Chapter Text
The dirt beneath his sandals was squishy, mud sticking to their bottoms as he wobbled across the grass. If his white hanfu were any lower, it would be touching the ground and get dirty too, but he pinched the fabric and pulled it up to make sure it didn't. His grandmother would be upset if he ruined his clothes, and even if they could clean or replace them, he didn’t want his grandmother to be mad.
Today was very special, because today Jia Baoyu was in a yard of Daguanyuan all by himself. Baoyu hadn't been allowed to play alone outside before, ever! Xiren would always make sure she was close by, “for your safety,” she would say. Xiren was very smart, so he tried not to ask again when she already said no.
Earlier, when he asked Xiren if he could go play after morning training, she said yes! But she was busy, so he had to go on his own.
Baoyu was surprised, but also excited at the idea that no one was going to be watching over him as he ran around—not that he would do anything bad, of course. It was just… a change!
Daguanyuan had many yards, but unlike most, this one was not for training. There was green grass that went up to his shins instead of pebbles and sand. No training dummies or dulled weapons in sight either. Near the tall stone wall, a couple of trees were planted. Most of them were kinda small, but one or two were large enough that the branches went over the wall.
Baoyu really wanted to climb one of those trees.
He’d have to take off his sandals for that, though, and he didn't want to take off his sandals because the mud would make his socks dirty. Maybe he could just take off his socks. But Xiren warned him that standing in dirt barefoot could cause a “fungus” to grow on his skin, and he didn’t want to walk around with mushrooms growing out of his feet.
He held onto his hanfu a little bit tighter as a cool breeze picked up. Normally, wind messed up his hair a lot and got it all in his face, making Xiren sit him down to brush his hair again. But his hair had gotten long enough that he’d been able to put it in a ponytail, which made it much easier to play when it was windy! It also made training a bit easier, since he didn't have to worry about his hair messing up his sight, but he didn't care that much about that since getting his hair done over and over again was much more boring than just missing a strike on a dummy.
He approached one of the trees, wanting to get a better look. If the branches were big enough, they could hold him, and that was very important to know even if he couldn't get up there right now. After all, when he did get a different pair of shoes that he could climb trees with, he needed to be prepared.
Just as he reached the base of the tree, Baoyu paused. There was a weird shape in the grass. It was round, but it was too brown to be a rock, and didn't look smooth either. Baoyu squinted his eyes as he bent down, and a second later grinned as he realized what was there.
It was a bird!
Baoyu scooted closer, not wanting to scare away the little thing, but too curious not to get a better look. As he moved, the bird did not even budge. The bird must be very brave, then, since most birds in the training yards flew away when he got too close.
One of its wings looked a bit weird, spread out like when birds fly, but it was still on the ground. The other wing was tucked near its body, like it should be. Baoyu tilted his head, confused.
Then the bird opened its eyes, and the two stared at each other. It blinked slowly, like it was about to fall asleep, but it didn't. It just kept blinking. It made a small squeaky sound and Baoyu felt a pang in his chest. He didn't know how he knew, he was no bird expert, but he was sure that the squeaky sound was not good. It sounded hurt.
He should get Xiren. She would know what to do. Whenever Baoyu was hurt, she always had bandages or cream or a bolus on hand. She would know how to make this bird stop hurting.
But if he went and got Xiren, would she still trust him to be out by himself? If he couldn't take care of a bird on his own, how could he take care of himself without someone else watching all the time?
He should maybe just. Try. And if it didn’t work, then he would get Xiren.
The first thing he needed to make was a bed. “Sleep is the best medicine,” he heard before, and while he was pretty sure there were certain sicknesses that couldn't be solved by just sleeping, he always felt better laying in bed after a particularly rough training session instead of walking around trying to not walk too much on one foot or the other. Looking around, Baoyu spotted a small rock with a flat top. That would be perfect to put the bed on. It would be mean to make the bird sleep on the mud.
Baoyu turned his head down to the ground, trying to find some twigs that might have fallen from the tree, but it was hard to see anything without crouching down to push the grass away. He was able to find a couple of thin twigs, enough to carefully make a small, uneven square on the flat rock.
Next, the mattress. While he didn't know what a mattress was made out of, he did know that pillows were soft because of the feathers in them. But using feathers for a bird’s bed would probably make the bird upset. He also had no idea where in the garden he could find random feathers… Grass could work! Baoyu spent some time trying to pull some of the grass from the yard. Some of the grass would come out with dirt at the bottom, and while he didn't like just wasting grass like that, the bird deserved a clean bed.
With a fistful of non-dirt covered grass, Baoyu went back to the stone and put the grass in the middle of the square, making sure none of the pieces crossed over the twigs. Satisfied with his work, Baoyu stood up, smiling down at what he made. His hands were a bit sticky from the ends of grass he ripped out, but he could deal with that later. Right now, he had to show the bird its new bed.
The bird was right where it was before, the only part that moved was its eyes, still blinking slowly. Baoyu wondered if it had watched him make the bed. If it hadn’t, this would be a fun surprise for it!
Even if he was super-duper excited to hold an actual bird, he had to be careful about picking it up. If he hurt the bird even more, he would feel really really bad and it would take even longer for the bird to feel better. So, he put his opened hands next to each other, and nudged the tips of his fingers underneath the bird to scoop it up into his palms.
The bird was not just small, but tiny. Very light too, much lighter than he thought it would be. The pebbles in the training yards were probably heavier than it! If it wasn't for the feeling of its small body in his hands, he wouldn't think he was holding anything at all! It didn't even move around as he stood up, keeping his hands steady.
It wasn't moving.
Baoyu looked at the bird, wondering if it fell asleep, but no. It was still blinking.
When Baoyu turned his body around to walk back to the bird’s bed, there was a small squeak, like the one before, and right after that the bird’s normal wing twitched. Baoyu froze, unsure of what to do. Was it trying to fly? That thought made him a little sad. The bird wouldn't get to lay in the bed he made if it flew away. But he didn't need to worry about that because soon, the bird's wing stopped twitching, and so Baoyu continued to the bed.
Putting the bird down was harder than picking it up. He had to make sure the bird’s body didn't lay on the weird wing so it didn't make it worse, while also keeping the grass for the bed neat. After a couple tries, he tilted his hands down just enough that the bird gently slid off, and onto the bed. The bird didn't try to get up.
It made noise again. This time, a louder squeak. Baoyu smiled, taking that squeak as a ‘thank you’ for the bed. He opened his mouth to say ‘you're welcome’, but remembered that a bird probably wouldn't understand what he said. It was rude to not say you're welcome when thanked, he thought.
What to do…
Hm…
Oh!
Birds whistled! If he whistled, it should be able to understand him.
Baoyu pressed his lips together, trying to put them in the same circle shape he had seen before, but instead of a high pitched noise, only soundless air came out. Frustrated, Baoyu blew a little harder, which caused a little bit of spit to fly out with the air. Just as he was about to blow even harder, the bird made the same loud squeaking noise, which meant it understood. Baoyu giggled, happy that he was able to talk to the bird.
Looking at it, quietly staring back at him with small, black eyes, Baoyu noticed the way the bird’s body went up, and then down. Breathing. He tried to match the way the bird breathed, holding his own breath for one or two seconds before letting it out.
He remembered the feeling of the bird in his hands. Light. Too light. Fragile. That was the word for it. Like the nice plates that broke into a lot of small pieces after falling off the table and hitting the floor. But unlike a plate, the bird was alive. Even when hurt, instead of breaking apart, it was here, breathing and blinking. What would it mean for the bird to completely break like a plate, Baoyu wondered to himself. Would it also turn into a bunch of little pieces?
Baoyu reached out a hand, fingers almost touching the top of the bird's head. He lowered his hand a teeny bit more, brushing against the feathered body, careful to not hit its eyes as he began to pet the bird as carefully as he could.
The breeze started to pick up again, taking some of the grass from around the bird with it, ruining the bed. Baoyu stood up quickly, trying to catch some of the grass, but a lot of it fell around the stone and into the grass that was still planted. Baoyu couldn't find them anymore, so he moved to pick new grass for the mattress. He may have to move the bird a little to get some of the grass under it, but hopefully it wouldn't be upset at that. He was just trying to make it more comfortable. Hands filled with freshly torn grass, Baoyu lifted his head and looked back at—
A big grey bird landed on the edge of the flat stone. The twigs and grass were blown out of place. The big bird’s claws were wrapped around the little bird. The claws squeezed. Once. Twice.
The big bird opened its wings, which made it look even larger. But just as the wings twitched to take off, the big bird’s head turned several times.
Looking.
Looking.
Locking eyes with him.
Big, yellow eyes.
Unblinking.
The big bird flew off, but not very far. It landed right on top of the stone wall. He could see the shape of the little bird in its claws.
Then the big bird bent down, and with its beak, plucked off the head of the little bird. It swallowed the head, then bent down to tear the brown feathers off the body, before beginning to pull the remains apart piece by piece.
Just like that, the small bird was gone. And so was the big bird, as it flew off until it became a dark shape in the sky and disappearing completely.
“Young master!”
Baoyu jumped at the sudden noise. Xiren was walking towards him, looking worried. She seemed to be apologizing for something, but stopped speaking as she got closer.
She crouched down in front of him, so they were about the same height. She took one of his hands into her own, and it was then Baoyu realized he had not let go of the grass he picked. Xiren carefully uncurled his fingers, which caused some of the grass to fall to the ground.
Xiren asked him if he was okay. Baoyu didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything at all.
He was led out of the yard and inside the connected building, Xiren holding his sticky, dirt covered hand. Baoyu's sandals, which normally made a fun clacking sound as they hit the wooden floors, made a gross squelching noise.
Xiren didn't try to speak to him as they walked down hall after hall in the empty building. He didn't want to look at Xiren's face, so he just looked at the ground.
The bottom of his hanfu was covered in mud, he noticed.
Grandmother was going to be upset.