Disclaimer: I don't own Yona of the Dawn!
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Chapter 28
"Take it easy, Blue!"
Shin-Ah lowered his sword at Yoon's admonishing voice, cutting his practice short. Yes, he was more winded than he usually was, and his side ached, but he had been careful to not strain his stitches. It had been a few days since he had been wounded, and he had only been let out of the tent a day ago.
He turned toward the boy but didn't make excuses. Taking a few deep breaths, he sheathed his sword, using that as an answer. He could take a break for now.
This was the first time he had picked up his sword in all that time, possibly because of the pain it had brought the family that had lost their son. Perhaps if the boy hadn't brandished Shin-Ah's sword, he wouldn't have been killed. While Shin-Ah could not bring that child back, he could keep others from suffering a fate like that by using this sword for good.
He had tempered his exercises for his injury, but he still needed to train. His strength was diminished due to the wound, but he wasn't going to let himself be lazy.
"Lien, why didn't you stop him?" Yoon demanded, stomping over to the girl with hair the color of seafoam.
"Because I trust that he knows his limits," she said, not looking up from her work. She was perched on a log, a worn-out cloak laying across her lap. There was a bin of clothes that needed to be mended on one side of her and on the other, there was a basket of cloth swatches. She was patching the clothes of the villagers and keeping an eye on the meal that was bubbling in the nearby pot. Bringing the thread up to her mouth, she nipped the string with her teeth and then gave Yoon a fond smile. "He's not a little kid, Yoon."
"No, he's a stubborn beast," Yoon said, waving a hand at Shin-Ah. "Did you at least stretch before you practiced?"
Shin-Ah nodded. Of course he did, to an extent. As much as he needed to. Even though he had been with the group a long time, he was still getting to Yoon and the others fussing over him. He wasn't used to people being worried about him and caring for him.
Yoon frowned and gave a curt nod. "Fine." He swept into the tent and then came right back out, carrying a couple pouches with him. "I came back for supplies, but we'll be back for the stew soon, Lien."
"I thought so," Lien said, glancing over at the steaming pot of weak soup. It was made with anything edible that they were able to find growing in the Fire Tribe country, which wasn't much. They were probably all going to go hungry again tonight, which Shin-Ah was used to. Maybe there would be enough for Yona, Lien, and Yoon to eat, at least. And Ao.
The squirrel was curled up on Lien's shoulder, fast asleep, her tail brushing Lien's neck. She had been begging Lien for food earlier and had been rewarded for her efforts with a couple small acorns that Lien had kept stashed away from her.
Yoon walked past Lien, and Ao perked up, whiskers twitching, tail bobbing around. She scurried down Lien's arm and raced over to Yoon, leaping up and attaching herself to the boy's back.
"Tch, I'm not feeding you," Yoon said, but he smiled a little as the squirrel sat on his shoulder and chittered in his ear. He headed back toward the main part of the village, away from the outskirts where they had set up their tent.
They were still in the same village where Yona and Shin-Ah had been attacked, and they were using it as a base. Half of the time, the group was spread out in the nearby countryside, dealing with various villages and expanding their "territory." Being a bandit gang was hard work, especially when only Jae-Ha could move around quickly. They had considered confiscating horses from some Fire Tribe officials, but Hak and Yoon had agreed that would draw more attention. Besides, there was the fact that some of them had never ridden a horse before.
Shin-Ah walked over to the log that Lien was sitting and then plopped down on the ground in front of her. He was certain he smelled of sweat and dirt, and she had washed off at a river that morning. It was far away from the village, but she and Yona had walked there with Hak as a bodyguard. Since she smelled nice, he didn't want her to smell his stench.
"Here." He looked up to see her holding out a cup to him, water brimming to its edge. They had to be careful with the water they used since it was so far away from the village. Girls and women from the village walked to get water every day, and for some of them, it was a day long process, making two trips each day.
Shin-Ah shook his head. It was too much water for just him. Lien sighed and brought it up to her lips, taking a generous sip. She handed it back to him. "There. You shared, so now you drink the rest."
He looked at the cup, still thinking that was too much. Lien grabbed his hand and wrapped it around the cup. "I'm going to let go on the count of three, so if you don't take it, it's going to fall on the ground. One, two—"
Shin-Ah grabbed it with both hands and took a long drink from it, relishing the cool, refreshing water that had been sitting in the shade. Even though it was chilly here, he had worked up a sweat during that short practice. His wound was making him slow, clumsy. He would have to work through it. Finishing off the water, he set the cup down next to her.
"You can sit on the log, if you'd like." She glanced toward the empty space on the log, and he shook his head. He smelled too bad. Lien half-smiled. "Suit yourself." She tired off a knot in the cloth she was working on and bit the thread again. "Do you mind folding this?"
He shook his head again and carefully took the cloak from her. It was still worn out, but now there weren't any holes in it. While she picked out something new to work on, he folded up the cloak and set it in a third bin, the one for clothes that were fully mended.
For a while they sat in silence, Lien sewing and Shin-Ah folding clothes once she finished them. She seemed tireless since she had been working for a few hours now without stopping, but he noticed her slowing down and he could see the tiny little pricks that were starting to appear in her fingers. She was an entertainer…maybe she didn't mend clothes too often, even though she knew how. Or perhaps she was just tired.
"Mmph." She lifted her finger as a droplet of blood welled on her fingertip, and she squeezed it, drawing out more blood. "I need to be more careful." She popped her fingers in her mouth and stuck the needle into the shirt in her lap. Shin-Ah reached over and plucked the shirt away, nimbly fishing the needle out of it and hide it in the sleeve of his own cloak.
"Give that back," Lien said, pulling her finger from her mouth and reaching for the shirt. Shin-Ah held it out of her reach, and when she leaned forward, he leaned back, keeping it away. "Shin-Ah!"
"You need a break," he said, "You hurt your finger."
"It's fine, see?" She held up her hand, and blood dripped down the side of her forefinger. Shin-Ah dropped the shirt into his lap and snagged a cloth from the pile of scraps. Swiftly, he wrapped it around her finger and held it to the tiny wound, looking at her as if to say 'yeah right.'
"My finger's not going to fall off," she said, "And I need to work. Everyone's working so hard."
He looked over at the bubbling pot of soup and then to the baskets that surrounded her and to the bucket of water that she had hauled back from the river that morning. As if she hadn't been working just as hard as the others.
She shook her head. "Yes, I've done a little, but I can't stop. It's not right."
"I haven't done much."
"You've been healing," she said, scolding in her voice, "You need to get better before you can help much more. And you're folding clothes, so that's something." She sighed and tilted her head to the side, her soft, long hair dropping over her shoulder. "You push yourself too hard. You're like Kija in that."
He wasn't like Kija. He wasn't as loyal or good or bold as Shin-Ah. He wasn't as charismatic or world-wise or enigmatic as Jae-Ha. And he wasn't as friendly or warm or playful as Zeno. He was the strange dragon, the one in the mask. So, no, he wasn't like Kija, but it was nice that Lien thought he was.
She reached for the shirt again and he pulled the cloth around her finger a little tighter, a silent 'no.' Lien made a face and sat back, so he released her finger.
"A short break," she said, "Then I'm working again, and you can't stop me, Shin-Ah. It's just mending clothes."
Right, but everyone needed a small break once in a while. He kept the shirt in his lap and leaned back on his hands, glancing up at the clear blue sky. A hawk was circling overhead, its dark brown fingers sleek against its back, its golden eyes hard. Gold eyes a lot like his own, actually. Shin-Ah looked back down and saw Lien looking at the hilt of his sword peeking over his back.
"I hope I can get a weapon soon," she said, "Yona's learning to fight, so I should, too." She held up her hand and a gentle, tiny fire sprang to life, dancing in her palm. "I guess this is a weapon…" She closed her hand, extinguishing the flame. Her eyes were sad as she looked at Shin-Ah. "My family didn't want me to use it."
Shin-Ah froze. Her family didn't…want her to use it? But they hadn't been afraid of her and they hadn't locked her up or treated her differently than the rest of them. They had seemed kind and friendly.
"It wasn't that they didn't like it, it was because they were worried about me," she went on to say, "They thought if I used my gift, people that weren't from our caravan would see and want that power. And they did, the few times I accidentally used it." She shivered and wrapped her hand around one wrist, as if a bad memory was running through her mind.
Shin-Ah waited for her, not asking questions but letting her talk. "I should learn to use it now, though." She looked up from her hand and gave him a small smile. "We're all learning to use our gifts to help Yona, right?"
Gifts… He had always been told his power was a curse. It was certainly destructive when he unleashed it fully. But…Yona didn't think it was bad. And neither did Lien. Or the other dragons, Hak, or Yoon. They treated it like any other strange power.
"I should practice," she said, "Next time when you practice your sword, I'll practice with my fire. At least until I get a weapon, then I guess I'll practice with both." Her smile widened. "I can work on endurance."
Shin-Ah nodded. Her fire was beautiful, especially when it flickered around her hands, and he had seen her use it defensively up close back in the battle at the winter camp. And if she practiced while he did, he could keep an eye on her. She was fire-proof, mostly, but her clothes weren't. He didn't want her to get hurt or to exhaust herself.
