—Two hours earlier—

Hey, Aer—since you hauled me out to forage, you do know what’s safe to eat, right? I’m a blind fawn in a sea of leaves here.

I had to ask. You decided everything without a word and tugged me along like a kite in a sudden wind, and I can’t tell greens from greens—why a hundred tribes of the same spring color?

Aer didn’t answer. She just took my hand and led me deeper, like an older sister coaxing a stray kitten into the shade.

I caught the oddness, a ripple under still water, but trust warmed me like a cup of tea, so I followed.

We walked in silence until she brought me to a small lake, a mirror of sky cradled by trees.

Aer’s lips lifted into a smile with secrets in it, like moonlight behind thin clouds. She turned to the quiet me at her back.

Lian, see this water? It’s good for plants, like rain that remembers its roots. What grows here is harmless and even healthful—pure boon, no bane.

It did feel a bit like a shady uncle bribing a kid with candy, and I almost laughed.

But the water was clear as glass, no different from any other lake, and my chest swelled like thaw in early spring. Aer knew I couldn’t tell weeds from dinner, so she brought me where everything was safe. All I had to do was pick. Every step she’d thought of me.

Aer…

My eyes stung like mist off warm stone. She’d been gone so long, yet her care never drifted, like a lantern that stayed lit through the night.

Aer heard me call, then saw my damp eyes, and panic flickered across her face like a startled bird.

Wh-what’s wrong? Are you mad I ignored you? Sorry! I just wanted to surprise you.

Her clumsy fumbling was so cute it loosened a laugh from me, light as wind in bamboo.

Dummy… I’m just happy, that’s all.

Not anger, not tears. Relief softened her shoulders the way rain smooths dust.

Um… crouch down a bit. And close your eyes.

She didn’t get it, but she obeyed—down she went, lashes lowering like shutters at dusk.

Facing her, I leaned in. Mwah—a tiny kiss landed on her cheek like a petal. She jolted, eyes flying open, and there was my small face, close as a flower after rain. She’d seen it countless times, but in that breath it outshone even the gods.

The kiss lasted only a heartbeat or two, a dragonfly skimming water. Yet years of loneliness melted in that touch like frost under sun, and my body felt light and bright.

I looked at the stunned Aer and couldn’t help it; a smile bubbled up like a spring.

Don’t look so shocked, dummy~ It’s just a thank-you. Accept Lady Lian’s reward with gratitude!

Aer blinked back to herself. The surprise drained away, and a prickly annoyance took its place, like a cat’s fur rising. I’d taken the lead? A little thing like me, on top? Weren’t you supposed to stay my soft, helpless little one?

Annoyed? There was only one cure in her book: take it back.

She caught my shoulders, firm as a hunter’s grip. Her eyes were a beast’s in tall grass, and for once, fear pricked me, small prey in a wide field.

W-what are you doing? Wah! Don’t eat me! I get it, I get it—I shouldn’t have gotten cocky!

She didn’t listen. Her hands slid under my arms, and she lifted me high, a child raised to the sun.

At that height, my flat little chest lined up with her head, exactly as she meant. Before I could blink, she buried her face in that prairie-flat place and rubbed like a cat on an iron-warm board.

To Aer, that was a reward, sweet as ripe fruit.

To me, it was pure shyness, heat blooming like a peony.

Her cheek pressed to my chest, her breath warm as summer wind, and my own cheeks flushed hot. The lily-sweet scent on her skin wrapped me like silk.

The heaven of it carried me off like a slow tide, until she stopped. Only then did I drift back.

Head tilted, I peered at her, puzzled as a sparrow. Not continuing?

An evil little smile curved her mouth, a demon’s lure in candlelight.

What’s this? One or two rubs and the little girl breaks? You started it. Now the roles flip a bit and you’re blushing like a pure maiden?

She paused, tilted her head, a bold thought sparking like flint. Maybe I should just eat you now.

Her tease hit me like a pebble in still water—I heard what I’d just said, mortifying and loud. My face flared, and I wriggled out of her arms and bolted a few paces like a rabbit.

Uh… let’s pretend nothing happened! I’m gonna go get food!

I sprinted off, fleet as a swallow. Halfway, I glanced back and shouted, in case she dared forget:

Remember! Nothing happened!

Aer watched me run, and a fond smile opened like dawn. It lasted only a breath. Resolve rolled in, iron under silk.

Heh… so, to protect this, I have to do what I must.

She drew out the black notebook again and, with practiced ease, marked another check.

If you peered close, you’d see red checks like a flock of tiny birds across the page. Compared to the ranks of black lines, they were still far, far too few.