In their own separate directions, the first Hakuryuu, Ryokuryuu, and Seiryuu trudged forward in the snow, away from each other and their fourth brother, Ouryuu. They didn't know where they would go or how long they would stay at the places they reached. All they knew was that, for better or for worse, they had just started the next part of their lives.
Gu-En could easily admit that he was a bit nervous to leave the castle. After all, a good portion of his life had been spent there. When he had begun his time as a Dragon Warrior, he had been twenty-four. Sixteen years had passed, and he was now forty. In a few years, he would joke to his son that he and his brothers were late bloomers, not leaving their home even though they were all adults. For now, though, he was content on just wandering northwest toward the mountains. He wanted to see if he could climb the mountain's steeps with his claws rather than just walking up the paths typically used by travelers and merchants. Sure, he couldn't scale them as fast as Shu-Ten and his leg could, but it would be a fun challenge. Plus, there was always the possibility of settling down up in the mountains.
A few years ago, he had heard that the lands in the mountain ranges were surprisingly fertile. If need be, Gu-En could become a farmer and live off the land there. While amusing to think about, he could use his claws as a plow since he could expand his right hand. Many farmers nowadays used animals to plow the land, but he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to carry any animals up the mountain. On the other hand, if he did have animals, he could always eat their meat if the crops didn't grow well. He already knew what kinds of fruits and vegetables he liked, so he would just have to learn which plants bore fruit in the mountains' soil. Heh, look at him already imagining the life of a farmer when he hadn't even reached the base of the mountain yet.
Abi desperately wished to be away from those who wanted to use him for nothing more than their selfish desires. His king may have wanted his power to form the Kouka kingdom, but at least it would unite the people of the land. Those men who had kidnapped him had only wanted fame and glory for themselves. Never again, he had vowed. Never again would he let anyone see his eyes if greed was all they brought. Even with those eyes that the dragon god had bestowed upon him hidden away, his sight was unmatched. Sixteen years in service of his king and kingdom had done nothing to dull his vision. If anything, his field of vision was sharper than ever, and he knew his limits and when they were about to be reached. That eighteen-year-old brat who would pass out every time he used his powers was gone, replaced by the thirty-four-year-old man with a white cloth over his eyes. It might sound a bit odd, but he was looking forward to spending the next couple of years in solitude. However, he wasn't planning to stay alone for the rest of his life.
In the long run, he hoped to settle somewhere near a body of water, maybe a river or a waterfall. He was a bit apprehensive about living with people who weren't his brothers though because they would probably ask about his eyes. Abi really wanted to avoid that, but it wasn't like he could stop them from asking. Only time could tell, but for the time being, he was perfectly fine with traversing the woods. Perhaps he would meet more birds like the one at the castle all those years ago. He had been Abi's companion for so long that he had almost named it. Gu-En joked that the only reason the bird had stayed for so long was because they could both see their surroundings so well. Abi had blushed at that even if it was a bit of a backhanded compliment.
Shu-Ten looked forward to his newfound free time as a thirty-five-year-old bachelor. He already knew that his first destination would be a tavern, maybe a brothel afterward. Who knew? Well, it definitely wouldn't be him while he was still sober. With his brothers not by his side or at his back, life would be weird for a while, if not a bit lonely. Not that he would ever admit that aloud, mind you. For as much as he teased his brothers and griped at them to get lost, he would miss them. He was as sure about that as he was that his hair was green.
He was also pretty sure that he would be the last of the brothers to settle down somewhere. Someplace with a lot of running or jumping room sounded nice. Maybe somewhere near a merchant trade route, so he'd have easy access to food and supplies. Living in a city just didn't sound like a life he wanted. It was too crowded and noisy–oh god, he was starting to sound like Abi–and he was more likely to be recognized as one of the Dragon Warriors. Shu-Ten knew that settling down was going to be a huge part of his future, but presently, he opted to just shove it to the back of his mind.
As the years passed, the three dragons saw and experienced so many different things they hadn't truly understood when fighting for the kingdom. They saw new views that made them awestruck. They tasted new cuisines with flavors that seemed to be dancing on their taste buds. They felt new textures in objects that looked so strong but crumbled upon touch. They smelled new scents that seemed to stay in their noses for hours. They heard sounds that were vastly different from those on the battlefield.
Gu-En learned what it felt like to fall off the side of a mountain.
Abi discovered how hard it was to get bees to stop trying to pollinate his hair.
Shu-Ten found out how many leaps it took him to flee a girl who insisted that his hair was made out of grass.
Gu-En was able to compare how comfortable the bed at the castle was compared to the floor of a cave in the mountains, which noticeably had his hip killing him when he woke up in the morning.
Abi learned how long it took him to wash his clothes in the river and to dry them.
Shu-Ten was amazed at how many merchants let him tag a ride on the back of their wagons.
Gu-En had decided to stay in the mountains in the end since the height made him feel close to his king.
Abi had been around nature for so long that he was able to identify the differences between the songs of birds, the trails of snakes, and much to his disgust, the defecations of wild boar.
Shu-Ten had been taught how to weave straw sandals to make some quick ling.
Gu-En had come across a village in a small valley of the mountains already farming their own crops. At the time, winter had long gone, and the snow already started to melt. He was led to the village by its inhabitants when he agreed to help them. Chunks of stone that had been separated from the walls of the valley due to snow freezing into ice had come tumbling down into the village and houses had been crushed. Families were still inside the debris of their homes, trapped. The villagers didn't have enough manpower to carry all the bits and pieces of broken houses by themselves, so they were trying to reach out to others for help. Although a bit apprehensive about showing his hand to others, Gu-En wanted to help save the people trapped. His hand swelled and his fingers elongated, and he quickly started flinging chunks of the houses away. What he couldn't throw was lifted, and another person was able to quickly get those who were trapped out. He was able to help free them in record time. After everyone was rescued, the villagers stood before him. They asked him to stay, and he agreed. They treated him like a hero, a neighbor, and a friend.
A year and a few months later, he married a woman who occasionally chided him about making sure not to poke holes through the laundry. She taught him much about working the lands in the back of the village where the fields for crops were. More than just plowing, Gu-En learned how to tell when certain vegetables were ready to be harvested. The one he became most knowledgeable about was potatoes, which he may or may not have called "ugly ass earth turds" when he first found out he would have to clean off the soil on them because they grew underground. A few weeks shy of three years since he left the castle, Gu-En and his wife had their first child, a boy with white hair and a right hand that matched his father's. The village questioned the father and son's hands, and Gu-En finally told them that he was a Dragon Warrior. Despite his requests, they never did quite manage to treat him like an equal again. The day his son was born was the day the village started to called him Lord Gu-En or Lord Hakuryuu.
Abi started to learn the less common roads used by travelers.
Shu-Ten had sniffed exotic spices from another country in a market and couldn't smell anything until he woke up the next morning.
Lord Hakuryuu learned the local lullabies to sing his son to sleep, and he told him the occasional story about the Dragon Warriors at the castle, none of the warzones.
Abi had saved a town in the Water Tribe from bandits by telling the village's leader how long they had until an attack hit them. He went on his way about an hour after giving the warning. There was a festival in the Fire Tribe's territory he wanted to see. Apparently, it was to honor the spirits of the dead. The food at the festival had been delicious. Despite the popular belief, the Fire Tribe's tastes tended to be more sweet and savory rather than spicy. Half a year later, Abi had returned to that village he had saved and spent a few weeks in the forest near it. His want for social interactions that were more than a brief hello and the exchanging of ling had finally made itself known. After his time of observing the village and its people from a distance, Abi decided to ask the village leader and elders if he could stay with them. They agreed almost instantly as they realized that he was the man who they owed their thanks to for warning them of the bandits.
At first, Abi stayed in the home of an elder, but with the help of the other villagers, a house was eventually built for him. He married three years after joining the village to a woman older than him by eleven months. She was a ninth generation seamstress, a trade he knew absolutely nothing about. Abi tried to help her, but more often than not, he would make mistakes. His mother-in-law once said that he did the worst darning she had ever seen. His wife's family was different from what he had expected, to say the least. They encouraged the men to take care of the home while the females would bring home the money and food. His wife waved it off when he brought it up, saying how her family liked to shake up traditional ideas. Almost a year later, they had a daughter with beautiful blue hair and red markings underneath eyes that shined like gold, just like her father's. Seeing the Seiryuu's eyes on his daughter made Abi's stomach clench. He confided in his wife that he didn't want to have another child if the power of the dragon god would be passed on to them. She agreed, mentioning that she wasn't sure her body could take another birth. Many people in the village had heard stories of the Dragon Warriors from the occasional stranger passing through town. Nothing really changed between Abi and the village, excluding the times when someone would call him Seiryuu and when his mother-in-law would crack a joke about his eyes being useless to the family business.
Shu-Ten taught himself how to catch fish with his right foot, a skill that blew the minds of the locals in a coastal town.
Lord Hakuryuu spent years bonding with his son who had eventually grown into his teens.
Seiryuu learned how to braid hair at his daughter's insistence.
Shu-Ten had been able to rank all of the taverns in the Earth, Wind, Water, Sky, and Fire Tribes' capitals. The Wind Tribe had the best by far, and Shu-Ten knew that he was being completely biased. Over his travels across the kingdom, he felt his brothers settle and felt like it was his turn to follow suit. He had come across a few towns in the Earth Tribe's territory, but they weren't really good for anything past getting drunk and having a good time. That being said, it was in one of those boozed up towns that he had met the lady who kept him on his toes. He met her in the least glamorous way he could think of. Not even two steps into the closest tavern to the village's entrance and his shoes had been puked on by a drunk that was barely able to stay on her feet. She had enough wits still with her to realize what she had done though. In the next second, she turned around and screamed to the barkeep that his first three drinks were on her. He spent the early stages of the evening getting as equally hammered as her, and in the dead of night, they somehow managed to stumble their way to an inn. The next morning greeted them with splitting headaches and naked bodies. He grumbled to her to not slam the door on her way out. He was surprised him when she responded by kicking him off the bed and pulling up the sheets as she rolled over. Later in the day when she woke back up, it was to an empty room that had been paid for. The rest of Shu-Ten's time in that village was full of run-ins with that girl that they eventually just started seeking each other out. Days turned to weeks which then rolled into months. Having had enough of doing nothing but partying, and even though he knew his sudden departure might shock the girl, Shu-Ten said his goodbyes to her. Once more she shocked him by demanding he take her with him. He agreed easily enough. They traveled for days until they reached the Wind Tribe.
He and his companion opted to stay in a village in the southern Wind Tribe territory where the land was flat and sunrises and sets seemed to spread out toward the edges of forever. There were no mountains or forests to obscure the view, just Shu-Ten and her, the village, and endless skies begging to be flown through. He was soon able to get a job at the village's vineyard as a grunt in the warehouses. The pay was good, and every so often, he was gifted a bottle of alcohol from the distillery. On one of their many nights of undrunken passion, Shu-Ten and his lady were able to conceive a child. It ended up being a girl, and like his brothers, his secret of being a Dragon Warrior had been exposed. Everyone in the village had heard of him and his brothers' conquests with King Hiryuu, and while they were starstruck for a bit, they didn't start worshipping him. As long as pulled his weight at the vineyard, the villagers really couldn't have cared less if he was a normal human, a Dragon Warrior, or the dragon god itself.
Of course, the three Dragon Warriors' experiences weren't the only things that had changed. Their appearances, though still similar to their younger selves, were aged. Hair colors lost their sheen and became limp. Their values shifted from the good of the nation to the good of their families. Backs became hunched, and memories became a little hazy every now and again. After all, twenty-four years had passed since they disappeared from the castle. Gu-En, Abi, and Shu-Ten had all grown so much from back then, but no matter how much time had passed, one thing remained the same for all three of them. Zeno had never come to see them.
"Zeno, you idiot. Even though I said to come, you made me wait too long."
"When we meet again, Zeno, you're going to learn how much of a bad idea it was to make your brothers wait so long for you."
"Listen up, all of you, if a blond-haired guy ever comes by the village to see me, punch him and tell him that's for making me wait too long!"
Hmph, well then. If that yellow doofus wouldn't come to them, they would wait for him to join them in the skies above, or you know, they could just go to him.