[She nods a little bit, intertwining her fingers with his as she does.]
It's pretty. We have music at home, obviously, but folk songs like those aren't as popular anymore.
[It's strange. They're here in the night air, soaking wet. She should be freezing, but there's a kind of warmth she can't place while she's with him like this.]
[He steps back a little after their fingers are intertwined, but only to give her a little spin! That's one way to get off some excess water. With a laugh:]
Hm, really? That's too bad! I've always found those types of songs to be some of the nicest. They tell the best stories, you know? It's always some sort of epic, or something soft and lovely, or completely ridiculous - you never know what you'll get!
[A MIXED BAG OF CHAOS of course he enjoys them...]
joke's on you i'm making sure i die w1 from now on
[Fortunately he's not as bendy as Higekiri so he doesn't try to dip her. Knowing their luck, she'd probably slip out of his hands and bonk her head on the deck...]
[Now that the spin is done, she's intertwining her hands in his again, leaning her head on his shoulder once more. She's comfortable enough that she closes her eyes, her smile gentle.]
...It reminds me of something my dad used to sing to me.
[Not the exact melody or lyrics, of course, but - the slow and melancholy way it goes along. Her hands tighten a little bit on his.]
[With her leaning against him, he's careful to support her, still gently swaying and turning in a little, aimless circle. He glances down toward the side of her head, then back up to the sky, humming out a few repeated bars from the melody.]
—Haha, that's not too surprising. That one's a folk lullaby, pretty popular in the northeast.
[One of the few she has of him. She keeps on swaying with him, but there's something about her voice that sounds far away. Not unhappy, just - thoughtful.]
[There's a little beat of silence that passes, his attention drifting back from the stars to Beck.]
—You know, we've been talking for weeks and I still feel like there are a lot of things I don't know about you! I don't even know if you have any siblings.
Ah... Well, it's pretty natural for siblings to drift a bit as everyone gets older, I think. It's good you don't seem to have a bad relationship, though!
[TREASURE YOUR SIBLINGS BECK ONE DAY THEY MAY BE DEAD AND/OR OUT FOR YOUR BLOOD.]
[Divorces! What a modern concept. Where he comes from, people just kill their spouses or flee in the dead of the night and then die somewhere else in a freak donkey mountain accident, probably.]
[Well, that's a kind of tragedy unfamiliar to him, but certainly not one he can't be empathetic toward. Those kind of sour traits can - and very well do - surface in many, many different types of people.
He doesn't break the gentle rhythm of their dance, but his hold does tighten, just a little - half a reassuring squeeze, half a manifestation of his unhappiness on her behalf.]
...I'm sorry that you had to go through something like that.
[She sighs a little bit, trailing off rather than finishing that thought, still swaying lightly. She feels that new tightness, and it makes a lump form in her throat, though she swallows quickly enough.]
It's about how we got our celestial calendar! [Which he doesn't even think to explain because it's such an Everyone Knows This thing in China... At least it'll probably start making sense as he talks, spinning in a slow, easy circle.]
You see, one year the Jade Emperor decided that he wanted twelve guards at the Heavenly Gate, so he sent a message across the entire kingdom - a race across the river would be held! Any animal could attend, but only the first twelve would have years named after them. Once the race began, the Ox pulled ahead first, with the Rat and Cat riding on its back. The Ox was sturdy and made it across quickly, but right at the end, the Rat pushed the Cat off and leaped from the Ox's head to get first place! So the first year was named for him, and the second for the Ox.
Then there was Tiger, who muscled his way through - and Rabbit, cunning enough to hop across on stones and drift the rest of the way on a log, never once getting his fur wet! Dragon was next. When the Emperor asked why he wasn't first, he said he stopped to put out a fire in a nearby village and blow a gust of wind toward the Rabbit's log to help him along - the Emperor was pleased, and gave him the fifth year.
The Horse was on the way next, but right before she made it across the finish line - the Snake darted out of the grass before her! She was startled into taking a step back, giving the Snake his chance to get the sixth year and leaving her with the seventh.
The Monkey, Rooster and Sheep all came together on a raft the Rooster found. They all worked together, paddling furiously through the water! The Monkey would scoop out reeds as they went, clearing the path - and when they got to the shore, they let the Sheep go first, because she had formed such precious bonds with them and kept their little team together. Monkey was granted ninth and Rooster got the tenth.
After them came the dog, who - despite being one of the best swimmers - stopped to take a bath! He enjoyed the river and had a great time frolicking under the sun, just barely making it in time. The Emperor was fond of his disposition, though. And finally, there was Boar, who had stopped to grab a meal and took a nap afterwards. Only after the Boar arrived did the Cat finally manage to scramble its way onto the bank, but unfortunately, all twelve years were spoken for! And to this day, cats don't get along well with rats.
[WHAT A WILD STORY. He'd been swaying gently the whole time, but pulls back a little after to sideways glance her way.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparkles gently in your direction
It's pretty. We have music at home, obviously, but folk songs like those aren't as popular anymore.
[It's strange. They're here in the night air, soaking wet. She should be freezing, but there's a kind of warmth she can't place while she's with him like this.]
NEXT MG YOU BETTER NOT GRIPE WHEN I DIE FIRST
Hm, really? That's too bad! I've always found those types of songs to be some of the nicest. They tell the best stories, you know? It's always some sort of epic, or something soft and lovely, or completely ridiculous - you never know what you'll get!
[A MIXED BAG OF CHAOS of course he enjoys them...]
joke's on you i'm making sure i die w1 from now on
Do you know any others?
you fool you can do that all u want ill be the w0 tut kill every game
I do! Mm... Oh! Hah, how about this--
[As he starts up another song!]
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...It reminds me of something my dad used to sing to me.
[Not the exact melody or lyrics, of course, but - the slow and melancholy way it goes along. Her hands tighten a little bit on his.]
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—Haha, that's not too surprising. That one's a folk lullaby, pretty popular in the northeast.
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[One of the few she has of him. She keeps on swaying with him, but there's something about her voice that sounds far away. Not unhappy, just - thoughtful.]
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—You know, we've been talking for weeks and I still feel like there are a lot of things I don't know about you! I don't even know if you have any siblings.
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Yeah. Two of them, actually... Clyde and Anya. They're both older.
[Her parents really were wild in the naming department.]
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[She hasn't mentioned them at all but there could be so many reasons for that...]
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[She closes her eyes again, exhaling softly.]
We were really close when we were younger, though.
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[TREASURE YOUR SIBLINGS BECK ONE DAY THEY MAY BE DEAD AND/OR OUT FOR YOUR BLOOD.]
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[Still swaying, in the same casual tone of voice.]
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[Divorces! What a modern concept. Where he comes from, people just kill their spouses or flee in the dead of the night and then die somewhere else in a freak donkey mountain accident, probably.]
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[Her tone isn't closed off. She sounds like she doesn't mind expanding on that, but she isn't quite sure where to start.]
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--Did he die?
[His words are blunt but his tone is soft, at least...]
cw for drug abuse, addiction
[She keeps swaying, head pressed against his shoulder, a little relieved he can’t easily see her expression from this angle.]
He was an addict. When even almost dying didn’t make him stop... He just left us all one day.
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He doesn't break the gentle rhythm of their dance, but his hold does tighten, just a little - half a reassuring squeeze, half a manifestation of his unhappiness on her behalf.]
...I'm sorry that you had to go through something like that.
[Life really is unfair to the best of people.]
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[She sighs a little bit, trailing off rather than finishing that thought, still swaying lightly. She feels that new tightness, and it makes a lump form in her throat, though she swallows quickly enough.]
Let's talk about something happier, okay?
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Mm, of course. [He takes a little, aimless turn, still swaying.] I could tell you a story about the stars over Yunmeng - how's that?
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Anyway, after a second of thinking:]
Have you heard the story of the Jade Emperor and his twelve animal companions?
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No, I haven't. What is it?
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You see, one year the Jade Emperor decided that he wanted twelve guards at the Heavenly Gate, so he sent a message across the entire kingdom - a race across the river would be held! Any animal could attend, but only the first twelve would have years named after them. Once the race began, the Ox pulled ahead first, with the Rat and Cat riding on its back. The Ox was sturdy and made it across quickly, but right at the end, the Rat pushed the Cat off and leaped from the Ox's head to get first place! So the first year was named for him, and the second for the Ox.
Then there was Tiger, who muscled his way through - and Rabbit, cunning enough to hop across on stones and drift the rest of the way on a log, never once getting his fur wet! Dragon was next. When the Emperor asked why he wasn't first, he said he stopped to put out a fire in a nearby village and blow a gust of wind toward the Rabbit's log to help him along - the Emperor was pleased, and gave him the fifth year.
The Horse was on the way next, but right before she made it across the finish line - the Snake darted out of the grass before her! She was startled into taking a step back, giving the Snake his chance to get the sixth year and leaving her with the seventh.
The Monkey, Rooster and Sheep all came together on a raft the Rooster found. They all worked together, paddling furiously through the water! The Monkey would scoop out reeds as they went, clearing the path - and when they got to the shore, they let the Sheep go first, because she had formed such precious bonds with them and kept their little team together. Monkey was granted ninth and Rooster got the tenth.
After them came the dog, who - despite being one of the best swimmers - stopped to take a bath! He enjoyed the river and had a great time frolicking under the sun, just barely making it in time. The Emperor was fond of his disposition, though. And finally, there was Boar, who had stopped to grab a meal and took a nap afterwards. Only after the Boar arrived did the Cat finally manage to scramble its way onto the bank, but unfortunately, all twelve years were spoken for! And to this day, cats don't get along well with rats.
[WHAT A WILD STORY. He'd been swaying gently the whole time, but pulls back a little after to sideways glance her way.]
What do you think, hm?
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It's kind of sad, isn't it? That they were penalized based on who finished when, but not whether they did good things or bad things along the way.
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