“Wang Haoyang!” A burst of joy rushed into the spacious tent. The ivory flaps falling closed behind him. His bright white hair glistened as it whipped around his shoulders and back. Yet his face shone brighter as his smile spread wide across his rosy cheeks. “We got good news!” He rushed to the side of the bed, not even pulling up a chair this time. He sat gently on the bed and looked down to his now wide awake companion. The boy in bed shifted up into a sitting position, the excited yet delicate boy helping. Wang Haoyang looked up to the other boy with a confused expression that could have been mistaken for annoyance. “Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying are alive and well!”
Haoyang stiffened and his eyes went wide. His jaw dropped a bit before he spoke, “W-What? How…”
“My father was just informed! They made quite the scene at the last clan meeting!” The white haired boy smiled as he spoke, but was interrupted as he watched Haoyang's face turn soft for the first time he had ever seen. A smile spread across Haoyang’s lips as tears started to form at the edges of his eyes. He held a wrapped hand to his face and used his arm to wipe away the tears.
“And more,” the white haired boy smiled again, this time more gently, “They announced their plans to go to war with the Wen Clan!”
This information made Haoyang look back up at the other boy with surprise. His expression quickly changed to that of anger or determination, it was hard to tell. But he nodded sternly and gripped the blankets of the bed he rested upon. “Thank you… Shanyue Li…” he finally spoke again, his voice quiet and thoughtful.
“Ah?” Li began to stand again, “O-Of course.” His cheeks began to turn a little pink. “I heard the news and thought you should be the first to know.” His smile was small as he stood and fidgeted with his robes.
“Li…” Haoyang started to slip out of bed, feet hitting the ground before Li could react. He stood tall and close to Li, who instinctively took a step back from his peer who suddenly rose from bed.
“H-Haoyang! You still haven't fully recovered!” Li’s hands reached out but did not touch him in caution and nervousness.
“Thank you!” Haoyang bowed suddenly to Li’s surprise. “Thank you, Shanyue Li, for taking care of me for so long!” He seemed to almost shout at the floor in this formal address. “I would not have been alive without you!”
Li’s jaw dropped and his face went entirely red. “W-Wha- I-I was just- I was just-” He nervously trailed off as he got increasingly more embarrassed.
“Because of your kindness, I am able to see my clan again,” Haoyang still had his head down, his now short black hair framing either side of his face. His voice was stern and strong, but a tinge of emotion seemed to try to break through, “Thank you!”
“P-Please, Haoyang… You don’t have to thank me so formally…” Li bit his lip as Haoyang stood back upright. Tears had begun to form at the sides of his eyes again but his expression was serious. Li’s eyes glistened, locking onto Haoyang’s eyes. They stood silent for a moment just staring at each other before they both realized what was happening. Li turned with his hands in front of his face and Haoyang looked away back to the ground.
“Y-You still aren’t well! S-Stay in bed… p-please!” Li rushed out of the tent, the flaps falling closed to the now silent interior. Haoyang slowly sat down on the bed and looked up to the cloth of the tent, daydreaming of the reunion that had yet to come. A small smile spread across his lips once more.