Disclaimer: I don't own Yona of the Dawn | Akatsuki no Yona!

Chapter 33

Later that evening, Lien was perched on a rock at the outskirts of their camp, the metal fan spread out in her lap. Jae-Ha had promised to start giving her lessons the next day, which was sweet of him. She guessed that she would have to switch lessons with Shin-Ah for lessons with Jae-Ha, since Shin-Ah seemed annoyed about her new weapon.

She had known that he hadn't totally liked the idea of her arming herself, but she had hoped that maybe his opinion had changed or that he would at least see that it was important to her. But instead he had sort of stared in a way that she knew meant he wasn't entirely happy.

Sliding one foot down the rock, she leaned back on her arms, palms against the cool stone. Overhead, the sky was overcast so there weren't any stars and the moon wasn't visible. It was a dark night, not very inviting. She was technically on watch, but she knew that at least one other person would be awake as well. For some reason, she, Yona, and Yoon weren't allowed to be on watch by themselves, though she thought it was more out of sense of protectiveness than that the others thought they would fall asleep or anything.

She also knew that it was probably protectiveness that made Shin-Ah dislike her new weapon. Having the fan and learning to use it meant that she would fight in the future, but honestly, she was fighting now. And her fire already made her a target.

Sitting up, she lifted a hand and called on the flames within her. A lick of fire sprang to life in her palm and began to dance in the light breeze, wafting back and forth as if it had a life of its own. She was getting better at keeping the flame active and alive, and she was starting to practice making it take certain shapes.

Focusing, she had it turn into a wavering circle, the middle of it open. It was big enough that Ao would have been able to jump through it without getting scorched.

As if she had thought the squirrel into being, she appeared, scrambling up the side of the rock and bounding into Lien's lap. She closed her hand around the flame, snuffing it, before she picked up the squirrel.

"What're you doing here?" she asked, bringing Ao up to her cheek so the squirrel could nuzzle her. She thanked her by scratching gently behind her teeny curved ears.

A soft noise made her look up and she nearly yelped. Shin-Ah was standing only four feet away from her, the wind tugging at the white strands of fur from his mask. She put her free hand to her heart, trying to steady its suddenly rapid beating.

"You scared me!" she said, shaking her head, "You shouldn't sneak up on people…"

"I didn't mean to," he murmured.

Of course he hadn't. Shin-Ah didn't seem the type to purposefully scare someone, not like Jae-Ha or Hak, who would've both relished the chance.

Lien looked down at him, uncertain about why he was there. Unconsciously, she closed the fan and brought it close, sticking it in its sheathe at her side. From now one, she wouldn't be going anywhere without that fan, much like how Shin-Ah was rarely found without his sword.

Both of them were silent, and Shin-Ah became a blue-tinged shadow into the darkness, he was so still. In her hands, Ao turned a circle and then flopped over, nestling up against her fingers.

"I don't want you to have to fight."

Shin-Ah's voice was soft and sincere as it broke the quiet of the night. Lien lifted her head and looked at his shadowy figure, finding it difficult to see his mask in the darkness. She stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt him if he had more to say.

He took a step closer to the rock, his boot scraping against the rough, dry earth. "I know you must. We all do. But I…wish you didn't have to."

"I don't want you to have to fight, either, really," Lien said, "But we all have to keep each other safe, and this fan is just another way for me to do that."

Shin-Ah gave a gentle sigh. "I know."

He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings earlier, he just hadn't known how to express himself. It seemed like a running theme with him, probably because he was so isolated when he was younger.

She reminded herself that she needed to try to be understanding whenever Shin-Ah did something outside of the norm and help him along. She would need to explain herself rather than just thinking he would infer from something she did.

Lien glanced over at him. "Do you want to sit on the rock too?"

She could barely tell, but he did nod, so she moved over, clearing up some space on her rock. Looping her arms around her legs, she looked up at the cloudy sky. It probably wouldn't rain. Yoon had said that the drought in the Fire Tribe's lands had been going on for years. Still, she wished that it would storm or at least let out a gentle shower.

"Too bad I don't have water powers," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I feel like I'd be more useful."

"Fire is good," Shin-Ah said after a few quiet moments.

"It's destructive."

Shin-Ah held up one finger. "Warmth." Another finger. "Cooking." Another finger. "Light."

Most likely he would have kept going he Lien hadn't cut in with a laugh. "All right, I see your point. But right now, water powers would have been nice."

"Yes," he said, "I know."

There was something almost sad in his voice, and she turned to look at him closer. Did he ever wish for a different one of the dragon powers? Or for no powers at all? He seemed scared of his own gift, and it was a formidable one. She hadn't seen him use it the way Yona had, but it seemed extremely powerful. Maybe even more so than Jae-Ha's leg or Kija's arm. No one was exactly sure what Zeno's ability was, and he wasn't exactly forthcoming with the information.

Reaching over, she gently put her hand on his arm for a moment. "Thank you for talking to me."

Shin-Ah nodded. "I'm sorry. For earlier."

"It's all right," she said, "I think it was more of a misunderstanding than anything."

Ao jumped from her shoulder to Shin-Ah's hands, and he cupped the squirrel in his palms.

Silence spilled between them again, but it wasn't so awkward this time.