thenearshore | OVERFLOW for | 012

You did?

[No, Kija never will understand this place, and how it is that a total stranger who merely looks like Yoon should know exactly who he is right down to how he had failed in his duties to a friend, and Yoon himself should look at him as if he is a total stranger himself--

[--and then he realizes he does, and by then it's too late to take the words back.]

You don't remember, do you? You cannot remember any of it.

[Because Yoon is a shinki, isn't he?

[This, Kija thinks, is not right.]

No, I didn't - I definitely didn't!

[... Or I'd remember, he wants to say, but of course given his new circumstances that's just not true is it.]

I- tch!

[He grabs his left side, feeling a pain there that is definitely not normal.]

I knew you?

[Oh.

[Oh.

[So this is how it starts.

[This is how complete the prohibition is. This is how deep it runs, how much it cuts someone off from: not only from themselves, but from everyone who ever knew or cared for them before. An entirely blank slate, primed to be rewritten into whatever shape this place sees fit, by whoever they may happen to come across: why did it not occur to him before? Jae-Ha had been different. He had met him--

[It is terrible. It is horrific.

[And now he hardly knows what to say, what to do. A yes would only lead Yoon further into danger than he already has done. A no would be a falsehood, and a bad one. Now what? For a time - for far longer than is comfortable - Kija simply stares at Yoon. Then he bows, because it is all he can think of to do.]

My apologies. I... this was a mistake. Please forget about it.

[And this is Yoon he is talking to. Might as well ask the sun to stop rising--

[But he cannot think what else to do.]

Wait, but... you said...

[He's not used to physical pain. He's not a sturdy warrior. He falls to his knees and pulls his hand away, watching it darken. The spread is actually quite slow, but he'd touched the infected area himself. At the very least, that distracts him from the 'who' are you question and gets him worrying about something else entirely.]

Did you d- do this to me?

[Yoon casts a glance to his satchel, wondering if maybe he can just pull it towards him the same magic way he forms a borderline.]

[The beach isn't so crowded that Simon can't spot Yoon...the young man's pale red hair also helps him to stand out. But he seems to be talking to someone and Simon doesn't want to interrupt, he'll find a moment to check up on him later.

At least, that's the plan until the corner of his eye catches Yoon dropping to his knees and clutching at his side. Suddenly manners don't really matter as much, and the doctor is hurrying over to help.]

What happened?

[He's calm even with the concern in his voice, it could be nothing, it could be an emergency, either way he's doing his best not to contribute to a panic.]

I said too much.

[But he stopped. He has stopped.

[Is that not enough?

[Kija hardly dares try and touch Yoon. He wants to reach out to him, to rest a hand (not that one) on his shoulder, to reassure him: he knows that he cannot, that it will not help, that it will only make things worse, as if they can be. The boy does not know him: he is staring at him as if he is a stranger - worse, a threat. He has dropped to his knees by Yoon's side, and all that seems to be good for is getting sand in his shoes...

[His chest feels tight, and tears queue up behind his eyelids and all he can think is please, please say this isn't all it takes--!

[I didn't mean it.]

I'm sorry--

[Is it safe to say his name again?

[Kija. Sorry will not help.]

[Yoon looks over at Simon.]

Not allowed to save me again Ix- Simon.

[But he clutches the hand that's searing hot and curls forward as the part on his side makes him feel nauseous.]

Some kind of...

[He can't think of the word just now. His mind's going a little fuzzy.]

Ask him - how does he know me? Kija - how?

[No sooner does Yoon ask that than the visible part on his hand seems to crawl outward another inch, all red-purple skin infection and searing flesh.]

[I said too much.

That alone has alarms going off in Simon's head. The instinct to avoid a shinki learning about their past is a powerful one, so much that Simon's felt it before with someone who isn't even his to watch over. That and the burn--the bruise? Simon's never seen an injury like that before, but it's been spoken of in warning and Simon's a clever man. He figures it out quickly enough.

Still Simon does his best to remain steady.]

The last time was hardly that serious.

[Simon kneels down along side the two, reaching out to Yoon's shoulder and it's far too easy to use his gift and take whatever pain he's feeling onto himself and oh. That's probably wasn't the best idea.

The god pales and his jaw tightens as it's far worse than he was anticipating...but, he firmly reminds himself, he's been in worse pain. Though this comes close.]

Yoon...don't ask.

[Simon's never been much of a liar and the pain makes it too difficult to even try. The god looks over at the other, the one who started all this...but he can't say he blames Kija. It must be difficult to see a familiar face and not react somehow.

Still, if Kija truly is sorry, then perhaps he can help. Simon reaches out with his other hand, trying not to let it shake. If he can split the pain between the three of them it should be enough to make it bearable, then they'll be able to find a solution.]

Help me help him. Give me your hand.

Edited (god not good) 2017-02-05 23:47 (UTC)

Anything. Just help him. Please.

[He doesn't even think about it.

[This is bad. Kija doesn't need to ask to know how bad: no need to trouble with a how-do-you-feel when Yoon's hand is livid with bruising and he is quite literally doubled over in pain; no need to ask the stranger when the worry on his face says it plainer than words ever could. This is what it's all about, this is what's at stake here: nothing less than life and death, or worse. This is serious, this is bad, this is what your words can cause and it is absolutely all his fault--

[And there is nothing, absolutely nothing that he can do.

[So, when the stranger reaches out his hand, Kija takes it. And it hurts - but it's good, because this pain he can handle.]

[It's a very difficult thing for Yoon to fathom - not just Simon helping him now, but Kija as well. What could have happened for Kija to be willing to take even a portion of this pain from him? The hand that wasn't human... was that part of it? Like, maybe he owed Kija twice over now - maybe the hand is his own fault.

The blight continues to spread as he tries to remember these things, but because no one's actually telling him about it the spread is also slow. He lowers his head, clutching frantically at his hair with his free hand.]

I can't help it... Just trying not to think about it has me thinking about it.

[The only thing he can think to do - if nothing else to stop the blight spreading and more pain to all three of them - is think of things that have happened here, things he knows he's experienced rather than having to question a memory. Meeting Simon and Omi and his god Ran and how hurt he'd been. He tries to focus on the fact that if he gets consumed now, then no one is going to be around to tell that idiot his powers are overwhelming him, just like he did with Sanji.

Slowly, with his eyes closed, he breathes out and the blight's spread halts. It doesn't remove what's already there, but with his eyes closed at least he's not thinking about Kija as much.]

[A faint sigh of relief can't be helped when that pain lessens. It's still there, a sharp burn in his side and hand, but it's more manageable by far. By then Simon can spare the awareness to notice Kija's less than human hand...it's odd but irrelevant to helping Yoon at the moment.]

Try and distract yourself...

[But even as Simon suggests it it seems that Yoon is managing on his own. The blight slows and stops...but it's still there. All of this is nothing more than a stop gap. If they can't reach a cure Yoon will be lost, and though Simon doesn't know the young man all that well he isn't in the habit of losing patients.]

It needs holy water.

[As strange a thing as it is to say, it's what Simon was told to use to cure the blight. Holy water which can be found at shrines like his own temple back in the Far Shore...and his temple in particular has water in abundance. Deep down the doctor in him still has a nagging bit of doubt that it will work, but Simon knows it's still the best chance Yoon has.]

We'll go back to my temple and use the water there.

[And, seeing as how everyone is still conveniently holding hands, Simon sees no reason to delay and promptly teleports them to the nearest shrine they can use to cross over.]

[Oh, if he could take everything back - the beach, his own reaction to it, everything that Yoon had reacted to never mind those foolish, incautious words - Kija would have done.

[How (the pain he is used to, though it makes him gasp, makes him close his eyes and grit his teeth, and count his own breaths: he welcomes it all) how is Yoon supposed to just forget what he has told him? How is anyone with Yoon's mind, someone so quick and so curious, supposed not to think about a puzzle like himself? How long would distraction work for and how, oh how could he ever show his face to the boy again, if just to look at him left the boy - left him like this? He would stay away, he would have to stay away... but how could they guard against Yoon's own thoughts?

[Kija opens his eyes for a moment, but he cannot tell if Yoon is looking any worse, any more - call it by name, Kija! - blighted. It looks awful. It probably is worse--

[He starts at the sound of the stranger's voice.]

That will help?

[Please say it will help.

[He clings to it, to the idea that this might still somehow be fixable. Holy water. Yes. Anything. It is on the tip of Kija's tongue to ask the stranger how long it will take him to get that when the world seems to shift--when, just like that, they're sitting in the shade the courtyard of a shrine. He blinks. He glances about himself. He keeps forgetting they can do that.]

Is this it?

[It does not seem to be.

[Just like that, everything shifts again.]

[For all that the teleportation is a disorienting feeling, Yoon allows it to wash over him because it's a part of the present. It's part of what he's allowed to focus on and think about. He opens his eyes at Simon's temple and doesn't even attempt to stand up yet. He remains sitting on his heels, kneeling kind of.]

This is... Ixtlilton? His temple?

[And Simon's, but specifically for Ixtlilton. He's never seen a pyramid like that before so it helps clear his mind as well. He hears the running water and focuses on that too -- all the while steadfastly refusing to look at Kija. For now.]

Are we going down to the lake?

[His voice is still strained, but it's from a focused dedication right now instead of pain, since the two men split the bulk of what he'd been feeling. He's not sure how water of all things could be the cure, but he's willing to trust Simon's medical knowledge.]

[Simon is nothing if not practical. Sure, being able to cross vast distances in a flash of light is something he once thought impossible, but once it was shown to him that he could Simon took to practicing the ability eagerly. Taking passengers along with him is still taxing, but it gets a little easier every time. He waits until they've reached their final destination before answering Kija, pulling himself to his feet.]

This is it...

[They've been taken to just outside the main entrance. Behind them a wooden bridge leads from a high cliff into the rest of the Far Shore, and far below is a deep, dark lake.

Luckily for Yoon, they are not going that far down.]

There are pools inside. Come on, you'll take a quick dip and be good as new.

[He...assumes that's how it will work. If the water is truly 'holy', will it really need a ceremony? This is still new territory for Simon and there's nothing medical at all about any of this. Yet Simon hides his worries well and simply reaches a hand for Yoon to take, glancing for Kija to help if the shinki finds himself unable to rise on his own.

There's no need to kneel as far as Simon is concerned.]

[Under any other circumstances, Kija owns he might have judged it pretty.

[The temple is quiet, it is secluded, it is bizarre. It looks - perhaps, this is what the Seiryuu villagers might have had in mind, before reality ensued? - as if it has been carved from the rock face itself, which is a ridiculous thing to think when one can see the seams between the brick but is the only way he can imagine to explain how very curious the shape is, how it towers up and away like the side of a mountain, the creeping, climbing plants that cluster at the foot of the walls. At their backs, too, the ground drops precipitously, dizzyingly away to the shores of a lake, and the waters lie so dark and still and frigid-looking he wants to back away--]

[Okay, it is pretty here, but it is distinctly unsettling with it. Is this really the place--?

[Except then the stranger confirms it, but with it one very comforting fact: they will not be staying outside.]

All right. Y--

[He breaks off before he can say the boy's name; or say it again. Maybe it is too late to take what he has said back, but he can at least endeavor not to make matters any worse.]

Do you need any help?

[A hand. A shoulder. He will pick Yoon up and carry him, if that is what it takes.]

No.

[Yoon tries to be adamant about it, but it comes out quite weak. He stands and ends up clinging with both hands, one to each man's shirt at the shoulders. He's visibly upset, but right now it's just because he's trying not to think about the hurt that feels bone-deep in a way he's never felt, and isn't sure he ever felt before becoming a shinki either. Here he's been dissing gods left and right but one on either side of him is his only fighting chance right now, neither of them even HIS god. What could have happened to cause him such a clear-cut, yet wrong, opinion of gods in general?

... No, he can't, he can't think like that...

His head hangs forward as he gasps for more breath, finding it difficult now.]

The- the pools? I don't care, get me there. Now. Please.

[Even splitting the pain it's clearly growing worse and hitting Yoon the hardest, though it doesn't appear to Simon as if the blight is still spreading. Still, no reason to delay.]

This way, we've got you.

[The main floor of the temple is one open room dotted with stone furnishings centered around a rectangular black pool, reminiscent of a public bath. Rugs and throws and pillows abound and work to soften everything, hopefully more inviting than the ominous exterior, but it's the water that they're after and Simon guides Yoon and Kija directly towards it.

Dressed for the beach as he already is, Simon sees no reason not to step into the water first, his feet finding the built in stairs in order to help Yoon in next.

If there's to be any ceremony...this feels like it ought to be it, Simon suddenly thinking back to those ancient rituals or baptism, welcoming the new follower into the fold by dipping them into the water. The comparison doesn't sit quite right with Simon, but if it works to cleanse the blight then Simon will deal with his own small discomfort.]

[If there is one advantage Kija has over Simon - and Yoon too, possibly - it is this: he has no reason to disbelieve that this will cure Yoon, save for the fear that things are far too broken to fix. Clearly Yoon's condition is far beyond anything that can be healed by cunning use of herbs or the handful of remedies he knows, and with no idea what other options there might be, healing baths and the power of the Gods makes as much sense as any other cure he can think of, and is rather more likely to work.

[He has no reason, after all, to doubt that the Gods have power.

[Simon goes in first, which is only sensible. His temple, his ritual, his power and he will know - he will know, surely! - what is to happen next. He stands at Yoon's back, hands on the boy's shoulders to guide him down the steps. He wishes he knew what to say to him.]

Are we to go all the way in?

[And when will we know if it has-- oh. He leans a little closer to Yoon.]

How are you feeling?

[At this point Yoon's not going to care that he was dressed for a day on the beach and not in the ocean. He's going to owe the both of them his life, he's pretty sure.

There's a lot of steam and wincing as Yoon descends into the bath, but thanks to his escorts he doesn't fall down either. Yoon actually starts more visible noises and signs of his distress, but just as he starts to think he can't bear anymore... it starts to subside. The worst of it's gone, and all that's left are the equivalents of cuts and bruises from how intensely he'd been feeling things earlier.

Yoon looks both shocked and relieved as a result.]

I'm... not sure... I think it's going away?

[He's certainly not gasping for breath anymore either, which he notes.]

I can breathe... It's working. But...

[He looks around himself a lot more actively now.]

This place is really that powerful?

OVERFLOW for | 012 | The Beach Episode

Yoon

Re: Yoon

Re: Yoon

Re: Yoon

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject