serpents and sons | taekook

Interlude: Hoseok (The Performer)

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The times do change through their travels, although of that they had no doubt. Namjoon in particular seems rather excited as the first decade passes them by, and then another. He fills book after book with his thoughts and Taehyung is all too happy to store them within the pocket of space he is capable of reaching with his magic. Green fire swallows each volume until it disappears from view, hidden until they have need of it again.

They travel across countless borders, through untamed seas, and yet they always find themselves in the thick of a crowd. Among the people, watching how they go about their lives, admiration and disappointment flowing in equal measure.

However, their world expands a little further when they find themselves yet again locked into a country they know only in passing.

It is a land of war, of a blood-soaked patriarchy - and a plague. A sickness that kills quickly, leaving nothing but death and depression in it's wake.

Yoongi is unimpressed with the carts of burning bodies they pass by, their stench making Taehyung's nose wrinkle, and Namjoon simply stares with unbridled curiosity. With immortality comes immunity and so they have nothing to fear - though Taehyung has no interest in truly testing the limits of his lifespan - and so they continue past the pits of grief. 'There will be other times to study,' he tells Namjoon and the scholar is adorably quite upset.

However they stand out among Englishmen, if not for their clothes then for Yoongi and Namjoon's facial structure, their differing accents. So,Taehyung changes shape again. He takes the form of a doctor, donning a ridiculous disguise to further hide himself from the public eye - a disguise that he will discover years later is stolen by another man during an outbreak of the same plague, several centuries later. A fashion travesty to be sure, but one that he knows will hide his unchanging features quite well.

They pretend Yoongi and Namjoon are his servants - although some question why he lets them act freely, why he tolerates their backtalk and their jokes. However, at the face of his skills they are quick to overlook the quirks of his men and himself. He builds up a bit of a reputation in the city's heart treating nobles and street rats alike.

'You have always had a fondness for the underdogs,' Yoongi murmurs one night as Taehyung tends to a child's small scrapes and bruises, wrapping another young man's knuckles from a scuffle near the market. Taehyung simply ignores him, knowing all too well the truth in his brother's words. The young criminals tend to band together, keeping his small cart safe. It's rather amusing, they all think, just how unneeded their protection really is.

Of course, he does genuinely help those who request it but his trickster nature is hard to withhold when he finds noblemen asking to increase their... potency, or unfaithful wives wanting something to cover up the scent of musk on their skin. It is a call he is unable to resist when their pleas make him grin so, so wide behind the beak of his mask, his brothers hiding smiles of their own behind their hands. He feels much like the snake many associate with his name.

If he slips a few placebos for a few laughs, the only ones who know certainly aren't going to tell.

However, despite his practical jokes and his unusual practices his reputation only builds over the years, and soon it is only inevitable that he ends up in yet another court. It is an English king this time around, and the overweight man with the young girl on his arm offers a rather sought-after position in his castle in exchange for Taehyung's services. He tells of how he has heard many stories of Taehyung's gift for healing (and the jotunn wonders if he has heard every story). Nevertheless, it is an easy enough job and his companions are welcome - so Taehyung accepts.

It is roughly a month into his stay that he finds himself attending a welcome celebration for a neighboring prince, the son of a king they have been nearing war with for decades now. The one the princess is set to marry, he learns from Namjoon's snooping. A marriage of convenience, surely, and Taehyung's nose wrinkles at the idea. He is all too familiar with the concept of political matchmaking.

This is how he meets Hoseok, the foreign court jester with the wandering hands.

Taehyung is keeping to himself, watching the goings-on as Yoongi stays ever at his side. The gladiator keeps a sword at his hip and a dagger in his boot. Chainmail lays under his clothes, his body more than capable of carrying it's weight. Namjoon is absent, his nose deep in the pages of the books of the royal library. Taehyung has been refusing dances left and right, unwilling to leave Yoongi alone, when there's a hush. The young woman he has just turned down looks over her shoulder and Taehyung follows her gaze, seeing where the crowd has begun to disperse.

There's a man in the center of the dance floor with an intricate mask of white and gold pulled over his face and a funny little hat obscuring his hair. He's bathed in red and gold, the fabric reflecting the flickering light of the chandeliers.

Taehyung watches as he slowly bends, bowing to his audience.

And then he moves.

In an instant, the crowd is mesmerized. Watching with bated breath, hands clasped to their chests.

The dancer moves like he's telling a story, each step another line of his adventure, each flick of his wrist a clash of swords. Not a single breath is wasted as he throws his entire body into the captivating performance.

Taehyung will admit he's impressed, a fear not easily achieved.

And it seems a certain princess is drawn in too, if the jotunn's eyes do not deceive him. She holds a fan to her face but silk and pearls can do little to disguise the blush that rises up her cheeks, breaking through the thick makeup that covers her face. The want in her eyes is unmistakable. She shifts in her seat as the dancer does a rather salacious move with his hips and Taehyung grins.

'It seems our princess is not so pure,' he murmurs into Yoongi's ear, and the warrior lets out a snort. He too glances over to the young woman and rolls his eyes as she seems to sink into her seat, her fan rising until little bit her eyes can be seen. The dancer bends, showing off the length of his muscles, and her fingers grip at her skirts.

'Are they ever?' he shoots back and truly, Taehyung has to give him that.

They are only proven right when Taehyung wakes the next morning to the pounding of fists at his door and the shout for the royal physician, requesting his presence in the dungeons.

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