[ He snorts, not bothering to disguise it, lingering dots of light on his skin slowly fading everywhere she touches. Even beneath the fabric of his trousers the same occurs, for all neither one of them sees. ]
You're going to have to, and I'm not promising I won't trip over your feet.
[ Nonetheless, he moves smoothly along with her, following without complaint. He trusts his Wind Master to lead him through whatever dancing strikes her fancy, until she's had her fill. ]
[ Letting her have her fill means she's going to be dancing with him for a while. Her movements are graceful and elegant like she's done this countless times before, and she softly feeds him little tips and words of praise as they go. Shino might as well be the stars in the sky with the way Shi Qingxuan looks down at him. This is nice... In all honesty, she wouldn't mind dancing for all the festivals she's missed in the mortal realm while being here in Prismatica.
But she can't wear Shino down like that, and she also didn't miss the way color and points of light painted his skin wherever their hands brushed back there. And so, after leading them back off the dance floor and to a nearly refreshment table, she takes one of his hands in hers again brushes her thumb over his knuckles. ]
Is this new?
[ Petting his knuckles again... It's so pretty, she thinks, but opts not to say. ]
[ He's quick on his feet, at least, though how much of this is going to stay with him is a question he's not asking. No one should ask that question. The answer will only depress.
Still, with flitting attention and no resistance to her suggestions and guidance, he figures they're not making a mess of dancing. It is, in fact, kind of fun, all the more so because of how she's looking at him, and his own affection as visible whenever he meets her eyes. Which is more and more often as they dance and he's confident in where his feet fall.
The break is appreciated, and he hums a note of nothing at all before realising her brush of his knuckles came with a question, and his distraction (food, water, sitting down for a moment, all of the above preferably) had his brain tracking the words at a delay. ]
Is what?
[ Glancing down, clueless, until the dots of light beneath his skin both brightening and slowly fading registers. He squeezes her hand by reflex, then smiles, a little amused, a little helpless, a little annoyed. ]
Not really, it was what my first "Moonblessing" looked like. For months, this is what'd happen during Iris and triple. Oh, and the stronger lightning magic.
[ Shi Qingxuan wholly and completely doesn't expect Shino to remember any of this impromptu dance lesson beyond the enjoyment they shared of dancing together. The most precious part of this memory for her is the warmth Shino shares with her and the affection she feels between them.
That's the important part.
The other important part is his fun, not new moonblessing. ]
Really?
[ She purses her lips, looking at his hand as she takes it in both of his. He can have the other one for drinking and snacking; this one is hers. Seated on the soft, cushioned benches set aside from the dance floor, there's not much space for two people, but even if there was, Shi Qingxuan would still be sitting nearly hip to hip with him anyway, still holding his hand in her lap. ]
Do you have the stronger lightning magic now too?
[ Which has nothing to do with how pretty his skin reacts to their shared touches, but she is still interested. She's known Shino since he arrived, but she really never noticed that his skin would react like this? But it's so pretty... Ah, but if she knew about this before, she would have definitely wanted to touch him more back then too...so maybe it was safer that she didn't notice.
She thinks all this while idly drawing the outline of a peach blossom on his hand. ]
[ He watches her draw on his hand, not sure what shape it is she's leaving in a fading blossom of coloured light behind her every touch. He blinks, and then there's a pleasant sort of buzz against her skin, originating from their point of contact. The short answer was always yes, but the reason he'd worked to control that lightning magic was to temper how it might come up while he was Iris influenced. Managing an incredibly minor tingle was in fact on purpose; it also was an answer in lieu of words.
He smiles, not a grin, but a more subtle turning up at the corner of his lips. He's still watching the drawing on his hand fade when he speaks, idly admiring the fabric of her skirts.
He does not consider what electric tingling in a lap might be like for her, but hey, he hadn't thought this through in the first place. ]
Every time, yeah. I learned to control it early on.
[ Out of necessity and some type of fear and a need for focus and distraction from everything he couldn't control.
She has his left hand, where his right one would have been interrupted by the black lines of Murasame's presence etched into his flesh. It's not like anything about being Moonblessed is normal for each of them, but it's at least... nice, taking a momentary break, and indulging in the light and steady flow of chroma from the moonlacing between the two of them. ]
[ Oh. Her toes curl in her embroidered shoes as she feels the surprisingly pleasant tingle of electricity against her hand and through her skirts. He has this power every time? He has it every time and he never mentioned it?
His smile isn't exactly bright, though, so she restrains her enthusiasm. Of course, if he's affected like this every moon and had to learn how to control a new, potentially dangerous power, she can understand why he's not too enthused.
Though he still showed off what he can do with it when she wouldn't have asked herself, so he must at least be confident in his skills. She lifts her fingertip away to admire what remains of the design on his skin, and even as she moves that hand away, she can still feel the tingle of electricity lighting up her own nerves. ]
I'd say you're very good at controlling it at this point. [ She brings that same finger to brush along the backs of his fingers. As if she'll stop admiring the way his skin lights up. (As if she needs that as an excuse to poke him.) ] I never would have thought this sort of power could feel pleasant, but it really does feel unexpectedly nice.
[ An extra sensation on top of the already comforting feeling that moonlacing brings with it that. ]
[ He asks, giving her a curious look, fingers twitching under the caress of her finger. He's pretty relaxed overall in the moment, less tense than he'd been earlier in the swarm of people at the charity event. It's not that people bother him, he enjoys crowds, but it's been one disaster after another lately. Hard to feel entirely restive then, and harder to feel that way under Iris's continued influence.
Subtly, he leans in toward her. Or not subtly as all, more without his conscious thought. ]
I worked on controlling it once I realised it'd gotten stronger. Besides, it only shows up during the big fat purple moon's time, what's there to mention?
[ Pleasant is a good way for what low levels are like, just as in wielding it that he has a sort of pleasant buzz himself. He can attest to at least one self-administered neck massage that was great at stress relief, for a while.
Or maybe ten.
And a few other things his brain wanders toward then shies away from, because they're not helpful thoughts in the moment. ]
[ A playful look plays across her face as she taps this knuckles, wondering if she'll get more reactions.
Though leaning towards her is already a nice reaction. There are nothing but warm and happy feelings here. Shino has that effect, but so does dancing, looking nice, being noticed...and at the moment, she has all of those things, so she's feeling especially delighted. Her tail hugs Shino around the waist with her tail, soft and warm and nearly curling onto his lap. ]
Why not mention something you've been working hard at? It can't be easy to master something that only comes about a few days each month.
[ When she thinks about it, learning how to control the wind wasn't a quick and easy process at all. It took a lot of practice even with all the spiritual devices, tools, and artifacts her brother had given her. Not that this is necessarily the same... He did say "stronger", after all.
Hmm... She prods at his light-up skin again, drawing a swirling (cloudy) pattern over his hand. ]
Or have you been practicing that particular technique for a while?
[ He keeps lazily watching her trace patterns on his hand, trying to identify this shape. It looks something like a shiba inu, he decides. No, it's not because he wants it to be, clearly it just looks like that!
(He wants it to be.) ]
The one who likes bragging here is definitely not me, [ he says, a bit deadpan, definitely to tease. ] Anyway, yeah, I guess? When I can, on the moons. The Moon Knights are into having us use our Moonblessing powers when we have them, so the practice got a lot more structured when I signed up with them.
[ He corrects, without anything more than a hum in his throat at first. He's still watching her draw patterns, leaning in with the same comfortable ease he has with all the people he cares about, but especially with Shi Qingxuan. Easy intimacy with her is just that--easy. ]
I don't mind. They just have a lot of rules and all the rest... less military than a military, at least. Makes it easier to mostly follow.
[ He considers his answer before responding to her. ]
... If I don't, I won't get to be as involved with the people we bring in through the Iris center.
[ He did before he joined, but he has more reason to be there and access to the moon now that he is. The rest, the fighting for the city against all manner of things which are unreasonably strong, that... that isn't fixed if he ignores it, either, so he'd rather face it head on.
Then at least he's doing something. ]
We don't have a lot of depth of knowledge of the things we're facing, but the Moon Knights try to adapt and keep putting themselves between people with no fighting skills and those who'd want to hurt them. It's... not what I might have made of myself back home, but it feels like something I have to try while here.
Shino is a noble and caring person. [ Is Shi Qingxuan's comment to that, because it is true. Shino's choices come from a place she can understand completely. With his answer, she feels like she understands why his first response was so tepid, too. ] Wanting to be part of something that protects people is only natural. Even if it's not something you would have chosen in your own world, circumstances are different here.
[ And now she is drawing the outline of a dog on his skin. ]
Do you like working with the people who just arrived on Iris?
[ He makes a somewhat scoffing noise at noble, but not caring. Noble is a tangled concept anyway, and sure, he's been motivated by noble reasons before, but that hasn't always gone well, has it? Life is a constantly learning curve. He's most keeping up with the learning. ]
Mm, they're as confused as any of the rest of us were when we first got here. Helping like people had helped me is nice, yeah.
[ But he's really there always watching for family or friends showing up. They haven't yet, but still.
Shaking off those thoughts, he stares down at the dog being drawn on his arm. ]
A dog?
[ Hah, and a smile to go along with it. ]
Never knew you were an artist.
[ Lies, but he's shifting away from talking about work. This whole event, it ties into some good and some not great related to it, but overall, he's happy to be here. Particularly with her. ]
[ Scoff all you want, Shino, it's still true! He is a kind and noble person who cares deeply and sympathizes easily. A good man!
That said, he doesn't need to say he wants to look out for his family for Shi Qingxuan to know, or at least unconsciously understand, that he wants that. Regardless, she's also fine changing topics - especially if he's going to compliment her!
She chuckles proudly. ] This is nothing much! Really, Shino...
[ Please feel free to compliment me more! ]
If I had more space, I could draw more, though.
[ But sadly, Shino always seems to prefer these tight-sleeved styles, and with a coat over top, he really won't be able to roll them up... ]
What, like a bathhouse? I'm not stripping down in anywhere inappropriate!
[ He's also finally... starting to blush, now that he's standing. What the heck!? What is she even suggesting?! None of this is helped by having to look up at her. ]
[ He objects, flustered, but then he's moving forward and now tugging her along as he winds through the crowd. Closing doors and public indecency with Shi Qingxuan has a very fluid and loose definition in his experience, but he can get a hint once it weasels into his awareness. They can at least head out the doors and onward to—sure, Shi Qingxuan's apartment. ]
[ She says so very matter-of-factly. Her sense of public decency is...well, a little handholding isn't even bad by this world's standards! She wasn't going to take him to a side closet and mess around with him there!
(She was totally going to do that.)
They start their walk to the QingLian apartment, and— ]
Hm? Why wouldn't he be? Ah, I'll let him know that we left ahead, but Xie-xiong is more than capable of looking after himself. He's not a child; he's even older than me.
[ He says, still red across his cheeks but also sounding a bit dry as he looks over at her. They make it out into the night air, refreshingly cool compared to the heat inside the building. Overhead, the moons are bright in the sky, three spheres covering different parts of a dark expanse littered with hints of starlight at the far fringes.
He settles into stride with her, annoyed he's always shorter, but... not as much right now as when Shi Qingxuan is in his birth form. His free hand rubs at the back of his neck while they walk down the sidewalk, heading toward the teleporter nearby. ]
It's not that he's not capable, it's just that it's the three moons... And people were getting intense in there. Did you smell it?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
You're going to have to, and I'm not promising I won't trip over your feet.
[ Nonetheless, he moves smoothly along with her, following without complaint. He trusts his Wind Master to lead him through whatever dancing strikes her fancy, until she's had her fill. ]
no subject
But she can't wear Shino down like that, and she also didn't miss the way color and points of light painted his skin wherever their hands brushed back there. And so, after leading them back off the dance floor and to a nearly refreshment table, she takes one of his hands in hers again brushes her thumb over his knuckles. ]
Is this new?
[ Petting his knuckles again... It's so pretty, she thinks, but opts not to say. ]
no subject
Still, with flitting attention and no resistance to her suggestions and guidance, he figures they're not making a mess of dancing. It is, in fact, kind of fun, all the more so because of how she's looking at him, and his own affection as visible whenever he meets her eyes. Which is more and more often as they dance and he's confident in where his feet fall.
The break is appreciated, and he hums a note of nothing at all before realising her brush of his knuckles came with a question, and his distraction (food, water, sitting down for a moment, all of the above preferably) had his brain tracking the words at a delay. ]
Is what?
[ Glancing down, clueless, until the dots of light beneath his skin both brightening and slowly fading registers. He squeezes her hand by reflex, then smiles, a little amused, a little helpless, a little annoyed. ]
Not really, it was what my first "Moonblessing" looked like. For months, this is what'd happen during Iris and triple. Oh, and the stronger lightning magic.
no subject
That's the important part.
The other important part is his fun, not new moonblessing. ]
Really?
[ She purses her lips, looking at his hand as she takes it in both of his. He can have the other one for drinking and snacking; this one is hers. Seated on the soft, cushioned benches set aside from the dance floor, there's not much space for two people, but even if there was, Shi Qingxuan would still be sitting nearly hip to hip with him anyway, still holding his hand in her lap. ]
Do you have the stronger lightning magic now too?
[ Which has nothing to do with how pretty his skin reacts to their shared touches, but she is still interested. She's known Shino since he arrived, but she really never noticed that his skin would react like this? But it's so pretty... Ah, but if she knew about this before, she would have definitely wanted to touch him more back then too...so maybe it was safer that she didn't notice.
She thinks all this while idly drawing the outline of a peach blossom on his hand. ]
no subject
He smiles, not a grin, but a more subtle turning up at the corner of his lips. He's still watching the drawing on his hand fade when he speaks, idly admiring the fabric of her skirts.
He does not consider what electric tingling in a lap might be like for her, but hey, he hadn't thought this through in the first place. ]
Every time, yeah. I learned to control it early on.
[ Out of necessity and some type of fear and a need for focus and distraction from everything he couldn't control.
She has his left hand, where his right one would have been interrupted by the black lines of Murasame's presence etched into his flesh. It's not like anything about being Moonblessed is normal for each of them, but it's at least... nice, taking a momentary break, and indulging in the light and steady flow of chroma from the moonlacing between the two of them. ]
no subject
His smile isn't exactly bright, though, so she restrains her enthusiasm. Of course, if he's affected like this every moon and had to learn how to control a new, potentially dangerous power, she can understand why he's not too enthused.
Though he still showed off what he can do with it when she wouldn't have asked herself, so he must at least be confident in his skills. She lifts her fingertip away to admire what remains of the design on his skin, and even as she moves that hand away, she can still feel the tingle of electricity lighting up her own nerves. ]
I'd say you're very good at controlling it at this point. [ She brings that same finger to brush along the backs of his fingers. As if she'll stop admiring the way his skin lights up. (As if she needs that as an excuse to poke him.) ] I never would have thought this sort of power could feel pleasant, but it really does feel unexpectedly nice.
[ An extra sensation on top of the already comforting feeling that moonlacing brings with it that. ]
Why haven't you mentioned it before?
no subject
[ He asks, giving her a curious look, fingers twitching under the caress of her finger. He's pretty relaxed overall in the moment, less tense than he'd been earlier in the swarm of people at the charity event. It's not that people bother him, he enjoys crowds, but it's been one disaster after another lately. Hard to feel entirely restive then, and harder to feel that way under Iris's continued influence.
Subtly, he leans in toward her. Or not subtly as all, more without his conscious thought. ]
I worked on controlling it once I realised it'd gotten stronger. Besides, it only shows up during the big fat purple moon's time, what's there to mention?
[ Pleasant is a good way for what low levels are like, just as in wielding it that he has a sort of pleasant buzz himself. He can attest to at least one self-administered neck massage that was great at stress relief, for a while.
Or maybe ten.
And a few other things his brain wanders toward then shies away from, because they're not helpful thoughts in the moment. ]
no subject
Though leaning towards her is already a nice reaction. There are nothing but warm and happy feelings here. Shino has that effect, but so does dancing, looking nice, being noticed...and at the moment, she has all of those things, so she's feeling especially delighted. Her tail hugs Shino around the waist with her tail, soft and warm and nearly curling onto his lap. ]
Why not mention something you've been working hard at? It can't be easy to master something that only comes about a few days each month.
[ When she thinks about it, learning how to control the wind wasn't a quick and easy process at all. It took a lot of practice even with all the spiritual devices, tools, and artifacts her brother had given her. Not that this is necessarily the same... He did say "stronger", after all.
Hmm... She prods at his light-up skin again, drawing a swirling (cloudy) pattern over his hand. ]
Or have you been practicing that particular technique for a while?
no subject
(He wants it to be.) ]
The one who likes bragging here is definitely not me, [ he says, a bit deadpan, definitely to tease. ] Anyway, yeah, I guess? When I can, on the moons. The Moon Knights are into having us use our Moonblessing powers when we have them, so the practice got a lot more structured when I signed up with them.
no subject
But teasing her like that! She just laughs, the mood too good to even pretend to be offended.
And as nice as that gentle buzz felt, it was more a show of his control than a display of the general application of his powers... ]
I see...
[ She starts drawing another cloud. ]
Do you like working with the Moon Knights? You joined at the start of this year, didn't you?
no subject
[ He corrects, without anything more than a hum in his throat at first. He's still watching her draw patterns, leaning in with the same comfortable ease he has with all the people he cares about, but especially with Shi Qingxuan. Easy intimacy with her is just that--easy. ]
I don't mind. They just have a lot of rules and all the rest... less military than a military, at least. Makes it easier to mostly follow.
no subject
You don't mind it?
[ That whole answer is so lukewarm. Maybe it's how relaxed he is, his body leaning against hers as she enjoys reactive quality his skin now has. ]
Do you think you'll continue to work with them?
[ There's nothing accusatory in her soft voice; whatever Shino is feeling, Shi Qingxuan wants to know. And she knows Shino has plenty of feelings. ]
no subject
... If I don't, I won't get to be as involved with the people we bring in through the Iris center.
[ He did before he joined, but he has more reason to be there and access to the moon now that he is. The rest, the fighting for the city against all manner of things which are unreasonably strong, that... that isn't fixed if he ignores it, either, so he'd rather face it head on.
Then at least he's doing something. ]
We don't have a lot of depth of knowledge of the things we're facing, but the Moon Knights try to adapt and keep putting themselves between people with no fighting skills and those who'd want to hurt them. It's... not what I might have made of myself back home, but it feels like something I have to try while here.
no subject
[ And now she is drawing the outline of a dog on his skin. ]
Do you like working with the people who just arrived on Iris?
no subject
Mm, they're as confused as any of the rest of us were when we first got here. Helping like people had helped me is nice, yeah.
[ But he's really there always watching for family or friends showing up. They haven't yet, but still.
Shaking off those thoughts, he stares down at the dog being drawn on his arm. ]
A dog?
[ Hah, and a smile to go along with it. ]
Never knew you were an artist.
[ Lies, but he's shifting away from talking about work. This whole event, it ties into some good and some not great related to it, but overall, he's happy to be here. Particularly with her. ]
no subject
That said, he doesn't need to say he wants to look out for his family for Shi Qingxuan to know, or at least unconsciously understand, that he wants that. Regardless, she's also fine changing topics - especially if he's going to compliment her!
She chuckles proudly. ] This is nothing much! Really, Shino...
[ Please feel free to compliment me more! ]
If I had more space, I could draw more, though.
[ But sadly, Shino always seems to prefer these tight-sleeved styles, and with a coat over top, he really won't be able to roll them up... ]
no subject
[ He says, giving him a bit of an odd look. ]
Not here, I guess, but anytime you wanted, really. It's fine.
no subject
Even if I wanted to now?
no subject
Not here, but sure, if you want. No one said we had to stay all night.
no subject
Then let's go together. Shall we go to your apartment or mine? Or just somewhere private enough?
[ Cordis is a menace on decency. ]
no subject
What, like a bathhouse? I'm not stripping down in anywhere inappropriate!
[ He's also finally... starting to blush, now that he's standing. What the heck!? What is she even suggesting?! None of this is helped by having to look up at her. ]
no subject
[ Shino! You're blushing, so you must have an idea what she's implying! ]
Maybe we should go home... We can go to my place.
no subject
[ He objects, flustered, but then he's moving forward and now tugging her along as he winds through the crowd. Closing doors and public indecency with Shi Qingxuan has a very fluid and loose definition in his experience, but he can get a hint once it weasels into his awareness. They can at least head out the doors and onward to—sure, Shi Qingxuan's apartment. ]
Is Xie Lian going to be okay?
[ Heading home on his own? ]
no subject
[ She says so very matter-of-factly. Her sense of public decency is...well, a little handholding isn't even bad by this world's standards! She wasn't going to take him to a side closet and mess around with him there!
(She was totally going to do that.)
They start their walk to the QingLian apartment, and— ]
Hm? Why wouldn't he be? Ah, I'll let him know that we left ahead, but Xie-xiong is more than capable of looking after himself. He's not a child; he's even older than me.
no subject
[ He says, still red across his cheeks but also sounding a bit dry as he looks over at her. They make it out into the night air, refreshingly cool compared to the heat inside the building. Overhead, the moons are bright in the sky, three spheres covering different parts of a dark expanse littered with hints of starlight at the far fringes.
He settles into stride with her, annoyed he's always shorter, but... not as much right now as when Shi Qingxuan is in his birth form. His free hand rubs at the back of his neck while they walk down the sidewalk, heading toward the teleporter nearby. ]
It's not that he's not capable, it's just that it's the three moons... And people were getting intense in there. Did you smell it?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)