pcs with psyche

[diabolizes]

Comments

[diabolizes]

I haven't been this whole time, don't worry.

[ He smiles. ]

This is just orange juice.

[ And he doesn't smell too strongly of alcohol either. ]

[chrysaline]

That's good. Then I'll only worry a little, I promise.

[ He didn't answer her second question, after all. Psyche folds her arms on the bar and lets her head fall to rest her cheek on them, looking over at Wei Wuxian as she does. He absolutely looks like the type to smile when he doesn't mean it. ]

[diabolizes]

[ If he's given the chance to avoid a question, he'll take it. But with the way she's looking at him, he can tell that she's thinking about that unanswered question. ]

I'll be alright, promise. I'm simply taking time now to decompress a little bit.

[chrysaline]

If it's a promise. Then I'll join you for a while.

[ That's enough to get her to hop up again and go around the bar. She doesn't want a drink either, but she can rifle through the juices for a bit. ]

Thank you, for thinking of Fou. [ She was listening during the impromptu meeting, even if she didn't feel like talking much. ] I hope he calms down enough to find the food.

[diabolizes]

[ He smiles, watching as she looks at the available juices. ]

I hope so too. Zelkov and I worked hard on his meal.

[ Wei Wuxian laughs a bit. ]

But it’s no problem, really. I’m not a pet guy, but I could tell Merlin cared about that strange rabbit.

[chrysaline]

Really? You seemed like you would be.

[ She laughs a little in return as she runs her hands over bottles before seizing one at random. ]

It was kind of Zelkov, too. I do think Merlin would have appreciated it.

[diabolizes]

I’d like to think so. Perhaps his spirit can see and is lavishing me with praise.

[ That’s the hope! ]

But no, I don’t care for the animals people tend to keep as pets.

[ Dogs. He means dogs, specifically, but he won’t say it. ]

[chrysaline]

Hm... I think he would. He wasn't sparing with praise.

[ Darn Wei Wuxian for making her laugh again right now. But she can picture that, a little. In defiance of her mood she hunts the cutest bird cup she can find to pour the contents of the bottle into. ]

All of them? That's quite a few... I wonder if they're different between our countries.

[diabolizes]

[ He has a sip, contemplating what people might have as pets in other worlds. ]

I suppose some people keep rabbits back in my world, though I’ve mostly hunted them. Cats and dogs are common, however.

[chrysaline]

Oh, they're mostly the same after all! Some people keep birds, too. ...You must not mind those very much.

[ Otherwise, this terrible vacation is even worse for him than the rest of them. Psyche sits herself back down next to him at last and takes a sip. ]

[diabolizes]

[ He smiles a little. ]

No, I don’t. I actually used to hunt birds often as well… I promise I haven’t here, though.

[ There’s nothing to hunt them with in the first place, but he also wouldn’t want to disturb the balance of any ecosystems either. ]

[chrysaline]

It's not as if I could tell you not to hunt. It's hypocritical of me, isn't it? I can't stand seeing a rabbit in a trap and I'll let it go, but I'd eat the same dish if it were put in front of me. Ho-oh did say we wouldn't be short on food, though.

[ For... whatever Ho-oh's word is worth. Maybe thinking about that isn't the best way to help Wei Wuxian decompress after everything. ]

[diabolizes]

[ He doesn't seem all that bothered, thankfully. ]

That's one benefit of being here, at least. I have to admit the food was much better here than what I was eating before.

[chrysaline]

Mm, if you're always hunting for yourself...

[ Well, it's probably tougher than the kitchen here, anyway. Psyche fidgets and thinks of the soup recipe — asking him to wait here for a few hours for it to be done is a little much, probably. ]

...Will you tell me what's on your mind? I want to help, but I never know where to start. I don't understand people's hearts like Medea and Perion do.

[diabolizes]

[ He looks at her for a long moment, surprise clear on his face. It's rare that he's ever asked how he, specifically, is feeling. ]

...Alright.

[ He has a sip of orange juice as he tries to think of the right words. ]

I've never been the last person that someone saw before their death when I wasn't the one to kill them myself. It's... strange.

[chrysaline]

[ Psyche makes a thoughtful noise as she turns that over in her mind. Maybe this is something she actually can understand a little. ]

...Sometimes, I can't help but think that people feel so fragile. It doesn't seem real that he's gone. Is it strange because you only just saw him? Or because you aren't used to feeling so helpless about someone dying?

[diabolizes]

[ Wow, it's strange that Psyche is able to hone in on what he can't exactly put into words. But because he can't exactly put into to words, he thinks it over. ]

...A mixture of both, I suppose. I've been in control of death for so long that it feels foreign to be unable to do anything at all.

[chrysaline]

You mean, your powers with ghosts?

[ She hadn't really thought of it like that, but it might not be such a different feeling from being a healer. She curls her fingers a little against the surface of the bar as she watches him. ]

[diabolizes]

...Partially.

[ He stares down at his drink. ]

I have no means of even turning him into a fierce corpse to take revenge on our captors... and no ability to turn him into a conscious fierce corpse either. [ Because who knows if he could even replicate here without his inventions and pool of resentful energy? ] It's been a long time since I've felt unable to do anything at all.

[chrysaline]

[ That's... a word that seems to more or less explain itself. Psyche gives a little nod of half-understanding. ]

Something like bringing him back? Not alive, but... able to do something. But it won't work here? I know at the meeting, people mentioned their powers being affected.

[diabolizes]

I brought someone back as a fierce corpse with a conscious, able to make their own decisions. But it was a lot of work and required all sorts of talismans and a pool of resentful energy.

[ His lovely little Blood Pool, which was basically a battery of resentful energy for him. ]

I have yet to feel resentful energy even while playing Chenqing. I doubt I would have gathered enough to revive him at all, much less have my talismans work accordingly. [ He pauses. ] I'm not even sure he died full of anger, knowing him... making everything I've said moot.

[chrysaline]

[ She nods again, her brow furrowing a little. ]

I imagine... he didn't. He called them there on purpose, didn't he? I don't think them attacking him would have taken him by surprise.

[ A little undecided, Psyche fidgets. ]

...It's probably nothing, and I don't know that it would help. But Merlin said something a little strange to me last week. "How would you tell two people apart if they looked the same"? "People are not as they appear to be." He liked saying strange things... but I keep wondering if maybe he pulled some kind of trick on them after all.

[ Logic tells her this is her trying to cope, and she knows it. It just itches at her. ]

[diabolizes]

No, I'm sure he expected it. He had confidence, but...

[ Wei Wuxian shakes his head. He told Merlin not to go alone, and yet he did.

But what Psyche repeats back to him has him furrowing his brows, a hand lifting up to his chin. ]

...I wouldn't say it's impossible. He was a cryptic man, after all, so he could have had something up his sleeve. [ He sighs. ] If I had gotten a chance to get close to the body, I might've been able to tell, but...

[chrysaline]

[ So it sounds odd to him, too? She knows she's a little biased in this, but... ]

I guess there's no way to know now. And I don't know what it would mean even if it were true. Or what he was trying to do... it just makes me wonder.

[ Maybe she's just added to Wei Wuxian's worries, too. She watches his thoughtful expression with a little frown. ]

[diabolizes]

Hopefully we'll find out one day.

[ He smiles a little, so it at least doesn't seem like she's added to his worries. ]

And if not... we can hope that his spirit is resting peacefully, knowing he at least tried to help us.