bloodbound. (earinor & akira)

Yujin had tried to be considerate of Richard and his feelings, not only for his own, very personal gain but also because he believed the blonde deserved a break from the world that wronged him, kept him on the edge and probably must have felt like it was close to throwing him over, down into the maws and claws of hell all this time - and the wolf could do nothing. In hindsight, he could have never done anything, it had already happened and therefore, there was nothing else he could even make out - nothing he could do for the two of them, much less could he help Richard with all those problems of ages past. What Yujin could do, however, was try to mend them right about now and not lose himself in what was less important - but then again, what was actually important? A plethora of questions arose and the underlying, undeniable awareness, that he had fallen head over heels for a guy that had broken him out of his own damn home wasn't the best, especially not when he stood in front of his father, that probably suspected as much, way before any of the two had done. "Only after I do? And what are you going to do if you decide, oh no, I don't want you here? Then I'd just have wasted my time and work by building a room!", the wolf chuckled, but he doubted he'd get a reaction out of any of them. In that regard, they seemingly were the same, weren't they? "Well, I guess that does provide a problem.", the old man answered, but he didn't even offer a solution. What in the world!

"Most likely. I did prepare some more, just in case." Not that the old man knew, though, right? For Yujin, it was kind of hard to figure Richard out at first, but once he had a gist of the situation, he'd just tried his earnest on focusing on eradicating some of the problems he seemed to have - with Richards father, it was different. On one hand, Yujin didn't know if he was scary or not - given the fact that he was one-eyed, kind of greying already and didn't have the friendliest of facial expressions - but his behavior and the way Richard spoke of him stood in direct contrast, even to his deep and menancing voice, that had not really said anything insulting whenever Yujin was listening or talking to the old man. Was this merely a rouse? "I don't mean to be a bother, I don't need f-", he explained regardless, but Richards old man seemingly paid it no mind. "No need to be humble now.", he scoffed instead and Yujin did take off his shoes and his outer coat, just to be save and not force puddles of water to form on the floorboards that probably had seen better days, though, without natural light it was hard to tell anyway. "Oh, yes I do! That's what I wanted to come here for, right?", he exclaimed and then trailed after the blonde, before spying the pots and the sprouts coming out of them. Yujin had no idea what they'd turn into eventually, but they looked small and fragile right now, nothing worth boasting about, but it was almost cute. "Well, they do still have a long way to go, but that means something can at least grow out here!"

Didn't Richard seemingly hate his old man a few months ago? Probably he did, but it was nice to see them just talking to each other like that, even if they'd found a common enemy and it turned out to be Yujin of all people. What a pain it was, but he wasn't sure if he truly was that to them or if he was just overreacting once more and hoping that this was only a temporary alliance against him - then again, Nayantai was more of a constant in Richards life than he was, right? Why would he hate for them to get along? He'd actually like that, especially because of all the things he knew from Richard - he deserved someone in his life to hold onto, especially if it theoretically was the last person he had anyway. "Don't be mean now! You can't just have me build an entire room and not let me use it!", Yujin laughed, but he knew Richard didn't mean it like that ... right? There was only one way to find out, yet, he couldn't exactly show up with a floor plan and a saw, as well as nails and wood planks tomorrow and start building his little room - he'd feel like he was intruding on someone elses life, someone that much rather wanted to be alone and spend their time with him only occasionally. It didn't help that Richards old man probably would agree anyway, putting his sons needs before his own preferences - Yujin would just feel bad.

"There isn't much to see just yet, but it's better than a seed that's just sitting in a pot. That means you took good care of them so far." Plants needed water and sunlight, love wasn't exactly on their list of needs, but if someone truly cared for them, they usually became even better than they were supposed to be - and Yujin was not going to deny that, even if his fair share of experiences with flowers and crops alike was nothing important - he'd seen them a few times, in warmer parts of Thria that actually weren't made of ice, but he hadn't gone there in so long. "I can?", the wolf suddenly beamed with excitement, if not confidence and he did grab the pot before he went to work, though, he was seemingly extremely careful to not overwater them, which kind of felt like a deja-vu in many regards ... did he do this before? Was he still dreaming and imagining things? His mind was a cloudy mess, so much in fact, that he only looked up after he had heard Richard and stood there, dumbfounded for a second. "I don't want to be a bother, so I'll just drink whatever you are having, if that's alright.", he answered, but he wasn't even sure what Richard had. "Do you two even drink any of that alcohol?", he blurted out upon spotting the bottles. "I use it for cooking, if I need it.", Richards old man answered. What a bummer, he should have found a more suitable gift, then.

"You are just trying to challenge me! Fine, I will!", Yujin answered, but he most certainly didn't mean a room for the hut right here - he and Richard had talked about something that Yujin would call one of his favorite places in and around Silesse. The only thing he had to do was work diligently, as well as pick a good spot and if he didn't know something, he'd be sure to ask for advice from somebody the next time he rode back into town. Surely, he could keep this a secret from Richard until he actually took him there - and once that happened, he could present said hut to him with a proud grin on his face - how did that sound? Dreamier than ever, and he could even be the one that surprised the blonde for once! "Hey, that's just mean!" Yet, as mean as this was, there only seemed to be a nod of approval of Nayantai and nothing else. Well, it was two against one, so he had lost it either way, which most certainly meant that no matter what he tried now, he'd be grabbing the short end of the stick and found himself up against an old wolf and his already kind of grown cub - whatever, he never expected to win anything in this house anyway and while he had hoped he'd not lose something, he most certainly had. However, Yujin also figured that, as long as he was stuck in his home, this was better than anything and even if his father was nothing more than a control freak, he'd make do somehow - he was an adult already, after all.

"Only time will tell, then. And if there isn't enough sun, maybe you can find a nice, suitable spot close to the fireplace?" Without burning them, preferably, but it still gave of warmth and light, which were two things that the plants would need in all those dire times that called themselves Silesses endless winter - it truly was endless, but once summer rolled around again, it would get slightly warmer and the sun was out for more hours of the day. Did Richard even know how long silessian winter was? "So, you two just don't drink. Guess I need a better gift for next time, or I'll come over and drink with you." Yujin still doubted that he was always welcome here, but it was nice that he was for now, that he could just water all those plants and not think about home for a few minutes - not find himself occupied with many things, but none as important - no, he just stood there and was eventually handed a cup of spiked tea. As he slightly blew on it, he gazed over to both Richard and Nayantai, both who didn't seem to care much for the heat coming from it, or did they? In fact, the old man actually blew on it maybe once, before downing what seemed to be the entire thing. What? Yujin put his cup to his lips and took a sip - this wasn't too strong, but it tasted like something. And it was warm, hot even. "Actually, I do have a question, maybe two, uh, if you'd be willing to answer them?", Yujin asked in Nayantais direction. "I'll see if I can answer them, then." This was bound to get awkward, wasn't it? "You know my fathers, right? Uh, do you ... this is going to sound incredibly awkward ... do you not like Shuren?" The moment he spoke that aloud, the old man laughed. Not for long, not loud, but he actually laughed. "Did I say something wrong?" "No, just what gives you the idea?" Yujin felt awkward and drank another sip from his cup. "Uh ... uhm ... it's just ..."

"Then it's trial and error! It's still light and if anything, worth a try. You can't just individually light a candle for all of your plants, that would be a bit too much, no?" Maybe it was, but Yujin wasn't sure if it was the good mood that persisted and invigorated him for a second - he was just his usual self, as much as he could be and the fact that me made someone like Nayantai laugh was nice, too, but it would have been even nicer if it were Richard. Though, the mood seemed to shift drastically already, not in a bad way, which was good to hear and see - none of this was going as he'd expected it, not in a bad way to be exact and as long as he was out here, he was save from the world around him as well. It felt almost as if he had entered a little bubble, far away from reality, that continued to exist for safekeeping, but alas, even a stranger entered and stayed in here, not for long, but for now. "Really?", Yujin questioned, only for the old wolf to shake his head. "No, you don't have to bring anything. If you want to come here, feel free to." As long as Richard wanted him to, he was welcome here, then? That sounded like a sweet deal, he had to agree, but that was about all there was to it. At some point, this hut would be empty again and then Yujin wouldn't even know what this night had been about - he couldn't fathom why he was forgetting all of these things, but he didn't want to think about that all the time, either. "Oh ... you're right. Sorry, kid.", Nayantai retaliated and judging by the way he acted for a second, he probably found his tongue to be numb. Did Yujin want to question that? Or had Richard already told him? Why did his old man not mind, though? Also ... did he just call him dad? Well, that meant they got along just fine, didn't it? This was even more fun! "Is everything alright?", Yujin still asked, but the old wolf just looked at him, as if he should know what was up, before shaking his head. "Don't worry. I don't taste a lot or feel a lot, and sometimes I do forget that.", he elaborated, to which Yujin only nodded his head. Was there anything this man could have, then? Years of war took a toll on anyone, but even Muhan wasn't as riddled with pain and scars and loss of some sort of function as Nayantai seemed to be - Yujin felt sorry for him, for both of them, but he still was intimidated, not only by the sheer height of the old wolf, but also the way he looked and seemed to be able to act. If anything, he was glad he wasn't his enemy.

"You did? Well, then the cat is out of the bag anyway. For context, I don't hate him, I've known him too long for that and I do know that he's had his fair share of problems for as long as I know him, but some things are just inexcusable, and I think he could stand to tone down his ego trip. If I'm completely honest. But he's still a good friend.", the old man explained, almost nonchalantly and Yujin couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief for a while, before he was the one to shake his head. What problems? Had his father ever told him? There was nothing that he could figure out like this, but it gave him a place to start at. "Can I ask what kind of problems?", he suddenly inquired, but that, in turn, let Nayantai think for a moment. "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you, it's ... quite the delicate theme and I don't know a lot myself. I'd rather not ... but you had a different question, right? What about that one?" That was a bummer, but it couldn't be helped - Shuren would have told him if he wanted to, and if it actually bothered him, there would have been something he could have done about that as well. What a pain. "Right! Both me and Richard wanted to ask Muhan first, but since I kiiind of avoided him the past week, I never got to it. And since I already asked something incredibly awkward, can I ask something else that's even more awkward? I probably have no business of knowing that either, but I already said something silly." Yujin drunk from his cup of tea, purposefully avoiding eye contact with Nayantai for a split second, too. What else was he supposed to do to avoid this stare? He couldn't quite run away. "Ask away, then." Was that really okay to ask? "We wanted to know if there was something between you and Muhan, did you have a fight? You always act so awkward around one another." And instead of scoffing at him, or growing silent, the old man laughed again, seemingly incredibly amused by what Yujin had just said. What on earth was going on here. "Give me a break, I'm too old for all of this. Do you really want to know that?" Was he really wiping a tear from his eye? That hadn't even been so funny!

"I get that, I didn't insinuate that you'd have to bring them too close. Sorry.", Yujin apologized, but Richard was right, too much warmth and sun wasn't good for a lot of plants either and not matter what he'd use as an excuse, he doubted it'd be totally suitable for a situation like this either, which was why he left it at that in the first place. Still, who would take care of these plants once Richard was gone? He hardly could come out here all the time, break into the hut and sit here for hours on end, hoping somebody would come back and greet him, show him that not all hope was lost and that Richard wasn't gone forever, once he waltzed out the door. Damnit, this was hardly what he wanted to talk about! "No, but no ones expecting that of you, you know? That's not meant as an insult, but everyone's just glad you're alright. No one's worrying about that for me, though and my presence isn't quite the best gift, especially when I'm just dropping by to steal you away from the ounth time." That it was and he only wanted to do Nayantai a favor by bringing him some good alcohol, something that he'd maybe enjoy, but given the nature of his predicament, Yujin would have to take mental note to get him something other than alcohol or food, something he could actually enjoy. "Nothing. I'm just glad you called me dad, actually.", Nayantai answered instead, and he did smile, solely at Richard at that, but he genuinely seemed happy. "Aside from my hand. But that's another boring story I don't want to annoy you both with." How many injuries did this guy have? Why was he still alive? How was he still alive? Yujin was perplexed. "Well, no, but he's my friend just as I am his. We just don't see each other often and people can and will change. That's sort of the gist of it. Either way, do you really want me to go into detail about all of this? Look, I don't mind, but if I tell you anything, you two have to promise to pretend you never heard it and I'm not accusing you of being lose-mouthed, I'm just saying it might be hard.", the old man offered up and Yujin, instead of answering, shot Richard a glance - if anything, Nayantai would most likely tell his own son more than he would want to tell the son of the man he was talking about. Either way, it was up to the blonde now, all the while Yujin listened diligently. Once more, the old wolf shook his head though, especially now that Richard had sounded so excited about his Muhan story, whatever that was, but Yujin, likewise, was invested as well.

"Me too!", he chimed in like a little kid, which only earned them some more laughter from Nayantai, who seemingly was way too amused by this situation, he couldn't help himself at all. "Fine, fine. It's at least been thirty years and no, I don't hate Muhan. When I was younger, I grew up in Silesse and I was friends with Muhan, Shuren, and two other people, Tei and Khasar. As things go when you're younger, you do stupid stuff, you learn stupid stuff and you want to try out stupid stuff. One thing led to the other and suddenly I'm sixteen, trying to process grief over the loss of someone the first time, and I'm leaving Silesse in no time." Yujin knew his father was stupidly compassionate, often enough, but this idiot wouldn't just have ran after somebody across half of Thria, right? That couldn't be where this was going, not at all. "So, I'm lonely, someplace I don't even know, with most of the people I was friends with back in Silesse, just because my mother decides, because of the war, to boost morale, we're moving the camp somewhere else. Either way, I'm grieving, I'm tired, I'm lonely and I just had the coming of age ceremony behind me. Mind you, that basically just meant it was okay to use me as canon fodder for the war. Either way, after the ounth concussion that I had given myself, trying to prove I could kill who knows how many Adrestians, I suddenly wake up in my tent, and Muhan is there. Why is he here, why is he not at home? Nobody knows, he ran all the way after me, to grieve together, but who knows what on earth was happening to me at that point." "My dad ran all the way after you?", Yujin chimed in. "Sure did, and he stayed for quite a considerable amount of time. I don't know why, not to this day, but it might as well have been the best thing that had happened in my life up until that point. Sure, I still had to fight and obviously, not all went smooth, given that two of my brothers went up and died, as well as my mother, but wherever I went, there was Muhan and he held out a supporting hand for me. So, what do you do now that all of this is happening? Right, fall in love with the guy that's always there for you. Only took one and a half year since he's come all the way here. And then, get engaged to him in the most awkward proposal in your life. And after that, I thought that was going to be my life. Aside from, well, my father broke us up and I got engaged to Tei instead, which would count as the second most awkward marriage proposal in my life. And af-" "YOU GOT WHAT NOW?", Yujin almost spat out his tea. "Engaged to Muhan? Who I was terribly and most awkwardly in love with? What did you two even think? Either way, after I got engaged to Tei, maybe a few months after, the entire camp got burned to the ground and I got dragged to Adrestia. And after that ... well, that's another cesspit of pain, all the way up until I met Rain."

"But I still always steal you away like you have no business being at home in the first place. I do enjoy being with you, but I always come by without even announcing myself and most of the time it's me that keeps you from coming home for a day or two." Did anyone even mind that? Yujin wasn't so sure, the old wolf seemed more laid-back than his own parents and all that he could think of was, that no matter what he did with Richard, he had to be up for it in the first place, or else the wolf had to kind of force him to be up for it. What a bummer, really, but there was nothing much he could do about it in the first place anyway. "Still.", Nayantai replied, but Yujin didn't want to involve himself in half of the mess that was going on here, even when he had to mentally admit to himself that it was fun to see them get along. Were they like this when he wasn't around? Somehow, he doubted it, but he couldn't know. "Why would anyone do that? Thrian punishments can be kind of extreme, I know that, but that still doesn't even sound fair!", Yujin complained, though given the fact that the old man wore gloves, he couldn't even spot the offending scar, or anything related to his hands. Who wore gloves in here? This seemed impractical, yet, he knew better than to ask. "Things change, but it used to be an eye for an eye out here." And that it kind of still was, just not as extreme. "He'll forget?", Nayantai asked almost bewildered, as if he didn't know just yet, which he apparently really did not. "My brain is kind of scrambled, so there's a good, I'd say ninety percent chance I'll forget it in a week or two.", he replied.

Joyous occassions were fun, that Yujin had to admit, but Richard didn't quite seem like he enjoyed what his father had talked about, and the wolf usually wasn't one to prod, not in the presence of others, but he still felt like asking. "So, your engagement to Rain was the least awkward one?", he wondered instead. "Theoretically, it was still quite awkward, but also unintentional. It also was hard to explain to him what he just did, given that I didn't speak a lot of adrestian at the time, but ... I still wore it and I still wear it, despite all of that - and if I'm terribly honest, it was the best and sweetest thing that ever happened to me, even if it happened on accident. It was so sweet in fact that, when I stole him away to Thria, I eventually made him his own and actually proposed to him. Coming up with something to carve is usually not the easiest, especially if you want it to be perfect. But I decided on the nightsky, the stars and the moon, because that's what we did like to watch and Rain always wanted to stargaze from outside", the old wolf explained and mindlessly fiddled with the worn piece of wood that dangled off of the talisman. It did look old, Yujin did see that, but the old man also looked quite ... it wasn't embarrassed, was it? "That's also the only time I actually got married and I wouldn't want to have it any other way. Actually, if I could have him back, that would be even better ... but that's not something that's going to happen, sadly. I can't even really pay him a visit.", Nayantai begrudgingly admitted and obviously seemed to have gotten lost in what he was talking about - Yujin felt bad for the old man, who he'd just coerced into telling him something that most likely still hurt.

"Wait ... did you get married in Adrestia? Adrestians have rings, right?" The wolf was suddenly curious. "We got married in Thria, and yes they do, but we never got them. Actually, getting married in Adrestia would have been possible but it ... would have been a bit much for the public, given the circumstances. Not that it meant that we couldn't obviously be in love. We tried to hide it for a bit, but it didn't go so well." Yujin just nodded, he did kind of understand what the old man meant, but on the other hand, it felt like getting further into the topic was going to just derail the conversation even more than he already had. "As for Shuren, though.", he suddenly started, setting his empty cup - which he had held onto for a considerable amount of time - aside. "His father was quite ... the person. Huge ego, general distaste for anyone that didn't fall into his definition of loyal or beautiful and overall just an awful guy that took whatever he wanted, from whomever he wanted. Given, he got that from his mother - just like anyone else had. Once he got turned down by the woman he was supposed to marry, he married another - or rather stole her from her husband, had his eldest son with her and she eventually just faded into nothingness. Shurens mother was the same, and as far as I know, he only married her for her looks - and Shuren wound up looking nothing like her, which was why he just ... took it out on her. And given the nature of things, Shuren just got the short end of the stick when his mother took it out on him for being himself. That's most of what I know, the only other thing I'm fairly aware of is, that his youngest brother is his soft spot. He killed his father and his older brother, but he only sent the youngest out of harms way.", Nayantai quickly explained, but that was it. Yujin looked at him, aghast, unable to process what he just heard and he wasn't looking all that joyful anymore. "I shouldn't have talked that m-" "No, it's fine, I wanted to know. This is just ... a lot?"

"Well, no. I'm not here to punish you for having fun, neither of you." And if it would have been anything he had a say in, he would most likely not even have went to collect them - Muhan had just showed up here, two horses in tow and Nayantai had been easily swayed since he had nothing else to do, even if it didn't mean that he actually had to do something. Was he even worried? Richard had proven, time and time again, that he could take care of himself, more or less, and that he didn't require constant supervision from his old man. "I still have it, but yes, that's also an option." Not that it was quite useful, though, and he'd figured as much - the older he got, the more useless it was and while he didn't feel anything with it and it constantly was about as cold as silessian snow, he at least tried to keep it warm with a glove and generally had let adrestian doctors look at it, just to see if it wasn't actually dying and slowly rotting off, but no, there was no such thing going on. Was he suprirsed or disappointed? He couldn't tell, but given the fact that he'd never been a fan of Rains doctors to begin with, general check-ups were already a pain and while he was fairly aware that some of his scars would never stop hurting, he just endured it - it wouldn't just go away eventually, but that was, what his life had come to.

Yujin, on the other hand wasn't quite sure what to think of all the new information he suddenly had to take in. If he had an uncle somewhere, why didn't his father retrieve him after the war, if he liked him so much? Why did he do all of this, even? There was a lack of answers, but given what the old wolf had just told him, his father was just ... generally fucked up, huh? What a pain. "Adrestia sounds a lot more stuck up than Thria ever was. I know, there's some bad eggs, but they are few and far between.", Yujin sighed upon Richards explanation of the general state of what was going on. "I mean, if you're already king and can't even marry who you love, isn't that just ... I don't know, you have the most power you could have and are still tied down by obligations? That must feel unfair.", he commented, yet, not even Nayantai was quick to refute him this time around. "Adrestia just works ... differently, it's always been one way, and change is not exactly what they are after. Rain was quite different from that, but even Richard would have had a better shot at marrying a man than him, though, even if one percent turns into two, that's not much more either. What I'm saying is, what one wants often stands in direct contrast to what one is expected to do, as stupid as it sounds." And with that, the cold man turned back to their dinner for a second, to check the contents of the kettle for a bit and see, if it was done yet. "I do, but where is the better question. I doubt I can ask my father if he's not gotten back to him by now.", Yujin sighed, before he sat his eyes on Richard once more. "I mean, if you could, would you marry a man?" Not that he meant himself, but ... he just felt like asking.

"You broke him out, probably. Why else would he be here?", Nayantai answered, but he definitely knew no details, which was most likely why it only took a moment for him to follow up what he just said. "But how did you break him out? I'm not going to send anyone back home, though, I might as well ask what you did." In the end, he was still Richards father and while he wouldn't claim he had a right to know those things, nobody would be mad at him if he just asked, especially when Richards own question was just on the nose as it could be. Given the fact that they both were here now, though, Nayantai also didn't mind - he could still claim that being in this hut was nothing out of the ordinary, it wasn't like being locked up and there was no need for Shuren to freak out about his son defying him, especially when all that he ever did was nothing that seemed to be quite as important - he just wanted to live his life to his fullest, right? "I won't drink it right now, I learned my lesson.", the old man commented, but he soon enough joined Richard as he sat down by the table, much like Yujin did, who wondered what this even entailed. Before Nayantai could explain, Yujin was the one to open his mouth, however. "They were more convenient for lunging around when you moved places, but yours is missing a nice and comfortable piece of clothing, draped over it, to keep your legs warm." They didn't even have this thing in the castle.

"Kind of? Nobody has an idea how to do it and trading works for them, so why change something that works? But, then again, you can't really say the same for same-sex relationships, that would just be incredibly cruel.", Yujin huffed and he wasn't wrong, even when he held his cup of tea and stared down at it, to see something, anything, surfacing from it. Their lives were different, as were their views, but in the end, all three of them were kind of thrians, wasn't it that. "His name? You mean Shurens younger brother?", Nayantai questioned once more instead, before he started to mull over it. Seemingly, he wasn't very sure of it - and he had to admit, the few times he actually had interacted with the boy were few and far between. Just what was it that Shuren had called him? "I'm not sure anymore, but I think it was Yuzhang. Why?", the old man asked, but he wasn't sure if that was, what Richard had been digging for. Was he insinuating something? He didn't know. Instead, he was amused by what Richard said, but kept out of it. "Why would it matter? But I guess love is a good starting point.", Yujin did admit, only to think about Yin for a second and that definitely wasn't a good starting point. Incredibly vile, in fact. But now, he was out of topics. "My father never talks about any of his siblings or family. And as for dad's, well, they don't like us, really." "Muhans family has always been complicated, I'm sorry."

"I can't rat you out if I've never even seen either of you, right?", the old wolf contested instead and he wasn't wrong. If he just claimed he'd not seen either of them, he also couldn't say that they were together and whatever reason would the blonde have to break him out in the first place, as long as his father claimed he'd been with him the entire time. "Jokes aside, I don't condone locking Yujin up and I don't mind having him here. It's alright with me, as long as you know what you are doing and know what might be heading your way ... but you two sound quite adventurous.", he commented, in lieu of the fact that they had just decided to jump, try their best and it did remind the old man of all the stupid things he seemingly did in his own youth. Was that anything bad, though? He missed it, very much so, but he also knew that he wasn't going to be young forever, that the world wouldn't just halt at everything he did for him and that one day, he'd die himself - he'd rather wither away with Rain, beneath some big tree, than actually be free on his own. Rikiya and Caelan were the same - they still were buried in Fhaergus, weren't they? "I'll get us one, then. It would make the whole place more comfortable, since it's kind of barebones.", he agreed swiftly, but Yujin also chimed in. "We have plenty, I could gift you one of those!", he chuckled instead. "There's really no need to ... I don't have much I could give you in return either way." "It's fine, I don't want anything!" And with that, he had sealed this deal, hadn't he? Nayantai seemed amused, but he wasn't sure why - he had seemed amused since he came here and it seemed less gloomy than usual ... that was nice.

"Dayan? Hm, hard to say, he hasn't ever been anywhere remotely as cold. Though, I think he'd just be like you. You both aren't used to the cold, at least the cold like this, and I'm silessian, but his mother wasn't, so it's hard to say. But, remember that one camping trip we took four years ago, all the way up in Fhaergus mountains? He was the first to complain how cold he was." Dayan usually hadn't been one to complain all that quickly, but sometimes he just couldn't shut his mouth if something really bothered him and Nayantai didn't mind, it was just funny to hear all those complaints when he was the one that didn't even feel remotely cold. Rain, on the other hand, froze all the time it seemed, but Nayantai - on the other hand - had it much worse. "But, being a bit cold isn't bad. Myriads summers did take their toll on me a lot, though." And that wasn't wrong, he usually took off as many layers as he could - which weren't many - and all the etiquette he was so used to, suddenly faded into nothingness because he absolutely couldn't stand the heat. How many times did he slump down against a cold marble pillar and one of their servants was about to declare him dead? Often enough. "It's still sad, though. You can't be the person you want to be, not even if you only have good intentions. That just sounds like a load of bullshit.", Yujin sighed, but he finally drank from his tea. Richard had definitely spiked this one, didn't he? Should they tell his old man? No, there was no need for that and if alcohol was, what the blonde needed, he'd not rat him out, either. "Anything else you're just curious about, then?" There were many stories Nayantai could tell, some really old, some not as old, but he wasn't sure if he could tell all of them - some, even Rain only partially knew and most, not even he himself wanted to know. "And I got an answer!", Yujin giggled, and an answer it was. Could he even marry Richard if he wanted to, though? Something told him that he might as well try, but there was no way of knowing for sure either way. "It's kind of Rikiyas fault that they are about as cautious as they are, since he broke us up and all that, but he can't quite apologize himself anymore. Even when he already has, at least tenfold." And that was true, in hindsight, his old man regretted many of his decisions, but by now, he was already long gone and there wasn't much to worry about anymore. "Sounds like dads family are a bunch of petty people. Just like father!" And the younger wolf did hit the nail on the head, yet, Nayantai didn't want to tell him that anyway. "No, you're right. But she wasn't quite happy about my marriage at first either. Much less about the fact that Rikiya just danced off with Caelan ... did I ever mention that she tried to bash his face in?"

"That's good, then ... and he said what? I mean, I haven't fought in a while, but I don't know about Muhan either way. Are you two insinuating we should try it out?" Muhan had always been even with Nayantai, at least as long as he remembered - clearly, he was the rusty one and not his former lover, but even then, maybe he gave himself less and less credit, even though he was worth much more than that. Why, though? He was old, he was in pain often enough and he generally didn't know if he was a match for somebody that watched out for a maniac like Shuren, that probably had much more enemies than Rain, and even then, Rain still had capable soldiers, there was no need to actually rouse the monster in his bed. "I'm pretty sure Muhan would win!", Yujin contested, but Nayantai took it lightly. This was some kind of dare, wasn't it? He hadn't indulged in something silly for so long, he was out for a bit of trouble and he'd be sure to make it happen, then. "Fine, the next time you come over, bring your dad with you and we'll see who wipes the floor with whom." "You bet!" And that meant, the deal was sealed. Though, a blanket as some sort of prize was also a good idea, but Nayantai didn't voice that - both him and Richard were quite prideful when it came to their own possessions, or how they came to have those, so it was only natural to not accept every little piece of pity they were offered. "I know, I know! But nobody gave you a housewarming gift like, ever!" And in the end, he wasn't even sure if Yujin was more like Shuren or Muhan.

"Not entirely. I think you both are about the same level, but Dayan is just way worse at dressing appropriately and making it harder on himself. Even I wear multiple layers out here and while I probably wouldn't need all of them, it's better to be safe." Alas, though, he couldn't always adhere to this rule of thinking, but more layers - as long as they were wearable and he didn't sweat to death in them, were nothing out of the ordinary, much less a hassle, but sometimes they could be much more annoying to put on than any adrestian garb he'd ever worn. "The coast? I haven't seen a lot of sand or felt a lot of heat in my life, and I was pretty much the first to get a heatstroke. I much rather enjoyed teaching you all how to swim in that one pond, but you should have seen Rains face when I took you and Dayan in there for the first time!" It was a priceless expression, something the blonde probably wouldn't be able to recall, but the moment he got Rain in there as well, a bunch of panicked servants were this close to throw insults at the diplomats face, before they recalled who he was and what that would mean for their social standing. "Well he has, that doesn't mean I like Yin!", Yujin blurted out, just like that. Nayantai scratched the back of his head, he'd been caught, hadn't he? "And I didn't love Tei either. I never married her, actually, but ... your father knows you don't love her, right? You told Shuren?" Yujin suddenly felt like he was very, very small and couldn't even fathom what he was going to tell the old wolf ... he could hardly claim he much rather would bed his son than anyone else and take him as his wife, too. Well, husband in that case. "Well, nnnnot yet? I mean, he has his suspicions, but I'm sure I won't get out of this one.", he sighed. "Shuren is such a mess ... and yes, Muhans family is quite wary of anyone that Muhan or any of their other children eloped with after I got broken up with him. They liked me plenty and they are nice people, but they also refused to be annexed by Shuren, so ... there's just generally kind of bad blood between them, too." Yujin fell silent, his father was a mess ... but he was getting into even more family matters that didn't concern him. "She didn't dislike Rain, she disliked Caelan. The whole thing was just, I was the crown prince and theoretically, by thrian law, I was very much a dead man. At first she thought I was going to take my duties as a crown prince back, but I never did, so she was saddled with a role she never was supposed to have - and she had to warm up to that, first and foremost. As for Caelan, I didn't like him too much at first either, but for her it was more of like, he killed so many thrians, she could hardly forgive him and when Rikiya just told us both that he loved him, always had and always would, she kind of lost it because she didn't think he'd be good for our father. Well, and I guess Caelan felt guilty, so it just happened, until she realized she couldn't exactly kill someone we were trying to form an alliance with."