sacredpath | pc: jiaoqiu

From:

[by saturday evening, shadowheart can be found at the outdoor hotspring. she's sitting in one of the shallower pools in the water, still wearing her sexy angel costume white dress, but sitting hunched so she's sinking in the shallow water up to her neck. she has a glass of mixed drink from the bar here with her.

also, the owlbear cub is playing in the foliage nearby, doing cute things like hunting the lack of animals that are here.

shadowheart waves]

Oh, hello. It's not quite scalding enough to distract, but it's pleasant.

From:

fried

[ jiaoqiu is now in his canon outfit, slowly but surely exploring. by the time he makes it to the hot spring, he looks a little relieved. this is nice, wow! his back hurts, so it'll be good to chill out. when shadowheart speaks, he jumps slightly, and then glances over at her, his usual smile in place. ]

Oh - Miss Shadowheart. [ he says, pleased. ] Hello. Good to know - I'd hoped for something scalding, but I'll take what we can get.

[ he wanders over, at least taking his boots off so he can put his feet in. ]

How have you found our accommodations?

From:

sacredpath

[it's plenty hot, she's just complaining.]

Decent enough, though I don't know what to make of the girl I've been assigned to room with. I don't relish sharing with strangers. And you?

From:

fried

[ he respects it. you go girl, complain all you want. ]

I'm rather used to it. The frontlines wrung any sense of modesty out of me years ago. [ he says this lightly. and he also sighs happily when he puts his feet in. ] I get along with Basilio well enough, in any case.

Who did you end up with?

From:

sacredpath

Well, in that case, please don't refrain on my account.

[gesturing to the pool. she's not particularly shy either.]

Su Waner. She's pleasant enough, just an unknown. And a little squeamish about my companion.

From:

fried

[ he will pull off his coat, at least. he's not gonna get naked or anything but he'll roll up his pants and ease a bit further into the hot springs. ]

Ah, I met her yesterday. Your - companion? [ he apparently has not noticed the owl bear. ]

From:

sacredpath

[gesturing at the cub playing in the bushes.]

He appeared here when I did. I'm not so mannerless as to bring an untamed animal into the small room we share, of course. But it does make me wonder what to do with him.

From:

fried

[ squints in the direction she gestures, ears flicking back against his skull briefly. ]

You could save it for emergency rations. [ unfunny joke but ok ] ... It isn't prone to attacking people, is it?

From:

sacredpath

Not as such. Or, it hasn't so far. But they aren't exactly known for being household pets.

From:

fried

I've never seen anything quite like it.

[ he glances back in shadowheart's direction. ]

... Well, I guess we can't exactly die again. We can feel pain, though.

From:

sacredpath

That's concerning, actually, when you think about it.

[she says it sarcastically but her imagination is clearly running away from her a bit.]

We could be subjected to endless torment with not even the relief of death.

From:

fried

[ wryly: ]

What a cheerful prospect. You really did jump to the worst conclusion.

From:

sacredpath

Oblivion, paradise, or eternal torment. Those are typically the options on the table, are they not?

From:

fried

They are. I'd prefer oblivion, I think.

[ ... ]

I can't see the future, so it's not out of the question that there could be torture.

From:

sacredpath

Most would. But I'm sure it's no help for me to worry about things that have yet to come to pass.

What was it like, where you're from?

From:

fried

[ he stretches his legs out just a little. ]

My homeland is known as the Xianzhou Yaoqing, one of the flagships of the Xianzhou Alliance. Our ship travels through space, seeking out Denizens of the Abundance in an attempt to eradicate them, in the name of Lan.

... Which sounds all very grand, but most of my time was spent in an office.

From:

sacredpath

[whats. space. whats any of these words.]

...Interesting. I haven't heard of the alliance. But surely your job was important?

From:

fried

[ he has gotten this reaction so many times today ]

It was. I supported the Merlin's Claw as her right hand and doctor. [ a beat. ] Nothing in the world is more important than the work of a healer, in this humble servant's opinion.

From:

sacredpath

Oh, a healer.

[that she understands.]

Very skilled work. We're lucky to have you among our number. My own healing abilities are limited to magic.

From:

fried

[ his ears perk up! ]

You're a healer as well? [ a beat. ] Does your magic not work here?

From:

sacredpath

It does not. Does yours...? I was given to understand no one's did. But yes, ordinarily I can use healing magic, among other things.

From:

fried

I'm not in possession of magic, so I couldn't tell you. Interesting.

A healer with magic... does this magic come from your Lady?

From:

sacredpath

That's right. She empowers me to act in her name.

From:

fried

I wonder how close to an Emanator you might be, in that case. I've only ever heard of one, never met one.

[ and because he expects the question: ] Emanators are those who have been blessed in particular by an Aeon to draw power from their Path. They are very, very powerful.