To rewind a little...Nathan had become a cause of concern for many within the survivors" base; his link to the plant life in the gardens was too strong and the signs that he was not doing well were increasing everyday that Ren Zexian spent in isolation. For instance, the lettuce and cabbage out leaves were more yellow than green. Many of the flowers budding on the tomato plants, established chilli pepper plants and even the wild blackberry bushes had dropped off of the plants before even opening their petals to awaiting insects. The vines on the house were drooping, peeling away from the walls as if too weary to grasp upon the brick and render any longer.
The child, Lucy, was only one of his visitors attempting to raise his spirits throughout this difficult time.
The day before that which Brooke left with the two soldiers, Nathan found a couple of worried visitors in his living room. It seemed he had forgotten to lock the door the night before.
It was morning, Nathan had awoken at dawn as usual, but one side of the bed remained cold causing a discordant note in the pattern he"d become used to. This had been the tenth morning of Ren Zexian"s absence, since they told him that Ren Zexian had isolated himself due to the sickness in his blood in order that he might purge it without risking others. The sickness that would cause a different man to die and become a zombie. Chang Min had a.s.sured Nathan that Ren Zexian would return to him, that he would not die and leave his side forever, but each morning that Nathan had woken up since, Ren Zexian still wasn"t there.
He rose from his bed, feeling as if his roots were pot-bound and lacking the ability to stretch and breath, making his way to the bathroom as usual to deal with his bladder and wash his body to refresh his skin. Glancing in the mirror, he noticed that his hair had grown another half-inch since winter and his bangs completely covered his eyes, when not swept aside. Ordinarily, this would bother him, but Ren Zexian would help him deal tie back his hair after running his fingers through it a few times. Ren Zexian enjoyed the length of it and often told him so.
Leaving the bathroom fully dressed, he paused at the table separating the kitchen from the living room. There was no teapot upon it, stewing freshly brewed tea created from a mix of herbs and tealeaves, no two cups waiting to be filled. This was how Ren Zexian favoured spending his first few minutes after awakening and once the tea had been poured, they would quietly sip the amber liquid, before Ren Zexian went to wash. And afterwards, both would sit upon the bed for an hour or so and cultivate together in the morning rays pouring through the window.
But now, Nathan could only sit at the lonely table inwardly fl.u.s.tered; he no longer knew what he should be doing next. It was if the carefully planned garden path he always took through the shrubs and flowers was broken and beyond it was just an empty darkness that he could no longer see beyond. He couldn"t go around it, for that would require him to leave the path and he couldn"t do that. Leaving the path felt wrong. And although he understood that the path he used to walk upon was slightly different from this one, he couldn"t turn around and go back and find it either, so all he could do was stop and wait.
"Nathan," the calmness of the voice had him glancing upward, his eyes brightening beneath his bangs, but in the next moment the light faded as he came to realise that the voice was not quite right of tone. Indeed, it belonged to an owner that was not a Ren Zexian. Chang Min looked worriedly at Cole, who"d come with him to check on his Master"s young lover. The two men had entered while Nathan was in the bathroom, after knocking received no response, so sat upon the sofa waiting for him, but the youth had failed to notice them. Cole offered Chang Min encouragement in terms of a slight smile. In truth, he didn"t know what to do either; in the past, when his own emotions had overwhelmed him, that is when he"d used his fists. He was completely out of his depths sympathising most people, but especially someone as closed off as Nathan.
"Nathan, Master will recover, I"m sure," Chang Min"s eyes reddened, unsure whether he was rea.s.suring Nathan or himself. Still he continued; "Master wouldn"t want you to worry about him so."
The young man just shook his head furiously and wrapped his arms about his chest, rocking slightly upon his chair.
Cole and Chang Min exchanged glances once more, but the former looked away quickly, unable to endure the large brown eyes begging him for his a.s.sistance. "Why don"t you come with us, get something to eat?"
Nathan frowned and glanced at the empty table before glancing at the clock. "I can"t do that," he replied. "I have to... Xian has to... its not time yet." He twisted his fingers still reeling in frustration. His stomach rumbled announcing its displeasure, but he ignored it.
"Are you not hungry?" Chang Min questioned him after hearing it.
"It"s not time yet," Nathan insisted, before suddenly rising from his chair and fleeing to his bedroom. Chang Min turned helplessly to the man beside him.
"What should we do now?"
"Do we need to do anything?" Cole couldn"t help but ask, after all, Nathan was an adult man. Sure his mind was wired a bit differently, but he was not incapable.
"I promised Master that I would keep an eye upon him," Chang Min sighed, rising from the sofa and looking in the direction of the closed bedroom door. "And you have seen how many of the plants in the garden seem to have wilted." Unlike most here, Chang Min had taken care of plant life before, mostly herbs and rice for the inner Sect and its cruel masters. He was not without some experience and could see that if nothing changed, many of the crops would fail at this rate. Ren Zexian had shared a little of his knowledge about Nathan"s abilities with Chang Min thus the latter knew that no amount of fertiliser and tender care would save most of them should Nathan continue to falter.
Nathan"s abilities were not like plant and wood users that he had known before, nor like the person who shared that plant root on the army base. The person in base could see out weak and sick plants, helping the latter as a normal farmer might, while removing the latter to not infect the rest, but that was all. And the Cultivators of his former realm would use their abilities to control plants, force seed to grow into vine in order to trap people, cause trees to bend without wind. There was no developed link between themselves and the plant, once the plant had no more use, the Cultivator would move on and the plant would be left behind to survive or die as nature dictated. But Nathan did not move on and his links with the plants in the gardens had reached a symbiotic level. Things would have been fine if things had continued as Nathan did not have any real grievances towards the people sharing his gardens, however Chang Min was privy to something that could make the gardens no longer hospitable to anyone.
Chang Min walked over to the bedroom door and tapped upon the wood, Cole quickly followed in his wake. Chang Min"s glanced over his shoulders into his disciple"s eyes, seeming to seek answers within them, hoping his decision would not be the wrong one. Cole was not sure what he intended until he spoke.
"Nathan, I was planning on visiting Master this morning. Do you wish to go with me?"
The bedroom door creaked open and two large, sky-coloured eyes peered out from the crack between it and its frame. "You are going to see Xian?" They had told him before that Ren Zexian was cultivating and could not be disturbed, so he"d not been able to see him, could only wait for him to return. The path before Nathan"s eyes seemed to reveal itself as Chang Min nodded in acknowledgement.
Nathan rushed past him and towards the cottage door, waiting there impatiently for a moment until Chang Min began to follow.
"Chang Min..." Cole wanted to follow, but the smaller man placed a jade white hand upon his chest to stop him. Even separated by the thin jersey cotton, the heat from it caused his heart to speed up rapidly and he was mesmerised for a moment. When he came to his senses, his small "Master" and Nathan had already left the cottage.