[Closed] The only thing that's black and white / Is that you don't have to walk alone this time

[handsome_genius]

Who: Yoon and friends
When: Various
Where: Various
What: Two prayers and a lunch chat

----
Prayer #53 with Hitsugaya and Alibaba:

I used to dream of being up in the clouds, high above everything... not anymore, since my accident.
-- Drive off or defeat the flying ayakashi that is causing accidents in dreamers
-- 20 comments

Prayer #43 with Keith:

They say that nora are like stray animals - cats, dogs, monkeys, etc. I'm going away for a few days and I don't know if these poor stray cats will get fed while I'm gone. I'd feel better knowing someone was watching over them...
-- Care for some stray animals in a metro area
-- 10 comments

Comments

[handsome_genius]

[ Yoon nods, yes he did mean Hitsugaya. Then he listens to the rest of what she's saying.

She has a point, of course... that might be part of his hang-up. Little does he realize that in his old life, he'd never thought about fending off attackers except for knowing they were real human beings serving as soldiers. His pacifist streak depended on his assumption that those were the only kinds of lethal fights that could break out - between humans.

They ayakashi though... there was still the risk, the danger of Yona receiving some wound out of the fight, but there wasn't the added complexity of doing harm to another human being in defense of oneself. And that mattered to him - a lot.

That didn't change the possibility he would turn into something completely useless to her, but at least he had hope that his involvement in ayakashi attacks wouldn't be so frustrating as he'd originally felt it could be. And she understands his concerns. So he can trust her to act in a way that he'll be comfortable with. Yoon hasn't had to experience the kind of enforced moral guidance by way of Blight that other shinki have, so he's thinking this all hinges on Yona's understanding of wishes.

So Yoon nods with a still-nervous smile on his face. His nerves are purely focused on what he might change into now, and neither of them can control that. It's a roll of the dice. ]

Then go ahead and say the words. I'm ready.

[darkestbefore]

[ He still looks a little uncertain, so before she starts to speak, she reaches out to give him a reassuring hug, warm and tight and impulsive. ]

It'll be okay, Yoon. I promise.

[ But pulling back with a warm smile, she keeps a hold on his hands as she takes a deep breath and starts the incantation. ]

Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, Yoon. The vessel, Ba. Come, Baki!

[handsome_genius]

[He appreciates the hug more than he can say, and so he simply returns it as tight as he can for a brief period of time. Then comes her part...

He doesn't close his eyes, willing himself to watch as the white light engulfs him - and realizes this time that the light doesn't hurt or cause him discomfort. It's more like wearing a different set of clothes. There's no denying how it feels noticeably changed, but not in a necessarily bad way.

He notices he doesn't really change height though... his thin body thins out though, and eventually curves a little, settling into her hands as... a bow. Only after that does a quiver appear on her back with a popping sound.]

'Ah...? HEEEE?!'

[He's in shock.]

[darkestbefore]

[ She waits with baited breath as he changes, hands outstretched instinctively as his form shifts. And then there's a familiar weight settling in her palms, against her back, and when the flare of light fades and she glances down at his vessel form, she gives a soft cry of delight, fingers smoothing over the familiar wooden surface. ]

It's.... Yoon, you're my bow.

[ Her bow, the one that felt so familiar and right in her grip, the one she'd practiced with, night after night. While Hak had also taken a similar form when he'd been here as her shinki, the bow he'd become had been much larger and heavier and much harder for her to wield. But this one.... This one she knew, just as she knew that new familiar presence in the back of her mind was her new shinki. It felt like Yoon, in a way she'd never thought about before. it was familiar in its own way, even if the link between them was brand new. ]

[handsome_genius]

[He hadn't recalled seeing Yona specifically wield a bow in any of his memories, but now that he thought back to them, he realized she did have a bow on her person in the latter moment with Hak. So he'd... become something she actually recognized? How did that even happen...]

'I... shouldn't ask how good you think you are.'

[That part he can feel deep in his gut, that part of him that never wants to feel that level of blight again.]

'So maybe if you just shoot a couple of practice arrows so I can see it for myself, that will make things easier.'

[ 'On me' he wants to add, but he's struggling to stay focused. Don't think about what might be. Don't think about her being skilled or even unskilled, just let her shoot a couple of times and prove it to him. She had a bow before. That's all he has to think about.]

[darkestbefore]

[ She gives a quiet laugh at that, warm fondness in her tone. ]

Yoon. You can ask anything you like. Always. Consider this blanket permission to inquire about anything you might be wondering about. But we can practice a little, to see how this goes. And to give you a chance to get used to this. Here, I have targets set up just past the edge of the orchard here.

[ And she heads in that direction, still carefully clutching him and mentally exploring what this new connection with him feels like. ]

Is it... weird? Becoming a vessel?

[handsome_genius]

[He mentally shakes his head, projecting nervousness and a lot of it.]

'No I can't, Yona! I can't ask things because it might be about my past life with you and you know what happens if I hear something I'm not supposed to!'

[For his part, he'll likely never forget it.]

'It's less weird becoming a vessel now, though. Becoming several things is weirder - like I suddenly grew another hand and foot and got taller, so now there's just more of me to feel what's going on. That's definitely why practice would be a good idea.

[darkestbefore]

[ She picks up on that nervousness - bordering on outright fear, from the feel of it, actually - and her grip tightens on the bow for a moment. ]

Yoon. You can still ask. If it is something that is dangerous for you to hear, I don't have to answer. Or I can find a way to phrase it that it won't be a danger for you to hear. The question itself isn't harmful, and we will just be very careful of the answers we share, alright?

But we can still practice a bit. To be honest, I could probably use it anyway. Here, this is where I usually train with my archery. Shall we try?