thenearshore | Pieces of the puzzle

Entry tags:

Pieces of the puzzle

Who: Yoon

handsome_genius and YOU
What: Two memory regains in one evening mean he's trying to piece it together
When: August 16-18 (Regains were the night of the 15th/morning of 16th)
Where: Around the Far Shore
Warnings: references to human trafficking

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Previously knew that Zeno was someone he'd traveled with, and that Kija was attached to his life somehow but that realization had come at a severe cost he couldn't contemplate this whole time on pain of blight. Now, he has two more clues: a time he went undercover as a beautiful young girl that depended on his ability to handle gunpowder and the circumstances that had him traveling in the first place - away from someone he was looking after to go off with Yona. He now has confirmation about Kija, but Yona comes as a major surprise to him. As does Jae-ha and Hak.

Yoon can be found several places while he tries to figure out what's going on!

Around Tlaloc's temple - his new god is Lance, so he might be wandering around outside of it.

At the library - researching gunpowder and human trafficking and ship life.
These relate to one of the memories he regained.

At Hakkai's School - reading some of the books he borrowed and doing his regular schoolwork, inbetween getting incredibly distracted by all of the books relating to the memories he regained.

Around Áine's temple - he'll be dawdling around Yona's temple before actually going in to talk to her.

Around Chiyou's temple - as with Yona, Kija is on the list of people he needs to talk to.

Around Hebe's temple - after aaaalllll of the other people he's managed to talk to about his memories, he knows he should check in with Zeno so that he's in the loop too.

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[ Yona was returning from a trip to the Near Shore and had just teleported to the Courtyard of her temple when she spots Yoon lingering near the gate. Surprised, she pauses to study him for a moment before hurrying forward, a little concerned about why he'd be here. He wasn't someone she often had visiting, after all, other than when the group of them came together and someone figured out a way to invite him without raising suspicions. ]

Yoon? Are you alright? Did something happen?

[He vaguely manages a shaking of the head No to her first question and a Yes to her second. He's walked up with his hands in front of him, nervous when it comes to the nature of memories here.]

I... remembered some things. But you have to let me do the talking, Yona. Please. I was so afraid last time... when I remembered Zeno.

[But he unfurls his hands and stretches them again.]

Because the time before that I talked to Kija - uhm, first question. Do you know what happened when Kija and I met - the day at the picnic?

[ Her mouth drops open for a moment in surprise - and hope - but she goes still at his question, folding her hands calmly in front of her as she waits patiently for whatever he had to say. ]

You told me that he said too much and that you got Blighted very badly. [ Having just experienced this herself and having to endure the ablution with her shinki, it was not something she wished on anyone else, for any reason.

Her expression understanding and sympathetic, Yona thinks for a moment before motioning over to a stone bench set under one of the apple trees in invitation. ]

Come and sit with me, Yoon. You can say as much as you need to. I promise to listen to everything you have to say. My shinki have each regained memories recently. I know not to say anything until I've heard what they have learned. Don't be afraid.

Right, right...

[He nods emotionally. He's really jumbled up just now. He'd completely forgotten that he told her about that, which is unusual for him.

Still, he appreciates her offering a seat. He sits down with a sigh.]

Ik-su... I saw you and him talking - in a storeroom of some kind. About me... He wanted to send me away.

[He grabs at his modern t-shirt, remembering the simple clothing he wore in the memory - so similar to the garb new shinki were given, in how loose it felt, how easy it felt to move around in.

But in that moment, when he heard that Ik-su wanted him gone - on a journey with Yona - he'd hurt. So much so that... he'd grabbed Ik-su and yelled at him, but Ik-su had scarcely reacted to it. Rather, he'd dug harder into insisting Yoon should go.]

With a princess of all people. To see the world.

[It was kind of frightening, following that with his other memory - thinking that clearly it had been somewhere out there in the wider world that he'd died.]

I guess I must have gone, because I also remembered... gosh there must have been twenty people around us when we were all dressed up in the end. Kija, Hak, Jae-Ha, a bunch of pirates including an old woman, a guy in a mask... but not Zeno.

[He scratches his head lightly in thought at that. Not the kind of deep thoughts that could get him in trouble - just a confusion that someone as dedicated to finding people - Yoon in particular - as Zeno seemed to be, as dedicated to the cause as he remembers Zeno growing... he'd have thought Zeno wandering into their camp might have happened sooner.

Dedicated to their cause... as if Yoon himself wasn't, what with that speech he'd made to Hak.]

You... [ She blinks in surprise a moment, digesting that information. ] You got two memories back?

[ And spread so far apart, too. She angles herself towards him, watching his face as he explained. ]

Zeno hadn't found us yet, when we were in Awa. [ Her voice is soft, careful, as she recalls simple fact. No other connotations with it, just in case. ] Or if he had, he hadn't revealed himself yet.

[ But that's not what she really wants to say, not the point of this conversation that has her blinking suddenly, struggling with emotion. For a moment, she doesn't say anything. And then she moves, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as she buries her face against his shoulder. ]

I missed you.

A-ah!

[He starts to tense up as he realizes she's going to hug him, but then she does it anyway. There's an easy connection to draw between his reaction to Yona in the first memory and his speech to Hak in the second. He doesn't know the full picture of why, but someone like him willingly putting himself in danger like that... It's hard not to guess she was important, to all of them.]

Edited 2017-09-23 15:29 (UTC)

You... say that, but I still don't know why. And I know you can't tell me either, it's just...

[He rests his hands up at her shoulders - not a squeezing hug, but less tense than before. He can't ask why she was so important. He doesn't feel like Because She's A Princess is nearly enough. He doesn't give one shit that she's a princess - she's a good person. And while that may be rare, he can't believe that's a good enough reason either. There's got to be more to it that he's missing.]

Damnit.

[He's not going to cry, but he's visibly frustrated.]

I hate not knowing things.

Me, too.

[ Her voice is soft as she confesses that. But for the moment, she's not letting him go. Sorry, Yoon. She has weeks of hugging to make up for. ]

I wish I could change it. I wish I could do more. But it will be okay. [ Now she does pull back a little and there are tears in her eyes as she meets his gaze but she's managed to muster a smile all the same. ] Maybe you'll remember or maybe you won't. But we still have here and now. There... there can be new memories. They'll be just as good.

['Or better' he thinks, getting the impression from the way that Ik-su talked that he genuinely thought Yoon deserved better than what he currently had. And that even that much had been better than what Yoon grew up with.

A new thought strikes him and he does frown a bit again.]

Except now I have to keep the secret too - the way that you and Zeno have been doing. Maybe it's better this isn't my temple after all. Then I'm only a visitor, like at the picnic.

[ She straightens at that before giving his shoulders a slight squeeze. ]

No, you don't. Not as much. Zeno, Kija and I all remember. And Jae-Ha remembers a little. He remembers when we all came together with the pirates in Awa - the same as you, it seems. I think as long as we're careful, it should be okay. At least one of us slipping that we know you won't be as dangerous as it could have been before. I think we can work around everything else.

And, [ She adds this, giving him a firm look, but there is fondness in her gaze. ] You are not just a visitor here. You're a friend. You are welcome anytime you wish, whether it's to visit or find companionship, or even just some time to yourself. Consider it a standing invitation, no matter the cause.

[ Yoon looks over at her expression and can tell that she means it. He's still not sure what he did to deserve such an invitation into her home, Heaven-granted or otherwise, but it strikes him as very significant that she trusts him that much. At least to him, if not to her as well. ]

Okay.

[ What else can he say to something so sincere? ]

Just like when I met you. ... One last question before I go. I think this should be okay to ask. Am I supposed to be calling you 'Princess'?

[ He doesn't particularly like that idea, but just a thought... ] I can make an exception for one of the good gods, I suppose.

[ Something flickers in her expression for a moment before she's quick to shake her head, squeezing his hands as she gives him a gentle smile. ]

No. You don't have to call me Princess, Yoon. I'd much prefer to be Yona to you.

[ Yoon gets up leave and nods in her direction, not yet pulling his hand away. ]

Yona. That's fine.

[ She's right, of course - it feels more natural than calling her Princess anyway. ]

See you around, Yona.

[ It makes her smile as she stands up to wave him off. ]

I hope I will, Yoon. Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

[ His mood is definitely improved as he turns to wave back. ]

Well, if you find any books that you don't know what to do with...

[ He lights up at the thought of reading some random topic on literally anything. He doesn't have a memory of her necessarily hearing about that from him or Ik-su, but he can guess she knows him well enough to know that part of his life. Plus he's been vocal about it in the Far Shore already. ]

You know you can always come visit too.

[ Without a book, she'd be welcome too, but that part he's sure she can glean. ]

I would like that. Perhaps I will. Your god won't mind?

But oh! Books! [ Her expression brightens as she quickly scrambles to her feet. ] Wait! Do you have a moment?

Huh?

[ He looks back, head cocking to the side curiously. ]

Oh, sure.

[ He's expecting something like... she needs him to research something at the library for her. ]

[ Her expression brightens, because she remembers all too well the conversations she'd had before, with Yoon and his desire to read more books. It had been one more reminder, at the time, of how fortunate she'd been and just how much she'd taken for granted in her sheltered, spoiled life. But now...

She reaches out, catching Yoon's hand and giving it a light tug as she leads him down the corridor of her castle and to one very specific room, one that had been replicated almost just like she remembered, much like most of the rest of her father's castle.

The library hadn't been a place she'd frequented, for anything other than her lessons as a child, but she knew this would hold a different sort of meaning for Yoon. Many of the political and historical scrolls that had belonged to her father were gone in this world's version of her childhood home - if there was any mention of Kouka in the books that now lined the shelves, she had yet to discover it - and she had looked a time or two. Instead, there were books on history, on science, on medicines, on foreign lands, on mythology - there were more topics and volumes than she could even take in all at once, something befitting this world's version of a royal's beloved library, she had to assume. Fortunately for her, there was an entire section on the lands and myths of the goddess she was here to represent, although she was still slowly making her way through these.

Leading him into the room, she turns to smile at him, giving his hand a squeeze. ] Here. I wanted to show you here. And I want you to know, should you ever feel like coming and reading from any of them, you're welcome to. No matter the day or night, this door will always be open to you, and you can stay as long as you like.

[ Congrats Yona, you broke him. He's seen the library before, but it was such a disorganized mess he couldn't really appreciate it. This is smaller but a quick glance at the titles makes him more assured he could actually find something worthwhile to read in here. ]

It... It's...

Edited 2017-11-05 02:02 (UTC)

[ Wait. This place is open to him? Still a major brain-break but in a better way. ]

Someplace like this...

Yona, I would spend hours in here just reading one book. Are you sure that sort of thing is okay?

[ She just laughs quietly and reaches out to give him a spontaneous hug, smiling brightly. ]

You could spend hours or days or weeks, however long you like, Yoon. Ah, as long as you still remembered to eat and sleep in there somewhere. [ She amends to add this, tapping one fingertip against her chin. ] Although I would hope you'd remember to be responsible enough for that.

... Of course I would be!

[He huffs defensively about it, but there's a genuine hesitation in his voice like her reminder was warranted.]

[But then he leans into her hug and returns it.]

Thank you, Yona.

[She really does know him so well, he realizes. And it starts to be less scary and more of a comfort. Someone he can trust.]

[ She just gives him a squeeze, happy he seemed to be pleased with the offer. ]

You're welcome, Yoon. I'm happy that I can offer it. And I mean it. Anytime you like.

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Pieces of the puzzle

Áine's temple

Re: Áine's temple

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wrap soon then?

yes! <3

<3

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you know, I'd intended to wrap this and then you brought THAT up

haha

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