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: ]
[ Since she's...what? Ah, these machines are so noisy! She should have just flown him back home...
She swings their hands back and forth between them and waits for it to quiet down before she leans over and kisses the shell of his ear. ]
Since I'll give everything I have to you?
[ She finishes for him, knowing perfectly well Shino wouldn't say something like that, but she can't help but to tease him.
And, she is delicately choosing to let Shino draw his own conclusions about the dangers of "wanting everything." That's not a current fear either of them need to have, and it's not something she wants to break the mood with now. ]
[ It's a tease, and not what either of them meant, though he doesn't correct her. He does blush again, leaning his head away, like her kiss tickled. He has to shake off the feeling lingering from transportation, even now, so many months later, thrown off by the sensation. ]
Sure, sure, whatever you say, Lord Wind Master.
[ Shino, not inclined to chase after what she means in particular, simply lets it go. Pressing is only important when he pings to wanting an answer when he sees an evasion, which is not the case here.
Instead, he picks up their pace a little, walking off lingering effects of teleportation and knowing these streets after months of walking them, to where he's not even vaguely concerned about getting lost.
In some parts of the city, he still does. Just not this part. It feels more like home. ]
[ Her pleased giggles are cut off just as quickly as they start with the transport taking no time at all.
She really wishes she just carried him home now... Her eyes close for a moment as they step outside, willing her stomach to settle down. It's been nearly a year, and she still isn't used to that!
Admittedly, she can count the number of time she's used one of those things sober on one hand, and when she's drunk, it isn't like feeling sick or dizzy is strange. She lets Shino guide them out, trusting him even if she hasn't tried to focus her eyes yet.
Maybe it's abrupt to ask after several minutes of silence, but once she gets her bearings again, she circles back to that dropped topic. ]
But what were you going to say? I couldn't hear you in there, so I didn't catch it.
[ Teasing is all well and good, but she really does want to know Shino's true intentions back there. ]
[ He says, borrowing some of her sing song way of speaking, with a knowing, goading half-grin to go along with it. The silence has been peaceful, but the truth in the thought he'd had is not. It begs the question of why that's a known truth, and why it remains so.
He prefers when they don't linger overlong on such things as that. They're too heavy, in the end. ]
Maybe you can make me remember if you try. Let's see, it was about wanting this or that--
[ She openly laughs, swinging his hand with hers. They're nearly to Qinglian apartment now, and rather than enter the door like a normal, ordinary god/human, she spins around to face him. ]
Hm, while I am your Shi Qingxuan, do you really think that the Wind Master isn't anymore impressive than any other god?
[ Shi Qingxuan pulls out her fan and starts fanning, whipping up the air around them. Now Shino's hair can flip around! ]
Have I not impressed you enough yet? Then I'll have to work harder!
[ He looks pretty with his hair flying about, catching in the multi-colored moonlight. Yes, Shino is very beautiful. ]
Didn't you just say all gods are equally impressive? [ Shaking her head! Truly hurt! (She's not.) ] It's fine, it's fine. I can show you my best, so there's no need for take-backs now! I've worked harder for my name before, so I shouldn't slack off for my only Shino!
[ She lets go of Shino's hand now to wrap her arm around his waist, and...
Woosh, up into the air they go! Her flowing skirts whip around their legs along with their hair now, and she smiles confidently at Shino as if to say, "Isn't this impressive? Tell me I'm impressive!" ]
[ Said hair flies around and finds his mouth when he goes to speak, leaving him reaching up to pull it back out right as her arm wraps around his waist. He knows what's coming, but he still reacts a split second late, giving up on pulling the hair out of his mouth to instead throw an arm around her neck an cling close. He's not afraid, more exhilarated than anything else, but he can't personally fly, so feeling secure in the process is a bonus.
That said, she smiles at a man who has a lank of hair still in his mouth, falling out the other side, and he smiles back, trying to use his tongue to push more hair away. About half falls free, while the rest clings tenaciously on. ]
Beautiful flying, best I've seen.
[ Ignore the slightly garbled nature of this; he's speaking around hair. ]
[ Shi Qingxuan's own hair is pulled back, not getting into her face at all or even looking less than artfully disheveled—she didn't reach nearly eight hundred years without mastering the art of using her abilities while still looking good!
She could extend the same to Shino, but first she has to amuse herself with seeing him caught up in the wind storm.
The winds around their faces die down, and if she had a free hand, she would fix his hair for him, but alas. She kisses Shino's cheek instead. ]
In the morning, I can take you to the groves and show you everything else I can do.
[ Kissing his ear. ]
But I want to see what Shino can do first.
[ With his cheek and ear glowing faintly from her touch still. ]
[ He blushes at that, a response that seems to be a catalyst for the way his skin reacts, sending a series of small dots of light across his cheeks and ears, brighter where she'd kissed him. His minor irritation regarding his hair in his mouth and how he now absolutely knows she acted deliberately has him almost rolling his eyes... and then he does roll his eyes. ]
From this height? Fall, mostly.
[ With a prod at her stomach, he half grins. ]
I thought you were planning to draw on me, so what see? I'm not the artist.
[ In fact he well remembers being laughed at for his art, so no thanks! ]
[ She pouts a little, but there are no hurt feelings behind it. If he were really scared of falling, he would cling to her like a baby monkey, not poking her stomach, and she knows it.
It's still bright outside between the triple moons' light and the ambient artificial light, but she can still see the reaction of his skin more clearly than she could inside. This, this is what she wants to see!
But this is much less fun for Shino than it is for her, so moving inside so he can see her draw on his skin is a much better idea. ]
I want to see you. [ She kisses his other cheek to make them match. ] Let's go inside!
[ Shi Qingxuan goes ahead and flies to her bedroom window and pulls it open. Did she do this to show off or to not disturb Mantou? A mystery. Either way, she lets Shino climb in first. ]
Though if I ever had skin like yours, I would want to see you draw on me, too.
[ He blinks at that, opening his mouth and closing it again, blushing without giving further commentary. She wants to see him, huh?
He smiles, heart feeling a touch lighter than it has been. He clambers down first with a passing thanks, landing light on the floor... and promptly stumbling. His blush is less of a reaction than touch is as far as that blooming of lights under the surface of his skin, but no less noticed, even in the darkness. ]
You kind of can now, you're so pale. We could always have a draw off--
[ He jests, having zero intention of drawing anything close to not-abstract, given how poorly received his drawings tend to be. Thanks! He knows he's not apparently as accurate in drawing as he thinks he is! ]
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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? ]
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[ 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.
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[ 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?
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[ 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...?
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[ 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.
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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...
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[ 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?
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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.
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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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She swings their hands back and forth between them and waits for it to quiet down before she leans over and kisses the shell of his ear. ]
Since I'll give everything I have to you?
[ She finishes for him, knowing perfectly well Shino wouldn't say something like that, but she can't help but to tease him.
And, she is delicately choosing to let Shino draw his own conclusions about the dangers of "wanting everything." That's not a current fear either of them need to have, and it's not something she wants to break the mood with now. ]
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Sure, sure, whatever you say, Lord Wind Master.
[ Shino, not inclined to chase after what she means in particular, simply lets it go. Pressing is only important when he pings to wanting an answer when he sees an evasion, which is not the case here.
Instead, he picks up their pace a little, walking off lingering effects of teleportation and knowing these streets after months of walking them, to where he's not even vaguely concerned about getting lost.
In some parts of the city, he still does. Just not this part. It feels more like home. ]
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[ Her pleased giggles are cut off just as quickly as they start with the transport taking no time at all.
She really wishes she just carried him home now... Her eyes close for a moment as they step outside, willing her stomach to settle down. It's been nearly a year, and she still isn't used to that!
Admittedly, she can count the number of time she's used one of those things sober on one hand, and when she's drunk, it isn't like feeling sick or dizzy is strange. She lets Shino guide them out, trusting him even if she hasn't tried to focus her eyes yet.
Maybe it's abrupt to ask after several minutes of silence, but once she gets her bearings again, she circles back to that dropped topic. ]
But what were you going to say? I couldn't hear you in there, so I didn't catch it.
[ Teasing is all well and good, but she really does want to know Shino's true intentions back there. ]
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[ He says, borrowing some of her sing song way of speaking, with a knowing, goading half-grin to go along with it. The silence has been peaceful, but the truth in the thought he'd had is not. It begs the question of why that's a known truth, and why it remains so.
He prefers when they don't linger overlong on such things as that. They're too heavy, in the end. ]
Maybe you can make me remember if you try. Let's see, it was about wanting this or that--
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[ She nods, seemingly happy to just go along with Shino's clear dodge. Did he say something sappy? He's being awfully cheeky right now! ]
And you had said it was fine if I wanted everything of yours because of something about me.
[ A playful smile comes to her face as she glances down at him. ]
Is it because I'm Shino's god?
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Aren't you everyone's god?
[ Though he gives her hand a squeeze and shoots her a grin. ]
Gods aren't more or less impressive than each other, so I'd have to say it's just 'cause... Shi Qingxuan is also partly mine.
[ SEMANTICS and cheekiness, but truth, too. Gods, demons, that's not what's relevant to him. Shi Qingxuan, that person, he is. ]
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[ She openly laughs, swinging his hand with hers. They're nearly to Qinglian apartment now, and rather than enter the door like a normal, ordinary god/human, she spins around to face him. ]
Hm, while I am your Shi Qingxuan, do you really think that the Wind Master isn't anymore impressive than any other god?
[ Shi Qingxuan pulls out her fan and starts fanning, whipping up the air around them. Now Shino's hair can flip around! ]
Have I not impressed you enough yet? Then I'll have to work harder!
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Work harder at what? I'm impressed! I'm very impressed! Windy is the most impressive of gods!
[ Still half smiling, since he's curious what she's planning to do when the door is right. There. ]
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Didn't you just say all gods are equally impressive? [ Shaking her head! Truly hurt! (She's not.) ] It's fine, it's fine. I can show you my best, so there's no need for take-backs now! I've worked harder for my name before, so I shouldn't slack off for my only Shino!
[ She lets go of Shino's hand now to wrap her arm around his waist, and...
Woosh, up into the air they go! Her flowing skirts whip around their legs along with their hair now, and she smiles confidently at Shino as if to say, "Isn't this impressive? Tell me I'm impressive!" ]
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That said, she smiles at a man who has a lank of hair still in his mouth, falling out the other side, and he smiles back, trying to use his tongue to push more hair away. About half falls free, while the rest clings tenaciously on. ]
Beautiful flying, best I've seen.
[ Ignore the slightly garbled nature of this; he's speaking around hair. ]
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[ Shi Qingxuan's own hair is pulled back, not getting into her face at all or even looking less than artfully disheveled—she didn't reach nearly eight hundred years without mastering the art of using her abilities while still looking good!
She could extend the same to Shino, but first she has to amuse herself with seeing him caught up in the wind storm.
The winds around their faces die down, and if she had a free hand, she would fix his hair for him, but alas. She kisses Shino's cheek instead. ]
In the morning, I can take you to the groves and show you everything else I can do.
[ Kissing his ear. ]
But I want to see what Shino can do first.
[ With his cheek and ear glowing faintly from her touch still. ]
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From this height? Fall, mostly.
[ With a prod at her stomach, he half grins. ]
I thought you were planning to draw on me, so what see? I'm not the artist.
[ In fact he well remembers being laughed at for his art, so no thanks! ]
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[ She pouts a little, but there are no hurt feelings behind it. If he were really scared of falling, he would cling to her like a baby monkey, not poking her stomach, and she knows it.
It's still bright outside between the triple moons' light and the ambient artificial light, but she can still see the reaction of his skin more clearly than she could inside. This, this is what she wants to see!
But this is much less fun for Shino than it is for her, so moving inside so he can see her draw on his skin is a much better idea. ]
I want to see you. [ She kisses his other cheek to make them match. ] Let's go inside!
[ Shi Qingxuan goes ahead and flies to her bedroom window and pulls it open. Did she do this to show off or to not disturb Mantou? A mystery. Either way, she lets Shino climb in first. ]
Though if I ever had skin like yours, I would want to see you draw on me, too.
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He smiles, heart feeling a touch lighter than it has been. He clambers down first with a passing thanks, landing light on the floor... and promptly stumbling. His blush is less of a reaction than touch is as far as that blooming of lights under the surface of his skin, but no less noticed, even in the darkness. ]
You kind of can now, you're so pale. We could always have a draw off--
[ He jests, having zero intention of drawing anything close to not-abstract, given how poorly received his drawings tend to be. Thanks! He knows he's not apparently as accurate in drawing as he thinks he is! ]
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