. He saw her as a much smaller sheep, with a short, fine coat of fur.
Before the thought went further, he shook his head and shifted uncomfortably. He stole a glance her way, and saw that the soft smile still lingered on her face. She was in a mild daydream, reliving fonder memories of long ago, probably with her sisters or something along those lines. Certainly her thoughts weren't running parallel to his.
A tingle ran down his spine and he cleared his throat. "Uh...I brought you something to eat."
She glanced at the cake in his hand. "Thanks. But I'm not hungry."
"I know, but you gotta eat. You need to keep up your strength."
She stared quizzically at him. "Have our roles been reversed, Renshu?"
His mouth twitched. "They have for now, kid - Jia." He shook his head. "Gotta stop calling you that."
She stared vacantly off into nothing, once again lost in her own thoughts, and for a moment he thought he'd lost her. Then she said, in an almost subdued tone, "I don't mind 'kiddo.'"
He stared at her for a long time before she finally turned her gaze back on him. Renshu, to his own great surprise and annoyance, grew uncomfortable under her winsome stare, and he willed himself to take his eyes off her. Yet he couldn't pull away. He felt his heart quicken and his breath becoming shallow. For the life of him, he couldn't discern what it was behind her eyes, couldn't imagine what she was feeling.
"Uh...Jia…" He wasn't at all sure what he was going to say, and to his great relief, they were interrupted by Bolin.
The wolf strode up to them, acknowledged Jia with a fleeting glance, and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Zhong and I wanna talk with you. He's waiting behind yonder copse."
Without so much as a word or glance toward the ewe, he stood up and followed Bolin. He had grown uncomfortable holding her deep, dark eyes for so long, and he didn't trust what consequences might follow, had he dared to cast her a parting glance. His nerves were already under duress, so needless to say, he wasn't looking forward to another row with Zhong and Bolin - which is undoubtedly what the meeting would come to, that much was certain.
"Can I take it you and Zhong are gonna try and gang up on me for the thousandth time?" He remarked caustically.
Bolin gave him a sidelong glance and answered, "Partly. What we really need to do is figure out where to go from here. I don't need to tell you how dire our predicament is, even if luck has been on our side so far."
Renshu said nothing, for he knew that Bolin had a good point. He was always one who came down to the heart of a matter, in any situation, and he found himself suddenly grateful to have him on their side. What with his and Zhong's quicker tempers, a level-headed individual like Bolin was a remarkable asset to their small team. Even though he hadn't known Bolin as long or as well as he knew Zhong, the wolf had prevented many an argument from escalating between the two hot-headed warriors.
They rounded the bend in a short while, and Renshu allowed himself a momentary reprieve from his troubles. He stopped and admired the scenery around them. The rolling valleys stretched out for miles, and in the distance sat towering, snow-capped mountains that stood out starkly against the radiant blue sky. It was an unusually clear day, with not a cloud nor shroud of haze in the sky. He looked to his right and gazed casually at the trees and dells dotting the land. He thought it a shame that their moods couldn't reflect the fine scenery they were surrounded by. A bitter thought entered his mind that if he had been anyone else on earth, he would have been allowed the luxury of taking in his surroundings without a care in the world.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He heard Bolin say. He, too, had stopped to take in their surroundings.
Renshu wondered for a moment if Bolin, too, had harbored regrets as deep and bitter as his own. Chances were.
Zhong approached them from a short ways off. "What's kept you two?"
"Just admiring the scenery, Zhong," Bolin said, unashamedly.
"Well we have more pressing matters to attend to." He looked at Renshu. "Ren, Have you thought about what to do with the girl?"
Renshu chuckled and thought, jokingly, 'You have no idea.' Aloud, he said, "I've given it plenty of thought."
Zhong looked surprised for a moment, then burst out laughing. "They don't call us dogs for nothing, I guess."
Bolin raised an eyebrow, and Renshu said, "Jokes aside. I should be asking you the same question. You two are the ones who decided to nab and grab. What were your ultimate plans? To drag her along with us to the ends of the earth?"
"Of course not," Bolin stated. "It was a temporary arrangement. We'd have let her go when we thought it was safe enough. We had to be sure we weren't being pursued, like we said, Ren."
"How long did you figure that'd take?"
Zhong, who'd ceased giggling, answered, "We don't know, Ren - you seem to think we had some elaborate, well-thought out scheme that we were gonna follow step by step." He lifted his hands. "We were playing this whole thing by ear, you know."
Renshu sighed and dragged a paw over his face. "Ok then. If you two don't have any brilliant plans as to how to get the girl off our hands, or even what the heck we're gonna do now that we're free…" he trailed off, already going over the beginnings of a plan in his own head, "I guess I'll have to deliver the girl back to her home."
Zhong and Bolin gaped at him.
"Ren," Bolin stated, still wide-eyed, "wouldn't it be easier to just leave her where she is and let her find her own way back home?"
"Yeah, what are you, crazy or something? You're not saying you'd actually go back to the city?"
"That's where she lives, isn't it?" He challenged.
Zhong's bewildered expression turned into a dangerous scowl. "Hey - she's not our responsibility."
"You made her our responsibility when you kidnapped her!" It was all Renshu could do not to shout.
"Here we go again…" Bolin muttered, pressing a paw to his forehead.
"What were you gonna do, just leave her out in the wilderness without any hope of making it back to the city?" Renshu was too infuriated with Zhong's careless attitude toward Jia to think about how silly he must have been sounding.
Zhong's cheeky reply was, "Yeah, that's exactly what I had in mind." His expression turned more serious. "Come on, Ren, it's not like she can't find her way back. She's got legs and a sense of direction, that's all she needs!" He waved a paw dismissively.
Renshu shook his head at Zhong, unable to think of an appropriate response. His anger was such that he blurted out the only thing he could think of, "You coward!"
Zhong's fur stood on end and he withdrew his weapon. Renshu did so at the same time, but Bolin, knowing his role, stepped in.
"Knock it off you two!" He shouted. "We need to be a team or we won't survive! In case I've missed something it's us three against the world, and the odds aren't looking too good in our favor!" He glared at Renshu, then at Zhong. "We need to stick together, now more than ever!"
The dueling wolves sighed and placed their weapons back in their belts.
At length, Renshu spoke. "I don't care what you two decide. I'm gonna have to lead Jia back to the city, and neither one of you are gonna stop me."
Zhong an Bolin exchanged glances. "Why would you put yourself in harm's way for a sheep?" Zhong asked, and Renshu paused at the genuine lack of derision in his friend's voice. He sounded, if anything, legitimately curious.
Renshu placed his hands on his hips and lowered his gaze, trying to find the right words to answer his friends. He seemed destined to remain in one sticky situation after another, whether it be that of a fugitive in Gongmen City, or a lovestruck fool in front of his friends.
Lovestruck!
He visibly shuddered at the word, and blurted, "I'm not gonna be in any danger you guys, not really - all I need to do is escort her back to the city's limits, and as soon as it's within sight, I'm outta there." He made a quick gesture with his arm for emphasis.
"Well…" Zhong rubbed his chin.
"This is crazy," Bolin muttered. But he was the first to step up. "If you insist on doing the right thing, Ren…" He paused, heaved a labored sigh, and placed his paw on the wolf's shoulder. "I'll come with you. JUST," he held up a finger, "to the outskirts! There's no way I'm gonna let myself be hauled off to prison all for the sake of good conscience toward a sheep."
"Then," Zhong stepped forward as well, "that obviously means I've gotta come along, too. Now that I think about it, it'll be a great opportunity for some laughs at your guys' expense." He grinned, showing off gleaming, white teeth. "I'd sure like to be there if and when you two fall flat on your faces - and for a dame!" He laughed aloud. "I wouldn't miss that for the world!"
Renshu couldn't have been more shocked if he'd tried. Having these two suddenly decide to join him in escorting Jia back home was truly the last thing he'd expected to happen.
"Wait a minute," he began, hesitantly, with a scowl. "I didn't ask you two to come along. I wouldn't have you guys risking your hide just because of my honor."
Zhong gave a harsh laugh. "Don't talk to us about honor, you blockhead - it's all or none, remember? We're a pack now. We may not be much of one, but the reality is, we're all each other has. That means sticking together!" He gave Renshu a hearty slap on the shoulder.
"He's right." Bolin was more resigned, quicker to come to terms with the reality - the possible futility - of their situation than his companions. "Where we go, we go together. And," he shot Zhong a playfully scornful look, "who knows, we may expand someday."
"Ha," Zhong grinned. "That's right, after all, women are in abundance out here in the middle of nowhere. Should be easy to find ourselves a few wives, right? Say Renshu, if that doxy ewe changes her mind about going home, why, maybe she can give you a set of pups!" He burst into a fit of rude laughter, only to find Renshu's fist slam hard into his face.
"Testy!" Zhong cried, still in a fit of giggles. He rubbed his face good-naturedly and got to his feet again. "Just a joke, Ren! Just a joke." But he giggled for a long while after that, to the point where Renshu and even Bolin told him to knock it off.
"Alright then...I guess since we're all in agreement about this, our next step will be to tell Jia." Renshu felt a little more hopeful that Zhong and Bolin had agreed to his plan. He knew that Jia would, too. He just didn't understand the profound unhappiness that made itself known deep down inside him. He should have been relieved and thrilled - if not for having to make the journey back to the city, at least for having Zhong and Bolin's support. Well...he wasn't sure if they supported his decision, but at any rate they insisted on going with him, and that was something. Things could have gone a lot worse between the three of them, especially given that they'd picked up on his feelings toward Jia.
...There it was again, that irritating sense of dread.
Renshu shook his head as they made their way back to the thicket. He consciously made a decision not to acknowledge the perplexing misery that threatened to surface, and instead shoved it back down, deep down where he would not have to acknowledge it. Even if he knew the reason behind it.