catch-all | OPEN

[rootstalks]

Who: Jin Ling, Jin Zixuan, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, and HOUSEGUESTS (that's you!).
When: All times
Where: The Jin-Jiang classy house in the Haven
What: Catch-all for household events and visitors! Bolded sections are intentional prompts, but wildcard as you like!
Warnings: Probably some drama at some point. Also monster transformation body horror (harpy, turnskin, merrow). Definitely at least 2.5 discussions about murder. One really, really uncomfortable dinner party.

Entrance Hall

Now that the house’s new residents are more settled in, they’re ready to accept visitors. The first thing you will notice as you enter the door is the art hung on the wall: Intricately crafted wood carvings of the Jiang lotus and the Jin peony emblems, bookending a framed photograph of Jiang Yanli and her two brothers, only one of whom actually lives there, from the day of Wei Wuxian’s wedding the previous month.

There is room on the wall for more pictures to be hung, as now that Jin Zixuan has discovered the wonders of photography, he intends to immortalize all his loved ones in living color as often as possible. The Yunmeng Jiang clan is already honored, so the next step is to commission a father and son portrait to represent Lanling Jin.

In a small, round room off the entrance hall, memorial tablets have been set up for the Jiang parents, carved from a lacquered wood and set into a cabinet.

Courtyard

The spacious courtyard in the center of the house provides a perfect place for the cultivators in the house to continue their training. Sure, they don’t have golden cores anymore and are all turning into different kinds of monsters, but that is no excuse to allow their skills to deteriorate from lack of practice. Archery targets are set up along one wall, and there is plenty of space around the central fountain for sparring with swords or other weapons they may acquire. Of course, as the courtyard becomes repurposed into a training ground, the genteel furniture, ornate chairs and potted plants, get moved into storage in the basement to provide more room to move around. It may not give off the same level of elegance as other classy houses in the neighborhood, but for the cultivators? It begins to make this feel more like home.

Sometimes, and to her mild distress, Yanli is herded out into the courtyard and set in front of an archery target. There, she practises spells, mouth thin with nerves. It’s easier, as might be expected, when she’s accompanied by either a member of the household, or another witch. One target bears the scorch marks from her first and only attempt at evocation, but it’s clear she’s developing a preference for defensive spellcraft. With it being nearly impossible to convince any member of the household to shoot an arrow at her, there is now a small stack of little beanbags under one awning, in a wicker basket.

When she isn't required, or her master is working or training, Fairy the spiritual hound can be found lounging around the courtyard, keeping an eye on things, and barking.

Kitchen

The kitchen is walled with cabinets and shelves, the room airy enough that some storage is too high for Jiang Yanli to reach comfortably. Sometimes, when she feels brave, she plucks the ingredient or tool she wants with a polite gesture and a flick of magic. Mostly, she resorts to a short iron stepladder that doubles as a stool for casual visitors (or opportunistic scavengers).

It’s not what she’s used to, but working in the bakery is a crash course in the average Aefenglom kitchen, and it only takes a few days for her to arrange everything the way she likes it. The novelty of cooking in a kitchen of her own, rather than invading the space of the cooks, and apologising to servants as she got in their way (or, not apologising, because one shouldn’t, but smiling in a way that allowed it to go unsaid)... it’s heady. She prepares too much, spends her wages on interesting ingredients; one shelf at shoulder height fills with scraps of paper and borrowed books. If she finds herself looking over her shoulder before she carries a pile of bowls into the scullery… well, at least everyone is too polite to mention it.

And that much food means she has an easy excuse to do what she does best: feed her loved ones. Either by arranging a family meal, refamiliarising herself with their tastes and spending an enjoyable evening offering this and that into their bowls, basking in conversation, or by inviting a friend home, and spending an evening in conversations about other worlds, about magic, about the workings of the city and the developments of the mirrorbound.

'Music Room’

The upstairs loft is a large studio room with tall windows along the front wall to let lots of light into the space. Where normally one might expect to see a grand piano or other instruments (the space was obviously intended to be a music salon), there is instead a haphazard mess of materials, mostly branches and straw that have been pulled in from trees outside, mixed with some pillows and thick blankets. For a long time, it just looks like a mess, like whoever has gathered these mismatched items has a hoarding problem. But slowly, surely, it begins to take shape into a massive nest that takes up a good third of the room. Little by little, more pieces get added to the nest. More wood to expand the walls-- including several chairs stolen from the dining room-- more soft things to line the interior. As far as Jin Zixuan is concerned, it is a very respectable collection, not a nest, and the more refined he can make it look, the less embarrassed he is by his compulsion to build it.

(All the other members of the household know that it is a nest and call it such behind Jin Zixuan’s back, but to allow him to save face they refrain from mentioning that particular word in front of him.)

Bedrooms

Generally the bedrooms, all in the central floor of the house, are architecturally similar and decorated much alike, but each has begun to accumulate the detritus of their lives. Souvenirs, gifts, laundry, half-finished projects and belongings from home now set on the walls or on stands to be secured. And, occasionally, other things.

In Jin Ling’s room, the general paraphernalia of a teenager, along with a large dog bed, usually covered in kittens and their canine general.

In Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli’s room, on the day of the full moon, they awake to a truly alarming amount of feathers. But generally, their room is impeccable, a mix of pale woods, brass and soft furnishings - especially since they’ve started to spend time in the nest instead.

In Jiang Cheng’s room, it is for the most part neat and everything in its place, with most decor items either being purple or light green in color. The bed is usually occupied by a calico kitten with the ability to teleport.

Basement

The basement of the home comes equipped with a wine cellar, a dusty bottle or two of cabernet left over from the house’s previous occupants. However, the family now inhabiting the residence prefers rice wine or other grain based alcohols over wine made from grapes or other fruit. So as time goes on, the shelves of the wine cellar accumulate ceramic jugs of báijiǔ and other more familiar liquors. Until such time as they need to break out a bottle or five.

Comments

[fairyherder]

[ that voice... that's familiar and something he's come to connect to comfort, so when Yanli speaks, he tries his best to relax, let his hackles lower, and he stares at Fairy, who's dropped down a little ways away, staring back at him from between her paws on the floor.

he goes to reply, maybe shuffle forward a little, but finds his voice just comes out in a low whine and that is frustrating, because he can't control it. so he snaps his jaw shut and just slowly edges forward, his whole body lowered against the floor in his strange apprehension. this is someone he knows, so why is he still so jittery?

what emerges from under the bed is a black scraggle of a half grown dog, more a puppy, really, ears laid back. where Fairy is fluffy and really cute, Jin Ling's form is more wolfish, clearly designed to look intimidating and eerie, almost. ]

[rootstalks]

[ she pauses on an inhale as the wolf that must be her son creeps out from the bed. he did what she asked, and her questions are answered by his appearance and his frustrated noise, which is for the best, given that in combination they render her momentarily speechless.

the instructors had mentioned the aggressive changes for turnskins, but she hasn't considered until now just what that would look like.

(she's glad a-xian isn't likely to visit today)

still, she reaches out. ]

Here, does it hurt?

[fairyherder]

[ it did hurt. still hurts with the itching underneath his skin, the way his stomach is turning in on itself with anxiety. he almost flinches back as his mother reaches out, but closes his eyes and forces himself to stay still, ears laid back and trying to focus and center himself a bit.

he tries to reply but all he does is whine again and he resigns himself to his inability to speak for now. ]

[rootstalks]

[ without the deeper link of a bond, all she can do is place her hand gently against his head and push some of her magic through the contact. It disperses gently, like morning mist, almost like spiritual energy without being as familiar.

she chants under her breath for a moment, keeping the contact; a minor enchantment to relax and soothe the body under stress. it's little spells like this that she takes to best, ones that she used to wish she could manage at home. ]

Would you like to come and sit with your father and I? Or your uncle?

[fairyherder]

[ it seems to do well with relaxing him at least a little but, as he sags towards the floor, and eventually nudges his head in more under her hand.

at her inquiry he seems hesitant at first, but then crawls out a little further to tuck his face against the side of her legs, hiding. ]

[rootstalks]

[ good enough for her. she kneels there a few minutes longer, just smoothing down the fur on the sides of his neck and shoulders, then manages to scoop him into her arms with the long practise of someone with two active little brothers who thought her arms were the safest place in the world. once he's settled against her, she stands shakily and heads back to her room. ]

[fairyherder]

[ he relaxes enough to go a little boneless, feeling somewhat safe for the moment at least.

he doesn't even startle as he's picked up, just shifts enough to tuck himself against his mother's neck. ]