Home Again, Home Again
[Day 50, 8:23 PM - Blood Pledge Castle]
There was frost dappling the windows of the city and a thin layer of snow laying across the road as they made their way up to the castle again. No one spoke much; most of the city's inhabitants were already asleep, warm and safe in their beds. There was no parade or celebration to welcome them back, just the cool whistle of the wind as it blew through the alleyways. Perhaps it was better that way.
Yozak let his coat hang open. Compared to Dai Shimeron, this weather was positively toasty.
It had been a long month, though. A long month of hiding and nightmares and bitter arguments and a vicious anxiety gnawing at the pit of his stomach. Worn-out and exhausted more emotionally than physically, he was looking forward to seeing his old friends in the barracks more than anything now. As they made their way up the widing road to the castle, that excited Yozak more than anything. He was thrilled beyond thrilled to have Dan Hiri and Conrad back. But he was sick to death of their company.
And he was tired of fighting with Conrad. He'd been trying his very best to be as patient and available and understanding as he could, but somedays, Conrad was just incomprehensible. The first week they'd gotten back from Caloria, for example, Yozak had, without thinking, grabbed Conrad's forearm to show him something and felt a strange lump underneath his clothes. Eventually, he'd been able to pry the information out of Conrad and had been shocked to find that Conrad was wearing the collar underneath his shirt. The very collar that Yozak and his team had worked so hard to free him from.
That hurt.
Yozak sighed as he flexed his fingers around Koen's reigns. His problems hadn't just been internal, either. He'd received Anissina's letter about two weeks ago, read it once, and promptly crumpled it up. Her tone had annoyed him, and it hadn't helped that her letter had arrived not long after he and Conrad had been in another vicious argument. The last thing he had needed or wanted was her lovely brand of acerbic humor. Let her come and get them herself if she was so bent out of shape.
In truth, Yozak wasn't pleased that they'd stayed away longer, either. He'd wanted to go back right away, but Conrad's condition had been poor still - and then they'd had their first fight. So Yozak had made a judgement call and sent another letter, explaining their situation to the Maou. He sent it back with a few more of his men who were complaining of homesickness - how anyone could ever want to leave the paradise that was Caloria, Yozak didn't know, but as the month wore on, more and more of his men headed for home with letters to the Maou, until it was just him, Conrad, Dan Hiri, and Warner. And even Dan Hiri wasn't always around--he would disappear for days at a time, then mysteriously reappear again, and had it been anyone but Dan Hiri, Yozak might have given him a black eye for wandering around when there might be spies in the area.
And there were spies in the area. Yozak was sure of it. Belal's agents were out there. They never tried to intercept, but Yozak had known he was being watched. A spy sees everything, even when he's not incognito. He'd seen suspicious people when he went out: young men who looked only at him while blending in remarkably with the crowd; older men who watched him in the darkness from alleyways; and even one ballsy youth who'd tried to tail him. Yozak had let him follow for three blocks before leading him into a men's brothel in the bad part of town and losing him inside. It had been very satisfying.
But still, the eyes followed him everywhere. Not openly threatening, but disturbing enough to make Yozak switch hotels more than once during their stay in Caloria. It hardly mattered, though: they would only get a day or two of reprieve before the watching eyes would ferret them out again.
And then there had been the letter. The one that came wrapped inside four different envelopes. Honestly, he'd thought as he opened it, what information is so important that it needs to be wrapped in four envelopes?
He still hadn't shown the letter to Conrad. He'd have to show him sooner than later, he knew that, but for now the letter remained safely tucked inside his jacket. He was as aware of it as if it had been cold steel pressing against his bare skin.
Yozak groaned internally. This whole month had been like an emotional war, with nothing to take the edge off between battles. He could hardly wait to get home - where there were pubs, friends, and a sparring dummy with his name on it. He hadn't practiced in a month and his joints felt like they'd rusted in the meantime. He would have asked Conrad or Dan Hiri to help him, but he'd seen those two sparring lately - they came at each other like they were ready to kill - and Yozak wanted no part of that.
A crash from a side street yanked him sharply from his thoughts and he snapped his head around to investigate. When a stray cat came wandering out, Yozak heard Warner chuckling slightly over his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. So he was still a little more alert than necessary. He'd be back to normal in a few days. They were home now.
The guards at the gate were thrilled to see them. One of them even ran inside to tell the Maou while the other one opened up the gates to admit them. "We weren't sure you were ever coming back!" he joked. "I thought we'd lost you for good to those Calorian winters!"
Warner didn't enter the stable with them once they were inside the walls. He was only staying the night, he saidl in the morning he was going to head over to the Nameless Village and some of the other distant villages to make sure everyone was making it through the winter. "Besides, I think I've done all I can," he added before handing his horse over to one of the stablehands and heading for the barracks.
The walk from the stable into the castle seemed to take forever, and Yozak idly noted that whoever was caring for the shrubs seemed to be doing an excellent job.
Once inside the warm light of Blood Pledge, Yozak let out a happy sigh so deep, he felt as if he'd been holding it in for years.
[OOC: Open to everyone. Hunnies, we're hoooooome~!]
There was frost dappling the windows of the city and a thin layer of snow laying across the road as they made their way up to the castle again. No one spoke much; most of the city's inhabitants were already asleep, warm and safe in their beds. There was no parade or celebration to welcome them back, just the cool whistle of the wind as it blew through the alleyways. Perhaps it was better that way.
Yozak let his coat hang open. Compared to Dai Shimeron, this weather was positively toasty.
It had been a long month, though. A long month of hiding and nightmares and bitter arguments and a vicious anxiety gnawing at the pit of his stomach. Worn-out and exhausted more emotionally than physically, he was looking forward to seeing his old friends in the barracks more than anything now. As they made their way up the widing road to the castle, that excited Yozak more than anything. He was thrilled beyond thrilled to have Dan Hiri and Conrad back. But he was sick to death of their company.
And he was tired of fighting with Conrad. He'd been trying his very best to be as patient and available and understanding as he could, but somedays, Conrad was just incomprehensible. The first week they'd gotten back from Caloria, for example, Yozak had, without thinking, grabbed Conrad's forearm to show him something and felt a strange lump underneath his clothes. Eventually, he'd been able to pry the information out of Conrad and had been shocked to find that Conrad was wearing the collar underneath his shirt. The very collar that Yozak and his team had worked so hard to free him from.
That hurt.
Yozak sighed as he flexed his fingers around Koen's reigns. His problems hadn't just been internal, either. He'd received Anissina's letter about two weeks ago, read it once, and promptly crumpled it up. Her tone had annoyed him, and it hadn't helped that her letter had arrived not long after he and Conrad had been in another vicious argument. The last thing he had needed or wanted was her lovely brand of acerbic humor. Let her come and get them herself if she was so bent out of shape.
In truth, Yozak wasn't pleased that they'd stayed away longer, either. He'd wanted to go back right away, but Conrad's condition had been poor still - and then they'd had their first fight. So Yozak had made a judgement call and sent another letter, explaining their situation to the Maou. He sent it back with a few more of his men who were complaining of homesickness - how anyone could ever want to leave the paradise that was Caloria, Yozak didn't know, but as the month wore on, more and more of his men headed for home with letters to the Maou, until it was just him, Conrad, Dan Hiri, and Warner. And even Dan Hiri wasn't always around--he would disappear for days at a time, then mysteriously reappear again, and had it been anyone but Dan Hiri, Yozak might have given him a black eye for wandering around when there might be spies in the area.
And there were spies in the area. Yozak was sure of it. Belal's agents were out there. They never tried to intercept, but Yozak had known he was being watched. A spy sees everything, even when he's not incognito. He'd seen suspicious people when he went out: young men who looked only at him while blending in remarkably with the crowd; older men who watched him in the darkness from alleyways; and even one ballsy youth who'd tried to tail him. Yozak had let him follow for three blocks before leading him into a men's brothel in the bad part of town and losing him inside. It had been very satisfying.
But still, the eyes followed him everywhere. Not openly threatening, but disturbing enough to make Yozak switch hotels more than once during their stay in Caloria. It hardly mattered, though: they would only get a day or two of reprieve before the watching eyes would ferret them out again.
And then there had been the letter. The one that came wrapped inside four different envelopes. Honestly, he'd thought as he opened it, what information is so important that it needs to be wrapped in four envelopes?
He still hadn't shown the letter to Conrad. He'd have to show him sooner than later, he knew that, but for now the letter remained safely tucked inside his jacket. He was as aware of it as if it had been cold steel pressing against his bare skin.
Yozak groaned internally. This whole month had been like an emotional war, with nothing to take the edge off between battles. He could hardly wait to get home - where there were pubs, friends, and a sparring dummy with his name on it. He hadn't practiced in a month and his joints felt like they'd rusted in the meantime. He would have asked Conrad or Dan Hiri to help him, but he'd seen those two sparring lately - they came at each other like they were ready to kill - and Yozak wanted no part of that.
A crash from a side street yanked him sharply from his thoughts and he snapped his head around to investigate. When a stray cat came wandering out, Yozak heard Warner chuckling slightly over his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. So he was still a little more alert than necessary. He'd be back to normal in a few days. They were home now.
The guards at the gate were thrilled to see them. One of them even ran inside to tell the Maou while the other one opened up the gates to admit them. "We weren't sure you were ever coming back!" he joked. "I thought we'd lost you for good to those Calorian winters!"
Warner didn't enter the stable with them once they were inside the walls. He was only staying the night, he saidl in the morning he was going to head over to the Nameless Village and some of the other distant villages to make sure everyone was making it through the winter. "Besides, I think I've done all I can," he added before handing his horse over to one of the stablehands and heading for the barracks.
The walk from the stable into the castle seemed to take forever, and Yozak idly noted that whoever was caring for the shrubs seemed to be doing an excellent job.
Once inside the warm light of Blood Pledge, Yozak let out a happy sigh so deep, he felt as if he'd been holding it in for years.
[OOC: Open to everyone. Hunnies, we're hoooooome~!]