‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Herim walked towards Adrian. He hasn't gotten over seeing him cry plus Adrian has been avoiding everyone. He wouldn't talk to Valian nor Kijad who are probably his major regions of consolation especially the latter . Even when Syin was trying to initiate small talk ,he would simply just nod and make gestures. Everyone could tell there was something wrong but no one dared to ask . They all probably thought it was one of his dramatic episodes

Right now he is swaying in a distance next to a worker while Kijad and Jakhyer are in the carriage. The other wolves are on the sides and the front of the carriage . After Kijad agreed for Joln and Jakhyer to head west together to gather some equipment, he has been very quiet. Usually he would want to tag along whenever he felt an adventure brewing but this time he simply just stood on the sidelines. For this reason Kijad suggested that they wait until a few miles before the duo separated from the team. He thinks something is troubling Adrian or as Jakhyer secretly suspects, he might be trying to get rid of Adrian.

" Here , have some water", Herim approached him from behind and exhaled softly when Adrian replied with a simple 'I am fine'. Afterwards he rudely walked away

At this point Herim could nag him to tell him what the matter is but it seems like he is not in the mood of a conversation with anyone. Leaving him alone as well proves to be a rather cruel task.

" When we were kids , you used to hate it when I would touch you. You said my hands were itchy so I would wash them four times before coming to you. Only then did you let me play with your hair. ", He told him and Adrian just froze

A wave of pain cascaded him like an avalanche from the highest peaks. Twice the speed of light , an air of paralysis overwhelmed him. His emptiness moved from just his heart and now succeed to colonise his body . His nose pinched as he felt the tears gather. After he blinked once, the tear trickled down his cheek yet he didn't even bother to wipe it off.

Before long , Herim moved his hands underneath Adrian's arms and hugged Adrian from behind. Whether or not the others could see it was none of concern. For Herim it was his usual way of showing concern but for Adrian it resonated volumes because this is the first kind of closure he had gotten after he saw Ryle and Joln in the library.

" I don't know what is troubling you and I don't know if I can stop it but I do know that I will never let you fight it alone ", he clasped him like that and instead of Adrian fighting to free himself ,he just let him hold him like that. Herim even moved his head to peak at him only to find that Adrian had closed his eyes.

He also noticed his motionlessness so he moved infront of him and held him like a baby. He moved his hand to pull Adrian's head onto his chest with his other hand just inches away from Adrian's waist. He encapsulated him like how a sorry child is held when he had committed a faul mistake or had lost their favorite toy perhaps even a dear ally

" I don't like to see you looking this way so let me once again say sorry for the.pain you are in", he sang softly .

As must as he hates him ,the warmth that resonates from his embrace was so reassuring but just as Adrian was merging onto the comfort on Herim's chest, Valian called Adrian startling him to released himself from Herim like a bullet .It was so sudden that Herim's arms remained suspended in the air still contouring the space that Adrian occupied.

This is the first time he had held him so dearly and he didn't even fight back. When he was busy pressing him during training, it was really cute when he freaked out as the wolves saw him. Right now he just did the very same thing. And it's times like this that Herim gets confused of what exactly goes on inside Adrian when they get close or even intimate. One minute he acts like he hates him, the next then he pretends like he can't stand the sight of Herim but immediately when they are alone all his walls come crashing down and Adrian floats over Herim's company, almost like he has been craving that sort of affection. The question then becomes does Adrian want to be cared for or does he want Herim to be the one that does the caring?

Herim tucked his hands in his pockets and arched his eyebrows. Just then Ryle who was on the side of the carriage eyed him before he scoffed with mountain clear mockery.Their rivalry is more intense than anything. He probably saw their emotional display and cooked up a scheme to ruin it . It was thanks to him the first time after Herim spent the night in Adrian's chambers that he went and told Nalem about it. Adrian had been sick and so he laid with him cradling all night. Ryle found out when he visited Adrian with the goal of doing the very same thing but jealousy got the best of him and instead of getting over it , he got even.

Her punishment was to make him stand four hours on burning charcoal or the same would have been done to Adrian.She said that it is forbidden to show that sort of behavior so the culprits must pay. Howbeit applicable, it was far from the truth. No one in the school system cares what happens between students except when it interferes somehow with the governing. Otherwise as long as they hide it , they will be fine. Herim couldn't let Adrian suffer for something so mediocre let alone have it exposed to Kijad so he took the charge wholeheartedly. Up to this day , Adrian doesn't know that Herim got punished for that

First it was Adrian, then Joln and now it seems to be over Syin. Ryle is fuming over what happened during training with Syin and Adrian . He would have done something about it but this mission went and beat him to him. Despite how elegant he looks, Ryle gets so easily jealous and overacts when he feels like he is losing or is being threatened.

Adrian is a beau and is unimaginably childminded. His personality and appearance added to his delicacy make him the ideal prince who appears in a lot of pipe dreams . further more he is strong and reliable. For these reason , it was easy for Ryle to develop a very small crush on him , similar to Herim

Herim regarded it simple because he thought Adrian resembled a female so he thought that was the reason he likes him. And therefore he even began to treat him like he was female. Adrian hated the living daylights out of that as he called it a sick fetish. Everytime that Herim would touch him , he thought he was just trying to satisfy his urges. With time that fetish died off. Only for an obsession with Joln to begin. And apparently at the same time that occurred, Ryle began to adore Joln.

Just recently Syin wanted to kiss Herim in class only for days later to have him fantasizing about Ryle. Though it seems like Syin is the one playing hopscotch, the truth of the matter is that both Herim and Ryle make it easy. Herim treats him like a dove while Ryle behaves like a lunatic when he feels like Syin is being threatened.

Last night after Joln and Jakhyer went on a frenzy, Ryle went to go check the rest of the tents starting with Syin 's tent. He went inside and he tucked Syin's blanket warmly while he smiled like he was looking at a child . Afterwards he remained behind their tent until early in the morning when Syin found him asleep. Without knowing which kind gesture or approach he was trying to portray, he took off his jacket and he placed it on Ryle then he went off to greet Kijad.

Joln walked away from the sides and he headed to the front towards Valian who was with Adrian . Immediately upon his arrival Adrian got visibly tense even more than Herim was.

" Yah, Xiong'An , Gao-Zhong is calling you",Herim screamed for Adrian who turned without ceremony towards the call. He waited for a while for the carriage to return. Whether or not he was lying, it didn't matter, it was proving to very difficult to act like Adrian wants to be next to his heart-rival.

Adrian stood next to Herim as they waited for the carriage that was lagging behind. He proceeded the feeling of anguish that was boiling inside of him.

On the daily he is always acting like a couple with Joln . They would be holding hands, feeding each other, sleeping on the same bed and dressing each other. Adrian calls Joln his favourite novel and Joln calls Adrian his sweet lotus. At one point when Valian asked if they like each other, when Adrian stammered ,Joln giggled and said they share more than just a 'like'. Adrian must admit that made him blush and probably intensified their friendship. That's all they were and will ever be. Therefore it felt like some type of betrayal for Joln to be like that with Ryle even though Adrian never told Joln about it despite how they were or atleast thought they were.

The carriage passed and as he was still evaluating who is the cause of his hate between his 'friend' and Ryle , out of nowhere, Herim planted a kiss on his cheek and tapped his nose before he ran off towards the front of the trail..

No one saw that and Adrian was awestruck. His hand elevated prior resting on the place that previously hosted Herim's pink lips . He blinked away the tears from his eyes. He need not to check, his face was peach red right now. His now glassy appearance had faded into the mist just like his emptiness. Twice in the same day has Herim showed surrealistic levels of affection towards Adrian.

He couldn't understand the fire that started to consume him , whether it was anger , pain , confusion or lust.

He had never at any point in his life saw Herim as being a wolf , rather a filthy piece of litter. But that piece of garbage was by far the only wolf that provide him with things that he likes and not assumptions of what he could like. He baked him light desserts and he helped with homework sometimes ,after they had a long fight.

Of course their fights weren't sweet , a lot of swear words and belittling took place that a one point Herim almost killed Adrian when he was acting sassy to medication. He literally almost slapped the plate of hot green syrup on his face when he was adding insult to injury saying that Herim smells like a hobbit.

All those times Herim was the first one to apologize because he is the one who always raises his voice while Adrian makes nervetwiching comments under his breath. But even when Herim apologies, Adrian finds it hard to consider as genuine so he simply lashes at him. The argument won't end so they just keep tossing grenades until they separate and they both forget why they were even fighting in the first place.

He moved his hand to his jacket then looked at Herim who was annoying everyone ahead.

Is he trying to build a rubix cube ? He flirts with Adrian who flirts with Joln. Joln likes Ryle who is overprotective of Syin. Syin can't stop being tempted to kiss Herim who just pecked Adrian on the cheek.