( since xie lian doesn't see that little interaction between them, there's no chastising. but be sure there would have been! still, er...perhaps not in this case. for xie lian is increasingly distracted and overwhelmed with the way that magic feeds into his own and, then, as if looking at the same thing in a new cant of light, reveals itself to be one thing all along.
the matter of familiars is commonly known, but not all magic users have them, not even very powerful ones. indeed, xie lian has never seen jun wu with such a being, nor even some other showier individuals. yet it is a truth that only those of considerable ability have the chance to find and connect with them, or be found by them.
with most of his magic sealed and his "fortune" dispersed, xie lian had thought himself far beyond that likelihood.
but he feels the way the body behind him wraps around him, the surge of energy, the electrification of all his nerves as if strung almost too tight but in a vibrant way. each exhale, each spoken word, shoots down along xie lian's spine and seems to threaten to shake him apart. it's not that his body as a vessel cannot handle it, but it's been so long...and xie lian had forgotten, perhaps, what it is like to feel good.
not "okay", not "fine", not even "better".
just good.
it feels like home.
though his concern over the other's coldness abates a little, there are yet tendrils of it beneath his own exponential warmth, which funnels back into where the magic comes to him, letting them wind around each other not unlike how the two bodies in bed look now. a fierce blush stains his cheeks but xie lian is so hot all over he actually cannot feel the difference, speaking and feeling a little delirious too, )
Xiao Hua... ( no, there is another name, the turning of a key, the alighting of a butterfly on a fingertip, a red string that always leads home, ah... ) ...Hua Cheng.
( a true name, especially of his familiar, is a strong thing. unlike other mythos, it need not remain secret. it has a physicality to it that rests like a broad palm against xie lian's heart as soon as he says it, his pulse slowing and then quickening almost maddeningly fast with recognition. mine.
his very own.
the hand in hua cheng's hair goes still only because xie lian has to focus on breathing, dizzy with heat and the over abundance of magic. )
I'm sorry... ( he gasps through caught breaths, petting him again but distinctly clumsier this time. )... I didn't know...
( in his perceived prime, none could best xie lian in magic or theory or anything else. magic users and non magic users adored him the same. a young prodigy belonging to the people. but it has been a very, very long time since then. xie lian has learned much that he never could have known before his fall from grace and repute. time in and of itself is unforgiving though, and the shackles that seem to tighten threateningly now, as if responding to this surge of power, did not help. the hand not in hua cheng's hair lifts to his own throat, nails digging ever so slightly, as his mind whirls on.
yet to not recognize one's own familiar! did xiao hua...no, hua cheng...feel rejected? even if he did, once he found xie lian he could not have left, bound as they are. worry resurfaces but it's interlaced with a deep and unconditional fondness. if (when) he learns the entirety of hua cheng's form, he will be neither disgusted nor anything else negative.
another thing about time: that once when xie lian was truly the age he looks, saved a cat. it was his coming of age ceremony, in a sense, and the interruption was frowned upon, xie lian reprimanded as much as one could do at the time. no one could see the importance, where to xie lian the importance was all there was to see: if he could save them, then of course he would. he had bespelled himself with flying magic, also against the rules, technically until after his ceremony, but he hadn't wanted to frighten the animal, knowing many did not respond well to enchantments of any kind; and true, cats could even often be immune. soon after, the council fell into chaos. to his own knowledge, xie lian saw the cat a few more times, offering it food or shelter all of those times, first aid once too, and then never again.
so when hua cheng asks do you know who i am there are many layers to it, but for now, xie lian only manages the connection of familiar. )
no subject
the matter of familiars is commonly known, but not all magic users have them, not even very powerful ones. indeed, xie lian has never seen jun wu with such a being, nor even some other showier individuals. yet it is a truth that only those of considerable ability have the chance to find and connect with them, or be found by them.
with most of his magic sealed and his "fortune" dispersed, xie lian had thought himself far beyond that likelihood.
but he feels the way the body behind him wraps around him, the surge of energy, the electrification of all his nerves as if strung almost too tight but in a vibrant way. each exhale, each spoken word, shoots down along xie lian's spine and seems to threaten to shake him apart. it's not that his body as a vessel cannot handle it, but it's been so long...and xie lian had forgotten, perhaps, what it is like to feel good.
not "okay", not "fine", not even "better".
just good.
it feels like home.
though his concern over the other's coldness abates a little, there are yet tendrils of it beneath his own exponential warmth, which funnels back into where the magic comes to him, letting them wind around each other not unlike how the two bodies in bed look now. a fierce blush stains his cheeks but xie lian is so hot all over he actually cannot feel the difference, speaking and feeling a little delirious too, )
Xiao Hua... ( no, there is another name, the turning of a key, the alighting of a butterfly on a fingertip, a red string that always leads home, ah... ) ...Hua Cheng.
( a true name, especially of his familiar, is a strong thing. unlike other mythos, it need not remain secret. it has a physicality to it that rests like a broad palm against xie lian's heart as soon as he says it, his pulse slowing and then quickening almost maddeningly fast with recognition. mine.
his very own.
the hand in hua cheng's hair goes still only because xie lian has to focus on breathing, dizzy with heat and the over abundance of magic. )
I'm sorry... ( he gasps through caught breaths, petting him again but distinctly clumsier this time. )... I didn't know...
( in his perceived prime, none could best xie lian in magic or theory or anything else. magic users and non magic users adored him the same. a young prodigy belonging to the people. but it has been a very, very long time since then. xie lian has learned much that he never could have known before his fall from grace and repute. time in and of itself is unforgiving though, and the shackles that seem to tighten threateningly now, as if responding to this surge of power, did not help. the hand not in hua cheng's hair lifts to his own throat, nails digging ever so slightly, as his mind whirls on.
yet to not recognize one's own familiar! did xiao hua...no, hua cheng...feel rejected? even if he did, once he found xie lian he could not have left, bound as they are. worry resurfaces but it's interlaced with a deep and unconditional fondness. if (when) he learns the entirety of hua cheng's form, he will be neither disgusted nor anything else negative.
another thing about time: that once when xie lian was truly the age he looks, saved a cat. it was his coming of age ceremony, in a sense, and the interruption was frowned upon, xie lian reprimanded as much as one could do at the time. no one could see the importance, where to xie lian the importance was all there was to see: if he could save them, then of course he would. he had bespelled himself with flying magic, also against the rules, technically until after his ceremony, but he hadn't wanted to frighten the animal, knowing many did not respond well to enchantments of any kind; and true, cats could even often be immune. soon after, the council fell into chaos. to his own knowledge, xie lian saw the cat a few more times, offering it food or shelter all of those times, first aid once too, and then never again.
so when hua cheng asks do you know who i am there are many layers to it, but for now, xie lian only manages the connection of familiar. )