[Closed to Four Seasons Manor residents + Ye Baiyi]

[yeoldmonster]

⌛ Who: Ye Baiyi and residents of the Four Seasons Manor
⌛ What: Missing arachnida (scorpion)
⌛ When: August 30
⌛ Where: Four Seasons Manor
⌛ Warnings:

He'd woken up to a strange but minor pain he couldn't identify. It lingers and he's not used to feeling something like this, but there are more important things to deal with. Namely, he can't find Xie Wang. It was odd given how the young man had been as glued to his side as a loyal hound the last week or so. It was also annoying, since that meant no breakfast. Fortunately, he knew where he could go that also had good food.

Like he has since he arrived, he shows up at the Four Seasons Manor and walks through the door like he owns the place. "Zhou Zishu? Brat?" He calls, making his way to the kitchen.

Comments

[yeoldmonster]

If Runyu is expecting Baiyi to judge his decision, he will be relieved when it doesn't come. It's true, they seem unrelated but choosing to keep a clear mind and possibly using abstinence as part of atonement he can respect.

"The Four Seasons Manor has always been a special place," he remarks. The slightest strain appears on his face and his hand moves to his chest, before he can push the discomfort away. He looks at the liquor and wonders if that is making this worse instead of better.

"Who else lives here? It is much more crowded than I'm used to here." Never mind that the Four Seasons Manor he's visited recently has been the one that only had the two fools and the little fool in it. When the Great Shaman and Jing Beiyuan arrived, plus the girl and her silly betrothed, it had already been getting too crowded for his taste.

[dragonrising]

This was the second time now that he'd seen the man touch his chest like that. Was he ill? Runyu observed it for a moment in consideration while he answered the next question.

"I do not know everyone who lives here. However I know that the heads of house are here. Kexing's daughter is as well. There is also my two lovers who share my rooms with me. My brother as well is here. I know that there are some who have rooms here but live elsewhere. And I have felt the presence of another one who is strong but I have not met him."

Those were the ones that he knew for sure to be there though.

[yeoldmonster]

As Ye Baiyi listens, he keeps sipping the liquor. It is too much effort right now to make tea and it'd be too obvious anyway.

The number of people keep growing as Runyu rattles off people and Baiyi is more and more glad he has been given a house by the government here. It'll be uncomfortable for a while, given who else lived there with him, but he'd much prefer it to this busy place.

"Glad I turned the brats down to live here," he mutters. "What are the names of your lovers and your brother?" He'd like to know at least in the back of his mind who he was dealing with.

[dragonrising]

"Yu Mingye and Ouyang are my lovers. Xufeng is my brother."

He had no problem giving their names since he sensed no ill intent from this man. If he had then he would have dealt with him. Really though Baiyi just came across like a cute old man who was tired of all the young ones running through his hallways. It was very endearing honestly.

[yeoldmonster]

Baiyi would certainly bristle at this very apt description of himself. He isn't 'cute'! However, he is indeed both tired of the melodramatics that seem to follow youth around while also missing real connections to other people. It's a conflicted place to be.

Taking note of the names, he nods quietly to himself. It's annoying this man gets two lovers and a brother and Baiyi has none, but he can't begrudge him too much. Some people are just lucky. Although having descendants here was also valuable (even if they weren't a direct line from him, Zishu was close enough).

"Is your brother also a god like you?"

[dragonrising]

"He is. Xufeng is a phoenix."

They were so different really. His brother tied to fire and a phoenix. Then there was himself who was tied to water and was a dragon. They'd lived such different lives despite being raised together. Two very complex and different histories. Was that what shaped them to take the paths they took?

Runyu had no way of knowing.

[yeoldmonster]

"Was he a phoenix before like you are a dragon or turning into one here?" These bonds are confusing. He hasn't realized it, but the ache within is due to this very thing. While he hadn't gotten so connected with Xie Wang that features of some sort had sprouted, it had been real and now it was pain.

This liquor really wasn't helping anything. He sighs and sets it aside. Pushing to his feet took a little more effort than he would've liked, but he goes over to the tea set in the room- not the fancy one Runyu was drinking from, of course.

"You have the feel of an older brother."

[dragonrising]

"No. He is a phoenix. Just like his mother before him."

Curious, he watched the man get up. Then go to prepare tea. He would have offered his own tea but it seemed that Ye Baiyi was set in his ways at the moment. Best to leave him be to do what he needed to do.

Softly, he smiled at the comment though and nodded. "Yes. I am the older brother."

[yeoldmonster]

If Runyu was anyone lesser, he would've ordered him/ asked him to make the tea. As it was, he didn't want to draw attention to the fact he was self-medicating more than simply thirsty. Since, obviously, he's doing such an excellent job hiding his weakness so far.

As the tea heats- in a traditional way, not using his spiritual force- he turns back to the dragon. "What was your father? Was he a dragon?"

[dragonrising]

There was something off about the energies of this man. He couldn't put his finger on it without joining their energies together though. But he was noticing the traditional methods. A problem with his energies? He couldn't be sure...

Runyu was at least able to pretend like he wasn't thinking about things like that when the man faced him. "Our father was a dragon, yes."

[yeoldmonster]

"Your world seems quite interesting," he admits in a rare pseudo-compliment. "What's it like in this heavenly realm? Do you have any other family members here?"

Again, like he owns the place instead of being a guest, Baiyi takes a look in a few jars and cabinets until he finds the right herbs he wants in his tea cup. "Are you going to find any disciples here?"

[dragonrising]

"The matter of family is complicated. There is another from my world here but she and my brother are not aware that in their future they will be wed. So in their eyes she is not family yet. But in mine she is."

Was he making a more medicinal tea? Perhaps he was sick in some way. Runyu took note of everything he saw even as he continued to speak.

"I'm not going to take any disciples here. But to answer your other question, the Heavenly Realm is quiet these days. Were someone to visit though they would find it grander than the grandest palace in the Mortal Realm. There is peace there now though. I'm sure there will be for a number of years to come."

[yeoldmonster]

"Isn't it always?" He remarks.

As he waits for the water to warm, he turns so his back is to the cabinets. He leans back against them and centers his attention on Runyu. He nods as he listens. He too doubts he'll take on any disciples ever again. He doesn't have the heart after Rong Xu.

He pushes that thought away and works to picture this Heavenly Realm. He wishes he could see it some day. If he continued his isolation in his mountain, perhaps he would've eventually ascended. Now, his hair is turning gray and it'll only be a matter of time.

Forever is too long to be by himself though with only his soulmate's sword to talk to.

"How did you achieve this?"

[dragonrising]

Runyu's gaze fell then. He wasn't about to hide what he had done but he was also not proud of it.

"Through my own greed and arrogance I gave them someone to hate more than each other," he said simply. It didn't add details but it certainly said a great deal about what he had done to make an entire realm hate him above all else.

[yeoldmonster]

Baiyi frowns seeing the way Runyu reacts. He understands regret. Whether his crimes were as severe or not, guilt is a heavy burden to live with.

If he was closer, he might've rested a reassuring hand on the other man's shoulder. As it was, he's quiet for a moment. "You're adopting new ways now, have you not? Learn from your mistakes, but don't drown in them."

[dragonrising]

"I have adopted new ways, yes. Even then the weight of all I have done will always be there with me." He would simply have to live with that. That was all there was to the matter. He'd accepted that long ago.

Runyu paused a moment then looked up again. "You are welcome to tell me to look the other way and I will. But I must ask... Are you ill? I have been noticing things with your energies. Though I would have to feel them to know for sure what is wrong I could offer some healing if you feel it would help."

[yeoldmonster]

"Of course." His tone was empathetic, knowing there's no real way to forgive oneself. In all honesty, if Runyu caused so much suffering then he shouldn't ever be rid of the guilt completely. It's the same way he feels about his brats. They both had so much blood on their hands and should remember the lives they hurt. However, he also believed in redemption and atonement.

While he's busy thinking that over, he's asked something he isn't expecting. The surprise on his face shifts to defensiveness and then a moment later to a more resigned look.

He turns his back to Runyu, supposedly to pour the now hot kettle water. "It's why I'm here to speak to Zhou Zishu. I haven't been ill or felt weak like this in a very long time. I suspect.." He reaches into his pocket and draws out a long ring. "Someone from our world has left. A troubled young man who I was taking care of and keeping away from this place."

He takes his teacup and the ring and returns to the table. Holding the ring out, he lets Runyu see it, though he knows it won't be of any significance to the dragon.

[dragonrising]

Leaning forward, he looked at the ring. It meant nothing to him but he knew that it meant something to this man. That was truly all that mattered in the end. When he sat back, he nodded slowly.

"It might be that you are experiencing a break in a kizuna bond. You may have bonded with this young man according to the magics of this place. So when he parted you experienced the break. It's something I've felt before myself."

A couple of times now.

[yeoldmonster]

"A kizuna bond can do this?" He asks with a frown. The idea that this might be because he had been 'bonding' with that foolish child irritates him immeasurably. Sharing the news of Xie'er vanishing is going to suck even more if those brats can tell he bonded with him.

Things were much simpler on his mountain where his only friends were dead or icicles.

"How long will this last?"

[dragonrising]

"Not long. You should feel it pass soon."

That didn't not bring comfort but it was the practical answer. There wasn't really a way to bring comfort for a lost bond really. He knew that from personal experience.

"You'll return to your full strength when it has passed."

[yeoldmonster]

He eyes the tea in his hand and curls his nose in disgust. "Is this useless then?"

He dislikes this whole situation. It's already complicated with all of the social aspects of Xie'er leaving when he was on such poor footing with the others and now he must endure this indignity.

Since there's no reason to hide it now, he reaches up and rubs one of his temples. "He was a very troubled young man. He was an enemy of Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing back home and had arrived after his death, but he was attempting.. in a way.. to make amends." Although Ye Baiyi doubted that his sanity was intact. He would've had a very long road back through his grief and denial.

He shrugs. "It wasn't going well for him."

[dragonrising]

"I don't think it is useless if you are able to find any comfort in drinking it."

Medicinally? Likely useless. But sometimes the best medicine was the comfort of it in the first place. He would let the man decide what he felt would suit him the best though.

Quietly, he listened to the story of the young man. He considered it then lowered his gaze as he nodded. "Sometimes people are not so ready to forgive right away. Or at all. I know that well."

[yeoldmonster]

Looking quiet irritated, he takes a few moments to consider what he wanted to do with the tea. In the end, he doesn't want to waste the herbs and if there's even the slightest chance it would make him feel better he'll drink it.

"That's what I told him. You know as well as I how well the young do with patience." He shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "They're all a pain in the ass, just like the 'lords' of this manor." There's a hint of fondness beneath that complaint.

In a lower tone, he adds, "We are old but we have not seen the end of our story yet. There is no absolute."

[dragonrising]

He smiled a little. It was so clear how fond of Zishu and Kexing this man was. They were family to him, that much was obvious. It honesty very heartwarming to see they had someone who cared about them like this.

"It's true. There is no telling what our stories will be until the day they have truly come to an end. Such can be said for everyone really."

[yeoldmonster]

Baiyi would prefer no one see that about his relationships, but it's the truth. Even if Zhou Zishu wasn't his direct descendant, he is close enough. For whatever reason, Zishu adores that brat, Kexing, so the immortal begrudgingly includes him as family as well as the little brat girl.

"Some people are more predictable than others," he remarks lightly, before smirking. "And some are more important." Which, obviously, included the two of them.

"Speaking of importance, since you live here and I don't shouldn't you be offering something to eat to go with our tea?" He admonishes in lieu of simply asking for food.