forum the house across the river // O/O // Closed

Started July 25, 2021 by @MarDeColores this is not it kids

tune

"Am I okay?" Jin exclaimed, looking at Iro with a wild look in his eyes. He was, to put it simply, not okay. The idea had been rolling around in his mind for a while, but he hadn't really considered it until just then. The small gods had chosen them, hadn't they? That's why he was still alive, why his hair was weird, why he felt so off. Those that the small gods chose were always changed. The small gods somehow messed with their personalities, with their minds. He'd known someone who'd gotten chosen. She'd always been very nice and sweet, always careful with her words for fear of hurting someone else. After… she hadn't held back at all. Her words were almost so sharp they could cut, and she'd started lashing out at everyone. She had almost seemed like an entirely different person. Just like how he felt. "Am I okay? No! Everything was going so well! I thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. Us against the world. And instead, they killed me! Muna stabbed me through the stomach and Rusi slit my throat. And I wasn't even allowed to die!" Jin dropped to the ground, holding his head in his hands. His emotions were all over the place and he couldn't stop the whole story from slipping through. "I am not me anymore… but I'm still here. They took Hune Uyaki and they ripped him apart and put him back together all wrong." Jin choked back a sob, his mind spiraling too fast for him to handle.

Iro stood there, stunned, his gaze tentatively resting on the figure on the ground before him.

Then, he slid his travel pack off his back and let it fall to the ground, setting the map beside it. He lowered himself to his knees in front of Jin — Hune? He wasn't sure. Jin for now — and cautiously rested a hand on his shoulder.

This was a unique predicament, and Iro didn't quite know how to offer any kind of support. His gaze dropped to the ground, flickering between blades of grass almost as if literally searching for words.

He was fortunate to not yet know what betrayal felt like. But he did know loss, and choosing to think of betrayal as a form of grief helped him get an idea of what Jin might be going through — an idea, of which he wasn't certain of its accuracy. But he wanted to do something.

"I'm… sorry that happened to you," he managed, his voice a whisper, his tone genuine. "I-I don't really know how to be helpful other than to say it's okay if you need to take a minute and let it out."

Jin tried to take deep breaths, tried to stop the tears that were almost spilling down his cheeks.
"Aww, come on. This is just pathetic," A voice grumbled next to his ear. Jin whirled towards the sound but found nothing.
"Yeah. He's no fun like this. Someone fix it."
"I got this." Jin smelled something unfamiliar, and then… his mind blanked out. He wasn't sad anymore. He wasn't much of anything, anymore. He just felt that strange, untethered feeling. His hands dropped to his sides, a laugh bursting out of him before he could stop it. And then he just kept laughing.
"Ah, it doesn't matter anymore." He stood suddenly, rubbing his eyes. They were wet because he'd been laughing so hard. "The past is the past." Why'd he been sitting down? Ah, it didn't matter. He had places to see. Things to destroy. People to mess with. Etcetera.

Iro didn't quite know how to respond to such a sudden shift in mood. He hadn't heard the voices, and was running with the assumption that maybe Jin just didn't like to cry.

"… Alright," he managed, standing up and retrieving his things. "Well… we've still got a little ways to go. Daylight's leaving without us, heh."

He continued onward, his ganders at his surroundings now more hesitant and cautious, almost as if he expected something to jump out at him.

Whoever these small gods were, he didn't think he liked them very much.

(btw, I won't be able to respond as often, as school is starting up again. :)
"Oh, yeah! I guess we'd better hurry." Jin nodded. He didn't mind staying out in the dark, but Iro probably thought differently. There were always much more interesting things happening at night. That was when all the interesting people came out. And sneak attacks worked much better when the receiving party couldn't see anything. Not that they needed to sneak up on anyone at the moment, but still. Maybe that was why Iro wanted to get to his destination before the sun disappeared. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of the darkness. Jin wandered after Iro, wondering why he was looking around so often. It wasn't like the sun was gone just yet. He didn't need to be so nervous. "Are you looking for something?"

(alrighty!)

Iro shook his head, an apologetic look softening his features. "Oh, no. I-I think…"

His voice faltered. He didn't know what to think. Everything was so weird, and while he'd once found it endearing, it now began to creep him out. He didn't know what to expect, and the more he mulled over the thought, the more on edge he became.

He waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. It'll be fine."

Hopefully.

Hearing Jin's story had made him wary of the small gods, especially so now that it sounded like Jin was their 'chosen one'. It hadn't occurred to him until now that not all gods were benevolent, and these two were at the mercy of these small gods. He hoped they didn't think of him as disposable.

But he wasn't ready to reveal his worries just yet, and so decided that maybe society was a safer place to be than what was pretty much the wilderness, and that he'd like to get to society as quickly as possible.

Jin narrowed his eyes slightly at Iro. He didn't exactly look like everything was 'fine', but Jin decided to let it slide. Iro didn't seem to know much about the area, so it made sense that he was a little on edge. "Alright, then! To that city you mentioned with the name I forgot." Jin clapped his hands, trying to ignore the voice at the back of his head that whispered that this wasn't right. What did they mean, this wasn't right? It was quite all right. Very right. And yet… it still lingered. He could have sworn he smelled lavender, but there was nothing that could have made that smell around them. And his hair ribbon had long since lost the scent of– Jin froze. A flash of emotions– deep, endless dispair and a want to tear something to shreds– ripped through his mind at the thought of the ribbon. "I'm supposed to be sobbing right now. I'm supposed to be unconsolable about something." The only problem was… he couldn't figure out what about it he was supposed to be sad about. It was a ribbon given to him by the past, nothing more. Why did he need to be sad about the past? What was in there that he so desperately craved? What had he lost?

Iro had continued his trek, taking an absentminded gander at the map — his thoughts were too occupied to put any real focus into his actions. He rubbed his nose, the floral scents beginning to irritate his senses. He'd chalked up the smell of lavender to Jin's ribbon, but, admittedly, he found the strength of the scent rather odd. If it'd been a while since he'd gotten the ribbon, why did it smell so… fresh?

He didn't have an answer, nor did he feel like pressing for one. But in response to Jin's out-of-the-blue remark, he lifted his head and gazed at his companion, unable to disguise his confusion — confusion that seemed to be shared between the two.

"You were, just a second ago," he informed him, a nervous edge to his voice; he was afraid that reminding Jin of the events would bring back that surge of emotion, and thought to be a little careful with how he would word his next statement. He was only an observer to how the gods toyed with Jin, and being unable to put the pieces together left him worried. "You, uh, mentioned something about a Muna and Rusi, and it, well, seemed to upset you. Then you just… got up and kept walking like nothing had happened. I-It—… it's all very odd, to be honest."

Oh. That was what he'd lost. Rusi Uyel and Rei Muna. The people he'd thought he would spend the rest of his life with. And he had, technically. The feeling of despair swelled in his chest, but something was keeping it from coming to the surface. Even then… should he really keep crying over them? What was done was done. He couldn't go back in time, and even if he did… he didn't know who had framed him. So it would just end the same. He had to face the truth. He would never be able to see them again. Not as his vinpola. If they met again, it would be as enemies. As people on the opposite side of a war that had been stretching on far too long to ever resolve. His only hope would be if their regret was more than their anger. With Muna… maybe that was a possibility. But Rusi had been furious.
"Ah, them." Jin let out a shaky sigh. "No wonder." Even thinking about them was starting to bring on a feeling of unease. Not his own. He caught a strand of his hair and stared at it. The small gods were behind this. He was sure about it. "Relax, you idiots. I'm not going to break down again. One of you is making very sure of that." Jin brushed the strand behind his ear and turned to Iro. "I'll be fine. Let's hurry. We don't want to be out here after dark."

Iro nodded his agreement, eager to complete their trek before the sun set. He rested his eyes on his map, confirmed they were still heading in the right direction, and continued onward.

The sun was making its way towards the horizon by the time the two of them made it to Edenborough, yet instead of being met with bustling society and the chatter of crowds, they were greeted with an eerie lack of people and a sickeningly heavy atmosphere. Iro grimaced, his confusion and concern written plainly on his features. This wasn't Edenborough, was it? Edenborough was a thriving city, a pioneer in technology and education that greatly attributed to its wealth. Not… whatever this was.

He checked his map. According to it, they were right where they needed to be.

The city was at least partially what it had been described to be, however. Towers of wood and stone scraped high at the sky, juxtaposed by the numerous shopping districts and colleges scattered beneath. And these buildings were no run-of-the-mill village houses, either — it was clear a little more thought was put into their design than a need to survive. Despite the ominous atmosphere, one could say it was a pretty town.

But a town needed people, and, again, it was a bit lacking in that regard.

"I don't like the look of this," he managed, casting a wary glance back at Jin. Why couldn't this have been a normal mission? Whatever normal even meant at this point?

He made his way over to a tavern, pushing the door open to reveal an inn that was a nice little reflection of the city itself. He met the gaze of a tired innkeeper, glancing back again at Jin before stepping inside.

"You aren't from here," the innkeeper stated plainly. "If you were, you wouldn't even be out and about, the way things are right now."

"What's going on here?" he asked tentatively.

"A plague," mumbled the innkeeper, a certain glazed look to his eyes as he replied. "I imagine word hasn't gotten far about it if travelers are still arriving. Which means aid from the Kingdom isn't going to be here for a while…"

Jin had kept his mind empty throughout the rest of the trek. He focused on the view, and the birds, and the way the sun kept creeping down. At the first sight of their destination, he didn't think much about it. It was just another empty city. He'd seen plenty of those, where the citizens were too scared of what was happening outside to leave their houses. But it appeared that this was not what Iro was expecting. So it probably wasn't normal. "Huh." Jin glanced around at the empty streets. "I guess." He followed Iro into the tavern, eyebrows drawing together at the innkeeper's words. A plague? That couldn't be good. Well, it would be a nice experiment. Would the small gods keep him safe from a sickness? Or could they only guard against being stabbed? "How bad is this plague? Is it really easy to get it? Or do you have to work for it?" Jin asked, giving the innkeeper a once-over.

The innkeeper shook his head. "It wiped out a third of the city in a month," he whispered, "and the only thing our doctors have managed to discover is that it's waterborne and quite literally rots your body from the inside. I hope you brought your own containers of water, because I'd advise against drinking anything here."

Iro frowned, seating himself at the bar and setting his pack down beside him. "That's troubling. How has the authority here responded to it?"

"Our Lady of Knowledge, Hej Freia, sent out a distress signal to the nearby Kingdom Vesha, and now we're all waiting on a response. A response that hopefully includes a few extra doctors," he added, a grave chuckle following his words. "But that is the state of affairs here in Edenborough. Sorry to disappoint, if you're here as a tourist."

Iro shook his head, reaching down and shuffling through his bag before pulling out a document, pushing it forward towards the innkeeper so he could read. He peered at the paper, scanning its contents for a moment as he polished a glass, his eyes widening.

"Oh, goodness. My apologies, it seems like Edenborough is an even worse place to sort out foreign affairs," laughed the innkeeper, a little more humor to his words this time. "Please, sit, rest. The water here might be a bit contaminated, but I assure you that the food is fine. Who are you, to come all this way here?"

"Iro Hollands, Blademaster of the Ash Brigade," replied Iro. "And this is my traveling companion, Jin."

"Greetings to the both of you," said the innkeeper, sizing up Jin with a particular interest. "You've got a particularly floral air to you, friend. I hope it serves some sort of protection against the stench of sickness here."

Jin draped himself over the bar, half-listening to the conversation between Iro and the innkeeper. Despite his best efforts, memories kept drifting into his mind. Most he could dismiss, but not the last one. It was when he'd first met Muna, in the training camp. His orphanage had tried its best to feed all the kids, but there was never quite enough. That combined with the fact that lots of people thought he looked 'delicate' in the first place led Muna to underestimate him during combat training. Oh, the look on his face when Jin had punched him straight in the nose had been one of the best sights he'd ever seen. And despite that, they still became best friends. Maybe it was because of that introduction that they'd become friends. Jin let out a little sigh. Things had been so simple back then. Sure, there was a terrible war going on. But at least he knew who he was and what he was supposed to do. A new memory, dealing with a dark garden, slipped into his mind. That memory would probably make him start crying again, but he was willing to take that chance. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the sound of his name snapped him back to the present.
"Oh, that?" Jin waved his hand through the air, wrinkling his nose. "I don't know if it is. A bunch of really annoying gods did that." He shrugged. "I'd get rid of it if I could. But I can't. I think it's to keep me from spiraling into a mental breakdown."

The innkeeper raised an eyebrow. "Well, that sounds like protection to me. A sound mind leads to sound choices, and you never know when one of those will save your hide."

Iro nodded his agreement, yet he cast a look of sympathy in Jin's direction.

"While you're here, care to have a meal?" asked the innkeeper. "I can provide a room, as well. Patrons have been rather low since the plague hit, which will guarantee yourselves a bit of privacy."

"Hm… food wouldn't hurt. I'll have to think about the room, though," replied Iro. The innkeeper nodded and slid his way a menu, to which Iro pushed it over so he could share with Jin.

"You hungry?" he inquired. "Don't worry about the price. I can cover the costs fine."

"Yeah, if I wanted a sound mind," Jin grumbled, sinking lower onto the bar. "Which, honestly, I'd rather not have at this point." He laughed as if that made what he'd just said able to be swept under the rug as a joke. "I would love to eat something." He perked up slightly, rising from being plastered on the bar to resting his elbows on it. "Thanks. I don't have any money anyway." He also didn't have anything he could sell. At least Iro seemed okay with giving him money. Jin glanced over the menu, wrinkled his nose, and turned to the innkeeper. "Just get me whatever. Your favorite dish, maybe? Or a classic? Surprise me."

"Hmm… same here," responded Iro. "Hit me with something random."

The innkeeper nodded before heading to the kitchen. Iro relaxed in his seat, a weary sigh escaping him as he pushed the menu aside. He hadn't realized how tired the trek had left him until he'd gotten a chance to relax.

He searched through his bag and retrieved a waterskin, took a swig from it, then set it on the counter.

"The, what was her name, Lady of Knowledge is probably busy with this whole plague thing going on," he muttered, "which means it'll probably take longer than I'd prefer before I get to see her. But that just gives us time to plan our next move."

He turned to Jin, drumming a thoughtful rhythm with his fingers on the bar top. "What do you plan to do? Is there somewhere you wanted to go? Someone you wanted to see?"

Jin nodded and decided that it was finally time to actually sit down at the bar. "Ooh, 'our' next move? Alright, vynpa." He smirked at Iro. "I have no plans other than to follow you around until something else happens. I mean, if we're being totally honest, I'd love to see the uhej of Opria. I've heard he's something else. But that's quite a few days travel from where we were in the first place, so it seems a little excessive." Jin waved his hand, dismissing the idea. "So, long story short–"
"They're looking for you." A voice interrupted his thoughts, silencing whatever else he was going to say.
"What?" Jin blinked, then shook his head. "No, shut up, I don't care who's looking for me. I'm having a grand old time in the middle of a plague and I don't think I asked for your help, anyway. Whoever they are, let them find me! We can both die of whatever's been killing all the people here!"
"You won't die."
"Oh, really? Wonderful. Exactly what I wanted to hear." Jin slammed his hand on the bar. These small gods… if he could strangle them, he would. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? And let him die in peace? Or live in peace? Either was a much better outcome than what he had going on at the moment.

Vynpa? Uhej? Those weren't words Iro recognized. Official business back home was always done in either Common or Dachet'an,Da — New Darchestran — and given that this was his first real interaction with the outside world, he found himself perplexed by the casual inclusion of unfamiliar words.

He didn't have time to inquire about the language, however; Jin seemed to be preoccupied with thoughts of his own.

He observed silently, witness only to Jin's side of whatever conversation taking place at the time. At this point, he'd come to terms with the inherent strangeness of his mission, but it was certainly going to be a while before Jin stopped surprising him. He flinched when Jin slammed his hand down.

"Jin, i-if you're not talking to me, I don't understand what's going on," he said, withdrawing his hands from the bar and resting them in his lap. "Is… are the small gods doing something?"

"Oh, when aren't they doing something?" Jin rolled his eyes, curling one hand into a fist. "One of them says someone is looking for me. I don't know who would be looking for me. Everyone who would look for me thinks I'm dead now, anyway."
"It's him." Just two words, but they were enough to stop his heart.
"Him? No, no, no, you must be wrong. There's no way he–"
"One of the villagers reported the incident."
"Ah, ajix." Jin closed his eyes for a second, not wanting to believe what the small gods had said. If he had his way, he would be running out of this town right now and trying to find him. But the small gods were working their magic again, and he could only really think about how annoying it would be if he found him. "This is fine. I'm fine. We're all fine. Are you fine?" Jin turned to Iro, feeling slightly guilty he kept acting so weird. He wouldn't blame him if Iro dropped him at this place.
"None of that." The guilty feeling disappeared in a flash. Jin could only blink in surprise, wondering why he'd asked Iro if he was fine.

Iro had moved to rest a hand on Jin's shoulder, but given his emotional state, quickly thought better of it. He leaned back in his seat, his gaze dropping to the ground as he took a moment to reflect. Be cautious in moments of uncertainty, and reflect on what is certain — guiding words he'd been offered by the Director. That much he could do.

From what he understood, Jin was the chosen one of these small gods — the icon of a prophecy that seemed pretty important to the village the two had rescued from bandits. The prophecy had something to do with flowers, which probably explained the prominent floral scents that seemed to follow Jin. Only now did it dawn on him just how active a role the gods seemed to play in Jin's life.

He frowned. Then… how many of Jin's actions were his own, and not the result of the small gods' influence? Who was Jin, and not the Jin the gods wanted?

He propped his elbow up on the bar, resting his head in the palm of his hand, now watching Jin with a suspicious curiosity.

"I'm quite fine," he replied. "But it's very clear that you're not. How much influence do these gods hold over you?"

"Oh, that's nice." Jin frowned, sure that he was missing something. "I am fine, it's just…" He trailed off, Iro's last question floating around in his head. Quite a lot, if he was being honest. It was almost as though they were children playing with a doll, assigning it a personality and motivations and emotions based on a whim. Except that he was the doll, and he had motivations of his own. He wanted… he wanted things that they didn't. He wanted to go back to Kito. He wanted to figure out why things ended the way they had. He wanted to figure out who had done this to him. He wanted to make things right with Muna and Rusi. They didn't want that, though. He was already losing those desires as he thought of them. "Quite a lot, actually," Jin said in a rush, trying to get it out before it was taken from him. "They like messing with my mind, my thoughts, my emotions, and I can't stop them. I can't–"
"That's enough." A strange scent, one he didn't recognize, drifted past his nose. It was a strange mix of bitter and sweet that made his throat close up. He tried to wave away the scent, only to realize that he couldn't move his arms. Indeed, he couldn't move anything. He couldn't even breathe. "That should teach him a lesson," the voice laughed. Jin, unable to control his limbs, tipped out of his seat and crashed onto the ground, desperately trying to take a breath.

Iro leapt from his seat and was by Jin's side in an instant — yet despite his sharp reactions, he found himself pretty much useless. He didn't know what was happening to Jin, and if he didn't know the problem, he couldn't find the solution. He took one of Jin's hands in his own and felt for a pulse before lifting his gaze up towards the kitchen, desperation written all over his face.

"Innkeeper!" he called out, it dawning on him that he never actually learned said innkeeper's name. "S-Something happened!"

The innkeeper, thankfully, was quick to respond, rushing out of the kitchen with an identical look of worry on his own visage. "What? What's going on?"

"It's Jin," Iro replied frantically. "He just stiffed up and collapsed, and I don't think he can breathe!"

The innkeeper cursed and knelt down beside Jin, tugging his shirt collar away from his neck in some vain attempt to help him breathe. It seemed the innkeeper didn't have any more of an idea than Iro did, but to his credit, he was trying something.

"O-Our emergency medical services are occupied with the plague," he gasped. "Even if I did contact them, there's no way they could get here at a reasonable time…"

Jin was pretty sure he was going to die, and he wasn't very happy about it for the sole reason that he was also pretty sure the small gods were just going to revive him once his heart stopped beating. Despite this fact, he still couldn't calm himself down. He liked breathing. He didn't like this.
"Think about your actions next time, or this will happen again," a voice whispered in his ear, right before his vision went black.
Jin didn't know how long it had been before his heart started beating again. His eyes flew open and he gasped in a long breath. A laugh sounded in his ears, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment. This was the third time he'd come back to life, but he still couldn't get used to it. It wasn't something someone should be able to get used to, after all. You were supposed to die, and that was supposed to be it. But the small gods were using it as a punishment. They just killed him and brought him back to life to teach him a lesson.

Eventually, Iro could no longer feel a pulse. He dropped Jin's hand, pallid with shock. Exchanging looks with the innkeeper told him that he was probably feeling the same way.

But then Jin came back, and the recollection of it all hit Iro like a truck. In his panic, he'd completely forgotten that Jin couldn't die. He sat back, running a hand through his hair and breathing a deep sigh of relief. He shook his head.

"By the Stars, Earth, and Spirit — don't scare me like that!" he snapped, realizing that it was likely the doing of the small gods, but still dwelling just a tad on his surprise.

The innkeeper, uninformed about the circumstances, retained his shock for much longer.

"H… How?" he breathed. "Was… the smell of flowers — was I right? Was…"

"Heh, I'm sorry." Jin laughed, pushing himself into a sitting position. "You should get used to that, vynpa. I have a feeling it's going to happen a lot." On the surface, he seemed totally fine with what had just happened. A trick of the small gods. Right underneath, he felt like he was about to pass out. He was scared, and the fact about Muna– it had to be Muna– trying to find him was making him all the more unstable. But of course, the small gods didn't like that. At that moment, it felt as though he was split into two parts. One was controlling his body, his mouth, his mannerisms. And the other one was stuck in the back of his mind, unable to even whisper. "What about the flowers, innkeeper?" Jin turned his attention to the man, eyebrows drawing together. "What did you think?"