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With this, we have reached the end of this month's commissions! My apologies again for how long this took. Next time, we should be back to business as usual.
The prompt this time: the second part of the adventures of Kong Ves! Find the first part here if you're confused. Hope you all enjoy!
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Running the through the tunnels is easy, thoughtless work- and as it turns out, talking with Ming Hui is just easy and thoughtless. I barely need to consider my words while I chat with the chef. All I need to do is mention that I've never tried to eat eel before and he's off to the races. Ming Hui takes the lead from there, deciding that since I've never before tried eel, that must mean my palette is horrifyingly underdeveloped, and he waxes eloquent about all the other foods I must try in this life time.
And it's good that the conversation and running are easy. Despite the pleasantness of trading words with Ming Hui, my mind is a thousand miles away.
As we run, I plan. I'm not going to survive this without a plan, and I definitely can't follow Zhi's original plan. I'm not sure, but it's probably safe to assume I don't have his penchant for surviving stupid things that should kill me. So that means a whole host of main plot shit has to be pushed to the side. I'm not going to look for the Second, I'm not going to talk with Jai Shouxi and his clarity at
all, and I'm definitely not going hunting alone. Tiaoyue would have a field day with me- but fuck, even the Earthroot Ox or the Camel Turkey is more than I can handle on my own!
No, I need to do things differently. I need to play things quiet and keep as low a profile as possible.
So I won't live in the Spire; I'll follow Ming Hui and wind up where he does. I won't go to Elder Yixue's class. That triggers the Jin flag, and I need to buy as much time before that happens as I can. Instead I'll... I don't know, hit up Sela? Actually take a combat class so I don't die? Or-
Oh, I know! The answer is, once again, Ming Hui. He needs an assistant chef. I can volunteer my services- hell, I can even make kitchen charms for him! That should keep the Kongs off my back as I try and figure out step two of the plan. Plus, the Immortal Chef path has its dangers, but nothing there is going to mutate me!
...I think. Did I put something there that would mutate me? Fuck I hope not.
Anyway, stay low, hang with Ming Hui, get fat as I figure out what I'm doing. Solid plan, easy plan, a plan so foolproof that even I can't fuck it up. Not bad for a few minutes of running.
But my plan, my beautiful plan, doesn't last long.
It barely makes it to the end of the run. Because that's when I start cycling anam for myself.
And
holy fuck, that's the good shit.
Anam is… well, it's… I… well… I've never gotten high before. Never done a drug. Not because I want to be straightedge or because I thought about it, but because I never really had the chance. I didn't leave home for college, I don't exactly know a bunch of people who can hook me up, and I'm not about to wander onto a Philly street corner asking random people if they can sell me 'One Drugs, please!'
But if I had? I can't imagine it'd be a better high than anam.
It's like a fucking power cord is stuck right in the back of my neck, but it's not carrying electricity. It's carrying delicious food and the feeling of triumph and the knowledge that everything is going to work out at the end of a sad movie and the excitement of a fresh start and a thousand other things that I do not have the words to describe. And by the time Elder Lei tells me that I've filled up as much as I can, one truth has been burned into my mind like it's been shoved there with a branding iron:
I need to get me some more of
that.
So I do. The rest of my plan… ok, the rest of my thoughts that might one day have grown up to become a plan if they drank their milk and worked real hard… fall by the wayside. There's nothing else on my mind but figuring out how to cycle more aspects- and aspects that are better suited for me. Earth and Mud… they're goddamn invigorating, but once you get past the whole 'energy of creation' thing, it feels like chugging day old coffee mixed with irish creamer by a convenience store clerk who's just heard of sugar but hasn't really figured it out yet. Namely: disgusting.
So I need other aspects, and I need them pronto. It's a thought that stays with me even as I wait for Ming Hui, even as we pick out the home he picked in Path Proper, and even as the energy vanishes, leaving me a hollowed out husk that can only be made human again with enough sleep.
The next morning, the thought is less intense, but no less present. I wave goodbye to Ming Hui and leave our boring house, heading for the outskirts of the Courtyard. I've got no idea where the Natural Wonders are, but I can find one. You can't go through six caves in the Heart without stumbling on three of the things. All I need to do is be persistent- and avoid being eaten.
A crowd is already gathered near the exit to the courtyard, huddled around a post driven into the earth. Oh, right- the class list. I should at least check it out. Elder Yixue's class may be something to avoid, but I should know where the others are and when they're meeting. I haven't written much about Elder Fensui; maybe he's less of a dick than Yixue and Tian?
As I get closer, I start picking out more faces that I only know from my thoughts. The silver hair of the Jai Twins. Xu Yun's blonde mop. The large straw hat of Sun Yijun. The imperial glare of Zhuan Kun.
...and towards the back of the crowd, looking confused, the weathered face of Nokai.
My feet slow to a crawl without my input. Oh. Right. She's not besties with Mo Hanying yet and doesn't have any other friends. Without Zhi, she doesn't even know what those posts say.
I shouldn't. Nokai has 'plot relevant' written
all over her. Maybe literally- I've got no idea what her tats mean! I should just move on and let her fend for herself. She'll be fine!
But… she looks very, very lost.
...fuck.
I move towards her and raise a hand. "Excuse me!" I call out. "Do you need-"
Nokai spins towards me, eyes set in a fierce glare, and I freeze. But not because of anything she's doing- I've been glared at before, I'll be glared at again- but because of what the motion reveals. Hanging from the front of her robe is the dark eyes, pink tongue, and white fluff of Xue. And the motion also draws the rest of her pack around her. Zhao, Lu, and Lan all stare at me, daring me to take a step closer.
And I can't help myself. I look at Nokai for a moment and gesture at her dogs. "May I?" I ask.
Nokai's glare morphs into a confused grimace. "What?" she asks.
"Your dogs," I elaborate. "Can I pet them?"
Nokai looks at her pack and then at herself, and then more specifically at the tattoos covering her hands. She wiggles her fingers as if to prove that they're still there, then looks back at me. "You want pet dog," she slowly drawls out. Her voice is deeper than I imagined and seems to carry almost a country twang to it.
I nod eagerly. "Yeah, can I? Please?"
"Uh, yes?"
I don't need any more encouragement. I step forward and drop to a knee, extending the back of my hand towards the dogs. They look almost as confused as their mistress and all give her plaintive looks. But it's Lan who makes the first move, padding forward and giving my hand a tentative sniff.
Whatever he finds there must not be too displeasing. He takes another step forward and that's when I
strike. I reach out and pet wherever I can reach, scratching behind his ears, his ribs, that sensitive spot on his snout that all Beardies I've ever met like, and everywhere in between.
My mouth moves without input. "Aw, who's a good boy? Is it you? I think it's you! Who's the best little puppy in the whole wide world? I bet it's you! Or maybe it's you! Nah, it's definitely
you. Who's a good boy? Who is? Who's it? Whose? Huh?"
Nokai watches the scene unfolding before her with wide eyes. "Lan not puppy," she corrects me.
I scoff and glare up at her. "He
is," I insist. "He is a dog. All dogs are puppies. Ergo, Lan is a puppy. And so is… this one!" I barely hold myself back from naming Lu, as the Scottie decides that my friendliness isn't a ploy and approaches me for his own pets.
I've got no idea how long it takes me to thoroughly pet all the dogs, but I get the job done. My hands cramp as I stand up from the sheer amount of scratching I've had them do. Hey, this could be good training! Bring me dogs, I'll pet them, and it builds my endurance! I'll need to remember that. I grunt out a satisfied sigh and nod at Nokai. "My thanks. Oh, and I am Zhi. Er...Kong Zhi. Thank you for allowing me to pet your dogs. They are good boys."
Nokai is still watching me with narrow, confused eyes. "Dogs kill many," she says bluntly. "Whole bunches. Why pet?"
"Because they're
dogs," I answer. "They need to be pet." The sheer enthusiasm in my voice is enough to convince Nokai that I'm harmless, at least for the most part. She introduces herself and happily accepts my offer to translate the words on the post.
But when I'm done, she doesn't instantly take off for Elder Fensui's class like I expect her to. Instead she stays still and asks, "What class you take?"
"Um, I wasn't planning on taking one right now," I answer. "I wanted to…" Find a Natural Wonder and cycle from it until I popped "...explore." At Nokai's judging look, I hurry to defend myself. "The classes will still be there tomorrow, and I want to be sure that I have a good lay of the land!"
Nokai gives me a nod. "Right. Let's go."
That gives me pause. "...what?"
"Explore!" she cheers. "Make sure know where all is. You know fight?"
I shake my head slowly. "I'd struggle beating up a six-year old."
Nokai nods gravely. "Can tell. Stay back; get in way of hunt. Keep watch; if see, point and scream. Finish rest."
Then she's gone, leading the way and clearly expecting me to follow.
...which I do. I do the moment my feet work again, following Nokai into the wilds. She leads the way right into a nearby tunnel and continues to do so until the six of us reach a fork- but then she stands back and gives me a questioning look, clearly asking my opinion on which path we should take. I shrug and point at the left one and then we're off again
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. I did
not want to get on the plot's radar like this.
But hey, could be worse. At least Nokai won't let me get killed. And she may teach me how to fight if I ask nicely! The Slaughter Claw isn't as eloquent as the Hummingbird's Dance, but it definitely holds it's own.
But more importantly, there will be dogs. I can't see a problem stemming from any course of action that involves dogs.
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Enjoying Kong Ves? The next one can be found here!