The food is different. The nod is a good affirmative and Merlin files it
away - Sizhui. But still, they had to find a way to understand each other.
This would've been far more easy if he had his book with him. But no, it
was back in Camelot. Well, not that he had anticipated being transported
across...space? Time? He's seen a few people from what they had called the
Eastern Kingdom come to Albion and Camelot for tournaments. Once he
finishes, he wipes at the back of his hand and looks at his host.
"Thank you," he says, "Sizhui."
There's got to be a way. Butterflies are always a hit, right? He brings his
hands together to cup around each other and his eyes glow a golden color.
"Beflīeheþ beoht buterflége."
He opens his hands again and beautiful, golden butterflies of light appear
and flutter around the room.
Medicinal almost, really. Lan Clan is known for their ascetic lifestyle, after all, and the cuisine isn't any different. While Merlin busies himself with eating, Sizhui moves gracefully about the room, straightening up any misplaced things, spreading the healing items out on the nearby low table and moving to light a stick of incense before his attention is back on his guest. Fortunately, his appetite isn't lacking, which is a huge relief.
He nods understandingly, figuring it the best response since they can't understand one another otherwise. Seriously, at some point, he'll need to figure something out so they won't have to fumble with a language barrier.
Watching Merlin cup his hands together isn't too worrisome at first, but once his eyes start glowing, Sizhui's posture tightens, blatantly uneasy at the idea he might've put his sect (and himself) in danger. He opens his mouth, readying to start pleading for Merlin to not harm them, regardless of their not being able to understand each other.
Right before the panic really starts setting in, Merlin's hands open again and— “Oh!” he exclaims emphatically, eyes wide and mouth hanging open with astonishment as the pretty butterflies begin flittering around the room, reminiscent of Jin's golden butterflies or Wei-qianbei's talismans. “How wonderful...”
He gives a soft smile when guarded becomes wonder. He knows it’s probably not so wise to show his magic but he had to been summoned here by magic and his rescuer doesn’t seem too put off by magic. And he swore he had heard music that was just so soothing to his injuries.
The butterflies fade and Merlin smiles at his rescuer once more, hoping his reckless display of magic wouldn’t...cause trouble.
“...I probably shouldn’t have done that,” he says quietly. But his rescuer, his benefactor, seems harmless enough. A contemplative look passes over his face as he purses his lips. Maybe...maybe he could try a spell on his own.
In spite of himself, he gets entranced by the mysticism of the display, one hand reaching up like he might actually attempt touching one. What Merlin doesn't know is that this is something normal here; the abilities aren't anything he'll have to hide, not where magic is sometimes even used during daily mundane tasks.
Sizhui's fingertips almost brush a sparkling butterfly as they start to disappear and once it fully vanishes, he withdraws, rubs the pad of his thumb over his other fingers then grins so exuberantly, it's a wonder he can contain his excitement.
From a nearby shelf, he removes a piece of red paper and folds it carefully, meticulously into a pretty haitang flower. After it's finished and set in his palm, Sizhui reaches the opposite hand to hold his first two fingers straight up, eyes shut in concentration, then they reopen as he drifts both digits over the paper. It alights with a brilliant spark, petals suddenly translucent-looking like a miniature lantern that he offers Merlin. See? Everything's fine, nothing to panic about.
His anxiety rises until Sizhui returns with a red piece of paper, carefully
folding it until it becomes a flower. His eyes widen almost comically when
the other uses magic to give it further form and light. He stares , open
mouthed, at it, then at his benefactor before gently taking it in his
hands.
“No ones ever done something like this for me before,” he breathes.
There had to be something. Some way for them to communicate. Merlin
concentrates hard to try and recall anything from the grimmoire that had to
do with languages. Or any of Gaius’ dusty books.
More words fall from his lips in an almost hissing language as his eyes
glow golden for a moment.
“...did it work?”
If it did, then he would be able to speak the other’s language.
Gingerly as possible, he passes the shimmering flower from his hands into Merlin's, tightly pressing his lips so a full-on grin won't overtake his expression. Have a little self-control, comes the soft scolding voice of his master, and yet the edges of his mouth curve anyway.
Disregarding the fact he still cannot understand, “I hope you like it,” Sizhui murmurs, lowering his hands afterward, thumbs rubbing across the length of his fingers. This is the first time he's used that spell and he's delighted it worked alright.
From where he's standing, it seems like something is... well, not concerning, per se, but something's definitely up? Merlin's distracted briefly, rasping a sentence Sizhui's unable to interpret, his eyes suddenly alighting gold again. He waits, patient as ever, then whenever the other male speaks and he can understand him, there's an audible awestricken gasp.
“Considering I was able to comprehend that, I'd say yes!” he chuckles, excitedly clasps both hands together and sighs, whimsical-like. “Magnificent, Merlin.”
He beams, laughing in relief that his spell works. Merlin quickly bows, at
the waist, careful to hold onto the flower.
"Merlin. From Camelot. I'm manservant to Prince Arthur Pendragon. This...is
this magic? Is magic..." The question hangs in his lungs, Merlin almost not
wanting to ruin the moment by asking but he presses on. "Is
magic...legal...here?"
Sizhui returns the gesture with a bow of his own, though his arms are circled in front of himself while he does. However, he immediately straightens at the mention of ‘manservant,’ his expression knitted in confusion.
“Camelot? Prince Arthur?” No, neither of those are familiar, but the mention of magic sure has his attention again, especially when Merlin asks if it's legal. He reaches up, cups a hand around his face to muffle his soft laughter then nods affirmingly. “Yes, magic is absolutely fine to use here.”
"It isn't where I'm from," Merlin says quietly. "Even if you're born with
magic, you're put to death." He shakes his head. No need to bore his new
friend with Camelot's dark past. "I'm not...really sure how I got here,
actually."
Well, not anymore, now that Merlin's mentioned that.
He's immediately pinching his lips together instead after realizing his outward blunder, inclining his head and chewing his cheek thoughtfully. How to fix this? “I'm sorry,” Sizhui starts, upturning his attention again, “but rest assured, you needn't worry about using your powers here.” No one will harm him either way, he'll make certain of it. “And my assumption is that something actually went wrong magic-wise.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deferences) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
houseofsushi2020-05-22 10:34 pm
no subject
The food is different. The nod is a good affirmative and Merlin files it away - Sizhui. But still, they had to find a way to understand each other. This would've been far more easy if he had his book with him. But no, it was back in Camelot. Well, not that he had anticipated being transported across...space? Time? He's seen a few people from what they had called the Eastern Kingdom come to Albion and Camelot for tournaments. Once he finishes, he wipes at the back of his hand and looks at his host.
"Thank you," he says, "Sizhui."
There's got to be a way. Butterflies are always a hit, right? He brings his hands together to cup around each other and his eyes glow a golden color.
"Beflīeheþ beoht buterflége."
He opens his hands again and beautiful, golden butterflies of light appear and flutter around the room.
no subject
He nods understandingly, figuring it the best response since they can't understand one another otherwise. Seriously, at some point, he'll need to figure something out so they won't have to fumble with a language barrier.
Watching Merlin cup his hands together isn't too worrisome at first, but once his eyes start glowing, Sizhui's posture tightens, blatantly uneasy at the idea he might've put his sect (and himself) in danger. He opens his mouth, readying to start pleading for Merlin to not harm them, regardless of their not being able to understand each other.
Right before the panic really starts setting in, Merlin's hands open again and— “Oh!” he exclaims emphatically, eyes wide and mouth hanging open with astonishment as the pretty butterflies begin flittering around the room, reminiscent of Jin's golden butterflies or Wei-qianbei's talismans. “How wonderful...”
no subject
The butterflies fade and Merlin smiles at his rescuer once more, hoping his reckless display of magic wouldn’t...cause trouble.
“...I probably shouldn’t have done that,” he says quietly. But his rescuer, his benefactor, seems harmless enough. A contemplative look passes over his face as he purses his lips. Maybe...maybe he could try a spell on his own.
no subject
Sizhui's fingertips almost brush a sparkling butterfly as they start to disappear and once it fully vanishes, he withdraws, rubs the pad of his thumb over his other fingers then grins so exuberantly, it's a wonder he can contain his excitement.
From a nearby shelf, he removes a piece of red paper and folds it carefully, meticulously into a pretty haitang flower. After it's finished and set in his palm, Sizhui reaches the opposite hand to hold his first two fingers straight up, eyes shut in concentration, then they reopen as he drifts both digits over the paper. It alights with a brilliant spark, petals suddenly translucent-looking like a miniature lantern that he offers Merlin. See? Everything's fine, nothing to panic about.
no subject
His anxiety rises until Sizhui returns with a red piece of paper, carefully folding it until it becomes a flower. His eyes widen almost comically when the other uses magic to give it further form and light. He stares , open mouthed, at it, then at his benefactor before gently taking it in his hands.
“No ones ever done something like this for me before,” he breathes.
There had to be something. Some way for them to communicate. Merlin concentrates hard to try and recall anything from the grimmoire that had to do with languages. Or any of Gaius’ dusty books.
More words fall from his lips in an almost hissing language as his eyes glow golden for a moment.
“...did it work?”
If it did, then he would be able to speak the other’s language.
no subject
Disregarding the fact he still cannot understand, “I hope you like it,” Sizhui murmurs, lowering his hands afterward, thumbs rubbing across the length of his fingers. This is the first time he's used that spell and he's delighted it worked alright.
From where he's standing, it seems like something is... well, not concerning, per se, but something's definitely up? Merlin's distracted briefly, rasping a sentence Sizhui's unable to interpret, his eyes suddenly alighting gold again. He waits, patient as ever, then whenever the other male speaks and he can understand him, there's an audible awestricken gasp.
“Considering I was able to comprehend that, I'd say yes!” he chuckles, excitedly clasps both hands together and sighs, whimsical-like. “Magnificent, Merlin.”
no subject
He beams, laughing in relief that his spell works. Merlin quickly bows, at the waist, careful to hold onto the flower.
"Merlin. From Camelot. I'm manservant to Prince Arthur Pendragon. This...is this magic? Is magic..." The question hangs in his lungs, Merlin almost not wanting to ruin the moment by asking but he presses on. "Is magic...legal...here?"
no subject
“Camelot? Prince Arthur?” No, neither of those are familiar, but the mention of magic sure has his attention again, especially when Merlin asks if it's legal. He reaches up, cups a hand around his face to muffle his soft laughter then nods affirmingly. “Yes, magic is absolutely fine to use here.”
no subject
He's laughing?
"It isn't where I'm from," Merlin says quietly. "Even if you're born with magic, you're put to death." He shakes his head. No need to bore his new friend with Camelot's dark past. "I'm not...really sure how I got here, actually."
no subject
He's immediately pinching his lips together instead after realizing his outward blunder, inclining his head and chewing his cheek thoughtfully. How to fix this? “I'm sorry,” Sizhui starts, upturning his attention again, “but rest assured, you needn't worry about using your powers here.” No one will harm him either way, he'll make certain of it. “And my assumption is that something actually went wrong magic-wise.”
no subject
He breathes a sigh of relief, the tense line of his shoulders finally relaxing.
“I’m, I can’t tell if it is magic? Certainly not a spell is have cast. And, as you can tell, not that many people using magic in Camelot.”
no subject
“Something happened on our end? I couldn't tell you what at the moment, but given some time, we might figure it out.”