Hak and Yona casually strolled back after some time, finding the fighter and blue dragon tuckered out under a nearby tree.
The princess clasped her hands together, eyes shining in happiness. "They're soooooo cute!!" She gushed.
Hak snorted and she sent her bodyguard a withering glare. Yoon had been giving her lessons on how to put him back in his place, and she had been observing how Calista shot down her brother on several occasions, but so far she hadn't been very successful.
Plopping down on the ground, she discreetly took the discarded bottle and poured some of the remaining liquid in a small cup.
"Noooope that's not for you, Princess."
Hak plucked it right out of her hands, waving a finger at her. Yona whined, reaching for it as he lifted it out of her reach. He blushed as she pushed right up against him shamelessly, the naive princess not seeing anything wrong with her actions. He lost his grip on it, It caused the cup to clatter to the ground and spill everywhere.
Yona threw herself down in attempt to save it, but to no avail. She pouted and kicked her feet in the air, unaware how being sprawled across her bodyguard's lap was sending heat rising to his cheeks. The sound woke up Yoon, who blinked blearily before glaring at the rowdy Thunder Beast and an apologetic Princess.
He huffed then got to his feet. Kija was passed out, but stirred a little bit in his spot as the boy began chastising the pair for making so much noise.
Hak fought to keep his blush under control as Yona sat back on her heels. Luckily, she didn't notice how flustered he was.
Unfortunately, as he stood up abruptly to put some space between them, he accidentally knocked over the stacked metal.
Calista was jolted out of her slumber as the clanging of pots and pans reverberated through the air. In a split second, Shin-ah unsheathed his sword and had it positioned in front of them defensively. They both realized there was no danger at the same time and a light laugh escaped her as he cracked a smile.
He put away the blade as she staggered to her feet, but she lost her balance the instant she stood up, the world spinning before her eyes. Tilting backwards, Shin-ah caught her just before she completely lost her footing. Flashing him a grateful smile, she flaunted over to where Hak was gesturing for her to sit.
He offered her some of the clear liquid, but she declined.
"Thanks, but no thanks."
He looked at her strangely as Shin-ah took a seat across from her. "You sure? I thought you liked to drink."
Calista looked away from her brother. "Not anymore."
He shrugged, then downed it in one go. Yona tried to do the same thing, only to cough it up as it burned her throat. She eyed it evilly as if it was the source of all the misery in the world. "How did you drink it so fast?!"
"Aren't you supposed to act more ladylike, Princess." Hak jeered good-naturedly, raising his up as an example.
She frowned at him. He was obviously mocking her. "Take small sips." Hak instructed.
Yona wrinkled her nose, but did as she was told, gagging on the horrid taste.
"Hey Marshy, maybe you should show her how it's done." A mischievous glint in Calista's eye. "You know, a more hands-on experience would be better for her to learn from, isn't that right?"
He glared at her, but Yona looked all too eager, so he scooted towards her despite not wanting to.
No, not that he didn't want to. He definitely did. He wanted to have her in his arms, be able to catch a whiff of her sweet scent just before her beautiful eyes widened as she was caught off guard by something he said.
Calista grinned as her brother shook his head violently, knowing exactly what was running through his head, and sent a wink to a puzzled Shin-ah. Her brother's inebriated state was going to be hilarious to watch.
She excused his behavior as he fumbled with Yona's hands, trying to rearrange them so that they held the bottom of the cup delicately. He accidentally bumped heads with her in the process. They rubbed the sore spot as she howled with laughter, Shin-ah smiled at the sound.
It woke Kija up, who shouted, "No, no, no more marriage proposals, Granny!!"
Calista shrieked, absolutely dying with laughter as she fell forward and rolled on the ground. She couldn't even bring herself to reassure Shin-ah that she was okay as he peered down at her in concern. Tears were leaking out of her eyes at the hysteria and she couldn't calm herself down.
Yona giggled, the raven-haired's laughter contagious and Hak reached over to bonk his sister on the head.
"Oy, Bat-Ears. Can you be any louder?"
She stopped, looking him dead in the eye as she brought herself up to her full height.
Her response was an ear-piercing shriek in retaliation and he glowered at her as she started laughing all over again. This time, the others joined in and when she finally calmed down, she flashed him a Cheshire grin.
"You done?" Hak glared.
Calista flopped on the ground, resting her hands behind her head as she gazed up at the early morning sky. "For now, Marshy."
The sun hadn't risen yet, but they only had about another hour before it did.
He blew a raspberry at her for the immature nickname and Yona giggled, then gasped.
"Oh no, Kija! There's a bug on your back!!"
If he was sober, this revelation would have been enough for him to start screaming as he tried to get it off, but since he wasn't, it was that much more worse.
Calista pulled Yona to the ground as Kija's dragon claw enlarged to an abnormally large size and Hak was able to tackle Yoon just in time before it accidentally skewered the unsuspecting boy.
Yona grunted as she hit the ground, and Calista sent her an apologetic look.
He's drunk and he's dangerous. Geez, what a combination.
The white dragon swung around aimlessly, clipping the bottom of Shin-ah's fur as he dove to the ground. Calista gritted her teeth, leaping up at the next pause. The opportunity wouldn't come again. Yona cried out, but Shin-ah pulled her back down as it came around again.
Calista darted over and under, barely evading his unintentional attacks. The spider was huge, about the size of her palm, and she could see why Kija was freaked out.
But this situation called for finesse. He wouldn't be able to get it off by himself. She launched herself off of his bent knee, plucking the spider off his back and flipping into the air, rolling with the impact. As he shrieked for the umpteenth time, she dashed out of his radius, looking to place the terrified spider far away.
When she came back from the deeper parts of the forest, Kija's face was bright red with exertion or embarrassment; she couldn't tell which.
"It's gone." Calista stated dryly, brushing the dirt off of her shoulder.
He apologized profusely, bowing repeatedly and she took pity on him.
"Kija, it's alright." She placed a hand on his arm, a fond smile on her lips. "It's gone."
He was shaking in fear, and she was struck with just how much he hated them. No matter how much they all teased each other, when it came down to it, she wasn't going to stand for seeing any one of them afraid.
Lost in her thoughts as they elaborated on themselves and searched deeper in her mind for answers, Calista wandered back towards the town absentmindedly.
Yona looked at her retreating form in worry, following her without a second thought. Hak immediately moved to follow the two of them, but at that instant, a drunk Yoon demanded his attention. They had been gone for one minute when Shin-ah consoled his dragon brother.
"How did he even manage to get this drunk?!"
Shin-ah only shrugged and they both worked together to get the boy arranged comfortably in the tent. He needed to sleep this one off.
Once she was out of range of the others, Calista ran and ran until she couldn't anymore. She didn't even know why she was fleeing. It was like something, or someone was following her. Zipping around a corner, she crashed into that same someone and landed hard on her tailbone.
She winced, squinting her eyes as she willed them to focus on the dark figure. They shot open as she identified him, and she scrambled backwards just before her eyes rolled in the back of her head.
Yona rounded the corner just in time to see her hit the ground, some kind of white foam coming out of her mouth. The man that stood above her was none other than the same one who killed her father right before her eyes.
The one, not long ago, she thought she would one day marry.
"Soo... Soo-won...?"