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psychotic__Gal Vice Captain
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 Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:10 am
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:22 am
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psychotic__Gal Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:50 pm
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Kitten Time! mixed with Talk after first story Night
”Aw kitty!” Came Daphne’s voice from down the hall.
The edge of Jianshen’s smile faded ever so slightly as the third and fourth wheel, Daphne and Cian, approached from behind. He still maintained part of it as he stepped to the side, allowing them to form a small circle to be easily able to face each other and reach for the cat. The cat upturned its nose at Daphne.
Ma asked her name, Veni answered, Cian came in closer and caught Veni’s eye as Ma said, “Empress?”
Veni, with possibly the most boyish grin Cian had ever seen on him, held the kitten towards him. “If you could get the impression of her thoughts like I can, you’d know that she really thinks I am her slave paying tribute to her rather than the boss like the other stray cats do.”
Ma started to slither away. Veni looked at him and asked, “Not taking your bike? Where are you going?”
“Hardware store.”He paused a moment looking towards the others there, with the faintest movement of his eyes, deciding if he wanted to answer what he knew to be the next question in front of them. He didn’t see Rosemary crawling the ceiling above, due to his hat, to get to the room as they blocked the hall and entered it, but he heard it. ”Mirror break.”
Veni’s eyebrow rose as if to ask him about the mirror, but Ma didn’t say anything. “Ah if the pet shop opens early enough, could you get one of those fountain water bowls?”
“Mn.”
Daphne told Imperatrix hello. Veni continued, ”she’s also a bit particular and picky. I had been encouraging it rather than correct her for my entertainment, but alas it appears Dan and Daisy brought her home when I forgot to feed her tonight and really made me her slave if I desire to continue my amusement!”
Daphne tried to touch the cat again, who batted her away. ”Oh look! Someone actually doesn’t find you charming!” Veni teased Daphne.
“Oh hell no,” came Rosemary’s voice from the room. Ma took that opportunity to slip away. The sound of a wardrobe door being closed and latched could be heard. Rosemary then came out with the kitty litter. No way in hell was that staying in her bedroom. She moved it into the room with the TV that Sephiroth was likely to spend a portion of the day reading as he payed attention to the home while they slept.
"How are you going to prevent one of us accidentally killing her while we sleep?" If the cat jumped on a sleeping vampire, they might react. Veni stared into the cat's eyes and gave her some silent commands to help her stay out of trouble or prevent her death that he was careful into making her think she thought of herself rather than it coming from her servant.
”There, she now thinks she’s a gracious master who won’t disturb her sleeping slaves,” Veni said with a slight purring noise and set the kitty down to allow her to explore. He’d show her the litter box in a little while. He would also later put some live minnows in her water, her intended treat for that night had he not forgotten and showed it to her. |
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Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 2:20 pm
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psychotic__Gal Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:18 pm
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Veni was bending over to let the kitten down, who bolted under the couch, when Daphne asked if the cat had owners. Veni made a pfft sound before he started to laugh full of mirth. Cian knew that he had been quite down and stressed with his mistress around so it was good to see him laugh so jovial. When he straightened back up, put his hands on her head, and kissed her cheek. “Cian, your wife is fantastic! I hope she never stops breathing too much human air.1" (If Cian is offended, than he's not really old Greek or at least don't understand Romans/Italians! lol)
He released Daphne. “Oh Daphne, thank you, I utterly needed that! Do you really think that I wouldn’t KNOW that she belongs to no one? See her beneath that couch? She's not doing it out of fear, she's now observing and rating us."
When Daphne became distracted by Rosemary and suddenly went to her to find out that Rosemary just didn't want the cat in her room and showed the fur on her clothes, Veni leaned closer to Cian to say in a low enough voice that he hoped she was too distracted to hear. "If Imperatrix can't learn, then she'll likely die and I don't necessarily mean by me. I would have to hope I am in time to take her back outside before that if it turns out she's less clever than I believe her to be. But can I easily kick her out now without having to think of a good non-grim reason to give Daphne?"
1. "breathing too much human air" a phrase Ma Jianshen would use to describe her. It basically means that she’s affected by humans, in this case more human nature/thoughts.
------------------------------------------
When Ma came back later, after sunrise at this point, almost everyone had retreated to their rooms. He was usually one of the last to sleep and one of the first to rise. Dan and Daisy were asleep by then, Veni and Rosemary were laying down with BlackMN curled as a fox at the foot of the bed, and Sephiroth, who was doing some morning training had waved at him outside as he drove in. After putting the mirror in his room to hang up later, he went back out and came in with some cat toys...and a little box he had a cloth over.
He put some treats into a roller ball thing that would dispense food when rolled right. He left this out for her to play with. He also left some toys in a spot for Sephiroth to find later should he decide to entertain the cat. In his room, he set a small container with a couple baby rats on the table. He smiled at them thinking of the snakes he looked at while at the pet shop. He also held onto a catnip bag that smelled rather good to him for fuh chan later who loved the smell of it. When he retired, he didn't leave his door open for the cat to get in. Besides young cats were very often chaotic and he didn't want that in his sleep.
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 10:42 pm
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Day 2 of story time.
Present Day
At a certain point in the evening, in the middle of reading, the thought crossed Sephiroth’s mind that Ma was home that day and he always rose early and slept late compared to everyone else. It was about that time when he washed his face, hands, combed his hair, tied it up, and possibly sipped on a blood bag. The older ones could be up if they decided to, but they weren’t usually. Anyone would say that this was his nightly norm and that he had always pushed to stay up late rise as early as possible. Veni would confirm that he did this while alive, but it was a little shifted to staying up later at night for a human.
The angel set his book down and stroked the little kitten who decided that he had an exceptionally warm lap as his normal temperature was a couple degrees higher than the average human. He suddenly leaned forward, some of his hair falling onto the kitten in his arm, and was on his feet instantly. Where his head was a moment ago, was a hand that moved down to grip the back of the couch; the vampire belonging to the arm emerged from the shadows. As the man turned to face his assailant, he raised his arm up and blocked the kick coming at him from above as Ma had flipped over the couch. He adjusted the same arm to the side as the other foot came from that angle and made a grunt as the vampire had almost put too much force behind that one since he used the same arm. The vampire tended to adjust how much speed and force he put into a blow dependent on whose skill he was trying to improve and the situation. Almost everyone was fair game. In this case he was working on Sephiroth’s automatic reaction timing in hand to hand.
However as Ma was pondering and thus fractionally hesitant in his next blow as to why he only used one arm which was a disadvantage and unusual in his style, he saw the kitten in his other arm. She was so engrossed in playing with the silver haired man’s hair that she ignored everything else, the vampire stopped there. The vampire fell back and landed on his feet. “Very good,” he complimented with a smile.
Sephiroth’s eyes looked at what he held; he had a jian in his grasp. So he wanted to practice on his own swordsmanship, which is what the angel was good at. However what he used wasn’t good for that sort of practice in tight spaces, which meant they’d have to go outside. “The sun is still out,” said Sephiroth knowing it wouldn’t matter.
“Bixia is awake now,” said Ma meaning that he wanted to go to Rosemary’s to use the strange machine that would allow them to go all out. She had indeed just got up, but hadn’t done her evening things like Ma had already done. If she was awake, than he didn’t need to stay here.
“Avoid your eyes?”
“You decide,” said Ma. He wasn’t going to push this point since he knew he had a strong dose of Nefretiri’s gaze yesterday.
“Well, if you want me at my best then you need to allow me to look wherever I need to.”
When they arrived and got the program ready and on very realistic, the vampire started off by cutting himself and smearing some blood on the blade utilizing the more unorthodox techniques he was developing and testing. It was set to an open setting so as not to hinder the taller man’s wider swings with the long blade, along with this little action the vampire did made him very aware that his opponent desired real practical experience, a real exchange of blows; not only had he had just made it so that he could make it really hurt should he receive any cuts, but he was giving off a killing intent. He quickly adjusted his footing and hastened his speed going full angel mode as the vampire came at him viciously able to bend in unusual ways at the waist like an acrobat or shift positions as if pulled by wires for impossible stunts or ghost or even geung-si movements in cinema both from centuries of practicing movements over and over again, but also from being a vampire.
Who won? It really depended on the type of fight and what the angel did. In his base form Ma had the upper hand, but in his angel form he significantly did if out in the open. This was most likely due to his angel type; he wasn’t meant to easily lose and was strong in one of the vampire’s crippling weaknesses. In more enclosed settings the vampire was able to win occasionally against angel form. Some of the fights might have gone differently if the angel had to avoid the vampire's gaze. However as the ultimate goal was to improve Ma’s sword technique, rather than his endurance to holy, and not simply beat each other under different settings or truly exchange blows in life and death combat, they had to bring it down once they had their fun so that Jianshen could actually learn from it. Though he had been a clumsy bird that flies early(1) his whole life, he was slightly miffed at the immense power boost one of his sparing partners had suddenly gained in a short time. Jianshen in the end was satisfied as he knew new forms of pain to use at his disposal, though they were still not nearly as terrible as what he picked up from Jacob.
1. “clumsy bird that flies early” is from the idiom 笨鸟先飞 (bèn niǎo xiān fēi) breaks down to stupid (笨 – bèn) bird (鸟 – niǎo) first (先 – xiān) flies (飞 – fēi). Simply translated in English: a ‘stupid bird flies first’ or ‘the clumsy bird flies early’. What it means: you must work hard to compensates for limited ability or having to put a lot of effort from not being naturally talented. It is the slow need to start earlier than others when attempting to complete a task. This phrase is usually used self-deprecating. I only recently ran into this idiom and felt that it fits how Ma is and sees himself. Looking up the story definitely fits. He was definitely a clumsy bird as a human, now that he is more physically capable that view has never entirely left him so puts a lot of effort into wasting less movement and energy in his motions to make them more efficient for what he sees as limited speed, strength, and vampiric abilities (ex. lack of familiar) compared to his (likely now deceased) kin of relatively the same age. Note: Ma probably gained a significant boost that he's unaware of when his touch skill emerged so his view of being very average or below average in strength, speed, and talents has not changed...If you think about it he is a late bloomer in talents compared to Daphne who has both a main master vampire type skill and familiars, the latter of which gained at a younger age in comparison to his currently not at all. See end of post for full Idiom story.
------------------------------------------
Nefretiri was languid in her nightly prep. Dan and Daisy weren't up so it would be a while, but neither was anyone else save Ma...and Rosemary was... having a nightmare? Hmmm? Did she rise early and take a nap or does she sleep that way now? They're so...different now. She began to consider the new beings here and the relationships they had with everyone.
First one she had encountered, she had tested the previous night. Everyone seemed to be comfortable around him as they should if he was to be around while they slept. Though to be that they had to trust him greatly. Had she seen him before? She might have seen him in town before so it is possible he had been around that House BlackMN occupies for a little while before the incident. What was he? He felt alien as his temperature ran higher than normal humans among other oddities and also familiar somehow… he also had some skill, though she knew not to what extent, to some forms of troublesome holy magics. Well he must have proven himself to all of them somehow so she didn't need to think too deeply on the matter.
She knew Ma had left with the humanoid. Were they sparring partners? She could see them as that at least. It fit; the strange man wasn’t so weak to not be able to at least stand his ground against a vampire like Ma depending on what they were doing. It was also early enough in the evening that the younger vampire wouldn’t be at his peak. She wondered how deep their friendship was and how much actual affection he felt towards it or if he felt his usual detachment that prevented him from growing fond of a person even when he knew he wanted to feel it. He was able to feel respect and admiration, but developing more tenderness in feeling towards a person often eluded him. He would pretend to have deeper feelings for such people that he knew had deeper feelings towards him who he didn't want to hurt by revealing that he was truly a vampire at heart and felt almost nothing. So he often acted accordingly, but rarely mourned their deaths long.
His interactions with the other two left the impression of acquaintances on her. However she found the polite acquaintance with Ma to be unusual with what she observed with the girl. The girl seemed to desire to be on good terms, even friends, with everyone else including herself... except him. She even looked at the children when entering the room and glanced at everyone else until she saw he had candy. The others seemed to indulge her friendliness as well to different degrees.
Even Rosemary had a softer look about her when she observed their interactions, which was unusual even with the child’s uncanny charms. Surely Rosemary had some accident with her aura around her as neither of them could keep it to themselves forever, yet here she is. Should she indulge this child as well who was attempting to treat her almost like everyone else? How long could she keep up this stable friendly face she was putting on for them before she fell into some form of cruelty or have her aura go after someone right in front of her....what then?
As for Ma….maybe she hadn’t caught on that her charms hadn’t worked on him? She was probably naïve enough to think that they had a decent relationship, rather than that he was polite with almost everyone who wasn’t overtly rude to him or managed to insult him.
As for the Grecian, Veni seemed to get along with him quite well. Though she was glad he got along with one of Eydis’ brood, she wasn’t certain how she felt about the as deep a relationship as she had ever seen him have with an outsider. Normally Veni would historically avoid others based on his not so pleasant experiences with them and he was excellent at avoiding and hiding his presence from others. On top of that her actions would have prevented such a relationship in the past as she repelled other vampires, violently, death, or otherwise, from getting close to her and her family. So there was a fear element to it as well.
Of course Eydis’ brood would be the exception if she realized they were her’s and she would send them away as peacefully as possible. Now she was finding herself curious as to what would happen if she indulged it especially since this relationship appears to have been going on for years. Was it merely that disarming presence of his wife that did that? Certainly not…they probably had some common hardships together, she could sense it on the tip of their fears.
--------------------------------------
Veni gasped as he inhaled his first breath of air for the night. He felt a sudden shiver as he was reminded who was back, but the feeling quickly subsided. He had expected her to act differently when she came back so what she was doing now was just as unsettling to him. Was tonight goingto be similar? How long would till she drove those three away? He had hoped that when she came back he would be here, but he wasn't.
No matter, he was becoming too comfortable to begin with. Time to continue his long term plans if she insisted. He reached over and hugged Rosemary to him, planting kisses on her shoulder.
-------------------------------------
Upon opening her eyes, Daisy backhanded her brother who jumped at the rude awakening. If he had woke up first he would have done the same. The two of them then pounced on each other and fought until they were more awake. After they were done they got ready for the night as if nothing had happened, grabbing things like jump rope, a paper folding fan, and a sling shot before they went out for dinner.
Dan and Daisy were of course the last two to rise, but by this time Sephiroth and Ma had returned from their ‘friendly’ sparring and even put up the new mirror. Sephiroth was taking a nap in Ma's room as he dared not be alone and asleep while certain vampires lurked around. Meanwhile while the vampire quietly sat with his back straight, aligning his dantian, and meditated working to unimpede the flow of his energies and balance it as it has been unbalanced and surging, more willing to escape since touching Dieamos and has caused him to be more moody like an actual youth and worry that he will eventually lose it to the point of being able to touch no one.
BlackMN arrived dressed in pajamas and holding her favorite stuffed doll she got very early on after meeting Galantros. She was ready to be comfortable during story time. While everyone else was probably dressed in nice clothes she would be as comfortable as possible in front of the nightmare queen...The nightmare lower ruler (Rosemary) gave her a look that made her regret her clothing choice, but then sighed and gave her a look as if to say fiiiine. When Daisy saw her, she looked displeased at the messy look, forcing her to sit down as she started to fuss with her hair.
Nefretiri had already gone and came back before Dan and Daisy rose up. Now she sat on her 'throne' and listened to the news while she read a magazine. Veni knocked on Cian and Daphne's door to indicate that it was time to get going for the night if they were going to do anything before his dark mother started her story for the night. He then greeted the kitten and figured out exactly what she wanted for her meal and left to fetch it. Before he returned Ma was crouching in front of the kitten dangling one of the rats in front of her, carefully watching the cat's and the rat's reactions. He released the rat, but didn't allow it to run outside of his reach.
1. Idiom Story
笨鸟先飞 Clumsy Birds Have to Start Flying Early
Shù shàng yì zhī niǎo māma fū chū le liù zhī niǎo bǎobao,
树 上 一 只 鸟 妈妈 孵 出 了 六 只 鸟 宝宝，
A bird hatches six baby birds,
Xiǎoliù yòu shòu yòu xiǎo, gēge jiějie men dōu qīfu tā;
小六 又 瘦 又 小， 哥哥 姐姐 们 都 欺负 它；
Xiaoliu is very weak and small; his sisters and brothers usually bully him.
Jīngcháng cóng tā zuǐlǐ qiǎng chóngzi, xiǎoliù zhǐ děi è zhe dùzi.
经常 从 它 嘴里 抢 虫子， 小六 只 得 饿 着 肚子。
The other birds usually rob food from his mouth, and Xiaoliu suffers from hunger.
Gēge jiějie men jiào tā "bèn niǎo."
哥哥 姐姐 们 叫 他 "笨鸟"。
Sisters and Brothers call him "clumsy bird."
Yúshì tā juéxīn duànliàn hǎo shēntǐ, ràng gēge jiějie men bú zài cháoxiào zìjǐ.
于是 他 决心 锻炼 好 身体，让 哥哥 姐姐 们 不 再 嘲笑 自己。
He decides to exercise more to be healthier, in order to not be teased by his sisters and brothers.
Tā zhìqì fēicháng dà, měitiān dōu qǐ de hěn zǎo,
他 志气 非常 大，每天 都 起 得 很 早，
Xiaoliu has a strong will and gets up very early every day.
Děng gēge jiějie men xǐnglái, tā yǐjīng pǎo wán bù, chī le chóngzi le.
等 哥哥 姐姐 们 醒来， 他 已经 跑 完 步， 吃 了 虫子 了。
He always finishes exercising and eating worms by the time his sisters and brothers wake up.
Dōngtiān dào le, niǎoqún yào nán fēi le; bènniǎo shì niǎoqún zhōng dìyīgè fēiwǎng nánfāng de.
冬天 到 了， 鸟 群 要 南 飞 了；笨鸟 是 鸟 群 中 第一个 飞往 南方 的。
When the winter is coming and the bird flock prepares to fly to the south, the "clumsy bird" is the first one to start flying.
笨鸟先飞 (Bènniǎoxiānfēi) Clumsy birds have to start flying early
Usage: "笨鸟先飞 (bènniǎoxiānfēi) Clumsy birds have to start flying early" is used to describe someone who compensates for his/her weaknesses by working hard. The character "笨 (bèn)" means clumsy. "鸟 (niǎo)" means bird; "先 (xiān)" means first and "飞 (fēi)" means to fly.
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psychotic__Gal Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 9:54 pm
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The Grecian chuckled softly, “You and I both, friend.” As his wife moved on to Rosemary, Veni leaned in closer. Cian’s mouth opened and closed with Veni’s point. He didn’t quite like the idea of lying to his wife but on the other hand...if one of them did accidentally (or perhaps, purposefully) kill the kitten...yes, it would be best to lie. Better still to remove the kitten before it happened. Should that not be possible though...best to lie.
Not that he would ever tell Daphne that he had come to this reasonable solution. Never.
He heard his wife murmur to Rosemary ”I have a lint roller. It will do just the trick--get all of the fur right up! I’ll help you first thing in the evening!”
-----
Awareness came first to Cian’s fingertips. They twitched against the fabric of the bed, forever mystified by the feel of it instead of dirt beneath them. His eyes open next, followed very shortly by a rapid gasp.
Some things never changed. He was always surprised when he woke up in this bed, in this place. Daphne was a still form beside him, her body curled in a fetal position, her hair fanned out behind her. Her generally lively expression was devoid of light and life. For someone who had slept alone for most of his life and second life, this was also something he was getting used to. Something that surprised him each morning. Cian kissed the like-dead forehead of his wife and slipped out of the bed. He always showered first. By the time he was finished, his wife would be awake and ready.
Cian stepped into the ensuite washroom. He closed the door with a gentle click. Cian met his eyes in the glass--his gaze becoming unfocused. The revelations last night...while the Old Queen told her story, Cian had been able to hear his maker. In every inflection, in every careful word from her lips, he could hear the soft, child-like voice of her--the one who could still command him from across the sea…
~~~~~
”You are no good to me here, boy. Your attention...where has it been?” He had no response for his queen, ”Most of the time you are not even here. You are searching they tell me? ”
”Mistress, I apologize for my...absence. I haven’t been searching so much as cl--”.
”Cleaning yes. Forever cleaning up after her...But Guide has told me she has not needed you for that for years now, boy. She has finally found her place. What will you do about it?”
~~~~~
Cian turned the shower tap on hot. It still felt like yesterday. Nefretiri’s memories only reinforced the voice’s clarity in his mind. Tonight they would hear more. He could judge his maker for who she was. It had to inform who she became.
------
As Cian exited the shower, he heard first the tap tap tap of the keys on the laptop keyboard. ”Oh come on!” It was a soft exclamation but he heard it. Cian exited the washroom, a towel around his waist. He raised an eyebrow. Daphne’s eyes briefly went up and down the length of his body before she liked her bottom lip, Focus!
”I’m bidding on this tea set and...ZhouZishuGrl4eva won’t. Stop. Bidding. It’s infuriating. Why do they even NEED this teapot?”
”And why do you need a--” Cian leaned over her shoulder, “perfect pour 19th century Qing dynasty tea pot? And more importantly, why is this being auctioned on an auction site and not being given to a museum for Heaven’s sake?”
”Don’t be a spoil-sport now hush I need to foc--AHA! TAKE THAT! I WON THIS BID!” Daphne’s fingers flew across the keys again as she entered her credit card information and address.
When Daphne had opened the auction house website earlier she hadn’t expected to spend an obscene amount of money on a teapot. She had just been looking. Did she regret it? No. She couldn’t WAIT to see the expression on her friend’s face (or was it her” soon-to-be-friend”? Or “Acquaintance”?). She wiggled in joy.
”We’ll be starting soon. Far be it from me to dictate your clothing but you may wish to change...I’m not sure a negligee is appropriate to see a queen in.” Daphne stuck out her tongue. ”And a towel is?”
----
After Daphne’s shower, she dressed plainly but formally. She wore a white tailored sweater, it’s sleeves puffed out just slightly before neatly encircling her wrists and it’s needlework creating horizontal arrows. She wore a saddle-brown button up skirt, hitting at a modest midi-length. Her shoes were flats. Daphne swiftly braided her blonde hair before adding a necklace to complete the look.
Like the day before, she had finished just in tune with Veni’s knock. Daphne looked to Cian--who sat in an overstuffed chair in the corner of the room, dressed in grey slacks with a button up--it’s sleeves rolled to his elbows. He set down the decrepit book he was holding. Cian opened the door with a grim smile, ”Ready for another story?” he asked his wife.
Daphne bounced past her husband, humming Green Sleeves with a bright smile. Something was driving her to get downstairs. Some urgent need. If she had a human heart, it would be beating out of it’s chest.
------
The kitten was bored. My gods the day had been long. She explored every room. She had played with the long white hair of the man with bird wings. She had narrowly avoided the automatic sprinklers and she had chased the jays. All the while following her very own instinct to not wake her supplicants. Now, she stretched. She had taken a nap in one of the western-facing windows, allowing the late afternoon sun to warm her body.
She was ready for attention now.
She was ready to eat.
Plaintively, the kitten meowed. Nothing. She meowed a bit louder. Her favorite slave responded first before leaving....A waste. Then, the bowl-retriver came in, bringing the best thing. A life, wriggling thing. Her eyes watched it. Closely, closely, until--
-----
Daphne wasn’t aware of her shriek until she heard it and wasn’t aware of her body until it was running full speed at Ma Jianshen. ”WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THAT POOR RAT!!? DON’T YOU SEE HIS TERROR--HE IS FRIGHTENED. HIS POOR FAMILY RELIED ON IT TO FIND FOOD. EVERY DAY HE SLEEPS CURLED UP WITH HIS BROTHER! HE HAS A FAMILY, JIANSHEN. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! HOW COULD YOU!?”
---
--the kitten jumped high at the sound of the shriek. A rare hiss left her mouth and she shot underneath the couch. She watched the scene unfold, her fur standing on end, her claws sinking into the carpet.
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:16 am
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Footsteps coming down the way towards him fast...he recognized who, but not why. He resisted the urge to react to her even though he felt like his hairs stood on end and her steps had urgency to them. Daphne wasn't usually a threat and no one else was upset as far as he knew. Was she such an odd vampire as to be afraid of rats too? Then she shrieked and she was running at him fast. He grabbed the rat as he rose to stand from his crouching position while turning around to face her. Unfortunately the yelling made it worse; he was now moving instinctually at a perceived threat faster than he was processing her words. The rat let out a pitiful squeak as it died in his tightened, surprised, grip, as she got too close as she shrieked "HOW COULD YOU!?"
Fortunately the perceived threat wasn't giving off a killing intent otherwise his reaction would have been worse. He grabbed her hand and she felt an overwhelming force pressed into her wrist, a numbing pain moving up her arm, as he, in a swift subtle movement, twirled her around as he twisted her arm behind her back and forced her to her knees. His thumb was pressing into the jianshe(1) point(2). She felt like he was applying some force (qi) to it to help it hurt, but not with his actual more vampire ability; however he was struggling not to add those extra painful sensations to it. His energies weren't fully balanced and he wrestled with it. It was however better today than it had been in a while thanks in part to Nefretiri's action the previous night otherwise she'd be getting it whether he wanted to deliver it or not. Already this was the most physical contact he's ever had with her; adding to it with his other hand fisted with the dead rat moved to her shoulder to apply pressure; it was in position to easily pop it out or break it if she struggled. He pulled her to look at her face with a bewildered expression on his.
Veni had returned and no doubt Cian had been alarmed at Daphne's actions and caught up at this point. Veni saw Ma's body language and wasn't concerned about his son actually harming Daphne, even though his expression was like that of a snake considering a rodent. He didn’t know why Jianshen had her pinned; she was not one of his targets for his testing sneak attack game to Veni’s knowledge. He was concerned about the mongoose, Cian, and didn't want him to kill Ma over a misunderstanding or escalate this so he purposefully got in the way.
Jianshen meanwhile released her and took a step back glancing at the others. He took another step away looking puzzled and now very anxious because he had, what could be perceived by the late entrants, and he knew it possibly didn't matter even if they saw the whole thing, struck Cian's wife. Even though she came from behind at her top speed he knew that he couldn't win a 'you could have retreated, she's not trained' or 'you should have restrained yourself better' type debate. Unbeknownst to him the queen in the other room was heightening his nervousness, enjoying the little bit of chaos so far.
Was this woman even younger than he both thought and was informed of? Was she less than 100 years old or was she from such a wealthy family that they didn't allow her to know the purpose of cats?
(1)yay for a near homophone. This uses a different tone than the one used for Jian in his name, but gosh if I could actually hear the difference...I might have to try wearing a headset to hear the difference. Enter this 间使 剑神 or 间 剑 into a translator and click on the microphone...I think I can hear the difference better with the Microsoft translator over the google one...the first one is jiān shǐ and the second is his name jiàn shén. Like first one is supposed to be high and flat and the second start high and go down but @@;
(2) It's near the neiguan acupuncture point which is near the wrist and what he pushed in the short story...like a finger width away. In needling putting it in straight can "cause local distention and soreness or a numb, distended sensation extending" according to PC5
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psychotic__Gal Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:21 am
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It happened too quickly for the Grecian to properly track. Too quickly, too suddenly and too… out of character. Daphne of all of them was one of the slowest to temper. She had a sweet disposition--wanting to care for others. Wanting harmony.
Her shriek hit the house oddly but Cian’s feet were already taking him quickly to the scene...only Veni beat him to it.
”LET GO!” Daphne cried out seconds before she heard it. The pitiful squeak. She saw his life from the day before briefly pass before her eyes. He had been so happy.
Daphne’s body twitched but suddenly her arm was behind her back and her knees forced to the floor. She thrashed in his hold, wincing with pain even as she did so. ”YOU KILLED HIM, JIANSHEN! YOU MURDERED HIM!” Poor Remy--the rat who had five brothers and two sisters and expecting pups at home. Daphne’s body shuddered--again not necessarily in pain but in loss. ”How could you.”
Cian didn’t care for the serpentine expression on Veni’s face as he watched the struggle. Cian tracked it, not quite understanding what was happening or why. The vampire’s fingers twitched, considering using his innate telekinesis to rip Jianshen off of his mate. He couldn’t though. Daphne would be even more at risk--Jianshen’s grip on her was sure. She would fly with him. Cian forced himself to be calm--taking in the situation as if it were a game of chess.
His expression of bewildered concern turned to one of calculation. His thoughts came like bullet points:
- To move Veni would cause a conflict--one that would not immediately result in the release of Daphne.
- To use telekinesis would inevitably cause Daphne to become hurt as well.
- He was not positive he could sidestep Veni at this point as they likely matched in speed.
And finally…
- Jianshen’s actions and aura did not have a murderous intent in them.
- Daphne was not a newborn. She was strong and could handle herself.
The last point was the hardest for Cian to consider but once his emotions were sidelined it became clear as day. How many centuries had she spent without him there? Had she dealt with hunters and violence? Had she been the monster in the dark? The only of his kin he had had to clean up after?
Though it wasn’t much time at all, the situation had still gone on for far too long. ”Veni, my friend, you will want to move.” His voice was low, dangerous...and then, Jianshen released his mate. The tension in Cian’s shoulders released and Jianshen went through the (wholly benign considering his speed) actions of stepping away.
Daphne’s body was still on the floor for a moment after Jianshen released her. Adrenaline coursed through her, repairing the qi point that Jianshen had disturbed. She stood, eyes blazing and stepped toward Jianshen, her hand raised.
The slap rang through the house, loud and clear as a bell.
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Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:42 am
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(I know this is a lot of text, but probably less than 30 seconds happen between the slap and him speaking...just a lot of possibly significant body language)
Jianshen stared at the elders, especially at Cian as he allowed Daphne to approach him knowing full well he was about to be very angry when he was bewildered and confused before, hands twitching as he resisted his urge to pin her again or push her away. Instead his hands went behind himself before the blow hit, right hand gripping the left arm. ‘See why I restrained her? Why couldn’t you sense her anger and see that I was mostly calm’ his eyes accused as her right hand made contact with his face.
"Daphne don't...!" slap his face…he didn’t finish his sentence. The slap rang through the house, loud and clear as a bell. Veni wished Cian wasn't there because he would have grabbed her shadow and pulled her back. He looked towards the heavens, crestfallen, wondering what in the world did he miss to have Ma restrain her, have her to accuse him of murder, and slap him. His face became unreadable as he readied to restrain his kid now because of the blow. For it to be that loud she had to hit him hard, possibly with all her strength.
Ma for his part didn’t move his head with the hand to lessen the blow, taking the full force of the slap. Instead he focused his energies on the area, much like he does elsewhere, doing his best to make it as ridged as possible as if hitting a wall. And then there it was as he took another, hesitant this time, retreating step back. His foot having stopped moving backwards and went forward a few centimeters before quivering as it moved back, his grip on his arm becoming audible as he squeezed it and struggled with himself from reacting to the aggressive provocation from another vampire. For the briefest moment he craved to clash with her, but to others it could potentially be mistaken as kill. It was not entirely out of anger. He's been angry for other reasons and lacked a desire to lash back, but this time it came with a natural impulse to react from being struck and injured by a vampire he considered to be of relatively the same station as if they had initiated a show of dominance over him. He repressed the feeling so quickly it hurt. His jaw popped as he moved it around until it felt relatively normal.
"Daphne," Veni said soothingly, "please give him some space."
He was now almost out of space between him and the couch and soon another overwhelming dilemma would start to consume him as well, panic from being cornered by one aggressive towards him and the ancient one so protective of the aggressor. It was unfamiliar to have it so strongly towards someone he has only had amiable encounters with, but Fuh Chan’s soothing tone helped immensely.
The corners of Ma's mouth and brows turned upwards into his resting perfunctory smile expression, but the warmth a smile brings didn’t reach the slightly watery eyes at all as he allowed blood to escape his lips from his teeth catching his cheek in the hard, stinging, audible, slap. He swallowed the blood accumulating in his mouth, a slightly thoughtful look replaced some of the anger and accusing he was giving both Cian and her as he popped his neck. What would Cian have done if he was not able to suppress his overwhelming urge to retort in response to her action?! Cian could have stopped her. Ma Jianshen had been too afraid to defend himself having heard the tone Cian used when he warned Fuh chan to move.
Veni looked a little relieved as he knew Ma had gotten over a hurdle and wasn't going to physically retaliate so long as she didn't continue the assault, but he still was weary if the one next to him would since Ma momentarily saw red, despite Ma's continued actions to draw back.
Angered as he was, his mind was not young, rash, and compulsive. He was too old for that. A bit restless at times sure, but he has always been that way. He spent human lifetimes tolerating people he couldn’t or wouldn’t kill and he wasn’t about to make Fuh Chan look bad by his actions over a misunderstanding over a rodent. He was living in a world (Limbo) where he was “seen” under their laws and followed them even though it was like asking a tiger for its skin.(1) He would continue to demonstrate why he could, even though he wasn’t obliged to in this world. He was the viper that didn’t bite the farmer, the scorpion that made it across the water with the frog.(2)
Besides he knew she was suffering the pain of loss over his rat because he felt it…why was that? His thoughts were rapid as he searched for the reason for this anomaly. He occasionally swallowed more of his blood as he thought. Then the most likely reason dawned on him as what happened approximately 50 years ago came to mind and then other similar instances connected.
Veni was paying attention to Cian’s micro movements as well as Ma's. He could easily call Ma off or pull him away if he felt he needed to, unless he went feral, but, angered as he was, Ma wasn’t at the point of needing it as he was handling himself well. Besides Veni had that connection Cian envied a little and he knew Jianshen better than anyone else. He was more concerned for Ma’s safety at this point than Daphne’s because it appeared that she was the aggressor still while he’s trying to back off and if he lost it, he'd be the one to suffer apparently. He only hoped Cian could clearly see that she was. Though why the hell didn’t Cian use his telekinesis to pull her back when she went to slap him? Did he think he deserved it? Was he too focused on Jianshen’s movements to stop her? His emotions weren't elevated nor actions really aggressive before, but now his kid was angered and resentful. He could have easily lost it if he hadn't prudently gripped his hands behind his back the moment before she struck and then...Veni didn't want to think about that right now, but he would have most likely forcefully pushed her away. “Cian, friend, he’s not completely lost his composure yet, but he’s starting to feel cornered by her and you. He’s almost out of space to easily back off. We missed something. Earlier he was using a restraining hold and restricting his power, that I am sure you’re afraid he was using, the best he could.” Veni attempted to sound deadpan, but there was some concern in his voice. He wanted to coax Imperatrix over from under the couch and get a feel of what happened from her, but he dared not lest something happened.
Once his mouth stopped bleeding enough, he wiped the blood on his chin and lips with his finger, putting it in his mouth, slowly moving his hand behind his back again once the blood was cleared. While he was normally slow and thoughtful with his words he had to be more careful with them now. Fuh Chan and elder sister were fond of these two. They also weren’t normally overtly rude towards him. Even though he felt his forbearance of them go down, his weariness of them back to a previous position, he still acknowledged that they had been helpful in bad times for his family.
He did not want to be the cause of a rift between them because he couldn’t keep a level head. At the same time he couldn’t take much more of this painful strain on his self control over his nature or of this insult if it continued over a rat he would have handed over had he not been startled. A slap to the cheek was insulting; not long ago this country it was how you challenged someone to a duel with a glove, but people rarely kept gloves on hand anymore. What if she meant that? It didn't matter if she didn't....the first one was free, he wouldn't take another.
He got ready the sedative/tranquilizer made for vampires he carried with him while in Limbo; it was designed for one dose meant to calm him or any vampire it was applied to, which indeed hindered him as he tested it once to know the effects, but if that didn’t work to get him to fully stop there was a second one to knock him out. His closest student also had this restricted stuff. It was a safety measure he agreed to have due to his nature in order to live and teach his craft there. His own nature and particular power he acknowledged made it risky. Frankly he felt like he should jab himself, but the Other was still too close and temperamental for him to be willing to potentially put himself at such a dangerous disadvantage.
His thumb held the rat in place in his left hand while the other held the sedative he was ready to use should she try to strike him again in blind rage. Fuh Chan was apparently both being a barrier between him and Cian, waiting for what happened to reveal itself, and at the same time showing them he could control himself well; he would physically do so. He brought his hands forward from behind, overlapped left over right, bowing his head respectfully and faced Daphne with a calmer yet serious expression, though he couldn’t hide some of the resentment, looking like he swallowed bitter medicine. Then he spoke more formally towards her than he normally did, as if she was the senior despite his suspicions of a larger age gap than before, voice releasing softness over anger as he spoke faster than normal with no intention to allow anyone to get a word in before he was done.
"Jianshen is wrong and accepts this punishment for his misconduct. Jianshen will not accept further punishment from anyone for this act as being justified with the absence of the ability to defend himself fairly. If Mrs. St Clair intended for Ma Sifu to challenge her to a duel to further seek justice for what she perceives as a murderous offense, than Ma Sifu will indeed accept and challenge her to a non-lethal sparring match between the two of us under the condition of either Mr. St Clair is not present or, if that is not possible, he swears to not interfere in her favor against me.(3)
"If Mrs. St Clair lands a hit on this goeng-si again now or in the future, it will be seen as your affirmation to those conditions from both of you and we will proceed immediately to duel. This youth hopes that St Clair-cinbui (前輩, Cantonese, formal for elder/senior. Mandarin=qiánbèi) can prove this tyro's newfound and strengthened improper viewpoint of him wrong if he decides to not firmly protest his objections to her, if he has any, before Mrs. St Clair decides to initiate a duel at anytime. As a healer Mrs. St Clair is capable of recovering from injury faster than this lowly one." He said these last sentences with a dangerous warning tone, similar to the one Cian used, reclaiming one of his retreated steps, moving forward. He immediately continued with his previous softer tone.
“Jianshen also apologizes for the deep grief Mrs. St Clair is experiencing over the passing of the rat this old man purchased this morning for Imperatrix. He was not aware rats are a familiar of Mrs. St Clair. He will attempt to not think it is ridiculous he has to remember the multitude of animal types of everyone else’s familiars and also seem to be expected to be careful never to harm or murder them by some of those vampires; especially in regards to non-endangered species and fast breeding prey types he thinks they have no business being concerned for when they have never been acquainted nor have been established as favorable amongst all the other members of that species.
“This goeng-si recognizes he is wrong and careless to ignore his initial foreboding when Others he's evidentially too accustomed to and too trusting towards come in his direction with hastened steps just in case his presence or actions cause offense and will in the future leave first as he normally would to avoid a potential misunderstanding. This murderer also recognizes,” now he finally allowed his anger to seep like venom in his voice and show more clearly on his face as he continued, slowly raising his hands higher, head going lower to help hide the anger in his expression, “that he needs to work to be more careful with his grip, to further resist his impulsive reaction instincts that has helped keep him alive,” he enunciated each of the words ‘helped keep him alive,’ a complex haunted expression momentarily showed on his features as he said them before returning to what it previously was as if it was never there (not that anyone can see it since he’s facing the ground at this point and is roughly the same height as Daphne when standing straight),“and improve his self restraint when reacting to that instinct when he instantly feels threatened while in an easily compromised position when another vampire is running and yelling at him suddenly from behind when he’s crouching because a real threat wouldn’t have been as noisy...”
He straightened, lifting his head up, and reclaimed another of his retreated steps (ie he stepped forward again), body prepared to move out of there or react. Either way he was ready to leave or strike, as his left hand let the source of trouble dangle by its tail for all to see, before letting it go as she demanded earlier by tossing it in Cian's direction. "...and the soon to follow real threat can’t hear her clear loud audible words throughout the house, only the distressed noise of them; nor see this customarily polite one is reacting as restrained as he is able to, only perceives her struggle as he expects this Other (himself) to be the inevitable instigating barbarian(4) and is tunnel visioned as he looks for the Other’s hostile movements and misses her’s."
(So some potential reactions if you want to use them for your post so you don’t have to pause for my reply: If she comes at him angrily he jabs her with sedative, if she's calmed down to nonthreatening but tries to touch him he'll flinch, if she persists and does he'll push it off after a second and say that he 'might unintentionally severely hurt her' (which is true, but he's also trying to not embarrass her by being mean and put it mostly on himself, though very pointed, like he does in the dialogue because what he really means is '你不配' lit "you are unfit/unworthy" or "you don't deserve it" (to touch me)), if she stays in place without getting distracted by the rat and acts like a barrier he will try to leave still, same as last only she doesn't act like a barrier he will try to leave, if she goes for the rat or is distracted by it he takes the opportunity to side step to the exit and leave)
(1) This idiom is originally known as "Asking Foxes for Their Skin", but since Fox (狐, hú) and Tiger (虎, hǔ) in Chinese have very similar pronunciations, it gradually changed into "Asking Tigers for Their Skin". It refers to requesting somebody to act against his own interests (I have also seen it used for going against one’s nature and asking the impossible.)
(2) Farmer and the Viper is old Greek and Roman tale that Cian and Veni should know. Basically a farmer finds a viper frozen in the cold, warms it with his body, but as soon as the viper can move it bites the farmer who then dies. The frog and the scorpion is a tale of a scorpion who stings the frog while it crosses the water on its back and they both die.
(3) While Ma knows slap etiquette to Romans thanks to Veni, he’s assuming that it is more English/French/US meaning in which the slap (with a glove, but she doesn’t have one) is to initiate a duel based on what he knows. And if I recall the one who is slapped gets to set certain conditions and chose the weapon. A slap to the face is also very insulting in his culture as well. There’s also a Irish Code Duello for this, which I am not sure if he knows all the rules for but probably knows that there’s Irish duel etiquette. According to the rules on slaps it’s a sure fire way to initiate a duel. Ma would not consider conventional gender application for said rules when it comes to a vampire; that would be insulting considering his big sister and grandmother. He also specifically says "between the two of us" to indicate that he makes no such promise for any familiar summoned.
Irish Code Duello Rule 5. As a blow is strictly prohibited under any circumstances amongst gentlemen, no verbal apology can be received for such an insult; the alternatives therefore are—the offender handing a cane to the injured party, to be used on his own back, at the same time begging pardon ; firing on until one, or both, is disabled; or exchanging three shots, and then asking pardon, without the proffer of the cane. If swords are used, the parties engage till one is well blooded, disabled, or disarmed ; or until, after receiving a wound, and blood being drawn, the aggressor begs pardon. Note: A disarm is considered the same as a disable; the disarmer may (strictly) break his adversary’s sword; but if it be the challenger who is disarmed, it is considered ungenerous to do so. In case the challenged be disarmed, and refuses to ask pardon, or atone, he must not be killed, as formerly, but the challenger may lay his own sword on the aggressor’s shoulder, then break the aggressor’s sword, and say, “I spare your life!” The challenged can never revive that quarrel—the challenger may.
(4) Ma actually chooses to call himself barbarian primarily for this definition; “(in ancient times) a member of a community or tribe not belonging to one of the great civilizations (Greek, Roman, Christian).” It also includes the other meanings he wanted of “uncultured, uncivilized, savage, etc.” The word I initially thought to use was savage, but I remembered the word barbarian being used a lot in one of the recent books I was reading and saw that more western use of the word and was like oh yeah I remember reading that the early Christian missionary treated them like and often used the word barbarian to describe even the converted.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:28 pm
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(Not necessarily a post, but more how Nef reacts to it in my head.)
psychotic__Gal Daphne’s body was still on the floor for a moment after Jianshen released her. Adrenaline coursed through her, repairing the qi point that Jianshen had disturbed. She stood, eyes blazing and stepped toward Jianshen, her hand raised. "Daphne don't...!" Veni's voice came. The slap rang through the house, loud and clear as a bell. An audible hesitant step, arm squeeze, and jaw popping followed.
Nefretiri in the shadows of the next room listening to and feeling out the whole thing, completely aware of what started this, eating the proverbial popcorn sensing the tension rise and fall. Oooooh she's lucky he got his exercise today and that he respects her at the very least, otherwise I might have had to step in. Implying that a brawl might have ensued as Ma would have either pushed her away or asserted his dominance. The latter would have no doubt dragged the other two in. Unless Veni shadow bound him first since Ma was the hardest for him to verbally command once feral (though she could count the number of times she was aware of that happening on one hand and it was always triggered by some form of provocation)...Veni pinning him was most likely what would happen she concluded. In that case she likely wouldn't have to interfere.
BlackMN he allowed blood to escape his lips from his teeth catching his cheek in the hard, audible, slap.
He's bleeding. She actually injured him. Veni's really lucky...
BlackMN Jianshen will not accept further punishment from anyone for this act as being justified with the absence of the ability to defend himself fairly.
This is unusually bold of him. This sentence inferred that he wouldn't even accept it from Veni now or in the future, who he refers to with a really formal form of father, and would probably stir the pot if someone did try to further hold this against him.
BlackMN This youth hopes that St Clair-cinbui (前輩, Cantonese, formal for elder/senior. Mandarin=qiánbèi) can prove this tyro's newfound and strengthened improper viewpoint of him wrong if he decides to not firmly protest his objections to her, if he has any, before Mrs. St Clair decides to initiate a duel at anytime.
Hahaha. Oh gods! He actually managed to respectfully bring his elder's integrity into question?! Not only that, but he challenged it! Nefretiri wasn't quite sure of everything he meant by this statement, but picked that up. She found herself really amused by what was said and wasn't said by the end of his oration.
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Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2021 11:44 am
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He didn’t think she would actually slap Ma Jianshen. It was so quick. So wild. So out of character that he didn’t think she would actually do it. It was as her hand was centimeters from Ma Jianshen’s face that he understood what was happening. He reached for his power and found his voice with Veni’s ”Daphne D—“ But it was too late.
The slap rung true and clear through the house.
Cian winced. The show of blood, the implication. He muttered a curse in Greek, but otherwise did not drag a hand across his face in exasperation. He watched Jianshen like a hawk. One glance at Daphne had told him that she would no longer be a threat to the peace of the house.
Daphne stared at Jianshen through a cloud of red anger. Every line seemed blurred, every word seemed slow. But…
Oh…he’s bleeding Suddenly the red hot anger dissipated in a cloud of shame, confusion and cold reality.
He’s hurt. Was the vampire’s stricken thought. She had hurt someone. Oh no oh no oh no. She wanted to reach out again, with glowing fingers and a healing touch this time. Her fingers twitched to do so but her very arm felt as though it was lead.
As Jianshen spoke, Daphne felt herself become smaller and smaller, shoulders going inward, eyes wide but to the floor. What have I done? It was something she had thought she was beyond—some goal she had thought she had met: she wouldn’t hurt her friends again. What did you expect? A happily ever after?
Where Daphne’s reaction had been to move inward, Cian’s own attention was still external.
“Cian, friend, he’s not completely lost his composure yet, but he’s starting to feel cornered by her and you. He’s almost out of space to easily back off. We missed something. Earlier he was using a restraining hold and restricting his power, that I am sure you’re afraid he was using, the best he could.” Cian nodded, forcing his stiff posture to neutralize. He leaned against a piece of furniture to further demonstrate this relaxed posture. He wasn’t positive it would convince the others that he was non-threatening.
The kitten’s head peeked out from under the couch, her fur still on end. She could smell blood but it seemed that the shouting was over. Her head darted back under the piece of furniture. Still, better safe than sorry.
Cian’s eyes closed and a soft sigh escaped his lips. It seemed that Jianshen wouldn’t respond to Daphne’s…well, to the threat Daphne had posed. He would speak with her later about this—privately about this. The reactions she may have been accustomed to with groups prior would not due with a group of night walkers. A slap was a threat. It was a challenge.
Cian would need to ask Veni later how he could make it right. How he could fix (1) the situation as he had done countless times in the past for the woman in front of them. In the present, Cian bowed his head in agreement with Jianshen’s words. Should this happen again, he would stop her. He wouldn’t count on her…on her goodness to stop her.
”I understand.” He interjected softly but firmly.
But what had this all been about? Why had she screamed at Jianshen? Why hit him?
Jianshen also apologizes for the deep grief Mrs. St Clair is experiencing over the passing of the rat this old man purchased this morning for Imperatrix. He was not aware rats are a familiar of Mrs. St Clair.”
Oh. Cian’s fingers twitched again desiring to move across his face in exasperation. A rat caused this mess? Well that is new. He could agree with the ridiculousness of Daphne’s reaction…But often that first trickle of a bond with a newly identified familiar was tricky and difficult to navigate at best. Cian knew Daphne did not have much interaction with the other familiars they had identified. Still, he would work on this too with his wife.
Cian caught the lifeless body of the rat easily, glad that Daphne’s eyes were downcast. He would reach out to Jianshen individually to apologize for his inaction. Now was not the time. Now was not the place.
A roaring sound filled Daphne’s ears as anxiety and shame built themselves up from molehills into mountains, ”I am so sorry. It will not happen again.” These were the only words she managed before she fled from the room, stopping only to grab the body from Cian.
Cian did not follow but he heard the front door open and click closed. He finally allowed the movement he had restrained so long. His hand moved across his face with a sigh.
(1) Prior to Daphne and Cian reuniting, Cian would often “fix” the incidents where Daphne messed up—i.e. by drinking way too much. He doesn’t yet realize that this isn’t something he specifically needs to fix. If the conversation comes up later, you can definitely say something about how it’s not something Cian needs to do; how it’s up to Daphne to fix the situation. In fact, that could lead to more character growth in the future and lead to a potential decrease of Cian’s “protecc at all costs” instinct. TL;DR: I know it’s not emotionally healthy for him to ask this later
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psychotic__Gal Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:23 am
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Ma made a sighing aiya sound still not hiding his irritation in his facial expression. He did appreciate the humility Cian’s own body language was giving. It indicated that he was sorry and had poor judgment earlier, which is what Ma thought, over being cruel to him. “Tell her, if a criminal can become a Buddha after putting down his sword, why should a good person be condemned to hell after making a mistake?”(1)
The unnerving feeling of Rosemary's presence came and left as the door clicked as she exited to follow behind Daphne. Her intent was to be nearby to comfort her if she allowed it. Daphne had comforted her last night (3 years ago in posts XP). 'I do not believe you are a bad person—a monster. Nor do I believe you would do something beyond survival,' she had said.
“What year did she die?” When he got his answer (because Veni would give him an approximate year if Cian didn’t) Ma merely said, “...60...” (Note: Ma is almost 90 years older than her, but has been a vampire only about 60 years longer) in response and started to cross his arms, but then stopped making a hissing sound and slowly let his left arm drop to his side. Now that he was starting to relax, as he didn’t think the tiger in the room would pounce him, he was starting to feel his self-inflicted injuries. And stopping himself earlier hurt. The lump in his chest irritated him and he started to move towards the elders as they were in his way to his room.
“Bamboo will split with enough force.”(2) He showed off the tranquilizer he held in his right hand. “This is likely how I would have ended it.” He foisted it at Cian. “Examine (there’s information text on it), test on self if want. Please knock yourself out. Whatever you do, I need injector returned.”
Veni walked forward and summoned Imperatrix from under the couch and he started to pet her, gaining images of her viewpoint after Ma handed Cian the sedative. He offered her the dinner he had acquired for her and started purring in a soothing manner.
As soon as the tranquilizer was out of Ma’s hands he left at a fast pace without his normal polite overlapping of hands and excusing himself. His demeanor was one in a hurry to get out of there. Moments before he reached his door it was clear why as he coughed up some blood. “唉呀(Aiya). 鬼佬殭屍 囫囵吞枣.(3) 我以為我會死 (4).” He entered his room and Veni momentarily frowned with his back towards Cian at that last sentence.
[color =indigo]“Let’s re-examine this. Tell me if you think I am off.” The lights in the room dimmed while one of the walls shone bright with the defined shadows of a cat, a rat, and Ma on it. Veni’s finger was moving as if to a tune as the direction of the light was manipulated. If Cian focused on it, he’d realize his finger moved to the rhythm of the cat’s heart. What he pieced together from what Ma said and his cat saw played like an overly dramatized shadow puppet show on the wall with Ma crouched in front of the cat with a rat on the floor. The timing of events weren’t necessarily perfect before they came in as Veni wasn’t sure quite when in the sequence the rat died.
A spotlight appeared on the darkened wall next to the hall and Daphne’s figure rushed into the light, running towards him, then it showed a word bubble of distorted text as she got closer. The cat shadow bounced up in fright and ran. Ma grabbed the critter, stood while turning to face her when she was almost on him. Then a little comical ghost floated upwards from his hand right before he suddenly grabbed her arm and did his move to turn her away with her arm ending pinned behind her. The thought bubble, looking like it was on a stick rose from his head “What happening?! Why her?! I’m dead! Crap! Please calm down!” Under it said, “probably what he thought.”
Shadow Daphne flailed and the reel played that longer than it really would have occurred as Veni added in some of his own words sounding amused. "This isn't so bad. It's like rivals or siblings fighting with hindsight. I have seen Dan and Daisy get into worse fights than this. However this happening isn’t the problem... the problem is when we come in."
The words in a jagged action type word bubble,"YOU KILLED HIM, JIANSHEN! YOU MURDERED HIM! HOW COULD YOU?!" appeared on the wall as Veni had come in, heard that part, and quickly got into Cian's way. Veni’s own thought bubble, “I thought it was a miss-understanding when I came in and was worried that he would panic and really make a mistake if you got to him before you saw he was mostly calm.”
Ma’s thought bubble changed. “Aiya! Not the husband! This looks bad...” (probably what he thought still lingered.) Daphne struggled while Ma's shadow tried to hold her and not allow her to injure him, but suddenly he let her go too soon and backed away after the words ”Veni, my friend, you will want to move” appeared which was only a couple seconds after Cian had arrived. A pause in the play as Veni said a little less amused. "Right here is where I think the problem starts. He hopes we will prevent it from escalating if he backs off since he’s afraid to now."
It continued and the scenario slowed down as she approached him and Ma moved his hands behind himself as her hand raised. "He was surprised he was wrong and then instantly decided that it was better to bet on his self-restraint than risk touching her again.(5) I don't mind if he's intimidated of you as it is natural given our gap to him. I also understand why you are always a little on edge and would want to be intimidating. I would do the same in the reverse scenario (living around Cian’s family, just him and Rosemary). However this is the real problem if he’s this afraid of you the first time a scenario like this happens after years. When both of us can see Daphne was clearly not in any real danger from him, until she slapped him after he backed off. He feels 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' and he decides gambling on his self-restraint is the best option (damned if you don't). That was very risky! What if he failed?! That’s a trap cruel ones do! I don't think he can win that gamble again. He doesn't seem to think so either."
It then froze on the slap and Veni sounded annoyed now. "Right here he was handed everything he needed to make a case to push to get you to leave if he wanted. He just passed up the best opportunity he could have ever hoped to have to get rid of you without me resenting him a little.” The shadows in the background showed Ma not grabbing his arm in time for Daphne’s slap and the words on the wall showed Veni’s thoughts, "especially if he failed at this point. It would have been better on him if she managed to hit him while he was trying to deescalate." as shadow Ma moved to give Daphne a palm heel strike to the chest and stopped the scenario before it hit. It rewound a little and this time he went at her with his claws for another example, then another where but he failed in his slight pause in stepping backwards and changed it to a swift kick, since Veni couldn’t be sure what his first move would be.
Most of the irritation was gone from his voice as he continued. “All he had to do was word that differently or not get his hands behind himself fast enough, but he chose a reasonable warning with reasonable conditions so I owe him both a thanks and an apology. He has even already offered her an olive branch. Cian, they're close enough in age, accidents can happen between them. Just like some misunderstanding could easily happen between us.
"It's probably better if it happens between them than say someone she could easily overpower and kill on accident or some adversary who could more easily overpower her. If she doesn't experience it, she will not learn self control and might blow up on the wrong vampire. Several years and this is the first incident. You can't tell me you think this is common for him to lash out for no reason as well. He had his chance (when she was without you). I can't picture Ma taking offense to accidents or being unwilling to give another chance normally since she doesn't insult him except now. In fact he'd probably say the next day,” Veni indicated to the wall and Shadow Ma said while holding something towards her as the word bubble said, "it happens, candy?" Next it showed him put his hands in a particular way and move while saying, "your form was bahd. Hold hand here and move like this to get better result." He adjusts her position when she tries it. “Still bahd.” Then an image of them appeared of him even avoiding the subject as she brought it up with a cup of tea in hand. “I would really be surprised if he didn't beg your pardon for this instance if we hadn't showed up and it ended up being something entirely between them.
“So here’s something I want you to think about before you apologize to him; first think of all your encounters, think about what he does most nights in Limbo and what that truly means, and think about letting them be rivals if it happens again. As long as they're not trying to kill each other and we agree to pull them apart if it seems like they become too passionate, doing our best to not make them feel as he felt now; 'I thought I was going to die' is what he said. I think he would have absolutely freaked if you touched him since he had grabbed your wife without thinking. That looks bad even when you are not a vampire. Give it some thought and tell me if you rather she get in a tussle with a vampire like Ma who might get vicious and yes it will physically hurt more to be hit by him, but isn't mean spirited or cruel and isn't likely to look for a reason to goad or trap her into a conflict later so long as we treat him as we wish to be treated, or would you rather risk her experiences from someone you haven’t observed down the road that's likely the opposite?
However if you absolutely want him to keep his interactions to a minimum as he said he’ll leave first as he ‘normally would to avoid a potential misunderstanding’, distance himself as much as he can when he can’t retreat, and be polite when they happen, you'll have to tell her EXACTLY WHY she can't be his friend if that's one of her goals. No sugar coating it, no framing it like it’s him, no, the real reason he’s going to avoid her now. Oh and before I forget, those people you see him randomly attack (Rosemary, Jacob, Sephiroth, Githar, Galantros (I think), Dan, Daisy) had either already agreed to his little ambush game or are being tested because they're his student."
1) Background: A popular Buddhist saying goes, “Lay down the killing knife and instantly turn into a Buddha.” It is from the story about Angulimala who was a murderer until he met Buddha. He was so moved by the encounter that he instantly changed and became a monk. Buddha gave him a new name Ahimsaka which means harmless.
Post relevance: Ma doesn’t use the word murderer on purpose to try to be sensitive and not have a potential knife in that phrase after what she just called him and what he used to call himself when he was being pointed.
2) Bamboo is considered a gentleman’s plant and is one of four plants known as the Four Gentleman. It’s considered flexible, humble, and represents modesty, mental strength, and steadiness. He’s referring to the idiom 破竹之势 that means “like splitting a bamboo.” TL;DR He’s basically saying that they expected too much of him and what just happened almost broke him.
3) 囫囵吞枣 (hú lún tūn zǎo): idiom meaning “to swallow information without assimilating it. Lit Swallow jububes (dates) whole. Veni probably doesn’t know this idiom and what “swallowing dates whole” means...However he knows the other part of that sentence (鬼佬殭屍 囫囵吞枣), ask me about the first four characters in the sentence.
4) Meta reference: 我以為我會死 I went to a thread with Chinese speakers and asked how they would say "I thought I was going to die" just in case the online translator program wasn't correct...and this is what they gave me! In fact I was originally going to use 老明以為會死 which also translates to "I thought I was going to die" only I had replaced the generic I to Laoming (老明 Old Ming) in the front and got rid of the extra 我. They told me that the translator is usually accurate for English to Chinese, it's just the other way that it messes up especially when names are in there. However since they gave me this I used it. I might manipulate future simple sentences to have Laoming.
5) This is basically what he meant by newfound improper viewpoint; that he wasn’t expecting he would feel like he must shoulder the burden of everything and have Cian not stop her from escalating if he wasn’t allowed to attempt to. Basically he wouldn’t expect this kind of trap or feeling cornered in this way from Cian. He’s afraid of him yes, but he doesn’t think ill of him n that way. And the strengthened improper viewpoint is that Cian wouldn’t help him if it inconvenienced Cian and Ma needed it if Veni was gone; as people in Ma’s culture would when they become strong friends.
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Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:41 am
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”All this trouble for such a tiny creature.” Daphne murmered to herself once she was outside. Her speech was clouded with emotion though the words were not in English. She had reverted to her Gaeilge1 roots. Daphne felt Rosemary’s presence behind her before she heard the door click closed again. ”All this trouble for such a tiny creature.” She said again, this time in English.
Daphne picked her way to the garden with careful steps, she could not help but feel the bodies and the eyes of the little one’s brethren—if obviously not the same species than at least cousins. The animals were unnaturally still—knowing a predator was among them. She crouched down next to the soil, ”He deserves a proper burial.” She cut quickly through the earth, digging deep to discourage animal activity, ”Tusa mo bhuachaillín2” She said softly to the small body, ”You will nourish the earth now.” She paused laying the rat’s body in the hole, ”Níl luibh ná leigheas in aghaidh an bháis3. Ní duitse ar aon nós4” She sighed and began filling in the hole.
Once she finished, she stayed where she was for a brief moment before speaking again, ”Leave this one.” the vampire murmured to the rodents in the garden.
Daphne stood, dusting her hands. She turned to Rosemary, ”Rats.” She shook her head, ”One would think I would have found out about this long ago. They were just about the most common pest we had back then.” She looked up to the night sky, ”How bad do you think it will be—inside, I mean?”
Inside the manor, a kitten’s memories played in shadows on the wall.
Scuffles were common in families and covens. How could Cian have forgotten? He was a leader—a general. A war council. How many fights had he witnessed between siblings and friends? It was bound to happen here—natural even. Why was it different this time? Why did he fail to act—to stand her down? Better question still—why did he fail to hold himself in check? His jaw twitched. He had grown too comfortable here.
Cian chuckled darkly with the show and Veni’s flippant depiction of the events that had occurred. ”The passion and vigor of youth.” His tone was dry, ”Sometimes I forget what that was like.” He admitted, ”I am surprised you and I have not come to blows.” Cian shook his head.
”If I instructed her how to act with any of you, I am sure she would kill me.” Cian added, ”Thank you for your counsel though. I reacted poorly and for that I apologize. I did not intend to offend you or your family. I will…try to keep myself in check. I will take a step back. I will try to trust that all will be well.” He rolled his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair, distributing the lingering tension that had developed earlier. ”I will talk to Daphne about the fights between peers. I will explain that they are natural—good even.”
1 Gaeilge : Early Modern Irish language.
2 Tusa mo bhuachaillín: My brave boy
3 Níl luibh ná leigheas in aghaidh an bháis: There is no remedy or cure against death (a common idiom)
4 Ní duitse ar aon nós* : Not for you anyway
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psychotic__Gal Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:43 pm
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Day 2 of story time.
Present Day
AKA avoiding the main story
Rosemary finished speaking in Slavic(1) ending it with Amen to reveal it was a prayer appearing self-conscious and uncomfortable saying it. She unfolded her arms and tried to look approachable or open instead of closed off; to be in that I will take or give you a hug type position if you want one. But she admittedly looked awkward at it as well as she usually does when offering comfort. “Familiars… don’t quite vork like zat. Zometimes or maybe often ze connection iz made under stress. One vould think one of mine vould be un bear instead of un fox. It could be bear zome day.”
Rosemary leaned her head towards the building after commenting on familiars to get an answer if she thought it would be bad inside. She has left before finding out if the husbands were about to explode, but she didn’t think they would. Her eyes unfocusing a little, body becoming still, and looking like she was tuning into a different frequency or straining to listen to something far away. Seph, who was still in Jianshen’s room, was curious what happened but he wasn’t going to ask. Instead he was thinking on the strange flow of internal energy that he couldn’t fix with his healing spell. Jianshen allowed a pair of hands to tap his back to heal his wounds a little quicker with less of his energy so that he’d crave hunting for blood a little less from the help. His thoughts were a mess as he worried about this, bashed himself for that, was thinking about the things he should have done, and wondered why he didn’t jab her with the sedative sooner. She even dared check Nefretiri who was in the very next room from the husbands laughing in her head at the whole thing. She then greeted Rosemary and put up a wall on her thoughts that Rosemary would have to put effort into it she wanted to further know what was on her mind. This made her think she allowed her to look intentionally. Rosemary held back a frown.
“Surprisingly calm,” she eventually said becoming more animated again. “Efen our husbands are mostly calm. You two are ze only ones upset. Do not vorry Daphne, he’s not efen really upset vith you.”
If a criminal can become a Buddha after putting down his sword, why should a good person be condemned to hell after making a mistake? Daphne heard what he said in his voice in her head. “He knows zat ze reverse could haf easily happened und hopes to receive un similar grace eef it does. Zis happenz. Ve all go a little crazy at times und zis instance vaz mild I think.”
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Veni merely smiled at Cian’s comment about the two of them coming to blows. He could say a bit on the matter as to why they haven’t, give many reasons as to why he wouldn’t want to but the main reason was…Cian could leave anytime he wanted and he couldn’t for very long so he wanted the company. It helped that neither Cian or Daphne were really temperamental or really liked to hunt and kill and they were able to provide alternate sources easily thanks to their friends so they weren’t competing with Veni’s family. Cian said nothing about it so long as they kept to themselves, nor did they flaunt it either. Veni for the most part tried to abstain which was easier when Jacob was around. Most of them tried to abstain to some degree except Dan and Daisy unless they needed to and Ma being most successful at it for years until Nefretiri tempted him.
Before Nefretiri came back Veni didn’t feel he was able to travel for very long since he was one of the few left that could easily fend off most challengers to the area and the other that could, Rosemary, he allowed her to do whatever she wanted for the most part. She never traveled far for long when Nefretiri was here. If he roamed it would eventually leave vampires like Dan and Daisy no place they could easily return to. And what if she had come back and he had abandoned what was left? Unless he left this world she would eventually find him; she always did.
“You haven’t really challenged me and I don’t find you unreasonable most times… and... I don’t want to... I have been in enough exciting fights this decade…” He sounded tired as he sighed the last sentence and then whispered, “far too many...” He enjoyed the safe mock battles they were able to do now thanks to their friends’ advanced technologies, but he didn’t desire a real fight...least not one that would be a challenge and risky to him. They already lost much.
“Thank you. I will not take offense as long as you give him the benefit of the doubt and merely restrain him if he has a similar crazy moment. He avoids actions he thinks will make me look bad...so of course I knew it had to be some mistake. I was just afraid you know... Afraid if I hadn’t gotten here first to at least give you pause that he would have reacted poorly." It was Veni’s turn to run his hand through his hair. “He doesn’t deserve that, she doesn’t either." On the wall it said Nefretiri’s energy doesn’t help...Nefretiri and Rosemary combined makes it worse. This has been unusually mild for her.
"I'd be a little nervous as well in that position.” He grinned, but he was thinking about it being Rosemary who went a little crazy and Cian being caught in a similar position. He wouldn't have to worry about Veni's initial accusing ire because she's a handful. "They’re at that age where they’ve survived many of the harder hurdles(2) and are becoming more difficult targets for ones even double their age and want to do their own things with less interference. Think it’s similar to the teenage years?” On the wall it said, does your sire let you be mostly independent? Or does she still act like you're still young and there's more than a few out there that could easily challenge you?
1) The Orthodox Church in Romania used Church Slavonic for its liturgical language until the 17th century when Romanian began to replace it. Much like how Roman Catholic’s used Latin for the liturgical language until more recently. I hear that there’s still churches in the state that do Church Latin for the mass.
2) I.E. Certain inner despairs such as everyone they knew being dead if they didn’t inherit the detached trait. Knowing that their line of decedents (Ma’s case) didn’t likely survive famines, wars, and disease that happened. Becoming relics and not really belonging in their home area. The rest of the world changing beyond recognition around them; such as end of era, new technologies, loss of technologies, etc. And of course the outer ones of being either picked on or killed off by other vampires, humans, etc. |
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