House of Emblem: Freefall

Like a dream where my teeth all fall out

Yellow Dahlias
-Yujun-
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26th of February;
Sovereign Year 1143

Sand plains.

It's all there is as far as the eye can see from their camp–just barren, arid ground left behind from lack of rains, trees dried out and stripped of their leaves shaking in the breeze of a mid afternoon's sun. The wind picks up, harsher than it's been for most of the ride, carrying some of the loose dirt with it as Yujun opens his mouth to speak and grits against his teeth.

"Here," A voice says above him as he spits into the dust, looks up and sees not a face but a waterskin held so close his eyes nearly cross, "use this to swish it out."

"Thank you, um-" He says gratefully, takes what's given and is greeted by fox-like eyes, sandy blonde hair–Jungmin? Junsu? Both sound close but not right so he stops while he's ahead, unscrewing the top and tilting the water into his mouth. It's warm–horribly so, almost boiling from the heat–and his mouth twists up in distaste as he spits it back onto the ground at his feet. A hand claps onto his shoulder softly, the other's eye holding sympathy when he looks back up at them, "You get used to it; the wind's harsher before the mountains, just hold out a little longer."

When he looks off to the west he can see only the blurred outline of the mountains through the dust storms in the distance, closer than they'd looked from the towns, "Are you from around here?" He asks, idle conversation to be had at their little campsite past villages here in the middle of nowhere for Yujun's skill with a map.

"I've been through this area once or twice." The older boy sits beside him on the little rock he's perched himself on–Jongmo, maybe? Still doesn't sound right, "My family's been all through the alliance territories, from the plains to the mountains," He turns and points east, towards the behemoth of a mountain range that separated them from the kingdom to the east, "Been all the way to the top of Fodlan's Throat, prairies and desert is all you can see for miles beyond it."

Savages. That's what his mom always called the people beyond Fodlan's borders–has no mercy for them, no pleasantries, just fear turned to anger. She'd lived through the war as a child; he supposes she's earned the right to voice her feelings when he never felt the same.

"Nomads then?" He asks, curious now as Jungsu–yes that sounds familiar, matches syllables he'd heard back before they left–gained a nostalgic look in his eye, staring off to the south where the leafless trees gave way to lush shrubbery miles off from them.

Jungsu nods, takes the waterskin that Yujun now hands back to him with a smile as he points to another boy across camp with longer, black hair feeding the horses, "Jooyeon too; it's fun while it lasts, but... becoming knights pays better." Yujun hums in agreement, holds up a hand to shield himself when the winds pick up again and Jungsu laughs at him, "Don't take this the wrong way but, I'm assuming you're from the capital? You've got this look about you-?

"Haha-" He smiles, doesn't let the comment get to him as he leans back on his hands, "I was born closer to the southern border but we moved before I could walk. The capital pays healers better." Needs them more, according to his mother. There's not many from the capital this year that he remembers: three lords of houses Lee, Kwak, and Park–sons of three of the five current alliance representatives–the rest of them commoners, travelers, or villagers with letters of recommendation. He realizes he rests a bit higher in the ranking but not by much, no noble blood in his veins.

Just the son of the Alliance's head healer with a letter signed by a noble's son.

"I hear it's safer within the wall too."