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[fated_dance]

"I'm a bit busy at the moment, leave a message."

Comments

Text: UN: Yīshēng

[drqingmedwoman]

I've been told to contact you by a mutual friend, Jiang Cheng. I'm in need of assistance attending a friend's wedding without my identity being known. Is this something you can help me with?

text: un: fated

[fated_dance]

Yes. Has he told you where you can find me? I can come to you, if that is easier, and bring my supplies.

Re: text: un: fated

[drqingmedwoman]

He did not. All he gave me was your name and the way to contact you on this device.

[She looks around at her small apartment warily, but opts it still might be safer if this unknown man came to her. It's a risk, but..

The address she sends is in a humble area of town and is a second story apartment in a complex.]

I'll have tea ready for you when you arrive.

text

[fated_dance]

I will be there shortly, assuming you wish to be disguised now? And I can make it so I am not followed, if you wish it.

[ Because she has asked to be disguised. It would make sense for her to wish for privacy and secrecy. ]

Text to Action

[drqingmedwoman]

Yes, thank you.

[While she waits, she sets the kettle on. There's a small garden on her balcony and drying herbs hanging on one wall. She paces the length of the small studio apartment, trying to come up with everything she needs to prepare for in order for this disguise to work.

When she hears his knock, she cautiously opens the door. She's dressed in a dark colored kimono but doesn't appear to be perfectly comfortable in it. She wishes she could be wearing her more familiar robes, but that would bring far too much attention.]

Zishu?

Action

[fated_dance]

[ As promised, he takes a roundabout and yet aerial path. Before coming that close, he also pauses to make sure no one follows. He's even pulled his tails in, and his ears, so the obvious signs of a fox can't be noted.

He knocks and waits, then smiles with a little bow of his head. He carries a bag, of course, but low enough and tucked under his outer robe most wouldn't notice right away. ]

Yes.

[drqingmedwoman]

[She assesses him briefly before stepping back and letting him in. Once he's inside, she finally bows to him.]

I'm Wen Qing. It's an honor to meet you Zishu. Please have a seat at the table and I'll serve you.

[fated_dance]

[ He stands patiently for her to decide what to do with him. When she steps aside, he steps in, then turns to answer her bow by raising his hands with another bow of his head. ]

Zhou Zishu. A pleasure.

[ Already he's studying her bone structure, her posture, everything about her with the eye for how best to disguise her. But he moves to the table as bidden and sets his bag down, though he doesn't immediately move to set his tools out. ]

Do you wish a full disguise or just enough to make people who might know you doubt your identity?

[drqingmedwoman]

[She wonders what the man had expected when he received a message like hers out of no where and without getting any identification first. If he was surprised to find a woman or such a humble place, he does an excellent job hiding it.]

No, I can't risk it. With how this place is, they might still guess no matter how long it's been since they've seen me.

Besides Jiang Cheng and his brother, I don't want anyone else to suspect a thing.

[fated_dance]

[ It doesn't matter to him who it is. Just that a friend had suggested he could help. He accepts her words and finally sets to placing his tools out in an ordered placement. A blank mask. Oils, pallet knives, a jar of putty. Makeup. A knife. ]

I do not know his brother very well, though his husband to be brings his rabbits to my garden and orchards often. I have been invited to their wedding. If you need help and Jiang Cheng or his brother aren't with you, you can come to me. There, or elsewhere.

[drqingmedwoman]

[Wangji and his rabbits.. he must treat them well, just like he did for the other 'rabbit' he raised. Her shidi. There's a ghost of a smile on her lips.]

I appreciate that. How do you know Jiang Cheng?

[She sets a cup of tea down near him, although far enough not to interfere with his tools and keeps one in her hand.]

[fated_dance]

[ They're cute! He likes the rabbits, and not just because they remind him of Xiao Xingchen and his adorable floppy long ears and cute little tail.

The question brings a sudden grin to his lips. ]

He introduced me to wine slushies. He and my husband have grown somewhat close as well.

[drqingmedwoman]

Wine.. what?

[She might have to ask him about that.]

He must be a good and patient man.

[The word 'patient' is said with a little humor.]

What is your husband's name?

[fated_dance]

It's a frozen treat. Crushed ice flavored with wine. They are perfect for hot days.

[ His grin softens. ]

Wen Kexing. He is patient, and stubborn. He is the best person I know.

[drqingmedwoman]

[Wen Qing smiles watching the man's face. She can see the love just as clearly as she can hear it. It makes her think of someone else and how poorly her conversation with him ended. Regretful, she sighs inwardly and pushes that away. She'll see Jiang Cheng at the wedding today. Hopefully.. hopefully they can talk again.]

How long have you been married? You seem quite happy.

[fated_dance]

[ Finally he picks up the cup of tea she'd prepared for him, and takes a sip. There is plenty of time before the wedding. ]

We have been here about a year now. We found each other roughly six months before that.

[ He chuckles then, gaze lowering to the cup. ]

He stalked me for weeks before I gave in and let him stay near. Everywhere I turned, he was right there. He seemed to know what I would do and intercept me every step of the way.

I'd always believed, to find one's soulmate and be able to walk with them for even a day would make life worthwhile. Having this chance here...to spend far more time together, has been a blessing I will not forget.

[drqingmedwoman]

[She remembers a certain friend pestering his soon-to-be husband in a similar way. Now hearing this man's story of second chances, it really does make someone wonder. Soulmates, though, were not meant for her life.]

Not everyone gets that chance. It's good to be thankful for it.

[She takes a sip of her own cup too.]

There's a number of people who have been here about that same length of time. Was there something significant about a year ago?

[fated_dance]

[ He gazes at her soberly. ]

I am thankful for him with every breath I take. I will do nothing to harm this chance.

[ There's a fierceness to his voice as well. A weight that comes from someone who knows this is the best chance he has at a good life. However long he's here. He's not about to squander it.

He takes a breath and lets it slowly back out, then sips his tea again, gaze dropping as he considers her question. ]

My memories are a little hazy from that time. I arrived gravely injured. Healing took a great deal of time, and I was captured along with several others, and tortured during that time of healing.

[drqingmedwoman]

[She simply nods, approving of that ferocity. She can ignore her own jealousy to appreciate someone else getting a blessing.

She frowns as she hears his news.]

This is also a trend I've noticed.. arriving at a near fatal time. Who else was captured with you?

[fated_dance]

[ Zishu nods slightly. He's noticed that as well. ]

I knew no one in the room I was held in. I heard of someone else from my world being captured, though thankfully she did not receive the same poor treatment as I was.

[drqingmedwoman]

[So not Jiang Cheng or Wei Wuxian. Those two he certainly would know by name at the very least.]

It's unfortunate that happened to you and the rest of them. Are you well now? Any lingering problems?

[fated_dance]

[ There's a rather sharp tilt to his smile. ]

The perpetrators were taught a lesson and nothing like that has happened since.

[ The severity lessens at her questions. ]

Daozhang Xiao Xingchen welcomed me from the start, and helped get me started for healing. Then a friend of mine, who has since left, saw to the rest of my healing. Between them, I have recovered completely.

And now, I work at a clinic with Gu Xiang, and am teaching her about remedies. I grow much of the plants we use at my home, the Four Seasons Manor.

[drqingmedwoman]

[She frowns again, but this time in concentration not dismay. Xiao Xingchen. She's heard that name before. A rogue cultivator perhaps? She's not sure.

Either way, he successfully keeps her from offering any additional aid. She trusts that he can figure out from their surroundings and the name 'doctor' she used as her UN what she was.]

Are you a doctor as well as someone skilled with disguises?

[fated_dance]

[ He did indeed make that guess. As well as guess why she'd been asking. He smiles at the next question and shakes his head. ]

Nothing so noble. I know poisons and their antidotes. Craft disguises and incense to suite what I need. What I know of healing is less. My husband is a child of the Healer's Valley. He knows more.

[drqingmedwoman]

Poisons and antidotes are certainly useful. I'd be interested in learning more about what you know sometime when we don't have a wedding to get ready for. Does your husband also work at this clinic?