At least he's still breathing. When he finally sits upright, Jiang Cheng
looks at him, then looks at the sky. Perhaps he's a rogue cultivator that
got knocked off his sword.
"I'm unsure myself. I saw something falling from the sky and came over."
Again, he looks back and forth. With how high he was flying, there had to
be danger nearby or else he wouldn't have flown up so high.
His attention eventually drifts back to Jiang Cheng, he lifts his eyebrows with inquisitiveness and stares, open-mouthed. Did this man just say he fell from the sky? Oh no, oh no, this is terribly unfortunate if that's the case, given he's most definitely supposed to be in the sky right now!
“You... you rescued me from that lake.”
Whenever Jiang Cheng looks away, Sizhui does the same, though it's to consider his options, how he'll explain he came from a civilization above the clouds without sounding like a lunatic. (Let's be real, there isn't a way, which is why he's also wondering if he should maybe lie? But he knows next to nothing about land-dwellers, so!)
Following a quick head-shake, “I'm almost positive you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you the truth,” then he downcasts again, lowers his hand from his head and uses it to help push himself up the rest of the way. “But I came from the sky.”
“Yes,” Sizhui confirms, already feeling ridiculous but growing more and more uncertain by the minute. The expression on Jiang Cheng's face isn't helping matters much, though he doesn't question it because again, he knows just how nonsensical it sounds, especially being said aloud.
“I know, I know, it sounds absolutely unbelievable but...”
He trails off, shakes his head then continues shifting until he's upright, both hands flattening across his thighs, a slow, steadying sigh passing his lips as he allows himself a moment to recollect. It's true, wherever he came from, he's young and well-dressed even without the ostentatious headdress, heavy outer robe and thick belt he'd abandoned during his pitiful swimming attempt. The pale, cream-colored underclothes he's been left in look made of the finest silk and sparkle like iridescent gemstones have somehow been embedded into the fabric.
At the questioning of his status, however, the young man perks, a smile brightening his features as he amends, “A prince. I've not quite ascended high enough to reach godhood.” Someday, he'll figure it out and ultimately make that leap.
He frowns, looking at him. All right, the...boy...before him doesn't look
like most of the gods other than some small turnip god that he'd heard
about out in Qishan.
"Why did you land here and not over where your temple is?" he asks.
“Well, I was... uhm.” He lowers his gaze, shifts his hands, clenching them tight around his robes for a moment. “Let's just say I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be when I fell.” Although, the mention of his temple now has him wondering, “Actually, that's a good idea, going to where the temple is.”
Sizhui moves again, scooching closer to Jiang Cheng and reaching out to grasp his forearm, gaze so sincerely earnest and expectantly wide-eyed, it's almost ridiculous. “Will you please help me get there?”
He almost refuses him outright but the earnest sort of way his eyes look up
at him has his heart go out to the fallen star.
"It'll be a few days' journey but...I can take you. We'll need to take a
rest tonight. It'll be easier if we depart early in the morning. We also
need to check if you have any injuries and are in good condition to travel."
Jiang Cheng stands and offers his hands out to the fallen star.
Good, good, nothing like a little overzealous genuineness to dig down real deep and find someone's soft spot. Sizhui's expression briefly creases when Jiang Cheng mentions it will take a few days and they can't head out tonight, but it softens afterward, replaced with a small, yet still quite exuberant grin.
“Okay,” he accepts with ease, outstretching both hands to accept the ones being offered, holding tight as he clambers upright. Nothing feels injured at the moment, but they cannot rule out any possibilities.
“I feel alright, for what it's worth? But I understand the concern and it's better to be safe rather than sorry.”
If there's nothing obviously physically wrong with him, what's the problem in assuming he's fine until proven otherwise? Later on, bruises will have formed from his fall, but those are nothing when compared to the fact a normal person likely would've died if they'd fallen from the same height.
Rhetorical or not, he answers, “By other gods, for certain, although I've never fallen before and don't know the consequences that come with it.” Maybe he's vulnerable now? It wouldn't be all that surprising, to be fair, though he'll hope he's wrong.
"Come on. Let's get you some dry clothes and perhaps some salve so you
wouldn't bruise up before seeing a physician."
He's aware of how odd it seems: walking into Lotus Pier with a finely
dressed youth like this soaking wet would cause the rumor mill to start
churning.
An action that prompts Sizhui to immediately raise both arms and circle the other man's shoulders, one hand actually clutching his shoulder and the other tangling in his robes at the spot just below his nape. The former hand, however, withdraws then he lifts his arm, using the sleeve to offer them some makeshift cover.
“While I appreciate your concern, do you truly intend to carry me the whole way? You'll need a change of clothes too if that's the case.”
And he's also somewhat worried about being seen, but not for the same reasons that people will likely spread rumors about, regardless of how desperately Sizhui's trying to keep them hidden.
"If you'd like me to put you down, you could have just told me so," he
growls.
Jiang Cheng stops and sets him down onto his feet before they even approach
the gates of Lotus Pier. He crosses his arms and fixes him with a sharp
stare, waiting for him to get his bearings before they would start walking
again.
"And tell me the whole story - the truth."
He has the feeling it would be far more fantastic than whatever lie that
the youth would give him.
“That wasn't my intention, I just—” but he falls silent once they stop, lips pursed and his head inclined as Jiang Cheng moves to put him down.
Sizhui straightens his posture right away, arm lowering then tucking neatly behind himself, the hand closing into a fist which he rests against the small of his back. His opposite hand raises, fingertips combing through his hair, straightening the strands out somewhat before he notes the soft jangling from the dainty chain around his wrist. “I've already told you the truth,” he sighs, “I fell from the sky.”
After taking a moment to remove the tangled links from his forearm, he carefully wraps it up, clutches the item tight against his palm then levels the older man with a look. “We deities warn of a place, something beyond the safety of our gates in a somewhere nobody dares explore at nighttime. I went there to collect certain items,” Sizhui continues explaining, his thoughts drifting to the moonstones and if they'd remained in his pockets or if they're lost to the lake and he'll eventually have to fish them out, but he refocuses to continue, “I collected what I'd come for, got hit by something, then felt myself being pulled and...” With a weak hand gesture toward nothing in particular, his head lowers and he exhales heavily again. “And then you were pulling me out of the water.”
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houseofsushi2020-05-22 10:34 pm
no subject
At least he's still breathing. When he finally sits upright, Jiang Cheng looks at him, then looks at the sky. Perhaps he's a rogue cultivator that got knocked off his sword.
"I'm unsure myself. I saw something falling from the sky and came over."
Again, he looks back and forth. With how high he was flying, there had to be danger nearby or else he wouldn't have flown up so high.
"Where did you come from?"
no subject
“You... you rescued me from that lake.”
Whenever Jiang Cheng looks away, Sizhui does the same, though it's to consider his options, how he'll explain he came from a civilization above the clouds without sounding like a lunatic. (Let's be real, there isn't a way, which is why he's also wondering if he should maybe lie? But he knows next to nothing about land-dwellers, so!)
Following a quick head-shake, “I'm almost positive you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you the truth,” then he downcasts again, lowers his hand from his head and uses it to help push himself up the rest of the way. “But I came from the sky.”
no subject
Jiang Cheng scowls, mouth set in a hard line, ready to snap at the youth to try him when he says he came from the skies.
“The sky.”
He’s right, it does sound ludicrous.
“As in from the Heavens.”
He looks him over. The boy looks like any other youth. One who came from a lavish house but still. He barely looks over twenty one.
“Are…are you a god, then?”
no subject
“I know, I know, it sounds absolutely unbelievable but...”
He trails off, shakes his head then continues shifting until he's upright, both hands flattening across his thighs, a slow, steadying sigh passing his lips as he allows himself a moment to recollect. It's true, wherever he came from, he's young and well-dressed even without the ostentatious headdress, heavy outer robe and thick belt he'd abandoned during his pitiful swimming attempt. The pale, cream-colored underclothes he's been left in look made of the finest silk and sparkle like iridescent gemstones have somehow been embedded into the fabric.
At the questioning of his status, however, the young man perks, a smile brightening his features as he amends, “A prince. I've not quite ascended high enough to reach godhood.” Someday, he'll figure it out and ultimately make that leap.
no subject
He frowns, looking at him. All right, the...boy...before him doesn't look like most of the gods other than some small turnip god that he'd heard about out in Qishan.
"Why did you land here and not over where your temple is?" he asks.
no subject
Sizhui moves again, scooching closer to Jiang Cheng and reaching out to grasp his forearm, gaze so sincerely earnest and expectantly wide-eyed, it's almost ridiculous. “Will you please help me get there?”
no subject
He almost refuses him outright but the earnest sort of way his eyes look up at him has his heart go out to the fallen star.
"It'll be a few days' journey but...I can take you. We'll need to take a rest tonight. It'll be easier if we depart early in the morning. We also need to check if you have any injuries and are in good condition to travel."
Jiang Cheng stands and offers his hands out to the fallen star.
no subject
“Okay,” he accepts with ease, outstretching both hands to accept the ones being offered, holding tight as he clambers upright. Nothing feels injured at the moment, but they cannot rule out any possibilities.
“I feel alright, for what it's worth? But I understand the concern and it's better to be safe rather than sorry.”
no subject
Jiang Cheng can't help but roll his eyes at how he seems to dismiss his own well being.
"Can gods get injured?" he snaps.
It's a rhetorical question but he's pretty sure the answer is no. Either way, they shouldn't be out in the open like this.
no subject
Rhetorical or not, he answers, “By other gods, for certain, although I've never fallen before and don't know the consequences that come with it.” Maybe he's vulnerable now? It wouldn't be all that surprising, to be fair, though he'll hope he's wrong.
no subject
Jiang Cheng hoists him up into his arms.
"Come on. Let's get you some dry clothes and perhaps some salve so you wouldn't bruise up before seeing a physician."
He's aware of how odd it seems: walking into Lotus Pier with a finely dressed youth like this soaking wet would cause the rumor mill to start churning.
no subject
“While I appreciate your concern, do you truly intend to carry me the whole way? You'll need a change of clothes too if that's the case.”
And he's also somewhat worried about being seen, but not for the same reasons that people will likely spread rumors about, regardless of how desperately Sizhui's trying to keep them hidden.
no subject
"If you'd like me to put you down, you could have just told me so," he growls.
Jiang Cheng stops and sets him down onto his feet before they even approach the gates of Lotus Pier. He crosses his arms and fixes him with a sharp stare, waiting for him to get his bearings before they would start walking again.
"And tell me the whole story - the truth."
He has the feeling it would be far more fantastic than whatever lie that the youth would give him.
no subject
Sizhui straightens his posture right away, arm lowering then tucking neatly behind himself, the hand closing into a fist which he rests against the small of his back. His opposite hand raises, fingertips combing through his hair, straightening the strands out somewhat before he notes the soft jangling from the dainty chain around his wrist. “I've already told you the truth,” he sighs, “I fell from the sky.”
After taking a moment to remove the tangled links from his forearm, he carefully wraps it up, clutches the item tight against his palm then levels the older man with a look. “We deities warn of a place, something beyond the safety of our gates in a somewhere nobody dares explore at nighttime. I went there to collect certain items,” Sizhui continues explaining, his thoughts drifting to the moonstones and if they'd remained in his pockets or if they're lost to the lake and he'll eventually have to fish them out, but he refocuses to continue, “I collected what I'd come for, got hit by something, then felt myself being pulled and...” With a weak hand gesture toward nothing in particular, his head lowers and he exhales heavily again. “And then you were pulling me out of the water.”