[ 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?
Mostly I want to go to my apartment... But our bath there is nice, don't you think? Public baths are nice, but there's no comparison to your own private bath.
[ And we have soaps and bath oils that smell like ripe fruits and fresh flowers...
As they walk, Shi Qingxuan interlaces her fingers with Shino's, feeling some small degree of pride and a larger sense of contentment just from walking beside him. Just a walk under the moons with him would be nice, too... But right now, they're heading back to the residential district. ]
I didn't smell anything? [ ???? ] Do you think he'll be affected by another person's scent? He has a strong will and a strong body. He isn't someone that can be taken advantage of so easily.
I'm not saying I think public ones are better, just some can be private, I've been in those!
[ Once or twice, enough to know they exist. He squeezes her hand once their fingers are laced together, leaning in toward her without thinking about it. The night air continues to be a welcome respite... though the longer they're in contact out here, without distraction, the more he's feeling warm in a different but familiar way. He glances around, confirming the part of the street they're on has no particularly prying eyes looking their way, and goes up on tip-toe to press a chaste kiss to her temple, in pace with their walking speed. ]
Mm, your nose isn't as sensitive as mine, huh? Don't worry about it, it was all a headache. Just we're Iris, and some things definitely don't help make that easier, that's all.
[ The kiss to her temple is equal parts amusing and surprising, and she laughs easily. This sort of open affection is so easy with Shino, she hugs his arm closer to herself in place of embracing him. Shino is the one with the touch-reactive skin today, but Shi Qingxuan's face still warms up from these touches. ]
The scents in the air would make anyone's brain addled. [ She knows this to be true, and she also knows that those scents aren't easy to control. ] But Xie-xiong never told me the details of what he experiences with Iris. He always wants to be closer during Iris, so I can see how having scents that make anyone want that would wear down an Iris-blessed person's resolve...
Mm, I wonder how much it changes for him... it's annoying.
[ Is his (rather grumpy) assessment as he continues to lean into Shi Qingxuan, like her words about wanting to be closer were true for not just Xie Lian. (They're not, but Shino's always like that anyway, really, so what's the difference?) His arm is a series of reactive and slow to fade colours where they touch, renewing in brightness the longer the contact lingers. ]
Is how bad Cordis messes with you different each time, or is it usually the same?
[ Shi Qingxuan has no desire to break their contact, so she keeps holding him close, their shadows linked together as they enter the transporter. ]
It's hard to say... He changes animals sometimes, and sometimes he has more animalistic traits than others, but I don't know what might be going on for him that I can't see...
[ Anxieties and wants he's keeping hidden away beyond cuddling against his side with a flushed face... ]
Ah, for me, it's fairly consistent. You've seen some of the worst that can happen to me, but the mental changes aren't any easier to deal with. Wanting to have everything is dangerous here.
[ It's a fair assessment of a reality Shino likewise understands, and he doesn't speculate on how Xie Lian feels in any given Iris or Triple Moons; he might ask, but for now, he lets it lay quiet between all of them.
His focus is on Shi Qingxuan, and her words: how wanting everything is dangerous, and he understands, or thinks he does. (He doesn't in specifics; he doesn't know about her brush with chroma deprivation.) ]
Isn't that true everywhere?
[ He says, patting down his pocket to pull out his comm for payment at the transporter, now that they're on the platform properly. ]
You can want everything I have, and that's fine, since you're—
[ The transporter chooses that moment to activate, thus swallowing his ending words: ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.
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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. ]
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... 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.
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Even if I wanted to now?
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Not here, but sure, if you want. No one said we had to stay all night.
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Then let's go together. Shall we go to your apartment or mine? Or just somewhere private enough?
[ Cordis is a menace on decency. ]
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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. ]
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[ 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.
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[ 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
[ And we have soaps and bath oils that smell like ripe fruits and fresh flowers...
As they walk, Shi Qingxuan interlaces her fingers with Shino's, feeling some small degree of pride and a larger sense of contentment just from walking beside him. Just a walk under the moons with him would be nice, too... But right now, they're heading back to the residential district. ]
I didn't smell anything? [ ???? ] Do you think he'll be affected by another person's scent? He has a strong will and a strong body. He isn't someone that can be taken advantage of so easily.
Did you see something while we were in there...?
no subject
[ Once or twice, enough to know they exist. He squeezes her hand once their fingers are laced together, leaning in toward her without thinking about it. The night air continues to be a welcome respite... though the longer they're in contact out here, without distraction, the more he's feeling warm in a different but familiar way. He glances around, confirming the part of the street they're on has no particularly prying eyes looking their way, and goes up on tip-toe to press a chaste kiss to her temple, in pace with their walking speed. ]
Mm, your nose isn't as sensitive as mine, huh? Don't worry about it, it was all a headache. Just we're Iris, and some things definitely don't help make that easier, that's all.
no subject
The scents in the air would make anyone's brain addled. [ She knows this to be true, and she also knows that those scents aren't easy to control. ] But Xie-xiong never told me the details of what he experiences with Iris. He always wants to be closer during Iris, so I can see how having scents that make anyone want that would wear down an Iris-blessed person's resolve...
no subject
[ Is his (rather grumpy) assessment as he continues to lean into Shi Qingxuan, like her words about wanting to be closer were true for not just Xie Lian. (They're not, but Shino's always like that anyway, really, so what's the difference?) His arm is a series of reactive and slow to fade colours where they touch, renewing in brightness the longer the contact lingers. ]
Is how bad Cordis messes with you different each time, or is it usually the same?
no subject
It's hard to say... He changes animals sometimes, and sometimes he has more animalistic traits than others, but I don't know what might be going on for him that I can't see...
[ Anxieties and wants he's keeping hidden away beyond cuddling against his side with a flushed face... ]
Ah, for me, it's fairly consistent. You've seen some of the worst that can happen to me, but the mental changes aren't any easier to deal with. Wanting to have everything is dangerous here.
no subject
His focus is on Shi Qingxuan, and her words: how wanting everything is dangerous, and he understands, or thinks he does. (He doesn't in specifics; he doesn't know about her brush with chroma deprivation.) ]
Isn't that true everywhere?
[ He says, patting down his pocket to pull out his comm for payment at the transporter, now that they're on the platform properly. ]
You can want everything I have, and that's fine, since you're—
[ The transporter chooses that moment to activate, thus swallowing his ending words: ]
—not trying to kill me.
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