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Who: Yona and castmates/adjacent CR
When: The days after the Age-Swap Event
Where: Yona's Temple
What: Catch-all to deal with fallout from the new arrivals and things discovered during the age swap event. Also probably a picnic.

[ The day after time is restored to normal, Yona sticks close to her temple, mind still reeling from what she had learned and the hectic events of the past few days. Between the arrival of her two newest shinki and some of the conversations she'd had with companions over the past few days, taking some time to process it seems the wisest of ideas.

But even though she doesn't venture far from her own temple, it doesn't mean she doesn't welcome anyone who stops by for a visit, clearly happy to greet anyone who stops by. Especially if they are people she needed to talk with anyway.

As for those staying in her temple, she does her best to make sure they get settled and comfortable, answering any questions she can to try and make this new arrangement as smooth as possible. And if there's a sudden resurgence of bad dreams in the aftermath of one particular shinki coming back to live in this place with her... well. She does her best to hide the evidence of it. ]

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It'd take you being someone else for me to think less of you.

[ No, he put the blame on himself for why she wouldn't talk to him about her problems. Which, maybe, it still was his fault in some way. But really, Yona was a good kid. She'd have to completely change character for his opinion of her to change. ]

So maybe you really don't trust me all that much if that's what you were worried over.

[ She comes to a stop outside a door. The one door that's remained closed and untouched since the day she discovered this place here as her new temple. The door that leads to the room that haunts her nightmares still to this day, waking her in a cold sweat with one name on her lips. And even now she can't begin to guess if it's in sorrow or fury.

Perhaps it's both. ]

It makes me think less of myself, that I can't face it. [ She finally answers after a moment, standing there in the corridor and staring at the all-too-familiar door. Taking a deep breath, she glances up at him once more. ] It's not you that I don't trust, Shizuo.

But I can't keep avoiding this forever either.

[ Which is why she takes a step forward and reaches out to ease the door open, hoping he doesn't notice how badly her hands are trembling or how pale her face has gone as the door slides open and she steps into the darkened room.

Everything is almost as she remembers it. There's even a hint of familiar masculine cologne in the room that brings tears to her eyes as she lets her gaze drift around the room, drinking it all in. It seems the Heavens got even the details here perfectly, although there's part of her that wishes they hadn't. ]

[ Oh, he sees this and can see how everything gets worse as they get closer to that room. The room that he suspected was the root of all these night terrors. Which seemed to be all but confirmed with her own words. Yet it kind of was already, by her saying she couldn't keep avoiding 'this.'

As Yona soaked in the room, probably filed with memories if this was as much of a mirror to her original home as she said, Shizuo watched her. For just a few seconds before, with a similar gentleness that she had felt the other day (when she was a small child,) he gently placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. With the same gentleness, he pulled her against his side as well and just kept like that as a sign of comfort.

He wasn't going to say anything- it wasn't his place, and this was a little too heavy. He did make a promise though. Not just to protect and keep Yona safe, but to help, even if he wasn't very good at it. This was all he could do with this sort of heaviness. ]

[ She's grateful for the contact, the strength of him against her side a physical reminder of the present, keeping the memories a little more at bay. She reaches up, resting her much smaller hand over his before taking a deep breath and letting her gaze lower to the floor a few feet in front of her. It's spotless and clean, as it was meant to look, even if she'd half expected to come in and find it stained with old blood. ]

It happened here.

[ The words are murmured almost absently as she stares at that spot, still able to see her father lying so still in a pool of blood. Fingers absently pluck at her skirt, remembering how she'd pulled him onto her lap, ruining the fabric, even though she'd barely noticed at the time. ]

My father. He was killed in this room. He was cut down, by... by someone we both trusted. Or so I thought. Now I'm not so certain.

[ Had her father known that Soo-Won's kind smiles had disguised a betrayal this deep? Was that why he'd been so insistent about denying her pleas to marry him? ]

[ So that was the trauma that had led to so many nights where Yona would scream out in the night- In the end, it turned out that the heavens really were cruel in making this place so much like the original home that Yona knew. There was obviously something that had the redhead marking certain places off limits, where a death close to her was certainly possible, but Shizuo wasn't expecting something like betrayal and murder.

Which is why he kept the contact, staying just as steady as she's known him to be. ]

You make it sound like your dad was expecting to be killed.

[ He's not good with words, and while he could be sincere, it didn't mean that he wouldn't cause more harm than good. This seemed like a point where Yona shouldn't have her own words hanging in the air though. ]

Don't drive yourself crazy wondering how much he knew or was expecting. If it was done by someone you trusted, then knowing that doesn't change much. You were still betrayed and lost your father by the person who did it.

I don't think that was the case. I think it took him by surprise as much as anyone. [ Her voice is soft as she leans back against Shizuo, her face still pale, her eyes haunted. ] No one expected it, not even those of us who knew him best.

Soo-Won... he was my cousin. He was older than me by two years and we'd grown up inseparable. I'd been in love with him for as long as I can remember. Back then, he was my entire world, but I didn't know any better. Everything I knew was contained within these walls. I'd barely ever seen the outside of them, and he... he was everything I thought I wanted. I was determined to marry him but my father said no, no matter how I begged and cried.

It was my sixteenth birthday and my father threw a party to celebrate. Soo-Won came, he gave me a hairpin. [ The one she still carries on her person at all times, hidden within her robes. Whether he's spotted it in their time together, she doesn't know. Even now, she can't let it go. ] The night after the feast, I slipped out to my father's rooms, here, to plead with him one more time. Talk had come up about my betrothal again and I couldn't imagine it ever being anyone else except for Soo-Won. Not when he'd always been so kind and caring.

[ She relates those sharp, painful memories with a soft sound of detachment, gaze lifting to fix on the far window, where she'd come in to see the silhouettes of her father and her cousin a moment before the sword had pierced him through and her father had collapsed to the floor in front of her.

She's never told this to anyone before. Not like this. Hak had pieced together what she'd seen easily enough, by her reaction and by the cutting words Soo-Won had tossed at them, but she'd been in no state to talk that night as they'd fled for their lives, or in the days that followed. If Hak hadn't been there to take her by the hand and guide her to safety, so would have never have moved from that spot and been struck down by the soldiers that had betrayed them all. ]

I arrived just as Soo-won ran him through and he collapsed in front of me. He died before I could even get to him, before I could say goodbye, or tell him I loved him. I never told him thank you for the party or the presents. My last words to him were angry ones, because he refused to even consider the one thing I thought I couldn't live without.

[ At least with that, Yona was able to put to rest her wondering as to whether or not her father had a feeling about this person. However after that, Shizuo was fine staying a physical comfort, listening to everything the young princess said.

Honestly, he doesn't get the thing about marrying your cousin. Then again, Yona was also from a world that didn't have age restrictions and many other things that Shizuo took for normal. Still, he listened and didn't place any judgement or opinion. Oh, and how he listened. He couldn't know if the hairpin was the same that he'd barely seen in the past. However... Four times this guy's name was said, Soo-Won.

He wouldn't forget that name.

Yet he wasn't sure of what to say. Having little in the way of words, Shizuo didn't want to say something careless or accidentally cruel even if he meant the best. Despite being someone that had died, there was no comfort he could place because he had no context or experience to fall back on. Yona didn't want the thought of her father not knowing or being able to hold onto that fact now that he's dead.

Well, there may be one thing. It required asking something that was a little sensitive though. Especially when this whole situation was hanging heavily in the air. ]

Yona... How much time did you let yourself grieve for your father?

[ She shakes her head, letting her eyes slide closed for a moment. ]

There's been no time. It's been months, but I had to keep moving. If the soldiers or anyone recognized us... Soo-Won has my father's crown now, the country and the castle are his, as are the generals who once served my father loyally. If any of them suspect the truth...

[ She knows Mundok knows, because they'd fled to him for safety in the days following the betrayal, but she'd left again to save the Wind Tribe from going to war with the Fire over sheltering her and not supporting the new king. She wouldn't let those who'd helped her come to harm if she could help it. ]

I hadn't let myself think about it, if I could help it. I've had to make choices that I know would break my father's heart. [ Every time she picks up her bow or blade, she can hear his voice in her head, but she will pick them up regardless. She won't stand by and be helpless again. She can no longer watch and do nothing. ]

But then I arrived here, and was given this place to live in once more. There's more time to think than I necessarily wanted. Maybe someone knew this was something I needed to face. [ She'd rather believe that than think the Heavens could be so purposefully cruel. ]

[ Stuck running with absolutely no time to process- no wonder Yona kept having nightmares. While it may have happened anyway, this was just a gaping wound affecting her every day. Especially because Yona didn't have to stay on the run any longer. ]

... I think it's time you make a memorial shrine to pray and work out your grief and goodbyes, Yona.

[ It's what he knew was done when someone died. Though he also knew this was meant to be done closer to the person's passing, she never had the chance. ]

Normally it requires a photo or memento, but I can get the other things for it so you can do with it as you'd like.

[ Her head comes up and she blinks at him in surprise a moment, caught off-guard by the offer. ]

A shrine? Here? [ Although now that he's suggested it, she gives it a moment of thought, a small, sad smile curving across her lips. ] Maybe I should. It's a good suggestion. I'm sure there's been something made back home, but...

[ She has no idea what was done for her father after his death, actually. And she'd been in such a shock in the days after arriving at the Wind Tribe, she hadn't even heard if there'd been a period of mourning. Perhaps things had been too rushed to anoint a new ruler that those customs had been overlooked. The thought made her sad.

But she still shoots him a grateful smile for hearing her out, and for finding a way to help. ]

Thank you, Shizuo.

[ Ah- Well at least that was something they had in common with Yona's original world. Though it left a lot to be desired if, out of everything, it was just shrines for the dead that remained the same. ]

It doesn't really matter if there was something made back home. You couldn't use it, could you?

[ Which seemed pretty cruel to point out, given that it was information he had only just learned. Was he being cruel for putting that back out there? ]

Don't thank me unless it ends up helping after a while. Nothing's been done yet.

[ She shakes her head in answer to his question, silent but knowing that would speak enough for her. Especially when her throat had closed up tight, keeping her from answering right away as she blinks quickly against the way her eyes burn. ]

I can thank you for the suggestion. It was a thoughtful one, Shizuo. I probably wouldn't have thought of it myself. You listened and looked at the problem and suggested a possible way of helping. That in itself means a great deal to me.

Yeah, well...

[ He shifts just a bit. Just a little, so that he could start blocking the view of the room from Yona. ]

Either way, I think you've faced enough for the time being. It probably won't get better for a while, but if it gets a little easier after this, then I'll accept that much.

[ Is it cowardly of her if she's more than ready to flee this room once more now that she's been here and explained? She's not sure, but she lets him shift in front of her, taking up her field of vision instead of the room that still haunts her dreams.

Reaching out she rests her hand against his chest, letting her eyes slide closed as she nods in acknowledgment. ]

I hope so. I think... I'm ready to leave here now, Shizuo. If you'll excuse me?

[ She turns, pulling her hand close to clutch at her chest again as she starts to move towards the doors. ]

[ He's still, keeping the room's view blocked in case Yona glanced back. That way she could see a friend instead of a terrible memory, even if it's temporary. Shizuo doesn't say anything either, letting the redhead walk out and get past the doors.

Instead he'll linger behind to act as that shield, then close the doors once again when they were both out of the room. He'll have to look things up and pick up the items for that shrine. Hopefully this meant that the nightmares were going to be on their way out, and Yona could have a good night's sleep for once. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow, but eventually. ]

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