Yongsun ambled into the butcher shop with the two rabbits in hand, flinching slightly when she raised her arm to send a wave to the friendly man behind the counter. The two had left Karsten and his children to carry on with their own things once they reached the village, bidding each other farewell after Karsten gave the couple his gratitude for saving them earlier. Karsten promised to return any favor that they had in the future, the man insisting even when Yongsun and Byulyi tried to wave it away and say that it was not needed. 

Sage returned the wave, looking on in worry when he saw the dragonkin’s flinch. 

Sage was a happy little plump man, rather cheerful despite his occupation of dismembering animals and cutting up their meat. He had a hearty laughter and treated all his customers like close friends. If you were extra close to him, he would toss in a little discount for the meat every now and then. He often saved the best cuts of meat for both Yongsun and Byulyi whenever they dropped by, indirectly telling them to keep mum about it with a discreet wink. Since Yongsun was also giving Sage meat that she caught from the forests, he too would pay back with a small package of meat that lasted enough for two meals. It was a good amount for the both of them since Byulyi doesn’t eat that much meat and Yongsun often just eats the animals that she caught raw. Perks of being a dragonkin, Byulyi would often joke, was that they didn’t need to wait for their food to cook or worry about infections.

“You alright? Got into another scuffle did ya now?” Sage questioned as he accepted the two rabbits that Yongsun placed on the wooden counter. The dragonkin sighed and shrugged, sending him a small smile. 

“You could say that, I suppose. Nothing too serious though.” 

She answered as she looked over her bandaged wound. There was a small dot of blood on it but other than that the cloth was covering the wound nicely. She leaned against the wall of the shop with her uninjured shoulder, staying out of the way of the other customers inside. She watched as Sage examined the two small animals thoroughly before picking up his knife to sharpen. He began to work on one rabbit, skillfully wielding his knife to skin the fur off. He then exchanged it for a cleaver once the fur was fully removed, feeling around for the joints and bones before hacking the cleaver down to separate each part. 

At one point Yongsun strolled forwards, feeling a little hungry upon seeing the meat. She stared at it longingly, long enough that Sage took notice. He let out a chuckle, picking up a piece of meat and waving it around to catch her attention. She perked up, tail lighting up slightly behind her. 

“Thanks Sage~!” Yongsun happily chewed on the meat that Sage offered to her, paying no mind to the stares of the old couple currently in the shop as well. 

Sage finished up butchering the rest of the rabbits, portioning them into their storage to keep them fresh for other customers. He washed away the remnants of blood and guts on his hands, drying them on a towel before taking out a pouch of coins that clanked around. He opened it and looked through, shaking the bag upside down, a few silver and gold coins dropping out onto his palm. He counted them to ensure the amount was correct before reaching over the counter and handing it to Yongsun. She dropped them into her own pouch of coins, thanking Sage and giving a wave as she left him alone to deal with the other customers. 

“Yong!” Byulyi called out just as she walked out, Yongsun smiling at her and walking up to meet her.

“How’s Sage?” She questioned as they headed off towards the castle.

“Doing good as always. He gave me a good amount for the rabbits.” 

“Maybe we can buy some pastries on the way back home!” Byulyi’s eyes gleamed at the thought of the tasty treats that were particularly popular among the villagers and even the royal family. Wheein had told Byulyi about it, letting her try a few when she was resting during a training session with Dahee. She had been hooked with the first bite, always finding the chance to buy a few to bring back with her whenever she visited the village. 

“We shouldn’t spend all the money on treats Byul, we need to buy some necessities and save some too.” Yongsun disapproved gently, immune to the puppy eyed stare and pout that Byulyi had pulled out to try and convince her. Byulyi kept staring at her pleadingly, eyes widening and pout increasing. Yongsun stared back, gaze unwavering. A minute passed by before Yongsun broke eye contact, looking away as she sighed. 

“....Fine. We can buy some.” 

Or well, immune to a certain extent.

The servants situated in the palace inclined their heads and bowed in greeting when they saw Byulyi and Yongsun along the hallways, passing by a few dragonkins as well. Yongsun gazed at them as they passed, observing them quietly. They didn’t seem to be any different, their face expressionless as they made their rounds around the castle. The lion insignia still hung proudly around their necks, the sign of loyalty to the King and Queen. Then again, they may wear the symbol of the royal family but who knows what they were thinking. They could be planning things, habouring secrets and the like, waiting for the right time to strike. 

“Yongsun! What happened to your shoulder?!” The mentioned dragonkin whipped her head back at the familiar voice, smiling sheepishly when she saw her elder sister bounding up the hallway to her. Sandeul, as always, accompanied her, nodding in acknowledgement upon seeing the couple. He extended his arm out and fist-bumped Byulyi, doing the little handshake that the two had come up with. They had gotten quite close to each other, discovering that they had many things in common between the two of them. They often chatted for hours on end whenever the two sisters were busy, bored and with nothing to do but wait for their return. 

“Don’t tell me this came from something stupid.” Yonghee frowned as she made to hold her shoulder to examine the cloth tied around the wound. Yongsun hissed in pain when Yonghee prodded it with a finger, jumping away from her and swatting at her hand. 

“It hurts!” 

Yonghee rolled her eyes and grabbed onto her hand, beginning to tug her along as she called over her shoulder to Sandeul and Byulyi. 

“Sandeul, bring Byul to Princess Wheein and Princess Hyejin, I’ll bring my dumb sister to see Sunmi.” 

“Aye aye.” 

Yongsun seemed to be on the verge of letting out a whine, but upon seeing both Yonghee and her lover’s stern gaze, she simply turned her gaze away and let out a grumble under her breath. Sandeul offered his hand out for Byulyi to take to bring her to Wheein and Hyejin’s bedroom, Byulyi looking at it in mock disgust before sauntering away. His hand dropping back to his side, Sandeul stuck his tongue out after the retreating woman before running to catch up to her.

Meanwhile, Yongsun and Yonghee were traveling down a different hallway, locating Sunmi’s room to have her treat the younger dragonkin’s wound. The sisters walked together in silence, their footsteps and the passing murmurs of servants the only sounds that echoed around the stone walls. Yongsun sparred a glance at the elder, peeking at her face. Yonghee seemed to be thinking about something, her lips were pursed and her wings were making the little fluttery movements that they always made whenever she was either anxious about something or concentrating. 

Yongsun debated whether or not she should ask her sister what was bothering her, but by the time she decided they had already arrived at Sunmi’s room. The dragonkin was inside, hunched over a few books, several others making a small pile on the table. Some seemed close to teetering off the edge, covers more than halfway off the mahogany desk coupled with melted candles perched on top of the open ones as weights and bookmarks. 

Sunmi looked up when Yonghee rapped her knuckles against the door, looking peeved at being disturbed but brightening up again when she saw who it was. 

“Ah the two sisters! What brings you here??” She asked, leaving her books in favour of moving over to the pair. Her eyes caught onto the bloodied cloth on Yongsun’s shoulder, quickly answering her own question, giving Yongsun a sympathetic look as she beckoned her over to a bed. Yonghee left Yongsun to Sunmi’s care, wandering over to the desk that saw was occupying to take a look at the books, curious as to what the physician was reading or searching for. 

Sunmi h