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

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

tune

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?"

Iro grabbed his waterskin from the bar, handing it to Jin in case he needed it. He'd really have to ask what those words meant sometime.

"I-I… it was just a passing remark," stammered the innkeeper, straightening his collar as a means of fidgeting. "You had a lingering smell of flowers on you when you came in, a-and, you know, I'd suggested it was some kind of protection."

The more he spoke, he realized the more ridiculous he sounded. "Was I right? You stopped breathing, and by the look on — what was his name — Iro's? face, you'd lost your pulse. But here you are, alive and like nothing happened at all."

Jin grabbed the waterskin and took a long sip. "Protection? Ha!" He shook his head. "These flowers are a curse. One that can be useful at times," he added, not wanting to annoy the small gods too much, "but a curse all the same." Jin handed the waterskin back to Iro. "I'm fine, yes. Nothing happened. You can get back to doing whatever you were doing." He waved the man off, pulling himself to his feet. "What were you going to cook us, anyway? I'm curious." Jin settled back onto the stool and leaned against the bar. He really wanted to eat salmon… maybe with a nice butter and lemon sauce. Or maybe a pomegranate pastry. Both, actually. Both would be best. With some sweet wine and a nice view… he could go for that.

The innkeeper stood and dusted himself off. "A Darchestran ambassador and a man cursed by flowers. What an interesting duo," he murmured, returning to the other side of the bar.

Iro had reclaimed his seat as well, now busy organizing the paperwork he'd brought with him — something to occupy his mind while the shock ebbed away.

"Oh, dinner, yes?" the innkeeper replied to Jin. "You asked that I prepare a favorite dish, so I'm cooking up a certain special of mine. I haven't given it a name, but think of a combination of beef stew and rice. No water base for the stew," he added as Iro seemed about to raise an objection. "It relies on stock and wine for the stew base, so no worries about contamination. It's rich in flavor, and the added rice makes it quite filling."

"Oh, that does sound good," Iro mumbled, his hunger providing ample distraction from his worry.

The innkeeper nodded, a proud smile plastering itself on his features. He seemed quite ecstatic to share his meal.

"But I shouldn't keep you waiting, yes?" continued the innkeeper, now making his way back to the kitchen. "One moment, sirs, and I'll be back with your food. It should be just about done by now."

Jin nodded in agreement. It vaguely sounded like something an Oprian would eat. From what he could remember, they ate rice with almost every meal. If he was remembering correctly, they even made bread with it. A traveler had visited the orphanage he was living at one time and in exchange for a place to sleep for the night, she'd told him and the rest of the children stories about all the places she'd been. That had been… yes, that had been before the civil war had started there. She had told them about the smallest villages she'd visited, about their weirdly modified language, about the warmth they'd shown her. He'd been particularly fond of one of her stories in which she'd called someone vynpa– 'friend', in Oprei– and they'd thought she was calling the person her soulmate– because apparently, vynpa sounded very similar to vinpol, the Gealei's version of soulmate. That had made the whole orphanage burst into laughter. Jin sighed softly, a feeling of longing sweeping through him. Those had been simpler times. He'd been hungrier, for sure, but he hadn't needed to worry about anything else. Not about the war, not about dying, not about being hunted by his… his… them. And not about being controlled. The past was behind him, though. Choices had been made, paths walked, and all he could do was worry about what was to come. Not about what had already happened.

Iro cast a side glance at his companion as he let out a sigh, then returned his gaze back to his papers. He could only imagine what was on Jin's mind, and decided not to trouble himself with the thought. He was too occupied with thoughts of his own.

At the sight of the innkeeper returning, however, he gathered up his documents and stored them back in the folder. Steaming bowls of the beef and rice were set in front of the two patrons, and Iro was happy to dig in.

"Oh, now that I remember," he piped up, the innkeeper turning his attention towards him, "I had meant to ask for your name."

"My name? Yeshvir Jekal," replied the innkeeper with a nod of his head. "Third Graduate of the Jekal Family."

Iro raised his eyebrows. "An interesting title."

Yeshvir shrugged. "All it means is that I was the third in my family to graduate from a College. Societal status here depends on your level of education."

"Mmm… an interesting way to go about it," murmured Iro.

"Oi, Jin, was it?" continued the innkeeper, turning his gaze towards the fellow. "What brings you all the way to Edenborough? Where do you hail from?"

Jin was snapped out of his musings by a bowl of food being set in front of him. It smelled amazing, and he was happy to start eating. It tasted just as good as it smelled, and Jin had to force himself to slow down a little. It probably wouldn't be very good manners if he devoured the entire bowl in three seconds. And then he would just have to sit there while Iro finished eating his. He paused to listen to the innkeeper's name, though he really didn't care that much.
"Jin, yes." He nodded and set his spoon down. "Well, I come from the very lovely land of Kito. If you are familiar with it at all, you'll know it as the 'country' at constant war with itself. Power struggles and scuffles over land and all that. Really fun stuff. Lots of betrayals and hasty treaties and tricky gods. And I came here because he," Jin nodded at Iro, "was coming here. Just here to see the sights and not get caught." He shrugged and picked his spoon up again.

The innkeeper nodded slowly, a knowledgable look – with, what was that, sympathy? — about him.

"Ah, Kito. Seems most countries are at war with something these days," he replied. "And, in our case, the foe isn't always other people."

He chuckled heartily to himself, seemingly accepting of his reality. "But that's just how things are, and the most us lower folk can do is keep our heads down and wait for the storm to pass."

Iro frowned, yet his mouth was too full to offer a comment of his own. He swallowed his bite and wiped his mouth. "I wouldn't imagine waiting gets much done. In times like these, people have to put aside their differences and work together."

"Well, with all due respect, you're a high society fellow," suggested Yeshvir, Iro tensing as he sensed a twinge of contempt in his tone. "Being an ambassador from the Ash Brigade, of all organizations. What would you know of the lower folk, other than how to order them around?"

"W-Well…" Iro stammered, now finding himself scrambling for words. He cast a side glance at Jin that also probably doubled as a cry for help. He hadn't expected the topic of class to be such a sore point.

"Mmm, yeah. It's probably better to be against something you can stab or drive back. You've got a tricky foe, vynpa." Jin waved his spoon at Yeshvir. At his words about Iro being a 'high society fellow', he had to hold back a snort of laughter. Especially as Iro looked at him with a slightly panicked look on his face. "Ah, don't be so hard on him, Yeshvir. He's a nice guy." Jin patted Iro's shoulder. "Instead of accusing, why don't we explain ourselves so that everyone can better understand each other, eh?" He set his spoon down and spread his hands. "Iro's smart. He can learn about the things he doesn't know about." Jin rather wanted to see Iro talk his way out of this one– it would probably be funny, or at least entertaining. But that look that he sent Jin was just too much. He couldn't turn him down.

Iro's expression shifted from one of panic to one of bewilderment. He couldn't tell whose side Jin was on.

How ironic. The diplomat, messing up his words. Suddenly, he didn't feel so up for the job as he had previously been. He was grateful the tavern was mostly void of people.

"Hmph," snickered the innkeeper, his expression unreadable. "Alright, Ambassador. Well, what?"

"I-I…" Iro began clumsily, not entirely having a grasp on himself or his words. How was he supposed to talk about this? These people didn't understand. He didn't blame them — no, not in the least — but it made it more difficult for him to figure out how to properly articulate it all.

"D… back home. There isn't… that. No lower class, no higher class, there's just the people and there's the Three Chosen, and nobody knows what goes on with them. I — we, the Brigade — are for the people. Yeah, we're a brigade of assassins at our core, but an assassin organization taking to political affairs to try and salvage what social stability is left says a lot about the state of Darchester at the moment, I-I think."

He ran a hand through his hair, averting his gaze. "My mother was a mercenary, my father was a florist. I'm not… whatever idea you might be getting of me. I-I'm just… someone who knows, from experience, that waiting for someone else to fix the problem gets people killed. If you want something to be done, you have to do it yourself."

He said that last part with a little more fervor than he'd intended. He rested his elbows on the table, rubbing his face with his hands. He sighed deeply.

"There. That's my explanation."

Jin listened to Iro, blinking in surprise at his words. No classes? Back in Kito, there were strict rules, even down to appearance. Gods forbid a high-class person showed their wrists. He'd always thought it was a bit stupid, so this idea interested him. "I mean, Yeshvir, he's got a good point." Jin moved from staring at Iro to looking at the innkeeper. "If I had waited around for someone to solve my problems, I would have been dead a long time ago. Starved, or killed in the crossfire. And I would have never met my xlis, either–" Jin froze, suddenly aware of what he'd said. He'd been talking, just saying whatever came to his mind, and… he'd never said that out loud before. He'd thought it. Thought about it a lot, actually. But… he'd admitted it, and no one even knew what he'd said. Curse the small gods. They'd removed his filter. "Still, it can be hard… uh, to do something when all you're trying to do is survive." Jin finished in a hurry, his heartbeat speeding up slightly. He went back to eating, unsure what he was feeling at the moment.
"Aww, did someone just admit their feelings?" A teasing voice whispered in his ear.
"Shut up. Now is not the time," Jin snapped, turning to look towards the voice despite knowing he wouldn't see anything there.
"Too bad they'll never hear it," Another voice snickered.
"That's not helping things."
"Yeah, that's not helping things," Jin growled, squeezing his eyes shut. "Can you all just leave for one second? I'm getting tired of this non-stop supervision."

(hi!! im so sorry, school started back up again and i've been super busy this past week hbhbhb)

Iro lifted his head, staring at Jin with a hint of confusion. Again, there were those words he couldn't understand.

"You say lots of things," he turned towards Jin. "Vynpa, vinpola, and now xlis. Forgive my ignorance, but I don't understand what those words mean."

Yeshvir tilted his head to the side. "And you talk to yourself a lot, I've noticed. Not that that's anything concerning on its own, but it certainly sounds like it's not exactly you that you're conversing with."

He leaned forward on the bar, resting his arms on it and clasping his hands together.

"We've heard from the ambassador, now let's hear from you. You've already said a lot of interesting things tonight, and you dropping dead when you two first arrived was certainly a shocker. What's your deal, hmm?"

(You're good, I totally understand. :)
"Oh. Sorry." Jin turned to look at Iro. "Vynpa is Oprei for friend. Vinpol is Gealei Oprei for soulmate. And xlis is…" He paused, then shook his head and laughed. "It basically means the ones you'll spend the rest of your life with." Jin pressed his lips together, turning his gaze to the ground. "I guess I did." He was saved from thinking about that any longer by Yeshvir's question. "Ahm. My deal? I'm just… you know. I was an orphan and then I was a soldier and then I was the best soldier apart from my xlis and then I got betrayed by someone and then my xlis killed me and then I didn't die because the small gods decided against it and I met Iro and now I'm here." Jin looked at the innkeeper with a big grin. "And there's my life story! Very interesting, right?"

(HEY im so sorry, i did not mean to take so long to respond i've been busy making doctor visits and it hasnt given me time to sit at the computer im so sorry hbhbh, i can respond more regularly from now on)

Iro made a mental note of those words, frowning thoughtfully. New Darchestran didn't have words for the last two concepts, so he found those two words of particular interest.

His attention diverted back to the present as Jin divulged his story.

Yeshvir had laughed in response. "Interesting, indeed. Seems you've been through a lot, friend. And by the looks of it, it'll be a while before you get some rest."

He relaxed, standing back upright and rolling his shoulders. "But, aye, it's just an ode to your strength to put up with so much, isn't it? Life is a funny thing, and it's not always kind."

Iro nodded his agreement. "A good friend of mine would always tell me that he took it as a personal challenge when life threw a stone his way. He'd call it his middle finger to the gods when he was still standing by the end of it all."

His sentence faltered into a chuckle. "You remind me of him, Jin, now that I think about it. Fighters, the both of you."

(You're totally fine! Life comes first. :)
"Yes, I have. Unfortunately for me." Jin let out a dramatically long sigh, shaking his head. "Ah, well, better to be moving and having adventures than being stuck in one place for the rest of my life." He glanced over at Iro. "That sounds wonderful. I wish I could do that without them striking me dead for a few minutes." Jin glanced around at the empty air, giving any gods who were watching a warning glare. He hadn't said that as a challenge. "Well… uh… hopefully, he's less cursed than I am." Jin gave Iro a pat on the shoulder as if that would help at all.
"Oops, here he–" The voice of a small god interrupted his thoughts. The door banging open interrupted the small god and nearly gave Jin a heart attack.
"He? He who?" Jin whirled towards the door and then he really did have a heart attack. Well, not literally. But it really felt like one.
"Hune Uyaki!" A severe-looking person stood in the doorway, dressed in Kito-style armor. Jin was frozen, hardly even remembering to breathe.
"Mu– Rei Muna?" He gasped, eyes locked on the figure. That… how… "How did you find me? I thought–" Rei Muna's expression softened ever so slightly, though Jin had no idea why. Before he could even think about getting out of there, Rei Muna was running towards him. "Wait, wait, I–" Jin was sure Rei Muna was about to kill him again, but he only wrapped Jin in a tight hug.
"Hune." Muna pulled back, his green eyes shining with unshed tears. "You're really alive."

(hbb thank you)

Iro frowned thoughtfully, taking to comparisons to see if his friend could be considered any kind of cursed to begin with.

Then, suddenly, someone at the tavern entrance.

Someone acquainted with Jin, it seemed. Someone…

Iro paused. He'd used Jin's old name. He recalled Jin mentioning that two people, two close friends had…

His brow furrowed. It seemed the more answers he received, the more questions sprouted up in their place. Muna, Rei Muna. One of Jin's murderers, here, acting as if Jin's death was some tragedy he had no part in.

He rested a hand on his staff, yet to be extended. He wasn't someone to so easily distrust strangers, but he didn't feel comfortable letting his guard down if his memory was serving him correctly.

Yeshvir seemed to be taken by surprise, too, folding his arms across his chest and studying the two with intrigue.

"You two know each other?"