it's a long way forward

[leggie]

[It's been days since he left that village behind, and he hasn't had nearly enough time to stop and rest. Every village or town he's run across has chased him off for falling out of the sky, too poor to offer any help of their own and too afraid to attempt to question his state. Desperately, he's kept his presence disguised, hiding from those other colored entities that were part of this destiny he wanted nothing to do with. He slept in trees for a couple hours at a time, moving again before too long when it no longer felt secure enough.

He was running from something he couldn't escape, but each time he tried to find somewhere to go, it wasn't right. Maybe his predecessor was right. Maybe there wasn't anyone who would take him like he is, green leg showing in the spot that his shoes don't cover. Maybe he was too much of a monster.

No. Determined, Jae-Ha urged himself forward despite that worry. No matter where he ended up, or if he had to live alone for the rest of his life, it was better than existing and waiting in that prison of a village. He wouldn't become like his predecessor. He wouldn't wait around to take it out on the next generation.

When he spots a blonde boy crouched near something in a clearing of the woods, Jae-Ha's chest tightens. This could be a chance, couldn't it? He was his age— younger, clearly, but not an adult like all of the ones that have chased him off. And better than that, he was alone. Maybe, just maybe, he could say something to reach him, to get some food other than the occasional bits of bread or fruit he's stolen from carts or nabbed from trees along the way.

His appearance comes in a flash, a green blur dropping out of the sky and right in front of Sanji. He's a mess in his dirtied robes, his face and body still badly beaten from a few days prior, his hair dirty and sticky even tied back, and heavy bags beneath his eyes from the lack of rest. When he drops down to a knee, both to temporarily hide the green of his right foot and to humble himself, it's more of a fall of pure exhaustion.

He doesn't bow his head like you should with a gesture like this, instead staring directly at Sanji with determined eyes.]

Please, let me stay with you, at least for a night. I'll do anything.

[It's about time for a desperate offer like this, isn't it?]

Comments

[lil_eggplant]

Oi! You're gonna burn yourself!

[JAE-HA PLEASE. Also your manners. And here Sanji thought that by now some of his lordliness would have rubbed off on the other.]

[leggie]

[Too late!! He definitely burnt his fingers a little, and now after shoving the whole thing in his mouth, he's fanning at it, trying to breathe through his mouth as he eats to cool it off. He ate it too fast. RIP his tongue.

Once he's done, he's leaning back against a counter and sighing.]

Ow, I ate it too fast...

[lil_eggplant]

See? That's why you wait first.

[Loser. Look at how regally Sanji eats his (which coincidentally, is the one Jae-Ha made, cracked top and all). He blows on it first and then takes little nips with his front teeth until he's certain it won't set his mouth on fire, and then comes the big bite.]

[leggie]

Shut up, I was just excited!

[He wanted to eat them... This time, he takes it a little more carefully and mimics Sanji in blowing on it to cool it off. He'll try to push for a third one too, before he urges Sanji to put them away somewhere and come up with him to get some rest.

He knows he needs to relax as much as possible before tomorrow morning.]

[lil_eggplant]

[He made these for Jae-Ha's breakfast, so Sanji won't eat any dumplings past his first (though he will admit how good they taste). Besides, the cooking session did what it was supposed to do - the younger boy still has it in him to smile, relaxed and hopeful, mood that much more improved by the company. After they clean up and sneak the food back to their room, he'll go to bed without any fuss, curled up by Jae-Ha's side like always.

And when the morning comes, Sanji dresses in fresh robes and pauses long enough to promise Jae-Ha he'll be back shortly. It's just breakfast, so it won't take long. Father prefers he eats quickly and leaves, anyway.

... Except the hours keep passing, from morning to noon, and then into evening if Jae-Ha waits. If he prefers to be the sneaking sort, it will be a valiant, yet effortless search. Sanji nowhere to be found - not his father's study, or the kitchen, or out in the gardens. All that's left are whispers of his name as the day continues on. Hushed voices talk amongst themselves, and then the voices turn to cries and pandemonium as the news pours in.

The third son of Judge Vinsmoke, Sanji: deceased.]

[leggie]

[When hours begin to pass, Jae-Ha gets nervous. He starts sneaking around in the afternoon, the soonest he can without likely being spotted by someone. There's no one that he can hear like Sanji in his father's bedroom anymore, or anywhere else in the house, and Jae-Ha's heart drops when he hears whispering about the unthinkable.

That can't be right.

He rushes, still keeping hidden as he attempts to find Reiju now. The moment he finds her and is sure no one else is around, he shows himself, reaching to grab her by the shoulders with determined eyes.]

Where is he?! What happened?! [He can't be dead.]

[lil_eggplant]

[At first, Jae-Ha may as well have caught one of the servants instead of Reiju. She stares at him with bloodshot eyes that would look to be near tears if her expression wasn't so blank, and her mouth twitches, trying to form a defensive smile.

It doesn't work. The smile drops halfway before the girl pulls herself back, almost coldly]

... You can't stay in the mansion anymore.

[leggie]

[Right now, he doesn't care how bloodshot her eyes are. He refuses to believe Sanji could be gone, just like that. He stays close, giving her an even gaze as his voice drops.]

That's not what I asked.

[lil_eggplant]

And you can't think between the lines.

[Her eyes find his, dead but already accepting. There's none of the determined fight that Jae-Ha carries.]

But since you insist... [She glances away with a steady sigh] He was found by the creek. According to Father, someone fished his body out.

[leggie]

That isn't true!

[Angry and afraid, Jae-Ha clenches his fists at his sides.] He was supposed to meet me right after eating breakfast with your father! He wouldn't go anywhere near the creek without me!

[lil_eggplant]

[Just as quick as she was to look away, now she stares with narrowed eyes like she's dissecting him. It takes a long moment before she speaks again.]

Is that what Sanji told you? He was to have breakfast with Father?

[leggie]

Yes! In that guy's room. I was up with him late last night and he told me that. I thought you were all eating with him?

[lil_eggplant]

[Her silence will speak for herself as Reiju continues staring, first at Jae-Ha and then lowering her gaze the floor, until her arms settle folded behind her back in her favorite position.

And then she moves, quiet and quick, offering Jae-Ha one commanding glance so that he'll know to follow. She'll begin talking soon enough]

You're to stay in my room for the moment - and no, I will not hear any arguments, peasant. Hide in the closet if you must, but there's somewhere I need to go. It shouldn't take long.

[leggie]

[He doesn't know what any of this means, but he's worried. He follows her because he doesn't know what else to do just yet, lingering a little behind her. He can't reach out and grab her hand, since he doesn't trust her like he trusts Sanji. He feels like she wouldn't like it, anyway. So he grips at his own sleeves.]

You'll really come back, right? And tell me what's going on?

[lil_eggplant]

If there's anything to tell, yes.

[Because she has as many unanswered questions as Jae-Ha does right now; the only difference is she knows her Father, and she knows the climate of the household - and most importantly, she knows all of the secrets this mansion keeps, those that her mother told her long ago.

If the small detail Jae-Ha gave her really does mean something, then she would prefer Sanji had drowned in the river. And that's a thought she won't share with anyone. Ever.

Without further comment, she leads Jae-Ha to her room. They're lucky - the servants are in such a tizzy that no one notices them, and Reiju's presence has a very powerful effect. So what if she's being escorted by a boy her age? No one would dare question her, and she's more than willing to abuse her power today.

Once they're inside, she reminds Jae-Ha again - do not leave and do not be seen - before she disappears back out the door, gone for what might seem an eternity to the older boy. In reality, it's only a couple of hours, just past the dinner rush, and when Reiju makes her return, it's with a sickly, shallow look about her face. She locks the door behind her.]

[leggie]

What took you so long?

[He stands up from her bed (yeah, he was just lying all over that) as soon as the door opens, stepping over while she locks it. He looks worried sick, his face pale, he's hungry and hasn't eaten anything since the two dumplings for breakfast, and he only wants to hear where Sanji is.]

What happened?

[lil_eggplant]

Dinner.

[Voice flat, and she looks at her wrinkled sheets without truly seeing the mess. It just happens to be a better view than Jae-Ha's misery.] I'm still a lord's daughter.

[From her robes, she produces an apple and hands it to him.]

... Yes, he's alive.

[leggie]

[He reaches to take the apple, but all he can do is hold it in his hand. He can't eat before he knows.]

Tell me where he is.

[lil_eggplant]

[Continuing on as if she hasn't heard him--]

It's like I told him. Father has finally decided to punish his failures.

[Numbly, and with a grim smile, she stares at the floor]

I guess this means I only have three brothers now.

[leggie]

[He drops the apple, reaching out to try and grab at the front of her robes instead.]

Tell me where he is.

[lil_eggplant]

Don't touch me.

[Hissing the words, with her face contorted into the first true expression of rage and fear Jae-Ha will ever see. If she has her way, it will also be her last. The moment she side-steps, she's already wrestled back her feelings, and looks at Jae-Ha with only mild contempt.]

What do you expect to do by yourself? Tell me that. Are you going to rescue the lord and then ride off to some magical stash of coin you haven't told me about?

[leggie]

[He watches her, going quiet as he thinks. The more serious he feels, the more he gets silent. He's planning, thinking, and eventually, he speaks.]

Just tell me where he is and leave the rest to me.

[lil_eggplant]

[Of course he's say something so simple and filled with disillusioned devotion. He's a fool, like Sanji, and Reiju's temper rises.]

If you hadn't come here, he wouldn't have been distracted. [Yes, she'll blame Jae-Ha. Why shouldn't she? The two of them aren't friends. By all rights, he probably wasn't a friend to Sanji, either. Really, the nerve of him - telling her to leave everything to him.

Behind her back, her hands ball into fists.]

[leggie]

[He doesn't care about being blamed. He doesn't care enough to explain being a dragon to her. It's a waste of time.]

If you don't tell me, I'll go confront your father myself.

[lil_eggplant]

Oh? To die, then.

[Her father is a mountain and the law of her world, not to be toppled by some random boy. He'll wipe Jae-Ha's existence from the world.





... Yes. Both him and Sanji, gone in an instant.]

Fine. [She shrugs her shoulders] You want to die so badly? I'll tell you where he is - in the third dungeon Father built underneath our mansion. Though you can't reach him by yourself.

[Not without fighting the entire mansion once the alarms go up. But that's not her business, she decides, because she absolutely isn't getting involved]