Fits in with the timeline, occurs after they leave the Fire Tribe but before they arrive at the Kai Empire.
Total Words: 26k
Words for this part: 2.8k
They were all taking a little break. Thank goodness they had some down time before they were needed somewhere else again. Luckily, that aligned perfectly with their schedule and they took a slight detour.
Towards the coastline.
Sunlight bounced off of the endless waves that rolled out as far as the eye could see. The jagged cliffs sheltered the hidden beach from the rest of the world, and white sands sparkled like gems. The beach was sunken in the earth, completely concealed. A refreshing breeze blew by, making their hair sway in the wind as the group arrived.
They had to pass through a mile of extremely dense foliage to find this paradise, and it was only due to a certain someone's special eyesight.
"Look, Shin-ah!! It's the ocean!!"
The ocean spray got in Calista's eyes as she ran in, but she didn't care. Splashing without a care in the world, she raised her hands towards the sky, laughing joyously.
The others all stared at the spectacular sight before them, and Yoon dropped the sack he was carrying in shock. He knew what to expect when Shin-ah pointed them in this direction, but he wasn't picturing something as beautiful as this.
The blue dragon thought he might get tired of seeing things once he had already seen them, but witnessing his girl's excitement made him feel like he was reliving it all over again.
Calista grabbed his hand, and he stumbled after her as she pulled him to the crystal-clear waves crashing on the shore.
There were no other people in sight. It seemed like they were the only ones who knew about it.
Her arms flailed wildly as she almost slipped on the wet sand beneath her toes, catching her footing just in time. A wide smile stretched across her face as she turned her eyes back towards the shining sun.
"Shin-ah!!" She exclaimed, turning around rapidly when she didn't find him behind her. "Shin-ah? Where'd you go?! You have to come see!! Look at how pretty— Eep!!"
He grabbed her waist from behind, lifting her up and twirling her around with ease. Her hands shot out to his forearms to steady herself.
"Shin-ah!!" Calista laughed loudly as he spun her around.
When she wasn't paying attention, he had shed his outer layers and shirt. The panels of his bare chest flexed as he held her just above the ground and her silver eyes darkened slightly, landing on his recently healed wound.
He lowered her down eventually, and his muscles tensed as he set her on her feet gently.
Tracing over the stiff bandages, she looked up at him worriedly when he winced as she peeled it off. The skin was healed, but the flesh was sensitive. He caught her hands, leaning his forehead against hers for one second to relish in the moment. Closing his eyes, he exhaled softly and it fanned out against her ear.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Calista asked him, and was thrown off by his immediate nod. "That was a little too fast."
He made a quiet noise in the back of his throat in protest and she laughed lightly, circling her arms around his neck. His hands instinctively went to her waist in response, holding her to him and a smile curved against his shoulder.
"You will tell me if it starts hurting again, right?"
He nodded reassuringly and she took a small step back to trace his jawline. His hands went up to his face, turning up the corners of his mouth into a big smile and she chuckled. Pulling back a bit more, she threw her hands up in the air.
Calling out to their friends who had yet to move, she figured they were too stunned by the view so she decided to snap them out of it. "Come on in, guys!! You're missing all the fun!!"
Shin-ah jumped a little at her volume and she whirled around, apologizing profusely.
Yona's exclamation of awe reached her ears through the silence. "It's so beautiful!!!"
"Come on, Hakuryuu!! Zeno will race you there!!"
"Eh? You're on!!"
"Wahhh!! Wait!! You can't use your right hand!!!"
Jae-ha chuckled, taking off his robe as he watched the younger dragons tunnel towards the water at full speed. "Last one in has to cook dinner tonight!!"
Hak smirked, throwing the princess over his shoulder and she yelped, cheeks coloring as he manhandled her with ease. "I hope you're prepared to follow through with that, Droopy-Eyes. I want food that's not burned tonight."
They tore after each other, even up until the very last second when Jae-ha was barely able to push ahead of him. Yoon didn't even bother racing, knowing that whoever ended up last most definitely would burn dinner if they were put in charge. It was best left to him.
"Yah, you rare beasts!! If you slip and fall I'm not taking care of you idiots!!" He yelled after them even though he knew they weren't paying any attention to him.
This vacation was supposed to be risk and injury-free for him, too. He told them he didn't want to treat anyone's wounds that they got from being stupid. He rolled his eyes at the shrieking that followed his words as Hak almost slipped and Yona was jolted from his grasp.
Jae-ha caught her easily before he was pushed off of her by her fuming bodyguard.
"Don't touch her." Hak glared at him, the smirk on his face only aggravating him further.
Calista cupped her hands over her mouth, brushing off her brother's annoyance and yelled, "Yoon, come on!!"
She squealed as Shin-ah took advantage of the rare moment of vulnerability and tickled her sides, causing her to lose her footing. He reached out for her but she landed on her bottom in the shallow waters, giggling as it lapped lazily at her stomach.
He helped her up, apologizing softly and she commented on how cute he was being, causing him to flush.
Yona giggled at the two of them before she was lifted off of her feet and placed on Hak's shoulders.
"Hak!!" She squealed.
"Remember this, Princess?"
She screamed joyfully as he took off, running through the water with no trouble despite how the water was weighing down on his clothes. He really was incredibly strong, no other person would be able to make it look so effortless.
Zeno clapped excitedly, overjoyed with the energetic atmosphere, so unlike the dreariness that had been plaguing their group since the stranger was made known. Jae-ha had also taken off his outer layers and his pants got soaked as water splashed everywhere, but he didn't mind it.
The sea reminded him of his time as a pirate on Captain Gi-gan's ship. He missed them all dearly, but he was thankful for his new family.
Kija came to stand right beside Yoon as the pretty boy finally came to join them, an awed expression on his face as the sunlight seemed to dance off of the water, making it sparkle beautifully. Since he left his village, he had to say that he enjoyed seeing the ocean the most out of all their adventures so far.
It was so unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Calista waded in deeper, but before she had a chance to go any further, she was picked up effortlessly and carried back to safety.
"Aw, Shin-ah!! I want to see the fishies!!" She pounded her fists halfheartedly against his back, but he didn't put her down.
He shook his head no at her childish whine, refusing to give in. Hak had warned him about riptides just after she darted ahead of them and he didn't want her going in too deep. There wasn't anything he could do if she got swept away since he didn't know how to swim very well.
She pouted as he carried her away back towards the shore, sulking at her defeat. Jae-ha smirked at the sight of her slung over his shoulder, finding it extremely similar to how Hak was with Yona.
Calista caught the look on his face and scowled at him. "Shut up, Droopy-Eyes!!"
"I didn't say anything, Calista dear."
"STOP SMIRKING THEN!!"
He played it dumb, flipping his ponytail over his shoulder gracefully. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
At this point, Hak had stopped running around with Yona on his shoulders and put her down. She looked so small next to him and Calista giggled, knowing she probably didn't look any better given that she was only a little bit taller than the princess.
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!!"
They all cringed at the youngest's fury and Calista smiled apologetically. He huffed, then his eyes softened as he spotted something in the distance. Shin-ah finally put her back down, but hugged her from behind so that she couldn't attempt to escape beyond the shallows.
Following Yoon's gaze, her eyes softened at the gorgeous sight. She hadn't realized how much time had passed. The setting sun casted a soft glow over the horizon, deep violet and dusty pinks dotting the evening sky beautifully.
They each trudged through the tropical waters back towards the shoreline.
It was warm enough to sit on the sand in their damp clothes and not catch a cold. Palm trees swayed as a refreshing breeze blew by, and she sighed blissfully, finding the salty air a welcome change from the Fire Tribe villages.
Shin-ah, Yoon and Jae-ha left their clothes in a pile on the shore, not bothering to pick them up. All of them except for Calista peeled off their wet layers and hung them on the bushes and she grinned as she saw the blush on her younger brother's cheeks as he saw Yona in barely anything.
While Yoon got a fire going, they all lounged around, relaxing as waves crashed upon the sand. The raven-haired fighter laughed to herself as she distinctly heard the princess cry out in surprise as Hak threw his overcoat over her to hide her from Jae-ha's prying eyes.
Kija looked down, fiddling with his thumbs as his face burned up from seeing Yona in such a revealing state. Zeno smiled brightly at him, petting a bluebird who had landed on his shoulder.
"Hakuryuu saw the Miss!!" He cheered, oblivious to the dark aura brooding from the ex-general and the princess looked up at him cluelessly.
"Hak?"
He didn't answer her, attempting to brush past her to get to a white dragon who was sweating nervously when she stopped him. Upon hearing her plea not to start anything so late into the night on their first day off, he yielded.
Calista shared a sly smirk with Jae-ha. "And here we have a prime example of Her Royal Highness able to turn her loyal bodyguard into a pile of goo."
Dodging the shoe that was thrown her way, her grin widened.
Yona tilted her head, confused. "Hak, what are they talking about?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, Princess."
The green dragon slid over to where she was sitting. "Why, Yona dear, what Hak means to say is that—"
He didn't even get to finish as the Thunder Beast punched him in the face. His sister cackled loudly and he cracked his knuckles as Jae-ha straightened up, wiping the blood from his nose. "You're seriously asking for it."
"By all means, do it again." The green dragon smirked, licking his lips salaciously. "That felt rather good."
Yoon's forehead creased in annoyance and Kija toppled over from the innuendo. "Yah, Jae-ha!! Stop making it sound so suggestive!!"
"And you!!" The pretty boy spun around on his heel, throwing a scathing glare at the ever impassive ex-general. "No injuries!!!"
Hak waved his hand nonchalantly. "Ah, Droopy-Eyes is fine, Yoon."
"HE WOULD BE IF YOU STOP PUNCHING HIM!!!"
Shin-ah pulled Calista to his bare chest, tuning out the very one-sided argument. Her wet clothes stuck to his skin, but he didn't care, circling his arms around her middle. Extending his legs on either side of her, he pushed his bottom lip out slightly when she didn't fully lean against him.
She twisted her head to look up at him, stifling a giggle at his adorable pout. "I don't want to hurt you."
But his tugging was insistent and eventually she gave in, careful not to put too much pressure on the newly healed injury. Sighing peacefully, she snuggled into him and closed her eyes, finding the sounds of the ocean unbelievably calming.
Not too far away, Yona rolled onto her back, gazing up at the stars. They were so far away from civilization in every direction that they shone so bright here. She tilted her head up, heart rate speeding up in her chest as her eyes landed on Hak's sleeping form.
"Princess?"
Blushing as she was caught, she was grateful that it was dark enough so that he couldn't see her. Hopefully.
Hak sat up straighter, grimacing as his back scraped uncomfortably against the rock.
Yona frowned. "Hak, you don't have to sleep all the way over there. We're safe here."
It was true, no one would think to look for them in a place they didn't know existed. The drop from the cliffs down the beach was so drastic no one would want to chance it. The only reason they did was because Shin-ah was able to use his eyesight to see past the thick brush for miles before he caught a glimpse of the ocean.
And so he was the only one who managed to convince Yoon that he wasn't leading them all to their deaths at the drop off.
The princess' frown of displeasure transformed into a small pout as her bodyguard didn't move from his post. Crawling over to him, she craned her neck to see his cobalt eyes, which were shadowed by his dark hair.
She reached a hand up to his face, then squeaked in surprise when he caught her wrist.
Stuttering out his name to cover up how flustered she was, Yona missed the glare Hak shot over her shoulder.
Despite it being night, he could still see the smirk on the green dragon's face and wanted nothing more than to wipe it off of his face.
"Go to sleep, Princess."
Yona opened her mouth, wanting to argue with him but he silenced her with a single look. Begrudgingly, she moved back to her original spot and did her best to obey the command.
Calista wiggled slightly, catching the attention of the alert blue dragon behind her.
"Hey..." She whispered quietly. "What's the matter?"
When she didn't receive an answer, she tried to twist around but his arms tightened around her protectively, preventing her from doing so. She could feel how wildly his heart was thumping against her back and she frowned.
Something had him spooked.
Her eyebrows knitted in concern. Tilting her head up, her frown deepened as she noticed that his jaw was clenched and his head kept jerking.
Murmuring his name fondly, she urged him to look at her. He eventually did, but with much resistance. Asking him again, his arms squeezed her, as if he needed to know she was right there beside him.
That she was alive and well.
As if she could sense where his thoughts were at, her eyes softened.
"You're worried about me?"
He hesitated, leaning forward to place his head on her shoulder, lips right by her ear. "He's still... out there..."
Calista unconsciously shivered, but whether it was from his proximity or the fact that she still had someone following her, she didn't know. Maybe it was a little bit of both.
But she was safe. She knew she was safe with her friends and she felt safe with him.
"It's okay, we're going to get him." She tried to reassure him. "But he doesn't know where we are, and it's time you got some sleep."
His lips parted in surprise and a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth.
"Yeah, I know you haven't been sleeping. But you've got to, you can't continue to run on these naps you've been taking." Calista told him. "I know you're worried, but everyone is here. We can share this so that it's not all on you."
Rolling her eyes inwardly, she tacked on, "Or me."
She was rewarded with a peck on her cheek for her bravery and she was glad it was night time so that he couldn't see the blush that bloomed across her cheeks. Returning the affectionate gesture just below his jaw, she sank into him and he finally allowed himself to relax.
Rubbing her cheek against his warm skin, she mumbled tiredly, "Sleep, Shin-ah. We're safe."
And with that, the two fell easily into the bewitching call to go under.