"Are you ready?"

Edwyr almost flinched, not having heard Wyn come up to him. He'd been staring at the jungle for a while now, standing here with Tempest, waiting for something to come out of the wall of trees and attack them as they gathered all of their people, squawkers, and supplies. But despite his surprise, he immediately smiled at the other elf, his presence relaxing him, and it was certainly not only because of how powerful Wyn was.

"Yes."

Wyn smiled back, though there was a certain sadness to the quirk of his lip. "There is nothing wrong with being afraid. We are about to enter one of the most dangerous places in the known world, after all. It is, in fact, correct to be afraid."

Edwyr wanted to get a little annoyed with Wyn for assuming that he was scared, but, well, he was, wasn't he? The jungle had always been such a fearsome place. He'd only ever ventured inside of it to dispatch a beast threatening Sunwood, staying within its edges for as short a time as possible.

"You don't seem very intimidated."

Wyn's smile grew a little, his eyes softening as he took a step closer to Tempest and ran a hand over her forehead, the squawker letting out a pleased chirp. Wyn had cast some spell on all of their squawkers to make them less likely to panic in the jungle. Edwyr hoped it was going to work because if they scattered in there, that would be the end of them.

"I am glad to hear I don't seem that way."

Edwyr frowned at the implication. "Are you saying you are intimidated?"

Wyn sighed, his gaze sliding to the tall trees of the jungle. They'd transported themselves to an Infuser Edwyr had no knowledge of, he barely knew where it was located, but he'd been told it offered the shortest path to their destination. He truly hoped that to be the case because he wanted to stay in this horrible place for as short a time as possible.

"I've studied this jungle for years," Wyn said, clasping his hands behind his back. Edwyr immediately knew that whatever the other elf was going to tell him, it would likely be a story, and a long one at that. "Documented its many beasts, its flora, almost died here three times."

Edwyr blinked, feeling a wave of protectiveness almost overwhelm him, but he quickly pushed it down. Wyn was old, which meant that this could have happened decades ago.

"But it is not the beasts I fear."

A chill ran down Edwyr's spine, something about the simple sentence disturbing him far too much. What else was there to fear? The beasts were what made the jungle so dangerous. He swallowed, narrowing his eyes. "What do you fear, then?"

Wyn turned his gaze back to Edwyr, a look of uncertainty in his eyes. "One day I ventured much deeper than usual, and I met...well, I am uncertain what I saw. It seemed to be sentient, it spoke to me. It promised a trade of knowledge." Wyn's expression turned irritated, as if he was angry with his past self. "Naturally, I accepted, like the fool I was."

Edwyr glared. "Did it hurt you?"

Wyn smiled so fondly then, making Edwyr's scowl disappear instantly. "It seemed to have some control over the flora of the jungle, perhaps even the fauna, though I did not wait around to see that. It led me deeper into the jungle and then tried to use vines to bind me. It said it wanted my body, but I managed to fight it off with fire before running for my life. And I have not gone that deep ever since."

Edwyr tried very hard not to grimace at the word choice. He was sure Wyn meant that whatever creature he had come across had perhaps wanted to possess him, or something similar, but his mind simply refused to not see the double meaning, it seemed. But either way, he was just glad that Wyn had managed to save himself.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

And now they were going back where this all had happened. Before Edwyr could ask Wyn if he was okay with this though, given the new context, the other elf spoke once more.

"I believe there are many things in the jungle that have yet to be discovered or understood, perhaps some things that are not meant to be either. I cannot predict what we will find, and that is what worries me. I cannot even guarantee without a shadow of a doubt that the Infuser will be functional without actually seeing it." Wyn heaved another sigh, his shoulders sinking just a little. Even in the layered dark robes he was wearing, it was visible. "I do not want to put anyone's life in danger, but this is simply too important."

Edwyr put his hands on Wyn's shoulders, making the man raise his head a little so they could look into each other's eyes. In the shade of the jungle, Wyn's yellow irises were so vibrant. They reminded Edwyr of a crescent moon upon a black, midnight sky. "Tehr, everyone here wants to go find that Infuser. They want to be here of their own free will. You are not making them."

Wyn lowered his gaze, his arms hanging by his sides. "Yes, they want that because they want magic. They want revenge."

Edwyr shook his head, not seeing at all how this changed anything. It seemed like Wyn was having second thoughts and was trying to grab onto any reason why they should call this off. Edwyr's grip on the other elf's shoulders tightened.

"Yes, and they deserve both." Wyn didn't look up, keeping his head bowed slightly forward. "Are you afraid of going back into the jungle?"

Wyn's head sprung up almost comically fast, his eyes wide. Then he grimaced, throwing a quick look over his shoulder as if to make sure no one could see or hear him. "Yes. But please don't tell anyone. About any of the things I've said. I do not wish to needlessly make people afraid." He turned away, taking a step away and therefore forcing Edwyr to take his hands off his shoulders. "No one needs me undermining their resolve, and I cannot show weakness like this right now, either. If they saw—"

Edwyr was hugging him before he even thought about it, pulling Wyn close so that his back was pressed against his chest, his arms pulled around Wyn, and his head on Wyn's shoulder. The other elf tensed up for a split second before melting into the embrace, letting himself be hugged and even pressing himself back against Edwyr.

"It's going to be all right," Edwyr said quietly into Wyn's ear, resisting the urge to run his fingers over the star-and-moon silver earring hanging from it. "We will find the Infuser, give everyone here magic, and then go free the Council's prisoners."

Wyn turned around so he would be facing Edwyr, his smile small but gentle and genuine. "Thank you, n'lari."

Edwyr blinked, feeling his cheeks flush at the pet name, his heart fluttering. When Wyn had said he'd think of something, Edwyr hadn't thought he'd use the elvish language for it, but somehow hearing Wyn call him my love like that just made him feel incredibly flustered. It was an archaic form of the phrase also, because of course it was.

"Oh. Do you not like that?" Wyn's face fell. "I will think of something else if you—"

He didn't get to finish that thought because Edwyr was kissing him the moment he got over his shock, brushing his hand through Wyn's long hair, which he'd let hang loose today. It seemed counter-intuitive to not have one of those signature ponytails Wyn often chose given where they were going, but Edwyr was certainly not complaining, enjoying the feeling of running his fingers through the silky smooth hair, tangling them in it, almost as much as the kiss itself. And judging by Wyn's hand burying itself into the hair at the back of Edwyr's head, he was too.

"I like it," said Edwyr once they separated, his voice strained enough to make him wrinkle his nose in annoyance. They'd kissed plenty of times already, it shouldn't fluster him so much. And yet it did. He supposed they would have to do it a lot more to help him get used to it.

He had to remember to say that to Wyn later. Edwyr was sure the elf would find it very amusing.

"Oh." Wyn cleared his throat, a smile tugging on his lips as he avoided Edwyr's eyes. "Wonderful."

Edwyr shook his head, wanting to lovingly call Wyn ridiculous, when someone spoke behind him.

"If you are quite done with this adolescent display, everyone is ready to leave," said Genrith, her eyes narrowed to go along with her annoyed voice. Edwyr shot her a scowl, ready to snap something at her, but he was stopped by Wyn's hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, thank you, Genrith. We are ready as well."

Genrith's irritation seemed to grow at that, her eyes narrowing into slits, but she said nothing, only giving a nod before stalking away. Edwyr glared after her. Just because he'd been far too suspicious of her didn't mean he was wrong about her being rude and unlikable. He had no idea how Wyn had managed to work with her for so long while acting so civil.

"So, shall we?" Wyn asked, distracting Edwyr from his internal ranting.

"Yes. Let's go."