#it's different from Jaeha and haks friendship

[senkicho]

I feel that we as a fandom do not appreciate the Hak and Val friendship enough.  It really is something

[ehyde]

Hello @avistella! I’m your Secret Santa! Here’s a short fic featuring Shinah and Kija. I hope you enjoy it, and happy New Year! 

Shinah gazed into the forest, his eyes filtering through trees until he found the one he sought. With no mask or blindfold--he hadn’t worn either since they left Xing--such a task of his vision took no effort at all. Kija was along in the woods, gathering firewood. Shinah stepped quietly through the underbrush, Ao chirping merrily as she hopped along through the branches above. “Kija.”

“Oh!” Kija jumped, dropping the rather large log he was carrying. “I didn’t see you there, Shinah, you startled me.” Shinah tilted his head in apology, and Kija smiled. “You know, Shinah…” But then he shook his head and didn’t finish his sentence.

Usually it was the others who were encouraging Shinah to speak. “Ah…?”

“Oh! It’s just--the expressions you made when you wore your mask. They look a little--well, you don’t have to, of course, but you know, now you could try using your eyes more.”

Use your eyes more. Once, it was the last thing Shinah would have expected anyone to say to him. He blinked in surprise.

“Yes, like that!” Kija encouraged, and Shinah looked down. “Ah, but only if you want to.”

Shinah knew how other people talked with their eyes. It was a language that had always been shut off from him. Feeling safe without his blindfold or mask was new to him, and eye contact still too dangerous, too overwhelming. It would probably always feel that way. But having friends who weren’t afraid to look him in the eye--that was something wonderful.

“Actually...it’s about that. I can’t talk to Yona about this yet and...you’re the only dragon who saw my village.”

“This sounds like a serious topic,” said Kija. “Let’s sit down and discuss it.” He dropped the rest of the firewood he was carrying, then sat cross-legged on the ground, an eager expression on his face. Shinah smiled. Before Zeno revealed his secrets, Kija had been the authority on everything about the four dragons. Did he miss that?

Sitting down on a log facing Kija, Shinah tried to figure out how to begin. “For a long time, I thought...when a new blue dragon is born, I would go back to my village.” No one else would care for the next Seiryuu; one way or another, Shinah would have to do it.

“Shinah.” Kija leaned forward, full of concern. “Has a new blue dragon been born?”

“No. I’m...thinking.” The life that Yona had given him--the next dragon should have that, too. At least he should have a better childhood than Shinah’s. Ao...had probably tried to give him that, but in the village, it was impossible. Even though Shinah had seen something better, in that village, it still might be impossible. “Kija. I was going to ask...if you would come with me, and tell my village the truth about the dragons.”

“Gladly,” said Kija. Then he frowned. “But…”

“But it wouldn’t be enough,” said Shinah. Even if you don’t use them, you probably won’t make friends. No matter how safe the villagers thought he was, they would never like him. It had been a long time since Shinah thought to expect friendship. Yona and his dragon brothers were different, Hak and Yun different by association. Ordinary people? But Algira had shown him it was possible. And also...he wasn’t safe. “I think...Ao was wrong.” Something very hard to admit. “I used my power.” Used it, and Yona hadn’t shunned him. Used it, and Algira, an ordinary person, had still wanted to be his friend. “I won’t be able to train a successor in Seiryuu Village.” Throughout all of this, Kija watched him intently. Shinah had forgotten to vocalize most of these thoughts--would Kija still understand? “Kija...when the time comes...do you think it would be alright to take the child away from Seiryuu Village?”

Kija closed his eyes, and he took a deep breath. “I thought about this,” he said. “It goes against everything I thought I knew--how the dragons are meant to live in secret, protect their bloodlines--but...your village wasn’t like mine. Even so I thought you were right to wait,” he admitted. “And I was wrong. I think...taking your successor away from that place would be best. When that time comes, I’ll help you do it,” he added resolutely.

“No, I…” Shinah was only looking for advice. He hadn’t expected Kija to go that far. “Thank you.”

“I am sure that Jaeha intends to do the same. Shinah...you, and any dragon, would always be welcome in my village. Though I don’t think Jaeha would want that for his bloodline. I’ve started to wonder if perhaps the founders got it wrong. The dragons are meant to be together. I have been lucky, compared to you, but even so, there are things in my village I could do without, too. Perhaps, when the time comes, we should start a new village. All of us, together.”

Shinah hadn’t thought past take the child away from Seiryuu Village. Kija, whose own successor would never face such danger, had already thought about all of them. Shinah smiled. “I’d like that.”

“But, Shinah,” Kija added, standing up, then reaching out to grasp Shinah’s hands. “None of that is going to happen for a long time.”

Kija didn’t know that. None of them could know that. But holding his brother’s hands, freely opening his eyes to the world, Shinah believed it.