@♆ Moon Byulyi ♜ The other was clearly trying to help so, rather than being short and quick with her, Bora offered a patient smile and a brief nod of her head. "I've considered all of the possibilities...even death in more dark times. However, he's out there. I'm sure of it," she said, content to leave it at just that. She'd endured plenty of condescending attempts at getting her to rationalize, rather than being an 'emotional woman' which couldn't have been farther from the truth. She only allowed emotion in and to cloud her thoughts at the lowest of times; of which she was quick to force herself out of. It was useless distraction. "And, of course, I've been to other kingdoms. The viceroy's own home is across an ocean, it'd be narrow-minded to think he was merely on one landmass."
She focused back on her horse, giving him an affectionate pat while assessing the best course of action. They'd been idle and stagnant in Tradian for quite some time, what with the countless meetings and social niceties. Maybe they would go further in the other direction, past the mountain-range that shielded that land from both invaders and harsh winds. That would be best. She mounted Jaques once again and settled her gaze on the now unhooded stranger. It seemed a strange time to finally decide and reveal one's face but Bora paid it less than a shred of mind, taking hold of the ivory steed's reins.
"I thank you for your time," she said, returning a ghost of the smile along with a grateful nod of her head as she led the horse to turn around. "Take heed not to walk into the path of any more horses." With that, she lightly snapped the reins and, with a flourish of her gold-bedecked cloak and obsidian hair she was off.
@✪ Shin Bora ♞ A rigid posture indeed. It seems that the brunette was not just a mere noble. There's a high possibility of her being a high ranked authority noble. Based on the fact that she was there alone, there could only be two possibility about the said search. Either the young lady was conducting a lone search, or the squad had split. Shrugging away the nagging curious little voice on the back of Byulyi's mind, a sigh couldn't help but escape her thin lips as she knew very well, her information couldn't help much.[
Experienced on a lost person assignment, though with little percentage of success on her hands, some suggestion couldn't hurt. Pity was not something the soldier felt often, nor did the young lady before her seemed to like such emotion thrown her way. Thus, she said, "Have you considered the possibility of death or widening the search to other Kingdom?" The last seemed unlikely compared to the possibility of the first option, but even a star had its own destiny differ from others and beyond expectations, and maybe so for Young Viceroy Shin Jin Oh.
Risking her identity being known was foolish of her. Not just foolish, some might even say suicidal. A smirk formed on the already hardened face of the said lancer. "What a life of boredom without any excitement," was what she always conveyed to her subordinates in pure amusement. With that in mind, the hood was taken down, showing her full face with the shining blonde almost silver hair, tied tightly in a ponytail, as she offered a small smile, "I hope a safe journey will be upon your path, milady."
@♆ Moon Byulyi ♜ A stark contrast to the other's casual stance, Bora remained straight as a board with her shoulders drawn back and her hands clasped lightly before her. It was a habit she'd hardly be able to break after tutelage in the ways of a lady at the house of her father's acquaintance. It was a strict few years, but it was a better time. Back then, she at least had the majority of her family left even if she wasn't with them for more than a fortnight at a time.
She listened to the other's words with great interest, finding it all to be more or less things she'd already known. A dead end as per usual. She had a myriad of leads, information that would be infinitely useful if she could just find that person that had the knowledge that would work to piece it all together. People that knew him beforehand regaled their tales of his last sightings, people on the streets told of seeing a face similar to that on her poster in passing.
It seemed that she was on a wild goose chase, but the youngest Shin refused to give up on the gut feeling she constantly felt. Something always went wrong when a family member died. When her mother died, the heaven's split and it rained for two days straight. When her father passed, there was a lamp fire in the stables. Nothing catastrophic had happened yet, even after all this time, so he was out there. She offered a small smile and nodded a bit.
"Very well, I thank you," she said, turning on heel to check on the security of her saddle and saddlebags. She paused, turning to give a grateful nod of her head. "I'll be on my way then"
@✪ Shin Bora ♞ "I guess, it must have been much longer than that then," she thought as pondering the high possibility of her memory's failing her, after all, it's always been hard of her to keep track of time, but she shrugs it away as that's not truly important at the moment. A bit of a slip regarding the timeline was hardly important as the disappearance had happened quite a long time ago. The lancer's functional eye swiftly scanned the surroundings while the rider finally dismounted. Formalities to an obvious noble should never be ignored in public eyes.
Slightly dropping the tiring formalities with arms naturally crossed across her hidden tightly bound , she leaned on one of the supporting pole before she started to convey whichever information seemed to be needed, "To be honest, not much. The last time I saw him and the Tradians, he brought with him was when they came and stayed at the guest castle at the shore near the border. Pretty straight forward, it seemed at the time."
As she tried to recall the night, "One day they just packed up and leave. Going back to milady's Kingdom, I supposed at the time." Moon Byulyi eyed her questioning searcher as she said in uncertainty, "At least, that was what the destination's supposed to be for the long term, as there's no way he would've went back and stayed, not then and especially not now."
@♆ Moon Byulyi ♜ Her brother had dropped off the face of the Earth more than ten years prior, no less, so the other's timeline was a bit off. While that may have been true, however, the little caveats of time were the least of her concerns. Seeking more answers, she followed the stranger's gesture to the building hidden among a group of others and reclaimed Jacques' reins. "That day was a little more than a decade ago," she responded, remaining vague as they were still amongst the populous. She'd been counting the days since without fail.
On guard but interested, she nudged her cloak towards her backside so it wouldn't hinder her from grabbing her rapier at the last moment should she need to; the intricately smithed handle glinted in the little beams of sunlight that managed to sneak past the clouds overhead. She guided the white horse in the proper direction while nudging him to move toward their destination.
Once they were inside the stables, the viceroy suo jure brought her steed to a stop and dismounted with a swift elegance indicative of spending a majority of the latter half of her life riding. She didn't care about the Signing itself so much as she cared about her brother's whereabouts in the days surrounding it, so she continued while turning to face the blonde. "I do not wish to take up more of your time, so let us be swift. What is it that you know about the disappearance of Shin Jin Oh?"
@✪ Shin Bora ♞ A sense of urgency was sensed from the young lady before her and the Lancer felt that talking straight to the point was the right approach. The quicker she gave out the information needed, the quicker she paid off her debt meaning she could get home soon. She looked up straight to the said brunette and said, "I met him on the battlefield and had a chance to spar with him about 9 years ago, milady." Having a hunch that the lady before her hasn't fully grasped the sign and code of the last moment the young lord was seen, she stressed again, testing the noble of her knowledge regarding the political duty carried a few years before, "He was last seen on the day of The Signing, milady."
Piquing the interest of her partner in this mere talk, she gestured towards a stable nearby, half hidden from the view of the townsfolk. Even though giving information about the event was a clear violation of her duty as a soldier, considering she had been sworn to secrecy, Byulyi wasn't a person of God. A person without belief would be the right phrase to describe her style of faith.
Politics be damned, this said Lancer could care less about the political affairs as long as she could rest and went back to training herself and her fellow soldiers. After all, information of the Signing, wouldn't cost her anything. She had never cared much for any useless rules her whole life. The only rules she abide to, were the sensible and logical ones.
@♆ Moon Byulyi ♜ The wait time did nothing but cause the lady viceroy to lose interest and, after a minute or so, she was ready to be done with the conversation and begin searching elsewhere. She had no time for mind games and it was either a yes, followed by useful information, or a no. She had other places to be. Once her affairs within Tradian were taken care of, she planned on retracing steps to a few of the villages and towns that dotted the way to Grimor and then to Atlantis. Notes found within their home had pointed at him making his way to the enemy kingdoms by order of the king as Villeport sat a bit closer and it would save the man an unnecessary trip.
Even to his last appearance, to his last letter, Jin Ho was working to obtain peace between the countries and, thinking now, it was all for naught. His disappearance was for naught. So, the 14-year-old girl that was into a position of power felt she owed it to her brother on behalf of everyone that sent him to his possible death to find him or, at the very least, confirm his passing.
"Very well," she responded, holding a hand out for the scroll. Once it was returned, she gently recoiled the linen and held it in both hands in the space created at her lap. "Thank you for your time," she said, heart sunken and plans for her exact next move milling about in her head. Then, a thought occurred to her and she spoke up once again. "Might I ask: how do you know the Viceroy Shin?"
@✪ Shin Bora ♞ Though the change was for just a split second, it didn't escape her trained eye. Judging by her concealed excitement, there's a high chance this lady has been looking for the said man for a long period of time or she had just started the search. While carefully weighing the possible costs of giving such information, her gut's telling her that person standing before her was trustworthy to some extend. Still, being careful wouldn't hurt and the Lancer couldn't lose the chance to go back because of even the slightest false move.
After contemplating for a while, she answered truthfully "Yes I've seen him, but not in recent times. The last time I saw him was around the time of the signing". The news of the disappearance of the young Viceroy was the talk of the town, even back in Atlantis. The young viceroy was fierce and loyal, that much was known well between the military of not just Tradian but of the Atlantis. After all, the one standing at the end of the sword was her so called Atlantis Army.
A memory surfaced in the back of her mind about the times she sparred with the said older man as the troops from the Tradian rested in a castle for guests not far from the training grounds after the armistice was signed and peace was seemingly going to come between the two kingdom (obviously not the case, looking at it then). The visit of the said opposing kingdom troop certainly was a secret to most people, as she thought about it then, considering only limited amount of people knew about the armistice. The king and queen of each kingdom, the representatives, the high ranked military personnel and a few trusted middle ranked ones (including her) sworn to secrecy and referring to the said event as The Signing.
@♆ Moon Byulyi ♜ As the other voiced her recognition of her brother, Bora felt her breath catch in and her pulse quickened with the excitement. This was the first lead she'd managed to come across in weeks and it was a strong one: one with recognition of who he was and not just of a face in passing. With her brother having been gone for nearly eleven years at this point, she would take anything other than the exception of the fact that he may very well be dead. Still, she was sure to maintain the stoic visage that she'd been long-since taught to retain and simply nodded in response to the question. "I am," she said, grip loosening on the horse's reins in anticipation of the event that she needed to dismount to continue the conversation. "Have you seen him anywhere? Preferably in recent time?"
@✪ Shin Bora ♞ As silver or blonde hair alike were not common on the kingdom of the land, putting on the hood was the first thing she did before looking carefully at the drawings shown before her. It triggered something in her memory. The drawn man certainly bore much resemblance to the monster she encountered on the war nearly a decade ago, young as he might be at the time. The same being that visited her king not long after the said encounter in battlefield as a representative to negotiate the armistice between the two kingdoms. That was the first time she saw him without blood being spilled between them and unfortunately, became the last time she saw him.
The Lancer was hesitant to voice her knowledge of the man as it would be extremely risky with the absence of formal permits for a military personnel regarding her so-called visits. But the debt must be paid and a promise must be fulfilled. Moon Byulyi was not a person to take back her words. "I may be wrong, but is my lady searching for the young Viceroy Shin?" she questioned back.
@♆ Moon Byulyi ♜ With the gossiping peoples well on their way, the youngest Shin allowed herself the time to truly look over the near-accident victim. Clothes ambiguous but a face, upon further inspection, that was undoubtedly female; the stranger was a woman. She reached down to comfortingly pat her four-legged companion's neck as he still seemed a touch agitated before straightening once more to her full seated height.
"There is no trouble," she replied with a single shake of her head. Bloodshed and bone-breakage would have been trouble. A mildly startled horse was nothing new what with her constant traveling that gave way to both reckless humans and animals jumping into their path on a regular basis. At the mention of a favor, she could think of nothing she truly needed from the outsider, save for the picking of her memory for potential sightings of the missing Shin Jin Ho. Wordlessly, she reached down into the pouch that the scroll had been stored and handed it off to the other. "Have you seen this man?" She asked, once it was unfurled. "He would be a bit older now, but a face does not see much change."
@✪ Shin Bora ♞ The sudden appearance of the other party of horse and rider would have drove her to take out her loyal lance and drive it through the 'intruding party' out of instinct if not for the rider's fast reflex. As the horse came to a stop just when she was reaching for the lance, Moon Byulyi was able to stop herself and be reminded of the location she was in. A town, bustling as it was, was not a battlefield. Being discreet was her top priority, and making a hole on a horse of a seemingly noble lady was not the best choice of action. While mentally cursing her blindside, a voice was heard. Firm and commanding but not so harsh. A sign of a ruling noble. Likely an experienced one.
Dealing with a noble could be tricky but as a question was asked politely but with a hint of scolding, it would be rude of her not to apologize as this was technically caused by her own carelessness. Remembering the lesson on ethics and morale, drilled to her from a young age, she stood rigidly and slightly bow to the lady before her while keeping her eyes to the ground to show respect, as she said, "My deepest apology, my lady, I was careless and it caused you unnecessary troubles. I have retained no injury because of you and such, I owe you a favor."
@♆ Moon Byulyi ♜ In the busy city center, Bora was smart enough not to coax her steed to no more than an amicable trot. She'd seen enough children playing around or older folk moving about without giving heed to their surroundings and consequently wandering into the paths of horses. It almost never ended well without a cautious rider. When a hooded figure suddenly traipsed out into Jacques' path, Bora pulled back on the horse's reins. The action was done almost as easily as taking a breath and the equine let out a close-mouthed squeal of surprise while rearing briefly before taking a few steps back.
Already annoyed by the failure of an afternoon, the viceroy clenched her jaw so minutely that it wouldn't be detected past the personal feeling of tightness. Around them, a few townsfolk that witnessed the near-collision began murmuring to themselves in interest due to the stranger's presence. Estreau was large but it wasn't large enough that the people couldn't point out a new face. Tucking a dislodged strand of her hair behind her ear, she looked about to engage eye contact. "Please go about your days, there is nothing of interest here. I am sure the king would hate to catch wind of useless rumors," she said, voice firm but gentle before she settled her gaze on the stranger. "Are you alright? Surely you know it is nothing but careless to walk into the road without checking for horses or mules."
@✪ Shin Bora ♞ It was a rather cloudy day and heavy rain was likely to come accompanying the people of the land in no time. A female lance á cheval standing in the dark alley was not an exception. At a glance, one may not see the figure standing with hoods over her head as she observed her surroundings, let alone guess her position in the military of the old infamous kingdom of Atlantis. Considering her chosen attire consisted of black leather left eye patch, a simple brown male tunics, brais and caligae also her beloved lance wrapped in white cloth on her back, an assumption of her being a female wouldn't likely be made.
Sighing at her supposed to be break time that's forced on her by a worried Captain and a lot of worried subordinates, Moon Byulyi chose to observe how the enemy's been faring up to make use of the useless break. Feeling like the observation didn't provide any useful information, she had to step out of the darkness and hopefully be able to leave discreetly. Looking at the seemingly not starving and joyful people, she whispered to herself "how nice it would be if the our people's as full and sated as they are". A sigh escaped as she forced herself to step on to the path, not knowing that she shared the path with a party that would ran her over if not for the rider's fast reflect.
"Naw, lady, I ain't seen anyone like that 'round these parts" a hunched over old farmer responded after not even a second-long glance at the scroll Bora held up in her left hand. Used to such reactions, the viceroy suo jure simply nodded her head and began folding up the depiction of her brother, sending a few stray hairs into her face as she glanced down. "I see," she said, lifting her gaze and offering an appreciative smile and nod of her head. "Thank you for your..." as she looked up, she found him already hobbling off, the off-kilter click-clack of his debilitated wheelbarrow wheels filling the mid-afternoon air. "..time."
Rather than sighing out her frustrations, she squared her shoulders and turned heel back to where her steed waited, chewing idly on some left behind straw. "Seems he's not here either, Jacques," she mutters, safely tucking the scroll away in a side pouch. She gave the white equine a firm, loving pat on the neck before rounding to his side. After hoisting herself up onto the saddle, her cloak billowing in the created breeze, she tugged lightly on the reigns to direct the horse to turn around. "We'll have to keep moving."
