⬙ meadow

@❛ ☽﹕taeoh k。 ryujin's eyes shone bright as she heard his words. a witches' old book? one that could possibly tell her how it all started? not even on her escapades to illias she managed to find such things. perhaps that's something they only find out during classes. she would give her life to get to know more about such things – to her, it's a mystery how their power works, if she could maybe in another life she would probably choose to be born as a witch herself, but ryujin would never dare to say such thing aloud. "of course!" she replies quickly, only to notice that her tone went a little higher than it should and thus she looks around again before shooting the latter a sheepish smile, speaking almost in a whisper this time. "i mean, of course.. how much?"

@❛ ☽﹕ryujin s。 taeoh scrutinized the book in his hand. it looked... decently real, didn't it? the pages were yellowed just the right amount, the paper crinkled in all the right places, and the covers held a wear that spoke of millennia-- it better look real. after all, he'd paid a pretty penny for it all, the perfect reproduction. nothing, of course, compared to what he was about to sell it for. he felt no ounce of remorse for his deception. the woman should have known these books were long lost to time and that he was merely offering an illusion, one he wanted to sell and she desperately wanted to buy.

as if his hands held the most sacred secret, his smile pulled into mischievous tones, the man looked from left to right and once the coast was clear, pulled out the tome. "i can't reveal my secrets, can i? then you wouldn't need me-- but i can tell you that i have something possibly even better today. what would you say if i told you i had the first volume of the origin of the witches? right here for you to read. interested?" the vampire held up the volume, swinging the item like meat in front of what he hoped was a hungry dog waiting to pounce, his grin devious.

@❛ ☼﹕jiwoo j。 After making the feasts along with another chef in the Duke's household, Seokmin finalised his stuff and went to his mother inside the room that the Duke had provided for them. He couldn't be more thankful for the Duke's family, who always help them when they need it. It's a good thing that he learned his cooking skills from his mother; hence, he was accepted right away by the Duke after they tasted his homemade foods.

"My dear mom, I think you can go and sleep first. I'll have to go to the garden to nurture them. Don't wait for me and just have a good rest, yeah?" said Seokmin in the most gentle way possible. His mother just nodded and smiled as she asked him to be careful. Seokmin went out towards his small garden and started using his magic to nurture it.

The night breezes are so cold today, and Seokmin was still there in his small garden, nurturing his plants and fruits alone. He usually took around this time to do his magic, as he didn't want to show off what he got. He's usually calm and kind to everyone; hence, he feels like it's better if he only uses his power in the middle of the night. Furthermore, he's from a low-class family. For him, it's just not right to use them clearly during the day when a lot of other witches can see him. People from his household (where he stayed with his old mother as a maid) who know him call him 'the bashful Seokmin" since he is always timid and doesn't like to show off what he has.

Just as he was finishing his stuff and about to go home, he noticed a running girl come in his direction. He couldn't help but catch the girl with his arms and hold her in her crying state. "Miss... " He was slightly shaking himself, as it was the first time he'd held a girl beside his mom. Seokmin was frozen before he gathered up the courage to speak. "I'll help you... But first, please, come with me," said he as he gently held her shoulder and led her into his garden again.

@❛ ☼﹕seokmin l。 [flashback to when jiwoo was about 17
also tw: mentions of death ]

the loud boom and startled jiwoo. a strong gust of wind had followed shortly after. she peaked her eyes open to see what she had done, and to see if her family approved, but to her surprise, the sight before the witch was something she would have never imagined happening. gasping for air, suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe, what had she done?

the girl only wanted to show her powers to her family, she had been casted aside for not showing any signs of being able to use magic, but when she finally did she hid it from everyone so she can practice her ability and finally show them that she was worthy. her family line had come from a strong line of witches so it was only natural that they assumed she would be strong too, of course, no one knew exactly what powers she held until that day.

the lifeless bodies of her family lay there, as her tears start to well up, unsure of what to do, unfortunately for her, she knew that there was nothing she could do to bring them back to life. standing up slowly, her legs weak beneath her as she stumbled backwards for a moment, before turning her full body around and sprinting away as fast as she could, tears running down the girls face.

she took one last stumble on the ground before letting out a curse, she wasn't exactly sure where she was or how far she had gotten from her home, she sat up wiping the tears from her eyes and the dirt from her knees, letting out a soft sigh. jiwoo had only known her home, and she had no idea where to go from here.

@❛ ☽﹕taeoh k。 ryujin felt safe at such place, specially because it's their secret place – even if anyone could easily reach it. the secret place she manages to get the most different books from. the exact ones that boosted her imagination to its maximum level. she could only thank the familiar yet somewhat strange guy each time they met – although the books he would give her were not for free, but she didn't mind. she felt even like she could potentially call him a friend. "hey! the last one you got me? where did you even get it? it's such an amazing book, i hope you brought something like that today too.." her excitement was visibly as she approached the familiar figure.