In the end, they voted on keeping the expedition to themselves. Indeed the risk was greater, but the amount of things they could scavenge was already debatable and sharing with the army base team would mean they might not come away with much at all. They were not doing this for training purposes as before with Patrick and Cole, they were doing this to further feather their nest.

It was also their last chance to do such a thing as well, as while the numbers of humanoid zombies were still low compared to the months of spring, they were rising every day.

However, before they could put their plan into action, it began to rain.

It wasn't a thunderous downpour, the heavens literally tipping water from the sky down onto the Earth, but more a persistent steady rainfall that lasted for three days, drenching their home in water and making the ground soggy in this period. Any plants with weak foundations or that were already nearing the end of their annual life cycle didn't survive; they lost the last batch of tomatoes and cucumbers, which blackened within their watery graves and some melon vines, which fortunately no longer held fruit, shrivelled to dust.

The plants and vegetables of the first property had less chance of dying or mutating than elsewhere, the cannibalistic grass in the third property's grounds expanded and there were signs of more mutated flowers in the second. These latter ones looked harmless, so they could only keep an eye on them for now.

Plants were not the only thing that could be effected by the tainted rain, so anyone without a cultivation foundation were requested to not leave the shelter of the houses for any long period of time, while only those of secondary stage and above could man the walls, meaning long shifts for all of them. These were Ren Zexian's recommendations and the people of the base had become used to listening to him so agreed.

Shaun was the exception, which frustrated him to no end. Before the apocalypse, he'd never felt that his lack was a burden, for the modern lifestyle meant that his disability didn't make his life much more difficult that a person with full mobility, just that he had to do a few things differently. And when he'd gained his powers over metal, he once again held that feeling of independence. But although he was as strong as many others in the base, he often felt helpless to prove it.

He could only watch as Dexter dragged his feet through the back door to eat a sweet potato style curry with cauliflower rice that Autumn had busied herself in preparing during the day with precious coarse bread rolls to bolster the defending men's energy. He could only grit his teeth as he listened along with the woman as Dexter described the situation on the walls.

The rain had made the clusters of returning zombies bold.

The overcast sky was already a boon that the zombies had taken advantage of; they no longer wandered away from the walls before noon, when the sun was at its peak and the rays pouring from it were most intense. When the rain fell upon their bodies, it was clear that they no longer had the human instinct to seek shelter, instead they seemed to become energised by it, their bloody eyes clearer and responses sharper. They no longer mindlessly attacked the walls, but instead seemed to stare at them as if examining them. They were also much more wary of the vines that trailed over parts of them.

"It looked like the rain messed with our scents," Dexter mentioned as he slowed down his intake of food now his stomach felt a little more comfortable. "The zombies weren't drawn to any of us on the walls until we moved, at which point we had to contend with a long ranged assault of stones, icicles, tree branches, some lightning. Not so much fire though." The rain had given the zombies some advantages, but a few disadvantages as well.

When Dexter left to once more tackle the task of defence, Shaun felt his mood lowering further. He tapped a finger on the table for a while, deep in thought, before being startled out of them with Autumn's request that he pass some of the used dishes over. Her simple sentence actually made him feel better as while it was true that he couldn't help out on the walls, no one blamed him for it and no one treated him any differently because he relied on a wheelchair. So he himself shouldn't sulk about it and consider the things he could do or could try to do.

Which was why he requested he be added to the squad leaving the base for supplies.

Although the weather had turned in their favour, the walls still needed to be manned, yet the squad also could not be weak. Naturally, they needed Chang Min and Ren Zexian, as the strongest of the cultivators to split up onto separate teams. Chang Min usually ventured out with them thanks to the close ties between Nathan and Ren Zexian, but this time the apprentice requested that he remain within the walls, not go out.

"I've been feeling for the past week or so that I soon might make a breakthrough, Master," Chang Min advised him. He allowed Ren Zexian to check his pulse and his Master came to agree with him. Ordinarily, a person of higher cultivation wouldn't allow this level of intimacy or would instinctively struggle against it, causing a clash of two spiritual energies and perhaps a backlash. So this showed just how much he trusted his Master.

"Yes, it would be unwise for you to be outside now," Ren Zexian acknowledged, "less you breakthrough in an unfamiliar and dangerous location." That had been a common problem amongst wandering cultivators. Lone ones would hide in deep caves, set up arrays and talismans as well as block themselves in, in order to protect them at this most vulnerable time. Cultivators in groups would also do this and if they were close to their fellows, they could rely on their additional protection. If they could not, then they might vanish even deeper into isolation.

Their circumstances had changed, these people were not untrustworthy as their needs aligned. Were they different, Ren Zexian would want Chang Min to enter closed cultivation until his breakthrough, perhaps he would still prefer this, but couldn't suggest it as their support was strongly required.

But of course, this situation required Ren Zexian to leave, however briefly, Nathan's side. Nathan couldn't leave his home, this centre of his world. It pained Ren Zexian that his beloved retained this fragility, but he also loved this about him.

"I don't wish to leave you," Ren Zexian enfolded him into his arms and placed a kiss upon his forehead. Nathan nestled deeper into his embrace, despite his low mood.

"Then don't." To Nathan, it was just this simple.

"It is required," Ren Zexian replied, helplessly. "In order to ensure that we can grow more plants and vegetation, in order to ensure that this winter is not as harsh as it might otherwise be, I must protect the ones seeking items in the outside world to ensure this."

"Whenever you are not here," Nathan said after a moment, "my chest is pained and my stomach feels hollow."

Ren Zexian's heart felt sweet and sour as he heard those words and as if his soul suddenly reflected Nathan's emotions, a longing welled up in him that he could not ignore. He gently raised Nathan's chin with his finger that he might have access to his soft lips. His tongue slipped inside the hollow of Nathan's mouth to tangle with his beloved's own tongue. His hands began the arduous task of unfastening buttons.

Nathan's mind was swept away with the pleasure and his mind fell blank, he didn't notice that he was divested of garments until his underwear slid down his legs with ease. His body had already responded to Ren Zexian's desire and as Xian always helped him when his penis stood tall, he relaxed and allowed the man's hands to touch the plains of his body. He only became alert when an exploratory digit slipped in between the mounds of his bottom and pressed against the hidden opening there.

Ren Zexian noticed his beloved's startled eyes and kissed them gently. "I won't lie to you," he said, softly. "I wish to join with you." They hadn't come together since they'd had the choice removed and had to join intimately for the sake of saving his life. Nathan had been adverse to crossing that boundary again, Ren Zexian understood that he feared the sensations he had experienced, so he had not pushed him into making love that way again. But... "I want for you to remember the feeling of our being as one so that even when we are apart you can know that our connection is not one that will ever be easily severed. I will return here to you."

Nathan feared the intimacy, but he feared being forever apart from Ren Zexian more. It was not Ren Zexian's meaning, it was Nathan's misunderstanding that had him give his consent. However, the gentle, affectionate attention that Ren Zexian gave his body could not be misunderstood. He was a flower raised in his Xian's palm, loved and cared for until he blossomed beautifully just for him.