𝔻𝔸𝕐 // 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈

{ ... } Almost as if on queue with the sentiment her brother appears before her. "You aren't disturbing me at all. I was just thinking about you actually," Hyeju is eased by his presence, releasing a breathy chuckle as she leans back in her chair. She did not need to present proper posture around him. "If you are feeling up to the task, I could use some help auditing these bills," Her attention takes turns between the sight of Taesung lounged and beginning to relax in her office and also the paperwork that she was currently analyzing, "But I must admit you do not look like you are up to much of anything at the moment, when is the last time you slept?"

     if asked taesung would forever deny that he has a favorite sibling. after all he has experienced first hand how poisonous that could be, however it couldn't be denied that hyeju, as a fellow non-bender under house seok, did end up crawling into a special place in his heart. rationally he knows that neither sarang nor yerim have fault nor choices of their bending status as much as taesung doesn't either. it isn't their fault that they were favored for their firebending abilities and that their parents held it, especially yerim's, over his head like a threat, a warning that he should not make mistakes or else everything he fought so hard for would be taken away from him. it's easier to breath around hyeju; to look at her and doesn't see the resentment that he has brewed inside his chest over things that he couldn't change for a good portion of his life.

     it was just easier to offer hyeju a friendlier hand when his feeling of wanting to kind to her wasn't overly twisted with other ones. he still remembers his father telling him that the world wouldn't be kind to taesung so to prepare his son for it then he needed to raise him with a cruel hand as well so is with that mentality that he's raised to be seok taesung, but not quite how he becomes seok hyeju's older brother.

     yet it's funny if not tragic how that kind of logic was applied for taesung and taesung along since hyeju was as much of a favorite daughter to their father as yerim so when he's sleep deprived enough, he does question if maybe this is all because he's a man and not because he's a non-bender.

     ❝ let me see it . ❞ taesung says as soon as hyeju offers him something to do, easily dismissing her words of how he looks since he was also more than willing to forget his exhaustion and the fact that he did come to her office so he could take a break from documents and numbers and his employees that decided to test his patience that day. technically those aren't his numbers so it should still take as a break, shouldn't it? well, now it does. he shifts on his seat, suddenly fully awake while he extends one of his hands to take those documents away from her.

     ❝ time is nothing but a social construct . ❞ the minister argues with a scrunched nose even if the dark circles under his eyes might disagree with him. and then because this is hyeju, he does stop to think about when exactly was the last time that he slept and for how long. ❝ but if you must know , ❞ he sniffs, suddenly feeling a little sheepish because he also knows that a lecture is probably coming and hyeju won't surely let him work as soon as she finds out about his sleeping hours. taesung feels tempted to lie to her a moment, but then lying to hyeju never left a good aftertaste on his mouth. ❝ it was last night , ❞ technically. ❝ i took a nap before having a meeting with one of the other ministers . and before you argue— yes , that does count as sleeping ; i closed my eyes and even laid down a bit . ❞

{ ... } "good evening, lord seok." she smiles at him, genuine and warm. she can always count on taesung to keep her company during these events. "it has barely started and i already wish it to end." nara takes a sip of her wine, looking around. she knows that many people will want to come and talk to lord seok, and that taesung was searching for her as much as she was for him. "let me guess, what was the talk this time?" she asks him, amused. "a marriage?" it's always the same, marriages and alliances, everyone is always plotting something. "you can't run forever, you know?" she knows a thing or two about it, and she has certainly tried to run away. "but for tonight i don't mind taking your head off such bothersome topics. as long as you offer me the same courtesy, of course." nara raises her glass at him on a toast, smiling.

     taesung hums while trying to hold back a chuckle, finding nara's honest comment a breeze of fresh air among all the obvious staged conversations that he had so far. it isn't that he personally minds the word games that the nobles like to play during events like this, being an avid participant himself — even though he isn't the biggest fan of the ones who like to bore him with talk that is too idle —, however it's refreshing to hear some sincerity once in a blue moon, even more so when it comes from the new head of house choi whose demeanor is always so composed and polished, always concerned about her posture as the head of the house and even if taesung himself isn't there just yet, he can definitely relate to that.

     ❝ at least house bae has good wine . ❞ he points out. ❝ a small saving grace in this otherwise— ❞ taesung makes a point to pause for a second, not hiding that what he'd like to say something more but won't out of courtesy. ❝ event. ❞ he settles down with that, his tone flat, because at the end of the day, it is just an event; nothing that taesung would personally find extraordinary yet he's sure that he has been to worse parties, unironically ones that were hosted by the palace or the royal family since those were the ones that people grew much bolder to come and talk to him about topics that he didn't want to discuss like his marriage.

     even though taesung scrunches his nose as soon as nara says the word marriage as if that simple act was enough to evoke his distaste along all the bad memories of people trying to push their children towards him or even his parents wanted him to be introduced to this or that noble, he still accepts her toast with a gentle bump of his cup against hers. ❝ if i didn't know any better , my lady , i'd think that you're trying to propose to me as well . ❞ he teases her in good nature, knowing full well that, as much as house choi wouldn't be a bad house to marry, they aren't each other's first (or perhaps even last) option for that type of union. he's sure that his mother would be delighted for him to marry a lavabender but he supposes that will be yet another pride that he won't give to her.

[ ... ] suho walked beside her, a quiet force of wind blowing through the dim halls of the palace as he passed bowed heads, swaying torches, and opened doors. "i won't have you home by dinner," he told her, only truth in it, and some apology, "my hand is in a sorry state, as i wrote you." walkway turned to stairwell, day to night. "what would you like for dinner?" he asked as he walked beneath the darkness of the only unlit torch in the hall—that sorry attempt at brightness.

     aera always feels a little stiff whenever she needs to interact with suho in public. not because of the presence of the crown prince or any traits of his personality, but it's the feeling of being constantly watched— as if someone was waiting for her to make a wrong move to criticize her and her family, to have an excuse to keep her family in an even tighter leash. even if it could be argued that aera was the one of the choi siblings that was most comfortable during social events, usually that didn't apply when the royal family was involved with an exception here and there; and that's why it feels like the way to suho's chambers feel like an endless hallway.

     ❝ no need to apologize for such a thing, your grace . ❞ the healer is quick to dismiss suho's apology. ❝ what kind of healer would i be if i left my patient half treated for a dinner i have many other days to eat ? ❞ and she's genuinely worried about suho's wrist besides her usual excitement about being able to sit down with the crown prince and share thoughts that she doesn't have other people that would hear them, or at least not without evoking any feelings or thoughts that aera didn't want to evoke on her loved ones. she's sure that they'd come from the greatest of the places considering how much they care for her, but it isn't what she needs then.

     besides how could she ever complain if she gets to the eat the palaces's— ❝ komodo chicken ! and dumplings ! ❞ aera answers without missing a beat with an excitement of a child that is asked that they could have anything they wanted for dinner, especially now that there weren't as much eyes on them (or at least eyes that aera can see or sense), but then she also feels nara's gently pulling her ears for her manners in front of the crown prince and to remember to act like every question was asked out of courtesy instead of sincerity. ❝ however , ❞ that's why she's also quick to add, suddenly back to her more lady-like demeanor . ❝ i'm not a picky eater , my prince , anything that is served for dinner will suit my taste . ❞

𝙲𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝙰𝚂𝙺 your character will wear to the banquet. choose the material, then answer the corresponding question. you must choose for all categories.

𝙱𝙰𝚂𝙴 : 𝚆𝙾𝙾𝙳・in a social setting, is your character more stoic or reserved or are they boisterous and expressive? why?

aera has always been good with her words and communicating, being more of a talker than a listener. even if she easily matches the energy of whoever she's talking to, aera also has the tendency to be more expressive with a large arrange of expressions and tones. she simply thinks that she feels too much to be able to tone it all down which is good because it means that she comes off as a very honest/genuine person, but it's also bad because it means she isn't as good with lying or deception.

𝙴𝚈𝙴𝚂 𝙷𝙾𝙻𝙴𝚂 : 𝙰𝙻𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙳-𝚂𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙴𝙳・if your character were to successfully manipulate someone to their will, would they harbor any guilt or remorse for their actions?

she would've definitely felt guilty since she'd rather not have to appeal for such methods while getting what she wants. aera doesn't want to force people's hands or stepping on top of anyone to achieve her goals, truly believing that there are always other less harmful ways to do so. she's still human, however, and would feel some satisfaction by being able to deceive someone to get what she wanted, however that would be very short lived and most likely another reason that would make her feel bad about the whole thing.

[ ... ] "do you want me to talk to him for you ?" he asks. "i could put in a good word for you." he tries to sound reassuring, without going too in-depth with detail in case someone else overhears. if only to help aera save face. the questions about his own conversation with jiyu causes conflicting emotions to swell inside of him. he feels a pang of sympathy at her obvious delight to hear about jiyu even if it's through someone else. it makes him want to be honest with her, though it does take a second for him to — recall the finer details of their conversation. after all, it was one of many he had that morning. "i think i did make him laugh," he says. "i told him that i was getting bullied by a child, and he seemed to think that was funny."

     aera is someone who firmly believes in destiny— that people are linked together through the red line of fate so if someone is meant to be with someone else they'll find their way to each other without much if any intervene from anyone else; that's why she never offers to play matchmaker with anyone unless she's requested to no matter how much she's rooting for this or that couple and that's why she's also torn in between accepting chanyul's help now. if she and jiyu are meant to be then they'll find each other even if it might not be now or even soon; besides it isn't like she's truly pursuing jiyu anyway, the older zhao being more of a fleeting dream than anything else.

     it's a sweet gesture still, she thinks, especially when considering that chanyul also holds a special kind of affection towards the commander. it makes her look at the prince with somewhat pride in her eyes and also endearment because this feels so much more different from the kid that would argue with her over servings of dessert, one that wouldn't so easily give up something that he considered his. " ah , chanyul-ah , " and aera can't even help how her tone turns a little less formal and a lot more like the one that truly belongs to a childhood friend talking to another childhood friend but fortunately neither nara nor anyone else who could scold her for it is there to pull her ear for being overly familiar with the prince, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. " you've really grown up , haven't you ? " she speaks like a mother proud and touched that their child has grown up well.

     " but it's ok ! " aera tries to reassure her friend. " i like how things are now , but i could put a good word with him for you as well ! " even though she doesn't overly enjoys meddling with people's love affairs, much preferring to be a simple bystander, aera thinks that it's only fair that she returns the favor somehow. she doesn't exactly what she could say that jiyu doesn't know about chanyul already (or, at least, something good because she's sure that chanyul doesn't want to share their childhood stories of them bickering and throwing tantrums at each other) but she could surely make the effort to try to find anything anyway.

     aera can't help how a giggle threatens to escape with chanyul's little tale, even though she knows that she probably shouldn't because being bullied is never a good thing but something in it still makes her want to laugh. " oh no . " and that's why she at least tries to appear sympathetic over the prince's case even if she has always been a horrible liar. " at least your suffering wasn't in vain . " as always, even more so when tipsy, aera tries to see the silver lining in everything.

[ ... ] She is stubborn, so much like him in her own way. When she is stern with him ( in that gentle voice ), he can see every bit of their mother within her. Her features have settled in as she ages. The large sparkling eyes only Aera possesses. Geonwoo is every bit of his father — from his piercing gaze and strong jaw to his unwavering discipline. Perhaps it is a destiny for them both to be this way; a lingering memory left of the two that can be carried with them. And with his thoughts lingering to their parents, he can only compel himself to follow Aera. "I already went to see a doctor. They informed me that the cut is not deep and should heal within the week..." He purses his lips and lowers his gaze. "There is no need to fuss over it. I'd rather no attention... be brought..."

     " and that's why your kind sister is taking you away from the banquet for a moment . " aera guides them to a private corner of the banquet, turning to face her brother as soon as she deems that there are not much if any prying eyes on them. even though a part of the healr, if she were any less considerate towards her brother's feelings or their house's reputation, wouldn't be above making a small scene in the middle of dinner because, at the end of the day, geonwoo's health and wellbeing always comes as a priority above anything else.

     " there's no need to— " aera starts her words with a little annoyance with a pinch of incredibility and finishes them with a huff. she narrows her eyes at where she assumes the injury is— aera doesn't do much, after all the whole point wasn't to injure her brother all over again, but she does nudge the wound just a little bit; just enough that if geonwoo would definitely feel it if he wasn't medicated enough. " are you sure i don't need to fuss over it ? "

     it isn't like aera doubts that her brother went to see a doctor after getting injured even if just for the fact that it was an official tournament and she doubts that anyone was allowed to leave after each match without being at least looked at by one. it's just that she knows that geonwoo is a prideful little thing, too focused not only on his duty as royal guard and son of house choi but also on keeping an image of unyielding strength and that is where aera has a lot of issues with; even more so when that certain trait of her brother is the one that usually gets him into trouble or to walk around without following the doctor's orders properly or anything of that sort. she doesn't doubt that geonwoo went to see a doctor for his injuries or that he wasn't treated properly.

     it's what happened and happens after the doctor's appointment that worries her if anything.

[ ... ] she hears aera's recounting of her meeting with hyeseong in silence, humming as her sister speaks. nara won't tell her about her own meeting with lord woo, or how nasty they were to each other, it would distress her sister. though it pleases her that aera seems to be over him – it's something she casually thought about, what would she do if her sister still loved him. would nara have the strength to deny a marriage between them? "that is good, sister, i'm glad you weren't hurt," nara says truthfully. "i hope lord woo was courteous towards you and didn't say anything to try and hurt you." she wouldn't put it past hyeseong to do such a thing. "you can now consider that a closed chapter in your life and hopefully look for a new love." she smiles at aera. "i worry any romantic entanglements for house choi will have to fall on your shoulders, with the rest of us so dedicated to our duties." she chuckles, though there's truth in what she says and aera knows that as well.

     aera takes another sip of her soup quietly, a light frowning carving itself in her features while she watches her sister retell her side of the story with prince suho while also trying to remember what the other told her about nara in their little private moments with each other; which in the end turns out to be nothing. suho talked to aera about a lot of things that she'll keep to her grave because they aren't her secrets to tell but she wanted to have at least something to reassure her older sister, besides the— " i don't think prince suho is the type to toy with someone's feelings . " aera puts her bowl down. " not with the way that he looks at you . " or maybe it's just a hunch or even aera's own endless optimism over people's characters. " he could have his reasons . " after all being a prince didn't exactly sound like an easy thing, not with what she has seen with suho nor what she has read in her novels.

     " but , " aera also adds because she feels it's important to point out as well, reaching out her hand to hold her older sister's. " sister's happiness is important too . " she feels like she needs to remember the older choi. aera, to some extend, understands that the simple way that she views the world might not be the case for everyone around her, but there are certain things that she strongly believes are important regardless of how people view the world around them; even more so when aera isn't blinded by grief anymore and understands, even if a little, how much nara has sacrificed to keep this house together while they were in shambles, how much she still puts her siblings on top of her own needs and wants.

     " epic love stories , the kind that don't have endless obstacles for the main characters to overcome and misunderstand after misunderstand to resolve before and after they're together, are always very exciting . " she starts, being guilty of having some of her favorite romances being an endless question of whether the main couple will survive all the trials that are being put to prove their love for each other and afterwards how strong their relationship is. " but i still wish that sister has an easy love . " she confesses, squeezing nara's hand. then it takes a moment for aera to find her words. " the kind that won't have to fight for it nor that comes with a lot of struggles . " like father and mother, aera almost says but the words get stuck on her chest. " you've fought for so long and for so many things , sister nara , it's only fair that at least something comes easily to you. " because nara was the the single pillar holding the family together even if she lost her parents as much as any other child of house choi.

     aera moves her hand back to her lap then, turning her gaze away from her older sister to her soup while a sheepish smile. " i know i'm not a very reliable sister . " the healer is very well aware of her own shortcomings, knowing that even if she alleviates some of nara's social duties, she does less than the bare minimum, that those events don't really have much of a weight to the house's reputation. she's sure that geonwoo or yura or even their other older sibling are more capable than she is. " but i'm still rooting for your happy ending ! whatever and with whomever that might be , even if they're not a prince ! " she finishes with determination.

     aera should know that becoming a healer would mean that she'd need to quite possibly babysit all the people around her, even more so those that she cares about; or maybe she became a healer because of that personality trait of her (and she tries to not think how ironic it is, the only person she's officially assigned to is also the only one who didn't request her services after the tournament) combined with the fact that she couldn't use her firebending to hurt the smallest of the flies, no matter how she didn't find them pleasant. it starts with geonwoo, who refuses to let her treat him because she supposes that's what brothers are like, then there's kean and yura and now there's yerim.

     even though, to be fair, she doesn't come to the seok resident only because she's worried about her friend's chi paths and the balance of her yin and yang, but also because yerim is the one person that aera knows for sure that she can get overly excited about the different kind of (herbal) teas and she'll not only be heard but her excitement will be appreciated and shared. besides it was always thrilling to see what kind of tea that yerim can get her hands on due to her status and money. it's a little like a book club of the two of them but instead of discussing literature pieces over tea, they discuss tea over tea.

     it's fun, aera thinks, and it does give her another purpose to showing up at the seok house just to affectionately nag yerim and check up on her.

     taesung thinks that if he stays another second in his office he's going to be arrested for murder. it isn't that he minds working with numbers and sitting on a desk for a good if not most portion of his day. taesung doesn't mind the seemingly endless pile of worksheets and documents that he needs to go through, transactions that he needs to overlook and approve because they're too important and deal with a ridiculous amount of money to be left with any chance of being done carelessly. he doesn't even care that sometimes the fire lord or someone from the royal family pulls him out of his office to seek his opinion about this or that financial matter. he doesn't mind working, loves it even.

     what seok taesung despises with any all his heart and soul is incompetency and today feels like everyone (to be fair, not everything but still a considerable amount of his employees) he trusted to do a good job decided that this would be the day that they'd all unite to test the limit of his patience— or maybe it's because he still feels overly sensitive over the last meeting he had with one of the other ministers, one that almost ended bitterly with an agni kai that taesung would lose before it even started if not for his years and years of experience with words and bargains, having to yield more than he was planning to but fortunately not more than he was willing to. he thought that he was over the resentment for the consequences of his bending status, however the familiar helplessness that filled his chest back then was a reminder of the shackles around his wrists and ankles that he thought didn't exist anymore.

     " if you need me , " he informs his secretary on his way out. " and i do not say that lightly , " which means that unless the fire nation was under attack and losing, he was not to be bothered. " i'll be at embassor seok's office . " is what he says even if he was very tempted to simply tell them to not need him in the first place.

     and that's why he seeking some sort of safe haven his sister's office with documents he need to correct. technically he's there for a quick break, perhaps even a power nap to test if the headache that threatens to split his head in two will subdue and let him focus on work properly, however taesung knows himself and the way that he was raised, is sure that he'd regret at least not trying to get something done in the peaceful presence of his sister even though he's also sure that he'll get little if anything at all done anyway.

     taesung has a very strong love and hate relationship with social events. even when he much preferred being in a great hall and interacting with people while being served expensive wine and even more expensive food over being on the battlefield, his years in the military not being the fondest memories in his repertoire of recollections of his moments in life, there were still a couple of aspects of such social events that he still wasn't overly fond of and surprisingly it isn't the sometimes dreadful small talk that he'd engage with certain nobles.

     considering the kind of life that he has had so far and how much he had to fight with tooth and nail to get any sort of recognition, it feels rather rewarding that now, with the position that he holds, the nobles who once scrunched their noses at him and doubted his ability were now subtly fighting over to get his favor. it's satisfying to watch them trying to rub elbows with him as if they weren't whispering about his inescapable doom and how he'd drag house seok with him if his parents weren't careful enough. taesung would never consider himself much of a petty person — even if some of his close friends would argue that he in fact is —, however he doesn't see the harm in having his ego fed like this and even though the topic of conversations were rather dull, it was still somewhat bearable.

     even more so when taesung never gave them anything unless they had something to offer that indeed worth of his time yet he was never discourteous enough that they were able to call him out on his behavior, watching them brew in their concealed frustration being yet another source of endless amusement to him.