Disclaimer: I don't own Akatsuki no Yona.

Chapter 10

"Ao…" Shin-Ah said as Lien fled the room. He scooped the squirrel off of his shoulder and set her on the ground. She promptly scampered off, sliding under the cloth over the door to chase after Lien. She had looked upset, and Ao was good at making those kinds of feelings go away.

"I think you scared her off, princess," Hak said, earning him a frown from Yona.

"She needs time to think," Yoon said, "Not everyone makes up their mind as easily as Kija and Zeno."

"I knew that I needed to go with Yona, and I'm not ashamed of how quickly I decided to go," Kija said.

Zeno grinned widely. "The food helped." He leaned back against the wall, his arms behind his head. "Maybe we should feed her?"

"I really think she's supposed to go with us," Yona said. She plucked at a loose string on her vest and then shook her head. "It's just a feeling, but I know it's that right one."

"If that's the case, then she won't be able to deny it," Kija said, "She'll know that she needs to join your cause, Yona, just like the rest of us."

"But she's not a dragon," Jae-Ha said, holding up a finger before Kija could jump straight into a duty-is-important-dragons-must-obey rant. "She won't feel the same call that the four of us did, and we don't know exactly how kirins work."

Yoon snorted. "I think it says a lot about us that no one is really surprised by this whole mythical beast thing."

Hak nodded. "Traveling with dragons does that to you, I guess."

"You're one of those magic monsters, Thunder Beast."

Shin-Ah was staying silent. Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, he didn't feel like he had anything important to contribute to the conversation. This was Lien's decision. They had all had a choice to make: whether or not to follow Yona. For him, the decision had been easy enough. He could either travel with Yona or stay in his village where all of the other villagers feared him. It was different for Lien. So different.

A hand fell on his shoulder, and he turned his head to find Jae-Ha smirking at him. What was that look for?

"Someone should go make sure she's all right. I nominate Shin-Ah," Jae-Ha said. He stood and pulled Shin-Ah to his feet as well, grabbing his arm and yanking him up. "Go on."

Shin-Ah froze, nearly tilting over as Jae-Ha tried to shove him toward the door. What was he supposed to do? Did Jae-Ha expect him to convince Lien to come with them?

"Really?" Hak said, one eyebrow raised in surprise, "You really want 'Fluffy Hairy Blue Guy' to talk to her?"

Jae-Ha nodded. "Trust me, Shin-Ah's the best one for this job." He put both hands on Shin-Ah's shoulders and drove him out of the room and into the hallway. Patting him on the shoulder, Jae-Ha gave him a final push before disappearing back into the room with the others. "Go get her."

"Wait…" Shin-Ah raised a hand, wanting to ask Jae-Ha what to do, but the green dragon was already gone. Pulling his shoulders back, Shin-Ah looked around the room, trying to locate Lien and Ao.

There were a lot of clan members in the building again, talking, laughing, joking. Mama Ro met his gaze across the crowd, and she came toward him, people parting for her without her having to say a word. She commanded respect, and her clan gave it to her happily.

"What'd you people say to our girl?" she demanded as she reached him. She put her hands on her hips and stared up at Shin-Ah, obviously not intimidated by his mask in the slightest.

Shin-Ah ground the toe of his boot into the ground, unsure of what to say.

"What am I asking you for, you don't talk." Mama Ro let out a sigh. "She went out to get some air. Can you go get her? It's getting dark, and we should all be indoors."

Nodding, Shin-Ah moved around Mama Ro, giving her quite a bit of room, and headed for the door. He put on one of the heavy cloaks hanging from the pegs on the wall and then grabbed another one. The heavy door creaked as he pushed it open just enough to slide out. Bitterly cold wind snapped at him, biting at the exposed parts of his face. At least it wasn't snowing. He instantly spotted a splash of light green against the snow and trudged that way, leaning into the wind.

Lien was sitting on a fallen log, her fingers digging into the frozen wood, her normally smiling mouth etched into a straight line. As he had guessed, she wasn't wearing a cloak, which meant she was using her powers to stay warm. In the crook of her neck, Ao was perched and pushing a peanut against her cheek. Absently, Lien reached up to pet the squirrel.

She was looking out at the mountain range beyond them, which stretched into the distance, an ongoing panorama of white-tipped spikes painted purple and pink by the sunset. It was beautiful. His eyes traveled back to Lien.

Silently, Shin-Ah walked up behind her and dropped the cloak over her head and shoulders. "You'll get tired."

Lien startled and then looked up at him, the hood of the cloak sliding against her cheek. "Thanks…"

Shin-Ah stood behind her, wavering on what to do. He remembered when Yona had asked him to join her on her journey. He had been scared and uncertain, even though part of him wanted to go. Maybe that was how Lien felt.

She was still looking at him. "You're going to catch another cold out here."

He stepped over the log. It had snow on it, so he brushed it off before sitting down beside her.

"I'm sorry," she said. Reaching up, she picked Ao off her shoulder and held her out to him. "I didn't…I wasn't sure what to say to Yona."

She didn't need to be sorry. There was nothing to apologize for. How to reassure her… Leaning over, he pushed Ao back toward her and rearranged her cloak so that it was covering her head, keeping in more heat. Her eyes were wide as they followed him while he worked, and he wondered if he was doing this right. He was being encouraging, wasn't he? She was being so still.

Ao scurried up her arm and dove into the hood, nearly knocking it back off her head.

A small smile darted across Lien's face, which made Shin-Ah feel better. He must have done something right.

"I want to say yes," she said quietly, "I just…"

"Your family," he said.

"Yes." Lien looked up at him, and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "I'm scared to leave them. I've never been away from them, what if something happened? I don't know what to do." Those tears started trailing down her face.

Oh no, oh no, tears. Not that. "Ah…" What would Hak do? Shin-Ah blinked and then slowly circled his arms around Lien, his hand on the back of her head. His cheek rested against her hair as he pulled her to his chest. "Don't cry."

She didn't respond, but he felt her press her face against his shoulder. So warm…

Wait. What was that? In the far distance, something strange glistened against the snow. A glint of steel. Shadows moving on the mountain path, heading toward the hidden winter village. Lien pulled away, possibly having noticed the shift in his posture.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Shin-Ah lifted his mask and his eyes focused on the faraway shapes. Spears, horses, dark outfits. Secretive and numbering in at thirty four.

"Raiders."