Dear Ajax,
I think I'm sending these to the right place. Can't really tell cause you don't
respond. It's not a dig, I know you're busy. No stress on my part. Guess I'm
just missing my best friend. Don't worry about everything back home.
You're family is doing well. Teucer is raving over the last gift that you got
him. He hasn't put it down. Pretty sure he sleeps with it. Tonia has taken up
cooking. She loves trying new recipes. For the most part, I have no problem
being her guinea pig. Nine times out of ten, she makes a real masterpiece.
Your mom really appreciates the help. I appreciate the free meal where I
can get it.
I've gotten good at accessing my vision. The commissions get me by. Only
really take the easy ones. I don't like playing with others. What I wouldn't
give to adventure just the two of us. Course, again, I know you're busy. I
hope you're not working too hard. You look happiest with a challenge in
front of you. Maybe I just hope you aren't drowning in paperwork. God, I'm
such a good bestie.
Oh, right... there is a reason that I'm writing to you! My soulmate mark has
presented itself. Runs along my upper arm. Broke Tonia's heart not to see your name there. I'm kinda glad though. Much as I love ya, you've always
been more of a brother than a prospect. I sincerely hope that it's a mutual
thought between the two of us and I didn't just sibling zone the shit out of
you. Not sure who it is, I've never heard the name before. It's not anyone
from home, you know how close knit the community is. I would know. I just
hope it's not some crusty old man. Can you imagine? I think I'd scrape the
skin bear if that's the case. Is that too dramatic?
This soulmate junk is kinda whack. Like I have no idea who this person is
and we're supposed to what?... just be in love? I mean, it's cool, I guess.
Like, I know that someone is out there specifically for me, but what if I don't
like them? What if they don't like me? Does the soulmate thing just recircuit
our brains and make us believe we love each other? It kinda freaks me out.
Has your mark shown up yet? Remember when we were kids and we'd
check every morning? Your mum walked in on some pretty entertaining
scenes during those days. We were such a handful. I dunno how she can
even bare to look at me with so much love. She's such an angel.
Since I've figured out that my person isn't here, I've decided that I'm going
to start travelling. It'll be slow going, but I figured I'd stop by Liyong to see
you first. I hear it's a lot warmer then here. Hopefully I don't melt. Think I
should pack lighter clothes? I don't wanna show up looking ridiculous in a
parka. Does it get cold enough in Liyong for big jackets? Do you get snow
out there too? I know there's that giant mountain between Liyong and
Minyun right? It snows there all the time. Kinda like home.
See you soon Jax,
(Your name)
Childe stared down at the letter from his best friend. He hadn't seen her in
some time. He sent things back for her with the packages for his family, but
really, he hadn't taken the time to write her a letter in a long, long time. She
wasn't wrong when she said he could get busy, though he supposed he could
make a better effort. It's just that it was easy with her. She didn't pressure
him to answer and he didn't worry that he needed to. He visits and she
always greets him happily when he does.
Glancing out the window, the eleventh harbinger pictures his best friend in
Liyong. She would get along just fine with most anyone here. He imagines
her in her excessive winter gear that would only work in Shonyu, small
smile coming to his face. The warmer temperatures were something to
acclimate too. She would struggle at first, as he did. Sleep had alluded him
the first couple of nights, but he's since come to enjoy Liyong's gentle winds
and warm sun.
His lips quirk a little at the mention of his family. Having her out here
meant there wasn't really anyone keeping an eye on his family back home.
He mourns that loss of convenience, but in the end, it is his job to make
sure those he loves are well, and not something that is entirely on her
shoulders. Most people knew better than to cross him, but there was always
those who dared to try. The side of him that lived for the chaos of battle
thrived at the thought. The side of him that was a family man, a man that
cherished the small moments growing up with his siblings and the laughs he
now shares with his mother on some of his more... unruly moments as a
child, that side of him, fears the implications that those dark intentions may
have.
He can practically hear his best friend's voice as she muses on Soul marks
and soulmates in general. A gloved hand scratches gently at his collarbone
before he scoffs irritably and forces his hand down on the table. The name
there burns under his clothing. Though they've just recently met, he hasn't
bothered to indicate anything out of the ordinary to her. They've clashed
swords more times than he can count. Her battle sense and technique drive
him crazy. They are on par with, or perhaps even better (though he'll never
admit that one out loud) than his own. It is probably why her name scrawls
itself so beautifully in cursive on his collarbone. A woman who can keep
him in check. A woman who keeps him excited.
He does feel amused at the idea of the disappointment on Tonia's face, but
he agrees with his best friend that it's better that they were not fated for each
other. They grew up as siblings. It would have been a shift in an otherwise
perfect dynamic, in his eyes, that he wasn't willing to undergo. He's happy
with things as they are.
He's completed his task in retrieving the geo gnosis for the Tsaritsa and is
now tasked with keeping an eye on things in the interim. He hates waiting.
Hates sitting idle and twiddling his thumbs. He's only all too glad to have
met the traveler in his conquest. She keeps him on his toes. Keeps him from
checking out completely.
0_0_0_0
Traveling alone is pretty benign, but you figure it has to be done. You can
still remember the conversation between you and Tonia the day you had
found your soul mark. Can still remember the excitement in her voice
before she realized it wasn't Ajax's name sprawled out on your skin.
"It looks like a child wrote it."
She had commented, fingers brushing over the scrawled letters on your arm.
"Kunikuzushi."
You'd since checked the name over in the mirror a million times, hoping
that a sense of familiarity would spring forth, but it never did.
You'd spent your whole life in Shonyu. Venturing out was a little scary.
Distancing yourself from the people you love and leaving the safety of that
nest was scary. In hindsight, you weren't finding your soulmate by staying
in said nest... so it was time to move on.
Ajax's family spoiled you. His mother made enough food for a community
for you to take with you. Easy stuff to transport and keep for a while. Bless
her heart. Tonia had given you a new comb for your hair, all smiles and
tears to see you go. Teucer had provided you with a promise of family in the
form of a crayon drawing. You were gonna miss them.
Traveling alone isn't what it's chalked up to be. You meet people, but they
don't stay long, and you don't linger. You want to see Ajax sooner rather
than later. He would probably be waiting for you too. Ajax doesn't show
worry the same way as others. Hasn't shown it freely since he was a kid. He
still laughed. He still expressed concern in his own way, but there's always a
lingering sense of stele under all his emotions. A sense of barely concealed
something that threatens to break free the longer you watch. It's nerve
wracking, but you've long since learned not to meddle when it came to that
time. To the time where Ajax had mysteriously disappeared all those years
ago. It hadn't been for long, but he had never been the same afterwards. It
had taken him months just to learn how to smile again. And he's long since
refused to tell people why. You've accepted it. It burns you that he doesn't
want to talk to someone about it. To talk to you of all people, but you have
no choice but to accept it. You would hate to push him away over
something like this. You would hate to lose a brother and a best friend.
Traveling is interesting, even when alone. Even with the lack of
companionship, you see new things with new terrain. You press new
flowers as you see them. You admire the scenic views. It's not that
Shonyu isn't beautiful, it's just that you've seen it all before. You've taken
in all the beauty that snow and ice have to offer and can now marvel at their
opposites. You've long since packed away the heavy jacket and other winter
wear. The weather demands it. Even if the material brings you a sense of
comfort, a sense of home, it threatens to suffocate you if you wear it any
longer. You mourn the loss nonetheless.
Pressing flowers is easily done with the book Tonia gifted you before you
left. She wants to see things she can't see from Shonyu. You have no
problem indulging her. Anything to make her smile. She's been a rock on
the days where the hole Ajax left behind threatens to swallow you. You only
hope you have offered her the same. Teucer had been young when Ajax left,
though even he, too, asked questions. You just feel as though he didn't feel
the brunt of Ajax's departure like both you and Tonia had.
You hadn't expected the colors that splashed Liyong's lands. Shonyu wasn't
without color itself, but it didn't boast the foliage that Liyong offered. Nor the
fauna that roamed the lands easily. There's something to be said about
feeling the flowers on your fingers. You'd be hard pressed to leave home in
Shonyu without the proper gloves. Frostbite wasn't a joke. It was still nice
to reach out and cup something without the fear of losing your fingers.
It's warm in Liyong, much warmer than Shonyu, and you learn quite
quickly that your clothes are too thick. Too built for a different climate.
Even as you shed layers, the clothes stick to you uncomfortably. You find
yourself missing the snowy terrains of home. The terrains that raised you.
It's stilting, how different Liyong is from Shonyu. It didn't scare you when
you left, but it sure does now. Was leaving home, leaving your safe space,
for a name... some ink on your arm that you couldn't even put a face to, let
alone ascertain where to look... Was this really worth it? Or were you just
crazy? Was it dumb to look for that special person? Someone who was
made just for you? Was this even a good idea? The last letter to Ajax was so
confident... but really? What were you doing? How far were you from
home? From Kunikuzushi? His name was such a mouthful. Maybe he was
looking for you, just like you were looking for him. Maybe you were just
another one of those people that never got to meet their soul mates...