text / action - northern section of Xanadu Gardens

[sleepingstar]

[ action ]
[Pai is bowled over by a sudden, aching sense of loss. The Gate is gone. How can the Gate be gone? She's the only one with the power to destroy it. And yet --

A moment passes and she finally registers surroundings (a testament to her disorientation; she's never once been shocked enough to lose sight of her surroundings until now). Wherever this place is, it isn't South America. Which means the odds are good that it isn't the Gate that's gone; it's her.

Who what when where and why are all questions she wants answered, but first and foremost, she needs to establish whether her team is here. She reaches into her pocket for her radio, but finds a network device instead.

Curiouser and curiouser.]

[ text ]
Twice I've gone to the garden, but not once have I found a spring starflower.

[If anyone from her unit is here, they'll recognize the code for her call sign BK-201.]

I think I'll give up and look for moss. I've got two hours to kill.

[After typing out that message, she heads towards the northern part of Xanadu to secure a location and wait for two hours.]

Comments

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei's eyes slip shut. On a heavy exhalation, he leans in, circling an arm around Pai. His head drops, cheek pressing to the top of her skull. Her hair is warm and slippery against his skin, and his voice is quiet when he says, ]

Aside from cooking in the cafe? And a few odd jobs Underground? Nothing.

[ His tone is dubious, as if he's fallen into a trap. As if it isn't peace he's experienced in the bargain, but an infection of complacency corroding his skills inside-out, letting him sink into the illusion of something familiar and routine. ] It's habit that has me maintaining an alias here. There are a number of supernatural beings. Even some with abilities like ours. But if an enemy from home ever arrives -- it's a risk I can't take. [ Back home, he could solve the issue with a clean kill. When a loose end is burned that's all there is to it. But not here. For all that 'Li' can be an irksome burden, he also allows Hei to play fly-on-the-wall. His persona is a curious mix of freedom and fetters. ]

[ (That, and it's easier to slip into a second skin, especially when you're still uncomfortable in your own.) ]

[sleepingstar]

So you're just a cook. [He may sound dubious, but Pai smiles, and butts her shoulder against his.] That's wonderful. [No Syndicate controlling him. Nobody making him kill even though it makes him miserable. He's finally free of the life her Contractor powers trapped him into. (Not that he seems to appreciate it. Stupid brother.)]

[mortemscintilla]

[ (Stupid brother indeed.) ]

[ He hears that gently chiding note in her voice. Wonders, how he can explain. That the war -- his profession -- have left him hollowed-out, his only means of negotiating the world reduced to alternating detachment and violence. People who haven't had that kind of experience -- civilians -- they don't understand. It's like they live in two dimensions and he lives in three. Each lull is just that. A lull. It's only when he's back on the frontline -- neck-deep in action -- does that fitfully drowsing part of him stir to wakefulness, while his surface persona melts away like a dream. ]

[ He can't say that. The disfiguration to his psyche -- that's his problem. A uniquely human one. He doesn't want it to negate her sacrifice. He's grateful for everything she did for him. ]

[ But more than that, he's grateful she's here. ]

Not just any cook. [ Almost dryly, ] A pastry chef.

[ Years of killing people with electric-shocks and blades. Now he's killing them with calories. ]

[sleepingstar]

A pastry chef? [The surprise in her voice sounds like it presages gales of laughter, though of course none comes. Laughter is a hard thing for her to feign, and with Hei, there's no point. He can likely sense her amusement anyway.]

So you make alfajores and brigadeiros?

[mortemscintilla]

And Angel Chins and Pudim de Laranja.

[ He exhales a breath that sounds both self-deprecating and wry. He won't admit how much he's enjoying this. The almost-smiles. The light banter. It'd be so easy to get used to it. It's a detail that makes him want to be cautious -- as if the slightest misstep or blatant show of happiness will snatch her away again.) ]

I can also make twelve different types of cappuccinos.

[sleepingstar]

Angel Chins! [She nudges him.] You'll make some for me, won't you?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei lets off something that comes dangerously close to a soft chuckle, like a woof, blooming from his lips. So often she's made him laugh, human or Contractor, just by being, just by remaining herself around him. Even in the war, when there was nothing to be happy about, when everything was disintegrating -- they'd both fit into each others' orbit, both strong and pulling in the same direction. Both able to sacrifice so much for the cause of family. ]

[ Until Pai vanished -- and it all dribbled away from Hei. ]

[ Circling an arm around her, he presses a kiss -- light, rueful -- to the top of her head. ]

Whatever you like.

[sleepingstar]

Good. [She reaches out to squeeze the hand wrapped around her.

And.....speaking of food.......her stomach grumbles. Loudly.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Well. That's... ]

[ Hei blinks a moment, then smiles. Shifting, he rolls to his feet, drawing Pai up with him, her hand tucked in his. He takes a beat to brush the grass from his clothes, and the fuzzy tufts of cottonwood that have drifted into his and Pai's hair. But it's a lackadaisical effort in comparison to his usual precision; he's not bothered. There's too much else to focus on -- a rush of decisions and responsibilities that will swamp him, soon enough. But right now, it doesn't register. A big crazy sunrise opens in him instead, so he wonders if there isn't light pouring out of his skin to outmatch that pouring in-between the tree-branches. The strangest thing is how natural it feels, as if it's happening in a dream where logic can be anything the mind makes of it. ]

[ It won't last, he knows. But until then, he turns to Pai and says, ]

Let's get you something to eat.

[sleepingstar]

Will you make it yourself? [He's always managed to do wonderful things with meager military rations; she wants to taste what he can do with real ingredients. (She also just enjoys watching him cook. If she hadn't become a Contractor and he hadn't been dragged into the Syndicate with her, she always thought he would become a chef. Cooking is the closest she's ever seen him to happy.)]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei leads Pai out from the park, his sneakers squishing on grass and then pavement as they drift toward his flat. It doesn't take him long at all to grow accustomed to hosting her hand in his, to hearing her footsteps tick-tocking in tandem with his own. (He'd know that little hand, know those light footsteps, anywhere.) ]

Sure. If you can be patient. [ Teasingly, like his fridge isn't well-stocked on snacks to tide her over with. Hei doesn't believe in starving himself; he's always eaten actual food and then worked his body into shape. Carbs and sugar are not the enemy, sitting on your ass all day is. Anyway, cooking is one activity that stirs nothing but good associations for him. Contractor or human, Pai had to eat, and he'd long ago learnt that he always liked feeding her. ]

How does some Zhejiang cuisine sound?

[sleepingstar]

[When isn't she patient? Patience is a Contractor's greatest virtue.]

Dongpo pork? [The hopefulness may be feigned but nonetheless sincere.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ He knows she's patient. More patient than he'd ever been, in the war. That quality was something he was compelled to hone in her absence. Playing mindgames, exploiting marks, learning to coax out secrets and push hot buttons with uncanny precision. It's what allows him to read Pai's hopefulness now, as both the performance and the real-deal that it is. (In the past, he always worried about whether it was one or the other. His definitions of Contractors and humans were so static. He couldn't accept that it might be both.) ]

[ Squeezing her hand, he teases, ]

Those who help assemble ingredients get to lick the bowl later.

[sleepingstar]

Nn! [She swings his hand back and forth, playfully, the way he used to do to her as a child.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei gives her one of his quiet, sidelong smiles, letting her swing their hands in a goofy arc as he leads her out from under the shadows of the trees, into the middle of the quiet street. When they were children, back before the Gates appeared, he remembers them being sent to school in the dark chilly mornings this way, holding hands through their mittens. They'd stand apart from the other children at the sidewalk, wrapped up in their own little games of imagination and childish subterfuge. Such a distant memory, yet the nostalgia of it stirs a sharp cramp in his gut, where the tension is already playing hell so he's not sure he can eat anything. Yet in this moment he feels unaccountably giddy, as if he's back in his rightful place. ]

[ In many ways, he is. With Pai, it's easy to be at home anywhere. ]

[ He plans to make the most of it. ]

[candothat]

[Pavel almost doesn't recognize Hei. Not only is he with someone--and they're holding hands!--but also smiling. He considers continuing on his way and not being a bother. Curiosity won't have any of that. The Russian changes course to intercept them.]

Hello!

[sleepingstar]

[Pai notices a young man approaching them, and she quickly calls up a crackle of electricity to deal with whatever threat he may represent. She glances sideways at Hei, checking to see if this young boy is friend or foe.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hearing the cheery Hello, Hei tenses -- a strong delocalized spasm like a retch. It's not anger so much as annoyance. Here comes the rest of the world. Already encroaching on this private little reunion of theirs, trying to make it impossible. Except he knows he's not being fair. Pavel isn't prying. He's just being his usual open, curious self. On a tired breath, Hei opens his mouth to speak -- but senses Pai's energy shift into something dark-bright and cold a split-second before she summons an electric charge. ]

[ The adrenaline -- crepitating high since Pai's arrival -- angles up to a roar of blood in his ears. ] Pai. Don't. [ He doesn't snap it. His tone is measured, his body-language non-threatening as he interposes himself between his sister and Pavel. (Her attitude doesn't surprise him at all. She's fresh off the battlefield, her mind still adhering to its unspoken rules and risks. It reminds Hei of how he felt, in the days post-Heaven's War. Always tense, always hypervigilant, feeling as if some enraged monster was chasing him, reaching clawed hands for his throat and the vulnerable back of his head.) ]

It's fine. He's not a threat. [ Soothing, but edged with a firm weight. After a beat, he glances at Pavel. ] ... Hello.

[ Because, really. What else can you say? ]

[candothat]

[The abrupt shift in mood doesn't escape Pavel's moment and, for a moment, he's pretty sure that he has just made a very unfortunate mistake. As Hei calls the girl off, he makes a mental note to (try to remember to) approach people with more caution.

Especially people Hei seems to know.

With hands folded behind his back (he would like to keep all of his digits, thank you), Pavel shoots Hei a nervous smile that's more a question than an expression of emotion.] Ah. Perhaps I am interrupting.

[sleepingstar]

[Hei speaks, and Pai lets the charge die, implicitly trusting his judgement. (And knowing that it would take less than a split second for her to call it up again. This young man could be dead the second he laid a finger on her.]

Who are you?

[Her tone is abrupt, but not cold -- social awkwardness, not anger.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ There's an unmistakable quirk of one eyebrow when Pavel folds his hands behind his back. Really, Pavel? Really? (Didn't Starfleet train him in these situations? When facing a volatile situation, neutralize your body language. Hiding your hands is as good as advertizing you're a threat.) He remains between Pavel and Pai, just as a precaution. Pavel's nervous smile is met with a flat look. ]

You are. [ Matter-of-fact, not cold. ] It's irrelevant now.

[ He places a hand on Pai's shoulder. It's a brief contact -- half detaining, half assuring. Not easy to forget, how much war alters you. How it bleeds away all irrelevancies like politeness and sociability. Even now, Hei has trouble wrenching his attitude back into that groove. ]

[ To her question, ] His name is Pavel Andreievich Chekov. I've known him for a year now.

[candothat]

[Diplomacy and communication were not focuses in his studies; the proper way to stand when addressing superiors--straighten up, feet together, shoulders back, hands clasped behind--was. Maybe Starfleet figured he'd pick up a few things during away missions (or maybe they're banking on his captains never letting him off of the ship, which has worked so far).

He opens his mouth to respond to the girl, but Hei beats him to it. Curiosity is rapidly fading into an uncomfortable sheepishness.]

Sorry, sorry. I can talk to you later.

[sleepingstar]

[She glances at Hei as he touches her shoulder. It's not just a sign to stand down & take cover -- he's trying to protect Pavel. Which means Pavel is his friend.

Just like that, her expression changes. She smiles brightly, radiating sweetness. (She can't fake much, socially speaking, but she's become an expert at faking that.)]

No, please. It's nice to meet you. My name's Pai.

[She doesn't offer her hand. Where she's from and, more importantly, who she is, would make that gesture a threat.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Pai's demeanor, transitioning from sanguinary to sweetly sanguine, doesn't unnerve Hei. He's used to it. (It's not too different from how Hei reverts to 'Li' -- a chameleon changing color.) By degrees, he relaxes. But there's still an undercurrent of tension in his spine and shoulders. Subtle, almost imperceptible. It has less to do with Pai or Pavel, and more to do with this meeting being out in the street. Hei isn't particularly attached to his cover. But it's still an old habit, not to advertise callsigns or abilities in unknown territory. ]

[ His gaze cuts from Pai's beaming smile to Pavel's sheepy expression. A few beats pass, before Hei volunteers, ]

My sister. She just arrived here.

[candothat]

[This abrupt shift is going to leave Pavel with whiplash, but... well. Hei's sister. If she's at all like her brother, then he can probably expect to meet at least two versions of her and spend a good deal of time trying to determine how dangerous she really is. This all sounds like hospitalization waiting to happen.

But he's willing to hope that Hei's sister--Pai--has reacted to severe trauma in a more pleasant way than he has. Pavel won't have high hopes, granted, and he won't trust any of his friends to Pai (just as he wouldn't trust them to Hei, except in cases where he has no choice).]

I'm pleased to meet you also, Pai. [Uncertainty aside, he does mean it, as always.]