Malik stood at the edge of a small lake, skipping rocks across its calm surface.
Jasmine sat nearby, her knees tucked up to her chest, watching the ripples spread across the water.
Soft light cast long shadows through the trees, and for a moment, it felt…
Peaceful.
It was nice.
Like everything was okay.
But it wasn’t.
Peace wasn’t something they got to have.
After the Blink, he told Safira to stay behind and train.
She had protested, of course—she always did—but he’d just told her he needed some air.
To think, or whatever other nonsense came to mind.
She eventually gave in, though not without giving him one of her signature glares.
Once she was out of sight, he turned to Jasmine.
“Come with me.”
He gestured toward a distant forest.
One of the many he ‘visited’ during his little manic episode.
She hesitated, her brow furrowing.
“What for?”
“Just come. Trust me, alright?”
So she did.
And now, here they were.
Whoosh!
Malik tossed another rock, watching it bounce three times before sinking.
He grinned faintly, a rare flash of genuine pride.
“Not bad for a first-timer, huh? You still can’t beat me at this, you know~.”
Jasmine sighed dramatically, picked up a stone, and lobbed it toward the lake half-heartedly.
It hit the water with a sad plop, sinking instantly.
“Where did it go~?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Guess I’m out of practice.”
“Oh really?”
“You know, being in a cage for so long kinda kills your hand-eye coordination.”
“Or maybe you just suck~.”
Malik continued his teasing, flashing her a smirk she hadn’t seen in what felt like forever.
Jasmine snorted, unable to help the chuckle that escaped her lips.
“Yeah, maybe.”
They spent the next hour throwing rocks, making dumb jokes, and trading half-hearted insults, acting more like siblings than a teacher and student.
For a little while, it was like the world outside the forest didn’t exist.
No monsters, no danger, no pain… no Depravity.
Just them.
But the cracks were there, no matter how hard they tried to ignore them.
Malik could see it in the way Jasmine’s hands trembled when she thought he wasn’t looking.
In the way her jokes came out a bit too fast, like she was desperate to fill the silence.
And then there was her right eye.
Over the course of their walk through the forest, it had started to darken, just a little.
Malik noticed it when the light hit her face just right.
A subtle shadow creeping across the sclera, barely noticeable unless one was looking for it.
He didn’t comment about it, or even say anything that might relate to it.
Neither did she… for the pain she undoubtedly felt.
They just pretended.
As their star dipped lower, the two of them wandered further into the woods.
Malik led the way, his hands resting lazily on his lower back as his boots kicked at the fallen branches scattered across the path.
“You ever think about what you’d do if all this crap wasn’t happening?”
Jasmine followed a few paces behind, her steps quieter, hesitant.
“Like… if the, uh, world wasn’t trying to kill me? If I wasn’t captured like some stray? My parents killed? Sold for the highest bidder in the Holy City? Thrown in a cage for—”
“I get it, I get it… my bad, deep question, now enough with that… Tell me.”
She hummed softly, tapping her fingers against her thigh as she thought.
“Dunno. Probably a h-housewife or something.”
Malik stopped dead in his tracks, turning to stare at her, half-amused, half-shocked.
“… A housewife? Seriously?”
Her cheeks flushed, and she crossed her arms defensively.
“W-What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing.”
He grinned.
“I just figured a kid like you would want to do something more freeing, like exploring the world or whatever.”
“Yeah, well…”
She shrugged, her gaze dropping.
“Maybe I’ve had enough moving around… just wanna relax somewhere.”
Malik’s grin faltered for half a second before he forced it back.
“Fair enough. Guess I’ll just stick to being the cool one, then.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes, the corner of her lips tugging up despite herself.
“Sure~… b-but aren’t you gonna ask who I’d like as my hubby to be?”
At that, Malik immediately looked away, picking up his pace as if he could outrun the conversation.
“No.”
Jasmine stumbled a little as she hurried to catch up, her voice rising in protest.
“Why n-not?!”
He kept his eyes fixed on the path ahead, not sparing her a glance.
“Because it’s your personal life; ain’t got nothing to do with me.”
But she wasn’t letting it go.
Her hands reached out, tugging lightly at his sleeve like a child vying for attention.
“Y-Yes it does! It has everything to do with you.”
Malik stiffened but, using all that he was, managed to not pull away. Barely.
“Arguable.”
Jasmine didn’t back down.
Her hands dared to slide further up, wrapping around his own.
It was an incredibly bold move coming from someone her age.
“D-D-D-D-Don’t you want to be my hubby?”
Ah, there it was.
The dreaded question he had tried so hard to avoid.
Malik let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders sagging as if the weight of the world had just doubled.
“That’s… that’s a really cruel thing to ask, Jasmine.”
The sadness in his voice seemed to make her heart twist painfully.
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Even though she was the one that caused it. Quite ironic… yes?
Slowly, she glanced at him, then let go.
Her lips pressed hard against each other as her thoughts began to swirl.
Why? Why was he acting like this?
Why was he joking and teasing her like he used to?
Like he was trying to be the Malik who had saved her?
That Malik, the one she was introduced to, was warm, brave, and impossibly kind.
He made the darkness seem lighter, the danger feel a little less suffocating.
Her hope and the others were worn by him like a mantle.
It made them feel heard, feel special.
But one random night… just at the beginning of their journey…
That Malik was buried.
What replaced him was a bitter, defeated one.
And now her savior was back, if only for a moment.
Jasmine knew there was a reason for his change that night.
Yet she wasn’t so curious.
Though feeling bold, even she didn’t dare press further.
At least not to the point that she’d ruin what she so hopelessly wanted.
…After all, she didn’t have long left.