凸(｀0´)凸

the sight was bizarre, to say the least.

in the midst of making an entirely innocent trip into the city from the confines of the army training base, jiyong hadn’t expected to encounter a woman brandishing a knife and claiming a stolen bounty from the arms of some apparently unsuspecting man. puzzled—and vaguely horrified—he approached the scene in much the same way a fascinated bystander would; with a measure of false fear and a manufactured tremor to his voice.

“what are you doing?”

for once, it was a blessing of sorts to be in casual dress. his fingers twitched under the shelter of his sleeve, focus honed solely on the woman absconding with a wallet while celebrating her accomplishment. funny, he wouldn’t have expected such behavior from the fairer sex—the prim and proper women who supported their soldiers; the ladies and princesses that resigned themselves to their god-given positions behind their male counterparts…

the entirety of suryan culture promoted that belief, and kwon jiyong figured he was opened-minded in comparison.

when he was close enough, he allowed for the gradual shift of his demeanor; from timid and afraid to something far bolder. the straightening of his spine as he lifted his chin bespoke authority, “i’m lieutenant colonel kwon jiyong of the imperial suryan army. miss, you’ll be coming with me to the jails.” the male stopped short at the sound of heels clicking on the paved path; watched as long dark locks whipped about in the breeze with a growing since of disbelief.

she was running.

he hadn’t even gotten the chance to finish his speech.

and with that, he was off after her, weaving through the occasional passerby and tracking the movement of bright red fabric in the spaces in between. now was as good a time as any to be thankful for her vanity—why else would a thief wear one of the most striking colors visible to the human eye?

“What am I doing?” He snorted. Taeil sounded snide as he swung around to meet the eyes of a rather awkward looking man. Giving him a slow, careful look up and down, Taeil’s mind was ablaze with flirty and sassy remarks to make; boy how he loved to be a flirty, coy snake in drag. He stood up straight and made direct contact; his eyes glowing with a wicked stare. Finally, he retorted, “We women aren’t so pathetic and dainty, you know.” And it took all the strength his little frame could muster to not burst into laughter right then and there.

But his fun soon ended when the man drew nearer and spoke yet again. This time, Taeil halted and a shiver creeped slowly up his spine. Lieutenant colonel? Damn... And suddenly his head hurt. He weighed options frantically on that scale in his mind, unable to decide how much trouble he was willing to bother with that day. It wasn’t often he got to tease attractive military men, but he was fearful if he stuck around to play cat and mouse with the other he would end up getting an ass kicking. That thought made Taeil nauseated.

Hikari could hear the furious voices of Daehyun and Junghan as she agreed to spend more time with a person she had just met. She was aware of the possible threats on her life as the feeling of hatred surged more and more towards the Suryan royal family yet she found herself still willing to remain in the young man’s company. There was something about him that was pulling her in; perhaps it was the mounting curiosity that kept her in place. “Oh, well, thank you.” She answered, her own blush rising to her cheeks.

She watched him fuss him about with his change of clothes but even that didn’t rouse any sense of alarm within the princess though it should have. Anyone who needed a disguise in order to walk the streets was surely someone who was hiding something and in relation to how he seemed to be running away for the authorities earlier, it seemed as though Lu’s secret was a big one for he seemed to be taking great effort in making sure it remained as such. Yet again, she felt no sense of urgency to fight for escape or even flee. She pushed away the thoughts of its repercussions and instead tried to focus once more on the words that left her companion’s lips.  

Dark secret passages should have raised her suspicion but they fell on deaf ears as she hooked her arm with his and had him lead the way. She was never afraid of the dark, not even when she was little, and so it was not hard for her to follow him through the building’s ins and outs as they made their way back out into the open. “Alright, that sounds lovely.” Her words were sincere because she had been anything but such in the entire duration of their time together. “And please stop feeling guilty or sorry for you really shouldn’t be.”

He couldn’t help but give a little grin upon noticing the faint blush on Kari’s face. Taeil laughed a little under his breath; he sounded childlike and gentle. And underneath that rogue, thieving guise he always wore, Taeil really was a good guy at heart--whether he chose to believe that or not. Sadly, his true good intentions were rarely as pronounced as they had been at that moment. With the girl’s arm hooked in his own, he gave a curt nod and made way through the layout of the building.

Being the kind of guy he was who dabbled in quite shady things, Taeil frequented akin hideouts often. He knew the twists and turns of most passageways and the roundabouts of such buildings like the back of his hand. He knew navigating winding halls was as dangerous as it was tricky and frustrating. He kept Kari relatively close to him even as they exited the structure and walked into the streets outside. Taeil still strode carefully, however, and he remained still in rather close proximity to Kari as though to appear less suspicious, as though it would hide the both of them. Even if he had no plans of overstepping boundaries (yet again), Taeil could not imagine a worse time to be caught. It wasn’t often he was graced with the presence of a pretty and kind girl and he did not want it to be ruined.

[...]

Thankful for her lack of questioning, Taeil gave the tiniest sigh and a relieved smile. Too often he found himself talking his way out of and into trouble. It was as though his mouth was his own worst enemy yet best asset. Though blessed with persuasive tendencies; Taeil had that awful habit of lying and manipulating that would always serve to betray him.

Examining the material in his hands before pulling it snugly over his head, Taeil’s chest felt warm and different. He wasn’t a boy quite used to being shown kindness nor mercy; he wasn’t familiar with such a sensation of trust and comfort in a person he hardly knew. In a way, though, Taeil realized how much he preferred that feeling fluttering in his stomach like butterflies as opposed to adrenaline rushes, fear, and cheap highs. Feeling like he didn’t need to run nor escape soothed his relentless nerves. “Thank you, miss.” He said, and he meant it.

Though his lips quivered in the slightest and his nose and ears gave way to an occasional twist, the pink on his cheeks faded away and his heartbeat settled. That fear clogging his thoughts and controlling his actions vanished with his embarrassment and shame. Then, when those words stung his ears: ‘Do you even have a home’, Taeil realized something else was resurfacing inside hime: sadness. His shoulders slumped a bit, he bit his lip, and his thick brows knitted together in an all too classic pitiful look. “Depends on how you define a home...” Taeil spoke quietly, looking to the ground, yet again having that need to avoid eye contact. After a moment of recollection though, he sighed, gave a sad smile, and looked at the woman.

mikhail, yes, was more susceptible to underhanded attacks. he had barely survived in the badlands, all trusting and wide-eyed before reality poked him in the eye and crushed his spirit – to put it lightly. there he knew depravity, misery, and an over-arching hunger for something that once was and something that will never be again. the past held betrayal and soon the future was defined by the hour, by the second. days only counted if he lived through them.

cero, on the other hand, was someone he could become once he was granted the capacity to live – and he took it. discarded the name mikhail, to which only grievances were attacked, and took on his second, least-known name, never having been spoken before other than his first, biological birth, and his metaphorical one. 

and cero, unlike mikhail, did not let his things get stolen from him without a little payback, and a lesson to be taught.

the weight in his pants had disappeared, and he knew then to look around, saw the slight shift in the susurrus of the crowd. at the same time, cero patted the pocket of his uniform, and thought: how idiotic it is for a thief to steal from me.

he followed the trail, silent, but the frown on his face becoming more pronounced as the crowd seemingly parted for him. the aura he exuded spoke enough volumes; more than the sound of his feet hitting the earth with purpose and with increasing pace until he, too, was running – or doing his best to run in the hubbub of the people who flocked at the city. 

and, throughout his distress and his anger, he was able to smirk due to a single, pervasive, playful thought:

With those natural rabbit-like instincts of his: timid caution, perky ears, and quick legs, he kicked into gear. Once released from the chaos of the hustling crowd all together, Taeil broke into a sprint. Over his shoulder he could see the other was in hot pursuit. Taeil felt a mix of emotions churn inside him. On one hand, the closer he got to danger the more pleasure he derived evading it. On the other, however; the man he pick pocketed looked gruff and handsome; intimidating yet oddly alluring. Taeil had a sudden doubt in his confidence and a lump began burning in his throat.

However, it was something Taeil could not help. Much like a little boy, he was all bark and no bite; he chose fights unwisely for the rush of feeling alive. Like he had a death wish, Taeil would steal from those he knew he could not beat. It was inevitable; it was who he was. And while running, Taeil shoved his hand in his pocket, grasping his fingers carefully around the stolen object. Weighing each thought he had down to the gram, Taeil came to the daring conclusion to push his luck. To test his own skill. He gripped the object tightly and gave his fate to the backstreets he had not yet learned to navigate; he put his destiny in the stability of his own legs as they pushed on pavement desperately.

His body was aching. One too many detours from festival festivities led him in unfamiliar territories. Surrounded by dead ends and heaving, he did an almost nose dive into the nearest abandoned building he saw with an ample opening. Once settled inside the dingy room, he crawled quietly and quickly, folding himself in between two crates and crossing his fingers. Being small in stature did come with that special ability to hide in obscure spaces.

He sank back into his seat with all the perturbed grace of a gentleman, turning his attention back to the man sitting across from him and resuming the conversation as if nothing had just occurred. 

“If you’re fond of this, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy the draft produced from vines grown right on my father’s estate.  I’ll have my men send over a barrel, for no charge. A sample, if you wi–”

His words were cut off by a sudden wave of ice cold hitting him like a brick wall, and only when water settled on his skin, splitting into droplets that run mockingly from his hair and all the way down his neck to soak the cloth of his cravat and the collar of his shirt, did he have a chance to fathom what had just happened. His eyes remained closed for another moment or two, but he could survey the scene with his ears alone. The noise in the room had subsided immediately, leaving them enveloped in a quiet punctuated only by the tentative clinking of silverware. It was likely every pair of eyes in the room was trained on him, anticipating what he would do next.

Taemin opened his eyes slowly, once again ignoring the owner’s flustered apologies and reaching for the other’s unsoiled napkin, carefully patting his face dry. He stood, snapping wordlessly to get his guard’s attention, a signal that they’d be leaving immediately.

“My lord, my sincerest apologies, I don’t–”

“Unless you somehow threw water on me from across the table,” he started curtly, “I don’t see why you should be apologizing at all. However,” he added at the look of relief on the man’s face, “If you have a single Suryan bone in your body you’ll alert the royal guard, as it would seem we have a deviant in our midst.”

“My lord, I–”

Only when everything fell silent did Taeil find himself lifting his eyes off the pages; he surveyed the scene with glee. The way the room grew quiet, the way everyone turned their eyes to the poor boy Taeil splashed with water, it gave him chills. The good kind, the kind of goose bumps that raised from mere excitement, though they were hidden beneath his sleeved. He checked his watch then stared back at the nobleman. Taeil wore nothing more than a vaguely interested and yet almost grumpy pout; his eyes were still smug, however, and he did not bother to change that look of pure contempt. And even though his poker face was impressively convincing, on the inside, he was most definitely cackling.

Only when the nobleman’s back was turned, when the coast was clear, did Taeil allow a wordless, sly grin to creep up on his face as he was hiding it behind his book. He took a small swig of wine, savoring it in his mouth as he swished it around, slowly, thoughtfully; then swallowed. Adjusting his reading glasses carefully on the bridge of his nose, Taeil felt an unwavering sense of accomplishment fluttering about him. Yet an even stronger need to prove himself as more than a “deviant” flushed over him.

Taeil’s eyes, careful and without suspicion, trailed across the room. Each individual had their interests piqued by the flustered nobleman; each individual was watching carefully as he exited. Taeil’s little sly grin had dissipated, but he still bit back a snort and flicked the air, knocking trash from the waste bin into the nobleman’s back as he left. Serves you right.

And once the commotion had settled down, Taeil did his little dine and dash. He left only the slightest pocket change nestled where he had sat, as he did quite enjoy the waitress’s precious company but really did not have another dime on him. 

Taeil wasn’t one to stalk--as he found following others to be quite creepy. However, he had goals that lied far beyond teasing attractive nobles; in fact, humiliating such a dashing young man had only been an added bonus. What he really sought that evening was a kind of treasure one could not hold; but the kind of treasure one would witness. That special gift of knowledge: information on the Suryan royal family. Not for any violent deeds, per se; but for a work friend. An ally.

taeilrg

The moon was high when Iota crept out of her bedroom, her ears alert for any sign of noise. Leaving the corridor, she made her way to Sadaham’s door and leaned in. Snores, he was sleeping. Then, she checked the rooms of the other clergy members. All asleep. The benefit of living with elderly, they went to sleep early and slept heavily. Nodding to herself, Iota turned and headed to the kitchen.

In the kitchen was a small pitcher full of water left for them to drink. Retrieving a tiny wooden bowl, the woman poured some of the liquid inside of it. That should be enough. Iota thought to herself, biting her lip subconsciously. She laid the pitcher aside and concentrated solely on the bowl as she lifted her hands.

She had not even started yet, and the priestess wanted her practice to be over. Still, she had a bit to be proud of. Due to practicing – even for just a bit – every night, Iota was able to move more than just a few droplets of water or only create a ripple.

Her hands lifted up slowly, much of the water from the bowl following her movements. However, when she tried to turn to the side, the water dispersed and splashed on the table. “Oh no…” She mumbled to herself, though not surprised by this outcome. Maybe she needed to perfect the art of going up and down first.

And it wasn’t that Taeil was a bad person, though he frequently pretended to be one. In fact, somewhere deep beneath his layers of envy and despair; despite his thievery and stubborn nature--Taeil didn’t really want to be who he was. He wanted to be somehow who did not rely on the attention of others. He did not want to steal--he did not want to need to be stealthy.

Regardless, sneaking around let you find all sorts of treasures; even ones that weren’t material. And tonight was one of those nights where Taeil tread himself into risky situations. It was a night where he caught a glimpse of one of those treasures; the kind you couldn’t hold physically, but only behold with your eyes. The kind of treasure that you learned.

In watching this woman he thought to be of high social standing in the air kingdom bend water, his eyes went wide with such shock that his movements gave away his hiding place. Though somewhere inside of him, he had sympathy for others like him--especially those who shared his elements; he could not help but feel that familiar sense of envy that what made him a freak, an outcast, this girl had with no apparent repercussions to her social status.