The Sword and The Shield | Yona of The Dawn

Ik-Soo's Place

'DARKNESS HAS FALLEN UPON THE LAND.

THE BLOOD OF THE DRAGONS WILL REVIVE ONCE AGAIN...

... AND THE ANCIENT PACT WILL BE KEPT. 

WHEN THE FOUR DRAGONS ARE GATHERED...

... THE SWORD AND THE SHIELD WHICH WILL PROTECT THE KING SHALL AWAKEN...

... AND THE RED DRAGON SHALL RESTORE THE DAWN AT LAST.'

*********

It was a bright and sunny day in May, and everyone was in a bad mood.

"Ik-Soo! I'm going to kill you, you worthless pain in the butt!"

Yoon had been issuing threats like this to the poor, clumsy oracle since the day he, Yona, Hak, Jeaha, Kija, Shinha, and Zeno had found him collapsed and bleeding on the floor of his small home. It turned out that he had simply tripped and hit his head, but because of this, Yoon was extremely angry. He had been storming around inside, putting things back where they should have been (Ik-Soo made a very large mess since Yoon's departure), and fussing over everything he found on the floor. He kicked everyone out as to have more space to work, making everyone feel a bit miffed. Except Zeno.

"Oh, you spilled all the honey and milk on the floor! They're useless now! Where are all my herbs? I told you not to touch them unless you got sick or hurt! I had them all organized on the shelves... now they're gone! What... HOW on earth did you manage to SHATTER all of THESE!?"

Outside, the four dragons pitted the oracle. Even though they had just met him, all of them had at least once been scolded by a furious Yoon, and none of them were willing to experience that again.

While Yoon was muttering to himself inside, everyone else was silent, waiting for the angry storm to pass. Poor Ik-Soo was sitting on a patch of grass, flinching every time Yoon shouted his name. Kija was surveying the beautiful environment around him, the lush trees, colorful flowers, unseen singing birds and... is that a waterfall? He slipped off to find out. Zeno was busy exploring and watching the group, and Jeaha stretched out and yawned as if the chaos inside was no big deal. Shinha was sitting, his back against a tree, staring at nothing in particular as Ao ate a fat peanut in his palms. Hak appeared asleep and Yona, who was glad to see the oracle again walked over to where he was sitting to try to comfort him. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by this new volley of threats from the house, "Ik-Soo!! WHAT have you done to all the jam?! They were supposed to stay sealed in their containers or they'll go bad! But they are not, and guess what? THEY SPOILED, THAT'S WHAT!"

A brief pause, then, "Where's the rice?! I had five jars full when we left, and DON'T say you ate them all, because you hate this kind!"

Ik-Soo winced. "I thought they were seeds, so I planted them," he looked guiltily up at Yona. "I thought they would grow into pretty flowers."

"Well, it can't get any worse than this, right?" she said giggling.

"Oh, yes it can," Hak said. He overheard their conversation and came over to have some fun.

"While we were away, Yoon has gotten tougher," he leaned in closer, no hint that he was joking on his face, "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he came out right now and beat you to a pulp."

"Hak..." Yona warned. She did not want to frighten the priest any more that he already was.

"Y-Yoon wouldn't do t-that, would he?" Ik-Soo glanced worriedly at his house where Yoon could still be heard cursing and muttering.

"Believe me, he could."

"Hak, cut it out!" Yona said, "Don't listen to him, Ik-Soo." She glared at her bodyguard, who was laughing.