...
She asked, tucking a strand of lilac hair behind her ear with a sowhat hesitant gesture.
Theo maintained his serious gaze, but a corner of his mouth curved up slightly.
"What did you call ?"
Yeonha blinked, processing the question. Her neutral face showed a brief flash of surprise before she composed herself. She shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant.
"Uhn! My pudding?"
She repeated, as if testing the sound of the word. This ti, a faint blush rose to her cheeks.
Theo didn't answer imdiately. He just continued to look at her, his smile gradually widening until it beca one of those rare, genuine ones that made his eyes crinkle.
As his eyes narrowed, he gently pulled her close and kissed her forehead.
"No. It's just that you're not one for nicknas."
Theo replied, his voice a quiet murmur against her skin.
"So I was surprised. A good surprise, of course."
He pulled back just enough to et her athyst eyes again. Yeonha, now more confident, gave a small, smug smile.
"Oh, but I have many other nicknas for you."
She said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Theo's curiosity was piqued.
"Really? And what would they be?"
Yeonha leaned in close, as if to tell a secret, and spoke in an amused voice:
"Scoundrel, rascal, and womanizer. Want more?"
A small vein popped on Theo's forehead, but he couldn't suppress an ironic smile.
"Hey, are those nicknas or insults? I might be a rascal..."
"And?..."
Yeonha prompted him, raising an eyebrow. Theo sighed in mock defeat, running a hand through his hair.
"...Scoundrel and womanizer... okay, you're right."
Yeonha's crystal-clear laughter echoed through the valley.
While the two were in their lovey-dovey mont, and Nayun, on the other side, was trying to maintain her state of concentration, the peaceful silence was broken.
"THEOOO!"
A high-pitched scream, but this ti laden with a note of urgency, called for Theo, coming from sowhere in the forest. It was unmistakably Cappie's voice.
Theo and Yeonha looked at each other, the playfulness vanishing from their faces. Before Theo could get up to go to her, a rustling of bushes announced her arrival. Cappie appeared in the clearing, running towards them.
Her usual radiant smile was gone; in its place was an expression of worry and sadness.
"Theo! Look..."
She approached, calling him.
She stopped in front of them and, with great care, showed them what she was holding in her arms.
It was a tiny creature, no bigger than the palm of Theo's hand, with fur as white as snow, bright black eyes like onyx beads, and a tiny pink nose. The little animal was trembling violently, and now, up close, they could see why. There was a dark red stain on its white belly, an ugly and jagged wound.
"It's a baby stoat."
Theo explained, his voice soft, as he looked at the wound.
"He's hurt,"
Cappie whispered, her eyes welling up.
"I found him near so rocks... next to his mother."
She swallowed hard, her voice trembling.
"The mother was... she was dead, Theo. It looked like sothing attacked them. He was the only one who survived, sohow."
The light atmosphere of the morning dissipated instantly, replaced by a grim reality. The image of a predator, of the struggle for survival, brought an unexpected weight to the peaceful camp.
Yeonha leaned in, looking at the wound.
"It's a deep laceration. He's losing blood and trembling from shock. If we don't do sothing, he won't survive."
Nayun's concentration was finally broken. The gigantic green energy blade dissipated with a hissing sound, and she approached, exhausted, but her expression changing to one of compassion upon seeing the small, injured creature.
"Poor little thing..."
Theo acted quickly.
Heal
Using his healing spell, Theo healed the stoat's belly wound.
A soft, calming green light enveloped the small stoat.
The little animal's trembling gradually subsided. Under the amazed eyes of the girls, the ugly laceration on its belly began to close, the skin knitting together and the white fur growing over the disappearing scar, until there was no trace of the wound left.
Exhausted by the ordeal and now free from pain, the baby stoat yawned, showing a small pink mouth, and its eyes closed. It snuggled comfortably in Theo's hands and fell fast asleep.
"He'll be fine now."
Theo said, his voice calm.
"He just needs to rest and eat."
Seeing that the stoat was healed and sleeping peacefully, Cappie's face lit up with a relief and joy so intense it was almost palpable. Her own hair, normally pure white, seed to shine in the morning light.
"Thank you, Theo! Thank you."
She exclaid, her voice choked with emotion.
In a pure impulse of gratitude and happiness, she threw herself forward, stood on her tiptoes, and, before Theo could react, pressed her lips against his in a quick but firm kiss.
As quickly as it happened, she pulled away, but with a radiant smile.
"I'll prepare a warm place for him!"
Cappie said, not realizing the bomb she had just detonated, turned, and ran back to the camp.
Theo stood there, paralyzed, his lips still tingling, processing what had just happened. The silence that followed was broken only by the sound of the stream.
Slowly, he turned his head and noticed the gazes of two won on him.
Nayun had her arms crossed, an eyebrow arched, and a look that was a dangerous mix of surprise and accusation. Yeonha, beside her, had an almost cold expression.
Theo swallowed hard, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Ehe! You saw it wasn't , right?"
The answer ca in unison.
"Womanizer."
"Scoundrel."
Internally, a single sentence echoed in his mind, as clear and desperate as a scream in the silence:
'Hah! Cappie, you're going to pay for this. Your days of peaceful nights are officially numbered.'
...
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