Chapter Two: A meeting in the Dark
A/n: Ahh~! I just wanna hug you all ^^ Thanks so much for the attention the first chappie got~! And I'm so glad that you all enjoyed it, as I was a bit… Ok… Alot shaky and unsure on the opening, but really thanks~! I hope that you all enjoy it as it continues on~! And please, let me know your thoughts or whatever~! Happy readings~!
There were many questions that both ends wanted to ask, and many of them were quiet similar. What have you been doing? Are you doing well? How have you been doing? Have you been staying safe? Things of that nature, but nobody spoke up. There was a stillness that couldn't be denied. Perhaps it was due to everyone getting their thoughts together about this…. Surprising situation that nobody expected to happen so suddenly, but even as they each got their feelings in order one by one, nobody bothered to try to break the silence that was becoming more and more awkward as time passed.
Although the awkwardness of the situation made what was actually only a few minutes seem like hours, the group finally arrived at the room in which Yona and the others would be staying. Tian hesitated for a reason that she could both understand and not explain at the same time. Despite how awkward and heavy the atmosphere felt to her, she was still curious about them, and had wanted to ask so many things. She had missed them more than she was willing to admit even to herself. Tian wanted to stay with them, and just get some of what she had been missing, but at the same time….
Tian didn't want to face what they surely must feel towards her. Even if she knew most of her fears were strictly illogical as nobody really would be that angry towards her, and wouldn't completely hold a grudge towards her, she still didn't want to answer the questions they surely would ask her. The questions wouldn't be anything she couldn't handle answering, it was just the simple fact of that she didn't really want to for reasons she couldn't even explain to herself.
After a few moments of pausing, Tian knew she had to say something. So, she shook her head, putting away her feelings and thoughts as she stepped aside, and then turned to look at them as she put on a professional but still friendly expression.
"Well, here's where you will be staying." Tian offered finally, gesturing towards the door she had stopped at.
"Thank you." Yona said softly, breaking the silence. Tian nodded as their eyes met, but there was something else behind Yona's expression. It seemed to Tian that Yona understood how awkward this was for Tian, and was trying to make it easier on her. Tian smile relaxed a bit as she bowed slightly.
"If there's something I can do for you guys, just let me know." Tian bowed, and then turned to leave.
"Why don't you come in for a while, and relax?" Much to Tian's surprise, it was Hak that had spoken to her. She looked over her shoulder for a moment, her expression a bit unsure.
"Yeah. I mean, what could it hurt?" Yona replied, smiling her friendly smile. Tian paused, turning her head back around. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't just indugle herself, and ignore her responsibilities.
"I got duties I have to attend to, perhaps another time." Tian looked over her shoulders, smiling brightly."Enjoy your stay." She said simply, turning back around, and quickly leaving.
"Well…. Could always count on Tian for a warm welcome." Yun said rather dryly once they were in the room, and had relaxed for the night.
"To be fair, she wasn't lying." Kija replied, fluffing a pillow he had already spotted and claimed the moment they entered the room.
"She could have stayed with us for a few minutes." Yona replied in a rather downcast tone, looking out the window." I mean, it's not like we were going to keep her all night." She added on, sighing as she looked down at her lap.
"Yes, but don't look so down, Yona Dear. Like Kija said, Tian had other duties to attend to." Jae-Ha replied, smiling in hopes to cheer up the red haired girl.
Though, truth be told, he felt a bit stung himself that Tian hadn't taken the offer, but he wasn't going to let it show. Besides, he was an adult who could think logically. He understood where Tian was coming from, even if he could tell that she was just simply avoiding them.
"Let's just settle in for the night." Yun said, already rolling out a sleeping mat while Yona took the bed.
"Right. We need to rest while we can. Who knows how long it will be before we can afford to stay in another inn." Hak added on, finding a space in the corner where he lazily sprawled out, his eyes already half closed.
With that said, most were already falling asleep, so it didn't take long before they were asleep. While it took longer for others to fall asleep themselves.
"It's… Dark." Tian muttered rather obviously to herself, under her breath, as she sat a torch nearby to give herself the light she needed.
After making sure the torch was secured in it's place, Tian walked from cautiously to the edge of the light it provided, and then turned to look at the tree she had made into her own practice target. She had made it a point to keep her skills as sharp as they could be, and for that, she couldn't just let her skills go to waste.
So, wherever it was that she was staying, she always made sure to find a secluded area where she could practice her skills, but she mostly ended up practicing her throwing knives, and the small dagger she always made sure was hidden under her clothes. She kept the knives in a secure pouch by her side since there were only a few of them that she was able to afford in the last town she visited before coming to this town. After all, she had to replace the last set she had since she seemed to have lost them somewhere on the road while traveling.
"I thought I saw a beautiful woman walking down the road with a torch in the middle of the night." Tian paused as she sat down her bags at the sound of the familiar voice that called out to her.
"What do you want, Jae-Ha?" She questioned without emotion, despite a few swelling up that she had to ignore. She didn't turn to face him as she spoke as she began to look through the stuff the she had brought, if only to stall for time for when she had to face him.
"I thought it might be dangerous for a beauty to be walking all alone. I thought I'd come to make sure she was alright." Jae-Ha said casually, walking until he was beside her, where he knelt, and glanced at her.
Tian took a moment, but finally looked at him, feeling relieved to see that small smile that was on his face. Not just his regular, confident smirk that he usually wore, but his more kinder, softer, and more genuine smile that she liked most of all. She smiled slightly, looking away as she grabbed her throwing knives out of the bag.
"Some would call that stalking." She teased, smiling over shoulder teasingly before looking at the tree with a more serious expression.
Jae-Ha sat on the ground, opting to watch her as she widened her stance just a bit, adjusting for the trowing. Her dark green eyes focused solely on the imaginary target on the tree. She extended her arm, as if gauge the distance, and adjusted herself as she needed to. She leveled with the tree again, cocking her head for just a second, and then straightening her head out. Jae-Ha had to admit to himself that when she had that expression of total concentration and seriousness… She looked incredible. He hide the smile that came over his face by clasping his hands together, and hiding the lower half of his face as he watched her. It took a few moments, but she finally seemed to throw the knife in her hand, hitting the tree hard, and sticking to a hole that was already in the center.
She then smirked as she reached for another one, but she seemed to hesitate, looking at the small blade in her hand. Her expression dropped slightly as she looked at it, and then shook her head. Jae-Ha got a curious expression, tilting his head slightly as he spoke with a bit of teasing and concern mixed in to his tone.
"Something on your mind?" He questioned as she once again prepared to throw the knife, but he could tell she wasn't as into as she was with the previous blade.
"Nothing terribly important." She replied with no emotion, throwing the knife just a few inches above the first one she had thrown, but then paused as she turned to look at him, her arms crossed slightly. Jae-Ha smiled slightly, looking at her teasingly as she seemed to scowl slightly at him.
"What are you doing here anyways?" She questioned. Jae-Ha wasn't sure if she meant here, with her, or here, as in the town. He decided to test the waters, and go with the latter.
"We were simply looking for a place to rest. We needed it after what we've had to handle since we last saw you." He replied, which probably wasn't what Tian meant as her expression changed to surprise before relaxing as she smiled, laughing a bit as she shook her head, sitting on the ground maybe a foot away from him.
"You guys attract trouble like a magnet, don't ya?" She teased, slouching forward a bit as she looked at him.
The light flickering behind him casted interesting shadows on his hair, making it seem almost black before flickering back to dark green. It cast interesting patterns, highlight the shorter strands, and making them stand out more noticeably. Tian briefly played with the thought of teasingly pointing it out to Jae-Ha, who normally paid such close attention to his physical appearance. She supposed that is why she found it amusing to see so pointedly that he would allow for uneven strands of hair. However, she didn't say anything, opting instead to look at her hands that were in her lap, biting her lips as she wanted to ask so much, but wasn't sure what to exactly to ask first.
Jae-Ha was looking at her as well, admiring the way the fire was lighting up her features. Highlighting all the most beautiful parts of her. Her cheekbones seemed to be darkened one moment, and highlighted the next. Her lower lip had a tiny shadow under it, making it seem plumper than it really was under normal lightly. Her hair was almost completely blended into the darkness, expect for the part that were in the light. Her bangs, which seemed a bit longer, hung in her face slightly, just above her eyes, casting another shadow, and made her dark green eyes seem almost black expect for the sliver of light that highlighted them. He noticed the hair piece he had had made for her around her neck, and some part of him was once again amused that she still refused to wear it in her hair.
"I don't think you should be talking about who attracts trouble like a magnet. If memory serves me right, we met because you were in trouble." He smirked leaning forward as he spoke. Tina paused for a moment, and then smiled as she laughed, looking away for a moment before looking at him with the same kind of teasing expression he was giving her.
"I didn't need any help at the time you came. If memory serves me right, I flipped you onto your back."
"Only because I was caught off guard."
"Well, I must have been intimidating enough. You ran away the moment you saw my expression."
"Honestly, I thought about going after you, but… Why ruin this beautiful face anymore than you already had." He dramatically sighed, putting his hand to his forehead.
Tian laughed, shaking her head as she looked back at the tree. Jae-Ha dropped the silliness, and looked at her with a more serious expression, which she seemed to have done as well. Her eyebrows knitting together slightly as she looked at the tree, but from the look in her eyes, her mind was somewhere else. Despite her drawn lips,and drawn eyebrows that made her look angry, Jae-Ha could see the worry that was hidden in them as well.
Jae-Ha realized, in that moment, that the proud woman before was probably much more worried about the reunion than she would ever outwardly show to any of them. He relaxed himself, hoping that his calm exterior would reassure her that nothing was wrong, and that she had nothing to worry about. He reached out to her, but she had already stood up, and swiftly waked to the tree, pulling out the blades from the holes with only a slightly struggle. He considered helping her, but by the time he made a move to stand, she had already pulled them out, and was putting them away after making sure the blades weren't damaged.
"You know, I…. We missed you." He called out as she slung the bag over her shoulders. She paused, and then turned to walk back to the spot she was in before. She sighed as she sat down, closing her eyes for a moment before looking at him with a more relaxed expression. Jae-Ha was relieved that she could relax, if only for a second.
"Yeah. Same here." She admitted softly, then cleared her throat, and spoke with more assurance in her tone."Yeah, I mean, it's only natural I would think about you all once in a while." She was trying to act cool, Jae-Ha could tell, but he wasn't going to point that out to her. Not this time." You guys really helped me out then, and I-"
"You don't have to explain yourself. Not to me anyways. If it's important, it'll come out eventually. Which might be when you see the others again. I don't think they'll let you go so easily next time." Tian and him shared a small laugh, shaking their heads.
"I'm glad to see that you are all doing well, and seem to be just as lively as ever."
"Heh, well… That's always a given considering everyone." Jae-Ha replied, leaning back slightly to rest his back. Tian looked at him, and then nodded as she looked back at her lap for a moment, and then at him with a small smile.
"Yeah. I have to admit that I forgot how lonely it was traveling all by one's self. I have to say there were some nights were having some… Rather entertaining company would have been a really nice treat." Tian laughed a bit, though it sounded a bit bitter. She cleared her throat, looking down at her hands.
"Yeah. It would have been nice to have you around at times as well." Jae-Ha admitted, causing Tina to look up with a slight blush that was barely noticeable, and a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, but… I mean, I was wanted and everything… I didn't want to cause anymore trouble, and I thought that it would be-"
"Hey, relax. You don't have to explain yourself." Jae-Ha interrupted her fast, stumbling talk. He moved closer to her, touching her hand in reassurance. She looked at his hand, and then at him. Her eyes looking at him still a bit unsure and panicked, but then relaxed as she nodded, glancing away." All that matters is that you're safe and healthy, and hopefully happy. At least to me that's all that matters. I don't need anything else to be said." He leaned his forehead against herself, speaking uncharacteristically softly, but it seemed to work to relax the woman as she nodded with more assurance. She reached out to touch his face for a moment, leaving it there for a moment before dropping it back into her lap.
Tian didn't want to move, to break this moment, but she was much more tired than she had thought she would be, and needed rest herself, but she fought it off as she let the moment stay just a bit longer until Jae-Ha pulled away, which allowed her the split second to stand up, and gather the rest of her things. Jae-Ha watched her as she moved around, not saying anything until she had reached to grab the torch.
"Do you come out here every night?" He questioned. Tian paused, looking at him, and then nodded.
"I come to train. I don't want my skills to be weakened." Jae-Ha nodded, understanding where she was coming from himself.
"Maybe tomorrow night, we can spar." He offered, which seemed to take Tian off guard. Jae-Ha took her moment of pause to grab the torch himself, smiling as he looked at her."In the meantime, want to walk back together?" He offered, extending the light towards her just in case she refused. Tian paused, and then nodded as she smiled.
"Yeah. That would be nice." She said simply,gesturing for him to lead the way back. Jae-Ha smiled as he nodded, walking a few steps ahead before glancing to make sure she was walking with him. To his happiness she quickly caught up to his long strides, and was walking back with him. Neither said anything as they walked back to the Inn.