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I'd rather not give you any satisfaction when at all possible.
[Frankly. Anyway--]
You woke earlier than I expected.
[Frankly. Anyway--]
You woke earlier than I expected.
... Not the first time?
[That's!! Unfortunate and shitty!]
It must be even less tolerable for you, then. I have already decided it is infuriating.
[But oh, then there's a cloak... Sousei blinks, accepting it quietly and looking at it. Oh.]
... Thank you.
[That's!! Unfortunate and shitty!]
It must be even less tolerable for you, then. I have already decided it is infuriating.
[But oh, then there's a cloak... Sousei blinks, accepting it quietly and looking at it. Oh.]
... Thank you.
A nightmare is not going to cause me to let down my guard.
[... But yeah, it's fine. That's an honestly really mild remonstration to Jae-ha's explanation, and then Sousei just shrugs. He's getting out of bed, at least, moving his way over to lean against the wall.
Distance, from where the nightmare took place. It's a natural step.
It gives him a moment to get his thoughts in order.]
... You recall that I said I was rescued from my fate as a child? [...] It was by a man who chose, instead of simply placing me somewhere to keep an eye on, to take my directly under his wing and into his family.
[Fucking... Kumous. So kind--too kind, with giving and caring hearts.]
He had a son, as well. A son who would not stop pestering me, tormenting me and following me around--
[A beat, and he sighs.]
--because they were a family all with far-too-large and giving hearts.
[... But yeah, it's fine. That's an honestly really mild remonstration to Jae-ha's explanation, and then Sousei just shrugs. He's getting out of bed, at least, moving his way over to lean against the wall.
Distance, from where the nightmare took place. It's a natural step.
It gives him a moment to get his thoughts in order.]
... You recall that I said I was rescued from my fate as a child? [...] It was by a man who chose, instead of simply placing me somewhere to keep an eye on, to take my directly under his wing and into his family.
[Fucking... Kumous. So kind--too kind, with giving and caring hearts.]
He had a son, as well. A son who would not stop pestering me, tormenting me and following me around--
[A beat, and he sighs.]
--because they were a family all with far-too-large and giving hearts.
It's another part of being the Green Dragon - everything that I'd said about running away from my fate, really.
[it's been a hurricane of a week, he's trying to remember exactly how much he'd told sousei about himself
but jae-ha just laughs faintly at his reaction anyway]
You're welcome. It's cold outside, so don't push your luck while you're out there looking for clues.
[that's his guess of what sousei would do anyway]
[it's been a hurricane of a week, he's trying to remember exactly how much he'd told sousei about himself
but jae-ha just laughs faintly at his reaction anyway]
You're welcome. It's cold outside, so don't push your luck while you're out there looking for clues.
[that's his guess of what sousei would do anyway]
[ . . . and Jae-ha listens. He makes his guesses, was it the man or the son then, who set Sousei on his path toward being so dedicated to his country? Childhood promises don't necessarily mean that the other person has to be a child also, but given Sousei's focus....
The way that he speaks about these people...]
Ah, I know the type.
[That's his quiet answer.
He'll wait for Sousei to continue explaining. He doesn't move to join him on the floor, letting him claim his space if that's what he needs.]
The way that he speaks about these people...]
Ah, I know the type.
[That's his quiet answer.
He'll wait for Sousei to continue explaining. He doesn't move to join him on the floor, letting him claim his space if that's what he needs.]
Don't.
[NOPE.]
And I was not sure what to expect, precisely, but you cannot deny that it has been an incredibly trying week.
[NOPE.]
And I was not sure what to expect, precisely, but you cannot deny that it has been an incredibly trying week.
[Hm...]
... I see.
[Well, he tucks that away inside of his head and nods simply. Jae-ha knows him so well. He is absolutely going to search for clues until his fingers are numb out there.]
I will push my luck only as far as is sensible.
[Thanks, Sousei.]
What do you intend to do?
... I see.
[Well, he tucks that away inside of his head and nods simply. Jae-ha knows him so well. He is absolutely going to search for clues until his fingers are numb out there.]
I will push my luck only as far as is sensible.
[Thanks, Sousei.]
What do you intend to do?
[ . . . ah.
Jae-ha seems to laugh faintly at that - though there's a certain note of tiredness in the noise. There's a moment where the exhaustion shows on his face, in more than just the bags underneath his eyes, and then he seems to shake his head as if to bat it away.]
... it has been, but we're not in a position where we're comfortable enough to sleep to our heart's content just yet.
Jae-ha seems to laugh faintly at that - though there's a certain note of tiredness in the noise. There's a moment where the exhaustion shows on his face, in more than just the bags underneath his eyes, and then he seems to shake his head as if to bat it away.]
... it has been, but we're not in a position where we're comfortable enough to sleep to our heart's content just yet.
You'd better if apparently I'm going to be on pins and needles until you return to sleep.
[it sounds fucking awful and he hates it - but he's also better at compartmentalizing than most people would give him credit for]
But me - I...
[ . . . ]
I used their Wishing Well.
[it sounds fucking awful and he hates it - but he's also better at compartmentalizing than most people would give him credit for]
But me - I...
[ . . . ]
I used their Wishing Well.
[Jae-ha can find out if he was wrong with his bets now; Sousei just nods quietly in acknowledgement of that (don't they both know the type? Isn't that why they're both here now despite their pasts?), and crosses his arms loosely, more contemplative than defensive in posture.]
... It was his son who told me one day that he had a dream--to protect the country from the shadows, to be unnamed and unknown protectors.
[A beat.]
A childish dream. But it was the first time anyone had told me that I could be something more than the purpose I was born for, and--as I was a child, it was something I latched onto quite strongly.
[I mean, he's still latched onto it even now. So honestly, it was entirely formative.
But that's a digression, and he shakes his head.]
... I had eight years with that family. Tenka's father was murdered. [And his father too.] ...We had a difference of opinions, and a falling out.
... It was his son who told me one day that he had a dream--to protect the country from the shadows, to be unnamed and unknown protectors.
[A beat.]
A childish dream. But it was the first time anyone had told me that I could be something more than the purpose I was born for, and--as I was a child, it was something I latched onto quite strongly.
[I mean, he's still latched onto it even now. So honestly, it was entirely formative.
But that's a digression, and he shakes his head.]
... I had eight years with that family. Tenka's father was murdered. [And his father too.] ...We had a difference of opinions, and a falling out.
... I suppose that is true.
[He can't really blame Jae-ha for that. He was much the same, after all. No time to really rest--there is too much to be done, and too much to process.
Too much tragedy already.]
Naturally it does not matter to me. So long as you consider yourself rested enough, it is fine.
[He can't really blame Jae-ha for that. He was much the same, after all. No time to really rest--there is too much to be done, and too much to process.
Too much tragedy already.]
Naturally it does not matter to me. So long as you consider yourself rested enough, it is fine.
[... Oh. Huh. He blinks, cocking an eyebrow.]
Did you? What for?
[... "Freedom", of some sort, he'd imagine. It just depends on what form that freedom takes.]
Did you? What for?
[... "Freedom", of some sort, he'd imagine. It just depends on what form that freedom takes.]
Don't get me wrong - I don't like putting my fate into the hands of anything but myself. But this place runs on rules and magic that I can't figure out.
[ . . . and he's curious, even more than he's stubborn in this case.]
So -
I wished for a way to take everyone away from here.
[ . . . and he's curious, even more than he's stubborn in this case.]
So -
I wished for a way to take everyone away from here.
[ . . . to lose the person who gave you everything. Something in Jae-ha's chest aches with an odd type of too-close familiarity even as he watches Sousei. He does so quietly, listening to his story. Is that what he saw in his dream? But he feels so certain about the way it all happened, why would it be so haunting?
Or is it because this place found a way to hurt even the most precious, painful of memories?]
Ah... The loss of someone so important can cause ripples you might never see coming.
[The intensity of emotions, the things that you can't forgive... it all stems from a great loss, doesn't it?]
Or is it because this place found a way to hurt even the most precious, painful of memories?]
Ah... The loss of someone so important can cause ripples you might never see coming.
[The intensity of emotions, the things that you can't forgive... it all stems from a great loss, doesn't it?]
[... huh. A similar wish to what he expected.]
And? What was the outcome of that wish?
And? What was the outcome of that wish?
[True enough, really. It all come to be an odd situation in the end, as if it was meant to go that way. As if he had to somehow figure it out through pain to get it through his thick head--
But that's neither here nor there.
Instead, Sousei just inclines his head in a slight nod.]
... Regardless. It was Tenka I saw in that nightmare. [A sigh, and:] This place has a morbid sense of humor.
It was his execution, and I was the one carrying out the sentence.
[Which he knows is bullshit. He'd never kill Tenka.
(But he did, in a way, too, by walking away when Tenka had had that noose nearly around his neck. Sousei knows it. It took him way, way too long to see what he truly needed to do.)]
But that's neither here nor there.
Instead, Sousei just inclines his head in a slight nod.]
... Regardless. It was Tenka I saw in that nightmare. [A sigh, and:] This place has a morbid sense of humor.
It was his execution, and I was the one carrying out the sentence.
[Which he knows is bullshit. He'd never kill Tenka.
(But he did, in a way, too, by walking away when Tenka had had that noose nearly around his neck. Sousei knows it. It took him way, way too long to see what he truly needed to do.)]
[ . . . .
There's a clear moment where Jae-ha seems to be considering how much he wants to stay, but at least he finds a start:]
I can use my dragon leg again.
[Though - it's a tempered answer, which might imply that there's something he's still holding back on.
Something that pulls from his joy.]
There's a clear moment where Jae-ha seems to be considering how much he wants to stay, but at least he finds a start:]
I can use my dragon leg again.
[Though - it's a tempered answer, which might imply that there's something he's still holding back on.
Something that pulls from his joy.]
[ . . . .
An execution.
Jae-ha prickles at that and he can only just barely imagine - it had been enough to face the reality to see Gi-gan behind a glass case, dead and gone to him. But it's another to see the image of himself being the one to kill her, even if only in a dream.
It's a similar case for Sousei, isn't it?
An aura of a simmering anger settles over him, in the tension in his shoulder, in the tightness of his eyes.]
... I don't blame you, for being startled.
An execution.
Jae-ha prickles at that and he can only just barely imagine - it had been enough to face the reality to see Gi-gan behind a glass case, dead and gone to him. But it's another to see the image of himself being the one to kill her, even if only in a dream.
It's a similar case for Sousei, isn't it?
An aura of a simmering anger settles over him, in the tension in his shoulder, in the tightness of his eyes.]
... I don't blame you, for being startled.
[He can tell. He can tell that there's more to it than that, but... he'll leave that to Jae-ha to talk about if he wants to.
For now, he leaves it mildly at:]
Do you think it will allow you to steal people away from here, as you had wished for?
For now, he leaves it mildly at:]
Do you think it will allow you to steal people away from here, as you had wished for?
[Sousei just nods quietly. Twice over, in two different, gruesome ways, and the knowledge that Tenka really was sent off to his own execution, even if he made it through--
(It was not thanks to Sousei, that's for sure.)
Quietly, he just breathes out a breath.]
Yes, you're right. I was very startled by it, though I suppose these are the sorts of things we must grow used to while we are here.
[...]
It was only a dream, though. [So it's okay.]
(It was not thanks to Sousei, that's for sure.)
Quietly, he just breathes out a breath.]
Yes, you're right. I was very startled by it, though I suppose these are the sorts of things we must grow used to while we are here.
[...]
It was only a dream, though. [So it's okay.]
I think it will. [So the well did that correctly, but.] I need to find a way out of this place first. When I jump - the castle is always right next to me, or it still climbs higher and higher, as far as I go.
[Of course he tried.]
If I attempt to jump too far in one direction, I find myself right back where I was - just on the castle grounds.
[It's the report part that he answers first.]
... and it comes with a drawback, in case you plan on trying to get a wish of your own granted.
[Of course he tried.]
If I attempt to jump too far in one direction, I find myself right back where I was - just on the castle grounds.
[It's the report part that he answers first.]
... and it comes with a drawback, in case you plan on trying to get a wish of your own granted.
[Jae-ha lets Sousei breath a bit more - and then he opts to rise from the bed. He'll go to sit down across from Sousei, just so that they're on the same level.]
.... we shouldn't have to.
[ . . . ]
It's a blessing enough when the nightmares stop on their own - they don't need to be invited again.
.... we shouldn't have to.
[ . . . ]
It's a blessing enough when the nightmares stop on their own - they don't need to be invited again.
[...Ah.
That says...a lot, actually. Sousei frowns.]
And what was your drawback?
That says...a lot, actually. Sousei frowns.]
And what was your drawback?
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