[7rings] catchall for douman

[shiftingwinds]

i'll make this pretty later

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[commedia]

...

[And they turn back to look at Qingxuan finally. There's a light smile on their face, but their eyes...]

[Their eyes feel like the boring weight of the deep dark sea, endless, unfeeling.]

...It was a lot. I don't remember much of it. [A lie? Its hard to tell.] I know that I was pulled by the reins of someone else at the time. A Servant has to do what one orders, after all.

[shiftingwinds]

[that look in his eyes is familiar to her in a way that she's not fully conscious of. it makes her shiver, but it's also something she's used to enough that she can't pinpoint what it is that's unsettling her.]

...what about now? Are you free to take your own reigns now, or...?

[is the master they found here the one pulling the reigns?]

[commedia]

I do what my Master tells me. But I suppose I'm much more free right now than I was before. But do not worry. My master and I simply want to indulge, nothing more.

[And a light laugh, which seems like a strange sound, after all of that. Their expression turns thoughtful, though, concerned.]

...Ah, but your situation...Qingxuan, what an unfortunate curse you've been put under.

[shiftingwinds]

Well - I hope your Master continues to allow you your freedom...

[it's a horrible thing, not to be free.

she pauses, then looks down.]

Ahaha... [her laugh sounds a little weak] I really did think I'd escaped it when I ascended to the heavens, but it found me again.

[commedia]

I hope so, too.

[What an interesting situation. This curse, this...creature? A thing desiring power, above all else. And then ascension to the heavens...ah, yes, didn't they hear at the execution that people were calling her a god?]

Surely you had enough power to deal with it, then? Or...did it even pose a threat to you in your new state?

[shiftingwinds]

[suddenly, sqx is the one who wants to walk away?

but it's not like there's any real need to keep this a secret. none of these people are from her world, so it's not like the fact that the creature's found her again will make it back to her brother's ears...]

Monsters of that kind are very difficult to deal with. Normally it would avoid a god, but since it had already latched onto me while I was a mortal...

[it's already got its claws in deep enough to do damage, now that it's found her once more.]

It won't matter. Once I leave this place, I'll kill it before it can do anything else.

[commedia]

...But how? If its been pursuing you this long, and its such a powerful thing...can it be killed?

[A furrowing of their eyebrows, look serious.]

Is it possible to ask other gods for their boons in this case?

[shiftingwinds]

Mm, it is. Ming-xiong agreed to help me, actually, and we were on our way to ask someone else for help, too...

[she pauses]

...but, that's when I received the offer to come here. And I thought, it's better if I handle it myself, so neither of them would get hurt... It's my problem, after all! I don't want either of them in danger because of me.

[commedia]

...

And yet, what if the worst comes to pass? What if you don't succeed, Qingxuan? Have you thought of that?

[shiftingwinds]

If something happens and I don't make it out of here, that monster's just not getting the meal it's been waiting for for more than five hundred years. Hah! Just starve, see what I care!

[commedia]

[PATTING HER ON THE CHEEKS]

Qingxuaaaaan, that's a terrible way to think!

[shiftingwinds]

[she's pouting!!]

I'm not going to die! I'm definitely making it out. But if I don't, I'll at least take a little satisfaction knowing it's going hungry.

[commedia]

Dying out of spite? Ahh, that shouldn't be your plan B! Bad plan, bad plan!

[shiftingwinds]

It's not a plan at all! It's just the one good thing that would come out of everything going terribly wrong...!!

[commedia]

You really are stubborn, aren't you, Qingxuan?

[shiftingwinds]

My brother is the Water Tyrant. It runs in the family.

[commedia]

The Water...what?

[shiftingwinds]

The Water Tyrant. [she chuckles] I'm the top elemental god of the winds - my brother is the top elemental god of water.

Some mortals call him that because if merchant ships don't make offerings to him before they set out to sea, he'll send storms to sink them. I don't really agree with it, but...

[he's fucking stubborn!]

[commedia]

Ohh, what a terrible temper!

[And a pause. They give her a long look.]

You know...for a god, you don't really act like one. I guess it comes from your background, but still...

[shiftingwinds]

My brother has the same background. He's only six years older than me, you know!

[but she looks back at them.]

...is that such a bad thing?

[commedia]

...No, not really. Its just different.

[A laugh.]

Gods usually look down on mortals, after all.

[shiftingwinds]

We do - and it's strange, you know? We rely on them as much as they rely on us. More, in some ways.

[...]

So, it's... I don't know. I guess it's easy for some of us to forget that we used to be just like them.

[commedia]

...

[Hmm.]

When people are in a position like that...they tend to forget who they are. I guess its special for you, to be as connected with your past even as a god.

[shiftingwinds]

Aaah... maybe that's it. I've never been very good at letting things go.

[also, like. there's her whole cursed backstory? her mortal life still haunts her even in the heavens. it's hard to feel like an all-powerful god when the monster that stalked you as a mortal has found you all over again.]

Well, whatever the case, this is just me. I'd rather be who I am than be some ideal god or whatever.

[commedia]

...

[Aha.]

[Douman just suddenly looks down at their glass almost awkwardly.]

That's just how powerful you are, Qingxuan. To be able to think like that.