AAAAAAAAA
I’m so sorry everyone
Mun got really sick for the past few weeks but I’m up and running again!
I’m sorry for anyone who has been waiting on me ; A ;
I’ll try to respond in the next few days, exams and rearing their ugly heads
O – Oh… He heard him. A part of Ma Dai didn’t want those meek calls to be heard—not in this weak, uncharacteristic state of his. Just, Ma Chao was really the only person that understood it to an extent—aside from his immediate family who… Well, were also dead at this point—so at the same time it was a great relief. The soldier’s heart near stopped as Ma Chao turned to look at him and called out in reply. Wait… It was theyoung master? How… Why—Dear God, it nearly scared him even further more than it comforted him. How…
The door was almost slammed closed, again, though before he could, Ma Chao swept over and pushed his way through. The grip of his arm to push him away from the door made his body freeze as a wave of realization hit him. He was losing it, wasn’t he? Not only could he hear and see his deceased cousin, but he could feel him now too? The warmth of his hand was unmistakeable, but… How was it possible?
Ma Dai, for once, hadn’t paid attention to his cousin’s ramblings after the door slammed shut. Even the thunder didn’t seem to bother him for a short period of time, aside for some mild shaking. He could hear it. His mind was focused on something, and that was unraveling how and why Ma Chao was alive—not that he was complaining, no. It just… Wasn’t possible. At all.
But then again, neither was it to be somewhere unfamiliar so abruptly.
Lifting his head to examine “Ma Chao”, Dai examined him warily. Once that trademark helmet was removed to expose his hair, however, he looked elsewhere. A hand lifted to rub the side of his face as he was still confused, though from fear of the storm, hope and now excitement was building up within his chest, something akin to sadness welled up within his eyes. That’s what it looked like, at least. Closer to happiness, really. He didn’t care how or why at this point. He was just happy that his cousin was actually alive.
Maybe ma Chao’s number one priority was getting comfortable and drying off, and perhaps he seemed happy for once? Moving his hand to rub his forearm against his eyes to best conceal that slipping emotional feeling, Ma Dai turned back to him and latched both of his arms around his cousin whilst burying his face into his shoulder. He fully expected to be pushed away, or patted and gently shoved out of his cousin’s personal bubble, but it was necessary. To Ma Dai, at least. He was affectionate in comparison to Ma Chao, especially. He couldn’t necessarily explain to his cousin why his appearance was so strange or unexpected. And why Ma Dai was quite certain he’d seen a ghost. Chao wouldn’t believe him… Not yet, at least. Maybe as they experienced more parts of this world, then maybe. At least his burst of affection could be played off as fear from the storm.
…No answer. That was the biggest indication that his cousin was off. Well, obviously he was, with the storm thundering overhead, but even in the past during similar situations, his cousin usually responded to him. A sigh, slightly raspy as a sense of cold seemed to fill his chest, the tell tale signs of a cough coming on, escaped his lips. He stared at Ma Dai balefully for a moment, beginning to peel off the layers of soaked silk off his torso to avoid falling sick- Well, sicker, if one considered his borderline condition- when his cousin quite suddenly latched onto him.
“Wha-!? Cousin?” He immediately tensed, spine locking as his shoulders stiffened at the unexpected contact, golden eyes staring blankly ahead with his mind attempted to process the situation. Well, he caught up quickly enough, a sigh escaping his lips as he brought up his own arms to return the hug. Ma Chao’s eyes slipped closed as he patiently- for once- waited a moment or two, at least able to espy that his cousin required physical contact. Even so, he began to feel uncomfortable soon enough with both the prolonged contact and the chill that was settling in his chest, and patted Dai’s back in an awkward attempt at comfort before pushing the other away, eyes opening again.
“…Er, right then.” Watching his cousin a bit warily, he rubbed the back of his neck in mild discomfort before searching for something, anything, really, to say. He never remembered his cousin being this bad when it came to stormy weather. He had to distract him, though again he found himself lost as to how. Chao had so many questions that they seemed to override any ideas as to comfort the other, another selfish habit of his. Well, perhaps asking questions would properly distract the younger Ma, thus killing two birds with one stone…
“Cousin, where are we?” It was a mix of a command from general to soldier and request from cousin to cousin. He had more questions, of course, but that seemed to be the most important. Ma Chao really wasn’t the best in situations like these, but he tried his best, at least… As little as it counted.
Yet another great difference between the relatives, Ma Dai being the calmer, kinder and more empathetic of the two, while Chao was one to be energetic, loud and decisive. Chao briefly wondered how he would have managed to get as far as he had without his cousin’s support, and then cut himself off there. This wasn’t the time for such thoughts. “I thought we were in Shu, last I was aware… Are any of our comrades here as w-“
And quite suddenly, a violent cough fit seized him, a hand clapping over his mouth in a vain attempt to contain them. The cold was beginning to take its toll on the general, who’s health hadn’t been in perfect shape to begin with, his skin still quite wet from the rain. It was frightening sort of cough, too, with airy, rasping breaths, and Ma Chao finally managed to stifle them after a moment. However, despite this he seemed nonplussed, eyes only narrowed in irritation. He remained silent, throat pained just enough from the fit to keep him from voicing the discontent that radiated off of him. He gave his cousin a pointed look that seemed to accuse the other of being a terrible host, allowing him to get sick from the weather, which… Was debatable.
His knees shook as he stood—immediately making him regret his sudden bold attempt to distract himself. He wasn’t going anywhere. His body wouldn’t let him. Nearly collapsing in fear immediately, Ma Dai’s body swayed to lean against a near-by piece of furniture; the warmth of his shoulder pressing into the cold, hard wood in search of support. A twisted, strange smile worked his way onto his lips in response to his own pathetic quivering. Was he always this useless? Even outside of things he feared such as storms… Was he always so dependant? The loss of his cousin made everything that much more unbearable, though perhaps that was why he was attempting to be something of worth now. Someone stronger—more bold and courageous. Like Ma Chao was.
His knees were giving in, and in no time, he expected himself to be on the floor just riding out the storm. It couldn’t get him inside—no, it couldn’t get him at all. Sure, it had a bad habit of showing up during and foreshadowing the ends of people’s lives it seemed, but… The storm couldn’t physically hurt him, right? It was loud, but so was Ma Chao—so were Wei Yan’s war cries mid-battle, or Zhang Fei’s drunken hollering. Bao Sanniang was just as noisy with her proclamations of love for Guan Suo… And hell, Jiang Wei’s cries of benevolence were just as ferocious as the raging storm overhead. So why did this, of all things, shake him so badly? He knew why, but it was childish. Ah, so childish…
Ma Dai clamped his hands over his head and tried to force one of his all-encompassing smiles. They fixed everything—he could hide anything behind one of those. Perhaps it worked for a moment, but with a loud rumble, it quickly turned into a grimace… Who was he kidding?
But something… Something caught his attention over the storm. A voice… Something familiar and unmistakeable. His shaking halted for a mere moment as he lifted his arms off his head; face lifting in search of the source with hopeful eyes. Ma Chao…? Another crash of thunder and his hands were back to being clamped over his head. His shoulders resumed their shaking, and slowly the rest of his body followed suit. Great, now not only was afraid and alone, but he was going crazy too. Hearing his cousin over the storm? Ma Chao was most definitely dead, he saw it with his own eyes. Though that fact alone made reality that much more difficult to bear.
Though… He heard him again. An angry shout towards the heavens. Swallowing hard, Dai bit his tongue and shook his head. No, no. Ma Chao was not there. He couldn’t be. God, maybe he was going nuts. No, not maybe. He was… Because there it was again, another howling over the thunder and the raging winds. Despite his own knowledge—despite logic and truth—Dai forced himself to stand upright and at least… Look. He needed to confirm the truth regardless. If his senses could recognize something, then there was a possibility.
Wincing with each flash of lightning, Ma Dai scanned the room with a heavy heart before making his way over towards the door. Gripping the handle hesitantly and eventually pulling it open, he glanced outside into the rain. Nearly relapsing at the following thunder clap and lightning strike, the door was almost slammed shut, though his eyes caught a familiar figure in the near distance adorning gold armour and a recognizable weapon tipped with a twisted spearhead and orange tufts. He blinked then arched his brows; shaking his head in disbelief. He was clearly seeing things, but… If he could hear and see his cousin, then perhaps…?
No.
But still… He tried to find his voice.
He had to.
“..Cousin?” He tried, though it sort of ended up failing. A raspy whisper was more like it. Swallowing thickly in attempt to moisten his dry throat, he cleared it and tried again—calling out to the possible stranger who he assumed to be his deceased cousin. Foolish. He knew it was, but there was a shred of hope that led him to believe as such.
“Y – Young master?”
He was hopeful…
Far too hopeful.
The storm still crashed and roared like an animal, only it seemed to be enjoying itself far more than any creature could. It made him scowl more, the noise starting to making his head pound in sync to the beat of the rain. As Ma Chao trekked through the howling weather, he began to make out the buildings more clearly- Well, as clearly as he could in such a dark night. Another flash of lightning briefly revealed more details of the… Huts, he supposed, outlines of doors and windows illuminated for mere seconds before darkness enshrouded the surroundings again. He really needed to get to shelter, he was so soaked he felt as if he were drowning in a lake at this point.
“Augh… My armor will take weeks to cle—”
And the thunder interrupted once again. Knuckles turning white from his tight grip on the spear, Ma Chao’s head snapped upwards, a deep breath taken for the bellowing scream that would most likely contain profanity ready to spill from his lips, when—
”..Cousin?”
He froze. Mouth shutting with a click of his teeth, he stared emptily at the sky, unsure if he had actually heard the familiar voice. It had been deathly quiet, the whisper of a mouse, and yet he had heard it clearly. His head moved to look about his surroundings, eyes scanning almost desperately as his body dared not to move.
“Y – Young master?”
The storm could have been a great many octaves louder, and he still would have heard that shaking call. How could he not? The sound of his cousin’s voice, especially as vulnerable as it sounded at the moment, never failed to reach his ears and stir the protective instincts within. It was most definitely Ma Dai… And he was terrified. He knew why, for the most part, storms being something that his cousin had never gotten over, though quite unaware of the fact that the other thought he was dead. It was only by the grace of yet another flash from the storm that his eyes caught his cousin’s, who was peering out of a door like a frightened child.
“Cousin!”
And Ma Chao was moving again, legs taking long and fast strides to the building his cousin seemed to be taking shelter in, a large smile on his face in relief at seeing someone familiar, especially one he was close to. Immediately he tugged open the door enough to slip past the other, hand catching the other’s arm to move him out of the way and all but slamming the door shut in his haste to get out of the dreadful weather. A relieved sigh finally escaped him, carelessly letting his spear drop in favor of removing his helmet, revealing the blond locks beneath. Tucking the helm under his shoulder, his gaze turned to Dai yet again, pausing at the look on his face.
“…You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” He chuckled, immediately setting his helmet aside on a table before he began to make quick work of the heavier bits of his armor, removing them without nary a care, as if the hut belonged to him instead of his younger cousin. Well, if his very presence and touch hadn’t confirmed it, his usual impertinent nature certainly did. It was definitely Ma Chao, in the flesh.
“Dai, what is this place? I found myself on the outskirts of this village in the middle this damn stor—” The crack of thunder made him jump, and he let out a blasphemous curse about the white stones as a result of being cut off yet again.
A sudden breath of air was drawn into his chest in the form of a gasp as his eyes snapped open. Sitting upright immediately, a light pant escaped the emerald-clad soldier; bare chest heaving, silver eyes wide in fear and emotional pain. He couldn’t get used to waking up somewhere so unfamiliar without a single thing reminding him of who he was and what he stood for. It was all so bizarre… It was if nothing was real. As his laboured breathing slowed, but as a deep rumble shook the building he was within, he snapped into sense and clamped his hands over his head in fear.
He felt like he was being torn to shreds—dissected. His entire life was spent by his cousin’s side, following him after Ma Teng’s death, and not only days earlier had his cousin taken a sharp turn for the worst in terms of his health… Or had it been months? Years? He was gone, though it felt like it was yesterday that the warmth of his cousin’s hand was sapped from him. The worst part of it all? He wasn’t even there during his passing. It was out on duty that he felt that something wasn’t right. A certain pressure in his chest told him so—his intuition was never wrong, and it his heart nearly stopped in realization. A storm was brewing in the south, and despite his fear for the rumbling thunder and striking flashes of lightning, he rode through the torrents of rain from the north. He was soaked, cold and tired, but his adrenaline kept him going. Despite his determination to return to Ma Chao’s side, he had been too slow. His only remaining family was no longer breathing; the sole most important thing in his life.
It just all felt so real. His dreams were real. He was soaked in perspiration from the stress of recalling his cousin’s death within his dreams again, and to wake up to a reality that was void of the world he was accustomed to was… Well, harsh. The thunder he so-feared rolled overhead, lightning flashed and the rain beat against the outer walls. This was reality, but it was something he didn’t want to face alone. He couldn’t. Despite his shoulders violently shaking, he threw his legs off the side of the bed and stood, teeth clamped shut in order to keep them from chattering.
He needed to hide—no,
he had to leave. He had to shift his attention—preoccupy himself with something, but with the storm raging, it was near impossible to do on his own.
The first thought that surfaced as he slowly came to consciousness was that he was being pelted with something cold and wet. The droplets- Rain, he assumed- accosted him by drumming relentlessly against his body, which, now that he was paying more attention, seemed to be prone on grassy ground… Now rather muddy as well, thanks to the precipitation. The sound of thunder made his lids snap open in surprise, though quickly they shut again as the damnable rain stung at his eyes.
…How… Odd.
He didn’t remember falling asleep outside- In fact, Ma Chao could have sworn he had been inside the stables, tending to horses. Regardless, he had to get home soon, as no doubt his cousin was suffering from his fear of storms with every passing second. A deep frown crossed his features as he slowly sat up, eyes opening again as they moved to gaze upwards, squinting at the darkened sky.
…This was not the lands of Shu. He should have been more… Panicked. But both due to a dream like haze still on him and the dreariness of the rain, he could not summon enough energy to do more than quietly contemplate and try to get himself situated.
The area was unfamiliar to him. This much was clear, so he definitely was not in Shu nor Xiliang. “Where am—” He was cut off when the sky roared with thunder, brow ticking in the slightest at nature’s interruption. He sighed, standing up and scowling as he assessed his armor as much as he could with such dim lighting, unimpressed with the much expected muddiness on what should have been sparkling gold metal and vibrant green silks. And he was soaking wet, as well. “Ah, my spe—” Yet again, the sky thundered and over took his voice. With a growl, he searched the ground for his spear, eyes straining some in the darkness when lightning flashed, illuminating the weapon just enough for the general to retrieve it.
Well, now Chao was armed, giving him a sense of comfort, but he still had no idea where he was. “…Hm, finding shelter would be be—”
…And then the thunder cut him off. Again.
“WILL YOU SHUT UP!?”
…He had clearly lost his mind. Roaring at nature, of all things, and expecting it to obey. In a normal situation, he would have calmly ignored it and went on his way, but he was lost and the situation was far from the norm. Ma Chao’s temper had been in check by his daze, but the trance-like state was lifting quickly, putting his boiling temper on the rise. Confusion, tension, discomfort and mild fear mixed to create a potent cocktail of rage, and in the darkness, he had no target but the churning storm. And speaking of, it let out another rumble, causing what little restraint that remained in the Splendid General to snap.
“I WAKE UP IN AN UNKNOWN LOCATION AND YOU PRESENT ME WITH THIS? UNLESS YOU’RE GOING TO HELP, GO AWAY, YO—!”
And once again, the storm seemed to gleefully interrupt him. A cry of rage escaped him, seconds from doing something rash- Though gods knew what, the general was quite ready to do anything- when the sky lit up again, illuminating the outlines of… Buildings. A city? No, a village, more like it. He paused and squinted in the direction, realizing it was absurdly close, only the darkness keeping it from his notice. Now that Chao knew what he was looking for, he could easily navigate himself towards the area.
The general glanced up at the sky, irate still but much less so than before. He would make the storm pay, and though it sounded impossible, he swore he would somehow.
