well, that's not entirely accurate. she's not where he left her, but she hasn't left the emporium entirely - just sitting and waiting for him to come back makes her feel restless, so while she waits for him to return, she sets the sunglasses down, and gets up to go finish exploring.
it does look like the emporium is empty, but then there's the sound of some keychains clinking together as she turns a display, looking over the names on them.
soo-won went to go get water. he thinks about not coming back, actually. he does. he thinks about telling someone else who is very kind to give the girl with red hair in the emporium some water. in fact, he's very close to doing that. he's decided to do that, as he finishes fetching a glass of water and then -
his feet move before his head gets a chance to bargain. she's missing from where he left her last, and he thinks about her strained voice, and he moves again without a moment to rest.
when he hears the keychains and spots her hair -
it's hard to say that his heart settles. it doesn't. it twists. but it isn't a cold twist. there is relief, intermingled with the pain.
he doesn't interrupt her, he only clears his throat to get her attention and - ]
Lena.
Your water.
[he holds the glass out to her - crystal clear, nothing could be floating in it]
part of her wasn't expecting him to - so when he speaks, she tightly grips the keychain she was in the process of looking at, and she doesn't look at him right away. she's not sure what sort of expression is on her face, but from the way her heart clenches and her stomach churns, it probably can't be anything good.
...but, he says lena. that's how they're going to play this, is it?
slowly, she raises her head and looks over at him. she's trying very hard to keep her expression carefully neutral, but she's never been very good at that, so she isn't entirely successful.
a moment passes, and then another.
she lets go of the keychain she was holding to reach out and take the glass with hands that have some very light burns on them.]
Thank you.
...Won.
[if he's not going to acknowledge her name she's not acknowledging his.]
[he holds onto the glass by its rim with his right hand, carefully keeping it in place until she has a grasp on it.
but his left hand moves quick - and yet gentle as it circles around her wrist. it doesn't hold so much as it applies the most barely there pressure, his eyes zero-ing in on her burns. it's an automatic motion, one that he doesn't think to suppress because he didn't think he would do it
like hiding her in the streets of awa, or standing still in the face of hak's wrath - these people always make him act oddly
that reads on his face a moment later as he's surprised with himself and his left hand falls away, just as quickly as it came]
.... if you've given the name 'Lena' to others - they'll likely question you.
[yona freezes when he takes hold of her wrist. she should snatch her hand back. she wants to snatch her hand back, but somehow, she isn't able to get herself to move; it's only once his hand falls away that she's able to draw it back, and her hands tremble slightly as she clutches the glass of water.]
...you're the first person I've introduced myself to so far.
[so she supposes she won't bother trying to hide her name here.]
How are you even here? You weren't...
[she's very sure that he wasn't anywhere near where she was. so how did they both manage to end up in this place?
...and never mind that, how did anyone manage to get past joo-doh and kidnap the king?]
[ . . . . it's a good series of questions. he'll watch the glass of water, ready to catch it. but it's not like him to not be able to meet someone's eyes, so he lets his gaze flick up to meet yona's.]
This place works oddly.
[to say the least.
similarly, he wonders how did anyone manage to get past hak to kidnap yona? though he understands they're not always together in all circumstances - not when it seemed like before she was being protected by that guard from xing...]
They plucked you out of a fire?
[given her voice, the burns - it's too recent for anything else]
[either they plucked her out of a fire or this is some kind of afterlife and soo-won is also dead, which, (laughs in late canon).
anyway, she falls silent for a moment to sip at the water. she doesn't look away from his gaze when he meets her eyes, but she doesn't exactly look happy about being face-to-face with him, either. ...if there's anyone here who can understand just how complicated this is, it's probably him, though.]
Did they take you from the palace, or were you somewhere else?
[what kind of a question is that... okay, no. she kind of gets it, because she's had some interesting conversations with people involving "ancient-time cities" and modern plumbing.]
The Tully tribe from Northern Kai attacked at the Fire Tribe's border.
[ . . . . he nods, though his expression doesn't budge from 'contemplative'.]
Mm.
We're from different times, even from within the same world.
And so the theory is that we have been pulled from different manners of time and space, different worlds with different power structures entirely. Thus far, it hasn't been disproven.
[even if it sounds a little far-fetched - but soo-won has encountered too many things that he can't quite deny, and so even he who opts not to believe in gods has to acknowledge... this.]
as strange as it might sound, it's definitely an explanation that accounts for every bit of weirdness they've seen so far: people who don't know what kouka is, people who hail from lands they've never heard of, and also people who are part horse, or ghosts, or gods.]
[to his credit, there is only half a beat of hesitation.
and then:]
The resolution of the conflict with Xing. The princesses agreed to my terms, and war was avoided.
[with yona's involvement, and after that she became a protected person with princess tao's request.
distantly, with the reminder, he wonders if that's why he wanted to look after her. it would be more difficult if she were to become ill or succumb to a problem here. mm, maybe that was it.
[so, like, he should maybe send troops to the fire tribe border once they get out of here. if he does, will it be enough to head off the conflict before her friends can get captured in his time? she hopes so.]
Mm. So from what I understand, Yang Kuel-bo of the Tully Tribe invaded the Fire Tribe's border - shortly after the Fire Tribe lit the incorrect torch at your request. Then, there was suddenly a true invasion. [he wonders what that means about Li Hazara, but that's more politics he'll have to consider later]
Somehow, you became involved in the struggle - and were in an area that was on fire before being brought here.
[that sucks]
There are some familiar with medicine here. They should see to your burns to determine their severity.
If you want to know how I got involved, take that up with Kye-sook.
[is she bitter? she might be a little bitter. just the teeniest, tiniest bit. although, granted, the kye-sook of soo-won's timeline hasn't done anything yet, so maybe she shouldn't be...
nah. she's still bitter. he got jae-ha shot. get in trouble with your boss, kye-sook.]
I can travel even before I'm fully recovered. The sooner we get back, the better.
.... time has probably stopped, or otherwise paused so as to accommodate this alternate reality.
[IF HE COULD HAZARD A GUESS BUT - ] Otherwise, you would've heard of an uproar where His Majesty Soo-won suddenly disappeared shortly after the Xing peace talks, and the country would have been further fragmented when trying to answer the conflict with the Kai Empire.
[His Majesty Soo-won, because clearly this person in front of her is - ]
... you're not under any obligation to keep a secret for my sake, but I am introducing myself as a merchant.
[he'll.
deal with the kye-sook shit later. kye-sook is always doing things soo-won doesn't want but it's not like he doesn't understand the reasoning,,]
but she also doesn't know what good telling people who he is will do, either. so - maybe she can keep his secret, even if doing him a favor doesn't quite sit right with her.
...but on the other hand, he hadn't been under any obligation to hide her from the soldiers in awa, and he hadn't been under any obligation not to call for her and hak's capture at any of the other points where their paths have crossed.]
I won't be introducing myself as anything other than "Yona," [since "lena" is no longer an option] so it's not like anyone would have any reason to believe me even if I said you weren't a merchant.
As long as it doesn't seem relevant, I won't say anything.
[ . . . . the expression on her face is so familiar it makes his heart ache, and he makes sure to keep his own even. he remembers when her conflicted choices were often over what she would like to eat that day, or what robes she would like to wear.
he stole those easy choices from her.
he knows that he did.]
... if you choose to [say something], I will live with the consequences.
[he's not interested in stealing her freedom.]
For now, I have no other information on how to return, or why we've been brought here. If the two of us have been brought here, it could be a hostage situation - but the existence of the others present makes that less likely.
[aka they're not likely to be hostages, based on their own answers. they could be lying, but oh well.]
...everyone so far seems just as confused about how we got here as us, but I'm going to keep talking to people just in case.
[if someone does know something, she's going to try and talk to them often enough that she'll be there if they accidentally let something slip. and if no one does know anything - well, better to get to know them so they— so she can know who to trust.
(there's no "they". there hasn't been a "they" since the night he killed her father.)]
But what the message on that... thing said, about us not being kidnapped. That's obviously a lie, so why even bother trying to convince us?
There were a few voices talking over each other in the message - it's possibly only one of them sought to write that, to try to ease us. Either into a false sense of security, or into being more amiable so we will cooperate.
Others in the message seemed to acknowledge that regardless of what was said, those of us here would be displeased with the situation.
[so it's honestly a wash]
We could take advantage of the disharmony, once we gather more information.
Face to face, one on one, depending on how many of them there are. It was hard to discern even with the contradicting voices. I'd estimate at least four.
[just based on tone??]
They said we would meet them soon, so that means we have to take what preparations we can. Though I've been saying as much to everyone here.
...I guess we'll see what happens when they show their faces.
[though if it takes too long, yona is going to try to break into places she's not supposed to be (again) to drag them out.]
But with as many of us as there are, there's bound to be at least one of us who can make some kind of a connection with them and get some answers. We'll just have to try our best.
Our best depending on their demands and what they want from us.
[because if the demands do not favor kouka, then soo-won is absolutely not going to do his best for their hosts - for everyone else?
sure, he'll probably be able to act in everyone's best interests for the time being.
even yona's.
that said, he has nothing else to say to her, and can only imagine his presence makes her uncomfortable, and so he'll move to take his leave.]
The man with the horse body is familiar with medicine, and he's a teacher, so he should be happy to share his knowledge with you for your burns. At least until we get more answers on what else can be done.
[she nods once at that - they won't really be able to determine what their best is until they actually know why they were brought here. but it's probably a good idea to try to prepare themselves to act.
if nothing else, yona doesn't want to get complacent. there are enough strange things in this shop alone that they could easily get distracted and keep themselves occupied for a while, but...
getting distracted isn't going to help them, either.]
Right. He was a little insistent about it, before. [...but of course, soo-won doesn't have any way of knowing that. they haven't talked about who they have and haven't met yet, which means -
he told her that to help her?
her heart clenches uncomfortably, and she shuts that thought down immediately. even if it was to help her, there's probably more reasons behind it, too. because it would be inconvenient for her to be injured, if they're going to have to cooperate to get back to kouka, for one.
still, if she hadn't known before, it would be incredibly helpful. she ought to thank him. she could thank him for the water, so why is it so hard to get the words out now?]
...thank you.
[she manages it, but the words aren't accompanied by the same bright smile she'd always thanked him with in the past.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dawnblushed) wrote2020-09-25 09:42 pm
w0, friday
well, that's not entirely accurate. she's not where he left her, but she hasn't left the emporium entirely - just sitting and waiting for him to come back makes her feel restless, so while she waits for him to return, she sets the sunglasses down, and gets up to go finish exploring.
it does look like the emporium is empty, but then there's the sound of some keychains clinking together as she turns a display, looking over the names on them.
hm.]
no subject
soo-won went to go get water. he thinks about not coming back, actually. he does. he thinks about telling someone else who is very kind to give the girl with red hair in the emporium some water. in fact, he's very close to doing that. he's decided to do that, as he finishes fetching a glass of water and then -
his feet move before his head gets a chance to bargain. she's missing from where he left her last, and he thinks about her strained voice, and he moves again without a moment to rest.
when he hears the keychains and spots her hair -
it's hard to say that his heart settles. it doesn't. it twists. but it isn't a cold twist. there is relief, intermingled with the pain.
he doesn't interrupt her, he only clears his throat to get her attention and - ]
Lena.
Your water.
[he holds the glass out to her - crystal clear, nothing could be floating in it]
no subject
part of her wasn't expecting him to - so when he speaks, she tightly grips the keychain she was in the process of looking at, and she doesn't look at him right away. she's not sure what sort of expression is on her face, but from the way her heart clenches and her stomach churns, it probably can't be anything good.
...but, he says lena. that's how they're going to play this, is it?
slowly, she raises her head and looks over at him. she's trying very hard to keep her expression carefully neutral, but she's never been very good at that, so she isn't entirely successful.
a moment passes, and then another.
she lets go of the keychain she was holding to reach out and take the glass with hands that have some very light burns on them.]
Thank you.
...Won.
[if he's not going to acknowledge her name she's not acknowledging his.]
no subject
but his left hand moves quick - and yet gentle as it circles around her wrist. it doesn't hold so much as it applies the most barely there pressure, his eyes zero-ing in on her burns. it's an automatic motion, one that he doesn't think to suppress because he didn't think he would do it
like hiding her in the streets of awa, or standing still in the face of hak's wrath - these people always make him act oddly
that reads on his face a moment later as he's surprised with himself and his left hand falls away, just as quickly as it came]
.... if you've given the name 'Lena' to others - they'll likely question you.
It doesn't appear on the device we've been given.
[but Yona does.]
no subject
...you're the first person I've introduced myself to so far.
[so she supposes she won't bother trying to hide her name here.]
How are you even here? You weren't...
[she's very sure that he wasn't anywhere near where she was. so how did they both manage to end up in this place?
...and never mind that, how did anyone manage to get past joo-doh and kidnap the king?]
no subject
This place works oddly.
[to say the least.
similarly, he wonders how did anyone manage to get past hak to kidnap yona? though he understands they're not always together in all circumstances - not when it seemed like before she was being protected by that guard from xing...]
They plucked you out of a fire?
[given her voice, the burns - it's too recent for anything else]
no subject
[either they plucked her out of a fire or this is some kind of afterlife and soo-won is also dead, which, (laughs in late canon).
anyway, she falls silent for a moment to sip at the water. she doesn't look away from his gaze when he meets her eyes, but she doesn't exactly look happy about being face-to-face with him, either. ...if there's anyone here who can understand just how complicated this is, it's probably him, though.]
Did they take you from the palace, or were you somewhere else?
no subject
[ . . . . though - ]
I have a theory I would like to test. I'll share the results with you in exchange for your cooperation.
Could you tell me the last major political event that you remember?
[because she didn't have those burns last they met - there wouldn't be any way. and perhaps they had healed by then, but no scars?]
no subject
[what kind of a question is that... okay, no. she kind of gets it, because she's had some interesting conversations with people involving "ancient-time cities" and modern plumbing.]
The Tully tribe from Northern Kai attacked at the Fire Tribe's border.
no subject
Mm.
We're from different times, even from within the same world.
And so the theory is that we have been pulled from different manners of time and space, different worlds with different power structures entirely. Thus far, it hasn't been disproven.
[even if it sounds a little far-fetched - but soo-won has encountered too many things that he can't quite deny, and so even he who opts not to believe in gods has to acknowledge... this.]
no subject
as strange as it might sound, it's definitely an explanation that accounts for every bit of weirdness they've seen so far: people who don't know what kouka is, people who hail from lands they've never heard of, and also people who are part horse, or ghosts, or gods.]
...what's the last thing you remember, then?
no subject
and then:]
The resolution of the conflict with Xing. The princesses agreed to my terms, and war was avoided.
[with yona's involvement, and after that she became a protected person with princess tao's request.
distantly, with the reminder, he wonders if that's why he wanted to look after her. it would be more difficult if she were to become ill or succumb to a problem here. mm, maybe that was it.
(he wants that to be it.)]
no subject
[so, like, he should maybe send troops to the fire tribe border once they get out of here. if he does, will it be enough to head off the conflict before her friends can get captured in his time? she hopes so.]
We need to get back to Kouka.
no subject
Somehow, you became involved in the struggle - and were in an area that was on fire before being brought here.
[that sucks]
There are some familiar with medicine here. They should see to your burns to determine their severity.
Following your recovery, we will return to Kouka.
no subject
If you want to know how I got involved, take that up with Kye-sook.
[is she bitter? she might be a little bitter. just the teeniest, tiniest bit. although, granted, the kye-sook of soo-won's timeline hasn't done anything yet, so maybe she shouldn't be...
nah. she's still bitter. he got jae-ha shot. get in trouble with your boss, kye-sook.]
I can travel even before I'm fully recovered. The sooner we get back, the better.
no subject
[IF HE COULD HAZARD A GUESS BUT - ] Otherwise, you would've heard of an uproar where His Majesty Soo-won suddenly disappeared shortly after the Xing peace talks, and the country would have been further fragmented when trying to answer the conflict with the Kai Empire.
[His Majesty Soo-won, because clearly this person in front of her is - ]
... you're not under any obligation to keep a secret for my sake, but I am introducing myself as a merchant.
[he'll.
deal with the kye-sook shit later. kye-sook is always doing things soo-won doesn't want but it's not like he doesn't understand the reasoning,,]
no subject
but she also doesn't know what good telling people who he is will do, either. so - maybe she can keep his secret, even if doing him a favor doesn't quite sit right with her.
...but on the other hand, he hadn't been under any obligation to hide her from the soldiers in awa, and he hadn't been under any obligation not to call for her and hak's capture at any of the other points where their paths have crossed.]
I won't be introducing myself as anything other than "Yona," [since "lena" is no longer an option] so it's not like anyone would have any reason to believe me even if I said you weren't a merchant.
As long as it doesn't seem relevant, I won't say anything.
no subject
he stole those easy choices from her.
he knows that he did.]
... if you choose to [say something], I will live with the consequences.
[he's not interested in stealing her freedom.]
For now, I have no other information on how to return, or why we've been brought here. If the two of us have been brought here, it could be a hostage situation - but the existence of the others present makes that less likely.
[aka they're not likely to be hostages, based on their own answers. they could be lying, but oh well.]
no subject
[if someone does know something, she's going to try and talk to them often enough that she'll be there if they accidentally let something slip. and if no one does know anything - well, better to get to know them so they— so she can know who to trust.
(there's no "they". there hasn't been a "they" since the night he killed her father.)]
But what the message on that... thing said, about us not being kidnapped. That's obviously a lie, so why even bother trying to convince us?
no subject
Others in the message seemed to acknowledge that regardless of what was said, those of us here would be displeased with the situation.
[so it's honestly a wash]
We could take advantage of the disharmony, once we gather more information.
no subject
[yona hums, considering it.]
We could probably confuse them into saying something they didn't mean to if we could talk to them face-to-face.
no subject
[just based on tone??]
They said we would meet them soon, so that means we have to take what preparations we can. Though I've been saying as much to everyone here.
no subject
[though if it takes too long, yona is going to try to break into places she's not supposed to be (again) to drag them out.]
But with as many of us as there are, there's bound to be at least one of us who can make some kind of a connection with them and get some answers. We'll just have to try our best.
no subject
[because if the demands do not favor kouka, then soo-won is absolutely not going to do his best for their hosts - for everyone else?
sure, he'll probably be able to act in everyone's best interests for the time being.
even yona's.
that said, he has nothing else to say to her, and can only imagine his presence makes her uncomfortable, and so he'll move to take his leave.]
The man with the horse body is familiar with medicine, and he's a teacher, so he should be happy to share his knowledge with you for your burns. At least until we get more answers on what else can be done.
no subject
if nothing else, yona doesn't want to get complacent. there are enough strange things in this shop alone that they could easily get distracted and keep themselves occupied for a while, but...
getting distracted isn't going to help them, either.]
Right. He was a little insistent about it, before. [...but of course, soo-won doesn't have any way of knowing that. they haven't talked about who they have and haven't met yet, which means -
he told her that to help her?
her heart clenches uncomfortably, and she shuts that thought down immediately. even if it was to help her, there's probably more reasons behind it, too. because it would be inconvenient for her to be injured, if they're going to have to cooperate to get back to kouka, for one.
still, if she hadn't known before, it would be incredibly helpful. she ought to thank him. she could thank him for the water, so why is it so hard to get the words out now?]
...thank you.
[she manages it, but the words aren't accompanied by the same bright smile she'd always thanked him with in the past.]
(no subject)