westwhere | March Open post

Hendrik had left the Luminary's side to see where he could assist. It had been the boy's suggestion to see what aid he could offer and the knight wondered if it was some ploy to get him to leave him alone. So it took no small amount of urging before Hendrik decided to go look for something to do.

It was almost humiliating.

However it wasn't long before he saw a man that had long hair such as Jasper wore. But unlike his longtime friend, this man had dark hair in contrast to his friend's light hair. The man wasn't wearing armor either which struck the knight as odd because he wasn't sure how a man protected himself much without it. He himself could do it of course but still. And while it wasn't wise to assume or underestimate anyone, the man didn't seem like a knight. In an odd way, the unfamiliar person appeared to be dressed something like he'd seen in the village of Hotto back home.

Still, Hendrik approached the other cautiously because he knew looks could be deceiving.

So once the other caught his gaze, the knight nodded, trying to figure out what the other was doing. "Are you in need of aid?"

Sometimes, those who need them most, push them away the hardest. Wen Kexing knows this lesson, and has taught it himself.

It doesn't make it any easier when on the receiving end.

When he's approached this time around, as he often is when out and around, he's collecting various herbs to turn into a cooking experiment, or medicine - depending on what it is and what he needs. He straightens, tucking the latest plant carefully into a basket, and offers a polite smile and bow of his head. He notices the rather heavily armored figure, but chooses to simply take it in stride.

"Hello! That depends on how good you are at distinguishing plant from weed. Or if you can hunt? I'm looking for ingredients to cook for my family." Be that his assigned family here or his soulmate, he'll not say.

The knight had to think a moment when the man started speaking to him. He had no idea anything too much about herbs and plants other than when they were purchased with coins at the market. There were antidotal herbs and healing plants among others. But that was the extent, and he trusted the merchants that these were indeed the correct plants when purchasing them.

So Hendrik had to gently shake his head. "The flora and fauna here are unfamiliar as yet to me. But, hunting I can do." That didn't take the knowledge and skill that foraging required. He had no skills with those sorts of things here.

"What is it that you are looking to bring down?"

Despite being woken so horribly (thank you random screams and a crumbling house), Zhou Zishu looks completely indifferent towards the problems he encounters. Almost...cold. Dark, bruised bands wrap around his wrists, but he barely spares them a glance. Falling into this curse is almost too easy for him. There was a time where he was nothing...but...this.

From a rooftop, he watches Wen Kexing, unwilling to move, unwilling to call out to him.

Which should be worrisome on its own! But if something bad is happening to him, he doesn't want to pull the love of his life down with him. Wen Kexing is the one who will survive - Zishu won't lose him like he lost the others.

Edited 2022-03-18 21:14 (UTC)

He could do without the strange awakenings himself. And his beloved soulmate is not the only one with growingly dark and heavy bands at ankle and wrist, slowing him down seemingly at every turn. It's bad enough his stomach is starting to churn a little when he cooks, but Wen Kexing is a man used to ignoring his body's demands.

So he moves around almost as normal, forcing each step to be as light as ever. It's when he pauses that he seems to wilt and have to work at breathing. Feeling a heavy gaze on him from above, his eyes narrow slightly before ushering a child inside with a gentle word that food and medicine is just through the doors.

Then he looks up, not needing to look to know who it is that watches him.

"A-Xu! Come down, A-Xu, this child needs you!"

A child needs him - ? The bands feel heavy and sore, weighing him down against the roof. Yet Zishu has never been able to say no to a child. Or Wen Kexing for that matter. Not really anyway. He pulls at his exhausted limbs and with as much grace as he can summon, he descends from the roof. His landing hurts, but he brushes it off and walks cautiously towards his soulmate.

"What's wrong with them?"

Just approaching has made him feel breathless and he curls his hands into fists, holding himself upright through sheer stubbornness. There is a strange ringing in his ears and when he blinks, his vision shifts from focused to unfocused and then back again. What's happening to him?

Even Kexing has barely explored the roofs since they'd arrived and the bands' restrictions started to make themselves felt. The part of him struggling to hold to his sense of self cared enough about Zishu to coax him down, and he's attentively close enough to steady his soulmate if the other man starts to collapse - just as he would normally.

Just as he shoves away the fact he doesn't care about the child's needs. Not really. Not right now, when so many other things gnaw at his attention. Like his A-Xu, so clearly (to his eyes) struggling that he barely refrains from reaching for him until they get inside and the damn door is closed.

"He almost fell into a well. I think he's hungry, but there are also probably scrapes that should be tended."

Giving his head a sharp shake to rid himself of the ringing in his ears, Zishu frowns and tries to focus on what Kexing is saying. A well. The child almost fell in. Hungry. Scrapes. He moves in a fog and gathers what materials he can - including a bowl of water. He kneels to tend to the boy, cleaning the scrapes with gentle hands.

Gentle, too heavy hands.

"Let's get you fed." he murmurs, pitching his voice to be comforting even if the boy can't understand him. He gathers a light meal and encourages the child to eat. Only then does he look at his Lao Wen.

Those bands...

They are the same. His forehead furrows and he reaches for Kexing's hands, wondering if he can heal them.

That effort is almost painful just observing. Kexing knows his expressions lack the full force of his usual mask, even the worried frown he manages and the smile he gives his beloved.

He forces himself to keep moving, knowing the healing part itself is being taken care of. So he makes sure the food Zishu pulls out is suitable for a hungry child, doing his best not to gag on the smell that would normally tantalize his senses.

What matters is the child eats, and drinks the water given.

He blinks when Zishu reaches for his hands, and in almost a parody of how their relationship had started, smacks lightly at them, clicking his tongue. "A-Xu, others need us more. I'm fine." Just cursed. But when has that been a new thing?

They work together, seamlessly and yet there is something very wrong. Zishu had presumed it was just with him, but now he sees Kexing similarly marked and burdened. Anger burns under the indifference and when his hands are smacked away, he rises, suddenly, his vision swimming from the shift. Staggering a few steps, he catches himself on a table.

"You're not." he gasps, "Did I -" do this to us?

The child is with them, eating and drinking quietly, so he tries...he fights to be calm. But all he has is either rage or indifference. The emotions feel like they are going to crack him in two!

"I won't be able to handle it getting worse."

That gasp sinks through the chill that's wrapped around his emotions, enough that he blinks and tilts his head. "A-Xu? No." Even if that were why he's cursed...he wouldn't care.

Kexing runs a purposefully gentle hand over the child's hair, soothing him with another emotionless smile. The grin he sends at his soulmate next is rather crooked, but he forces himself back to his feet. Forces himself to head for Zishu's side - it's easier a little ways from that stench.

"I'm here." And definitely won't let on that food is...something of a challenge for him right now. That's been his A-Xu's difficulty for so long, even he knows that admission would be a very bad thing.

The food doesn't bother him - his senses are rather weak to that sort of thing anyway. However the closer he gets to Kexing, the more aware he becomes of feeling...nauseous. Something burns on his thigh and he reaches down to ease the sensation only to find blood on his robes.

"We need to break...the curses." he closes his eyes and breathes deep, taking a seat at the table he had stumbled into earlier, "The story...I was told...was about a priestess who ignored her duties and instead took numerous lovers. The gods caused a long draught to...punish her and the villagers. Their crops died."

So it seems...obvious...what he must do.

"I must make amends at the temples and help plant new crops."

With what energy he has left.

"Tell me your story, Lao Wen. I'll help you make amends for it."

He hisses when he sees the blood staining his beloved's robes, anger finally seeping in to lick at this new insult. No one gets to wound his A-Xu!

Kexing manages not to collapse into the chair beside Zishu, leaning forward as if to press against the other - but refrains. Just stays close enough that speaking loudly isn't necessary. And listens to his beloved's tale, before closing his eyes as he thinks.

He...normally wouldn't doubt Zishu's strength, his ability to handle that task. But he can see how much trouble the other is having just walking, even just in breathing.

"Let me help you, A-Xu." At least Kexing hadn't started this with only a fraction of his strength.

He takes a breath, forcing it to be deep and slow, then nods. "Mine is...a drunk let a child fall into a well. He fell asleep and the child drowned. He wouldn't let anyone help him."

He finds an actual smile there, and turns it to the child he'd successfully battled exhaustion to save and feed.

If he wasn't so ridiculously in love with Kexing, there wouldn't be any blood. Zishu always wants his soulmate and now those feelings are being turned against him and used like knives or claws. And all because of an amorous priestess who forsook her vows.

"I must do it." he whispers, aching for contact and yet knowing it will only hurt. A small smile crosses his lips at the good news - one curse has been broken at least - and he fights his own curses long enough to kiss Kexing's forehead, lingering tenderly.

"He is safe with you, love. No children will drown." more marks appear on his back and he hisses, pulling away, "I must go."

Edited 2022-03-23 13:06 (UTC)

"A-Xu," he murmurs, finally sounding genuinely upset. Because the love he feels for his A-Xu is just as fierce. Just as all-encompassing.

The lingering kiss to his forehead has him sigh, eyes closing briefly before he can almost feel Zishu's skin split. A sound of distress gets dragged from his throat when Zishu pulls away, but he doesn't argue, only stares at him with furrowed brow and his hands clench at his thighs.

"A-Xu..." Then anger licks at him again and he almost growls. "Don't let me hurt you. If I'm...making you bleed, go. Make amends then come back to me."

It doesn't matter if his skin splits. Hurting Kexing is worse than any physical blow and they both know Zishu can handle much more than this. Stubbornly, he wraps his soulmate in his arms and presses his face against his neck, ignoring how his insides writhe.

"Stay here." he pushes himself onto his feet and heads to the door, the back of his robes now stained with blood too. He doesn't dare to look back or to stop moving. The villagers direct him from temple to temple, they teach him the proper rituals and prayers. He makes repairs and does his best to fill the shoes of a proper priest...or priestess.

Then he travels to the fields, limping heavily, the bands on him stronger than iron. He kneels in the dirt and plants the tiny seeds, working until he feels the bands loosening.

Somehow he makes it back to where Kexing is staying.

Somehow. And then he collapses.

Meetings

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Curses~

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New Housemate

I'd apologize for him but you know WKX lol

Yes, yes I do know the brat.

XD

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