jikan_network | {Voice; UN: bakusaiga}

{Again. Here is another. Sesshomaru isn't sure what to do with his reaction to...kindness.}

I wish to meet regardless.

I would like that.

[Xie Lian's smile warms up nicely. Meeting is a good first step. Talking over these contraptions always felt so strange to him.]

Do you have a place you'd fond of?

The forest on the edge of the city. Come to where it begins and I will find you.

{Any new scent is investigated by him - especially if it is human in nature.}

[Then this will be interesting.

Xie Lian nods his understanding. He probably should be more concerned about the location, as out of the way as it is, but somehow isn't.]

I won't make myself difficult to find.

[The assurance is made before he once again gives a smile and signs off to make his way toward that forest at the edge of the city.]

{Sesshomaru waits, leaping from tree to tree until he catches a new scent. The moment Xie Lian enters the boundary of trees, the demon lands before him. He is in full armor with both of his fangs at his waist.}

Xie Lian. {He makes no move to attack - this is a social call no matter what he wears.} Are you human?

[Of course he hears Sesshomaru long before he sees him, but Xie Lian shows no indication of this. He isn't a threat to the other, he's just a man in a straw hat, white robes fluttering in the cool breeze, innocently walking towards the treeline.

He only stops once Sesshomaru drops down before him. As before, Xie Lian just smiles. The question, however, brings him up short. A hand raises and he scratches at his cheek.]

Technically... Yes. And no. Don't I look human? [Xie Lian looked down at himself curiously. Maybe a little dusty... But human.] Would it be an issue if I wasn't?

{The innocence makes him wonder. Why would someone like this man - seemingly like this man anyway - offer to fight with a demon? Not that Xie Lian knows he is a demon, though he surely realizes Sesshomaru is different.}

Your confidence feels like it comes from experience. {It isn't the ambitious drivel of a man who thinks too much of himself.} No. I understand non-humans better.

[Xie Lian has no idea that is what he is, but by the look of him he could make guesses. None of those he would give voice to. That would just be rude!

He laughed quietly and reached up to tip the brim of his hat back enough so that he could get a better look at who he was talking to.

Here Xie Lian had to fight with his natural instinct to downplay who he was. Sometimes he outright lied about it, mainly because he didn't want to cause a fuss. But knowing as he did that he wasn't alone here in his godhood, maybe hiding it wasn't the best of ideas?]

I was born human. But have since ascended to godhood. I've walked the land for many years.

At the end of the day I'm just a humble cultivator who collects scraps and has some little skill in martial arts.

Edited 2022-06-28 02:14 (UTC)

{This one doesn't mind being rude if it gets him answers. Though Jikan is teaching him a bit more about interacting with humans...correctly. Why must it be so complex? Their lives are short enough!

Tilting his head, silver hair catching a stray breeze now and then, Sesshomaru examines the face revealed under the hat.}

Little skill...? {He thinks not.} If you were born human, your reaction to me isn't surprising.

{Xie Lian has retained his empathy in other words.}

[Maybe he can't help downplaying some things. A habit of 800 years is one that can be difficult to break.

Though the reply he gets is a strange one, and he tilts his head just slightly.]

My reaction to you? Have I reacted poorly toward you?

[He'd thought he'd been perfectly polite!]

{Polite, yes, but Xie Lian had been more than polite. Demons are anything but friendly to one another. Oh there are exceptions now and then - allies - yet most of the time they too would love to rip into each other.}

No. {Sesshomaru walks to stand beside the man.} I sensed...empathy...in you.

Edited 2022-06-28 09:33 (UTC)

Understanding.

[Xie Lian corrected gently, though not much of a correction.

As Sesshomaru stood beside him Xie Lian was almost amused to find they were of similar heights. That armour was imposing enough to give the illusion of being far taller.]

I know a thing or two about punishing yourself.

{He doesn't fully comprehend the difference and so Xie Lian is given a quizzical look. And, yes, he is young, by demon standards, and he takes more after his mother in build than his father (though his father hadn't been large in his human form).}

How do you separate the two?

Empathy relies on emotions. Understanding relies on experience.

[Though both are in essence the same thing, Xie Lian's reaction to Sesshomaru had been curiosity at first followed by that understanding, his reaction hadn't been an emotional one. And even now it wasn't. He had no desire to coddle or soothe whatever wounds Sesshomaru had, those were his own business. If he wanted help with something, Xie Lian was sure he had closer friends to ask than some stranger he met in the woods.]

Edited 2022-06-28 11:41 (UTC)

{Yes, there is a subtle difference; a difference that is easily ignored. Sesshomaru thought he had those he could speak to frankly, but his heart has been filled with doubt. He has spent centuries wandering alone - save for one retainer - and it is easy for him to fall back on what he has, essentially, always known. Being alone is simpler. Colder.}

One can lead to the other in time.

[Xie Lian knew a thing or two about being alone. 800 years of it to be exact. It was something he was used to, talking to others was something he was having to learn all over again.

He inclined his head in a small nod.]

The difference is perception. But you're right, one can lead into the other.

And neither you're interested in, are you? [He glanced over at Sesshomaru curiously.] What is it you're looking for, Sesshomaru-gongzi?

{What is he looking for? Such a layered question! He tips his head back and focuses on the sky, his hair and the sleeves of his kimono waving in the breeze.}

This land pushes me to mate. {A not unpleasant task depending on the one who garners his attentions.} I have discovered there can be more.

It's a path I have not traveled.

[That was an entirely unexpected reply.

Xie Lian had been ready for either 'someone to talk to' or 'someone to fight'. Not this. This was an area where his expertise was... lacking.

A hint of red coloured his cheeks, lips parting in a soft 'ah'...]

I see... [He didn't. Not at all! Well almost. He knew very well what the magic of this world was capable of.]

This world is indeed a strange one... [He looked away then, considering his next words carefully.] Is there something that stops you from 'more'? A reason why it causes you distress? Or is it just that it is new?

{He might be too blunt in these matters, but Sesshomaru doesn't know shame.}

Mm. {With all he has already endured, he must agree. Jikan is very odd.} I am a demon. The majority of those who inhabit this world are human. I did not think I would be like my father.

I don't think this world discriminates. [Xie Lian replied with a delicate little cough.]

Even a god can be affected... [Though he'd hidden away and meditated until it had passed.]

{He cocks his head and breathes deeper. Is this the scent of another god?}

I have met two deities. Are you a third?

For what it's worth.

[A god without followers, without temples and incense to be burned, could they really be called a god?

Xie Lian stepped forward and lifted his head to look up at the sky, his straw hat fell to rest against his back and he raised a hand to shield his eyes.]

I ascended to the Heavens. [Again...] But I'm still working on a following...

{Is a following required? The power is the same, surely. Sesshomaru has never given heaven or gods much thought - unless a demon claiming to be a deity crossed his path. Then he only sought to cut them down.}

You were once human? {He has heard stories, but to meet a being that has experienced both mortality and immortality is intriguing.}

[In his world a following was everything. Followers, worshippers were the ones who could make or break you. It was with their prayers and offerings that a God earned merits, had temples built for them. Xie Lian had to make his own. A small little shack in the middle of nowhere in desperate need of repairs.]

I was born human. In my world, human's ascend to godhood through great deeds and accomplishment, and some through hard work. [His own ascension, at least his last, had been due to his tireless years of cultivation. Hard work was not one that was common for ascension since it could take a life time to complete. Or, in Xie Lian's case, several life times.]

[But here, in this world, no one knew him or anything about his past. And yet he still hedged around it, almost as if he were afraid to admit to who he was. Xie Lian turned around then, smiling.]

I was once the crown prince of a kingdom called Xianle. But that was over 800 years ago.

{...that's really too adorable for words, Xie Lian. For what it's worth, Sesshomaru would trust a god with a shack way before he would trust a god with a mansion or a palace.}

Priests in my world seek something similar. They do so through prayer and good deeds. {Whether they are successful or not... He isn't sure.}

What became of your kingdom?

{Voice; UN: bakusaiga}

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