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

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

tune

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?"

"Muna, what are you doing here?" Jin asked, still not quite sure what was happening. "Why aren't you… trying to kill me?"
"I'm sorry, Hune. Lou geen hetsikuz." Muna's voice was barely a whisper. "Someone got into my head, juna. I could hardly think. Loume hainli."
"Cui hikama," Jin growled, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. The small gods had seemed to be meddling in his life even before he'd died. "Wait, did you say juna?"
"Iesa." Muna nodded, giving Jin the slightest smile. His attention quickly turned to the other two in the inn. "Who are these people? Did they do anything to you?" Muna leveled a fierce glare at Iro.
"Ahm, no. That's Iro, and that's Yeshvir. They're nice." It occurred to Jin that he should probably introduce them to Muna. "Iro, Yesvir, this is Rei Muna, my…"
"Xlis," Muna supplied.
"My xlis. He's… probably fine." Jin shrugged.
"Probably?"
"I mean, you did kill me a little while ago."
"I apologized for that already, juna," Muna grumbled, though Jin could tell he was probably a few words from breaking down in tears.

Iro observed the two as they conversed, yet what they were talking about, he couldn't say. He picked up bits and pieces in the common tongue alongside that word — xlis — but that, as well as the fact that he was only half-listening to begin with, didn't clue him in much on the situation.

He did notice how Muna sent a glare his way, and in response he sheepishly smiled.

"Iro Hollands," he replied, offering Jin's xlis a friendly wave of his hands. "It's nice to meet you. How'd you find us all the way out here?"

Yeshvir had taken to wiping the counter, keeping an eye on Jin and Muna as he worked. "If you've got the coin, I've got no problem serving up another meal."

"Huh," Muna grunted in response to Iro's introduction. "I used some flowers."
"The small gods didn't try to stop you?"
"I'd like to see them try," Muna growled, green eyes practically glowing with anger. Jin placed a hand on his shoulder. He was almost constantly angry, usually for no good reason.
"Muna…" Jin narrowed his eyes at Muna. Normally, one didn't want to face down Muna when he was glaring like that, but Jin had done this far too often. Though he normally had Rusi Uyel to back him up.
"Alright, fine. I've got money." Muna pulled a couple of coins. "Is tezei fine, or would you prefer I pay with jei?" He looked up at Yeshvir, waiting for the man to respond.
"Uh… you came, but where's Rusi?" Jin asked, leaning towards Muna slightly.
"He's still… entranced. And you know him." Muna shook his head, keeping his eyes on Yeshvir.

Yeshvir raised an eyebrow. "Is that your currency, or your words for common currency? We deal in platinum and gold coins here, and a meal's five gold."

Payment, right. Iro had almost forgotten to pay for his and Jin's meals. He shuffled through his satchel and procured his finances, shifting through silver, paper money of various currencies, Darchestran sol, salt, and gold until he retrieved ten gold pieces.

"For my and Jin's meals," he murmured as he slid the coins forward. Yeshvir picked up a coin and studied it keenly — checking its legitimacy — before nodding and sliding the coins into a pocket on his apron.

He had to admit, it felt a little weird now that Muna had joined the party. He casted the occasional side glance at the two as he reorganized his belongings, nothing but tentative curiosity in his gaze. He had questions — lots of them — but he felt it rude to pry into business that wasn't his.

"Platinum and gold?" Muna wrinkled his nose. "These are silver. Currency from Kito and the Opria-Malak-Seajun-Heanth area, respectivly." He let out an annoyed sigh and dropped the coins back into their pouch. "Nevermind, I don't need food."
"Is that because you're leaving again?" Jin asked softly. He wasn't sad about that fact… probably. The small gods weren't sad that Muna might be leaving, at least. He supposed he would like it if Muna stayed, but if he had to go, it was fine.
"I only came to see if you were actually alive. Otherwise, what would the point be of changing Rusi's mind?" Muna sighed, turning to Jin. "Don't worry, Hune. I know I can break the spell. Just stay alive until then."
"That's easy. I can't die even if I want to," Jin laughed, even though that really wasn't something to laugh about.
"What?" Muna's eyebrows drew together in concern. "What do you mean? What does he mean?" He continued, turning to glare at Iro and Yeshvir as if they were responsible.

Yeshvir shrugged. "Well, it was one of the first things he did when he entered my inn. Just… up and died, then came back to life. Had me worried sick, with the plague ravaging the place and all."

Iro nodded nervously, reaching his hand back to rub his neck. He'd thought he'd gotten used to being glared at after dealing with the Dadichuses for so long, but this was something else. "Well… we fought a bunch of bandits on the way here. I watched Jin get impaled — straight through the back, I'm telling you — then stand back up like nothing had happened. He can't die. It's a little freaky."

Partly because he felt bad seeing the frankly ridiculous prices turn someone away from food, partly because he wanted to make some kind of gesture to say he wasn't a bad guy here, he retrieved five more gold from his satchel and slid them towards Muna, giving him the option to take it or not.

"Listen, I'm a little out of the loop here, but I'm an ally," he murmured as he offered the gold. "If we work together, it might prove to be a little more efficient in solving Jin's dilemma. My mission isn't urgent, and based on the current state of affairs here it looks like I won't be doing a whole lot."

He frowned. "I don't know if we could be called friends just yet, but we've fought side by side and traveled together for a little while. He's someone who matters to me, and I'm willing to help if I can."

"He… you…" Muna glanced between Jin and the other two, eyes wide in shock. "I thought it was just a one-time miracle, but…" He stepped towards Jin, reaching down and cupping his cheek gently. "They've chosen you, haven't they? Jin. Hune." Muna's eyes were so sad, Jin almost wanted to burst into tears. He didn't, of course, but it was close.
"I mean… probably. But it's fine." Jin let out a nervous laugh. Muna glanced towards Iro as he offered the gold, his expression melting back into his usual resting I'm-going-to-kill-you face.
"Thanks." Muna snatched up the gold and offered it to Yeshvir with a slightly disgruntled expression. "Just give me whatever they had."
"You know what, that sounds like a great idea! Friends helping friends!" Jin quickly said, although he was pretty sure Iro's words had been meant for Muna. "Let's all stick together and not leave me again," he leveled a pointed look at Muna, who just barely managed to not roll his eyes, "and try to fight off the small gods!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Jin knew he'd messed up.
"Let's not do that, shall we?" These gods were the worst… how was he supposed to do anything?
"Wait, wait, don't do that– Muna, if I suddenly collapse, don't worry, it's fine–" Jin spoke as quickly as he could, not sure when the small gods would decide to kill him off for a few minutes.
"Cui hikama," Muna growled, pulling Jin towards him. He was already feeling a little like he was dying, but before he could do anything else, Muna was kissing him. He wasn't sure why, but he was not complaining. Both because this was something he'd been wanting to do for a long time, and because he no longer felt as though he was dying. "Does anyone have any sage?" Muna asked, pulling away from Jin. "Dry or fresh, it doesn't matter."

Iro flinched as Muna took the gold. He'd have to get used to that look.

Yeshvir had observed the entire exchange with a certain look of passive acceptance about him, as if he'd come to terms with the oddities of the patrons in his inn. He took the gold with a silent nod and disappeared into the kitchen behind him. No small gods or spontaneous invincibility would stop him from doing his job.

Iro ran a hand through his hair as the innkeeper left, taking a deep breath, and averting his gaze at the display of affection before him. When he retreated into his thoughts, he found his own heart yearning just a tad.

Aeolus would know what to do in situations like these. He could keep his cool and figure out what to do even in the strangest of circumstances. Or he'd take a step back altogether and simply be a pillar of support while Iro got his bearings, and…

… by the Trinity, he missed home. Missed Aeolus. Seeing Muna and Jin's reunion had reminded him of all that.

But Aeolus was counting on him. He wouldn't go home until his job was complete, even if it looked like he would have to put it on hold for a little while. He'd do his best.

When Muna asked for sage, Iro fumbled around in a certain pouch in his satchel before procuring fresh pineapple sage.

"I hope the kind of sage doesn't matter much," he replied as he offered some to Muna before picking out a bit of it for himself to consume. Something to ease his nerves.

"Mmm, no." Muna shook his head, plucking the sage out of Iro's hand. "Hold this." He shoved the sage into Jin's hands.
"Okay… why?" Jin looked at Muna in confusion. He was acting very strange. First, he kissed Jin out of nowhere– not that he was complaining– and then he was shoving sage in his face.
"You know my… my…" Muna reached up and untied the ribbon from his bun, "uneikuz?"
"Yes…" Jin glanced at Iro, wondering if he also had no idea what was going on. Actually, he probably didn't either. They were both screwed.
"It's sage. Unei. It let me break the small god's spell. So it could protect you from them too." Muna tied the ribbon around Jin's wrist. This was fine and all, but Muna then started to undo the buttons on his coat. "And then you could stop dying and you could talk– because apparently, they aren't even letting you speak!" Muna pulled his jacket off and draped it over Jin's shoulders. "Now, Iro." He turned his gaze to the man. "You say you want to help? What can you do? Can you do magic? Can you fight?"
"Muna, be nice." Jin smacked him on the head. Although his actions were extremely weird, Jin was slowly starting to feel more like… like himself. Maybe Muna knew what he was doing.

Iro, indeed, had absolutely no clue what was going on — the addition of more unfamiliar words left him a little further behind, as well. But it looked like Jin was willing to trust Muna, so Iro was content to do the same.

He swallowed the sage in his mouth as Muna addressed him, and he nodded.

"Both," he replied. "I can harness electricity, and I'm proficient with the staff. I'm, uhm, also a florist's son," he added tentatively, "so I'm versed in most things floral, if that's any good."

Yeshvir returned with the same rice meal as before, setting it down at the counter before occupying himself by tidying up the surrounding area, choosing to pay little mind to his patrons.