[Sartu Peak] Anniversary (Jiina)

[Tao]

84th Spring, 510 There was a different kind of beauty around Lhavit at dawn. The city became still, elegantly silent as its people went to rest, more comfortable under the glow of the stars rather than the sun's rays that crept over the mountain tops. Any other day, Tao would have been among them, getting much needed rest for the night ahead. But not today. Today was not like any other day. His eyes were heavy with the need for sleep. Scattered around his feet were scraps of paper, scrunched into balls, blotted with the same ink that stained his fingers. The only piece that had yet escaped the carnage was blank, pinned to the ground by his backpack. Knees drawn to his chest, he huddled at the edge of the clearing, alone. It had been two years, and, as usual, he had no idea what to say. In his hands, he held a locket. He was fairly sure that no one in the entire city knew of its existance, normally kept hidden under his clothing where it wouldn't get in his way. It glinted in the morning glow, catching the light and casting it in patterns all over the clearing. He had been holding it all night, tightly grasped in one hand as he scribbled fruitlessly onto the paper. It was the only thing he had left of his father. He had hoped it would grant him some insight into what he wanted to say. No such luck; he had wasted an entire evening and a whole stack of paper trying to find the right words. The scattered papers were crisscrossed with his failed attempts. Dear father... I wish you could see the city like this... I wish I was still at home with you... I wish I could talk to you one last time... I wish I could think of the right thing to say. It had been a long night, frustrating to the point of exhaustion. The painful lump in his throat hadn't gone away, and nor had the awful weight on his chest. His ink vials were empty, he was out of paper, and he was just tired. It was hard to be completely alone. OOCIt's not clear in the post, but Tao is indeed in the same clearing that he originally met Jiina in. Also to note, his pendant is made of skyglass, but he's not aware of the fact. Finally, sorry for the short post!

[Jiina]

Tears marred Jiina's vision as she ran from the Twilight Tower. Very few people knew Jiina cried. Few people knew Jiina had emotions. But she cried and she hurt much more than people knew. Most tendays, actually. Jiina cried more than she cared to admit, and no one but her and Taeto knew this. She wished Taeto did not. On the nights that Jiina could not transform her tears into passion for training, she tried to escape. Escape what she knew, who she knew, and just think. She ran, her feet pounding, flux djed moving through her thighs and calves, propelling her forward as the tears dripped down her face, her heart hammering and breath heavy. The clearing was where she was headed, not far from her 'home'. Not that it was really her home, she thought. She was just there out of pity, and use for the greater good. Taeto's words and fists flashed through her mind as she ran, though she struggled to propell them out again. Usually she could transform the angst into anger, which fueled her desire for change, but tonight (this morning) she could not. She was tired and sad and could not find the energy to do anything else but run away. She burst into the clearing with a gasp, stopping the flow of djed and flux to her legs. It took a few stumbles for the momentum she had gained to die out; she nearly tripped over a stray stone as she stumbled to a halt. She walked to the edge of the peak, for the clearing looked out onto a cliff, wiping the tears from her face as she did so. She paused, looking into the abyss. Syna's rays were coming over the horizon now as a new day dawned and Lhavitians went home to bed. The Sartu Peak was the tallest, and the steepest. She looked briefly back at the Twilight Tower, glowing a pale orange reflecting the dawn - but she found she could not look long at it. The chasm was deep, deep enough to captivate her. She did not know why she was so drawn. As Lhavitian, she had no fear of heights, but rather a fascination, reflected in the way her feet shuffled closer to the edge - the edge which had no barrier. It was only when the tip of her left foot edged over the top of the cliff that she suddenly jerked back. Tears continued to drip down her cheeks, though she didn't really take notice of them. She turned slightly, as if to look away from the outlooking peak and back to examine the clearing, when she noticed one small hunched over body pressed against a tree trunk in the corner. A brief wave of mortification washed over her - he had seen her crying - until she realised who it was. Her mind and her vocal chords worked at the same time. "Tao."

[Tao]

He heard the footsteps before he even caught a glimpse of the person that suddenly rushed into the clearing. It wasn't that unusual to hear someone rushing by the secluded clearing, though it had made him jump the first few times in the night. Resting his eyes a moment, he leaned back against the tree he had chosen to become his makeshift seat, listening to the sound of the wind whistle around the edge of the cliff. The footsteps came suddenly, and before he even knew what was happening, a person had burst through the trees. His eyes flew open and he sat up sharply, watching the girl slow and come to a halt. Panic that gripped his heart a second eased as he recognised her, settling back into a nervous apprehension. It wasn't surprising to see her here, in the clearing where they had both first met, but that didn't mean she would be happy to see him. Jiina made her way to the edge of the cliff, panting for breath. Her face was wet with tears, the dampness glinting in the morning light. She hadn't noticed him yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time. She seemed different from the last two times they had met. Not angry, not trying to be nice... just sad. Hurting. He had a feeling that she would not be too happy when she realised he was there. She turned back to the clearing before he could even think about moving away. He froze under her gaze, like a startled animal not sure of what the next move was to be. The moment only lasted a second; she recognised him almost instantly. “Jiina. Erm, hello.” He replied, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat quickly, glancing down and nodding his head in a quick bow. “Sorry, I wasn't aware you'd be here.” The ground was still scattered with his failed attempts. He began to quickly gather them up, stuffing them into his bag and out of sight. His pendant swung loose around his neck. “Er, sorry about this, too. I'll just... go.”

[Jiina]

Their eyes connected, and he froze. For some reason, the way he stopped dead in his tracks made her heart sink just that little bit more. Her vision teared up a little as she realised that this is what he thought of her. That she would hurt him if he made one wrong step. ... It was probably true, but none the less. But the moment was broken as he began to scatter, his voice cracking as he acknowledged her and began to move. It just, to be honest, pissed her off. He was so spineless, so weak, that as soon as someone with an actual personality turned up, he crumpled and ran. Well, she wasn't going to let him. She was going to make him grow a backbone, and he wasn't going to run anymore. "Well, I'm here. Poor Tao, stuck with the scary girl from the Twilight House," she taunted in Lhavitian, though a hand came up and furiously wiped at the tears that continued to pour from her eyes. Why wouldn't they stop? She shouldn't be showing this emotion in front of him! "Stop apologising, man! Gods, why do you have to be so ... nothing? Grow the petch up!" To accompany those words, she stamped her foot on the ground and yelled. She didn't know why she was so angry. All she knew was that Tao was sad and crying for no reason. He had no right to be sad. Not when Jiina went through what she did. As he began to prepare to scuttle away, she rushed over to him, and grabbed the pendant around his neck. Using it, she pulled herself to him, her face in his, tears still dripping onto her cheek because of it. "How do you live like this?" she hissed. Warm breath flew onto his face. "How do you live being a bare shell of a human being? Where is your conviction? Why do you anger me so?" The questioning had turned almost introspective, but she still directed all her anger at Tao. Looking down, she took in what she was holding. "And you have a skyglass pendant. Who did you take it from? A Seiza? You are an imposter of a person, Tao. You need to grow up and gain some personality, because I am sick of you. And I am sure your family is too." A mean glint was in her eyes. Tears had finally stopped falling, but a wicked grin was on her face. She watched his eyes, and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. With a heavy tugged, she pulled on the pendant, the pull powered and strengthened by flux. She did so to ensure that the pendant's chain broke, and it did. Now she was holding the pendant. She tugged it away and off his neck, before turning around and walking to the edge of the clearing. "Since you stole this pendant, I see no problem in taking it from you." She looked around one last time, before speaking, her voice full of spite. "Petch you, Tao Kuroya. I hope you die in a petching hole of shyke."

[Tao]

Jiina had managed to acomplish the impossible. Tao had completely lost his temper. Her spittle and the heat from her breath covered his face, and there was a red mark around his neck from where she had yanked away the chain. Sprawled on the ground where she had thrown him, her taunting now fell upon deaf ears. All of his attention was focused on the pendant that she held in her hand. (A small part of him was wondering 'skyglass?', but it wasn't really important, was it?) Shaking with rage, he grasped at whatever he could find to hand. A rock fell under his fingers, about the size of his fist and quite heavy. Gripping his prize tightly, he pulled himself to his feet and lunged at her just as she turned to gloat one more time, cracking her on the side of the head with the rock and using the moment it stunned her to push her to the ground. “You want to see personality?!” He snarled, his voice cracking again in his fury. “You want to see to see conviction?! You've got it, in the only way you petching understand!” He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into the ground again, his hands trembling uncontrollably as he continued in his tirade. “I'd rather be a coward than a petching shryke of a bully like you! You have petching everything! You have a life, you have a family! You have a father who loves you and you don't deserve one petching bit of it!” His eyes dropped down to the pendant, still grasped tightly in her hand, unexpectedly blurring with hot tears. He had never been able to cry before. Not once in two years. “Don't you dare talk about my family. Don't you dare touch my pendant. Give it petching back. Now.” He grabbed ahold of the end of the loose chain and pulled it from her grasp, clutching it tightly in his hands. With his prize secure, he scrambled to his feet and backed away, wiping his eyes free of the tears that threatened to fall. Fear was fluttering in his chest, but it was competing heavily with adrenaline and pure, frightening rage that had exploded out of him so suddenly. He would not be anywhere near a decent opponent for the young warrior, but he wasn't going to back down now. “Petch you, Jiina Xi.” He snarled, tempted to spit on the ground between them. “Not today. I won't be your dog today.”

[Jiina]

As soon as she had uttered that last statement, she turned her head and began to move, with every intention of walking straight out of that clearing with her pendant prize and the upper hand. She did not know why Tao Kuroya flustered her so. There was just something about him that just irritated her to no end, perhaps it was his simple naivety and trust in the world. And how he was so calm all the time. In any case, she did not hear him scrabble for a rock, she did not hear him lunge. All she heard was the loud CRACK and all of a sudden, pain. Intense pain. He had hit her hard on the head, and without her really consciously noticing what was happening, she found herself toppling to the ground. She could hear him yelling, but she couldn't really focus on what he was saying. The ground was cold below her, and a small part of her recognised that there would be bruises down her side from the impact. Dazed, she raised a hand to her head, touched the spot where Tao had hit her, and winced. When the hand came away, there was blood on it. She was shaken like a ragdoll as Tao shook her even more. She was not really aware of what was going on, the pain consuming her and she nodded slowly along with what he said. Not that she knew what he was saying. This whole thing seemed ... excessive. She hadn't been that bad, had she? She wasn't really rude, was she? She struggled to remember. So tired. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep, but Tao was still in her face. Her hands willingly released the pendant, not really caring enough to clutch it to herself. But then he backed away and he looked at her with scared eyes - and she looked right back. Her eyes were kind of filmy, dazed, and it was clear that Tao had done more damage than he had intended to. She tried to move up, to struggle to her feet, but she only sat up before she groaned. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them, once more touching the bleeding wound. It was a superficial wound, but head wounds always bled profusely. She sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, before letting out a long low groan. "Maybe I deserved that," she mumbled, the words a little hard to make out as she was speaking into her knees - and her speech was slurred. "But did you have to hit so hard?" She let out a breathy chuckle. Slowly she raised her head, and looked at Tao. While he stood there, chest heaving and rage in his eyes, her face was remarkably absent of anger. It was almost as if there was approval in her eyes, despite the definite pain that plagued her and was evident on her features. It was almost as if she was ... proud? "I certainly saw some conviction and personality in there, and was suitably shocked by your violent language." She tutted, then chuckled again - before groaning. "Ouch."

[Tao]

Tao should have realised that there was something not quite right with the situation when Jiina had not simply thrown him off of her person and beaten him into a pulp. That he had gotten a strike in at all was nothing more than pure luck, and he hadn't hit her that hard, had he? His initial burst of irrational anger began to peter out as he began to notice the little things: the blood on her hand, the dazed look in her eyes, and again, the fact that she wasn't trying to kill him. For a second, panic squeezed his heart as she lay prone on the ground, but then she groaned and shifted and the moment was over. Her eyes were fixed on him, unfocused but undobutedly following his every movement, even as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, resting her head on her knees. In the morning light, he could just make out the dark blood seeping into her hair. His breath caught in his throat. He hadn't meant to do any real damage. He hadn't even thought he'd be able to! She said something, mumbling it into her knees, and while he did not catch it, it was reassuring that she could still talk at all. That meant she wasn't going to die, right? There was no long term damage, right?! I'm going to be killed either way. He realised suddenly. She's part of Twilight family, and I just... gods, what was I even thinking?! He rubbed his face on his sleeve, flushed and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. The warming metal of his pendant was still clasped tightly in his hand. It was somewhat comforting that he hadn't lost it. His anger was fading as quickly as it had come, leaving only trepedation that kept his hands shaking violently. I wasn't thinking. I just... He glanced back at Jiina, now looking over at him in what... what he could only think was approval, even amusement at the situation. Was this what she had wanted? To make him angry? Hurt him? Why was she just chatting with him like all he had done was call her a mean name? “What do you want from me?” He asked, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice. “I know that I'm a coward, and I know that if I died today no one would miss me tomorrow. What did you think you could gain by pointing that out?” He wasn't sure he would get an answer, given how disorientated that she looked. He wasn't sure he wanted one. “I'm sorry, father.” He could help but mumble, his tone bitter. This wasn't how I meant to remember you. Swallowing past the lump forming in his throat, he stepped cautiously towards Jiina. No matter what happened, he hadn't really meant to hurt her, and he couldn't leave if her life was in danger. “Look, I...” He faltered, hesistance clouding his voice. “I don't want you to die, so if you need a doctor, I'll help you. I know you're going to have me arrested, and I don't want to ruin this day any further. So... please.”

[Jiina]

Her head was throbbing, her eyes wanted to close and a part of her REALLY wanted to punch Tao for what he had done, but she kept that semi-sarcastic smile on her face nonetheless. Tao was amusing her in his reaction. He had finally done something with emotion, finally reacted to something and finally just let everything spill over the top, and now he regretted it? He hadn't said such, but she could see in the way he rubbed his face nervously. She bet there was some little 'pity me' speech come next. And he wasn't even the one with a bashed in head. She kept silence, a grin on her face (though it flickered every now and then with pain), but she did not expect the next round of questioning. She expected apologies, mentions of her house and her status, profuse promises of making it up to her (though like he could, how do you make it up to someone you've smashed a rock on?) but not this frustration. She didn't expect him really to have this frustration about his standing in life. Surely he knew he was a coward, and as far as she knew, no one would really care that he disappeared, but why ask Jiina about it? She paused, watching him, even as he muttered something under his breath that she didn't catch. She realised something belatedly. She didn't know what she wanted from him. She didn't know what she would gain from saying everything she did. Well she did. There were two main reasons. And she wouldn't admit to being jealous of Tao's seeming kindness. That was not something she would ever admit to anyone, no matter how close they were. But there was another reason, a truthful reason. And it would likely piss Tao off. Gritting her teeth, she raised her head and spoke louder, trying to avoid the slurring. It did come out a little clearer this time. "Honestly..." she paused for a long moment. "Honestly, I said all that because it's quite fun to watch people lose their temper. Sorry." She flashed a grin, and a slight giggle, and it was clear her apology was insincere. She kept her arms wrapped around her knees as he took a few steps towards her, her head resting sidewards on her knee. She felt a trickle of blood run from the wound down across her cheek towards her nose as she sat there, observing silently. She listened to tao's entire proposition before making a decision. Tao was clearly uncomfortable about the offer, and while Jiina actually wanted to spend the time in his presence, there was the added bonus of making him squirm that little bit longer. Not only was it amusing, it was adorable. She nodded then, then groaned at the mistake. "Note to self; no nodding, it hurts," she muttered, a tad low for him to hear. "I don't need a doctor, I've had this sort of injury before. All I need to do is rest but not sleep." Her tone was surprisingly bitter as she said such, as if there were bad memories attached to the wound. Though she shook herself. She had been sad earlier today, but a little angry bout with Tao seemed to cure her of that. She would not let it affect her all over again. "But if you could take me to the Twilight Tower, that would be good. It's about ten chimes walk from here." She nodded, her words surprisingly nonaggressive towards him. She raised an arm, as if waiting for him to pull her up. Being bashed on the head with a rock, it seemed, broke down any last mean barriers with Jiina.

[Tao]

He was surprised by the honesty of her reply, even if it made him want to hit her again, preferably with a slightly larger rock. It seemed like Jiina only viewed him as a game; a toy to rip the head off of and throw away when she got bored. For some reason, that thought hurt a little bit more than he had expected. Was Jiina really such a fake person? Had her niceness in the restaurant all a big act, even near the end? He had thought... well, he had liked her, then, when she had smiled and tried to say thank you. (Maybe he had wanted to say that she cared. Maybe he was really that desperate.) Biting his lip to keep himself from saying anything more that he would regret, he merely waited for her to respond to his offer, eyeing the trickle of blood that slid across her face. Her eyes seemed to be more in focus now, and though it was pretty obvious that there was quite a lot of pain, she didn't seem too disorientated. Of course, that didn't mean that she was well. He had no idea how bad a head injury could be. So it was somewhat of a relief that she apparently did, and that she didn't need to see a doctor. If it didn't need to be treated, how bad could it really be? He let go of a breath he didn't know he had been holding, rubbing his forehead with his sleeve once more. Conflicted emotions were clamouring within him. He didn't know whether to be angry or to cry. It was near impossible to try and process all of the fear and panic and anger and saddness twisting his gut. Those few hectic minutes had barely had time to process in his mind, and he wasn't even sure what would be left of him by the end of the day. It was all he could to just focus on the task in front of him. Though he had a distinct feeling of dread at approaching the Twilight Tower after what had happened, he didn't really have much of a choice. At least this way Jiina's blood wouldn't be on his hands, right? He almost wanted to laugh at the thought. He, of all people, a potential killer? “Alright, I'll escort you.” Tao replied, forcing his voice calm. Jiina held out her hand, and he took it, pulling her to her feet. At least she didn't seem to want to kill him. That was something. “Which way to the tower?” He asked, keeping his arm out in case she wanted to use him for balance. His bag still lay a way aways in the clearing, half stuffed with scraps of paper and other useless junk. He could come back for it later, perhaps. He had his locket in his hand anyway, and it was the only thing of worth that he owned. Its prescence in his hand was still somewhat comforting, despite everything. He looked over at Jiina, steadying herself on his arm, and waited for her to give directions or lead the way.

[Jiina]

oocSorry, short ... out of inspiration. She sat on the ground, waiting for him to take the arm she held outstretched. She let out a sigh as he took a while to respond, but besides that, she was oddly non-aggressive to him. It was if, in bringing him down to her level, she had achieved something that made her suddenly like Tao. It was like she suddenly knew how to RELATE to him. Rock bashing angry boys? Sure, she handled those every day. Boys who were nice and scared and wanted to impress you? Hadn't seen one of those since Meino... She grinned as he spoke, and was tugged upwards with a groan. She didn't say thank you, but the grin slash grimace on her face showed that she was glad he was helping. The crawl back to the Twilight House with a concussion would not have been exceptionally pleasant in the least. With a sigh, she leant her weight on his arm, feeling it might be a bit too far to wrap her arm around his shoulder as he led her. Though perhaps that would be funny. After a brief moment of hesitation, she grinned and swung her arm around his neck, pulling her body close to him. She may as well get away with this sort of thing with the added excuse of temporary insanity. She couldn't do it normally, and Tao was such fun to fluster. "Thanks, doll," she said enthusiastically, and then, after a split second silence where something strange flashed through her eyes, she did something that neither Tao or her had expected. She placed a big, wet, smacking kiss on his cheek. With a laugh, she pondered why it had done so. But it was worth it for the blush and flustered attitude she would see spread across his cheek in a few moments. Acting as if nothing had happened, she continued to speak, answering his previous question. "C'mon, I'll guide you." She kept her hand wrapped around his neck as she walked towards a path in the edge of the clearing, that wound up and up to the next tier. The Twilight Tower stood navy and imposing against the sky dead ahead. She walked with a swing in her step, despite having been bashed over the head by the same boy she had just kissed.