[ Like a, ah, ghost, if the ghost were a dog that suddenly perked up at the voice of its owner...
Hua Cheng materializes, having been headed in the direction of the train station. So many people seem preoccupied elsewhere, so best to snoop now that he's done listening in. ]
the first day, xie lian was mostly able to ignore feeling different than usual, but today he's feeling sort of. well. he can't just say how he's feeling. wouldn't that be odd? that would be too odd!
so hi, hua cheng. here's a xie lian, just kind of in your peripherial. (?) ] Um...S-San Lang....?
[ he is looking literally everywhere but at hua cheng's face at the moment. ]
[ Seeing as Xie Lian is kind of fidgety, but flustered, Hua Cheng isn't going to jump to the immediate promise of hurting anyone on behalf of Dianxia. Instead, he waits - and is rewarded, humming as he turns to properly look at him.
[ Once everything has calmed down, Hua Cheng knows where he's going. Xie Lian has helped with Virid, and things are... not settled, because there are so many that were affected, but it's enough that there's breathing room.
And, wouldn't you have it, Xie Lian was thinking the same thing?
It's as he's about to step into the inn that he finds himself coming to a full stop, hands raising, so that he and Xie Lian don't wind up running into each other. ]
[ it's been a very long day. after everything that happened, xie lian only really has one person that he really, really wants to see.
he has the fortune (for once) of running into that person when he's on his way out to find hua cheng. xie lian looks up - and then, his expression shifts into recognition, followed by a softer relief. ]
San Lang. [ he greets, quietly pleased. ] Are you busy... ?
[ pretty much the moment the execution ends, and the crowd breaks, xie lian tugs on hua cheng's hand and starts pulling him along. he lets go once he has his attention, but walks with a purpose to get up to his own room, knowing by simple manner of knowing hua cheng that he will be right behind him.
he opens the door to his room with the PHS, looks to make sure emet-selch isn't there, and holds it open for hua cheng to follow, his expression stormy, for the moment quiet.
xie lian's other fist hasn't unclenched since they left. ]
[ The knowledge - festers, almost, at the back of his mind as he watches over the crowd for a long moment. As it goes, Hua Cheng doesn't hesitate to, either, letting Xie Lian pull him away with an effortlessness that would imply he was in his gravity and had no other option but to follow.
His footsteps are brisk and almost silent, even with the charms and chains on his boots. This is enough to make him want to laugh, cruel as it is.
But he doesn't say anything. Not until the door to Xie Lian and Emet-Selch's room has closed, and he looks at Xie Lian.
Hua Cheng reaches, fingertips a ghost of a touch over his white knuckled fist. ]
[ Weird as the change is, Hua Cheng is mostly unbothered. He doesn't hesitate to open the door when he hears Xie Lian's voice, leaning his shoulder the frame. ]
[ Hua Cheng is - trying. He's trying very hard not to have a complete freakout over the situation, because he spent enough time doing that for a good four or so hours earlier. He was truly going crazy - and won't he be in for a surprise, far later down the road - but now Xie Lian is back.
And covered in blood? Really hate that. Really hate the memories that brings to the surface. Going to just get him back to his room. ]
Is this gege's blood, or the others'? [ Because he knows you. ]
[ ...well. he won't lie. xie lian walks slowly with hua cheng, trying not to show if he's any pain. ]
...It is mine. [ he admits, quietly, now that they're alone. ] It's in the process of healing, already, though I don't think it was because of my own power.
[ something strange is afoot!! xie lian has recognized it, and he seeks out hua cheng after noticing an odd interaction earlier in the day, coming to check in with him and trotting up from...wherever he was. ]
[ xie lian is seeking hua cheng out a little while after the execution!! ]
San Lang -- San Lang! [ thankfully, finding a flash of bright red is easy in the dreary colors of the fort! and xie lian is definitely running straight towards it. he must have run all the way here?? ]
[ Hua Cheng has been picking up the habit of walking the areas that they investigate after trials, no matter how futile it might be, so he - really does stand out, especially from the fort. Hearing Xie Lian calling for him, though, he puts his half-idle walk aside and turns to him, visibly perking.
... wait. With a laugh: ] Ah, gege, did you come running all this way?
[ Between the visits to his room, Hua Cheng seeks Xie Lian out. Because for whatever passing, glowering looks he had given Shiro during the night... so long as he wasn't speaking to Xie Lian like that, he was. Fine. He's not that affected by the loss, admittedly, beyond the general agitation that comes with these pointless killings, but he knows who is.
Once he finds Xie Lian, he reaches out, brushing his cool fingers against his hand before it's two of them tapping against his palm. Gege, almost, even if his voice won't say it. ]
[ xie lian's outside, today, looking up at the stars when hua cheng finds him. there's a beat, and the moment his presence is there, the tension floods out of his shoulders.
when hua cheng taps his fingers against his palm, xie lian doesn't even hesitate; he shifts, and threads their fingers together, turning his middle finger inwards so that his fingertips touch the red string on san lang's finger. ]
...San Lang. [ he says, quietly. ] Are you alright?
[ Assuming this is after both of our PCs with Emet-Selch because I know we both nyoomed to teej.
When they come together again, as they always do, the cold exterior Hua Cheng has in place - softens. He is angry, and frustrated, and disappointed in them. It's a hollow victory, in the end, with someone out there that was willing to behead an injured girl. With everything that they've learned.
And, honestly? He's tired, which isn't something he's truly felt since he stood on the warfront of XianLe.
He looks at Xie Lian, for a moment. Takes him in.
And then, he opens his arms, still as wordlessly as he's been since Friday. ]
xie lian looks at hua cheng, as he opens the door to his room - his hand is still hovering, in the position that he was going to knock.
...and when he just opens his arms like that, something in him lurches, and xie lian steps forward to close the space between them, lifting his hands up to curl them in the back of hua cheng's red as maple robes.
he just stands there, for a moment, face mashed against his chest.
by the end of the day on tuesday, xie lian just wants to see hua cheng. he's exhausted, even more so than he normally would let on, and he slips away from his room to go meet san lang in the spooky haunted mansion on tuesday night, since he thinks... that's probably where he'll find him.
when he sees that flash of clothes as red as maple, something in his heart utterly settles, and xie lian steps around one of these obnoxious memory bubbles as he approaches. ]
San Lang. [ his voice is quiet, but hua cheng can probably feel the soft happiness in it as he enters the foyer and trots to his side. ] Here you are.
For almost 48 hours straight, that's all he's dealt with. People seeing who he is, the person that he's been, the memories he still has and those that he's lost. He promised to never put himself into a position where he would be at a disadvantage, but this, this has outright laughed in his face, dragging out things he's kept close to his heart.
So he's not quite avoiding people, because most have found him in the manor effortlessly. But he's taking a break from them, lounging on what was previously a dusty - well, lounge. It has one broken leg, so it's crooked, but if he stays stationary he won't bump any of the bubbles floating around him.
Xie Lian's presence has him getting up, immediate to greet him. ]
Gege. [ warm in return ] Ah, it feels a little like home, so I can't help myself.
[ xie lian's catching hua cheng's eyes wherever they might meet, and more or less giving him the look of "come follow me" to lead him off to somewhere quiet. he's still feeling a little...
...something (he's not sure, but it's very positive), but as hua cheng approaches him, he has a small smile on his face in greeting, and he pulls him to come sit over by the river, away from the others. ]
[ One brow twitches slightly as their gazes catch, but Hua Cheng immediately gives Xie Lian his hands when they're reached for, a part of him - floating, still, somewhere in his chest. There are things churning in his mind, but above all else his Tuesday with Xie Lian helps to balance them out.
He doesn't sit right away, holding Xie Lian's hand to let him settle first before he lowers to join him. ]
The answer is always yes. [ immediate ] What is it?
xie lian kept catching hua cheng's eye throughout their search. he's sure he's not the only one who can feel the coldness of his fury, but xie lian knows it's so much more beyond that.
(even now, he can imagine it; the feral, heartbroken wails of a little boy, hundreds and hundreds of years ago.)
so when he finally pulls him away from the search for the night, it is not because he wants to stop trying to find hikaru, but because he's watching hua cheng hurt. and so, when they pass through the ghostly town, he coaxes him to the manor with a meaningful look and his hand on his wrist.
and when they enter through the doors, xie lian pulls him around the corner, lifts his arms, and pulls hua cheng to him in a hug. ]
[ The beast that is Hua Cheng's anger has always been one that burns, bright and wild, even when he keeps it contained into a cold fury rather than letting it lash out. But the longer they look for any trace of Hikaru, the more it's kindled. The more it burns. And even if he keeps himself looking composed, there is no mistaking the tension in his brow, his jaw, his shoulders, his spine.
Even sparring with Yona does nothing to quench the flames. Even looking with the others does nothing to temper the worry that mounts higher and higher.
(It does hurt. It is agonizing, to remember the tiny figure in his arms, wailing with such pain that was heartbroken and miserable in a way that he knew deep down in his soul.)
Hua Cheng doesn't resist, when Xie Lian pulls him away. If it were anyone else, he would snatch himself away and keep going - but he's successfully brought away.
And when Xie Lian looks at him, lifts his arm, the furious composure breaks. His face crumples, for a moment, and he bows into the hug he's drawn into, clutching onto Xie Lian immediately. ]
[ xie lian is pulling hua cheng away from the emporium almost immediately. his hand is in his, fingers laced together, but he pulls with a little urgency, taking him immediately to somewhere private.
back to the manor they go!
and it is only when they're in private that xie lian asks, his voice quiet. ]
[ Hua Cheng had redressed, once they had finished with the strip check, his bracers securely in place. And with the knowledge that Xie Lian is safe, that everything is fine here, at least, he goes willingly.
There is no happiness, of course. They didn't find Hikaru's killer. They didn't find her sword. They missed so much, somewhere, yet again.
Even if she was splintering...
When they come to a stop, in the manor, a long and quiet walk of him gripping Xie Lian's hand like a lifeline, he looks at him quietly.
And without hesitation, he draws his hand away from him and loosens one silver bracer, then the other.
He pulls one knife out, from the space between the bracer and his leather vambrace. Keeps it, in that hand.
And with the other, pulls a second knife from the other space. ]
I am only sorry that the focus was put on you, gege, but I am not sorry for doing it or for not telling you. If you were to be questioned, I didn't want you to have to lie for my sake - though, you had done so, anyways.
[ It was easy to tell, that Xie Lian had figured it out. ]
There is no jingling to announce Hua Cheng's appearance, today. Because he wisely changed his clothes (to a red and black spitting image of a certain charismatic thief from a certain copyright movie and subsequent animated series) rather than barging into the maze with his teammates, when there was an enthusiastic suggestion to have a "field trip," whatever that means.
His companion is currently in its wraith butterfly shape, fluttering ahead of him.
Drip, drip, drip.
From head to toe, Hua Cheng is absolutely drenched in blood. But he's walking leisurely and with no sign of discomfort. There's a tear in his black vest and red shirt in his side, but he's - honestly fine. Just very messy. Under his arm is a locked treasure chest, propped against his hip. His forearms are bare, and the muscles in the one are obviously flexed in a way that indicates the chest is heavy.
Drip, drip, drip.
And the butterfly immediately flutters into Xie Lian's line of sight, flying an enthusiastic circle around him when they come across him. ]
[ when a silver butterfly flutters into xie lian's vision where he's been looking for hua cheng, he almost leaps to his feet and whirls around to try and follow it.
luckily, he doesn't have to go far - because there is hua cheng. ]
S- [ and he is COVERED in blood?! ] --San Lang?!
[ he closes the distance between them in two bounding steps, his hands fluttering like he's not sure where to start. ] Are you -- are you alright?! What happened!? I've been looking for you -- you're not hurt, are you?! Blood - that's so much blood!
having returned back from that nightmare, xie lian sets hua cheng down as carefully as possible on xie lian's own king sized bed instead of the one he shares with his two roommates. he has a few medical supplies in his room - a fresh roll of bandages, some antiseptic, and painkillers - and it just seemed easier to get him settled this way. as he settles down at his side, xie lian offers him a couple of pain killers from the bottle he's kept in his chest by his bed, a glass of water in his other hand. he looks extraordinarily fussy, still, eyes big and worried even as he just looks at him.]
Here... it should help. [ he will feed it to him. i promise. ]
[ Here we are, huh. Wasn't tonight fun? I thought it was!
Hua Cheng, on the other hand, is not having that great of a time. Despite the fact his arm is no longer there, it still hurts. No dull throb of pain from blood loss as your heart and veins work in overtime, no aching bones or joints, just - pain. The rest of his injuries just provide an accompaniment to it. The leopard's claw marks, Alyssa's knife wound, and the snake's bite have all been sluggishly bleeding, and his shirt is stained in front.
His ears still ring, but he doesn't fuss when Xie Lian puts him down. Just looks back up at him, and he'll obediently open his mouth for Xie Lian to fuss. ]
[ So about how Hua Cheng didn't stay in bed, when Xie Lian put him there before going off to do his investigation. He's coming back to the inn, and pauses, when he sees him. There's relief in his expression, but also... while he's still tired, he's agitated again. Not as much as when Hikaru and Sumire died, but regardless agitated. ]
Gege. [ Immediately going to him, huli jing on his heels, reaching his lone hand out because. We can imagine Xie Lian probably needs some comfort right now. ]
[ you were supposed to be in bed!!! but. when xie lian looks up to him, his expression shifts from worried to a sad little smile. he takes the offered hand and gives it a small squeeze. ]
You shouldn't be out of bed... come on, let's head back up. [ quietly fussy, as always. his qilin is subdued, curled around his neck - it lifts its head and makes a quiet chittering noise at the huli jing, but otherwise settles back down. ]
[ Xie Lian gets to witness Hua Cheng literally kicking Alphinaud out of their shared room, when the elf twink answers the knock on the door and suddenly just - gets yoinked out of the way, to be replaced with Hua Cheng.
He's got a roll of bandages in his hand to supplement what he knows Xie Lian already has, and is smiling in that. "San Lang is so cheeky" kind of way. ]
[ There are few people here that would come up to him like this - though far more than he's ever been used to - but there is no one else that Hua Cheng would lean back into at feeling their embrace.
He does that, now, reaching to grip one of Xie Lian's hands with his remaining one, closing his eye as he feels his heart wrench in his chest. ]
xie lian disappeared for a little bit after the reunion - he had his own dead to talk to, and he'd given hua cheng a little squeeze to his hand and then headed out. it's been a few hours since then, and there's a knock at hua cheng's door, once the night has started to wind down properly.
there's no one else he really wants to be with, right now, so.
when hua cheng opens the door, there is xie lian - he has a tired smile for him, immediately, warm and soft, but...
he also has a black eye.
you left him alone for like two hours ] ...hello, San Lang...
ok no Hua Cheng is tired, but soft around the edges - until he sees the bruise, and he brings his hand up to gently sweep his thumb underneath it, tender as always. ]
After spending time with his teammates for a bit, and dealing with a few... emotional people, in the end, Hua Cheng finds his way to Xie Lian. Even with one arm, he's carrying some things with him.
[ gege is outside! he's standing out by the bridge, forearms resting ont he railing, looking out at the water.
the sound of jingles gets his attention, though. he looks up, and he gives hua cheng a quiet smile, warm and soft. just the person he always wants to see. ]
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w0 sunday post npc!
there's a gege calling for you, hua cheng, where you at. ] San Lang...!
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Hua Cheng materializes, having been headed in the direction of the train station. So many people seem preoccupied elsewhere, so best to snoop now that he's done listening in. ]
Yes, gege?
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w0 like tuesdayish
the first day, xie lian was mostly able to ignore feeling different than usual, but today he's feeling sort of. well. he can't just say how he's feeling. wouldn't that be odd? that would be too odd!
so hi, hua cheng. here's a xie lian, just kind of in your peripherial. (?) ] Um...S-San Lang....?
[ he is looking literally everywhere but at hua cheng's face at the moment. ]
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Whatever he was doing? Gone forever. ]
Yes, gege?
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w0, saturday, post trial
And, wouldn't you have it, Xie Lian was thinking the same thing?
It's as he's about to step into the inn that he finds himself coming to a full stop, hands raising, so that he and Xie Lian don't wind up running into each other. ]
Gege.
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he has the fortune (for once) of running into that person when he's on his way out to find hua cheng. xie lian looks up - and then, his expression shifts into recognition, followed by a softer relief. ]
San Lang. [ he greets, quietly pleased. ] Are you busy... ?
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w0 sunday, post execution.
he opens the door to his room with the PHS, looks to make sure emet-selch isn't there, and holds it open for hua cheng to follow, his expression stormy, for the moment quiet.
xie lian's other fist hasn't unclenched since they left. ]
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His footsteps are brisk and almost silent, even with the charms and chains on his boots. This is enough to make him want to laugh, cruel as it is.
But he doesn't say anything. Not until the door to Xie Lian and Emet-Selch's room has closed, and he looks at Xie Lian.
Hua Cheng reaches, fingertips a ghost of a touch over his white knuckled fist. ]
Gege.
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w1, tuesday evening!
naturally, it is xie lian! his ears are a little red. don't worry about it! ]
San Lang, do you have a moment? It's me!
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I always have a moment for gege.
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w1, thursday, post-break in
And covered in blood? Really hate that. Really hate the memories that brings to the surface. Going to just get him back to his room. ]
Is this gege's blood, or the others'? [ Because he knows you. ]
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...It is mine. [ he admits, quietly, now that they're alone. ] It's in the process of healing, already, though I don't think it was because of my own power.
It was necessary.
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w1 before wednesday night chaos
San Lang, can I ask you a question?
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Well, no more than usual, anyways.
Hua Cheng glances up from ... whatever he's doing, straightening up when he notices the look on Xie Lian. ]
You can, gege. Something the matter?
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w2 sunday post exec
San Lang -- San Lang! [ thankfully, finding a flash of bright red is easy in the dreary colors of the fort! and xie lian is definitely running straight towards it. he must have run all the way here?? ]
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... wait. With a laugh: ] Ah, gege, did you come running all this way?
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w3 monday
Answer? ]
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Good morning!
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stares at my fucking hands
i swear to fucking god, snow
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w3 friday, post-investigation
Once he finds Xie Lian, he reaches out, brushing his cool fingers against his hand before it's two of them tapping against his palm. Gege, almost, even if his voice won't say it. ]
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when hua cheng taps his fingers against his palm, xie lian doesn't even hesitate; he shifts, and threads their fingers together, turning his middle finger inwards so that his fingertips touch the red string on san lang's finger. ]
...San Lang. [ he says, quietly. ] Are you alright?
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w3 saturday, post-trial
When they come together again, as they always do, the cold exterior Hua Cheng has in place - softens. He is angry, and frustrated, and disappointed in them. It's a hollow victory, in the end, with someone out there that was willing to behead an injured girl. With everything that they've learned.
And, honestly? He's tired, which isn't something he's truly felt since he stood on the warfront of XianLe.
He looks at Xie Lian, for a moment. Takes him in.
And then, he opens his arms, still as wordlessly as he's been since Friday. ]
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xie lian looks at hua cheng, as he opens the door to his room - his hand is still hovering, in the position that he was going to knock.
...and when he just opens his arms like that, something in him lurches, and xie lian steps forward to close the space between them, lifting his hands up to curl them in the back of hua cheng's red as maple robes.
he just stands there, for a moment, face mashed against his chest.
this is fine. ]
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w4, tuesday night
by the end of the day on tuesday, xie lian just wants to see hua cheng. he's exhausted, even more so than he normally would let on, and he slips away from his room to go meet san lang in the spooky haunted mansion on tuesday night, since he thinks... that's probably where he'll find him.
when he sees that flash of clothes as red as maple, something in his heart utterly settles, and xie lian steps around one of these obnoxious memory bubbles as he approaches. ]
San Lang. [ his voice is quiet, but hua cheng can probably feel the soft happiness in it as he enters the foyer and trots to his side. ] Here you are.
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For almost 48 hours straight, that's all he's dealt with. People seeing who he is, the person that he's been, the memories he still has and those that he's lost. He promised to never put himself into a position where he would be at a disadvantage, but this, this has outright laughed in his face, dragging out things he's kept close to his heart.
So he's not quite avoiding people, because most have found him in the manor effortlessly. But he's taking a break from them, lounging on what was previously a dusty - well, lounge. It has one broken leg, so it's crooked, but if he stays stationary he won't bump any of the bubbles floating around him.
Xie Lian's presence has him getting up, immediate to greet him. ]
Gege. [ warm in return ] Ah, it feels a little like home, so I can't help myself.
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w4 wednesday. pre whatever weird event we get.
...something (he's not sure, but it's very positive), but as hua cheng approaches him, he has a small smile on his face in greeting, and he pulls him to come sit over by the river, away from the others. ]
...San Lang, I have a favor to ask you.
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He doesn't sit right away, holding Xie Lian's hand to let him settle first before he lowers to join him. ]
The answer is always yes. [ immediate ] What is it?
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w4 friday... haha...
xie lian kept catching hua cheng's eye throughout their search. he's sure he's not the only one who can feel the coldness of his fury, but xie lian knows it's so much more beyond that.
(even now, he can imagine it; the feral, heartbroken wails of a little boy, hundreds and hundreds of years ago.)
so when he finally pulls him away from the search for the night, it is not because he wants to stop trying to find hikaru, but because he's watching hua cheng hurt. and so, when they pass through the ghostly town, he coaxes him to the manor with a meaningful look and his hand on his wrist.
and when they enter through the doors, xie lian pulls him around the corner, lifts his arms, and pulls hua cheng to him in a hug. ]
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Even sparring with Yona does nothing to quench the flames. Even looking with the others does nothing to temper the worry that mounts higher and higher.
(It does hurt. It is agonizing, to remember the tiny figure in his arms, wailing with such pain that was heartbroken and miserable in a way that he knew deep down in his soul.)
Hua Cheng doesn't resist, when Xie Lian pulls him away. If it were anyone else, he would snatch himself away and keep going - but he's successfully brought away.
And when Xie Lian looks at him, lifts his arm, the furious composure breaks. His face crumples, for a moment, and he bows into the hug he's drawn into, clutching onto Xie Lian immediately. ]
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w4 post trial
back to the manor they go!
and it is only when they're in private that xie lian asks, his voice quiet. ]
San Lang...Where's your kitchen knife?
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There is no happiness, of course. They didn't find Hikaru's killer. They didn't find her sword. They missed so much, somewhere, yet again.
Even if she was splintering...
When they come to a stop, in the manor, a long and quiet walk of him gripping Xie Lian's hand like a lifeline, he looks at him quietly.
And without hesitation, he draws his hand away from him and loosens one silver bracer, then the other.
He pulls one knife out, from the space between the bracer and his leather vambrace. Keeps it, in that hand.
And with the other, pulls a second knife from the other space. ]
I am only sorry that the focus was put on you, gege, but I am not sorry for doing it or for not telling you. If you were to be questioned, I didn't want you to have to lie for my sake - though, you had done so, anyways.
[ It was easy to tell, that Xie Lian had figured it out. ]
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w5 tuesday
There is no jingling to announce Hua Cheng's appearance, today. Because he wisely changed his clothes (to a red and black spitting image of a certain charismatic thief from a certain copyright movie and subsequent animated series) rather than barging into the maze with his teammates, when there was an enthusiastic suggestion to have a "field trip," whatever that means.
His companion is currently in its wraith butterfly shape, fluttering ahead of him.
Drip, drip, drip.
From head to toe, Hua Cheng is absolutely drenched in blood. But he's walking leisurely and with no sign of discomfort. There's a tear in his black vest and red shirt in his side, but he's - honestly fine. Just very messy. Under his arm is a locked treasure chest, propped against his hip. His forearms are bare, and the muscles in the one are obviously flexed in a way that indicates the chest is heavy.
Drip, drip, drip.
And the butterfly immediately flutters into Xie Lian's line of sight, flying an enthusiastic circle around him when they come across him. ]
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luckily, he doesn't have to go far - because there is hua cheng. ]
S- [ and he is COVERED in blood?! ] --San Lang?!
[ he closes the distance between them in two bounding steps, his hands fluttering like he's not sure where to start. ] Are you -- are you alright?! What happened!? I've been looking for you -- you're not hurt, are you?! Blood - that's so much blood!
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w5 before curfew i hate you
having returned back from that nightmare, xie lian sets hua cheng down as carefully as possible on xie lian's own king sized bed instead of the one he shares with his two roommates. he has a few medical supplies in his room - a fresh roll of bandages, some antiseptic, and painkillers - and it just seemed easier to get him settled this way. as he settles down at his side, xie lian offers him a couple of pain killers from the bottle he's kept in his chest by his bed, a glass of water in his other hand. he looks extraordinarily fussy, still, eyes big and worried even as he just looks at him.]
Here... it should help. [ he will feed it to him. i promise. ]
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Hua Cheng, on the other hand, is not having that great of a time. Despite the fact his arm is no longer there, it still hurts. No dull throb of pain from blood loss as your heart and veins work in overtime, no aching bones or joints, just - pain. The rest of his injuries just provide an accompaniment to it. The leopard's claw marks, Alyssa's knife wound, and the snake's bite have all been sluggishly bleeding, and his shirt is stained in front.
His ears still ring, but he doesn't fuss when Xie Lian puts him down. Just looks back up at him, and he'll obediently open his mouth for Xie Lian to fuss. ]
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w5 friday, post-investigation
Gege. [ Immediately going to him, huli jing on his heels, reaching his lone hand out because. We can imagine Xie Lian probably needs some comfort right now. ]
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[ you were supposed to be in bed!!! but. when xie lian looks up to him, his expression shifts from worried to a sad little smile. he takes the offered hand and gives it a small squeeze. ]
You shouldn't be out of bed... come on, let's head back up. [ quietly fussy, as always. his qilin is subdued, curled around his neck - it lifts its head and makes a quiet chittering noise at the huli jing, but otherwise settles back down. ]
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w6 tuesday
He's got a roll of bandages in his hand to supplement what he knows Xie Lian already has, and is smiling in that. "San Lang is so cheeky" kind of way. ]
Hi, gege.
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...San Lang...?
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w6 post trial
laying flat on his back on the beach, arms spread out wide, staring up at the sky.
...he hopes hua cheng will come by. :c ]
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w6 post execution
wraps his arms around him from behind and buries his face in his back, and just stays there. ]
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He does that, now, reaching to grip one of Xie Lian's hands with his remaining one, closing his eye as he feels his heart wrench in his chest. ]
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w7 post memory regain yaaay
xie lian disappeared for a little bit after the reunion - he had his own dead to talk to, and he'd given hua cheng a little squeeze to his hand and then headed out. it's been a few hours since then, and there's a knock at hua cheng's door, once the night has started to wind down properly.
there's no one else he really wants to be with, right now, so.
when hua cheng opens the door, there is xie lian - he has a tired smile for him, immediately, warm and soft, but...
he also has a black eye.
you left him alone for like two hours ] ...hello, San Lang...
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Gege, I left you alone for two hours.
[ That's it, that's the tag.
ok no Hua Cheng is tired, but soft around the edges - until he sees the bruise, and he brings his hand up to gently sweep his thumb underneath it, tender as always. ]
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w7 saturday
Snow: SURPRISE
After spending time with his teammates for a bit, and dealing with a few... emotional people, in the end, Hua Cheng finds his way to Xie Lian. Even with one arm, he's carrying some things with him.
Where are you, gege. ]
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the sound of jingles gets his attention, though. he looks up, and he gives hua cheng a quiet smile, warm and soft. just the person he always wants to see. ]
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