avalonmods: (Default)
avalonmods ([personal profile] avalonmods) wrote in [community profile] isleofavalon2021-09-22 01:13 am

EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot


QUICK NAV: LOGS ⚔️️ NETWORK ⚔️️ MEMES ⚔️️ OOC ⚔️️ NAVIGATION

This is the event log for IC comments only! Ask OOC questions/plot/view event notes HERE or use the FAQ for general questions. Click here to view top-level comments only.


SUMMARY: In the days leading up to the fall equinox, geese intended for eating escape and cause havoc around town, people share techniques to preserve plants for the winter, and Camelot's citizens compete to make the best light shows with traditional wax candles to draw spirits peacefully into Camelot.


With all the harder preparations gathered for the Fall Equinox, throughout the month people will notice that decorations start going up around town. The colors of fall seem to seep throughout Camelot, but more than that, so do more traditional sights and smells. In the days leading up to the equinox, traditional acts such as the sacrifice and consuming of flesh are performed. Well.. normally they would be. The fattened geese that are normally eaten in preparation for the equinox have escaped and are causing havoc around town. Geese are running around causing trouble for everyone-- stealing glasses, opening gates, putting up toilet seats when people try to sit down so they fall in the bowl... all kinds of madness! Even if you weren't intent on eating geese and were going to settle for the vegetarian option (pumpkin and nut soups are frequently served using the gourd itself as a bowl), you have to agree the general public needs to be rescued from these menaces. If you have the stomach for it, you are welcome to keep one of the geese you capture for your own table... but otherwise, please return the birds to the farm where they can be handled accordingly.

Birds are not the only sacrifice made to the autumnal equinox. As the flowers begin to reach the end of their life, there is a strong tradition of gathering flowers and herbs and preserving them for the upcoming winter, either to protect their beauty, scent, edibility, and sometimes magical properties. The simplest form of preservation is, of course, drying and pressing-- a technique you don't need magic for, but some of the locals will happily teach you. A more advanced technique can be learned to enchant glass bell jars to suspend the lifeforce of any living thing within its grasp for up to a year, if no one opens it. It's a technique used to preserve important or rare plants that may otherwise die out during the winter, such as herbs used in your favorite spell.. or dish. The glass bell jar will protect the plant, but each time it is picked up, a single petal or leaf will fall off of the plant. If all the leaves fall off, the plant becomes unrecoverable, and come spring the caster will find themselves cursed with a touch that wilts any plant they come in contact with. So if you choose to use this, be warned that there are consequences for misuse and a wide number of horror stories from people who have tried to use this spell for anything other than plants. Any type of mage can pour their magic into a bell jar to enchant it, and the type of magic will be reflected in a glass design that forms around the rim and handle. (An elemental mage may have glass flames form, or frosted etchings of your favorite animal may appear if you're an animal mage, and so on. Feel free to get creative.) Green mages may find this magic a little useless, since they can just replenish plants with their own magic, but it's still a good technique to know.. just in case!

Perhaps the most beautiful tradition that takes form leading up to the autumnal equinox is the candle pathway. Every street in Camelot will be lit up with thousands of candles for two nights leading up to the autumnal equinox, as a guiding light to help the spirits find their way to Avalon. The way the streets in Camelot are mapped out, the lights will form a path to the square where the fairy coins are being held until their release on September 22nd, the same area where the guardian egg ceremony had been performed. Some people get very creative with their lighting displays, which can sometimes result in beautifully lit streets and magnificent structures of flames. Accidents are quickly quelled by volunteer elemental mages throughout the city to prevent any structural damage. Some people might be compelled to make their own light display the most outstanding on the block, and it becomes a bit of a game to compete with your neighbors to see whose section of the candle pathway is the most extravagant.


SUMMARY: The autumn equinox ritual is interrupted by a huge earthquake caused by a Stone Giant bursting out of the Ash Mountains, bringing the closest Ash Mountain and Lestari to the ground. The purple dragon erupts from the ruins to attack Celliwig. The survivors of the collapse need help desperately. Characters must choose where they go to determine the fate of Avalon.


Calm and mundane preparations are a nice break from the sometimes stressful lives of Camelot's citizens and otherworlders, who often are asked to embark on life-threatening adventures and tasks. It's probably a good thing most of the month has been relatively peaceful, as things need to go a little bit differently this year on the fall equinox itself... but not as differently as they actually do.

In the town square, elaborate celtic-similar symbols are carved out into the ground and filled with mysterious glowing liquids. All of those who gained guardian tattoos and their attendants were asked to attend a ritual to release them on the night of the 22nd, along with anyone else who would like to witness. Everything is ready and as the witching hour approaches, several individuals dressed in flowing robes with their faces painted like skeletons approach. As the leader raises his voice to explain why they've come and what to do to make this night a success, a sudden shock-- Avalon itself shakes with the might of an earthquake... or at least, that's what it seems like for the first few minutes as everyone gathers themselves until they hear mass screaming in the distance. Though it's hard to see what's going on... there are still some very, very obvious problems.

A stone giant rises from the first of the Ash Mountains, crumbling the mountain around it as if the ancient being were holding the very mountain itself up... and it was. Those who visited Lestari will have seen its giant feet within the underground city. The former city. Lestari is now buried beneath the mountain, along with many of the other creatures living on and around the mountain. A huge storm of mixed weather forms above the giant's head, blizzard and lightning raging around it to no avail. As the people of Camelot watch what's only visible at a macro distance, they may not be as quick to notice that all of the fairy coins have begun glowing vibrantly, then suddenly burst out of the jars they've been held in, shattering right through them to fly off en-masse toward the stone giant. They embed themselves in it, fueling the giant with enough power to both begin to walk away from the rubble and for the spirits that have begun gathering in Avalon to head toward it, rather than where they had been intended.

As if that were not enough, after the Stone Giant takes two large steps through the Land of Rot, the gargantuan cloud of dust covering the ruins of the first of the Ash Mountain range rather suddenly lights up with a vibrant, ultra-violet burst of flames that illuminates the smoke. The gargantuan purple dragon that once took up residence in the mountain clambors out of the dust and shoots straight into the sky, enraged and furious, and able to sense where the magic came from that raised the stone giant. The reason it immediately begins flying toward Celliwig with the intent to raze it to the ground is likely not immediately apparent, but it is quite odd that it bypasses the much closer target of Camelot with its rage. As does the Stone Giant, though it does not head toward Celliwig and instead seems to absorb the souls of the dead that were intended to be guided by the fall equinox's rituals as it lumbers through the land. If someone does not stop it, it is headed for the Forest of the Felled.

King Arthur is immediately on the emergency broadcast system to implore people to join one of three groups:
  • Investigate and stop the Stone Giant

  • Slay the dragon and save Celliwig

  • Rescue survivors of Lestari and the Ash Mountain


  • The success of each of these missions is dependent on character participation. See the poll for details about how certain character types may affect the outcome of the missions.

    Please refer to Event Poll Notes for information about aftermath of this event and additional event info > Event Outcomes.
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14907)

    Xiao Xingchen | The Untamed/Chenqing Ling

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 09:50 am (UTC)(link)
    Untitled Fall Game
    Xingchen has only just arrived, but it seems there's a festival going on! He wanders the streets, eyes a little wide with wonder and delight at all the new sights. His Spectral Sable, Xiu, flits between playing at his feet, leading him this way and that, and curled up across his shoulders when the sights and sounds get a little too much for someone not used to so many people.

    He beams when he's shown how to preserve flowers, and bends his head to the task as well as listening to all other traditions that go with this place. And while he doesn't blatantly decline to taste anything that looks like it was once a living animal, he does his best to eat around or pick at other foods on offer.

    But it's the candle lit walkways that really catches his wonder once night hits, and his sheltered upbringing shines the brightest.


    Triage A Rescue efforts + Defending survivors' fleeing
    So many changes all at once, and yet Xiao Xingchen feels he can help even before figuring out what all is going on. People need rescuing, so of course he immediately moves, searching for anyone who needs help in getting out of the city being destroyed. His little Spectral Sable stays tucked into the top of his robes for safety, but her little black nose twitches and she points where he might be needed if he doesn't move fast enough for her liking.

    His sword lashes out as well when needed, graceful strikes here and there as the Taoist works to free trapped limbs here and there. A gentle word to calm terror there, and encourage escape. He won't leave anyone behind, to the point if someone particularly young or wounded might find themselves picked up and carried to safety.


    Triage B Back in Camelot/Learning to grow veggies for food
    To be asked to share the rooms he'd only just been escorted to mere days before was something of a surprise, but he immediately accepted. Room had to be made somewhere, and so he knew he'd return later to find someone else's possessions joining his own meager pile.

    He finds his way to the kitchens and rolls his sleeves up, tying them out of the way and sets to work helping cut and grow enough food for everyone. The little sable nudges him this way and that even here, helping guide him but also...he feels some energy help add to his own, and it makes him smile. He doesn't mind the hard work!


    Wildcard! [ Xingchen hasn't experienced much outside his mountaintop home, so this is all new and fun! Feel free to drag him anywhere or message me for plotting. ]
    cultivatingsin: (You had this picture of me)

    Triage B

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 09:57 am (UTC)(link)
    Since he busied himself with the dragon - how could he resist? - Xue Yang doesn't encounter Xiao Xingchen until...later. Fate has a funny way of messing with them and before he can make a peep, he's ushered into a room with the pristine, perfect daozhang. Groaning, still smelling of fire and death, he jerks his head and eyes his spectral raccoon dog.

    "I'm blaming you for this."

    No, it isn't fair. But what is? Ying disappears to avoid his bad temper, increasing his frustration.

    "He's going to tie me up, you know!"
    tantailizing: Dissidia (Alright new plan)

    Zidane Tribal | OTA

    [personal profile] tantailizing 2021-09-22 10:06 am (UTC)(link)

    I. Untitled Fall Game


    Geese sucked and whoever the hell decided to raise them needed to fight him personally over the offense that was their existence.

    At first, Zidane had been pretty okay with the hi-jinks being caused by the freed geese, but that was at first. The moment multiple ones took several hard bites at his tail and attempted to steal his belongings (really? Stealing from a thief??), that was it.

    He was about to gut a goose and no one was going to stop him...


    II. Candles in the Night


    The candles were really nothing to snuff at. Instead of streetlights, it was pretty nice to take a walk with them illuminating the city. And honestly, after everything he did during he month, he was going to just take it easy and walk around, taking in the displays, and resting where the egg ceremony was held.

    If anyone wanted to join him? Hey, he wasn't about to deny company.


    III. Triage - Stone Giant Part One


    It was hell catching up to the Giant and though Zidane had items on him, getting this guy to stop would be tricky (it'd be nice to have some home abilities now). There wasn't any visible weakness to target, and using any weapons just meant dulling them or worse.

    ... but the Spirit Guardians were an option?

    It took a moment (much longer than he would've liked), but Zidane came soaring into the fray accompanied by his Guardian and finally looks ready to fight proper. He still wasn't sure if this would work out, but they had to try...!


    IV. Triage - Stone Giant Part Two


    They didn't stop the Stone Giant.

    Try as they might, there just weren't enough of them; or maybe the others who did receive the spirit guardian tattoo had gone elsewhere? How were they supposed to know their help would've been better going after a rock monster?

    Zidane doesn't blame them - he really doesn't.

    If anything, he blamed himself.

    There should've been more he could've done, or something more he could have tried to do, but the Forest of the Felled was just eerily silent. The souls that had been present before were gone, absorbed within the golem. All it was now was... well, another forest. He sat on the ground with his head bowed, cursing under his breath. If approached for a conversation, he would just do his best.

    Back in Camelot, he'd returned healed up, but still looking fairly put out. All he had to show proof he did anything was the vial of ancient water tucked away on his person.


    V. Wildcard


    OOC: This is an open prompt for anything unlisted, but planned in the CR Meme. Or, if anyone wants to do another prompt that's not here and we haven't planned prior, hit me up over on plurk: [plurk.com profile] demidemonLove!
    Edited 2021-09-22 10:09 (UTC)
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14358)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 10:47 am (UTC)(link)
    It's the smell of something burnt and dead that greets Xingchen when he returns to find Xue Yang there. He catches the end of that claim and sighs quietly, shaking his head a little as he closes the door behind him.

    "Do I have a need to tie you up this time?" He doesn't think so - already going back on their tentative truce doesn't seem like something even Xue Yang would do unless it really benefited him.

    "Did you fight the dragon?" Or is that burnt smell from something else? He dares to move closer, looking the delinquent over with a faint frown.
    angel_of_death: (I never wanted this)

    IV

    [personal profile] angel_of_death 2021-09-22 10:48 am (UTC)(link)
    Walter had never met the boy before. He's not sure he's even seen him before. But, seeing him linger after their failure, he approaches, softly treading through the forest grass, coming to a stop next to him.

    No guardian is present next to Walter. Having been out of earshot when the instructions were given to awaken them, Walter's tattoo had remained dormant; he'd been fighting off the skeletons summoned to harass their efforts.

    He should have stayed closer. Maybe he would have been able to do more.

    "...I'm going to try to find a way to free the souls from inside it. The Archivist... Perhaps the Archivist will know something."
    cultivatingsin: (The way I feel)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 10:51 am (UTC)(link)
    He jumps at the voice, spinning to find Xiao Xingchen giving him that look. He knows that look. Pursing his lips pathetically, he cocks his head and peers up at the daozhang like a naughty child.

    "You might find a reason."

    Truce or not, he doesn't trust anything or anyone. It will take time for Xingchen to prove that he's different.

    "Yes, I did!" his eyes brighten and he lifts a singed arm, "I got close too! That stupid giant was devouring all of the dead souls, so I couldn't do anything with them."

    That last part...didn't need to be said. Not to this man anyway.
    cultivatingsin: (He didn't take the time to lie)

    Xue Yang | The Untamed/Chenqing Ling

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 11:03 am (UTC)(link)
    Untitled Fall Game

    Geese are mischief-makers! Xue Yang had no idea! He watches the hijinks from a short distance, laughing until his sides hurt. But the geese have a plan for him too. One of them nips at one of his legs while another flaps at his face.

    "Enough already!" he jerks away from both demonic birds and pulls out a knife, "You need to be carved!"

    Yes, that is his only solution. They would make a nice Fall dish? Then again, he's not sure. He has never had goose before.

    Triage - Slay The Dragon

    His giddy delight over slaying a dragon is palpable. Jiangzai, his sword, is in one hand as he races under the beast's great shadow. Ying, his spectral familiar, is keeping up remarkably well and he laughs as she poofs in and out of existence, tail wagging.

    "We'll get him!" and since Xue Yang is a quick study, he knows just how to use dead souls to do it. Except the giant keeps devouring them! Narrowing his eyes, he climbs to a point where he can see exactly what is happening. Ying comes to a halt at his feet, nose twitching.

    "I guess those are off-limits. I'll have to make my own." he scans the immediate area for targets, grinning wildly.

    Do run while you still can.

    Triage - Being a Sad Lump of CoalHealing Up

    Once everything begins to calm down, Xue Yang can be found, splayed on the ground somewhere smelling like fire and death. Even his familiar has abandoned him for the moment. Take some pity, please? Or at least help him get a bath.

    [OOC: You can poke me on Plurk at [plurk.com profile] tiger_eyes or on Discord at madviolinist#5122 or through PM if you have any questions/ideas!]
    Edited 2021-09-22 11:05 (UTC)
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14912)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 11:04 am (UTC)(link)
    Playful. Xingchen blinks at the answer, confused, but shakes it off in favor of moving close enough to reach for the singed arm.

    "This has to hurt. I have some medicine to treat it, and you should clean up. Both will help you feel better."

    He doesn't respond to that last comment! Not outside of - "I am glad it did not devour yours." Oddly enough, it's true.
    cultivatingsin: (Keep your hand in mine)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 11:09 am (UTC)(link)
    The skin on said arm is burned, but he acts like it's nothing. He has had to shake off much worse and, besides, he is still filled with adrenaline.

    "Daozhang, you're saying I stink." he states flatly, snickering a split second later, "I'm not dead! Do I look dead? Or is it the smell?"

    Is it really that bad? He sniffs himself and makes a face. Yep.
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14781)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 11:12 am (UTC)(link)
    "I am saying you just fought hard and a wash will help ease your aches and pains."

    But yes, Xue Yang. You reek! Xingchen is just too nice to say so. Or really even think it. They've both lived somewhat rough, a bath is a bucket of water or stream. Xingchen just cares about that kind of thing a bit more, perhaps!

    "And it is good that you are not dead." How else is Xue Yang to learn to be a better person?
    cultivatingsin: (Show me how it ends)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 11:16 am (UTC)(link)
    How can anyone be so damn thoughtful and graceful? Xue Yang is suspicious of everything Xiao Xingchen does and says. There has to be a darker side to the man. There has to be. But where is it?

    "I'll bathe if daozhang joins me?" he lifts his chin playfully, setting a challenge, "Since you're so happy I'm not dead, you can check my body for wounds, right?"

    Just to make sure he doesn't die later.
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14746)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 11:21 am (UTC)(link)
    What is dark side to Xiao Xingchen?

    He shakes his head a little, gaze dropping away to the shower. "It is far too small for both of us to fit at once." However... "I would be happy to find a bucket to help with your hair once you're done. And I will trust you to tell me if there are other injuries that need tended.

    "Is that acceptable?" Because surely it's that long hair Xue Yang would need help cleaning! Surely there are no ulterior motives!
    cultivatingsin: (And 'til this day sometimes I cry)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 11:24 am (UTC)(link)
    Surely. Surely. Though Xue Yang is thinking seriously about finding them a bigger shower.

    Just to see if he can trick Xingchen into a compromising position.

    "Always a gentleman~" he walks to the shower and strips off his outer robes, setting them aside. That just leaves him wearing his soft inner robes and his trousers.

    "Are you going to watch or are you going to get that bucket for my hair?"
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14912)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 11:56 am (UTC)(link)
    Maybe once the influx of refugees find new homes! Then they can find a better place to live. Xingchen does want to keep an eye on Xue Yang, after all. So finding ways to trick him will be simple!

    He finds himself smiling a little at the barb and turns to leave again. "Mm. I'm going. I won't be long." So don't leave!

    And no he's not going to watch, he's too polite and formal for that!
    sighsheavily: (pic#14667796)

    cecelia ardenbury | an oc

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-09-22 11:58 am (UTC)(link)
    o1. goose hell - Camelot, ambassador office
    [what is it that geese do better than making so much bloody noise? they shit. they shit everywhere. and Cecelia will not have it.]

    Away, away! Shoo!

    [she is not letting her office stoop become a slurry of dirt and bird shit, so for the umpteenth time this day, she's bustled out of her office, crackling with electricity, and zapped at the geese trying to set up mayhem for others on the street too close-by.

    ...this does mean some folks are getting a bit zapped in the process? but look. wrong place, wrong time, and electricity is not a very obedient element to flick around as she and her unicorn familiar do.]


    That's it, get! Before I think to fire and roast you all on the spot! And--oh! You! [yeah, you. she gestures, eyes wincing.] Don't!

    [don't...keep walking. there's a bucket of mop water being nudged off an upper ledge by one of the geese, ready to ruin your day.]


    o2. autumnal ambiance - Camelot, market square
    [truly, would it not be a marker of major seasonal change if there weren't some dubious level of power at play? the only difference here is that the magic is well within her hands - and therefore the hands of others - and Cecelia does not trust many to wield the power of staying off death...

    so she is frowning deeply as she rereads the book containing the spell the locals have cited as part of this preservation process, copying it into her own journal in shorthand. she's made enough room on a table loaded with jars and collected plant life to do so, but there's plenty of space for another to join her in study or practice.

    her ear twitches when she gets the sense of someone drawing in close, but does not yet lift her eyes from the pages.]


    I'll be done with it in a moment. Less than a moment. [scritch, scratch, scratch, and...] There. Right-- here, are you here to review the instruction? [still not looking up, she lifts the still-open book and holds it out in the stranger's direction while her eyes scan over her notes.]


    o3. candlelight - Camelot, city streets
    [Cecelia hasn't volunteered, per se, but simply being an elementalist and someone interested in not seeing buildings burn down means the slightest bit of rogue flame in her sight is deftly snuffed out. it means this evening she is taking a more ambling, scenic route from her office in the market district to the hotel, walking paths she is not normally apt to do.

    it strikes her that she oughtn't have to remember routes at all, and yet it's been inevitable. she's been here longer than she's been most any place for any stretch of time without making contact with Felix or her other nephilim peers.

    thank goodness the candlelight provides such ambiance to a pensive, somber mood! Cecelia is hardly aware of the tone she strikes as she quietly walks alone, her fiery-red hair glinting as flecks of gold where the light strikes just right, an expression so often set like flint now one more relaxed and openly thoughtful. she draws her shawl more tightly around herself as the temperature shifts more into chilly night, and her ears are so full of ambient evening that she would be slow to notice being noticed.]



    o4. dragon quest i - outside Camelot
    [chasing a rampaging dragon on foot is ludicrous and she knows it, but panic compelled her to hasten outside the city before stopping to catch her breath.

    she then whirls around to flag down the next person heading out on horse (or other such mount):]
    I need a lift! Hurry, now!


    o5. dragon quest ii - outside Celliwig
    [look, she doesn't really love this town much either, but this is ridiculous.]

    Why this city? Why this far from its trove?

    [she can only wonder aloud as the shape of the beast draws closer...and larger. gads, how long has it been since she's had to go toe to toe with a proper dragon? her first instance had been when she was still but a girl of 16, when that beast had risen out of the ashes of the dormant volcano she had found herself trapped in...and mocked her.

    rightly so - she'd been not but a shaking, fearful child. that is not the case anymore.]


    You there.

    [she'll lock eyes with someone near.] I mean to try and get that beast to speak. I can likely get myself and another aloft to reach them, but I'll need protection. Will you help me?


    o6. ashes - the burn pile formerly known as Celliwig
    [well...

    dragons are gonna dragon. Cecelia didn't ask for such a blatant example of her own lack of power in the world, but here it is all the same. ash-covered and battle-worn, she does not get very far on her own two feet before staggering to a hard sit on one of the broken cobblestone streets where once stood glassy storefronts filled with peculiar people.

    it was an irritating place, but one that did not deserve this.]
    cultivatingsin: (Looking at the horsetail whip)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 12:02 pm (UTC)(link)
    Boooo. Xue Yang laughs at Xingchen's retreating back and strips off the rest of his clothes. He hops into the shower and scrubs himself clean, amazed at the amount of dirt and ash that turns the water...grey. Gross.

    By the time a certain uptightright cultivator returns, he has dried off his lower half and wrapped a towel around his waist. What? His clothes need to be washed! He's working on it!

    "I'm ready~"
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14923)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 12:07 pm (UTC)(link)
    All the better to get all that ash and dirt off him! Xingchen has even brought two buckets when he steps back into their room, one with warm water, one cool.

    "Good. Did you find other injuries beside your arm?"

    He sets both buckets within reach, stepping up behind Xue Yang, and rolls his sleeves up to get started on gently washing, untangling, then rinsing that thick hair.
    cultivatingsin: (Remember when we used to play?)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)
    Stop being so thoughtful! He's beginning to think Xingchen isn't human. That must be the answer, right? He's some kind of perfect spirit. Or a fairy!

    "My lower back." he grumbles, shifting his hair enough so Xingchen can see the shallow gash, "I think I'll live."

    He blinks as he feels the care he is given. Like a wild animal, it makes him want to curl in on himself and bite or claw. But he's not an animal, so he stays still, holding onto his towel with one hand.

    "I have a lot of hair, huh."
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14928)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
    Xingchen makes a soft sound of acknowledgement, then rests a hand gently on Xue Yang's back, just over the shallow gash, and focuses to push warm healing energy to help speed the healing along.

    He doesn't pull or yank on the hair - he sees this as an attempt to let him show who he is. That he won't hurt Xue Yang unless he sees he must. That he's sincere in wanting to help rehabilitate this man who has clearly lost his way - or never been shown how he could live without the constant pain and attacks.

    The comments tug a little smile from him - first that Xue Yang thinks he'll live, and then that he has a lot of hair! This man is honestly funny!

    "It isn't too much."
    cultivatingsin: (getting on my nerves)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
    The warmth feels as good as when Xiao Xingchen held his hand. His eyelids almost fall shut, but he forces himself to stay on guard. This is the man who tied him up and imprisoned him. It might seem dramatic to other people, however Xue Yang is always prepared to be hit or stabbed or dragged off.

    That's just his life. Feeling good rarely factors into it and yet Xiao Xingchen has brought him relief twice now.

    "So you like a lot of hair?"

    It would be so easy to turn that into something kinky, but he refrains. For once.

    "I'd like to wash yours too."
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14897)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 12:34 pm (UTC)(link)
    Tied up in answer to a massacre. Xingchen had only wanted him stopped and brought to justice. Not killed.

    He gently encourages Xue Yang to lean back so he can rinse that hair off with the fresh bucket then sets to towel-drying the strands in a way he has a sad feeling this man has never been treated to.

    "I have a lot too," he answers serenely. He's too focused on his task to even think of how anything this man says could be taken. Then he wraps it all up and drapes it over one of Xue Yang's shoulders.

    "Would you sit? I would like to finish tending the gash on your back first. Then your arm."

    But Xue Yang has expressed a wish too, hasn't he? That has his cheeks pink a little as he shyly turns away to fetch his medical supplies.

    "You may. When you are all healed up."
    cultivatingsin: (Baby I'm guilty)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 12:47 pm (UTC)(link)
    Justice likely will end with a death sentence if no one interferes. But someone will. Xue Yang knows he is needed and as long as he is needed, his life is safe.

    His guard might stay raised, yet his body has something else in mind. He feels himself relax. Physically. Xingchen has nice hands and it doesn't take him long to decide to enjoy this pampering.

    "I noticed. But your hair shines." like silk. Running his fingers through it won't be so bad at all - and he'll show Xingchen that he's not all sharp edges. Maybe.

    Sitting on a stool, making sure his towel doesn't slip, he bends forward to make Xingchen's task easier.

    "You're making such a fuss!" not that he minds, "Then I'll have to heal, won't I."
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14928)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 12:54 pm (UTC)(link)
    A cat with nine lives. That's Xue Yang.

    "I have led an easier life than what I have heard of yours," he answers quietly. Not pity. But sorrow. He wishes it were otherwise, that he could protect more people from such a hard life.

    Xingchen can't help the smile at how Xue Yang shifts to make his task simpler. Someone with no hope of being better wouldn't bother. He's just as careful in tending the wound with a medicinal powder, then wrapping it as he'd been with that long hair.

    "Yes, you will." Heal quickly Xue Yang, your reward awaits~

    "How does that feel now?"
    cultivatingsin: (And the birds)

    [personal profile] cultivatingsin 2021-09-22 01:01 pm (UTC)(link)
    A cat with plenty of scars, a maimed paw and an attitude of "I'll get them before they get me!" - that's Xue Yang. His nine lives have never done him much good. Living like he does isn't truly living.

    "What have you heard?" his tone is suddenly hard and he clearly tries to ignore his emotions by shrugging a shoulder, "Everyone has it hard eventually."

    He is very still under those hands, instinctively understanding - just like a cat would - that these hands won't hurt him unless he does something bad. And he's tired. Chasing a dragon is hard work!

    "Better." he mutters and sits up, glancing over his shoulder as he holds out his burned arm, "Here I though Daozhang Zichen was the healer between you two." his lips twitch, amused at himself.

    Zichen is scary! Healers shouldn't be scary.
    bright_moon: (mdzs_e10_14760)

    [personal profile] bright_moon 2021-09-22 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
    Most people would jerk away at that abrupt change in tone. Not Xingchen. He just keeps working, making sure the bandage isn't too tight or too loose.

    "You'll think me silly," he muses. "Or stupid, perhaps. To believe rumors. But I heard you have always been...alone. That couldn't have been easy. I'm not that surprised you worked for anyone who would help you." It makes him sad.

    No. He won't hurt this already wounded man. Not unless Xue Yang bites harder than instinct can wave away. And maybe as his hands shift, he gives those shoulders a bit of a rub. He hums at the answer, nodding in satisfaction.

    "Zichen is a very good healer," he agrees with a soft smile and moves on to tending the burn, first with more healing energy, then burn cream. He can't help it when speaking of his soulmate. "But he has taught me some things, and my master made sure every disciple of hers had some skill with it."