The rain came down in hush, fine as silk threads slipping through the night.

Spring rain is a gracious thing. It brought water’s balm, letting tender shoots lift their heads and grow strong. It carried the wind’s blessing, feeding the brand-new windmill the adventurers had raised with bright energy. It delivered long-missed freshness; the jungle stood lush and deep, leaves nodding again and again as ripples spread across newborn puddles.

Bead-curtain drops slid along the bamboo roof’s slope, dripping slow to the base of the wall. Night had already draped its mantle. The blue-haired girl lifted her gaze to the window; a thread of cool slipped through the cracks, brushing the room like a shy breeze.

There was no electric heat, yet the girls’ shared warmth kept the bamboo room snug, like coals tucked under ash.

Dixue had folded Yue Liuyi into a full-bodied hug, both wrapped in a wool blanket, lying close on the floor like two kittens under moonlight.

Ailuna was already asleep. After a bit of chatter, the pink-haired girl drifted easily into dreams; inside an iron cage there’s not much one can do, so sleep becomes the softest refuge.

Outside, rain tapped on leaves—sparse, steady, a quiet melody that soothed the dark.

“Little Moon… do you like rain, or sunny skies?”

The silver-haired girl murmured the words into the arms that held Yue Liuyi, voice soft as mist.

“Mm… I kind of like both? But if I have to pick, I like the rain a little more.”

On Yue Liuyi’s home world, Linmeng, even clear days were veiled in haze. Only when rain fell did the world feel rinsed clean for a moment, turning bright and pure.

“Same as me. I kind of favor rainy days too…”

“LittleSnow likes rain? That’s a surprise.”

“Mm… because on rainy days, the warmth of friends feels rarer and more precious.”

“Eh?”

Yue Liuyi held that pair of sea-green eyes at arm’s length. Not just simple cheerfulness. Not just quick wit. As on the day they first met, too many things rested inside those green depths—like stones under water, unseen but heavy.

What did LittleSnow go through? There must be so much I don’t know.

The quiet steeped the room like tea. Dixue paused, then spoke slow.

“And there’s one more reason I like the rain…”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Silence. Rain drowns almost every sound. So I can tease Little Moon like this, and no one will notice.”

“What!?”

The mood flipped. Dixue’s fingers slid to the strap at Yue Liuyi’s back and unhooked it with a soft snick.

“Whoa! LittleSnow, what are you doing!”

But Ailuna was asleep, so the blue-haired girl could only whisper, unable to fire off a proper protest.

“Teasing Little Moon. And right now you can’t fight back. If you talk too loud, or move too much… you’ll wake Ailuna, and that would be super embarrassing.”

“Eh—eh?”

“Sneaking behind your ‘big sister’ to chase other girls—this is your punishment.”

After that playful unhooking, Dixue’s hand drifted lower along Yue Liuyi’s waist, fingers mischievous as a fox.

“N-no…”

Yue Liuyi grabbed Dixue’s wrist, but her strength couldn’t match the silver-haired girl’s.

“When you say ‘don’t,’ it often means ‘please’… so…”

She smiled, impish and tender. Her breath fell warm at Yue Liuyi’s ear, a little cloud of heat that washed her cheek and left her melting, soft as rain-soaked petals.

“Mm…”

Yue Liuyi sank into the gentle snare, breath tasting of sweetness, heart beating like raindrops on glass.

Their legs twined; their hair tangled together, dark silk on pale silk.

Just as Yue Liuyi burned red under Dixue’s teasing, feeling “rain-fire” kindle through her body, Dixue’s fingers stopped.

“LittleSnow!”

At first Yue Liuyi thought Dixue was just teasing again, savoring her flushed, frustrated face. But that wasn’t it.

No lamp was lit, yet the room brightened.

The light came from the iron cage. The sleeping pink-haired girl glowed with a soft green radiance, like spring rising under skin.

Yue Liuyi knew that glow from somewhere; it stirred a memory like a shadow behind a curtain.

Then Ailuna cried out in her sleep. Her hands flailed. Chains clanged in the rainy night—clang, clang—metal echoing like thunder under leaves.

“D-don’t bully me… p-please don’t!”

“I was wrong! I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry!”

“I won’t try to escape again! Please don’t hit me anymore!”

Was she reliving the moment the slavers hurt her?

Even asleep, Ailuna struggled and called in despair, pitiful as a fledgling in a storm.

“LittleSnow, um…”

Yue Liuyi threw LittleSnow a pleading look. She wanted to comfort the pink-haired girl, but Dixue’s arm held her fast, warm and firm.

“No wonder… the Elven Queen would wage war against humans. I get it now.”

“Huh? LittleSnow?”

“Little Moon, I’ve figured out Ailuna’s identity.”

“Her identity?”

“It’s hidden well. But Ailuna… she’s this planet’s World Tree Maiden.”

Holding Yue Liuyi tighter, Yedie Snow spoke softly, voice calm as rain.