Chapter 9. Family- Both old and new

Woho! Made it all the way to the end.

Beta-read by the fabulous fanofthisfiction and ZePuKa.

For Hak, the next few days went by in a fevered haze.

He could hear people entering and leaving the room from time to time, mumbling things next to him that he couldn't quite make out.

Whenever he was awake, someone always seemed to be in the room, though he often struggled with making out whom. Sometimes he thought he heard the voices of other wind tribe members or the princess, but he could never be sure as they all seemed to blend together in the fog. Staying awake was a struggle in itself, and he found himself, more often than not, drifting off in the middle of visits.

Whenever he was sleeping, he dreamt, and often the line between the real world and his dreams blurred into an indistinct grey-area, random scenarios blending with reality and darkness. Faces of visitors morphed with those of people left behind a long time ago, and the room transformed into nightmarish underwater landscapes of shadows and frozen mud. More than once he woke up with his hands clutching at his throat, gasping for air, desperate to escape the lake, only to realise that he was lying in a warm bed, safe, and that he wasn't drowning at all.

His lungs didn't seem to get the memo though, still keeping his breath hostage and forcing him to fight for every single inhale and exhale.

Then after a while, he couldn't tell how long, he thought Yoon and the others came barging in, and the room filled up with noise and chatter for a moment before they were being chased out again by the stern elder. He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought Yoon stayed, and that Elder Miku and the boy conversed silently in the corner of the room, though the group's arrival could very well have been just another dream. Several times the elder re-applied a stinking poultice onto his chest designed to draw out the infection. She also insisted on forcing him to swallow a sickeningly sweet concoction that left the most horrid after-taste in his mouth, and drink more of the tea Yoon had made him earlier, the really awful one. He couldn't complain too much though, literally. His throat was too sore, and his chest felt so heavy that every breath was a strain. It was hard to even string three words together to form a sentence without triggering another cough attack, and he dreaded the never ending spells as they sent scorching flares of pain through his lungs and ribcage leaving him breathless and light-headed.

He kept tossing and turning from one uncomfortable sleeping position to the other, in one moment chilled to every aching bone in his body and in the other frantically kicking off all his blankets to cool down as the fever mercilessly raged on.

Then he was suddenly back in the water. His nightmares were materialising and he wanted to scream but all that came out was a gurgling noise in the back of his throat. He fought to get out, the cold was unbearable, but he was held down by strong hands and his strength was fading fast. Panic set in and the last thing he heard before the darkness pulled him back under was someone distantly shouting.

…

The next time he woke up, the world seemed a bit clearer. His chest still hurt, but the room wasn't spinning so violently anymore and he could focus on his surroundings. It was dark in the room and he could faintly make out the outline of Jae-Ha's long-limbed frame sitting with his back against the wall and his legs crossed at the ankles, apparently sleeping.

He gingerly pushed himself up into a sitting position, noting in dismay how much energy the simple action took, and had to stop for a moment to catch his breath.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Didn't think… you were awake," Hak muttered, looking over to where the dragon was now sitting up a bit straighter. Not overly keen on getting a lecture about how he shouldn't strain himself, he diverted the conversation: "How come every time I turn around lately, all I see is your annoying mug?"

"You should count your blessings. You're very lucky that you get to spend so much time in my fabulous company," Jae-Ha answered, cracking his neck and grinning.

"Sometimes I wish… I was a little bit less lucky."

"Aw, come on now, that's just hurtful."

Hak rolled his eyes, making a note of straightening himself out and standing but got halted halfway by Jae-Ha, who stood up and moved closer to him, touching his temple with his knuckles.

"You are lucky, you know. Looks like the fever has finally broken, but you should probably not get up just yet; you're still a bit warm. You had us pretty worried there for a while," he commented, and Hak couldn't help but wince slightly at that. The last few days were pretty vague, but he could faintly remember a constant stream of visitors and troubled faces looking down on him.

"How long was I out?"

"It's been about three days since we came here, four since the fever started, and six since you fell into the river," Jae-Ha informed, tapping his index finger on the other hand's fingers in tact with the mentioning of each number for extra emphasis. Then he picked up a pitcher, filled a cup of water and offered it to Hak before relaxing himself down next to him. "Really, though. How do you feel?"

Raking his fingers through his hair and rubbing at the scruff of his neck to get the worst kinks out, Hak gave himself a quick once-over. He felt weaker than a newborn kitten and a bit dizzy, but overall, not too bad, considering. His chest still felt funny, heavy, but it was a bit easier to breathe now, and his leg and ribs weren't hurting as much anymore. "Better, honestly,"Hak answered as he reached his conclusion, "I just need to stretch my legs for a bit." After emptying the cup he put it down on the floor and made another note of standing up again.

Seeing the growing impatience in the younger man, Jae-Ha didn't stop him this time, instead merely opting to giving him a hand to help him to his feet.

Hak took a few shaky steps out of the room and tentatively drew in a couple of deeper breaths, testing his lungs, but soon got over-confident and took in too much air too quickly, triggering another barking coughing-fit.

"Whoa, easy there. Told you it was a bad idea to get up so quickly," Jae-Ha commented helpfully and moved closer, just in case, but Hak pushed him away, steadying himself against the wall as he focused on getting his breathing under control again.

"I'm fine," he wheezed and continued walking down the corridor, towards the courtyard. He was sick and tired of being cooped up inside and he wanted to get out, if only for a little while. Once there, he gingerly sat down on the veranda, making sure it seemed like it was his plan all along, and not because his knees threatened to buckle if he didn't. Once he stretched out his legs and leaned back against a pillar, he lifted his gaze, observing the empty square and ruminating over the events that brought him home.

"Three days did you say?" He mulled, voicing his thoughts out loud and glancing over to where the green dragon had sat down next to him. "We shouldn't have come here… and we've stayed too long…"

"But your family's so nice. If I'd known there were so many pretty ladies in the Wind tribe, I would have come here ages ago," Jae-Ha drawled, making a very conscious decision to ignore the sober tone and glum mood. His efforts almost instantly earned him the desired effect as Hak gave him a sour glare and a lifted fist that twitched warningly.

"Don't think that just because I can't breathe… I can't kick your ass. If you lead anyone of them on…"

"Now now, honestly, what do you really think of me? Can't a man just appreciate the sights given to him without having any ulterior motives?" Jae-Ha grinned back, relishing in the relief he gained from hearing Hak return the razz. While Hak clearly had a long way to go, judging by how unsteady his gait still was, and how soon he had to sit down to catch his breath, at least he was up and moving and had regained some of his bite. That was more than one could say only a day ago.

Hak raised an eyebrow. "Sure he can, just not you."

"I'm truly hurt by how lowly you think of me."

"Then stop giving me so many… reasons for doing so, pervert," Hak bit back, though as much as he tried, he couldn't completely subdue the tiny grin playing in the corner of his lips.

Jae-Ha just snorted at that, still grinning, as he looked up towards the starlit sky, "beautiful night isn't it?" He asked, before discretely glancing over to Hak again, noting that the cold air had quickly brought back the shivers. "Bit crisp though, we should probably head inside. Yona will kill me if I get you sick again."

Hak nodded and pulled his knees back in under him to stand up, but as he did so, his stomach gave him a friendly reminder of one of the main reasons of getting out of the room in the first place. For the first time in almost a week he felt hungry, starving really, and his belly growled loudly in protest against the threatened retreat back to the room without being offered any sustenance.

Jae-Ha laughed: "A bit sick of the broth they've force-fed you, are we? I'd offer to bring some food, but it's pretty late and I don't think anyone's awake…"

"Don't need anyone," Hak grinned and pulled him along towards the kitchen for an impromptu midnight raid.

…

The next morning, when news spread that he was feeling better, his room flooded with visitors eager to see him. Yona threw her arms around him without thinking when she saw him sitting upright, almost toppling him over as she gave him no time to brace himself for the impact. Then, when she realised what she was doing, and that everybody was staring, she jumped back and gave him a slap across his cheek, scolding him for scaring them, her face brightly flushed.

Hak just stared at her for a moment in disbelief before rubbing his stinging cheek. How come he always ended up getting smacked, even when he hadn't done anything to deserve it?

He opened his mouth to answer, honestly having very little idea of how to respond, when Mundok, in that very moment, popped his head in through the door, dissolving the awkward situation without even knowing it. Finding Hak awake and sitting up, the elderly man just nodded, a small smile playing on his lips as relief washed over him, quickly followed by a small blonde peeking in through the gap between the elder and the door. Remembering that his brother didn't recognise him the last time, and feeling very nervous about how he might greet him, Tae-Yeon shyly lingered in the doorway for a moment, not sure how to proceed, though he hadn't needed to worry. Once Hak noticed him, the little blonde received a smile and a wave for him to enter, and for the second time within a minute Hak got tackled by a smaller frame desperately throwing his arms around him, even though the boy couldn't even reach all the way around. Having no clue how to handle the sentiment, Hak opted for returning a quick, awkward half hug with one arm and ruffled the kid's hair with the other, much to the amusement of the group that had gathered.

A happy, energetic aura settled in the room before Elder Miku and Ayame entered in order to give him another look-over and begin the morning treatment regime. Firstly the Elder tried to chase everybody out of the room so that they might have some peace and quiet, but she was immediately met with an onslaught of begging, and bargaining to be allowed to stay now that he was finally awake again. While Hak might not have been overly enthusiastic by the prospect of being examined in front of everybody - the elder wasn't exactly known for her sense of tact - as he listened to the others pleading, he couldn't find it in himself to protest when the elder pursed her lips in annoyance and allowed it on the condition that they kept their mouths' shut.

The old woman undid the bandages on Hak's chest; dipping the gauze in the bucket and wiping the old poultice off before plunking her head down close to listen. She ordered him to cough and when he, slightly reluctantly, obeyed she gave a disapproving huff as she raised her head again and instructed him to open his mouth.

"Elder Miku. I'm fine now… you don't-"

"Mhm, let me be the judge of that young man. You had so much bad fluid in your lungs when you first came home it's a wonder you were breathing at all. Now open your darn mouth or I'll do it for you."

'Young man?' Seriously… he hadn't been called that since he was fifteen. Pursing his lips, he bit out a short, "yes mam," before obeying and throwing a threateningly glance towards Tae-Woo and Han-Dae. He could have sworn he heard some muffled giggles coming from their corner of the room…

Peering into his mouth, she gave another irritated huff before turning to the young woman that had trailed behind her and barked out a set of instructions to bring more garlic-honey, fenugreek, coriander, and new bandages. An order that made Hak cringe; he really hated the concoction she had forced down his throat ever since he arrived home again.

"I don't need any more medicine; I promise, I'm fine."

She snorted. "What are you? Five? You'll take it, or I'll keep you locked up in here until you're as wrinkly as I am, understood?"

"…Yes mam," he sighed in resignation, not particularly pleased with being, once again, compared to a child, though in no position to complain about it. If he said something, it would just prove her point. Furthermore, that she was serious in her threats he had no doubt.

"That's a good boy; you really are a sweetheart, aren't you?" She replied and patted him on his cheek.

…Hak couldn't remember a time when he felt more emasculated.

Bad enough that he had been pretty much chained to a bed for almost a whole week, but now this? In front of everybody? Why, oh why, hadn't he insisted that everybody got out when the healer entered? Little did it help that he could see Han-Dae, Jae-Ha and Tae-Woo break down in silent hysteria in the corner of his eyes. Yona, Saki, Zeno, and Yoon giggled quietly but had the decency to at least cover their mouths, while Kija just grinned smugly, and he even thought he did see Shin-Ah's usually blank expression and Tae-Yeon's innocent little face being pulled into small smiles. Traitors, all of them.

He threw them all a warning glare that spoke of endless pain if they were to let even the tiniest noise escape them… As much as he wanted to reply to the comment with a vengeance, he knew it wasn't meant in harm and he just didn't have the heart to pay it back in full.

His life really did suck.

…

Jae-Ha followed the elder as she left the room once finished. He had just witnessed the most fantastic exchange ever, and was not about to let this golden, once in a life-time opportunity to gather further ammo slip by his fingers. "Hak seems to have a great deal of respect for you, my lady," he commented innocently, as a simple conversation starter, of course.

"Ah, those youngsters think they are all that, but all they need is a firm hand. I have known that boy since he was running around this place in cloth nappies. He was a terrible child let me tell you, always getting himself into mischief," she explained, the ghost of a smile playing on her lips, a smirk Jae-Ha quickly matched.

"I think we'll become very good friends you and I, Lady Miku. Now, please do me the honour of telling me all about how Hak was as a kid…"

…

Later that evening, once all the visitors were finally chased out of his room and Hak was just about to lie down again, one more visitor appeared. Knocking on the door and stepping in before Hak had a chance to invite him, Mundok held up a pitcher and two cups, a small smile donning his wrinkled old face.

"Feel well enough for a drink?" He asked, which reminded Hak of the last time they shared a drink, back when he had set his mind to leave the Wind tribe and had asked Mundok to let the princess stay with them.

"Sure, old man. If it's yours, I'd feel well enough even if I was ten feet underground," he grinned, but the old man's face pulled into a scowl when he heard the dry gallows' humour.

"Tsk, don't joke about that, you brat," the old man growled as he walked closer, sitting down and pouring himself and Hak a cup, and for a moment Hak faltered. In hindsight, joking about his death might have been a bit tasteless, but he hadn't expected such an emotional response and found himself at a loss for words. He accepted the cup silently and feverishly racked his brain for something that would break the awkward tension. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to even begin. Eventually he settled for a fairly safe topic.

"How's Tae-Woo doing?"

"He is still young, and has yet to adjust to his new position, but he'll get there, eventually," Mundok answered, a small smile playing on his lips at the thought of the, at times, obstinate young general.

"I was younger than he is now," Hak reminded him.

"Yes, but you were brought up with the knowledge that you would one day take over. He got it thrown onto him without much warning. Besides, I seem to recall a few times when you were younger, I had to put you over my lap to get you to listen, brat," the old man replied, smirking at the memory, and Hak couldn't help but cringe. First Elder Miku had set her mind to embarrass him in front of everybody, and now his grandfather found it suitable to remind him of the numerous times he had been given a hiding as a child. Had all the old people in the tribe decided to gang up on him today?

"Thanks, much appreciated. That's exactly the stuff I like to be reminded of… I really hope you aren't pulling the same tactics with Tae-Woo. I think he's a bit too old to be walking around with a sore butt when trying to lead the tribe, don't you? Kinda ruins your image when you can't sit without a pillow," he retorted wryly, making the older man snort in amusement.

"Perhaps I should, it'd teach him not to fall asleep when I try to tell him something," Mundok mused, scratching his beard and grinning at the idea, making Hak shake his head in resignation, feeling pretty sorry for the poor boy in question. He could still vividly remember the sting of Mundok's discipline from when he was a kid and had gotten in trouble for one thing or the other.

Silence settled for a moment during which both men had a taste of the fragrant sake, enjoying the flavour and the heat running down their throats, before Hak broke the silence again.

"We'll leave soon. If anyone gets a whiff of us being here…"

"In due time. Where are you going?"

"The original plan was to revisit the priest, Ik-soo. Yoon and the Princess wanted to meet with him again."

"She's come a long way hasn't she?" The old man asked thoughtfully at the mentioning of the princess, thoughts lingering on the obvious changes in the young girl.

"Yeah… she missed you, you know," Hak offered.

"I've missed her too," the old man smiled, and silence engulfed the room as the two former generals, the grandfather and his grandson, quietly returned their focus on their drinks.

…

It took another day before Hak could persuade Yoon and the Elder to let him out of the room, and two more before he managed to convince the rest of the group that it was time to move on. He was still coughing up mouthfuls of nasty gunk, but he had a feeling that would follow him around for weeks, and they could not stay in Fuuga much longer.

The farewell was a quiet, solemn affair; at least until Han-Dae decided everybody was way too serious and turned to Hak.

"Take care, sweetheart," he grinned.

Hak's eyes widened in disbelief before quickly narrowing again, "you little-" Pausing for a moment to regain his composure, he cracked his knuckles as he calmly instructed, "run."

Han-Dae swallowed and followed Hak's advice, quickly.

Despite his anxiousness to get going, seeing Yona and the rest say farewell to his family made something tighten in Hak's chest that had nothing to do with the illness. A part of him could not help but wish that she had stayed in Fuuga all along. She could have been happy there, never had to have gone hungry, and above all, stayed safe. Then again, she never would have faced the challenges and grown if she had stayed here, and they would never have found Yoon and the dragons.

While he left one family behind, she had, somehow, found another for both of them.

As they left the mansion he had to stop twice just walking down the steps and by lunchtime he had to call it quits for the day as spots clouding his vision was starting to appear. They had barely left Fuuga, and had only managed so far as to walk a couple of miles into the forest. It was more than a little embarrassing having to admit it, but denying that he was still recuperating was partially what had gotten him into the whole mess in the beginning.

The breathlessness never fully went away. He trained daily, always setting new goals, pushing himself to his limits until he could barely breathe, and slowly, very slowly, he began to regain some of his previous stamina. However, as much as he trained, his stamina never returned to the same levels as before. Exercises that had never bothered him before now took a toll on his endurance and forced him to stop in the middle to catch his breath. To an outsider it was nothing but a very subtle shift, but one that infuriated him almost to despair. The proud general had never had to experience his own body betraying him in such manner before. His physical strength having always been a defining trait, even from young age, and a source of confidence and pride, it had always been something he could rely on. Admittedly, he had previously experienced short-term injuries and illness, but never anything permanently debilitating.

Kneeling in the dirt and clutching his useless chest, he gritted his teeth and cursed his weakness. It was hard to admit, and he still refused to accept that he might never again reach the levels he once maintained. How could he protect those he cared for if he had to stop in the middle of a fight to breathe?

Yona's thin brows furrowed and her fists tightened as she observed Hak dropping down on the ground a little bit away from the campsite. His chest heaving and mouth slightly ajar as he tried to force the oxygen down his protesting lungs by sheer will. She hated seeing him like that. His frustrations were palpable and she wasn't sure how to help him ease his pain. She thought back to the day they had encountered the soldiers, the moment she watched him going under the ice. The unbearable terror that she felt when he didn't come up to the surface again, and when they desperately worked to return some warmth into his chilled, shivering body. She thought of how furious she had been with him, still was, for pulling that stunt on her. He had well known that the ice wasn't stable enough to carry them both, and he had still gone and picked her up. He once told her to use him as a tool to survive. He had again and again proved that he was willing to die for her, and it made her sick to think about it. She thought of when she first arrived at Fuuga, and the jarring insight that he wasn't as invincible as he generally liked to portray. It made her even more determined to become stronger herself, so that she could one day stand beside him and ease the burden he put on himself.

She stood up with the intention to approach Hak, but was halted before she had even taken one step by a warm hand on her shoulder. When she looked up, she found Jae-Ha smiling reassuringly down on her as he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze before he returned his focus on the kneeling figure in front of them. 'I got this,' his smile promised.

Seeing Hak clench his fist and ram it into the ground in frustration, Jae-Ha shook his head. While he couldn't be exactly sure of what bothered the bodyguard, he could make some fairly educated guesses, and Jae-Ha assumed it was the lack of faith in his own abilities brought on by the aftermath of the near-drowning incident. Walking over to Hak, he didn't bother with any greeting phrases. Instead he just pulled him to his feet and made a stupid comment to ease his friend's frame of mind before he, without warning, threw his leg up in the air in a well-aimed kick to start a sparring session. He figured using physical means would be the better route, rather than trying to convince him with words, to remind Hak that he was still far from useless, and that Jae-Ha himself could be trusted to hold his own guard. If he couldn't talk some sense into Hak, then he would kick it into the stubborn idiot.

Jae-Ha hadn't needed to worry. Hak was aware that he didn't need to push himself so far. This band of ragtag oddballs that had somehow nestled themselves into his trust was indeed reliable. It was frightening, in a way, how he had begun to accept that hard-earned fact, but it didn't stop him from feeling frustrated with himself. So he lifted his fists again, finding satisfaction and release of tension in ramming them into the grinning face of his obnoxious older 'brother'.

Once they were both breathless and sweaty and had finished beating each other to the ground, for now, they returned to the campsite where they found Yona patiently waiting for them with two cups of water.

Offering the cups to the two sweaty men, and seeing how Hak's mood had increased significantly, she threw one grateful smile at Jae-Ha, who smiled back and excused himself, heading towards the tents to clean himself up.

Hak was just about to follow Jae-Ha; he didn't exactly smell of roses himself, when he felt the princess grab his wrist. She asked him to walk with her to gather some more firewood and he complied, of course.

They walked in silence for a little while, both gathering sticks as they spotted them on the ground. Everything they found was wet, and cold, and honestly not really suited, but it was the best they had, and they were used to the campsite being a bit on the smokier side anyhow.

"Hey, Hak," Yona broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"You know, you don't have to carry everything by yourself."

Her words, while well intended made him groan silently, they were too similar to what Droopy eyes had tried to hammer into him earlier, was his frustrations really that obvious? "Princess, if this is-"

Stopping and dropping the firewood on the ground so that she could take both his hands in hers, she interrupted him. "Listen, whatever challenges may lay ahead, You, I, Yoon, Shinah, Jae-Ha, Zeno, and Kija, we'll face them together."

The way she looked up at him, completely sincere and serious, and the way she clutched his hands to emphasise her point made his throat tightened. It was odd, having her trying to comfort him, and not something he welcomed at all. She shouldn't have to worry what about him. That was not her burden. "Princess, listen, you-"

Once again she interrupted him, "no, you listen to me. We are in this together, whether you like it or not, and I know that I'm not that strong, but you're not alone, just… remember that, okay?"

"…I will," he promised, sighing before offering a small smile, and she beamed up at him.

"Good, now let's find some more wet firewood. I love a smoke-filled camp," she joked, and he nodded his agreement. At the end of the day, even if he couldn't fight for as long anymore, he was still alive. He had friends that had his back, and as a group they would remain strong. That was more than most could wish for.

…

Finished! I did it!

I might still write a bonus chapter one day when inspiration strikes, for those of you who were curious of the cuddling scene (you know who you are) and exactly how it came to be that Yona had to sleep in the smaller tent, no matter what, and a couple more smaller scenes. For now though, consider this fic finished.

Thank you lovelies for following this little fic of mine and encouraging me to keep going!

...

Now, you didn't really think that I would just let him off the hook without any repercussions from his brush with death? Reduced endurance and shortness of breath are real life, long term complications of near drowning from inhaling water into the lungs and damaging and scaring the lung tissue.

A wonderful gentleman I once knew made a comparison between a car engine and his less than optimally functioning lungs. Describing it like this to me: if your lungs were originally operating on six cylinders, they are now trying to cope on just two… And it was with that metaphor in mind I wrote the last few paragraphs.

Furthermore, the risk of dying was much greater before oxygen inhalation became readily available, as well as the discovery of antibiotics to treat infections. You pretty much had three options: dying, surviving but with long term complications of damaging the lung tissue and the resulting scaring, and the much less likely: surviving and healing without any long term complications.

Again, disclaimer, I am by no means a health care professional, and everything in this fic is based on what I could find online in relation to hypothermia, near drowning, and complications following.