Private Court Thread

[protension]

[ There aren't a lot of empty places around the Court, and definitely not many good ones to lock up victims to torture without being overhead. That's the only thing that has kept Kitae even remotely safe, and even then safe is a subjective term... None of his bones have been broken (yet), though he has been hit several times. The bruises on his body that were finishing the healing process are now going to replaced by a new set thanks to Insik.

Insik... Kitae glances at Insik pacing across the small floorspace of the abandoned hut he'd managed to find. It won't be adequate for long, and Kitae can only imagine that Insik plans to drag him back to Seoul. He doesn't know how easy that would be to do, but he doesn't want to stick around in this shack long enough to find out.

It's been a long, long night from having been ambushed by Insik, to having been dragged here. He can't imagine it'll be too much longer until the sun is up, and he knows that the following day will be the best chance he has to get away and get help. Insik didn't want him around people, which means Kitae needs to put himself smack dab in the middle of the largest crowd he can find.

There are people at Court who are stronger than any human has the right to be, and those people are the desperate hope that Kitae clings on to as he glances between Insik and the door while he bides his time. ]

Comments

[pushier]

[ Even though Suah doesn't exactly have a lot of time to check up on Kitae's current state with how frantic he's being right now, at least the fact he's still moving and talking means he's at least somewhat okay - and that's enough for the moment. Enough to at least not protest when Kitae tugs on her wrist or struggle against the grip, anyway.

Instead she just lets herself be dragged along, making sure to keep up with her part of the running - she's pretty athletic, so at least that isn't much of a problem. The only thing slowing her down is her glancing back a few times to see if Insik really isn't over there somewhere. (Not even really out of fear like Kitae, but maybe more something that edges closer to curiosity, wondering what could have happened to the boy to make him snap as badly as he had according to Kitae's story.)

There's nothing to be seen though, and so she instead turns back to Kitae as they move. ]

Do you think he's still there? [ Considering he's so frantic to get away right now. ]

[protension]

[ Kitae refuses to look back. If Insik comes at him he doesn't want to make eye contact, knowing that Insik can freeze him in his place. If Insik comes at him it doesn't matter anyway, there's no way he's going to be able to escape. So he might as well continue to give himself a little hope that he'll actually escape by only looking forward.

Even when Suah asks him all he can do is shake his head. He doesn't know, and he doesn't want to find out. He hopes he is... or maybe he hopes that he's run somewhere far away. He doesn't know why Insik would, but he hopes that's the case still. He never, ever wants to see that face again. ]

[pushier]

[ Well.. she probably won't get a full answer out of Kitae right now, but at least it's understandably so this time. If all of that stuff with Insik did happen, and if Insik had managed to keep Kitae captive again, then it's only logical Kitae would want to get the hell out of there.

Not that it means she knows on how long he's planning to run, but.. whatever. She's in good shape thanks to always playing sports, she could probably keep up running longer than Kitae himself could. So Suah grows silent for a moment, just letting Kitae drag her to wherever he feels safer. (Although she definitely does look back while running a few times - just to make sure.) ]

[protension]

[ Suah could definitely outrun Kitae. He's not in good shape, he wasn't before he was kidnapped, and it only got worse after being kept locked up for months at a time. Even his time at Court hadn't actually done much to get him back in any type of halfway decent health. The only thing that's keeping him going right now is the intense fear that drives him forward past the pain in his legs and lungs.

He does finally stop running once they've made it back to a more populated area, slowly to a jog, a finally a complete stop. Now that they're not running for their (Kitae's) lives (life) he's going to take a moment to lean forward, wheezing heavily as he tries to get oxygen back into his lungs.

God... he really is out of shape. ]

[pushier]

[ At least exhaustion isn't really a problem for Suah here. She can obviously read it off Kitae though - his whole body seems to scream exhaustion, especially when he starts slowing down.. It's easy to catch onto those signs, especially when you're a type as active and sporty as Suah is. But she just slows her own pace as well, making sure to stay just a little bit behind Kitae the whole time - just in case.

And it also means she stops when he stops. Definitely without the lack of air problems, and something twists a little in her stomach to see Kitae this exhausted because of the running. It's not like she isn't aware she could outrun her best friends at least three with how she seems to run on thrice the amount of energy any normal being does, but this is even worse than usually. Worse than what she knows. Kitae looks like he might pass out, and even though it's not the worst problem ever (even if Insik did show up, she'd just throw Kitae onto her back and try to disappear into the crowd if Insik tried to take him again - no matter how ridiculous the sight would be with her and Kitae's height difference) but it still makes her feel bad.

Because it's still Kitae, but he's so broken and fragile-looking in a way that she always tried so hard to keep him from ever having to feel like.

She isn't even sure what to say for once (she knows Kitae enough to know he wouldn't want the pity), so instead she just turns her back on him for a moment to try and make sure she doesn't spot Insik's face among the crowd anywhere. ]

[protension]

[ When he was living with his mom and the shitty man he was forced to call father things weren't healthy on an emotional level for Kitae, but he did get to eat three square meals a day, and exercised regularly. He wasn't the athletic type, and he never could best Suah at anything sporty, but he was in decent shape. After all the time he spent under Insik's control, however, he lost a lot of muscle and never ate as much food as he really needed.

Even being in Court for a few weeks hasn't been enough to really help him fully recover. At the very least he's eating better than he used to, but there was a lot of damage done that'll take a lot of time to repair.

It's upsetting that Suah is seeing him this weak though. He might not ever have been as athletic as her, but he as never pathetic like this before. He hates everything that Insik made him into. The bastard ruined Kitae's body in more ways than Kitae can count.

He takes one last shaky breath as he straightens up, and looks around them to decide if he wants to go back to his dorm or somewhere else. The dorm, at least, will be full of people. ]

Come on.

[ He sounds slightly calmer now, but still on edge and five seconds from breaking down. ]

[pushier]

[ It doesn't sound like Kitae will even make it that far - if not physically, then just plain emotionally. Not that she can blame the other with Insik really getting a hold of him again and all, but it means Suah isn't too sure if just walking there while Kitae sounds like he's about to lose it is the best idea.

And while she still doesn't feel anywhere close to okay about the way Kitae treated her earlier, Suah is the type that can shove that aside for the moment when there's a situation that's much more important. Like making sure Kitae doesn't get hurt.

So after glancing at him for a moment-- ]

.. Just step on. It'll be easier.

[ She gestures at her back to make it obvious what she's aiming at. Sure, Kitae is definitely taller than her, but he looks so thin right now that Suah doesn't even doubt she could carry him with a piggyback ride. She's always been strong anyway. ]

[protension]

[ Suah always has, and probably always will be a much better person that Kitae is. She might be willing to turn a blind eye to someone's suffering if it's her friend that is causing that suffering, but it doesn't mean she goes out of her way to hurt people. She's also a hell of a lot more loyal than he is... he thought he was, but he turned on her and blamed her for things that weren't her fault.

He let himself believe everything Insik told him, even though he knew how insane Insik was. He let his hurt get the better of him, and he feels a strange mix of emotions right now about the situation, and about her in particular.

He doesn't know where to start with a conversation, but he knows he's not ready to have one until they're somewhere he feels safer. The dorm it is then...

For a brief moment he really does debate getting on her back. He doesn't have a lot of shame if it means keeping himself safe, but right now he decides that getting to a specific place is more important than just getting away, so he shakes his head and points in a vague direction to the right. ]

You don't know your way around here. Just follow me.

[ And fast, please. He's doesn't wanna stay here for long. ]

[pushier]

[ Suah's instinct is to get huffy - she's offering help here, after all, and even though giving help to Kitae would usually be normal, it's a little more difficult when he was so mean to her when they met before. And despite all of that, helping out Kitae does still feel pretty natural in a situation like this, she couldn't just leave him somewhere by himself for Insik to come and get him again right away. But she's definitely still going a little more out of her way than usually, and then he's just turning it down like that!

Even if it's for a logical reason, that doesn't matter. It still hurts her pride, and she frowns - almost pouts, but she at least stops herself from that at the last moment. Suah might be instinctive and emotional, sure, but she does know the occassion doesn't really allow much time for her to throw a fit.

Her hands form fists, nails digging into the palm of her hand, but she nods even while she's still frowning. ]

Fine then, just hurry already!

[protension]

[ Even under normal circumstances where their relationship wasn't as strained as it is now, Suah probably wouldn't like Kitae treating her like this, would she? Ah well, it's not like Kitae has a lot of choice right now. He needs to get them to relative safety, because he doesn't know how long Suah's presence is going to actually manage to keep Insik at bay, and he doesn't want to find out.

He'll worry about trying to soothe her ego (maybe) later. Right now he just nods curtly, and walks quickly in the direction of the dorms. That's going to have the largest number of people at any given time probably. It's the safest place to be right now. ]