[7rings] catchall for douman

[shiftingwinds]

i'll make this pretty later

Comments

[commedia]

Mmmmmm. It could be.

[Interesting, how interesting.]

Was there someone in particular he's been spending more time with than others?

[shiftingwinds]

...kind of. Not really? ...I don't know if it's more than with others...

[commedia]

[A gentle kiss to her ear.]

And has he been...intimate with them?

[shiftingwinds]

[her breath catches]

...i-it shouldn't bother me if he has, it's not like I haven't been... intimate... I mean, you know that...

[commedia]

And yet, is he not looking at you the same way you look at him?

[A low sigh.]

It sounds like its painful for you.

[shiftingwinds]

...it's just, it's complicated. I don't know how to explain it.

[commedia]

Hmmm. How about...you try to explain it as if talking about yourself as if you were someone else? You're witnessing another "you". What is she feeling? Anger? Sadness? Disappointment?

Is she in love?

[shiftingwinds]

...no, it's... it's not that.

[commedia]

Then what is it? What is she feeling?

[Quietly:]

It can't be...hatred?

[shiftingwinds]

[she shakes her head]

No, not that either, it's... [...] ...something horrible was done to him, before we came here. Because of me. I didn't know about it until the end of last week, with the memories.

...I don't know what to do about it now. There's no fixing it.

[commedia]

...

[Now that's a little unexpected.]

So its not anger, or sadness, or love, it's...guilt, then. You feel guilty that you've hurt someone you care about.

[shiftingwinds]

[she nods]

...I never wanted him to be hurt because of me. Never. My brother did it to him, and I - I didn't know. Neither of them ever told me.

[commedia]

Your brother...

[Didn't she mention him, once? A tyrant of sorts.]

Do you think Ming Yi associates you with that, then? Even though he has never told you a thing?

[shiftingwinds]

I know he does. There's... no way he couldn't.

[commedia]

[Douman just puts the hairbrush down on the bed...]

[And embraces SQX.]

What a complicated situation you're in, Qingxuan.

[shiftingwinds]

[she leans into the embrace]

...at least I found out about it. Now I can - figure out what to do. I can't change the past, but I can... maybe... I don't know.

[she takes a breath]

...I just don't know. But I want to make things right. I want to be someone he can really call his best friend.

[commedia]

So you want him to pay attention to you to alleviate the pain in your heart. To feel his forgiveness.

[They kiss the back of her head lightly.]

You know, despite your feelings regarding yourself...those are the words of a good soul, Qingxuan.

[shiftingwinds]

I want things to be like they were again. But... I know that's not possible.

[her voice is tiny.]

...maybe it's selfish. I just don't want to be the sort of person who makes his life worse by being in it.

[commedia]

The world is built on selfish wishes and dreams, Qingxuan.

[A light laugh.]

Is it wrong, to want to find a way to fix things?

[shiftingwinds]

...I don't think it's wrong, no...

[but it still feels selfish to her. is she fixing it to make things better for ming yi, or to make herself feel less guilty?

...she doesn't know.]

[commedia]

Then you should not wallow in suffering, hm, hm.

[Even though they know perfectly well that she will.]

[Unfortunately, all they care to do is tip the scales, and see more conflict be brought into the world, even as they say, softly:]

I don't like it when you suffer.

[shiftingwinds]

...

[quietly:]

Thank you for saying that, Douman.

[commedia]

[They just hold her like that, for the moment.]

[Is there sympathy in this? Can a being like him understand that?]

[Is this truly a gesture to comfort, or more a gesture of a monster who sees suffering, and wants to keep it close, as something they know all too well?]

[...]

[They murmur quietly.]

Ah, Qingxuan. Its your turn. I have hair to spare, ahaha.

[shiftingwinds]

[the world may never know!

shi qingxuan certainly won't. she takes comfort from it, though, and after taking a breath, she smiles.]

Right. I can't wait to work with it.

[it will be nice, she thinks, to have something to do with her hands - something to focus on. she shifts a little so that she can grab the hairbrush, then turns.


crystal are they still wearing the bells in their hair.]

[commedia]

Same here.

[And yes, indeed they do still have the bells! Jingly. Douman folds their hands in their lap, closing their eyes with their back to SQX.]