Broken Glass - Taekook

25

With that, Taehyung slumps forward, his entire body going limp before jolting back into life. The blue in his arms, eyes and hands fades, and his expression settles into one of calm confusion. I scoot forward, reaching out to help him sit up properly again, and he just leans into me for a moment, blinking rapidly. 

"Tae, are you okay?" I whisper, and he doesn't respond. "Taehyung, can you hear me?" I repeat, more urgently, and the blinking slows for a moment, as if he's centring on the sound of my voice somehow. 
"Kook?" he replies, his voice slurred and unfamiliar somehow. 
"Are you alright?" He nods, the movement laboured.
"I'm 'kay. Give me a sec." 

I frown, still worried. "Do you need me to get you anything? How do you feel?" 
"Water," he murmurs. I don't waste a second, reaching for the nearest waterskin and passing it to him. To my surprise, however, instead of drinking the contents, he pours a small amount into his own hand, and throws it into his own face. 
"Tae, what the-" 

Even as I begin the question, Taehyung's entire posture changes. His shoulders roll back, his eyes seem to refocus, and the usual alertness of his expression returns. He shudders, looks down at his hands once more, and then returns his attention to me. "Thanks. That was really fucking weird." 

I just nod, unable to think of anything else to say. "Yeah," I agree dumbly, and he chuckles slightly, wiping away the water on his face with his sleeve. "Do you remember what you said? How did you know the water would work like that?" 

Taehyung just shrugs. "I don't know what I said, but I'm guessing that was the golden river, as we thought?" I nod again. 
"I think so. " He sighs, stretching his arms out in front of him, lacing his hands together and arching his back for a moment. 

"I needed to realign myself with reality," he explains, "and sometimes the shock of cold water on the face works. Unexpected sensations or stimuli tend to bring us back." I tilt my head at him, and he must see the question in my face, because he chuckles. "I've gone into trances before, as healing rituals or as a way to better connect with the river when I was younger. You learn to recognise the signs after a while, and you find yourself reaching for the solution even if you can't process why in the moment." 

When I don't say anything, he glances over at me. "So...what now?" 
"What do you mean, what now?"
"What should we do? Go to the plains and see the queen, or go to the centre and meet the king?" I sigh, leaning forward and staring down at the little spot on the ground where some water fell. It's already hard to see, in the dim light of this tiny room. 

"I don't think we're ready for the king yet. Maybe the journey will make us ready, but I doubt it. There is more to come, more to learn, before we can beat him." Taehyung nods slightly, his hand tracing the patterns in the wood between us. 
"You think the queen will have an answer?" he asks, glancing over at me. I shake my head. "Why not?" 

"If she did, I wouldn't be here right now," I point out, and he hums in agreement. "But she will know more about Eithyr. And we won't just be going there to visit her. If the river is flowing in that direction, that means that there is something there we have to find. Something we need to do. Maybe there isn't, I don't know. But that's the only lead we have, so we've gotta use it." 

Taehyung nods again, and then turns in place, propping himself up to look at Namjoon for a moment, as if making sure that his brother hasn't disappeared into thin air. He sits back down again, runs a hand through his hair. "We have to talk to the others about it, as well, but I'm with you." 

As I frown in confusion, he holds up a hand. "I know what I said. But I've thought about it more now, and I realised that you're right. We need to head west. Soon, before more trouble comes to Rushgrove. Before we've outstayed our welcome."

I look around the room, at our sleeping friends. Some of us are hurt, we're all exhausted, and what we really need is time. But we don't have it, not anymore. We had a week of respite in that little valley, but something tells me that we won't get an opportunity like that again for a long time.