Shadows of Dawn

"Shadows of Dawn" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
The replacement of the Jaw’s occupants was a slow trickle, and another effort similar to their initial settlement, where various parts of the land were covered in dust and debris, and in some structurally unsound cases, completely toppled over. Casualties seemed to be few, but they did exist, and temporary medical units that had been abandoned for better housing were immediately put back into use while recovery started to make the Jaw livable again. Efforts went well into the evening, and by that point, Milae, Juro and Yun had been settled in their own separate tent near the corner of the jawbone proper.
Milae took some intense but loving convincing to even lay down, as he refused to stop watching over the two extraordinary beings that had expended so much for them all, and he only managed himself a few hours of restless sleep before waking at nightfall. The rest of the night was spent sitting anxiously on his cot, fiddling with the project in his lap–doing his best to repair some of the many shredded holes in Yun’s kimono with slip stitches, trying to camouflage the repairs and make them invisible. The placement of the torn fabric made him shiver to think what injuries Yun had sustained, but for the most part, the handiwork kept him busy, eyes away from the men that were still recovering across from him.
Dario stood outside of the tent for a moment; his usual plan of striding inside to greet his partner felt wrong. He didn’t know the extent of their physical injuries, or more importantly, their mental ones. The stag looked down to see his hands, nearly back to their usual color and absent of the damage that wrought them in the weeks prior, trembling at the idea of seeing any of them right now. He gathered up the courage and pressed on, careful to stay quiet as he entered.
The goat caught his eye first, with a kimono in hooves, steadily working at the rips and mending as best he could. Dario’s attention shifted to the two men lying opposite of Milae – there was no way for him to understand the significance of the events they endured, but he would try his best to listen when the time came. Treading gently across the tent, he sat carefully to the side of the goat, resting a hand on a still busy hoof. His blue eyes held Milae’s image for an extended length of time before he found the air to speak.
“…hey.”
Milae’s hooves paused, and then his head hung lower, and he slowly leaned over into Dario’s shoulder, resting his eyes for a moment. The noise of the Jaw had quieted into almost nothing at this point in the night, and it was welcome.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured.
Dario used his opposite arm to wrap around the goat’s back, pulling him gently against him. Though he was thankful to see him conscious and coherent, the deer almost wished Milae had been asleep for his own sake.
“I’m glad you’re here… all of you.” The stag looked back over to Yun and Juro, still and unbothered by his presence. “Everything happened so quick, I… I wasn’t sure what I was going to be coming back to… but we don’t have to talk about that right now, not if you don’t want to. I would understand.”
“No…no, I’m alright.” He sighed heavily, resting an arm on Dario’s leg beside him. “I feel worse that you were made to see any of it…” His stomach writhed at the recalled sensation of being absorbed into Frigga, and he nuzzled further into Dario, relieved that the nightmare was over. They had won.
Across from them, Yun twitched and rolled over slightly, and Milae watched him alertly, ears pricking up, but nothing happened.
Dario chuckled as one of Milae’s ears grazed his neck, waiting to see if Yun would make any further movements. It was a relief when he didn’t.
“You don’t need to worry about me, ástin mín. Given what we both have been through, I’ve unfortunately grown a bit accustomed to it… but I will admit that seeing Yun at the start of it all did scare me for him.”
His memory trailed back to the image of the young man on the ground, eyes impossibly wide and in visible shock. It was one of the few things that stuck in the deer’s mind – watching Yun fall to his knees as they ran towards the peril at hand.
“I knew this was going to be hard, and I knew that somehow, things would be alright… but there was a moment… a brief second… where I thought you might not be, and I’m so glad that I was wrong.” He let his face fall into the mass of hair on Milae’s head, as he had grown to love throughout the past year, and let it rest there. “That doesn’t even scratch the surface for Yun. He wouldn’t have… none of this would have happened, if not for you.”
He slid his hand up and down the goat’s forearm, gently pulling at fur and letting it fall back into place.
“Thank you.”
“I owed it to him,” Milae said quietly. “It was the least I could do to make it up to him, after forcing this on his shoulders.”
Yun jerked one more time, and then his arms and legs curled inward with a gasp, and his eyes flew open, staring wildly at nothing. Light stuttered weakly in his pupils, and his chest heaved in and out as he clutched the neck of his shirt, struggling to breathe.
Milae bounded from the cot, thread scattering across the ground, and threw himself down by Yun’s side, cupping his face. The young man choked and clutched Milae’s arm, focusing on him, but unable to speak. Milae exhaled shortly and looked around at Dario. “Over there, his medicine, in his bag. He said he’d been saving it for this.”
The goat had jumped past him so quickly that Dario didn’t even have a moment to blink. He rushed to Yun’s bag, rifling through it and tossing out anything that wasn’t the small device. In frustration, the deer grabbed the bag and held it upside down, allowing the remaining contents to scatter across the floor. The grey cylinder with a metal insert bounced once before Dario snatched it out of the air and tossed it over to Milae.
The goat caught it and pressed it into Yun’s hands, and he shakily held it to his mouth, pressing down the top and sucking in air. It took several minutes of the repeated cycle of breathing in, forcing himself to hold his breath and then roughly exhaling before he was functioning normally. The whole time, Milae stroked the top of his head, heart throbbing but also overjoyed to see him awake.
Yun rubbed his face slowly and looked up at the two half-breeds hovering over him. Even though he was unharmed, his eyes were lined with stress and exertion, and he had difficulty even keeping himself propped up on one elbow. But as soon as he saw Dario, he tried to sit up further, reaching out for him. “Oh my god, you’re okay–!”
Dario quickly took one of the outstretched hands in his own and placed his other against Yun’s chest, stopping him from any attempts to push himself further. He could feel Yun’s heart rapidly bounding against his palm.
“Shh, don’t rush yourself, just lie back. I’m fine, I’m good.” The deer knelt at the side of the cot, calming himself after the brief panic. “It’s all thanks to you, Yun. Well, with a little help from Akkey and Aria of course, but I’m… I’m glad you’re awake, and I’m thankful you’re here.”
Yun pressed Dario's knuckles to the bridge of his nose, squeezing his larger hand tightly with his smaller one, and then he craned his neck around to see Juro, looking like he was fast asleep. His shoulders dropped and he settled back, his head hitting the pillow. "Milae," he croaked.
"Yes?" The goat was ready to do whatever Yun needed.
A tiny smile crossed his face. "That was...really goddamn scary."
Milae tried not to, but he chuckled softly. "You're one to tell me. Both of you did a number on the plains. I thought..." He breathed shakily, and Yun took his hoof as well, rubbing his thumb over the tough, cloven sections.
"Nah. I got her." He squinted, trying to recall foggy memories to mind. "What happened to you? You were getting...pulled in..."
"You saved us." Milae touched his forehead to Yun's, and his dark cheeks warmed as he curled up his shoulders shyly.
"I dunno, I just...I just did it."
dario-the-deer
“I think ‘just did it’ might be selling yourself a bit short, bud.” Dario returned to the haphazardly strewn mess and began collecting Yun’s belongings, placing them back in the bag. “I can’t even begin to think of what must have gone through your head during all that. It will certainly make a great story for your Dario back home, won’t it?”
The stag smiled wide at Yun from across the tent, fighting past his own exhaustion in an effort to keep the mood light.
foresight-botgd
Yun's tired grin faded, and he looked down at the covers, picking at them while pulling them further up his legs. "Um...y-yeah. I mean, he doesn't...um...he doesn't really know about...any of this. But maybe I can--"
Milae winced discreetly, instantly knowing what Yun's predicament was. "It's...it's alright. You don't have to make any brash decisions." He shared a look with Dario, something silent that was very much letting the deer know how difficult it was for Milae not to go right into some kind of lecture. But at the same time, Yun's eyes widened in realization, and he looked up at them. His heart jumped into his throat.
"Wait, but you're right, I can...I can go home now," he said breathlessly. "Right?"
Milae held his arm. "Soon. Recover first, and I also imagine some others would want to speak with you before you disappear."
dario-the-deer
Dario had only a second of guilt before the same realization dawned on him as well. Yun was never meant to stay here forever, no matter how badly he wished he could..
“Yeah... that will be good for you.” The stag’s voice was quieter than before, though he fought to keep the tone and cadence the same. “But, Milae is right. Take your time, there is no rush. I’ll be here to help push you along until you’re ready to go.”
foresight-botgd
God, he wanted to leave right that second, activate and show right up in Jin's apartment like he'd never left, but he knew he'd barely be able to walk, let alone muster up any kind of magic, so he relaxed again, a little disappointed and anxious, but feeling lighter than he had for weeks. He looked at Dario, noticing his change in demeanor, and suddenly, his already-aching heart could hardly take it.
Yun reached out and held both of Dario's arms, insistently pulling him forward and up onto the cot, and wrapped his arms as far around the deer as they would go, burying his head just under Dario's chin. "Are you going back home tonight?" he asked softly.
dario-the-deer
Even if he had wanted to, there was no stopping Yun from his welcomed, desired, and desperately needed embrace. Dario felt his throat tighten as he held Yun close, noticing the smallest sting in his eyes.
“No, no, no... I’ll be right here.” He couldn’t muster more than a whisper for fear of breaking. The deer wanted nothing more than to disappear with these two by his side, away from the world for just a little bit longer; to have any more time at all to just exist in this moment. 
“I’ll be right here.”
foresight-botgd
"Okay." The way Yun was clinging to Dario's middle, it seemed as though he had no intent to let go any reasonable time soon. "I love you. I'm glad I didn't die."
"Me too, seinni helmingur." Milae rubbed his back and kissed Dario's cheek over Yun's head. "I'll see if there's food left for us. Do you want anything?"
dario-the-deer
“Maybe a little later... I just want to relax for now.”
Dario leaned back into the cot, not fully lying down, but not in a sitting position either. The angle allowed him to keep Yun against him, thankful that nothing was going to drastically change for the time being. He knew what would have to happen in the coming days, but for now, he was able to know that Yun was safe.
“You know, one day... I want to take you out to see where I grew up.” His eyes still burned a bit, but they felt much heavier than before. There was a new hoarseness to his voice as he ran his fingers through Yun’s freshly cut hair. “When you are ready to come back, of course. I think... I think you would like it a lot. If fate were kinder to us both, I’m certain I would want to do the same in your timeline.”
foresight-botgd
"Mmm? Mhmm..." Dario's soft voice humming against his cheek and his rough fingers carding through his hair were putting Yun right back to sleep, even though he was trying valiantly to stay alert. "Yeah..." Milae had already donned his cloak and paused by the tent flap, taking in the two of them with soft eyes before leaving.
dario-the-deer
Dario nodded to Milae as he departed, not necessarily happy that he was up and about so quickly after what had happened, but understanding that nothing he could do or say would stop the goat. The half-breed shifted his weight to slump just a bit further into the cot, letting his eyes close as his breathing caused Yun to rise and fall on him. His friend was growing more weary as the seconds passed, and Dario knew it would only be a matter of time before he fell right back asleep if he didn’t interject.
“Say... what are you most excited for when you get back home? Anything you want to do, or anyone you want to see?”
foresight-botgd
There was another soft hum, and a pause long enough to make Dario think that Yun had passed out. Then he shifted his face on Dario’s chest and murmured, “Mm…usin’ a toilet again. And Jin. Gonna see Jin…say hi.”
Dario laughed softly, unsure of what the connotations of toileting meant for Yun in his own timeline, but accepted it all the same.
“That sounds nice… the Jin bit, I mean. I’m sure he will be very happy to see you.”
foresight-botgd
“Mhmm. Might be mad, a little. But probably excited.” Yun was fading fast, and he loosely held onto Dario’s arm, as though trying to be urgent about this fact. He didn’t want Dario to be upset. “I’ll…wait til… Juro’s up again, mkay? I’ll stay with you…”
dario-the-deer
“Of course, of course… I’ve got nowhere else to be right now.”
Dario turned his head to take in the sight of Juro, still unmoving after all of this time. It had not been explained to him quite yet how he ended up in that state, but regardless, it was apparent that the man was in desperate need of the rest.
“I’ll have to leave tomorrow, but we don’t have to worry about that right now.” The stag playfully lifted his arm, letting Yun’s fall against his chest. “You need to shut your eyes, Yun. Stop fighting it.”
foresight-botgd
“I’m not,” he protested softly, already halfway gone by the time the words left his mouth, and it only took a few more seconds of being comfortably nestled against Dario to let him fall asleep all the way, chest rising and falling slowly as he settled into actual rest that wasn’t born of pure overexertion.
Milae didn’t take long to return, and he kissed Dario’s forehead in greeting before quietly passing them and setting out the small bundle of food beside Juro’s cot, gathering the kimono again and perching on the edge of the man’s bed while he began stitching once more. However, his own lack of sleep was starting to catch up to him, and after a bit more small talk with Dario, his love eventually fell asleep as well. In the early hours of dawn, and a couple more fatigue-induced mistakes on his stitching, Milae tucked the needle within the fabric to keep it safe, and folded the garment in his lap, sitting up against Juro’s back, and the man’s steady breathing was enough to cause him to doze. Inevitably, Milae slouched enough so that his long neck was draped sideways over the Bookkeeper’s shoulder, and he finally started getting some well-needed rest, as the Jaw slowly came back to life, ready for a day of recuperation.