No, I can't, because if I disarm it, the rest of my family will be here in less that three minutes, and if you didn't want the police to find you, you definitely don't want a Clan of Fire Blood Mages to find you. You do know where you are right?
[Because she as pretty sure he'd been looking for those specific runes, which meant he'd been targeting the place, so he had to know who it belonged to.
She was still holding the door open.]
Get out. I'm still going to have to explain what happened to my uncle and I don't even know what I'm going to tell him. You're smart enough to conceal yourself and get through all the wards and enchantments guarding the place, and you trip the silent alarm we keep for regular burglars? Seriously?
Okay, okay, okay, [ He said, as if he was doing her a favour and hadn’t just been caught trespassing. He stepped out of the door, walking a few steps and then turning around to cock his head at her inquisitively. ]
So why are you actually letting me go, if you think I’m stealing?
[She slammed the door shut behind him and then leaned against the wall, crossing her arms.]
You saw maybe three runes and I can't make you unsee them. You managed to slip through all of the wards we have around this place and I just saw your cloaking. What makes you think I have any chance of stopping you if you decide to just... go? Like, seriously.
[She spread her arms again and even did a little twirl.]
See? Just little old me. I'm not at your level, and I know it, and you know it. Fighting is a pain and in this case an absolute waste of time, especially if it's just going to end in me getting my ass kicked anyway. I can tell the people who need to know to put a better ward on this place, and then I can go sleep.
Not being at my level never stopped anyone from trying to catch me before, [ He pointed out as he watched her twirl. ]
But for the record, I don’t fight. Though I’m sure people say I do, to make themselves feel better when they can’t catch me.
[ He rubbed his arms, trying to get some warmth into them. It may not be cold outside, but it would take a while for him to warm up. ]
So you were never in danger of me kicking your ass. Unless you like, asked me to, I guess, but that’s a different thing altogether.
[ He hummed. ]
You don’t need to worry about the wards. No one but me would have been able to get through them anyway, they’re pretty impressive. Usually blood magic is a lot more unruly than that.
... Don't tell anyone, though. I don't want them to know I can actually do stuff.
[She watched him as he started to prattle on about the wards, and blood magic, and.... he wasn't leaving. For some reason. Not to mention a few of the things he said...]
The niece, actually. We're close in age, but he's my uncle, not my brother. I'm Zhang Liushu.
And if they know I can do stuff, then they'll want me to work at it some more and ... meh. Can't be bothered.
[She watched him step back but... didn't follow herself.]
You still haven't told me who you are.
[Why should she follow you? Sure, she was no as defenseless as a random person here, but still... she was a young woman alone at night in a random part of town facing a nameless guy wearing a hoodie who was sort of on the run from the authorities...]
And I've had too much to drink tonight to try guessing.
Ahhh, my bad. I'm better with magic than with people, generally speaking.
[ His smile only widened, and he shrugged as he pulled his hood up, but didn't activate the cloaking spell. ]
Ah, shame, it's always fun when people guess.
[ He pulled a match out of his pocket, rubbed the head between his fingers and then snapped - a brilliant white light igniting at the end of his index finger. He then used it to draw in the air like a sparkler, though it hung for far longer than it should have. There, emblazoned in the air, was his famous signature - a jumping fox. ]
Well, I guess I'll see you around, then.
[ He gave her a wink and then turned around to start walking. ]
[Once she saw the fox sparkler, her eyes widened and she immediately ran forward to catch up, pass him and then plant herself in front of him.]
Seriously? You're Fox? The Fox? You...
... Don't look anything like what people say.
[She was half tempted to cal bullshit, except... he'd gone through the ward. And his cloaking spells... no, he was most probably telling the truth. But then why would he...]
Why did you come in and copy the runes we use to power the barbecue stove tops?
[Sure, those were powerful fire spells, and designed specifically by the Zhang Clan, but they were still made mostly for cooking.]
... And also did I seriously catch you because you stupidly put your backpack on our panic button on the alarm system we have for normal people? How... does that even make sense? You can literally almost disappear if you want to and you trip up a silent alarm?
My uncle is going to freak out something fierce. Ugh.
[ There, that reaction was much more satisfying. He grinned at her and shrugged again. ]
Yeah, last I heard I was supposed to be some six foot tall blonde white guy that was secretly rich, so, I can understand the confusion.
I came because you guys have magic I haven’t seen before. Isn’t that enough?
[ For him it’s obvious. Magic was catnip for him, he couldn’t resist getting a taste. ]
And look, most of the old families rely really heavily on magic wards, or at the most some securitiy cameras. I came prepared for those. What restaurant has a panic button these days?
[ He started walking again, stepping up to see if she would block his way, otherwise he was just going to start walking leisurely down the alley they were in. ]
[She wasn't going to block his way, but now she was definitely walking along.]
A restaurant that has ten of thousands of dollars of expensive cooking equipment in the kitchen and who got robbed before by people from outside the province who didn't know what they were getting into. We catch a lot more people with it than with the wards.
[She grimaced when he mentioned not telling.]
I can't do that. I came because I was the one on call, but I'm not the only one who gets the alerts. And the officer couldn't know I arrived after the alarm was tripped, but they will. They'll know what time I entered the wards. They already know someone was in there.
Ugh, I should probably drop by to report before I go home. Gonna get yelled at again. Oh well.
So you’re letting me go, telling the police to go away, even though it’s going to get you in trouble with your family?
[ He couldn’t help the small smile. ]
You didn’t even know who I was but you were already going to let me go, huh. I can’t decide if I should feel flattered or dejected.
[ By the spreading grin, probably flattered. ]
Well, one good turn deserves another. Tell them it was me. It’s not like they’ll be able to find me anyway, and it’s not like I don’t have the rep to back it up. It might sound like a bit of a tall tale, but...
[ He paused, looking himself over, then down at his sleeve. Ah, well? He could repair it later. He hummed, reaching into his pocket for that same matchstick, rubbing it between his fingers to get just a little of the ignition powder, and then snapped his fingers. With a line of fire he cut away the end of his sleeve, handing the singed and smoking piece of fabric to her. ]
There. It’s enchanted to all hell, so. You valiantly tried to stop me, but I was too fast and too sneaky for you to keep your hands on. Yeah?
I mean, I get yelled at all the time, so once more isn't gonna change much right now.
[She shrugged, looking completely unbothered.
Still, she blinked at him as she accepted the bit of sleeve... and then smiled, holding it up.]
Well, they'd certainly believe that I couldn't stop you... and also they'll appreciate me keeping the police out of it, so there's that. With any luck, I'll be back to my place before dawn.
... Thanks. I don't need you to walk me back, by the way. It'd be useless to pretend you escaped if you're just going to walk me to the door of the compound. I'll be fine. This is my neighborhood, everyone here knows me.
But if you drop by during the day, I'll make you something to eat, okay?
[ And with a lazy salute he pulled his hood up again, disappearing into it before he himself disappeared into the city.
In the mid afternoon, however, as invited, Fox showed up to the restaurant but through the front door, this time. Stuck soundly between the lunch and dinner rush, the place was happily near empty, and he happily told the waiter that he was hoping to see Liushu while he was here. A little pushback (“why would she want to see you”) and a little charm (“ah, but who wouldn’t want to see her”) later, he was drinking green tea and waiting when he finally caught sight of her. He grinned and waved. ]
[It took her a little while to come out from the back because at first all of the info she can get out of the waiter was that 'there's some weird guy out there asking for you do I need to kick him out?' and only after she'd had a peek from around a corner did she tell him off. No, it's fine, he's a friend.
She finished what she was doing before washing her hands and coming out of the kitchen to plop herself in the seat in front of him with her own drink.]
Well, that was fast. Is no one feeding you at home or what?
[After being told his name and reporting the incident, she'd done a little bit of catching up on who he was. She'd never paid too much attention before. Fox was an elusive and legendary figure who put the Elders on edge but had very little to do with someone like her at this stage of her life.]
I guess there's no that much mystery left. Anything you'd like off the menu, or do you leave it up to me?
[She could tell he was kind of avoiding answering the question, but then could she really fault him. After all, given what his actual identity was, the less people knew about him the better. She'd been asking out of friendliness, but there was no way for him to be assured of that.]
Fine. No dietary restriction? I hope you like pork.
[She left him with another drink as she went to the kitchen, where she busied herself for about forty-five minutes before she brought back too earthenware pots on a tray, one for him and one for her, full of Char Sui barbecue pork belly over rice. There was also a plate of greens and two bowls of soup.]
[ By the time Liushu returned, Fox had folded his paper placemat into a frog, enchanted it, and was watching it hop around the obstacle course he had made for it out of cutlery and condiments. He looked up when she approached, grinned, and tapped twice on the frog’s head to get it to go still. ]
Oh nice! This looks delicious.
[ He grabbed his chopsticks and snapped them open. ]
Ah, I would have just come back until you did, it’s no big deal.
[She shrugged as she got her own chopsticks - personalized, from a small pouch - and started picking at the food as well]
As soon as I mentioned your name and showed them the sleeve and the page from your notebook, they forgot about scolding me and went into panic mode re-securing the whole place. But they told me I still had come work my shift here today so I guess, mostly okay, but I don't like having to handle knives on barely five hours of sleep.
.... Did you even sleep? Are you wearing the same clothes as earlier?
[She liked fashion a bit too much herself to find it super useful, but it as a cool trick?]
And well, according to most of may aunts, cooking is basically the one thing I'm really good at. It's not true but don't tell them, I've ben coasting on that and it's really relaxing.
... And when you say 'find a place'... You don't have your own?
Don’t worry, I don’t say anything to anyone about anything. [ He grinned, and it was impossible to tell how much of a joke that was. ]
Nope. Kind of easy to find someone who lives in one place. And it leaves a paper trail. And requires money? Which I can make, but I need for other things.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Because she as pretty sure he'd been looking for those specific runes, which meant he'd been targeting the place, so he had to know who it belonged to.
She was still holding the door open.]
Get out. I'm still going to have to explain what happened to my uncle and I don't even know what I'm going to tell him. You're smart enough to conceal yourself and get through all the wards and enchantments guarding the place, and you trip the silent alarm we keep for regular burglars? Seriously?
It's warm outside anyway.
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So why are you actually letting me go, if you think I’m stealing?
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You saw maybe three runes and I can't make you unsee them. You managed to slip through all of the wards we have around this place and I just saw your cloaking. What makes you think I have any chance of stopping you if you decide to just... go? Like, seriously.
[She spread her arms again and even did a little twirl.]
See? Just little old me. I'm not at your level, and I know it, and you know it. Fighting is a pain and in this case an absolute waste of time, especially if it's just going to end in me getting my ass kicked anyway. I can tell the people who need to know to put a better ward on this place, and then I can go sleep.
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But for the record, I don’t fight. Though I’m sure people say I do, to make themselves feel better when they can’t catch me.
[ He rubbed his arms, trying to get some warmth into them. It may not be cold outside, but it would take a while for him to warm up. ]
So you were never in danger of me kicking your ass. Unless you like, asked me to, I guess, but that’s a different thing altogether.
[ He hummed. ]
You don’t need to worry about the wards. No one but me would have been able to get through them anyway, they’re pretty impressive. Usually blood magic is a lot more unruly than that.
[ ... was he ever going to leave? ]
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... Don't tell anyone, though. I don't want them to know I can actually do stuff.
[She watched him as he started to prattle on about the wards, and blood magic, and.... he wasn't leaving. For some reason. Not to mention a few of the things he said...]
.... Am I supposed to know who you are?
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I don't know. Are you?
I think I know who you are. You're the sister, right? The heir to the Zhang family?
Is it that important to you that they don't think you can 'actually do stuff'?
[ He thrust his hands in his pockets and hummed as he backed up a couple of steps, but clearly expected her to keep walking with him. ]
You need an escort home?
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And if they know I can do stuff, then they'll want me to work at it some more and ... meh. Can't be bothered.
[She watched him step back but... didn't follow herself.]
You still haven't told me who you are.
[Why should she follow you? Sure, she was no as defenseless as a random person here, but still... she was a young woman alone at night in a random part of town facing a nameless guy wearing a hoodie who was sort of on the run from the authorities...]
And I've had too much to drink tonight to try guessing.
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[ His smile only widened, and he shrugged as he pulled his hood up, but didn't activate the cloaking spell. ]
Ah, shame, it's always fun when people guess.
[ He pulled a match out of his pocket, rubbed the head between his fingers and then snapped - a brilliant white light igniting at the end of his index finger. He then used it to draw in the air like a sparkler, though it hung for far longer than it should have. There, emblazoned in the air, was his famous signature - a jumping fox. ]
Well, I guess I'll see you around, then.
[ He gave her a wink and then turned around to start walking. ]
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Seriously? You're Fox? The Fox? You...
... Don't look anything like what people say.
[She was half tempted to cal bullshit, except... he'd gone through the ward. And his cloaking spells... no, he was most probably telling the truth. But then why would he...]
Why did you come in and copy the runes we use to power the barbecue stove tops?
[Sure, those were powerful fire spells, and designed specifically by the Zhang Clan, but they were still made mostly for cooking.]
... And also did I seriously catch you because you stupidly put your backpack on our panic button on the alarm system we have for normal people? How... does that even make sense? You can literally almost disappear if you want to and you trip up a silent alarm?
My uncle is going to freak out something fierce. Ugh.
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Yeah, last I heard I was supposed to be some six foot tall blonde white guy that was secretly rich, so, I can understand the confusion.
I came because you guys have magic I haven’t seen before. Isn’t that enough?
[ For him it’s obvious. Magic was catnip for him, he couldn’t resist getting a taste. ]
And look, most of the old families rely really heavily on magic wards, or at the most some securitiy cameras. I came prepared for those. What restaurant has a panic button these days?
[ He started walking again, stepping up to see if she would block his way, otherwise he was just going to start walking leisurely down the alley they were in. ]
So, don’t tell him. Nothing was lost, right?
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A restaurant that has ten of thousands of dollars of expensive cooking equipment in the kitchen and who got robbed before by people from outside the province who didn't know what they were getting into. We catch a lot more people with it than with the wards.
[She grimaced when he mentioned not telling.]
I can't do that. I came because I was the one on call, but I'm not the only one who gets the alerts. And the officer couldn't know I arrived after the alarm was tripped, but they will. They'll know what time I entered the wards. They already know someone was in there.
Ugh, I should probably drop by to report before I go home. Gonna get yelled at again. Oh well.
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[ He couldn’t help the small smile. ]
You didn’t even know who I was but you were already going to let me go, huh. I can’t decide if I should feel flattered or dejected.
[ By the spreading grin, probably flattered. ]
Well, one good turn deserves another. Tell them it was me. It’s not like they’ll be able to find me anyway, and it’s not like I don’t have the rep to back it up. It might sound like a bit of a tall tale, but...
[ He paused, looking himself over, then down at his sleeve. Ah, well? He could repair it later. He hummed, reaching into his pocket for that same matchstick, rubbing it between his fingers to get just a little of the ignition powder, and then snapped his fingers. With a line of fire he cut away the end of his sleeve, handing the singed and smoking piece of fabric to her. ]
There. It’s enchanted to all hell, so. You valiantly tried to stop me, but I was too fast and too sneaky for you to keep your hands on. Yeah?
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[She shrugged, looking completely unbothered.
Still, she blinked at him as she accepted the bit of sleeve... and then smiled, holding it up.]
Well, they'd certainly believe that I couldn't stop you... and also they'll appreciate me keeping the police out of it, so there's that. With any luck, I'll be back to my place before dawn.
... Thanks. I don't need you to walk me back, by the way. It'd be useless to pretend you escaped if you're just going to walk me to the door of the compound. I'll be fine. This is my neighborhood, everyone here knows me.
But if you drop by during the day, I'll make you something to eat, okay?
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Well, I can’t resist an offer like that, can I?
Don’t get in trouble, Liushu.
[ And with a lazy salute he pulled his hood up again, disappearing into it before he himself disappeared into the city.
In the mid afternoon, however, as invited, Fox showed up to the restaurant but through the front door, this time. Stuck soundly between the lunch and dinner rush, the place was happily near empty, and he happily told the waiter that he was hoping to see Liushu while he was here. A little pushback (“why would she want to see you”) and a little charm (“ah, but who wouldn’t want to see her”) later, he was drinking green tea and waiting when he finally caught sight of her. He grinned and waved. ]
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She finished what she was doing before washing her hands and coming out of the kitchen to plop herself in the seat in front of him with her own drink.]
Well, that was fast. Is no one feeding you at home or what?
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[ He deflected the question completely. Home itself wasn’t an applicable concept, let alone anyone feeding him in one. ]
Should I have given it a few days just for the air of mystery?
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[After being told his name and reporting the incident, she'd done a little bit of catching up on who he was. She'd never paid too much attention before. Fox was an elusive and legendary figure who put the Elders on edge but had very little to do with someone like her at this stage of her life.]
I guess there's no that much mystery left. Anything you'd like off the menu, or do you leave it up to me?
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[ He leaned back in his chair, idly fiddling with the paper his chopsticks had come wrapped in. ]
I’ll eat just about anything that’s put in front of me, so surprise me.
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Fine. No dietary restriction? I hope you like pork.
[She left him with another drink as she went to the kitchen, where she busied herself for about forty-five minutes before she brought back too earthenware pots on a tray, one for him and one for her, full of Char Sui barbecue pork belly over rice. There was also a plate of greens and two bowls of soup.]
It's lucky for you I had a shift today.
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Oh nice! This looks delicious.
[ He grabbed his chopsticks and snapped them open. ]
Ah, I would have just come back until you did, it’s no big deal.
So how’d you make out? Any trouble?
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As soon as I mentioned your name and showed them the sleeve and the page from your notebook, they forgot about scolding me and went into panic mode re-securing the whole place. But they told me I still had come work my shift here today so I guess, mostly okay, but I don't like having to handle knives on barely five hours of sleep.
.... Did you even sleep? Are you wearing the same clothes as earlier?
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[ He tapped his chest and his shirt flickered from saying “Don’t @ Me” to “aw shit”. ]
Mmm, no, haven’t slept yet. That’s okay. I’ll find somewhere to pass out for a bit in a couple hours.
[ He dug into the food and happily sighed as he ate. ]
Well this tastes really good, so even on five hours sleep I think you probably handle that blade fine!
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[She liked fashion a bit too much herself to find it super useful, but it as a cool trick?]
And well, according to most of may aunts, cooking is basically the one thing I'm really good at. It's not true but don't tell them, I've ben coasting on that and it's really relaxing.
... And when you say 'find a place'... You don't have your own?
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Nope. Kind of easy to find someone who lives in one place. And it leaves a paper trail. And requires money? Which I can make, but I need for other things.
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[But still, that did sound like being constantly on the run.
Maybe it was because she was tired herself, but as she plopped another piece of pork in her mouth, she said.]
Well, I'm finished with my shift here anyway. If you want you can crash on my couch for a while. Don't worry, I don't live at the family compound.
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