SinB wakes up face down in a pile of weeds and crushed stems, a funny taste in as she spits groggily to get the weird sensation out. 

It takes her a moment to figure out what the hell was going on and where she was currently. As the memories flood back in, disjointed and definitely out of order, the young woman groans and buries her face in her hands. What has she been doing this past week?

But first, the most immediate concern: her current situation. Her legs were awkwardly splayed and arms numb from the very unglamorous posture she had woken up from, and her back hurt. Despite the physical discomforts, her mind was clear for the first time in days, perhaps almost disgustingly so in her opinion, and she recalls how she came to be sprawled in this clearing in the middle of nowhere.

Yerin had sent her running up the mountain behind the temple about three or four days ago, and it was a testament to her rough-and-tumble childhood experiences that she had been able to navigate difficult terrain and scale almost sheer cliffs barehanded with a minimum of supplies strapped to her back. A wry grin crosses her lips at the memory, along with a semi-worried frown as it reminded her of something else; the old incident that finally made her accept Yuju as a friend and companion back in the day, which was also the cause of the other girl’s abiding fear of heights even to this day. 

SinB felt bad for about half a second, but abandoned that feeling just as quickly. They were both very young back then, and she hadn’t appreciated having a tail sent by “the adults” to watch her (ie. Yuju). Stubbornness led to many escapades as she tried to get rid of the people her father sent to watch her, but Yuju had been the most tenacious in keeping up with her, to the point where the older girl wound up following her up a cliff, the pair getting attacked by nesting eagles, and then subsequently stranded in the storm that followed. 

Young SinB had been fully convinced up until then that all the younger servants sent to accompany her were just her father’s toadies, but when little Yuju tackled her to a corner to avoid sharp claws that could pick up whole goats off the plains, SinB suddenly realized that maybe the other girl wasn’t so bad after all. Badly bruised, limbs scraped raw, and thoroughly drenched in the storm that followed, Yuju had even bravely taken the blame for their little misadventure afterwards. 

SinB had been just grateful enough to accept having her own little follower ever since, and the pair had been inseparable after that. Of such things made the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And many scapegoating moments. But we won’t discuss the latter as much.

But back to the present. That funky cloud of whatever it was had definitely messed with both her and Yuju at the time. SinB groaned aloud, and wondered if it were possible to go back in time and strangle herself before she did all that dumb . She already liked Yewon, yes, but what had she been thinking then?

Clearly, not thinking. SinB scratched irritably at her messed up hair, taking in the clearing she had woken up in. The sun was well up by now, and the little clearing at the top of the cliff seemed all too innocuous in the light of day. SinB scowled.

This was not what it had looked like the night before. The field of glowing blooms still haunted a corner of her mind, amidst the disjointed recollections during her potion induced haze. What was it that Yerin had said about the herb (which, shockingly, had probably not been a lie) again?

Something about blooming before dawn. Right. It was almost midday now, and since she was already here, SinB figured she might as well stay until the next bloom cycle. There had to have been something about those herbs if it had shaken her out of her stupor. Vaguely, SinB recalled making it up to the clearing and then falling asleep amidst the glowing flowers. She wasn’t sure how it worked, but clearly, something had happened here.

Might as well gather that and go back with something to show for it, SinB thought darkly, scooting over to one side to hide in the shade of an overhang. Besides, Yuju might need some help recovering too, and if it worked on her, it should work on her companion as well.

Plus, it was kinda awkward to head back now too. How was she supposed to face Yewon now? SinB couldn’t believe she had been so...shameless. How had those words even managed to pop out of ? That wasn’t her at all. Impossible. She was going to deny it to her last breath.

Munching grumpily on some jerky, SinB closed her eyes and decided to take a nap while waiting. It was peaceful up here, where few people trod, and at least the trees and flowers wouldn’t judge. Plus, she still hadn’t figured out how to go back to face the rest. Delay seemed like the best option until she thought of a solution. 

Wrapped up in her own worries, SinB dozed off underneath the warm spring sun. She would cross that bridge when she got to it. One step at a time...