a great escape;

[loong]

[ 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. ]

Comments

[loong]

[ dan feng holds jing yuan's gaze for several measured moments, almost in challenge, but he breaks away again and does as requested, allowing his gaze to settle more firmly on the childlike vidyadhara as he listens to jing yuan's words.

the hair. the eyes. her features are more youthful, of course, than baiheng's had been, and yet.. it feels like a needle to the heart, and dan feng feels his throat run dry, tightening with emotion, his eyes filling with haze. surely it cannot be -

but of course, he cannot deny the idea, the sliver of possibility. she is not baiheng.. she is not baiheng any more than dan heng is him, and yet the memories of their dear friend rush back, filling him up to bursting. after a moment he must look away again, the sight of her nearly too much to bear. that the horrid monstrosity his mistakes had produced could have borne fruit.. ]

I see.

[ he cannot look jing yuan in the eye, not when what's left of his heart is crumbling. he's spent so long now being punished for his sins that it is difficult for dan feng to accept that something good may have risen from the ashes of his sedition, the very idea stings and burns, like being pulled into bright sunlight after too long spent indoors. his throat bobs as he swallows thickly. ]

.. thank you. [ a sharp breath, as he struggles to collect himself. ] We should not linger.

[liongeneral]

You do not need to thank me. [He means that... It was simply the right thing to do which is a creed he has always tried to live by.] I have done my best to look after her... But the affairs of Vidyadhara are not ones I am welcome in.

[Especially after all the trouble with Dan Feng and Dan Heng. The Preceptors have had enough of him and quite frankly... the feeling is mutual.

But Dan Feng is right, they should not linger. So he continues to lead on, past the Alchemy Commission and through the Artisanship Commission. They don't stop here, of course, but it serves its own purpose. Though Yingxing's shop has long since been taken over and reinvated a dozen times over his fingerprints still exist all over. His work replicated and added to. Perfected in some cases. People attempting his fine blades seven hundred years later but truly there has never been a better blacksmith than he.

And then a quick stroll through Aurum Alley and dipping through Starskiff Haven where one would have found Baiheng most days. There's no good way to get to Jingliu's favorite places nor would it be wise to step near Scalegorge Waterscape and so the journey ends at his home. For where else is he to keep the presumed dead Dan Feng?

Honestly, he can't imagine the other will want to stay anymore than he particularly wants him here but it's the situation at present and Dan Feng may leave if he wishes.

Upon entering the residence he finds that it feels eerily quiet. More so than usual, he thinks. Whatever the reason he leads to the room that holds such ancient treasures. Front and center is the old mechanical lion that Yingxing made for him long ago. It used to move and roar and its eyes would light up but it has long since stopped working, it's leg at an odd angle. But there are other things too. Old weapons that Yingxing made that he managed to recover. And trinkets and jewelry all finely crafted with love and care.]

I salvaged what I could from Yingxing's residence before it was taken and thrown away or burned... Whatever they may have done to it. But I could not gain entry way to your domain with the Vidyadhara nor could I save much of my Master's things though I suspect they were few.

Take what you like before you depart the Luofu... You'll be in need of a weapon, at the very least. Of which there are many. I do not know what will become of most of this when it is my time... Best to be in the hands of others that will use them as was their original intent.

[loong]

[ this is all quite literally a trip down memory lane, and while for many it might have been a pleasant experience, dan feng can only find it painful. this was his home once, after all. the luofu was once a place of comfort, of warmth and love and companionship, now it belongs to others, and soon enough.. it will be gone again, once he leaves once more, and all he will have is his memories, until those too fade with hatching rebirth.

well.. all the more reason to take in as much as he can, right now. to absorb it all. soon he will be gone, and he will not see the luofu or jing yuan again.

together they move on through the artisanship commission, past yingxing's old haunts, through starskiff haven, and dan feng had thought that he would grow accustomed to the emotional hits, yet each one tears him open anew, the memories sweet and painful in equal measure. so many are lost to them now. even those that still live are changed irreversibly, himself included. he's silent, but his thoughts are a tempest of roaring water and winds, his heart a storm of pain.

jing yuan leads him to the manor, a fine place fit for an arbiter general, but it does not seem to entirely fit him. he seems incongruous with this place, dan feng things, perhaps because this never should have been his calling at all.

dan feng looks upon the little mechanical lion, and that alone threatens to be his undoing. the sight of it brings forward a surge of memory so strong that he's sure it will drown him, and dan feng can't help but lift his hand, his fingertips so lightly laying against the shelf below the item. he doesn't dare to touch it, it's old and it is precious, but he knows the hands that crafted this lion so meticulously, knows the smile jing yuan wore when receiving it. ]

I've told you.. [ his voice wavers. ] .. paper, and something to write with. That's all I ask for.

[ these trinkets.. they would be a constant reminder, and besides, they are jing yuan's now. dan feng will not take anything more from him. ]

[liongeneral]

[Just paper and a pen... It sounds so ominous but he does not refute. He simply leads the way to his office, through the halls of his home. The office he resides in is one of the larger rooms in the home. Suited for comfort with large open windows and a door that leads to the garden beyond. Finches sit on the sill and begin to twitter and flutter about with excitement at the sight of him.

One even flies right in to land on his shoulder.

For now the feathered friend goes ignored as Jing Yuan rifles through the drawers to get what was requested. He lays out the blank sheets and ink and pens and then steps away from the desk.]

As requested...

[He's not sure where to leave it after that... Does Dan Feng intend to stay? To abide by the clear rules about needing to stay until the Express is rumored closer? Or... Is this letter some final farewell and he'll disappear never to be seen again without a word goodbye.

He does not know and the emotional weight of this entire interaction is reaching a breaking point. So he departs from the room, leaving Dan Feng to his writing, and into the garden. Easing the chirping of his feathered friends as they excitedly descend and make their usual roosts on his person.

He does not stray far from the door to his office. Past the wooden deck where the chessboard lies mid game. And past the cushioned seating which is usually perfect for napping. He opts, instead, for beneath the gingko trees that grow in his garden. A, perhaps, ominous thing to have growing for the long life species. But they did not always mean such dark things to the people of the Xianzhou. They used to mean hope and strength and resilience where the leaves represented healing and longevity... He does not mind sitting beneath their boughs.

So that is where he rest for now, back pressed up against the trunk in a way that makes his capes catch and legs splayed out onto the soft grass.

It's comfortable enough despite the stifling feeling of his armor. All the small discomforts feel amplified with the ache in his heart. Of old memories tightening around his neck like thorny vines. Each barb feels poisonous and he's been pricked dozens of times over at this rate... It's weighing on him. The long parade of friends like a funeral procession.

The little bird trills a sad note, catching his attention and he brings the one on his hand up, letting it rub its feathered self against his face.]

This too shall pass, little one...

[Tomorrow will come regardless and whatever will be will be. For all his power he can't turn back time. He can't stop his old friends from fighting and he can't fix their mistakes or make them love him in the way he once desired... still desires.

The sting of tears is noted but not indulged... Not yet. There is a time and place for such things.]