[pcs] beau

[unanswering]

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[unanswering]

I-- I didn't want to make assumptions-!!

[don't laugh at himmmm god

he exhales heavily, though, seeming to relax a little bit.]

[disreguarded]

[ she laughs again, but it's not mean! it feels nice, actually. she hasn't laughed a whole lot at all. ]

We're friends. Don't worry.

[unanswering]

I'll take your word for it.

[that gets a little smile from him, as well.]

It's- been some time, that's all.

[disreguarded]

Really? [ she nudges him. ] Come on. You can't let me be your only friend, dude. Have better standards.

[unanswering]

I- no, it isn't like that! I've had Brother Xichen and Brother Guangyao, but they're not... they were more like family.

[they were his older brother's friends, that helped look after him. it can't really be the same.]

And we've had so little time here, really, it's just...

[disreguarded]

[ she shrugs. ]

Sometimes it doesn't take years and years. Sometimes you just - find people. Sometimes things just work.

[unanswering]

Very few things have ever... just worked, miss Beau.

[a glance aside, there; it isn't something he's used to at all. he fell in easily with wei wuxian and jiang cheng when they were young, true, but that was temporary.

then again, if he makes it home, this will be too.]

[disreguarded]

[ a long pause. hm. she fiddles with her bandage. ]

I know, but maybe let me have this one.

[unanswering]

I'm not saying you can't. That we can't.

[a pause from him, as well, and eventually a soft exhale.]

I'm not- accustomed to it.

[disreguarded]

Me either. [ sniff. ] But I - with the Nein? I've kind of learned that you gotta hold on to what you can when you get it. So that's what I'm doing here.

[unanswering]

There really never is enough time, is there.

[nothing seems to last, not when it's what you want-

maybe she has a point. he sounds a little bit distant when he says that, though, clearly thinking of something else.

he shifts to stand up, though, gesturing to her hair-]

Here, let me fix that for you- do you keep everything in the, um, bathroom?

[disreguarded]

Yeah. There's a comb in there somewhere, probably. [ she's bad at doing it herself and it's not like phoenix ever combs his hair.

she'll sit here and pick at her bandages! it's fine. ]

[unanswering]

[he'll be back momentarily, then, settling in behind her; his shoulder still hurts, but it's fine, he can primarily use his right hand.]

Is there anything you want, or should I just...

[you know, do whatever. it'll be fancy, probably.]

[disreguarded]

[ a beat, and then she sort of huffs out a laugh. ]

You can do whatever you want with what's there. [ look at her cool tattoo though, isn't it neat. ]

[unanswering]

[cool, there are going to be so many little braids.

he hums softly to himself, though, as he starts to comb her hair out, eyes lingering on the tattoo.]

-may I ask what this is for? [a very light little touch, there, to indicate what he means.] It looks almost like some sort of array.

[disreguarded]

What's an array? [ she's curious!! she'll answer his question once she knows what that is. ]

[unanswering]

Oh- they're drawn for different purposes... give me a moment.

[he pauses to fish a sheet of paper & his pen from his robes, and she'll hear the pen scratching before he passes it ahead to her. there's an array drawn onto it, though the symbols won't be anything familiar.]

Here. This is one-- this would be a talisman used to start a fire.

[disreguarded]

[ oh, neat. she grins down at it. ]

Caleb would sit here and just endlessly question you about every single bit of this. [ she says, voice fond. ] I'm gonna keep this.

The ink's sort of similar. On my back, I mean. It's made of jade dust, and it makes me a little wiser. It's... it's based off...

[ she trails off. does she want to talk about this? maybe. ]

[unanswering]

I'd have to direct him to Wei Wuxian, or a different cultivator.

[nie huaisang is not the one to talk theory with, let's be honest.

he returns to combing out her hair, though, just keeping that up as she trails off; he's quiet for a moment just to make sure she's not going to keep speaking, before he says anything himself.]

...you don't have to explain it if you'd prefer not to, miss Beau.

[disreguarded]

[ i cannot FATHOM caleb widogast and wei wuxian in the same room the idea is sending me ]

No, it's - okay, I just think you might not wanna listen to me talk about sad shit, so.

[unanswering]

[we need to find one and shove them at wwx it'll be great.]

I don't mind it, if it's you.

[they're... they're friends, they've just established this. it's fine.]

[disreguarded]

[ hm. she sighs out slow. ]

My friend Mollymauk had tattoos like these. [ had. ] He was kind of a dick, but - he had this thing where no matter what he did, he tried to leave places better than he found them.

[unanswering]

-oh.

[that quiets him for a moment, makes him think of someone else who had an infectious sort of cheer, the tendency to liven up any room.

up until he didn't, anymore.

for a few moments there's just the continued motion of his hands.]

And was it like that with you? Being better for having known him.

[disreguarded]

[ she's quiet for a moment, and then: ]

Yeah. He changed my whole fucking life. Everything. Everything I've been - trying to work for, Sang, everything -- [ she pauses, reigning her voice in. ] He would've helped you without even thinking twice.

So. The tattoo's a reminder. To be less selfish. Less willing to just wreck everything I come across.

[unanswering]

You've made this better for at least one of us, miss Beau. More, if I'm not mistaken.

[-because he remembers how many people tried to help stop her from getting herself hurt, yesterday. how many reacted with that immediate concern, that boy's voice saying he wasn't going to let her be hurt.

people care about her, and there's a reason for it.]

I think you're living up to it well enough. Better than I could.