isleofavalon | December Catch-all

Entry tags:

December Catch-all

WHO: Klaudia + [OPEN]
WHAT: Winter fun, TDM prompt, and quest thing!
WHEN: December (and 2 very-late-November prompts)
WHERE: Around Camelot and Land of Maidens
WARNINGS: None for now!

A1; Seeing Stars (Backdated to very-late-November)

Once the snow begins to even out from the overnight blizzard, Klaudia feels more confident about venturing around for supplies. A few stops gets her the majority of what she needs: an armful of white cloth, and some matching accessories. She hadn't intended to celebrate this particular yearly tradition, given how far she presently is from Faerûn--but if frigid Armageddon is a concern here, then better safe than sorry, right? She'd rather not end up trapped in her apartment beneath six feet of snow again.

So for just one day during the last few of November, Klaudia trades out her usual fashion of blues and purples and reds. She dons a white blouse and skirt, a white vest over-top for a difference in pattern, if not in color. White socks and shoes, and a white ribbon tying back some of her dark hair from her face. A white cloak adds a bit of warmth against the chill, fastened by a crystal brooch. It's a bit of a strange look for her, she thinks... but not a bad one. She could pull it off.

And so Klaudia ventures out into Camelot with her new outfit, making her way to the library first and foremost. With the winter solstice coming up, she has her own preparations to be doing. It sounded like they would be spending the holiday itself in the fae lands, so she shouldn't count on having anything available to her once they leave. Thus, she starts pulling book after book off of the shelves--anything to do with stars. Maps and charts, alignments, lore. She's gotten very accustom to the night sky in the past few months, given that the stars don't actually move, but that doesn't mean she knows anything about what people actually call them or what constellations they form.

The pile of books that she builds up is quite impressive, as her attention hops from one astronomical topic to another--and she really can't be bothered to stop and put any of these books back when she's so engrossed in this information hunt. At least, not until she goes to reach for a book and accidentally dislodges a whole stack from her table. She dives for the stack, only managing to save about half of it as the other half goes tumbling with a cacophony of muted impacts around her. She freezes in that moment, looking around wincingly at the books and hoping none of them are damaged. Maybe... no one noticed? She could only be so lucky... Maybe she should put some of these away... Or at least tidy up a little.

A2; Winter Wonderland (Backdated to very-late-November)

After her mishaps at the library, the daylight is starting to wane. The snowy landscape is actually quite pretty when she's not entombed in it, so Klaudia lingers about on the streets to do a little bit of people watching. She scoops up a bit of snow from an undisturbed patch and munches on it while she walks. It's a little chilly to be eating something as cold as snow, but that's the tradition she's trying to observe, so it's fine enough. She'll find some real food to eat later.

In the meantime... while she enjoys watching people, there's only so much of that she can do. And there's all this snow right here... Would it really be so bad of her if she happened to pack a few snowballs into her pockets? Would it be so bad if she found an out of the way place to hide? Or if she happened to ambush some random passersby?

Probably, but she's going to do it anyway. A few well-aimed snowballs aren't going to hurt anyone.

B; Spooks Spooks Spooks (❦🛡️ Quest)

For what it's worth, an attempt is being made at keeping to the straight and narrow, after her run-in with the Law two months ago. She hasn't even looked at the dark web board yet, and she's being a very good girl! (She will probably look at it later, just to see. You know, for curiosity's sake. But for now, her intentions are pure.)

So when she sees a request to round up some ghosts where they can't be used for trouble? Sounds like a perfect quest for her! She dons her ghost-seeing glasses (Ghost specs? Spectracles??) and gets to work. There's a number of jars shoved into her backpack--far more than should necessarily be able to fit, but magic is to blame there too. She's also got one tucked under her arm, all ready and waiting for a ghost to inhabit.

"Where should we hide them when we catch them?" she asks her companion (whoever has decided to accompany her on this endeavor, she won't be overly picky so long as she doesn't dislike them). "Where do people not look for ghosts?"

C; Maidens' Tasks (TDM Prompt)

Klaudia did not expect there to be more magical trials to get into the fae lands. Didn't they go through these sorts of tests once already? But this time, it's more mundane things. No magical cognitive fuzziness. Just "go get a branch from a tree".

That's all well and good, except that the tree in question can petrify a person by drawing just one drop of blood. Not exactly the safest climb. If not for that warning, Klaudia would have already been halfway up the tree by now. Instead, she's standing at the base of it, frowning up at the top and deep in thought.

"It's too bad that people have blood," she muses aloud... as if that's a solution to her problem.

D; Wildcard

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[I'll match either brackets or prose!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Just a place for any specific prompts.]

After an adventurous day of studying stars and throwing snowballs, Klaudia is more than ready to retire for the evening--but not to her own apartment. She'd be remiss if she didn't visit Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji at least once--and maybe fight a ghost for the sofa, just for fun. It's still early enough that no one would be in need of sleep just yet... and maybe they'll have something for her to munch on, if she's lucky.

So sometime after dark but before the unrighteous hour (for visitors) of 9PM, a white-clad Klaudia knocks on a most familiar inn door and then tucks her hands behind her back. A picture of patience and poise. Which she then ruins by calling through the door: "Hello, evening snake check~ Are there any snakes in here needing transportation? Ten gold per snake~ Cultivated snakes get a discount~"

Perhaps fighting a ghost for the sofa won't be necessary if she's very quick, as the ghost in question takes it upon himself to answer the door in person, very decorously except for all the argumentative yelling he does on the way.

"Why would the snakes be the ones getting a discount? Are they paying to be removed? Are they cultivated to human form? I'll give you the gold myself--"

Whatever further Wei Wuxian had to offer on the subject, whether questioning Klaudia's ability to carry cultivated snakes, or just her grasp on snake logic in general, is lost to the surprise he encounters opening the door and spying her current get-up. Was this always going to happen once she started down the voluminous sleeve path? Is this some kind of mental warfare tactic against Sizhui? Or him? "Do snake-checkers have a uniform?"

While Wei Ying answers the door, rather more literally than is perhaps necessary or courteous to their neighbors, Lan Wangji will take ~~the opportunity~~ it upon himself to make the sofa something actually worth fighting over. He picks up one of Wei Ying's robes still draped half over the side and half on the floor to fold it properly. Though all hope of uncreasing the fabric is certainly lost.

And why stop there, when he can also tidy up a few pages of notes and tools dotting the floor around the sofa. To make space for their evening guest, of course.

Klaudia grins behind the door when she hears Wei Wuxian calling back to her--a very good indicator that they're both actually in for the evening, since if Wei Wuxian is home, then Lan Wangji almost certainly is as well.

She rocks back on her heels, waiting for the door to open for her, ready to counter all the silly things that he's saying about these poor snakes. Except he suddenly cuts himself off when the door actually opens. For a moment, she blinks and looks down at what she's wearing. Does it look like a uniform? ...She doesn't think so? Maybe the pattern on her vest looks a little like scales in the wrong light?

"No, but clearly you've never met one before. Why would I be expecting the snakes to pay and not you? They don't have money. Not even cultivated ones, probably~" She sticks her tongue out at him and then ducks under his arm, like she's making a break to get into the room--immediately taking a hop over an errant sheet of paper lying by the door. "Maybe I'll take my discount back. The cultivated snakes can stay."

Fair enough, Wei Wuxian has indeed not met any snake checkers or catchers or carriers of any sort, but this isn't as clarifying as he might hope, and he rounds to follow after her and the prospect of this new mystery, visibly perplexed. Still haranguing the snake topic, as he is an expert multitasker and very determined.

"I don't have money either, or I'd pay the snakes to take you." Lan Zhan's gracefully unhurried tidying efforts inspire him to collect the errant paper himself, chagrined but unlikely to be rehabilitated. Obstacles are good for her cultivation, but Lan Zhan doesn't need it, or to be struck with chores when he should be seeing this instead and responding to his nonverbal requests for mystery solving backup.

The back-and-forth of Wei Ying and Klaudia is more of a comfortably well-known backdrop than anything that tends to require his immediate attention, so Wei Ying's audible puzzlement escapes Lan Wangji's notice for the moment. Also he is rather absorbed in considering the merit of getting out the small broom to brush some crumbs and nutshells out of the sofa creases.

But he could not be so absorbed as to forget about their guest, so when Klaudia moves into the room he does look up to greet her. And promptly fails to utter any greeting at the sight, so out of the ordinary. Yet, so familiar. Something impossible to determine takes hold, like homesickness, like pride, leaving him stunned. But certainly no actual response, mystery solving or otherwise, seems to be found.

"You wouldn't do that. Besides! Snakes don't have arms, so they can't take me anywhere." Probably the more compelling of the two reasons. If snakes did have arms (and if he ever had money), Wei Wuxian would probably pay them to remove her at least once a week. Alas, he is unfortunately stuck with a tiefling in his living space.

As is Lan Wangji, who Klaudia has noticed has looked up and... is also staring. That catches her a little off guard, makes her take more than a brief moment to look back at Wei Wuxian by the doorway. And then look down at herself with some amount of self-consciousness. Is it... her clothes? Is that what they're being weird about? It has to be, right?

Here in the room, it's a little more obvious how similar her attire is to Lan Wangji's--but color is about where the similarities stop, she thinks. Is that so weird, to be wearing the same color? There's only so many colors that things can be, so having a monopoly on a single color would be strange. Or maybe it's the significance? Didn't Wei Wuxian say something about white being for funerals on their plane? Maybe they think that someone died--

"It's for Auril's Day," she explains, hoping to quickly alleviate any misunderstandings. "We wear white on the day of the first frost... Which sort of happened very suddenly here, but I thought better late than never."

It wouldn't be so weird if she had done it before, is the thing, though that is true of basically all things. For all his jokes, Klaudia is not part of a cultivational sect and whatever colors she wears are purely up to her own whims and customs. But even whimsical sand cultivators don't just wake up and accidentally dress all in one unusual color, so of course they're going to be curious.

It's just the specific color ~~that's tossed all these pumpkins into the cultivator enclosure~~. A death was a possibility, but low on the concern list, as she seems as upbeat as ever and did seem to find the idea perplexing if he remembers right. Good for Lan Zhan to hear the non-death reason though, even if he is clearly still processing. Whatever gets him to stop messing with the sofa, even if Wei Wuxian is a little put out at being denied significant communicative eye contact regarding environmental stimuli.

"That makes more sense. You look like another Lan disciple, I thought it was sleeves all over again and I was being outnumbered. It would be my own fault for writing such good essays, no doubt. Can I take a picture if I promise it's going to be very funny and you'd be in on it?"

A sensible custom from her home, wearing a dedicated garment for a particular holiday, is what her explanation is, and not anything that ought to be causing any ill-defined feeling of disappointment whatsoever. It's only the exhalation of a breath that has his shoulders sink minutely. Either way the fine fabrics and simple clear color suit her well, and that should be the end of it.

Or it would be, if Wei Ying didn't give it any weight by speaking it aloud. The overdue eye contact ensues with an almost startled glance, for a moment long with yearning but whatever significance Wei Ying wants to ascribe to it with a picture, it isn't-- It simply isn't there, and he purses his lips, and drops his gaze.

"Klaudia is not a disciple." As much of a joy as it is to share in her company, as beholden as he feels to her growth and education and safety, as much of a credit as she would be to anyone guiding her along her path, be it for a little while or a lifetime-- that is not a bond anyone can claim for her.

Edited (had to make it worse) 2022-01-10 00:55 (UTC)

Klaudia takes a brief note of the way that Lan Wangji's shoulders sink with his exhale. Is that relief? That there's nothing more serious going on than a simple holiday? A small crease forms in her brow. She's not sure that she can pick relief out of his expression, either...

She doesn't get much chance to process that inscrutable face before Wei Wuxian is piping up to tease her, and her attention is regrettably diverted. A Lan disciple... Her? Her own face feels a little too flushed, even for the winter cold that she just came in from; but her embarrassment is accompanied by a warmth that spreads up through her chest. Wouldn't that be something if it were true? A ghost only means to tease her with it--and in front of Lan Wangji, no less; so she'll no doubt clarify that she really didn't mean it that way. But the thought tickles her, and she wonders if she should risk a glance first... Just to see how Lan Wangji looks about the idea.

But she needn't bother. Lan Wangji's clarification feels like a splash of cold water dumped over her. Her own heart sinks as does her expression, even as she stares at the floor, trying not to look as wounded as she feels. Of course registers briefly in her thoughts, reaching instinctively for dull acceptance in a bid to rush past the rest of her feelings as quickly as possible. If she has to feel the sting of disappointment right now, she's afraid there might be tears--and she doesn't want to cry in front of them. She doesn't want them to know how seriously she took what was clearly a joke made in poor humor.

She didn't mean for her attire to be... presumptive? Is that what it seemed like? Is that what his expression was about just a moment ago? Not that it wasn't a nice thought in that brief moment. Being included in something like that... Having a real connection to someone that she cares about. But that clearly was a step too far, and she can only assume that the correction was meant just as much for her as it was for Wei Wuxian.

Her response is quiet, spoken sullenly at the floor, hoping that having explained herself already will save her at least a little face. "I wasn't trying to be..."

Klaudia may have made leaps and bounds in the ability to read Lan Zhan expressions in just the time since her original assurance that he would surely never smile at her, but the resident expert is still Wei Wuxian, far and away. Wei Wuxian, who doesn't really understand what has caused this snag in everyone's auras sinking moods and eyes alike to the floor, but who can certainly tell when he (or, much more rarely, Klaudia) is being corrected. The words Lan Zhan gave to his disappointment were true enough, but is this really the time to lean on the formalities? Wei Wuxian finds himself bristling with (exasperated, loud, yet good-natured) argumentativeness...and not a little insight into a familiar sullenness, too.

"Lan Zhan! How can you say that!" Hasn't he sat through more than enough morality discussion to deserve to yell a little? He actually shakes a scolding finger at Lan Zhan, and feels very justified in doing so. How can Klaudia, so invested in libraries and essays and all but digging knowledge from rocks with her bare hands, hear that any way but disparagingly? If she's not a disciple it's only because she's too good to be. Doesn't need it. The Lan rule of sparing words is a curse. "Isn't she basically one already? Maybe not formally. But that's why it's funny!"

Klaudia's words confirm once more that she had meant nothing by it, nothing more than an observance from her home, like so many other small rituals and lore and practices they have shared between them in the past months. It was Wei Ying and himself that drew a presumptive conclusion, however briefly.

Except then he receives a scolding so sudden and incomprehensible that it startles a look up out of him, first at Wei Ying's animated exasperation and then at Klaudia with her head bowed like she's the one being so stridently chided. Had he... what misstep had he made? How badly had he misinterpreted... something?

But he still can't agree with what Wei Ying is saying, helplessly refuting his words with all the seriousness that Wei Ying is lacking.

"Not funny. Gusu Lan sect would be better for her discipleship, benefiting from her character. Her accomplishments a credit to her seniors." There is nothing amusing or absurd about that at all. But there is still his unknown misstep to consider and belatedly his gaze shifts to her, trying to understand in what way he has wronged her so he can apologize.

Klaudia is likewise caught off guard by Wei Wuxian's sudden protest, though it only enhances her embarrassment. Worse than the initial joke is that he doubles down, and for a moment, she wishes the inn floor would swallow her up. She could probably do that herself... and she very strongly considers it. They can argue about whether she's disciple material or not; she'll just live under their floor in her own personal grave.

Except... it takes her a moment to realize that Lan Wangji isn't arguing. Or at least not the way that she expected. Better for her discipleship. Benefiting from her character. A credit to her seniors. He's... praising her? In his very serious manner as always, and what is she supposed to do with that? Tentatively her gaze lifts up towards him, only to see that he's looking her way, and she quickly looks to the floor again, chewing on her lip just a little. It's a shame that her hair is tied up like it is--at the least, she could have hidden her face with that. Disappeared from the spotlight that has somehow shifted from scrutiny to a pedestal.

...Should she ask, then? She should say something, right? She can't just stand here mute in the face of whatever this debate is supposed to be. She doesn't want them to argue about her (even as moderately as this is). And if he thinks so highly of her, if he's so opposed to it being passed a joke, then...

"...Why the correction?" She speaks up, her voice wavering a little at the start. Her face feels burning hot, but it would be hard to tell with her complexion.

No one ever appreciates his finding humor in the absurdity of societal standings, what a constant trial for Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian only. He tilts his head back and forth with a little tch, like they've both made good points that he is forced to grudgingly grant. Maybe it isn't funny per se. Maybe some people value such things a lot, despite or even due to their absence. He flits back to his sofa like he's giving up in favor of watching the drama unfold.

"Well, it's a big decision for everyone. You can't accidentally be one," even if it's funny to think one could, and very endearing how taken she's been with their little cultural exchanges, and he has basically just said the exact opposite. Because aren't people accidentally disciples all the time just by being born and raised, despite not being half so well suited as some who aren't? But fine, he can hold to the order of things this once. "Properly, you'd have to ask and be considered and accepted as one. There's a rule and everything."

Klaudia's uncommonly shy glance towards him does not elucidate anything. But her sparse words more than make up for it, saying more than enough. Questioning why a correction should be necessary, like the idea would please her too, like she would perhaps share the pride he'd just felt at seeing her in his family's color, to be considered... his disciple. He has been glad to call himself her teacher, but the scope of that title is limited to academic knowledge, and some day a teacher has taught everything they know, reached the end of their usefulness, or the student's interests might change. Discipleship is a bond not so easily broken or outgrown, for both.

Is that what he'd missed, and what Wei Ying had known and chided him for? Hope blooms in his chest, emboldened by Wei Ying's help in explaining. He takes a single step towards Klaudia, to address her more fully and to resolve the awkward positions they'd all frozen in upon her entry. Though his gaze doesn't rest directly on her, careful to temper his expectation.

"Only the sect leader may accept new disciples into the sect." Which he does feel a pang of regret at, both for knowing that Klaudia would likely not thrive under the scrutiny and rules of his home, and for it being out of reach regardless. "But... considering circumstances, an independent disciple following a single master of the sect would be permissible."

Is it wrong to feel a little bit of abandonment as Wei Wuxian takes to the sofa that she was planning to steal from him? And leaving her standing with Lan Wangji to address what is arguably still a very awkward conversation. She chooses to at least believe that he's using a general 'you' in his explanation because the idea of asking to be considered directly feels beyond her, requiring far too much courage and self-assurance when the air of the whole thing has suddenly turned so very serious.

Klaudia folds her hands behind her back to keep from fidgeting with them, though it doesn't stop her from shifting her weight back and forth or turning a little from side to side. She has a lot of questions (since when is that new?), but so many of them feel too telling or carry too much meaning. The context is obvious to everyone in the room, but she can't help but be as careful as possible with picking around it, as if making sure that every step is secure and solid before she proceeds.

"How does that... actually happen? And if someone was already being instructed in different things, how is that different from being someone's... disciple?" She hesitates at the word disciple in what is already an extremely measured pace of what is usually rapid-fire questions. The feeling is strange on her tongue to say, even stranger to consider with how formal and official it sounds.

Why should she feel abandoned when Wei Wuxian is right here? Rooting for the questions cultivator and only a little bit wishing he had snacks. Now that this seems to be rapidly if painstakingly moving out of the realm of jokes, he's only the more invested. He should probably have foreseen this outcome to his too-ready humor, but at least Lan Zhan seems to understand now, why he had to argue and scold. Klaudia should get to do whatever societal rites she wants, on that they're agreed.

Unfortunately perhaps, agreement is most of what he is currently comfortable to contribute. His own experiences with discipleship are extensive but fraught. And what would pointing out the frequent adherence of cultivation sects to bloodlines accomplish here? He'd thought that worth refuting, once. Lan Zhan is right to allow for 'circumstances.' He keeps his interjection quiet and for once decorous, spellbound and cautious, but is drawn in nonetheless. "One difference is... an idea of permanence, choosing it. Even outside the great clans. My mother was taken in by an immortal rogue cultivator, but disciples who left her weren't permitted to return. I never met her."

Klaudia's questions are promising, both in expressing her interest and in proving that she can be trusted to consider the matter carefully. Not that he would have needed such proof, at this point in knowing one another. Though she is passionate and can be impulsive at times, she can be relied on to analyze a matter from all angles and ask all the questions she needs before coming to a conclusion. There's a warmth in knowing her to this degree, and reassurance, and not a little pride in being trusted to have good answers for her. It only strengthens his desire for this chance conversation.

Reassuring as well is Wei Ying's willingness to contribute, who now seems to agree this is worth more consideration than an idle joke. The mention of his mother is unexpected enough to receive a brief glance under hooded eyes, knowing the significance this connection once held to him, and perhaps still does. He nods in affirmation of Wei Ying's example before taking up the explanation.

"Still he can be considered part of Baoshan Sanren's tradition. A disciple is instructed not only in cultivational methods, but receives all knowledge and skills, traditions and principles. To preserve, represent, and pass on." But lest she think this a one-sided responsibility, he elaborates further, words chosen with equal care and offering his earnest gaze if she wants it.

"A master vows to share all they have, to act always for a disciple's advancement, to never leave them to stand alone."

The mention of a mother has Klaudia glancing at Wei Wuxian briefly, blinking owlishly like he'd just materialized a full human being out from under that sofa. Logically it made sense that he had a mother, but that had never seemed like anything of importance. A footnote at best. Was born, see Appendix E for more details, and she just simply hadn't. It takes her a moment to re-calibrate, to mentally set aside those questions into a different pile. It would be too easy to deviate into asking about this woman and her discipleship, to swap out one awkward conversation for one less immediately personal (to her)... but she doesn't want to avoid this conversation. Not yet.

His mention of permanence deserves some thought, though. Maybe more than a little... Most of her life has been spent detached from any sense of connection. People that weren't hers. A home where she didn't belong. A ghost haunting her own life, just trying to find something that felt real. The only thing that had felt permanent was the feeling of being stuck. Trapped and alone. The idea of choosing something for herself is appealing, but not novel. She chose to leave, however belated that decision was. She chose to join a crew, and that was one of the best choices she'd ever made.

But the idea of being chosen, that there's just as much consideration on the other end... How does she hold onto a feeling like that, when it's too big to fit inside her chest? How does someone look at her and find something worthwhile, something worth holding onto? What benefit did she have? What credit did she give? Her gaze shifts back to Lan Wangji as he continues where Wei Wuxian left off, fixing him with the wordless and reverent attention that she manages for the things closest to her heart. She even manages to hold that earnest gaze for a few seconds before her own gaze darts back to the floor, self-conscious and needing a moment to think.

It's a lot, in so many ways. So much more pressure than the joke that originally led them here, but so much more meaning too. It wasn't as if either of them hadn't always been there to help her when she needed it, but they were her friends. There was no pledge to uphold there, except an unspoken one-- Was it wrong to want more? To solidify that friendship into a promise, an affirmation that was set into stone just as much as the rules that they teased each other about... Was it wrong for her to want someone to promise aloud that they would stand with her, that she wouldn't have to be alone?

And yet, she can't help the small voice, still lurking in the back of her thoughts and cautioning her against too much hope. "What if... the disciple can't do all of that? What if they're a bad representative? What happens then?"

There are answers to that question, but Wei Wuxian hesitates to give them faithfully. It varies from sect to sect, doesn't it? But how is he meant to look at Klaudia standing there so solemnly in white and go down lists of consequences that include discipline whips and names struck from registries? The logic had seemed so much more sound from the inside, but seems incomprehensible from the vantage point of knowing Klaudia.

"If they've gone to the trouble of joining in the first place, they probably want to do all that, and so will do it as best they can." He swallows, gathers himself to push on in his best lecture-giving voice. "And if they truly can't, because they don't want to, then they can defect, of course. For smaller missteps, a disciple might be assigned punishments, like copying rules. Which you already know about. But really it depends on the sect and its leader and traditions."

Klaudia is not wrong to want an answer to this as well, but like Wei Ying, Lan Wangji struggles to give one that is both true and right. How could this question even apply to Klaudia; if one adheres to the rule of choosing disciples with care, then the disciple will have all the potential they need to be successful. She has all she needs.

But both he and Wei Ying know, even those of extraordinary repute may one day fail the expectations placed upon them, and what consequences this has. Yet it seems impossible to imagine Klaudia deserving such punishment, and even more wrong to imagine being the one to assign it.

As always, Wei Ying manages a better explanation than he ever could, for all that he shouldn't have to speak on this at all. Lan Wangji's gaze lowers at the mention of defection; perhaps not looking at him serves to express gratitude better than acknowledging him in this moment. It's tempting to let Wei Ying's explanation stand on its own, being comprehensive enough. But he isn't the one being considered, however cautiously, as a mentor and master. He owes Klaudia his own words.

"Punishment befitting the transgression, if the disciple has chosen well." If the disciple had a choice at all, rather than being raised into the rules and relationships that would dictate the trajectory of their lives.

Will do it as best they can doesn't quite cover the scope of what Klaudia's worries have settled on. Even at her best, she's not certain that she can meet whatever expectations are set. What if there are rules that she doesn't know about? Or limitations to what she's willing to do? She already struggles with understanding what is just and unjust, where to draw the line between being funny but a little mean and being outright cruel, how her actions can impact others... Her moral vantage point is a murky gray that's slowly gaining form, and she can't help but anxiously wonder if all of this would be setting the bar too high for her to clear it.

Still, at the mention of defecting, she looks briefly appalled at the thought. Why would anyone... How could anyone give up and walk away from this? From them? Even the mention of lesser punishments barely moves the needle on her feelings there. She would write a thousand rules--no, a million rules, if it meant belonging somewhere and having people to belong to.

When Lan Wangji speaks, Klaudia turns a small look of confusion on him. If the disciple has chosen well...? It takes her a few moments to work through what he means. Obviously she wouldn't choose to transgress, and the punishment wouldn't be hers to choose either. So he means... the person. Him. Whoever she chooses to follow.

"I'm not worried about choosing well." She looks at the ground shyly, but there's surety in her tone. The trust that she has in him simply goes without saying. If he were to judge her transgressions, she knows he would be fair about it. That part is as true as the sun is warm and the grass is green, even if she's more unsure about how many times she'll put that judgment to the test.

She wants to ask if there's a limit. Would he get tired of having a disciple like her? Would it be too much work? Would he regret it? The questions sit perched on the tip of her tongue... but she doesn't voice them. She doesn't want to question his patience and kindness. She doesn't want a repeat of the misunderstanding from that night she got arrested. Just like he's always saying that Wei Wuxian should be believed, she should believe him too.

"...I'll give it some thought." She shifts her weight to her other foot, restless from standing in place. Her gaze flicks briefly to the sofa, like she wants to make the same tactical retreat that her ghost friend did. But another question bubbles up instead. "Are all of your... your disciples color-coded? Is that a requirement? Would there be other rules like that?"

Finally it feels like he can relax a bit, settle back more comfortably into his sofa like this drama may be moving out of its most riveting phase. A phase where he might be called upon (by exactly no one, but who's keeping track) to divulge information about his past, his parentage, his prior sect affiliation, to a phase that's less fraught in its entertainment potential even if he remains quietly fascinated by this turn of events. He's done his part, being so helpfully informative. Who looks to Wei Wuxian for a guide to disciple protocol anyway? Only someone in Klaudia's unique position ever would.

And in any case, he can hardly answer the question of color coding beyond a quiet snort of amusement, not any better than even Lan Zhan's sparse words could, certainly. Sure, he could say a lot of grandiose nonsense about pride in one's sect and visual belonging, but he finds he doesn't really want to. Certainly Wei Wuxian had never accepted any disciples of his own, not that any had even really tried to ask, which is a pretty funny parallel to Klaudia's inadvertent imitation here. The only thing he would make a point of saying is that sect colors make one very visible to any civilian with a cultivator-grade problem, but that's not exactly going to come up here. And Lan Zhan can field that too if he likes, since it's his hallmark anyway.

[Honestly, the Library has been one of the more familiar places that Nie Huaisang has gravitated to in his time here so far. It, at least, is fairly easy to relate to--he may not have been much of a bookworm during his studies, but he's always had an affection for reading books he was interested in.

As it is, he just so happens to be in the library at the same time as Klaudia, though fails to notice her presence, considering he has his head stuck in a book on different styles of calligraphy. That loud crash of books, however, is impossible to ignore, considering it nearly startles him out of his skin.

Blinking as he looks up from his book, Nie Huaisang is moving to the end of the bookshelf towards the sound of the crash and peering out around it to see what the fuss is, only to find Klaudia in the midst of half a pile of fallen books]

Ah, Klaudia-guniang! [he's moving forward, then] Are you alright?

[Much as she was hoping that no one had noticed the ruckus she made, it wasn't meant to be. Nie Huaisang heralds his approach with that formal address that she's come to recognize from him, and her expression turns from a wince to a wary frown. She didn't expect to run into him here. Wei Wuxian had said that he liked to play around much more than learn, so she expected to see him in the library just about as much as her ghostly friend: Precisely never.]

I'm fine. It's just books. [Well, "just" books in the sense that they're not going to kill her. At most, she'd suffer some crushed toes, but she managed to keep her feet out of the way of the heavy ones. She does still feel bad for knocking so many on the floor, though.]

[And so, as soon as she's finished sliding the rescued books onto the table, she crouches down to start picking up the dropped ones and inspecting them for damage.]

[Oh, well, in that case, Nie Huaisang will just invite himself to help her pick up the ones off of the floor] Ah, good. That's good. I'm glad you are uninjured. [he notices her inspecting the books and does so as well, more out of curiosity than anything. Immediately a theme becomes clear, and Nie Huaisang pauses for a moment as he reads the title of one of the books.]

"Celestial Charts Through the Ages." [he glances up at her, then.] Are you interested in stars, Klaudia-guniang?

[yes, alright, perhaps he's being a little overly friendly, coming in to help her like this without being invited, but...she's clearly friendly with both Wei Wuxian and Hanguang Jun, so it would naturally be in his best interest to get to know her himself. And also he's admittedly rather curious. Wei Wuxian is easy to get along with in the sense that he has an abundance of charm. As a person, one can't help but want to be friends with him. Hanguang Jun is very much the opposite.

Edited 2021-12-12 21:55 (UTC)

[His pleasantries are left uncommented on as Klaudia gathers up books at her feet. She doesn't have anything to say to the fact that she's uninjured (that she hasn't already said), and she expects Nie Huaisang to wander back to whatever he was doing a moment ago, so she doesn't even bother with another look in his direction at first.]

[When he stoops down to help, that draws her gaze back up. The assistance feels weird, given their original meeting and the fact that she has only made a bare-bones (or less) attempt to be nice to him in any of their previous conversations. Is he always this helpful? Is he just being polite, now that he's inquired about her wellbeing? Or is there something he wants? It's hard for her to tell, and the inquiry into her reading choices does nothing to alleviate that.]

...Yes, but this is for Simril. [She stands with the books she's gathered and hefts them onto the table. Afterwards, she dusts off her white vest and skirt, frowning at them a little as she does a quick inspection for dirt. How does anyone keep this stuff clean? A mystery, truly. She gives a quick shake of her head and refocuses on Nie Huaisang.]

We'll be in the fae lands for-- [What was the month?] ...December? I don't know if they'll have a library there, or if we'll have access to it as guests, so I'm looking them up now.

Ah. I see. [the explanation is...something, but still leaves him with a lot of questions. Namely--]

Who is Simril?

[Klaudia blinks owlishly at Nie Huaisang.]

...Simril is a What, not a Who. And what it is... is a solstice festival, I guess? From my plane.

[She could probably leave it at that, but he's clearly trying to strike up some kind of conversation. He'll probably just keep on asking until she explains it fully. So she might as well save herself some trouble.]

[There's a bit of awkwardness in her posture as her gaze drifts down to the books on the table. Just to give her hands something to do, she starts sorting them into piles: the ones that she's still looking through, and the ones she's done with.]

After the sun sets, people make these huge bonfires and stay awake all night while looking at the stars. There's music, and warm food and drink; and everyone tries to find the stars that belong to them or their ancestors--the ones that they were born under.

[there is a visible perking of Nie Huaisang's expression, clearly interested as she tells him about the festival.]

That sounds like a nice way to celebrate the winter solstice. Are the stares on your...ah...[what did she say? ....ah yes]...plane--that is, the stars that belonged to their ancestors--are they similar to a zodiac or are they individual stars that belong to people?

[Klaudia considers that for a moment, her lips pressing together in thought.]

Both? There's individual stars that people have claimed for themselves--ones that they think are particularly lucky or fortuitous for them or for their houses. But there's also general astrology that people are born under, like the Lantern, the Dagger, the Harp... That sort of thing.

Noelle had taken her time getting used to this new world- especially with all the snow. Just staring out at it made her think...and she couldn't help but shiver when she saw glimpses of her familiar's wings lost in a whirl of snow. In this light, they almost looked blue-

Thankfully, a faint crunching sound nearby caught her attention, and she caught sight of a figure nearby munching on a snowball.

...It took a moment to snap out of her daze. Yes, they definitely were eating the snow. Not an enemy- Someone not human, like her?

Perhaps it was because she was used to Susie's eating habits that she found some comfort in the sight, and found herself walking over before she even realised her feet were moving. Slowly, though. Plenty of time for Klaudia to sneak a snowball shot at the dazed deer before she reached her.

Klaudia doesn't notice immediately that someone is approaching her. Give her a moment to finish this bite--she shivers a little, but it's kinda fun to compress the snow into a little ice cube in her mouth. She's engrossed in that process when she does finally notice someone moving in her direction, though they look a little dazed and disoriented...

It would be helpful of her to snap them out of it, right? That's what a good, righteous person would do. She switches her snowball snack to her other hand and fishes a new snowball out of her pocket. That one gets lobbed at the deer girl's chest.

The snowball impacted, and the deer felt a sudden shock of cold! And damp! And she staggered a moment on her feet as she realised that this stranger had just tossed a snowball her way!

"E-eep...!" Well, that sure was a delayed reaction. Wait, had she been eating snow a moment ago. "You- you know, you're going to give yourself brain freeze, eating it like that..."

Still a little disorientated, but at least communicating. And not really doing a whole lot as the bits of snow fall off her jumper.

Huh. She thought the person would at least try to dodge or... something? Not just stand there and get hit. Maybe she really wasn't paying attention at all...

At least, that's what Klaudia is thinking up until she remarks about her eating snow. So she did see her? Weird. The tiefling girl puts a hand on her hips, tilting her head.

"So what if I do? I can handle it. It can't be that bad." Spoken like someone who has never had brain freeze in her life... because she hasn't. "Why are you acting so strangely? Are you lost?"

"You've never had it before, right? Gosh... I'm sorry, though, I was so deep in thought, I don't know what came over me."

A smile as she dusted herself down. She was fine, right?

"...But I am a little lost, yes. I was trying to find my way back to the inn."

The perks of being a tiefling: Being naturally less temperature sensitive. Klaudia shakes her head at the question--of course she's never had brainfreeze before. Does she look like someone who would be bothered by cold?

"Back to the inn, hmm... I could take you there." Could being the operative word. Klaudia gives the... deer girl a curious look up and down. She's never seen someone like her before. "...Am I getting paid for this courier service? Out of curiosity."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

December Catch-all

Closed Threads

A3; For Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji

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stop scratching the curtain noises

:<

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A1

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A2 (lemme know if I've read anything wrong)

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