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 Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 1:11 pm
  This is a private roleplay between Sakngea [audio fiend] and Jianyu [Kuro-Mizuki].
Setting:
Sakn shows up late in the evening at Jianyu's estates; beaten up, bruised and angry, to tell Jianyu he's leaving. But first he needs Jianyu to make him a promise.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 1:33 pm
It was as if someone had ripped out his being, his self. Someone had taken the part of Sakn that made him human and had thrown it away. As the redhead stumbled down the streets of the City, people eyed him like nervous horses eye a mad dog. His face was broken, from his nearly-shattered nose to his split lip and bruised eyes. The blood that was half-heartedly wiped off and the red staining his shirt. The limp in his walk, the dullness of his gaze. All these things frightened those who walked passed Sakngea, but he didn't care.
Just like he didn't care about the tears that burned down his cheeks, or the way he whole body shook. Or the way some people gave him looks of pity as he wrapped his arms around himself. Sakn didn't care about any of this.
All he cared about was revenge. Not only for Sothy now, but also for himself. He had found the man who had killed his mentor, and when Sakn confronted him, the man gave him no sympathy, no apology, no nothing. And that was exactly what Sakngea wanted. Sakn didn't want to feel guilty for beating the man up, and when he swung, heard that resounding crack as his fist broke the Legion-members cheekbone, he felt only self-righteousness. He would get his revenge.
Thing is, some men don't play fair, as Sakn learned when the murderer's friends joined in on the fight. They held him in place, beat him with their fists, taunted him and laughed at him when he tried to fight back. Then threw him out onto the streets to bleed.
How embarrassing it had been, to struggle to his feet and feel the world spin around him, to stumble down the road and know he had not avenged Sothy like he had promised. To know he wasn't strong enough. And so, as Sakn walked, he came up with a plan. He would leave the City, leave his village. He would disappear and he would find the power he needed to destroy all those in his path. He would find the strength he needed to protect the ones he loved.
Sakn's face, for a moment, crumpled as he thought of Xiu, who he had left alone at his home; of his mother, who was still struggling with Sothy's untimely death. He thought of all of them, and he accepted what he must do.
But first, Sakngea needed to find someone. Someone who would watch over Xiu for him while he was gone. The redhead knew exactly who to go to, too.
He found himself soon standing in front of the Qian home(how strange to think he would come to this man of all people for help), and after a moments deliberation, he pounded his fist against the door. Not knocked, not tapped, but pounded. He was too angry, too upset to be polite. Or perhaps that was just how Sakn knocked.
And as the evening drifted into night, Sakn pounded on the door again and yelled, "JIANYU," as loud as he could. He needed to speak with the Captain. Needed someone to watch over his loved ones, because Sakn knew he couldn't do it himself. Not like this.
Needed someone to help him, because he had to leave.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:55 pm
It was late. The servants had been retired for the evening, the normal sounds of muffled footsteps, whispered voices, and the familiar clanking of dishes melting away into a silence that spread throughout the Qian Household. Gentle murmurs could be heard in one or two of the bedrooms, most of its residents already asleep.
"Good night, Mother, Father."
Jianyu quietly slid the door to his parents' room shut, pushing his loose hair off of his shoulder as he made his way down the hallway. He was not exactly tired, but it was too late to go and practice his archery, too dark to see much other than the stars that dotted the sky like tiny fires. Yawning, he turned to head down the hallway to his room.
"JIANYU!"
The unexpected shout startled him, and Jianyu stopped abruptly, confusion masking his features as he twisted himself around. It had come from the front of the house, from the main entrance - and it was familiar. His eyebrows drawing together, he crossed the wood-paneled floor and slid open the door, surprise shooting through him.
"Sakngea. What the hell are you doing here?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:46 pm
"Nice t'see you too," the redhead groused when Jianyu yanked open the door and rudely asked him why he was there. But where there should have been laughter, or anger, or irritation in the boy's voice, there was only exhaustion, embarrassment. Feelings that Sakn rarely exhibited to anyone. There was a small pause then, and Sakn looked the older man over, as if Jianyu might have changed since their last encounter. Or perhaps he was thinking of what to say next, or better yet, how to say it. He inhaled, scuffed his foot against the ground, and tried to gently rub one of his swollen eyes before speaking.
"I'm leavin'," the words were simple and to the point, but said a lot. Sakn was not a wanderer, not a traveler. He liked to stay in one place and live there. Sure, visiting place was fine, but he never 'left'. The redhead stared the other man down as he spoke, and then tugged at one of his braids, which was scraggly looking, just like the rest of him.
After giving Jianyu a moment to get what he meant, Sakn, for lack of better words, pushed his way past the Captain and into the house. He glanced around as he stood there, before looking back the older man. "I 'afta go, and I gotta leave Xiu behind. I need you t---" he paused and made a face as he swallowed his pride. It was hard, even after their strange bonding time, to ask Jianyu for help. But that was what Sakngea needed. He had to leave, because he was ashamed and weak, and he needed someone to protect his loved one while he was away. At least watch them from afar, "I need y'to watch after Xiu while I'm gone," he didn't know how long that would be, nor did he try to guess. It could be days, months, years! All Sakn knew was that he had to go find the strength he needed to protect everyone.
The strength to be like Jianyu was.
"I need someone," he growled and looked away from Jianyu as he finished, his tone laced with anger towards himself, "t'make sure he's okay," because after the way he left Xiu, Sakn was almost certain that the boy would be far from okay. Angry perhaps, upset, most definitely. Confused? Sakn hoped he wasn't, though he knew he hoped in vain.
"Can y'do tha' for me?" hopefully Jianyu would just say yes tonight. Perhaps he would be too tired to question Sakn, to grill him for answers. Hopefully, because Sakn didn't want to explain it. Didn't want to be told how stupid an idea it was, because he knew that. But that didn't mean it wasn't what he had to do.
He had to do it, for Xiu and his mother and father and his friends. For all of them. He had to become stronger.
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 10:00 am
It was not that Jianyu was irritated to see Sakngea. He was slowly becoming used to the redhead's personality, and he could take him now (albeit in relatively small doses) more easily than he had before. Their last meeting had ended unexpectedly well, which had pushed away most of the antagonism Jianyu had felt for him at the beginning, replaced by a quiet sense of respect and tolerance.
"I did not mean to sound uninviting," he said. "But it is late, and I did not anticipate having any visitors, most of all yourself."
Something was different - wrong - about Sakngea. Jianyu took a step forward, his gaze narrowing as he took in the young Noble's appearance. In the near dark it was difficult to see, but he hazy glow of the moon allowed for him to make out Sakngea's face. The redhead's eyes were rimmed red, his expression worn and exhausted, a mixture of ashamed humiliation. Dark patches of purpleish brown crossed over the bridge of his nose, and there were sticky reddish stains covering his shirt and down the side of his face.
Is that...blood..?
Jianyu was stopped in asking, however, by Sakngea speaking again.
"I'm leavin'."
His eyebrows shot up, confusion and surprise jerking through him. "Leaving?" Jianyu repeated, as the redhead pushed past him, into the darkened house. "Sakngea, what..." He trailed off again, lapsing into silence once the Noble spoke again, his voice sounding strangely uneven ...Xiu?
Something about the way Sakngea said his name - something about how he flinched as he spoke, the heaviness of his words, the way his tone changed very slightly when he said the others' name - made Jianyu stop, turning slowly to face the redhead. That is...not just a friend to a friend request, he thought, his hands in his sleeves as the realization dawned in his mind. Sakngea...cares for Xiu. More than he is admitting at this moment. There is more to his voice than the simple weight of wishing to protect a friend.
"Sakngea," Jianyu said, his voice quiet, but strong. This was all too strange, too sudden, and the young Noble was not giving him any inclination as to where this request was even coming from. Why...me? "Sakngea, what is the meaning of this? Where are you going?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:48 am
It was dawning on Sakngea that Jianyu never just said 'yes' to anything. He always had to know why, had to ask questions. Sakn couldn't deal with questions, because answering meant dredging up all the short-falls and death that he had dealt with as of late. It was not something the redhead wanted to do. He wanted to just disappear and never have to relive this pain.
But he had to make sure Xiu would be okay, and if that meant explaining things he didn't want to talk about to Jianyu, then fine. The redhead looked to the left, and exhaled slowly. This was hard, very hard for him. He had not only lost his mentor, but also been beaten(again) in a fight to avenge the one he lost. To talk about it only rubbed his ego farther into the ground, "M-my," Sakn started, swallowing around the lump of guilt(how could he have let that happen?) that was lodged in his throat, "Sothy, m'mentor. She--She wus murdered a few days ago," his eyes stung with the promise of tears as the image of Sothy, face-first in the dirt, her blood staining the earth(forever burned into his mind) flashed before his eyes, but he held it all back; too tired to cry anymore, "Some Legion scum," Sakn didn't look at Jianyu when he spit the words out, only stared at the floor, imagining them like slimy worms that he could just smash beneath his foot, "cut'r throat while she wus leavin' her home. Some'ne came into my village, 'n' killed 'er in cold blood," there was anger tinging his voice now, and Sakn's whole body shook with barely controlled rage as his face darkened.
Someone had murdered her, in the open, for no reason. And he hadn't been able to stop them.
"I found d'guy who did it. But," Sakn stopped there, because it was plain to see what had happened after he found the man, what with the bruises and blood and tell-tale signs of defeat etched across the younger man's face. Sakngea would not bring himself to say he had been beaten out loud, he couldn't. After a moment, his let his eyes meet Jianyu's, "I hafta leave now. I don't know where, Jianyu. Somewhere, anywhere! There hasta be somethin' out there to--"
Sakngea stopped again, and looked at the Captain. How to say it, how to say all of how he felt right now. It was hard to say anything right now, and he screwed his face up in frustration; the anger and hurt evident in his eyes. He wanted the strength to protect his family, the power to fight off the dangers that threatened. Sakn wanted to be as strong as he could be, strong enough to beat anyone. But for some reason, he couldn't say that to Jianyu. It was like it had to be seen, not heard.
"I need you t'watch him," Sakn clenched his fists and then, in whispered tones, he added, "Please, Jianyu."
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Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 9:11 am
The Qian House was quiet; too quiet for normal, as if its residents were secluded off somewhere that they could not hear the voices of the two men that stood at the front. Where Sakngea's voice was strained, hoarse, nearing desperate, Jianyu's was calm and firm, his only desire at the moment to find out just what it was that was making the young Noble act so uncharacteristic. He listened without saying a word as Sakngea spoke, his face half darkened by the shadows of the dimly lit hallway.
"...I'm sorry," Jianyu said after a moment, then flinched at the Legion scum remark, a flicker of shame darting through him. That had stung more than he thought it would have, considering that they were finally beginning to understand one another. However the shame was short-lived as Sakngea finished the rest of his words, halting and overwrought with emotions that Jianyu could not entirely read.
"You can't leave." The words were sharp, cutting through the still darkness with the force of a knife. Jianyu stepped up to Sakngea, his hands gripping the Noble's shoulders as he jerked him around to look into his face. "Sakngea, can't you see? You are too filled with rage to keep yourself from acting recklessly. I understand why it is that you want to go avenge your mentor - I am terribly sorry for your loss - but you are in no condition to seek out one who so easily created such an act in the middle of a street!"
And why Xiu, of all people? Jianyu wondered, not daring to ask the question aloud. Why is it that he doesn't request for me to protect his family? Why Xiu?
What is their connection?
"You cannot do this, Sakngea," he repeated. "Please, think about this!"
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 12:16 pm
The apology that broke from Jianyu's lips bounced off of Sakn, he deflected it not because he didn't want it, but because, at this moment, the boy couldn't handle it. Apologies were soft and soothing, they restored broken hearts and eased hurt feelings. Sakn wanted neither to be restored or eased. He was raw and angry, and would stay that way until he had found the power he needed to come back and show that man the meaning of revenge.
His eyes jerked up, catching Jianyu's when the older man grabbed him by the shoulders. He glared and his lips were tight, anger seething inside him. How was it that Jianyu did not understand this? How could he not understand the feelings that Sakn was having right now. It was stupid to bottle it up, wasn't it? Better to express, to reveal and show how he felt. To give people what they deserved. "I'm in no condition to fight him now, o'c'urse," the redhead snapped, jerking away. Sakngea had already tried to fight the man, and these bruises and blood were what he got for his efforts. Didn't Jianyu get it? That was why he had to go now, to leave and find someone or something that could make him stronger.
"I gotta find somethin' t'make me stronger, Jianyu," the redhead wrapped his arms tight around himself, his whole body shaking with rage, "I can' defeat'm now, but if I can find power, I can come back, I can show m'face in my village withou' bein' ashamed o'nothing," he looked Jianyu in the eye and when the Captain looked him over; his eyes held a question back. Sakn saw it, and his face went sour.
Or perhaps his face went sour because Jianyu was repeating the same thing, telling him to think it over. But Sakn had already thought it over, and his decision was to leave, to find the strength and power he needed to come back here and do what was right.
"Why can' I, Jianyu? He'ssa Legion member, who murdered m'Noble mentor. Isn't tha' rights enough fur me to find him and kill 'im? Isn' it only normal fur me to want to find the power t'be able to get revenge? Isn' tha' what war is?" his eyes skipped over Jianyu's face as he spoke, as if trying to find confirmation in those eyes, "Ain't war jussa bunch of people killin' people. I'm goin', Jianyu. Y'can't stop me. Buh y'can help me. Will y'jus' tell me, yes or no, Beads. Will y'watch over Xiu fur me?"
Sakngea's voice was near frantic, and his tone was raised with anger and stress, when he finished, and the young man took a deep breath before looking away from the brunette. He ached to leave this house now, because every time Jianyu argued with him, his anger rose. Made him wanted to scream and throw things, hit the older man in the face and at the same time. At the same time, Jianyu's words made him want to run back to his village and back to Xiu. To let someone else handle this. But he couldn't, this was his revenge, his job. No one else could do it.
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 11:04 am
This was all too fast, too sudden. The situation felt surreal, almost unbelievable, and Sakngea's thoughts, his words, they were rushing out, tumbling over one another, colliding with each other. There was a frantic desperation in the others' eyes, a need and a want so strong that it took Jianyu aback. He had seen the young Noble angry before, had seen him really livid, but this raw emotion was new, something that shook the redheaded young man to the very core. It was very un-Sakngea like, too stumbling and unsure of himself.
"What are you going to find that's going to make you stronger, Sakngea?" Jianyu said, voice sharp. "What can you find out there that will make you into the person that you want to be? How can killing a man in cold blood make you any better than the one who killed your mentor?"
It was harsh - perhaps too harsh, but Jianyu could see the near unstableness in Sakngea's eyes. Though the redhead was strong, courageous, and very dedicated and determined, right now he was not thinking clearly. But Jianyu's expression softened at Sakngea's next words, the meaning and weight of them ringing throughout him.
"We all want to avenge our loved ones," he said, his voice quiet. "Believe me, Sakngea, I know how that feels. You don't think I want to find the b*****d who blinded me, to kill him? War isn't about revenge; it's about protecting what you stand for, protecting those who you care for."
Jianyu went silent for a few moments. The Noble's emotions were not unlike his own had been a few months back, and the familiarity of his words, of his desires and frustration were heavy in his mind. He knew what it felt like to experience loss, to experience a pain so great that it tore at one's very soul. But Sakngea was different from him in so many ways. How could he possibly understand just exactly what he was thinking?
"Why?" Jianyu asked, and the single word pierced through the silence as sharp and tangible as a knife. "Why, Sakngea? Why me? And why Xiu? Why do you ask me to protect Xiu - a Noble - and not your own family?"
"Why?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 11:58 am
'What are you going to find that's going to make you stronger, Sakngea?'
Sakn's body shook violently when Jianyu asked that, when he questioned the redheads plans. He didn't care if he was made better then that b*****d, he didn't care if the man had family who would suffer as he had when Sothy died. All Sakngea thought about was the feeling of ease that would calm his worn and upset body when he felt that man dying beneath him(or so he thought, he had never really killed anyone before). But the question continued to ring in his ears, because it was a logical question. Where would he find the power to make him stronger? It was frustrating, and Jianyu's words were too harsh.
His fist shot out, but instead of colliding with Jianyu's face, it slammed against the wall of the hallway, an echoing thump following in its wake. Sakngea gripped his fist tighter as he leaned against the wall, his mouth open slightly as he tried to breath, tried to calm down. Just enough to talk to Jianyu, just long enough to make sure everything would be fine.
The Captains next words were almost heart-wrenching. He could hear the truth in Jianyu's voice, the older man truly did know how he felt. Sakn looked at him with wide, wild green eyes and saw it there, but he couldn't let it affect him, couldn't let Jianyu talk him down from his anger, so he turned back to look at the wall, at his clenched fist, at anything but the older man. "Y'may know 'ow it feels, Jianyu," he spoke softly, his voice razor-sharp, but not cruel, "But I ain't you. I can't jus' stand by while dis guy continues t'live, after what he did. 'oo's t'say he won't go and do it again, t'some other poor family? I am protectin' m'family, in d'only way I know how to," he would protect everyone by killing this man, he would save lives. And he would get his revenge.
There was silence then, it sent shivers down the redheads spine, and he was almost certain the next words from Jianyu's lips would be no. But instead it was that damned 'why' again. Why did the man need to know so much? The redhead sighed, a tired, exhausted, defeated sigh. "Jianyu," Sakn ground out, staring at the wall and tracing the wood grains with his eyes as he spoke, "I'm askin' you 'cuz y'u're," he sighed again and then steeled himself to continue, "y'u're d'strongest man I know, Jianyu. And I migh' jus' trust you," he glared at the brunette then, and added in a tone that was almost too light for such a heavy situation, "juss'a li'l though."
More silence reigned then as Sakn thought. It was hard to be so expressive when it wasn't over anger, and here he was, having to pour out his heart to Jianyu, share all those feelings he had hidden just because he needed to know that the one person who made him feel this way was safe. He'd do this embarrassing act just for Xiu, and only for Xiu.
"M' ma and pa," Sakngea started somewhere easy, hoping it would make this all easier to admit, "They gots each other, and I know tha' they can survive. They're strong, hardy people. But Xiu," he knew Xiu wasn't weak, wasn't soft, he knew the boy could fight, because he had taught him, but still, "I care 'bout him, Jianyu," the words felt all wrong, like he wasn't expressing it right, but Sakn could bring himself to use any other terms. He cared deeply for the smaller boy, he felt connected to him, and the thought of Xiu being hurt, of dying, scared Sakngea to death, "He needs some'ne there t'make sure everythin's fine. I-I," Sakn raised his eyes to Jianyu, then in shame, looked away, "I left'm, alone, back at m'home. I jus' up 'n' left. And now I'm gunna disappear, and he's gone through so much already. I dun' want him t'come lookin' for me. I's dangerous...and I can' loose him, Jianyu," his eyesight was blurring now as tears burned, threatening to overspill, and the redhead was turned completely towards Jianyu. His fists hung at his sides, clenched and white-knuckled, and he bit his lip.
"I can' loose him, not yet. I trust you more den anyone else t'watch him, Jianyu. Y'u're not like tha' murderin' b*****d," his face twisted a little then, and he added, "Dun' ask me why, Beads. I dunno. I jus'...I jus' do. Fur now, at leas'."
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Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 11:53 am
Jianyu had not flinched in the slightest by Sakngea's fist spinning out, colliding with the wall directly behind him. He had half expected the hit to land in his own face, but it seemed as if Sakngea was trying to direct his anger elsewhere, away from him. It was curious; curious and distressing at the same time, because it meant that the young Noble was acting differently than he normally would have. It meant the pain ran deeper than just what he let the others see.
Jianyu knew of that pain; knew it all too well. Every day he relived the nightmare, the horror, the anguish of it, woken up from his deepest slumbers by the screams and the mind-numbing terror that seemed to consume him from the inside out. The images never stopped coming, were never far from the front of his mind, hovering just barely inside the recesses of his thoughts, images of blood, of death, of the horror that wreaked havoc and hatred throughout the people of Lunaria, throughout his own family.
The regrets.
I don't want to live like that.
"I get it, Sakngea."
Jianyu's voice was quiet, barely audible even in the silent hallway. He raised his eyes to meet the redhead's, slowly taking in the strong, defiant face, the emotions that lay, barely concealed, beneath the surface of his heart.
"I will protect Xiu," Jianyu said, and although the sound was soft, the tone was strong, confident, without any hesitation or anxiety. "I swear to you that I will protect your Xiu for you."
He paused for a brief moment, then reached out, letting his fingers press very lightly to the side of the Noble's face. It was not something he would normally do, especially not to Sakngea of all people, but it was as if the young Noble was reflecting something inside of Jianyu that he had been trying to ignore, to push away and pretend didn't exist.
I don't want to live like this anymore.
"On one condition."
The strength beneath Jianyu's voice was immense, encompassing his words with the force of a javelin. He kept Sakngea's gaze, eyes filled with the same seriousness that laced his words.
"That you come back to him, and that you come back alive. I will keep Xiu safe here on the condition that you return to him, alive and willing to protect him. Come back to the one you love. If you can promise me that, then I will keep my promise."
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Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:46 pm
He stood here, a shaking, quaking mess, waiting for the moment when Jianyu would speak. He feared the worst, that he would be denied and sent away. What would he do then? The redhead's fists clenched and unclenched as he waited, and when Jianyu finally broke the silence, his words were a flood of frighteningly intense relief. Sakngea felt a shuddering breath escape, one that he had not noticed he had been holding, and his shakes spread down to his knees as exhaustion from anger and frustration began to take a toll on his body.
When their eyes met, it was like something clicked there, and they couldn't look away. Sakn just watched the dance of emotions trail across Jianyu's eyes, watched the movement of muscles in his face as he came up with his next statement. It was nearly shocking that Jianyu accepted, and tears burned the corners of the redheads eyes. He was tired, hurt and angry, but at least now he didn't have to worry about Xiu being foolish.
And Sakngea trusted Jianyu to keep his word, because there was a resolution in the brunettes voice, a sureness that was strong as iron and confident beyond belief. The redhead started to give an awkward bow, a thanks slipping from his lips when those fingers touched his cheek.
Sakn's eyes shot open(he had closed them in relief), but the touch wasn't threatening, or uncomfortable. It was almost natural. The redhead felt his face flush, pinking ever so lightly as Jianyu's hand pulled back and he spoke. The word condition frightened Sakngea for a moment. What could the Captain want? Sakn's mind raced with a thousand thoughts, but all of them came to a lurching halt when the legionnaire spoke again.
A smile, strange in such a serious setting, marred the seriousness of Sakn's face when Jianyu finished explaining his condition, and he reached out and clasped the older man's shoulder in his hand, squeezing. It was a promise. His face was pink now from the words Jianyu used(love, was that what it was?), but the smile wasn't fading, and his words were simple, straight-forward, and said so many things, all at once.
"Don' worry, Beads. I promise."
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