Chapter 155

Chapter 155: Chapter 155

Asael watched him with an impassive expression, making no attempt to reel in the fish he had caught, the fish Kath’tan had been working hard to catch for several minutes.

"Be careful," Dulce gave in, "I believe the pond is incredibly deep..."

Kath’tan was already wading through the water, his dark red hair in a ponytail. The water was only up to his knees so he paid little mind to Dulce’s words, only to have the ground disappear from under him.

The trio on the edge of the pond watched Kath’tan plunge into the water and disappear from sight. The Fiend resurfaced before Dulce could panic, coming up with a fish held by its tail and a smug look on his face.

Ruoxi turned away with traces of disappointment on his face, uninterested in watching the Fiend be doggedly competitive. It was about noon now, the bright sun was overhead, and there was not a cloud in the sky.

He took off his coat and loosened his cravat, laying down on the blanket, his eyes closed. He was the furthest from the pond, so he laid down underneath partial shade.

"Are you going to stay in the water?" Dulce asked, preparing his fishing rod.

Kath’tan launched the fish he caught across the pond and it landed squarely in the barrel with a splash. "I’m not cold." He reassured, diving in even deeper.

Soon the barrel was filled with fish, so many that they could now easily flop out of the tall barrel, its contents a roiling mass of slippery bodies.

Dulce peered into it, catching a fish that flew out of the overflowing barrel. "I don’t think there’s space to put more fish," He said to Kath’tan.

Kath’tan rose from the water, droplets falling from his skin as he waded out, tendrils of his hair stuck to his face. He was wearing only pants, which stuck wetly to his skin.

Dulce right away unwrapped the scarf around his neck, intending to offer it to Kath’tan. "Here, you must be cold."

Kath’tan glanced down, steam was practically rising from his skin from how quickly the water evaporated. He didn’t feel much different after trying out a new hobby, if anything, he was more fired up now.

"Thank you," He accepted dryly, taking the scarf without having a use for it.

When he got on dry ground, he took down his ponytail and shook out his hair, earning him curses from Ruoxi who had previously been enjoying the sunlight.

Dulce laughed lightly, he was the closest to Kath’tan so he got most of the brunt of it. "Lie in the sun for a bit to warm up." He suggested.

Still holding the scarf given to him, Kath’tan glanced down at the spread blankets, his gaze passing over Ruoxi. Lying in the sun, that was one of Azra’s hobbies... Dulce as well, he thought, looking back to the Vampire.

"Lay down with me," He invited, he had no patience to just lie and stare at the blank sky, but perhaps with company it would come a little easier.

Dulce picked up his discarded fishing rod, "I suppose I could, there’s no need for more fish." He agreed, putting away the fishing rods before going over to pick a blanket to lay on.

Asael was the only one left at the pond edge, he had actually taken to fishing really well, although he barely did any actual fishing. He had to reel in the fish he accidentally caught because it couldn’t free itself from the hook and now he was back to fishing without bait.

Sitting by the still pond with the bobber gently creating ripples was surprisingly soothing. It emptied his racing thoughts, giving him a moment of peace and quiet.

Kath’tan flopped down on a blanket directly under the sun, meanwhile Ruoxi had moved his deeper into the shade, still disgruntled from getting water splashed on him.

Kath’tan’s dark red hair was even darker when it was damp, now clearly showing the purple undertones in his hair. The sun’s warmth was pleasant, especially after a dip in the pond... perhaps it wasn’t a terrible past time after all.

He glanced to his side to see Dulce laying down next to him, the Vampire gleamed like marble in sunlight, his delicate features still as he laid down facing the sky. Kath’tan swallowed thickly, immediately losing his interest in sun-basking.

He instead settled in to watch Dulce, the Vampire was so relaxed it was easy to think that he was fast asleep. He soon shot to his feet, unable to keep watching Dulce while keeping his hands to himself, so he went off to find something to occupy him.

Asael kept his placid gaze stoically ahead, pretending not to see Kath’tan up to no good. As long as the Fiend didn’t interrupt his leisure time, he would ignore him approaching Ruoxi.

Ruoxi had already fallen into a light doze, the pond reminded him of Huayuan, the cool breeze blowing through branches and rustling leaves pleasant. The breeze ruffled his inky, satin hair, blowing tendrils of hair over his achingly handsome face.

Kath’tan went right over, envious of the Incubus’ ability to fall asleep at will. By a stroke of luck, Ruoxi was napping under a fruiting tree. The reddened pears hung low and heavy on the tree, some of them bearing holes from birds and insects.

With a simple shake, tens of fruit fell onto Ruoxi, some rolling away so far they plopped into the pond.

Ruoxi pried open a golden eye, anger simmering within even as a final pear fell directly on his head. Given ammunition, he sat up and launched the pears at the Fiend with unerring accuracy.

Dulce heard the commotion and opened his eyes, in time to see Ruoxi launching pears like fruit-sized cannonballs at Kath’tan.

Kath’tan dodged them with ease, a humorous light in his eyes, only to get too cocky and get a pear right to the chest and another to the face, both splattering from the force they had been thrown with.

"Let’s not waste food," Dulce interceded, rising to his feet to gather what fruit was still viable.