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 Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:37 pm
It was a quiet night over by the lake. Even quieter still in the pavilion. With a fox-eared scarf on his head and a fluffy fox tail attached to his pants, Lien Si looked out over the ripples toward the lights that marked out the town. Right now, Muoh Li was probably wondering where he had ran off to. No matter. He had more important things to tend to.
Removing the hood to the scarf, the child figure breathed in the cool night air. Almost immediately a rapture of swirling lights exploded like fireworks in the pavilion. For a few short moments they spun around the child, then slowly vanished, leaving only a smattering dancing on the ripples of the lake.
Lien Si followed them to the water's edge. Tonight. On this so-called All Hallows Eve, the boundary between ying and yang weakens. The child stared down into the black waters, wondering if in it's dark depths drowned ghosts* were stirring.
He took off his slippers, and slid his feet into the water.((*drowned ghosts: malicious ghosts of people that died of drowning; they generally are unable to move on to their next life unless they can find a victim to replace them (aka drown someone else). Usually most active during the 7th lunar month.))
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:42 pm
Huangfu Long had been out and along on this evening, having gone trick-or-treating to help a strange young man in spreading the tradition to these parts. The teen had had to wear a very complex and concealing costume to hide from his family and friends that it was he out begging for treats on this night. So naturally, after having finished, he had to change and hide the costume.
On his way to the intended hiding spot, the dark haired boy happened to have passed the pavilion. However, there was something odd inside - lights? Why would there be lights there at this time of night. Straying from his course, the teen went to investigate just what was going on in there this evening. As it was, when he arrived, he was still clad in the large handpainted dragon costume.
(If I screwed this up, lemme know and I'll edits)
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:19 pm
Lien Si sat at the water's edge, making ripples and waves across the surface with his feet. The water was cold, but he did not feel it. Kicking his feet, he made a small splash, disturbing the light orbs that had been floating lazily among the ebbs. He felt the presence of another standing a distance away, but the child did not bother turning to see who it was.
After all, meetings were all predestined, if the two of them were to meet, they will, no matter what.
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:25 pm
Long glanced around under his hood and blinked, spotting a child. He wandered slowly over to the boy and knelt near him.
"What are you doing?" he inquired after a few moments of just watching Lien Si. Was he even supposed to be here?
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:55 pm
Lien Si didn't answer immediately, nor did the child turn to face the teen. He merely quietly cocked his head to one side, as if considering the question, analyzing it, dissecting it in his small head as he continued making ripples in the water. Finally he answered.
With his gaze upon the water he spoke quietly, "I'm waiting for someone," he paused, turning his gaze toward the teen, his bare feet still, "Waiting for you, perhaps."
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:02 pm
Long raised a brow under his mask. "Waiting for me? Why?" Why would a strange child be waiting for him of all people? The gods did not choose to let people meet with no thought, so there must be a reason, but why him? And why this little boy?
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:48 pm
Observing Long's costume for a moment, Lien Si spaced out.
"Dragons, listed first among the four creatures of good omens. Kings of the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain water." Lien Si turned his gaze to the sky, one hand following his gaze, pointing to the four directions as he spoke. "Dragons also claim a section of the sky; Gen Bu sits to the north, White Tiger to the west, Phoenix to the south, and at the east," his slender finger stopped in front of Long, "Is the Azure Dragon..." the child tilted his head in contemplation, "You."
Lien Si stared at Long for a minute before pointing to a spot beyond Long, upon the water. It was a single lotus, glowing faintly upon the dark waters.
"Just as I have been waiting for someone, this wisp of hope is waiting for you."
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:54 pm
Long stared at the boy, removing the large headpiece of his costume to show his thin face and long black hair. He blinked a bit, glancing down at the flower. It was pretty enough and really glowy but what was it, apart from a flower?*
"The lotus?" he inquired, blinking at the flower and back up at Lien Si. Wisp of hope? What was that?
(* - this isn't him being dismissive of 'oh, it's just a flower'. He wants to know what it is apart from being that flower, not it's a flower, so, what's so great about a flower?)
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:19 pm
The child nodded quietly before standing up. He took a few steps toward the glowing blossom before looking back at Long, his gaze seemed to be asking, "Will you venture forth?"
As he stood there in the water, surrounded by bits of light, the night breeze blowing, it was difficult to tell if the blossom had moved closer to shore, or if the child had moved further than expected into the water.
This time he spoke, softly, quietly, his words like wisps of smoke being carried away by the wind. At the same time it echoed, as if two people were speaking at the same time, the child, and a young man.
"I cannot tell what the future has in store for you, but you will never know unless you take the first step."
"Will you venture forth?
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:41 pm
Long blinked before shaking himself out of the somewhat trance he'd gone into at seeing the child's behavior. Deciding it was best not to argue with whatever magic this was, he placed the headdress of the costume down and stood, nodding.
"Yes, I shall. Do you wish me to follow you into the water?" he inquired, stepping closer to the edge.
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:25 pm
The child turned so that he was completely facing Long, "You don't need to," In a flash their faces were only inches apart. Smiling, he added, "you already have." Only the child's voice remained.
Between the two, floating on the surface of the lake was the lotus, glowing brighter now than before, its soft light pulsating.
"If you can take it," Lien Si whispered as he moved passed Long, "then it is predestined."
The child glided back to shore, emerging from the water completely dry and without a speck of mud on his clothes or legs.
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:51 pm
The teen blinked again - he seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. Staring between the flower and the boy again, he knelt, carefully reaching out to touch one of the petals curiously. The boy had said that if he could take it, then it was predestined, so it wouldn't shrink from his touch if he attempted to stroke one soft petal, would it?
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:43 pm
Lien Si watched Long from the shore. All signs pointed to the teen. If Long took destiny's offer, then it was meant to be; if Long didn't, it just meant that it was predestined for their paths to cross, but only briefly. With his hands folded behind his back, Lien Si turned to the sky and the crescent moon above, letting out a sigh.
"Fate works in strange ways. Sometimes, those that are destined to be cannot, not because fate is cruel, but because it is not yet time. What is yours, will be yours. As such, humans may believe everything is predestined, but in truth, it is the decisions we make that ultimately decide our destiny. Fate, merely points us in the right direction."
The child pulled up his fox hood and continued, "That lotus is an ethereal being, as such, it does not need dirt, nor water. All it needs is your hopes and wishes made known to it with the smoke of incense. If you cannot touch it, then simply regard all of this as, a dream."
With that he left, vanishing into the darkness, leaving behind only a faint smell of sandalwood and a pair of slippers by the water.
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