"Lotta stuff sure has changed in the last year, huh?" Hakuren leans back against Kouen, gazing up at the moon. The noise of the festivities filters out to the two of them as a soft murmur of distant speech and joy. Hakuren refills Kouen's cup with his pilfered bottle of peach wine.

"I suppose," Kouen replies, taking a small sip.

"Well I mean... You got a djinn, my father was assassinated, and now Yuu's all set to take the throne while you're getting sent off to conquer another dungeon..." Hakuren forces out a laugh that Kouen thinks may be fake. "It's just a lot to take in!"

"I am sorry about Emperor Hakutoku." Kouen grips his cup a little tighter. "But I'm sure Hakuyuu will do fine. He's going to be a wise ruler."

"Yeah." Hakuren runs a hand through his hair and sighs heavily. Silence keeps smothering their conversation with the weight of words unsaid, and Kouen hasn't seen him touch his wine since they came out here to talk. "How about those rumors about you and Hakuei getting married, though?" Hakuren punctuates the shift in conversation with another forced laugh.

"Why are you not saying what you want to say?" Kouen says.

Hakuren starts and finally glances over at Kouen. "Haa... you're a pretty frank guy, huh, Kouen?" He runs a hand through the short, messy hair that can't be drawn up into a bun. "There's a lot of shit going on behind the scenes right now. Shit that we aren't even sure about."

Kouen furrows his brow. "Explain."

Hakuren makes a gesture back at the party. "I can't talk in specifics. Too many ears. But Dad's death wasn't an accident, Kouen."

"Well of course it wasn't," Kouen interrupts. "He was assassinated by those ogres from the former Gai-"

"No." Kouen starts at the dangerous edge in Hakuren's voice. He looks over to see Hakuren looking more angry than he's seen in years. There's a bloodthirst in Hakuren's eyes that reminds Kouen of being at war all over again. "It was a setup. The man they hanged is innocent, and the culprits are-" Hakuren starts a little, his eyes sharpening in the gloom as though he has spotted something Kouen missed. He follows Hakuren's gaze and sees nothing but the young magi cavorting in the trees, accompanied by an entourage of priests desperately attempting to prevent another broken arm. "Well. Suffice to say, they're people in the palace. There's a coup in the works, and we're all in danger."

Kouen's head snaps back to Hakuren. "What?! Then you must tell me at onc-"

Hakuren grabs Kouen's arm and yanks him back down to sitting. "Shhh! Keep your damn voice down!" He squeezes Kouen's arm until the fire leaves his eyes. "Yuu's gonna have my head for having such loose lips."

"I'll call off the dungeon venture. I'm sure your mother will-"

"No." Hakuren is final. "We need all the power we can get, and if you have an opportunity to get another metal vessel then..."

Kouen swallows, and he makes a face that suggests Hakuren's order tastes as bitter as it feels. "Understood."

Hakuren forces on one of his big comforting smiles. "When you get back I promise we'll clue you in on everything. We've got a lot of big plans ahead, the three of us."