⥼ marketplace

@✦ chisa k。 Sunwoo let out a soft hum. The drink stall never disappointed. It was away from the rest of the market, it was quiet, the people were always nice. He waited for Chisa's answer, humming softly. "Apple..." He mused. "Two please." He turned back to the owner of the stall, looking to where Chisa gestured to a table. "Gotcha, Chisa." He took the coins. "Go sit. I'll bring the drinks over. Okay?" He smiled at her, knowing the table was far enough away from other people that she'd be alright.

@✦ sunwoo k。 Chisa enjoyed the drinks stand and she'd always found it's owners to be quite friendly and polite. As Sunwoo asked, she had to think for a moment, chewing the inside of her cheek before starting to scrawl again, this time pausing and crossing it out and starting again. "Just apple please." she glanced around, spotting a little table to the side of the stall with an awning over it that hid it away from most of the marketplace. She nodded as she spotted it, making sure to point it out to Sunwoo before she counted out a few coins, getting ready to pay for the drinks they were ordering.

@✦ chisa k。 Sunwoo could feel Chisa's hold relax on his arm and he sighed softly. He didn't really care about the guy at the stall but he was certainly going to give him a lesson in manners later. He peered at the note she held out to him and chuckle. "I agree, Chisa." He mused softly. Once the new stall guy gave them the price for the mint he let Chisa buy it. He bought the herbs he needed too and then turned to Chisa when she held up another note for him to see. "Mmmm..." He looked at the drink stall. "You're right. There are less people over there. Let's go over there." He let her lead him, smiling as he watched her. "What do you want to drink, Chisa? I'll order for you." He waited for her to scrawl it out on the piece of parchment she had.

@✦ sunwoo k。 Chisa couldn't help but exhale a sigh of relief as Sunwoo noticed her signs and left the stall. It wasn't worth fighting with some stuck up seller when there were plenty of other sellers around. She kept close to Sunwoo as they approached another stall and she nodded in response to his words, quickly scrawling on the parchment a quick message, "HIs wilted, poor quality, dumb man." a smirk spread across her face as she showed it to Sunwoo before they got to the next stall. After Sunwoo had asked how much the mint was, Chisa nodded, grabbing a few coins from her pocket and handing it to the seller and taking the mint before taking hold of Sunwoo's arm again, leading him to another stall that was selling various drinks. She quickly scrawled on a scrawl patch of her parchment. "Thanks, my treat, drink > less people?" she scrawled messily still leading him to the drinks stall.

@✦ chisa k。 Sunwoo stared the seller down, his hand on top of his friend's. "Scum? You wann-" He cut himself off when he noticed Chisa's motion across her neck. He turned Chisa away from the seller, knowing they could find better mint somewhere else. He made eye contact with the seller, pointed at him, and made the same motion Chisa had but... More threatening. "Come on, Chisa. There's better mint over here that doesn't look like it's about to start rotting like his." He led Chisa away from the seller to another with better herbal selection. "Hi. What is the price of your mint?" He questioned, gesturing to the mint leaves closest to them. He was going to revisit that seller once Chisa left but for now he was going to stand next to her and help her find what she needed.

@✦ sunwoo k。 Chisa was beginning to get more than annoyed at the seller who was either ignorant, stupid, or purposefully malicious and she was about to give up and walk away reasoning that if the man didn't want her money, he didn't deserve it when she heard someone close saying her name. She jumped in surprise slightly before turning her head to eye the person, a frown on her face until she realized who it was. Her frown softened into a smile and she stepped closer to Sunwoo, putting her hand on his arm as a greeting before listening to him speaking, a slight grimace coming across her face as he insulted the seller. She could see the sellers face turning red and she gripped Sunwoo's arm trying to get his attention and then waving her hand horizontally towards her neck to indicate stopping before she began pulling him away from the stall as she heard the seller beginning to yell something after them, something about "scum" and "selling to high class clients".

@✦ chisa k。 Sunwoo hummed softly, scanning the market stalls to find the herbs his mother needed. As he was scanning he had a resting irritated face so people wouldn't talk to him unless he spoke first. He hated being in the marketplace. Always too many people and he hated hiding his raccoon features from these people. He noticed a familiar hair color in the crowd. Chisa. Relieved he hurried over to her when he noticed her very aggressively gesturing to something. He got closer and realized it was mint. She likely wanted it for that tea she'd given him some time ago. "Chisa?" He said softly, hoping he hadn't just mistaken someone else for his friend. He stated the price for the mint after the seller seemed to be rather arrogant and ignoring Chisa's motions. "If you're going to sell in a marketplace... You should be used to all types of people." His voice was harsh as he glared at the seller. "You can answer her unspoken questions. Or are you stupid?"

@✦ sunwoo k。 It was mid-afternoon and Chisa had made her way to the market quickly to see what herbs they had on sale. She'd ran out of cough tea and needed some mint and licorice to make more and so she was browsing each of the stall with little hope that they'd have any.

She hated being at the marketplace, she hated anywhere that was this crowded and busy with so many eyes watching. Luckily she was mostly disguised and was prepared with a scrap of parchment to scribble on so that she could avoid speaking to anyone and risk revealing the forked tongue.

Exhaling through her nose, she kept moving between the stalls before spotting a bundle of mint leaves on one. Granted they weren't looking the best but any would do. Hurriedly she made her way over to the stall, which thankfully was quite quiet, and pointed at the mint aggressively to get the sellers attention before gesturing for the price.

@♛ joshua h。 【 past : 12 years ago 】

as a curtain of darkness shrouded the earth, the royal family departed from the comforts of their castle walls to hunt for their yearly ritual. armoured guards patrolled the marketplace, walking amidst exuberant patrons and vendors as they traded money and goods. the venue was abuzz with life, the moon and stars in the ebony sky being witnesses to the night activity of ataraxia.

while citizens rushed to and fro around them, one patrol guard noticed a particular individual. they were of utmost peculiarity, dressed from head to toe in clothes. suspicion arose within the guard, and he approached the person.

said person was quickly detained, for they were no human. instead, they were the very monster that the royal family feared deeply—a hybrid, with their headscarf slipping to reveal their animal ears and their fluffy tail drifting out from under their shirt.

the crowned prince was quickly alerted of the hybrid's presence. townspeople whispered as they watched the commotion, not daring to step in. everyone stood by as the hybrid plead for mercy, being held down and surrounded by the steadily increasing armoured guards.

taeyong and his band of misfits were close by when the commotion erupted. just like the royal guards, they had been patrolling the town too—keeping to the shadows, away from the public's line of sight.

the purpose? to stop another hybrid from falling victim to the royal family's ed customs.

just like right now.

"is everyone ready?" taeyong asked as he put on his mask. it was carved with the face of an owl, two strings on the side to secure the accessory. attached at the top was a piece of cloth which, once the mask was put on, would cover the whole head down to the neck.

as the rest of the misfits donned their own masks, taeyong announced, "let's move fast."

fishing a smoke explosive from his backpack, he released the pin before tossing it in the direction of the royal guards. as it landed on the ground, heavy fumes sprayed, covering the marketplace with a thick veil of grey clouds.