The Boy of The River; K.TH & J.JK .:Completed:.

Chapter 29: Respects To The Dead.

Their journey was long, tiring but also peaceful. Jeongguk kept his head resting on the prince's back, his arms wrapped around his torso, and he would look at the scenery around them. Taehyung would ask every now and then where to turn and if the warlock was okay. The younger would answer with directions when asked but was hesitant with his response to how he was.

The breeze was light as it flowed through the leaves of the tree. The sun shone through the tree leaves and brought a warmth to their journey. They were getting close to the river side and could hear the running stream; it was calming to hear, but the water was running fast. The bushes around the path that the two males followed were close to the bank of the river.

"We're getting close.." Jeongguk spoke after some silence. "Just up the river more."

"Alright," Taehyung nodded.

"The river is a bit rough today…" the warlock pointed out. "Be careful when getting water from it."

"Thank you for warning me," the prince smiled as he turned to look at the warlock behind him.

Soon, the horse slowly came to a stop, and Taehyung could only stare in shock at how the village looked. He made the horse move to be at the bank of the river and got down off the saddle. He helped the warlock down and was relieved when the younger slid down facing him.

"It should be up the path a bit." Just as Jeongguk was about to turn to look, Taehyung took him by his shoulders and made him stay still.

"Hyungie... What is it?" He questioned.

"You.. You need to prepare yourself for what you're about to see.." Taehyung muttered.

"What I'm about to see? Hyungie, it probably isn't that bad… I hope," Jeongguk sighed. "Let me see," he struggled to turn and look.

"No," Taehyung held him so he couldn't turn.

"Let me see what has happened!" He shouted as he forced his way out of the prince's grip and turned to see how the village looked.

Jeongguk huffed as he turned but soon stood stiff. His lips parted as his jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. He felt tears well up and dripped down his cheeks and jaw. His knees felt weak, and he dropped to them harshly, possibly causing them to bruise. His hands came up his mouth as he cupped his sobs. His body curled into itself as his sobs shook his body. The warlock felt hands wrap around him softly in a comforting manner, and he was pulled to the prince's chest.

The image that he saw kept flashing in his mind. A child's teddy bear lay in the dirt, its eye broken off, and its arm ripped off as if it was held between a parent and a child as they ran but didn't get away. There were ripped tents that had fallen and wood for their fires that had been scattered around the ground. There were burnt walls of tents that were seen; gone was the bright white material and replaced by yellow to black burns with holes in them. Food, either ripped or pushed to the dirt in a hurry and turned to mush from possible crowds, running for their lives. It looked to be of pure chaos, no order, and where were the villagers? Possibly decomposing in the forest on the other side of the village.

"My home.. There's nothing left." He sobbed. "Nothing at all.." his body shook.

"I'm so sorry, so very, very sorry, there is no easy way of dealing with it or for me to make it up to you." Taehyung shook his head lightly. "Even saying sorry doesn't do anything."

The prince felt the younger's body shake in his arms, and the devastation in Jeongguk's cries broke his heart. For once, there was no clear answer for how he could comfort the warlock. Sure he had been in his position before, but not to this scale. Losing a whole village, losing a home. It was ruining. It was like the younger had lost part of himself.