Hei (Li Shenshung) (
mortemscintilla) wrote in
poly_chromatic2013-11-05 10:55 pm
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
Entry tags:
♦♦ 32ND CONTRACT - ANONYMOUS TEXT/ACTION
A light show. Just what's needed after a month of witches and possessed goats. Sure, everything seems mellow now. No zombies or general epidemics. But distractions are just that. Distractions. No amount of Burning Man rituals and fireworks take away from the fact that everyone is still stuck here. That's not exactly something worth celebrating.
Still, it could be worse.
Of course that's a mixed blessing. Some of you are only tolerable in the pitch dark.
Options For Run-Ins:
Cafe: You'll find him behind the display case, sliding in a fresh tray of pinwheel cookies, a sprinkling of flour on his nose. Canapes, bonfire toffee, sausage roll-ups, sticky chocolate pudding, baked apples with cinnamon ... It's like he's trying to kill the City with saccharin-induced diabetes. Maybe he is.
Hey. At least it's a tasty way to go.
Xanadu: Crunching on a toffee-apple, he drifts through the park. Watching, not the brilliant displays in the dark sky, but his periphery. He's still in the habit of thinking operationally, and is as matter-of-fact about it as he is effective. But that doesn't mean he can't stop, for a moment, to listen to the crack-snap-pop of sparklers, or watch the glittering streaks of color exploding like supernovas above.
Anywhere Else: The dark is his element, and he utilizes the opportunity to explore. He stops by the City's outskirts, looking out at the sweep of the lakes, the glittering buildings, the glittering fireworks blossoming in the sky. Festivities seem to be dwindling, and who could've anticipated that he'd feel so rueful about that. Then again, all tonight is, is a lull, before some new curse threatens to snatch everything away in one big explosion of chaos. Whatever intervals of quiet he indulges in are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
Still he doesn't mind this pause. It makes things better and worse at the same time -- but sometimes it's necessary too.
[ ooc: Don't be fooled. Despite the general grumpiness, Hei is actually rather enjoying the fireworks. Backtagging friendly forevermore; I'll be very slow this week<3 ]
Cafe;
[After all, he went to where she worked all the time. Just in case, though, she stayed in the back. A mere observer of the pastries, as though she was uncertain of their worth and didn't know if she wanted them or not. Hei didn't have to interact with her if he didn't want to. She just wanted to do what he did....]
Cafe;
[ 'Li' has just applied a fluffy layer of white icing to a gingerbread house. Not for aesthetics but because the surface is a smidge burnt. This way though, it's invisible. No one eating them will taste the difference, certainly. (Funny how that applies to so many things. Cruelty and depravity are barely recognizable under a pretty disguise.) When the doorway bell chimes, he glances up with a professional smile. Staff are hovering about; a few chatty customers dot the tables. His voice is pure 'Li' when he says, ]
Can I help you, Miss Yin?
[ Easygoing smile, paired with a whiff of Is something wrong? He can't imagine why she'd be here -- unless she was in trouble. ]
Cafe;
[Yin herself turned in the direction of the fluffy treats while her specter did the real observing.]
I just wanted to look.
Cafe;
[ One surprise after another. When was the last time anyone heard a Doll say I and Want in the same conjunction? A year ago, Hei would've been skeptical. Suspicious. But now, he just sets the white-topped cake away, sidling over to Yin. It's hard to tell if his smile is genuine (It always is). But his eyes radiate a gentle good humor. ]
Are you sure you just want to look? We have a sample tray, if you'd like to pick something out.
[ To demonstrate, he draws up a sheet from the display case. On it is a miniature stove with little pots of chocolate, fruit tarts, cherry rimmed cupcakes, and a troupe of pulled-sugar clowns. ]
Cafe;
[Now that she was, she was looking over treats and now Yin was faced with making a decision. It was harder than it should have been. She could no longer eat, no longer get any sensation from the task, and it had been nearly pointless before.]
[In the end, she points to the smallest fruit tart.]
Cafe;
[ Private like that quiet, fizzling sensation of amusement, as Yin chooses a tiny fruit tart. ]
Excellent choice, [ 'Li' murmurs, whisking the tart onto a lacy paper tray and handing it to Yin. ] Would you like a hot drink to go with that?
[ His break is in ten minutes. Maybe he can sit at a table with Yin. His managers frowns upon Li gossiping with customers -- but the manager can fuck off. ]
Cafe;
[She nods to the offer for a drink, then answers softly:] Tea. [She doesn't consider asking for a blend. She'll just leave that up to Hei.]
Cafe;
[ It's the right brew for the afternoon. If the day was chillier, and if Yin had chosen a big meal, Hei would've served her pu erh. Once he's directed Yin to a seat, he bustles about getting the rest of the orders ready. Somehow, knowing she's in the cafe makes Hei hyperaware of his surroundings -- the low murmurings of the customers, the tinkling of crockery in the kitchen, the warm sugary smells of cake, the bustling staff exchanging words. It is laughable, how people miss the obvious -- laughable and fortunate, Hei supposes -- and interesting too, to be just a breathe away from his teammate in public. ]
[ When his break begins, he brings the tea service, complete with a clear pot, and pours for Yin, shafts of afternoon sunlight slanting low-angled and golden through the window to halo her table. It seems almost ridiculously symbolic. ]
Cafe;
[She's unable to fully appreciate the beauty of the pot he's brought her, but she does turn towards it.]
Cafe;
[ His hands curls loosely together on the table. Leaning in, he pitches his voice to Yin's ears alone, ]
I can pack up more hot tea for you, whenever you're leaving.
[ It might imply, indirectly, that he wants her gone soon. But Hei doesn't. Puzzling as her presence here is, he enjoys having her under his nose. Enjoys the sense of two worlds, external and internal, colliding. ]
Cafe;
[Fortunately, any possible implications don't register for Yin. Hei has his ways of making himself clear when necessary to speak in code, so she takes no other meaning from his words about the tea. She gives a nod.]
[The tea is the only thing she touches. The tart remains on the tray. Yin eventually pushes it, slightly and slowly, in Hei's direction, indicating he should eat it. It will do nothing for her.]
Cafe;
[ He raises an eyebrow when she nudges the tart at him. It's rare that he's not hungry. Or that he turns down food unless it's poisoned. He takes the morsel without comment. But, like once before, he snaps it in half. He pops one bit into his mouth, and quietly navigates the other past Yin's lips. In the cafe, in full sunlight, it seems almost cheekily flirtatious. But all that underlies the gesture is a moment of good humor. ]
[ Those are rare enough as it is. ]
Cafe;
[Her eyes turned up, a fraction, to feel the tart slip into her mouth. There's no point in eating it, she can't really taste it, it isn't needed, it won't nourish her, but Yin takes a small bite.]
Cafe;
[ Of the two, the latter has had the more lasting effect. ]
[ He doesn't tell Yin that. Not because he can't express it, but because he sees no need to. It's enough to sit here with her, the sunlight discoloring from pale gold to buttercup orange, and enjoy the imperfect silence. ]
Cafe;
[She steps back just as easily as she stepped into the memories. Yet, she continues to hit the replay button.]
[Right now, all of that is furthest from her mind, Hei being the forefront. He, too, is illuminated, the sun almost piercing and painful behind him. Still, Yin uses her observer spirit to keep looking at him.]
[The tart, one small bite taken from it, is left at the side. Their silence, much like the peace she finds with July, is companionable and mutual. There's no strained need for conversation and an awkward search for words. No pressure. Just Hei and Yin. They fail to be any simpler.]