bloodbound. (earinor & akira)

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    • There they were, back in the hut and Yujin was not sure if he still felt like he didn’t fit in or if he fit into this little family of two perfectly fine - it was odd to say the least and he was sure that he wasn’t welcome in that kind of way. Whatever it was, though, he could still try - and try as one might, he’d still fail, so where was no need for him to even start. In the end, it hardly mattered anyway and the blonde would just disappear like a puff of smoke in a gust of wind and eventually disappear from his mind altogether, just like he was supposed to. Maybe that was a good point to burn his clothes at, even if he didn’t really recall why. “No, they look … new? Kind of? It’s odd, I’ll bring them around with yours next time.” That meant that he’d have to figure out how to get out of his home once more, but he couldn’t be grounded until the end of his days, right? Not even Shuren was that insane - at least Yujin did hope so - and instead he set aside Richards shoes after he’d kicked them off like that. He could have asked for help anyway, what a dork!

      “Ruin it? I think the only way you could have ruined it was, if you never came back home. But even then, as long as you’d be fine, it wouldn’t be ruined just yet.”, Nayantai reassured Richard and didn’t pry too much into his injuries as it seemed. Given, the old man either seemed distanced or just like he didn’t want to hurt the blondes ego either - even though he probably was very good at that anyway. “As long as you got it treated, it’s fine. If not, I can take a look at it - there’s nothing to he sorry about.” Richard was sickly pale, even Nayantai knew that and he also could assume a few things, but that didn’t matter much either way - it had passed and they were here to celebrate his birthday, he should feel the best of all of them. “If it makes you feel any better.”, the old man started talking putting, presumably getting their food ready as Yujin already slumped down at the table and patted the spot next to himself to signalize for Richard to take it up and sit down already. “I’d say if you’re excited and the adrenaline is still kicking in, it’s fairly normal to not notice that you’re injured or that it’s a bad injury. Theoretically, I can say the same about my eye, except that I couldn’t exactly see with it anymore. Nevertheless, I insisted that I was fine for at least a week or two.” And that despite it hurting like nothing he’d ever felt - and of course that gross thing was infected too, but he’d much rather spare everyone the details. Instead, Nayantai brought the food back to the table. “Hm, since you’re eighteen now, I guess it’s up to you if you want food or your present first?”
      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.

    • "How did you get the blood out?", Richard asked a little bit confused. How much blood was he supposed to pour over himself anyway? He felt like maybe he did that wrong, but he had been full of blood from the start and eventually some of it seemed to have been his own. It was probably still spread on the way he took back to the town too and the way to the elders. Would random people maybe question it if they found a puddle of blood right at the entrance? The bear bled a while there during their short talk. Yujin took Richards shoes and put them away. "You didn't have to..", he just mumbled. No one would have fallen over them, right? He would have done that tomorrow, when he felt like moving again. But he looked at Nayantai instead of the prince and got told once more that he didn't ruin anything. Was that so? He wasn't sure about that, but it was what he was told anyway. It was nice to hear at least. It also felt like they just said that to make Richard feel better about himself though.

      "Yujin patched it up.", Richard explained shortly looking at the prince that was sitting down at the table. "It's fine. You can look at it tomorrow, then I have to change the bandages anyway." Yujin did a good job and he didn't want to upset him again by having Nayantai check it when he already trusted his friend to have done the best he could. Richard looked at him and walked over to sit down left of him, so his right and therefor good hand was facing Yujin. "A week sounds a little bit long...", Richard commented with a sigh once he finally sat again. Actually before he ate he could have used some water or tea, anything to drink. He didn't want to get up again though, sitting down had already hurt. Sitting itself however was good and he crawled a bit backwards to be able to lean against the wall in his back. The food was already done and Richard looked up like Nayantai had asked him a very stupid question. "I'm really hungry.", he commented, already reaching for his chopsticks, he finally learned to use properly too. The good thing was that he was right handed and his right arm was totally fine.

    • “I seriously don’t know.” Yujin wasn’t even sure if there had been blood on those clothes or if he was merely imagining things. What if none of this happened for real and he never had done this rite? He didn’t know, and actually, he didn’t even want to waste his thoughts on that. Surely, he’d come up with a suitable explanation for all of this somehow, even when it seemed to be superficial to even make an attempt, but not all was in vain anyway. “Just leave it, it’s fine, really.” He always tried to do his best, especially around the blonde, didn’t he? But why? In this case, probably because he felt like that he was at fault for Richard getting hurt and that he needed to mend the pain somehow, some way - any way he possibly could. Given the circumstances, none of the usual excuses generally applied, even if Yujin knew for a fact that anyone else would probably - and much rather - fight themselves out of the mess they found themselves in. Still, the prince found himself rewarded with food by Richards father and he’d do nothing rather than to beg both of them to just … never leave. That would be fun, that way Richard could just stay, too! And yet, Yujin didn’t dare voice any of it, it was almost as if it didn’t matter much anymore anyway.

      “Yujin did? I guess you owe him, then.”, Richards old man said as he sat himself on the opposite side of the table with food as well. Somehow, Yujin felt oddly hungry as well, but more than that, he felt at peace when he came here, even if this only had started the last time, with a merry band of three. “He doesn’t owe me anything!”, the wolf chimed in. He already felt bad enough for making Richard do all of this, for being the one that pulled the trigger on more than one occasion and now he was supposed to owe him, just because he stitched him up? No way! “It’s up to Richard in the end, and … yes, but given the fact that I was aimlessly running through Wezette with your father and was stubborn as ever, I didn’t want help and even if I did, there’d be no one.” Rain was of timid nature, not someone that Nayantai wanted to entrust with taking a look at a cut up eyeball, besides, it had sat firmly in his skull and the fact that he’d not died or retained much damage from the following infection alone seemed to be miraculous in itself. That wasn’t the best time to talk about wounds, though, was it? “Then we should eat! Though, you should probably keep some room for dessert.”, the old man declared, to which Yujin only looked at both of them, before taking the chopsticks that had been neatly placed on the table. “Happy birthday.”
      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 knew better than to ask Yujin unnecessary questions he couldn't answer anyway. After all he could not remember it, with ot without Richard reminding him of the fact and pressuring him seemed counterproductive. This was why Richard dropped all those topics simply. Even if he wanted to know, there was no one that could give him an answer anyway. There were many things both of them may never know, but it was neither of their fault. Yujin got mad, sad and frustrated everytime he desperately tried to remember something he had forgotten, so maybe it would have been better to leave all questions be around him in the first place, but Richard also was interested in those things and in Yujin. Yujin didn't ask many questions either, those he asked were more general and maybe he did that so he wouldn't ask the same question over and over again, annoying people with his forgetfulness. Richard pitied him, but the prince probably didn't want that to begin with. Instead Richard tried to treat him like a normal person, not like a maniac and he wouldn't lie to him either, only because he forgot a situation Richard maybe even wanted him to forget. Someone had to remember for him, right?

      "He... did a lot for me...", Richard mumbled, saying it to Nayantai, rather to the one person sitting next to him it was actually directed to, but it was true. He had picked him up, he had made him smile and laugh, he made Richard think of other things, do stuff like the ritual and let him use the bath in the castle. Yujin did so much and Richard should probably start thinking of a way to repay him before he left, even though Yujin said he didn't need to do it. "Now I know where Dayan has that from.", Richard said, only to remind himself right after that he phrased it wrong. "Had...", he added mumbling, then started eating and as always he ate fast, even when he was tired and hurt. "Dessert?", he then asked listening up. "What kind?", Richard asked somewhat suspicious, but also somehow excited. maybe it was those Thrian sweets Yujin talked about, or simply some chocolate Nayantai found somewhere here. Maybe some trader brought it all the way up here? In the end it made Richard eat even faster than before, but he poked Yujin with his elbow inbetween. Richard didn't want all the attention, even if it was his birthday and he just hoped they wouldn't start singing a birthday song. No five minutes later Richard had eaten his first bowl and Nayantai got him a second which also only took five more minutes. Then he sat it aside and was ready for dessert.

    • Soon after Richard started eating, and promptly elbowed him in the side, Yujin did the same. The food was good, just not in tune with the things that he was used to - it was neither distinctively spicy nor incredibly sweet, neither of which he liked very much. If Yujin were honest right now, he'd probably compliment the food, but judging by the fact that Richard was pretty much shoveling it in his mouth as fast as he could - with chopsticks no less - meant that Yujin didn't have to say anything anyway. "So? Does that mean you owe me?", he eventually questioned inbetween bites, but he shook his head - if anything, they were even, especially now that the wolf didn't want any more stupid debt-solving on either of their parts. They had been even the last time they met, even though Yujin probably still owed Richard a round or two for not making him a stuttering mess, but this was the wrong time and place for that. Was he supposed to be embarrassed now that he even dared to think about it? Maybe, probably, not that he had a way of elaborating if anyone noticed, but there was nothing to notice - in fact, he was perfectly fine and perfectly composed and nothing mattered! Where did he even see his cloak last? Hadn't that been when he had met up with Richard? Something was fishy, but maybe he just forgot that he'd taken it somewhere else afterwards.

      "Just Dayan? Isn't it you as well?", Nayantai questioned instead, but it was more on the sly side of things. Sure, he did try his fair share of things as well, but Richard and Dayan seemed kind of similar at closer glance. Had all of that happened because Richard felt the need to start being independent after what had happened, or did all of this just happen because there was no other way around it? The old wolf knew no answer to that, but he liked to believe that all of his children had turned out quite stubborn - even Flora and Atwick, who were much calmer than their older brothers, but probably about as insistent as Rain sometimes was. Wouldn't it be nice to be back at the castle? For sure, but Myriad was far away and happy memories had been buried deep, deep down - at least the wolf hoped so. "What kind? Hm, take a good guess I'd say. It's nothing thrian.", the old man answered, yet got up as soon as they all had finished eating and took away their bowls. They needed plates for this one, and a fork, which ... well, it wasn't easy to come by in Silesse, or Thria in general, but Nayantai had made sure to get his hands on everything, even if that meant the utensils were very much hand-carved. "I know it doesn't look the best and I'm also not sure if it tastes like anything but sweet, but ...", the old man mumbled, soon procuring something from the kitchen and bringing it over to the table, after some fresh plates and those forks. "I tried making cake.", he answered thereafter, placing it on the table - a small candle stuck out atop and the color of the dough let one presume it was made of chocolate, obviously aside from being slightly covered in cream. Nayantai did light the candle once he brought a knife over as well, one that he handed Richard. "I hope it's eatable." "Well, seems like I get to try cake sooner than I thought!", Yujin joked.
      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... if you need some stitching up, I guess I can help.", Richard answered between some bites, but maybe he'd think of something else too. He had nothing though. He was no prince anymore, he wouldn't be king and around here he only had this hut to live in and his father that took care of him as if he was still a child. Even if he could trade that fur and meat, what could he get Yujin that he didn't already have? He could wish for everything he wanted, except freedom but Richard couldn't help him with that either. Was it wrong if he'd have a coat made for Yujin, out of the bears fur? Or maybe some gloves, a scarf? Even if Richard let himself tailor some clothes he probably wouldn't wear in the end, there was still enough of that giant beast that could be used for someone elses clothes. Yujin would probably forget who the present came from, but that didn't matter. As of now Richard couldn't think of something else, something worthwhile the wolf prince would be happy about for all that he did for him. It would be a parting gift, he'd need to think of something fitting.

      "Dayan carried me home often enough... but with a broken ankle he still wanted to go on his own.", Richard answered, but he was different now. He didn't want help now either, just like Dayan, though... actually no. He asked for Nayantais and Yujins help today, albeit not always directly, he still did. Maybe he was finding himself again, somehow, a little. Was that even a good thing? What if he wouldn't have it in him to kill someone in the end? He couldn't forget his anger, could he? "I have an idea..." Richard then mumbled raising an eyebrow. Nayantai couldn't have gotten cake, could he? But once the old wolf brought in some plates and self carved forks Richards suspicion hardened. Once he presented it then Richard didn't know what to say. It wasn't very pretty, rather clumsy, but it was a cake, with a candle on top and chocolate and cream. "How did you...?", he asked, not sure where he got the ingredients from, or the recipe. He actually wanted to hug Nayantai, but he didn't. It would have been too embarrassing in front of Yujin and additionally Richard didn't want to stand up right now. Richard followed Nayantais movement and afterwards the candle was lit. The blonde looked at him, he was thankful and kind of sentimental, but he tried to hide it as best as he could, the latter at least. "Thanks... dad...", he smiled, before fixating the candle and trying to figure out what he wished for. He called it stupid and he knew that he couldn't wish for his siblings, or his father to come back. He couldn't wish for forgetting his revenge either, because that would mean he forgot about what happened and about how unfair it was for the dead. Instead he just wished that maybe a tiny part of Yujin would keep remembering him, even if he was gone. And with that he blew out the candle. Then he took the knife to do the honors and cut off three pieces, even though Nayantai wouldn't be able to taste it. "I'll hit you if you don't like it.", he told Yujin though. He better complimented Nayantais effort! He couldn't wait to taste himself. "By the way, now you can tell us what you brought back for your becoming of age ritual!"

    • "I doubt I'd need that anytime soon, but I do appreciate the offer.", the prince replied. Who knew, maybe he was going to be an idiot on purpose - though, Yujin already was that without majorly injuring himself and therefore, he'd rather not wait or try to get injured enough to actually need stitches. That would hurt, a lot, and unlike Richard he wasn't made of any kind of endurance, or even remotely as strong as him. Sure, he was obviously trying to try his best, but what was his best really worth if the only thing he could do was sit around and accept that, in the end, he was nothing more than a speck of dust on an endless horizon anyway? "Hm. I'd say Dayan is a bit, how do I put it ... not opportunistic or stubborn, he just likes to prove things. And sometimes, that's not the best trait to have, especially when you're in need of medical attention. However, it doesn't matter much. You're all your own people, though, you do have something from both me and Rain." And that was nice, at least judging by the slight smile that Nayantai bore, that radiated some sort of odd warmth and Yujin was sure that he was proud of Richard in more than one way, even when Richard didn't want to accept that as truth at face value. What a shame, huh?

      "I asked someone at the harbor to get to the next best port, ask for a cake recipe and then get me the ingredients for one. Sure, I had to improvise and use some local things as well, like the milk for the cream, because it probably would've been spoiled until it got here ... and it doesn't look the nicest, but I tried.", the old man told them and to Yujin, it looked fairly acceptable - probably because he had no idea how it was actually supposed to look like and why it looked like that in the first place. Once Richard offered him a piece, he took it gratefully, even when he received a warning alongside it. "No need to thank me. A birthday isn't a birthday without a cake, right?" It never had been and then, there was this odd wolf that sat among them, that had zero idea what a cake truly was and he wanted to try, even when he wasn't sure what to think of it either. Given that the old man wouldn't be able to taste his own creation, he wasn't sure what to expect, either. "What! I never said I wouldn't, but I don't know if I will! Just let me try it first!", he hastily replied, before taking the fork and aimlessly looking at what Richard or his dad were doing ... how did this go? By the gods, he deserved that one, didn't he? At least he held it the right way and kind of crudely ripped a strip of dough off - much to the old mans amusement - before sticking it in his mouth and chewing it. That was ... something, alright? It tasted sweet, a lot like chocolate, a bit like this cream thing, and generally sweet. It definitely wasn't the worst thing he ever had, yet far from the best. "Alright, alright. It's actually a funny story. I first thought I'd catch some rats, tie their tails together and then set them lose - I didn't want to kill them, just annoy people with them, but I found none, absolutely zero rodents so I went for the next best thing. A silessian wolf. I knocked it out, dragged it all the way back home and then let it lose on the elders. Afterwards, I had to kill it, but I had my fair share of fun."
      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 hoped that he never would have to stitch Yujin up. He didn't want him to get hurt, he never wanted that, even when he clearly hurt him himself. That was some months back though and Richard wasn't even sure if Yujin remembered that."He was stubborn too though.", Richard added to Nayantais explanation but since he was here he saw much more of Dayan in himself. He always tried to make it work himself and he wanted to be strong and prove it to everyone. Richard wasn't sure if he was compensating things or what was going on with him, but in the end he fell back into his own habits. He was still shy sometimes, he worried a lot and also asked a lot of questions. All of that came with time though at the start he wouldn't even look at Nayantai or Yujin, or anyone else really. Yujin was the one changing him, of that Richard was fairly sure. For now however he picked up his fork and cut off some cake with it to put it in his mouth and taste it. He tasted the chocolate and the sweet cream. The dough was fluffy, though in the middle maybe it was a little raw, but Richard didn't care about that. For someone not tasting a thing this was pretty good. "I like it.", he concluded with a short glance towards Nayantai.

      "Wasn't that expensive...?". Richard then mused, but he was happy his father wanted to make him happy and had such a surprise for him. He never ever doubted that Nayantai loved him though, he just had been angry he brought him here instead of avenging his dead children, yet Richard also understood that he got stronger while he was here and maybe that was why all of this was a good thing. Richard also watched Yujin take a taste, although he looked like he didn't quite know how to use the fork. That was only fair, after he joked when Richard couldn't use the chopsticks. Probably both Richard and Nayantai waited for his reaction, after all Yujin never ate cake before. "So?", Richard asked already at it to eat his own peace of cake. The sugar probably did his body good after all that exhaustion too. Nayantai was about to tell his story of his becoming of age ritual too, finally sharing it with them and Richard just sat there staring at him. "You did WHAT?", he asked in disbelief and then shook his head with a say. "If they knew how I am they probably were scared that bear would wake up!" Not even Dayan would have done something stupid like that!

    • "All of you are. Sometimes that's a blessing, other times it might as well be a curse.", Nayantai informed Richard, who probably knew that fairly well anyway. Whatever it was, though, there was a way to work through it and in the end, the opinion of the dead hardly mattered. The old man was sure that Rain would have done things different, maybe he'd hunkered down in the castle instead of flee, just to show that - albeit all of the things that he knew were barely intact, he wouldn't give up. Was he stubborn? Nayantai couldn't tell, he didn't know if he should or could and he also was convinced that in the end, it all had long passed - it didn't matter much who thought of what, because, after all, none of that was even remotely important to the dead anymore, they'd stay dead and not rise from their graves, not even on occasions like this one. They were simply gone and hopefully in less pain. "I'm glad!", he added, yet, Yujin could only observe them both with their makeshift forks and wonder what it was that he kept doing wrong - did he even do anything wrong or did he just not have the ability to figure it out on his own? Fuck, this sounded a lot less fun than he'd anticipated, but the cake was acceptable anyway!

      "Not if you know how to bargain. But to be fair, it still took a bit to get what I wanted." The recipe itself was hard to perfect, or rather execute. While he could cook just fine, baking was something entirely different and while he tried to bake all the same, he had had some cakes turn out more like pucks, hard as stone, and he'd crumbled them up and thrown them out, alongside the burnt ones. Trial and error was, what it took, and he would probably not live it down if he had to admit that this was attempt number seventeen and it still came out looking ... questionable enough, but apparently it tasted just fine, at least from Richards perspective. "I don't know how to use a fork ...", the wolf admitted, but he only then realized that that probably wasn't even what Richard wanted of him. Actually, what did he want to hear? The answer to answer all questions and determine whether or not he'd be executed on the spot for cake slander? "It's nice. A bit sweet for my liking, but I don't mind. Normally I don't even like chocolate ...", he admitted, but that was about it, he instead found himself laughing at the old mans story - he did what now? His own son seemed to be surprised, but there hardly was any room for that, as it seemed. "What? I was a brat, I already told you that. And just because I'm one doesn't mean you have to be one!"
      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.

    • Nayantai was right, Richard was stubborn too. He had been since he got here, but still Yujin made him do thing he initially didn't want to do, but he also was stubborn in other regards and that meant that he couldn't let go of the past and let the dead be dead on their own, he rather wanted to join them soon and take some others with him while doing so. At least he talked to Nayantai again, looked at him and it felt nice to still have someone, to not be alone. Nayantai would probably do everything for him, even die, but that was exactly what he didn't want. What did he expect though? That he stayed here and lived on his own while Richard went back to Adrestia, never to be seen again? He knew that that didn't make sense and Nayantai knew that he couldn't keep Richard here forever. He probably knew about his nightmares and the old wolf had probably plenty of his own. All Richard did lately felt like the last thing he'd ever do, this felt like his last birthday and some weird air hung around everything, but he was happy that he could make Nayantai happy maybe for the last time.

      "How long did you even plan this?", Richard wanted to know. A month ago he hadn't even spoken to him, but Richard doubted that kept him from planning a surprise, just something to cheer him up. In hindsight he had been unfair to Nayantai. He didn't hate him, he questioned his decisions, but he didn't blame him for them. He just needed someone to shout at when he arrived in Silesse and Nayantai had been the only one that was there. Yujin meanwhile was as oblivious as ever and Richard shook his head. "That's not what I'm asking.", he told him and looked at Yujins hand which held the fork. This wasn't so hard after all, way easier than chopsticks actually. "You can juts use it like a spoon on the cake. You have spoons in Silesse.", he explained, then waited for the verdict. Yujin didn't seem like he liked it, but maybe he at least didn't hate it. "Well I'll let it pass...", Richard decided to not punch him and instead to eat his own cake. "I'm not. I was fairly polite to them... I think?", Richard answered and everything else he did in the past weeks was nothing he would apologize for. Yujin deserved some fun and freedom. "Did you tell dad that story?"

    • Whatever this was, Yujin could hardly tell. It wasn’t like last time - there was not so much idiotic banter going on between him and Richard and he wasn’t asking Nayantai five thousand questions at once, simply because he found himself preoccupied with a sweet piece of dough that he didn’t know if he could finish. Would it he an insult to Richard or his father if he didn’t finish it? Probably. Not that Yujin wanted that, though, but maybe he could savor the taste - this was the first time he ate cake and maybe it’s grow on him, and if not, he’d fucked himself over, as simple as that. “For at least two or three months? I figured that, maybe you wanted something that’s … not too out of the ordinary, even if it’s just the two of us. Oh, and Yujin. But I wasn’t even sure if you’d bring him with you.”, Nayantai declared and the wolf almost choked on a piece of cake after hearing that, after almost involuntarily starting to laugh, but after a few coughs, he seemed to be fine again, wiping some tears from the corner of his eyes. “Are you alright?” “Oh, yes! I just didn’t think I’d hear that! And for some reason I thought it was really funny that you’d think of me as well.”, the wolf chuckled and he was sure that he’d rid himself of the gloomy mood that persisted in this place eventually.

      “You’re asking if I like the cake. I know. The verdict is that it’s not bad!”, the wolf replied and he was about to consider pressing Richards face against his plate of cake, just to see his face covered in cream, but he refrained - this was special and probably dear to him. “We do, but spoons aren’t forks! And besides … the spoons are much bigger and yet they have a much shorter handle. They are mainly for soup anyway …” That was true, but Yujin also remembered instances where he’d use them to scoop up some sweets and it had been quite delightful to eat them, yet, this was hardly the same. What a pain. Well, he’d figure the forks out eventually, much like Richard had apparently figured out chopsticks after his initial dismay and the fact that it became very apparent that he needed them. “That I sent a live wolf after some old people? I don’t think so, maybe I did when I was feverish, but I doubt that. But that probably was the only time Rikiya was honestly disappointed in me. You should have seen the look on his face.”, he answered, but it seemed like he soon realized something else, given the fact that he wanted to open his mouth, then close it again and looked kind of lost in thought. “But we never told any of you that we had some less noble aspirations at first. Before push came to shove and we wound up in Thria, we joked about making our way to the south and living our lives as humble shepherds. That was a fun thought for a while, especially when you needed to think of something else.”
      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.

    • "That's almost as long as we're here...", Richard mumbled, looking up between some blonde strands of hair. He already thought of Richards birthday then? Maybe he was just happy he got one son left that could turn eighteen and he did. Hadn't Yujin mentioned this tradition though, Richard probably would have never heard of it and he wondered why Nayantai never told them about this. "Can I ask a stupid question?", Richard asked, but he did anyway, even if what-if-scenarios didn't help anyone. "If all of that hadn't happened... maybe even if das was still alive, would you have told us about this tradition and brought us to Thria to do it?" Nayantai had given up a lot of himself, a lot from his heritage, just to be with Rain. Richards father probably never intended to take so much away from him and he would have let them go visit Thria for a while, even if he had to stay at home alone, but Nayantai also seemed like he shoved all that away from himself. Rikiya did too, but he never was as much Thrian as Nayantai was. Rikiya always seemed very fine with the fact that he lived his last days in Adrestia, rather than a tent in Thria, being a king he never wanted to be. He didn't grow up there either, Nayantai lived there his whole life though and everything he experienced in Adrestia was pain and suffering... and Rain. "Yujin and I didn't even know each other back then... except me breaking his nose.", Richard pointed out mumbling though. It seemed like Nayantai knew Richard would find a friend in him before he did.

      "Do I have to feed you? I'm the one with only one arm.", Richard replied to Yujin, but while the prince was still trying to figure out how to eat that cake, Richard was already done and made his way backwards a bit to lean against the wall there again. His side hurt from hunching over while eating and the pain in his arm seemed to grow worse, not better, but he doubted that would change in the next two days. He rubbed his neck too, because the arm in the sling grew heavy on him and he had the feeling that the cold air outside had helped the pain in his arm, but in here it was fairly warm. Maybe some painkillers didn't sound that bad anymore and right now he felt less lightheaded than before he ate. "I mean... it sounds like you had a pretty stupid idea there.", Richard defended Rikiya. Anyone would have been disappointed probably, even Caelan and he usually approved everything anyone of them did. "The south? Myriad was already too warm for you, how would you have survived there?", Richard asked kind of surprised and with almost a grin on his face. "I can't imagine either of you as shepherds!" But maybe Rain would have still been alive if he hadn't become king.

    • "Kind of, but still." Richards old man really had put some thought into his birthday, huh? It made Yujin almost feel bad that he didn't have the same kind of dedication, but still, he'd been locked up - or rather locked away - and he couldn't just ask a stranger for his birthday, that seemed so odd and kind of besides the point anyway! "You always can.", Richards old man assured him and was more than happy to listen to all his son had to say apparently - surely, there were many things that eventually happened and culminated in curiosity - Yujin knew that as well. Sometimes he was curious about many things, about himself and all those thoughts that preoccupied his mind, and about all those things that, without a doubt, would just get lost in translation eventually. "Hmmm, probably. Not all the way to Silesse, but at least to Thria - after all, it's always been imporant to us that you learn about both cultures. Yet, knowing your brother, if he'd just even heard of it, he'd have wanted to do it, I'm sure." Dayan had always been the rowdy kind, the person that wouldn't back down and let himself be told what it was that he had to do - he did what he wanted to do, mostly, and neither Nayantai or Rain did mind, as long as he was mindful of his own decisions. Of course there'd been times were they didn't see eye to eye, but thankfully, Rains disappointed stare was enough to reign anyone in.

      "It might not have been that long, then. But given the circumstances, it does feel like it's been quite long since we came here.", Nayantai said and Yujin agreed with a nod of his head. Right, it did feel longer than a few three months and some odd days or weeks - he thought that it had to have been half a year at least, but apparently not. Was that weird? Yujin didn't know. "Should I feed you then? Who said I can't used chopsticks for cake anyway!" Sure, he'd have to figure out how to pierce the dough, but that was essentially the least of his worries. Yujin was sure that, if in theory, he were to try it out, it wouldn't even look that stupid. And also, there was something else that he had to give Richard, before he forgot about it. "Everything alright? Should I get some painkillers?", Nayantai soon asked, seemingly knowing as much from the way his son behaved. Yujin looked almost apologetic at Richard, was about to apologize, but he couldn't quite get his mouth open anyway. Why was that? What was he afraid of? It seemed so silly, yet so simple. "I was good at having stupid ideas, I don't doubt that. And I'm also fairly sure I got that from Rikiya." Given that, it was only fair to assume that Dayan and therefore Richard had to have something of both of them as well - it sounded odd, but it probably wasn't even all that wrong. "That's just the details. Besides, I was young, probably like, twenty-four and incredibly stupid. Especially looking back, I'm not even surprised thrians were compared to monsters, but that's besides the point! Don't you think I'd make a good shepherd?" "With all due respect ... I think you'd scare the sheep."
      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 was all that Nayantai had left, wasn't he? He seemed happy to at least have one son left, he wanted to protect him, make his life better and have him grow up, yet Richard was about to ruin that plan. Even then though, Nayantai didn't stop him altogether. Maybe he just wanted Richard to not blindly run into his revenge, maybe he wanted him to have something worthwhile here too and if he still decided he had to go, then this was probably what needed to be done. Richard wasn't sure if the fight was still on, but he still wanted to go, he had to, sadly. For now however maybe they all should use their time together wisely and Nayantai seemed happy, just because Richard talked to him again. "Are there any more traditions I should know of?", Richard questioned. Dayan had died so close to his eighteenth birthday. It was sad he couldn't do that ritual anymore. A few more months and he would have done it, a few more and Rain could have seen them do it too. Rihard lost too many people and he only today turned into an adult. It was unfair, wasn't it?

      Nayantai was right, it felt longer than it had been. Richard felt like he changed a lot, twice actually. He was another person than he was in Adrestia when he arrived in Silesse and he turned into a different person since he got here. "I can eat just fine, with a fork and with chopsticks!", Richard replied to his little banter with Yujin. He didn't need feeding, after all he had a perfectly fine handj that was capable of using the right tools. But he noticed Nayantais and Yujins worried faces. "What? Don't look at me like I'm dying.", he told both of them with a sigh, looking at them both, but he also nodded at Nayantai when he asked if he should get some painkillers. He wasn't a masochist and he wouldn't keel over now that he ate either. "Rikiya? Aside from being hopelessly romantic, what did he do?", Richard wanted to know. How come there were still so many more questions he never asked either of his family? Even the stories he did know however, he liked to hear again. The war wasn't a joke, but some of it seemed like a fairytale. "Yeah, you're more like the hunting type...", Richard agreed with Yujin. "But what stopped you from going to the south?"

    • "Something like this? No. You can do whatever you want now, mostly. There's nothing, well, aside from burning the dead and the whole marriage stuff, but you know those things." Had he ever even told Richard about thrian marriages? Nayantai felt like he did, or at least assumed that Rain had gushed to him and Dayan about it, but with his luck, maybe no one ever had. Traditions were traditions, though, and even if there was no one to exact them eventually, it wouldn't hurt to tell Richard, as much as it wouldn't hurt to have Yujin hear it one more time - but there was no use in divulging that information if no one wanted to hear it anyway. "There's wedding traditions? Oh, you mean the talisman! And the whole veil thing?", Yujin asked, kind of curious as it seemed, and the old man simply nodded his head - there were a few, sometimes they differed from place to place, just by a bit, but that was about it, pretty much. "You still do the veil thing? Isn't that a bit ... kitschy?", the old man asked, and Yujin only laughed about it as it seemed. Adrestians had a similar tradition of sorts, but Nayantai only found this one to be worse, given that traditional thrian clothing looked quite outdated as well.

      "You wouldn't mind being fed or carried!", Yujin insisted and suddenly grabbed Richards not-hurt hand, as if to prove to him that he was not going to eat the rest of his cake alone. The old wolf couldn't help but find himself amused by the banter and all those things they tried to out-do one another - whatever or not he himself wanted to be that young again, he didn't know, but this was fun too, even if it made him miss Rain, just the tiniest bit more. "I never said that and your dad didn't either! We just want to give you some relief!", the younger wolf insisted and found that that could be taken out of context, could sound quite wrong, but he didn't care much about that, not when he offered Richard a strip of dough on his fork - he should eat that! "Run off to Thria ... hm, I might have gotten that from him." Yet, unlike his father, he didn't seek comfort from strangers - he asked old friends, even though he had a sister, yet, he was sure that whoever had wanted their heads would find them that way or another - and Nayantai wanted to void that, as best as he could. "I mean, there's quite some embarrassing stories about your grandfathers but I won't get into those. It's better to let the dead rest and not shame them." Walking in on them had been ... quite the treat, and Nayantai didn't want to relive that night or he'd probably feel like he'd die from embarrassment in all possible ways anyway. "The sheep would have loved me, for the record. I'm kidding, you're right. We didn't end up going there cause it wasn't entirely viable, given your fathers condition and all. And also because I got thrown out for bashing a guards face in." "... WHAT."
      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.

    • "Mh... yeah mostly. So there is nothing that makes you an elder too if you reach 100 years of age or something, right?" Those people looked very old and Richard questioned who decided that those people where elders now. What if there weren't any old people around? Did one need training to be one? Nayantai probably would be a bad elder. "Veil... thing?", Richard asked. He didn't exactly know about that, just the talismans. "Is there even a difference in clothing? I mean... in Adrestia thr male wears black mostly and the female a white dress, but not a lot of female Thrians wear dresses in the first place, right?", Richard asked. Of course there were some, but especially in town there wasn't much difference. Maybe all looked the same to Richard too, who knew? "What's kitch about it...?" Richard felt a little bit left out and since Nayantai sounded like he assumed the 'veil thing' wasnt done anymore, he probably didn't tell his children about it. Maybe that was a regional thing, after all Nayantai had already left Silesse when he got engaged, maybe traditions were simply different.

      "I never let you carry me although you're kind of obsessed with it!", Richard replied. Of course Richard minded. He didn't want any of that, he could walk on his own, he wasn't a baby after all and he was also able to eat. Since there were no knifes for eating in Thria as well, he didn't even have a problem now. Yujin however grabbed Richards hand, holding it tight to make him stop using it, while he could use his other to wrestle himself free either. "Fine, but you don't have to look so worried.", Richard sighed and rolled his eyes, then looked at the cake on the fork in front of his face. "I aleady ate my cake, that's yours! You just don't want it!", Richard grumbled, but eventually he opened up his mouth and ate that piece. Then he looked at Nayantai. "What should he have done instead...?", Richard questioned, though he wasn't quite done chewing. Rikiya ran away from his father, should he have fled to Fhaergus instead? "I bet Yujin still would like to hear stories about those two either way.", Richard then answered. It didn't need to be embarassing ones, but he was pretty sure Yujin didn't remember what he already told him about them and maybe he just liked to hear it again. Richard almost chuckled at Yujins reaction though. "You came back though. But you would have needed to go through Lavern.", he then said, putting one and one together. Of course he knew where his fathers scars came from, the ones on his back, he asked about it and it was when he lost Fhaergus. The south was probably unreachable like that.

    • "I don't even know how that works, nobody does. But they also don't just elect themselves, so, I'm fairly convinced that there's something going on, but what, well, I can't tell you that but I'd love to once I figure it out." They all looked pretty old, Richard was right, but Nayantai had no idea why that was - did they just assume they'd live for hundreds of years to judge generation after generation? It was silly to even think like that, nobody lived that long and yet, they carried an air of mystery with them and oftentimes made him wonder what it was that kept everyone coming back to them for their opinion. Rikiya had hated them, had told them they were useless and good for nothing, yet, that didn't change much about anyone elses perception of them. "You don't know? Basically both husband and wife to-be get a veil, and they can't take it off until they disappear from the public eye for the day! And it's kind of kitschy because you know how your partner looks anyway, just because a red piece of fabric is obscuring your line of sight, you won't change your mind or love them any less. It's weird, kinda? Like, why would you do that?" To Yujin, it made more sense if it were only for arranged marriages, but this way, it just seemed kind of odd, didn't it? "Yes, because I want to try! And you never let me, you fool!" The unbrittled truth was, that Yujin would have very much liked to carry Richard everywhere and it wasn't exactly helped by the fact that he never let him - he had no time to get stronger, he felt like there wasn't much left anyway and at this rate, he'd never manage to get anything done either! "I never said I don't want it, I just know you eat a lot! And you also should let me feed you if I can't carry you!"

      Nayantai could only shake his head in disbelief at the argument before getting up to brew them all some tea and get some painkillers for Richard, all of which he handed him alongside a glass of water. "Want an ice pack too?", he questioned while he was at it, but there was no need to wait for an answer when he took a piece of cloth that he grabbed from the kitchen, opened the door and grabbed a fistful of frosted snow, then another, before he bundled it up and handed it to Yujin, since Richards only available, not injured arm was currently occupied with his fellow wolves hand. "Run to Fhaergus. I'm pretty sure Caelan told him more than once that he'd have been more than welcome there and wouldn't have had to ignite a war by disappearing for almost three decades." Ugh, those two had been so hopelessly in love, Nayantai was obviously convinced that no matter what, he'd have thrown up if he had seen them kiss in public during the war one more time than he already had - even now, that didn't make it better. Did Richard think the same of him and Rain? No, that seemed kind of different. "Why me? You just want to hear them yourself, admit it!" Richard was kind of a hopeless romantic as well, well, it did suit him, Yujin was sure of that! "Regardless of who wants to hear them, where do you even want me to start?" There were plenty of stories, but the funniest ones, Nayantai had kept to themselves - in theory, they were funny, in reality, they were the most embarrassing things he could possibly ever share with anyone to begin with. How long would that go on for? Years, he'd take these to the grave with him, if his grave didn't already exist next month. "Sure did. And yes. We also took the shittiest way to Thria possible: Across Wezette, which was very much our only option. Speaking of Lavern, beating the hell out of that asshat was probably one of the nicest feelings I've ever felt. Revenge is sweet, not always, but often."
      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.

    • "Nobody does? What about Shuren? He owns this place, shouldn't he know? And Rikiya was king!", Richard asked. They didn't know what went on in their own country? That was odd. Well maybe they were just statues and that was why they never spoke, but Richard knew that that was only his imagination running wild again, nothing more. Maybe he should have just asked them, but he was too scared to do that... Some things seemed so easy, like facing a bear in retrospect, but those three old wolves were just scary. "Or husband and husband, right?" They didn't need to chose who gets to be the wife, or did they? "Well but Adrestian wifes wear a veil too. A white one, though she lifts it up directly after the marriage, in front of the priest and everyone, to kiss her newly wed husband.", Richard explained, though was he ever at one? He couldn't remember, no one important married anyway and maybe Nayantai didn't learn everything about Adrestia either. "You'd just drop me and especially now that would hurt!", Richard replied and started to wonder what Nayantai thought of all this. They sounded like an old married couple. "I already ate two bowls.", he complained though. "Why do you even want to do that? I'm neither a baby, nor an old, drooling man. I just hurt my arm." Was this normal with Thrians? He didnt understand why someone would do that extra work if it wasn't required.

      Nayantai seemingly didn't want to interrupt them and instead stood up to get some boiling water and medicine. Yujin still held Richards hand though. "Can I have my hand back to take the medicine then?", he asked not very nicely, but drinking someone with Yujins help would probably only make him choke. Even the ice pack was handed to Yujin and Richard feared he'd just slam it on his arm. "Don't you think Alster would have started a war with Fhaergus then?", Richard questioned, but nobody could tell probably. "I don't mind hearing it again, but I already know it.", Richard then told Yujin. "Well maybe start from when you brought Caelan back with you?" He knew the story in and out. How Caelan didn't recognize Rikiya and how nobody knew the king grew up in Adrestia, not even Nayantai or his sister. "Nayantai also almost got eaten.", Richard told Yujin, meaning his encounter with the cannibals, but he also shot Nayantai a glance as if he wanted to ask why he talked about revenge being sweet. Did he already decide to let Richard go, or would he deny him what he just praised?

    • "Hm, that is a valid point. The thing is, though, that I can't even seriously answer that. I don't know, I just know that I don't like their creepy faces and their odd demeanor. You rarely see anything of them anyway, thankfully." His father probably had known who they were, or how they came to be, but Rikiya was long gone and probably nothing more than rotting bones right about now, which turned out to be something Nayantai neither wanted to think or exactly talk about - and Shuren had no answers either, judging by Yujins silence on the mater. "Or wife and wife, that doesn't exactly matter in Thria anyway. I don't think I'll ever understand adrestians in that regard, but they are what they are." Which usually turned out to be nothing good. Nayantai didn't mind them after the war, he tolerated them as much as they tolerated him and if someone felt the urge to act up, he'd very much show them that they were in the wrong place and getting mad at the wrong person. "That's true, it's not that different, just that a thrian veil is deep red and usually embroidered with golden accents at the edges." A wedding was expensive, regardless from where they all hailed, but Nayantai also thought that thrian weddings looked more in-tune, more expensive and were more festive than adrestian ones, yet, he could be wrong. "I wouldn't drop you! My legs fine and I'm sure I can carry you for at least five minutes!" Bold words for someone that hardly worked out, ever, and that wasn't even confident enough to use his own legs after a few rounds of sex. Yujin was, without much of a doubt, just grasping at straws in hopes of persuading Richard for once. "I just feel like it, and besides, I'm sure you can eat more than two bowls and still not be satiated!"

      Nayantai checked the tea once more, before bringing over three cups and the pot for them and pouring each one of them some. Those two were sober and yet, they kept arguing like they weren't, which seemed kind of childish to the old man, but alas, he didn't mind - Richard was enjoying himself, which was good on its own, but Yujin seemed a bit attached, didn't he? "Fine, fine. Take your hand back, also, the ice pack, before you forget about it - where do you want me to put it? In the sling?", Yujin asked, but he was just holding onto it for now, it was nice and cold after all and it was somewhat warm in here instead. Would anyone mind if he got out of another layer? Probably not, but even now that he slowly let go of Richards hand, his other one was kind of occupied and he didn't dare try. "Likely, but given how lovestruck those two seemed to be, I hardly think they cared that much about that. From what I know, they hardly were twenty, if at all." Exact ages didn't matter and if Nayantai was fair, Caelan and Rikiya had been better at telling their own stories - he was just trying to memorize them, just to pass them on, yet, both Richard and Dayan had loved hearing them over and over again, but now that Dayan was gone, Richard still seemed to love them all the same. "Fine, but there's something else before I do that ... your present.", the old man said and put a wooden box onto the table, adorned with a simple bow - it was rather flat and a bit longer than Yujins present, but ... "Oh, right, I have one as well!", the wolf laughed and procured one from his sleeve, putting it next to Nayantais. "I almost got eaten? Who told you that? I mean, they tried to eat your father, but I bit them right back."
      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.

    • "Are they only there for the becoming of age ritual, or do they actually do something else too?", Richard asked. Maybe marry people? Well then he defiently didn't want to marry, not in front of those creepy people. Maybe something like blessing children after their birth too? That would probably scar them for life though! "Well it's about heritage mostly.", Richard answered even though Rain probably tried to explain it to Nayantai a lot of times. Actually... "Did dad want to marry some noble at some point? I mean, for the kingdom, not because of love or anything..." He never asked that before, but he could imagine Rain doing so without meaning to upset Nayantai, yet he also probably wouldn't have done it after just one word of his actual husband. "You kinda like the color red here, huh? But I guess with a white dress, no one would see the bride...", Richard answered, this was at least the point of the ritual clothes he wore today and it probably worked. He hadn't even told anybody of his heart, but it wasn't important. "I'm still not a baby and I have two functioning legs.", Richard sighed, Yujin was just odd in that regard. "Two bowls and one cake, I'm not that hungry..."

      Richard finally got let go of again and he simply took the ice pack from Yujins hand to put it in the sling next to his arm. It didn't cover everything, but it was already feeling better a little bit. "Were you so much more mature when you met dad?", he retaliated and no he wasn't. Sure, two noble men couldn't be together, but two men, one of which a sheep and one a wolf? That was bound to end badly! Richard looked at Nayantai almost confused right after though. "Wait... present? I thought the cake was the present.", he uttered confused, only to look at the table and the present. Yujin chimed in too and Richard got a little bit embarrassed. "You really didn't have to....", he mumbled, but he still took it. First he opened Nayantais and he kind of already guessed what it was. He still carefully opened it up, revealing a knife, a good one at that and a suiting sheeth. He used his thumb to push it out and look at the blade, even though it was a little complicated with only one hand. He still got it, looking at it for a bit and knowing what he'd do with it eventually... "Thanks dad...", he mumbled after a while with a short smile on his face and then tried to put the knife back into its sheeth, giving it to Nayantai eventually before anyone ripped it out of his hands. "Oh shit! I forgot my knife at your place...", he then told Yujin. Which also meant that nobody was cleaning it and it would get rusty! He reminded himself that it didn't matter that much though and shook his head. Then he grabbed Yujins gift before he exploded with excitement. He opened it up, revelaing some fabric, some of it the typical blue, some of it a little brighter, one white and even one daring red. All of which were meant for his neck as it seemed and Richard didn't know what to say for a bit, until he finally decided. "Mh... you could have given me one sooner, since I don't have one right now...!", he complained, but his face was much softer than it usually was and he gently pushed the box towards Yujin. "Put one on for me then... I can't with my arm after all."