loong | a great escape;

a great escape;

[ this planet.. is a tranquil one. lonely, but peaceful. there are no intelligent species here, but that is, perhaps, for the best - dan feng's penance continues, after all. in escaping the luofu he was not attempting to escape general punishment, only the molting rebirth. fear of losing himself, of losing his memories, his sense of self..

perhaps it made him a coward, to flee, but warm memories are all he has now, and he could not bear to part with them just yet.

so here he waits, alone in his own beautiful purgatory, awaiting the end of his days, nursing his ailing mind, existing in torment and in bliss in equal measure. his hatching rebirth will come in time, and only then, perhaps, will he be free of his sin, or at the very least, free of his pain. the crime of the previous life must be atoned for in the next, but.. his memories of the quintet would vanish, save for in dreams, and his reincarnation could live on.

it's a lush, lovely planet, where he has escaped to, slowly orbiting the glowing deep of a black hole, where time, for him, runs more slowly, dragging out like a string of sticky molasses. there are thick forests and vast wetlands, eighty percent of this world is water, and there is no sign that intelligent life has ever existed here. no ruins. no scrawled paintings in caves. no hidden chambers beneath the seas. three hundred years he has spent combing the globe and found nothing to suggest that anyone but he has walked the earth here. only animals. insects. fish. they make decent company, but dan feng still keeps to himself, living out of a modest shelter built near the water's edge.

three hundred years, and he speaks to no one, says nothing, until the day the majestic luofu blots out the light of the diffracting black hole.

the sight of it stills his heart in his breast, and dan feng finds his throat running dry, but when the small starskiff lands he is standing quietly, watchful and calm, the tip of his tail swaying behind him as he watches jing yuan disembark, resplendent in his general's clothing. he takes a deep breath.. releases it. ]

.. you must have been very keen to find me, to brave the dangers of the black hole.

[ for time.. time is a precious thing, every hour he spends here could be a year on the luofu. ]

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[This planet that they have found is a damned one. The black hole, eager to absorb it along with their Loufu if they are not careful. But any dying world does need to be investigated for traces of the Abundance and her foul work. And while this appears to be a more natural phenomena than her touch, protocol is still protocol.

And, perhaps, there is some species that can be saved here which is why he's deemed himself to come along.

The General has a small contingent of soldiers that he sends to look for people and life. And any signs of the Abundance, of course. It is the usual fanfare in these types of situations. The Cloud Knights salute him and are off to their respective tasks.

But that voice pangs in his mind so sharply that he is quick to turn and be on guard. Starfall Reverie appearing in his hand in an instant. Because it doesn't make any sense to hear. And the figure he sees...]

Dan Heng...? [No. Incorrect... Dan Heng's voice is softer. Gentlier. And the horns are different. A fact some might not catch but to Jing Yuan it is night and day. This is, without question, Dan Feng.

But surely an illusion and naught more than that.

He raises the blade, steady and certain.]

And what trickery have we stumbled upon on this planet... To delve into memories and take shape of those long departed is an act of cruelty I will not let pass.

[ ah, so this is how it's to be.

for several long moments dan feng is silent, his gaze settled on his old friend's face. it's been quite a long time, hasn't it? though not as long as it has been for jing yuan, surely, the pull of the black hole against spacetime is strong here, but dan feng had paid it no mind when he'd settled on this planet. why should he? he had no plans to leave. ]

Trickery? Mm..

[ his eyes close, and dan feng's eyes skim over starfall reverie, the sight of it making his chest twinge with a brief ache. he wonders how many years it has been for jing yuan, how long he's had to harbor resentment despite how his voice had trembled when issuing dan feng's sentence, so long ago. ]

Surely your eyes are not too old and clouded to see me for what I am.

[ he is no illusion, but solid, and real. ]

[It has been seven hundred years for Jing Yuan. When they parted he'd still been a young man in so many ways. He'd seen his share of battles and fallen friends. He'd seen how mara ripped a person's mind to shreds. But despite all that there was still the buzz of youthful energy that no longer exists within someone who is now nearing the end of that lengthy lifespan.

Of course there's no way for that to be seen on the youthful long life species. Just in small ways.]

It's not about what one's eyes can see and not see but what I know to be true. The face you wear is one who is long dead. Dead and reincarnated... You may have fooled me had you worn that face instead.

[Starfall Reverie remains steady in his hand, not a waver to be found and that gaze remains just as steadfast. Eyes narrowed but the frown is a small one. Not as deep or as judging as one would expect. Despite what he says and what he knows the oddity of a black hole is something to be considered and that is what he's doing. Weighing these facts in his mind.

But the fact of the matter remains... He saw Dan Feng be executed. And he knows that Dan Heng exists separate of that long lost person. How could this be anything but trickery?]

If you are who you claim to be... Then you will have to prove it.

[ he looks old. worn. those who haven't known jing yuan might think him a young man, but dan feng knew him long ago, can see how his edges have been worn down, eroded by time, how the bright excitement in his golden eyes has instead faded to cool fatigue. even the way he moves is less energetic, though there's still strength in those old bones.

mm. he understands such weariness. his own hatching rebirth is not so far off, and dan feng is feeling his age, especially after so long spent in isolation, and every harrowing event that transpired before, his time in the shackling prison that is etched onto his soul, onto his flesh in old scars. ]

Prove it? How far things have come, to think I would ever need to prove myself to you.

[ they were so close, once. close enough to know the scent and taste of one another's skin, close enough that dan feng can remember quite vividly still how warm jing yuan's body had felt against his own on cold, quiet nights, when the three of them would nestle together, in love or in lust. his chest lifts as he inhales, then releases it in a slow, soft sigh. very well. dan feng lifts one hand, carefully tugging back his collar to reveal the shallow scar over his left collarbone, now faded with time.

jing yuan should remember it with ease. it's a small scar, easy to miss, but he obtained it not long after they met, during a friendly spar, when he'd allowed jing yuan too close and taken a hit for it. ]

I could have healed this easily, so as not to leave a scar, but I chose not to. I chose to keep it, as a souvenir of our first bout.

[Those first words have Jing Yuan tilting his head up at such defiance. How those words wound him more than he can express despite the fact that this couldn't possibly be his old friend and lover.

To hear it said in that voice makes his heart ache. Because it feeds to the doubt that has long festered in his heart about what he had with Yingxing and Dan Feng. How they went together to commit their great sin and left him behind. How the one time he managed to get into the prison and he begged to know why and he was met with silence.

It left him no choice... He decided then and there that he would dedicate his life to writing this wrong to the best of his ability. Forsaking everything he had ever wanted to try and do right after that horrible tragedy.

The proof he is given... It makes his jaw tense. That-- He'd been so eager to spar with the High Elder. Still oddly lanky and growing awkwardly and terribly overeager. He had managed to get a blow on Dan Heng, right on his neck. And while it would be proof of great success he felt terrible about it.

Jingliu chided Dan Feng about underestimating her apprentice and Bailu praised how far he'd come but he'd felt nothing but guilt. And had felt that way for decades to come. In later years when they were curled in bed together he'd press his lips to the old injury, still apologetic after so much time and he never understood why Dan Feng wouldn't just heal it.

Jing Yuan lowers his weapon not because he believes exactly but because he hears the approaching of knights. The weapon is whisked away and he folds his hands behind his back as the soldiers approach and are quick to surround the image of Dan Feng, spears out.

"General, are you alright!?" They ask, panting. "We saw signs of someone living here--"

He lifts a hands to quiet their concerns.]

At ease... This was quite the fortuitous stop we made. It seems Dan Heng got separated from the Express. When next they visit the Luofu I am certain they'll be glad for his return. [The spears slowly lower and some look doubtful, older soldiers that might find this strange but couldn't suspect the actual why. All do as they're told regardless.] Continue as you were. I will take him to the Starskiff.

[He gestures for Dan Feng to approach and follow.]

[ jing yuan had been so easy to read in his youth, his handsome face and bright eyes giving away so much. age has hardened that naivete a bit, and the weight of the general's mantle has taught his old lover quite a bit about concealing his feelings.. yet dan feng can still see it in his eyes when jing yuan's gaze falls upon the scar at his collar - the change, the shift. the old wound that had never healed right beginning to ache.

dan feng feels it too, like an echo across space and time. he could offer more. he could whisper to jing yuan about how much he likes having his fair hair touched, could share old stories they told over drinks, could name all of jing yuan's favorite old texts.. but that won't be necessary, it seems. not only does the general seem convinced enough, they also have company.

tension squares his shoulders, and dan feng's long fingers twitch with a spark of golden energy, ready to defend himself and this space if need be.

but starfall reverie soon vanishes, even as the cloud knights surround him, and the line of dan feng's shoulders relaxes, just a little. he exhales slowly and meets jing yuan's steady gaze with his own. it's a good explanation, really; dan feng and dan heng look quite similar, after all, only one who knows them both would be able to see the slight differences between them, but the question is.. what shall he do? what should he do? leaving for the starskiff surely meant certain imprisonment again, chains and loneliness and torture; could he face such a thing again?

does jing yuan deserve an explanation, after all of this time?

dan feng's eyes close, and he sighs, then dips his head in a nod, following in jing yuan's footsteps in order to board the starskiff and return to the luofu. ]

[Jing Yuan walks to the starskiff in silence being mindful of the rocky path until they approach the larger skiff and he stops before it. They're alone, everyone having gone off for their mission. But knights will be trickling in with finds and things that should be preserved. So any conversation that's to happen needs to happen quickly.]

Am I to play the fool once more? [He turns around to face Dan Feng, his expression hardened and eyes narrowed.] Am I to believe that you are returned from the dead despite what I witnessed and your reincarnation existing?

I demand an explanation for your existence here. And it had best be a good one, Dan Feng.

[When it comes to old friends he finds it difficult to follow through on what should be done. He let Blade go and he may have turned a blind eye to Jingliu had she not wanted to turn herself in. (Though he made sure her plans, whatever they may be, could not be followed through on.) And for Dan Feng too... Should this be who he claims, he will also turn the other way. He knows he will. So despite the hard tone and his stony expression at the other when they land on the Luofu, should he be convinced... He'll just let him go as he has with all the others. The Quintet... they've all suffered enough and he will not add to it. He will not drag Dan Feng back to the shackling prison nor tie him to a place he does not wish to be. Like all the others he will let him go.]

Or will you remain silent before me once more?

[If Dan Feng gives him nothing but silence once more... He's certain it will be the final crack in his heart. But at least, at last, he will have the answers to long plaguing questions.]

[ of course, jing yuan has every reason to be angry, dan feng would not refute that. they were friends. more than friends - they were lovers, the three of them, devoted and true, and yet jing yuan had been left behind in the wake of it all. the dragon heart had whispered, and den feng had surrendered to it..

he breathes deeply. ]

Would knowing make a difference?

[ he asks quietly, the confines of the starskiff like a prison around him, squeezing. perhaps he should have resisted. should have fought. that he didn't is a miracle, and possibly.. penance, a favor for an old lover who drew the shortest straw. ]

During molting rebirth, I saw a chance to slip away, and so I did. I surrendered half of myself to him and spilled through the cracks, then sailed the stars away from the Luofu. It's as simple as that.

[ he was not ready to give himself up. to give his memories away. ]

[Would knowing make a difference? Perhaps... Perhaps not. But he has every right to this information. He deserved to know back then too. But he's not asking about that. Not right now anyway.]

That sounds impossible, you know. If I had not gotten to know Dan Heng and his strange situation I would not believe you. [The mechanics of it all seem even less plausible but he's not up for discussing the sciences of it all. Dan Heng having memories of the Quintet should not be. But it is. And he bears a weight that is not his own.] He remembers, you know. He has your memories... Of the Quintet. Of Yingxing...

He doesn't remember all. But he remembers enough... and has born the weight of what you've done since he hatched.

Since he hatched and was dragged to the Shackling Prison. Where he was beaten and tortured for things beyond his comprehension. It took me a very long time... But I managed to save him from both destruction and eternal imprisonment. Your legacy sails out among the stars... But not free from what you have left behind. Of the weight left for to him. And those that still accuse.

[But he has done all he can for Dan Heng and just when his work was seemingly at an end... Another friend comes unannounced. He sighs, tired and exhausted. And his shoulders lose their stiffness to slump some.]

I will take you back to the Lufou and you will play the part of your reincarnation while you are there. And then you will go. Somewhere else... But I was not going to leave you on that planet to rot and die... But that is all I am willing to do for you, Dan Feng.

[They are not lovers anymore... He's not even sure if they can be counted among friends after this point. There are so many answers to his questions that he has longed to know but at this point... He does not wish to hear them.]

Maybe you can do your reincarnation a single kindness in your journey through the stars and get Yingxing off his tail.

[He says Yingxing with intent to draw a reaction of some sort. For all they knew at the time the Furnace Master was dead.]

[ the matter of dan heng is a complicated one, yet another sin, a weight to bear, a drop in the vast, cold ocean of his heart. dan feng is not without regret, but really, what will regret do for anyone? it will not bring back those they have lost. it will not heal the injuries that remain, nor will it close the gap of time that they have lost; bemoaning his aches and pains will serve no one, and so he does not.

dan feng's lips part to respond, but that name that sails off of jing yuan's lips is unexpected.

the tranquil waters of his expression at once begin to ripple, dan feng's luminous eyes widening a fraction, his inhale a quick, quiet gasp. yingxing.. so he still lives, then. the immortality, the creeping mara - dan feng feels his heart grip tight, and one hand closes lightly over his forearm, where his bracer once was. ]

I'll see what I can do.

[ a thick swallow, and his expression smooths out again, his eyes lifting to jing yuan's face. the general has an imperious look about him, but.. dan feng knows better, he knows that soft, warm heart still beats within his old love's breast, knows how soft he is to the past. a pity. he should have let them go. he would have been happier without carrying the weight of their past around for seven hundred years. ]

.. why do you not simply run me through? Does your palm not itch for its glaive?

[ dan feng's eyes close, weary and aching. ]

Leaving me there, or killing me - all of your anger and pain.. would it not be simpler to be finished with me?

[Perhaps all they're good at, these days, is throwing barbs at one another. That's all former friends can do, he supposes. Because those words sting. And for the first time he General's stern expression cracks into something sad. The frown pulls deep at his face and try as he might he cannot retain something neutral.]

You do not know me very well if you truly think that is something that would please me or bring me any peace. And baiting me into doing so will leave you wanting.

[He did not grant the finishing blow to his Master. It broke his heart to small pieces to watch Blade beg for death at Jingliu's blade. And he will not grant Dan Feng this mercy either. It will not be by his hand.]

It has been seven hundred years, Dan Feng. And I have spent those long years trying to save your reincarnation, tying myself to the Luofu long after everyone departed from it. To express anger would be to also direct it towards a place undeserving. For I do not regret a moment of trying to help that boy. I will be known for many things in my long time here but helping Dan Heng will always be my greatest achievement and my only regret is how long it took me to manage it.

I did not spend these years in anger. I did not spend them damning you and Yingxing. I would never have... But I did spend them in confusion and grief. Seeking out answers that would never come. I have no need of them now... They are of no use to an old man. Broken blades cannot be mended and time cannot be reversed... I came after all of you and I will leave you all well before. Where I was left wanting for answers... each of you will be left without my forgiveness.

[He... thinks he means that. His heart too soft and kind and too easy to forgive if it was asked for. But perhaps he will maintain a distance. That he was hurt and that cannot be fixed and should not be forgiven. More so than just the trust of friends or of laws horribly broken but what of the trust of lovers. Of partners? He has no bracer to chase after a loved one through the cosmos. No binding trinkets that matched. Yingxing made him things, of course he did. His glaive and that little lion that long since stopped working. But nothing that would signify him as their partner. No matching jade pendents, an old tradition. He never let it bother him in the past but after they were gone, together in their taboo breaking suicide pact... The cracks that had started to form over time finally split open.

In the end he was left with no genuine idea what he meant to either of them and the answers long lost. But what he did know was that he loved them both regardless if he was just a fun third in their life or a genuine partner. And nothing would ever change that. But even still...

Here, seven hundred years later he will not offer forgiveness. At least that is his stance in this particular moment. If his heart remains strong then it will remain as such. He owes himself that much, at the very least.]

[ for all of his great power, dan feng is no mind reader, but should he have known what jing yuan was thinking.. well. perhaps it is not his business to offer cold words of comfort - what good would they bring? as jing yuan said, broken blades cannot be mended, and their time cannot be given back to them, but dan feng did love him truly, as truly as he loved yingxing. still loves. for was it not selfish love of those old memories that saw him flee the luofu? it was not his instinct to survive - no, dan feng would have faced death without issue - it was his love of them, his fond memories of the quintet, that he could not sacrifice.

but giving voice to those words.. would it even be a kindness, now, at the end of things?

there's a sting in dan feng's eyes, a tightness in his throat that he cannot chase away, though he's soon lifting his chin, blinking rapidly to banish the tears there, breathing deeply. he had his reasons for what he did, and in truth.. dan feng does not regret his sedition; in his own way, he was trying to do what was best for his people, for baiheng - ah, in the end, it does not matter. the vidyadhara remain the same, baiheng remains lost to them, and their idyllic memories are shattered. ]

No. I don't suppose I do know you. Not anymore.

[ he says, softly. seven hundred years. jing yuan has said it himself. that much time changes a person, and the general of the luofu is no longer the same man he held close all those years ago. ]

Keep your forgiveness then, Jing Yuan. It is as you said.

[ this cannot be fixed.

or perhaps.. perhaps they are both simply too old, too tired, and too broken to try. ]

[Though he said the words first the confirmation hurts. It aches and causes a pain that is unbearable, truly. It'd be a cruel joke if this reunion is what causes the mara to flare up. The emotional strain of this encounter being a touch too far...]

I shall, Dan Feng.

[He tilts his head up a the sound of his title being called and steps away from Dan Feng without another word to meet whichever troops have returned.

The death of a planet is always a sad thing. They can take clippings of plants and preserve them. But animals are difficult. There are many extinct species on the Luofu and some may exist elsewhere but even then it's a dangerous thing to bring into another ecosystem. And it seems the temperature and temperament of this particular world is not comparable to the Luofu and thus... No animals can be brought. Or it's seeming that way.

Portable catalogs are currently being read over by Cloud Knights determining what is a no and what is a yes. There is but one animal left. A jungle type cub that currently has its paws in Jing Yuan's hands and he is gently squishing the paw pads. The creature looks a little confused but Jing Yuan's way with animals has it tolerating this strange series of events.

But the answer is, inevitably, a no. It doesn't match the criteria of what can be brought back to the Luofu. Another devastating blow to the day but not uncommon on these types of missions.

"It's okay, General... We rescued Dan Heng and the express will be grateful for that."]

That we did...

[He relinquishes the creatures paws who remains seated and confused for a few moments more before scurrying into the forest once more. And with that their Starskiff departs and takes its short journey to the Luofu which at once turns away from the doomed planet.

Once they have landed and the knights have departed and taken the saved plant samples with them does he finally turn and speak to Dan Feng again.]

Because I have claimed you to be someone from the Astral Express you cannot just leave the Luofu. When I catch word that the express is at least within a nearby area then I'll send you on your way. Until then... maintain the farce I have created. If you do not... Well, it goes without saying that if the Preceptors catch wind of your existence we'll both find ourselves in the Shackling Prison.

And it will put the already contested High Elder into question... That said, while you are here you should meet her when you have the chance. Subtly as possible, preferably... You will find the Luofu is not so different than when you left it in some ways. See what you wish to see before you depart and tie any loose ends that were left behind all those years ago.

If there were trinkets and treasures left behind by Yingxing... I will try and find them. Cloud Piercer and the gauntlet are in the hands of your reincarnation. As is the jade pendent. But I may be able to track down anything else should it hold value to you.

[Despite everything... He would still set Dan Feng off with as much as possible. Giving and even relinquishing things from his own house that have been sitting in remembrance without question.]

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