The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 118: The Wanderers' Market

A few days had passed. The wounds everyone was sporting had closed and Calista herself was on the road to recovery. Yoon was miffed at how the dragons seemed to heal so fast but he couldn't get a straight answer out of any of them since none of them knew.

It didn't matter. He still hadn't forgiven Kija for declining the senjusou when he wanted to apply it on his injuries. Even though he didn't need it.

"You're such an idiot." Yoon had muttered under his breath while removing the bandage from his healed wounds after a day went by.

Kija had smiled at him, apologizing for worrying him and Yoon tucked his face into his sleeve, silently crying.

After he let it all out, he furiously wiped his tears and got to work making more food. Thankfully, no one commented on his breakdown. They all had been through times when things got too overwhelming, so they understood without question that he didn't want anyone to say anything about it.

Currently, they were lounging under the midday sun. The triplets had gone back to Tae-jun as soon as they were able to walk.

Calista, seeing as how the trek back would be long if they traveled on foot, stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly.

A familiar pinto mustang came crashing through the forest with all sorts of twigs and branches stuck to his saddle and reins.

"Wahh!! Horsie!!!" Opal cheered joyfully, speeding towards the large animal with his hands up.

Luckily, he didn't get spooked and stayed still to let the boy pet him. Calista patted his shoulder as he nickered, pushing his head against hers, demanding pets. She ignored him, double checking his hooves to make sure they weren't banged up too bad for the journey ahead.

"Notch, what are you doing?" Nier asked curiously as she tightened the girth strap.

"Take Bandit to get back to Tae-jun." Her eyes were deadly serious, commanding their full attention. "Don't dawdle, it's almost time. If you're there when they start, I can't—"

"Understood." Yue interrupted with a stern look to Nier, gesturing subtly to Opal who was still enamored with the mustang to notice that something was off. "We'll leave at once."

A light tap on her shoulder made her turn around.

"Notch, thanks for looking out for us." Opal said with an unusual aura of peace around him.

She hugged him carefully. "I love you, of course I'd look out for you."

He beamed up at her. "I'm glad you're back."

Her eyes softened fondly and she pinched his cheek. "Me too, kid."

"Hey, I'm not a kid!!"

With that, the triplets sped off, back to Tae-jun's side. She watched until they were out of eyesight. Hak and Yoon teamed up to tell her she couldn't go after them to ensure they made it there safely, directing her towards Shin-ah who was staring off into the distance.

She tried to convince him to let her go but he didn't yield. Instead, he relayed what he saw until he couldn't see anymore. Still, that did more to ease the worries than she wanted to admit and it was a good substitute for what she wasn't allowed to do. After thanking him for doing that for her, she shuffled over to Yoon to see what she could do to help him prepare lunch.

Things had been significantly quieter ever since they left yesterday and they were starting to get antsy. It was a good thing a certain pretty boy genius was in charge of where they were going next.

Yoon heaved a bulging sack over his shoulder, counting to make sure he had all the provisions he needed. "Today, I'm going into town for work."

The gang all froze in place.