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AS PROMISED, here is the list of team members for the hunt! plot lots and have fun, everyone! the winning team will be announced on JANUARY 1ST.
TEAM ONE
LEADER - YI SAN @haexsan @dalyingxiong @daldaejun @haexjaehwa @daljaejoong @dalhyukun @dalyonghan @dalminjun @dalminjun @haehyojin
TEAM TWO
LEADER - YI JIN @haeyijin @dalxkaito @dalxdongho @daljinil @dalhyeonn @hwandal @haehahn @daldeoksu
( unpredictable, )
@dalxkaito
the hunt begins and hwan knows their carefully crafted plan like the back of his hand. he’s ran each plan and strategy a dozen ( and more ) times in his head. ( it might even be to the point where he can follow through with it while half asleep. )
though he is not at all worried, he takes a small detour – just a little bit off of where he’s supposed to go – because he’s not sure if he fully trusts all of his teammates. and by ‘teammates,’ hwan meant yamaguchi kaito, specifically. he’s heard the stories, the rumors, the gossip about this child – how loud and rambunctious he is – and while he shouldn’t be sucked in by what he’s heard being spread around than to make an opinion for himself, ( lord knows he of all people shouldn’t listen to silly rumors. ) hwan just can’t seem to help the cautionary wall that builds whenever he faces the young lord.
he rushes to the boy’s side as soon as he spots him, and a shiver runs through his spine. it’s not at all from the cold or the gush of win that hits his face from the horse’s speed, but from the sheer thought of distress the boy might cause him.
these foliage better prepare themselves, because he predicts that he will sigh a tremendous amount.
he pulls up next to him with a stiff smile on his face. “i hope you will be able to handle yourself, lord kaito.” though hwan keeps his formalities, his voice is laced with the slightest hint of venom.
… ━━━ THE WINNER OF THE BOAR HUNT IS REVEALED ━━━ …
・ ・ ・ ・ AFTER A CONCLUSIVE CHECK, the chief eunuch leans in to whisper in the king’s ear. the results are mumbled behind a hand so that no one may read their lips. both the participants and their fathers wait with bated breath to see which team will emerge the victor and be granted a feast with the king - as well as bragging rights for at least the next month. the injured are being tended to, but still, it’s a moment that is met with trepidation.
when the king sits up, he smiles at both of his sons. “ we have the results.” he says jovially, speaking loud in the clearing so that everyone might hear him. “ and i believe you’ll find them surprising.” it’s been awhile since anyone has seen the king in such a good mood, but the chill in the air and the hunt always manages to make him feel like a young man again.
first, his eyes settle on prince san. “ you seem to have had a little trouble with your team today.” he takes a look to where the young lord yonghan is being tended to in a tent, then back to him. “ as the supreme commander, i know you’re used to losing men. it must be hard to come back to your home and face an injury from the game we’ve shared in today, but your men have done well. the sow you presented to me was a total of 70 KILOGRAMS - a fine weight, indeed. she will help to feed the lot of us today.”
“ however,” and here, his eyes turn to the crown prince. it is perhaps the first time jin has seen the king look on him with pride in his eyes, and a genuine smile. “ the team that emerges victorious today is our crown prince’s, who has proven himself a capable leader. the male boar you’ve presented me with was a total of 77 KILOGRAMS.” he pauses, then looks to the team that stands behind him. “ you’ve all earned your place at my table. you will be invited to the palace on the eve of JANUARY 1ST to collect the feast as your win.”
he leans back then with a smile and it is clear that he’s pleased with the results. “ for now, let us feast on the boars that my sons have gifted to me. i crave the meat of the wild pig scorched by the fire.”
◦ ⟨ BACK HOME.
━━━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ things have changed since he’s been back from war. jinil knows that he’s changed since he’s been back from war, but he still has the hope that there will be better days coming. ( he is told that he’s the only one who can look at the world with such a view after seeing a world of bloodshed. ) there are still things though, that make him tense: be it the twinge of pain in his leg, or the sound of the brush rustling at his side. it brings him back to war, more so when he’s alone.
perhaps the boar hunt was a bad idea so soon after coming home. his hand finds the arrows at his back, eyes narrowing as the sound only ever comes closer until he manages to relax - after all, it’s just the young prince hahn. “ oh .. your highness. were you searching the brush?”
━━━━━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ @haehahn
✦ the showdown ➝
@hwandal
he was following the whispers of the wind when he bumped into the other, both hot on the tails of the dashing boar, leaving a series of broken twigs and messy hoof prints in its wake. there was little time for greetings as they made haste first, as if engaged in a competition ( though technically, they are ), rushing after their common prey.
it didn’t take long to reach the howling animal, still fresh without any signs of wear nor tear on it’s hide. dongho slowed his horse down in a bid to circle the boar. it may be a bit of a risky move, and cornered animals weren’t the most docile ones either. but it didn’t seem like it was about to dive into a mad thrash. and with one more person around, dongho thought it’s a good enough odds to do so.
eyes roamed to the other male for a moment before he glanced back at the boar - always keep your eyes to the prize - and dongho lowered his bow, waiting for the other to make a move first. after all, they were both fighting on the same side.
( surely, that guy knew that too, right? )
✦ on the hunt ➝
winter has a distinct scent. it’s the smell of damp grounds and fallen branches, the smell of cold air that sent a chill into his lung with each breath he took. dongho slowed down to a stop, hand soothing the sides of his stead in bid to quiet him, before he looked out to the surroundings, head moving from side to side as his posture, straight.
his hunting tools were tightly strapped onto his torso; while not his choice of weapons, the bow and arrows were the only sightly tools to bring on a hunting trip announced by the majesty himself. the general would very much prefer the swift and weight of a javelin, but that hardly proved to be fair, and perhaps, a lot more dangerous to wield with the number of people running around.
in the silence, he stilled, remaining in place. dongho could feel the winds slipping between the spaces of the bare trees, almost hear its whispers as they rushed past his skin. in this silence, he could close his ears and hear the slightest movement.
like the snap of a twig on the grounds, and heavy breathing of a heavy animal.
eyes, fluttering open as he looked up, turning his torso slightly towards the direction. tongue wetting his chapped lips as they quirked into a grin, eyes lighting up at the sight of a welcoming prey, dongho tugged on the reins as he steered towards the sounds, rushing in. and he could feel it on the tip of his tongue as it flicked past the sharp edge of his tiger tooth, bow pulled to his hands in a ready motion.
( it’s the taste of blood-lust, and he intent to feast tonight. )
◦ ⟨ EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES.
━━━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ " DEOKHWA -.” there’s a lack of formality in the way he speaks, especially when he calls the crown prince by his given name rather than his royal one. it’s hard sometimes, to think about - even after so many years, jinil finds himself slipping back to easier times when he’s around the crown prince. it’s easier than the guilt, and the shame that comes along with seeing the prince’s face - the way it contorted with unhappiness, pity, everything that he never wanted to see in jin’s eyes when he looked at him. for the crown prince, he wanted to be strong enough to help carry the burden of the country on his back. he wanted to be a stout supporter.
life changes everything so easily.
the boar hunt is something that jinil wasn’t sure he was supposed to participate in given his .. condition, but he’s here to try regardless. the fact that it’s jin as his team leader only further puts doubt in his mind, but jinil still smiles warmly when he sees him. he still slips back to the times when jin was called deokhwa, and he could call him that so easily. “ you look good in your hunting gear.” he finally says, a small smile gracing his lips. “ did you have everything made new for the occasion?”
━━━━━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ @haeyijin
◦ ⟨ SPEAK.
━━━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ THERE ARE A LOT of people he hasn’t seen once since coming home from war.
he thought this would be a good chance to reconnect in spite of his injury, because jinil knows all too well that he’s been avoiding that front as much as possible. it’s the shame in him, that he can no longer be the strength behind his country; that he can no longer serve his king. there’s not much he’s good for ( even his future wife would much rather have someone other than him. ) jinil allows a sigh to escape his lips, trying not to let the thoughts plague him - after all, he’s with two of his very best friends. the crown prince and dongho are both on his team, and that’s something to be grateful for.
hyeon, though - hyeon is one of those people he hasn’t had a chance to reconnect with since going off to war. not that they’ve done much talking in the first place; jinil has always been closer to his younger brother than the eldest son of the go family. he doesn’t really try to approach him - for now, instead focusing on the forest floor and eyeing any potential tracks he might see amongst the brush. it seems that hyeon is different though, because he approaches and makes jinil tense in suspicion upon hearing the snap of twigs.
“ oh .. i thought you were an animal.” he smiles and his voice is quiet, relaxing his shoulders and allowing his arm to fall from the quiver of arrows strapped to his back. “ good morning.”
━━━━━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ @dalhyeonn
