Find some happiness together? Something tells him that isn't true. Because for it to be true, Billy would have to be lucky, but he's not. He knows he isn't.
"Happiness is the safety of our peoples," he posits with a sigh. "We can both agree on that, right?"
Huaisang's brow furrows at the response and he reads it as not particularly receptive to what he had suggested. Would they both have to be miserable for it? That had always been Huaisang's probably, the reason he didn't want to be the Master of the Nie Sect. He didn't want to settle, he didn't want to become someone he wasn't. He's not a leader, he's not a fighter.
But he forces a smile and nods. "Of course," because it's the only acceptable answer.
He finishes off another cup and reaches for the jar to pour more again.
"They can make you something else if you prefer," Huaisang says softly and maybe he should have tried to figure out what sort of food was common where he was from but that would have meant someone would have had to tell him something. He studies Billy and then he's back to drinking.
"I can make my brother break the troth," he finally says.
He can beg, he can use every trick and push da ge to cave in but he could do it. And Nie Mingjue would rage at him and he'd have the tip of Baxia pointed at his face again. He can live with that.
"I don't think I could survive if there is no true happiness for you to find here."
"Breaking it would only anger my grandfather and insult Genosha. No, that would have too much ill effect for your people. I... I don't want them hurt."
They were innocent, in the grand scheme of things. And it made Billy tired.
"Forgive me. I've had three days warning on this," he admits. Which left one to wonder how he spoke the language. "It was a relief enough to find you to be a man, and attractive. But... I've never left Genosha. I feel so weird here. So out of place. I must look silly to you, dressed as I am. And no one where will look me in the eye. Do they fear me? Are they disgusted by me? These are my thoughts, my fears. People attack what they do not understand, what they fear.
Huaisang is quiet and his hand goes for his fan, holding it a moment in both hands and then letting it open smoothly turning it around and lightly fanning himself. He has the urge to hide behind it as he often does when he doesn't know what to say or do, when he would rather run and hide but it isn't a current option. He listens carefully and there's a flicker of a smile at being called attractive.
"There is nothing to forgive."
Huaisang starts and there is so much that is strange about this foreign prince and that he doesn't really understand. He lifts the fan a little and it only covers a small portion of his face.
"Your lands must be very different from ours. I have not traveled outside of going visit different clans and studying with some of them. But you do not look silly. I appreciated how you looked, I like clothes and I have never seen any like this before," Huaisang smiles a bit behind the fan. "My people aren't afraid of anything," Huaisang on the other hand??? "They are certainly not disgusted, why would they be? Unsure, curious and trying to respect you is far more likely. No one will attack you here."
Another clan? He cannot speak for but he doubted anyone would come to Qinghe or the Unclean Realm for an attempt.
Oh dear. Billy looks so embarrassed, his cheeks coloring deeply at the correction. This whole thing is so uncomfortable.
"I still ask your forgiveness. I've been here less than twenty minutes and already I've made it awkward. It's... uncommon for me and my brother to interact with a lot of people outside of the palace. I'm making this bad, aren't I?"
"You're in a situation in which you are more comfortable. We'd call it home field advantage," Billy says. It would be easier if he were in Genosha. But he's not the one who was the heir.
"They do. It'd be easier if this first meeting was... more casual. Meals feel so intimate."
Huaisang smiles more when the other grins and he starts to think this isn't a total disaster. He bows his head slightly and then as the other holds out his hand he takes it.
"Our gardens are beautiful, my brother allowed me to raise canaries in them as well." Huaisang loves birds. He values beauty and luxury.
"Birds?" Billy grins. Yep, he's a bit more excited now. "My family keeps gardens. My mother loves roses, and I've been helping her tend her garden since I could walk."
Billy takes the hand in his, and then curls Huaisang's arm around his. There, a proper escort.
"Show me everything. The flowers must be so different."
Huaisang hadn't expected it, the other to offer his arm like this but he with his other hand he hooks his ban to his sash to which a jade pendant and a paint brush were already set. Much to his brother's chagrin he never remembered to carry his saber but he never forgot those three things.
He leads Billy through the doors and down one of the wrap arounds toward the gardens. They weren't particularly fancy. It's modest all considering and it is mostly Huaisang's work in this particular garden. There are birds a plenty, different colored canaries, not all of them had been captured, many of them had been born right here.
There's even an attempt at growing lotuses in memory of a fallen friend -- it's not going well, Qinghe is mountainous and Lotuses need a lot of water which is not abundant there. There aren't any flowers like roses but smaller petals, more humble and some almost looking like wildflowers (and they probably were).
"It is not much." But it's weeded and the path is well kept and there are trees in several places for shade on warm days.
Not much? It's a lot for this place that Billy has seen so little of and yet seemed so... austere. It was enough to be a true comfort. So he smiles and lets himself be led around. But it's beautiful enough for him. He pauses when they reach the small water area where there are clearly things supposed to come up.
"What is that?" Billy asks, gesturing toward the water area.
There's a flicker of sadness when he looks at the area. He lets go of the other's arm to crouch down carefully, not intending to get his robes dirty. He studies the soil and there's no sprouts still. He smiles as he glances back up.
"I'm trying to figure out how to grow lotuses here. I had a friend who grew up with the Jiang Clan in Yunmeng it is a territory filled with lakes and rivers and lotuses grow easily. The lotus flower is also their crest. He died not long ago," Huaisang explains, slowly pushing himself back up.
"I've managed to bring one seed to sprout but it didn't last. Lotuses can be stubborn and defiant in places that don't suit them just like my friend was."
"The dirty here is rocky and dry. There's no soft ground and we do not have so much water as there is in Yunmeng."
Huaisang motioned toward the mountaintops. "Growing things here is harder in general," Huaisang says. Which makes it more clear how much work he had put into this garden, growing flowers and raising birds with beautiful songs.
"It means something to you. So no, it's not silly to try. So, let's see. You need softer ground and a natural welling up of water?"
He considers the area, looking around, trying to figure out where the low point of the place is. "Do you need flowing water, or more like a pond or what? Tell me what you imagine."
Huaisang feels a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, a real one this
time. He nods at the other's question. He doesn't quite get why he's asking.
"Ponds work fine for lotuses," Nie Huaisang murmurs and he thinks to the
last time he was in Yunmeng and he looks at the pitiful area he's been
trying to grow in.
"I just imagine clean water and soft soil for the seeds to sprout and grow
in. The lotus flower is a beautiful one."
Well, that's something he can work with. Billy's hands reach out as he starts to chant under his breath in German. The pale blue light his fingers give off as they press so very lightly to Huaisang's temple isn't bright enough to blind. But the touch does come with something like a gentle warmth mixed with a static shock but less surprising. Like the air is charged with electricity.
Billy's eyes take on the same blue cast as he mumbles under his breath, working a spell to see the image in the other man's mind, knowing talking about it would bring up what Huaisang wants. Only then does he reach his other hand out, palm outstretched, toward the desired area.
The changes come in a soft swell of blue light. Clean water for a pond. Soft soil for sprouting. A few lily pads to shelter the water, and some fish. But no lotus flowers. Those, that would be Huaisang's responsiblility.
When the light falls away and Billy lowers his hands there it is. An area just as Huaisang would have imagined it. And Billy smiles.
"Hopefully this will suit your seeds," he says, looking back to his work. "Did I get it right?"
The touch startled Huaisang a little, brow furrowing and his closed fan
turning in his hand as he keeps his attention on Billy. However the other
could do what he did is magical and Huaisang stares at the results in
surprise.
“Yes...” Huaisang says, staring at the changes that had been made and then
smiling brightly as he looks back to his betrothed.
"I warp the fabric of reality with my words," Billy admits. He definitely smiles a bit wider because, well, Huaisang seems happier for all of this to have happened.
Which matters to him.
"My betrothal gift to you. I trust you to handle the seeds on your own."
That's... a lot to take in and he glances down at the pond again. "It's real?" he questions, it's unbelievable but it just all feels surreal. He can hardly be blamed for a little disbelief about it.
"I can," he confirms, though, exhaling. "Thank you..."
"It's real. And it will remain. A spell just for you. This might be the most fertile spot in your garden now. I hope it grows what you want."
But he smiles. At least he could do this one good thing. And the guy seems REALLY happy about it so that's good too. For the first moment he almost feels good about all of this.
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"Happiness is the safety of our peoples," he posits with a sigh. "We can both agree on that, right?"
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But he forces a smile and nods. "Of course," because it's the only acceptable answer.
He finishes off another cup and reaches for the jar to pour more again.
"Does the food suit your tastes?"
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"It's nice," Billy agrees, and honestly he clearly hasn't touched it.
To nervous.
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"I can make my brother break the troth," he finally says.
He can beg, he can use every trick and push da ge to cave in but he could do it. And Nie Mingjue would rage at him and he'd have the tip of Baxia pointed at his face again. He can live with that.
"I don't think I could survive if there is no true happiness for you to find here."
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They were innocent, in the grand scheme of things. And it made Billy tired.
"Forgive me. I've had three days warning on this," he admits. Which left one to wonder how he spoke the language. "It was a relief enough to find you to be a man, and attractive. But... I've never left Genosha. I feel so weird here. So out of place. I must look silly to you, dressed as I am. And no one where will look me in the eye. Do they fear me? Are they disgusted by me? These are my thoughts, my fears. People attack what they do not understand, what they fear.
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"There is nothing to forgive."
Huaisang starts and there is so much that is strange about this foreign prince and that he doesn't really understand. He lifts the fan a little and it only covers a small portion of his face.
"Your lands must be very different from ours. I have not traveled outside of going visit different clans and studying with some of them. But you do not look silly. I appreciated how you looked, I like clothes and I have never seen any like this before," Huaisang smiles a bit behind the fan. "My people aren't afraid of anything," Huaisang on the other hand??? "They are certainly not disgusted, why would they be? Unsure, curious and trying to respect you is far more likely. No one will attack you here."
Another clan? He cannot speak for but he doubted anyone would come to Qinghe or the Unclean Realm for an attempt.
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Oh dear. Billy looks so embarrassed, his cheeks coloring deeply at the correction. This whole thing is so uncomfortable.
"I still ask your forgiveness. I've been here less than twenty minutes and already I've made it awkward. It's... uncommon for me and my brother to interact with a lot of people outside of the palace. I'm making this bad, aren't I?"
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"Am I any less awkward?" Huaisang laughs. It comes easily, his laugh usually does even when it shouldn't.
"I think the circumstances make this difficult."
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"They do. It'd be easier if this first meeting was... more casual. Meals feel so intimate."
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"Is that why you won't eat? Should we take a walk through the gardens instead?"
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"Yeah, thanks. I'm... a little too nervous to eat. Maybe if we walk I'll settle my stomach."
He rises a little and stands. And after a moment, he half holds his hand out to Huasiang.
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"Our gardens are beautiful, my brother allowed me to raise canaries in them as well." Huaisang loves birds. He values beauty and luxury.
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Billy takes the hand in his, and then curls Huaisang's arm around his. There, a proper escort.
"Show me everything. The flowers must be so different."
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He leads Billy through the doors and down one of the wrap arounds toward the gardens. They weren't particularly fancy. It's modest all considering and it is mostly Huaisang's work in this particular garden. There are birds a plenty, different colored canaries, not all of them had been captured, many of them had been born right here.
There's even an attempt at growing lotuses in memory of a fallen friend -- it's not going well, Qinghe is mountainous and Lotuses need a lot of water which is not abundant there. There aren't any flowers like roses but smaller petals, more humble and some almost looking like wildflowers (and they probably were).
"It is not much." But it's weeded and the path is well kept and there are trees in several places for shade on warm days.
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"What is that?" Billy asks, gesturing toward the water area.
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"I'm trying to figure out how to grow lotuses here. I had a friend who grew up with the Jiang Clan in Yunmeng it is a territory filled with lakes and rivers and lotuses grow easily. The lotus flower is also their crest. He died not long ago," Huaisang explains, slowly pushing himself back up.
"I've managed to bring one seed to sprout but it didn't last. Lotuses can be stubborn and defiant in places that don't suit them just like my friend was."
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It was normal for a betrothed to give a gift, right? Maybe this can be his.
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Huaisang motioned toward the mountaintops. "Growing things here is harder in general," Huaisang says. Which makes it more clear how much work he had put into this garden, growing flowers and raising birds with beautiful songs.
"It's silly to try."
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He considers the area, looking around, trying to figure out where the low point of the place is. "Do you need flowing water, or more like a pond or what? Tell me what you imagine."
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Huaisang feels a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, a real one this time. He nods at the other's question. He doesn't quite get why he's asking.
"Ponds work fine for lotuses," Nie Huaisang murmurs and he thinks to the last time he was in Yunmeng and he looks at the pitiful area he's been trying to grow in.
"I just imagine clean water and soft soil for the seeds to sprout and grow in. The lotus flower is a beautiful one."
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Billy's eyes take on the same blue cast as he mumbles under his breath, working a spell to see the image in the other man's mind, knowing talking about it would bring up what Huaisang wants. Only then does he reach his other hand out, palm outstretched, toward the desired area.
The changes come in a soft swell of blue light. Clean water for a pond. Soft soil for sprouting. A few lily pads to shelter the water, and some fish. But no lotus flowers. Those, that would be Huaisang's responsiblility.
When the light falls away and Billy lowers his hands there it is. An area just as Huaisang would have imagined it. And Billy smiles.
"Hopefully this will suit your seeds," he says, looking back to his work. "Did I get it right?"
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The touch startled Huaisang a little, brow furrowing and his closed fan turning in his hand as he keeps his attention on Billy. However the other could do what he did is magical and Huaisang stares at the results in surprise.
“Yes...” Huaisang says, staring at the changes that had been made and then smiling brightly as he looks back to his betrothed.
“How?”
and of course no notif
Which matters to him.
"My betrothal gift to you. I trust you to handle the seeds on your own."
dw is the worst lately
"I can," he confirms, though, exhaling. "Thank you..."
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But he smiles. At least he could do this one good thing. And the guy seems REALLY happy about it so that's good too. For the first moment he almost feels good about all of this.
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Good closing point?