[120223] Taking Risks, Breaking Rules

[tweetypuff]

Muses: Nicole Jung (tweetypuff) & Trinity Jung (trinityforce) & Jung Hyunchul (heavendial)
Rating: G
Where: India
Summary: Two sisters pursue an adventure.

Trinity was bored. Very bored. The first time around of seeing temples was interesting enough - she couldn't help but admire the ornate decorations and the rich fabrics. After the second... third.. then forth, however... She sighed. At least she was able to buy some souvenirs - mainly interesting bits of jewelry as well as trinkets that she planned on putting out in the Ravenclaw Commons. That thought perked her up a bit; she could only imagine the reaction her Housemates would have upon seeing some of the things she bought.

After listening to the other tourists talk about other possible events, she heard "Jallikattu" quite a few times already, and having done some reading before their trip, she was definitely curious enough to want to go see one. While their father was absorbed with inspecting one historical piece or another, Trinity pulled back, tugging on Nicole's sleeve to get her attention.

Nicole was not so bored, finding peace and comfort in the atmosphere surrounding a temple. Even if the tourists did disturb it with their bursts of enthusiasm expressed though excitable chatter. But she was a tourist herself, and that frenetic energy felt comfortable in its own way, familiar. This temple, the next... she would look forward to inspecting all of them, though perhaps not so much as her father, who seemed to feel more from all the locations they visited than she herself did. (One day, maybe...)

Turning to flash a smile at Trinity, elder sister turned to the younger as the tug at her arm caught her attention. "Yeah?" she asked, though she could already guess. Perhaps it was time to make an escape, go on an adventure just the two of them. Or at least get a feel for whatever else India might have to offer them in this town with yet another name she could barely pronounce.

Admittedly, she had a respect for temples and the beauty of them but peaceful just made her bored after a while. She didn't quite understand the energies of the place the same way her sister and father did, but perhaps it was because her focus was elsewhere. Adventure. It was her vacation, and she definitely wanted a bit of an adventure. "Let's go somewhere else, yeah?" She whispered furtively, glancing over at their father, who was still absorbed in the energies around the temple to notice that his youngest daughter had lagged behind.

"Where do you want to go?" Nicole asked. There was enough agreement in her response. She could sense Trinity's restlessness and was more than willing to venture off for an adventure of their own.

Trinity's brows arched at Nicole's quick agreement, but she wasn't going to question it. Instead, she took her sister by the hand, slowly walking Nicole away from their father as she pitched the idea. "Jallikattu, have you heard of it..?" With the reading she did on it, she wasn't too sure their father would be at all pleased that his two girls went to such an event but she was hoping maybe Nicole would think otherwise..

Nicole tried to remember. She had done some research, but without being given advanced notice, there was not much information that she could find that was specific to their course of travel. "Nope," she finally confessed. "What is it?"

Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on how one wanted to look at it - Trinity did a little research, but only on the things on their vacation that would interest her. "It's... a bull fight competition... I mean, we could just watch from the back seats to be safe?" Trinity kept to herself the fact that there were no seats and that she was curious on whether she would be able to get herself on the bull, as per the competition, and win the prize; she doubted that Nicole would come along, or even let her go by herself, otherwise.

A bull fight? Did they have those in India? In Nicole's mind, she was picturing the bull fights with red picnic blankets seen in Spain. But that could be interesting to see. The matador was like a dancer, which interested her on principle. "Sure. We should be fine in the stands, right?"

Trinity smiled brightly. "Of course, we'll be safe in the stands." She couldn't help but feel a little guilty for giving her sister a half-truth on what it really was but if Nicole knew, and knew what her intentions were, well... Maybe a shopping trip wouldn't be so bad but she wanted to try this first.

Ever the responsible one, Nicole looked over to their father. "We should probably tell Dad." Maybe he'd like to go see something like this, as well. Historical artifacts were interesting, but he couldn't say no to a cultural event, right?

Trinity tugs Nicole's sleeve along, slowly guiding her out of the temple area while talking. "We won't be gone long, promise! We'll be back before he notices we're gone!"

That raised more than a few bars of suspicion. Nicole eyed her sister warily, but she was already being dragged away, and... well, she was curious, herself, to see what Trinity was really up to. She would at least be able to stop her, if it was anything too dangerous. Better than letting the younger girl run off on her own.

Trinity's expression was decidedly more excited as Nicole came along without much of a fuss. From what she had gathered from the other tourists, the area where the event was to take place wasn't very far - perhaps only a half an hour walk at most before she eyed the crowd of people gathered in a public town square.

It wasn't visible from where they were standing, since they quite literally were at the back of the event, but the pen that currently contained the bull was at the other side of the square. Trinity kept her hand firmly holding onto Nicole's sleeve as she stepped up on her tiptoes to attempt to look over people's shoulders and find out how soon the event was starting - with the way the men were circling the crowd and taking final bets, that would probably be soon.

Nicole had an advantage in height, though not by much. The event seemed rather more surrounded by men than women. She looked over Trinity's head, stepping up higher on her own two feet to see what was going on. They were certainly nowhere in any set of stands. But her curiosity was now piqued. "What is everyone looking at?"

"The bull, I think." Trinity couldn't smother her gleeful grin, feeling the rush of energy. They were given little warning before the bell was sounded and the bull was released, the crowd spreading out. There were shouts at the front of the crowd as several men were trying to grab the bull by its horns or hop into it - the point of this festival, after all, was to see who could actually seat themselves on the bull and ride on it the longest. Something that Nicole would probably realise at some point.

As soon as the alarm sounded and the crowd began to shift, Nicole grabbed ahold of Trinity's shoulder, pulling her close. She was not going to lose her in this crowd. Frowning, she could already see this was not the sort of bull fight she had been expecting. What on Earth were those men up in front trying to... Oh. Oh. "You're in so much trouble, Tri," she said, but couldn't help a rueful smile. Of course her sister would have been interested in something like this. She squeezed her shoulder, though. A reminder, a warning. She was obviously not to attempt what those men up front were trying.

Trinity bit her lower lip, her small form tense; despite the warning squeeze, it was obvious that she wanted to try anyway. It could be inferred from the shouts and laughter at the front that the men who actually attempted weren't at all successful. "But... but... maaaayybe I can..." She looked over her shoulder, giving her older sister a pleading look.

"No," Nicole said, hoping her tone was firm. This was not something she needed to try out. Watching even from this distance seemed dangerous, if only because of all the shifting and shoving going on around them. Nicole tried not to get too annoyed at the elbow rammed into her side.

She didn't get a chance to ask again; the bull was headed their way. The crowd in front of them parted - it would seem that neither of the men around them were willing to try, and only wanted to see how long the bull wanted to run along. Trinity, on the other hand, had other ideas.

Before Nicole could protest, Trinity pulled away, her small hands reaching out for the bull. Her first attempt ended with her landing on her face, missing the bull entirely but she clenched her jaw, brushed herself off and stood back up - she was intent on getting herself on the bull, even if it may only be for thirty seconds.

After some chasing - and the men surrounding them laughing at her attempts - Trinity managed to grasp one of the horns with her hands, using the bull's momentum and letting it hurl her onto its back. She let out a gasp in pain at the impact but still couldn't help the gleeful grin from spreading across her face, all the while clinging onto the bull for dear life. She could only imagine what Nicole was thinking.

She didn't have that long to wonder, however; she only lasted a minute at most on the bull before being thrown off and landing on her butt. The surrounding crowd cheered and laughed at her attempt, especially considering she was a small girl, but after a few pats on the shoulder and a helping hand to stand her up, that was it. They moved on. Trinity rubbed her back, smiling sheepishly and looking around for her older sister. The bull didn't take her that far, but she couldn't be too sure, with the way the crowd was moving and chasing the aggravated animal.

"Trinity!" Nicole called out in protest. She made a grab for her sister, but missed her entirely. She only managed to catch sight of her as she fell on her face, before the crowd pushed her back. By the time she made her way to the front of the crowd, her eyes were wide with panic. "Trinity!" she called out, and tried to follow the path of the bull. Trinity was on the ground at this point and the bull had moved forward. Before the gap could close up, Nicole ran forward to get to her sister, yanking her around by her elbow. "Trinity Jung, I am going to kill you. Don't you ever do anything like that again!"

Trinity let out a shaky laugh, still trying to catch her breath after being thrown off. She only gave Nicole a guilty smile for tricking her into coming along but she still didn't regret her attempt to get on the bull. It was painful but just utterly exciting. But with the look of sisterly concern, she doubted that she would get a second chance to do anything like this the rest of their trip.

"Promise!" She responded cheerfully, before wincing. She would definitely be bruised come morning.

Not one to hold a grudge and now reassured that Trinity was all right, Nicole rolled her eyes and patted her sister lightly on the shoulders. "Enough excitement for the day. Let's see if we can get something nice to eat before we find Dad again." She was already steering Trinity away from the crowd following the bull.

Trinity gave Nicole a grateful smile, hugging her tightly and willingly following her away from the crowd. "Maybe we can find another bakery around the area or something," she chirped. At least that one thing was predictable about her, regardless of the questionable adventures that she had planned - her sweet tooth was always there and something that needed to be appeased.

Nicole laughed, amused by the predictability of her response. Keeping one arm around her shoulders, she squeezed lightly as they walked off towards a less densely populated area, following the signs that hopefully led towards a shopping district or an area with eateries. It was hot here, and too dry. Nicole wouldn't have minded a place where they could sit inside, or at least under some shade.

"You won't tell Dad, will you?" Trinity broke the silence after several minutes of walking together, eyeing a small cluster of shops in front of them. Due to the festival, it looked like mostly women and teenagers were wandering the shopping area, therefor a much safer place for two girls to be wandering - something she knew that Nicole would definitely approve of.

Nicole's gaze was drawn to the items on display. So much beautiful jewelry, though most of it too elaborate for her tastes. But Tia and Dasom had birthdays coming up and that was always a reason to shop. "Mm... I suppose we can keep this between us." She turned a smile to her sister. "Are you scared of him?"

Trinity paused here and there, looking at the jewelry herself and wondering just how much she could get away with wearing them without breaking dress code. Or her classmates thinking that she was crazy. Then again... maybe the latter was already true. "Hm? Oh. Maybe, a little," she admitted. "I don't know how to read him, how I'm supposed to act. And well..." she trailed off, gesturing at her hair and clothes. Even while wearing jeans and a t-shirt, her jeans were still a bright red, albeit a little dusty now from her small round with the bull.

"Well... Running off to ride a bull probably isn't the best way to impress him," Nicole replied in a sing-song, amused laughter showing that she wasn't too concerned by it all. Now that Trinity was safe, she couldn't find it in her to be angry. How their father would react, however, she was not sure. "Maybe he'll feel better about it if we bring back something nice." Having located a bakery, she steered Trinity towards it.

"That... can be our little secret, yeah? He'll never let me try out for Quidditch if he knew." Trinity pouted. Her expression immediately brightened, however, as she saw the bakery, her eyes widening at the goodies on display. "Or maybe we can find him something nice and it'll be distracting enough." Obviously the younger sister had a shorter attention span, especially when there were sweets in front of her, already distracted herself with trying to decide what to get.

"Have you talked to him about Quidditch yet?" Nicole asked, as they entered the shop. The selection was colorful, if nothing else. Nicole breathed in the smell of bread. Fresh or not, it was always a delight to be around. In the mood to experiment, she peeked into the more exotic looking rolls, full of creams and other things that she couldn't quite identify.

Trinity put the conversation on pause as she pressed her face up against the glass, trying to decide between the roll with the cream filling... and the other one that looked sweet, but she couldn't quite identify what it was. In the end, she chose one of each. After all, this was their vacation and what was the harm in trying something new?
Once she paid for her choices, she turned back to face Nicole, giving her a sheepish smile. "Not yet... I don't know how to ask him..."

Nicole went with the safer choice for the time being, but made sure to grab a couple of rolls to take back to their father. By now, it was likely he had noticed they were missing. They needed to head back. "Just bring it up during dinner. He probably won't say no. There are so many kids who play."

Of course Nicole would be the responsible one; Trinity couldn't help but smile ruefully at her own gluttony. "Alright. I'll think about it." She waited for her sister to pay for her purchase, before taking her by the hand. Their stroll back was leisurely; peaceful. And even Trinity, for all her restless self, couldn't find any reason to complain about the comfortable silence between the two sisters as they headed back to the temple.

Hyunchul, naturally, was waiting in front of the temple with his arms folded and a rather unreadable look on his face.

Trinity bit her lower lip nervously, her hand tightening in Nicole's. She wasn't kidding when she told the older girl that she wasn't ever sure how to read there father... or how she was supposed to act around him. The hand holding the bag of baked goods fisted, causing the paper bag to make a light crunching sound. "We... brought you goodies..?" She glanced over at Nicole for help.

Nicole smiled, expression relatively peaceful, considering the likelihood of at least a scolding to come. "I don't know what's in it, but it smelled good. Did you find anything interesting around?"

"If the two of you want to see something else, I'd appreciate some warning. We can change the plan if there's something you would especially prefer to do." Hyunchul looked more disappointed than angry, really, though there was a definite note of disapproval. "Traveling in a foreign country you're unfamiliar with isn't a very safe time to run off alone."

"We didn't go off alone," Nicole protested. Technicalities were very useful when it came to justifying one's own somewhat reckless behavior. But Nicole had kept an eye on the path and they had returned safely. No harm, no foul. "Don't worry so much, Dad. We didn't want to change your plans. You looked like you were having fun."

Trinity nodded, knowing better to be silent that say anything - that itself was a rare occurrence but she didn't want Nicole to say anything about her little stunt. Still, it didn't help that she looked at the ground while Nicole defended their actions, digging the toe of her sneaker into the dirt as her hand let go of her sister's to brush the dust off her own pants.

Hyunchul rubbed a hand across his forehead, a sigh escaping, and didn't point out that spending a couple of hours worrying about the whereabouts of two headstrong teenage girls in a foreign country had not exactly been 'fun'. "What happened to you?" He eyed Trinity, as dusty as she was.

"I... fell..?" Trinity replied meekly. "There was a crowd of people and well, you know... things happen..." she trailed off lamely, continuing to dig the toe of her sneaker into the dirt. "But we're okay though!" She looked up, offering her father a bright smile in attempt to reassure him.

Nice cover, sis. Nicole reached to grab ahold of Hyunchul's elbow, curling her fingers where it was bent. A rare display of physical affection, and it felt awkward even as she did it, but she wanted to divert his attention from Trinity's current state. "Where to next?"

If they hadn't been standing on a busy muggle street, he might have drawn his wand to rid her of some of the dust and dirt she seemed to have rolled in. "Be careful," he said, still frowny. "Well, I heard there's a festival with some sort of bull-fighting... but maybe we'd better go back to the hotel so you can wash up, first..."

Trinity coughed nervously at the mention of the bull-fight, wondering if their father knew what had really happened to them when they were gone. "We found some shops; how about we go shopping instead?"

It was nice to be a little dirty. Even while in Seoul, people seemed to care so much about their appearance. Nicole agreed wholeheartedly with her sister on further exploration. The hotel could wait. "Shopping, then lunch. You should really try one of these before they get stale or something." She gestured for Trinity to hand her the bag of sweets.

Trinity quickly offered Nicole the bag to take the attention away from herself, offering another smile to her father. "They all looked so good! I couldn't pick just one."

Hyunchul wasn't sure how he felt about his daughters prancing around adorned with dirt, especially in public. Appearances were important, after all, and shopping wasn't really the time to look disreputable. "...A stop at the hotel, first, then shopping and lunch. You ought to change..."

Nicole was not very surprised by the response, but she had been hoping... Oh well. Back to the hotel it was. Still, he could walk and test-taste at the same time. Cheerfully, she took the bag from Trinity and removed a curry bun. "Okay, we'll change. But you should try this."

Trinity lifted one of her shoulders in a bit of a shrug, her expression suddenly petulant that her father was making a big deal about her appearance. "Alright, then," she mumbled. Chances are she would be able to find something brighter in the suitcases, if she really had to change.

Hyunchul accepted the proffered bun a little distractedly, but took a careful bite. "...Ah, that's quite good. Thank you. So you've both snacked a bit?" Lunch could wait until a bit later, then.

Trinity nodded, pulling out one of her pastries and taking a bite into it while they walked to the hotel. At this rate, it probably was best that she kept her mouth full and didn't say anything. Her father wouldn't be happy if he found out what she did, and she didn't want it to ruin her chances of asking him to try out. Her silence did, however, make her come off as sulky.

Nicole, on the other hand, was distracted. Restless and distracted. She was a bit disappointed they had to make a detour to the hotel and change. It interrupted her set schedule on outfits. But she had packed a few extra items for this kind of situation.

Once in the hotel, Trinity rummaged through her suitcase, deciding upon the brightest pair of pants she had - a pair of orange jeans, almost neon, and probably more than a little offensive to the eyes. At least the top she chose was a cream color, or else she knew she would've looked too bright and she wasn't sure how her father would take to that. She only raised her eyebrows at her father and sister, offering them a smile before going to the bathroom to change.

Hyunchul had long since learned not to argue with Trinity's choices in color palette. It was better than if she were exposing undue amounts of skin, at least, and colors wouldn't offend, where they were traveling. He looked a bit wryly at the jeans, but didn't offer any resistance, simply sitting down on a chair to finish off his bun and wait.

An extra pair of jeans and a tanktop would do. Nicole at least brought a light sweater to put on over that. Striped and vaguely see-through, but at least it would cover her shoulders. She emerged a few moments later, ready for their next shopping excursion.