[redactable] catchall for rufus

[dawnblushed]

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w0, friday now that i'm not conked out

[dawnblushed]

[There are so many things in this town Yona has never seen before.

Turnstiles are one of them! When she comes across them at the railroad station, she frowns, thinking they're some kind of barrier, and puts her hand on one to brace herself to climb over - only for the pressure to be enough to push the turnstile forward. If she were walking, she would have been able to pass though.

She pauses, then... does exactly that, staring at the device as it turns to allow her entry. Huh! Interesting. A moment later, she turns around and tries to push it the other way, but... nope, that isn't how that works.]

...did I break it?

[...no, she didn't, because she's able to turn it the way she came... weird...]

[soulus]

[The railroad station is a fairly familiar sight. Rufus is already there and backtracking when he comes across Yona, who's clearly new to even this level of technology.]

Those are one-way. It will not turn the other way.

[dawnblushed]

...how do they make it do that?

[What an interesting invention...]

w0, monday

[dawnblushed]

[jae i forgot to ask where rufus is. anyway. yona's wandering around the town, so conceivably she'll come across him at some point, wherever it is that their paths cross. when she spots him, she smiles.]

Good afternoon, Rufus.

[...she has the weirdest urge to try to jump up and pat his head? but she gets the feeling he'll probably try to charge her for it, so. she's trying to refrain from doing that.]

[soulus]

[Their paths cross on this fine day when Rufus preempts Yona on her urge. The impulse drives him into action before his mind can comprehend it, and his hand falls tenderly on her head. Despite the gentleness of the gesture, he frowns.]

You're the same as ever.

w0, saturday ........... 2!

[dawnblushed]

[WHAT'S UP RUFUS. Yona's smad. She's also heading for the forest, her bow in one hand and some arrows tucked into her sash since she doesn't have a quiver. Catch her anywhere between the inn and the trees!

Or like. Catch her among the trees, shooting at a trunk. That's fine too.]

[soulus]

[He catches her among the trees. Rupe gets to her first, followed by Rufus, who watches an arrow fly from the side. He won't interrupt just yet.]

Week 0: Sunday

[soulus]

[Along the path from the bridge to the inn, he finds Yona. Whatever she may be doing, he stops to watch her.]

What brings you here?

[dawnblushed]

[She seems to just be out for a walk. She's got her bow with her, and arrows tucked into the sash at her waist, but she's not actively shooting anything right now.]

...I just needed to move around a little, I think. What about you? ...the same as ever?

Week 1: Monday

[soulus]

[He stirs. Rufus' awakening is always a quiet one—neither snap nor especially slow. His eyes flutter open when he's struck by a strange sensation that something has changed. He rolls over, sits upright to see the other head of red in the adjacent bed, and scowls.

Seated on the sill of the window between beds, Rupe peers curiously up at him.]

[dawnblushed]

[Honestly, waking up in a pod is not what Yona expects when she opens her eyes that morning. She'd fallen asleep in a generic hotel bedroom the night before; her surroundings could not be any more different than they are now.

Last time she woke up somewhere she didn't recognize, it was in the town itself, on the streets. She stays still a moment, staring up at the ceiling of her pod, and then calls out -]

Blanca?

[If this is nothing serious, she doesn't want to waste her energy getting frightened.]

w1, friday

[dawnblushed]

[here's yona!

she's sitting on her bed. her bow is on her lap.

she's counting her arrows. she does not look up when rufus enters the room.]

[soulus]

[The door clicks shut. It's quiet for a while as Rufus stands still.]

Will you be bringing them tomorrow?

w1, sunday

[dawnblushed]

[That sure was an execution.

Yona doesn't seem to be in a great mood when she returns to their room, but really, how many of them can say they're in a good mood right now? (Other than maybe whoever killed and got away with it.) Anyway, once she's here, she'll start putting her bow and arrows away.]

...what did you think about all that, Rufus?

[soulus]

[This shift in mood is arguably a step up from yesterday. Rufus has already put his things away and is seated on the edge of the bed, Rupe lazing beside him, when Yona enters.]

It went about as one would expect it to.

w2, tuesday

[dawnblushed]

[Hi Rufus. What's up. Where you at.

Wherever that happens to be, Yona is there too.]

Oh, good... I was looking for you. [...] How much would it cost for an honest answer if I asked you to tell me who your Leader is?

[soulus]

You would need to tell me yours.

w2, saturday

[dawnblushed]

[i should have asked where rufus is but i didn't so i guess. wherever he happens to be!! eventually, he'll hear yona's voice from behind him.]

Rufus?

[soulus]

[He turns around at the call.]

Yes?

[Never in his life has he said that word so much in the span of an hour.]

w3, thursday

[dawnblushed]

[Yona follows Rufus to the first aid station. She was definitely there the whole time despite work not letting me tag the cyoa return.

Anyway, she still can't talk, so rather than calling out to him, she taps her foot a few times to announce her presence and then heads over to him, looking deeply concerned.]

[soulus]

[Once everything's been wrapped and taken care of, he spends some time lying in the station's bed with his bandaged hands resting at his sides. He hasn't bothered to button up the bloody dress shirt, leaving his bandaged chest open to view. He cranes his neck in Yona's direction.]

What is it?

w4, monday

[dawnblushed]

[hello, rufus! wherever he happens to be on monday, yona will eventually come across him. she is trying so, so hard to avoid popping the memory bubbles because she's very much done with memory sharing already, but alas, as she opens her mouth to call out for him, one drifts into her mouth and pops when she tries to spit it out.

and suddenly, they're - in a castle, one that yona will recognize, but rufus won't. tables laden with delicious-looking food line a banquet hall, and people crowd around a girl with long red hair, dressed in all the finery one would expect of a princess.

"Princess, we wish you a happy birthday."
"Thank you!"

...because she is a princess. it's strange, watching herself like this. the memories don't feel like they're hers, anymore, because she's such a different person now than she was back then.

it's even stranger still to watch her father, doting on her in the background. she knows, now, what will become of him, but it's so obvious from watching this younger version of herself that she had no idea, then. there were so many things she was simply blind to, and so many things she focused on that were inconsequential.

"My hair still won't lay flat! I wanted to wear it up today!"
"It's hopeless... all she thinks about is her hair..."

...but that's not all she thinks about, is it. because there's soo-won, standing a ways away, waving to her with a soft smile. she calls his name and immediately rushes over to him, looking back only once when her father tries to stop her but ultimately leaving him behind to walk out to the gardens with soo-won.

he gives her a present - a beautiful hair ornament - and she pouts about how it won't suit her, but then he sends her into a tailspin with just a stroke of her hair and a few words.

"But I love your hair, Yona. It's a beautiful red, like the sky at dawn."

she stares at him, fond and enamored and suddenly not hating her hair - until hak interrupts.

"His Majesty is looking for you."
"Is he? Tell him I'm resting in my room."

she walks away, then, and the memory fades out.

(timestamp on this is 16:43-18:15 crunchy doesn't love me and won't let me put timestamps in the url and the eps are no longer on youtube aPPARENTLY.)]

[soulus]

[Once the memory fades, Rufus regards Yona with the turn of his head and the same impassive mien he always wears. His gaze, however, lingers.

It's an interesting memory—one that he never would've imagined for himself, yet so full to the brim with the little things in spite of his lack of interest in luxurious living. There's much to unpack here. Even still, the most interesting parts have to be two of the biggest.]

. . . I see why you would make your father roll in the afterlife.

w7, friday

[dawnblushed]

[stabs gmail for not showing me the notif from that last pc

anyway once the removed have come back, when yona spots rufus, she's running after him]

Rufus! Wait up!!

[soulus]

[Justice has been served.

Rufus stops in the middle of beating a retreat so as to avoid crowding the removed who've returned.]

What is it?