"Aren"t they marvellous!" Maimai had always despaired that her best friend had to suffer so due to the ugliness of his gla.s.ses; the heavy, cheap frames that held lenses so thick that his eyes could not be seen through them. However, she also understood that Leon"s background was extremely modest compared to her own and thus even these things must have caused his family much hardship to purchase, a pair such as what she had purchased him were far beyond his reach. But she knew that as humble as Leon was, he still had some pride, he would have never had let her buy a decent pair for him, so she had remained quiet. As scary as the accident had been for her, seeing him lying there hurt and unconscious, she had still taken advantage of the fact that his old gla.s.ses were now beyond repair, could not be used nor fixed. "These are the latest design, with an enchantment to adjust to and amend numerous sight deficiencies!"Leon removed them from his face, without thought. He had noticed that they were lighter to wear than the old pair, but of course, Maimai had put them upon his nose, so he hadn"t been aware just how different they were. Looking at them through fuzzy vision, he still could not, but he began to worry about the cost of them.
"Put them back on," Maimai chided him, as if realising his thoughts. "They make your eyes look amazing, don"t you think, Jin Li?" She added the last words on slyly.
"Amazing..." Jin Li said, absently, then as Leon"s pale cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink, he found himself refuting his words to cover his own embarra.s.sment; "Well, that is to say, they couldn"t exactly look any worse."
"Jin Li! Your n-nose!" Fortunately, Maimai experienced such mishaps often and could quickly whip out a handkerchief and offered it to him.
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Leon chuckled and earned himself a cold stare, but it didn"t last very long, nor was it br.i.m.m.i.n.g with ill intent.
Feeling as if she was out of some loop, a sensation that certainly did not sit well with her, Merylin looked slightly pleadingly towards her sister, hoping for some enlightenment. She was confused.
This boy lying upon the bed, that her beau looked kindly towards, seemed somewhat familiar and yet not at the same time. She was certain she had never seen a boy with such large eyes as his before and they seemed so much darker against the pale white jade of his youthful face. But what was with that strange hair... and it was then she recalled; Jin Li"s servant! Ah, so no wonder he was being so kind. Jin Li respected those who required respect, allowed those he deemed worthy to stay by his side and this servant, while Merylin did not consider him much, admittedly had some skill.
"Jin Li," she said, gently and felt warm when he glanced her way, however briefly. She glanced at the plain handkerchief, now stained with blood, in his hand. It was a common token without feelings, Maimai had many, having suffered with random nosebleeds for a couple of years. She felt pity that she had not been quick to offer one of her excellently embroidered ones. If he took her favour then surely that meant... "Is your alchemist well? Being here in the Healer"s Hall, I hope it is not serious."
It was then Jin Li"s brain-hole closed and he suddenly recalled the location in which their unexpected meeting was taking place. He sat down upon the bed as he glanced over his small alchemist. His arm was laying carefully at his side and was wrapped with hardened bandages, there was a scabbed cut of a couple of inches marring the pale skin near his ear and several smaller scratches were on his forehead. The remnants of an angry bruise could be seen below his eye, though it was mostly yellowed and healed, likely thanks to the consumption of pills.
Jin Li"s fingers tentatively reached out to touch the wounds, his brows formed a pained frown. "What happened?"
"It w-was an accident?" Technically, in Leon"s mind it had been. Those students hadn"t meant to hurt him, just cause him difficulties. They were paying the price, so Leon felt no need to elaborate. He just wanted to get better, he was still in a fair bit of discomfort after all. He also didn"t want to blacken Maimai"s name when she was still feeling guilty.
Jin Li was not convinced, however. His eyes narrowed and his tone had a hint of warning. He did not like to be lied to. "You don"t sound so certain of that."
Leon"s eyes glanced away, not able to maintain eye contact. "Well... um... never mind. I"m f-fine, so..."
"You don"t look fine," Jin Li sneered and his gaze slid down Leon"s body. "Your arm looks broken, in fact."
"M-my c-cauldron is in a w-worse state," Leon chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
Knowing his small alchemist as well as he did, Jin Li could not help but ask; "Experiment?"
Merylin gasped, her small hand covering her mouth. What did Jin Li mean? However, this slip of tongue could be turned to her advantage, she felt. "So dangerous! We are just students! Even I, who has the fortune of studying in the inner school, would not be so brazen! Tampering with a recipe could have dire consequences!" Her pretty face held a look of worry rather than the contempt she had for the boy. Jin Li really ought to cut ties with such a foolish person.
With a flurry of curls, Maimai shook her head and took to her feet, before chiding Merylin; "Sister, enough. Leon"s circ.u.mstances were not caused due to fault of his own." She curled her arm about her sister"s before bowing slightly in an apologetic way towards both Jin Li and Leon. "Rest well, Leon. We"ll be leaving first."
"Maimai!" Merylin protested as she was dragged towards the door.
"Stop making a fool of yourself, sister," Maimai hissed in the girl"s ear, before glancing back over her shoulder. Merylin could not help but follow suit.
Jin Li"s attention was not on the leaving girls, but completely upon the boy lying upon the bed. His fingers were tracing the wounds that he had thus far found with an unsurpa.s.sed gentleness, though his eyes remained intense and his expression inpatient. Leon was completely captured by his gaze and the girls clearly did not remain in his mind either. Merylin"s heart ached, but she could not identify why and blurted out quietly;
"What does this mean?"
"Can"t you tell, Merylin?" Maimai replied with hints of joy. "There"s no place for you here. Now come along. You are not the only person who needs to learn a lesson." And with that, she continued to force Merylin out of the Healer"s Hall.