bloodbound. (earinor & akira)

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    • “So if one of our dads blows our cover, we’re both fucked. Sounds like a fair deal.” Sure, Nayantai wouldn’t punish Richard for only saying part of the truth, but Shuren would - most likely - hit them both over their heads and then make them apologize for being the fucking idiots they were, for going further than they should and for hoping that whatever happened, it wouldn’t be too bad. Why was his family such a mess anyway? This made no sense, as much as it made no sense that all of this was happening only sporadically, yet at once and he wondered what it was that let to that and why it did, how all of this transpired and so on. “Yes, traps. Depends on what it is exactly, but if you’re unlucky, you lose a leg. If you’re lucky, it just stings a bit.” Blood was going to be spilled regardless, but even if the wound wasn’t enough to impact someone severely, it would leave a trail in the snow, which was more than enough for his fathers obedient dogs to chase after someone. “Hm, we could, but if we reach an outpost that is actually manned, we are even more fucked because they know they aren’t allowed to let me pass without any repercussions.” That was the gist of it, it always had been and he was sure that he learned that the hard way, at least once, when they sent him back and when he refuses, they carried him home.

      “He says, and I quote ‘I mean, there was a snowstorm, one moment you were there, the next you weren’t and when I called for you, I got no response and when I followed the footsteps, they eventually ended somewhere because the snow swallowed it all up.’ So, that hasn’t been helpful in solving our little problem at all”, he admitted and scratched the back of his head. No matter how knowledgeable, no matter how understanding, Yujin never understood who whisked him off of his feet or where he went, exactly, it was blurry. “To be honest, I might just have gotten lost in the snowstorm and kidnapped at some point after that, I don’t remember all the details, it just cuts off somewhere, like, way too clean. But no, I never went back.” So what was going to wait for him? Some grand old nothing? He was fairly sure that it was, especially considering that it all was a pain to even understand. “I’ll take your word for it!” Wasn’t it a pain to have an unreliable heart like that? Probably, but if he were honest, it also was a pain to think about all of this for more than a good minute and come to the conclusion that his leg was fucked, too, and Richard didn’t want to be belittled. “Oh, that’s common, not just for people like you, don’t worry”, he reassured the blonde, then made Batu move into the forest - this was going to be fun, especially when all the odds were stacked against him. “What’s the winner get? Except dinner.”
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "Well Nayantai would be disappointed for all the wrong reasons, that's all from my part.", Richard explained. Yes Nayantai would be disappointed he disobeyed the wishes of his friend that so nicely let them stay here. But instead Richard was doing Yujin a favor by letting him go somewhere he shouldn't be, just because. Or was Richard just selfish. "Yujin you want this, right? We can go any other direction if you want.", he asked just to make sure. Then he glanced at him once more. "You're telling me now I could lose a leg? Is he crazy? What if you run into a trap like that?!" Then his son got hurt by himself, this was stupid, Yujins father was crazy, that was all. Why did Nayantai come here of all places? "So your father had prepped the border so you can't fucking leave, ever? He's mad. And we'll get through, whatever he does. Even if we move back right away." Shuren actually should know instead of both of them just leaving again and acting like they did nothing else but go hunt and camp not far from town.

      "Quan is useless, got it.", Richard grumbled and wondered if he would it have let come to a similar situation. To be honest, he'd probably searched for Yujin until he either found him, or died himself, because right about now he was responsible for what happened to him. "You never went back because you're not interested or because you didn't think you'd make it?", Richard asked, but what was the point anyway? After all those years there would be nothing to go by and even if they figured out what had happened, that didn't fix Yujin. "Don't worry about me, it's no use anyway.", Richard answered, worry wouldn't keep his heart beating. "It is?", he asked, but he actually didn't think any wolf out here needed to do that, but it was fine and when they entered the forest the wind got blocked and the horses went slower too, so the air was fine as it was. "I don't know, glory?", Richard asked, he didn't exactly play for a price. Right now he moved his hands off reins of his horse and instead grabbed an arrow to have it ready in case there was something to shoot. He wondered what kind of birds lived in a place like this. He saw some weird ones once in a while, but they didn't seem like they were able to fly and they probably kept close to the sea. Richard listened, but even here Silesse was just awfully quiet, yet there was some faint crackling, something hiding in the bushes. That was good.

    • "At least he's just disappointed, or is that worse than getting scolded?", Yujin asked, he didn't know. Sometimes, he got the silent treatment, sometimes, he got no treatment at all and whatever the case, he did try to be a good boy, at least every once in a while, didn't he? It only followed that he was also attempting to be a friend to someone that had it worse than him and didn't know what was going on in the first place. "I do want this, I wouldn't have agreed and you asked what the furthest was I've ever gotten, right? We can't beat that if we don't go in that direction, at least nor for certain." All the other directions, eventually, led to the sea and that meant they'd need to steal a boat or at least find a ferryman that would take them somewhere for a few days. "Mh, it's just a temporary loss, actually. You might be hurt and need the wound fixed, or ... well, he is insane, I thought you knew as much already. And he doesn't take that into account because I have orders I should be following, which I currently am not." That was the gist of it, he was running away and off to somewhere with Richard, without his fathers agreement, which was pathetic to begin with. "It originally was prepped so that the enemy, if they ever got here, can't come in. Wolves know how to navigate around it, that was the gist of it, but ever since the incident, it got a bit more ... harsh and getting through without an official invitation is absurd, unless you deliberately search for an outpost."

      Shuren had his own weapons of warfare, that much was for certain, but actually, why didn't he prep all of Thrias borders during the war? They still had most of the resources they needed and even if people were minorly injured, the way these traps worked now would rob them of their ability to walk on for a good three or four weeks, and why? Because Shuren of Silesse was insane. "Never was anything else", he sighed, and he knew that Richard had probably wanted to hear something else, something that had more meat to it. "Neither, because I couldn't. I tried, trust me. They always caught me." Which meant that, unless Muhan said the wrong things, they wouldn't get past the border this time either and that, among other things, was namely pathetic but also kind of hard to understand, hard to cope with and hard to put into words - by definition, he'd be an adult now and he did that stupid rite, too, so why couldn't he do what he wanted? "Mh, it is, yes." Yujin was aware, but once they entered the forest, he ought to shut that stupid mouth of his, at least one way or the other. "A blowjob, got it", he snickered, ever so silently, but eventually went to grab his own bow and arrows, too - if Richard was aiming for anything that flew, or could fly past them, he might as well be able to snatch up a rabbit or two, right? But what should he start with? That bush over there? Well, that didn't sound much like a rabbit and ... oh, it did raise its head and it was a ... deer? What on earth? But Yujin wouldn't shoot that, that was a bit too much luggage and meat to drag around and ... gone it was, huh?
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "If anyone scolded us it was Nayantai. My father, the king, he would just be disappointed and he wouldn't even say anything, that... was the worst. Right now however, I don't think I care if Nayantai is...", Richard answered. The relationship to his adoptive father changed, for whatever reason. There probably were many, but in the end Richard didn't know what it was exactly. Sometimes he didn't even want to look at him, let alone let him touch him, but other times he saw him sit there, and it hurt him seeing him like that. Richard was all he had left and sometimes he treated him like he was a leper and that was too unfair. Nayantai saved him and tried his best to protect him, he should be thankful for that but often enough he was just... angry. "Temporary? I don't know about you, but my leg won't grow back.", Richard answered not sure what Yujin even was talking about. If anyone ran into a trap it was probably the horses, but Richard didn't want them to be hurt either... "I can't even remember... how I got here, to be honest.", he suddenly said, was he even awake at that time? He knew that he was carried by Nayantai a lot and they definitely didn't stop by his aunt for whatever reason. Nayantai seemingly didn't want to see anyone, but Richard couldn't wrap his head around the why. And the journy was just a washed up picture. He had been in a cart at some point, probably out of Adrestia, then he got carried a while, but that didn't work out too well, because his wound was hurting and he couldn't breath. At some point Nayantai crafted something like a stretcher and Richard remembered looking up and seeing the sky brush past him. That was about all... when he was clear again he already had been in Silesse, which meant he lost at least a few weeks being in and out of consciousness.

      "They won't catch us this time.", Richard said and asked himself if they were followed already. He didn't notice anyone but who knew? Should they try and loose anyone in the forest? Was there even a need to? "How did they catch on to you before?", he asked and sighed. He wanted this to work so bad for whatever reason, although it wasn't even any of his concern in the first place. "Idiot...", he eventually answered, but oh well, a blowjob was just fine, either way. Now that they entered the woods they grew silent and Richard looked out for anything he could shoot. The horses were somewhat loud, but that was fine. Yujin had the better spot riding at the top, Richard concentrated on the sides and their back. At least he didn't have to take care of his horse, it just followed Yujins on its own. He lay one arrow on the string of his bow and eventually when he heard some flutter, he raised his bow and shot... but he apparently missed. Fuck. Well there would be other prey, they'd be in the woods for a while, right?

    • “So what you’re saying is that both of your fathers had their own way of punishing you, but in the end, being yelled at wasn’t so bad? And now you don’t care anymore if he’s scolding you?” Yujin wanted to say something, something he’d noticed earlier, but it didn’t matter, it would only agitate Richard and spoiling the mood was the last thing he wanted to do right now. What he wanted, however, was a good glimpse at any prey they could find in this godforsaken forest. When had he been here the last time? On some trips with Quan before he got banned from going literally anywhere? Probably, he couldn’t figure out anything else and it didn’t matter if he thought a tad bit too much, the prey wouldn’t disappear into thin air. “It’s not cutting the leg clean off, it’s cutting into the skin and flesh and if you’re unlucky, through some nerves or a tendon. It’s concealed trapwire, mostly. And bear traps. But that’s one of the ideas he stole from Daein.” Hopefully they weren’t rusty or that’d be a gnarly wound, that much was for sure. Whatever the case, it didn’t matter, it never had, he’d go home, bleeding or not and get a scolding. “So we both don’t know something, that’s a first … but both you and your father are in one piece, so he made it across the border safely.” There was no reason for concern and yet, if Richard had any, he should just confide in his father.

      “I’ll take your word for it. If they do, we are fucked.” They’d - most likely - ban them from interacting with one another, at least for a few weeks and once that happened, there was no way of knowing anything, not from out here and not from any other place. What would they even do? Go back to live their lives as normal as they could? That sounded boring. “I said something stupid to Shuren, once I just ran off and someone saw, I ran into a manned outpost twice and I ran into trapwire thrice. I can’t say I haven’t tried my earnest.” His leg hat hurt like shit, too, and thrice at that, but it still was where it should be and the scar on his thigh, that had been all sorts of crushed and mangled, was there to stay, but it wasn’t from that, the cuts were further down and barely visible anymore. “And I’m the idiot you like the most, too!” After that, he grew silent again and led his horse around, but it took a while until something appeared out of the bushes and much like Richard, he missed the first shot. For how much longer was this going to go on? He has no idea, but there it was, that adorable little face, his eyes were focused on it, his fingers were pulling back the drawstring and he actually hit the rabbit. Yujin did get off of Batu after that, walked over to the poor thing and decided, with the knife he’d brought, to put that thing out of its misery. “Should we hunt another, then?”
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "Things are different between us now. I think I don't care if he's disappointed in me or not.", Richard answered. He was angry at him, for not protecting Atwick and Flora, for not protecting Dayan or him. He already had been wounded before Nayantai even showed up. Where had he been? Why wasn't he with them? Richard was sure they were together, then they got attacked and Nayantai was gone. That made no sense and thinking about it made his head hurt for whatever reason. "My father ran in one of those traps.", Richard suddenly said, now that he understood what this was about. He remembered the story and the scar on his leg, one of view. There were more on his back but that was about it and compared to Caelan, Ronan or Nayantai, he almost was completely unharmed by the war. Well he never fought as well. "I don't think some stupid traps work on Nayantai.", Richard admitted and he knew those things, didn't he? But either way, he probably found a post and being who he was he was let through or at least someone sent a message to Shuren and they needed to wait a bit, whatever it was. But Yujin was right, there were things Richard remembered quite vividly and others he just couldn't get around to remember.

      "What do they wanna do? Ground me? I don't care...", Richard snorted. They could give Richard the credit for the bad idea, he didn't care and he'd continue doing whatever he wanted. "What if we camp outside the forest then and take it slow tomorrow, so we won't run into something and the horses won't either." That however raised the chances of them being found and knowing that there were outposts was annoying because Richard just wanted as far away from any human life as possible. "Or we just go for it and try to find a way.", he mumbled, then grew silent again. The blonde looked at Yujins arrow when he shot and... fuck. He caught a damn rabbit which meant Richard had lost. "I think one rabbit is enough for both of us, or are you feeling hungry?", Richard asked. There was no need to kill more than they could eat. But it was kind of annoying he lost and now he had to... well that wasn't so bad but the circumstances were annoying. Very much so actually.

    • "Things change eventually", he added, but he didn't want to pry deeper than that. The thing was that neither of them were actually as adept at doing things as they should be and the thing was, something was always going to be off between them if this went on, so Yujin didn't exactly know where what ended and what started. It was stupid to think about, that much was for certain and the only thing that came close to figuring out happiness was, when he actually was not talking about his family - maybe it was the same for Richard, who seemed to be quite pained by the reoccuring themes of pain and death. "I can't imagine that that's any fun and I'm guessing you know because he had a scar?", he wanted to know, but why did he even? It was none of his business and the fact that he kept trying and prying was something that he might as well knock out of his head completely at some point. How stupid was this? "They don't work as in, even if he runs into them he completely ignores that he just did or he knows well enough what damage they could do and he just figures out a way to avoid them?" Again, he was overstepping any boundaries, but he wanted to know, even if he forgot eventually, he was quite curious by nature, something that would - one day - force him into his selfmade grave.

      "I'll get beat with a fan and grounded and you'll probably get some nice fan smacks too. And, knowing my dad, we'll probably not see each other again for a good while." Commitment to his crimes, that weren't even crimes, was the best way to repent, but he also knew that no matter what, Shuren would eventually say that he disliked something, he'd eventually try to get the two of them apart if they grew too chummy and the blonde interfered too much with the life that his father wanted him to have, Yujin knew all of that and yet, he overstepped the boundaries because quite frankly, he did not care and did not give a damn. "We've got ample time and the forest isn't big, but I wouldn't be opposed. Lets see how dark it is when we get out on the other side and then make a judgement, alright?", he suggested instead and now that he did have a rabbit hunted down, he was mighty proud of himself, for one stupid reason or the other, but he was grinning at Richard. "Can you even cook?", Yujin suddenly asked, before chuckling. "Because I sure as fuck can't." They'd figure it out, as long as the meat didn't look like it was turning into coal it was fine and they'd figure out how to season it, right? "Hm, considering how much you eat when I'm over and you aren't being a sourpuss, are you sure we don't need a second one? Actually, lets play a game. If I kill the next one too, you'll have to suck me off, if not, we're even and we'll figure out how to settle it - and the meat won't go bad as fast, it's freezing out here anyway. So, what do you say - yes or no?" Richard couldn't be that desperate to blow him, judging by his facial expression, could he now?
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "My father had a scar on his leg, yes and I know the story about it, but it was my grandfather who told us that one. In the end he carried my father from what is now Deian to somewhere north of it, I don't really know, they didn't exactly have a settlement.", Richard explained. Yes he picked him and Nayantai up and eventually brought them home. His father had been hurt and he couldn't walk properly for quite some while, so Richard didn't want to find out how that felt. If either of them ran in one of those traps they were found out and if Richard lay in bed with a broken leg, he couldn't exactly defy Yujins father and see him anyway. But at least the both had legs that were completely fucked up, right? "I think Nayantai just has a sense for danger, he probably is able to avoid those stupid things, because he knows what to look for. And even with a broken leg, he probably would just keep going.", Richard explained, at least all those war stories made him suspect as much. Even though Nayantai was old, he probably was the strongest person Richard knew.

      "I don't car what he says, I'll still see you if I want.", Richard grumbled. He probably just would because he wasn't allowed to. And if he had to climb that stupid castle, he'd make it work somehow. "That sounds like a plan.", Richard nodded and thus they continued through the small forest that wasn't all too big anyway. It was a miracle there were forests like that in the first place and Richard like those places. At least it was somewhat green and there were plants and life. It was nice. Yujins stupid grin spoiled the mood a little though, his question didn't make it better. "I... uh... kind of? But I'm not exactly sure how to disembowel a rabbit... Dayan always did that...", Richard admitted and thus they probably were fucked, because neither of them had an idea what to do. Once the guts were out Richard would have just stuck the meat onto a stick and put it above the fire to be honest. "If we can't cook shit we don't need a second animal in the first place...", Richard pointed out, then shook his head. "It's fine. I lost. No need to pull back the bet, we can still hunt something else.", he said, because he didn't want to come across like a sour loser. He lost fair and square and now he needed to pay the price. But for now he grew silent again and looked out for another animal. In the end, before they left the forest, he managed to shoot a raven off a branch.

    • "Just like anything in Thria. All of this is barely a fun place, considering that we were nomads not too long ago and sometimes, you still run into people that refuse to settle down." But those people died out eventually, be it because of starvation or of the cold, because they had miscalculated their steps or something else mowed them down, nautre wasn't friendly to anyone that didn't honor it and the last few years, no thrian had had time to honor their gods, not when they were rebuilding and settling, becoming much more like the adrestians that wanted to overthrow them not so long ago, either. There were still enough people that vividly remembered the war, yet it felt as if it had happened ages ago and then again, their parents grew up within it. "That reminds me, I asked Muhan for some stories once and he told me about this one guy he knew, that - for whatever reason - wasn't deterred by the fact that he pretty much had arrows sticking out all over his body, a bashed in face and some broken bones, and he was covered in blood that barely was his, yet, he still somehow came home. But Muhan also said that he didn't see him smile once after that - that does sound like Nayantai, or am I wrong?" Yujin couldn't judge, but wasn't it sad that he couldn't even muster a smile? If Muhan had told the story in less gruesome detail, maybe he'd have wanted to be like this mysterious figure when he grew up, but as it stood right now, it only sounded as if he himself was going to be in constant pain.

      "Sounds romantic, I'll allow it." This was going too far again, but then again, their conversations were all kinds of jumbled together, of mixed up and questionable, so no wonder that they switched from talking about blood and guts to love and then back to blood and some more guts. Was this how it was going to be? "Nice." What was? The fact that Richard agreed or the fact that he was going to have some fun tonight? Whatever the case, they didn't have any oil on them, so it would be pretty simple - no spitting, just swallowing, to get nothing in the tent dirty or wet. "I can disembowel it, I just can't cook it ... everything I make tastes like coal with spice and a touch of salt. Actually, do you want me to show?", Yujin then asked, curious if Richard was willing to learn, but when wasn't he? All he did was hope for the better, yet sometimes, it only got worse and when he found out that that was the case, the world around them barely made itself go around. "You said you can cook kind of, so that'll be enough for us both, it has to be, somehow, doesn't it?" He meant it, he truly did, but the more he thought about it, the more anxiety inducing all those thoughts got and the more confusing it was for him to make some sense of them all in the first place. "I'm not pulling back, it's just an offer, that's all. Since, you know, I had kind of an unfair advantage?" Yujin did and it was that he knew what to look for, but even Richard found himself a raven and with that, they eventually did arrive at the end of the forest - it was a bit more windy out here, but that was nothing to be deterred by. Judging by how the sun stood, they had ample of time. "Do you see those trees over there?", he said and pointed at some of them, barely splotches on the horizon for now. "We can set camp up over there."
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • Richard listened to Yujins story and thought about it for a bit before he answered. "Well it does, but Nayantai can smile. He does. Did more in Adrestia, when he spent time with us or my father. He smiled while being here once or twice too. But why wouldn't Muhan say his name?", Richard asked and tried to make sense of it. "I doubt he was hurt when he cam back here to ask your parents for aid in the war. You know... that also fits my grandfather, but he probably would have mentioned his blonde hair then and he too smiled. Quite a lot actually especially when he was with Nayantais father." Did Richards family just consist of monsters? It seemed that way and then there had been Rain who was everything but that. In the end Richard should have been like him, instead he craved fro revenge and wanted t become a monster himself, to reek havoc upon those who killed his siblings. His family was out of luck most of the time, wasn't it? Maybe he should have seen all of this coming, happiness wasn't anything for the house of Fhaergus and it also wasn't for Nayantais bloodline.

      Why did Richard insist of seeing Yujin though? And why did he insist on defying that father of his, he didn't even know that man and yt he rove him mad somehow. How he treated Yujin wasn't right and his reasons made no sense. "Well then we're a good team I guess. I'll watch you, sure.", Richard answered. Why was it he had to beg Nayantai for every little detail he wanted to learn, instead of having the old man just ask if he wanted to know? He could have shown him plenty of times. "You did?", Richard asked, not sure what that adventage was, but it didn't matter. Richard lost and that was that. He'd pay the price they agreed upon beforehand. After they left the small forest Richard followed Yujins finger and then nodded. "Alright.", he answered and pulled the scarf back over his face. It was cold and windy out here and he wasn't sure if they'd be able to keep a fire burning like that. For now they drove their horses to go faster and it didn't take all too long to arrive at the trees Yujin meant. Richard got off his horse and checked on it for a short while. Then he looked around to find a good spot for their camp. Once they found a spot a little bit more save from the wind and led their horses there. Richard bound his onto some tree and then started to free it from the bags and the saddle. For now he just put the stuff on the floor. It still was pretty windy and Richard looked at the sky. "You don't think something's brewing there, right?", he asked, the scarf still around his mouth.

    • “I don’t know, maybe he just never wanted me to know who it was, but judging by how you talk about your father, it only can be him, you know? Then again, for some reason it always feels kind of awkward seeing Muhan and Nayantai interact, did you notice that?” What was it with these two? Yujin had taken note of it the last time when he was busy diverging his attention between Yin and Richard, but now that he thought about it, it was like that before, too, but he didn’t know when. Was there something else? Did they have a fight? Was that why Shuren kept pouring them glass after glass of liquor? “Why him, exactly? Were they good friends or something? Or do you want to tell me that your grandfather, who spent, I don’t know, a good chunk of his life fighting wolves, actually had it out for the wolves king?” Yujin knew few details, it almost seemed a tad bit too private to ask things like that, but maybe it was exactly what he needed to stop thinking about everything, all at once. Whatever the case, maybe having Richard diverge his attention to long dead people was better than to those of the recently deceased? Who knew. “You’re right, though, he’d have mentioned the blonde hair and the fact that it wasn’t one of his own, but he clearly stated that it was someone that returned home and your father does fit the bill.”

      One way or the other, they were hopeless and hopelessly in love, their little agreement hadn’t worked out and in all actually, they should have had thought about that earlier, just a tad bit earlier, not right now when they already were all the way out here and busy with themselves. “Sounds like it! That’s good, that means we’re not just a good match in one way.” Was he too obvious? Probably from time to time, but that wasn’t important, he had fun when he got to tease Richard and that was what was most important, at least it was to him, somehow. “I know what to look for and I’ve been here plenty of times, so I’d say I did have an unfair advantage over you, which also means that I should have told you that before.” At least Yujin thought he should have, even if it didn’t matter much in the end. Why didn’t it matter? Because all of this was a hassle to begin with and the sole reason nothing was happening the way it should was his own fault. Once they reached those trees, though, he did tie Batu to a tree, freed her of her saddle, tossed the bags on the ground and then looked at what Richard brought. “No, if anything it might snow a bit, but that’s nothing that the horses won’t endure and it won’t snow too much so we can rest without having to worry.” Yujin took up some of the stuff he brought and pulled out some coats, but … they weren’t for humans, he actually draped them on their horses and closed them in the front so they wouldn’t fall off. Now they were nice and warm and he brought them their food, too, even though Tse was already rummaging through the snow for what, some roods or dried grass? “Hm, I’d say we get a fire started, built up the tent and then prepare the food? Does that sound good?”
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "I... mh... you only hear the worst from me, that's not fair.", Richard admitted, he didn't speak all too well from Nayantai and Yujin already was scared of him, at least it seemed that way. "He's fierce, but he is also kind and loving.", he concluded, he didn't want Yujin to have the wrong idea about Nayantai, without him he would be dead too and his father had been too a long time ago, multiple times. "Well they are old friends, aren't they? But Nayantai also left Thria for a sheep, he left his throne for a sheep. Maybe he's angry about that, I don't know." Richard didn't know much about Muhan and Shuren, just that they aided his father during the war and it was their men that helped getting Fhaergus back. But they never visited them for whatever reason. Richard wasn't even sure if Yujins and his fathers exchanged letters. "I...", did RIchard say too much? He actually chuckled this time around and shook his head. What people knew and what they didn't was a blur and it was funnier if he didn't. "Nevermind.", Richard closed and shrugged. Rikiya was the one that didn't smile very often either, except when he was with Caelan, but... he didn't quite like Richard and Dayan, did he? The blonde believed they just were too loud for him, he always had been a more quiet person and sometimes he talked to Rain a whole night about who knew what, while they played some games. "That's true I guess."

      Yujin made Richard chuckle, that was something new, wasn't it? But in the end Richard already knew that he was more than just someone who was exceptionally good in bed. This trip here was something fun, something Richard kind of needed to put his mind at ease and concentrate on the wolf prince instead and on the journey ahead. It may be dangerous, but he didn't care, he never really did when Dayan was around and he didn't now either. He always made it out alive and relatively unharmed. "It's fine. I was hunting with Nayantai before, not here, but I know Silessian wildlife.", Richard explained, he lost fair and square. "Great, snow will also make our trail grow cold... in case someone is following us.", Richard said turning around only to watch Yujin give the horses some coats of their own. Richard probably didn't need to worry about the horses, that was good and once they had a fire it would drive any wild animal away. "Sounds good. I'll start with the fire.", Richard nodded since while it was burning they already were able to boil some water for drinking. Richard found a good spot for it and then started to get some firewood out of their bags. He built a small stake with it and then got some dried grass he also brought with him to help the fire starting. H rummaged through his bag to find flint and stone and used that to ignite the dried grass, softly blowing on it until everything started to burn. Next he built up a rack for the pot he brought so it could hang over the fire. He got some snow, put it in the pot and hung it so they'd have something warm to drink soon and with the rest they maybe wanted to wash their hands after handling the meat. "Do you need help with the tent?"

    • „Is it now? I mean, I‘ve said that I find Nayantai scary, but you know, in the end he isn‘t so bad? If you think about it, whatever the world revolves around simple things or not, everyone has their own fair share of secrets.“ Nayantai surely had some to keep, as did he, as did Richard. The sole exception to this rule was Shuren, who seemed like his entire existence was one big exception because he couldn‘t accept not being in power and that was that, wasn‘t it? „As a good father should be, I‘m guessing“, he chuckled and it was nice seeing the blonde in higher spirits, unconcerned and free to talk about what they wanted without being sent off of the fucking rails by one single unintentional comment. What was Richards life like? Could it be any fun if everything hurt like a stabwound to the gut? “Hm, it could be, but I do doubt it is. Muhan doesn’t carry grudges, I don’t know about your father, but there is something else. Well, if they want to tell us, they will, if not, I’ll annoy them!” That was another mystery he wanted to unfurl, but maybe Shuren knew more and was more eager to tell it all than the two actually involved were. Then, however, Richard denied him something, too. “Nevermind? So your grandfathers were fucking? Wow, runs in the family, huh?” What on earth was that supposed to mean?

      Yujin often overstepped boundaries and even when he did quite understand something, he still prodded and annoyed and hoped for something, for any reaction, but barely any sufficed most of the time - yet, Richards were lovely and made his heart skip a beat. That was new. “We have food and some snow to keep us covered, we couldn’t ask for anything better!”, he commented and it was true, but they’d still have to gut the rabbit and get rid of its fur, much like they had to do to the raven, but they had to pluck all of its feathers, too, and get rid of the head. This would be a fun learning experience, wouldn’t it? Now that they were doing their own thing, he wondered if it all was just because they needed out, because they needed some alone time but not apart from the other, though, whatever the case, this would make or break part of their relationship, depending on how it went, wouldn’t it? Yujin couldn’t imagine anything different, but he did go at it and tried setting up their tent - this wasn’t so bad, he had watched Quan and helped him do it often enough, it just had been some time, once Richard did ask, however, he only chuckled. “No, I’m done”, he then announced before walking on over to him and wrapping his arms around the blonde from behind - was he too touchy? “This is nice, you know?”
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "He isn't scary, trust me. Shuren is from what you tell me.", Richard answered. For Nayantai to go wild it needed a lot and some guy wrapping his son around his finger wasn't enough, even if he broke Richards heart in the end. Yujin wouldn't try to harm the blonde, not for real, he wouldn't try to kill him or lock him up and that was about enough to turn Nayantai into a scared and hurt dog if anything. He didn't like to be around people, he never did as long as Richard could remember, but he was pretty sure Nayantai was glad Yujin existed and was there for Richard. He was glad he made him go out and think of something else than his revenge. Maybe he even hoped that he would wipe that idea from Richards brain, but the blonde doubted that. It just needed another nightmare to ignite all of it again. "I could ask Nayantai. He mostly tells me when I ask...", Richard said, at least he could try, right? Nayantai and Rain never were much for secrets, even though they kept their relationship hidden at times. It was his grandfathers that seemingly couldn't stop lying anymore. "My grandfather started a war over your former king, you know?", Richard said, but left it at that. Yujin could make of it what he wanted.

      "Well a hot bath would be nice, but we can't have everything.", Richard said and looked at the tent that looked like it would hold until tomorrow. What was missing now was the sleepingbags and the fur Richard brought to make it nice and comfortable for the night. This was kind of weird and it felt like more than just a stupid trip and yet Richard enjoyed the time together with Yujin, especially since they were alone like that. Further more it felt good to care for themselves even if only for a day or two, it felt nice to not have any obligations and it was nice having company through all of this. It was an escape, but only a short one, for now however Richard intended to enjoy it. Suddenly Richard felt Yujins arms wrapped around him and for a short moment he didn't know what to say or do. "It is...", he mumbled after a short break and without fighting himself out of the embrace, he grabbed the raven he shot to start plucking out its feathers. This would probably take a while, because he wasn't quite used to this and not as fast as a cook who did this every day, but the sun was still up and their camp was almost finished, there was no need for hurry and thus he also didn't demand help from Yujin right now, who was busy hugging him.

    • “Oh, he can be. Sure, there’s times where he isn’t but honestly? He can be really fucking scary if you get on his nerves. That doesn’t apply to his children, thank god, but I’m surprised that so many people willingly work for him.” There were things going on in that stupid castle of theirs that Yujin didn’t want to know and didn’t want to hear, but sometimes he did and he was glad that his brain was full of holes, but then again, he did stumble into some of his fathers rooms and wondered what the fuck he did with his free time - why was he so obsessed with poison? “Hm, let’s try and pry something out of our fathers then, one has to say whatever, right?” Not that this was an important topic, Yujin was sure of it, but he very much knew that curiosity would kill the cat eventually, so why not do it now before it came right out of the left field? “Ah, so they definitely were fucking. And then they both had kids that also had kids, and one of them is you. Wow, sounds like your family is really close and has shit luck, all the time - I’m sorry.” That ran in the family, as much as being … no, no need to mention that, at best, this was just a fling and Richard didn’t even like him that way, maybe he still loved girls!

      “If we brought a bigger pot, I could have thrown you in there with some snow. But I doubt that boiled and unseasoned sheep tastes nice, especially when I’m the head chef”, he chuckled and peered over the blondes shoulders, to the raven in his hand and he wondered if that thing was save to eat and wouldn’t make a better trophy than food. Yujin slumped down a bit, crouched behind Richard ever so slightly and then let his hands slide over the blondes arms, down to his own hands, before he griped them. “It’ll be easier if you pluck against the direction of growth”, he told Richard and as if to demonstrate, led the blondes hands to do it - and it was easier. Actually, with water it would have been even easier, but they didn’t need to waste it and until the snow did melt it would be gone - they didn’t really bring any pots, did they? No, it didn’t look like it. “Also, if they’re too small to get them between your fingers, pluck them individually, but I assume you probably know that”, Yujin elaborated, before letting his hands slide off of Richard let him do what he wanted. Instead, he got up, wiped his hands off on some snow and grabbed the fur he’d brought, only to drag it into the tent with him, to lay it out nicely and keep it somewhat warm for both of them, even though he knew that they couldn’t light a fire in there, so their body warmth had to suffice. Didn’t he want to skin and disembowel a rabbit? Though, they had time and Richard rather went for the raven first it seemed. “You need help yet?”
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "Good think I dragged you out here against his will and am not his son...", Richard answered full of sarcasm. He wasn't sure if he needed to be worried, but maybe no one would ever find out where they went, so then it would be fine, right? Also, didn't Yujin say Shuren would protect him no matter what, even though they both weren't sure exactly why? Were him and Nayantai that close? Well he did come here for a reason. "Maybe they fucked before Nayantai married, who knows.", Richard joked, just threw some thought into the air, but it probably wasn't that. Or maybe it was, who knew? Even if, it didn't matter much, did it? Wolves fucked right and left anyway and nobody cared, at least he got that impression from being here. "They are connected in weird ways yes and my family never was lucky. My father lost Fhaergus, Nayantai lost much more during the war, Rikiya lost more than one child and Caelans life was a mess for multiple years. So it only follows that I lost my family and my kingdom, not much of a surprise I guess...", Richard mumbled, he just spoke out loud what he had thought previously anyway.

      "Uhm, excuse me?", Richard asked and shook his head, Yujin was an idiot. "I'm not letting myself be cooked by you." Didn't Yujin say he burnt everything he tried to cook? So he wouldn't even be tasty in the end. For some reason though Yujin was still behind him and now he even crouched down. Richard felt his breath by his neck and on his cheek and his body suddenly felt odd and numb. There was a lot of fabric between them, but Richard still felt a slight shiver run through his body when Yujin touched him like that and the blonde worked a little slower until he stopped when his hands were gripped. Yujin was doing this on purpose, didn't he? And Richard felt once more that he was more drawn to him than he wanted to be. He let Yujin help him, but didn't thank him or say anything else. He missed his warmth when he stood up though, but that didn't get a comment either. Instead he continued getting rid of the feathers while Yujin stuffed the sleepingbags and fur into the tent. When he came out again Richard looked at him. "You could try and find some sticks to put the meat on. I think we'll just go for grilling, is that alright?" Richard however grabbed his own knife now to at least get rid of the birds hand. It didn't even bleed properly, probably because by now it's blood was frozen, but that would change next to the fire. While Yujin was occupied Richard finished up the bird. "I'm done. Your turn."

    • “He won’t murder you, I think he respects Nayantai too much for that. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually scared of him”, Yujin answered. Sometimes he didn’t seem like he actually trusted Nayantai, yet, they all seemed to get along just fine - it was odd, wasn’t it? Not only were they supposed to be friends and that for years now, they also seemed to have no idea what was going on half of the time, but then again, Yujin was in no position to judge his parents and their behavior. “Married who? Your dad? You think that Muhan can carry a grudge that long and that he’s that attached to him?” If that was true, that sounded painful, but it also made sense why he was fed up with Shuren so fast and why they sometimes seemed as if they were just trying to compensate for something, or did he catch the wrong vibes from those two? Whatever, none of his business, they were old and stubborn enough to know everything they wanted themselves. “Sounds like being part of your family is a strain. However, you’re not to blame, you know? But that’s going to get a bit too gloomy, too fast - should I tell you a funny story? If so, just let me know.” Or maybe Richard would benefit from knowing the misfortune that Yujins own family had to deal with - the misfortune was name Shuren and he was, quite positively, insane.

      “I don’t need to cook you, you’re hot as is!” That was a compliment and he couldn’t help himself as he snickered about it. Was this was Richard wanted to hear? Whatever, he had already heard it and Yujin wouldn’t take that back. Now that he had let go, it felt almost sort of miserable to him, the warmth that the blonde emitted was gone and the tender touch was nice, but they wanted to eat, not fuck, or have some sort of loving makeout session amidst some snow while the sun was slowly disappearing and would, eventually, let them be enveloped by darkness. It was stupid to think that they had all the time in the world out here, but what was certain was, that they definitely wouldn’t be hassled by anyone, except themselves. “Sure thing and grilling is fine”, he chuckled before he went over to the tree that they had tied their horses to, rummaged through the snow and when he didn’t find anything, grabbed a knife and started crawling up the tree a bit, just so that je could cut some of the smaller branches down, drag them down with him in one swift motion and land right in the snow. “Ah, fuck”, he mewled. Though he stood on both feet, his thigh didn’t like that and he started massaging it for a good minute, before going back over to Richard and bringing the newly acquired sticks with him. “We do have sticks now, well, we’ll start with gutting the rabbit”, he said, pulling the carcass onto himself and taking the knife from earlier. “You lay it down like this”, he demonstrated as he prodded the dead animal on its lap, then took the knife and put it to the fur. “Give me your hand, but don’t cut too deep, or else we’ll have killed this rabbit for naught - if you puncture its stomach, you’ve officially fucked up. Basically you down from here”, he pointed towards its neck. “To here”, and stopped with his finger just below the stomach area. “Got it?”
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "Scared? I don't know if he'd hurt his friends... well over his family maybe, but... well it doesn't matter.", Richard answered and wasn't sure what exactly those old men were to each other. What Richard did know was that Nayantai probably didn't tell them anything useful about what happened in Adrestia. "No, not my dad. Well maybe it was that too, but Nayantai was married before. But she died a long time ago.", Richard explained. What was her name again? Tei? Nayantai didn't speak much of her, Richard wasn't even sure if he ever wanted to marry her in the first place. "Before he married her I guess he was our age and a prince, weren't Shuren and Muhan too? So they probably met a view times, like you do now, right?" Richard didn't know all too much about it or where exactly every one of them was from, but at some point Rikiya and Nayantai left Silesse and the rest of the west behind to live more to the east. "No it's fine. I don't need a funny story. In the end I had a good childhood, everyone one of us had some good times, maybe that's enough for us."

      "You're such a dork, stop with the compliments!", Richard demanded, but he was softly smiling about it. He didn't know how Yujin managed to be that happy all the time, on the other hand he had been too before all of this happened. There wasn't much that was able to throw him out of the loop. Richard continued with what he was doing while Yujin searched in the snow and finally crawled up that tree. When he came down with some sticks again he looked like he was in pain, but Richard remained where he was for now and the wolf seemed like he was able to walk over. "Are you alright?", he asked once he arrived next to Richard, but he seemed fine. Now it was time to care for the rabbit, but instead of Yujin doing it himself, he grabbed Richards hand. "I thought I'll just watch!", he exclaimed but he nodded eventually and got the knife placed into his hand again. He tried to cut into the rabbit, but at first he probably was to careful, so he put some more pressure into it and cut where Yujin wanted him to. When he was done he looked at Yujin. "There... good?", he asked.

    • “In the end, I’m still here to annoy the everloving fuck out of you, whatever you want or not, you’re stuck with me!” He wasn’t wrong about that, yet, this wasn’t going to be a thing forever - at some point, they would part ways and then, nothing of this mattered anymore. He’d marry Yin, maybe have a kid and then he’d die eventually, whatever he was young or old didn’t matter much, he’d just do his thing and hope that that was what he was supposed to do, that whatever god imparted their blessing upon him at least had something good for him in store, but whatever the case, in the end, Yujin would see all of this come to fruition. “So Nayantai was married twice? I mean, they abandoned the old customs some time ago, but he did tell you that he was supposed to kill himself if his wife died, die he?” The rules were stupid and Shuren thought as much, which was why he eventually sat down with Khojin, who did agree - maybe because they both couldn’t stand to lose more people, or because they weren’t insane - but things did change around here, too. “Shuren has always been a prince, but he wasn’t in line for the throne … as for Muhan, uhm, well. He was? He is? Theoretically? But he likes playing dad and dog, so he forfeited the title and his home has become so insignificant that they barely hold any power.” That was sad, but it also was how these things went. “That’s good to hear.”

      “Says the guy with the handsome face, the nice eyes and the stunning hair that manages to look incredibly hot while sometimes feeling like garbage! How the fuck do you want me to stay away from you with that nice ass of yours?” Yujin did compliment him a whole bunch there, but he didn’t expect any answers or any more compliments that were thrown his way instead. What he really wanted was a nice reaction that came from Richard, some of those stunning expressions that he made when they were having sex, but Yujin figured that that wouldn’t be easy to pull off. “Leg is fine, just a bitch upon impact”, he elaborated and it was true, the last time it hurt he was forcibly shoved out of bed and landed on his ass and on the leg, but it seemed that clothes and soft snow didn’t make all of this so bad, it only was temporary anyway. “Practice makes perfect!” This was true, and he guided Richards hand ever so slightly. Once the procedure was over, he stabbed the knife into the snow next to him and then pulled the skin, or rather fur and flesh apart from one another and grabbed the knife again to pull the rest off. “I mean, it could be a bit cleaner, but it works just fine, so no need to worry”, he elaborated, then started dismantling the poor thing from inside out, getting rid of guts and whatever bone might have been in the way - this was dirty work at best, but he did show Richard what he was doing. “And now, we take it apart and put it on a stick, unless you have objections?”
      Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.

    • "I know that. It's impossible to get rid of you.", Richard commented, but for now this was just fine. He enjoyed this trip, he didn't want to be alone or run away, it was just fine the way it was, with Yujin by his side, out in the wilderness, alone otherwise. He wasn't happy about being in a large crowd and even with as little people as there were here in Silesse, it was sometimes too much, especially when everyone was looking at him. It didn't even matter what he wore, because his hair was always making him different and quite obviously a sheep. He had enough of that and he wanted something normal, a trip like this felt like just that and even the thoughts about his family, however grim they were, didn't make him run, or shout. He was feeling good today. "He was. And yes I know, but Rikiya and Nayantai both weren't big for traditions as it seems.", Richard answered. He knew the story, but Rikiya wouldn't have let his son die no matter what, he was sure of that and it had its perks being king. Not that Richard would ever know now... "So all princes around the same age, doing stupid stuff Thrians do. Probably they did something stupid together and it looms over their heads still."

      "Stop!", Richard said and instead of hitting the wolf on his head, he instead hit him in the side with his elbow, since Richards hand was bloody right now and he didn't want to get Yujin all dirty. "Now you're just making fun of me!", Richard pointed out. What was he even talking about? He wasn't that good looking and right now with those stupid Thrian clothes he couldn't even see Richards ass. "Good then...", he mumbled after Yujin told him his leg did just fine and afterwards they were occupied with the rabbit. Yes practice made perfect but they only had two animals to fuck up, in the end though, Richard did good enough. Yujin managed the rest and after all was done, Richard nodded. "You can start cutting it up and then care about the raven. I brought some seasoning, so wait with the grilling.", Richard explained, put his hands in the snow and rubbed them against each other to get rid of most of the blood. Then he stood up and walked to the bags to find some salt and other things. "I also brought herbs, I watched Nayantai brew some tea, I can manage. Care for one?", he asked also getting two cups. The water was hot by now and it was easier to grill the flesh when they got rid of the pot anyway. As long as they kept it close to the fire it would stay warm a while longer. He already stuffed the right herbs in the cup without waiting for an answer and then poured some hot water over it. He then left the pot next to the fire and brought the cups over to Yujin and sat next to him. Then he started to smell some of the spices he brought... this was more improvising than anything else, but at least salt and pepper were easy. He took the meat Yujin prepared and started rubbing some of it on the flesh and added what he deemed good. For Yujin he added some more spice. With that the meat was ready to be skewered and put close to the fire.