10th of June, 1522,

It's our, what, two-hundredth day out at sea? Three-hundredth? I don't even recall anymore. The captain is absolutely insane. He will scream something like '¡Viva a revolução!' and toss his rum overboard before running around like a madman. We had to keep him on board when he almost fell off, swinging his sword about and screaming something like a sea serpent was attacking us. I shall write more later since he's now screeching for everyone to throw one of the seamen overboard....

"Helmsworth! You ready?" Byunghee shouted from just outside the hut he was writing in and he put out the candle by smothering the flame with his index finger and thumb, folding the letter and setting it with the other's just beneath his pillow he was able to salvage from the shipwreck.

"Yep~" Carter sang as he climbed out from the dug out hut, inhaling the clean air with a sigh. Their little hut was dug into the ground to keep it cool during the day and keep the heat in at night; the walls were simply packed mud and was supported by long, thin rods of rather sturdy bamboo and they each had a mat of foliage woven tightly together. He, Byunghee and Eli were going into the town to scope it out further and see if they could find any English speakers, or any speakers that spoke the same language as the fisherman. Smoothing out his dirtied, torn clothes the best he could, the young man set off after the elder men as Sungyeol, Myungsoo and Kevin stayed behind to forage for things they could eat.

They didn't set up camp far from the palace, just about 1oo yards or so to take them to the pathway leading through the gates. They made small talk as they walked, Carter remaining quiet as he gazed around to get a feel for his surroundings. They were going to be there a while so why not familiarize yourself with the area around your makeshift home?

Walking past the guards, Carter watched the brightly colored men watch them pass by with rapt interest. Their clothing was so... Intricate. Interwoven mesh overlapping sturdy but durable leather made for a good protective layer and brightly painted make up on their faces showed everyone that they were not to be messed with.

"They almost seem... Uncivilized..." Eli murmured to Byunghee, the fisherman nodding as they slowly strolled down the dirt paths. Whereas they saw the dull simplicity of everything, Carter saw the beauty in the simplicity. No overcomplicated horse and carriage buggies, no pompous women wearing overbearing dresses, no men showing their wealth through their far too tight suits and bowties, no children being forced to look like tiny porcelain dolls. You could tell who worked in the fields and who was of worth, yes, but most intermingled and there was a steady buzz of activity in the early morning. It was... Quite nice.

When Carter faced forward, he panicked when he saw the fisherman and the blacksmith had disappeared from in front of him. He looked around, whining when he saw that the only one's around were the local ones, which a couple of them were simply staring at him rather openly. Covering his slightly exposed stomach, he walked slowly down one of the many busy and crowded streets, taking in the beautiful clear morning.

That is, until he heard angry shouting.

Turning, he saw a group of children being screamed at by a heavier, older man, a cleaver in his hand as he grabbed the smallest girl's hand and placed it on the ground, cleaver cocked high. His eyes widened and he simply acted on impulse, running up to the man and screaming 'Wait!'. Everyone turned to look at him, the elder man huffing with a grumble as he cocked the cleaver high again.

"W-Wait! Is this what you're looking for?" Carter dug around in his pockets, holding out a few coins with a trembling hand. The man looked over his hand and snatched the coins with a scoff, slinking back behind the stand as the younger male turned towards the group of kids. They all wore what looked to be satin robes, all rather beautiful and eloquently embroidered with their own patterns. The smallest girl had a crimson robe with a butterfly sewn into the corner, her older sister had a forest green robe with a dragonfly and the other girl had a deep purple robe with a, what looked to be, chrysanthemum. The two boys both had similar robes, one of deep blue with a crane and the other of gold with a dragon but their robes were more suited for boys. He couldn't describe it but he simply fell in love with the clothing.

The littlest girl was picked up by her eldest brother, the boy looking no more than 14 rocking her gently with a soft coo as she sniffled and rubbed her eye with her tiny hand. She sniffled again and looked back at Carter with wide, deep brown eyes that bordered on black. He smiled gently at her, waving his fingers at the small girl, making her blink her wide, doe-eyes at him.
"My name is Carter..." he said quietly, smiling gently at the small children who hid behind their elder brother. Paying the man with what little coins he was able to transfer, he grabbed the bread the children had been eyeing and knelt down in front of them, smiling gently as he held out the loaf, "Here you go."

The children spoke in a foreign language that he couldn't seem to understand before the littlest girl reached out. The older brother smacked her knuckles with a harsh sound, speaking brashly to her while gesturing wildly to him.

"Well you didn't have to put it like that..." Carter pouted, falling onto his as he picked at a seam on his pants. His ear twitched slightly when he heard a rather familiar call and he looked up at the bird circling overhead. "Well I'll be..." he breathed, chuckling softly as he stood and whistled musically to the falcon circling overhead, his arm outstretching as the bird looked down at him curiously before swooping down.

The children cried out as they saw the menacing bird spiraling down towards them, as did a few of the villagers around them, and Carter chuckled as the falcon touched down almost gently on his arm.

"He isn't going to hurt anyone," he said softly, gently the back of the majestic bird's head. Crouching down beside the children, he curled his thumb around one of the falcon's talons to keep it from fluttering away when the littlest girl slowly approached despite her brother's harsh protests. "Just reach out slowly..." he said quietly, reaching his hand out for the young girl to take. She hesitantly complied and rested her tiny hand in his, allowing him to rest the said hand on the top of the falcon's head.

She giggled and turned to her siblings, beckoning them over as she slowly patted the bird's head. Carter held up a finger with a smile.

"One at a time," he chirped, chuckling as they seemed to understand him and they all filed into a line to each take a turn petting the falcon's head. Once he felt the bite of the talon begin to numb and his hand drip blood was when he stood up and let the graceful creature go, watching it fly away before looking down when the littlest girl tugged on his shirt and she pointed to his palm. Carter lifted his hand up and blinked at the sight of the messy puncture wound on his hand, so used to the blood that it didn't bother him but it obviously bothered them.

Two of the girls had flanked on either sides of his legs and the boy grabbed ahold of his other hand, all three pushing and pulling him towards... Somewhere... As the rest of the siblings followed suit like ducklings following their mother.

"Where in the world are they taking me?" he asked inside of his head, not wanting to ask it aloud because he knew he wouldn't get an answer. Instead, he simply let them take him wherever they wanted him to be, not sure if this would really be a good or a bad idea but he guessed he would just wing it.

Was that ever a good idea?