#v:sh:clj

[personnages]

❝ this world…all worlds…can be cruel. ❞ (xue yu) (maybe for shangque) (smth smth i think their ideologies :handshake:)

twilight princess sentence starters | @pctaldrunk

Shangque blinked slowly, letting himself take a breath before responding. "That is true," he said sincerely. "But we can make up our minds not to be. Just because people are cruel to us... does not mean we have to be cruel to other people."

[personnages]

He's never quite sure what to say to talkative types like this, so he does what he usually does in these situations and lets her talk until her words run out. The lord was with Xiao Lanhua for the afternoon, and had given the black dragon strict orders not to let anyone in. "My lord is busy," he says firmly. "He can't be disturbed."

Shangque starts when the phoenix seats herself and pours two cups. He's not sure what to make of the Moon Supreme's new acquaintance, but in some ways, she reminds him of Jieli. It seems to him that Zhihuo always wants to appear she's a step ahead of everyone, whether she is or not. She did surprise him this time, though. He had thought she hadn't taken notice of him.

In any case, she didn't seem to pose a threat to the lord right now, and it had been a quiet morning. Besides, he's not sure what the phoenix would do if upset. "Thank you," he says. He carefully sits down next to her, though he doesn't touch the second cup of wine. He doesn't like to drink on duty unless his lord specifically allows it. Technically, it's not his day off today. "What kind of cake?"

" - The boss isn't in, huh?" Makes a face as she LOOKS about, the smooth porcelain wine jar stoppered with crimson cloth hanging off her arm swinging slightly with the movement. "...BUMMER. Was hoping I'd catch him for some - villainous afternoon tea or something." If afternoon tea consists of wine anyway. Not that her new friend - as she likes to think of it - would care for the difference. If one was to ask her a few centuries ago - well, she'd have nothing in common with this particular acquaintance. But there's something about being known as universal CALAMITIES that draws people together. Well - for her anyway. "...But you'll do." She's only looking for company for a little while anyway. Finds a place to sit and pulls off the stopper - pouring clear liquid into two little cups - warms the wine with a flick of fingers. Being a phoenix is handier than being a sparrow, in SOME aspects. "I brought some cake on the way in too, so even if you don't want to drink on duty..."

@personnages liked for a starter ! feat. s.hangque

[personnages]

It was not in the black dragon's nature to be inattentive, especially not to the space around him. Even when he was in human form, there was part of him that was always alert, always ready to respond to a threat.

Still, for all the time he spent in human form, there were times he forgot to do things like not to stare at people too long. Shangque thought it was a consequence of sleeping in the Oblivion River for so long, this forgetting of human niceties, but he had never been particularly adept at them in the first place. Normally, it wasn't really part of his job.

But he ducked his head briefly when the grand princess turned and pointed it out. "It's nothing," he said initially, but after a moment, he ducked his head to speak again. "Someone is coming, but you don't seem concerned. I was trying to tell whether you just hadn't heard them yet or not."

Elegant fingers brushed over silken flower petals, the aroma tickling her nose. Retracting her hand, she looked over her shoulder at the watcher.

Over the years, she'd become sensitive to eyes on her that wasn't an assigned guard. Blame Xiao Yan and his tendencies to watch her in youth. Always watching her with those starry eyes of his that now made her smile to herself, because he had always deserved someone who matched his personality.

"What is it, Shang.que?" she turned, now speaking to the young man watching her.

@personnages ft. Shang.que

[personnages]

Though Shangque is never quite comfortable when his lord leaves him behind for his business, he cannot deny that he is, well, used to it. The mist and the drizzle cloud his gaze, the cold an echo of the river he slept beneath for thirty thousand years. But then she speaks to him, and Shangque remembers that mortals easily get sick in weather like this. He turns and sits, as she asks. The black dragon's hands are never not warm, even in human form -- but he accepts the tea anyways. It's a kindness. Since leaving Cangyan Sea, Shangque has noted that those are not always as plentiful as one would think. "Thank you."

There is something about her, kind as she is, that prickles uncomfortably at the hollow of his throat. He has not yet identified what it is, so he watches her move about the pavilion with unblinking eyes. "Does this place truly shelter all?" It is only half a question. No matter how she answers, he is practiced at spotting lies; no matter what she says, he will know if it is safe for his lord to remain within. Still. He will not break the rules of the sanctuary, only facilitate a quick exit.

muse: bio page here open to : any random traveler?

"It doesn't look like the rain's going to stop, for a little while." Cool, light tone cuts CRISPLY through pitter-patter, accompanied by the crackle of low fire and the aroma of sweet tea, perfusing through the scent of wet stone and greenery and ancient wood. She stands in the frame of the pavilion, a slight silhouette almost LOST to the blur of hanging mist. "...You should come in and sit, before it soaks you through. I don't mind the company. And there's a cup of tea to warm your hands, should you like it."

[personnages]

@roscvcins

At her reassurance, he subsides, but only halfway. A wrinkle still furrows his brow. Shangque still watches the doorway his lord disappeared through, but at least now he feels he can take his eyes off it. He listens out. If his lord does not always follow laws -- well, often, neither do others when they encounter him. Still. He has been ordered to stay behind, so he will. He can wait. (He can wait.)

"Then what would happen?" he asks. Even if there is no harm, there must still be -- a punishment, perhaps. That is the way humans structure their laws, after all. (Immortals too, more often than not, but Shangque thinks of his yuezhu, and smiles to himself when he knows he cannot say they all do.)