[ You know, it'll be nice not to have an extreme date for once. Tatara will always find the idea fun, unfortunately for Khun, but sometimes it's just nice to lounge in the grass in mild weather.
With a heaved sigh of accomplishment, he unfolds over the grass. It's nice and sunny out, but not so hot that he feels the need to remove his oversized lilac cardigan; underneath, a plain white shirt, and blue jeans. The sky is nice and blue and practically spotless overhead, and he thinks to himself that it's kind of funny how quickly he's taken to the color, thanks to Khun. ]
I was the one who suggested the beach camping to Uncle Bruno. Guess it's been on my mind for a while. [ He turns his head to look at his boyfriend, and he grins. ] But it's nice to be out here, just the two of us. I can give you a hands-on lesson if you need it!
[ the grass is fine but his clothes!!! the scenery is nice though and even if he's not partial to grass and getting dirty, the tranquility of places like this is quickly becoming something he can actually enjoy, especially with present company.
his eyes look up to regard tatara fully, having been momentarily distracted by how good that color looks on him in the sunlight. ]
[ foraging? that's not something khun expected to hear and even if they don't need it now, he wants to ask about it later. ]
An expert and improving every day. [ he doesn't bother to pretend to be cranky, even if there's a playful edge to his tone; one that's easily eclipsed by a bright, unfeigned smile. ]
That must be one of your powers as Sage. Too bad it's one you'll only share with me.
Still, though. He gives a dramatic little sigh. ] I guess if any of the other wizards ever need my help sleeping, they'll just have to live with being plain out of luck.
[ He'll drop the dramatics pretty quickly, though, with a light laugh. ]
To be honest? I wish I knew what else the sage could do, power wise. It'd be nice to be of a little more use, I think.
It's a challenge without a rulebook, but we'll keep working at it.
[ funnily enough, khun's oblivious to this bias, at least in this particular angle. he knows it exists obviously, but his read on it might be a little off. ]
But speaking of that, there's a few new things I should share. Business before pleasure? We can even have a business lunch.
[ Tatara beams. Maybe it's an offhanded comment, or maybe there isn't meant to be much weight to it, but the way his heart skips a beat gives it meaning. He likes that it's a "we" thing, and he likes that Khun has faith in him. Not really much else he can ask for. ]
Sure! We'll pretend this is a meeting room. [ He reaches behind him, to the small pile of things just inside the tent, and grabs the lunch he packed there. Inside are simple bento staples, like sausages cut into octopi, tomatoes and broccoli, but also omurice onigiri. Because why not? ]
Should I write this down? [ He'll reach for his tome, too, because why not. ]
[ in the sense of khun didn't think twice about saying it, it's definitely offhanded. in the sense that he means it wholly, it's entirely heartfelt.
he can't help but smile at the lunch assortment, it's both nostalgic from the training floor but also has the addition of cute little details that seem distinctly tatara-esque. the onigiri are new though, and he looks at them curiously. ]
[ Khun can have free reign of the food while Tatara crawls to fetch his book and pen from his bag. The painted flame on the red cover matches the one on his left shoulder blade. Which...Khun would have definitely seen by now. ]
Those? [ Tatara settles back down, cracking open his book to a fresh page in his lap, as he leans over to see what Khun's pointing at. He grins, proud of himself. ]
Those are rice balls, but instead of wrapping them in seaweed, I wrapped them in omelette. So it's kind of like portable omurice, y'know? Ahhh... [ he sighs, ] I was going to draw pictures on the egg with ketchup, but I figured they'd get all mushed in transport...
[ he's definitely pretty familiar with that flame by now, hehe. ]
Portable omurice...
[ in general, khun's partial to savory things, seafood, and western cuisine over eastern cuisine. but he does have one eastern dish that he's fond of by association, though it's one he won't readily admit since it's kinda dumb.
so when he hears the onigiri is wrapped in omurice rice of all things, his smile is too soft and too warm for it just being a random snack picked by happenstance. tatara has seen this expression before in the early mornings when they wake, but it's pretty rare to see it in the full light of day.
he picks one up and takes a bite, smile only warming further. ]
This is delicious. [ and another bite, all smiles. ] I want to know how much better they'd be with the ketchup. Make them for me sometime, Tatara.
Hands that ready himself for the luncheon meeting slow as Tatara watches the way Khun's expression changes. The softness and the warmth of his smile he doesn't immediately think is odd in context, though he only knows it in the early morning, but he thinks it's just as precious in the afternoon sun. How lucky he is that he gets to see it now.
If he'll smile like that over the omurice onigiri, then he'll make a hundred of them. ]
Of course I will.
[ His own expression is soft, affectionate. His chest feels like it's going to burst, and he's honestly impressed with himself that he's managed to behave thus far. With an empty hand he reaches to gently press his fingers to Khun's jaw, directing his head to look at him. ]
[ aguero turns to look, half-eaten onigiri still in hand. his expression is still soft and he doesn't realize until he's being kissed until it's already happening; eyes sliding closed as he enjoys the taste of his boyfriend's lips and cooking.
he feels his ears tinge pink, more out of surprise than anything else. it's not like him to be caught unaware like that, but that was some kind of special sneak attack while he was already distracted. ]
Tatara— [ a fond sigh. what was he doing again? ]
I like all of you, including your cooking. [ wait, that's not—he struggles internally for a moment, but he's already doomed. his next words aren't quite a whisper, but they're still hushed nonetheless. ]
...I meant love, obviously. [ he shoves the rest of the onigiri into his mouth before he says something dumber.
he'll remember the business talk once he has his head again! whenever that is... ]
[ Tatara chuckles quietly into Aguero's lips, pulling back just enough to beam in delight at the sight. Tinged ears, expression, the hush in his voice, the way his cheeks puff with the rice on his mouth. Hehe. ]
Obviously. [ He parrots in his tease, and quickly leans in to pepper him with kisses: his lips, his cheeks, his nose. His lips settle by his ear to whisper— ] I love all of you, too.
[ He feels the prick of a flush on his cheeks when he says it. No matter how many times he does, he still feels the flutter of the butterflies in him.
He's about to reach with his other hand to cup his face, but his hand brushes the pen on his tome and knocks it into the grass. He looks at it, briefly, suddenly reminded why they're here. ]
...Oh, right. [ Their meeting, lol. He'll finish his thought and cup Aguero's cheek to kiss him on the lips again, but he'll still keep talking. ] What do you wanna do about our meeting?
Mmnnph— [ he won't speak with his mouth full but he's never been more tempted to than he is right now, pinks turning to red and coloring all of his features. some small part of him want to protest "do you really love all of me?" the sharp parts, cold as ice but not dulled by his time here, but he really thinks his boyfriend might.
he swallows the thought along with the onigiri, breathing out a sigh. ]
You ask me that after you've kissed me like that? [ it's unfair the pout on his lips says. he'd really love to chase those kisses but— ]
We should still have the meeting and you need to eat something too. [ he can prioritize! but it's mainly because of him wanting to make sure that tatara puts something in his stomach before they inevitably get too distracted to stop. ]
I'll save the omurice for after and just have some tomatoes now or whatever.
[ since he doesn't trust himself right now to eat them without making a face that tatara won't attack with him kisses for. ]
[ Of course that includes the sharp parts. If anything, it's because of the sharp parts. Would they be here if Aguero did not keep up, if he did not push him or force him to reckon with things he simply accepted, if he did not declare war on the fabric of all realities all for Tatara's sake?
Tatara giggles again, his face still hovering nearby. He could kiss him some more, suggest they take advantage of the sun and nap, but he'll behave and do his job. He's getting good at that, you know. ]
Okay. [ With one last kiss to his cheek, he grabs another of the omurice onigiri for himself and settles back in his spot. ] Just make sure you do eat. I put a lot of love into these.
[ He wiggles his portion in his hand. He worked hard! In secret, even. He wants praise (which is the face Aguero makes when he eats them).
He'll retrieve his pen as he takes a bite, and with a full mouth he says— ] Ready when you are.
I'll still be hungry after. [ said with a sigh and a bit of a pout. how dare his boyfriend kiss him one more time after they've decided to be responsible, even if it was only on the cheek. (he is sure he won't get full even if he snacks a bit during the meeting, as he's had more of an appetite lately.)
khun pops a tomato into his mouth more to distract himself than anything else, summoning his lighthouse so he can take out the drinks he brought along; various bottles of fruit juice since canned coffee isn't a thing here yet. he selects watermelon juice for himself, though he doesn't drink from it yet as he grabs his own notes.
it's not too hard for him to switch now that he's got his journal in front of him, since this all comes very natural to him. he pops open the bottle and then begins, only glancing down at his notes occasionally. ]
Cid and I met with General Barnett again—I would have requested another meeting sometime soon regardless, but I did so this time with the intention of figuring out just what they knew about the lab explosion back East. I was told that Western country was involved in some way, and though I don't put much stock in hearsay, it does make sense.
From my read, he genuinely didn't seem to know about the explosion—it's easy to fake displeasure and concern, but he left early after I mentioned it. According to him, it was under someone else's jurisdiction, though he said he'd take care of it. He also mentioned valuing the relationship with the East, even though he's generally given me the sense of flaunting Western Countries superiority over them.
His focus seemed to be on Central in general, which is a shift from how he spoke to me at the ball. Back then, he spent a good amount of time implying that Western country should have jurisdiction over your wizards, with a lot of talk about how Central was too wrapped up in paperwork and the law rather than progress. Now though, it seems like Central and Western country are working together, or at least approaching being proper allies.
Obviously there's one prize all the countries want that's housed in Central, though Western Country would probably be the worst country to get it. I told him to keep me informed and wished him well, making sure to imply that I considered myself a Western wizard first and foremost.
And as far as information among us wizards goes, the people I'm aware who know of Oz are as follows: Jing Yuan, whoever Jing Yuan got his information from, Kurapika, Akira, Kiryu, Cid, and Maya. Jing Yuan is obviously running around trying to...lead? [ does he have bias here? maybe a little. ] but as much as I believe he has good intentions, I think he's far too amicable and generally good-natured to really be efficient at it.
I think that's the gist of it. [ he'll take a swig of watermelon juice and a sausage as a reward ★. ]
[ Khun will see Tatara's taken his notetaking instruction to heart, after attending so many meetings together. He writes quickly as Khun speaks, jotting everything he can down. He'll sort through these later to see what might be relevant or not.
He does underline Western manor several times. What Khun doesn't know is that the West had been testing waters before everything went to shit, and Tatara's not surprised they're still thinking about it, despite the changeover. Something to keep an eye on, if they're here long enough for that to matter in the future.
He taps the page, thinking about what he's written. ]
It was Ithaqua that originally found Oz in the castle. I'd guess that's where Jing Yuan got his information from, but I don't know if they're close at all.
[ Are they friends?? Hard to tell. ]
Hmm... I wonder if there's the shift between Central and West because Vincent's in charge. [ Tatara turns to look at Khun to see if there's any recognition on his face, but regardless, he says: ] He's the king's brother. I heard he was friendly with West, so maybe that has something to do with it.
[ Well! Maybe he'll find out, eventually. If he's called back to the castle for another meeting, maybe he can put out feelers.
He looks at the list of people who know. Those are trustworthy people, he thinks. ]
[ he notices and he's proud! he'll save that for after though, munching. as he thinks. ]
I doubt it. [ just off vibes. ] It's more likely Ithaqua told someone else who told Jing Yuan. Normally I would have pressed him to tell me who he told, but I don't think he was too happy with me when I turned his info session to me on it's head.
He came to me first, wanting to tell me about Oz so I played dumb. But then he went on to say that he was going to try to mess with the barrier to get to the bottom of it. I think he thought he could become pen pals with Oz? [ this is derisive because he will never understand how some people come to conclusions and he is himself smh. ] I decided I needed to tell him the real reason for it at that point, because he's the stubborn type who won't ever give up when he gets an idea in his head.
[ Vincent...he's heard the name but he's not overly familiar and he writes that down himself in his notes. ]
Good to know, it probably does. Kurapika didn't seem to have any ideas on why Central would have shifted it's views, so it's as good a guess as any.
[ at the last, khun shakes his head. ]
He doesn't as far as I know and I made sure to tell everyone that it needs to stay that way.
[ Tatara grabs a tomato in his little break, something to munch on as he thinks.
He didn't foresee the barrier being taken the other way around—a trap to keep Oz inside instead of as a way to protect him. He wonders if Jing Yuan actually did any harm to the barrier, ultimately. After quickly jotting down a question mark by his name, he glances at Khun. ]
You've been checking on the barrier, right? I hope no one's been tampering with it.
[ That'd be pretty bad if so.
Still— ]
Thanks, Khun. I appreciate your vigilance. You've been working hard. [ Hehe! There's a little bubble of his own pride in his chest. ] I'll follow up with Ithaqua and see who he told. [ Just to double check. The last thing they want is there to be gaps in that chain of information. ]
I have, that's why I roped Maya in—it's fine, we check on it once a week. [ it's easier to do that with a southern wizard and she's a good bean, even khun can recognize this. and the praise! please, this is way easier than what he usually juggles, it's just awkward in a different way without his usual resources. he waves a hand and takes a sip of his juice, remembering then another detail about that whole jing yuan conversation. ]
Jing Yuan was the only one who asked me where I got my info from about Oz by the way. I told him it was from someone in Central itself and he seemed to buy that eventually. The last thing we need is him bugging you in that roundabout way of his.
He really likes to talk and I know he told other people himself about Oz, but I'll handle that since you've got Ithaqua. I can trade him info back about Vincent being relevant. He also knew about the Southern wizards, but just that they were comatose without any real detail as to why or when. The Eastern wizards are back too now, right? [ he pauses to grab a piece of broccoli, yum veggies. ] Either way, I cleared that up for him just so he didn't get any other stupid ideas.
[ so there's someone out there who knows about the southern wizards coming back and with jy just going around telling people... messy. his mental image of his fellow western wizard might be something like an old lady gossiping at a bridge game right now. ]
Honestly, if he knew we were dating I'd expect the whole Manor to have known in a day. [ though also they've been pretty obvious??? but still! ]
At least Kurapika and Mikaela know we are. I'd assume Akira and Ginger too.
[ Maya's good! Tatara's glad to hear they're working together, and he writes that down, too.
He chuckles a bit when Khun says that bit about Jing Yuan—he wouldn't have minded, really, since it is technically his job. But there's a little bud of warmth in his chest, because he takes it as Khun deciding to protect him anyway. Wah, he's so sweet? He's so lucky...
He nods. ] The Blanchetts wrote us a few days ago to say their son is back, but asleep. I'm guessing that holds for the other three. [ He just hopes they're in good hands, like the Southerners, and Oz. ] So thanks for that, too. I wouldn't want anyone doing anything wreckless.
[ He reaches to pat Khun on the shoulder when he shifts the topic to dating. Help! Tatara laughs, sheepish, faint pink on his cheeks. ]
Oof... You're right. [ A memory comes to him, and he laughs again. ] Did you know Kurapika-kun lectured me before we even started dating? It was right after Akira-san got possessed by that ghost...
[ Tatara laughs out loud, his hand on Khun's shoulder drifting to play with the ends of his hair. ]
He's so funny. Ahhh! That might've been because of me.
[ He sits up straight, taking his cardigan and turning it around so that the back now covers his front. Is this meant to represent how Kurapika dresses? Absolutely.
He drops his voice. That isn't what Kurapika sounds like, but it is in Tatara's mind theater. ]
"Tatara. I smell Khun all over you. Cover it up before the whole manor knows you're biased."
[ Real reenactment. That's exactly what Kurapika said to him. ]
[ this is so much? khun pauses right before he eats the onigiri, watching this entire display. it's cute and silly. but also he wants kurapika dead.
( he thinks it's mostly his fault actually, because they just have a knack for reflecting off each other in a way no one else can. kurapika's still the only one who can say what khun's type is in the entire manor.) ]
...I was too kind to him when I dragged him for Akira earlier. I'll make sure to finish the job next time.
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With a heaved sigh of accomplishment, he unfolds over the grass. It's nice and sunny out, but not so hot that he feels the need to remove his oversized lilac cardigan; underneath, a plain white shirt, and blue jeans. The sky is nice and blue and practically spotless overhead, and he thinks to himself that it's kind of funny how quickly he's taken to the color, thanks to Khun. ]
I was the one who suggested the beach camping to Uncle Bruno. Guess it's been on my mind for a while. [ He turns his head to look at his boyfriend, and he grins. ] But it's nice to be out here, just the two of us. I can give you a hands-on lesson if you need it!
[ does he know what he's doing, absolutely not, ]
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his eyes look up to regard tatara fully, having been momentarily distracted by how good that color looks on him in the sunlight. ]
Oh? A lesson in what, exactly?
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[ Something he is genuinely knowledgeable in! For a second, he loses himself in the blue of Khun's eyes—his own personal sky.
He rolls to the side again and pushes himself up, right into Khun's personal space. Much better. ]
But we have food. So maybe something else. [ He narrows his eyes in mock thought. ] But not sleeping. You're an expert in sleeping now, thanks to me.
[ hehe ]
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An expert and improving every day. [ he doesn't bother to pretend to be cranky, even if there's a playful edge to his tone; one that's easily eclipsed by a bright, unfeigned smile. ]
That must be one of your powers as Sage. Too bad it's one you'll only share with me.
[ it is not bad at all ♥. ]
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Still, though. He gives a dramatic little sigh. ] I guess if any of the other wizards ever need my help sleeping, they'll just have to live with being plain out of luck.
[ He'll drop the dramatics pretty quickly, though, with a light laugh. ]
To be honest? I wish I knew what else the sage could do, power wise. It'd be nice to be of a little more use, I think.
[ At least in the Khun department. ]
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[ funnily enough, khun's oblivious to this bias, at least in this particular angle. he knows it exists obviously, but his read on it might be a little off. ]
But speaking of that, there's a few new things I should share. Business before pleasure? We can even have a business lunch.
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Sure! We'll pretend this is a meeting room. [ He reaches behind him, to the small pile of things just inside the tent, and grabs the lunch he packed there. Inside are simple bento staples, like sausages cut into octopi, tomatoes and broccoli, but also omurice onigiri. Because why not? ]
Should I write this down? [ He'll reach for his tome, too, because why not. ]
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[ in the sense of khun didn't think twice about saying it, it's definitely offhanded. in the sense that he means it wholly, it's entirely heartfelt.
he can't help but smile at the lunch assortment, it's both nostalgic from the training floor but also has the addition of cute little details that seem distinctly tatara-esque. the onigiri are new though, and he looks at them curiously. ]
What're these? [ points at the onigiri. ]
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Those? [ Tatara settles back down, cracking open his book to a fresh page in his lap, as he leans over to see what Khun's pointing at. He grins, proud of himself. ]
Those are rice balls, but instead of wrapping them in seaweed, I wrapped them in omelette. So it's kind of like portable omurice, y'know? Ahhh... [ he sighs, ] I was going to draw pictures on the egg with ketchup, but I figured they'd get all mushed in transport...
[ A true regret!!! ]
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Portable omurice...
[ in general, khun's partial to savory things, seafood, and western cuisine over eastern cuisine. but he does have one eastern dish that he's fond of by association, though it's one he won't readily admit since it's kinda dumb.
so when he hears the onigiri is wrapped in omurice rice of all things, his smile is too soft and too warm for it just being a random snack picked by happenstance. tatara has seen this expression before in the early mornings when they wake, but it's pretty rare to see it in the full light of day.
he picks one up and takes a bite, smile only warming further. ]
This is delicious. [ and another bite, all smiles. ] I want to know how much better they'd be with the ketchup. Make them for me sometime, Tatara.
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Hands that ready himself for the luncheon meeting slow as Tatara watches the way Khun's expression changes. The softness and the warmth of his smile he doesn't immediately think is odd in context, though he only knows it in the early morning, but he thinks it's just as precious in the afternoon sun. How lucky he is that he gets to see it now.
If he'll smile like that over the omurice onigiri, then he'll make a hundred of them. ]
Of course I will.
[ His own expression is soft, affectionate. His chest feels like it's going to burst, and he's honestly impressed with himself that he's managed to behave thus far. With an empty hand he reaches to gently press his fingers to Khun's jaw, directing his head to look at him. ]
I'm glad you like it.
[ And he leaves him with a sweet, lingering kiss.
Business talk forgotten........ ]
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he feels his ears tinge pink, more out of surprise than anything else. it's not like him to be caught unaware like that, but that was some kind of special sneak attack while he was already distracted. ]
Tatara— [ a fond sigh. what was he doing again? ]
I like all of you, including your cooking. [ wait, that's not—he struggles internally for a moment, but he's already doomed. his next words aren't quite a whisper, but they're still hushed nonetheless. ]
...I meant love, obviously. [ he shoves the rest of the onigiri into his mouth before he says something dumber.
he'll remember the business talk once he has his head again! whenever that is... ]
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Obviously. [ He parrots in his tease, and quickly leans in to pepper him with kisses: his lips, his cheeks, his nose. His lips settle by his ear to whisper— ] I love all of you, too.
[ He feels the prick of a flush on his cheeks when he says it. No matter how many times he does, he still feels the flutter of the butterflies in him.
He's about to reach with his other hand to cup his face, but his hand brushes the pen on his tome and knocks it into the grass. He looks at it, briefly, suddenly reminded why they're here. ]
...Oh, right. [ Their meeting, lol. He'll finish his thought and cup Aguero's cheek to kiss him on the lips again, but he'll still keep talking. ] What do you wanna do about our meeting?
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he swallows the thought along with the onigiri, breathing out a sigh. ]
You ask me that after you've kissed me like that? [ it's unfair the pout on his lips says. he'd really love to chase those kisses but— ]
We should still have the meeting and you need to eat something too. [ he can prioritize! but it's mainly because of him wanting to make sure that tatara puts something in his stomach before they inevitably get too distracted to stop. ]
I'll save the omurice for after and just have some tomatoes now or whatever.
[ since he doesn't trust himself right now to eat them without making a face that tatara won't attack with him kisses for. ]
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Tatara giggles again, his face still hovering nearby. He could kiss him some more, suggest they take advantage of the sun and nap, but he'll behave and do his job. He's getting good at that, you know. ]
Okay. [ With one last kiss to his cheek, he grabs another of the omurice onigiri for himself and settles back in his spot. ] Just make sure you do eat. I put a lot of love into these.
[ He wiggles his portion in his hand. He worked hard! In secret, even. He wants praise (which is the face Aguero makes when he eats them).
He'll retrieve his pen as he takes a bite, and with a full mouth he says— ] Ready when you are.
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khun pops a tomato into his mouth more to distract himself than anything else, summoning his lighthouse so he can take out the drinks he brought along; various bottles of fruit juice since canned coffee isn't a thing here yet. he selects watermelon juice for himself, though he doesn't drink from it yet as he grabs his own notes.
it's not too hard for him to switch now that he's got his journal in front of him, since this all comes very natural to him. he pops open the bottle and then begins, only glancing down at his notes occasionally. ]
Cid and I met with General Barnett again—I would have requested another meeting sometime soon regardless, but I did so this time with the intention of figuring out just what they knew about the lab explosion back East. I was told that Western country was involved in some way, and though I don't put much stock in hearsay, it does make sense.
From my read, he genuinely didn't seem to know about the explosion—it's easy to fake displeasure and concern, but he left early after I mentioned it. According to him, it was under someone else's jurisdiction, though he said he'd take care of it. He also mentioned valuing the relationship with the East, even though he's generally given me the sense of flaunting Western Countries superiority over them.
His focus seemed to be on Central in general, which is a shift from how he spoke to me at the ball. Back then, he spent a good amount of time implying that Western country should have jurisdiction over your wizards, with a lot of talk about how Central was too wrapped up in paperwork and the law rather than progress. Now though, it seems like Central and Western country are working together, or at least approaching being proper allies.
Obviously there's one prize all the countries want that's housed in Central, though Western Country would probably be the worst country to get it. I told him to keep me informed and wished him well, making sure to imply that I considered myself a Western wizard first and foremost.
And as far as information among us wizards goes, the people I'm aware who know of Oz are as follows: Jing Yuan, whoever Jing Yuan got his information from, Kurapika, Akira, Kiryu, Cid, and Maya. Jing Yuan is obviously running around trying to...lead? [ does he have bias here? maybe a little. ] but as much as I believe he has good intentions, I think he's far too amicable and generally good-natured to really be efficient at it.
I think that's the gist of it. [ he'll take a swig of watermelon juice and a sausage as a reward ★. ]
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He does underline Western manor several times. What Khun doesn't know is that the West had been testing waters before everything went to shit, and Tatara's not surprised they're still thinking about it, despite the changeover. Something to keep an eye on, if they're here long enough for that to matter in the future.
He taps the page, thinking about what he's written. ]
It was Ithaqua that originally found Oz in the castle. I'd guess that's where Jing Yuan got his information from, but I don't know if they're close at all.
[ Are they friends?? Hard to tell. ]
Hmm... I wonder if there's the shift between Central and West because Vincent's in charge. [ Tatara turns to look at Khun to see if there's any recognition on his face, but regardless, he says: ] He's the king's brother. I heard he was friendly with West, so maybe that has something to do with it.
[ Well! Maybe he'll find out, eventually. If he's called back to the castle for another meeting, maybe he can put out feelers.
He looks at the list of people who know. Those are trustworthy people, he thinks. ]
The general doesn't know about Oz, does he?
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I doubt it. [ just off vibes. ] It's more likely Ithaqua told someone else who told Jing Yuan. Normally I would have pressed him to tell me who he told, but I don't think he was too happy with me when I turned his info session to me on it's head.
He came to me first, wanting to tell me about Oz so I played dumb. But then he went on to say that he was going to try to mess with the barrier to get to the bottom of it. I think he thought he could become pen pals with Oz? [ this is derisive because he will never understand how some people come to conclusions and he is himself smh. ] I decided I needed to tell him the real reason for it at that point, because he's the stubborn type who won't ever give up when he gets an idea in his head.
[ Vincent...he's heard the name but he's not overly familiar and he writes that down himself in his notes. ]
Good to know, it probably does. Kurapika didn't seem to have any ideas on why Central would have shifted it's views, so it's as good a guess as any.
[ at the last, khun shakes his head. ]
He doesn't as far as I know and I made sure to tell everyone that it needs to stay that way.
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He didn't foresee the barrier being taken the other way around—a trap to keep Oz inside instead of as a way to protect him. He wonders if Jing Yuan actually did any harm to the barrier, ultimately. After quickly jotting down a question mark by his name, he glances at Khun. ]
You've been checking on the barrier, right? I hope no one's been tampering with it.
[ That'd be pretty bad if so.
Still— ]
Thanks, Khun. I appreciate your vigilance. You've been working hard. [ Hehe! There's a little bubble of his own pride in his chest. ] I'll follow up with Ithaqua and see who he told. [ Just to double check. The last thing they want is there to be gaps in that chain of information. ]
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Jing Yuan was the only one who asked me where I got my info from about Oz by the way. I told him it was from someone in Central itself and he seemed to buy that eventually. The last thing we need is him bugging you in that roundabout way of his.
He really likes to talk and I know he told other people himself about Oz, but I'll handle that since you've got Ithaqua. I can trade him info back about Vincent being relevant. He also knew about the Southern wizards, but just that they were comatose without any real detail as to why or when. The Eastern wizards are back too now, right? [ he pauses to grab a piece of broccoli, yum veggies. ] Either way, I cleared that up for him just so he didn't get any other stupid ideas.
[ so there's someone out there who knows about the southern wizards coming back and with jy just going around telling people... messy. his mental image of his fellow western wizard might be something like an old lady gossiping at a bridge game right now. ]
Honestly, if he knew we were dating I'd expect the whole Manor to have known in a day. [ though also they've been pretty obvious??? but still! ]
At least Kurapika and Mikaela know we are. I'd assume Akira and Ginger too.
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He chuckles a bit when Khun says that bit about Jing Yuan—he wouldn't have minded, really, since it is technically his job. But there's a little bud of warmth in his chest, because he takes it as Khun deciding to protect him anyway. Wah, he's so sweet? He's so lucky...
He nods. ] The Blanchetts wrote us a few days ago to say their son is back, but asleep. I'm guessing that holds for the other three. [ He just hopes they're in good hands, like the Southerners, and Oz. ] So thanks for that, too. I wouldn't want anyone doing anything wreckless.
[ He reaches to pat Khun on the shoulder when he shifts the topic to dating. Help! Tatara laughs, sheepish, faint pink on his cheeks. ]
Oof... You're right. [ A memory comes to him, and he laughs again. ] Did you know Kurapika-kun lectured me before we even started dating? It was right after Akira-san got possessed by that ghost...
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confirmation about the eastern wizards is good and he nods. this is the least he could do etc! don't give him praise or a shoulder pat?!????
his expression is bemused and a bit wry, softened by the bloom of pink in front of him. ]
Really? He wanted me to say it explicitly not that long ago. But I figured he knew before that anyway, just that he didn't want to ask.
[ he is in fact still hungry so he reaches over to take another onigiri. speak now before he starts making more dumb faces. ]
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He's so funny. Ahhh! That might've been because of me.
[ He sits up straight, taking his cardigan and turning it around so that the back now covers his front. Is this meant to represent how Kurapika dresses? Absolutely.
He drops his voice. That isn't what Kurapika sounds like, but it is in Tatara's mind theater. ]
"Tatara. I smell Khun all over you. Cover it up before the whole manor knows you're biased."
[ Real reenactment. That's exactly what Kurapika said to him. ]
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( he thinks it's mostly his fault actually, because they just have a knack for reflecting off each other in a way no one else can. kurapika's still the only one who can say what khun's type is in the entire manor.) ]
...I was too kind to him when I dragged him for Akira earlier. I'll make sure to finish the job next time.
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Aguero... Just make sure you don't kill h—
[ wait ]
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