A/N: This story is the result of too much time spent with college books. It gets tiring after a while. This was my 'cope with the stress' story. I wrote it a few weeks back but never got around to publishing it. It is my first story in this category and I hope you guys like it. I would appreciate reviews very much so please so leave your thoughts behind so that I can improve my writing.

Italics imply thoughts in this fic.

The sky was dark and the weather cold enough to chill to the bone. Even so, no one in the village felt the cold that day. Fiery embers floated up towards the sky making a pretty picture. They looked beautiful, yes, but they spelled death to the innocent villagers. A young boy of about 15 walked through the village. His eyes, glazed over in shock, darted between the burning buildings. The flames reflected in his beautiful expressive eyes. The roof of a nearby house caved in with a resounding crash, surprisingly gaining no reaction from the boy. The sounds of a fight; dying screams, the clash of metal and shouts drifted through the air as he walked away from the chaos of battle. His feet carried him forward till he reached the edge of the village.

The last house burned too, but had clearly caught fire more recently than the rest and that seemed to snap the boy out of his stunned trance. There's hope! His eyes lost their glazed look in an instant and his muscles tensed before he shot into the house, yelling for his beloved guardian. He found him in the back room, the blond man slumped against a wall.

The young teen wasn't very strong, but with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, he managed to drag the man to safety and prop him up against a tree. Once outside, he began to frantically check over the man, ignoring his own minor burns and eyes, watering from the smoke. Smoke, not tears, not tears, he's alright, no tears. His hands shook and his lower lip quivered and he fought to get the trembling under control. Frantically, he called for his older friends, although they were too far to hear him, feeling completely helpless for a moment. The logical part of his brain knew they wouldn't come though he longed for their strong, comforting presence. Not because they didn't care, no, they cared too much sometimes, up to a fault really. No, they were busy fighting off the very mercenaries that had burnt his home village to the ground.

In some distant corner of his mind, he was aware that they would not be pleased with him for putting himself in danger. He had slipped away despite being told sternly to stay hidden till the fight was over. A terrible feeling had overcome him as he sat behind the thick brushes of his hiding place when he saw the smoke drifting up to the sky and so he had disobeyed the well-meaning order. Still, nothing had prepared him for the horror of watching his village burn without a single living soul in sight.

Everything he saw now was like seeing it in a dream, a nightmare. In his shocked daze, none of it seemed real in the slightest. However, his brilliant mind and practiced hands were not hindered as they frantically tried to come up with remedies and wrapped up the worst of the injuries his guardian has suffered. He was grimly reminded of one of his friends, horribly burned beyond recognition and gasping for breath while he, for all his knowledge, could do nothing but cry as he watched the suffering. He had cried then out of helplessness, empathy, sorrow and love and he could feel the tears welling up now too, burning at the back of his eyes. This time, the burns weren't as bad but they were bad enough for someone who wasn't indestructible like said friend. And indestructible his guardian was not. He can barely take a step without stumbling, the boy thought furiously, stubbornly forcing the tears back. I can't lose him ! But his mind coldly and logically told him the inevitable outcome.There's nothing to be done. You know that. Hopeless. Hopeless. Another part of his mind, at odds with this seemingly unfeeling side screamed furiously in denial. No! It's not that bad! There's hope... Don't cry. There's hope... Don't... A larger, gentle hand caught his thin wrist at that moment, snapping him out of his jumbled, terrified thoughts.

A startled flinch.

Then, the soft whisper of a much loved name.

Tearful admonishments next.

The grip tightened, the weak desperation of a man who knew he did not have nearly enough time to do everything he needed to do in this lifetime.

A weak, callused, soot covered hand was placed ever so gently on the boy's soft cheek, the other coming up to stroke his fluffy hair.

No words were spoken as silent goodbyes took place. A tear slipped out of the teenager's wide blue eyes and was gently brushed away.

The boy was tugged forward and he finally moved, letting himself be pulled close to the man, his head tucked into the crook of his guardian's neck while tears slipped down both their faces. The hand stroked his hair again and the man pushed the boy back gently to press their foreheads together affectionately. So much conveyed with not a word spoken.

I'm so sorry.

Please don't go...

I don't want to leave you yet.

I don't want you to die!

Don't cry, it'll be okay.

Please...

I'm so sorry for leaving you.

No... don't go...

I'm here right now.

Don't leave me...

You'll be alright.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

I love you.

I'll always love you.

Stay strong. Don't lose hope.

I'm sorry...

I'll always be with you.

I love you.

And then...

Silence. Soul crushing silence that swallowed him up. It was unlike the silence before.

This time... no conversation took place.

A child sat at the edge of a village, slumped against the man who loved him so freely, so completely. And a child he was, feeling as if he had lost everything, feeling all alone in his now colourless world. Emotions warred inside of him and finally... he felt something inside of him break.

The tears stopped, drying up like a river in a famine.

Numbness took over, all emotion falling away from the pale face.

The finishing sounds of battle went unnoticed, as did the cooling of the body he lay against.

The approaching footsteps went unheard, the owners full of malice and cruelty, their conscience long dead.

Swords raised with the intent to hurt, to kill and still there was no reaction from their intended victim.

The flashing of claws, flying silver hair, screams and silence once again.

He didn't see the expression of horror, anger, sorrow and concern flit across his rescuer's face but he did feel strong, gentle hands slip carefully around him and tug him away from the corpse he still held on to.

Distantly, he wanted to scream and fight the hold but just could not summon enough energy to do so. He felt paralyzed as he was pulled away from the body and towards a warm chest, strong arms holding him securely.

His eyes focused for a moment and looking down, he vaguely noticed that the arm wrapped protectively around his shoulders and side was covered in snow white scales, a few specks of red marring the pureness of the colour. Lethal looking claws were at the end of the long digits but the hands cradled him so carefully he knew that they would never hurt him.

Kija, his muddled brain supplied.

His head rested against warm and solid flesh and the soft, white fabric confirmed the identity of the person who held him. A human hand slipped under his chin, raising his head up to look into worried sapphire blue eyes, clouded with worry, set in a handsome face twisted with concern. The man was saying something that seemed to reach him through water. He blinked several times and then gasped, gripping the hand that was now placed on his chest, finally hearing the words directed at him.

"Breathe Yoon. It's alright. Just breathe."

"Kija...", he choked out in a hoarse, strangled voice.

"I'm here.", the quiet voice said soothingly.

Yoon let out a sigh, despair evident in the sound and the grip around his shoulders tightened slightly. He surprised both himself and his companion when he brought up one arm to wrap around Kija's neck while his other hand fisted itself in the fabric of the once pristine white robes. There was silence for a short time before the stillness was broken.

"We should go. The others must be looking for us.", the still quiet voice above Yoon said.

A soft hum of agreement and a tiny nod was all the reply he got but the younger made no move to get up and walk back to meet their other companions. Kija looked down sadly at the strawberry blond head lying against his shoulder and sighed, rubbing the boy's back gently.

"Come on.", he said, "Let's get you up."

He pulled back slightly but never lost contact with the smaller boy, knowing the touch was keeping him from getting lost in the recesses of his mind. He stood up, pulling the distraught teen up with him as carefully as possible. The 15 year old's legs trembled and buckled, and would have sent him sprawling to the ground if not for the supporting arms still holding him.

The white dragon warrior hesitated for only a moment before scooping him up into his arms, holding him securely against his chest. Yoon didn't protest as he usually would, instead wrapping his arms around Kija's neck and holding on tightly. He leaned tiredly against the strong chest, suddenly feeling exhausted. He was vaguely aware that they were moving swiftly through the still burning village and that they had met up with the others at some point. He felt gentle, caring hands all over him, checking him over for injuries, comfortingly running through his hair, gripping his hand and stroking his back, soft voices speaking in concerned, soothing tones. Hands were gently pushing him down into a lying position and he felt himself desperately tightening his hold on the hand holding his when he felt the owner about to pull away. The hand, calloused with fighting, stilled before returning the gesture with a comforting squeeze and didn't pull away, causing the youngster to relax. The last thing he was aware of was of a soft, warm blanket being tucked around him as he drifted off into darkness.

A/N: Please leave a review. I love reading them, critical or praising. If you liked this story, do check out my other stories.