1st Log | OTA

[moonsounds]

WHO: Ruka & you!
WHERE: Around
WHAT: Ruka getting her bearings, picking up mask pieces, playing piano
WARNINGS: Ummm minor hand injuries


A. Bathhouse

Ruka couldn't say she was used to this-- she knows she used to live with a lot of other people once upon a time for a short while, but she had no memory of it, really. As such, she's not sure what to do about the fact she's living....above a bathhouse. With a bunch of guys. She's at least thankful the bathing areas are separate, as she spends quite a bit of time in the women's section, just meditating and thinking.

So Ruka can be found either in the bath by other women (or men sneaking in maybe), or by anyone coming in (or housemates) cleaning up the place or nervously greeting someone who comes in like they might be a customer.

B. Masks

It's incredibly unnerving to find these mask pieces hanging around. The features on them as disturbingly familiar, itching at her brain but unable to connect. A piece could be found anywhere-- Around the bathhouse, out in the streets, in any other location. Ruka, with her brow furrowed in concentration and unease, observes the piece before she'll take out the other connected pieces of the mask to pick up this new piece.

It's slippery, though, falling from her fingers and slicing along them. Ruka yelps in pain and withdraws, curling her fingers into a fist to stem the blood that pools there. The mouth of the mask she's collected starts laughing hysterically. Ruka stares passively down at her bloodied hand, sighing deeply.

C. Memories

When Ruka's not being terrorized by the mask pieces, she can be found sitting somewhere that she believes doesn't get much foot traffic (or at home at the bathhouse when she thinks she's alone) with her notebook, an old book opened up beside her. An old tape recorder might also be speaking from next to her, a little girl's voice speaking from it while Ruka takes notes and transcribing the conversation.

Comments

[lanclan]

Brows going up as she fumbles with the voice-playing machine, he tilts his head.

"I can leave, if you would prefer? I don't want to bother you if you would prefer to be alone."

He knows, a little, how important her note-taking is to her.

[moonsounds]

She shakes her head quickly, "no, please." Ruka sits up straighter, setting the recorder down. "You just startled me. I was worried I was bothering you and you'd come out to scold me or something."

Not that Xichen really seemed the scolding type, but she didn't really want to assume either way. "If you don't mind me working here, then I don't mind you being here. I just won't play the recording."

[lanclan]

"You can play it if you wish, I will not repeat what I hear to others."

He sinks down into a sitting position, arranging his sleeves. Watching Ruka, Xichen offers a reassuring smile.

"Once we are both done, I can make us some tea before bed."

[moonsounds]

Ruka watches him for a moment, face passive and a hint of curiosity in her eyes. She rests a hand over the recorder, hesitating, as if worried he's not be honest. It isn't the telling people part that bothers her--she doesn't really care about that; she's way more worried about being a pain and him tolerating it for whatever reason.

But whatever. He said so, so she'll take him at his word.

The little girl's voice clicks back on a second later to finish out her sentence. "-pening. It's like I'm sleeping... And the voices come, slowly...."

A man's voice next, and Ruka frowns at the recording, brow furrowed a little as she continues to write. " When did this start? Yesterday?"

"I don't know... The mask? Daddy says you can turn into all kinds of different things. But he's different too. Daddy's a different person now. I can tell."

"I see..."

"Can I go home?"

"Soon. Very soon."

"Will Daddy get better too?"

"Yes, he'll be better soon. You can meet your mother soon, too."

"And my daddy?"

The recording stops there and Ruka curls her knees up to her chest, the only sound now the scratch of her pencil along the pages as she tries to write down what she remembers alongside the words.

But she can't help but peek curious looks at Xichen once in a while too. It doesn't feel awkward though, which surprises her. It's a sort of comfortable sharing of space.

[lanclan]

Xichen closes his eyes as he assumes a meditative position, able to hear the recording (spooky, he still thinks, hearing voices that belong to no one present, just like listening to ghosts). He finds the conversation off-putting, yet it isn't his place to comment and so he remains where he is, sitting in place as he deepens his breaths, the scratch of a pencil on a page turning into the same white noise as the sound of Hua Cheng pottering around from the kitchen to his bedroom. Cal is somewhere too, usually in his room; a floorboard creaks, on occasion. Ruka is there in the same place, unmoving, the soft sound of her breathing steady.

With an impassive expression that hints he really is meditating, Xichen maintains his posture and doesn't move either.

[moonsounds]

He's become a statue, she thinks vaguely. She stares down at her notebook pages, but it's like suddenly the words won't come. There's a vaguely restless feeling that has her glancing towards the window and fighting against a desire to try and stick her head out and see the moon.

Irritating.

Instead she slowly gets up, trying to move and stealthily and quietly as possible over to Xichen. There she sits in front of him, examining him a moment before trying to copy him. She closes her eyes too, but she's not entirely sure what to do with herself at this point. Her mind wanders and the restless feeling doesn't fade, though she stubbornly keeps herself seated.

After a little while though--she doesn't know how much time passes, honestly, A few seconds? Minutes??--she opens one eye to peek at him again.

[lanclan]

In his meditative state, his qi reaches out to the apartment's outer walls and he has a sense of where people are. When Ruka comes closer, he tracks her with absent-minded attention, still and unresponsive until the shuffling pauses then starts again. She seems to stay in one spot, though her breathing is not reflective of a restful mind.

So he opens his eyes a little, a smile curling the corners of his lips as he stares down at her.

"You're thinking too much."

Is his advice.

[moonsounds]

She blinks open both eyes, startled, and utters a dumbfounded little, "oh."

How does one just...stop thinking?? Her brow furrows and she takes a deep breath, exhaling in a rush. She wiggles a bit as if to shake off everything, shakes her head to get her hair out of her face, and tries again.

Despite herself, despite trying to even out her breathing and keep her mind free, the furrow of her brow remains, suggesting she's...thinking too hard about not thinking.

[lanclan]

Softening his smile, he closes his eyes.

"Let the sounds of your surroundings move through you, you don't need silence. Everything is moving and making noise as it is meant to. Your thoughts must be allowed to run their course, don't try to dwell on them whether they are good or bad. One after the other, allow them to come and to leave."

[moonsounds]

"Ah." A beat and then, as if in confession, "this is harder than it looks. You made it look very easy."

But she quiets then, taking another deep breath and then a slower exhale. She tries to focus-but-not-focus on the sounds around her instead. The wind outside when it kicks up or the sound of water from the baths below. The sounds of their roommates in their room.

She has to stifle a yawn, once, but then she can relax a little more, though it feels more like she'd riding an edge of falling asleep without actually doing it.

[lanclan]

Xichen peeks at her once more as she settles, letting her lapse into her own form of meditation. Juniors at Cloud Recesses often look similar when they begin their exercises and his patience is near inexhaustible when it comes to teaching these things. For a good twenty minutes, he listens to her breathing evening out.

Then he inhales a little louder, to signal he is coming out of the trance, and waits for Ruka.

[moonsounds]

The noise startles Ruka a little bit and she sits up straighter, blinking owlishly at Xichen. She stigles another yawn and leans back on her hands, watching him quietly.

"You do that every day?"

[lanclan]

"Yes, or whenever I feel like I need to clear my head and find balance within myself."

He looks in the direction of their housemates, hidden behind closed doors.

"It helps to know where I am," Xichen glances to Ruka with a smile, "and with whom I have surrounded myself."

[moonsounds]

Ruka studies him quietly, considering that, questions behind her eyes. She doesn't voice them though, instead looking away as she stretches her arms above her head and then climbs to her feet, automatically holding a hand out for him, as if he needs the help getting up.

"I wasn't getting anywhere with my studies, but I feel like I can try again a little bit now."

[lanclan]

He unfolds his legs and politely takes only the tips of her fingers as he rises, out of manners than any real need of the help. Smoothing down his robes, he nods.

"Good. I will make us some tea, then go downstairs to lock up."

No one needs to hear outsiders bathing at midnight.

[moonsounds]

She nods in acceptance but then offers, "Do you need any help?" Because she'd hate to just sit around when she could be helping too, her work aside.

Though yeah, no need for wayward wanderers breaking in to bathe at like 2am for some reason. It's exhausting enough dealing with them in the waking hours.

[lanclan]

"Have you served tea before?"

He asks as he heads into the kitchen to find the little pot and cups, cheaply made but sufficient for their needs. Xichen has yet to find a tea he likes but it's all the same when it does your body good, so he continues to drink it. The routine is also ... soothing.

[moonsounds]

"A couple of times, that I can remember. But only really to my mother." So if she messed up too much, she doesn't think her mother noticed much or bothered her about it.

She trails after him to watch.

[lanclan]

"Come and watch."

He shows her how to position things on the tray after rinsing them in hot water, leading her back to the little table where Xichen motions for her to kneel next to him and see from his point of view. The little display of how to pour hot water into the gaiwan then pour it into the gongdao jug and cups, finally pouring everything into the waste bowl.

"This is just to warm up the set, we don't drink the first round."

Unsure if she knows any of this, he is thorough just in case she wants a full explanation.

Pouring a second round, he lets it steep and checks the colour, mentioning to always pour towards yourself whenever you do and not to position it too closely because of your sleeves getting in the way and looking awkward ("If you are ever wearing long sleeves, that is"). Serve the other person first and offer the cup in both hands toward their right ...

Xichen looks at her, lips twitching.

"Is this a dull lesson?"

[moonsounds]

It's much more thorough than her mother was able to do--though not through any fault of her own--and Ruka can't help but feel a little surprised by that.

Some parts of it are familiar though and she studies it all very seriously as she tries to commit it to memory. His question makes her look quickly at him and then shake her head. "No, no. It's just a lot. I find it interesting though. People takes these customs and traditions so seriously... It's fun to learn about them. And some of it's familiar, I remember some of this from my mom. But she wasn't as thorough as you are."

There's a hint of a smile though, showing that Ruka doesn't mind it at all. "You're a good teacher."

[lanclan]

"It's fun to teach," he lightly counters, pleased as he gestures for Ruka to take the opposite seat as he switches the tea seat around so that she is the one serving this time.

"There isn't much use for this sort of thing here, but it's good to learn new things now and then, even so."

Hacking up corpses cannot be all he is called on for. Truth be told, he misses living with his brother and having Wangji a short walk away up the mountain of Gusu, so having company like this is very good for him.

[moonsounds]

Ruka squares her shoulders and sits up a little bit straighter, determined to get a Good Grade in Tea Serving.

"You never know. In this place it seems like there's all sorts of strange things that happen. You might need to charm some diplomat one day."

She focuses on the tea serving then though, hesitating a little and looking to him during the few moments where she can't quite remember how it goes or when she second-guesses her knowledge.

"Besides, my mom was always pretty traditional. I feel like it'd make her happy knowing I was learning these sorts of things. And I enjoy it too."

[lanclan]

"Your mother sounds like a nice lady."

He corrects her gently now and then, tilting the pouring toward her and away from him, "So you never spill on the guest," he explains demurely.

"Have you met Sizhui yet? He's a disciple from my clan. If you wanted to practice on him, he is proficient in many ways and a good tutor. I'm sure he would be happy to help."

[moonsounds]

"She was very nice. She worked very hard for us." Her expression softens a little even as she takes the correction, telling herself she'll have to write some of the more important steps down.

The name makes her pause, clearly searching her memory before she nods. "Mm, we spoke before. He was very nice, but I haven't spoken much to people since. I, ah... I don't have a lot of friends." She looks a bit embarrassed by that, setting the teapot down with a just-too-loud clink. She gives it a disappointed look, as if somehow it was the teapot's fault and not her own.

[lanclan]

Teapot clinking, he looks from it to her to read her uprooted thoughts, the way she seems embarrassed by admitting she has few friends.

"If you feel like you have no reason to approach him you may say that I personally recommended him as a tutor, should he be free and willing."

It's good for young people to spend time with their peers.