thenearshore | [OPEN] And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you

[ She's waiting for him, seated on the front steps of the temple with a book and an apple from the orchards, half-eaten as she waits. When she spots him mounting the top of the stairs, she sets both aside (even if she suspects the apple will quickly vanish thanks to the fae horses that wander freely around her temple as they please).

Stepping down to approach him with a smile, she holds out her hands in greeting. ]

Yoon! Hello!

[It feels like forever since he got such a warm greeting. He can't help but smile back after seeing her smile at him.]

Yona. It's been awhile. You didn't have to wait for me. I don't get lost.

[Maybe egotistical, but... he believes it even as he says it so easily.]

I didn't mind. [ She laughs and just tugs him into a hug. ] I was just excited to see you again. I'm allowed to worry a little. I'm sorry about your god, Yoon. [ Her expression turns more serious as she pulls back to meet his gaze, searching his expression. ] If there's anything at all I can do, please let me know? Anything at all.

[ At first he might have pushed away a hug like that, but he leans into it and hugs Yona back. ]

I'm sorry too, for worrying you when you already have a shinki to worry about. You don't need another one that can't take care of himself.

[ That resilience had been one of his points of pride - that he could take care of himself so easily and naturally that taking care of a god was well within his abilities. It didn't strain his energy the way that perhaps caring for a highly dependent person might have... at least that was how it felt with Ran. Then Lance didn't need him at all.

So to hear that Yona is worrying over him when he's not even her shinki doesn't sit well. He's the one who's supposed to be supporting her, the way his memory read. ]

Basically you took the words out of my mouth. I was trying to come here to help you, even if that means helping him.

Edited 2017-11-25 02:48 (UTC)

[ His comment gets a blink and a laugh as she reaches out to let her hand rest on his arm. ]

If anyone can take care of themselves, Yoon, it's you. That's not what I was worried about.

But you are still a friend. I know it wasn't so long ago that you lost Ran, so for this new god of yours to also disappear... [ She gives him an apologetic glance. ] That is never easy. It doesn't matter if you're a god or a shinki, finding your partner suddenly taken from you hurts in a different way.

[ She's still trying to cope with the loss of Hak and Jae-Ha - on multiple levels.

His offer of help gets another quiet laugh from her, however. ] Well, it's true that Shizuo and Izumo may need a great deal of help, but... At least they've seen healers. Hakkai mended Shizuo after his run-in and Izumo's other god, Mikoto, healed him before bringing him here to rest and recuperate. While the worst of the injuries have been closed are mending, they're both still under strict orders to take it easy for a while, so they don't reopen anything. I've been sending them out to the pools here to soak under the moonlight. A gift from the goddess, Aine, and one I am thankful for her sharing with me.

[ Considering how often her shinki get themselves in trouble? It's come in useful. ]

[She's given him a lot to think about and he nods while she speaks, thinking that she's given them good advice for how to recover, but as for the broader conversation...]

Other god? So... Izumo is a nora for you?

[He's still trying to process this in the context of which god he should choose too. It's one thing to have shinki that get themselves hurt often, it's another to have to worry about it happening alongside another god they're bound to. Yoon hadn't considered it before, but he realizes that a lot of the things he's heard about nora don't seem to apply to someone like Yona.

Maybe she doesn't get jealous, or maybe she doesn't have trouble handling her own prayers with at least one solid shinki like Shizuo - when he's not hurt. Maybe she doesn't really need him most days, but having a nora to call on when you're in trouble is something that she prefers. All of this set against the backdrop of his memory with her... well, he'd been thinking of the second one, but the first one too, really.]

Edited 2017-11-29 16:47 (UTC)

[ She gives a warm smile and inclines her head. ]

Yes, as of recently. Shizuo's shinki power is a very powerful barrier but it doesn't lend itself well to fighting off ayakashi. [ Unless she wanted to go headbash them all - something neither she nor Shizuo were all that keen on. ] When Hak and Jae-ha were here, it wasn't much of an issue, because Hak offered a weapon in his vessel form, but after they vanished... [ There's a note of sorrow in her voice as she hesitates, the ache of their absence still deep and fresh. ]

Anyway, during a prayer recently, it ended up being against an ayakashi and I hadn't been prepared. Izumo was along with me and offered to let me name him for the fight. Afterwards, we discussed it and decided to keep it for the time being.

It sounds like Izumo is a good compliment to Shizuo, then.

[That's mostly a mumble, but more importantly he's doing a lot of thinking on the fly as Yona explained all of that.]

So long as you have him, you'll be alright.

[Thinking that she doesn't need him as much as he'd originally thought. She figured out a way to pick herself up in a bad situation. He should be happy about that.]

They've been a good compliment to each other from the start. But I'm not sure the arrangement will stay.

[ She gives a slight grimace before sighing softly and tipping her head back to stare upwards a moment. ]

Things with Izumo's god are... complicated. He wasn't very happy that Izumo offered another to name him, which seemed to surprise Izumo as well, from whatever arrangement they'd had. If it continues to cause friction between them, I'll probably release him, if that will mend whatever difficulties this created between them.

[ Yoon listens and sighs when she talks about the friction. She just can't help but help, can she? ~~Look who's throwing stones at glass houses.~~ Well then... ]

If something falls through with Izumo and his god, you can call on me. Even if I think that another temple needs me more, I'm not going to leave you with just Shizuo.

[That decided, he starts to walk further into the temple to find exactly that man and have a chat with him now too.]

[ She blinks after him as he starts to walk away. ]

Yoon, you...

[ She pauses, then tips her head to the side to stare at him before he can get too far away. Taking a deep breath, she calls after him, still sounding a little uncertain ]

Do you want me to name you or are you offering that because you think you should?

[Yoon stops.

He thinks how to answer. In truth he doesn't want to be a servant to a god at all, which is what a shinki feels like in the general sense. He'd rather not be bound to any of them. But of all the people he trusted not to treat him that way... Yona was the only one he felt a true obligation to because of that memory.]

It's not one or the other.

[Both and neither. Yoon's best skills were in service to another, but to him it didn't have to be as a servant. More a communal sort of living arrangement.]

A shinki has to be named by a god. I can't change that. I only have a little bit of time left to decide how I want to live with that knowledge. If you need support, then I'll do what I can - because you're Yona. That's all.

[ She listens to that answer, and thinks about what it means coming from Yoon - even one who does not remember the life he came from.

It's what has her closing the distance between them and laying a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small, warm smile. ]

Perhaps it's something neither of us can change, although I still want to try. But in the meantime, it means a lot to me that I have my friend at my side.

[He hears her earnestness and he appreciates it. He puts his opposite hand on hers as it rests on his shoulder.]

You make some really weird friends, you know.

[He pats it twice, all-knowingly.]

But it's okay because I apparently made some weird friends too and can't get rid of them now.

[ She just laughs at his words, squeezing his shoulder before giving him a gentle shove towards the temple once more. ]

You're right, you can't. You'd better just accept it instead.

That's a really heavy burden to place on a shinki, you know!

[Huff!]

Forcing all of these weird friends on him, knowing they're nothing but a bunch of trouble-makers and will need his help someday!

[ That just makes her laugh. ]

I know. It's truly a hardship. But I have every confidence that you will be more than capable of handling it, Yoon. It's the consequence of being such a genius.

As long as you understand the position I'm in!

[He huffs once more and heads inside.]

For example - I have an injured shinki to check in on now, don't I? That's what I said I'd do first when I got here.

I understand! [ There's laughter in her voice, however, so she may not be taking his hardships as seriously as he'd hope. ] I'll leave him in your care, then, Yoon. Good luck!

[ Although she's not sure who she should be wishing good luck here - Yoon or Shizuo. ]

[ Shizuo really isn't hard to find. There were only going to be a few places that he could go, in trying to follow the 'healer's orders' of what not to do for a few days. In this case, there was a conundrum of a situation. He wasn't supposed to lift anything that would be considered to have a good weight to it, by normal people's standards, and he especially wasn't supposed to lift anything from the floor. After realizing that he was definitely the type to drink more milk when he was injured, the only milk was on the very bottom of the fridge. They were also gallon sizes, because it was cheaper to buy multiples that way, and the extra gallons went there.

Realizing that the problem would require getting someone else at another time, he's closing the fridge when realizing who had shown up. ]

Ah, hey. Ah... It's been a while.

[ He remembers Yoon from a while back, but not enough to remember his name after the months have passed. He... Also hasn't checked the network yet, so wasn't aware of the situation. ]

Good to see you haven't disappeared.

... I could say the same for you, getting yourself injured like that.

[ Hand on heart Yona, he was going to be nice, he really really was. That just stung a bit, so he had to return a jab. What kind of shinki gets hurt without even defending his goddess from an ayakashi? ]

It's enough to make me want to ask Yona to name me.

[ Which in all seriousness, he's iffy about for exactly the opposite reason - so Yona doesn't have another shinki to worry about. But he's testing the water to gauge Shizuo's reaction. ]

[ 'Like that,' as if the guy already knew- Oh, right. ]

I guess Yona's been telling everyone about the chainsaw, huh?

[ He gets hurt quite a bit without defending Yona. A lot of the time it's during training, to work on being a better shinki in some ways. This was just his own unfortunate luck. Just as his luck is in saying something that was unknowingly cruel. However, he's not taking the comment about being named personally. Even more, he's not exactly a jealous person, so he has a more easy smile on his face. ]

Don't go about using me as an excuse, but if you wanna be named by Yona, you should just go ahead with it. Maybe you'll turn into something that'll be better for rending than what I can do in that form.

No, I don't know what a chainsaw is.

[ But now he's going to look it up later. ]

But she did tell me about your vessel form... and why it was easier when Hak and Jae-Ha were around as her other shinki.

[ He sighs. ]

I'm no good as a fighter like this, but you're right I could turn into a weapon even though I don't like fighting. I wish there was some way to know ahead of time, or if there was some pattern.

[ Then he looks back at Shizuo. ]

It'd be pretty backwards if my form could rend and yours couldn't. But if it helps Yona, that's the most important thing -- do you agree?

[ There, that's the question he really wants answered. ]

Ah... So you know as a vessel, all I can do is stop attacks from hitting her.

[ Which also had kept those fireflies from getting near her, and spreading their blight, way back during that meeting. Still, as great as it was for protection, you couldn't easily cast rend with a pair of sunglasses. ]

Helping Yona's pretty much the reason why I'd be okay with Yona naming people she trusted, no matter how many that becomes.

[ It's why he didn't feel the smallest bit slighted when she had named Izumo. Not only was it a situation where they were up against an ayakashi, but she was also in good hands. Yoon seems to be a good friend of hers and actually cares about her well being. He seemed like a good shinki choice, even if he also had a bit of an attitude. ]

I don't see how it'd be backwards, though. Because you don't like fighting? You're misunderstanding something if you think I do- I actually hate violence. There's just times when there doesn't seem to be any other choice. My body's just strong enough to handle those times... usually.

That's--!!

[He's fired up now, but it's not really at Shizuo. He figures that out almost as soon as the protest leaves his mouth.

He took it as an insult, like clearly Yoon's body isn't strong enough to actually defend his own pacifist ideals. It sounds illogical to him. Strong people fight against other strong people for control over the weak of body and weak of mind and those just unlucky enough to be poor.

To ever think he'd have a choice in the matter is just... ridiculous, he thinks.]

[But it wouldn't be his body, not as he is now, that would be in the line of fire against an ayakashi. That's something he's never experienced, and is truthfully even a little scared of. All the same...]

Well, it's a good thing you hate violence.

[No sarcasm or sass. He can appreciate that about anyone. The 'any other choice' part they could argue about, but he doesn't want to. The point is Yona.]

I don't like the idea of anyone being so bloodthirsty as to drag Yona into a fight for their own sake.

[And...]

So I'll stick beside her. I promised I would.

[So he'll probably become her shinki. Probably.]

You really don't have to worry about me doing anything like that.

[ It sounds like whatever he'd managed to work you up about had already been resolved. Good, because he didn't want to worry about anything too complicated, or easy to get caught in a loop. It also sounds like there's been a decision made. ]

Then, uh, welcome to the group. It's good to keep promises. Ah, did she also give you a room for whenever you wanna stay over?

Apparently I've had a room here the whole time and she just didn't tell me.

[Thanks Yona.]

... And thank you. For the welcome. Let's work well together and all that.

[He hasn't been named yet, but Shizuo even trying to be friendly about it is giving him a better impression.]

Ah... I think Hak and Jae-Ha did, too.

[ Which meant that Yoon was probably one of those cases. Where he was a friend before this place. ]

Yeah. We'll be in each other's care. Ah, and if you need someone to back you up that's good with borderlines and knows how to do an ablution, feel free to call me. I've had to do two in a row, so the stamina's there for it.

[ Because people should know who they can call on if that started happening again. ]

... Nope. Doesn't surprise me in the least, knowing Yona even a little bit now.

[He starts counting on his fingers.]

Hak, Jae-Ha, Kija, Zeno, Kaya, me...

[He pauses.]

I think that's it--

[Wait.]

TWO ABLUTIONS?

Huh...

[ He knew about Kija as well, for when he was in a state of needing an ablution himself- he and Jae-Ha had to work together to get him pinned down properly. While having met most of that list, there was still a name that he hadn't heard before. Honestly, it wasn't that surprising. ]

Yeah. Two kids about Yona's age got pretty bad at the same time. So we had to do one then the other.

[He just sighs.]

That's just crazy. I hope never to get that close to blight ever again. Once was enough!

[He visibly shudders just remembering it.]

All I hear about those... rituals? Is that I shouldn't be anywhere near them.

You wouldn't want to, as important as it is to know how to perform them. Ablutions are a strain for everyone- It'd be tough for some types of people to just watch it happen.

[ Having been on both sides of the ablution, he was in a position to give that kind of insight. He knew what kind of strain it was, and how different it could be. ]

I'm sure you're the type that doesn't get caught up in that, much less the kind that's fixed with purified water. Just don't be an idiot like me and you'll be fine.

... No kidding. I don't plan to be an idiot.

[Like he'd said, once was more than enough.]

But... just how important would it be to know how one's performed? You know, just in case.

[He's thinking of said idiot getting in trouble again and needing him to help with it.]

Pretty important if you see a situation that bad, cuz it'd risk more than the shinki's life.

[ He can't feel bad about this doubt on him, if only because he brought it along himself. ]

You're gonna need a pretty strong borderline and good stamina for it, too. Not just the words.

[That's not something that occurred to Yoon yet.]

Why is it risking more than the shinki's life? What's more valuable than that?

[He's still thinking primarily of the shinki, that's all.]

It's not about what's more valuable. It's not just their life, though. They're still connected to a god.

[ His idiocy had put Yona at risk, and through so much pain in that time. Even more- ]

I'm also not sure what happens to the shinki that are performing the spell, should it fail. I've never seen that happen.

...AH!!!

[Yoon just imagined the pain of his blight and then transferring that to Yona, causing her pain. He visibly startled at the very notion of forcing that pain upon her.]

Th-that's never going to happen to Yona! I won't do that to her!

[ His ears, god damn Yoon. ]

That's great and all, and easy to say... So I hope you can stick with that. You've been around long enough to know what's felt and what can worsen or start blight, so I trust that you won't be a problem.

[ What? He's not about to stir up doubts or anything. Yoon isn't a fuckup like he can be. ]

[ Yoon shakes his head 'no.' but it's in agreement with Shizuo. No way does he want to put that sort of pain on Yona. ]

I'll make sure to take holy water baths more often now too.

[ That's how he survived the blight the first time, after all. One big dunk in a holy water pool. ]

... Anything else I should know about staying here?

[ Before he runs off to compulsively clean something else like a bedroom or the kitchen. ]

[ More holy water baths? Dear lord, Yoon, what kind of self care have you been going overboard with in all of this? ]

As long as you're upfront and honest, I don't think you'll ever have to worry about blight creeping up. So holy water should only really be necessary if an ayakashi touches you.

[ Because you don't seem like the kind of idiot that would make the same kind of mistakes as him. ]

Anything else... I'm guessing that you knew about the pool and how it's got healing properties under moonlight, and about the horses. There's one room that should be avoided, but it's already got some things to indicate that it's not a place to enter. As for anything else- don't go into a room without knocking and hearing a response first. Especially mine. Even if it sounds like something broke or there's an attack.

[ He's serious about this. Don't enter his room without permission. Yona, Hak and Jae-ha have already done so, and Izumo's had to deal with someone opening his door and leaving it that way. ]

I can be upfront with Yona, at least. It's her friends I always worry about just asking me questions that make me think about my past.

[Anyway, Yoon just kind of nods slowly there for a bit as he tries to process everything Shizuo just said, committing it all to memory. Even if it sounds like there's an attack? What the heck, Shizuo.]

I know what the healing pools are like - from another temple - but is there something special about the horses other than they're... here?

[He didn't think there was something special about them, but maybe he missed that as he tried to navigate around on his own.]

[OPEN] And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you

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I should really have that icon too-- oh wait

lmfao yes good

X3

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Oh Shizuo

He knows not his slights against Yoon

Hoo buddy

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1/2

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