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bakerstreet2022-12-02 02:37 pm
adisastergay) wrote in bakerstreet2022-12-02 02:37 pm
Dragon's Bride
 The Dragon's Bride |
Flames, then ash. Your village will be left with little else should the dragon that plagues the countryside not get his demanded sacrifice...if you're lucky. Your good fortune turns south, the bones of your neighbors (or whatever else remains of them) litter a new charred graveyard that was once a town. So, the necessary offers must be made. At least that's the hope. The alternative would be too awful to contemplate. In a last-ditch effort to save those you love — or against your will, as these things tend to go with forcibly created martyrs — you have been hoisted onto the pyre, waiting for the dragon to fly off with you. What terrors race through your mind as your doom impends? How you'll end up in a beast's belly, no doubt. Except, you must consider this: there are worst fates than being a dragon's next meal. A monster that covets you as its treasure...a new type of danger unfurls its wings. You've become a dragon's bride. But could such an infernal creature ever learn to know honest, unselfish affection? Is it possible to be more than a "spouse?" A mere treasure? Perhaps, you could learn to be a dragon's love. HOW TO PLAY ✗ Comment with your character, roles ("dragon" or "bride") prefs, etc. ✗ Y'all know how this goes. Approach "dragon" as a stand-in. The monster mash could be elves, orcs, goblins, werewolves, demons, dwarves, fey, purple people eaters, what have you. Of course, actual dragon and shifters folks are welcome, too! And don't think that you have to make your boring human a boring ol' human. Consider this the monster/supernatural being/cryptid/creature AU of your dreams! ✗ Second verse, same as the first, "bride" registers as gender-neutral 'round these parts. That word choice just sounds a touch more poetic. ✗ Reply to others. |
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So once again, he was presented with a 'sacrifice' to appease his carnal nature. And once again, he wondered what the hell he was supposed to do with this. Did they expect him to eat this person? One would think this was pretty outdated in this day and age, but sometimes, humans held onto the strangest customs. It never crossed their minds that whatever they possessed, he didn't want. If he really wanted something, he could have his minions acquire it or just rain fire down to get it from the city or village or whatever could have what he wanted.
After all, it wasn't like he was in his natural form at the moment. Wearing dark silks and eying the human who had been placed before him, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the other up and down, trying to determine what he wanted. Entertainment or quick dealing?
"What do you want?"
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He wasn’t sure how to answer either. He would first have to know how he got here, with his hands tied behind his back and also, why the hell he was decked out in red as if he were about to be married. Either it was someone’s sick joke, or he must have really done something to piss the locals off. Though he could no more remember what that could have been than the details of how he got here.
Whipping his head awkwardly to get the hair out of his eyes he peered up at the stranger he was kneeling before blearily and decided he would just go with the most common sense, obvious answer.
“This wanderer would be pleased if you could assist in untying him,” he stated in a voice more refined than one would expect of one in his state.
He frowned. Usually, he made some effort to sound more like a bumpkin. But his mind was slow. There must have been more than just alcohol in that wine. He took in the details of the man before him. A cultivator? Well, he was not likely to be the culprit or he would not be asking Zhou Zishu what he wanted. He did not look like he was from the Window of Heaven either.
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Sighing through his nose, he proceeds to untie the other, drawing in more of the man's scent. Yes. Sickly. But there might be a strength there, as well. It would make sense, given that wine did not smell right, either. So this mortal was either unwilling to accept the auspicious honor, or he was someone others needed to have removed from their presence.
The bonds were removed and he stood, waiting to see what the other would do. He watched with a stillness to his form as if he were a statue placing judgment on a sinner. He mostly wanted to see if the man was going to keel over now that he no longer had bonds restraining him. A small part of him was prepared for an ambush-sickly and drugged, mortals could still be dangerous if they were cornered. No one else was so cornered than this one in red, still kneeling before him.
"You have no idea where you are or who you face." It was a direct statement, leaving no room for question. Why were they placating him with someone who had no mental quickness? Maybe they did intend him as a meal. The concept left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Can you even stand, little one?"
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At least the man is cutting him free. Those ropes did chafe. Though he raised a brow at the man in black’s comments.
“If you are someone I should know, then I am afraid I do not,” he admitted. “I am sorry if whoever has dumped me here disturbed your cultivation or offended you. Is there a need to face you?”
This man clearly doesn’t know who Zhou Zishu is either, but it’s hard to take offense when that’s kind of the point. He doesn’t go around broadcasting that he is the former leader of one of the most infamous assassin groups in the jianghu. He doesn’t wish to ever see his dear cousin again. Not in this life if he can help it.
He let out a derisive sound, almost a chuckle. “Who is ‘little’ at my age? Of course I can.”
It’s wobbly, but he manages it. This time he openly analyzes this man’s face. But he doesn’t recognize him. Not even from jianghu gossip which means nothing. Heroes and villains crop up all the time in their world.
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Was he immortal? Who knew? He continued to watch the other man as he stood, wavering a bit and causing him to frown, wondering if he will need to assist the man. He waited until Zishou was mostly stable before he started moving. "I am called Wanyin by most people in this area. They leave me alone, usually, until they choose to have an agenda."
And today's agenda appeared to be Zhou Zishou being presented to Wanyin was the agenda.
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“What agenda could involve dressing me up and dumping me in your territory?” he asked, genuinely confused.
A second later he remembered his manners. He gave the customary bow and said, “Zhou Zishu is my name.”
Most people wouldn’t recognize it now anyway. Betting to defer to courtesy when dealing with strange cultivators.
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“They decided that offering you to me would safeguard their people, livestock, and homes.” He shifted his shoulder in what looked like an awkward attempt at a shrug. “Or you caused enough trouble that they feel they’re in a win-win situation.” Turning away from the drunken/drugged/sickly human, he showed no concern for his own welfare. Either he was already certain that Zishou was no threat or he was more than confident in his own skills.
The man’s home was sparse in a way. The walls looked more like a cave, with only the front area lit with torches in braziers. There was the impression of depth in the cavernous area as shadow swallowed what was in the back. The front held rich furnishings even if it was minimalistic, including a cot and low table and cushions. He poured out a measure of water into a shallow bowl and then returned, stepping forward to offer it to Zishou. "So now we come to the point in this conversation to determine what your next steps should be."
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The way Zhou Zishu asked that question one might think he was merely curious. After all, he had not left behind the life in the emperor’s court just to be the world’s peace keeper. Still, it was a strange hobby. But the man had not made any threatening moves on him.
He watched as Wagyin poured water into a bowl. He took it, but didn’t drink just yet. Whatever he’d been drugged with the evening before was not poison or he would have caught it. He was too good at detecting poisons. But the experience did make him hesitant about accepting something to drink from a stranger so soon, especially a cultivator.
He merely raised his brows in question at the remark.
“Won’t my next steps just be away from here?”
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His exterior was still calm and collected, but Wanyin started pacing back and forth in slow, measured steps. "You could. You could leave right now. How far will you get? Won't people recognize you? And should they do so, what will happen to you then?"
He wasn't forbidding the other to leave, though. Clearly, Zishou was still a little addled and wasn't thinking about the situation thoroughly. And yes, he avoided answering the first question on purpose.
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And even when not lucid in some cases. He was going to die anyway eventually. Couldn’t people be decent enough not to rush him along?
“Whatever will happen to me they can try.”
Deciding that Wangyin likely wasn’t a villain, he sipped from the bowl.
“Besides, crafting a new disguise is nothing for me.”
Truer words could not be spoken from a man who was once Four Season’s first disciple.
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"So if you are ready to go without the need of assistance, you're free to go at any time. If anyone asks, I'll simply say I ate you."
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But his thoughts on that were derailed at the absurd cover story the cultivator made up. He blinked.
“You’ll say you ate me?” he echoed. “Isn’t that far fetched?”
Putting it mildly. That or the man was in to some cultivation methods that had earned him the fear of the common citizen.
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"Where do you think you are, little one? In all your life-altering travels, you have never been host to a dragon's lair?"
Wanyin would never find this old. One of the few pleasures in his long life was messing with the mortals like this.
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He looked down at his cup of water as though reevaluating what he had just drank.
“I thought I was suppose to be the one who was intoxicated so why does it sound like you’ve been drinking?” he asked mildly.
Ghost valley played at being ghosts to terrify their victims and rivals alike. Now it was dragons? He inwardly sighed. One day people would learn that the most dangerous beings in this world were their fellow humans. Until then, he supposed even low level assassins would always have a job.
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"I suppose you should sober up, then."
And so there wasn't any pondering about the food, he took a piece of cheese and popped it into his mouth, staring at Zishou the entire time.
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Besides, he was not one to turn down a free meal. So long as he was away before nightfall. The nails embedded into his skin usually acted up at night and he would not enjoy having to explain that.
"Then I thank you for the meal," he said, graciously. "I'll eat and be on my way."
He could choose to be a lot more obnoxious, but he reserved the troublesome old bum act for those who got too overly invested in his business. Though it was unusual to find truly sincere people in the world these days and he chewed carefully just in case he detected something that should not be there.