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 Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:13 pm
 
In which Jianyu is once more meditating and Bataar once more interrupts.
Setting:
Cherry Tree Hill.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:27 pm
Qian Jianyu was back on the top of Cherry Tree Hill; his favorite place to meditate. It was a quiet place, serene and calm, with the gentle pink petals of the tree drifting down lazily from thick, gnarled old branches. Closing his eyes, Jianyu leaned back, resting his head against the trunk of the tree. He reached up, his fingers absently rubbing the black cloth over his eye like he had done so many times already; it had become a restless habit of his, one that he could not seem to break. It had been several weeks since he had come to the top of his favorite hill, but it was a welcome relief to be back. Jianyu could feel the stress of his everyday life ebbing away as he breathed slowly, inhaling the soft, sweet scent of the cherry blossoms.
A few more weeks, Jianyu thought, brushing his fingers over the cloth again. A few more weeks, and then I will be able to take the test for becoming a Captain. Can I do it? Will I be able to pass this time?
He had already failed once; a miserably, disheartening experience that had almost left him too angry and too frustrated to try once more. The Battlemaster who had tested him had told him not to be discouraged, that such things were likely to happen when he was new to a weapon, new to an injury that hindered his vision. But Jianyu had spent several weeks closed off in his room, not willing to try again. But, after a time, he had managed to convince himself to try once more. After all, what else was there to do if he could not be a Captain and fight for the Legion that he was so dearly loyal to? Archery was everything to him, and without it he wasn't sure what else he could do.
So he had trained, for the past several weeks, almost hour of every day. Today was the first time he had managed to have a day off, and he planned to spend it relaxing underneath the wide berth of the Cherry Tree.
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Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:48 pm
The captain was clearly getting a lot of attention, strutting about as he was, touting his scars, managing to look exceptionally arrogant all at the same time. He’d passed his test with ease, probably because he’d made all sorts of threats when it had come to the written portion, and his scribbles of dying officials along with his evident fighting skill had been enough. And now he was feeling the need to brag about it, trying to make himself very visible in the now slightly more familiar streets of the Imperial City.
He looked impressive, if he did say so himself. The sun glinting off of his unsheathed sword forced other Lunarians to keep their distance, and Bat was certainly beginning to feel the smugness that often arises from power-tripping. His scars attested to his many battles, and plenty of the people passing him by were surely wondering how many other scars were hidden by his layers of clothing(there were many).
Bataar stomped around until he got bored, hot, and a little tired, and promptly decided to ascend Cherry Tree Hill, planning on taking an extensive nap beneath the large tree. He walked casually up, the scent of cherry blossoms smelling almost sickly sweet as he breathed in. He had meant to collapse right beneath the tree in the area he usually frequented, but he now saw that it was occupied—filled by someone he really hadn’t seen in quite some time.
”Jianyu?”
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:34 pm
Why was it that whenever he was at Cherry Tree Hill with the intention of relaxing that he was always interrupted. Jianyu had hoped that the heavy footsteps he had heard treading up the side of the hill would simply pass by him and leave him to be at peace, but they had stopped abruptly a few feet away from him. Jianyu kept his eyes closed, hoping that whoever was there would notice he was asleep and move on without any sort of interaction.
"Jianyu?"
His eyes shot open. Flipping his head to the side, Jianyu stared up at the man standing next to him, someone he had not seen for several days, two weeks almost. His gaze widened. "B-Bataar?" he said, momentarily stunned.
A Captain. Bataar was a Captain. That was clearly evident from the insignia inscribed on his new clothing. He looked strong, impressive even, in his Captain's uniform, and for a few seconds Jianyu was temporarily shocked into silence. His mouth opened and closed several times as he attempted to say something, but the words died in his throat.
A Captain. Bataar had made Captain.
Jianyu hadn't.
"Bataar," he said again, his heart clattering against his chest. He was finding it somewhat difficult to breathe, though it wasn't from anything Bataar had caused this time. Jianyu's eyes kept tracing over that Captain's insignia."What....are you doing here?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:29 pm
Bataar didn’t understand what was so shocking about his presence right now, nor why he’d seemed to set Jianyu so on-edge. He frowned, slowing as he approached the other man. He was quite aware that Jianyu hadn’t yet gotten the news that he was now a captain, but he’d never thought it was very surprising—after all, he’d been on that track for some time now, and had been doing fairly well since recovering from the massive wound on his chest. It was only natural that his rank had increased, in Bat’s opinion.
He was just surprised that the other Lunarian was not yet a captain. Not that he thought it mattered too much. If Jianyu wasn’t a captain now, he’d surely be a captain later, and that was all that mattered, even if it did put the Mongolian man in a black mood to think of it. Two captains from opposite sides being friends—lovers, even, was absolutely taboo. As students and as fighters it hardly mattered—authorities didn’t much care on that level, but now things were clearly more serious. They would both have great responsibility.
He shrugged when Jianyu finally questioned him, glancing around. ”I’m walking.” he explained slowly, as if he were speaking to someone who hadn’t quite mastered the language he was using. Mainly, though, it was just because he was confused. He hadn’t expected this reaction—he’d expected Jianyu to be impressed, to ask where his latest scar had come from, maybe.
Not this!
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:38 pm
"I'm very aware that you're walking," Jianyu said testily, when he had managed to regain his sense of speech. He stood up, brushing his pants off and made his way over to Bataar, walking around him in a slow circle. He scrutinized the new outfit, the new scars, the old patronizing expression that the Mongol wore. He let out his breath in a soft sigh, reaching up to run a hand through his hair, twisting the beads absently, as he often did when he was deep in thought.
"You look...good." Jianyu said finally. It was difficult to wrap his mind around the fact that Bataar had passed the Captain's examination when he, Jianyu, had still not managed to do such a thing. Why was it so difficult for him, when it had obviously been a small, trivial matter to Bataar?
Why were they not on equal grounds anymore?
The thought startled Jianyu and he stopped walking abruptly, his thoughts racing. Equal ground. Had they ever been on equal ground? One a strong, muscular man adept at hand to hand combat, the other a smaller archer excelling at long-range fighting. One a cheerfully moronic, easily angered Mongol, the other a quiet, subdued, carefully calculating man.
One a Noble Captain, the other a Legion Fighter.
Where is the equality?
Jianyu felt his face flush. He quickly shoved the thoughts from his head, moving to turn back to Bataar.
"How are you?" he asked, somewhat lamely.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:51 pm
Bat made a face at Jianyu as he replied, shaking his head. ”Then don’t question the obvious.” he replied, all arrogance and pride as he gazed down at Jianyu. He didn’t understand why the other man was circling, but then there were many things he didn’t think he’d ever understand about the Lunarian. He brightened visibly, however, when he was complimented. He knew he looked good, what with his muscles, his scars, and his new outfit.
”I do, don’t I?” he said, trying to keep the note of eagerness from entering his voice. He’d been trolling for compliments almost all day, although now he was just trying to figure out how much of a compliment Jianyu had just given him. From the look on the other man’s face, Bataar’s looking good might have been a bad thing. He could feel the mood growing increasingly awkward, and shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably, clearly trying to figure out what to do.
What was there to do? They were lovers, or had been—he was no longer quite sure. Jianyu didn’t look happy to see him, whatever the case. ”I’m… good.” he managed to reply, grimacing a little. He’d finally recovered from the wound on his chest, although his mood was currently in the process of spiraling downward as he spoke to Jianyu.
Something was terribly wrong.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:03 pm
Jianyu shifted positions awkwardly, moving his weight from his left foot to his right. For some reason, there was an almost tangible tension in the air around him. What was wrong? Weren't they together romantically? Or were they? It had been a long time since he had even seen Bataar last, and lately it had been feeling less and less like a romantic attachment and more of just two people meeting each other casually. Except now, at the current moment, it did not even feel like that. It was...different. Awkward. For the first time since he had started seeing Bataar, Jianyu was uncomfortable with him.
What....is wrong?
His head hurt. Jianyu pressed his fingers to his temple, trying to rid himself of a headache that was beginning to pound in his mind. The ache was reverberating throughout his skull, making it difficult to think straight.
Ignoring everything Bataar had just said, Jianyu said flippantly "So, who did you bribe to make you pass your Captain examination?"
He'd meant the comment as something offhand, something light and casual, but it came out sounding more bitter than he had intended. The headache grew, and Jianyu's fingers pressed harder into his the side of his head.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:12 pm
For a moment Bataar was merely suspended, wondering how he and Jianyu were going to resolve the awkward situation. That was, of course, right up until the other man spoke, sending a bloom of white-hot rage to ripping through the Mongolian man’s mind. He might have been able to handle all else, but that was simply too much—for Jianyu to accuse him of something like that... there was no possible way Bat could let something like that go.
”I know you’re not familiar with the concept, but sometimes if you can actually fight they let you pass.” he snarled scathingly, feeling a harsh sort of pleasure as the cruel words were released from his tongue. He hardly realized he was now concentrating his stresses and worries completely on Jianyu, nor did he care. The only thing he wanted right now was to cause the other man pain, he realized, as much as he might regret it later on.
In short, he had simply snapped. ”They also like you better if you have both your eyes.” Bataar added, ignoring the regret he felt immediately afterwards. He knew he had to be causing Jianyu pain saying things like that, but he couldn’t see a way around it—he didn’t want to find a solution right now.
Jianyu was a legionnaire, besides! They shouldn’t be on friendly terms.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:24 pm
Something twisted inside of Jianyu's stomach at Bataar's scalding comment, and he glared back at him, feeling the irritation rapidly turning into full-fledged anger. Though he had long since grown used to the Mongol's common (and frequent) insults, his jibes, to say something along those lines was more than just casually teasing him.
"I can fight better than you ever could." Jianyu snapped, his hands clenching into fists. "Besides, it's not like you're even smart enough to pass the exam, so the only other option is that you did something to make them pass you."
He stopped, breathing heavily, and was about to say something else when Bataar's next words stopped him.
"They also like you better if you have both your eyes."
It was like getting stabbed in the stomach with a white hot knife. For a moment Jianyu was too stunned to move, too stunned to even breathe. Memories came rushing back into his mind in an instant; bloodied memories, a taunting smirk, the flash of the dagger as it was raised, and then the shrieking pain as it raked down his face, and then nothing but sheer, torturous pain. Jianyu let out a gasp, putting a hand over his mouth as he bent double, nausea rising in his throat.
Why...? he wondered, closing his eye as if it were painful to even look at Bataar. Why would he say something like that...?
Why is it so hard?
Forcing the nausea back down, Jianyu straightened. When he looked back at Bataar, a pure loathing anger was shooting through his gaze. He had never before felt the amount of anger towards Bataar that he held right now, at this moment, and it was making his head spin.
"They must also like you better if you look like a great, big, stupid monster." Jianyu hissed, his voice shaking with the effort of keeping his anger inside. "Considering that you of all people, managed to pass."
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:36 pm
Bataar may have paraded around acting wildly idiotic, but there was much more to him than just that. He stared at Jianyu, his glare turning icy—a bad sign. His expression became less twisted, and he regarded the other man almost calmly. This was enormously unusual for Bat, who normally might have punched him in the face by now for insults such as the ones that had been thrown his way. ”Don’t underestimate me. I think you’ll find it will be your biggest mistake to date.” he hissed, his eyes sharp and clear for a split second—it was a chilling sight, and one that hinted that he knew exactly what was going on.
He carefully schooled his face into a more general expression afterwards, realizing his slip. It was better to be treated as if he were lower, he knew. It gave him power over others sometimes, although his rage usually got the best of him. But this time he hadn’t let it—he’d forced himself to be coherent, to try and make Jianyu regret it all.
He only hoped that something he was putting this much effort into was effective.
”I passed because I’m better than you, Jianyu, and I always have been. Get used to it.” he informed the other man, allowing an arrogant smirk to creep onto his face. An angry Jianyu was almost entertaining—almost.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:42 pm
"There's not much of you to underestimate." Jianyu snapped. The anger was rippling in his veins, making him feel hot and unsteady. His face was red, and the headache had grown nearly double, pounding against the inside of his skull like a hammer. It was almost unbearable now, and Jianyu's vision wavered for a second, going white, then back to being clear.
Why is this so hard?
It was different. Something had snapped inside of Jianyu, something had broken apart and it was difficult to breathe. His chest felt tight, like something was pressing down on it, and his fingers were clenching and unclenching on the bow tied to his waist. Subconsciously he knew that this was wrong, that something was very, very wrong, but it was too late now. Bataar couldn't take back what he had said, the hurt that he had caused to ricochet back and forth inside of him, and Jianyu himself had no desire to take back the words that he had offered.
It's just...too hard.
"You will never be better than me." Jianyu said. "Not as long as you're a Noble."
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:51 pm
Bataar observed Jianyu coldly as he spoke, shaking his head slowly. ”You’ll see.” he muttered more to himself than the other man. He had to keep himself from trembling with his barely controllable rage. He wasn’t sure why he was still here, but he very clearly was—perhaps he’d believed there was something he could still salvage between Jianyu and himself, but now it was too late. It was much too late to do anything. There was no taking back his words, uttered in fury, and he hardly wanted to.
”And you’ll see when we win this war. You will regret what you’ve said then.” he felt almost too calm, as if he should have been absolutely freaking out and off the handle. Only his heart, beating quickly in his chest, could give him away now, and there was no way Jianyu would know about that from where he was standing. There was no way he could stay here, though, no way he could deal with this here and now. He had never expected it, although he’d sensed it was coming.
He’d known from the start it wouldn’t work out.
Clenching his fists, Bataar turned on his heel. ”That is, of course, if we haven’t killed you already.” he felt the need to add coolly, wondering if that would ever be the case. And if the time came, and he was facing Jianyu in battle, would the other man die by his sword? There was no telling, not now. And with that, the Mongol walked briskly away and down the hill, wondering if anything would ever be resolved again between them.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:58 pm
"Just try to kill me!" Jianyu shouted at Bataar's retreating back. He stayed where he was, even after he could no longer see the man, and even after the sun had started to dwindle lower in the sky. It was only when he began to hear the low murmur of voices from the city down below as they prepared for the evening did his strength wear out and Jianyu collapsed to his knees on the ground, breathing heavily.
His head hurt. His chest hurt. Everything hurt. Jianyu's fingers clenched in the grass beneath him, gripping it so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Around him, Lunaria was stirring, the quiet sounds of life and laughter mixing with the shouts of the street vendors and the calls of the people to one another. Everything was moving on.
Except for him. Jianyu gritted his teeth, his head dropping forward as his fingers tightened.
Where do I go from here?
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