There wasn’t much for Jinki to do in the afternoon beyond wait for his time to meet up with Gain. After he’d gotten a bite to eat, he did stop by Satoru’s office just to make sure he wasn’t needed or that nothing had changed. Not entirely unexpectedly, the Aerie Master waved him off without much comment and it left Jinki conflicted. He wasn’t being reprimanded for the mural project but it felt almost like Satoru was perhaps keeping him away now. Considering he’d been speaking with him more of late, that just felt odd.

            All the same, it was another thing he opted not to focus on in lieu of actual concerns around the Aerie. Speculation was fine but it didn’t help give hard answers in the immediate future. So he made a brief run around the perimeter, checking on the various guards and patrols as he bided his time. Most were cold but content, curled close to their dragons as they shared body heat and watched for signs of anything beyond the walls. Pausing to look in the distance, Jinki frowned at a particularly noticeable and ominous looking cloud bank slowly heading their way. If it stayed the course, they were likely in for some more snow before too long…

            A particularly cold blast of wind made him shiver and he hunched against it, moving into the shrine to escape the worst of it. The small room was always quiet and often empty, occupied only by the relief of Bahamut rising elegantly from the pedestal he was mounted upon. Dim light aded the interior and revealed the neutral browns of the furniture and the dull silver of the walls – the color of Bahamut himself. Standing in that space, Jinki really had to wonder if the dragon himself was nearby…

            “Oh,” a surprised murmur escaped from nearby as a lump of cloth shifted to turn a tired face his direction.

            For a moment, Jinki was just as surprised and completely confused. At least until the features made sense and he recognized the worn visage of Bahamut Priest Junsu. That’s right… he had remained here in lieu of continuing his traveling. Given the weather and his condition upon arrival, it made sense. “Priest Junsu,” he bowed slightly and smiled, still clearly able to see the lines of privation etched into the other man’s face. He was getting better, but it was a slow process. More troubling was that his mind, or perhaps it was his spirit, was taking longer to mend. “I did not mean to disturb you,” he murmured apologetically.

            The older man shook his head with a gentle smile. “You didn’t. All are welcome here, child of Bahamut,” he assured him, gesturing with a thin hand for Jinki to join him if he wished.

            As he didn’t have anywhere he needed to be just yet and it was warm inside, that seemed like a good idea. “Are you well today?” he asked as he wandered close and took a seat gingerly.

            “The cold makes me ache, but this place gives me peace,” he answered easily, sighing in contentment.

            “I’m glad,” Jinki responded, holding the priest’s eyes for a moment.

            He didn’t know what else to say so they sat in companionable silence until Junsu broke it. “I’m always surprised by how things turn out once you’ve walked down the path a ways,” he murmured, gaze fixed on the Bahamut statue as he clasped his hands in his lap.

            “What do you mean?” Jinki prompted, curious.

            The Priest’s lips turned up into a small smile and he tilted his head to the side. “I meet so many people on the roads and in the villages and cities I travel to. Some I remember and others are lost to time and memory. I’ve always found children to be the easiest to recall. Even when they’re grown and accomplished,” he mused, glancing at Jinki meaningfully. “It’s not common for one to wish to become an Aerie Master and yet, here you are. Well on your way,” he chuckled, the hint of a shadow in his eyes.

            “I’ve a ways to go yet, but I’m happy with how things have happened over time,” he assured him, nodding once to emphasize the point.

            “Truly, I am glad to hear that Jinki,” the Priest smiled, reaching a hand out to press against the younger man’s shoulder. “Yet, I fear you have chosen an exceptionally challenging path.”

            The words sent a small chill up Jinki’s spine, but he moved to wave them off. “No more challenging than many other roles,” he offered, though none specifically came to mind.

            Junsu chuckled and shook his head. “You are thinking of someone in particular, are you not?” When Jinki didn’t immediately answer, he went on anyway. “No. Aerie Master is a good position. Honest and important work. But… there are certain people they must work with,” he frowned, expression darkening as he looked away, back towards the statue.

            “Well, I know that Master Satoru corresponds with the King of Kokoshir and he maintains contacts with the leaders of the sister cities,” Jinki explained, hand gesturing fluidly in the air.

            “And the Bahamut High Priest…” Junsu whispered, his voice barely audible even in the silence of the room.

            “True,” Jinki confirmed, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

            Dark eyes slid over to look at him more directly and Junsu whispered again, “Be careful around him, Jinki. He is not to be entirely trusted,” he warned, pain washing over his face.

            “We don’t know that-” he started to try and offer some solace or comfort to what he knew Junsu had to be referring to, but the Priest cut him off, grabbing his arm with a surprisingly strong hand.

            “Don’t trust those he can control. Inside is usually safe, but beyond… he has many eyes,” Junsu warned with a shiver.

            “I don’t understand,” Jinki apologized with a shake of his head. He was honestly lost and it seemed as if Junsu was having some kind of episode. Master Mimi mentioned that he might drift off like so from time to time, but he honestly didn’t know.

            Junsu just looked at him for a long moment, dark eyes unblinking. But then he seemed to realize what he was doing or saying and his face softened. He gasped slightly and released Jinki’s arms with an abashed expression. “My apologies. I just worry,” he muttered, looking down at his hands as he pulled his Bahamut token out to rub between his fingers.

            “It’s alright. We all worry sometimes,” Jinki soothed, pressing his hand gently against the older man’s back.

            “You are very kind,” the Priest smiled, giving him a tired sidelong look.

            “Thank you for sharing your time with me,” Jinki smiled, nodding at the other man as he slowly got up to head out.

            “But honestly, Jinki. Take care,” he called out as the younger man stepped away. “I would hate to see something bad happen to you as well,” he frowned, brows creased in concern.

            “I’ll try,” he offered hesitantly, feeling a definite chill sink into him. The outer cold matched the inner and he stepped away from the shrine as quickly as he could. Of all the conversations he could have had, that was not one he’d been expecting. It didn’t help that he already didn’t trust the High Priest anymore and that conversation was far more unsettling. Since he really didn’t want to risk any other kind of strange encounter, he opted to make his way for the Paramour’s Quarters and figured he’d wait if he had to. At least they were a relatively safe zone. Gain and Heechul made abundantly sure of that.

            Stepping into the large space was like a balm of another kind. Whereas Bahamut’s Shrine was usually spiritually calming, this place was… like stepping into a warm blanket. It was comforting, so long as you accepted it for all the possibilities: mind, spirit, and body.

            One of the older runners was on shift duty today. He checked in with her to confirm how much longer it might be and then maintained a steady flow of normal conversation. It helped wash away the strange words he’d exchanged with the priest and started to return him to a sense of balance.

            “Ah. Gain should be free shortly,” she commented as they noticed a black dragon emerging from the gold’s cave.

            “Oh,” Jinki murmured, frowning slightly at the black. They were easier to tell apart by their demeanors but this one was subdued and that made it challenging. Though… ah. Yep. There was the scarring on the wing. Krystal. He wondered what she was doing here and if there was any concern between her and Jongin. She glanced at him when she got to the doorway, shaking her horned head in a motion that traveled down the rest of her length, and then stepped out into the cold, brushing past the heavy cloths with ease.

            “Are you ready for your next visitor?” the runner asked, drawing Jinki’s attention back to the cave entrance. In it stood Gain, her golden eyes fixed on him steadily, unreadable. She inhaled once, flicked her tail and then nodded before turning around and heading back inside. “Well, there you have it. After you,” she urged, gesturing for Jinki to follow along.

            “Thank you,” he shrugged, jogging lightly to catch up. As always, stepping into Gain’s room was almost like coming home. And not in the sense of coming home to Taekwoon, but rather like that of a mother instead. Considering the service she offered to some, that might be a strange comparison, but for him, she always felt like an older and wiser matriarch. If she was so inclined, it felt like she always had the answers. He was hoping for that today actually. Or at least insight.

            They went through their normal routine of settling in and entering Trance. He slipped into that space easily and found Gain in her usual, clothed guise, though she was pacing this time, almost as if she was waiting for him. Looking up at his arrival, she smiled and nodded, “Good. You’re here.”

            “Thank you for meeting with me,” he started first, offering a polite bow.

            “I’m glad you could come,” she smiled, conjuring a table with a wave of her hand. “Please,” she offered, sliding into the nearest chair as she waited for him to do so as well.

            “What was it you wanted to talk about?” he asked, folding his hands on top of the table.

            She didn’t answer immediately, her pretty brows furrowed over liquid golden eyes. “To my great frustration, I’m not entirely sure,” she admitted, twisting in irritation.

            “Oh?” Jinki hummed, not expecting that.

            “Something… is strange,” she explained hesitantly. “Perhaps not wrong, but it feels as if there is something odd. Somewhere,” she sighed, tapping her nails on the table.

            Jinki laughed nervously and shrugged. “That is a very vague claim.”

            At his comment, she laughed and nodded in understanding. “My apologies. I suppose I should add a bit more information here, shouldn’t I?” she asked rhetorically. For a long while, the gold simply stared into the distance, weighing whether this or that was worth talking about. “I suppose I should start with Wonshik,” she shrugged at last, settling on a direction.

            “Wonshik? Is he alright?” Jinki asked immediately, jumping to everything he knew about his friend at the moment. He didn’t look sick or in trouble… And he hadn’t mentioned anything recently either so…

            “He’s fine,” Gain promised in a voice that indicated she had no doubts about that. “He is not my concern. At least not directly,” she corrected, eyes narrowed. Jinki waited for her to go on as he didn’t know what to ask yet. “It’s more of a feeling he brings with him. It is something he did not have before he became a rider and it sits wrong with me,” she mused.

            “Is it something about his dragon?” he asked now, since that was the only thing that had really changed.

            Again, she laughed and shook her head. “Ken is a unique dragon. There is nothing wrong with him either,” she confirmed. “I’ve spoken with Andy and the Commander and they agree that nothing is particularly amiss with him. Or Taemin and JR. They’ve acclimatized well to Aerie life and their riders.”

            “But…” Jinki prompted, sensing there was something left unsaid.

            “But there is something about them that makes my skin itch,” she grumbled, perturbed by the admission. “It’s a strange tingling sensation that reminds me of when I was bound, but different.”

            “Bound?” Jinki echoed, making sure he’d heard her correctly.

            “Yes,” she nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and drumming her fingers against her biceps.

            Jinki paused to think for a moment more and then offered carefully, “Do you think it feels like magic?”

            Gain blinked in surprise, not really expecting the question. Her golden eyes glanced down at her crossed arms and she took a deep breath as if she was thinking about something, or perhaps making a connection she had missed somewhere along the way. “What makes you think it might be magic?” she wondered at last, eyes narrowed but thoughtful.

            With Gain at least, Jinki had little qualms about divulging information. “Because we’ve recently read a couple books that have mentioned magic and I believe it may well be… here,” he explained with a hesitant shrug. If runes weren’t magic, then he didn’t know how else to explain them. At least not with where he suspected their power and effectiveness came from.

            “Where have you seen such magics?” she wondered softly, relaxing her arms as she leaned towards him over the table.

            “There are runes around the Aerie,” he answered, gesturing out towards the space beyond. “Taekwoon has been looking for them and according to Jonghyun, they’re supposedly dragon writing.”

            “Dragon writing?” she echoed in surprise, brows rising high on her forehead. “We have no such thing.” Jinki shrugged helplessly. He knew that, but all he could do was relay what he’d been told. “Show me,” she encouraged, waving her hand as if to dismiss them both.

            If that look in her eyes was any indication, he knew they wouldn’t be doing much talking otherwise so Jinki nodded and allowed himself to be pushed out of Trance. The runner was quite surprised when they emerged together and actually left the Paramour’s quarters, but she didn’t try to stop them. For her part, Gain was singularly focused and quite close to Jinki, which he would normally be at least slightly concerned about, but the heat from her body was nice and… he trusted the gold dragon almost implicitly.

            The easiest ones to show her were the ones along the walls. As she stared at the markings, he felt a definite shift in her demeanor. It was almost as if she was affronted by the writing. It was equally clear she wanted to ask him something but without a connection of their own or Trance, such a thing was mostly impossible. But her body language was clear enough when Jinki figured out she wanted to see more, so he took her on a quick tour of the places they’d visited, pointing out the ones he knew. Unlike the first time, her demeanor did not change, but she seemed to feel unsettled.

            When they’d exhausted the runes he knew about, they returned to the Paramour quarters to talk again. This time, Gain was well and truly agitated, pacing in fast circles. The sky was a muddy gray as well, reflecting her inner tumult. “How long have they been here?” she asked as soon as Jinki returned.

            “We aren’t sure,” he admitted, watching her intently. “We think they might have been written in at the founding of the Aerie but there’s some debate on that point.”

            She rolled tense shoulders and took a couple more laps before she paused and forced herself to calm down. “You are right about them being dragon writing,” she confirmed with a slow, confused nod.

            “How do you know that?” the Aerie Master in training wondered. Taekwoon hadn’t been able to explain it all that well for him when Jonghyun mentioned it so if Gain could, he would be much happier knowing.

            Her lips pursed and she blinked a couple times as she tried to make sense of what she was thinking. “It’s a feeling. A knowing. Like recognizing a part of yourself,” she finally murmured, hands moving lightly in front of her like she was trying to draw the words out. “I have never seen them before but I understand without understanding.” She touched her head gently, gaze losing focus. “The knowing is easy, but it feels… disconnected. Weak. Like something is missing or that something has been put in the way. A barrier or block of some kind,” she frowned, shifting in place uncertainly as the answers eluded here.

            “How are you able to feel or understand all that from a single look?” Jinki asked, slightly doubtful but mostly incredulous and impressed. “Jonghyun could barely explain the basics.” He wasn’t annoyed with the dragon, just surprised by their vast differences in abilities.

            At last Gain was in more comfortable territory and she smiled in light amusement. “Jonghyun is more dragon than man. More so than most here, given the nature of their Symbiosis. He thinks more like a dragon. Reasons and understands more like a dragon. My Symbiosis was different, binding me more to the rider than the reverse. As such, I think more like a human. And lest you forget, much of my time is spent in Trance with people and dragons. I get more practice than most with understanding both human and dragon thought patterns.”

            “Ah,” Jinki hummed in mildly embarrassed understanding. He couldn’t fault her explanation though. Jonghyun didn’t seem to much care for Trance if he could help it. “So,” he urged, nudging the conversation back towards their original topic. “Does what you feel around Wonshik or Ken feel at all like the runes?”

            The dragon was silent for a long moment, her expression turning inward and reflective. “It is possible,” she sighed at last, chewing on the inside of her lip. “I would need to speak with Wonshik or Ken again to be sure, but… they do feel familiar.”

            “And what about Taemin and… JR?” he asked, struggling to recall their names. Recalling all the dragons was a challenge but these were easier since they were the newest and had been gifted by the High Priest. Remembering that connection made him a little nervous at least.

            Gain gave a barely perceptible nod. “They do not seek to share my company but we have flown together enough for me to realize that something is… different?” she wondered aloud. “It is not obvious and when they first arrived, I did not notice. But… there is something. I just do not know what,” she admitted, well and truly frustrated.

            “If nothing else, thank you for letting me know. I’m not sure what I will be able to do, but I will keep an eye on them. Have you asked Captain Yunho or Dragon Master Dongwan to watch them as well?” he wondered, just for the sake of making sure.

            She gave him a look that was bemused, but nodded all the same. “Yunho is busy with patrols for the most part, so Hero is not much help there, but Dongwan confirmed he would have Minwoo ask among the dragons. Still, the more eyes we have, the better,” she shrugged, taking a small breath.

            “Agreed,” Jinki smiled, the expression a bit forced. “Is there anything else I might be able to assist you with though?” he offered since he was here and had no immediate plans after this.

            “No,” she shook her head slowly, but her gaze turned thoughtful as she rested golden eyes on him. “Might I ask the same of you? You have helped me in a way I did not understand was possible today and I would return the favor if I could.”

            Jinki flushed at the praise and ducked his head. “I merely did my duty as the Aerie Master in training, Lady Gain. You are quite kind to offer, but I have no pressing issues today.”

            “Perhaps another day then,” she responded, ignoring his self-deprecation.

            “I will think about it.” He honestly didn’t have anything at the moment, but there was nothing to say he might not in the future. “Thank you again,” he bowed, ready enough to depart for the day. With a pleased smile, she gently waved him off, careful in her handling of him as she ended the Trance session.

            Neither Jinki nor Taekwoon were particularly happy with the progress they’d made when they finally reconvened later in the evening. Taekwoon was glad to see him though, especially since he did have a fair bit of info he wanted to go over with the other man. They managed to catch the evening meal together and he saw Jinki make sure to speak with Amber, Joy, and Sanghyuk specifically before they settled in for their meal. He was going to have to confirm that later, but now was the time for food. Training had been quite hard in the afternoon and the incoming cold front had well and truly worn him out. Even Jonghyun and Jongup were more tired than usual from the effects of the cold.

            Per Jinki’s privilege, he chose to sit with the riders and that meant Taekwoon in turn. “How’d your day go?” he asked, pushing a plate of food towards the rider first as he nodded at the other riders. Glancing around, Taekwoon could see they all looked worn out and tired.

            “Not bad,” he confirmed, shrugging lightly to keep the tone easy. Insoo’s words had been making the rounds and there was movement from Jinki’s side as well, but it just felt slow. “You?” he wondered around a mouthful of lean meat. Huh. They had been cutting back already.

            “About the same,” he answered easily enough, leaning over when Wooyoung asked him a question. He politely answered and then came back to continue his discussion. “We’ve got a fair bit to talk about though.

            “Agreed,” the rider hummed with a meaningful look. He couldn’t go into it here, but his meeting with Mimi had been… curious indeed.

            They played nice with the riders for a bit longer, making small talk – well, Jinki made the small talk and Taekwoon listened, before they left when the meal started to wind down. He was mildly surprised Chaerin hadn’t tried to make a pass at him for questions or answers but it was nice not having to fend her off for once. As they’d been doing, they retreated to their shared room to settle in for the night, finding the privacy of the space helpful in unwinding and speaking of useful information.

            He didn’t have much to say but he was curious how Jinki’s efforts had gone so Taekwoon asked first. “What did you happen to find out today?” As expected, he got to hear about how his other half had pulled the three from the dining hall into helping him, along with Masters Kibum and Sandara. He thought Satoru’s appearance was odd, or rather his reaction was, but bit his tongue on saying anything. Jinki knew him better than most so if he had nothing else to add on for it, he wasn’t going to ask yet. On the other hand, he wasn’t really expecting to hear anything about Junsu, which was more than a little surprising, and the information from Gain was also… troubling. “We need to be able to trust our riders,” he mused hesitantly, biting on his bottom lip.

            “She wasn’t sure about the specifics and I told her I’d let you know so you could have Jonghyun and Jongup help too,” Jinki encouraged. “I’m still surprised she didn’t know about the runes,” he couldn’t help but add, a confused look on his face.

            “Well, Jonghyun didn’t know either,” Taekwoon shrugged, though he had to agree it didn’t settle well with him too. “But they don’t practice reading and most can’t see through their riders eyes like mine can,” he added, feeling his way through.

            “Is it possible they forgot?” Jinki asked uncertainly, very unsure about the question.

            Taekwoon shook his head. “They’re not very forgetful creatures. It seems more like this might have been intentional. What did the books say about the relationship between the dragon, their riders, and the dragon priests? Do you remember?”

            Jinki nodded and his lips as he pulled at the memory. “Before the Dragon Wars, the dragons were more involved and actually seemed to have a sort of place in society. Even our history books seem to agree that they were essentially our equals. But…”

            “Once the wars started and ended, that changed,” Taekwoon finished for him.

            “Exactly. The numbers were much reduced for one. And the Dragon Priests were starting to step up with their power after the fact. This is especially true if they did indeed bind Bahamut and Tiamat as we suspect,” he exhaled, teeth digging into his lip thoughtfully.

            “Fewer dragons, fewer riders, and more power for the priests…” he grumbled, not liking how that seemed to lead rather nicely to where they were now.

            “Definitely something to think about,” Jinki mused tiredly, rubbing at his face with both hands. “How about you though? What did you manage today?” he asked, rolling onto the bed and laying on his side to look up at the other man.

            Taekwoon reached over to pull the blankets on top of Jinki with a smile before he answered. “Insoo will help with spreading the word about trying to get ready for what may or may not be coming and… I had an interesting conversation with Healer Mimi today.”

            “Oh?” Jinki hummed, snuggling into the blankets with a curious gleam in his eyes.

            Carefully, Taekwoon picked his way through that conversation. They’d both been dancing around saying too much this afternoon, but it was clear the healer was trying to give him a hint about something. “The only people that come to mind are Satoru and Eric,” he sighed, not liking that was even a possibility.

            “Well, there is the High Priest too, but there’s no guarantee he was here at that time,” Jinki added distractedly, clearly turning over the possibilities in his head. “Rumors have it that Satoru wears the sleeves to hide scars from an old injury, but he insists they’re on both arms. He mentioned something about it having to do with him losing his dragon I think.”

            “That’s right. There were rumors of him being a rider before…” he whispered distractedly, Jinki’s previous comment tugging on his thoughts for some reason.

            “Eric is simply a stickler for professionalism. His uniform is a sign of his rank and it’s not wise to mingle with those of lower stations so freely. He has to maintain that façade of complete control, you know,” Jinki shrugged with a grimace. “You listening?” he asked, noticing the other man was distracted. He slapped Taekwoon’s closest thigh to catch his attention.

            “Huh?!” Taekwoon flinched, glancing down with an apologetic smile. “Sorry. You just mentioned that Kevin is always covered. Even his face,” he added, not sure what he was trying to point out.

            “Yes, but we know the reason for that,” his other half countered flippantly.

            “We do?” the rider asked with an internal cringe.

            Jinki raised one brow and frowned at him. “You really don’t choose to remember much unless it’s specifically about dragon do you?”

            “Sorry?” Taekwoon cringed, a grimace on his face.

            “Ugh…” Jinki groaned, rolling his eyes. “If you’d been paying attention, you would know that he wears a mask to hide his identity since about… one hundred forty… or was it fifty?” he frowned, trying to find the right number. “Either way,” he waved off after a moment. “Someone tried to kill the High Priest so they started the tradition of hiding their appearance so no one would be able to recognize them.”

            “Right…” the rider nodded in delayed remembrance. “Doesn’t he choose someone from the priesthood to become the next High Priest?”

            “So they say. Not that I’ve ever been to one of the ceremonies. I don’t think there’s been one in our lifetime,” he explained with a thoughtful look. “That aside, I still don’t think the man you’re talking about is the High Priest.”

            Taekwoon groaned and made a face. “I know. It would just be so much easier if it was. I already don’t like him anyway,” he scowled.

            “I know, love,” Jinki chuckled sympathetically. “So… provided Mimi was speaking about someone that is still here, the chance are good that he was referring to either Satoru or Eric. Both seem like strange candidates to do something like that.”

            “Not if they weren’t good runes,” Taekwoon reminded him gently, laying his hand on Jinki’s shoulder with a light touch.

            Jinki sat up abruptly with the blanket pulled tight around him. “Do you think someone was, or is, maybe trying to control one of them?”

            “Or both,” Taekwoon added dejectedly. At Jinki’s suspicious frown, he defended himself. “What? It’s as crazy as anything else we’ve thrown out here so far.”

            “I hate that you’re right about that,” Jinki exhaled slowly.

            “And really, you spend the most time around Satoru so… have you ever seen or noticed anything to make you think one way or the other?” Taekwoon asked as gently as he could, trying to be sensitive to Jinki’s position and relationship.

            Once more, Jinki scowled, but he at least took a moment to think. Taekwoon watched him thumb at his bottom lip, dark eyes blinking quickly as he mulled over events he’d seen or participated in. He almost wished he could see how Jinki’s mind worked. It would have been fascinating, he was sure. But he was startled when his other half flinched and then froze, fingertips moving to brush against his left wrist.

            “What is it?” Taekwoon half whispered as he watched in fascination.

            “I’m not sure,” Jinki admitted as if from far away. “I don’t really wanna say and I’m not sure because I could have been seeing things,” he warned with a sidelong look at his other half, “but… there might be markings on Satoru. Maybe.”

            “Really?” the rider blinked, not really expecting to hear anything definite.

            “Maybe. It was right around when Priest Junsu arrived. We were talking to him. Satoru wasn’t particularly bothered. He never looks it anyway. But I don’t think he was being as careful as usual. One of his sleeves… slipped. Only for a moment. I’m still not really sure I saw anything. It could have been shadows, but I remember I’d been putting off the magic book because it looked too hard. The mark might have been like something from the book,” he grumbled, hunching under the blanket as if trying to make himself small.

            “Hey,” Taekwoon soothed, giving in to the immediate urge to comfort his other half. He wrapped his arms around the blanket ensconced person and pulled him close. Part of him felt somewhat vindicated that maybe he was a little bit right about not being completely certain of Satoru, but he was not about to say that now. “Even if there are marks on Satoru, we don’t know what they mean. Or why.”

            “But if the wounds were self-inflicted, and that was Satoru, then these would have to be new marks, wouldn’t they?” Jinki wondered aloud.

            “Maybe,” Taekwoon conceded, his own mind working furiously to provide some kind of answer.

            “What if he is being controlled? What if he’s not?” he flip flopped quickly, clearly stressed by the newest possible problem.

            “Shh,” the rider whispered, cradling Jinki’s head close. “It’s just something we’re going to have to be looking for in the days to come,” he promised, forcing a laugh he didn’t feel. “I’ll keep an eye on the dragons and you keep an eye on the Masters and we let each other know if something happens,” he explained deftly, as if it was that easy.

            “You’re terrible,” Jinki sniffed and laughed, clearly struggling with whether to be grateful or annoyed. “But not wrong,” he added quietly, pulling his knees up to curl closer to the other man.

            “Considering you’re almost always right, I’ll take that as a win,” Taekwoon said with a mild grin. Jinki laughed once but made no further comment. It seemed as if he was done talking for the moment. “It’s alright, my heart. No one ever said we would figure out everything in a day. And with the snow storm we have coming in on the morrow, we’ll all be housebound for at least a day. That’ll give us more time to think things through,” he encouraged, actually looking forward to a bit of the forced downtime it would bring.

            “There is that at least,” his other half agreed, tense body seeming to relax at least a bit. “Thank you,” he murmured, taking a breath and melting into the curve of Taekwoon’s body.

            “Anytime, my heart,” he whispered as he desperately kept his own doubts and concerns from his tone. He felt a light brush of approval from his dragon and took another breath as he tried to force himself to relax as well.