In a confined, book-lined office space, Ukuter sat at a heavy oak desk, beginning to write his report with sharp, deliberate strokes. Yun and Sphe stood attentively by his side, one holding a ledger, the other a sealed scroll case. Across the room, his sister lounged elegantly across a plush red canapé couch, but her refined posture was betrayed by the way she screwed up her face in clear, still unable to let go of the earlier incident.
The room was in dead-stamp silence for close to an hour, the only sounds were the scratch of Ukuter's pen and the soft rustle of parchment. Then Yun spoke.
"How's your mother?" Yun inquired, his tone measured. Ukanaki looked over at him as if the question hadn't been meant for her.
"Why do you want to know?" Ukanaki replied, her voice sounding much more civilised than her earlier patronising display.
An eased smile creased Yun's lips. "I'd prefer not to guess."
"Tch."
Ukanaki shook her head, a strand of hair falling across her cheek. "Whatever. She's fine, and she doesn't need your concern."
"I'd imagine. I simply wish to know of her current status. Is it wrong to care for my queen?" Yun countered smoothly.
Ukanaki glared at him from the corner of her eyes but didn't say another word. Her gaze shifted to Ukuter, shark and probing.
"Hey, Ukuter. I heard there was some guy who took over that little plot of land big brother Uin occupied. Leaving him there was a good thing—if anything, maybe he'll start something so everyone can forget we were ever involved with that forest."
She sighed, a theatrical, wistful sound. "Big brother Uin was such a trouble-maker, but I liked his qualities. If only he'd had your obedience... he would've been perfect, like our other brothers and sisters that came before him."
Ukanaki sat up straight in the canapé, a dismissive remark on her lips. "Matter little n—"
"Done." Yun said, as he finished sealing the report with a drop of dark wax. He moved to hand the scroll to her.
Ukanaki rose, taking the scroll from Yun with a flick of her wrist. "Hmph. At last." She turned on her heels to leave, pausing at the door, recalling something important. "Oh, right. Mother wants you for the family dinner in the next 24 days."
Giving her final words Ukanaki swept behind the door, Ukuter removed himself from around his desk to follow behind his sister with an annoyed grunt, motioning for his secretaries to stay behind with a subtle, commanding gesture.
Sphe sighed, long and exasperated. "I don't blame him. If his sister is like this, I dread to think what his other family members are like."
"If you wish to know," Yun said, his voice dropping to a confidential tone as he tidied the desk, "then I suppose there's no harm in indulging you with that information."
"Ooh," Sphe murmured, looking at him with genuine surprise, her earlier weariness replaced by keen interest.
"You've been working with us long enough, and have proven yourself reliable. Aside from the fact that if you were to be dismissed, I would have to kill you," Yun continued a faint approving curve to his mouth, as Sphe went to raise her hand to dismiss the idea of letting her in on family secrets, but left ignored. "So there's no harm in a little... Context."
As Yun stated this, he began to tell Sphe the details of Ukanaki and Ukuter's relationship.
Setting it back to his previous cycle 388 years ago—where Yun was close to his 500 year old lifespan (as typical and ordinary for Misfit Faeries) when Ukuter was only a year old and his sister Ukanaki only 9 days younger than him, at that point in time, the current Demon King of the Yellow Lineage was their older Unek, who held the throne as the 5th in the royal succession.
Despite age, demons are naturally prone to being aware at a younger age than most species; Ukuter and Ukanaki were no different. In the Yellow Lineage, their mother had a back of giving her sole attention to the one next in line. This should've been Uin—but he was showing rather unpromising behaviour, so this attention went to Ukuter.
Ukanaki spent most of her time with the house maids, proving to be aggressive if a specific person was appointed as her nanny.
"Uh…?"
"Sorry for interrupting. But wouldn't it be convenient to nurture both at the same time?" Sphe inquired, a bit perplexed on the behaviour of the mother.
"I can't say you're not right in that regard. Yet somehow they all seem to have their mother in high regards… So, even though it might seem strange, her behaviour is clearly rewarded," Yun replied.
Continuing the tale, a few years after serving the queen as her personal factotum (a fancy term for errand boy) Yun was appointed as the personal guard to Ukuter.
The day he met Ukuter was the day he turned 9 years old. Yun was guided to the playroom, and at first glance Ukuter and Ukanaki's relationship already seemed rather unhealthy, each being on opposite ends of the room; Ukuter found entertainment in playing with his toys, while on the other hand Ukanaki didn't play at all, staring at the wall, her expression upset.
Yun knew who he was to serve, nevertheless he wanted to see what the issue was with Ukanaki. The moment she saw him approaching, Yun was promptly screamed at by Ukanaki at the top of her lungs. Escalating it even further, Ukanaki stood to her feet, ready to have a fight.
Not wanting to have a day start to his first day Yun raised his hands, slowly stepping back from Ukanaki, and the situation gradually de-escalated.
With that out of the way, Ukuter was quite open and friendly, a massive contrast to his sister, allowing Yun to play along with him. As the days went by, turning into months, they became close to the point where they could be considered friends.
During a rather inconspicuous day, Yun was in the palace kitchen, making some tea. He had begun a game with Ukuter—in the form of making unconventional types of tea for one another to drink… silly and harmless at its core.
On his stroll through the palace back to the lounge center of the garden, Yun found the area in disarray, and the guards set to watch over them ripped to shreds. He dropped the tray, his wings buzzing furiously taking him to the air.
It didn't take him more than a few seconds to find the siblings' location, hurrying over to the area. Making his landing, he saw Ukanaki on top of a battered Ukuter. Before Ukanaki had the chance to throw another fist down at the defenceless boy, Yun grabbed her arm, lifting her off Ukuter.
"Enough!" Yun said, his tone firm. Ukanaki could care less for his words, thrashing in his hand like a rabid animal.
Yun dragged Ukanaki from Ukuter. Unwilling to allow this, Ukanaki pulled, and pulled, stretching the skin on her arm thin, as she pulled her own arm off, stunning Yun as he stumbled backwards against his own momentum.
This injury was easily patched, by her [[>Complex Skill<]] [[-High-Speed Regeneration-]].
Ukanaki stood in place, huffing and puffy, baring her teeth. "You… You… Don't touch me."
Yun got back up to his feet, brushing himself off, he dropped the ripped off body part, as he approached, his interest clear toward Ukuter—but this concerned Ukanaki little, as she went on the attack.
She lunged forward aiming a kick to the head, to which Yun casually blocked with the back of his right hand, his other hand confidently behind his back.
Ukanaki landed on the ground, with Yun paying her no attention, as he continued his approach to Ukuter. Angered, Ukanaki went on the attack circling Yun as she went in to attack, only to be constantly blocked by Yun at every attempt.
This went on even with Yun knelt down to check the state of her brother. Looking over at him, he had a mangled arm—a face that was a bloody mess and malformed. Where his eyes should've been is an empty socket with even his eye lids torn.
At her next attack to attack him, Yun grabbed a hold of Ukanaki's leg and tossed her to the ground, sending her tumbling through the hedge maze.
Back up arrived a few seconds later, the caretakers of the garden having alerted the palace guards. Someone swiftly came to attend to Ukuter, well versed in recovery magic he was able to get him back to full health.
In regards to Ukanaki, a muscular demon of yellow and white, went to inquire of her location from Yun, but he got his answer from a ground shaking scream. She noticed her and she charged, getting intercepted by the demon.
This time her struggle for escape proved fruitless, her strength no match for the demon's. Even so, Ukanaki didn't give up, deciding to chomp down on the demon taking mouthfuls of his flesh. It didn't matter, as he regenerated for too fast, rendering this a useless tactic.
At the end of this event, Yun stuck by Ukuter's side in his room waiting for him to awake. Yun was curious to what might happen to Ukanaki, but at the end of day Yun knew he wouldn't allow something like this to happen again.
Yun wrapped up his retelling, hoping Sphe now as a better understanding of their relationship.
After hearing all of this, Sphe was stuck, her mind whirling with implications she couldn't quite shape into words. Before she could form a coherent opinion, the door pushed open and Ukuter returned to the room.
Yun shot her a swift, subtle glance—a silent prompt to lock the conversation away—before turning toward his lord with a composed bow.
"Welcome back, Lord Ukuter."