spicehill

[spicehill]

he hears his name being called from where he's walked off to inspect something that smelled strange --- and it's moze's voice, silent footsteps and tone getting gradually closer. but what he's knelt down in front of while moze and seele searched the nearby stores is not normal.

upon closer inspection, he's able to determine that there are synthetic plates fused to flesh, a corpse seemingly long dead with rigor mortis setting in. the manner of fusion feels like that of a marastruck, even if the material itself has none of the organic elements of the abundance-stricken beasts. jiaoqiu raises his hand, and calls back. "over here, moze. I found something unusual... could the two of you come and take a look with me? not quite sure what this is."

and, taking another star anise from his belt, jiaoqiu sets it ablaze before holding it close to the plate, which turns an ashen black but does not seem to crack or warp. then, to where the plates fuse with skin... and the all-too nostalgic scent of burning flesh, even on a corpse, smells the same as it always does.

footsteps are approaching... that must be miss seele, too. jiaoqiu turns back to the two of them with a pleasant, calm smile. "this fellow seems awfully out of place, doesn't he? and the armor is stuck to his body... do the two of you see anything that may indicate how he wound up dead in this spot? blood, drag marks... anything like that would do."

@dream-of-butterflies @taciturncorvidae.

dice maiden did not rock with us

GH Revelation 2025 | Jiaoqiu, Seele and Moze Week 3 | Soaring Heights

[spicehill]

the only confirmation he provides is a soft nod while fingertips get to the last few buttons and clasps at the front of aventurine's clothes --- more from the distraction of fingertips tugging at fur in his tail than any decorum with respect to being overheard --- and when an ear catches a confirmation on the other end of the line and a we'll have that up to you soon, sir!, he parts his lips to finally speak, returning to the topic of conversation before the call took place. "degradation, yes --- usually sudden and quite rapid, within the span of a few days. but mara, no; we typically don't live long enough for the mara to set in naturally the way it does for xianzhou natives. anyway... my thought behind bringing that up is that, for all either of us know, I could be dead in a week at my age. so, making the most of my time is something I do usually try to do."

even if making the most didn't usually have a clear meaning anymore.

as he falls quiet, hands move in tandem back up along chest to expose skin, pushing layers back all together until shirt and jacket hang on mostly by the other's arms. but when they reach shoulderblades, one hand pulls back --- and then takes the hand that holds the device in aventurine's hand that he had been speaking on moments prior. "now... let me see your phone, mr. aventurine." jiaoqiu doesn't wait for a reply --- instead, he pulls the hand holding the phone closer, within ten inches of damaged eyes, and the thumb insisting on bringing the screen into his range of sight brings up the dial screen again before he starts typing in a series of numbers, and moves to place the call: a jade abacus device in his own pocket starts to buzz a moment later.

𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦⠀──⠀⋆˙⛃

#GHRevelation2025⠀∶⠀vodka donuts are now a thing

[spicehill]

with ezio finally stirring, there's nothing immediately apparent that gives them a strong lead... especially since the man seems unsure who attacked him in the first place. free hand pulls out more gauze, and then starts to blot it at forehead; "please, don't strain yourself too much mr. ezio. we'll bandage up your wound soon." foggy vision turns to welt momentarily, before he tries to think on what something weird may entail. if there was something to follow with that as a lead... it wasn't a person, at the very least.

so... did something incorporeal stab him? maybe they can at least get a better idea, if they can figure out what something weird was to ezio. "it feels like... the city has changed to some degree. is that what you mean? I can't see well enough to know for sure, but perhaps the others can attest to what seems to be going on around here. what did you experience?"

@revelation-heights @secondsovereign @taciturncorvidae.

disorientation.

RevelationHEIGHTS - week 2 interim with moze & welt.

[spicehill]

as mr. welt explains further, he listens —- at the mention of an emanator of ix, a vague turn tries to spot the taller silhouette of the woman who’d spent much of the week with the man speaking to him now. if the logic of welt’s theory followed… perhaps this frankie would have ample motive to cause ezio harm. but… hopefully, the victim in question would have the wherewithal to answer them soon —- and give them an idea of who did this to him, or where the others at the bus stop had gone. as soon as they had that information, perhaps the others here could act to track down their missing or the one who stabbed ezio.

an uneasy sigh; hands again shift to swap out bloodsoaked gauze for a fresh patch saturated with antiseptic, then press down firmly to hold the wound together as he thinks aloud. “if it is a stellaron that’s causing this… what do we have that can intervene? and who would be capable of leading that sort of intervention? in the alliance… I was on the yaoqing at the time, but the entire alliance has heard that the luofu’s outbreak wouldn’t have gotten under control if the divine foresight had lacked the assistance of the express crew.”

pale brows furrow slightly… he turns to moze next. “do you want to see if the others have found any leads?”

@taciturncorvidae @secondsovereign @revelation-heights.

disorientation.

RevelationHEIGHTS - week 2 interim with moze & welt.

[spicehill]

firm pressure holding the gaping wound shut continues, and he occasionally turns to moze for more clean gauze to work with to fill the wound —- all while gears turn in his head, trying to parse out mr. welt’s theory as it’s explained. the involvement of a stellaron… it seemed plausible, of course, but it was hard to say what could be done about a power on that scale with the few people they had gathered here. maybe, if they hard a larger group… there were many capable people back at the hotel when they’d left it, some of whom had been familiar faces. could they contact anyone else they knew who was here in empyrea to try and help out…?

after a moment of quiet, jiaoqiu shakes his head somberly. “did you happen to see what was on the footage, mr. welt? and what has the voice said to you that’d make you think this is nanook’s handiwork, or the doing of his followers… just the mention of destruction? not challenging your theory, of course. only want to make sure I’m following where this could all be going, as I don’t know much more about what’s going on here myself.”

all he really knew was that their guide was on the ground with a grave injury, a voice had spoken to them twice, things around them were changing, and… something here was very, very wrong.

@taciturncorvidae @secondsovereign @revelation-heights.

disorientation.

RevelationHEIGHTS - week 2 interim with moze & welt.

[spicehill]

as moze returns, jiaoqiu quickly takes some of the gauze from him to start drying the pooled, sticky blood around the main wound —- then, a request to moze follows. “please fold some gauze into a bundle, and then soak it with the antiseptic. hand that to me once it’s ready.” breath holds momentarily as jiaoqiu thinks… could anyone here before —- like tala, or any of the locals they’d recruited? —- have really wished him harm? but the notion mr. welt states about things changing… he had suspected something felt different, but couldn’t see enough to verify if that was the cases.

once the sterile gauze is handed to him, the hand cleaning blood around the wound drops the soiled gauze to take the new one, and jiaoqiu lifts his hand applying pressure for a fraction of a second to slide the gauze with antiseptic in against the wound. “the legion?… is that why… mr. welt, have you been hearing a voice talking about destruction, too? we weren’t here to intervene before mr. ezio was gravely wounded…”

@secondsovereign @taciturncorvidae @revelation-heights.

disorientation.

RevelationHEIGHTS - week 2 interim with moze & welt.

[spicehill]

upon hearing moze’s identification of the wound’s location, and mr. welt’s ideas for how to treat it, jiaoqiu nods his head and starts feeling through the traditional medical supplies kept on his belt… “I have a vial of dried and crushed yarrow here that can also work as an antiseptic and clotting agent in the meantime, until more astringent and padding is found. moze, I think it would be easier for you to find the supplies he’s talking about, if you can…” as he finds the right small glass jar in his belt, jiaoqiu opens it quickly and pours out some of the dried herb into one palm before moving to replace moze’s hand with his own.

the yarrow in his palm quickly starts to mix with the blood once he presses there quite firmly —- then, a strained sigh. “is this the only wound we see? if it’s just a single stab wound, perhaps the perpetrator moved quickly afterwards… but who would want to hurt mr. ezio like this?”

@taciturncorvidae @secondsovereign @revelation-heights.

disorientation.

RevelationHEIGHTS - week 2 interim with moze & welt.

[spicehill]

things feel wrong and different as they return for the night. even the ground beneath their feet has changed somehow once back at the terminal —- and soft murmurs of confusion and horror among the others speak volumes of what they have all found missing. a small family, a little girl… and a healthy bus driver. instead, the driver they have is on the ground, surrounded by a distinct scent of damp iron. when he comes over, jiaoqiu kneels down, and takes one wrist to try and feel a pulse; weak, faint, almost hard to detect with labored breaths, and the same hand is nearly ice-cold and bloodsoaked. even unable to see much, it’s not hard to tell mr. ezio is in bad shape.

the younger ones shouldn’t see this —- jiaoqiu turns his head, and calmly calls out two names who he wagered were perhaps more prepared: “moze, mr. welt…? can you two please come help me. I need your assistance identifying where he’s injured and if we’re able to stop the bleeding, before we lose him completely.”

it certainly felt and sounded like that could be the case at any minute. as he turns back down, gentle tone quiets —- “mr. ezio, can you hear me? can you tell us what happened?”

@taciturncorvidae @secondsovereign.

disorientation.

RevelationHEIGHTS - week 2 interim with moze & welt.

[spicehill]

a shiver runs up his spine as he feels a hand running up from the base of his tail again --- the touch of lips is bad enough, a sensation only recently rediscovered, with its tickling warmth and aventurine's comparative assertiveness. both hands shift almost-suddenly as touch focuses at the line of vertebrae --- quite literally blindly starting to pull at buttons, clasps, anything that seems to be holding the other man's clothes together as he speaks.

an answer of his own comes after a breath, unsteady with a slowly building urgency --- "well, when you put it like that... it does sound like you should actually take my number this time," then, a soft chuckle before he continues, pulling buttons apart one by one in a downward motion all at the same time. "... did you want to finish that room service order you were talking about earlier? or..." as jiaoqiu continues, one hand pushes in firmly over skin as he finds the front of shirt and vest opened --- then flexes slightly, before the same hand pulls back to continue undoing clothes gradually, button by button, clasp by clasp.

what accompanies it is a pull back with his head, again trying to evade continued attention so close while he straddles aventurine's lap --- and, finally, another question. "mmn... making the most of the time you have does make sense after a certain point, though. do you know about how foxians usually pass, mr. aventurine? genuinely curious, as I do believe it's common knowledge, but happy to share a few more details if you're not aware."

𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦⠀──⠀⋆˙⛃

#GHRevelation2025⠀∶⠀vodka donuts are now a thing

[spicehill]

while seele and moze have offered their assistance, his own hands have stayed focused on testing the joints, feeling for any sign of trauma... first elbow, then he moves up to shoulder. once hands reach the latter, the injured man winces sharply with breath seething through teeth...

jiaoqiu shakes his head. "a sling will work for now, but yes, perhaps we should help him get somewhere safer to recover. as far as I can tell, nothing is dislocated, but I believe there's either a pinched nerve or something torn in his shoulder, similar to miss seele's theory. either might be able to explain pain and limited mobility." and, unfortunately, both really just needed rest and time... and maybe also a doctor less handicapped than him, now. as he starts to stand back up, jiaoqiu expects the two with him to carefully help the man stand --- until he hears the injured man's voice again.

"and anything to eat? I'm so hungry, I feel faint... can't make walkin' it too far..." right. food. what did they have that they could share with him before getting him on his feet?

there ain't no rest for the wicked

GH Revelation 2025 | seele, moze, jiaoqiu back at work | day 3

[spicehill]

the day turns into another another afternoon with more work to complete. he asks idly, at some point, what the others would like to eat that evening... almost out of an old habit more than anything else, particularly when he realized moments after asking that he had none of his usual ingredients to work with here in the city.

but as they head to a store after completing their work, the trio stumbles across a middle-aged man resting on a sidewalk, making sounds that seem to indicate a good deal of pain. his steps slow... though jiaoqiu can't exactly see what's wrong without being closer, he calls out to the man to try and figure out what's wrong. "sir, are you feeling alright?" ... a few steps closer. he seems to be hunched over one of his arms; maybe a dislocated joint? anything being broken would require much more than just passing assistance...

the man hunched on the sidewalk tries to answer as jiaoqiu kneels down to try and look closer. "my arm... can't move. ugh... did something funny to it..." a pink ear twitches, and a hand reaches out. as jiaoqiu's hand cautiously starts to trace up the injury, he hears a different sound: a loud, undeniable gastrointestinal gurgle. "also... so hungry."

a sympathetic smile; he still can't quite tell what's wrong, but... "oh... I'm terribly sorry about that. moze, miss seele, would you mind lending me a hand? if one of you could help me identify and mend the issue with his arm, perhaps the other could find him something to eat."

@taciturncorvidae @dream-of-butterflies.

there ain't no rest for the wicked

GH Revelation 2025 | seele, moze, jiaoqiu back at work | day 3

[spicehill]

the shift in whose feet lead as they travel across the main room is quick enough for him to not resist it --- not like he knows where he's going anyway, and aventurine is sharing more about how he fared... at first, expression takes the form of a slight grimace at the idea of someone having to avoid walking, but not find comfort in sitting either because of him.

but any semblance of discomfort shifts to a curious look as eyes come close, just enough to see the other's again -- then, head tilts at the last vague statement, and its implications. as he's pulled down onto aventurine's lap, his own hands are forced to let go --- but knees straddle slightly, and hands quickly find a new place to rest. one comes to a shoulder, while the other carefully cups a cheek as nose barely brushes nose.

"mm, so... how long is a while? just while it still hurt? or..." a soft laugh cuts off the next thought; maybe he wasn't that curious for more elaboration about how aventurine had spent his time afterwards, or maybe he was. it felt a little hard to say. but jiaoqiu settles more into place where he sits on thighs, and hand at cheek caresses slowly up it towards ear in a familiar pattern that had started to take shape. "... even still, you should take better care of your health at your age, mr. aventurine. it'd be best to make sure you can still tolerate something like that again." own lips come closer now, but only briefly --- a soft touch to the other's, as gentle as a brush of velvet before they pull away.

𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦⠀──⠀⋆˙⛃

#GHRevelation2025⠀∶⠀vodka donuts are now a thing

[spicehill]

"sure," he stands as the answer comes quickly --- but did he want to go out? not exactly. especially considering the night they had just prior... if anything, it felt like they needed a day of rest. but maybe that was just his back talking, and not what these young people felt... a sigh, and a slight stretch. "before we just head off to find more work, though... little hook and our top-hat wearing friend found some abandoned stores to loot earlier this week, didn't they? now that we've gotten another block back from the gangs... we could try to do a little of the same."

he takes a few steps over, and a slight stretch and a yawn; then, a flinch and a grimace as back gives out just slightly under the pressure placed on it by moving his arms the way he had. "gnh... haha, I think my back is already not agreeing with the idea of doing a lot more work today. but... walking around a little while first might help."

@dream-of-butterflies @taciturncorvidae.

there ain't no rest for the wicked

GH Revelation 2025 | seele, moze, jiaoqiu back at work | day 3

[spicehill]

the clumsy landing against the doorframe doesn't seem to deter anything --- not that deterrence was the intention, anyway. a slow exhale that follows the shift is tinted by a slight shake from the exertion, then worsened by the feeling of being tugged closer by his clothes, before soft lips graze against his own before a slight sting of teeth follows. jiaoqiu's own hands -- one still buried in hair and one just recently released --- shift around so that one drags down aventurine's chest while the other comes to his hip. head tilts as he feels the tickle moving further towards his jawline, but a single sharper breath comes through nostrils. "... 'no interruptions' this time, hm?... that would be impressive, considering how busy you seem to be, mr. aventurine. last time, I never did get to ask about how you were feeling before you left..."

in theory, maybe he should be a little more gentle, now. that was what he'd considered after cleaning the living room rug the next day. but... with the way the other was already moving, acting... somehow, it felt like that wasn't the idea. as his hand trailing down chest slowly reaches the other hip, jiaoqiu starts to take a step back. finally, a chase returns: his own feet start moving back again and loosen contact between lips and his own jaw, trying to bring them out of the doorway.

𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦⠀──⠀⋆˙⛃

#GHRevelation2025⠀∶⠀vodka donuts are now a thing

[spicehill]

the offer of assistance as they walk into the store is accepted readily; it feels even more necessary once inside, as the density of jam-packed shadowed shelves in the store is even apparent to his poor vision. hearing the proprietor of the store still trying to urge them in further, and then mr. zhongli's assessment of their surroundings... jiaoqiu lets out a small chuckle as he answers softly. "I don't think I need anything this store has to offer, either. but with how much merchandise there is to look through in here... it could be that something we'll find in here is interesting enough to be worth our time, even if it's cheap junk." paces through the store's main aisle pause momentarily, and he reaches out to grab at something on the nearest shelf, then brings it much closer to his face to start looking it over.

the object has a peculiar, tapered cylindrical design with a handle at the bottom and a button... bright colors, neon green silicone covering one end while hard plastic comprises the handle. he speaks a little louder now; "I wonder what this one does, for instance...?" across the store, he hears the shopkeeper shout something as he starts to fiddle with the button ---

"er, mr. yochou, maybe not so close to your f --- "

--- and, as the little strange device comes to life with a mechanical groan, the cylindrical end covered in green silicone starts spinning wildly in wide circles, like some sort of party shaker that just barely misses hitting him as he quickly holds it back. this time, a laugh that comes is much more hearty; "how much for this one, then? haha, the way it moves is quite surprising, isn't it, mr. zhongli."

fraudulent baubles, a swindler's bits;

shopping in soaring heights with @jadeshielded.

[spicehill]

"it's fine, miss seele. thank you for telling us what you can, I understand how that must feel like an immense weight to carry." slowly, the placid, everlasting smile starts to return; eyes calm, and a thin grin marks lips. then, jiaoqiu shakes his head. "perhaps I should rephrase what I meant; taking another life to protect someone doomed doesn't necessarily have to involve killing someone else in their stead. hypothetically speaking, maybe it could even be your own life that has to be offered in exchange for the one you save... I'd wager this voice operates on some universal principles. and the universe has a certain balance like that at times, after all; no one can cheat an unbalanced world for long." did he really believe that, though? jiaoqiu wasn't exactly sure; there were plenty of people who managed to cheat death without facing the consequences they were due: there were even times he'd tried to sacrifice himself for another before, only to have the sacrifice undone and the effort wasted.

a sigh --- and he offers a hand out to moze to ask for some assistance standing again. "maybe we should find somewhere better to rest than this bench, hm? and ... I suppose it doesn't matter what protecting someone looks like, in the end. we all have our ways of doing it... perhaps the way ordained to me by that voice may just have been a little more specific than either of yours."

@taciturncorvidae @dream-of-butterflies.

manual labor, low pay, and other reasons to not try working on a foreign planet's tourism visa

RevelationHEIGHTS2025 - jiaoqiu, seele, and moze

[spicehill]

another slow exhale —- this one isn’t quite a sigh, so much as a sound of patience trying to reinforce itself. with her persistence… he hadn’t even had a chance to discuss things about the strange voice with moze in this level of detail yet. but still, he tries to provide some calm ( albeit firm ) reassurance. “I’m sure we’d be willing to assist you, miss seele. moze and I have been through many challenging and stressful situations together and come out the other side. you and little hook both deserve to feel safe, too. like I said, I’ve received a similar directive… however, I can’t be more sure of how we can help you if I don’t know more about how the voice expects you to protect someone else.”

how it expects her to protect someone was the core of the issue, and the only way to get a better sense of what is going on. only knowing what he’d been told, and not able to compare notes more closely with moze yet… meant he wasn’t sure of just how many possibilities there were, here. jiaoqiu’s voice drops softer —- “like, for instance… did it tell you that protecting a life involves taking another?”

@dream-of-butterflies @taciturncorvidae.

manual labor, low pay, and other reasons to not try working on a foreign planet's tourism visa

RevelationHEIGHTS2025 - jiaoqiu, seele, and moze