Audience: Gu Yun

[probe]

Comments

[probe]

The singing, dancing, entertainment parts. Exotic.

[another sip.] I'm not - mm. [and, a little more exasperated:] Well. I wasn't involved in politics.

[liuli]

They're the worst, aren't they? Politics.

[ gu yun rests his chin in his hand, now, elbow on the bar. politics. terrible. ]

[probe]

Yes. [long sigh.]

The bodyguards are worse.

[liuli]

Oh? Must be limiting. Do you have a lot of them?

[ gu yun who more or less guards the fourth prince, ]

[probe]

Four of them. I don't need them. But they insist.

[liuli]

And likely follow you everywhere, giving you little to no privacy. Right?

[probe]

[:unamused:]

Correct.

[liuli]

[ now he can't help but snicker, lifting his glass. ]

Sounds like overglorified babysitters, to me. Imagine I was your bodyguard! We'd have a great time.

[ he is entirely too qualified to be a bodyguard but also: hilarious ]

[probe]

[that just gets them to finish the glass of wine.]

[liuli]

[ oh my god

this gets him to bark out a laugh and slap the bar, delighted! ]

You're pretty funny, you know! [ genuinely excellent comedic timing pride. snickering to himself, he takes a big drink of his, too. ] I'm not much of a bodyguard - I'd likely let you get away with all sorts of terrible things.

[ since pride =/= great liang... meh! ]

[probe]

[the funny thing is that wasn't even on purpose. they're just that exasperated.]

Hm. Seems likely. [they put the glass down on the bar.]

[liuli]

[ good he's gonna grow on you like a fungus.

still chuckling a little, he nudges the jar back over to them, in case they want a refill. ] There's a reason I'm not a bodyguard.

[ it's also way below his paygrade. the snickering fades, eventually, and he swirls the drink in his glass. ] Seems some of us need one, after everything that happened this weekend.

As expected, you were right. [ about watching backs, anyway. not that gu yun is surprised. ]

[probe]

A bodyguard likely won't help you here.

[they shrug slightly.]

I knew I would be. It never takes long for people to resort to violence.

[liuli]

[ sure won't! that's fine, its not like he's really in need of one.

the more serious topic is important. he drums his fingers on the edge of the glass, expression sliding easily into something much more thoughtful. ] But not Beauregard, apparently.

...Are those results to be trusted? Or can those be bent by illusion, too?

[probe]

The results are one of the only things that can be trusted.

[liuli]

I thought as much.

[ it does create a whole host of other questions, though. he frowns, eventually settling with his hand over his mouth. ]

... When the doors locked and we were all unconscious, were you all able to stay awake? Were you still able to watch us?

[probe]

We were just as surprised as you were when the doors locked.

[liuli]

[ love not getting notifs ]

What happened on your end?

[probe]

I woke up to a body, same as you.

[liuli]

You were all knocked unconscious, too?

[probe]

I didn't say that, I said we woke up to a body.

[liuli]

[ files that away for later ]

Did you hear any of the noises? Or see that odd recording?

[probe]

Haven't heard any noises, but I saw the recording. It was stupid.

[liuli]

[ lol ]

That wasn't you all either? What in the world would make this place manifest something like that...?

[ probably the bunch of chaotic gremlins that are in it.

gu yun taps his fingers against his glass, again, thoughtfully. ] Let me ask you this. There was one particular inconsistency that's been bothering me since yesterday. All of the illusions that people experienced - the cherry blossoms, for example - vanished on Saturday morning. We didn't find any particular evidence of any of them, either, and came to the conclusion they were likely some sort of message, or something of the like, making connections between locations and the person involved.

There was an exception, though - what Vira saw. She was able to bring the fragments of that skull back with her on Saturday, and then, Yuri and I found the rest of it with the key piece of evidence.

[ he frowns, again. ] Well. Most of it. [ the outside bones. ] Any thoughts?

[probe]

Wouldn't worry about that.

[it's funny, they actually sound like - exasperated?]

The skull is not important.