bloodbound. (earinor & akira)

"No need to", he replied, then just watched the blonde. God, he should have left when he still had the chance to and not just decided he'd stay where he was and was going to do whatever he wanted, simply because he felt like it was the right thing to do. Should he have told the blonde that he fainly noticed his father coming home at some point during the night? Nah, why would he? It was pretty comfortable to just loaf around in this makeshift bed and yet, he couldn't help but wonder if this was enough to tip Richard off once he felt better - which he seemingly did. Was he confused, or just, uh, maybe a bit taken aback? Yujin didn't dare ask, instead, he soon found out what it was and even though he didn't want to admit it, he kind of felt a bit sore about the topic at hand - he had expected the blonde to stay where he was, just a little while longer, because all of this wasn't bad, was it now? But in the end, maybe he had taken Richard for the wrong kind of guy and all he could do was watch on as he pushed himself away, crawled out of his own bed and then said something, waltzing away. "Just take care, alright?", he called after him, as if he had to wander god knew where to actually just relief himself, but in the end that was ... whatever. The wolf sighed, yawned, then stretched himself and got up, got to the task at hand and made the blondes bed before walking over to the closet and pick out the piece of clothing he'd left.

Richard, on the other hand, probably was the one that was met with a much more unfortunate scene - well, the sight of his father was something he'd consider unfortunate to begin with. Nayantai had come home, but from the looks of it, he'd just hung up his coat - dripping wet and covered in red splotches - by the door, his boots strewn around the floor and if one were to take a glance in the next room, Nayantais remaining clothes looked a bit worse. The old man himself just sat there, almost silently at the table, and was busy drinking some sort of tea, all the while he sat there in a new set of clothes and looked a bit rugged - tired, maybe. "Did you sleep well?", the old man asked, once he saw Richard resurfacing in clothes - or at least a coat - that he'd ever think he'd see him in. Well, he was still an old man and his own son wasn't much less stubborn that he'd been in his youth, at a time where he thought that not only Thria was going to be all he wanted, but also that the throne was the most important thing in his life. "Also, do I need to know why he's in your bed and you two left the door open?"

He sat there, had waited, had slept earlier and still, he felt somewhat tired, miserable even - not that he was actually sleepy, or even sick, but rather, his body wasn't used to doing the things it once had spent days doing and as stupid as it sounded, defeating a bear wasn't just as easy as catching a duck. Tough, both of that required some sort of expertise and Nayantai felt like he had neither, like he'd traded all of those useful skills that he spent years teaching himself throughout his youth for some knowledge, for battle prowess and for diplomatic ideals, but none of that was useful in peaceful times or when one lost their title and was nothing more than a speck of dirt on the rest of the world. "Thought as much", he simply replied with a sigh - and he wasn't able to make Richards dreams better. Frankly, Rain sometimes helped him calm down, sometimes he didn't, but usually his mere presence was enough to at least achieve something, but now, Rain of Fhaergus was nowhere to be found and actually nothing more than a memory that he could hold onto for a little while, until even that faded and he'd have no idea how the blonde sounded anymore, or how his face looked. But alas, all of that would happen to his dead children, like it had happened to Tei and Khasar, to his brothers and his mother, and, eventually, his deceased father, too. "Oh, right. He has a name. Yujin of Silesse, no? Anyways, I'm just saying, close the door."

Nayantai wasn't one for jokes, or the one asking for actual explanations, instead, he just looked at his son and felt confused, to say the least. Sure, he could maybe try to help him cope with his pain, but that was all there was - in the end, neither of them would really understand what it was like to be, or what it tended to be like if they weren't. "Killing and skinning a bear, I told you", he replied, as if that was quite the normal thing to do. An old, stubborn man whose black hair was slowly turning gray and who definitely had had an easier time when he still could see with both of his eyes, but alas, it wasn't worth complaining about - it had been more than twenty years. "It's blood, and water, and melted snow." Nayantai stretched himself, as if he was trying to signal that he was completely fine, just tired, but then again, did he, really? "It's not mine, don't worry about it - if it were, I wouldn't be sitting here, not like this anyway." What was he? Some kid answering his enraged parent? Somehow, this entire scenario had a strong feeling of dejavu to it, but Nayantai couldn't quite put his fingers onto it. "Actually, why did you come out of your room dressed like that?", he suddenly asked. "That's not your coat, is it?"

Nayantai wouldn't be his father if he just ignored all of what happened to either of them and just wished that all the pain would end soon, wouldn't he? In the end, he was the one that had seen the world itself hurt and that had noticed, more often than enough, that nothing was going to change if they weren't, but all of that was for another day and not for now, when he watched all of this happen and unfold, when he tried to figure out how himself fared against all of those other people that were already tugging at him and his clothes, urging him to finally join them below the earth. "Oh, Shuren? Well, I thought they'd formally introduce themselves, but they didn't. Though, they do own Silesse ... and have a castle crafted out of ice. Nothing has changed since I left, really", he sighed. Sure, the castle had been smaller, but Shurens father hadn't been as insane as his son and he also wasn't the one that had killed most of his family, just because they annoyed him. Sometimes, Shuren was a mystery to him and he wondered how Muhan got along with him that well, but in the end, they had all grown up together, hadn't they? Time just changed people, that was all there was. "Not because of what you're thinking that I'm thinking. I'd just like to spare you the sight of me being covered in blood and looking like, well ..." Was he supposed to finish that sentence? No.

"I hung it up outside, no need to carry warm bear skin with some meat attached to it inside, especially if it's already darker than I wanted it to be." Sometimes, he cursed his homeland, as the cold had eaten itself through his heart, his head and his eyes - his fingers sometimes felt numb, at least in one of his hands and he wondered if that was, what Rain talked about when he said he was cold. Nayantai was blaming it on getting old, but frankly, it might have been because he'd treated his body like shit for years, just because he could and it wasn't dying, it was doing what he wanted it to do and that, frankly, was a miracle in itself. "A break? I'm not o- forget it. If you want to hunt, I'll show you some spots, how's that sound?" Complaining was going to get old, wasn't it? Besides, Richard was kind of right, he was running himself ragged to some degree and if he ever gave out under his own weight, his sole son had to carry on by himself somehow - even though Nayantai wanted to avoid that. "The blood already was dry when I got here, that's why the coat's all wet, too. And no, I'm fine, it went alright, it just took longer to find a lone bear than I thought it would. What about you, though? You look ... tired and exhausted, is everything okay?" Why wouldn't he care for Richard? Why shouldn't he, actually? "Alright, I understand. And I have one more question - are you hungry? Or do you want some tea?"

"You're you, even if that might not be worth much to you", Nayantai answered. Sure, they had no luxurious castle, no servants that were trying to please them and bring them anything they could have even asked for, but those times were over and while he had taken years to grow accustomed to just that, he somehow was happy about being able to be more like himself again. He loved Rain, yes, but he didn't care for those titles that Rain didn't want to have and if he was honest, he actually would have liked to run off to the south with him, to be someone completely else and never look back onto the things that he never thought were going to be his. In the end, he had forfeited his title as king to not only be with Rain, but also because he wanted nothing more than to be freed of his schackles, because he'd been told he should be dead and now he sat here, in good old Silesse, a speck of dust on a map that nobody could read. "Not quite, but if you're fine with it, I have no need to reprimand you, then", the old wolf said, knowing fully well that he might have prefered it to be different, but they were living in a small, crummy hut and who even cared at this point? Richard hadn't seen him at his worst, but Nayantai was fairly sure that he'd never have to, those years had gone by and he'd mellowed out, hadn't he?

"I know, you're about as stubborn as I am, but you're also incredibly smart. Still, I don't want you to get accidentally mauled by a bear." He should get up and cook something, put some of that bear meat to good use before it went bad, but he'd still manage to sell most of it - nobody cared if it was frozen stiff, actually, it would be surprising if it weren't, but then again, leaving all of that outside for too long wasn't good either, especially if it attracted hungry carnivores. "I'll trust your judgement, but if you need anything, do tell." And yet, he was a worryward, not because he thought of Richard as weak, but because he still was - very much - Rains son, despite having the eyes and temper of a wolf, the blonde hair was a dead giveaway, as much as his sons tendency to get sick was, at least sometimes. "Should I ask him then?", Nayantai wanted to know, but he'd not bother Richard any longer, instead he got up and mulled over what he'd cook - bear meat? Maybe some sort of stew? Soup? They had no leftovers, but he'd figure something out, now that he got his ass up, right? Factually, he only needed a knife and some fresh water, which, in theory, wouldn't be hard to find - he had dried herbs hanging from some strings on the ceiling, so this wouldn't be that hard. And yet, he didn't want to admit it, but being in Adrestia had its benefits.

Richard took an awful long time to come back, didn't he? Yujin wasn't sure what those two were talking about out there, but they were having some sort of pretty civil conversation that he didn't feel like barging into. Was leaving through the window going to be appropriate, now that Nayantai knew that he was there and had shared a bed with his son? Somehow, this felt even more awkward than being found by his girlfriends parents and having to listen to a triade of bullshit about how he'd better be an upstanding young man and mean it, lest they'd fear for their daughters safety when she was with him. Now, however, Richard wasn't like his girlfriend at all and if he was honest, he didn't mind that - even though sometimes, only sometimes, all of that anger seemed to get ahead of the blonde and let him become someone he theoretically wasn't, no? "Oh, I ... should have told you. I heard him coming home last night and closing the door to your room, didn't see him though", he said, almost as if this was some sort of apology - but was it, really? Yujin could say whatever he wanted to Richard, but in the end, none of that was going to make any of this better, despite him seemingly being in a better mood, which cause the wolf to bubble up, too.

"You told me where it was so I helped myself - unless you want to keep it." Yujin had no reason to not part with his clothes, felt no need to not give them to Richard, not because he thought that this poor idiot had no clothes, but rather because ... "Don't get me wrong, but even if you don't want to wear any of this, it'll at least keep you warm as a blanket", he chuckled. Was he insane? Did he lose his mind and think a bit too much about things that made no sense to begin with? Whatever, Richard probably believed he was nuts anyway, so he didn't need to think too hard about all the other rumors surrounding him, at least that's what he thought. "I don't want to be a bother, but if you'd have me, I wouldn't say no to some food - I haven't had any since yesterday." Just like Richard, right? Not that this changed anything, he could go home and ask some of his servants to cook for him, but who was going to decline an invitation? Wasn't that going to be seen as rude? And yet, Yujin hoped there'd be no awkward silence once he sat at the table with both Richard and his father because for one reason, or the other, he felt like it would go into a direction like that. "Hmm, what do you even want to do after eating? Resting up?" That would probably be the best idea.

"True that, but I thought it might be something you could benefit from knowing, that's all." In the end, he just didn't want Richard to worry or think some weird shit that turned out to be wrong, all because some wolf had told him something that he now had to think about more often than not. Was he even able to do that to someone like Richard, though, or was all of that just plain imagination? This had happened because the blonde was sick, no other reason, just because he'd pitied him - and Yujin wouldn't spell that out loud, simply because he didn't want to piss him off, because he didn't want to give the impression that he thought that he was weak when that wasn't the case at all. Pain came in many different ways and right now, all Yujin could do was marble at all those ways that Richard was hurting in, mainly because he didn't understand many of them and also because a lot of them felt like they were here to stick around, not like empty promises. "If you want to give it back, you can, I'm just not going to take it from you, that's all", he elaborated in relation to the coat. In the end, if Richard only asked, Yujin was sure he'd give him whatever he wanted - but why? This was getting absurd and he was sure that his head hadn't been as swampy as this before - he definitely caught a fever, didn't he?

"I can deal with average food, but I'll see for myself - it was pretty tasty the last time, that I have to admit", Yujin suddenly declared. What had gotten into him? It hadn't been bad, but it wasn't as spicy as he was used to and if he thought about it, all of that just meant that - one way or the other - he'd figure something out for himself, or find an excuse to add more spices if he needed, right? In the end, he didn't want to disappoint Nayantai or Richard, not after being invited and not after being told that he was being served a homemade meal - that was reason enough to just accept all of it as it was, right? "Makes me wonder though, how can you stand thrian food? Isn't it too spicy?", he suddenly threw in, as if he was trying to get the topic to change, to get his mind off of things and stop it from being so fucking awkward. Wow, he really wasn't helping anyone with whatever he was doing, was he now? What a shame, though, he felt like he was frozen in place. Just for a moment, though, before he tailed Richard. "Outside outside or just out of your room?" Gods, his hair probably was a mess, actually. "If I want food, I can't hide myself away, can I now?", he chuckled.

Maybe the warmth had gotten to him, after all, he lived in a castle made of endless ice and he didn't exactly know what warmth meant, especially when he could feel it and was huddling up around some fire. This, however, was different. He had pressed another body against his own all night and he'd made sure that Richard was warm, had slept in all of his own clothes and then again, he wondered what it meant to be who he was, what he was supposed to do, now that he wished he felt feverish himself. It didn't work that way, he was sure, but somehow he still felt a little bit odd, didn't he? His heart was beating in his chest, his skin was warm and all of that felt odd at best. "Oh, no, I can carry it just fine, don't worry. I'm just saying, but if you don't want it, I'll just take it back home, no hard feelings", he laughed, joking about it. Did it hurt? He didn't know, but he'd been declined, like he was some sort of trickster that couldn't do anything but make all of this worse for everyone. Yujin didn't want to think about it for too long, he only shook his head. "I'm fine, just a bit hungry, that's all." But was it? God, this was going to be hard to explain, wasn't it? But in the end, he kind of had doomed himself, especially if he considered that he was the one that had offered his help.

They both headed out of Richards room and while the blonde plopped himself down on one side, Yujin avoided the spot that Nayantai had sat at the last time - he didn't want to take something like that from the old man that currently was trying to cook something up for them. Sure, a kitchen wasn't exactly a foreign concept to Yujin, but it was to some older thrians and all of them just tried to make do with what they had, even if their stove was basically a fireplace that had some sort of pot hanging over it. What else could they do, though? There was no need to try and attempt something outrageous and there also wasn't any need for them to have the fanciest of cuisine - they never did. "Well, thrian food is - at least in comparison to adrestian dishes - considered to be really spicy", Yujin said, but for all he knew, he could be talking out of his ass right now, especially since he never did have any adrestian food to begin with. This was all he had, right? Everything that he could deal with and would deal with. "Oh, well, you're right about that. Well, your father would know what he cooks, right?" This was getting awkward, now that he thought about it. Was Richards dad purposefully feeding him watered down version to spare him the coughing fit? Or was that all in his head? "True, I'm just a bit confused it seems."

Was he getting nervous or was all of that just in his head? Yujin had no idea, but whatever it was, it threw him out of loop and knowing himself, he'd usually give a damn about his hair, about his appearance, but now most of his clothes - except the outerwear he took from Richards closet - was wrinkled and crooked and he was sure that, aside from his still swollen nose, there were dents from the fur and fabric he'd slept on for a bit too long and pressed his face against in said face. Wasn't that somewhat sad? Instead, he let his eyes wander and then he figured that it wasn't the best move to make, especially if he was just making do with what he had before him - if Richard had been a prince, a crown prince even, wouldn't he feel better in that castle made of ice? Still, there was no need to argue now, instead, he sat there and heard the old wolf sighing, once the man had heard his name being uttered. "A while", the gruff sounding voice just responded, seemingly being occupied with cutting the meat that he found before him and not even granting the two of them a glance. Was this what Richards life was like all the time? Whatever, none of his business, right?

"Well, we'll see - I don't even know that much about adrestian food, actually", he admitted. He'd read about it and sometimes, he'd been served something along those lines, but alas, that had been about it, especially now that he thought about it - and incidentally, he'd never asked for any of it to be on his platter, he'd just gotten what was there at whatever time and he complied to that. "Oh, like chocolate? Or do you mean a whole cake?", Yujin suddenly asked. Actually, if he remembered correctly, he'd had some of those, but only because someone had brought some gifts, or asked them to try certain things - not that they were customary in Thria, instead, the only thing they had akin to sweets was hard candy, that actually didn't have that many flavors, but it was easy enough to make out of some honey ... if you could find any in this frigid wasteland, that was. "I slept just fine, no need to worry about me in that regard. No idea, maybe I'm still half asleep - I'll wake up eventually, though." Why wouldn't he anyway? There was no need for him to, there was no reason to think twice about it all and then, when it all boiled down to nothing, he'd find out about something, wasn't he? Now, it was silent again, but Yujin didn't like that - at least Richard seemed to have the same idea. "Yes, please!" But the blonde already was pouring him a cup - how thirsty could he be? A lot, actually.

Even to Yujin it didn't appear as if Richards father was a man of many words, that had been quite evident when he spoke with his parents - Shuren was the one that had talked mostly, Muhan had occassionally thrown some commentary in there and the one that barely talked about anything but rather confined himself to some sort of short answers or not really elaborate explanations had been Nayantai. In the end, now that he considered what kind of strain both the old man and Richard had put on their relationship, the wolf wondered if there even were any redeeming qualities within those two or if all of that was just in vain. Then, there was silence, at least for a little while and Yujin himself felt oddly comforted by the fact that the table was right in front of him, that nobody was calling out for him and that it, somehow, was snuggly warm in this hut. He'd caught something, hadn't he? Gods, he was pathetic. "Adrestia does have different climate, though. The only places that can actually grow something useful is Daein at Wezettes border and whatever is bordering Alster. Jehanna is too close to the south to produce anything useful, or something that would survive the way down here and anything else pretty much grows in Silesse with a bit of effort ... and insanity."

Silesse was barren, like an empty canvas, complied emptied out and full of ice and snow. Sometimes, people had the bright idea to accept shipments of soil, to try and sow something that would be native to this area, a warmer one or something like Fhaergus, but that was about it. In the end, all of it just got assimilated - Thria became what it didn't need to be, just because and most farming efforts in Silesse were, frankly, in vain. Was this what it meant to be without the option of free choice or was this all that had been there, in their little world, to keep them save? "I could ask someone to snag you a shipment, you know?", he suddenly blurted out. Cookies would be hard and their consistency that of a brick until they got down here, but everything else was going to be fine - especially chocolate, which wasn't going to melt anyway. "Me, mothering you? I just was watching out for you, that's all. I slept well, thank you very much", Yujin resisted, but he didn't actually get the chance to dodge Richards stupid hand and now he sat there, sighed and grabbed his teacup. "I'm not sick, I'm just not used to the warmth", he argued, just as he gently shoved Richards hand from his forehead. Though, that conversation didn't go past a certain someones ears - and the old man put aside the knife, rid himself of his gloves and put one hand on Richards forehead and the other on Yujins, only to sigh, pretty much exasperated, once he touched his own. "Go back to bed, both of you. Now."

"That sounds like a good idea, actually, but I'm not sure if anyone in Silesse or Thria as a whole would appreciate them as much as adrestians", he blurted out. The idea wasn't bad, but that also meant that they'd have to introduce something new to already unwilling people, wasn't it? Yujin couldn't think of a time when the people of Silesse actually took what their ruler had offered them and even when Shuren had assumed power, he, according to Muhan at least, had been met with some resistance. Come to think of it, he'd never met his grandparents or that one uncle everyone kept talking about, but it didn't bother him too much - they most likely perished in the war and there was nothing else to say about that. "But it's nothing my brother or father would say no to. You might as well try and suggest it, how's that sound?", he suddenly said to Richard, but he knew that talking his way out of the situation, especially with that gleeful smile of his, was futile. The talk about things that Thria had or didn't have and the assumption that Nayantai was going to just sit idly by had been wrong, but now he was the one that wondered why the old mans hand was as ice cold as it was, especially when it touched his forehead. "Red fruits? Sounds promising."

Yujin was scared of saying something wrong, of declining a gruff old man that had been nothing but nice with his actions but somehow scary with his words to him, yet, what was this feeling that all of this emitted to begin with? What did he know and why didn't he know any better? Silence was all that remained and happiness was nothing that would soon overtake him. Instead, he sat there, frozen in place and just watched what Richard was doing. "You can eat that in bed when it's done, I'll bring it over", Nayantai said, knowing that eating food in bed was reserved for times when they all were weak, too exhausted and too sickly to go anywhere - and yet, he himself looked pale, not because he was sick, but something else seemed to creep up inside of him. At least Yujin thought that. "He can leave when he feels better. I don't want any of you to wander through the snow, or the house for that matter. You both are still scalding hot and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't exhaust yourselves, so shoo." Yujin got up, just nodding at the fellow wolf. Well, back to bed - but which one? "Uh, I don't want to cause more trouble tha-" "You aren't and now, stop with the excuses and get going. I want neither of you two walking around, actually." He shot Richard a glance, almost helplessly and then just took a few steps - he wasn't feeling too bad, he didn't need to lay in bed, did he?