Their New Home (Yona Of The Dawn X Oc)

Chapter 20

Strolling around at night has always been Aiko's favourite pastime.

When she was living in Fuuga, she would always sneak out of her room at midnight and wander around the village, relishing in the rare silence. Sometimes she'd get so caught up in the moment, that she'd stay outside all night long.

She had to admit, however, that taking midnight walks in the wilderness was much more enchanting than doing so in a village.

The moon and stars were fully visible that night, blanketting the forest in their gentle glow. This gave their surroundings an almost otherworldly feel to it and Aiko had to stop multiple times to take in the sight.

Kija was equally as entranced, slowing down his pace and admiring the view with a soft smile. He seemed at peace for once.

The duo continued to patrol the area silently, too caught up in their own thoughts to start a conversation.

But after a few more minutes, Aiko grew bored and turned to the dragon, "So, how are you settling in? We're not exactly a civil group but I hope we haven't offended you too much."

Kija was a little surprised that the girl was starting a conversation with him but answered politely, "Don't worry, you're not as annoying as your brother. I'm sure we'll be able to cooperate well in the future too."

"Sure hope so. Our group will continue to grow so I'm a little worried we won't get along," Aiko confessed, fiddling with a loose strand of hair.

"We don't have to get along to fulfil our duty," the dragon replied. The girl scrunched her face in confusion, finding it unusual how he valued his 'duty' over everything else, a direct contrast to the wind tribe's laid back attitude.

"Is that why you're okay with Sumi joining us?"

At the mention of the woman's name, Kija glowered, "Ugh that woman! She had the gall to belittle a dragon and then act so... So unbothered. Do her words hold no value? How are we supposed to trust someone like that?"

The girl blinked in surprise at the passionate rant, "Woah, you're that worked up over her, huh? I don't think even Hak's gotten you this angry."

Kija merely sighed and mumbled, "She's a lot more confusing than that barbarian of a bodyguard."

Aiko hummed in agreement. Although they haven't interacted one-on-one yet, she found the woman to be an enigma. Sumi wasn't necessarily stoic, but there was something rather restrained about her - like there was a dam in her mind preventing any of her inner thoughts from being shown.

It was terrifying to think of what might happen if that dam were to burst.

"Try to get along though. Bantering is fun but arguing all the time is exhausting for everyone," Aiko then advised, in an attempt to stop herself from overthinking, "I've lost count of how many times Yoon's wanted to kill all of us."

Kija chuckled apologetically, "I can get carried away sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Aiko taunted, before laughing at the dragon's offended expression, "Sorry, you're too fun to tease."

He huffed exasperatedly but made no effort to rebuke her statement, knowing that she was right, "I just hope that's not the only thing good about me."

"Eh? Of course not! Why would you even say that?" The girl exclaimed, taken aback by the insecurity in his voice.

"It's nothing really, just... I don't know. It feels like everyone in the group has a purpose, something only they can do. Even Sumi. You're all only human, yet you're much more impressive than I-"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Aiko's voice echoed around the forest, destroying the serene atmosphere instantly, "I mean, you're a dragon ya know? You have this insane power that no one on this Earth has and you're calling yourself useless?"

The dragon recoiled in surprise. For someone who barely knew him, she was quick to jump to his defence.

"We reached out to you because we need you, Kija. She needs you. So get those stupid thoughts out of your head before I slap you!" Aiko ended her rant with one final glare, before taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

Kija mumbled a quiet "thank you", mind still reeling from the young girl's earnestness.

He supposed she was right to get so angry at him - after all, he supposed to be the proud White Dragon, a sacred creature born to serve its master. He needed to get his act together if he wanted to do that successfully.

As for Aiko, a part of her felt guilty for snapping at Kija. But after thinking it through, she decided she wouldn't apologise; apologising meant she believed she did something wrong and there was nothing wrong with fighting against insecurities.

Thus, the remainder of the patrol continued in silence, with neither party knowing what to say. 

When they returned to the camp, still lost in thought, Aiko and Kija were pleasantly surprised by a serene sight. Hak and Yona were fast asleep in their respective areas of the camp whilst Yoon and Sumi conversed quietly, no longer strategising and donning gentle smiles. 

"We're back!" Aiko announced, waving both arms cheerfully.

"Shhh! Yona and Hak are sleeping!" Yoon scolded in a hushed voice.

The girl shrugged her shoulders unapologetically and sat down beside the pretty boy genius, "Did I miss anything important?"

"Yeah. We're gonna head to a nearby village before searching for the Blue Dragon - we gotta buy a couple of things for Sumi and extra medical supplies. You accident-prone beasts are draining my resources," he explained, glaring pointedly at Aiko.

"Hey! I've been taking care of my injuries, unlike someone." She protested, pointing at her sleeping brother.

"Yeah, yeah. You're still as reckless as he is though," Yoon flicked her forehead, unable to hide his amused smile.

Aiko whined childishly, making dramatic declarations about how she was "being ruthlessly bullied". Although she was pouting, there was no denying the amused glint in her eyes.

Sumi was watching the scene with interest, quietly coming to her own conclusions, before smirking deviously.

Kija was the only one who noticed the woman's terrifying expression and shot her a warning glare, "What are you up to?"

"What on Earth do you mean, Airhead?" She blinked innocently.

"This airhead nonsense again? I'll have you know, my village has provided me with the greatest education-"

"Awww, look at you trying to prove you're not dense. How cute." Her mocking tone made Kija's blood boil.

Yoon interrupted the fight before it could escalate, "Calm down! Like I already said, Yona and Hak are asleep dammit. You'll wake them up!"

"On the topic of sleep, we should probably do that now - it's getting late. Sumi, you can sleep in the tent with Yona and Yoon. I prefer sleeping outside," Aiko suggested, stretching her limbs groggily.

The adrenaline from all the events that happened that day was beginning to wear off and Aiko couldn't believe just how exhausted she was.

"Yeah, I guess we stayed up later than usual. Kija, you'll have to sleep outside, okay?" Yoon stated. He tiredly wished everyone a good night and headed into the small tent set up near the campfire, where Yona was fast asleep.  

Meanwhile, Kija's face paled at the realisation that he'd have to sleep outside. Although he didn't want to, he was forced to swallow his complaints due to Sumi's presence - there was no doubt she would mock him for being too spoilt.

Instead, he sentenced himself to the worst sleep he's had in his 20 years of living.

A/N
So a little bit of a filler chapter this time. I wanted to build on the relationships between the characters, especially since so many new faces joined the group. Hope you enjoyed this and have a nice day. <3