( dianxia. how long has it been since someone called him that? it unfurls something in xie lian's heart while also drawing up pinpricks of shadows. it hurts, and yet it is a kindness to be known. and besides, hua cheng says it with a voice so replete with love that xie lian has less room for the sadness of looking back in time than he might. somehow even compared to a time when that was almost the only way people called him, the name ordained by the stars comes differently off of his familiar's tongue. xie lian does not see it himself, what with his eyes closed, but a faint glow pulses from his entire form, the faintest ripple of something golden and bright. as that light collapses back into him, it is reminiscent of a bloomed lotus closing and disappearing at the same time that hua cheng presses his lips to the tightening shackle.
the brush of hua cheng's mouth to his neck does several things at once: it feels as if the breath is taken from him in one sharp twist, heat spikes through his entire body, and his head falls back, eyes closing, his mouth parted on a surprised "ah".
dazed, he is only vaguely aware as hua cheng draws him closer again and then into his lap, xie lian almost coherent enough to protest except that then hua cheng kisses him again. too little too late, xie lian remembers exactly why he usually wears the white scraps of fabric around his neck, but he never had thought the need to in his own place, even around 'xiao hua'. yet he cannot stop him. in hua cheng's lap, xie lian shifts and arches, throat bared prominently. offered. hua cheng seems to trace his shackle with painstaking acuity, almost reverent and if xie lian was clearer headed he would wonder if this is how it is for all magic users who actually have familiars, if it's 'normal' the way hua cheng sucks at his neck elicits little aching sounds from xie lian's parted lips. even once when he opens his eyes, he cannot see straight, and he quickly closes them again, dizzy and flushed, pink almost red in his cheeks and the tips of his ears and all around his throat. )
What... ( xie lian's voice comes out a little wrecked, breathy and unintentionally almost desperate sounding, )... what did you do?
( one of his hands lifts, trembling visibly, only to push pale fingers into hua cheng's hair, fondly tangling even as xie lian continues, ) ...it...it doesn't hurt...?
( the question is more than one question. over much time, even without his magic, xie lian has somehow come to the point that pain and discomfort whether through injury or otherwise, must be quite severe to register. indeed, he could even survive and endure many spells that others could not as well as substances, and so has been at the behest of various kinds of things across his life, to the point where he might be a little too laid back about such things as testing a spell first to make sure it won't backfire and curse, or trying food to make sure it isn't poisoned or gone bad. a far cry from what the people of the magic world once knew as "taizi dianxia". suffice to say his pain tolerance is as unparalleled as his magic once was.
his shackles are exceptions, and the pain they are capable of imparting is life threatening. it is, after all, a form of control, the chains spanning far and wide, invisible, clutched in the fingers of someone else. yet xie lian had asked for them, and so to him, even if the cause of their aggression is from hua cheng's own magic, xie lian would not want him to bear it. the only reason he doesn't stop him, or try, is that it doesn't occur to him that's precisely what has happened.
rather than get that far in his thinking, instead, breaths softly coming a little too fast, )
...are you...are you alright?
( the hand in hua cheng's hair pets even though he continues to shake. some of it is the overstimulation of hua cheng's magic. some of it is the sensitivity caused by being united with one's familiar, a thing that is different for each pair but in xie lian's case is visceral, an electrification down every nerve, making him burn, emanating enough heat that he's like his own small undying star. just as hua cheng's magic rushed into him as if finally coming home only to not be able to be accepted due to the shackles, it needs to gradually funnel back to its origin. as it does, the rapt tension in xie lian's body also leaves him, letting him collapse completely. his eyes blink, very slow, disoriented, and his body still resonates with a feverish heat. )
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the brush of hua cheng's mouth to his neck does several things at once: it feels as if the breath is taken from him in one sharp twist, heat spikes through his entire body, and his head falls back, eyes closing, his mouth parted on a surprised "ah".
dazed, he is only vaguely aware as hua cheng draws him closer again and then into his lap, xie lian almost coherent enough to protest except that then hua cheng kisses him again. too little too late, xie lian remembers exactly why he usually wears the white scraps of fabric around his neck, but he never had thought the need to in his own place, even around 'xiao hua'. yet he cannot stop him. in hua cheng's lap, xie lian shifts and arches, throat bared prominently. offered. hua cheng seems to trace his shackle with painstaking acuity, almost reverent and if xie lian was clearer headed he would wonder if this is how it is for all magic users who actually have familiars, if it's 'normal' the way hua cheng sucks at his neck elicits little aching sounds from xie lian's parted lips. even once when he opens his eyes, he cannot see straight, and he quickly closes them again, dizzy and flushed, pink almost red in his cheeks and the tips of his ears and all around his throat. )
What... ( xie lian's voice comes out a little wrecked, breathy and unintentionally almost desperate sounding, )... what did you do?
( one of his hands lifts, trembling visibly, only to push pale fingers into hua cheng's hair, fondly tangling even as xie lian continues, ) ...it...it doesn't hurt...?
( the question is more than one question. over much time, even without his magic, xie lian has somehow come to the point that pain and discomfort whether through injury or otherwise, must be quite severe to register. indeed, he could even survive and endure many spells that others could not as well as substances, and so has been at the behest of various kinds of things across his life, to the point where he might be a little too laid back about such things as testing a spell first to make sure it won't backfire and curse, or trying food to make sure it isn't poisoned or gone bad. a far cry from what the people of the magic world once knew as "taizi dianxia". suffice to say his pain tolerance is as unparalleled as his magic once was.
his shackles are exceptions, and the pain they are capable of imparting is life threatening. it is, after all, a form of control, the chains spanning far and wide, invisible, clutched in the fingers of someone else. yet xie lian had asked for them, and so to him, even if the cause of their aggression is from hua cheng's own magic, xie lian would not want him to bear it. the only reason he doesn't stop him, or try, is that it doesn't occur to him that's precisely what has happened.
rather than get that far in his thinking, instead, breaths softly coming a little too fast, )
...are you...are you alright?
( the hand in hua cheng's hair pets even though he continues to shake. some of it is the overstimulation of hua cheng's magic. some of it is the sensitivity caused by being united with one's familiar, a thing that is different for each pair but in xie lian's case is visceral, an electrification down every nerve, making him burn, emanating enough heat that he's like his own small undying star. just as hua cheng's magic rushed into him as if finally coming home only to not be able to be accepted due to the shackles, it needs to gradually funnel back to its origin. as it does, the rapt tension in xie lian's body also leaves him, letting him collapse completely. his eyes blink, very slow, disoriented, and his body still resonates with a feverish heat. )