#⸻ suguru / geonwoo

[wvthering]

with geonwoo @chrysanths at the emerald tea house

rubble still falls from his hair as suguru tries to make his way through the remains of the tea house. the dust has barely settled and it prickles at his nose, but he pushes past it. there is still people running around him and the screams ring in his head, but that doesn't stop him.

his chest aches, but it's not due to any physical sensation. no, it's the despair of how useless he feels, how when faced with the spirts there was nothing he could do but try to buy some time so others could run. what use has a non-bender anyway? his father used to say and now suguru understands how right he was.

maybe later he will think of it, but for now he can still help.

his arm hurts so much it's difficult to breathe, but suguru decides he can worry about it later. it's not something vital, he can still walk, can still do what he can to help. what he can't, suguru knows, is to stay still.

he looks around the wreckage of what was the tea house, paying close attention to every place someone might have fallen. and this is how he finds geonwoo, lying down on the floor. he runs to his coworker, kneeling by his side, checking his pulse.

"geonwoo," suguru calls, gently touching his shoulder with his good arm. "geonwoo wake up, we need to leave, now." he looks around, but there is no one who can help him. it seems it's just the two of them now. "come on, get up, we gotta go."

[chrysanths]

⸻ CHARACTER UPDATE

Given the events and some plotting I have done, as well as thinking, I've decided to write up a comprehensive update for Geonwoo and lay out the character development he will be going through and what happened to him during and following the events! This could lead into potential plots or further dev!

THE BANQUET : Before things went awry, he did not enjoy the banquet much, sticking mostly beside the royal family's children. He is never off-duty.

THE ATTACK : During the attack, he stuck around for as long as possible to fight off the dark spirits and maintain the strange lava. He went out of his way to pull other nobles to safety ( especially those who are young or unable to fight ) and stuck to protecting the royals to the best of his ability. He displayed acts of selflessness, appalling even himself, and managed to stay in the physical world. But he has his first argument with his twin sister Aera, when he pulls her to safety. Suguru, his fellow royal guard, assists him while he is injured in being brought to the infirmary.

AFTERMATH : Because of his actions, he becomes severely injured and sustains those that take over a month to completely heal. Bruised rib, sprained wrist, cuts along his arm, and several deep wounds. For a time until healing all the way, he has a temporary limp. Because of his fight with so many, he can still feel the toll the incident has taken on him mind, body, and spirit. Fortunately, this has all given him time to become even more in tune with his lavabending and swordsmanship so he can do better next time. ( Hoping there will not have to be... )

CONCERNING FAMILY : In the month and a half that his sisters Yura and Nara are gone, he has become convinced they are dead. Fortunately, his twin Aera is more spiritual and when Nara appears in her bed, he is at a loss, and finds himself unable to not openly weep when it is told to him that Yura has been found as well. He cries for the first time since their parents died. Safe to say he has an even more profound protective mindset over them than he already had and he strives for their house to become stronger than ever.

CONCERNING LOVE : Something he does not want to touch upon whatsoever. When two months pass and decisions are made that are out of his hands, he will feel as if he's breaking in two all over again. Despite a heartfelt confession, court politics rule, and he is left with empty hands and a sore heart. He wants to find and burn that letter ( to be posted ... maybe ). This result will slowly turn him away from unwavering, unquestioning support of the system he once sought to uphold. He will retreat further into himself and leave matters of the heart and all pursuits of it in the dust, never to be touched again. Rage, jealousy, bitterness and sorrow overwhelms him once more. He remains in his room or sitting glum in a tavern or garden if not working, from here on. Profession above all, now.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE : Eventually, years and years down the line, my plan is for him to vie for position of captain of the royal guard for his achievements and the strength he has shown. If he cannot have selfish human wants, he will focus on honing himself as a more useful tool. He will also be thinking of a way to convince House Yi to allow more individuals to learn lavabending for times of crisis, shifting from his position to covet it. He is playing the long game. The rest of my thoughts consist of years down the line, including the latter but it's relevant since it begins brewing now.

[wvthering]

geonwoo

Geonwoo, at last, finds the wherewithal to examine his fellow royal guard in front of him. Injured as well; unfortunately expected. He reaches out, hand firm against his nape. His eyes search his in the building's fiery glow. Has he, too, lost? The extent of his injuries? The Choi furrows his brows. Suddenly, you care so much? "You live." The statement is firm, pushed through grit teeth as he finally stands, his body heavy against the wall. "Report..." shortness of breath lends him little space for words, but determination of duty forces them out. "Have you seen... any further signs... ? House Yi..."

suguru stays close to geonwoo, afraid he'll fall back after sitting up. smoke makes it difficult to breathe, and he keeps a hand on geonwoo's shoulder, supporting him. "yes, i live." though how so, suguru isn't sure. even now, his mind is still clouded with all the smoke and the noise.

he pays attention to geonwoo's words, they weigh in his chest. "i haven't seen anyone." and he looked. he yelled, looked under every possible hiding corner, did his best to move burned furniture around and look for any survivors, or worse, their bodies. "they're not here." the feeling of impotence threatens to drown him, but he has no time to dwell in it. there will be time in the future, he is sure of it, but for now it's important to move, to seek safety, both for him and geonwoo.

"we need to go, geonwoo," he repeats, supporting geonwoo's weight. his broken arm hurts so badly had suguru been an untrained person he would be crying. but this is what he was made for, moments of battle, of when he can be of help. this is his own purpose in this world and by all the spirits he will fulfill it.

"can you walk?" he asks, already moving to wrap his good arm around geonwoo's back and pull him up. if he can't, then what? what will they do? suguru will drag him all the way if he needs to, but he will never abandon a colleague. at least now he has a mission, to take geonwoo to safety, to make it out alive. his mind focus on it and only it, forgets about everyone else. there will be time to mourn after they're away from danger. "come on, i'll help you up."

[chrysanths]

suguru

( ... ) "geonwoo," suguru calls, gently touching his shoulder with his good arm. "geonwoo wake up, we need to leave, now." he looks around, but there is no one who can help him. it seems it's just the two of them now. "come on, get up, we gotta go."

Geonwoo drifts between states of consciousness as the world burns around him. Screams and panicked yells of names and requests blur into ringing that suffocates his ears with its drilling. He can still hear the lava bubbling, the agonized cries of those dragged within still piercing the air. His eyes close as he rolls closer to the wall. Should he accept this? Death?

A dream briefly comes over him. One where a bird calls out to him; sings a song like the one his mother once did when he was a child. A chickadee with eyes like simmering coals. It bounces toward him and tilts its head. Then the voice changes. To a man's. Familiar. Someone he knows that lives. "Sugu...— " He calls out a in a wheeze. It hurts to breathe, hurts to move. The forming bruises that grip his ribs make it so.

"Safe… everyone — … safe?" Delirious mumbling is the most he can manage as he sits up. His eyes scan the ruins of the tea house — not a soul in sight but the two royal guards. No glimpse of his sisters, the few friends he had, the royal family. In his most disastrous of thoughts, they are all gone, set to never return, and he provides himself no time to lament over it. They must heal and rebuild. "Fuck... damn it all..."

Geonwoo, at last, finds the wherewithal to examine his fellow royal guard in front of him. Injured as well; unfortunately expected. He reaches out, hand firm against his nape. His eyes search his in the building's fiery glow. Has he, too, lost? The extent of his injuries? The Choi furrows his brows. Suddenly, you care so much? "You live." The statement is firm, pushed through grit teeth as he finally stands, his body heavy against the wall. "Report..." shortness of breath lends him little space for words, but determination of duty forces them out. "Have you seen... any further signs... ? House Yi..."