#ft. nara

[edith-is-a-cat]

i just walked all the way home from school

[afterburning]

the knotweed tile.

hari bulkan, zhao residence; ft. nara @wvthering

they’ve already played a game and had engaged over it in the sort of small talk jiyu usually doesn’t mind skipping over. of course, more things had remained unsaid than spoken aloud: jiyu hasn’t touched on his (distinct lack of) adventure in the spirit world, or the administrative trouble house zhao had found itself in with both brothers gone. but he’d detailed the journey back from dragonstone, spoken of the weather, and, somehow, found himself talking about bird migration.

they haven’t played each other before, so jiyu had let nara claim swift victory. sometimes, jiyu thinks that they’re both holding out on each other; were their situations different they might be able to speak openly. jiyu would try harder to win against her, because he wouldn’t be worried about showing his cards too early. they could be friends, if not for politics. but they’re both too grown, too careful with where they set their pieces on the board.

he places his first tile to start them off again. leans back on the cushion, satisfied - now that they’ve made their way through polite chitchat he’s free to broach more interesting topics, to play the game more seriously. “i’ve been hearing whispers,” he comments idly, searches for a reaction on her face. "my brother was gone just as long as you were, and the story he tells is wondrous." jian hasn't, in fact, told stories, but jiyu has his own to tell if she asks. "i wonder what yours is."