The fire seemed to be a little too hot that night, and because they were so close to the warmth of the outskirts of the markets, they didn't need to sit so close to the fire. Of course, they still stuck as close to it without feeling like they were burning up.

Even with that comfortable warmth Hongjoong stuck close to Seonghwa because although he knew he had the power to change the Shades back to their normal state, he didn't exactly want to touch one again. When he touched the wolf Lisa, he could almost feel the pain and the horror that this wolf went through.

"It's almost as if the darkness is slowly eating away at them" Hongjoong mutters.

"Hm?" Seonghwa hums with a raised eyebrow.

Hongjoong blinks, smiling sheepishly. "Nothing, just talking to myself is all"

"Hm...I did hear what you said though" Seonghwa frowns. "What was it like...touching the Shade?"

Hongjoong opens and closes his mouth a few times, before turning to the fire and staring into the flames as he thought back to that moment.

"I...I could feel the Lisa's pain when she was still a Shade. It was like the darkness was slowly eating away at her"

Seonghwa frowned. "Do you know if it was painful for her when she transformed back into a wolf"

Hongjoong opened his mouth to say something, but Lisa moving towards him in his peripheral vision stopped him. He turned his head fully, smiling at the wolf as she made herself comfortable right next to him, her head lying on his lap. Hongjoong absentmindedly petted her head as he continued.

"Yeah, it kind of was. It was almost like healing a really bad wound; she felt agony for a few moments before it was just...pure relief"

Seonghwa nods, turning to the fire with a small smile on his face. He kept glancing sideways at Hongjoong every few moments, seeing him interact with the wolf in a way that made his heart melt.

"You love animals, don't you?"

Hongjoong nods. "I get it from my mother. She wanted to be a vet, but shit happened"

Seonghwa tilted his head. "What's a vet?"

Hongjoong turns to Seonghwa, suddenly realising that they might not have vets in this world. "A vet is someone who heals animals"

"Oh, like an Animal Healer. We have those kinds of people here too, though they're mostly Elves and Faeries"

Hongjoong tilts his head. "Why only Elves and Faeries?"

Seonghwa shrugs, "it's always been that way. Maybe it's because our respective Goddesses created the animals of the world together, who knows"

Hongjoong blinked. "Chungha and Hyuna created the animals?"

Seonghwa nods. "Yes, they did. For as long as I can remember, the Elves and the Fae were close, but from what I've read about our history, Chungha and Hyuna despised each other, so much so that it caused a war between the two Goddesses and their respective creatures, but then, an Elf and a Fae fell in love and managed to convince Chungha and Hyuna to become friends. It took a further thousand years before it happened though, but when I was a boy, I can distinctly remember having far too many Fae friends" Seonghwa smiles, "and I miss all of them. Unfortunately, many of them died in battle, and only two remain alive and well"

Hongjoong nods, listening intently as he brushes his hands through Lisa's soft fur, the wolf releasing a contented huff. Seonghwa stares at Hongjoong, his eyes going from Hongjoong, to Lisa, and back to Hongjoong. After a while, Seonghwa finds himself wanting to kiss the younger, and not on to hide his desires, he asks, "may I kiss you?"

A soft pink blush stains Hongjoong's cheeks, but he replies nonetheless. "You don't have to ask"

"I know, but I want to"

Lisa, understanding the situation, moves away from Hongjoong. If the younger were to be honest, the way that Seonghwa actually understood and practiced consent was highly attractive and only added to his charm. Without really thinking, Hongjoong climbs into Seonghwa's lap, the Prince flustered and the sudden movement. Hongjoong takes pride in the fact he can make the Elven Prince flustered, but only spends a split second revelling in it before leaning in and softly kissing Seonghwa. Seonghwa melts into the soft kiss, though he finds himself deepening the kiss just seconds later.

The air as knocked out of Hongjoong as the older of the two turns the sweet soft kiss into an open mouthed kiss, though Hongjoong can't find it in him to complain. He forgot about the too warm fire, though was suddenly reminded that they weren't alone out there.

Hongjoong pulls away, a panting mess. "Let's, uhm, go into the tent...maybe" Hongjoong was suddenly shy.

Seonghwa nods, allowing Hongjoong to awkwardly scramble off his lap, the younger of the two walking to the tent with Seonghwa hot on his heels...

Yeeeeah, y'all aren't getting the kiss scene until the next chapter hehehehe XD