jikan_network | [Video; UN: gentlebreeze]

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[Video; UN: gentlebreeze]

[He too heard the broadcast and he has questions he can't stifle:]

Please, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could someone give me guidance on what is expected of us? Releasing my...my regrets...

I'm not sure I...can.

[Just like that. In a blink. How can anyone? He closes his eyes, expression pained.]

As for being here before... Do you think that is true?

[His head aches and he rubs at his temple.]

Our lives are complicated enough, I think, without time misbehaving.

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[ He heard the broadcast, but he's not putting much stock in it, not really. Not yet. ]

Do not let it get to you. Whether it's true or not you've come out on top. You have your soulmate and you have your friends.

[ He twirls his xiao and shakes his head, light glinting off the dragon scale at his throat. ]

Regrets are a part of who we are. We can feel sad over it and let it take over our lives or we can learn from it. Letting go of it isn't really an option.

[That is likely the smart decision, but Xingchen is afraid what their future holds.]

They are the ones I am worried about, my friend.

[His eyes catch that glint of...light? No, a scale. He smiles faintly, happy that things are progressing well for Mingye.]

I'm not sure what to learn from mine except...

[To be more paranoid and suspicious.]

They should be good lessons, shouldn't they?

Why are you worried? Answer me that. Do you think things will change due to the broadcast? Think that things won't be the same between you and them?

[ That should probably be a worry for him, but it isn't. He doesn't fear losing Xingchen's friendship, Runyu's love, or this new friendship he's forming with Ouyang. ]

Not all lessons are good. Some lessons show distrust. Though, if you think about it, you may have regrets, but yours have taught you that looks aren't always as they appear. Otherwise, I doubt we'd be friends due to your past circumstances.

[ Due to who he looks like. ]

Your regrets have taught you to be strong, haven't they? That you would face that danger if it showed. That you would do anything to protect those you care for. Is that not a good lesson?

I...don't know. I feel like she was warning us and if we do not heed her words, I cannot say what will happen. Time is...sensitive.

[And the truth is he fears his future. He doesn't want to face it.]

Mingye, you are a handsome man. I am honored to have you as a friend. If anyone thinks otherwise, they are not worthy of you.

[Don't make him kiss you, Mingye.]

...yes. I must be strong. [Even if he is pulled into tattered pieces.] Will it be enough? I know you can't answer that, but that is my fear. That Shuanghua and I will fail you. Fail Zichen. Fail everyone.

And yet how do we know she's even speaking the truth? We don't know her. Yes, time is sensitive, but at the same time we'll get through it. We're strong that way. IF things do go in a direction we don't want it to, we're in this together. All of us.

[ Futures can be scary. ]

That would require me to let others in, wouldn't it?

[ He probably wouldn't mind if you did, Xingchen. ]

No. You are strong. There is none of this 'must be' crap. You are strong. You're one of the strongest people I know.

[ He hates that word. Lord Demon be damned, but he hates that word. ]

You couldn't fail us even if you tried.

Together. [He repeats, letting the word sink in and warm him. The fear begins to fade, retreating to the shadows as sunlight spills over his heart and soul.] I will hold onto you and everyone else. No one will be lost.

[He flushes and smiles a little more.]

You have let me in. I was stubborn, but you needn't have opened your door to me.

[Mingye did, however, and that is a gift that helps strengthen him too.]

Says the man who treated a missing arm like a small scrape! I admired you then and I admire you now. If you believe in me, I won't fail.

Edited 2021-12-06 06:29 (UTC)

Exactly. Together. We will all hold onto each other.

[ They were all strong, in their own rights and ways. ]

You were stubborn. You had also kind of reminded me of Little Fairy with your herbs and medicine too.

[ He had let Xingchen in. The man was one of the first people he had allowed in. The first person to even touch him. To let him know that it was okay to actually care about someone without being hurt for it. ]

To me the missing arm was nothing. Was it and the Heavenly Lightning painful, yes, but it was nothing. Things could have been worse.

[ He takes a deep breath and lets it out. ]

I do believe in you.

[All of this news is concerning but he finds his first thought to be worry when he sees Xingchen's post. Enough so for him to respond to it right away.]

Are you alright? I know that the news was not easy to hear and I worry about you.

I won't let go of you and if anyone tries to harm you, I will stand between you and them.

[Mingye has more than proved himself. For such a man, Xingchen would die without regret.]

I'm sorry she hasn't arrived here. Your Little Fairy, I mean. But there is time yet.

[He shakes his head in wonder and sits up, features bright and determined.]

I believe what would injure you more is the loss of those you care about. In my opinion, that makes you one of a kind and incredibly heroic.

[Those last words are all he needs to hear. There will be a knock at Mingye's door in a few minutes.]

Edited 2021-12-06 06:43 (UTC)

[He is just as concerned about Runyu. The topic of regret is a heavy one; one that hangs around their necks like chains.]

I worry for you too. [After all Runyu has endured... And now this?] I'm trying not to think about what I don't...or can't...remember.

Edited 2021-12-06 06:45 (UTC)

Stand by me, not between me and them.

[ He never wants anyone to stand between him and whoever is trying to harm him. They can stand by his side and they take the enemy on headfirst, but no one needs to be between him anyone who might harm him. ]

Told you last time, she's not mine. She's Linyuan's.

[ How many times does he need to remind Xingchen of that? ]

I have no intention of losing those I care about.

[ The idea of losing anyone bothers him more than he'd care to admit.

The knock on the door, however, has him looking toward it before he uses that dark energy to answer it, getting up at the same time. ]

[Just a look on Runyu's face can show how heavy this topic is. And how he's trying so hard to not let it drown him. Release his regrets... He doesn't even know how to begin or if he's even allowed to given all he's done.]

I've lived with my regrets for hundreds of years now. They are old and a part of me like a strand of hair. Yours are fresh and so those who are far younger are my greater concern.

If that's what you wish...

[Xingchen fights the instinct to protect what - and who - is precious to him. Shuanghua can stop foes at Mingye's side just as easily. He just has to believe in himself; he won't falter; he won't be tricked.]

That doesn't mean you can't be friends.

[Those who are important, regardless of reason, should be held close.]

Neither do I.

[He is quick to slip inside, paying the dark energy no mind. Xingchen throws his arms around Mingye and barely suppresses a shudder of fear...of joy...of foreboding...

He isn't sure.]

I'm afraid. [Admitting that feels...frightening and foolish. What can anyone do to untwist the knot in his chest?] I have not faced my greatest fear yet. I will. I must. But when time is discussed, my heart is weak. All I can do is tremble.

[He looks away, ashamed.]

You have faced...so many things. And you are able to speak of them too. Your bravery dazzles me.

It's what I wish. I'd rather you beside me than in front of me.

[ What happens when it's him that needs to protect Xingchen? He can't do that if the other is right in front of him. So by his side instead. ]

I didn't say it couldn't mean that. That still doesn't make her mine.

[ He doesn't expect the arms that are thrown around him, but he wraps his own arms around Xingchen and just holds him there. Keeps him close. ]

Brave? No. I'm not. More than anything I am just tired of running from the truth of what I have done.

[His blue dragon eyes close and he shakes his head, the action making it easier to see the silver scales at the edge of his face and along his neck, the horns as well.]

But there is no shame in trembling and I do not find you weak. Not at all.

Yes. Beside you. [He breathes once he is holding Mingye against him. If none of this had happened, if he hadn't come here, he wouldn't know this man. What a tragedy that would have been! So he can handle what comes; it's a small price to pay for this opportunity.]

It's better that way. Your dragon might be jealous if she was yours.

[He turns his head and kisses Mingye's cheek.]

[His eyes widen, remembering...the scales...on Mingye's neck. Ah.]

You've found happiness here. Your past can't spoil it; you have been nothing but truthful.

[And Mingye accepts him anyway. Perhaps that is what they should focus on.]

Pain of the body I can endure. What I fear is a broken heart.

Happiness...

[He smiles a little but ends up nodding.]

I have. With Ye'er, with you and Zichen...and so many others. It's something I never thought I would ever be allowed to have.

[He looks up at him.]

I've known the agony of a broken heart. More than once. There is one who will save you. I believe that.

[ Mingye will let Xingchen hold him for as long as he needs to. It won't bother him any. That's not to say that he doesn't lead them somewhere to sit down where they can curl up. ]

I don't think my dragon would get too jealous. It's his bed I come back to, after all, no one else's.

[He has no resistance when it comes to curling up on a sofa with Mingye. Xingchen is quick to make himself comfortable, relieved that his friend is with him.]

He is a lucky dragon, then. [His fingers find the scale on Mingye's neck.] The scales will suit you.

Yet you give happiness too. We can't help but open ourselves to you.

[That smile is all the repayment he needs. Runyu has a way of warming his heart - much in the same way as Mingye.]

My Zichen. [He whispers brokenly.] He will be my victim and then he will save me.

[ Curling up against Xingchen was nice. The other being comfortable was good too. Though, he feels those fingers run over the scale at his throat. The one that Runyu had given him and turned into a necklace, so it was always on him. ]

I told him we'll have to see how it looks.

[ There's almost a teasing smile there. ]

I have a full shift now. Trying to hold a xiao with talons is not easy. But we're not sure if the next time I shift, if the scale will be a part of me, or if the bird will have a necklace of his own.

Because he loves you. Deeply. Some of the greatest pains we experience come from love but I've found that it's what we do at the end of the pain that truly decides our worth in the relationship.

[And it's why he'll never have Jinmi. He can only bring her pain.]

It will not be easy but just remember that he will save you. And I will find a way to reach across the realms to be there for you both as well.

[He grins back, turning the scale this way and that so he can see it in the light. The shimmer definitely belongs to Runyu and he lays his hand over Mingye's chest, happy that the two men found each other.]

I'm curious too. Either way, you will be stunning. You won't need the xiao if you're a bird. I can't say ravens have the best voice, but you might be able to sing.

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