Chapter 817: Playtime
"What are you, a kid?" Lily laughed, stepping carefully out of the cabin and glancing at Cai, who was now bent on playing tic-tac-toe in the snow. Despite her teasing, she couldn’t deny the sheer amount of fun she’d had during the past three days of being snowed in. The snowstorm had forced them to stay inside, cocooned in the warmth of the cabin, but somehow it had been exactly what she needed—relaxing, refreshing, and a break from the weight she carried.
She sighed softly, watching as Cai diligently drew the grid for their game, his cheeks flushed from the cold. Shaking her head with a half-smile, she found herself caught off guard by the unexpected lightness in her chest. It had been a long time since she’d felt anything like this—peaceful, content, even... happy. And for the first time in ages, Jasmine crossed her mind, not with bitterness, but with a kind of quiet fondness that surprised her.
After sending another glance his way, she turned her head away, her eyes taking in the buried Bird army. It was all snow now, but even so, she knew somewhere below that, their little army had been buried. And she didn’t know but it reminded her of Jasmine.
With a sudden pang, she pressed a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. Jasmine had been the one who always dragged her into some adventure or playful mischief when they were younger. Her older sister’s infectious energy had once been irresistible. "Did you send him to me, Jasmine?" she whispered under her breath, her voice barely audible. "To remind me not to hate you?"
A familiar ache rose in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes. It had been so long since she’d thought of her sister with anything other than anger. Jasmine’s illness, those last years of helpless suffering, and then her death—it had all been too much. When Lily finally escaped her parents and the oppressive weight of their grief, she had shoved all thoughts of the past aside. She didn’t want to remember. All she’d allowed herself to feel was the resentment, the unfairness of it all.
"Lily!!" Cai’s voice suddenly rang out, cutting through her thoughts.
She quickly blinked back the tears threatening to spill, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand before turning toward him. "What?" she called back, trying to sound casual.
"Come on and play!" he urged, his bright, eager face lighting up as he pointed at the nine neatly drawn boxes in the snow.
A smile tugged at her lips despite herself. "You’re ridiculous," she muttered, but she found her feet moving toward him anyway. Maybe a game of tic-tac-toe in the snow was just what she needed.
"Yep, let’s see how good you really are!" Lily teased, moving to the edge of the grid. "I’m taking X’s." She crouched down to write X but Cai muttered," Hey! You’re not supposed to use hands."
Lily looked at him and rolled her eyes. Of course, he couldn’t keep it simple. She lifted her foot and carefully dragged the toe of her boot through the snow, making an uneven but visible "X" in the top-left corner. "You do realise we could have played this on a piece of paper as well, without trying to freeze ourselves in this cold."