[It's difficult to say that Jin Guangyao feels good exactly. There have certainly been trials and challenges in his life recently. But the twin flower blood moons cast their own spell on any monster; bathing earlier in the evening to free himself of any unsightly bits of shed skin, Jin Guangyao is fully scaled under the moons' light, finally free of even the lingering marks of vengeance from some months ago. Normally the magical shimmer hardening his scales to metal was the gleam of gold and bronze, but on this occasion, it seems an almost rose-gold sheen to match the moons.
The urges of the full moons are not unfamiliar either, but difficult to deal with properly. The stress of the previous month's events makes thoughts of hunting in the Wilde less appealing, and he is easily drawn into the celebratory atmosphere of the city tonight. Drink is flowing freely by this point in the night, and it's quite difficult to be properly restrained with all the scents in the air.
Cup in hand, his tongue flicks briefly. Perhaps tracking down a familiar face... or smell... will be enough to assuage the urges. Finding a bottle of wine and a second cup first, he weaves his way sinuously through the crowd, pausing only briefly to make idle chitchat or have a small sensible laugh with another random passerby. But the hunt is still on -- by the time he finds you, the gleam in his eyes is almost as bright as his shimmering scales.]
How wonderful to see a familiar face. Are you enjoying the festivities?
[He asks with a smile -- urges only mildly satisfied by a successful 'hunt'.]
[To say that Jaskier is handling the revelation that he is now, against his will, a monster, is certainly a statement one could make. He's handling it fine. Fine in the way he's been consistently trying to hide it from both his Bonded and Ciri (Geralt did not let him attempt to do so for long), that he has consistently had nightmares confirming, in his head, that his Cwyld infection must have certainly sucked all the magic out of him and -- and turned him into this. He's handling the fact that he's only just gotten better at using magic and it's now gone, that his last year of devoted education no longer is relevant. That he is, like Geralt, under the total mercy of the moon.
Yes, he's handling it.
Don't fight your instincts. Lesson one of mosterology. It's not that he has anything against monsters -- he's certainly slept with his fair share of them in his stay in Aefenglom -- but it's. Something else. To be made one. To wake up as oneout of nowhere after all this time.
Fuck it. Fuck it indeed, a very reasonable and easy mindframe to fall into when the full moons descend. Though his body has been wracked with anxiety, knowing it's coming, the change washes over him. It hurts. It isn't fun. It's --
Shit. A lot. He passes a mirror without looking at himself, and Geralt, after his turning outside, follows him. Geralt all but made it very clear he wasn't going out alone, and despite Jaskier's (very intense) reservations, the pull to go out, to view the moons, to be seen. Gods. It's overwhelming.
And a party! How can one such as him ignore any celebration? He was practically born for them. How could the great Jaskier forgo a party?
He's thrilled even moreso to see there's others like him. With his skin a pale pallor of blue, three uneven horns twisting back from his forehead. A long, scaled tail drags behind him, a tuft of hair at the end. (He has no idea what to do with it, or even how to register in his mind that he has another limb, so he simply doesn't.) There's little wings stuck to his back, scaled with hooked spikes along the ridges, and because of them he's lost his shirt somewhere. Oops. The bright blue of his eyes, no longer saddled with an iris or pupil, clearly show no care for having lost it.
He gives Geralt, in full wolf form, a melon from the dryad gardens to occupy him so he doesn't wound Jaskier's ability to mingle with the new locals. And mingle he does. The way he blends in with them is encouraging. There's so many horns and tails between all of them, and Jaskier can't help but compare his bright blue crystallized horns against them. (So maybe he peeked in a mirror.) He begins to adore the blue scales that cover his arms and chest, witnessing how the Aeternae dance and smoke and drink effortlessly together. There's a sour, almost bitter smell on the air, and the more he inhales it, it's as if... the less those things matter.
He knows, distantly, he was anxious about this. That he was terrified, actually. But now he's here, under the moon, the warm air on his naked skin, and there's beauty in every face here. He can't imagine what he was so worried about. All the Monsters he's known have been lovely, breathtaking creatures. He's hardly a bad memory among them.
That's no less true of the naga that draws his attention, and in the slight haze in his mind it takes a moment to recognize him. Is it that he's never seen him under the glory of a full moon, or simply because Jaskier can see quite well in the dark now?] Jin, my friend, is that you? [He laughs, showing his now sharp teeth, taking him in, and it's definitely the full moon that has him reach out and draw his hands, tipped in claws, along his scales.] Gods, look at you! A vision from the stars. [All that gold. He's never seen so much at once.] I don't think I've had a finer night in my life.
[Oh, yes. A hedonist so easily falls into an Aeternae's instincts.]
Though he isn't so fond of his transformation most of the time, it doesn't feel as bad when there are so many others about with even more exotic appearances under the full moons. Upon seeing Jaskier... hadn't the man been a 'witch' before? There was certainly enough familiar about his smell and features to be the same fellow, but it does generate a curious look, his own eyes tracking the warm touch to his own scales, one monster to another.
Jin Guangyao's hands are full, so he offers one of the cups to to his fellow monster with a sweet look. If there was any trace of a flush, it would certainly be difficult to see under the hard coating of scales. His own standards of propriety have been high, in part from years in a world before this one, and in part from relationships formed here. So that little touch feels like far more of a forward motion than Jaskier might have even intended.]
It is quite the celebration. [He says with a smile, fully prepared to pour a bit of wine for him. Surely a little light amusement, as long as it doesn't go too far, will help quell certain urges, and so he settles quite close.] But should I be asking my own confirmation? I had no idea such a change was possible, but it suits you well. How are you feeling?
[Delicately put, and it certainly isn't too disfiguring, as far as monstrous changes go. But his own tail was awkward, and he can't imagine having horns grow in such a manner.]
[Oops. He'd probably apologize if he knew, but under the full moon it's quite difficult to care about much at all except what next will distract him. Jin certainly is feet and feet and feet of glittering, pretty distractions, like he's covered in thousands of tiny little gemstones.
Huh. Jaskier has never held such appreciation for a snake before.]
Ah, thank you! [He gladly takes the wine with a big grin, the whipping tail behind him picking up unconsciously to swing back and forth, the tuft at the end already covered in a bit of dirt from the cobblestones.
A fair point. Right now, he probably is nearly as unrecognizable. For the best Jin did not ask him this days ago, when he was on the verge of a panic about it. Yet he slid easily into the Aeternae's hedonistic qualities easily (to escape from having to think of the transformation running through his body he can no longer control.)] Believe me, it took me by quite a surprise! This is my first, er... that is to say, my first full moon. And how strange it is. I hardly ever minded them before. I would simply not practice magic that night.
[And here his voice dips, because the loss of his magic, even if he is slightly drunk on moonlight and wine, is a sore reminder. He misses it. For a bard who has been human his whole life, he misses the magic he learned to wield.] I don't know how to feel. I prefer not to feel about it at all right now.
[It's difficult to say which thing prompts it more, instinct or sympathy, but Jin Guangyao, close as he is, finds it quite easy to reach out and gently touch the other man's hand in consolation. Perhaps linger for a moment on the warmth -- not so necessary as the weather has warmed from the earlier chills of first spring, but still pleasant.]
If you wish to talk about it, I might understand quite well... but it truly is a fine night for distractions. [He says kindly. Distractions... of drinking and trying to trick his own naga mind into play-hunting.... and other thoughts he is sorely trying to keep from his mind.]
I've heard the dryads have a fine garden outside the city, if visiting that might suit your mood?
[Though the conversation has barely gone on long, he finds the longer he is embedded in it, in any conversation, really, the harder it becomes to appear unbothered by it all. He isn't sure if his skin is more sensitive or he as a whole is, because Jin's touch makes his breath stop momentarily.
Even so gentle, it feels so sensual. And with pretty men, nagas or not, it has never been hard to want, or to imagine, much more.]
Yes. Yes, gardens. I love gardens. The dryads seem a very interesting people, don't they? [Jin would understand. And Geralt, too. These men who cannot control their bodies, their forms dictated by planetary spheres so far out of their reach they may as well be different dimensions. At least, he can say, he still has his legs, but Jin appears to have gotten along well without them, or learned to do so.
It helps put things in perspective. Even if Jaskier feels a petulant part of him insists his own transformation is quite different.
He offers his arm, should his friend want to take it (and also to feel more of those scales.) Now that their skin has connected, he finds he can't yet let go of the want of more.] Did it come so fast for you, too? The first time?
Perhaps not quite so quickly, about three or four full moons. But faster than most of the others I had spoken with.
[Lately, Jin Guangyao has been full of and struggling with many difficult emotions. How much of it is the call of the moons or the warmth of Jaskier's own skin is hard to say -- or how much of it is seeking a little friendly companionship after the loss of one Bond -- perhaps not as bad as it would have been had he not made the decision to Bond again just in case... but still an unpleasant severing that left him wanting.
He loops his arm discretely with Jaskier's, giving him a warm smile.]
It seems difficult to believe it has been a almost a year now, since the last of the changes.
[Ah, not only his smile is warm. His skin is, too, and now Jaskier finds that matters far more to him than it ever has before, when he can't even count the number of cold feet that have woken him in the middle of the night.
There is no need for discretion for an Aeternae: it's a fact he's going to earn quickly. Perhaps the way Jaskier draws his fingers up Jin's arm with his other hand are a bit more than simply friendly. His tail flicks at the end, eyes bright and blue.]
That is hard to believe. You've acclimated well, I can only assume, as far as the others I've met go. [Personally, Jaskier has no idea what he'd do without legs, but Jin has certainly made a go of it. And the way he moves is fluid as a -- well, as a snake, but not as if he's one who is missing limbs.] It's encouraging for myself, if you don't find that notion too selfish.
[Putting his hand lightly over Jaskier's fingers, catching them briefly, he smiles as he slithers alongside him. It's almost too pleasant, after the last few months of difficult struggles, to simply relax in the company. There's no past troubles to be wrestled with here, and with complimentary remarks from previous meetings in mind and the moons bright overhead.
Making light talk as they head out of the city, about music and monsters, and refilling their cups every so often as needed, Jin Guangyao pauses before they get to the garden proper. It sounds as though there's plenty of merriment there, plenty of eyes on him to help keep things from getting too out of hand.
Perhaps... despite complicated feelings, he doesn't want to avoid certain ways that things might get only a little out of hand. Though he's not unaware that it's half effect of the heavens upon his monstrous state, denying it too strongly can be dire. And Jaskier is quite pleasant, and warm, and despite his own monster features... well, Jin Guangyao is in no place to speak ill of the things that are forced upon them.]
It sounds quite lively but, we are having such a good time visiting, aren't we? Pardon me for suggesting a further change of plans, but would you rather go for a more private walk instead? There is a quite pleasant lake not that much further along.
[He suggests, eye gleaming with that same golden glimmer as his scales.]
[A full shiver goes through him, and as surely as Jin can feel it, Jaskier hardly feels a bit of embarrassment over it. The quiet shift of Jin's scales is oddly intimate, the sound reminding him of sheets moving over skin. Or perhaps his thoughts are already shifted in that direction. The longer they walk (and slither) together, the more they certainly linger on that. The quiet din of the dryads' gathering grows louder, and though it doesn't sound quite as raucous as the Aeternae, it feels as if it is awakening something in him.
It brings to mind the question if the Aeternae have some sort of social structure he'll need to learn. Wolves have packs. What if they do, too?
Jaskier turns his bright blue eyes on the naga, a sly smile lifting his lips.] You needn't ask for any pardon from me. I much prefer private company when the time calls for it, which it certainly does now. [With their bodies close, scales on skin and a sensitivity to the slightest brush, Jaskier can be easily swayed in any direction.] Show me your lake. Do you go there often? A bit of sunbathing, maybe?
Some swimming as well, in season. [He replies, returning the smile with one of his own.] It's a far cry from the busy river of the city... and it is important to look after one's scales. If they shed, that is.
[He adds, with a light touch to Jaskier's own blue ones. Blue really is a lovely color, he can only think, mind hazy with the moons' influence.
It isn't far to the lake, as Jin Guangyao said, past an old abandoned forge on the outskirts of the cleared land. It isn't too large, but the calm waters reflect the moons high in the sky, and the sounds of laughter and merriment have fallen well behind them as the evening wears on. Out of sight of anyone who might cast aspersions upon him, his arm slips from Jaskier's, to snug up side by side against the other man at the lake's edge and rest his hand lightly on his back. It would be so much warmer if neither of them were clothed -- the thought does more than wander though his mind, settling there and unwilling to be disturbed]
Quite beautiful, isn't it?
[He says, looking out across that clear reflection, then back at Jaskier with a soft glance.]
[He laughs, surprised. Not that scales aren't a, ah, interesting choice for conversation, but as Jin strokes his hand, it becomes very suddenly true: he has his own now to take care of, doesn't he?]
I suppose I must learn how to do so, then. And rather quickly.
[Ah, to have the ease of slowly becoming accustomed to being a Monster, instead of having two full moons thrust upon him. It is surely the work of the moons, though, that it's not terribly important right now. Jaskier can deal with the shock of it all later. He's enjoying the light of the moons now, for sure, and the way a touch feels when it slides over scales.
Jaskier has no complaints about their closeness as they go, and the lake, as they come upon it, is even more beautiful than he can take in at first, simply because he can take it in. Being an Aeternae means his eyes are no longer human, and he can see far in the dark the extent of the lake, and the reflection of the moonlight, and how the waters ease so gently right now.
Terribly romantic. Some people could certainly learn from his current company.
Jaskier's grin is devilish, his tail moving to fall over Jin's body, to feel more of those scales.] Utterly. Though I've far prettier things to look at. [A lake simply can't compete with gold.] It's still a warm night. What do you say to a swim right now?
[ Jin Guangyao finds Howl atop a stone wall, leaning back on a worn statute decorating the wall's corner post. The wall surrounds this neighborhood's open square, where the night's festivities are being hosted, and while the Wizard is sitting by himself, he holds a large goblet in one hand as he observes the people around him.
After sensing Jin coming, and feeling his mind slowly growing closer, he turns to smile at him just at exactly the same moment he arrives at his side. Howl looks as primped and groomed as he always does, but his eyes look tired, and as Jin can see, he isn't participating in the party. ]
I like what these Twin Flower Blood Moons bring out in Aefenglom. They've encouraged the lady-Monsters to show off some twins of another sort. [ He takes a sip of his drink and looks Jin Guangyao over. He's never seen him before during a full moon. ] You look interesting as well. How are you feeling?
Oh, quite well. [He smiles right back -- even if Howl's lewd little remark would be normally be a bit offputting, he can feel that tiredness.] The moons' influence is quite kind to some of us, at least.
[Jin Guangyao remarks, even if it isn't exactly true. Moon-hardened scales is a small boon, but the instinctual urges are unwelcome -- even if he has learned by now that they can't be fully denied without consequence.
After a brief consideration, he slides himself up the wall to join Howl, balanced loops of tail on either side. Even if his other Bond has soured, he can at least do his best to maintain this one.]
Certainly much better than during the difficulties below. I think none of us were quite of sound mind during that ordeal, were we?
[ Howl watches the Naga as he slithers atop the wall to lounge beside him, accepted an invitation that was assuredly open but had not yet been verbalized. Interesting, he thinks to himself, and leans forward to hang each leg down along either side of the wall and set his cup in front of him. ]
That goes without saying. And not just you and I - everyone.
[ Howl sighs and looks into the sky at the two pinkish moons, gently glowing above the revelry. They'd given him an intoxicating level of power two weeks ago when they were new, but now, it's only Jin's presence that's making him feel more energized. ]
...but, especially not me. [ he speaks softly, eyes still cast upward. ] I hope I haven't lost your confidence or trust so early in our arrangement.
I think it should be myself holding out that hope.
[Jin Guangyao says with a self-deprecating smile, eyes turned away for a moment before coming back to meet Howl's. He'd been quite discrete as far as physical touch goes since their Bonding -- with the exception of things like the dreadful incidents only eased by that closeness.
But the strength of the moons and the desire to replace that feeling lost with the waning of his former Bond brings him to shift a little closer, tail brushing up against Howl's leg in the motion, the touch not strictly necessary in the movement.]
But neither of us should be blamed for circumstances beyond our own control.
[It's almost as much a question as a statement or agreement.]
[ The brush of the thick tail against his leg commands Howl's attention away from the moons and back to his Bonded. It wasn't a casual, coincidental touch... there was something more behind it, Howl had felt it. Something that definitely hadn't been there when they were Underground together.
The wizard trains his eyes on Jin Guangyao and watches him silently for a moment, paying close attention to what he may be able to sense about his intentions through their Bond. They still hardly know each other, so it's difficult, but... ]
I couldn't agree more.
[ Slowly, he leans forward, picking his goblet back up by the stem as he does, and lays out his stomach - draping his upper body over a muscular portion of his tail as he does. Folding his arms under his head, he brings the cup to his mouth and finishes the drink in one long sip, keeping his eyes on the snake as he does. ]
[The full moons always induce an urge to hunt, to meet one primal urge or another. When he'd first arrived, Jin Guangyao thought that perhaps with a Bond, that animalistic sort of thing could be fully rejected. He'd learned better by now, tempering it instead with small concessions -- and as testament to how long he's been half snake, it doesn't seem an odd thing to just appreciate the warmth of the weight draped over part of his tail.]
I'm glad to hear you feel the same. [He replies softly, remaining a little more genteel in his own posture, if not so stiff as their first meeting. More welcoming, is surely the feeling passing between their Bond, even if no more overt gestures are made.] There are some in this city who are not as understanding.
[Even from the little he knows of Howl, there are some things that they would no doubt disagree on, if it came to be tested. But there's a sense of relief and gratitude there after those words, that no one has been wronged here, really. Whether or not Howl would feel the same if he knew more of Jin Guangyao's past is harder to say, but even that bit of forgiveness is something to appreciate and cling to.]
[ Using magic, Howl lowers his empty cup to the ground below them, not wanting to cause any racket by tossing it away or creating an annoyance by keeping it up here with them. Once it's gone, he sits up and scoots closer to Jin Guangyao, gently pushing the girth of his tail as he does. It's not a significant adjustment, but when he settles again, he's draped against him in a way that positions his face and torso much closer to the Naga's human half. From this close distance, Howl can appreciate the color of his eyes and count his individual eyelashes. ]
You're different tonight. Do you look forward to how the Sisters influence you, or is it bothersome?
[It's not bad, having a pleasant moment with a sympathetic acquaintance while the sounds of revelry reverberate down the city streets. Jin Guangyao had little thought more than that when he sought his Bonded out, to reaffirm their status and ensure that this Bond would be less troubled than his last.
But undeniably other thoughts cross his mind, especially when Howl is so close and so kindly forgiving of the difficulties on their journey before, an attractive point in the man's favor... and with the moons high, what are undeniably more complicated emotions around intimacy subdued though not entirely absent.]
I am sure the Monsters who have lived their lives as such find it easier. [He says softly, diplomatic in his reply. Though his scales might be as tough as metal, the muscle underneath is relaxed, pliable; hardly a perfect cushion, but not unpleasant.] The last few, I had gone hunting Shades in the forest, but I am sure I am not alone in feeling overtired of such dangers...
[Speaking of other matters doesn't assuage his urges much either, his voice trailing off when he catches Howl looking so closely, returning his gaze with his own unblinking slit-pupilled one, expression mild.
Howl had made his interests quite clear at the start. There were many reasons to refuse such advances, and though they weren't forgotten, they seemed rather more distant at this moment.]
[ While Howl may have had certain interests at the start, Jin Guangyao had made his own quite clear from the beginning as well. The Wizard had since then put aside those interests as a conspicuous compromise. But tonight... well. As he said: Jin seems different. ]
Hunting Shades - is that all?
[ With the two of them lounging so closely - if not for the positions of their arms, they could be described as embracing - his mind must be on topics similar to those on Howl's. He tilts his head, his smooth blond hair swaying slightly with the movement. ]
Whatever shame you may feel in connection with the experience of being a Monster... I, your Bonded, am here to support you, Jin Guangyao. Hardly am I one to judge, of all things.
[He replies, with a circumspect shift of the eyes. Much can be excused as behaviour between Bonded; anyone can understand such close contact. Well, most can understand... but he stifles that lingering resentment with practiced ease.
His own habit is to try to maintain an air of respectability. Carousing and such free expression the way half the city is carrying on tonight is something he can't bring himself to do, not when there are too many people out and about in such a public space. Even if his Bonded had said he wouldn't judge him, others might. Instead he sets his own hand lightly over Howl's. It's a small gesture, but meaningful despite that.]
It is very kind of you to say that. [He adds softly.] How is your magic tonight? It would be terribly remiss of me to not do my part in helping you out as much as I could.
[Despite the words, there's clearly far more than a sense of obligation at play, in the undercurrent of desire running through the Bond and light smile.]
[ The undercurrent of desire is as conspicuous as the bright glow of the two pink moons above them, and yet for some reason, Jin Guangyao keeps framing their meeting tonight in terms of everything but desire. Howl's magic, their Bond, Jin's assistance, who cares about all that? The only intervening factor, as far as Howl is concerned, is the Naga's previously expressed reservations towards a physical relationship. The wizard hasn't forgotten the solemn look on his face when bringing up his departed wife - or the discomfort he felt afterwards for flirting with him at all in hindsight. ]
"Remiss"? According to who? If you mean the Coven... banish them from your mind. I pay as little attention to their rules and requirements as I can, and I recommend you do the same.
[ He gives him a dispassionate, calculated smile, before relaxing against him completely. His torso and arms span across two sections of his tail as it drapes along the wall, with his head resting in what would be Jin Guangyao's lap, if he still had legs. The contact makes the signal between their Bond stronger than ever. ]
If you mean me... You already know that I don't expect you to do anything just for my sake. You're struggling tonight too, aren't you? You can say it.
[If he were not coated in a layer of fine golden scales under the moons' light, there might well be a light flush on Jin Guangyao's features, especially with Howl lying across him like so.
His fingers, almost absent-mindedly, brush a few strands of Howl's hair, noting how it's as bright as his own scales.]
Yes, [He admits lightly, running though the mental calculus of following the distortion of the truth about his past marriage versus the more complicated reality of what and who and why... and difficult to resist urges now.] These things are difficult, it's true. But even so... ah, well, would we not be more comfortable elsewhere? Surely there is somewhere with more comfortable pillows than scales. [He adds, a little self-deprecatingly.]
[ There it is, finally. "Yes." Howl closes his eyes and turns his head to nuzzle his smile into Jin Guangyao's palm. The overindulgent Witch is proud of his reserved Monster for finally admitting it aloud, but the mention of pillows and going elsewhere, well... that's more of a concession than he thought he'd be hearing tonight. Now he can't help but feel a little proud of himself, too, for managing to get what he'd wanted in the end anyway. And this way, it works out for them both, doesn't it? He has no problem letting Jin be in control of whenever they do this sort of thing, if ever. ]
Hm... [ He presses a kiss to Jin Guangyao's palm, still smiling to himself and keeping his eyes closed. ] Have you a... den of some kind? Someplace you'd normally go to keep warm and comfortable at night?
Only my simple home. [comes the gentle reply. Jin Guangyao seems half-hypnotized himself, running his hand down the side of Howl's face... before catching himself, attention diverted briefly with a shift of his eyes to the revellers about in the streets. Not that anyone seems to be paying them particular attention, but public displays of affection clearly have their limits.
Instead he opts to help ease Howl up off his coils (which is rapidly becoming a certain other kind of more pleasant discomfort) and shift in smooth motions of his serpentine half to allow them both to descend smoothly from the wall.]
Should I show you there?
Twin Flower Blood Moons (Part 2 the Stalkening, feat. "Linden")
Celebrations are well underway, but a couple social drinks is as far as Jin Guangyao is willing to go. When the Aeternae in the park begin shedding clothing... that's his cue to exit, before things get truly uncomfortable.
But still the urgings of the moon to hunt, for one thing or another, are unusually strong. Without even thinking about it particularly, he finds himself slipping through the streets with another familiar odour on his tongue rather than back homewards.
He's hardly an inconspicuous figure in clothing of cream and golden yellow, scales shimmering with magical intensity. All the same, Jin Guangyao's pace slows as he nears his destination, politely half-covering a tongue flick with a sleeve.
High-pitched, playful mewling is an indicator, just as much as the scent Jing Guangyao is following, that he is approaching someone in the deserted streets. One might think the sounds were coming from a kitten, aside from the fact that their decibel level suggests something much larger making them, as does the sloshing sound of most of the water in a fountain spilling out onto cobblestone.
Arms and legs pulled in close, L's sitting hunched on a park bench, observing his phylax's behavior. They're still new to each other, but he finds that as a piece chipped away from his own soul, the process is far more fluid than it might be if he was actually saddled with an orca whale the size of a Clydesdale. It helps that she can float alongside him as if swimming, as well as phase in and out of things when she wishes to. She can shrink to the size of a small stuffed animal, as well, but she seems disinclined to, almost as if her own bulk and the reactions of others to it amuses her. The fountain is just barely large enough to contain her, and so she lounges, playing with one of the streams of pouring water by lapping at it with her huge, flat tongue, revealing rows of extremely sharp teeth.
L cracks a relenting half-smile, and she bobs and chirps in reply, glad to crack through the armor of frosty melancholy he wears outwardly.
So far, he hasn't noticed Jin Guangyao. His phylax has, once again, busied herself with the fountain streams, this time plugging it with her tongue so that it increases the strength of the stream next to it, alternating, making a game of it.
"So, you like games, too..."
The words are just a touch slurred. This late in the evening, after much time spent near teeming and stressful crowds, one's far more likely to find an orca playing in a public fountain than "Linden Tailor," sober.
The noises were a curious thing enough to follow, but the actual source of them equally mystifying. Jin Guangyao pauses and watches for a long moment. Why did he even come here? There's nothing that can be done, even if a small part of him wishes he could slip up behind Linden and strike him dead. But even though his confidence in his own physical prowess is dramatically improved as a monster and with the moons' light hardening his scales to armor... that way lies his own doom. As does a more subtle approach.. even if there was a way to escape suspicion, how long would it be before everything unravelled again?
But he's still compelled to chase, in some way or other. Giving Linden plenty of time to react to his appearance, he slowly slithers closer, wobbling a little exaggeratedly and with a pleasant look on his face. Perhaps that will put the other man slightly more at ease. Unlikely, but worth a shot.
"What an unexpected sight," he says, at ease. "Are you having a pleasant evening, Mr. Tailor?"
L looks small and frail without hired muscle... and yet, the phylax his spell summoned is not a stick insect or a sparrow. Jin Guangyao, of anyone, knows that appearances can be a flimsy veneer over something formidable, even lethal.
He's watching the apex predator before him, with fond bemusement, but the naga's movements catch his attention quickly. He's up from the bench like a shot moving back toward the fountain, and no sooner has Jin Guangyao started speaking than he's snapped his eyes shut. The tattoo would have worn off by now; L would slit his own throat under the thrall of hypnosis, and he already knows that whatever predisposes him to being such a gifted diviner seems to leave him more vulnerable than some to this specific naga talent.
The world's dark. He doesn't have the advantage of being accustomed to blindness that Myr does; in fact, sight is probably the sense that the big-eyed detective relies on more than any other. His phylax keens uneasily at his back, and the temperature surrounding them starts to plummet and chill. L can do this at will, sometimes involuntarily; at this moment, the suddenly somber orca is the source of it.
"What do you want?"
Simple, straight and to the point. He can't open his eyes; he's at a disadvantage that way. If he's lucky, Jin Guangyao is at more of one.
The very literally cold welcome, eyes closed, says far more than any more detailed response could.
What did he want? Normally, Jin Guangyao acts with intention, considering his approach, but the moons and a little earlier celebration are clouding his mind in ways he's not so pleased by.
It's not that the celebrations earlier were in themselves unpleasant. It's the loss of self-control that bothers him still, in his new life here in Aefenglom as a Monster.
"I merely thought we should not be on such difficult terms," he decides to say. "Though I may not be able to dissuade you, there's no need to close your eyes. I should think that if any harm were to come to you, at least one or two individuals would come to speak with me immediately."
L holds himself very much like one who instinctively knows that he's at a physical disadvantage. That much, at least, is not new for him; brawn has never been where his talent lies. His phylax, conversely, looks like she could bite a chunk out of most creatures, and metaphorically, the same is absolutely true of L.
"Not on such difficult terms...?"
He repeats it, chuffing in disbelief. Still, a certain level of audacity gets his attention without fail, causes him to linger in places he'd otherwise hastily depart in fear or disgust.
That might be more difficult than it usually is, anyway, given the fact that they've both been drinking tonight. L's footfalls seem a little less planned than usual, and the playfulness of the orca in the fountain perhaps hints that L has had enough alcohol, at last, for his guard to lower rather foolishly.
"You really think that? Relatively speaking... we're not even on difficult terms. Of the individuals who would be suspected first, if harm came to me and I couldn't speak for myself... you're not even in the top five."
The implication, of course, is that L can't bank on that, and will keep his eyes closed for the time being. It's trading one kind of uneasiness for another, but of the two, he'd rather be blinded than hypnotized.
"I'll be plainer. What's your endgame? Your specific projected outcome? You found me specifically by scent, did you not?"
Jin Guangyao has no intention of replying to the latter; though true, and useful, it's another thing distancing him from his human days.
Who are these other individuals? Jin Guangyao's mind immediately turns quickly to that thought, with one at least due consideration, and -- but just as quickly, the trepidation takes hold again. As cautious and passively hostile as Linden is being, he has just as much to fear from spells cast against him as Liden does from his own gaze and envenomed sword. He could have been killed, when Niles and Linden sprang upon him. And his own life is the thing Jin Guangyao values most, especially with how it was lost once.
"Is it not so difficult that you choose to avoid looking at me out of fear something should happen?" he replies in a very soft tone. "Can we not have a more congenial relationship, at least as members of Council? We are both representing Mirrorbound, along with your own Bonded. Surely it isn't too much to ask for at least a more pleasant discourse in public or in front of Parliament? I am not sure what you think, but I truly do wish for the city to do well."
The cold isn't so bad it affects his movement right away, but he stills anyway, gaze fixed on Linden. For all his sweet words, he doubts himself with his mind this hazy; too close and the urge to strike out might be too high.
There's knowledge and folly at play here, seeping through a saturated, soggy prefrontal cortex. His eyes are closed as though it protects him, when he's well aware that Jin Guangyao has successfully hypnotized his blind Bonded; he's acting now on what his experience taught him to do when the naga had tried to take advantage of him during the ambush. It had worked then, but is it any kind of guarantee, now?
"I dare say it's up to you, if you want to have a 'more congenial' relationship." His tone is derisive; with such flat customary delivery, any small nuance or variation truly carries through with greater weight than it might in another's voice. "I also dare say that you have an idea of what I think..."
Because I have an idea of what you think. It's fair, right, to suspect?
"Justice is of interest to me. Myr may or may not have informed you. Have you made amends of your own, outside of your punishment? That's worth a lot... for the aims you claim to value..."
It's a sore point, in many ways. Not only does Jin Guangyao feel sorely mistreated by circumstances and his 'punishment' to begin with... even if he wanted to, there were a few problems, at least as far as certain people were concerned.
"That is a difficult thing to do, when some people have already left Aefenglom." He's good at restraining the emotion in his voice, quiet and calm, if a bit muzzy. But if L's eyes were open he might well see a hint of that cold resentment in his golden eyes. "For the city as a whole, I think all that can be done is to try to contribute as best I can..."
Linden shines like a beacon of warmth in the cold air, and the phylax's presence seems less and less important at he stares at the other man, poised and waiting for something to sway turbulent emotions one way or another.
The phylax, for all her bulk, does a strikingly good job at blending when she's completely motionless. Though the white patches above her eyes stand out blazingly, her shiny black body fades easily into shadow. Her wide mouth seems unthreatening when closed and concealing all those pointed teeth.
Interestingly, L and his phylax contrast this way. When L's poker face is in top form, the orca is the most animated, and when she's still, this way, his own agitated state is all too clear. He dislikes, immensely, not being able to see Jin Guangyao... and unfortunately, he's something of a prodigy at swaying turbulent emotions. Typically, not in a soothing way.
He crosses arms over his thin chest. His phylax doesn't take her eyes off Jin Guangyao, not even blinking.
"Is it," he says, "because you owe apologies to people who can't hear them? Or is it because they're not apologies you feel you should have to make?"
Jin Guangyao doesn't like how Linden has such an easy grasp of his actual feelings. He finds himself inching forward, moon-hardened scales making the faintest scrape against cobblestones. Managing to halt himself through dint of mental effort, the haziness in his mind only intensifies.
He absolutely cannot strike at Linden. But indulging the urge to hunt in little ways, only to come to a stop at the end is difficult.
"There are some that are owed, to be sure," One at least -- and some that aren't, that goes without saying. Plaintively he asks, as though he hadn't been slipping a bit closer, "You do know that I never intended to cause doubt between yourself as Myr, don't you?"
He may have been talking to the faun a little, it seems.
L is primed and attuned to a sound just like the scrape of scales on stone, gradually encroaching on his rapidly shrinking personal bubble. If he dared to open his eyes, would he feel this keening sense of fear more or less intensely?
The back of his shins bump up against the fountain, and his phylax remains eerily motionless at his shoulder.
"You seem to lead a very unintentional life. More astonishingly... you seem to find it acceptable."
Jin Guangyao's own internal ire begins roiling at those words. He didn't deserve blame for it, not when he hadn't really wanted to hypnotize Myr. The whole situation had just spiralled out of control in a way that wasn't acceptable.
"Has everything in your own life been so perfectly foreseen, then?" he asks, eyes shining in the moonlight. The chill in the air is getting more unpleasant as well, but only serving to highlight the heat coming off L himself. "Were you a diviner even before coming here?"
While L's eyes are closed to that sheen in Jin Guangyao's own, his ears aren't closed to that tone. He's heard it before, felt this before, and years of being a detective churning through cases and stripping away human deception have only made it second nature.
To back away further, and put more distance between them, he would have to step around the fountain or into it.
"That depends. Were you a snake, even before coming here?"
The churning of complicated feelings settles... and not in a good way. 'Snake', put that way, isn't the worst insult he's had levelled against him. But already in a questionable frame of mind under the twin moons, and never settled well with the unhappy association between that and his form as a monster, hatred mixed with the urge to hunt overwhelms him in that moment.
The hiss of hardened scales against cobbles is sharp as he lunges forward, with fangs bared -- though the speed is not what it would be, if the air were not so chill.
A few things become clear in the several seconds L has to react. The first is that Jin Guangyao has been successfully provoked into attacking him. The second is that he has to open his eyes. The third is that, by the time he does, the naga is upon him, fangs bared, striking with speed his human body can't counter. He raises a hand toward his face in reflexive defense, and his bony forearm takes the piercing bite.
It hurts less than it seems like it should; the fangs must be incredibly sharp. Panting, dark eyes wide, L considers his next move... but his soul, in the end, has already decided.
A chilled rush of vapor seems to cut through him; his phylax, turning immaterial to pass through the fountain and her witch, solidifies again just in time to ram into Jin Guangyao in a deliberate, missile-like rush.
The bite is quick, sharp, and that expression of hatred and reptilian instinct feels good and satisfying in some weird fusion of both snake and man -- for an instant anyway, before a more conscious mind kicks in and causes him to release in the moment before the phylax slams into him.
Though bulky himself, that weight is spread out across a longer form. Without legs to catch himself, Jin Guangyao goes sprawling at the impact. It's hardly the first time he's been flung a distance; it hurts, but more the force of the blow itself, moonlight-hardened scales too tough for even cobblestones to scrape up.
Before even rising, his tail curls like a whip around him in a defensive coil, casting a quick glance between L and his phylax, to better judge the situation before reacting further.
L crouches beside the fountain, using his phylax as a wall of shelter just as much as a magical retaliation. The bite that should have hurt more makes up for it now; he rolls his sleeve to observe that the wound is already red and swollen, the venom no doubt on its way to his heart.
A head rush prevents him from standing immediately; is it shock from the suddenness of the injury or is this another effect? He's small, for a human; his mass is on the lower end of what's physically possible for an adult male. He can count on feeling everything sooner and stronger, which is why he uses the moments Jin Guangyao is dealing with the orca phylax to tie off his arm, uncap a needle that he carries for this precise purpose. He's better than most phlebotomists at finding a vein, thanks to all the blood magic, and not squeamish about it in the least.
The phylax doesn't immediately charge Jin Guangyao again. Instead, she positions herself between her vulnerable witch and the would-be attacker, head down, teeth gleaming in the glow of the street lamps and the moons alike.
L's voice, laced with pain and contempt, can be heard through her pearlescent presence.
"You changed your mind about thinking it was wiser not to attack me, then. That's a shame... you were right the first time."
As polarizing as L is, the people who care for him tend to really care for him, to a fervent and protective degree. The naga is already well-acquainted with possibly the most notable ally of this sort.
The phylax doesn't waver with the injury; with unblinking slit-pupilled gaze flickering back to it briefly, more of his focus on Linden. Jin Guangyao pulls himself partly upright with a small cough, the air knocked out of him mostly back, and straightens his hat on his head.
Of course Linden would have something on hand to deal with venom. The man isn't stupid. Though everything inside him wishes the he would drop dead in the next couple minutes, the reality is that it would likely be even worse for him, and ending up seen as a murderer is to be avoided.
Perhaps... even avoiding being a murderer at all would be the ideal of this new life. It would be nice, if such a world existed.
"You should know, having been here so long, what effect the moons have. I was trying to make peace, and you provoked me," Jin Guangyao says with apparent chagrin. It's not that far from the truth, hazy in his mind. Intent had been less clear, driven only by the desire to pursue something.
Likewise, L's attention stays fixed through the mist on the naga. Straightening his hat while the detective pierces his skin, empties his syringe and feels the burn of antivenom. Vain thing, aren't you...
"Provoked you." He speaks the word derisively. "I got rich off of provoking people like you. It's just another way of giving one coils of rope and seeing what their pride and anger do with it. Usually... it's something stupid."
In front of him, the orca phylax weaves in place, as though swimming... or taunting.
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Twin Flower Blood Moons (Open to any existing CR)
The urges of the full moons are not unfamiliar either, but difficult to deal with properly. The stress of the previous month's events makes thoughts of hunting in the Wilde less appealing, and he is easily drawn into the celebratory atmosphere of the city tonight. Drink is flowing freely by this point in the night, and it's quite difficult to be properly restrained with all the scents in the air.
Cup in hand, his tongue flicks briefly. Perhaps tracking down a familiar face... or smell... will be enough to assuage the urges. Finding a bottle of wine and a second cup first, he weaves his way sinuously through the crowd, pausing only briefly to make idle chitchat or have a small sensible laugh with another random passerby. But the hunt is still on -- by the time he finds you, the gleam in his eyes is almost as bright as his shimmering scales.]
How wonderful to see a familiar face. Are you enjoying the festivities?
[He asks with a smile -- urges only mildly satisfied by a successful 'hunt'.]
I'm sorry this is so long <screams>
Yes, he's handling it.
Don't fight your instincts. Lesson one of mosterology. It's not that he has anything against monsters -- he's certainly slept with his fair share of them in his stay in Aefenglom -- but it's. Something else. To be made one. To wake up as oneout of nowhere after all this time.
Fuck it. Fuck it indeed, a very reasonable and easy mindframe to fall into when the full moons descend. Though his body has been wracked with anxiety, knowing it's coming, the change washes over him. It hurts. It isn't fun. It's --
Shit. A lot. He passes a mirror without looking at himself, and Geralt, after his turning outside, follows him. Geralt all but made it very clear he wasn't going out alone, and despite Jaskier's (very intense) reservations, the pull to go out, to view the moons, to be seen. Gods. It's overwhelming.
And a party! How can one such as him ignore any celebration? He was practically born for them. How could the great Jaskier forgo a party?
He's thrilled even moreso to see there's others like him. With his skin a pale pallor of blue, three uneven horns twisting back from his forehead. A long, scaled tail drags behind him, a tuft of hair at the end. (He has no idea what to do with it, or even how to register in his mind that he has another limb, so he simply doesn't.) There's little wings stuck to his back, scaled with hooked spikes along the ridges, and because of them he's lost his shirt somewhere. Oops. The bright blue of his eyes, no longer saddled with an iris or pupil, clearly show no care for having lost it.
He gives Geralt, in full wolf form, a melon from the dryad gardens to occupy him so he doesn't wound Jaskier's ability to mingle with the new locals. And mingle he does. The way he blends in with them is encouraging. There's so many horns and tails between all of them, and Jaskier can't help but compare his bright blue crystallized horns against them. (So maybe he peeked in a mirror.) He begins to adore the blue scales that cover his arms and chest, witnessing how the Aeternae dance and smoke and drink effortlessly together. There's a sour, almost bitter smell on the air, and the more he inhales it, it's as if... the less those things matter.
He knows, distantly, he was anxious about this. That he was terrified, actually. But now he's here, under the moon, the warm air on his naked skin, and there's beauty in every face here. He can't imagine what he was so worried about. All the Monsters he's known have been lovely, breathtaking creatures. He's hardly a bad memory among them.
That's no less true of the naga that draws his attention, and in the slight haze in his mind it takes a moment to recognize him. Is it that he's never seen him under the glory of a full moon, or simply because Jaskier can see quite well in the dark now?] Jin, my friend, is that you? [He laughs, showing his now sharp teeth, taking him in, and it's definitely the full moon that has him reach out and draw his hands, tipped in claws, along his scales.] Gods, look at you! A vision from the stars. [All that gold. He's never seen so much at once.] I don't think I've had a finer night in my life.
[Oh, yes. A hedonist so easily falls into an Aeternae's instincts.]
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Jin Guangyao's hands are full, so he offers one of the cups to to his fellow monster with a sweet look. If there was any trace of a flush, it would certainly be difficult to see under the hard coating of scales. His own standards of propriety have been high, in part from years in a world before this one, and in part from relationships formed here. So that little touch feels like far more of a forward motion than Jaskier might have even intended.]
It is quite the celebration. [He says with a smile, fully prepared to pour a bit of wine for him. Surely a little light amusement, as long as it doesn't go too far, will help quell certain urges, and so he settles quite close.] But should I be asking my own confirmation? I had no idea such a change was possible, but it suits you well. How are you feeling?
[Delicately put, and it certainly isn't too disfiguring, as far as monstrous changes go. But his own tail was awkward, and he can't imagine having horns grow in such a manner.]
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Huh. Jaskier has never held such appreciation for a snake before.]
Ah, thank you! [He gladly takes the wine with a big grin, the whipping tail behind him picking up unconsciously to swing back and forth, the tuft at the end already covered in a bit of dirt from the cobblestones.
A fair point. Right now, he probably is nearly as unrecognizable. For the best Jin did not ask him this days ago, when he was on the verge of a panic about it. Yet he slid easily into the Aeternae's hedonistic qualities easily (to escape from having to think of the transformation running through his body he can no longer control.)] Believe me, it took me by quite a surprise! This is my first, er... that is to say, my first full moon. And how strange it is. I hardly ever minded them before. I would simply not practice magic that night.
[And here his voice dips, because the loss of his magic, even if he is slightly drunk on moonlight and wine, is a sore reminder. He misses it. For a bard who has been human his whole life, he misses the magic he learned to wield.] I don't know how to feel. I prefer not to feel about it at all right now.
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If you wish to talk about it, I might understand quite well... but it truly is a fine night for distractions. [He says kindly. Distractions... of drinking and trying to trick his own naga mind into play-hunting.... and other thoughts he is sorely trying to keep from his mind.]
I've heard the dryads have a fine garden outside the city, if visiting that might suit your mood?
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Even so gentle, it feels so sensual. And with pretty men, nagas or not, it has never been hard to want, or to imagine, much more.]
Yes. Yes, gardens. I love gardens. The dryads seem a very interesting people, don't they? [Jin would understand. And Geralt, too. These men who cannot control their bodies, their forms dictated by planetary spheres so far out of their reach they may as well be different dimensions. At least, he can say, he still has his legs, but Jin appears to have gotten along well without them, or learned to do so.
It helps put things in perspective. Even if Jaskier feels a petulant part of him insists his own transformation is quite different.
He offers his arm, should his friend want to take it (and also to feel more of those scales.) Now that their skin has connected, he finds he can't yet let go of the want of more.] Did it come so fast for you, too? The first time?
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[Lately, Jin Guangyao has been full of and struggling with many difficult emotions. How much of it is the call of the moons or the warmth of Jaskier's own skin is hard to say -- or how much of it is seeking a little friendly companionship after the loss of one Bond -- perhaps not as bad as it would have been had he not made the decision to Bond again just in case... but still an unpleasant severing that left him wanting.
He loops his arm discretely with Jaskier's, giving him a warm smile.]
It seems difficult to believe it has been a almost a year now, since the last of the changes.
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There is no need for discretion for an Aeternae: it's a fact he's going to earn quickly. Perhaps the way Jaskier draws his fingers up Jin's arm with his other hand are a bit more than simply friendly. His tail flicks at the end, eyes bright and blue.]
That is hard to believe. You've acclimated well, I can only assume, as far as the others I've met go. [Personally, Jaskier has no idea what he'd do without legs, but Jin has certainly made a go of it. And the way he moves is fluid as a -- well, as a snake, but not as if he's one who is missing limbs.] It's encouraging for myself, if you don't find that notion too selfish.
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Making light talk as they head out of the city, about music and monsters, and refilling their cups every so often as needed, Jin Guangyao pauses before they get to the garden proper. It sounds as though there's plenty of merriment there, plenty of eyes on him to help keep things from getting too out of hand.
Perhaps... despite complicated feelings, he doesn't want to avoid certain ways that things might get only a little out of hand. Though he's not unaware that it's half effect of the heavens upon his monstrous state, denying it too strongly can be dire. And Jaskier is quite pleasant, and warm, and despite his own monster features... well, Jin Guangyao is in no place to speak ill of the things that are forced upon them.]
It sounds quite lively but, we are having such a good time visiting, aren't we? Pardon me for suggesting a further change of plans, but would you rather go for a more private walk instead? There is a quite pleasant lake not that much further along.
[He suggests, eye gleaming with that same golden glimmer as his scales.]
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It brings to mind the question if the Aeternae have some sort of social structure he'll need to learn. Wolves have packs. What if they do, too?
Jaskier turns his bright blue eyes on the naga, a sly smile lifting his lips.] You needn't ask for any pardon from me. I much prefer private company when the time calls for it, which it certainly does now. [With their bodies close, scales on skin and a sensitivity to the slightest brush, Jaskier can be easily swayed in any direction.] Show me your lake. Do you go there often? A bit of sunbathing, maybe?
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[He adds, with a light touch to Jaskier's own blue ones. Blue really is a lovely color, he can only think, mind hazy with the moons' influence.
It isn't far to the lake, as Jin Guangyao said, past an old abandoned forge on the outskirts of the cleared land. It isn't too large, but the calm waters reflect the moons high in the sky, and the sounds of laughter and merriment have fallen well behind them as the evening wears on. Out of sight of anyone who might cast aspersions upon him, his arm slips from Jaskier's, to snug up side by side against the other man at the lake's edge and rest his hand lightly on his back. It would be so much warmer if neither of them were clothed -- the thought does more than wander though his mind, settling there and unwilling to be disturbed]
Quite beautiful, isn't it?
[He says, looking out across that clear reflection, then back at Jaskier with a soft glance.]
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I suppose I must learn how to do so, then. And rather quickly.
[Ah, to have the ease of slowly becoming accustomed to being a Monster, instead of having two full moons thrust upon him. It is surely the work of the moons, though, that it's not terribly important right now. Jaskier can deal with the shock of it all later. He's enjoying the light of the moons now, for sure, and the way a touch feels when it slides over scales.
Jaskier has no complaints about their closeness as they go, and the lake, as they come upon it, is even more beautiful than he can take in at first, simply because he can take it in. Being an Aeternae means his eyes are no longer human, and he can see far in the dark the extent of the lake, and the reflection of the moonlight, and how the waters ease so gently right now.
Terribly romantic. Some people could certainly learn from his current company.
Jaskier's grin is devilish, his tail moving to fall over Jin's body, to feel more of those scales.] Utterly. Though I've far prettier things to look at. [A lake simply can't compete with gold.] It's still a warm night. What do you say to a swim right now?
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After sensing Jin coming, and feeling his mind slowly growing closer, he turns to smile at him just at exactly the same moment he arrives at his side. Howl looks as primped and groomed as he always does, but his eyes look tired, and as Jin can see, he isn't participating in the party. ]
I like what these Twin Flower Blood Moons bring out in Aefenglom. They've encouraged the lady-Monsters to show off some twins of another sort. [ He takes a sip of his drink and looks Jin Guangyao over. He's never seen him before during a full moon. ] You look interesting as well. How are you feeling?
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[Jin Guangyao remarks, even if it isn't exactly true. Moon-hardened scales is a small boon, but the instinctual urges are unwelcome -- even if he has learned by now that they can't be fully denied without consequence.
After a brief consideration, he slides himself up the wall to join Howl, balanced loops of tail on either side. Even if his other Bond has soured, he can at least do his best to maintain this one.]
Certainly much better than during the difficulties below. I think none of us were quite of sound mind during that ordeal, were we?
[He adds a little more softly.]
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That goes without saying. And not just you and I - everyone.
[ Howl sighs and looks into the sky at the two pinkish moons, gently glowing above the revelry. They'd given him an intoxicating level of power two weeks ago when they were new, but now, it's only Jin's presence that's making him feel more energized. ]
...but, especially not me. [ he speaks softly, eyes still cast upward. ] I hope I haven't lost your confidence or trust so early in our arrangement.
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[Jin Guangyao says with a self-deprecating smile, eyes turned away for a moment before coming back to meet Howl's. He'd been quite discrete as far as physical touch goes since their Bonding -- with the exception of things like the dreadful incidents only eased by that closeness.
But the strength of the moons and the desire to replace that feeling lost with the waning of his former Bond brings him to shift a little closer, tail brushing up against Howl's leg in the motion, the touch not strictly necessary in the movement.]
But neither of us should be blamed for circumstances beyond our own control.
[It's almost as much a question as a statement or agreement.]
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The wizard trains his eyes on Jin Guangyao and watches him silently for a moment, paying close attention to what he may be able to sense about his intentions through their Bond. They still hardly know each other, so it's difficult, but... ]
I couldn't agree more.
[ Slowly, he leans forward, picking his goblet back up by the stem as he does, and lays out his stomach - draping his upper body over a muscular portion of his tail as he does. Folding his arms under his head, he brings the cup to his mouth and finishes the drink in one long sip, keeping his eyes on the snake as he does. ]
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I'm glad to hear you feel the same. [He replies softly, remaining a little more genteel in his own posture, if not so stiff as their first meeting. More welcoming, is surely the feeling passing between their Bond, even if no more overt gestures are made.] There are some in this city who are not as understanding.
[Even from the little he knows of Howl, there are some things that they would no doubt disagree on, if it came to be tested. But there's a sense of relief and gratitude there after those words, that no one has been wronged here, really. Whether or not Howl would feel the same if he knew more of Jin Guangyao's past is harder to say, but even that bit of forgiveness is something to appreciate and cling to.]
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You're different tonight. Do you look forward to how the Sisters influence you, or is it bothersome?
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But undeniably other thoughts cross his mind, especially when Howl is so close and so kindly forgiving of the difficulties on their journey before, an attractive point in the man's favor... and with the moons high, what are undeniably more complicated emotions around intimacy subdued though not entirely absent.]
I am sure the Monsters who have lived their lives as such find it easier. [He says softly, diplomatic in his reply. Though his scales might be as tough as metal, the muscle underneath is relaxed, pliable; hardly a perfect cushion, but not unpleasant.] The last few, I had gone hunting Shades in the forest, but I am sure I am not alone in feeling overtired of such dangers...
[Speaking of other matters doesn't assuage his urges much either, his voice trailing off when he catches Howl looking so closely, returning his gaze with his own unblinking slit-pupilled one, expression mild.
Howl had made his interests quite clear at the start. There were many reasons to refuse such advances, and though they weren't forgotten, they seemed rather more distant at this moment.]
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Hunting Shades - is that all?
[ With the two of them lounging so closely - if not for the positions of their arms, they could be described as embracing - his mind must be on topics similar to those on Howl's. He tilts his head, his smooth blond hair swaying slightly with the movement. ]
Whatever shame you may feel in connection with the experience of being a Monster... I, your Bonded, am here to support you, Jin Guangyao. Hardly am I one to judge, of all things.
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[He replies, with a circumspect shift of the eyes. Much can be excused as behaviour between Bonded; anyone can understand such close contact. Well, most can understand... but he stifles that lingering resentment with practiced ease.
His own habit is to try to maintain an air of respectability. Carousing and such free expression the way half the city is carrying on tonight is something he can't bring himself to do, not when there are too many people out and about in such a public space. Even if his Bonded had said he wouldn't judge him, others might. Instead he sets his own hand lightly over Howl's. It's a small gesture, but meaningful despite that.]
It is very kind of you to say that. [He adds softly.] How is your magic tonight? It would be terribly remiss of me to not do my part in helping you out as much as I could.
[Despite the words, there's clearly far more than a sense of obligation at play, in the undercurrent of desire running through the Bond and light smile.]
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"Remiss"? According to who? If you mean the Coven... banish them from your mind. I pay as little attention to their rules and requirements as I can, and I recommend you do the same.
[ He gives him a dispassionate, calculated smile, before relaxing against him completely. His torso and arms span across two sections of his tail as it drapes along the wall, with his head resting in what would be Jin Guangyao's lap, if he still had legs. The contact makes the signal between their Bond stronger than ever. ]
If you mean me... You already know that I don't expect you to do anything just for my sake. You're struggling tonight too, aren't you? You can say it.
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His fingers, almost absent-mindedly, brush a few strands of Howl's hair, noting how it's as bright as his own scales.]
Yes, [He admits lightly, running though the mental calculus of following the distortion of the truth about his past marriage versus the more complicated reality of what and who and why... and difficult to resist urges now.] These things are difficult, it's true. But even so... ah, well, would we not be more comfortable elsewhere? Surely there is somewhere with more comfortable pillows than scales. [He adds, a little self-deprecatingly.]
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Hm... [ He presses a kiss to Jin Guangyao's palm, still smiling to himself and keeping his eyes closed. ] Have you a... den of some kind? Someplace you'd normally go to keep warm and comfortable at night?
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Instead he opts to help ease Howl up off his coils (which is rapidly becoming a certain other kind of more pleasant discomfort) and shift in smooth motions of his serpentine half to allow them both to descend smoothly from the wall.]
Should I show you there?
Twin Flower Blood Moons (Part 2 the Stalkening, feat. "Linden")
But still the urgings of the moon to hunt, for one thing or another, are unusually strong. Without even thinking about it particularly, he finds himself slipping through the streets with another familiar odour on his tongue rather than back homewards.
He's hardly an inconspicuous figure in clothing of cream and golden yellow, scales shimmering with magical intensity. All the same, Jin Guangyao's pace slows as he nears his destination, politely half-covering a tongue flick with a sleeve.
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Arms and legs pulled in close, L's sitting hunched on a park bench, observing his phylax's behavior. They're still new to each other, but he finds that as a piece chipped away from his own soul, the process is far more fluid than it might be if he was actually saddled with an orca whale the size of a Clydesdale. It helps that she can float alongside him as if swimming, as well as phase in and out of things when she wishes to. She can shrink to the size of a small stuffed animal, as well, but she seems disinclined to, almost as if her own bulk and the reactions of others to it amuses her. The fountain is just barely large enough to contain her, and so she lounges, playing with one of the streams of pouring water by lapping at it with her huge, flat tongue, revealing rows of extremely sharp teeth.
L cracks a relenting half-smile, and she bobs and chirps in reply, glad to crack through the armor of frosty melancholy he wears outwardly.
So far, he hasn't noticed Jin Guangyao. His phylax has, once again, busied herself with the fountain streams, this time plugging it with her tongue so that it increases the strength of the stream next to it, alternating, making a game of it.
"So, you like games, too..."
The words are just a touch slurred. This late in the evening, after much time spent near teeming and stressful crowds, one's far more likely to find an orca playing in a public fountain than "Linden Tailor," sober.
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But he's still compelled to chase, in some way or other. Giving Linden plenty of time to react to his appearance, he slowly slithers closer, wobbling a little exaggeratedly and with a pleasant look on his face. Perhaps that will put the other man slightly more at ease. Unlikely, but worth a shot.
"What an unexpected sight," he says, at ease. "Are you having a pleasant evening, Mr. Tailor?"
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He's watching the apex predator before him, with fond bemusement, but the naga's movements catch his attention quickly. He's up from the bench like a shot moving back toward the fountain, and no sooner has Jin Guangyao started speaking than he's snapped his eyes shut. The tattoo would have worn off by now; L would slit his own throat under the thrall of hypnosis, and he already knows that whatever predisposes him to being such a gifted diviner seems to leave him more vulnerable than some to this specific naga talent.
The world's dark. He doesn't have the advantage of being accustomed to blindness that Myr does; in fact, sight is probably the sense that the big-eyed detective relies on more than any other. His phylax keens uneasily at his back, and the temperature surrounding them starts to plummet and chill. L can do this at will, sometimes involuntarily; at this moment, the suddenly somber orca is the source of it.
"What do you want?"
Simple, straight and to the point. He can't open his eyes; he's at a disadvantage that way. If he's lucky, Jin Guangyao is at more of one.
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What did he want? Normally, Jin Guangyao acts with intention, considering his approach, but the moons and a little earlier celebration are clouding his mind in ways he's not so pleased by.
It's not that the celebrations earlier were in themselves unpleasant. It's the loss of self-control that bothers him still, in his new life here in Aefenglom as a Monster.
"I merely thought we should not be on such difficult terms," he decides to say. "Though I may not be able to dissuade you, there's no need to close your eyes. I should think that if any harm were to come to you, at least one or two individuals would come to speak with me immediately."
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"Not on such difficult terms...?"
He repeats it, chuffing in disbelief. Still, a certain level of audacity gets his attention without fail, causes him to linger in places he'd otherwise hastily depart in fear or disgust.
That might be more difficult than it usually is, anyway, given the fact that they've both been drinking tonight. L's footfalls seem a little less planned than usual, and the playfulness of the orca in the fountain perhaps hints that L has had enough alcohol, at last, for his guard to lower rather foolishly.
"You really think that? Relatively speaking... we're not even on difficult terms. Of the individuals who would be suspected first, if harm came to me and I couldn't speak for myself... you're not even in the top five."
The implication, of course, is that L can't bank on that, and will keep his eyes closed for the time being. It's trading one kind of uneasiness for another, but of the two, he'd rather be blinded than hypnotized.
"I'll be plainer. What's your endgame? Your specific projected outcome? You found me specifically by scent, did you not?"
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Who are these other individuals? Jin Guangyao's mind immediately turns quickly to that thought, with one at least due consideration, and -- but just as quickly, the trepidation takes hold again. As cautious and passively hostile as Linden is being, he has just as much to fear from spells cast against him as Liden does from his own gaze and envenomed sword. He could have been killed, when Niles and Linden sprang upon him. And his own life is the thing Jin Guangyao values most, especially with how it was lost once.
"Is it not so difficult that you choose to avoid looking at me out of fear something should happen?" he replies in a very soft tone. "Can we not have a more congenial relationship, at least as members of Council? We are both representing Mirrorbound, along with your own Bonded. Surely it isn't too much to ask for at least a more pleasant discourse in public or in front of Parliament? I am not sure what you think, but I truly do wish for the city to do well."
The cold isn't so bad it affects his movement right away, but he stills anyway, gaze fixed on Linden. For all his sweet words, he doubts himself with his mind this hazy; too close and the urge to strike out might be too high.
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"I dare say it's up to you, if you want to have a 'more congenial' relationship." His tone is derisive; with such flat customary delivery, any small nuance or variation truly carries through with greater weight than it might in another's voice. "I also dare say that you have an idea of what I think..."
Because I have an idea of what you think. It's fair, right, to suspect?
"Justice is of interest to me. Myr may or may not have informed you. Have you made amends of your own, outside of your punishment? That's worth a lot... for the aims you claim to value..."
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"That is a difficult thing to do, when some people have already left Aefenglom." He's good at restraining the emotion in his voice, quiet and calm, if a bit muzzy. But if L's eyes were open he might well see a hint of that cold resentment in his golden eyes. "For the city as a whole, I think all that can be done is to try to contribute as best I can..."
Linden shines like a beacon of warmth in the cold air, and the phylax's presence seems less and less important at he stares at the other man, poised and waiting for something to sway turbulent emotions one way or another.
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Interestingly, L and his phylax contrast this way. When L's poker face is in top form, the orca is the most animated, and when she's still, this way, his own agitated state is all too clear. He dislikes, immensely, not being able to see Jin Guangyao... and unfortunately, he's something of a prodigy at swaying turbulent emotions. Typically, not in a soothing way.
He crosses arms over his thin chest. His phylax doesn't take her eyes off Jin Guangyao, not even blinking.
"Is it," he says, "because you owe apologies to people who can't hear them? Or is it because they're not apologies you feel you should have to make?"
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He absolutely cannot strike at Linden. But indulging the urge to hunt in little ways, only to come to a stop at the end is difficult.
"There are some that are owed, to be sure," One at least -- and some that aren't, that goes without saying. Plaintively he asks, as though he hadn't been slipping a bit closer, "You do know that I never intended to cause doubt between yourself as Myr, don't you?"
He may have been talking to the faun a little, it seems.
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The back of his shins bump up against the fountain, and his phylax remains eerily motionless at his shoulder.
"You seem to lead a very unintentional life. More astonishingly... you seem to find it acceptable."
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"Has everything in your own life been so perfectly foreseen, then?" he asks, eyes shining in the moonlight. The chill in the air is getting more unpleasant as well, but only serving to highlight the heat coming off L himself. "Were you a diviner even before coming here?"
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To back away further, and put more distance between them, he would have to step around the fountain or into it.
"That depends. Were you a snake, even before coming here?"
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The hiss of hardened scales against cobbles is sharp as he lunges forward, with fangs bared -- though the speed is not what it would be, if the air were not so chill.
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It hurts less than it seems like it should; the fangs must be incredibly sharp. Panting, dark eyes wide, L considers his next move... but his soul, in the end, has already decided.
A chilled rush of vapor seems to cut through him; his phylax, turning immaterial to pass through the fountain and her witch, solidifies again just in time to ram into Jin Guangyao in a deliberate, missile-like rush.
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Though bulky himself, that weight is spread out across a longer form. Without legs to catch himself, Jin Guangyao goes sprawling at the impact. It's hardly the first time he's been flung a distance; it hurts, but more the force of the blow itself, moonlight-hardened scales too tough for even cobblestones to scrape up.
Before even rising, his tail curls like a whip around him in a defensive coil, casting a quick glance between L and his phylax, to better judge the situation before reacting further.
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A head rush prevents him from standing immediately; is it shock from the suddenness of the injury or is this another effect? He's small, for a human; his mass is on the lower end of what's physically possible for an adult male. He can count on feeling everything sooner and stronger, which is why he uses the moments Jin Guangyao is dealing with the orca phylax to tie off his arm, uncap a needle that he carries for this precise purpose. He's better than most phlebotomists at finding a vein, thanks to all the blood magic, and not squeamish about it in the least.
The phylax doesn't immediately charge Jin Guangyao again. Instead, she positions herself between her vulnerable witch and the would-be attacker, head down, teeth gleaming in the glow of the street lamps and the moons alike.
L's voice, laced with pain and contempt, can be heard through her pearlescent presence.
"You changed your mind about thinking it was wiser not to attack me, then. That's a shame... you were right the first time."
As polarizing as L is, the people who care for him tend to really care for him, to a fervent and protective degree. The naga is already well-acquainted with possibly the most notable ally of this sort.
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Of course Linden would have something on hand to deal with venom. The man isn't stupid. Though everything inside him wishes the he would drop dead in the next couple minutes, the reality is that it would likely be even worse for him, and ending up seen as a murderer is to be avoided.
Perhaps... even avoiding being a murderer at all would be the ideal of this new life. It would be nice, if such a world existed.
"You should know, having been here so long, what effect the moons have. I was trying to make peace, and you provoked me," Jin Guangyao says with apparent chagrin. It's not that far from the truth, hazy in his mind. Intent had been less clear, driven only by the desire to pursue something.
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"Provoked you." He speaks the word derisively. "I got rich off of provoking people like you. It's just another way of giving one coils of rope and seeing what their pride and anger do with it. Usually... it's something stupid."
In front of him, the orca phylax weaves in place, as though swimming... or taunting.
"How much do you want? Rope, I mean."