SHOW YOUR TEETH

     this feels way too much like one of her novels where the main characters are full of misunderstandings between each other because they're always assuming things instead of talking things out, asking and clarifying things with each other. even though it's something that, in books, keeps aera on her toes and has the very satisfying pay off when the two main characters finally get together, in real life with her two real friends, it makes aera want to sit both of them in a room together and make them talk even more urgently because she knows that she could just do so.

     the healer sighs, ready to ask her friend if chanyul was at least informed that it was an apology or if he just knew somehow that it was an apology instead of making it too vague to the point that the prince might even see this as another way for keran to run away from him again, however any word or reaction that she could've had dies and is replaced by wide eyes and a hand covering her mouth, most likely to stop herself from screaming, when keran admits that she and chanyul— ❝ kissed— you— you two what ? no , wait— does this mean that chanyul was the one who kissed you first ? ❞ and suddenly she's a little proud of her former playdate, never really having much faith that he'd be the one to have iniciative for something like that.

     ❝ no , wait ! first how did it feel then ? ❞ aera asks more than curious about it since she remembers how anticlimatic was keran's first retell of her kiss with chanyul; how a little disappoint aera felt back then, taking keran's outstreched hand in her own a new sparkle of excitement filling her eyes. ❝ did you feel you discovered a whole new world , being overwhelmed with such an exhilarating feeling that you completely lost track of the environment around you ? or ! or ! was it something a little sweeter and familiar ? like finally finding a piece that you didn't even know that you were missing ? a kiss that tastes like home and all of your favorite things ? ❞

"he did," she confirms to aera, though the truth bites at her, "but then, i did, too... i kissed him too..." everything in her is trying to curl up into a mortified ball, her wounds tingling from the admission. she'd been so certain of her plan, only for everything to fall apart much too quickly. the younger girl is trying to turn into a turtle duck and hide into her shell, but there's nowhere for her to go, and her hands aren't going to hide much of her face when even her ears are red from aera's questions.

"it wasn't like any of that! or, or... anything..." she isn't good with metaphors, but keran tries to meet aera with what she likes. her lips purse together, recalling the sensation, and suddenly those abstract concepts make a lot more sense, but none of them fit the right way. "it felt like eating a stinging nettle." that's a good comparison, she thinks, the sharp flutters and tingling it had left. but still, it had been terribly soft too. there isn't a material she could compare it to, the best keran can find being, "and a sea cucumber, i guess? at the same time! that's... how it felt."

it doesn't feel exactly right, though, not enough to capture the entirety of the experience. but it's the best she can do, and aera surely understands her enough to know what she means. "remember how we fell from that willow tree when i was fourteen and then we had to lie down for an hour together before we could stand up again?" all of that, the falling, and the breathlessness, and even the itching of grass that'd overstayed its welcome—that's a better description. "it felt like that, too. but i stood up faster this time."

sarang flinches a bit at the younger woman’s touch. it came unexpected and it was certainly rougher than she’s used to. not even her older siblings handle her with such brute force. she finds herself thankful that all she used to do when she was younger was push sarang around a little bit. even with their difference in age, sarang wouldn’t have stood a single chance against the youngest zhao.

as jian gives his youngest sister a once-over, he remembers what she used to be like as a kid. keran rivaled his stubbornness, yet was always the first to cry when something so much as upsets her.

perhaps jian was partly to blame for how his sister had resented her duties. he often wondered what is was like; to experience life, love, and loss, whilst being shielded from the horrid truths of the world by those around you. 

the keran who stood before him now was not the snotty brat she once was. she is a woman, a lady in her own right, as beautiful as she was powerful. still strong-willed, fiery, yet oh so cold to her eldest brother.

jian couldn’t blame her, not really. he knew she was yet to understand; he knew she needed to see the truth for herself, and make her own decisions, for only he bore the burdens that kept him rooted in the past for so many years of his life.

and it was time he finally shared them.

so when her eldest brother begins his story, keran takes it in. it isn't exactly the explanation she had expected, when she'd asked him about their mother's ring, but it's an explanation that's been long overdue. jian speaks plainly, but honestly—something that comes quite unfamiliarly, from the way he's always treated her. and she isn't quick to thought, preferring to act on instinct like the way she was raised. but for once, keran listens.

it's difficult to learn about histories when there aren't faces to put to them. her memories of their father are much blurrier than her older siblings, most of what she knows just stories they remember, and the meager words he left behind. their mother, she remembers better, old enough to keep those memories, even if some of them fade with time. and she knows she remembers their stepfather most differently from the rest of her siblings, but she had never been privy to the reasons why.

strangely, it's not unexpected to see the history of her last parental figure written out on parchment with as much detail as jian provides. part of her had always known that jian had had his reasons, that he should've taken over the position of their head of house earlier than he did. there was always something amiss, but how could she reconcile that truth with the father who had awed her with bedtime stories each night when he first married in, and the one who celebrated when her childish whims succeeded and snuck hawthorn candies to her during morning trainings?

but she's old enough now to do so. she has been, for quite some time.

"i know you had your reasons. and that– that you would've won. you should have," she says. and he had. she had known it the moment jian challenged him to an agni kai, and the inevitable outcome. she simply hadn't been able to accept it, and had been kept away from the truth for so long that it'd eroded away at rock, making a chasm between them. he apologises, but it feels wrong somehow, like jian's found the wrong reasons for his apology. "but siblings are also," her voice hitches, and she glares at him for making it so, "they aren't replaceable either."

"they better be, or they won't last, i'm afraid." her comment comes with a shrug, childish. her thorough observations of the arena didn't overlook the amount of new faces; some bearing names she's heard of but never crossed paths with, and others whose house names she doesn't even know.

"but they might surprise us, who knows. and it'll be great for us to face new benders." as a mentor, she makes sure to always emphasize the importance of facing different opponents and while her competitive spirit remains unwavering, she acknowledges that facing stronger opponents is a crucial step on her journey to becoming the best.

"you seem thrilled at the idea of facing that mad man." she makes a funny face at keran's enthusiasm. talk about the pot calling the kettle back. the pride, the competitive spirit and love for combat; she and geonwoo share more similarities than she'd like to admit and yet, they do not seem to be able to hold one conversation without turning it into an argument. "a bet and a prayer that i end up against you." her answer comes with a laugh, not because she thinks of keran as weaker, far from that. yura only wishes for her brother to face defeat. her own form of sisterly support.

the mention of chanyul gives her pause; she isn't sure she'd like to face him right now. it feels like a do-over of their match from yesterday, the outcome secondary to who her opponent would be—but she shan't worry about that right now. yura will be meeting chanyul in the fighting arena first, and their match will surely be one to watch, between the lavabenders.

ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ@flashflames // 𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑦.

A glare presents itself on Hyeju's face as she stands on the side of the heavily wooded road, eyes fixated on the broken wheel that some of her crew had been working tirelessly to repair for nearly two hours based on how far the shadows on the ground had moved. She had been silent for some time now, biting at the inside of her cheek to avoid snapping at any of the escorting soldiers for something she knows was not their fault.

Still though, she is filled to the brim with frustration from a lack of ability to focus. The grunting, the clanging, the sounds of chatter, all incredibly overstimulating with the amount of surmounting pressure that was pressing down on her shoulders. The loud thudding sound of another failed attempt at resecuring the wheel proves immediately too much for her handle, sending her off into the line of trees to seek a moment of silence.

Hyeju knows better than to wander too far as they would just follow in the interest of keeping her safe. But even if she had been tempted to stray, the moment she stepped far enough into the wood for the noise to be muffled by the foliage her foot lands in a puddle. This rendered her immediately immobile.

She groans loudly in response once her foot was freed from the mud, possibly enough for them to even hear from the road. "Disgusting," She hisses and plops herself down onto a fallen tree, pulling a handkerchief out from her dress pocket to try and remove the stain from the hem of her skirt.

"not unless we offload the cargo," they grumble, "but that's just as much of a problem. it'll be sundown soon and we don't have the men to move quickly enough to get back on track."

and keran is not an expert on trade routes, but she is familiar with the way the urban centre moves in the hours of the night. it would be easier for them to divvy up the cargo, crates of them that might be better disguised than an entire caravan worth of vulnerable goods. one or two travellers alone draws much less attention than a squad of soldiers and merchants.

she claps her worried second-in-command on the shoulder. "get the men split up and back in plainclothes, then. one soldier to a merchant in the seok's crew, and a crate each to be disguised as personal belongings, anything that won't draw notice. we should all be able to make it to the urban centre before the moon's full, but i'll go talk to the ambassador."

shadows run from the trees as she ventures further to find the woman who should be helming this endeavour. keran knows her only tangentially, but the older woman has usually been a picture of poise in her memories. she looks a little different from the back today, mud hemming her skirt and her nose raised to the sky in a complaint that keran hears the tail end of, voice sharper than she expects.

"If a sword comes at you like this," Wanning said, demonstrating with her right hand. "You can block like so." She turned and the metal band around her left wrist met her hand blade. "The material used to craft this bracelet is stronger than most - there are few blades in the nation that would be able to run it through with a single strike. With good coordination, you could fend off quite a few attacks like this...and then." She pushed down on the bracelet discreetly with her thumb, activating a mechanism that made a sharp dagger shoot out from the side of the plain-looking band.

"The blade is thin but incredibly sharp." She cautioned, showing Keran how to return the dagger inside the bracelet before handing her the gift. "For you, my dear friend." Wanning smiled. "I did make an additional one for Lady Aera as you asked, but...I would be ashamed to present her with something so...unsightly."

Wanning was right to feel embarrassed. House Yue was known for crafting and honing weapons. As useful as her gift was, it was truly one of the most hideous creations to ever come out of a Yue's hands. The metal was dull, slightly crooked, and in a grey color that would remind one of a rock on a rainy day. "Perhaps we could...paint this red and...decorate it with lace?" She offered and then laughed at the silliness of her own suggestion. No amount of effort could ever make this fashionable.

she grins big, teeth as sharp as the blade she's been given. her friend hopes she won't use it, but, "i would like to, though!" keran tosses up the bracelet, catching it from midair to reveal the dagger it turns into. swipes against an imaginary foe who would've certainly lost at least two fingers to her, and turns to wanning in her hypothetical victory. she hears nothing of wanning's self-effacing claims of unsightliness, a brilliant weapon in her hand to match her grin. "i'd be the talk of the town!"

and her best friend surely would too, though for much less heroic reasons—even keran can tell that this bracelet wouldn't match anything that aera owns. she suits softer colours and pretty embellishments, delicate and beautiful to keran's eyes. although she has no doubt that aera would still cherish such a present from them.

-- for @flashflames as lady zhao keran at a personal estate

a warm wind that whisks past her skin. sunlight that hugs her gentle curves. her feet firm against flat stone. a taunting curve arcing through her brow.

yeongja eyes her opponent, a squint in her eye to help filter the sun that skews her sight. she brings a hand to her brow, blinking away the strain and taking in the sight of keran. a smile forms, at first the soft and gentle forced smile she normally produces, but it curls futher into something more loose, something more meaningful.

"are you sure about this? the last time we sparred we nearly ended up falling unconscious." well, she hadn't, or at least she tells herself that. yeongja never liked admitting how close in skill her and keran were, she always wanted to be the stronger one, but every time she thought she had an edge on the other woman, she proved her wrong. she's learned to never let her guard down around her because of this, and these matches of there's proved to be quite useful as motivation to sharpen her skills.

"hesitation doesn't suit you," keran teases, shaking her head. her tied hair follows the movement, like a black ribbon fighting against the wind. she enjoys their fights, an eager challenger against yeongja's lightning. it only pushes her to be better and stronger, and keran is always in search of her next challenge. "but speak for yourself! i carried us both back, didn't i?"

though the fight before, she'd been laid on her back by her friend just the same. keran laughs at yeongja's parting jab, taking it for the lighthearted warning she knows to be true. "i know you wouldn't slight me like that!"

she fashions her fire into the twin blades she's been practicing, sparks of them jumping off from her skin. they swirl like warning flags, "guard yourself, then!"

the rich red silks of his clothing blew in the wind like tongues of flames, caught in the sudden breeze that greeted him past the open door. beyond was the emptiness of the night sky, speckled with cold uncaring stars. when he opened his mouth to speak, the syllables of her name turned to pale grey moths and took wing. he touched her arm instead. suho took off the black and silver dragon mask that covered his eyes, and from his pocket, he withdrew an envelope. the paper was slightly crumpled, but its seal was unbroken. his brow twitched uncertainly as he looked at it. guilt and shame plagued him, but how could he fight enemies he couldn't hit? he braved all the world and looked at her. "this is yours," he rasped, speaking to her with a voice even more hoarse and rusty than usual, as though he had not spoken in ages. "i regret taking it." yet, he kept on looking at her, if only so he could look at her a moment longer. and he asked nothing of her, though he dreamt day and night of her affection.

at keran admitting that she would much rather be somewhere else, sarang feels the icicles surrounding her heart start to melt. even if it's just by a little bit. keran and her have started on a bad foot more than a decade ago and while they somehow can't seem to step out of that loop ... she can't say she hates the other's company. she's difficult to keep entertained, but that's just being a zhao, she supposes.

in the end, sarang has more than enough experience with all kinds of zhao family members.

"that just goes to show that i don't have the kind of poker face i think i have," she chuckles genuinely, "but you're right - i haven't had an easy night, so to say." sarang cringes at the memory of speaking to keran's eldest brother, but decides not to talk about it. it probably wouldn't be exactly beneficial to either of them.

"it's the blasted blood moon and its spirits!" keran claps sarang on the shoulder, a little too hard for the delicate frame of the older woman. a rough sort of acknowledgement that probably won't put her in any good graces, but it's an olive branch of sorts from the youngest zhao. it would've been much more forceful if she'd like to knock the other over, anyway. but sarang is surely familiar with her family's way of showing affection too.