candybox | FOR TAISA - Reincarnation AU

FOR TAISA - Reincarnation AU

It had been two weeks since the attempt on the Regent of Khura'in's life. He had given a speech in the temple plaza, which coincided with the annual festival of Khura'in's founding and continued sovereignty. Now, it also became a festival to celebrate its freedom from tyranny once more, mirroring the acts of the Founder and of Lady Kee'ra all those centuries ago. The political nature of the celebration was important, but it also made it a perfect time for Ga'ran loyalists to strike. A sniper had narrowly missed a shot and had been apprehended at the scene, as had several other armed individuals, all shouting, 'Ur dihara Ga'ran!'. Since then, a search had been on to find the one who had coordinated the attackers.

Unease had spread throughout Khura'in, and with it, the rumours. A masked figure had been spotted, some said, stopping the sniper from taking a lethal shot. Others denied it, not wanting to pin their hopes on what could turn on to be a fraud like the rebel-hunting Lady Kee'ra.

As for Nahyuta, he had heeded Amara's advice, retreating from the public eye for the time being except to prosecute in court. The rest was televised statements or interviews of reassurance to the public that all was in hand, and that the revolution would not be quelled so easily. To the public, he embodied the perfect combination of the unwavering determination of his father, and the pragmatic caution of his mother.

Privately, however, was a different story. Fear hounded Nahyuta everywhere, because he knew if something happened to him, Khura'in would likely be ruined, Apollo would be in danger, and his mother and sister would be prisoners once again. Not only did he have a family to protect, now, but an entire kingdom, and once again he needed to be prepared to lay down his life for that.

So his nerves were frayed, he was becoming increasingly on edge which each day that turned up no new information or leads. Even meditation did not help. So when he went to sleep at night in the palace, it was a fitful sleep, wracked with dreams of spiders ensnaring him and the palace burning. Tonight, however, was different. Tonight, his dreams were interrupted as he was struck in the world of the waking -- hard -- across the head. Dazed, he could feel someone yanking him upright by his silvery hair, and the feeling of cold, sharp steel at his throat.

If he was half asleep before, he snapped awake in an instant. The assassin was a dark silhouette, their face covered, so it was impossible to discern their identity even with the pale strand of moonlight streaking across his bedchamber. Then they spoke in a low voice that identified his assailant as male.

"Before I kill you, tell me where the Founder's Orb is."

Nahyuta swallowed, trying neither to flinch or cringe away at the blade at his neck, but instead to lift his chin in defiance.

"You cannot threaten a dragon. I would sooner cut out my own tongue than tell you."

Despite his confidence, Nahyuta knew how dire the situation was. The guards outside were surely all incapacitated; no one would come to save him this time. All he could do was pray to the Holy Mother that if this was the end, his soul would be safely conveyed to the Twilight Realm.

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You were taken deep into the mountains. To the east of Khura'in, near Nepal. [So he was right to guess he was taken somewhere outside Khura'in borders.

As he watches Nahyuta carefully at the waters edge, he comes up with a mischievous idea. He comes forward while Nahyuta was preoccupied, lowering his head behind him. He then nudges him forward with his muzzle, right into the water. Thankfully they were on the shallow end of the river that he wouldn't be in any immediate danger, just very wet.]

Wha--? [Given Nahyuta doesn't have much strength, it doesn't take much to make him keel over onto the river, which he does with an unceremonious splash. He pushes himself back to the surface, coughing and spluttering.]

P-p-pohlkunka! What was that for?

[He shoots a wounded look at the dragon. This wasn't quite what he had in mind when he wanted to wash his face before they left.]

Hah hah hah! [His mouth was open, his dragon self heckling along with his more human laughter.]

I thought you could use a bath too! [Was he saying he stinks?!]

You-- you could have warned me! I do not have a change of clothes.

[He pulls himself out of the water, for all the world looking like a highly offended cat. The banter seems to come easily as he tries to wring the river water out of his clothes and long hair... and it's only after a few moments he realises why it's so familiar. After that realisation, he goes oddly quiet.]

Don't worry, the wind will dry you up once we take flight. [Now he wants him to freeze to death. He walks away from Nahyuta, going to collect the fish he had set aside for him. He'll return to his side once he has them, carrying them in his now human hands.]

We should get something in your stomach first. I hope sushi is fine with you. [Since they're short on time. He doesn't notice a change in his son, assuming he was just grumbling about his little prank to say anything else.]

The altitude will make me freeze, not dry!

[He's not just whining, either. This is the Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, not just anywhere. Still, he lets Satyendra wander off without further complaint; he's realising even dragons can have their foolish moments.]

Yes... [He's taken aback by the likewise familiar suggestion, looking to the fish and then the masked man.] Yes, that would be fine. [So why does he look so distracted?]

[He nods] I'll make some hot tea for you too. Maybe there's something you can find in the shack you can use to warm yourself up for the time being.

[If he has nothing more to say, Dhurke will start to make his trek back to the shack so he can prep the fish. He's going to learn very quickly how difficult it is to make sushi when you have a dragon's strength.]

[Nahyuta suppresses a shiver and wraps his arms around himself, still dripping while he hurries after the other man. Partly to take his mind off how cold and wet he his alongside all his other bodily complaints, and partly because this will bother him unless he mentions it, he finally has to ask--]

--Satyendra. Did you know my father?

[He nearly takes a misstep when Nahyuta suddenly ask a particular question. He hasn't exactly been very subtle, and there were days he wanted to tell him the truth, but...]

Why do you ask? [He opens the door to the shack for the both of them once they were there.]

Much of your behaviour reminds me of him, and you seemed to act as though you know Mother.

[The fact he hasn't seen his human face once, his dragon-like form, his tendency to throw strategy to the wind and rush in heroically if someone he cared about was in danger, his terrible sense of humour. All those things and more were Dhurke through and through.]

... Forgive me if I presume too much in asking. [Because he still has the highest respect for him, no matter who or what he is.]

...It's all right. Your assumptions aren't unfounded. [This entire time he doesn't meet Nahyuta's gaze, lost in thought on what to do. Should he keep quiet and lie or tell him the truth? It's not like he's been trying to keep his act together, and it won't be made any easier as time continues to pass, considering his objective.]

We'll talk more after I've made breakfast.

[Nahyuta nods mutely, not sure of what else to say. What does that mean? The vague response only reminds him more of Dhurke. Nothing could ever be straightforward when it came to him and his secrets.

When they get back to the shack, Nahyuta hobbles inside, searching for something he can use while he dries off. In one of the cupboards he finds a blanket, which is moth-eaten with disuse, but it would do for his purposes.

That done, he swaddles himself in it and sits on the couch. He wishes he could do more to help with the food preparation, but he's tired enough just from that river misadventure that he knows he should take a break for a while.]

[Dhurke will work in silence until he has finished preparing breakfast. It's slow work, because sushi is such a delicate process that even when he was consciously withholding his immense strength, he'd still ruin the fish, cutting too thick or too deep. So when he presents the sushi to Nahyuta later, they're more like uneven chunks of cleaned fish on a plate. At least it'll taste fine.]

Sorry, that took longer than expected. Not my best work, I admit. [He says as he is about to sit in a chair, only to straighten back up when he remembers something.] Oh! Forgot to make the tea. [And he's up and gone again. Someone is clearly prolonging this to avoid the talk.]

Worry not, I am hardly one to be concerned with presentation, at the moment.

[He smiles wryly at him, intending the reply to be a joke at his own expense. The smile quickly fades when Satyendra gets up again, and Nahyuta soon realises he's trying to avoid him, which only confuses him even more.

He wraps the blanket around himself glumly, poking at the sushi while he waits. He's not sure he'll be hungry while his mind is on needing to get answers, though.]

[He will eventually have to come back and face the music. With nothing else to delay him, he'll finally return to settle in the chair, offering the tea to Nahyuta.]

...Right, well. Let me just start by answering your question from before. [With the mask still covering his face, it's hard to read what he's actually feeling, but there was a noticeable lack of his usual easygoing nature in his tone and how he was sitting more upright and stiffly.] No, I did not know your father. I've only been on this earth for almost...two months now, after you became the acting regent.

[Nahyuta thanks him as he takes the tea, mulling over his words.]

So... Roughly after the time the revolution achieved its goal. [And after Dhurke's passing, of course. He seems disappointed there's no direct connection, but he'll let Satyendra say his piece before he forms any conclusions.]

[He nods, shifting in his seat. The next part takes a while for him to say. It will more than likely give Nahyuta enough to come to his own conclusion.]

...But before this life, I lived as another. That is why I know things previously before my time.

[Nahyuta had suspected something, but... This? His grip on the mug of tea tightens, so much so that he has to set it down before he spills it. But his eyes stay fixed on Satyendra, confusion and disbelief etched across his features.]

Take off that mask.

... [For a moment, it looked like Dhurke was going to comply, his hand reaching for his mask but then...he lowers his hand.]

Tell me something first. Do you understand why I chose not to say any of this to you?

[Nahyuta wants nothing more than to tear it off himself in a fit of grief, but he reins in that impulse, looking away. He feels faint and lightheaded; this is all too much to take in at once, after all that has happened already. Still, he forces himself to think over the question.]

I... I don't know. [Not for sure, anyway, but he has a few guesses. He's losing his usual composure very quickly, his voice beginning to shake.] To protect me, and avoid compromising your mission? To spare me the pain of knowing?

[There's a wry bit of laughter coming from him.]

Hit it in one. You saw what the enemy did yesterday to lure me out. They already suspect something. For that reason, I do not want to show my face to you at this time. Because you will no longer see me as Satyendra. [He is Dhurke, but also not. What the people need him to be is not Dhurke, but Satyendra, a guardian. He leans back in his seat.]

It is my fault that you've suspected me for as long as you have. I'm just not very good at playing the dragon spirit when it comes to the family of my past life. So, if you still want me to take this mask off, knowing what I've said to you, then I will respect your decision and remove it.

[Nahyuta clutches the blanket closer to himself, looking for all the world like he might be on the verge of tears. But he fights down that urge. He's not a child any more, and this isn't his father... At least not fully.

After a silence that seems to stretch on for an eternity, he comes to a decision.]

... Keep it on, then. [He looks at Satyendra, that moment of vulnerability gone as quickly as it came, replaced by something colder.] I... I do not want to make things more difficult for you than they need to be.

[If anyone understood the necessity of hiding part of themselves away to protect the ones they love, it's Nahyuta. Even if it's all a ruse, even if he knows who is really sitting across from him and what face he'll see under the mask, he'll accept it. He's already let go of his father, sent away his spirit to find peace in the Twilight Realm. He can't cling to his new life and pretend things will be the same as the last.]

[There was silence, time felt like it had frozen in that moment. And then Satyendra bows deeply to Nahyuta.]

Thank you. [It hurt, every part of Dhurke wanted this to be different and not have to put his son through this, even when he believed that this was the right decision. This would keep them both safe, even if he wanted nothing more than to embrace his son, his family after already spending half a lifetime hidden from them once before. At least this secrecy wouldn't last forever, and it drives him to see through his mission.] One day, when stability has returned to the Kingdom, I will be able to take this mask off.

[He stands.] Finish your breakfast. We'll leave for Khura'in afterwards. [The formality returns, Satyendra making a conscious decision that he needed to learn to distance himself. He could not keep toying with Nahyuta like this and make it harder on him.]

Yes. [Nahyuta's agreement is almost as lifeless as when he simply took orders from Ga'ran, as he tries to force himself to eat. Like the old days, all he had to do was crush any emotion inside him, and things would turn out for the better. The only comfort, if it could be called that, was that at least this time he had to treat his father not as an enemy, but a distant protector.

Yet his father had been alive back then. Nor did they have to hide their relation, even if Nahyuta had to distance himself from it.

With all those things weighing heavily on his heart, he doesn't even bother to make conversation with Dhurke -- Satyendra -- unless the other speaks to him first. The sooner he can get home and reassure everyone of his safety, the better. Any thought of his father needs to stay where he left it: at his funeral.]

[Even when he didn't want this moment to stop, he could not bring himself to say anymore, less he worsen things between them. So after standing there awkwardly in silence, he chooses to take his leave and give Nahyuta some space.

He'll stay outside, assuming his dragon form once more to bask in the sunlight. And there he remains until Nahyuta was ready, lost in his thoughts and steeling himself for the reality he would have to live with once they leave this place.]

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