Free Web NovelChapter 198: A Joyful Night
Kaworu sat comfortably on a tall tree.
It was a beautiful season; lots of flowers in the yard were blooming, and the elegant willows and pretty flowers seemed so full of life and made everyone feel happy. While the bright flowers hanging on the branches were nice to look at, Kaworu liked the small, unnoticed plants hidden in dark corners even more.
A bent little plant – Kaworu had been watching it without much thought for several days. Today, it finally managed to sprout its first delicate bud from a gap in the rocks, growing in a quirky, twisted way.
A wet snail took its time, slowly making its way across a blade of grass for an entire hour under the moon’s glow. It left behind a slimy trail before joyfully digging into the moist ground filled with decomposing plants.
Kaworu’s favorite part was under the ground, where a groundhog had just had a bunch of babies, all snugly huddled together, making soft chirping sounds.
Kaworu also spotted Kestrel; she was sitting under the tree covered in blossoms, gently biting her finger.
"What’s wrong, have you been troubled by something recently?" Kaworu asked.
Kestrel looked up, and between the gaps in the branches and leaves, she caught sight of a half silver mask and a glimpse of a lovely lower jaw.
There stood a tree, complete with roots, trunk, and leaves. She was at the base of the tree, and without uttering a word, she managed to convey her message to Kaworu up in the tree, through the tree’s sturdy trunk.
"Oh, you’re stressed about that, huh?" Kaworu, lounging on a branch, looked like he was smiling. "You’ve changed so much since we first met. You’re becoming more and more like a typical person, making simple stuff seem really complex."
Kaworu was just joking around, but maybe those were the words Kestrel was longing to hear.
"Just like a regular person."--She had become likable, and had also learned to like other people.
"If you’re confused about how you feel, why not ask him to join you for your next adventure? As you spend time together, try to understand your feelings better," suggested Kaworu.
"Is it important to consider what the body feels too?" Kestrel asked, looking thoughtful.
"Absolutely, all actions in life are fueled by our desires. You might realize if you like someone through physical feelings even before your mind figures it out."
Just then, lights flickered on in the ground-floor kitchen, with the sound of bells ringing softly. Locky was busy making dinner for everyone.
Kestrel remained at the base of the tree, her tendrils moving more animatedly than ever.
"Like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like," the tendrils repeated together, expressing their fondness.
"We really adore Little Fish."
"I love how his fingers look, especially when he tries really hard to hold onto the fabric."
"I love his voice, it sounds nice no matter when."
"When he sounds slightly tearful, I feel like I would do anything for him."
"I’m only fond of the fish tail, I’m quite the enthusiast."
"I appreciate the taste of his tongue."
"I simply love everything about him."
...
All of her tendrils were expressing their thoughts simultaneously, with nearly a hundred of them talking at once, making Kestrel feel a bit overwhelmed.
Up in the tree, Kaworu adjusted his position, using his arm as a pillow to lay more comfortably. He asked, "Do you know the initial reason I decided to come with you?"
Down at the base of the tree, Kestrel paused to ponder. She did know — it was the heartfelt words she had once shared with Vanessa, words that captured the feelings Kaworu harbored for her, that had compelled him.
Under the moon’s gentle glow, Kaworu’s voice resonated amidst the fluttering tree shadows, "In my human days, I believed I wasn’t deserving enough to harbor feelings for Vanessa. But then I mutated, losing the human capacity for emotion and turning into a different kind of being. I thought I had lost the ability to care for anything."
"Yet, seeing her daily, being by her side for four hundred years, I discovered that even as this creature, I fell for her all over again."
"I’ve constantly yearned to convey to her that the moon she imagines in her heart is merely a cold, uninteresting rock. Yet, this very rock was increasingly falling for her, a lively, warm-hearted rat, with each passing day."
"For four centuries, I desperately wanted to confess. I should have spoken my heart when she was still around."
"Why couldn’t I voice my feelings then?"
...
Kaworu’s voice faded amidst the tree’s branches and leaves, as the wind swirled through the forest, the whispering leaves seeming to tell tales of endless regret.
Kaworu rested semi-reclined in the tree’s pinnacle, silent now.
Underneath the tree, Kestrel chewed on her finger thoughtfully, before lowering her head to operate her opticomputer, intently crafting a text message.
"This word doesn’t feel right, too impersonal."
"This isn’t suitable either, it lacks warmth."
"The emoji is off, this one seems like I’m at a loss for words."
"Include a heart! It’s essential! A pink, sparkling one!"
"Send it to him, go ahead and send it."
The message seemed to take forever to send, and there was no sign of a response from the other end. Not even a notification indicating ’typing’.
Kestrel waited patiently for a long time before eventually dozing off under the tree.
Soon, several golden branches gently descended, carefully lifting her and transporting her to the uppermost window, into the attic. They settled her on the bed, and thoughtfully tucked a little orca plush toy from the bedside into her blanket.
...
Hanson made his way to the royal guard’s office within the Tower.
His old buddy Ren, who had recently climbed up the ranks to become the deputy of the Royal Guard, had taken him under his wing, entrusting him with several vital responsibilities that had made his life much smoother.
Lately, Hanson had been radiating happiness, energetically visiting Ren’s office daily, feeling revitalized each day.
"Have you been working through the night?" Hanson exclaimed in surprise, noticing the hefty stack of sorted files next to Ren.
Last night, there was a fancy party that went on till very late. This morning, Ren was already busy taking care of a bunch of stuff; he was really hardworking.
"Are you working too much lately? You don’t have to rush through everything," Hanson remarked, looking confused.
Ren finished signing the last paper he had and gave it to him.
"I have to go to the Polluted Zone soon, and I might be away from the Tower for a bit. I want to set everything up properly before I leave, so others know if they can proceed or not," he explained.
"You’re going back to the Polluted Zone?" Hanson asked, really surprised, "But you just came back from there recently, why are you going again?" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Ren just waved his hand, not really going into details, "If something comes up while I’m gone, just talk to Luther." Then he stood up and walked towards the bathroom in the alpha training area.
During the early morning, most of the alphas were still sleeping, so the bathroom was pretty much empty. Ren removed his opticomputer from his wrist and washed his face at the sink.
Cold water splashed over his face.
He hadn’t had any sleep last night, but he looked happy and energetic when he looked at himself in the mirror, with a small sparkle of happiness hiding in his eyes.
He put the opticomputer back on his wrist. A specific notification caught his attention immediately when he touched the screen.
He could clearly see a pink heart emoji in his recent chat history. He had checked it countless times throughout the night. It was kind of silly and he couldn’t help but smile at his actions, but he just couldn’t stop himself.
In a world where he was usually alone, doing risky stuff where he could potentially die at any moment, he technically shouldn’t be feeling this happy, or smiling like this. But that little notification on his opticomputer had kept him happy all night.
He looked at it once more, and a small smile appeared on Ren’s face.
Then, someone opened the bathroom door and walked in. Ren looked over and his expression changed.
It was Tarian.
Tarian seemed shocked to see Ren in there. He stopped near the door, glaring at Ren who was near the sink, looking really upset and even a bit angry.
Ren didn’t pay much attention to him, just standing there and fixing his sleeves calmly. Without even looking, he knew Tarian was staring at him with a certain look.
"Kestrel mentioned you guys are a thing now?" Tarian asked, his voice pretty quiet but with a kind of growly undertone, like a mad cheetah hiding in shadows. When Tarian got super emotional, features of a cheetah, his psychic incarnation, started to show up on him.
With his hands resting on the chilly edge of the sink, Ren looked at him from the corner of his eye, kind of raising an eyebrow as if saying ’yeah, so what?’ - even though they hadn’t officially labeled what they were, he wasn’t going to deny it right now.
He was like the powerful orca in his psychic landscape, not willing to, or rather, regarding that one person, he didn’t plan to show any weakness to anyone else.
"Do you realize she’s an aggressive beta?" Tarian’s eyes were a bit red, and he looked pretty angry, his yellow eyes glaring like a cheetah’s as he spoke, his voice filled with anger. "Kestrel’s psychic power is really strong and it could really hurt an alpha."
Ren didn’t respond, just gave a mocking laugh. It was a sound full of ridicule, even harsher than any insult.
"You’re just with her because of her royal background, right?" Tarian shouted, his whole body rigid as he tried to make Ren angry. "There’s no way you can truly like a tough beta, you dishonest backstabber."
Without saying a word, Ren dried his hands and turned to face Tarian.
He was a lot taller than Tarian, and he walked up to him with a joking smile, making Tarian step back involuntarily, fully showing his half-cheetah form. His face had leopard spots and he showed his sharp, beast-like teeth, making a low sound of anger.
Ren played with the badge on his uniform, without showing his half-beast form or calling on his psychic power. He went up to Tarian, bending down to whisper to him, "She’s never really liked you, huh?" freewёbnoνel.com
The look in Ren’s gorgeous eyes was full of sarcasm, and they seemed to say more than words ever could — "I know her, I know how great she is." He didn’t say this out loud, but his eyes said it all, showing off a kind of irritating pride.
Tarian, who was halfway transformed, couldn’t hold back anymore and charged at him, yelling.
In the early morning light, a few soft sounds came from the alpha training camp’s bathroom.
When Hanson hurried in to see what happened, it was already over, and the usually calm Ren was cleaning his hands at the sink.
"It’s nothing," Ren said with a smile, washing the last bit of blood from his hand under the tap. "Just settled something I’ve wanted to for a long time."
In one of the bathroom stalls, there were soft cries and a strong smell of blood. Hanson, with his sharp alpha senses, couldn’t miss it, but he hesitated for a moment and then wisely acted like he hadn’t noticed anything.
