"This way!" Huo Linghun said, pushing through swaying bamboo with one hand and pulling Xiao Xin along with the other. Their usual thin path through the bamboo forest was hard to find with the wind whipping bamboo stalks in all directions. Leaves tore free and blew into their faces, their robes catching on shorter stems, the rough surfaces of the bamboo grabbing at their hair.

It was a relief when they finally pushed through into their clearing. The dense bamboo forest protected them from the worst of it- it was a raging windstorm out there. Huo Linghun knew they were safe, even if the way the bamboo blew and bent and rattled together was unnerving.

They had slowly gathered a collection of things to put in their bamboo clearing, such as a small table and bench, a stack of shelves, and a woven storage container. The bench was pushed up against the edge of the bamboo and Huo Linghun led the way over to sit on it.

Beside him Xiao Xin watched the fierce dance of the bamboo with wide eyes, his ears snapping here and there at every hollow clack. "We'll be okay," Huo Linghun assured him.

"I'm not scared," Xiao Xin insisted. But when there came the loud, lingering crashing sound of a distant falling tree he all but leaped into Huo Linghun's lap, clinging to his robe in a rather scared manner for someone who wasn't scared.

Oh why must he make me laugh when I shouldn't, Huo Linghun thought to himself as he held back his laughter. He put his arm around Xiao Xin and said softly against his ear, "It's okay to be scared."

Xiao Xin turned a curious look up toward Huo Linghun. "Isn't it better to not be scared?" he asked.

Huo Linghun returned his gaze thoughtfully. "Hmm, think of it like this," he began. "A tall, mighty tree stands firm and unmoving in the face of strong winds, as if it is not afraid. But when those winds hit with their full power the tree cracks and breaks and falls."

Xiao Xin nodded at his words, knowing he was referring to the loud crash from earlier.

"Now look around you," Huo Linghun continued, gesturing to the wildly swinging bamboo. "It looks as though it trembles in fear at the storm. Bamboo bends in the wind, but it does not break. Even if the storm leaves it bowed it is still alive and has the chance to stand back up again."

Xiao Xin watched the bamboo as it whipped and bent in the wind; indeed none of it had snapped or fallen even if some of it was arched toward the ground.

"We should be like the bamboo," Huo Linghun went on. "Bend in the wind, admit when we are afraid. If we try to be like the rigid tree when we face something scary, we could end up breaking." More softly he added, "Tell me when you are afraid, my Xiao Xin, so I can help you."

Xiao Xin looked to him again as his kind words sunk in. As the sound of something else breaking cracked through the air he jumped again and regained his hold on Huo Lingwun's robe. Slowly he pressed his face into his shoulder and whispered, "I... I am a little scared..."

Both of Huo Lingwun's arms came around him and he held him securely to himself. "I'm here, Xiao Xin," he said reassuringly.

The storm seemed less loud and less close when pressed into his arms like this. Xiao Xin felt less afraid. When the wind finally died down and the storm moved on he reemerged from Huo Linghun's shoulder.

The bamboo surrounding the clearing was windblown, bent and arched and tangled together in many places, but it all remained standing, just as Huo Linghun had said. There were soft sounds of the bamboo scraping and clicking together as some of it slowly moved back into their original positions.

They sat side by side on the little bench, enjoying the peace that the storm left behind. After a while Xiao Xin said, "You are my bamboo."

"I am?" Huo Linghun said, amused and touched at the same time.

"Mhm," Xiao Xin hummed. "You bend around me when I need you and you never break."

Huo Linghun smiled at him. "You are my little bamboo too," he replied.

"Can I not be a little bamboo?" Xiao Xin said.

"Okay, you are my regular-sized bamboo," Huo Linghun corrected himself with a small laugh. He still had one arm around him and he pulled him close again. "You really are. Thank you for bending and never breaking, so that I could have you in my life now."