night watch

[reparo]

WHO: Hermione Granger & Wen Qing
WHEN: Night 1 of their guarding a noble's house
WHERE: Said noble's house
WHAT: Small talk mostly.
WARNINGS: tba


The watch has been quiet, so far. The majority of the man's servants are sleeping or giving this room a wide berth, and the windows are protected from the intrusion of any birds.

In the few hours of getting settled into this night watch, she's even had time to distribute some of her leaflets to the housemaids. She's not sure that they read, but - well. She tries.

And of course, one copy for her companion in this adventure, standing near her in the room as it were.

"What do you think? Was it too infantile? I didn't want to go into too many details, because I don't expect them to become experts, but I also didn't want to give anyone tricks in how to poison better, either..."

Comments

[silverneedles]

With the watch this quiet, Wen Qing reads over the pamphlet once again, quite intrigued by the contents still. It's not something anyone would put to paper in her world, although women would whisper about such things in privacy.

"They might already be aware of the signs of poisoning." It's entirely possible, considering the man they worked for and his collection of skulls, that they had encountered poisoning before. She glances over her shoulder to confirm the skulls are where they should be— they are, no moving skulls here— before looking at Hermione.

"Has this helped your curse any?"

[reparo]

Yes, good - the whole point about the leaflets is dealing some damage to the patriarchy that is so very clearly embedded into life in Ke-Waihu, and if in the process the women learn about safe face paints, well.

She is pleased with it.

"Maybe a little? I've spread a few of them around, and spoken to some villagers, and I my scratches have begun actually healing. Or rather, no new ones have happened, so far."

[silverneedles]

When Hermione mentions the scratches, Wen Qing grimaces, looking down at her hands where she has cuts that refuse to heal and instead seem to grow worse and worse.

"This village—" She breaks off with a huff, looking over her shoulder at the skulls again, shaking her head. When she looks at Hermione again, her face is carefully neutral, although she shifts closer to the door, not wanting to be close to the skulls.

"What gave you the idea to create such an item?"

[reparo]

"Yes, this village," she mutters to the side, equally displeased with the village. On the surface level, filled with superstitious people who cling to their traditions and their rankings, but people who could be friendly, open. People who deserved help.

And then, you dig deeper and you end up guarding a nobleman's house and finding he collects skulls of beautiful people, like an absolute wanker. Hermione has no carefully neutral face here; every time she catches a glance in the direction of the skulls, she scowls.

Then her expression clears and she focuses on Wen Qing instead. "I've found it a very easy way to spread information - it leaves the choice in the hands of those who pick up the leaflets or the badges. They can easily discard it, or they can keep it." She can only hope they learn some things. "To be honest, it's not really the first time I've done something like this..." A shrug here. "It feels rather nice to see that old habits still work."

[silverneedles]

One of the things Wen Qing doesn't understand is why he is keeping the skulls. They don't look beautiful; they're just skulls, and frankly, she'd rather never see a skull, or bones, again in her life. Her uncle had too many of them, and she doesn't care to remember her time in his fortress.

"So you did this before?" Somehow, that doesn't surprise her. She looks through the leaflet she still has. It's readable, luckily, and useful. "People rarely passed out such things like this where I am from, but posters and signs were hung in village market places that served such purpose."

[reparo]

She nods along to that question. "Oh yes. It's pretty common where I come from! The bigger drawings, posters and signs and the like..."

She considers for a moment, then adds, "Actually in the magical world, all the pictures move. Some even talk."

[silverneedles]

That gains her attention and she looks up, puzzled. "They move? How?" She can't fathom the idea of moving pictures.

"We have talismans that move and can transfer information, but not posters or signs. Do they all move?"

[reparo]

Those are a lot of questions, but Hermione loves questions. And explaining things.

"Well, no, not all of them. Non-magical posters and signs don't move as a general rule. And magical photographs can move but they are usually on a loop of sorts. Now, in my school on the other hand, there are portraits that move and speak to you. You can have a whole conversation with them, it's fascinating. It's as if someone transferred the personality and memories of the person being painted into the painting, and that survived long after their death."

She pauses, then glances around. "Probably not a good idea to mention it in this place." And here you go, a change of subject. "You know, I have seen Lan Wangji draw a talisman like that once and it created warmth. How do they work, they're fascinating."

[silverneedles]

That's a good point and although Wen Qing is eager to learn more, talking about it in the house of one of the merchants is a poor idea. Especially when it relates to capturing images, something she suspects this particular merchant would love to do. So she goes along with the change in subjects.

"They are specifically written out and the cultivator imbues them with spiritual power in order to make them work." Which makes it sound easy, although it's much more complicated than that. "Wei Wuxian is the one to talk to about talismans, if you wish to know more."

[reparo]

Eh, Wei Wuxian. Considering the man was capable of making her feel flustered while in fox shape, she doubts she will rush to ask for further information. "That's good to know."

She does wish to know more, but she does not wish to discuss cuteness of men within Wei Wuxian's family, thanks.

"It sounds like written spells, in a way. I should probably not compare your world's magic to mine, though, since they sound a great deal different, but..." A pause, after which she glances at Wen Qing with curiosity. "What about yourself? Are you...a healer?"

[silverneedles]

"A physician and a cultivator." She still has that spiritual energy, even if she doesn't rely on it much in this world. "Spiritual energy means most cultivators heal quickly but even cultivators needed physicians." Her uncle specifically needed a healer to help control the resentful energy in his body and that had fallen to her. "It's been useful here, knowing the healing arts."

[reparo]

A physician - so a doctor? She flashes Wen Qing a quick smile at that. "My parents are physicians!" she says quickly, just because she wants to share that she understands what physicians mean. The translators don't always convey the cultural weight of their words.

"Only they specialised in diseases of the teeth, mostly." How great a feeling, to explain what dentists do to non-wizards. At the same time, she almost misses the pregnant pause in Slughorn's Club...

Simpler times.

"I've found that to be the most useful skill, here. Healing arts, I mean. There are plenty of people we travel with who are, put bluntly, reckless."

[silverneedles]

"You mean idiots. Reckless idiots." Reckless and idiotic are two different things, she knows, but both terms apply to plenty of the people they travel with. With some of them, she wonders how they managed to survive in the worlds they're from, let alone here.

"But it has been useful. Especially in Taravast, helping Lady Vannozza." She rocks back on her feet, then straightens. "Your parents specialized in diseases of the teeth? Are all doctors in your world so specialized?"

[reparo]

She barely supresses a smile at that, her shoulders shaking once. "I mean, reckless and some possibly brave, but absolutely."

She'll just never say that to their faces. To most of their faces.

"Some of them are, some of them are general practitioners. It means they see patients with any sort of ailment and figure out a way to help them." She nods a little to herself; talking about them is not so difficult, tonight. "My parents, their profession? They're called dentists."

[silverneedles]

"Brave," she agrees. "But that doesn't stop them from being reckless idiots." With the ones she knows personally, it makes them even more likely to be reckless and somewhat idiotic.

"Seeing any patient and treating a variety of ailments is more in line with doctors in my world. I have specialized to help cultivators, which not every physician can do, but I can still help the average person." She glances around, just to make sure nothing is going on that they haven't noticed, and then pulls out a set of three needles. "Everyone has energy in their body and I have been trained in how to manipulate it with these, among other things."

[reparo]

It's a good thing Harry and Ron weren't pulled along on this adventure, she thinks, because they would've really shown Wen Qing what reckless idiots can do together. All three of them - her friends have a way of bringing that side out in her.

But she tries to not think about them, so the needles come as a handy distraction.

"Oh - interesting! Everyone has it? So you would be able to use these on me, if I were ill?"

[silverneedles]

"It doesn't even have to be a major illness. I have used them to put people to sleep before, and to treat people who have fainted or felt anxious." She misses it, somewhat. The problems she's treated here have been larger, more complex, and while those are interesting, getting a chance to help the average people had been almost relaxing.

"Cultivators have more energy, refined and used in different ways, which is why studying it was important. But the use of needles can help anyone."

[reparo]

"You can treat anxiety?" she repeats, wholly impressed. The idea of learning this practice is very tempting, but on the other hand - one week into Ke-Waihu and she would've resembled a hedgehog full of needles.

She shifts on her feet for a moment, and dares to ask: "Would you show me, if I share the book on herbs with you? I'm very curious about all other forms of...what I perceive to be magic."