[ WOW HIS BUTT!!! he yelps, and then grins like a little shit, pleased with himself and his terrible little joke, snickering. wehehehe.
what a great time for a horrible memory share! ]
[ you're maybe five or six years old, and you're sitting on the roof of your house, pulling tiles off of the roof for no reason and tossing them to the ground. no one knows how you got up there, but at this point, your exasperated mother and father are both over your misbehavior.
you beam down at your mother. her face is a little bit fuzzy - gu yun's memory of the first princess is scattered, after so many years - and she's got a feather duster in her hand. you know that's not actually a feather duster, because it's got some kind of horsehair instead of feathers, and when she swats you with it, it hurts. you really don't want to be hit with that, so you lock eyes with your mother for a long, long while.
and then, your lower lip starts to wobble.
your mother makes an aggrieved noise. "Xiao Shiliu-" she starts, and you jump down from the roof and land in front of her, feeling tears well up in your eyes. ]
Mom, don't you like me anymore? [ you whimper, and your mother makes a noise and reaches out to catch you by the collar -- you deftly duck out of the way, as slippery as a fish, and feel the mischief running through your bones. "Get back here, you know you aren't allowed up there!" ]
Am I not the flesh that came from your body?! [ you yell back, pitifully, pathetically, jumping over something in the courtyard. you are six years old and your terrible mouth says things like this, even now. your mother chases after you - you make three more steps before she snags the back of your robes, and when she catches you, there are tears running down your cheeks, and any sign of mischief is gone. ] Do...do you want to change me out, for a better son? I'll be better, I promise, I'll be good.
[ you sniffle. (you are a very good actor, at six.) ] I only have one mother... [ and rub at your eyes with your tiny fists - ] ...If you don't love me, then I'll become a stray child... [ and your mother GROANS, the most aggrieved noise, as she sweeps you up into her arms.
"Xiao Shiliu, who taught you this trick!" she scolds, and your crocodile tears dry up in a second - you squirm and wiggle and knock the feather duster out of your mom's hands, and she sighs, reaching out to pinch your cheeks. it's a warm memory, a happy one - one of the servants in the courtyard croons about poor, poor shiliu in the background, and fades a moment later.
...but that's not the end of this little trip down memory lane, either. a cw for child abuse
the next memory comes in hazy shades of brown and gray - your medicine isn't effective, yet, the dose not correct, and you can just barely see. all of a sudden, you feel the sun, hot on your face, and a hand wrapped tight around your arm as you're dragged out of your room and into the courtyard. it burns - your eyes are only freshly injured, now, just a few weeks after the accident at the black iron camp.
all you can do is stagger after your father, and this time, when you're crying, it's real. tears stream down your cheeks, but you don't say a word, this time, no wailing or shouting as your father drags you over to the small koi pond in the center of the courtyard, something you can't even really see. your head is pounding, your eyes are burning, and your father stops at the edge, and drops your arm.
he wraps the whip he uses on his horse around your neck. you feel it, then feel his hands on your head, forcing you down to your knees to look at the water's surface. the brightness make your eyes ache - his voice comes right next to your ear, and he's shouting. to you it sounds like he's barely talking. Look at you, the old marquis says, Look at your current appearance! Do you think you deserve to be named Gu?!
something seethes up in your heart. tiny, angry. your throat is constricted by the whip, and you take a huge, deep breath, grab at it with your tiny hands, and roar at the top of your lungs, "I can't see!"
your father doesn't appreciate your fury or the point you've made. he grabs the back of your head by the hair, and shoves you face first into the water. it fills your lungs, and you gasp, your senses flooded by it, choking you further - he holds you there, five seconds, ten, and then yanks your head back up. you gasp for air, your lungs heaving.
your father shouts, again, in your ear. "If you can't see, then submerge yourself until you figure out how to!" you're coughing and gasping, wheezing, and your father's voice snarls in your broken ears, "Either you will learn to stand up, or you will find a place to hang yourself. The Gu family would rather have no heir than raise a worthless child."
the whip's pulled back - you gasp for air, and your father drops his grip on you, leaving you soaking wet and coughing at the pond. your hands curl into fists, and you take a deep, trembling breath, and that phrase buries itself into your heart like an iron nail. ]
[So the having to avoid each other or face the ordeal of being known was really actually good advice, huh?
Molly has never been a child. So he doesn't understand, exactly, the nuances of parenthood, of a loving mother, of being beholden to a family name, but
he knows what pain and fear is. they're still pulled in close from earlier, so Molly just holds to him tightly - pressing his face to gu yun's torso. he doesn't say anything for the moment, not until the other does.]
there's that. there's a long pause, as molly suddenly presses in closer, and gu yun sighs and puts a hand on top of his head. ]
Well. I suppose that's the other thing I didn't want anyone else to see, so hopefully it'll all be battle victories and fine celebrations from here on out.
[ he's. surprisingly blase about this one. or maybe not so blase, who knows - either way, he's very good at hiding it. ]
[Well, he'll just match tone. (There's a moment where he can still feel horsewhip around his throat, water burning in his lungs). Gu Yun - who deserves his name more than any other bastard in the Universe - had paid him the same favor earlier.]
Fuck, we really do keep inviting disaster. [He stays pressed in close, arms around that tight waist. Mostly just muttering into his clothes.] I hate this week.
Agreed. My second in command always says I'm a crow in human form. [ because he tends to just say things and then they happen!! gu yun your crow mouth!!!!
eventually, he runs his fingers back into molly's hair. this position is becoming familiar, it seems; gu yun's quiet for a little longer, glancing out at the room at large. ]
...He'd be rolling over in his grave if he could see me right now, the old bastard. [ this is?? surprisingly lighthearted? after that??? his coping mechanisms, ] I learned to stand up perfectly fine, and now I'm here, lying back and thinking of Great Liang. How's that for service to your country?
[it's becoming familiar partially because mollymauk voice: jokes on you im into that shit. having his hair and horns toyed with while he gets to lounge in his seat.]
Lying back? Is that what you do? [is this an appropriate joke for the moment? well, it's fine.] Let him roll, the bastard. Let all bastards from our shite memories roll in their graves, while we're here, perfectly upright and alive.
[ if this is a death flag i'm going to destroy you
it's completely inappropriate, but that's why he made it in the first place. ] Wouldn't you know? [ gu yun's shitty grin turns to a laugh, softer and less gremlin, as he continues playing with those curls, fingers occasionally finding chains or baubles off of his horns, just for the sensation of the touch. all rather nice. ]
Cheers to that, though. [ time to box that old memory back up into the trauma shelf where it belongs! ] I've done rather enough reminiscing, but I've decided I'd also like to have the fish and the bear's paw all at once, so think I'll take my chances and stick around.
[ he ruffles up those purple curls a bit, just because he can. ruffle ruffle. ]
[imagine how funny it would be if he were like, okay gu yun, ill tell you my backstory but i need time, and then one of them just fucking dies instead]
Suppose I would. Though I thought you suggested you'd like to ride something . . . what was it again?
[Humming, content, letting some of the trauma and anxiety of the past few hours fade off, leaning into this feeling rather than submitting to the ordeal of being known. maybe a little reward of being loved, as a treat.]
Fish and-- Bear's paw? Sorry, I can normally follow your funny little twists of phrase, but you'll have to lay that one out for me.
Hmmm. Bear's paw is a delicacy, usually reserved for the wealthy. Fish is eaten for good fortune at the New Year. They're both expensive to the average family. [ gu yun explains, tilting his head to try to try and make the forced switch of language - ] Yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé. Can't have the fish and the bear's paw at the same time.
[ can't have your cake and eat it too! amazing.
there's a pause, still running his fingers through molly's hair, and in that same, i'm-teaching-something tone ] Riding your ass all the way to the grave, I believe? Can't remember every clever thing I always say. [ ufufufu. ]
Seems like you can have both if you've both coin and total disrespect for tradition. So, between us, think we can work something out.
[Looking up at him, putting on a very i am being taught face, though there's something a little mocking in it, suggesting perhaps he is a difficult student.]
Oh, yes, that's the one. [meanly, because now he knows this secret, shoving a hand to one of those ticklish spots recently discovered.] You want to? Most everyone here wants me to be on top, which is fine, but gets a bit . . . [clicks tongue.] Same-y?
[ gu yun doesn't even get a chance to respond before he yelps, a burst of laughter immediate as he tries to squirm away from the tickling, hands tightening in molly's hair and pulling like he can get him to not be a menace - ] Pfft - stop, paws off of me!
[ how dare you reduce him to giggles! he like can't even talk well when this happens!!!!!! talking well is his thing!!!! ] Fine, fine, yes, that's fine - hahaha --!!
[he will not be stopped by something as weak as a little hair pulling, snorting a laugh of mean, mean, asshole amusement and continuing. mr. marquis of order can't make one purple tiefling do as he says so easily. tilting his head . . . ?]
[ gu yun is like, wheezing with laughter at this point, trying not to double over or like, slam himself into the table with his attempts at getting away, nearly squealing when he hits a particularly ticklish spot at his ribs. this is gu yun, terrifying and scary marquis of order, commander of a thousand men, getting his ass kicked by a tiefling with ticklish fingers.
he pulls harder like a five year old, trying to break free of his grip. there are tears in his eyes at this point, shoulders shaking with laughter. this is the worst. ] Mollymauk! [ FREE HIM!!! ]
[instantly pulling his hands away and standing up, putting a leg up on the chair and his hands on his hips to pose.]
Dragon Emperor Mollymauk, first of his name, let it be known that while I am great and terrible and can slay my enemies with but a single glance, I also know the meaning of mercy.
[He was in the middle of laughing so it comes out like hahah- urk! but he doesn't really stop laughing either, just slightly doubling over and losing his balance on the chair - not quite falling over but he does have to catch himself on the counter.]
[ as he finally starts to catch his breath, gu yun can feel something nagging at the edge of his consciousness. the sensation is familiar - a low thrum of what's going to be a headache, and, a debilitating one. the pain comes in a wave, as the clarity of his vision immediately wavers, and he closes his eyes, briefly, trying to pass it off as just recovering from being tickled. an hour passes so quickly, in good company. ]
...I think I may have to rain check on that plan of ours. [ gotta schedule your top session around your medicine side effect. ] Believe me when I say, I don't want to put out a terrible showing. All of these memories are starting to make my head spin.
[ the first wave of pain comes about a second later, the brutal ice pick of a migraine. his fingers flex briefly where he's settled his hands, and gu yun forces himself to sit up, giving molly his most charming, reassuring smile. hopefully. ]
No, no. [ that gets waved off immediately. the world seems to tilt and spin as the medicine starts to properly take hold. even standing up again makes his stomach lurch, and the world around him tips and spins, as dizziness threatens to knock gu yun off of his feet. he grasps the front of molly's shirt, steadying, and a wrinkle forms at his brow. ]
If you hurt me with that, I wouldn't be worthy of a single title I have. [ very casually. gu yun inhales, through his nose, out his mouth. ] - Just - it's just a headache. I get migraines. [ that's - it's not a lie, but it's not a full truth, either. it's the consequence of a medicine like his, one with great power at a great cost. his voice stays casual. nothing's wrong. everything's fine. ] I was expecting it.
[ also not a lie. he just lost track of time. it's an hour, an hour and a half at best, usually.
he needs to get out of the light and into somewhere dark and comfortable, and as soon as possible - especially with the nausea, which is an unholy new symptom that gu yun thinks is likely only a complication of this strange place they've found themselves in. so that's cool. ]
[He could be really weak to tickle damage! ONE NEVER KNOWS. Molly just reaches to support his arms, and then without really hesitating just moves to start frog-marching him to the bedroom - fortunately still the downstairs one a few steps away. There's a cat in here. There's a cat now? It's just curled up, sleeping on one of the pillows amongst some of mollys things.]
Move your ass, Frumpkin. Always in the fucking way.
[ the new friend seems offended, but hops off the bed before molly just dumps gu yun right onto his spot.]
[ there is a cat! gu yun is generally hated by most animals, tragically (not, he usually deserves it), and he's not paying much attention to it, instead pushing himself so he doesn't actually need to be frog marched - he can walk perfectly fine on his own - before he drops onto the bed.
it's honestly kind of a relief, to not be vertical. the world stops spinning quite as hard, as the pounding gets worse. molly's bed is becoming familiar, even if it's got things (and a cat) on it, and he huffs, somewhat surprisingly an obedient patient that does as he's told and lays down, lifting his arm to put it up and over his eyes.
gu yun is a little quieter than usual now because of it, pushing through any of the pain for his usual mannerisms of tone and lightness. ] We both got cats. [ he says, after a moment. and then, by way of explanation, reaches down with his other hand for his pocket, finding the black iron hufu tally in the shape of a palm sized tiger for inspection. ] Yours seems a bit more lively.
[Once he's down, molly just leans in to smooch him on the forehead and pat him on the cheek.]
Good boy.
[Then he moves to at least sit next to him, without turning the lights on, trying to stay relatively quiet. the things scattered seem to be mostly art supplies - a coloring book, carefully closed, some little delicate brushes and pots of ink and paint, tightly sealed so they don't spill on the blankets at least. molly just shoves it all aside to not be in the way.
inspecting the little offered tiger.]
Technically, it's not mine. Yours seems more obedient. What is it?
[ gu yun always runs cold, but when molly kisses his forehead, he will find it to be even colder than usual - another side effect of that medicine, it seems. there's something about the ingredients that make the body pretty unhappy, but, gu yun's beyond used to it. (really, it's the sweet if playful gesture that's more jarring.)
keeping his eyes closed, gu yun's thumb finds the seam on the center of the black tiger, splitting it into its two, flat halves for molly's inspection, like a puzzle piece. he speaks quietly, but no less steadily than usual. ] It's called a tally - the Black Tiger Emblem. It's a representation of my authority as the Marquis of Order, proving that I am acting on His Highnesses decrees and orders. It establishes my identity, too, so if someone tried to impersonate me, they wouldn't be able to properly.
[ it's a real fancy badge, more or less. ancient chinese security clearance. ] Here, it's just a trinket, though.
[molly just gets comfortable, laying on his side and reaching over to push hair behind gu yun's ears, at least unless he's pushed off or told to stop.]
Well, that's Frumpkin. Some sort of-- magic summon creature thing. Not exactly a cat. Caleb could do all kinds of little tricks with it. See through its eyes, use it to scout or spy, turn it into something useful like a bird or whatnot. Very attached to it. But now here it's just a cat that sheds hair on my things. So, just a trinket too.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Molly's tail whips around and smacks him
on the ass
for that little act]
[Mockingly:] Mm?
no subject
what a great time for a horrible memory share! ]
[ you're maybe five or six years old, and you're sitting on the roof of your house, pulling tiles off of the roof for no reason and tossing them to the ground. no one knows how you got up there, but at this point, your exasperated mother and father are both over your misbehavior.
you beam down at your mother. her face is a little bit fuzzy - gu yun's memory of the first princess is scattered, after so many years - and she's got a feather duster in her hand. you know that's not actually a feather duster, because it's got some kind of horsehair instead of feathers, and when she swats you with it, it hurts. you really don't want to be hit with that, so you lock eyes with your mother for a long, long while.
and then, your lower lip starts to wobble.
your mother makes an aggrieved noise. "Xiao Shiliu-" she starts, and you jump down from the roof and land in front of her, feeling tears well up in your eyes. ]
Mom, don't you like me anymore? [ you whimper, and your mother makes a noise and reaches out to catch you by the collar -- you deftly duck out of the way, as slippery as a fish, and feel the mischief running through your bones. "Get back here, you know you aren't allowed up there!" ]
Am I not the flesh that came from your body?! [ you yell back, pitifully, pathetically, jumping over something in the courtyard. you are six years old and your terrible mouth says things like this, even now. your mother chases after you - you make three more steps before she snags the back of your robes, and when she catches you, there are tears running down your cheeks, and any sign of mischief is gone. ] Do...do you want to change me out, for a better son? I'll be better, I promise, I'll be good.
[ you sniffle. (you are a very good actor, at six.) ] I only have one mother... [ and rub at your eyes with your tiny fists - ] ...If you don't love me, then I'll become a stray child... [ and your mother GROANS, the most aggrieved noise, as she sweeps you up into her arms.
"Xiao Shiliu, who taught you this trick!" she scolds, and your crocodile tears dry up in a second - you squirm and wiggle and knock the feather duster out of your mom's hands, and she sighs, reaching out to pinch your cheeks. it's a warm memory, a happy one - one of the servants in the courtyard croons about poor, poor shiliu in the background, and fades a moment later.
...but that's not the end of this little trip down memory lane, either. a cw for child abuse
the next memory comes in hazy shades of brown and gray - your medicine isn't effective, yet, the dose not correct, and you can just barely see. all of a sudden, you feel the sun, hot on your face, and a hand wrapped tight around your arm as you're dragged out of your room and into the courtyard. it burns - your eyes are only freshly injured, now, just a few weeks after the accident at the black iron camp.
all you can do is stagger after your father, and this time, when you're crying, it's real. tears stream down your cheeks, but you don't say a word, this time, no wailing or shouting as your father drags you over to the small koi pond in the center of the courtyard, something you can't even really see. your head is pounding, your eyes are burning, and your father stops at the edge, and drops your arm.
he wraps the whip he uses on his horse around your neck. you feel it, then feel his hands on your head, forcing you down to your knees to look at the water's surface. the brightness make your eyes ache - his voice comes right next to your ear, and he's shouting. to you it sounds like he's barely talking. Look at you, the old marquis says, Look at your current appearance! Do you think you deserve to be named Gu?!
something seethes up in your heart. tiny, angry. your throat is constricted by the whip, and you take a huge, deep breath, grab at it with your tiny hands, and roar at the top of your lungs, "I can't see!"
your father doesn't appreciate your fury or the point you've made. he grabs the back of your head by the hair, and shoves you face first into the water. it fills your lungs, and you gasp, your senses flooded by it, choking you further - he holds you there, five seconds, ten, and then yanks your head back up. you gasp for air, your lungs heaving.
your father shouts, again, in your ear. "If you can't see, then submerge yourself until you figure out how to!" you're coughing and gasping, wheezing, and your father's voice snarls in your broken ears, "Either you will learn to stand up, or you will find a place to hang yourself. The Gu family would rather have no heir than raise a worthless child."
the whip's pulled back - you gasp for air, and your father drops his grip on you, leaving you soaking wet and coughing at the pond. your hands curl into fists, and you take a deep, trembling breath, and that phrase buries itself into your heart like an iron nail. ]
no subject
Molly has never been a child. So he doesn't understand, exactly, the nuances of parenthood, of a loving mother, of being beholden to a family name, but
he knows what pain and fear is. they're still pulled in close from earlier, so Molly just holds to him tightly - pressing his face to gu yun's torso. he doesn't say anything for the moment, not until the other does.]
no subject
there's that. there's a long pause, as molly suddenly presses in closer, and gu yun sighs and puts a hand on top of his head. ]
Well. I suppose that's the other thing I didn't want anyone else to see, so hopefully it'll all be battle victories and fine celebrations from here on out.
[ he's. surprisingly blase about this one. or maybe not so blase, who knows - either way, he's very good at hiding it. ]
no subject
Fuck, we really do keep inviting disaster. [He stays pressed in close, arms around that tight waist. Mostly just muttering into his clothes.] I hate this week.
no subject
eventually, he runs his fingers back into molly's hair. this position is becoming familiar, it seems; gu yun's quiet for a little longer, glancing out at the room at large. ]
...He'd be rolling over in his grave if he could see me right now, the old bastard. [ this is?? surprisingly lighthearted? after that??? his coping mechanisms, ] I learned to stand up perfectly fine, and now I'm here, lying back and thinking of Great Liang. How's that for service to your country?
[ terrible. ]
no subject
Lying back? Is that what you do? [is this an appropriate joke for the moment? well, it's fine.] Let him roll, the bastard. Let all bastards from our shite memories roll in their graves, while we're here, perfectly upright and alive.
no subject
it's completely inappropriate, but that's why he made it in the first place. ] Wouldn't you know? [ gu yun's shitty grin turns to a laugh, softer and less gremlin, as he continues playing with those curls, fingers occasionally finding chains or baubles off of his horns, just for the sensation of the touch. all rather nice. ]
Cheers to that, though. [ time to box that old memory back up into the trauma shelf where it belongs! ] I've done rather enough reminiscing, but I've decided I'd also like to have the fish and the bear's paw all at once, so think I'll take my chances and stick around.
[ he ruffles up those purple curls a bit, just because he can. ruffle ruffle. ]
no subject
Suppose I would. Though I thought you suggested you'd like to ride something . . . what was it again?
[Humming, content, letting some of the trauma and anxiety of the past few hours fade off, leaning into this feeling rather than submitting to the ordeal of being known. maybe a little reward of being loved, as a treat.]
Fish and-- Bear's paw? Sorry, I can normally follow your funny little twists of phrase, but you'll have to lay that one out for me.
no subject
Hmmm. Bear's paw is a delicacy, usually reserved for the wealthy. Fish is eaten for good fortune at the New Year. They're both expensive to the average family. [ gu yun explains, tilting his head to try to try and make the forced switch of language - ] Yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé. Can't have the fish and the bear's paw at the same time.
[ can't have your cake and eat it too! amazing.
there's a pause, still running his fingers through molly's hair, and in that same, i'm-teaching-something tone ] Riding your ass all the way to the grave, I believe? Can't remember every clever thing I always say. [ ufufufu. ]
no subject
[Looking up at him, putting on a very i am being taught face, though there's something a little mocking in it, suggesting perhaps he is a difficult student.]
Oh, yes, that's the one. [meanly, because now he knows this secret, shoving a hand to one of those ticklish spots recently discovered.] You want to? Most everyone here wants me to be on top, which is fine, but gets a bit . . . [clicks tongue.] Same-y?
[thot,]
no subject
[ how dare you reduce him to giggles! he like can't even talk well when this happens!!!!!! talking well is his thing!!!! ] Fine, fine, yes, that's fine - hahaha --!!
no subject
[he will not be stopped by something as weak as a little hair pulling, snorting a laugh of mean, mean, asshole amusement and continuing. mr. marquis of order can't make one purple tiefling do as he says so easily. tilting his head . . . ?]
Mm?
no subject
he pulls harder like a five year old, trying to break free of his grip. there are tears in his eyes at this point, shoulders shaking with laughter. this is the worst. ] Mollymauk! [ FREE HIM!!! ]
no subject
[instantly pulling his hands away and standing up, putting a leg up on the chair and his hands on his hips to pose.]
Dragon Emperor Mollymauk, first of his name, let it be known that while I am great and terrible and can slay my enemies with but a single glance, I also know the meaning of mercy.
no subject
gu yun immediately elbows him in the gut ]
no subject
Fuck you! Sore loser.
no subject
[ as he finally starts to catch his breath, gu yun can feel something nagging at the edge of his consciousness. the sensation is familiar - a low thrum of what's going to be a headache, and, a debilitating one. the pain comes in a wave, as the clarity of his vision immediately wavers, and he closes his eyes, briefly, trying to pass it off as just recovering from being tickled. an hour passes so quickly, in good company. ]
...I think I may have to rain check on that plan of ours. [ gotta schedule your top session around your medicine side effect. ] Believe me when I say, I don't want to put out a terrible showing. All of these memories are starting to make my head spin.
[ the first wave of pain comes about a second later, the brutal ice pick of a migraine. his fingers flex briefly where he's settled his hands, and gu yun forces himself to sit up, giving molly his most charming, reassuring smile. hopefully. ]
no subject
Of course, yeah-- I didn't hurt you, right? Fuck, sorry--
no subject
If you hurt me with that, I wouldn't be worthy of a single title I have. [ very casually. gu yun inhales, through his nose, out his mouth. ] - Just - it's just a headache. I get migraines. [ that's - it's not a lie, but it's not a full truth, either. it's the consequence of a medicine like his, one with great power at a great cost. his voice stays casual. nothing's wrong. everything's fine. ] I was expecting it.
[ also not a lie. he just lost track of time. it's an hour, an hour and a half at best, usually.
he needs to get out of the light and into somewhere dark and comfortable, and as soon as possible - especially with the nausea, which is an unholy new symptom that gu yun thinks is likely only a complication of this strange place they've found themselves in. so that's cool. ]
no subject
[He could be really weak to tickle damage! ONE NEVER KNOWS. Molly just reaches to support his arms, and then without really hesitating just moves to start frog-marching him to the bedroom - fortunately still the downstairs one a few steps away. There's a cat in here. There's a cat now? It's just curled up, sleeping on one of the pillows amongst some of mollys things.]
Move your ass, Frumpkin. Always in the fucking way.
[ the new friend seems offended, but hops off the bed before molly just dumps gu yun right onto his spot.]
There.
no subject
it's honestly kind of a relief, to not be vertical. the world stops spinning quite as hard, as the pounding gets worse. molly's bed is becoming familiar, even if it's got things (and a cat) on it, and he huffs, somewhat surprisingly an obedient patient that does as he's told and lays down, lifting his arm to put it up and over his eyes.
gu yun is a little quieter than usual now because of it, pushing through any of the pain for his usual mannerisms of tone and lightness. ] We both got cats. [ he says, after a moment. and then, by way of explanation, reaches down with his other hand for his pocket, finding the black iron hufu tally in the shape of a palm sized tiger for inspection. ] Yours seems a bit more lively.
no subject
Good boy.
[Then he moves to at least sit next to him, without turning the lights on, trying to stay relatively quiet. the things scattered seem to be mostly art supplies - a coloring book, carefully closed, some little delicate brushes and pots of ink and paint, tightly sealed so they don't spill on the blankets at least. molly just shoves it all aside to not be in the way.
inspecting the little offered tiger.]
Technically, it's not mine. Yours seems more obedient. What is it?
no subject
keeping his eyes closed, gu yun's thumb finds the seam on the center of the black tiger, splitting it into its two, flat halves for molly's inspection, like a puzzle piece. he speaks quietly, but no less steadily than usual. ] It's called a tally - the Black Tiger Emblem. It's a representation of my authority as the Marquis of Order, proving that I am acting on His Highnesses decrees and orders. It establishes my identity, too, so if someone tried to impersonate me, they wouldn't be able to properly.
[ it's a real fancy badge, more or less. ancient chinese security clearance. ] Here, it's just a trinket, though.
no subject
[molly just gets comfortable, laying on his side and reaching over to push hair behind gu yun's ears, at least unless he's pushed off or told to stop.]
Well, that's Frumpkin. Some sort of-- magic summon creature thing. Not exactly a cat. Caleb could do all kinds of little tricks with it. See through its eyes, use it to scout or spy, turn it into something useful like a bird or whatnot. Very attached to it. But now here it's just a cat that sheds hair on my things. So, just a trinket too.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)