The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 32: A Hint of Green

Her body was frozen as they advanced closer. 

Wind blew her hair in front of her face as someone else rushed past her. "Get away from her." Hak snarled, punching one of them in the face. He never saw him coming.

Calista stopped the other's slash at Hak's head with her arm, dislodging the knife from his grasp. She leaped off of the wall, coming down and crushing his knee. A swift hit to the temple prevented any sound escaping him as he slumped to the ground, knocked out cold.

"Nice timing." She said appreciatively. 

Hak snorted, waiting for two men to rise, but neither of them did. "You could be a little more careful, you know. The others will worry about you."

Calista circled the forms lying on the ground, studying them closely. They had on dark clothing, but that didn't mean anything special. The dirt smudged on their faces could have indicated that they were part of the black market or just regular citizens, there was nothing that distinguished them any different from the rest of the people that she's seen. 

"I had it handled, but thank you for your help." She had hoped he had gotten her signal when she noticed the two of them following her.

"Of course," Hak opened and closed his hand. "I wasn't going to give them the chance to hurt you."

Calista didn't reply, her heavy pants filling the air as she fought to catch her breath. They left the men there as they headed back, having seen enough action for the day. Her hands shook as the last traces of adrenaline faded.

///

"What?!" Yoon exclaimed angrily, steam practically coming out of his ears. "You didn't buy anything?! Geez, what did you go for then?!" He pointed to Calista. "And you! I thought I could count on you to keep him in line!"

She flinched, but tried too late to hide it. Shin-ah's head tilted to the side and she grimaced, having a feeling that he saw her.

"Sorry. They didn't have the stores I thought they would." Hak stepped in front of her, covering Calista from the rest of the group, holding his hand up in apology at the group.

As Yoon grumbled, she stayed behind Hak in an effort to keep herself calm and steady her breathing.

3... 2... 1...

"Ugh! There's no use asking him to do it." Yoon threw up his hands in annoyance. "Tomorrow we're going into town too." He declared.

Calista peeked around Hak as Yona let out a joyful cheer at the pretty boy's announcement. "Hooray!!"

Kija even had his hands clasped, thrilled. He hadn't seen another civilization fully since they went to Shin-ah's village.

Hak looked down at his sister in worry and she gave him a guilty smile, patting his back in reassurance. He shot her a look that told her to keep quiet about the incident back at the town and she nodded. Right now, telling the others that they took down several officers wouldn't do anyone much good.

She bounced out from behind him, skipping into the woods towards the river. They had passed it on the way here, and luckily for her, it wasn't too far from where Yoon set up camp. 

Calista cupped her hands, splashing water on her face. The cold water's relief was instantaneous. She smiled when she heard light steps, whirling around and coming face to face with a certain shy, masked dragon.

"Shin-ah!" She cheered, throwing her hands up in the air in celebration. It made him crack a smile, but it quickly slipped off of his face. 

He stepped closer to her, a hand reaching out to her face.