——

Li Ying Long Dau was once the prince of the largest tribe in Auj Oule, able to make men bend their knee and pledge servitude with a single glance. He had once been the second in command of the largest coup de tas in the nation, spearheaded by the greatest threat to the current regime since before they came into power. A renown strategist, the sharpest mind of the century, a skilled fighter and general.

Then it happened.

Li Ying wasn’t even sure how it happened – one moment, he was on his usual evening patrol around the outer rim of the camp, and the next he was inside cell in a ship he didn’t recognize. He was taken to a foreign land, and was forced into… this life.

Li Ying – Wingul the Nova – looked at himself in the mirror with disgust, wearing his Elympian attire. He had done his best to find his way back home; what these people did to their own land was no concern of his. However, his captors seemed determined to find a way to force him to do their bidding. It was bad enough that his traditional attire was forcibly removed from him.  He let out an aggravated sigh and turned sharply to the door of his prison, opening and slamming it behind him as he exited the room.

So once finally coming face to face with the person he was to keep an eye on he rested a hand on his hip, keeping up a more well behaved act for the time being due to the other guards in the room. “I’d like to say it’s a pleasure meeting you today but I really doubt you find any of this enjoyable.” Those were the first words that left his lips once face to face with the other male.

Like hell would Wingul allow some boy to scare him into submission. 

SMACK.

Wingul felt snow explode on the back of his head, the suddenly impact causing him to stagger forward for a second. His temper flared, whirling around to see just who was foolish enough to try – 

Ah, as it seemed from the blur of her visage ducking beneath the roof of the palace, perhaps this tomfoolery would lead closer to his goal. 

“Emily, I saw you.” Wingul mantained his dignity well. “Stop playing this childish game and come out, and I will forget this incident ever happened.” A lofty bargin, considering how vindictive Wingul could be. 

Emily sat there for a moment contemplating things. She could surrender, but then again…

Li Ying let out a hot breath, tension he didn’t know he had releasing from his body as a laugh – a laugh, of all things – came unbidden from his lips. ‘It’s really him.’ He thought, as if he were trying to convince himself. After years of being isolated and unable to see the one he served, the only thought on his mind for the majority of his teen years here, Gaius leader of Taurus, future King… 

Well, current King now, as it so happened. Li Ying was certainly happy to hear that Gaius had won over Auj Oule’s tyrant of a King, but to rule all of Reize Maxia now… it was impressive.

However, the reverence and awe did not leave the sanctum of his mind. Instead, he said this: “Of course I do. Who else would know me and decisively go the wrong way without my assistance?” Li Ying smirked at the King, obviously baiting him while offering help at the same time. “Shall I guide you?”

Gaius felt a tension leave his shoulders, as he relaxed ever so slightly. So Li Ying hadn’t forgotten him after all. More than that, the man in front of him seemed eager to stay in his company, baiting him with a snide way of talking that hadn’t changed in the slightest since he was a teenager. It was refreshing in more ways than one.

Li Ying began to walk forward, not waiting for the King behind him -- he would follow, if he didn’t want to sleep in Trigleph’s alleys. Hopefully, Gaius would be willing to stick around, or at the very least meet up with him later to catch up. He was a King, and was therefore extremely busy -- he may have been young, but Li Ying knew the burden of being a leader and a noble. It would more than likely be in Gaius’ best interest to plan a meeting with him later.

So for now, it would be best to encourage that wish.

“It’s a limited time offer!”

Li Ying raised a skeptical eyebrow at the strange, handsome man fumbled through an awkward stream of gibberish and make an excuse to leave, only to turn the wrong way. He snickered, shaking his head and –

Suddenly, something clicked into place. No… 

“Wait a moment.” Li Ying said, quickly following the stranger and catching him by the arm, looking him in the face once more. He narrowed his eyes again, golden eyes searching, analyzing every feature until… “Gaius?!”

How in Shadow’s hell – wait, he knew the answer to that, the schism was brought down almost a year ago at this point. Li Ying felt like a fool; his old liege standing in front of him for the first time in over a decade and the first thing he did was insult him to his face. …granted, that was essentially how their relationship was back then…

Perhaps it’s true when they say some things never change.

Gaius was fully prepared to walk away, to stubbornly accept that this was a man who was no longer in his life. No - Who hadn’t been in his life for a very long time. Who he had no right interfering with. 

But ‘Li Ying called out to him, and reached out to touch his arm, causing the king to reflexively stiffen. His old comrade in arms looked him in the eyes, and the incognito king could see the gears of his mind turning until finally he called out his name. 

Well, current King now, as it so happened. Li Ying was certainly happy to hear that Gaius had won over Auj Oule’s tyrant of a King, but to rule all of Reize Maxia now... it was impressive.

Li Ying turned turned to further obliterate this fool further – it didn’t take much to rile people up in this city, it was pathetic really – before the man behind him called him by name. ‘Ah,’ he thought, ‘He knows me. Fuck.’

He looked up, thinking he was going to have to furiously backpedal and… Li Ying’s eyes narrowed. The man before him wore all black with magenta accents (decent taste), he was tall, broad shouldered, handsome face, strong physique… and not familiar in the slightest.

“Do I know you?”

Gaius frowned, the immediate reaction of the other making it clear that after all this time - though he had not forgotten the Long Dau Prince, the latter had most certainly forgotten him. 

Though he had no idea what the man had gone through since he had last seen him. Li Ying had been a member of Taurus for approximately three years, and around the time he was fourteen he vanished from night watch and was never seen again. According to Reize Maxian authority, he had been presumed dead. 

Was there… perhaps a way that he was taken to this side of the schism all that time ago? And there was no telling if he remembered him at all. Or- If he had any memory of Rieze Maxia. He swallowed dryly, clearing his throat. A nervous tick he had always had.

Suddenly, something clicked into place. No... 

“Wait a moment.” Li Ying said, quickly following the stranger and catching him by the arm, looking him in the face once more. He narrowed his eyes again, golden eyes searching, analyzing every feature until... “Gaius?!”

How in Shadow’s hell -- wait, he knew the answer to that, the schism was brought down almost a year ago at this point. Li Ying felt like a fool; his old liege standing in front of him for the first time in over a decade and the first thing he did was insult him to his face. ...granted, that was essentially how their relationship was back then...

——

Li Ying walked the streets of streets of Trigleph like a man with purpose, though that would be because he was one. He had places to be – like at home with his cats, Erston and Nils, drinking wine (not proange wine, but it would do) and shifting through the godforsaken paperwork that his kind and generous employer so eloquently gave him. He despised his job, but it wasn’t as though he could just pack up and go – that would be unreasonable. 

No, if Li Ying was perfectly honest, he would say that in comparison to Reize Maxia’s… well, everything, the country of Elympios was extremely lacking. Sure it did have it’s perks, but the consequences of those perks were far too high to be worth it. If he had his way, he would have been done away with this wretched place ages ago. Being taken away from his post was one of the worst things that happened to him, going from second in command to a lab monkey. Even today, over a decade later, and it still left a bad taste in his mouth. 

Li Ying softly let out an exasperated exhale, deciding to let the tedious thoughts of the past go – it wasn’t as though he could just waltz back into his past. Things were never that easy. He had been taken, and was probably assumed either AWOL or deceased. There was no reason to place such undue stress on his friends and family. Besides, it wasn’t as though he couldn’t visit on occasion. 

And at the very least, he could finally perform spirit artes again.

Moving forward was for the best. His second in command - Nils had passed only a few years ago. And in the bringing down of the schism so had the rest of his Chimeriad. This included Jiao who fervently led his group of elite body guards. 

If he were to not do everything in his power to push forward for peace, not only would he be disgracing his country but those who fell in his stead so that he may keep persevering as a king. 

He had adapted, in his humble opinion, fairly well to the other country - at least to appear as though he was ‘blending in’. He wore a fancy suit donned by what would be classified as the upper class Elympion male, his hair pinned back so that it wasn’t quite as in his eyes as before. The first rule of going incognito in a foreign land was to do your best to look the part. 

The unfortunate part of his journey was that this was a far more technologically advanced country compared to even the massive cities in Rieze Maxia. It was overpopulated, and had alleys that led every which way. The air here was coated in a thick smog that the man found most unpleasant. 

And due to this, despite his best efforts to navigate around it seemed at this point and time he had taken a wrong turn somewhere and gotten lost. Right as he was about to round a corner that would (hopefully) take him back to the main street, his arm brushed into another gentleman who was then sent stumbling. “Ah-” He turned around, intending to apologize - only to be met with a rather rude and condescending comment.

He looked up, thinking he was going to have to furiously backpedal and... Li Ying’s eyes narrowed. The man before him wore all black with magenta accents (decent taste), he was tall, broad shouldered, handsome face, strong physique... and not familiar in the slightest.

Wingul skulked the ground of Kanbalar Palace, the cold wind biting at his face as he moved through the snow. Usually Wingul would hate the cold, and never willingly stepped outside the palace unless it was to leave town, but in this case…

“Where did that infernal woman run off to?” WIngul muttered to himself. Emily had insisted that he needed to ‘loosen up’ and learn to ‘just have fun’, and proceeded to claim that they should play some sort of game. She decided that hide-and-seek was the best game to play, but all it really did was frustrate him further – Wingul could be doing something important right now, but nooooo, he stuck looking for a grown woman who decided that hiding herself from him for the sake of ‘fun’ (if this could even be called fun) was something better to do. 

“Come on, just a bit closer.” If Wingul found out that Gaius taught her how to throw a snowball, both would be dead. She held the packed snow in her right hand as she peered out from the tops of the palace roofs. She aimed straight for the back of his head. With a hard throw, she threw the snowball right on the back of his head. “Yes!” She covered her mouth as she crouched down. ‘Shitshitshit’ she thought to herself. He was goi g to find her now she was sure of it. Well, there are worse things than being locked in a palace.

Wingul felt snow explode on the back of his head, the suddenly impact causing him to stagger forward for a second. His temper flared, whirling around to see just who was foolish enough to try -- 

Ah, as it seemed from the blur of her visage ducking beneath the roof of the palace, perhaps this tomfoolery would lead closer to his goal.