[Video]

[tortoiseflipper]

[ Only a thin line to his lips might hint at annoyance in this arrogant face as it peers through the device he'd been handed. A moment passes without a word, then he almost rolls his eyes as he finally makes a comment that is likely expected of many who come here. ]

Yandan. Fifteen.

[ That should do it. True, the bracelet has been removed that would force her to either come within that distance, or be flung that far away. But if she can hear him, she must obey.

It's enough. ]

Comments

[dontbestubborn]

{He wonders how much Yingyuan knows about him, about Ranqing. Heaven wouldn't have supported a union like theirs, so if Yingyuan is part of that realm, he has likely been kept in the dark about a lot.

No matter.}

You need a place to stay. Yandan isn't here to look after you, so I guess I'll pick up where she left off, hm?

[tortoiseflipper]

[ Only that his father was an Asura, and his mother an attendant of the heavens. That he should never have been born.

That he has to keep his identity a secret.

Now? One look at them would fling every attempt he's made to keep it a secret, right out the window.

Maybe that doesn't matter here? There is so much he doesn't actually know, enough to know he doesn't know it.

Amusement threatens to widen the slight smirk, but he restrains it with a lifetime of practice. ]

Is that all you are? Another attendant?

[ They both know better. ]

[dontbestubborn]

{An attendant! The cheek!}

I'm helping you out of the goodness of my heart!

{Xuanye is the King of the Asura and, for a time, he was the Emperor of Heaven too.}

Here, your mother would have preferred this too.

{The red mark on his forehead disappears.}

I am Xuanye or, as your mother named me, Muhan.

[tortoiseflipper]

[ The smirk widens on its own and he glances around - as if they're about to be descended upon by heavenly officials.

Then his mother is mentioned and it takes effort to keep his hands from clenching, to keep himself in check. To not step forward and demand more information.

It does nothing to keep the intensity from his gaze as it returns to his father. His father's name...

Is Muhan. Is Xuanye.

The disappearance of the red mark on the other's forehead is noted, but ignored. He knows that trick too. ]

And her name...?

[dontbestubborn]

Ranqing. {Xuanye tucks his mask away and extends an arm, motioning towards the building that houses the apartments.} This way, little god. What would Heaven do without you?

{He is teasing...yet not at the same time. He knows his son is important - vitally important - and the irony isn't lost on him.}

She was the Primordial Lord in her time.

[tortoiseflipper]

[ Ranqing and Muhan. Yingyuan accepts the comment without bristle, moving forward where that arm gestures.

What would Heaven do without him? His gaze lowers at the pang. It's why he can't show he loves just as fiercely as his parents had. Not like they'd shown it. White cloth billows around him, delicate yet sturdy as he moves silently. ]

I won't be gone long in their view.

[ Still, he worries, even if he won't admit it. ]

[dontbestubborn]

{Xuanye takes the lead, walking at a confident stride as if he owns everything around them. As much as he wanted to see Ranqing again, seeing Yingyuan is...

Something he needed without knowing he needed it.}

I wish it could be longer.

[tortoiseflipper]

[ To meet even one of his parents is more than he'd dreamed of when he learned the truth of his birth.

Yingyuan follows a step behind, only because the older immortal knows the precise path they are to take. ]

Wishes do not matter when fact and duty are before us.

[dontbestubborn]

Spoken like a Heaven official. {And Xuanye scoffs at those words. He pushes open the front doors of the building in question and walks inside.}

You must choose an empty room. {He tosses him a directory of which rooms are available.} Stay close to me and we can talk.

[tortoiseflipper]

[ He doesn't defend those who had taken him in, raised him. Maybe he should, it would be expected of him.

But this is his father.

Instead, he rolls his eyes and sends the directory right back at Muhan without glancing at it. ]

You choose for me.

[ He smirks slightly, challengingly playful. ]

Or are you already regretting your promise?

[dontbestubborn]

I would never regret my promise. {Xuanye smirks, catches the directory and marks off the rooms next to his own. There.}

You're living next to me.

{And off to the elevator he goes.}

[tortoiseflipper]

[ He doesn't bother look even now to see which rooms he is to live in. Muhan will show him, that's enough. There's a flutter of something that comes close to delight to hear it, too. To be wanted so close.

Yingyuan follows to the small space, having at least been subjected to an elevator once before that he doesn't overreact as the thing moves. ]

Is that why you came after me?

[dontbestubborn]

{Xuanye leans against the elevator wall and smiles at his son. There can be no doubt he is his father. Not that he thought Ranqing had lied to him. She is much too good for that.}

We were denied any time together. I was Muhan with your mother because Xuanye is her mortal enemy.

[tortoiseflipper]

[ No, there can be no doubt of what they are to each other. All one must do is look at them together. It's dangerous, Yingyuan is well aware of that painful fact.

His father is Asura.

He is, too. Those he's shown his true self to, aside from the one who had raised him, have all been destroyed to keep that secret.

But he still can't act rashly, or be careless. ]

You said it before. People who might cause trouble for us, could still come.

[ But he frowns then, just a little, and meets his father's gaze directly. ]

Use whatever name you wish. It does not matter to me.

[dontbestubborn]

Don't be frightened. {He can't read Yingyuan's mind, but he knows what kind of danger he poses to...anyone. The Asura are feared and hated for their power, but their short lifespans make achieving anything long lasting difficult. That is precisely why Xuanye has learned how to manipulate time.}

If they come, they have to face me. {And he can not only level his enemies, but feed off of their power to make himself stronger.}

Do you like Yingyuan? Ranqing chose it for you.

[tortoiseflipper]

[ He snorts just a little and shakes his head a little, gaze dropping. ]

I do not fear for myself.

[ He never has. It's always other people he worries over, even when he doesn't show it.

But here is his father...protecting him instead. It brings warmth to him and his expression softens rather tellingly.

His mother chose his name. He has to actually swallow past a sudden lump of awareness. ]

I never thought of using another name.

[dontbestubborn]

No, you wouldn't. You're too like her. {Ranqing never feared for herself. She faced her opponents with armor and without, ready to do what she deemed right.

The elevator doors open and he walks out onto their floor.}

Why would you? It's a good name.

{He unlocks the door to Yingyuan's rooms and ushers him inside to look around.}

[tortoiseflipper]

[ He's like his mother...? He's quiet as they leave the elevator and his father leads him to his new rooms.

Even after they've been unlocked and the doors close behind them, he doesn't immediately speak, picking his words carefully. And he does look around, brow furrowed just a little in thought. He doesn't really see the surroundings, they don't matter. ]

I was told my parents were both dead.

[dontbestubborn]

We are. {Xuanye inspects the apartment, making sure nothing nasty is tucked away anywhere. What? He has family. He has Ranqing's baby to look after. This is serious.}

Souls do not disappear nor do they all journey on.

[tortoiseflipper]

[ It's confirmation he neither needed, nor wanted. But it's the truth, which is valuable in itself. Yingyuan has to accept it. So he nods, just a little, then glances at Xuanye again. ]

How do you know about Yandan?

[ Specifically; how important to him she is. ]

[dontbestubborn]

She is with you when our paths cross. {That and being dead, he is aware of what happens to the living to some degree. He is a vengeful demonic spirit, after all.}

[tortoiseflipper]

[ Part of him relaxes to hear he will get to meet his father again. It explains how he was recognized, even more than simply by their faces being so similar.

Still, he hesitates, because it doesn't answer it all. And the truth of it might be damning.

If he didn't already hold himself fairly upright and stiff, he'd straighten now as he makes his choice. ]

And how I feel about her?

[dontbestubborn]

Why would she be with you if you didn't love her? {Circumstances being what they are, life and death and all that, love shines true. Anything less withers and dies.}

Are you trying to hide it?

[tortoiseflipper]

[ A flash of anger lashes at him and he frowns, looking away and he moves around the small rooms. ]

Surely you know what is to happen to those of Heaven who fall in love.

[ Yes he tries to hide his feelings. To keep her safe. But she makes it so very hard. Her spirit makes him smile. Her ridiculousness, her irreverence. Her impropriety.

Her. ]

[dontbestubborn]

I have no idea. Those rules weren't there while I lived. {And what foolish rules! As if love can be stopped. Xuanye throws himself into a chair.}

I can't decide if they are a product of your mother or someone else.