The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 28: Recuperation

They were all gathered around a doused pile of wood in the center of the clearing.

"Alright, you rare beasts, we're taking a day to rest." Yoon announced, placing his hands on his hips.

Yona clapped her hands together gleefully, excited to take the day off. She was sore from traveling constantly, but she didn't want to complain.The others seemed to be holding up, and she was working hard to show Hak her strength so that he would acknowledge her.

The relief was palpable on Calista's face as she handed Shin-ah the leftovers from last night.

No one could read what the masked dragon was thinking, Hak looked indifferent, and the princess was giddily bouncing in place next to him. Kija was still knocked out from under the shade of a tree, Yoon having torn down the remnants of the tent about an hour ago.

The fabric had gotten nearly shredded to pieces when Calista got startled by a lone owl around midnight, sending a torrent of blades raining down on an unsuspecting Hakuryuu. Hak had been the one to deflect the brunt of the knives, preventing any harm from coming to Kija, but she still felt guilty about it.

"Kija's still sick, the Thunder Beast is still recovering, and that stubborn fighter is in no shape to travel." Yoon recounted, folding down his fingers to signify all the atrocities that happened over the last couple of days that seem to have been committed against him personally.

"But, Yoon-" Calista began to object, sitting up.

"NO BUTS!!"

Flailing her arms out to the side in a dramatic fashion, she fell back against the tree with a thump, pouting. Shin-ah looked up at her from the almost empty bowl, trying to hide his curiosity at such an action. It made him want to smile at the sight, but he didn't know why.

He cocked his head to the side as he saw Calista sneak towards the treeline. She held up a finger to her lips, urging him to keep quiet as she prepared to leap up.

It didn't matter, because that second, someone else caught her.

"Oy, Bat-Ears." Hak's eyes pierced through her. She shrunk back under his scrutiny. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Yah!! You're in no condition to go anywhere!!" Yoon smacked her over the head, and she cried out in pain. Shin-ah was on his feet in an instant at the sound. "That's the whole point of RESTING today!!"

"It's just a quick trip to the nearby town." She tried to convince the skeptical genius. Shin-ah slowly sat back down, but Yona had already noticed. "I'll be right back. I've got something to take care of, and we need more food, don't we?"

"We don't have any money." Yoon immediately countered, suspicion lingering in his intense stare.

"Let me take care of it." Calista assured him easily.

He glared at her, and she smiled sheepishly. The pretty boy had a talent for getting information out of her.

"I'm going to sell these," She flashed two weapons at her side, tied to her sash. Yoon and Yona's eyes went wide. "For money. It should be more than enough to feed us for today. If I get lucky, it could be real handy to have on hand."

"Where did you get that?" Yona asked, bewildered. She didn't recall her friend ever having those before.

"Why not just keep them?" Yoon interjected his two cents. "Those would do a lot of damage in a battle."

"Exactly, making them easily traceable." Calista explained. "The person I took this from, will undoubtedly be looking for it. If I use it, they would recognize the marks left behind. Besides, I don't know how to really use these effectively in a large scale fight."