middaeg | Jiang Cheng Catch-All

Jiang Cheng Catch-All

Who: Jiang Cheng and You!
When: Throughout March
Where: Aefenglom various
What: Wandering, recovering, maybe quests
Warnings: Some kidnapping aftermath

Home and Nearby - Recovery
Jiang Cheng was getting rather bored with all of this, being stuck like this. A forced recovery since he had never been intending to get Cwyld. It had been entirely the cult's idea that he needed to. Of course, now he had to deal with it and it was taking longer than he had expected to recover.

To be fair though, he had been a cultivator back home and had never really been sick that he could recall. So maybe it wasn't actually taking that long, but he wasn't used to the fact that someone was telling him that he had be taking it easy. That was not something that he liked to hear... or do.

At least he had been told that it wasn't a bad case, meaning that he could go home and if he was cautious, he wouldn't spread it. Which was good with him. He didn't want to give it to Nami and he didn't want to have to stay somewhere not his house.

But it was boredom that had him out of the house and lingering by one of the gates of the garden so that he could see out, curious to what the rest of the world was doing. One arm, uncharacteristically for anyone who knew him, was covered with a glove.

Out in the City - Shopping
Finally! He was given the okay and he could leave his house again without extra precautions. As such he was more than willing to dress to the nines and head out into the city again. He wasn't sure if he was really looking for anything. It was mainly the fact that he had been allowed to go anywhere for quite some time.

It was nice, but he found himself feeling far more paranoid than he had felt in quite a long time. He had brought his sword with him as this was something that a gentleman of his world did, but he was gripping the sheath far tighter than he needed to. His other hand was almost an itch trigger, as though he'd be ready to draw his sword at any moment.

Out in the City - Swimming
The call of the water was too great to ignore it for long. He had been told to ignore it for the most part in order to recover, but now that he didn't have to, he headed to the pier dressed in the robes that Nami had given him that dried faster than average cloth. He appreciated that far more than anyone could really know.

When he reached the pier, he stopped, staring out over the water and enjoying the smell of the air. It was like an old friend that was calling to him. An old friend that he needed to see right now.

[ooc: If you have any quests you want to do with Jiang Cheng, let me know. I'm happy to start a prompt for quests]

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Close by, he isn't the only cultivator out for a stroll. Sitting on the pier of the wooden dock, having a picnic with food in his basket and a long staff for a walking stick, there's a man wearing all white robes with long billowing sleeves. Jiang Cheng may not know him, but his dress and style is too similar from his world.

Except the man is blind with a blindfold around his eyes. Still, he would not be able to greet him properly because he cannot see anyone, but he is enjoy the sound of the water and the waves. He would greet if spoken to.

He looked familiar at least. The robes told him that he was someone from a world similar to his if nothing else. Deciding that jumping in the water could wait a few minutes, he headed along the pier to where the other sitting.

"You have good taste in places to have a picnic."

Not as sarcastic as it might seem. Being a merrow, he rather enjoyed the water now.

He perks up his head, listening to the sound of his voice. Xingchen is accustomed in speaking to strangers and doesn't mind a chat.

"Hello. I was guided here. I was a traveler back home, but never before I visited the ocean." He can't see it, but he can feel it in the air and the sound of the waves and the water.

"We're at the beach, correct? Or is it the harbor? If I have a fishing rod, I would surely fish here too." He grins with an upbeat.

"More of a harbor," Jiang Cheng remarked. "Though if you had a boat, you'd eventually get out into the ocean. So, close enough."

He looked out over the water before back at the other. "Guided? In what way?"

"That would be nice, isn't it? To ride in a boat with someone and row it out there to the ocean. I remember seeing it a few times before I..." He paused, feeling an ebb of pain of his memory. "I lost my sight."

He smiles softly, "Oh no, I meant the townspeople and fisherman of this city. They lead me here when I was lost and when I hear the ocean, they recommend that I sit here and meditate on this dock. To help clear my thoughts."

A pause, a beat. "I'm Xiao Xingchen by courtesy name. Nice to meet you."

[Continued from here.]

Wen Ning is still a bit nervous when he knocks on the door of the address Jiang Cheng had given him. It's not because he's afraid of talking to the man in general (no, he considers them on equal terms) but because the situation itself has him on edge. Jiang Cheng is being nearly friendly by his standards. He would hate to ruin this by saying the wrong thing.

What if he doesn't like that he was talking with Nami? Nothing had happened, but they were bonded after all. He could be acting more subdued only to threaten the former puppet once they were in the privacy of his home. It isn't likely, he knows. He'll be concerned all the same.

He has a potted plant under each arm, which might also make for an awkward greeting. They could be necessary, however, for what he needs to do.

"I see. Well, there are a few here who would likely take you if you wanted to experience it again." Not that he would be able to see it, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it still.

Ah, so literally guided.

But the name definitely told him a lot, including that he had already met him.

"Ah, daozhang." And he would bow to him even if he couldn't see it. "Forgive me for not recognizing you. We have met before. Jiang Wanyin."

Jiang Cheng had been pretty much staying home since his initial treatment for cwyld. It wasn't too bad so he could... as long as he didn't leave and infect others and did what he was supposed to treat his condition. Not that he enjoyed basically be stuck at home.

But at the knock at the door, he came to answer. For once, he didn't look entirely put together in his full sect robes and he had a glove covering his hand to limit transmission as much as possible through contact... and also remind him to be careful about it.

"I don't know that I've ever been greeted with two potted plants before," he remarked, but he moved aside for Wen Ning to come in.

Literally by holding hands and using his magic in his enchanted staff. "I would like that, but I'm afraid I can't swim." And dying isn't something he's interested in. "So sitting here on the dock and on the beach will do."

That's proof enough they came from the same world. "I think we did. Long ago. You're one of the Sect Leaders. It's nice to meet you." He bows back.

"May I ask you a question if it's not too much trouble for you? I'm looking for my nephew, Wei Wuxian. We met briefly in the marketplace and he took me to his house for a visit. I don't know what happened to him. Any information will help."

"Hmm... I suppose that I can understand that. I had the benefit of being able to swim before and now it is even easier."

He nodded his head once even though the other still couldn't see him. "Yes. It has been a while. It is nice to meet you as well."

At the question, he was quiet for a moment before answering. "It seems that he has gone back through the mirror according to someone else here. Both him and Hanguang-Jun."

"They're weeds," Wen Ning explains casually as if this makes his arrival with them perfectly logical. He does his best to bow in greeting with his arms full, then he carefully steps around the other man to come inside.

"Sorry... I know it's a little unseemly. The life energy required for healing has to come from somewhere a-and... if you were infected it's best if there are no direct transfers between us." Otherwise the witch would give his own gladly. It would only be a temporary setback.

"If there's a table o-or somewhere I can set them..." He pauses, not wanting to seem like he's ignoring any other formalities. "It's good to see you, Sect Leader jiang."

"You're able to swim? That's nice. I'm a witch, so I wasn't able to do much."

He was quiet for a few moments, but hearing that. "Ah." He felt sad, very sad. He won't be able to go back, this understands. "If they went back through the mirror, do you think they had gone home?"

"I see." He moved out of the way as Wen Ning came in. He knew that he shouldn't touch others right now. At least they had determined he probably couldn't share it by breathing.

"It's fine. I know that I'm not supposed to have contact with others at the moment. It was one of the things they made sure I understood." Not that he usually went around hugging people or anything, but still.

"There," he gestured to a table as he was closing the door. "Li Mei, you need to move." This he said the calico cat sprawled on the table. The cat looked up, meowed and then teleported into thin air, reappearing on a nearby chair.

"Thank you for coming."

"I was able to back home. Yunmeng Jiang teaches their disciples to swim. I am merrow so I am able to swim far better here."

He glanced back at the water for a few long moments then said. "That is what they say. That they return home."

With a sad sigh, "Ah. I'm glad. I hope he goes home safely." As for him, he felt a deep sense of regret.

"Mm, I heard the Jiang sect are famous for teaching their disciples how to swim. A merrow, you say? If I'm correct in my studies, you're a mermaid."

Shifting the subject, "I'm curious. What is it like? The transformation? Did you get to swim underwater?"

"Hmm... I hope that he does as well."

The shift to talking about abilities was a more welcome conversation. He had been repairing his relationship with WuXian, but it was still awkward for him to discuss.

"Yes, I believe that is what others call it. The initial transformation took a few months. Now that I have, it only takes a few moments when I am in the water to change completely. I can breathe and swim underwater. The hardest part is changing back when done."

He heard stories of his nephew, and he wanted to know more about him, but he deeply regrets his second chance as an uncle. But he accepted it. He knows Wei Ying grows up just fine on his own.

He listens to the mechanics of how the monster transformation works. "I heard the transformation is based on the phases of this world's moon." With a nod, "Still, breathing and swimming underwater. It must a different world in the water."

Curious again, "Why it's hard to change back?" If he doesn't mind him asking.

It might have been a good idea to ask Jiang Cheng if he was still contagious before coming over. The appropriate measure will have to be taken to make sure nothing is truly passed between them. Wen Ning isn't going to be any good to anyone if he contracts the very thing he was meant to help someone with - especially since he still doesn't have a bond.

The head of a small rabbit pops out from the front of the former puppet's robes. It wriggles free and rolls out only to unfold small un-rabbit-like wings and flap its way up to Wen Ning's shoulder. It sits there anxiously as the man finishes getting the plants set up, its eyes trained on the teleporting cat the whole time.

"It's not a problem. I know we haven't gotten along in the past, but you're Master Wei's brother. Your well-being is important to me." And Wen Ning isn't a puppet here, just a witch. There's less reason to be concerned that he'll lose control. (Though exploding isn't out of the question.)

"Yes, the transformations are strongest based on the moon. Merrow can transform at any time though if they are exposed to water. The more water, the greater the change. That is also why it is hard to change back. I try to maintain some level of dignity that we have in our world and wet fabric makes the change back take longer."

He was doing it to himself, but oh well.

"It is a lot different underwater. I never realized it since the Lotus Pier's water is rather murky."

He listens as he describes the process. "The moon..." He once was able to see the moon once and one of his titles back home is the bright moon. "It seems the phases of the moon is linked to transformations. It doesn't affect me as a witch though."

Mildly, "Looks like it takes time for you to adapt. Do you have a bond with a witch to help you from going feral?"

She's spent as much time in the house as she's been able to without too much risk — splitting her time between magic classes, her own house and running the errands around town that Jiang Cheng has been unable to do during his confinement.

But it's been long enough, now, for him to go back to the hospital, for his infection to be checked. Nami waits for him to come back, anxious to hear the news, and so when she hears the gate open, she rushes to the garden quickly.

And upon seeing that it's indeed him, she asks, a little rushed,

"How did it go? What did they say?"

If it made him feel better, Jiang Cheng could certainly put on a mask. He had them around, quite prominent as a matter of fact. He had been told he wasn't contagious except through touch, but it made others feel better if he was masked.

Jiang Cheng watched as the rabbit-like creature poked out from Wen Ning's robes. Of course, there was a rabbit... and of course, it had wings. At least it really just went to Wen Ning's shoulder. Li Mei didn't move at least, but she did sit up and trilled at the creature, not sure what it was.

"Not for you," Jiang Cheng told her.

Fine then! Li Mei jumped down from the chair and wandered out of the room.

"Hmm..." Yes, it was true that they hadn't gotten along in the past. Very much so. "Which is more impressive for why you came."

"That is a benefit," Jiang Cheng said. "I cannot avoid being in my merrow form when the pull is the strongest."

He nodded his head. "I do have a bond. A witch who arrived here at the same time as me." A brief pause. "Do you have one?"

Jiang Cheng had been rather happy to be able to go back to the hospital to get his infection checked. It had been too long in his opinion, but one day would have been too long to him. Once he had been given the all-clear, he had, of course, headed straight home as he needed to tell Nami.

Also, he wanted to go out and see the world again now that he was allowed to, but there were priorities.

He couldn't help a smile as she rushed out into the garden to meet him.

"They said it is cleared up now. I no longer have it."

At that, he swallows nervously. "Ah, no, I do not. It's been a month since my arrival and I've been unbonded." He knows the fate of going unbonded for a few months.

"I had been looking and offering. I don't mind if it's temporary or business. Doesn't help I'm blind or as a witch, I'm inexperienced."

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Jiang Cheng Catch-All

The pier

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home

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wildcard;

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the wildest

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