In the Dead of Night

Warm.

It's warm. The wind that rustled his hair into his face was cold, but she was warm against his back. She who had been staring at the world through cold, dead eyes for the last two days. The irony stretched Hak's lips into a thin, mirthless grin. As cold as she might feel on the inside, Yona was his only source of heat in the chilled air.

It was the only thing he was remotely grateful for in the given the circumstances. Two days they had been fleeing from Hiryuu Castle, for two days he'd been pulling this limp, hallowed form of a person along behind him. Forcing her to walk, forcing her to eat, carrying her when her feet began to bleed. There had been no time to rest, no time to pause in their fleeing least they were captured.

All in all, his charge had been nothing but a burden. It had been a fight with his instincts to not leave her behind, though realistically he would not have physically been able to leave her behind. An order wasn't something that he was able to disobey, and it was an order that had brought him to be her bodyguard. He had to get her to Fuuga, and he could not them allow them to get caught while on the way. Desperately he needed to hear Mundok's word on the matter, from there they would decide what to do.

Strangely Hak had not felt like they were being chased since that first night, since they had run from the castle with guards hot on their heels. Throughout the course of the day his motivation had changed from a push from behind to a pull toward their destination. While he could be wrong, Hak suspected that they were no longer being followed through the wilderness.

That did not mean that there was no need to be careless.

After all, Hak had "murdered" the king, and "kidnapped" the princess. He suspected that any villages and towns nearby would be crawling with guards, not to mention civilians, eager to claim the bounty that had to be on their heads.

However, it did mean that they rest at night from now on. Or at least, for tonight. He planned on being at Fuuga come the next nightfall.

"Princess..."

No response.

With a low grunt, Hak knelt on the ground before dropping Yona in an undignified heap. A small yelp escaped her lips as her butt connected with the hard ground, her thin body barely heavy enough to make much noise with the short fall.

Back on his feet, Hak was staring down at her. That was the most expression he'd seen on her face since the incident. As comical as it was, he knew it was inappropriate to laugh. Even a weary laugh full of bitterness was unwarranted.

"Forgive me princess, that was the gentlest way to put you down," Hak apologized, not that he expected a response from the emotionally dead girl. He took a step forward after a moment of silence, handing her what was left of the small bag of provisions he'd managed to steal the first day they'd been running. She'd made weak protests at the prospect of stealing, even from the moderately well off village he had selected to take from. That was why he hadn't pilfered the horses, and that was why they were still a day away from Fuuga.

Taking the small, leather bag from him, Yona held it for a moment before setting it in her lap, eyes staring blankly at her feet.

Hak tsked, shaking his head as he turned away from her. He'd gotten her to eat very little the day before, and he knew that she wouldn't eat anything tonight unless he forced her to. That was not something he was going to force upon her. Watching her like this disgusted him. She was a walking doll, the spark of humanity in her eyes was gone. Fled in fear or betrayal, Hak was yet to know. If she wanted to kill herself then who was he to stop her?

Unexpectedly, hot anger unfurled in his chest as he watched her look at the ground with dead eyes.

Damn Soo-won for making her this shell, this empty doll that he had to lug along with him. Damn the brat for stealing what light was in her eyes. Damn him for making his life this much harder, he was too old to play with dolls.

Sighing deeply, Hak removed his overcoat, laying the blue fabric on the ground after removing a few stray twigs. He flicked his gaze over to the princess, who, of course, hadn't moved. "We're going to rest here for the night, princess," Hak informed her, not really knowing why he even bothered to do so at this point. He didn't even know if she was listening, if she could hear him with whatever was going on in her head. Seeing as how she wasn't going to move on her own, Hak moved over to Yona and guided her by her shoulders to his coat, he coaxed her to lay down, wrapping her up in it as best as he could. The material wouldn't provide much in the way of warmth or protection, and he really hoped that it wouldn't rain.

He'd taken the provision's bag from her, opening it and pulled out a half of a broken hard biscuit. Chewing slowly he selected his own spot to settle for the night, finding the other half of the biscuit to consume before tying the drawstrings shut and placing the remaining few biscuits safely within a pocket. He would try to make Yona eat one tomorrow, if not he'd eat them all by midday. Hak didn't know if he'd be able to stop himself.

Leaning back against a tree, hsu quandao somewhat in his grasp, heavy tip supported also by the tree, Hak closed his eyes. Sleep was not really his intention, he needed to be on guard, but he could doze a little if he kept one eye and both ears open. Even he needed that much rest.

Forcing his eyes open at the first sound of birdsong, Hak slowly climbed to feet. The sky was dark, only slightly tinged a dark violet in the east. Birds were early risers, and while he didn't particularly want to be fumbling around the forest in the dark again, they had little time to spare. Only his head spun as he tried to stand on his own. Leaning heavily against the tree he'd slept against, Hak tired his damnedest to not drop his hsu quandao as he waited for his vision to stop spinning. Several minutes and dozens of quiet curses later Hak trusted himself to not fall flat on his ass without the aid of the tree. Swaying a little, he stumbled to Yona and nudged the girl awake gently, "princess... it's time to go." His voice was raspy with sleep and the want of water.

Her awakening was far slower than Hak's had been, but the thunder beast could sympathize, even if he was biting the inside of his cheek in irritation. Everything this girl did now was painstakingly slow. It took some willpower not to grab her by the waist and sling her over his shoulder. He doubted the girl would resist such actions anymore. What was he supposed to do it the princess allowed herself to be carried off in her sleep?

Shoving his thoughts aside, Hak collected his coat, shaking it off briefly before throwing his arms through the sleeves. Unfastening the waterskin from his belt, he passed it to Yona. It was half full now, and would be empty by midday unless they stumbled across a stream or pond. Hak knew the landscape in this area, between Hiryuu Castle and Fuuga, he knew where they were and how they were going. However, he wasn't sure if they could cross such a body of water or not. Only large rivers were mapped, and he'd not exactly trekked through the mountain pass like this. Normally one travelled on the roads, and stopped at towns and villages along the way. It could always rain as well, though that was not favorable even if it meant water. Taking the skin back from the princess, Hak took a swallow before tying it back on his belt. The water was lukewarm, but he was grateful for the moisture coating his dry throat. It wasn't enough, but he could hardly complain right now. Grabbing Yona's hand he pulled her along behind him, "come on princess, we'll get to Fuuga at nightfall if we hurry."

They'd been doing nothing but hurrying, in their own wearied, aching way.

If Hak's entire body ached, he could only imagine what Yona must feel like. The princess had never done anything more labour intensive than ride a horse a small number of times. It was the thought of whom she'd ridden with that had him ripping the thought from his mind before he could dwell on it.

Soon enough Yona would be on his back again.

Soon enough they'd be safely at Fuuga.

Hak only hoped that soon enough would actually be enough.