romeo is bleeding but nobody can tell (open)

[lancifolium]

WHO: Lily Evans & You if you like, along with some planned closed prompts
WHEN: After the dust settles.
WHERE: Both in and outside of Taravast.
WHAT: Smuggling Attaryl bodies and giving them proper graves.
WARNINGS: Mentions of death and dead bodies, will add more as needed.



Prompts in comments. I'm very here to begin some new threads feel free to reach out via pm or on the discord server if you'd like to do something.

Comments

burials, open to all

[lancifolium]

Three tidy piles of magically replicated stones sat beside three plots of earth, while Lily stood at the foot of the space, wand out.

“Defodio!” Her wand sliced neatly through the air in a wide zig-zag before the first rectangle of earth split and widened slightly, loose soil mounding up along the sides. It was shallow for a grave, she knew, but it was a good start.

“I’ll come back to that one unless you can clear a little more, it so I can start on the next?”

[binghua]

Despite everything that happened between the Bessis and the Attaryl, and then all of them, Xingchen held no real ill-intent toward the dead witches. From what he understood, they were only acting on their convictions and he couldn't fault them for that.

Besides, after learning what he'd done in his own world, Xingchen was particularly empathetic and desired to do for these dead what he couldn't properly do for those who died at his hand. It wouldn't fix anything, but maybe it could help heal his soul, little by little.

Lily spoke a strange word that meant nothing to him, the ground shuddering beneath his feet, but after a moment it became clear what she had done. So he gripped the small shovel he'd managed to find and nodded, carefully heading toward the grave. Kneeling at the side of the grave, he began to dig some more, doing his best to keep it as uniform as possible and not branch out any farther than necessary.

Lily would hear no complaints from him, not even as his efforts eventually made him breathe more heavily or as sweat fell from his face.

[lancifolium]

After working on the grave beside the one Xingchen knelt beside in silence for a while Lily stopped and straightened up in the dirt, letting go of the trowel she had in her hand to shake the ache out of her fingers from holding onto it for so long.

"Xingchen, do you fancy a break and a cuppa?"

Without waiting for an answer Lily drew her wand, conjuring a pot of tea on the ground between them before she turned her attention back to the trowel she abandoned. Charming it into motion it continued to work while she saw to dusting her hands off before pouring a cup of tea.

[binghua]

Truth be told, he could use a break, though, at the same time, Xingchen could keep working, too. They would have to get all of this done at some point, and it would be better to do it sooner rather than later. Yet, since Lily offered, Xingchen would be a poor companion to refuse. It wasn't as if their act was in immediate danger of being stopped.

So he straightened up, laying the little shovel on the ground beside the first grave, and started to wipe the dirt from his own hands. "That would be appreciated. Thank you." It wasn't long before he heard movement recommence, particularly that of tea being poured, that familiar initial splashing of liquid into a cup. Perhaps Lily had brought everything needed with her beforehand. She probably foresaw this. Smart, really. Everyone would have needed to drink something.

But then his ears picked up more sound, the same digging that had surrounded them just moments before. Xingchen cocked his head, trying to get a better read on the situation. Maybe he had misheard? But it continued and he knew he wasn't mistaken. "Has someone joined us?"

[lancifolium]

Waiting for Xingchen to settle she passed the tea she had poured to him carefully before seeing to her own. "Someone else?" She looked around, confused before the jump of her trowel as it pogoed up and down, digging for her caught her attention.

"Oh! No that's just my little shovel. I've charmed it to work for me while I rest." It was possible to just keep letting the trowel dig the whole thing, but Lily was trying not to squander her magical reserves - not when there were so many graves to dig.

"Though I do expect our friend Wei Wuxian at some point to play for the witches we bury and send them off so they can't be brought back." It seemed as though resurrection were the unsettlingly common custom of this land, she was glad some precautions could be taken to ensure these dead could move on and rest.

[binghua]

With the way he'd been working, Xingchen's hands weren't cold, but the heat of the tea warmed his hands regardless. It was relaxing, grounding in a way that brought him back to the living after this time of dealing with the unfortunate realities of death. They had been digging in silence up till now and Xingchen could easily have gotten lost in it. He could dig a grave for a witch or a grave for himself if he weren't careful.

But Lily had spoken up in time and now offered some distraction, not just with the tea. Her abilities were new to Xingchen, but fascinating all the same. "You are able to do such things. That's convenient."

A sip of tea later had Xingchen relaxing a little more. He probably had been working too hard, letting himself fall too far within himself. His posture slumped a little at the mention of Wei Wuxian, too, a sigh of relief pushing past his lips. "I do believe Wei Wuxian is...one of the most qualified to do the job. At least that I know of." Dealing with the dead was kind of his thing, though putting them to rest was the opposite of what he tended to do. But that kind of knowledge went hand-in-hand, didn't it? "All should be well, then."

[lancifolium]

"It makes the work go quicker, certainly - though I expect when I learned these charms at school none of my instructors would anticipate I'd use them to dig graves quickly." In fact, she was certain none of the people she'd gone to school with would believe the extent of the strange mess she'd gotten into - graves and all.

Humming lightly in agreement at the mention of Wei Wuxian's capabilities to handle laying the dead to rest, Lily nodded before having another sip of tea.

"You're a cultivator too, aren't you? Are you also from Lotus Pier?" While she knew a bit of Wei Wuxian's story from outings spent making conversation while digging different graves, she did not know much of Xingchen, save for the fact that the two of them were previously acquainted.

[binghua]

A school! Xingchen perked up a little at that, immediately curious as to what kind of establishment was able to teach people things like enchanting a shovel to dig on its own. Then again, it could have been similar to a cultivation sect, but asked anyway, "What might your instructors have expected of you then?"

Then it seemed to be his turn to answer curiosities. He took another sip and nodded. "I am a cultivator, but a rogue one. I don't belong to any cultivation sect, not like Wei Wuxian did. So, no, I don't come from Lotus Pier. I was raised somewhere secluded, but left to help those I came across in my travels."

[lancifolium]

"There are sects?" Leaning back, Lily considered what that might entail. "Is that why Wangji and his son wear headbands?" Part of her couldn't help but equate them to school uniforms if that were the case.

The question about her professors sat oddly with her, it was strange to think about what people who had to be more than a million miles away thought of anything. "Before the war, I talked to a few of them about a career in Curse Breaking or healing, but," she laughed mirthlessly, rolling her shoulders in a shrug. "The war's put a bit of a halt on future plans that aren't fighting the good fight."

[binghua]

Lily's desire to learn tugged a smile from Xingchen. There was something about her eagerness that was incredibly endearing. If they ended up talking deep into the night - or whatever time it was - then he would be happy with it. "Yes. There are countless cultivation sects and most are headed up by a family clan, including the most powerful ones. That's why you'll often hear them referred to with their location and the clan name. So, for Lan Wangji and Lan Sizhui, they come from the Gusu Lan Sect and because their surname is Lan, they are part of the family clan." Xingchen took a moment to think about the headband comment. He hardly came into contact with the bigger sects that such a detail was far from his mind. But that was a detail that people remembered, and since Lily mentioned it, he knew it must be true, even if he had never seen Lan Wangji or Lan Sizhui with his own eyes. "Lan Sect members do wear the headbands, yes. I do not think it is something anyone else does, or at least no one I had ever met."

Any warmth in this conversation he may have felt eased off at the mention of war. Xingchen had never fought in one; the Sunshot Campaign raged on while he had still been a young teenager on the mountain, far, far away from any of that awful violence. But to hear Lily speak of it like she had already experienced too much hung heavy on Xingchen's heart.

And then, he hadn't forgotten where they were right now, surrounded by half-dug graves for more victims of strife. "Trying to resolve situations through conflict seems to be a commonality between all of us. I pray your war will end soon, and also for your safety."

[lancifolium]

She almost wished she had one of her notebooks on hand to jot down all this very useful, incredibly fascinating information about the lives Xingchen and some of her other friends lived before arriving in this world.

"Are you born a cultivator, or can anyone learn?" Then, because she simply had to know - "is it hereditary?"

Secretly, she rather hoped not, but it was a hope born more of the rift in her world and the conflict driving the war than anything else. Her knowledge of the world Xingchen and some of the others had come from was patchy at best. It was wonderful to have someone willing to answer her questions.

Looking over at one of the freshly dug graves Lily frowned, though the expression softened some at his kind words. "I'm not certain it will," what bits Hermione told her about the future didn't paint the best picture. "But thank you. I hope you get to live in peaceful times when we all go home."

[cairhien]

Moiraine had heard about the efforts that people were doing, things that she agreed with. She didn't usually stop and stay long enough in a place to help out, not unless there was something still holding her there but Moiraine had been brought here in the middle of the trouble and it was only right to help.

It's how she comes across the woman making graves, pausing to watch her efforts, to not disturb her concentration. And it was clearly magic, a different use of channelling than Moiraine had ever seen before. She'd known of tools as focusing objects but words said with it-- that was curious.

But apparently she's been caught, offering a small smile in response to the question. When she'd first arrived here she'd felt cut off from the Source but that had seemed to fade the longer she spent here and though her own power still felt weaker than she was used to she could at least use it.

"How many more do you have to do?"

Her hands start by her side as she draws her power to her, outstretched just slightly as she weaves in earth, raising her hands slowly as more soil lifts from the grave, joining what had already been started, an action she'll continue until it's deep enough.

[lancifolium]

Frowning at the question Lily looks down the length of the cleared ground, shaking her head. "I've got at least a dozen left to bury, though I'm not certain if more will be discovered before the day's over. I hope not though."

The way the other woman manipulated the earth caught her attention straight away, and Lily looked on, eyebrows raised in astonishment.

"Thank you," she began, relieved and happy to be met with a stranger who wanted to help her.

"I'm Lily. Are you from Taravast?" It was always hard to tell, especially now that everyone she came across, regardless of their place of origin always seemed to look out of sorts.

[cairhien]

"Moiraine."

It takes one more weave until she stops, the grave seeming deep enough, Moiraine turning properly to Lily now.

"And I'm not. I came through the beacon."

She still doesn't know how, she hadn't been near one but maybe something had happened as she'd been resting.

[lancifolium]

"Brilliant," Lily muttered under her breath, watching her new acquaintance finish the grave she'd started.

"Through the Beacon?" Whether she meant to or not, she made a face. That thing had been the source of a fair few headaches.

"I'm sorry, that must have been very jarring for you." If it had been anything like her arrival into this world, Lily could imagine the ordeal had been harrowing. Not wanting to pry she looked from the grave to the strange woman and back again before nodding with appreciation. "Thank you for helping me. Do you think you could do a few more? There are still quite a few that need to be buried."

[cairhien]

She offers a smile, not confirming nor denying what her experience had been like but Lily's right -- it had been jarring if that word does the experience justice at all (it doesn't).

"Let's see what we can do."

Though Moiraine knows from the grave that they've already done that they'll be able to. Which is why once they've stepped on a little further she'll let Lily start it off again before continuing the weaves she'd started.

"I've never seen anyone use their power like you before."

She has yet to fully grasp or know the "from different worlds" aspect of the situation.

[lancifolium]

Her wand being met with a little puzzlement wasn't anything new, and she gave Moiraine a good-natured smile, looking towards the grave the other woman had managed to clear in such a short time.

"That makes two of us. Are you a witch?" To Lily's understanding while it was a standard word for her, to some it was nearly derogatory. Hopefully, the question would be taken in the conversational, non-accusatory spirit it was intended. It was clear this woman knew some sort of magic, and she couldn't help but be curious.

"Have you met any other of our little group of outsiders yet?" She asked before lifting her wand to split the earth of the next gravesite.

[cairhien]

"Aes Sedai." Though some would call her a witch, Moiraine had even used the term when hiding from the Whitecloaks. At least it was familiar enough. "It's the name given to those that are trained in channelling." Over those that took control of it themselves, refused to become a sister or go to Tar Valon.

"I've met some, not many yet. Truthfully I don't know who is from Taravast and who was also brought here like I was."

Like Lily also seemed to be.

[lancifolium]

"Channelling?" The concept is intriguing, as all the new paths of magic Lily's discovered from questioning the others are.

"There's a good few of us who were pulled here," she sounded calm but she still frowned at the thought. "If you need a hand adjusting to it all I'm more than happy to help however I can."

[cairhien]

"Thank you."

She offers another small smile, explaining as she weaves.

"When someone is able to touch the Source, to use the One Power we refer to it as channelling the power. Most aren't able to touch the Source, to draw from it."

If that helps explain it at all. In every other world what Moiraine could do would just be known as magic.

[lancifolium]

Had she not already encountered a multitude of different magical schools, each with their own way of thinking and approach to magic itself, Moiraine's answer might have been more bewildering than it was intriguing. About a hundred questions bubbled up in the forefront of her mind, and she needed to stop herself from asking them all.

"Everyone who can channel the power is connected to the same source then? That's a rather interesting thought. Where I come from one is regarded as their own source." She made a mental note to ask her cultivator friends if it was the same for them.

"I suppose this is one of the few small nice parts of being in this situation, I've learned just how full of different magic the universe is."

Re: burials, open to all

[scrapgege]

[.... Well then.

That's not like any power Xie Lian has ever seen before. He's not even sure the shovel of the Earth Master would be able to work as fast.

But it sure is efficient. Especially for someone who, aside from those powers, feels entirely human.]

Can you make it deeper? Or does it only work once?

[lancifolium]

I can, but we've got a lot more left to dig.

[ Lily gestured towards the small wooden boxes she had arranged in neat rows on the ground. ]

I thought I'd get a few started and circle back around to finish them. Do you think you can help?

[scrapgege]

Oh yes, it's fine, I'll just get a shovel!

[He can't do it the way she does, but he's way stronger than he looks, and he can keep digging for a long time. And he'll start with it with no regard for his white clothing, too.

It's grunt work, but he's done work like that before, so he doesn't mind.]

[lancifolium]

[ Despite the somber circumstances Lily smiles happily when Xie Lian agrees, grateful for the help. ]

Thank you Xie Lian, I know the Attaryl weren't our biggest fans, but they still deserve to be laid to rest with dignity. I'm very glad for the hand.