Despite having a plan, marks passed by with agonizing slowness. Taekwoon was barely focused and he kept getting distracted by his thoughts during the morning meal. He had a couple makeup classes to attend in the training hall after that, but even though he enjoyed lessons with Minjun, and the odd Theology discussion with Sunny, neither were particularly successful in pulling his attention from what he’d stumbled over last night.

            It was worse when he got around Chaerin and her companions, since he could see them watching him. By the looks, it was obvious she had spoken to Ryeowook at least but even she was on edge a bit more than usual around him. He suspected it had something to do with her having seen his eyes the night before. Or perhaps she had simply come to a different conclusion about him, since he was able to ‘read’ the runes and she couldn’t. Or could she? He knew he’d seen her eyes turn silver and Jonghyun had said she smelled more like a dragon than most so… had she simply been acting around him? It was possible, but he didn’t know how likely it was. Maybe that was the secret she was hiding. Or maybe-

            Alarm flared as he sensed rather than saw an attack aiming for him. Taekwoon dropped out of the way, practically collapsing to escape the strike. But it left him at a disadvantage. He desperately tried to roll as another strike swung close and the tip of a practice blade scored his back shoulder. Taekwoon hissed and bunched up to launch himself away, trying to buy time and space. It worked just long enough for him to gain his footing and turn to face a glowering Seunghyun.

            “Next time you’re not paying attention, I hit you harder,” he warned with one finger pointed at the younger rider.

            Taekwoon swallowed hard and nodded once. “Sorry, sir.”

            The Combat Master glared at him for a breath longer and then turned to address the other members present. He ignored the stifled laughs from Taekwoon’s wingmates and instead moved to instruct the newest riders, helping them with their form and defenses. As soon as Seunghyun’s attention was off him, Taekwoon exhaled and grimaced, mostly internally. A little warning next time? he shot at Jonghyun with a touch of irritation. It was more directed at himself though.

            Didn’t know you needed, came the quick reply.

            That was fair actually. Normally, he didn’t. He was just so blasted out of sorts today. Frustrated, he quietly shook his hands and forced the problems of last night out of mind. Now was no time to get sloppy.

            Ground drills were followed by a quick bout of sparring with Seunghyun himself entering the fray to work with the weakest members: namely Ryeowook. That left Insoo and the others to pair off against the remaining riders. Maintaining their tentative rivalry, Taeyeon and Chaerin squared off again while the other woman went toe to toe with Jinyoung. While Taekwoon’s opponent was no martial master - yet, Sungmin was a pleasant combatant and a quick learner. It was easy enough to not think about anything else when the slightly shorter man pressed his defenses, albeit recklessly.

            After ground drills, they went airborne for a couple marks, winding through aerial maneuvers as quickly and deftly as they could. Again, the dragons were no Aerie trained creatures, but they could keep up well enough. They had the natural speed of wild dragons but none of the endurance of trained dragons. In sprints, they held their own, but anything much longer and they got sloppy.

            Insoo pushed them just enough to reach a good level of tired and then called the session. The riders took care of their dragons first and then retreated indoors for a long hot soak and hot food, in that order. With nothing much else left for the day – such was often the nature of the winter moons – Taekwoon and company spread themselves thin to see what they could help with in the Aerie. For Taekwoon, it was better than just sitting and waiting, though he did have to wonder how Jinki was doing…

            Satoru was tense. Jinki could see it in the way he nibbled on his bottom lip and in the tiny crease in his forehead. Such tells were not usually present, even when the Aerie Master was nervous or unconfident about something. He normally maintained a better façade. In Jinki’s company though, and presumably by himself, his guard was a little reduced and it was obvious to see that something was weighing on the older man.

            Considering what news they’d been dealing with most recently, it wasn’t surprising, but Jinki figured there was probably something else that had happened in the interim. This was unusual even on bad days. With a small sigh and quick of his lips, Jinki sat up straighter from his perch on the sofa and called out softly, “Any word from Yongguk?”

            For a moment, Satoru didn’t respond. It was very much as if the man hadn’t heard him, but Jinki knew that would truly be strange. No. After a couple heartbeats, he blinked as the question registered and then sighed. “Yes, but nothing good,” he murmured softly, dark eyes scouring the map in front of him while he made notes on a separate paper next to it.

            “Is he going to be returning soon?” Jinki asked carefully. The last he’d heard, the other man was due to return this sevenday but had not been able to due to complications in Kokoshir.

            Satoru’s minute headshake was a frustrating answer. His face darkened suddenly and then he took a breath as he forcefully released the tension and sat up. In the blink of an eye, the darkness washed away as the Aerie Master focused on his trainee with a thoughtful expression, obviously contemplating something. After a moment of Jinki fidgeting uncertainly and Satoru’s silent introspection, he spoke again. “Come here, Jinki,” he waved, gesturing for his trainee to attend him directly. That was strange as it was usually under the purview of Yongguk, but in his absence… Jinki was the second in command as far as Aerie Masters went.

            Hesitantly, Jinki approached and looked down at what the Aerie Master was studying. “Yes?” he asked softly, feeling a knot starting to form in his belly as he could make sense of the writing now. Satoru was making notes but there was also an opened scroll from one of their riders. It was short and worrisome.

            Riders appearing in Fantor by boat. No dragons in tow and no markings, but local contacts have seen them ‘talking.’

            The fact that Satoru hadn’t hidden it meant Jinki was supposed to see the note and that was also worrisome. The Aerie Master gestured at the desk and commented, “You’ve been spending a great deal of time checking in with the Aerie residents and such. Including our newest group of riders and the not minimal number of incoming residents. Pray tell, remind me of what’s happening in the Aerie.”

            Though the comment was directed at the map and it sounded like it was a general call for information, it felt like it could have been more. Something important. But for all that, for one moment, Jinki froze and his mind went blank. Then the wheels started turning and he automatically jumped through the possibilities of whether Satoru meant people, dragons, and injures, supplies, rumors, or even the newest members and what might have been happening underfoot. Scanning the map, he figured he’d start at the Aerie as questioned and then just work on recalling what was happening abroad. After all, this was a test of sorts, to see if he’d been paying attention or at least keeping up with what was changing.

            He did a few mental checks to recall the last numbers he had and then shrugged minutely before he started speaking. “The condition of the Aerie is… acceptable but not ideal or even comfortable. More than half our Battalion members are either stationed at sister cities or engaging in regular patrols and errands as needed. We have two sick dragons with Hyesung, four more who are injured and one riderless one that is still with us for now. As for riders, no one is sick beyond the brief cold sickness bouts they sometimes suffer after coming in from the cold, though we do have…” he paused to recall the numbers in the Healing Hall, “seven with varying degrees of practice related injuries. Two are still recovering from long term injuries received in the field.”

            “Good,” Satoru nodded in what seemed like hesitant approval when Jinki took a breath. “What about Aerie supplies and the rest of the residents?”

            Was that a hint of resignation in his tone? Jinki didn’t know but it seemed as if he’d missed something. He didn’t know what it could have been though, so he pushed aside his doubt and took a moment to recall before speaking. “Supplies are sustainable at our usual levels for the next moon, give or take, but after that, we will have to start going to short rations. The harvest was not as good this year and… if I remember correctly, tithes and donations were also reduced so that they could be hoarded instead. As for the residents, some of the younger ones are dealing with colds and the older ones are complaining of the usual aches and pains, but there are no major issues. On the other and, we are seeing more people than usual arrive every sevenday, including a larger number of children. Especially for this weather.”

            “Hence the supplies issue,” Satoru exhaled, scratching at his face. “What would your approach to the supplies situation be for the next winter moons?” he asked, turning his full attention on the younger man.

             Jinki was caught off guard by the question. To date, he had yet to be asked such a thing and it made his worry intensify. This was something that Yongguk would usually answer. “Hmm,” he hummed, tapping on his bottom lip. “If we have no guarantee of additional supplies coming in between now and our usual exchanges,” he started, glancing at Satoru to see what his response would be. A single shake of his head answered the concern and added to Jinki’s. “Then I would start reducing the amount of overall food now and thinning what soups and porridges we do have to make them last longer.”

            “And if that is already being done?” Satoru prompted, making Jinki wince. He thought he’d noticed the soup being a little watery lately.

            “Well, we can’t take from the dragon’s food lightly, though we might be able to cull a weaker or older animal for our consumption as necessary,” he thought out loud. “So long as they have enough food to make it reasonably well through the winter, we can always resupply after the cold moons.” Satoru nodded in acceptance but gave no other indication if that was also already being considered. “If the cities are not willing to help with additional supplies, we could send a small team of dragonriders to visit nearby villages to see if perhaps they might trade food for favors.” Even as he said it, he knew how ridiculous that sounded. They would be more worried about food in the cold moons instead of the future of having a dragonrider’s favor.

            “In better times, perhaps,” Satoru justified the suggestion, but confirmed it was not good at this juncture.

            “In lieu of that, there are some winter growths we might be able to scavenge beyond the Aerie walls. And dragons could potentially hunt any large game that has not opted to sleep away the cold,” he added, frowning at his words. It seemed such a miniscule thing to do when there were still a fair few dragons and people to feed. Hunting was hardest in the cold moons and there was no way they’d be able to find enough to feed everyone… but it was better than nothing if it did work.

            “Good,” Satoru nodded once, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes were fixated on the map, jumping to his notes and the letter intermittently as he thought about his next words. It did not make Jinki feel any better about their conversation. “What do you know of what’s happening in the sister cities?” he asked suddenly, looking up to catch Jinki’s gaze.

            Mildly surprised, he shook his head and admitted, “Not as much as I fear I should. I know that Yongguk has heard of recent trouble in Kokoshir and that Fantor,” he nodded at the note, “has had a recent influx of unknown riders. Also that Talongrace is dealing with the encroaching forces of the Dawnstar Battalion.”

            “Indeed,” the Aerie Master confirmed, sitting up and leaning forward this time. “And if that was all we had to worry about, I might be more confident about the coming moons,” he admitted, a shadow that Jinki had never seen before crossing his face.

            “There’s more?” he whispered before he could stop himself, eyes widening slightly.

            Satoru nodded slowly and took a deep breath before releasing it in a controlled exhale. “Outside of the recent infighting and squabbles we’ve seen and heard about among the sister cities of Kinshire, I have been keeping in touch with contacts inside of Bondsland.” At Jinki’s raised brow, he chuckled, “You can be sure that Tiamat’s Aerie has contacts here as well. For any… leader, it is par for the course,” he admitted with a soft laugh. “But my contacts have been going silent. As if someone has found them or something has scared them enough to stop sending information. Or it’s also possible that information has simply been intercepted on its way here. This was one of the last ones I got from the riders we sent to Fantor and it was delivered by a usual merchant on one of his last runs for this season.”

            “Are they riders from Tiamat’s Aerie?” Jinki couldn’t help but ask, brows furrowing in concern.

            “More than likely,” Satoru nodded with a twisted mouth. “In the moon before the cold set in, we received a missive from one of our contacts in Urdmire.” Jinki nodded at the name – the city in connection with Tiamat’s Aerie. “Reports have indicated that unlike Bahamut’s Aerie, the dragon count in Tiamat’s Aerie has grown significantly. The…” he hesitated with a slight grimace, “Tiamat High Dragon Priest is said to visit them frequently.”

            Jinki’s face crumpled in confusion. Both Aeries were bound by similar rules and expectations. The High Priests, and Aerie Masters to a degree, were supposed to enforce that balance so that neither grew too large for the other. “How can they have so many more dragons than we do?” he wondered aloud, shaking his head.

            Again, Satoru paused and frowned slightly. Jinki wasn’t sure he’d answer given the reaction. But… he did. “There are rumors of wild dragon eggs being raised in the Aerie. It would be easy to obtain riders if they did not have to go through the Trials and merely raised one from the shell.”

            “But-” Jinki started to say before Satoru cut him off.

            “We both know the High Priests can control dragons. It is not so far a stretch for Tiamat’s High Priest to do so. The more troubling part is that ours won’t,” he confided, eyes narrowing slightly.

            Jinki opened his mouth to object but then he stopped. There was no point. He didn’t know and it was likely that Satoru didn’t know either. The larger problem now was what was going to happen after the fact. “Okay,” he exhaled, trying to keep his head clear as he put the pieces together. “We have Dawnstar riders actively harrying Talongrace and trying to make headway into Kinshire from the north. We have sightings of what are likely Dawnstar riders in Fantor, minus their dragons which is another concern all on its own. We’ve got infighting among the sister cities with Kokoshir being in moderate conflict with at least Fantor and…”

            “Talongrace, unsurprisingly,” Satoru filled in for him.

            “What about Marsh Rest, Miremaw, and Samut?” Jinki asked, pointing out the cities on the map.

            “Loyal or neutral as always. Marsh Rest has no direct connection to the sea, though there is a small port village they contact from time to time. Samut is very much their own city and Miremaw has no reason for conflict. They have the Aerie and Kokoshir has a good relationship with us so no reason for conflict,” he confirmed.

            “So Tiamat’s Aerie is sending forces into our lands and actively trying to pit the cities against each other?” Jinki wondered, feeling dread seep into him further.

            Satoru took a breath and nodded once. “It looks that way.”

            “So what does that mean for us?” he had to ask, glancing at the door, beyond which Taekwoon and the others would be.

            “Nothing good,” Satoru admitted, all the pain and worry that he’d obviously been hiding from everyone evident in his tone. “What is your take on the influx of children and younger persons recently?” he asked, shifting their attention to the newest problem of people versus supplies.

            Jinki frowned and shook his head minutely. He didn’t know. It was the first time he’d seen such an immediate influx. They always had some newcomers showing up here and there, often accompanied by a Dragon Priest or someone else, but now… “Well. The people we’re seeing aren’t strictly the outcasts or tithed ones. These are…” he trailed off as the pieces started to come together. “They’re not as finely dressed and not as obvious about it, but these are nobles’ children, aren’t they?” he asked for clarification, frowning at the implications.

            “Yes. A fair number of them are,” Satoru confirmed softly, his eyes still trained on his Trainee.

            “But there’s no reason to send them here now. They have food and supplies and all that they could need in the cities,” he reasoned, ticking off the things they were leaving behind. “It’s not as if they were in danger.”

            “Yet.”

            The single word sent a lightning bolt of fear through Jinki. It was spoken so matter of factly that it was almost as if Satoru knew what might happen. “You think there will be fighting?” he asked in a breathless whisper.

            Satoru took a slow breath as his gaze settled on a point in front of him, unfocused but very much thinking. “We already know Tiamat’s Aerie is making overtures and if our reports are accurate, we will be seeing more of them after the cold leaves. Worse… the sister cities have started to turn against each other. Fantor and Talongrace feel that Kokoshir hasn’t done enough to help them with their current hardships. Relations have begun to sour. I don’t know how much the King has heard about the Dawnstar Battalion, but I am relatively certain the children we are seeing are because their parents are worried about retaliation from the other cities.”

            “But Kokoshir has been suffering as well,” Jinki objected, jerking slightly when Satoru looked up to meet his eyes unexpectedly.

            “Indeed,” he agreed, blinking once. “But I don’t think we’ve seen all the players at the table here. We’re missing something,” he added, saying the words with such certainty. Jinki was conflicted. He believed the Aerie Master and he agreed, but there was something about the way he was looking at him. It was almost like there was more he wanted to say but didn’t. Or… couldn’t.

            “I…” he started to say, trailing off without the words to follow through.

            Abruptly, Satoru sighed once and blinked, his hands moving unobtrusively to loosely cross in front of him, palms resting on his forearms. The effect was broken as quickly as it had settled in. His expression was still troubled, but when he spoke, his voice was back to its normal cadence and reassuring sound. “Thank you for your insight, Jinki.”

            He couldn’t help but wave off the words. “I didn’t offer anything you didn’t already know,” he breathily laughed, ducking his head in mild embarrassment.

            “On the contrary, I think you help me to find the answers I sometimes cannot see,” he smiled warmly, some of the tension draining away from his face. “I believe we’ll call it there for the day, but if you wouldn’t mind, please check in with Gain. She had something she was concerned about and I think you might have a good chance of working to the heart of it,” he encouraged, nodding once at the younger man.

            “Of course, Master Satoru,” Jinki responded immediately, bowing respectfully as he did so. “The Paramour has a unique perspective,” he chuckled once, recalling past visits with her. She intimidated him, but her insight was particularly clear when she wanted to disclose it.

            “That she does,” the Aerie Master agreed with a wholly bemused expression. Jinki figured he’d probably been on the receiving end of it a time or two.

            Taking his leave, Jinki stepped out of the office, maintaining the forced light expression Satoru had helped conjure. But outside of the Aerie Master’s presence, it shattered and he stopped to lean against the door, weak kneed and filled with worry. His heart beat fast in his chest and his stomach roiled with tension, making him feel slightly nauseous. Infighting, the encroaching Dawnstar Battalion, and a hidden player helping to set everything up? It felt like something out of a nightmare and otherwise impossible. But apparently it was something that was starting to stare them in the face.

            Why was everything starting to fall apart? Why was balance between the Aeries shifting so much? And what could they do about it? Roughly, Jinki scrubbed both hands over his face and forced himself to take a calming breath. Getting upset about it wasn’t going to help anyone right now. Especially not the aerie. “Okay,” he breathed, looking up to focus on the mural across from him. Once again, something twisted in his gut upon seeing it. He didn’t know why but it bothered him. Why?! Scowling at the image, he wandered closer, raking his eyes over the surface as if he was searching for something. It almost felt as if there was something here he was missing. It itched at the edge of his awareness, making him want to scratch it more.

            Drawing near, his placed his fingertips against the stone and started tracing over the surface. He could almost feel something guiding him, moving his hand slowly but inexorably towards… something. Down and down, closer to the bottom of the painting his fingers moved. Jinki wasn’t entirely surprised that he drew ever nearer to the broken spot. He inhaled slightly, blinking in surprise when his hand stopped. Perhaps he should have been alarmed, but he was drawn more by the faded and slightly broken marking he’d missed the first time he’d seen it. Or maybe he had noticed it, but like everyone else, he simply had not recognized or understood what it was. But this time… he was pretty sure he was seeing what was left of a rune.

            “Could it be?” he wondered softly, letting his fingertip trace over the faded lines that were mostly hidden by the paint over them. Unless you were looking very hard, they could easily be passed off as shadows or mere cracks from time and age. But this felt different. He didn’t know what it could be, but… “I’ve gotta tell Taekwoon,” he exhaled, drawing his closed fist to his chest decisively. Quickly, he stood up to leave. Stepping out of the Aerie Master’s foyer, he was hit by a blast of cold air that was just as surprising as the blue dragon he nearly ran into immediately outside the doorway. Jinki flailed and his feet slipped out from under him, sending him awkwardly to the ground. “Ow…” he groaned as the belatedly recognized Jongup promptly leaned over him in concern.

            “Jinki!” a familiar and surprised voice called out, making him turn to see Taekwoon rushing up to help him, clothed in his warm, winter riding leathers. Well that was odd… “Are you alright?” the dragonrider asked in concern, kneeling next to his other half quickly.

            The immediate answer was yes, but Jinki was desperately trying to connect all the dots because it didn’t seem like this should be happening. It was too great a coincidence. “Yeah…” he trailed off, accepting Taekwoon’s assistance to get back to his feet before he pointed at the rider and then to Jongup and finally to Jonghyun who was also in the immediate vicinity. “What are you all doing here?” he asked, blurting out the first question that came to mind.

            Taekwoon blinked and shrugged. “Jonghyun said Jongup was acting a little strange so I came to check on him and then I saw you come out after he’d been staring at the door for an unusually long amount of time.” He glanced at the blue dragon with a questionable expression before looking back at his other half.

            Jinki focused on Taekwoon for a moment, letting the words sink in. Jongup had been staring at the door? Before he had come out? He leveled his finger at the dragon and whispered quietly, “You?”

            Jongup crooned and sidled closer, bumping his nose gently against Jinki’s side. “Hey!” Taekwoon chirped in surprise, even as Jinki dropped one hand to lay it gently against the blue face.

            “It’s alright,” Jinki promised, keeping his attention on the blue dragon, their eyes meeting briefly. Not for the first time, he felt a strange pull coming from them, but he did not follow it. Okay. Weird occurrence notwithstanding, there was a fairly decent possibility that Jongup’s presence had made something happen. He didn’t know what or why and was probably happier not knowing but… Taekwoon was here and he still had to show him what he’d found. “I think I found something,” he explained as he looked at Taekwoon again, minutely squeezing Jongup’s face in silent acknowledgment of his potential assistance.

            “Yeah?” the dragonrider asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

            “Come on,” Jinki urged, grabbing Taekwoon’s hand and pulling him inside, wincing once when his hip smarted from his fall. “Right here,” he pointed, finding the faded marking with greater ease this time. “I think it’s a rune,” he explained, waiting to see what Taekwoon would say.

            Immediately focused, his other half squatted in front of the wall and stared at the image briefly. Jinki could almost feel a shift in the air as it seemed like something in Taekwoon changed. He heard the slight intake of breath and felt his heart hiccup at what it probably meant. “It is a rune,” he whispered, brow obviously furrowed, even in profile. “Believe,” he added, turning to look up at Jinki with an unreadable expression and slightly glowing amber eyes.

            “Believe?” he asked for clarification, confused as to why it would be here. And a bit unnerved by the change this close up. It was… startling.

            Taekwoon’s expression darkened as a thought apparently occurred to him. “I saw this rune in the library. And now here. On a mural that is covering… another picture?” he mused aloud, visage crumpling into a scowl as he focused on the image again. “There is something here that we are not meant to see,” he muttered with a strange and angry certainty.

            “Hey,” Jinki murmured in a soothing tone, reaching down to rest his hand on Taekwoon’s shoulder.

            Almost at once, bunched muscles relaxed under his touch and Taekwoon let out a slow breath. “Good job in finding it,” he whispered, placing one hand to rest atop Jinki’s.

            “I think… Jongup helped,” he admitted uncertainly, eyes darting to the door beyond which the dragons were waiting.

            “Eh?” Taekwoon murmured, standing up slowly as he turned his full attention on the other man.

            “At first, I was just looking. I was… frustrated,” he admitted, recalling what he’d been thinking about before. “But then it seemed like I was missing something and when I touched the image, it almost felt like something was… guiding me,” he explained, biting on his bottom lip.

            Taekwoon glanced towards the door as well and then returned his attention to Jinki. He took both hands and grasped his face tenderly before resting his forehead against Jinki’s. “Perhaps you are connected somehow,” he murmured softly, human eyes peering into his once more.

            “But we’re not bound,” Jinki denied quickly, resting his hands atop Taekwoon’s.

            “Connected doesn’t mean bound, my heart,” he laughed once, a smile pulling at his lips. “Having spent time around our newest riders, connected would be a good way of describing their relationship too,” he added, head tilting slightly to the side in a hesitant admission.

            “Ah. Right!” Jinki jerked as he remembered. “We’re supposed to meet them today. Are they free now?” he asked, excited and worried and feeling as if there was something he might have been forgetting.

            “They should be,” Taekwoon answered. “We knew you were busy so were biding our time until you were free. Ryeowook has a few places already mapped out but I’m sure there are others too…” he trailed off, a hint of concern showing.

            “We’ll figure it out, love,” Jinki promised, raising his mouth just enough to steal a quick kiss. This close, it would have been a shame not to.

            Taekwoon’s face softened and a tender smile returned. “When you say it, I believe it, my heart.”

            His response warmed Jinki through and through. It was almost a challenge to separate so that they could head out; he was so comfortable in that moment. But larger concerns called and if he’d learned anything, it was how to prioritize necessities first. “Good. Let’s get to it then,” he encouraged, nodding once as he took one of Taekwoon’s hands in his and promptly guided him out of the foyer again.