Chapter Text
"Looks like you could use some fire training!"
A flashy pose, a dramatic entrance, a promise of hope. Red Son had expected the dragon girl to shatter like a vase and beg him for his help.
She instead looks at him like he's done something wrong. Still clutching her dragon plush (The one Red Son so generously gave her back by the way), the dragon-horse girl stands up and turns away from Red Son.
Oh. She’s ungrateful, that little priss. Despite himself, Red Son yells.
"YOU'RE IGNORING ME!? ARE YOU BRAINDEAD!? I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN HELP YOU, YOU KNOW! DON'T PRETEND THAT THIS IS A YOU PROBLEM!"
That gets the girl's attention. She spins to face him, eyes bleary and red from crying but sharp and defensive. When she speaks, she hides a waver in her voice.
"This IS a ‘me problem’! I don't know what happened in your life to have made your ego inflate this much, but we're dealing with a universe-destroying power here! And you're making it about YOU!"
Red Son clams up quickly, realizing that his word choice and quick temper was less than elegant in such a sensitive situation. Normally, he'd double down, but... He sighs, slides down into the crater, and dares to do something he would never consider in any other situation.
"I'm sorry, I guess, for making it seem stupid."
He apologizes.
"You're right, it's not about me, but I had this power at one point too. I'm not kidding when I say I'm the only one who can help you. And you need help. Don't pretend you don't." He presses an outstretched finger against the dragon-horse girl's chest to emphasize his closing statement.
"I know. But even you couldn't stop it, and you made it in the first place. Besides, what if I'm not pretending?", The dragon girl replies, pushing Red Son's finger away. Even at her worst, she still seems to have quite the head on her shoulders. But Red Son can tell that the girl is putting up a front. He knows what fronts look like, became familiar with them to where he could recognize others pretending in an instant.
Red Son considers his words carefully (Heaven forbid), and finally comes up with something.
"There's a chance I could be immune to your... episodes, Meltdowns? Because I created the fire. If there's anyone that wouldn't be hurt by you, it would be me. Also, I do know this area better than you do and you'll need food and shelter eventually. There's a place not too far with a few fruit trees."
The dragon girl's expression is easy to read. She opens her mouth to argue, closes it, and weighs her options.
A low rumbling noise coming from her stomach seals the deal, as she sniffs and holds the plush tightly to her chest.
"Lead the way Red Boy. I'm only going because I'm hungry."
Red Son doesn't argue at the nickname, despite everything in him really wanting to. He instead grins smugly, crosses his arms and walks off, happy that he won the battle. Which is of course, one step closer to winning the war.
⎏ ______________ ⎐
The trek to the area Red Son mentioned was long, tiring, and horrible, and Mei frankly never wanted to be on this path in the first place, her pride and stubbornness (and fear of hurting her companion, or anyone really) kept in check by her overwhelming hunger. She'd nag and complain to and overall annoy her hotheaded tour guide, and eventually made a game out of it to see when his breaking point would be. It surprised and almost scared Mei that she never saw him explode in his usual fiery fits of rage. He seemed far too focused on just making the trip. Or maybe he ignored her, to try and get back at her too. Good for him, she decided, as the pair finally saw a glimpse of their destination.
Once the duo arrive properly at the temple, Mei can tell exactly what this place’s deal is. It’s large. Old too, all things considered, but not run-down. It's, in fact, incredibly well-kept. Ancient, but mighty and powerful. And as the Red Boy promised, home to a few mature fruit trees.
Mei makes sure her travel buddy doesn't see her wipe a line of drool from her mouth at the sight of the promise of food. With the adrenaline of the day worn off, her hunger is unignorable.
(With the adrenaline of the day worn off, Mei realizes a lot of things. She almost died. She was almost left for dead. She could have, perhaps even almost, killed the only person who tried to save her. Mei doesn't consider any possibility that MK isn't alive. He has to be.)
She’s mentally and physically exhausted and if the Red Boy wants to chastise her for taking a minute to rest, she shuts down any opportunity he’d have to do so real quick with a withering glare.
Except he seems to not have noticed. Or, weirder still, to not have cared. Because Red Son walks into the temple avoiding eye contact with Mei, returns with a wooden bowl, and starts collecting ripe fruits from the nearby trees. He mutters something to himself, and Mei can’t find animosity in his tone. He’s not angry with her. For anything.
She thinks about that for a while. About how Red Son attempted to kill her and her friends multiple times. Despite that, after the attack on Megaopolis from The Spider Queen months earlier, Red Son never once tried to lay a finger on them again. Hell, he saved them before, in the desert on their quest for the Samadhi Fire (how naive she was back then). And now he’s brought Mei back to a place of sanctuary and is providing care for her without judgment. She’s, somehow, safer with him than she ever was with the likes of Sun Wukong.
Mei watches Red Son return with the bowl of fruit, sitting down next to her and setting the bowl between them in a silent prompt for her to start eating.
Instead, she cries.