faepuns | --Cultivate--

--Cultivate--

[When Wise was very young, or at least younger than he is now, he'd gotten lost in the forest outside Helios. He was only saved by a passing wandering cultivator, and to this day he's wanted to meet the man again to thank him. It doesn't matter that Helios fell and he and Belle moved to Yunkui Summit, he wants to find that man and thank him for what he did that day. He changed the trajectory of Wise's life, he's pretty sure, and he deserves to know that.

Granted, a wandering cultivator isn't why Wise (and Belle) is now the heir to Yunkui Summit, that is entirely because of Yixuan-shifu and their own unique abilities, but all the same. That man inspired Wise to get with Belle to create Phatheon, a nameless somebody who is able to hire people to handle things the larger temples and sects can't or won't.

Right now, though, Wise is not acting in the guise of Phaetheon. Wise is acting in the guise of a very annoyed older brother being strongarmed into going down the mountain for an annual check up, since apparently the doctors are all afraid of coming up the mountain after last year's run-in with Eous the spiritual monster rabbit. Cowards.]

I don't need to go right now, Belle, really.

Yes you do! And because there's bandits on the road, I even hired you a bodyguard!

Belle...

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[Ah. The gloves explains the fire the other day.]

As long as you can use them. This wall here--[He pats it]--connects to my room with the right talisman.

Clever. That's good to know if the need arises that I need to get to you quick.

[~~or if something else arises hurhurhurhurhur~~]

Yeah, I'll leave a stack with you later. What else...any questions?

...

[There was... something in the back of Lighter's mind. Now that he has a better, longer look at Wise without them doing a task or running from traps.

Have they met somewhere before...?

Not to mention the matter of Wise's eyes. But that felt like a complicated tale. He was a bodyguard and Wise already disliked the idea of one. He liked Wise, he wouldn't pry.]

Not really, I won't be in your hair too much as long as we're up the mountain.

Oh, feel free to go wherever you want, unless there's signs and arrays saying otherwise. We don't limit people, if they can handle the spiritual energy.

Probably wouldn't be worthy of Hongse Sanren if I couldn't handle all kinds of spiritual energy.

[He's flexing a bit. But he's also saying this aware that he's not trying to qi deviate from sheer recklessness here.]

--Hongse Sanren? That's you?

That's me.

[Said with a smirk and a dramatic adjustment of that titular red scarf of his.]

And you're willing to work for shifu?!

Yeah, why not? She pays well.

Because you could probably do anything with how famous you are?! And Yunkui is kind of...obscure?

[That gets a frown.]

Maybe this'll come as a surprise to you, but I'm not a cultivator for clout. It just happened to come with the territory. A Hongse Sanren existed before me, and a Hongse Sanren will exist after me.

[He took the title seriously, but he wasn't asking for accolades every minute.]

Even that aside, if the pay's good, I'll take a job. If it's not worth it, I don't take it. If I was looking for fame, a larger sect would have pulled me in by now.

[There's a lot left unsaid there. Like losing what could have been one of the more influential cultivation sects because of his failure as a leader. What it took to get to the level he was.

The fact that if a job went intensely against his morals he would never dare to take it. A fact Wise as Phaethon would know well.

The way he spoke wasn't offended necessarily, just a matter of fact correction with his half-blindfold hiding pain in his eyes.]

[Again Wise's eyes flash blue for just a moment. He knew this, as Phaethon, but seeing that Lighter gave the same speech as he did when Phaethon first approached him...good. He can be trusted.]

There's just...people who wouldn't do that, you know?

[A slight breeze moved Lighter's hair enough that the red color in the center of his eyes was visible for a split second.]

I've been told I'm a weird guy sometimes.

[?

Interesting.]

Well, so's everyone here, so you'll fit right in. Now, are you hungry?

Works out perfectly for me, then. And I wouldn't say no to a bite to eat.

[He was working through being slightly hung over after all.]

This way.

[The rest of Yunkui Summit is eager to meet Lighter, and everyone is really rather friendly and open. Miyabi does ask to spar with him, but Belle assures him that he doesn't have to she's just like that. (No sign of "Eous", though, and Wise mentions taking Eous their dinner since they don't like to be around a lot of people.)

A week or so passes. Things seem to settle down and nothing weird happens. One morning, though, Lighter will find that Wise isn't in his room. Asking around directs him to where Wise is cultivating.

Wise sits in the cave in the forest behind his and Belle's wing, focusing on the array in front of him.]

[It's a little overwhelming how friendly people are. Sure, others see him, address him as Daozhang but respect is different than friendliness. Plus, well, Lighter was quite the introvert. He's not against a brief, friendly spar with Miyabi but interestingly about it he didn't draw his sword a single time.

Lighter was still on guard, aware that anything could happen at any time and waiting on an update from his many different contacts. In the meanwhile he enjoyed Wise's company hence the desire to find him.

He entered the cave, eyes covered as always but his long hair tied back into a low tail, where Wise sat and tilted his head in idle curiosity.]

There you are. What've you got going here?

One moment.

[Wise's eyes are a bright blue again as he studies the array, which is a matching shade of blue. After a moment, the glow vanishes and Wise looks at Lighter. His eyes are still tinged with blue.]

Fairy. The spirit bound to the array.

I thought I felt a spirit around here. That's pretty impressive. I've been around the block for a while but I don't think I've seen this kind of cultivation before.

[Usually they were all about dispersing, cleansing, moving etc. Not binding long term.]

So, that thing with your eyes...?

[It's got something to do with this Fairy, at least in part.]

Oh, you've noticed.

[He stands, stretching.]

My sister and I...we don't cultivate like the rest of Yunkui, at least not entirely. I don't know how to explain Fairy, not really, but we use talismans and arrays more than swords or other weapons. [Belle has her fan and Wise has his throwing knives, but they don't tell people about that.] Physically, we can't handle typical methods of cultivation.

I see. That'd explain why you both need bodyguards, but being a capable cultivator isn't all about knowing how to fight. Sure, it's a big component, but you probably caught onto those traps a while ago faster than I did.

[And putting aside anything beneath the surface, Wise didn't exactly look like a guy to take to a work-out routine.]

You're sharp, I like that.

[He smiles.]

We try. We can actually do a lot with our cultivation methods, though we try to keep most of it quiet. If people knew what Belle and I could do...it'd be Yiling and the Burial Mounds all over again.

[That's centuries old at this point, but when the people involved are immortals history doesn't really die like that.]

[SNORTS.]

Heavens forbid, huh? I still hear campfire stories about that one.

[The flavor of it is a lot different depending on if it's a straight or queer person reciting the tale, though.]

... You think that's got something to do with why the Exaltists have their eyes on you?

Shifu and Immortal Jiang are friends.

[So.]

Probably. We know they want their hands on Fairy, and she's bound to us, so...

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