Event Twenty-Five.

[awashmods]

I'd like to creep into the wood And see the bonnets blue, And hear the bluebells ringing loud, I wish I could -- don't you?

t's another day, another month, and another time for people to show up in the well. You'd better go rescue them! Never mind the fact that you woke up with a flower in your hands. It's probably fine. Don't mind it at all. It's not like it's hard to ignore a little flower. (At least, not until the effects start to kick in. Better go rescue the people in the well before they do.) Oh, right. Even the people in the well have flowers, so... things are going to be a little ridiculous very quickly, when all of those side effects kick in. Have fun! Welcome to Awash's Twenty-fifth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event! If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

Comments

[wooden_one]

[That's fair. If someone had asked to come room with him at the Red Lotus Pavilion he wouldn't have been happy about it either.

Maybe there was an abandoned shrine somewhere he can stay...? But until he found some place he probably will have to stay.

...though that brought up another problem. After all, she was a woman and if he really were a five year old child that wouldn't be a problem but...]

...I call myself Xia Sini when I'm like this, but my name is Chu Wanning.

[...he regrets not taking the medicine before he came here. But he wouldn't have guessed he'd be housed with someone of the opposite sex! That was so improper! But how does he explain that he was sometimes left in this form because he'd been poisoned...?]

[regrede]

[ “like this,” he says. it doesn’t escape sierra’s notice, but she’s not exactly sure what he means, except that the phrasing seems a little off for an actual child. therefore, she stands, now suspicious of the person before her. ]

You’re afflicted by some curse, then?

[ it’s merely a guess, but she thinks she might have him figured out. ]

[wooden_one]

[It's normal to be suspicious. He wouldn't begrudge her for it either.]

Not quite a curse. I was poisoned by the sap of a spiritual tree. It causes my body to revert to that of a child's.

[It was embarrassing to admit and he braces himself to be laughed at. After all, even if he weren't the famed Grandmaster Chu here, it was...ridiculous. Embarrassing.]

[regrede]

…

[ sierra sighs again, as if she’s burdened by this knowledge. ]

We are not so different. I am nearly nine centuries old, despite the way I look. I may not revert, but I can sympathize.

[ she still doesn’t want him in her house, especially knowing that he’s actually an adult in the body of a child, but she’s a little more forgiving of this specific affliction. ]

[wooden_one]

[He doesn't look too surprised. Some cultivation methods allowed people to keep a younger appearance. He knows at least one person who's been alive for two hundred years and look twenty.

Still...nine centuries was a nearly impossible life span for a human. But he wasn't going to ask.]

This is a new problem for me. I have medicine to turn me back for about seven days, but it's unstable. [Also he doesn't have an endless supply of it. He folded his hands into his sleeves with a sigh.] I would appreciate it, if you would keep this a secret.

[regrede]

I have no one to tell. Worry not…

[ there’s a definite hesitation in her voice where she aims to call him “child,” but she cuts herself off and holds her tongue. even if they’re keeping up appearances here, it feels wrong to call someone else a name that she would hate. ]

But you will have to leave as soon as possible. I am an unmarried maiden, you see.

[wooden_one]

[Well this is awkward. He'd be more bothered if this hadn't been most of his life thus far.

He nods.]

I understand. As soon as I find some other place I will move out.

[Perhaps there's some kind of abandoned shrine here somewhere...]

But while I am here, can you answer some questions for me?

[regrede]

I will do as much as I am inclined.

[ …which is sierra-speak for yes, she will answer some questions, but she will only answer as many questions as allow her to retain the upper hand in this conversation. she likes to feel important. ]

What did you want to knw?

[wooden_one]

[That would have to be good enough, he supposed.]

How long have you been here?

[regrede]

Long enough.

[ she’s exhausted just thinking about it. ]

Some months, perhaps? It’s hard to keep track.

[wooden_one]

...I see.

[That's worrying no matter how many times he hears it.]

It seems everyone has been here for months and nothing shorter than that. Is it because no one has arrived recently?

[How often does it even happen, anyway?]