[ or terrible? he's not really sure. he also doesn't know what a hamster ball is but he can kind of put two and two together and he's not going to make himself look dumb by asking, so.
there's a hum. ] When this is all said and done, you ought to come visit Great Liang, if you can move from world to world. No hamster ball required.
[ an agreeing noise, soft. after the kiss, he tips his head down to look at her the best he can, folding his arm under his head to prop it up. his expression's gentle, and... it's a little odd, to look into the hood, but he knows what lup looks like underneath.
... this place really is a peach blossom spring. when he leaves, when it ends, is it ever going to be possible to be like this again? simple? indulgent? if he gets his desires, if great liang finds its way to a place of permanent peace and harmony...
gu yun sets those thoughts aside, for now. he's never let himself daydream. he can't, even now. ]
...Come at New Year's. I'll take you up on a Red Kite. [ a little more jokingly; ] Hopefully, there won't be a tiger mauling, this time.
[she'll push her hood back just a little, enough for him to see her face. she trusts him, and - she can't be self conscious. she never has been before.]
Tiger mauling, what? [she asks, falling right into that teasing joking tone. it's easier than saying what she feels.]
[ ah, there she is. after a moment, he lifts his hand, and reaches up to run his fingers through her hair, the motion steady and slow. it's.. in the dark like this, even with his vision waning, lup's easy to see. it's nice.
he huffs a little laugh to that, though. ]
Mmm. During a circus. Last week is the second time I've seen a clown killed. [ BAD ]
There was a Western spy mixed into the crowd at the Yunmeng Pavilion where the circus act was being performed as a part of celebrations for the Lunar New Year. They had a tiger jumping through hoops, and the majority of the capital, rich and poor, was there to watch it, myself included.
It's custom for people to throw gold pieces down onto the side of the pavilion during the performance for the performers when it's well deserved. The spy mixed in with that group, and threw an unbelievable amount of expensive gold leaf directly from the upper deck into the performance area. The tiger was already riled up, and it set the thing off, so it ripped the arm off of its handler, killed a clown, and all hell broke loose.
... Wow. Your life isn't boring, huh. [she asks, laughing. she also seems to enjoy the hand in her hair, even if she's... squirmy, about it.] Shouldn't have had the tiger trapped in the first place! They'll kick your ass.
[ like to say the least. being the marquis of order is exciting! and very lonely. it's fine.
anyway. he notes the squirming, but, is a good enough read to tell she's not unhappy, so. he tips his chin up, looking away purposefully, stroking her hair. ]
Mn, they will.
It was a mess. The people on the upper decks who couldn't afford floor seats only saw the rain of gold go falling down, so many of them turned to rush down to the bottom floor in hopes of scooping up the gold for themselves. The people on the lower decks were screaming and trying to run from the tiger, so it turned into something of a confused, disastrous mob.
[it's the little things? he notices her squirming, and he tips his head up so he's not looking, and she just... takes a second, eyes closed. it's the little things.]
Sounds like a clusterfuck! [she says cheerfully, after a moment.] What I'm getting is I'm going to have to save you from tigers when I come to visit.
While I would be impressed, I haven't even finished my story. I was the one doing the tiger saving.
[ fufu. ] The Red Kites I mentioned are airships. Small ones, but they float above the festivities, a few hundred li up, where you can see everything. I was up there when the chaos broke out, along with my second in command, my ward, and a few others from the Black Iron Camp.
[ gu yun falls into the ease of storytelling, here, just a little dramatic. a man who has told this story at the battlefront many times, it seems. ]
We were celebrating, but I'm always prepared, so. I happened to be out on the deck with Chang Geng when I heard the noise. I pushed him inside, and took a longbow from the ship's quarters, then went out onto the bow of the ship. I'd already been drinking since sunset, at that point, but even still, I nocked my arrow... [ miming like he's pulling an arrow back and aiming over her shoulder, what a ham ] ...Took aim at the tiger... and fired, right as it tackled down an innocent civilian.
My shot hit it clean through the head and I felled the beast before it could harm the civilian. Then, I took out another arrow, turned the bow, and shot the hat off of the Western spy who threw the gold leaves on purpose.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ or terrible? he's not really sure. he also doesn't know what a hamster ball is but he can kind of put two and two together and he's not going to make himself look dumb by asking, so.
there's a hum. ] When this is all said and done, you ought to come visit Great Liang, if you can move from world to world. No hamster ball required.
no subject
... Yeah? [she leans up to press a kiss to his jaw.] I'd like that.
no subject
[ an agreeing noise, soft. after the kiss, he tips his head down to look at her the best he can, folding his arm under his head to prop it up. his expression's gentle, and... it's a little odd, to look into the hood, but he knows what lup looks like underneath.
... this place really is a peach blossom spring. when he leaves, when it ends, is it ever going to be possible to be like this again? simple? indulgent? if he gets his desires, if great liang finds its way to a place of permanent peace and harmony...
gu yun sets those thoughts aside, for now. he's never let himself daydream. he can't, even now. ]
...Come at New Year's. I'll take you up on a Red Kite. [ a little more jokingly; ] Hopefully, there won't be a tiger mauling, this time.
no subject
Tiger mauling, what? [she asks, falling right into that teasing joking tone. it's easier than saying what she feels.]
no subject
he huffs a little laugh to that, though. ]
Mmm. During a circus. Last week is the second time I've seen a clown killed. [ BAD ]
There was a Western spy mixed into the crowd at the Yunmeng Pavilion where the circus act was being performed as a part of celebrations for the Lunar New Year. They had a tiger jumping through hoops, and the majority of the capital, rich and poor, was there to watch it, myself included.
It's custom for people to throw gold pieces down onto the side of the pavilion during the performance for the performers when it's well deserved. The spy mixed in with that group, and threw an unbelievable amount of expensive gold leaf directly from the upper deck into the performance area. The tiger was already riled up, and it set the thing off, so it ripped the arm off of its handler, killed a clown, and all hell broke loose.
no subject
... Wow. Your life isn't boring, huh. [she asks, laughing. she also seems to enjoy the hand in her hair, even if she's... squirmy, about it.] Shouldn't have had the tiger trapped in the first place! They'll kick your ass.
no subject
[ like to say the least. being the marquis of order is exciting! and very lonely. it's fine.
anyway. he notes the squirming, but, is a good enough read to tell she's not unhappy, so. he tips his chin up, looking away purposefully, stroking her hair. ]
Mn, they will.
It was a mess. The people on the upper decks who couldn't afford floor seats only saw the rain of gold go falling down, so many of them turned to rush down to the bottom floor in hopes of scooping up the gold for themselves. The people on the lower decks were screaming and trying to run from the tiger, so it turned into something of a confused, disastrous mob.
no subject
Sounds like a clusterfuck! [she says cheerfully, after a moment.] What I'm getting is I'm going to have to save you from tigers when I come to visit.
no subject
[ fufu. ] The Red Kites I mentioned are airships. Small ones, but they float above the festivities, a few hundred li up, where you can see everything. I was up there when the chaos broke out, along with my second in command, my ward, and a few others from the Black Iron Camp.
[ gu yun falls into the ease of storytelling, here, just a little dramatic. a man who has told this story at the battlefront many times, it seems. ]
We were celebrating, but I'm always prepared, so. I happened to be out on the deck with Chang Geng when I heard the noise. I pushed him inside, and took a longbow from the ship's quarters, then went out onto the bow of the ship. I'd already been drinking since sunset, at that point, but even still, I nocked my arrow... [ miming like he's pulling an arrow back and aiming over her shoulder, what a ham ] ...Took aim at the tiger... and fired, right as it tackled down an innocent civilian.
My shot hit it clean through the head and I felled the beast before it could harm the civilian. Then, I took out another arrow, turned the bow, and shot the hat off of the Western spy who threw the gold leaves on purpose.