Open! (will match format)

[turmoiling]

Who: Jin Guangyao and YOU!
When: Throughout Juril
Where: Aefenglom and Wilde
What: Quests, Eclipse, and other hangouts around the city
Warnings: Animal death in Gathering Samples thread, others will be noted if them come up.


Basking Snek

The weather is perfect for Jin Guangyao in his naga form - humid and warm. So beyond his usual spot on the patio at Diplomatea, it's possible to find him in a park, or any other nice sunny spot, just soaking it in. Recent events have been... tiring, so even though the sun's been up for a while now this morning, but Jin Guangyao is still just barely awake, perhaps even napping off and on, upper body resting on his snake coils, with his lidless golden snake eyes still open and staring.

It was little effort to have a weiqi board made and some appropriate white and black stones found, so it is sitting beside him, an open invitation to enjoy a strategic board game. Just... give him a moment to wake back up first.

Or, if a little encouragement is needed, perhaps he's still aware and greets you with a pleasant smile instead, although you might have to pardon him not getting up in a hurry. "Please, feel free to join me," he invites. "Would you care for a game?"



Gathering Samples Quest [but actually testing venom in a civilized manner]

Jin Guangyao doesn't leave the city too often - especially now, when the city is so pleasantly warm and humid, and the Wilde is so cold. But the excuse of leaving to help out a fellow Mirrorbound, beyond the Outer City, is an excellent reason to wander a bit further than he might otherwise. Collecting plants is an innocuous enough task, and he stays well away from patches of Cwyld infection, loathe to touch his unprotected snake body to any ground that might be tainted. No, Jin Guangyao is only looking for manageable trouble, sword out and gleaming, not just from the runes etched along it, but also from the thin sheen of oily fluid down the length of the blade.

What might draw one's attention is some sort of horrible shriek echoing through the forest. Jin Guangyao's golden robes are hardly camouflage, and so the source of the sound is easy to find - it's not him that made the noise, though. The source appears to be a Cwyld-infected stag, its head blackened by the magical infection and twisted into some kind of horrible thing. It has fallen to the ground but is still alive, with a single small cut across one leg that's bleeding furiously in infected black and red. Jin Guangyao keeps his distance from the twisted wildlife, sword still out, but with no intention of coming in to dispatch the creature, only watching with a golden slit-eyed stare.



Night Hunt in the City [Night of the eclipse and lowered inhibitions]

Normally well-kept, neat and perfectly-groomed, Jin Guangyao looks considerably more dishevelled tonight as he slithers slowly down the city streets in the wee hours before the sun rises. His hat is absent, along with his sword, and his hair is mussed. The outer robe he usually wears is missing entirely too, and the whole ensemble unbelted as if thrown on in the greatest of hurries. The lack of belt is probably why he just can't seem to get the collar to lie properly, trying to adjust it as he slides smoothly along the cobblestones.

As much as Jin Guangyao appreciates Lan Xichen's affection, there really are a few other things he'd like to do tonight before he's completely exhausted -- even that restlessness and energy from the full moons only goes so far. His head is lifted a little, and at times his black forked tongue flickers, on the trail of something or someone interesting.



Jin Guangyao's Warm Rock Collection Begins

Speaking of warm weather, Jin Guangyao hasn't consciously realized yet that a new habit is upon him. A stray cobblestone from the street that's fallen out of place is warm from the sun, and just lying there in the street. Even though he already had an armful of ledgers, Jin Guangyao stops to pick it up and just carries it with him as he slithers off without even thinking about it. How much do you care about nagas creating potholes?




[Feel free to hit me up at nanomachinesson for plotting or other prompt requessssssts!]

Comments

For Jiang Yanli -- Blink and Miss 'Em quest

[turmoiling]

[Volunteering to help here and there looks good for both the Mirrorbound and himself, and Jin Guangyao doesn't mind animals as long as they're not in the way of more important matters. Trying to corral a bunch of teleporting little beasts seems like a hopeless task, so he's settled for luring them to him; even as he stretches his long snake body up against a tall shelf to pick a little calico kitten off the top shelf, the tip of his tail waggles in little back and forth movements; several sets of kitten eyes are fixed on it flicking back and forth.

Hearing another volunteer come in, he calls pleasantly before he turns around:]

Did you bring some more toys? These little fellows certainly are rambunctious.

[rootstalks]

[With an armful of small, soft toys tipped with bells and tassels, the little cats are blinking in and out of her feet, trying to climb her skirts with needle-sharp claws. She doesn't trip, but it's a close thing. Keeping her feet under her is distracting enough that she doesn't notice who exactly the naga volunteer is until she's already in the room, in fact; his upper body was too high up for her to catch with her gaze fixed on the kittens.]

There were some left, but they said the kittens have hidden most-- oh!

[....... Hello, brother-in-law.]

[turmoiling]

[It's a bit of an odd picture, to see him slip down to a normal height, kitten in his arms and batting at one of ties for his hat. There's a flicker of hesitation, there only if one is looking for it, before he greets her with a small smile. If she's been told much of anything by now, well, there's no way he can do much about that -- or at least much more than he's done already, to tell both her and Zixuan that he's leaving those things in the past.]

Ah, I wondered when I might see some familiar faces once again. What a pleasure it is indeed. I assume you must be settled already then, to offer your own generous help to these people?

[One of the watching kittens finally pounces and grabs into his tail with wee little teeth and claws. But thick scales and skin really make it hardly more than a firm touch, and he keeps wiggling it ever so slightly to keep the critter engaged.]

[rootstalks]

[She's looking for it, but that's not particular to him. Still, she can't quite bring herself to smile back. Fortunately, there's still a kitten doing its level best to climb her, and she can look down to untangle it, and keep her expression and tone light.]

With so much help, we were settled before we knew it. [It's easier to watch the kitten currently attempting to maul his tail. She loosens her grip on her own charge, and in a blink it's joined the others in their hunt.

Well, she might remain unsure about him, but she can at least rescue his tail. She kneels easily, and starts pairing kittens to toys, luring them away from the tempting target.] Have you been busy?

[turmoiling]

I'm glad to hear it.

[Expression duly noted; he's not exactly happy about things either, when it comes to most people from his world. But what other choice does he have than to tolerate it, the way things are right now?]

There are always many things to be done, between work and Council duties. [And time spent with Xichen, but that certainly isn't going to be mentioned.] But I've never minded taking some time out of my schedule to help the citizens here. I feel fortunate that I arrived after the Mirrorbound had become more well known and trusted here -- and people are very kind here overall, don't you think?

[The kitten gets tired of patting around that string and poofs right out of his arms the moment he isn't looking. Letting out a soft sigh, he glances around the room, looking for where it might have gone off to.]

[rootstalks]

[Not having the opportunity to look around now she's close enough to the ground to count as a Lap, she just holds up one of the unclaimed toys for him to use. Her knees are now a staging ground for a second attack on Jin Guangyao, so she might as well equip him for it.]

Kind, yes. And welcoming. [It makes a nice change; she was almost dizzy with it for a while, like she was back in the tents of the campaigns. The feeling of understanding beyond ranks and borders. Her smile returns, a natural consequence of a pleasant enough conversation and fond recollections.] I understand a little of what you said, about being able to start anew.

[turmoiling]

[He takes it, a few bits of feather on a string, and tries luring one of the other fuzzballs into a leap and mad dash across the floor after the arcing plaything. His tail is hardly safe from kitten pounces, but he'll survive. It's another good little distraction.]

Do you?

[Is his very mild reply, questioning. With no crimes to have held against her, and no scorn and contempt from others watching her every move? Or simply acceptance of his own words, in light of whatever she'd been told by now.]

[rootstalks]

[Scorn and contempt come in different shades; his low birth combined with his prodigious talents made him a target. Her high birth and connections along with her mediocrity caused their own problems. But she doesn't care to compare.

In good faith, she nods.]

To live beyond the reach of the cultivation world... I hadn't imagined it.

[turmoiling]

I'm not certain I could say that entirely.

[He replies with the same even tone, perhaps a mild resignation. Those familiar faces including some not insignificant grudges against him. Even if not the same degree of pressure from all sides, it was felt especially keenly from some specific directions.]

After all, there are a surprising number of familiar faces here as well.

[rootstalks]

I find that... [ She hesitates, partly to get her thoughts together, and partly because two kittens have just fallen into a clumsy, squalling fight that involves as much flash-stepping as a fight between two immortal swordmasters. She watches them for a good few seconds, smiling helplessly, before she shakes her head, and gives him an apologetic look for the interruption.]

-- That is, I suppose I prefer to deal with individuals, rather than sects. Ah, for example, I never had the chance to meet Zewu-jun outside of gatherings, and now we're working at a bakery together...

[turmoiling]

Oh? [Jin Guangyao seems momentarily surprised, stopping mid-dangle of feathery toy midair. It's only momentary though, and his response is blandly polite, with so many conversational minefields in the discussion of former sects and the past.] Well, he has taken up a variety of new interests of late.

I take it my brother and your son are settling in well by now too? I've hardly spoken to either since their arrival.