Baby Steps (Akatsuki No Yona)

Tenth Step

They had made it to Ik-soo's place just before nightfall, the lively woods that surrounded the priest's peaceful hut had fallen quite, the twittering birds having gone to sleep and the nocturnal animals coming to wake. The gentle breeze that rustled the leaves only left a pleasant crackling sound that somehow welcomed them into the humble cottage that lay beside a small gushing stream, gentle running springs spotted in the distance. 

Once they had stepped in through the front door, the sight that greeted them sent Yoon and the rest into shock. The home was in shambles, broken pottery scattered with sheets torn and the blonde priest who was known to be Yoon's guardian was left on the ground in a state of apparent unconsciousness. The panic however was quickly switched to anger on Yoon's part and relief from the others that had watched the scene with held breaths when the damage had turned out to be self-inflicted, and not the work of bandits as was the initial worry.

"How could you be so careless! I leave you for a little while and this is the state I find you in?!" Yoon shouted, attempting to shake some sense into the sheepish blonde who could only chuckle in slight unease at the fire burning in the adolescent. Yue stepped forward, placing a calming hand on the strawberry blonde's shoulder, tugging him away from further injuring the priest.

"Yoon" Her gentle voice chided the younger, no further words needed for her point to get across as she pulled him to stand. She gently rubbed the younger's back in assurance that no foul was committed. The boy only huffed in indignation, turning to settle their equipment down and began to organise the mess that had welcomed them when they had first walked in. The others took the hint and began to aid in the efforts to tidy up the havoc, sorting out the house as well as settling their own items into place.

Once everyone had settled in and Ik-soo's clumsiness addressed, the others went about preparing dinner. Yue and Zeno had gone off to see if they could find something in the forest, and with hopes to Hak and Zeno's preferences, something with meat. 

The two had managed to bring back three rabbits and a few mushrooms they hoped would make the stew currently simmering a little tastier, though much to Yoon's chagrin and the two's disappointment, it seemed that the two still couldn't differentiate between the poisonous and edible mushrooms.

Yue stood off to the side, after Yoon had not so gently pushed her away from the preparations to rest. Whilst Yoon's attention was drawn to the antics of the more childish members of their group, Yue took the liberty to fold some of the washing that had just finished drying.

"Well, they all seem very energetic, don't they?" Ik-soo stated, plopping down onto the soft grass beside the calm grey-haired woman. She released a soft chuckle, fiddling with Shin-ah's shirt that she realised needed repairing, probably a run-in with Kija's claws Yue deduced. She set the clothes down and began ruffling through Yoon's supplies, hoping to find his sewing kit. Ik-soo remained seated, watching the others interact between themselves, piecing the dynamic they had together in his mind.

"Yes, they can be" Yue smiled, sewing the tears in the shirt as she kept an eye out for Yoon. Who knew what he would do if he caught her going through his things again. One would think that Yoon was her overbearing mother with the way he seemed to hover over her constantly. 

"It seems though you're still to figure your place in all of this." Yue stopped fiddling with the shirt, his words taking a moment to sink in. She looked up to gaze at the man beside her, confusion and uncertainty swirling in her eyes, untied silver-grey strands falling onto her face, obscuring her eyes for a moment. Ik-soo turned to her, smiling and brushing the strands out of her eyes and behind her ears, his hands lingering for a moment before coming to rest beside him.

"Soon, you won't struggle anymore child. You will soon find meaning in this life of yours, for yourself and for others" With those ambiguous words, Ik-soo walked off towards Yoon, probably in hopes of pestering him a little. Yue remained seated however, mulling over the words the priest had said. Even she hadn't realised it, that she had been subconsciously trying to find her place within the group, hoping to find purpose in something. She had been told since birth, that there was no meaning to her existence other than to hinder the lives of others, and with all efforts, she had tried to ignore those words, hoping beyond hope that they were wrong.

"You alright?" Jae-ha sat in Ik-soo's seat, his words lighthearted but an underlining tone that Yue couldn't help but try to pinpoint. She offered a weak smile before returning to fix a few more clothes she had spotted needed repairing.

"If there's something that you need to get off your chest, just know I'm here. I'm actually quite easy to talk to you know" Jae-ha muttered and Yue couldn't help but giggle, for he reminded her of a pouting child with the sulking tone he was using.

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you Jae-ha" Yue smiled before continuing her self-appointed chore, though this time, the air around her had noticeably lightened from the dull and brooding one earlier. Jae-ha continued to watch her from the corner of his eye, he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but he had noticed how his eyes seemed to drift to her on a more than often basis. He couldn't help but watch her, from how her long tresses seemed to constantly fall from the loose bun she had taken to tying her hair in, or the way the fire would reflect off her soft hazel eyes. 

"Jae-ha? Is something wrong?" Yue turned to notice Jae-ha look at her with a slight frown, confusion and something else clouding his blue eyes. He smiled then, a slight fond smile playing at the corner of his lips, shaking his head before standing, and seemed to stretch his legs about. 

"I'm going to go scout around the area. I'll be back before supper" He smiled before ruffling the grey-haired women's hair, earning whines of complaint from the still seated women as he walked off to Yoon and Hak to tell him of his plans, as he jumped up into the sky, his figure spotted only for a moment before disappearing into the skyline. She watched his disappearing figure, wondering what was going through the man's head. 

Yue had always found Jae-ha to be a confusing specimen. He would shower flirtatious comments to anyone who would listen, his aim always to get a rise out of the person he was aiming his teasing at, rather than romantic banter. It was always amusing to watch when he had set his targets on Shin-ah, the ever stoic masked swordsman of the group, who would only cutely respond in confusion and if the teasing got too much, he would run off whining and would remain hidden for the better part of the day. 

Whenever he tried with Yona though, her ever faithful bodyguard would be quick to end the encounter, with threats and such thrown about, though it was easy to see that Hak's threats were only half-hearted, as were Jae-ha's flirting in turn. 

Though when it came to Yue, he would only exchange playful banter, never boarding on inappropriate and would be the most courteous and respectful fellow Yue could imagine. So it always drew Yue to confusion when Yue had one time tried to return the playfulness that she would see him use with the others. Jae-ha's reactions however had only puzzled her further, rather than the smirk she would often see him wear when engaged in flirtatious banter, he had only flushed and looked away, covering her eyes as if too ashamed for her to see him in such a state. 

She figured though that her efforts to play were a source of discomfort for the man, which she would respect and quickly turned her efforts to simply communicate in a way that put both of them at ease. But she had thought wrong, rather than her actions causing discomfort, it caused emotions to stir within the man that he had hoped would never waken. 

After all, he had no time for love. The emotion he, without his control, was starting to feel for the reserved grey-haired beauty.