Chapter Text
Shen Yuan looked around with open interest as he followed his brother. He’d never been so close to the Borderlands before. Humans and demons had been at peace for centuries, and demons themselves were a common enough sight on Cang Qiong Mountain, but their culture was much more prevalent here. Vendors sold both demonic and human cuisine, children of both species played together in the streets, and an inn advertised that it welcomed all manner of guests, feathered, furred, or aquatic.
“Keep up, A-Yuan,” Shen Jiu said waspishly. “We don’t want to be late.”
“Yes, Jiu-ge.”
Shen Yuan eagerly picked up the pace. As fascinated as he was by his surroundings, their destination was even more exciting. Now that he was twelve years old, Shen Yuan was finally allowed to attend the annual Familiar Ceremony.
If a cultivator and a demon shared compatible spiritual energy, they could form a special bond. The bond was mutually beneficial, as it gave both parties a significant boost in their cultivation, and many of the best cultivators had a demon partner.
That said, not every cultivator bonded with a demon, whether by choice or because they never met one whose qi resonated with their own. Demons were even less likely to choose to become a familiar, some likening it to being a pet to a human, but since demons greatly outnumbered cultivators there were still more than enough who attended the ceremony each year.
Shen Jiu, who was two years older than Shen Yuan, met his familiar at his very first ceremony. Yue Qi was a hawk demon with a soft smile and razor sharp talons. Though not a part of the demonic nobility, Yue Qi quickly proved himself to be the most powerful demon amongst his peers, a fact which often had Jiu-ge radiating smugness from behind his fan.
Shen Yuan hoped he would be just as lucky, and find his familiar today. If not, he’d have to wait an entire year to try again.
They finally reached the palace where the ceremony would take place. While Shen Jiu gave the guard their invitation, Yue Qi swooped down from overhead and shifted from his bird form into his more human-like appearance, tucking his large wings behind him. He offered Shen Yuan an encouraging smile as the three of them stepped into the courtyard.
They made their way to the inner palace, stopping now and then to greet people that Yue Qi or Shen Jiu knew. Once inside, Shen Jiu’s sharp eyes scanned the crowd.
While his brother assessed the situation, Shen Yuan noticed Shang Qinghua waving at him. Yue Qi also saw and gave Shen Yuan a small nod. Smiling gratefully, Shen Yuan sidled away and walked over to his friend.
“Shen-xiong,” Shang Qinghua grinned. “Hey! Nervous?”
“Shang-shidi,” Shen Yuan greeted. “Not really.”
“Lucky. I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
“Please don’t.”
“Seriously, you’re not worried at all?”
“No,” Shen Yuan lied.
Shang Qinghua sighed dramatically. “Yeah, you’ll probably resonate with the first demon you try. Your brother did, and you’re just a smaller, less evil version of him.”
“Hey!”
“What kind of demon do you think you’ll get?” Shang Qinghua asked, expertly dodging Shen Yuan’s fan. “I’m hoping for something small, like a mouse or a hamster. Something that can hide easily and won’t draw too much attention, y’know? Oh! Maybe it can ride around in my pocket! Wouldn’t that be adorable?”
“A familiar isn’t a pet, Shang-shidi,” Shen Yuan rolled his eyes.
“I know that, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be cute!”
Shen Yuan scoffed. He didn’t admit that he also wouldn’t mind if his demon partner ended up being small and cute.
“A-Yuan, come here,” Shen Jiu called out from across the room.
After bidding a hasty farewell to his friend, Shen Yuan obediently returned to his brother’s side.
“This is Mobei-jun,” Shen Jiu gestured to the demon beside him. “He’s from a noble clan of ice demons and his animal form is a snow leopard. This is his first Familiar Ceremony just like you, and, should the fates allow it, he would be an excellent asset to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.”
Shen Yuan bowed. “This one greets Mobei-jun.”
Mobei-jun returned the gesture, his stoic expression unwavering. The fact that Shen Jiu went out of his way to introduce them meant that Mobei-jun was the strongest candidate in attendance this year, and the demon certainly looked the part. He was tall for his age, and Shen Yuan could already tell he’d be handsome once the last layers of baby fat left his face. For now though, between his childish proportions and the fuzzy, white ears and tail, Mobei-jun was rather cute.
After exchanging the necessary pleasantries, Shen Yuan and Mobei-jun tested their compatibility. When they touched the tips of their fingers together, Shen Yuan tried not to flinch at how cold Mobei-jun’s skin was. Light and dark qi gathered in the space between their palms, swirling into a small, glowing orb. It tingled a bit, but Shen Yuan didn’t feel much beyond that, and was unsurprised when the orb faded away soon after.
They both retracted their hands. Mobei-jun offered the Shen brothers a polite nod before walking away without another word.
Shen Jiu tsked. “Well, no matter. On to the next one.”
Though he was a little disappointed, Shen Yuan agreed and tried not to be discouraged. There were dozens of demons here, after all, and unlike his brother, Shen Yuan didn’t particularly care if he ended up with the most powerful one.
The next few hours followed a similar trend. Shen Yuan met demon after demon, some who came up to him after recognizing his Cang Qiong robes, some who he approached because they looked interesting, and some who just happened to be standing nearby. All of them resulted the same way.
Shen Yuan’s earlier excitement gradually gave way to weary resignation. Even though testing resonance only required a small bit of qi, Shen Yuan was still in the early stages of cultivation, and having to do it again and again was starting to take its toll.
The monotony was briefly interrupted by a small commotion. Shen Yuan looked across the room to see Mobei-jun and Shang Qinghua staring at the orb of qi between them, bright like a tiny sun. Once the energy faded away, Shang Qinghua seemed to come out of his stupor and looked up at his new familiar. Cold, ice blue eyes stared back at him. Shang Qinghua let out a terrified squeak and immediately started to babble nervously. Mobei-jun just kept staring.
Shen Yuan tried not to laugh.
“Looks like Mobei-jun will be coming to Cang Qiong after all,” he said to Shen Jiu.
Jiu-ge looked like he wasn't sure whether to be amused or disgusted.
Unfortunately, that was the last noteworthy event of the ceremony, at least as far as Shen Yuan was concerned. By the time the sect leaders and demon nobles in charge gave their closing speeches, a little over half of the attending demons and cultivators had yet to find a partner, including Shen Yuan.
The rest of the event was for rubbing elbows and making connections. As the most ambitious fourteen-year-old in the world, Shen Jiu stayed to mingle, and barely noticed when Shen Yuan slipped away.
Disheartened, Shen Yuan wandered through the hallways. He knew that it wasn’t uncommon for a cultivator to not find a familiar their first year, and vice versa. Qi-ge attended three ceremonies before meeting Shen Jiu. Still, Shen Yuan had really hoped he’d be the exception to the rule, just like his brother.
A small, muffled sound brought Shen Yuan out of his maudlin thoughts. He paused to listen. Was someone...crying?
Shen Yuan followed the noise to what appeared to be some kind of storage room down the hall. After a moment of hesitation, he cautiously knocked on the door.
“Hello?” he said. “Is someone in there?”
Shen Yuan immediately felt foolish. Of course someone was in there! He wouldn’t have heard them otherwise.
The crying stopped, and a small voice replied, “Please, help me! I’m locked in.”
Alarm surged through Shen Yuan. He thought that maybe someone just hadn’t had any luck at the ceremony and, like himself, left to wallow in self pity for a bit, in which case Shen Yuan simply wanted to offer a word of comfort, but he hadn’t considered that they were trapped inside.
“Hold on, I’ll get you out,” he said.
A quick look around revealed a key discarded nearby. Apparently, whoever locked the poor kid in there only cared that their victim couldn’t reach it, and not anyone else. Shen Yuan opened the door and a young boy tumbled out.
“Thank you,” the boy said.
“Of course,” Shen Yuan replied. “Are you alright? Who put you in there?”
The boy wilted.
“Some other demon kids. They said no cultivator would want me so why bother even showing up.”
Shen Yuan hid his surprise. At first glance, the boy looked entirely human, but now that he was looking for it Shen Yuan could spot two dog-like ears poking out of the boy’s curly hair, and an equally fluffy tail trailing behind him.
Said ears drooped further as the boy’s eyes widened.
“Oh no,” he gasped. “The ceremony! Please tell me it’s not over!”
At Shen Yuan’s wince, the boy’s big, dark eyes welled up with fresh tears. Hastily, Shen Yuan reached out to pat his head in what he hoped was a consoling manner.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said. “Lots of people don’t find their partner the first time anyway. I didn’t. There’s always next year.”
Granted, not being compatible with anyone was different from not getting to try at all, but Shen Yuan wasn’t really sure how to remedy that.
“Besides, cultivators aren’t allowed to attend until they’re twelve,” he said. “You’re what, ten? Maybe this way you’ll be closer in age when you do find them.”
Wiping away his tears, the boy replied mulishly, “M’twelve.”
“You are?” Shen Yuan had to hide his shock a second time. “Uh, sorry.”
“I don’t want to wait another year,” the boy continued as more tears slid down his cheeks. “I hate it in the demon realm. This was my chance to get out. To become stronger.”
“Oh…”
Shen Yuan wasn’t sure what to say. He knew the demon realm was a tough place to live from hearing stories from Qi-ge, but didn’t demons like that? Then again, not all humans liked living in the human realm, so he supposed the opposite could be true as well.
When the boy continued to cry, Shen Yuan bit his lip.
“Well, why don’t you and I try?” he said. “It’s a long shot, but you never know. And at least that way you can say you tried.”
The boy’s tears finally stopped, and he looked up at Shen Yuan in wonder.
“Really?”
“Sure, why not,” Shen Yuan shrugged. “It can’t hurt, right?”
Nodding eagerly, the boy scrubbed his face with his sleeve and held out his hand, practically vibrating with excitement.
“This might not work,” Shen Yuan warned him. He didn’t want the poor kid to get his hopes up only to be disappointed, like Shen Yuan did earlier. “The odds are very small.”
The boy nodded again, seemingly undeterred. “I understand! I appreciate just getting the chance to try.”
His enthusiasm was pretty cute, Shen Yuan had to admit.
The two boys placed the tips of their fingers together. Qi began to gather between their palms, dark and light energy swirling around like yin and yang before finally merging into one. Light filled the hallway, eclipsed only by the boy’s starry eyes.
“Wow,” Shen Yuan breathed once the light faded away. He could feel the beginnings of a bond forming between them, electric yet soothing all at once. A smile curled his lips as he looked back at his new familiar. “We never properly introduced ourselves, did we? I’m Shen Yuan.”
The boy looked back at him with a somewhat dazed expression, his cheeks faintly pink. Giving himself a little shake, the boy returned Shen Yuan’s smile.
“My name is Luo Binghe.”
-----
Shen Jiu hid a sneer behind his fan as he surveyed the great hall’s occupants. A bunch of snivelling wretches, all of them, and not one worthy to stand by A-Yuan’s side. Even that ice demon turned out to be a disappointment. If he resonated with Shang Qinghua of all people, he clearly wasn’t as ferocious as he seemed.
A pity, since this meant A-Yuan would have to wait longer to start his proper training, but there was always next year. Though he’d never admit it out loud, a small, petty part of Shen Jiu was glad that he wouldn’t have to share his brother just yet.
Growing up it had just been the two of them. For as long as Shen Jiu could remember, Shen Yuan was the only person who actually cared about Shen Jiu unconditionally. Even their parents abandoned them, and for a long time A-Yuan was the only good thing in a life full of misery and hardship. As a result, Shen Jiu fought tooth and nail to protect his little brother, shielding him from the worst of what life threw at them so that at least Shen Yuan could retain some of the innocence and kindness that made him who he was.
Through a twist of fate, the two brothers were able to escape the streets and join a cultivation sect, but even then Shen Jiu kept a close eye on his brother, wary of anyone who might try to stab A-Yuan in the back. Shen Yuan often complained that Shen Jiu was too overprotective, especially now that they were getting older, but he still admired his older brother enough to obey Shen Jiu’s rules.
Things changed again when Shen Jiu met Yue Qi. Initially, Shen Jiu hadn’t even wanted to attend the Familiar Ceremony. With the exception of his little brother, Shen Jiu worked best alone, and it wasn't like having a familiar was necessary to become a powerful cultivator. However, his shizun insisted he go to represent the sect, and A-Yuan begged him because A-Yuan was still a child and thought demons were cool or some such nonsense, so Shen Jiu grit his teeth and accompanied his fellow disciples to the Borderlands with the plan to interact with as few demons as possible.
So, naturally, Shen Jiu resonated with the very first one he met.
It could have been worse. Despite his mild-mannered appearance, Yue Qi was exceptionally powerful, and by far the strongest candidate that year. When Shen Jiu told him that he hadn’t wanted a familiar in the first place, Yue Qi’s excitement had waned, but rather than becoming upset or accusing Shen Jiu of insulting his honor like most other demons probably would have, Yue Qi merely asked Shen Jiu to give him a chance to prove himself. Shen Jiu wanted to refuse at first, but a little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like A-Yuan made him hesitate. He gave Yue Qi three months to change his mind.
Yue Qi succeeded. Not only did he excel in their lessons, which made Shen Jiu look good as his partner, but training together made Shen Jiu realize why so many cultivators sought out a demon familiar. His cultivation improved in leaps and bounds, his inner qi soothed and balanced by Yue Qi’s, like a balm on his very soul. It was terrifying, but now that he had it Shen Jiu knew he would rather die than let it go.
As a person, Yue Qi was...tolerable. A-Yuan liked him, which was not a high bar but also the most important thing in the world. If Yue Qi treated A-Yuan poorly, Shen Jiu would have dropped him in a second, balm or no balm. But Yue Qi was weirdly nice for a demon, and A-Yuan soon came to see him as a second older brother.
Shen Jiu still wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that.
In any case, over the past two years Yue Qi became a part of their little family, and while Shen Jiu had come to accept him, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to welcome a new stranger into their life, even if said stranger would be to Shen Yuan what Yue Qi was to Shen Jiu. Maybe even because they would be. So he wasn’t terribly upset that Shen Yuan didn’t find anyone today.
“Jiu-ge! Jiu-ge!”
Speak of the devil. Shen Jiu turned to see his little brother pushing toward him through the crowd. When he noticed that Shen Yuan seemed to be dragging another boy along as well, a curl of dread formed in Shen Jiu’s stomach, not assuaged in the slightest by A-Yuan’s exuberant smile.
“Jiu-ge, I found him,” A-Yuan said, confirming Shen Jiu’s fears. “I found my familiar!”
“Is that so,” Shen Jiu drawled. Making sure that nothing showed on his face, he examined the new boy over the top of his fan.
“Mn! This is Luo Binghe,” Shen Yuan turned back to the young demon. “Binghe, this is my brother, Shen Jiu. He’s also the head disciple of Qing Jing Peak.”
Luo Binghe quickly bowed. “Greeting Da-shixiong.”
Shen Jiu’s lip curled. From his posture and clothes, the boy was clearly not from any of the noble clans. Something like that didn’t matter for humans, the Shen brothers were proof of that, but for demons magic literally ran through their blood, and lineage equaled power.
As if to support his suspicions, Shen Jiu noticed some nearby demons failing to hide their whispers as they looked over at Luo Binghe, mocking jeers on their faces.
Eyes sliding back to the boy, Shen Jiu asked, “And where was Luo Binghe during the ceremony?”
Luo Binghe flinched, and Shen Jiu didn’t miss the way he glanced over at the other demons. Before he could answer, however, Shen Yuan jumped in.
“It wasn’t his fault, Jiu-ge,” A-Yuan said. “Some other demons bullied him! They locked him in a storage closet for hours!”
The pink on Luo Binghe’s cheeks darkened, his eyes downcast. Surely it was humiliating for a demon to admit to being bullied, cut-throat as they were. Most demons would probably say that if Luo Binghe was too weak to fight back then he deserved such treatment, and Shen Jiu was inclined to agree. Shen Yuan, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to find whoever did it and challenge them to a duel. His face was remarkably similar to Shen Jiu’s, which meant he looked uncharacteristically menacing when he was angry, and the nearby snickering quickly stopped.
Repressing a sigh, Shen Jiu gestured at Luo Binghe and said, “Go on then.”
Luo Binghe blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“Show me your animal form,” Shen Jiu said. “You’re some kind of canine, correct?” Even if he was a weakling, perhaps his other form was at least intimidating.
Instead of shapeshifting, Luo Binghe ducked his head again, his miserable face bright red. When some of the watching crowd began to heckle again, Luo Binghe’s clenched fists trembled.
Shen Yuan glared at the other demons before his eyes softened and he gently took Luo Binghe’s hand.
“Hey,” he said, “it’s okay. You’re my familiar. No matter what your other form is, I’ll accept it.”
Luo Binghe looked back at A-Yuan with a disgustingly sappy look in his eyes. “Really?”
“Mn,” A-Yuan smiled.
All the tension in Luo Binghe seemed to fall away as he stared at Shen Jiu’s brother like A-Yuan was the most wonderful being in the entire world. Which he was, but that didn’t mean the little beast had any right to him.
After a moment, Luo Binghe took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A faint aura of demonic qi pervaded the air as the boy shrank.
Luo Binghe was...a puppy. A tiny puppy, no bigger than the average house cat, with black fur so fluffy it made him look round, two button sized eyes, and some kind of red marking on his forehead.
The demon children who had been keeping mostly silent thanks to Shen Yuan’s glare burst out laughing, and several cultivators tried and failed to hide their mirth as well. Shen Jiu kept his face blank, but inside he was filled with despair. This was his brother’s familiar? A-Yuan was soft, yes, but wasn’t this a bit much? They were going to be the laughingstock of Cang Qiong. No one would ever take Shen Yuan seriously as a cultivator with this thing by his side.
Shen Jiu thought quickly. The bond wasn’t instant, so maybe he could convince A-Yuan to turn the little beast down and try to find someone else next year. True, the chances of finding another demon with compatible qi were small, but it wasn’t impossible, and surely anything was better than this.
Shen Yuan stared down at Luo Binghe. “You...you…”
Clearly thinking he was about to be rejected after all, Luo Binghe’s ears pressed flat against his skull, and his tail, which was just as fluffy as the rest of him, curled beneath him. He then let out a startled yip when Shen Yuan suddenly scooped him up and held him at arm’s length.
“You’re adorable!!” A-Yuan’s eyes sparkled and a faint blush painted his cheeks.
Ugh. So much for that idea.
Luo Binghe stared back at Shen Yuan. Slowly, his ears perked up again and his tail began to wag. He made a sound that was more squeak than bark, and Shen Yuan let out a noise that barely sounded human, squeezing the puppy against his chest. Luo Binghe’s tail wagged faster.
Having had enough of such a nauseating display, Shen Jiu coughed pointedly. A-Yuan seemed to realize that they were still in the middle of a crowd of other cultivators and demons, all of whom loved to gossip and tear each other down. He cleared his throat and gently placed Luo Binghe back onto the floor before pulling out his fan to flutter in front of his face while he regained his composure. However, when Luo Binghe transformed back into human shape, A-Yuan still returned his shy smile.
Internally, Shen Jiu sighed. It was going to take a lot of work to make sure this didn’t affect Cang Qiong’s reputation, and, more importantly, Shen Yuan’s.
The things he did for his brother.
-----
“It’s not fair,” Shang Qinghua whined. “How come you got a cute, little puppy while I got a giant, terrifying predator?”
Shen Yuan wondered if Shang Qinghua ought to be calling said predator names, but honestly, the demon would probably take it as a compliment. That, and he didn’t really care if his friend got himself into trouble with thoughtless words. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Still, Shang Qinghua was his friend, so Shen Yuan gave him a pat on the back.
“It’s not all bad,” he said. “Resonating with such a strong demon gave your reputation a big boost. Even the sect leader commended you. At this rate, you’ll be the next An Ding Peak Lord.”
“That just makes things worse!” Shang Qinghua wailed. “Do you know how much extra responsibility being head disciple is? Not to mention Peak Lord! I’ll never get a decent night’s sleep again!”
Shen Yuan did know, actually. He frequently helped his brother with his duties, and was one of the Qing Jing Peak Lord’s favorite students as well, which had perks but also came with more work. However, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
“And now all the older An Ding disciples see me as competition,” Shang Qinghua added miserably. “I used to be able to just fade into the background unnoticed, but not anymore! Every time I turn around, some shixiong or shijie is giving me more work to do! The only time they leave me alone is if my king is around, because he scares them, but even that isn’t a relief because he scares me too!”
With a sympathetic hum, Shen Yuan gave him another pat. Shen Yuan wasn’t entirely sure why Shang Qinghua called Mobei-jun “my king,” since as far as he knew the young demon was not actually a king. He was a lord at best, and much too young to hold an official title yet, despite his name. But Shang Qinghua was weird and Shen Yuan learned long ago it was sometimes better to just go along with him.
“Come on, Shen-xiong,” Shang Qinghua tugged plaintively at his sleeve. “Switch familiars with me. It’ll make your brother happy.”
“No way,” Shen Yuan sniffed. “Binghe is the best. Jiu-ge will come around. Eventually.”
In the two weeks since they met, Luo Binghe and Shen Yuan had spent as much time as they could together. There were limits, unfortunately. Demon familiars had their own separate lessons to attend, as did human cultivators, and their living quarters were separate as well. But they had joint training sessions together, and shared most meals, and Binghe often sought Shen Yuan out between dinner and curfew.
Binghe really was adorable. Though they were both twelve, Shen Yuan was actually a handful of months older than Luo Binghe, and physically bigger too, so he took it upon himself to be the more mature, responsible one. Jiu-ge and Shang Qinghua had both laughed at Shen Yuan when he told them this, which, rude, but Luo Binghe latched onto him like sticky candy. He even started calling Shen Yuan “Yuan-ge.” The first time he did that, Shen Yuan had to hide behind his fan for a minute to recover.
After another ten minutes of listening to Shang Qinghua whine, Shen Yuan suggested they wrap things up. It was nearing curfew, and there was something he wanted to discuss with Binghe before class tomorrow, so Shen Yuan said goodbye to his friend and headed for the demon dormitory.
Like the human dorms, the demonic living quarters consisted of several rooms, most of which were shared by two occupants, though some exceptions were made for demons with special circumstances like if their animal forms required a specific kind of environment. According to Shang Qinghua, Mobei-jun got his own room because his body was only comfortable in colder temperatures. Being the heir to a powerful noble clan probably didn’t hurt either.
Luo Binghe was neither nobility nor the type of demon who needed a customized room, so he shared one of the generic ones with another demon. Shen Yuan had only visited Luo Binghe’s room once before to help him settle in, but he managed to find it again without difficulty.
“Binghe,” Shen Yuan knocked before opening the door. “I just wanted to-”
He stopped and took in the scene before him. Luo Binghe kneeled beside one of the beds, a needle in one hand as he clumsily tried to repair a large tear in the mattress.
With wide, startled eyes, Binghe jumped to his feet and moved in front of the bed, as if to try to hide it behind his small body.
“Yuan-ge!” Binghe noticed Shen Yuan still looking at the needle and quickly shoved it behind his back. “What can this humble servant do for you?”
Shen Yuan ignored the question - though he did make a mental note to talk to Binghe later about calling himself a servant - and walked around the other boy to get a better look at the damage. Luo Binghe’s bed was torn in several places by what looked like large claws marks. The mattress, sheets, and pillows had all fallen victim, and some of Binghe’s other belongings as well.
As Shen Yuan surveyed the room, Luo Binghe seemed to shrink in on himself, his cheeks flushed and his eyes downcast, ears flat and tail drooping.
“Binghe’s roommate did this?”
“No,” Binghe started to say before seeing Shen Yuan’s face and amending, “I don’t know.”
“But one of the demons did,” Shen Yuan said, eyeing the claw marks.
Luo Binghe remained silent, shame clear on his face. For a demon, not being able to defend oneself or one’s territory was a sign of weakness. It invited endless torment, and the only way out was to grow stronger and defeat your oppressors or die trying. Most demons saw no problem with this. It was simply their way, and there was nothing anyone could do about it, so why interfere? But Shen Yuan was not a demon.
After a long moment, he came to a decision.
“Pack your things.”
Luo Binghe froze. He immediately dropped to his knees and prostrated, pressing his forehead against the hard floor.
“Please, Yuan-ge,” he cried. “Please give me another chance!”
Alarm jolted through Shen Yuan.
“Binghe? What-”
“I promise to do better,” Luo Binghe said. “I’ll work harder! I’ll become stronger! I’ll do anything, just don’t send me away!”
“Send you away?” Shen Yuan repeated. He kneeled down in front of Luo Binghe and carefully reached out to touch the demon’s head. “What are you talking about?”
Shen Yuan gently carded his fingers through Binghe’s soft, fluffy hair. Finally, Luo Binghe lifted his head to look up at Shen Yuan with watery eyes.
“You…” Binghe sniffled. “You said to pack my things.”
“Yes, so you can come live with me.”
Luo Binghe went still.
“Only if you want to, of course,” Shen Yuan added, “but I do have an empty bed. I used to room with Jiu-ge, but when he was appointed head disciple he moved into his own quarters, and the sect never assigned me a replacement.”
The demon continued to stare at him.
“We’ll have to get permission from Shizun, but I doubt it will be a problem,” Shen Yuan bit the inside of his lip, tamping down the nervous flutter in his stomach. “What do you say?”
He offered Luo Binghe what he hoped was an encouraging smile. More tears welled up in those big eyes again, but before Shen Yuan could panic Luo Binghe threw himself into Shen Yuan’s arms. Luo Binghe was smaller than Shen Yuan, but not by that much, so Shen Yuan had to brace himself so they didn’t both topple over.
“Yuan-ge,” the boy sobbed. “Yuan-ge!” Binghe babbled into his robes, though Shen Yuan couldn’t make out much beyond the occasional “happy” and “glad.” With a sigh, he resumed petting Binghe’s head.
Poor Binghe! The bullying must have really been terrible! Shen Yuan promised himself to keep a better eye on his familiar, especially when Binghe interacted with his fellow demons.
Once they gathered Luo Binghe’s meager belongings, Shen Yuan led Binghe to the human disciples’ dormitories. He’d have to speak to the Peak Lord tomorrow, but like hell was Shen Yuan going to let Binghe spend another night in that room.
He watched as the demon looked around Shen Yuan’s bedroom. It was pretty standard for disciples - two beds, two wardrobes, two small desks. Shen Yuan’s side was a little messy, books piled haphazardly and calligraphy tools strewn about. He really only cleaned when Jiu-ge visited and made him.
The other half of the room was barren, apart from a few of Shen Yuan’s things that had migrated over. He quickly gathered those and brought them back to his side before gesturing for Binghe to sit on the bed, which thankfully still had sheets and pillows despite being empty for months.
“It’s not much,” Shen Yuan said, suddenly feeling somewhat self-conscious.
Seeming to snap out of his daze, Luo Binghe hastily shook his head.
“It’s fine. More than fine,” Luo Binghe assured him. “All that matters is that Yuan-ge is with me.”
Ah! So cute! Shen Yuan’s heart couldn’t take it! Faced with that sweet smile, all he could do was pat Luo Binghe on the head, which made Binghe’s tail wag even faster.
He helped Luo Binghe get settled in, then bid him goodnight. It was strange, hearing another person’s breathing again as he drifted off to sleep, but Shen Yuan didn’t mind it. If anything, it was comforting. When he was a child, Shen Yuan almost always slept with his brother, huddled together for warmth on the thin, straw mattress, then later in the streets. Even after coming to Cang Qiong, the two brothers had slept in the same bed for weeks before adjusting to their new life. Shen Jiu nearly turned down the position of head disciple when he realized it would mean not living with Shen Yuan anymore, but Shen Yuan convinced him otherwise. The last thing he wanted was to hold his brother back. Plus, by that point they’d both begun to grow out of their codependency somewhat, and agreed that it was a healthy choice.
Still, it was nice to not be alone anymore.
Some time later, Shen Yuan woke up when he felt a small weight dip his bed. Rubbing the sand from his eyes, he propped himself up on one elbow to see Luo Binghe in puppy form walking across his mattress. Binghe came up to Shen Yuan, hesitant, and his cute, button eyes gleamed in the moonlight.
With a sigh, Shen Yuan flopped back down. Silently, he raised his arm, and a small, furry body immediately burrowed underneath it to curl up against Shen Yuan’s chest.
Lips pulled into a smile, Shen Yuan cuddled the puppy closer and went back to sleep.
-----
Adorable art by @chapter_56 on twitter! The original tweet has been deleted but they gave me permission to post it here. Their art is amazing so go give them a follow! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
