Chapter Seven: Of childhood and other subjects
A\n: Since the last chappie was mostly filler, I decided to do what I usually do on such occasion... DOUBLE UPDATE! Anyways! Hope you enjoy!
edit: apparently I've made many mistakes in other chapters xD IM going through and fixing what I can for now xD others will be fixed at a different time! Anyways! Enjoy!
"Father?" Tian was no more than four at the time. Her father was braiding her hair into a half ponytail as they say in the living room of their shack-like home. Her mother was currently working on some new cloth for a family in their village.
"Yes, Little Bird?" Her father's green eyes looked at his child playfully as he called her by the nickname. Tian blushed, scowling as she looked away. Her father chuckled, ruffling her hair slightly.
"What is the legend of the four dragons? Is it true?" She questioned, glancing up at him with a curious raise of her brow. Her father sucked in a tense breath, closing his eyes. Tian bit her lips, looking away.
"Well, that depends on who you ask really." He replied after a moment. Tian sighed, happy she hadn't gotten into trouble." The village certainly believes it. They have reason to."
"Is it those people in that house?" She questioned, looking up at him. Her father scowled down at her. She made a small noise, and looked away.
"Tian, you can't keep going near that house. You're going to get in trouble."
"But they live here. Shouldn't we-"
"We have no choice. Even if they die, another is born. They're a curse that clings to this village." Tian pursed her lips, not saying anything else.
"But what is the legend?" She questioned, glancing at her father. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He then opened them with a slight frown on his face. Tian looked away.
"A long time ago, it's sad that the great King Hiryuu descended from the heavens as a dragon, and assumed a mortal form to protect humans. Eventually, humans tried to kill him. At that moment, he was saved by four men that had drank the blood of dragons to gain the power to protect him. When he died, they and those that came after them, waited for the day their master would come back." Tian smiled, happy her father had answered her.
"So we have one of them?" She asked in excitement, looking up at her her dad with a hopeful smile. Tian's father nodded with a slight scowl.
"Yes, but you have to stay away. The villagers dislike us enough. We don't need them having anymore reason." She looked away, frowning for a moment.
"Why do they hate us?" She questioned, looking up at her father again. Her father sighed, and shook her head.
"Never mind. Just don't go near that house OK?" Tian frowned, nodding with her lip pursed again.
Tian gasped slightly as she shot directly up from the bed she was laying in. Sweat coated her skin, and she looked around. She was in the tent, but both Yona and Yun weren't in the tent. As she woke up a little more, she could hear the clamour of the others just outside. She could smell Yun's cooking. Her stomach growled loudly.
Taking a moment to let her heated body cool down, and to fix her hair which had become an unbearable tangled mess, before she stepped outside.
"You slept in late." Yun told her, handing her her bowl. It was rice porridge. Still feeling a bit groggy, with a headache to match, she just took her bowl, and went to her usual place to eat.
"You look paler than usual." Hak mentioned, glancing up at her. Tian looked at him, and then touched her face. Yun immediately looked at her with a hard expression between worry and slight annoyance.
"I'm fine. Just had a weird dream." She answered, eating her soup more carefully.
Jae-Ha glanced at her, having already finished off his bowl. She did look rather pale, but didn't want to arouse her anger.
"Here. Eat this loquat." Yun dug into a ceramic vase before producing a small fruit. He walked over and handed it Tian. She took it, and bit into it. It was sweet, and perked her up slightly. Yun looked at her a moment longer, and then nodded as he walked back to the other side of the fire.
"Are you heading into town?" Yona asked, glancing up at Tian, who nodded.
"Yeah. I have to work." She replied. She looked over to her left, ignoring the green haired man's presence, and then forward at Yona. She then stood up."I actually should be heading into town now." She replied dusting off her dress.
"Are you sure? You still don't look too well." Tian smiled at the red haired girl in reassurance.
"I'll be fine." She answered, stepping over the log, and heading in the direction of the town.
"You're not going to go after her, Droopy Eyes?" Hak asked with a slight teasing tone as he noticed Jae-Ha staring in her direction. Jae-Ha looked at his friend, and shook his head.
"No. She'll be fine." He answered, looking forward with a slight smile on his face.
Tian slowly felt better as she came into the village. She had made sure to clean off her clinging sweat smell off by the river outside the village as much as she could before entering. She was surprised by how lively the town was, but it also lifted her mood. Shops were open, and cleaning up, offering those on the streets various things.
"Come! Try our new soup! You'll enjoy it!"
"Would you like some candy for the little kids?"
"Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker! Finest liquor sold here for all the adults!"
"Come buy your lady some new jewelry! Or perhaps a new hair pin for the pretty lady? Hm?" Tian laughed slightly as the vendor pointed her to a section of hair pins. She had to admit they were beautiful, but she had other things on her mind.
"Sorry sir, but I'm really quite busy.." Tian smiled, and bowed in apology before moving past the vendor.
"Tian!" The dark haired girl turned to look curiously at Ha-Seon as he ran to her. He laid a hand on her shoulder as he came to a stop. He was hanging his head for a moment to catch his breath, and then looked at her.
"Ha-Seon? What are you doing?" She asked, leaning closer to him slightly. He looked at her with a grin.
"My mother wanted to know if you had any special recipes we can use for the bakery? There's a special celebration coming up in a few days, and she wants something extra special." Tian thought for a moment, and then grinned.
There was a treat her mother used to always make her each year on her birthday. It was a wonderful pastry that was covered in powdered sugar. The inside was filled with a wonderful whipped cream. It was always sweet. It made her mouth water just thinking about it...
"I know of one! Come on, and I'll make it!" She grabbed her friend by the wrist, and quickly lead him to the bakery...
It was later on that Jae-Ha went in search of the girl. She had been gone all day long, and he was worried for her. It seemed like every time he went in search of her, she had found or narrowly missed trouble. He just wanted to make sure she was ok.
"Hello, sir. Is there something I can help you with?" Jae-Ha had found himself at the bakery. He supposed he followed his nose to the delicious smell. He looked at the young man before him.
He was familiar enough. The times he had caught glimpses of him when escorting Tian here anyways, but had never had any close contact with him.
"Ah, I was actually looking for-"
"Hey! Ha-Seon! Have you seen the sweet bread? I can't find it, and I-" Jae-Ha's green eyes looked into the emerald eyes of Tian as her eyes went wide with surprise. She was covered in white from the flour.
"Lookin' good over there." He teased, smirking at her as he chuckled slightly. Tian blushed, and then looked at the one she had called out to before.
"I need the sweet bread." She said in a more clipped tone.
Jae-Ha looked at the one besides him, noting with a slightly frown that he was blushing, and smiling in obvious excitement.
Must be the one they want her to...Court. Never been close enough till now to really notice the kid.
He thought to himself, noting again the burning sensation he felt in the pit of his stomach as he examined the kid once again.
He was young. Maybe a little over nineteen. He had wide, foolish looking, dull looking brown eyes. His eyebrows were thick. Sure he was tall, well tall-ish, but he seemed to have no muscle to him. He was lean, and almost too skinny. His face looked absolutely plain. His brown hair was pulled into a top-knot. Over all, he saw no reason why such a plain looking boy was aiming out of his league with a beauty like Tian.
"I'll help you look for it, Tian. Actually, I'll get it for you. Why don't you see what this man wants?"
Yes. That's right. Go away.
Jae-Ha thought to himself, eyeing the kid once again. Overly helpful. He makes it painfully obvious his interest.
There's no beauty to his approach. Didn't anyone teach the moron how to court a lady. Keep them on their toes. Idiot.
Jae-Ha looked away with an eye roll.
"Is there something you wanted?" Jae-Ha shook his head, and then looked at Tian as she looked at him with a single eyebrow raised. For the first time, he seemed out of words to say. He felt stupid for feeling that way.
"Trouble seems to find you. I was just wanting to make sure you were alright." He wasn't sure what to make of the look she gave him.
Was it surprise? Happiness? Even a bit of annoyance? Whatever it was, it was gone quickly, and she shrugged slightly.
"I was just baking." She said simply."Nothing wrong with that."
"Unless you accidentally burn yourself." He teased her, smirking as he leaned against a chair. Tian looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"You really think I'm that clumsy? Need I remind you how well I can kick ass?" She seemed to be teasing him.
In fact, he was almost certain she was teasing him. He didn't mind. Just as long as she was paying attention to him. And only him. And not some plain looking, overly helpful, moronic...
"Tian, here it is!" Jae-Ha frowned slightly as the guy returned, handing Tian a golden looking bread. She smiled brightly as she took it from him.
"You're a lifesaver, Ha-Seon!"She hugged him with one arm, and then bound into the back room. The idiot looked like he had just seen the face of an angel.
" Tch." Jae-Ha made the sound to himself, looking away with a frown to his face.
He's more clueless than Kija.
"Is there anything I can do for you sir?" Jae-Ha glanced at him, eyeing him for a kid seemed taken aback to the expression. Jae-Ha just sighed, standing up.
"There's nothing you can provide for me. I'll just be on my way." The idiot gave him a confused expression for a moment before shrugging, and turning around to go back into the room with Tian. Jae-Ha narrowed his eyes again.
He's so damn simple minded. He thought, the burning sensation coming back.
After Jae-Ha left the bakery, he rejoined Yona and the others to put his mind off of the jealousy he felt. He found it strange that in such a short amount of time, one simple girl was easily able to affect him so.
Of course it wasn't the first time. The first one being Yona, but that was because of their ancient connection. No, this was something entirely different, and it bothered him in a way.
He was normally composed. He wasn't used to feeling an emotion so intensely and swiftly. Jae-Ha distanced himself from the situation due to those feelings.
As the group walked around town, interacting with a few people, they found some happy news. A celebration for the town's founding was about to take place in a couple of days. It was happy news, and the town seemed rather excited. It was nice to see such life breathed into the town itself. A welcome change for sure.
"Guys!" The group stopped as Tian came up to them with a tied sack in her hands.
"What's this?" Yun asked, looking at the bag as Tian came to a stop in front of them. Her pale face turned pink for a moment as she shoved the sack forward. She look a bit embarrassed as she answered.
"It's a special treat I made at the bakery. We made a ton for customers, but I saved some. Figured you guys might wanna try some." She answered, twirling her hair with a purse to her lips as Yun grabbed the sack with some curiosity. The others gathered around, and to their surprise, it was filled to the brim with a sweet smelling pastry that had powdered sugar all over the top.
Something tugged at the back of Jae-Ha's mind as his eyebrows furrowed together. There was something that tugged at his memory, though he tried not to let it come up. After all, something like this was probably more common than he thought. He looked at Tian, who, much to his surprise, was looking at I'm as well.
"Oh woow! It looks good!" Yona replied in excitement, licking some of the sugar off of her fingers. Tian blushed again, looking away from the green haired man to Yona.
"Well, they were my favorite treat when I was younger. I hope that's OK."
"Of course it is. Thank you." Yun replied.
Tian nodded, glancing at use, who was looking at her with an even more curious expression. Tian blushed, and looked off.
"Right. Well... I should be heading off now."
"Yeah. Just don't be too late in coming back, alright?" Tian nodded, walking off. Jae-Ha watched her for a moment before walking back to the camp with the others...
It was night time before the group opened the bag to eat. They had been waiting on Tian, but when everyone got too hungry, they decided that it was OK to go ahead and eat. Jae-Ha ate the food simply not to worry the others, but to him it had no taste. He ate it swiftly, and then stood up.
"Yona, dear, I'm going for a walk, alright?" He grinned at her, dusting off his clothing. He needed some time to himself.
"Are you feeling alright? You've been acting off today." The red haired girl asked, glancing up at him. He looked at her in surprise, and then grinned.
"Me? I'm fine. I'm just going to make sure Tian is coming tonight."
"Oh! Do you want one of us to come with ya?"
"No. It's OK." He waved as he walked off, sighing under his breath.
Jae-Ha was not the type of person to jump to conclusions about anyone, but he also considered himself a good judge of character. Usually when he came to the conclusion about anybody, he was usually right. Even if said person managed to surprise him time to time, his basic assumptions were usually true. Maybe that made him a bit arrogant, but when proved right time and time again, who wouldn't get a big head about it?
For the most part, he believed he had Tian down pretty good. She was strong minded. Stubborn. Brash. Maybe a bit impulsive. She was reserved when it came to her past, and wouldn't speak of it much, but when she did, she would ramble about her selected choices. She was caring. She was hard working just as much as she was strong. Fearless to a point, which is what initially attracted him to her. He thought he had her figured out, and yet she had still surprised him.
I remember seeing villagers eating something similar to that back when I was still imprisoned in the green dragon village. Sometimes Garou would have one. I really shouldn't be acting this way. They're more likely to be found anywhere after all..
Mostly being distracted by his own thoughts, is what caused him to run into Tian. Quite literally. He ran into her. Or may accurate. She ran into him.
She let out a small 'oof' as their bodies collided. He had to admit that the wind wind was taken out of his own gut. Her hand had punched him directly in the gut.
"Jae-Ha?" Jae-Ha looked at her, and then smiled ever so slightly.
"Hey, I was just coming to look for you." Tian nodded, eyeing him for a moment. It wasn't with ill feeling, but rather curiosity.
"Why?" She questioned, tilting her head slightly. He just grinned for a moment.
"Well, you were gone for so long, I thought I might have to come rescue you from some soldiers again." He was putting on his usual flirtatious attitude.
"You really think I'd let that happen again?" She questioned a bit flatly, raising an eyebrow at him. He just grinned.
"It's happened twice already. I am starting to think you're doing it on purpose." He smirked, leaning closer to him. Tian frowned, eyebrow raised as she leaned back.
"Oh really? And for the record, the first time I could have handled it without you." She replied, looking away with a slight blush to her pale cheeks. Jae-Ha grinned.
"I think you protest too much. You enjoy having me around, don't ya?" He chuckled slightly, looking at her as he noted her blush deepen. He smirked, and then stood back in his usual position. Tian looked behind him for a moment, and then at him with a smirk.
"I'm used to seeing with you with one of the others. Are you feeling OK?" She questioned, sounding playful,taking a step towards him. Jae-Ha laughed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I was just going for a walk."
"Alone?" She questioned softly, tilting her head slightly as her eyebrows drew together."Are you feeling OK?" She questioned, taking another step forward. Jae-Ha merely laughed, and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Why don't you just go back to the camp, hm?" He patted her shoulder slightly, walking past her.
"You're coming back, right?" The green haired man stopped, and turned to look at her with a curious tilt of his head.
He noticed that she was looking at him in worry. What was she worried about? That he wouldn't come back? He laughed inwardly at the thought.
"Even if I wanted to run away, they would find me. Trust me, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be back, alright?" He smiled in reassurance, but he noticed that she still looked at him in worry. Despite her expression,she nodded.
"Alright. Don't take too long." She answered, turning on her heels, and walking faster towards camp. Jae-Ha sighed, and continued to walk.
Tian was sleeping in the tent with Yona on one side and Yun on the other side. Tian was laying on her back,hands tucked under her head,but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sleep.
It was windy,making the tent blow some. Yona was sleeping on her side, hands tucked her head,snoring ever so slightly. Yun was on his side, facing away from them, his face scrunched into a slight scowl,his legs pulled into a half fetal position. He occasionally sighed, mumbling something that Tian couldn't hear, moving his limbs before resting back into his original position.
Tian could hear the fire crackle slightly as it eventually went out. She could almost imagine the others. She had learned the Zeno slept closer to the one with the mask. The dark haired one always slept with his weapon. And the one that had that strange hand slept closer to the fire for warmth. She could almost picture of perfectly in her mind.
As much as she tried not to, the black haired girl couldn't help but to worry for the only person who was still missing. Jae-Ha. He hadn't come back from the walk that he took. Even the others noted that it was a bit strange. Even for him.
Was it me? Did I do something wrong?
Tian sighed, turning on her stomach as she pouted. He promised he'd be back before dawn, but even the others thought he was acting strange.
No. I'm being stupid. I've been nicer to him than before. Still... Why do I get the feeling that this is connected to me? Ah. I'm being an idiot. Still, if it's because of me, I'll ask why until I receive an answer, apologize, and then fix my mistake.
Tian hated admitting that she was wrong under any circumstances, but if he was staying away because of her, then she would be a big girl and apologize.
"Hey are you alright?" Tian looked at Yona, who was touching her arm with a sympathetic expression. Tian just smiled in reassurance.
"I'm fine. Just can't sleep." Yona gave her an expression that told Tian the small girl didn't believe her one bit. Tian sighed,looking away from the red haired girl's perceptive amethyst eyes.
"Are you sure that's all?" Yona questioned, touching the others arm gently. Tian glanced at her,and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm sure." She muttered,closing her eyes. Yona looked at her to a second longer before going back to sleep.