Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 18, 2021 20:44:16 GMT -8
Frowning, the Beast tried to make sense of the situation. but nothing came to mind. Mitch wasn't in his right mind, so any number of things could have happened. "I'll be right back," he assured Jorge as he cut through the crowd. It wasn't hard to find the ladies and Mitch. He excused himself as he pushed Claire and Vivian out of the way before prying Elise out of her dead grip.
"Yeah, Imma need you to can it for a second." He was acting on autopilot as he cut into their dancing, worried that the Fairest had done something that was difficult to take back. He cupped his face and forced him to pay attention to him. "Mitch? Mitch, look at me. I need you to focus. What did you do?" There was no sense in beating around the bush - Yuan was no Autumn scholar and he had no way of figuring this out without asking.
"To these people, specifically. What did you do to them?"
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 18, 2021 21:23:39 GMT -8
Elise looked baffled as Yuan cut in rather aggressively. He seemed happy to join their group just a minute ago? The positive impression was rapidly evaporating, good vibes or not. All three girls looked unsure of the situation, and maybe even a little intimidated as they flagged Jorge and took a step back from the strange man. Was Yuan an ex...? Was Mitchell gay...? A rational group would have checked in and checked out by now, but a supernatural pull held their attention as they opted for disgruntled patience. Carr didn't appear threatened or concerned for anyone to step in at least.
The Fairest chuckled as his face was grabbed, spurned by a generous high before taking the cue on Yuan's face that he wasn't trying to kiss him. "You okay-?" the question started and died at the same time as the other Spring was intense with his concern. "I didn't do anything," he responded flatly, struggling to connect to the situation.
Was he lying?
The Dancer didn't attempt to move or diffuse the tension in the way he usually would, simply staring at Yuan and waiting to either be let go or see whatever the Beast was going to do.
"Everything all right?" Jorge asked tentatively over the noise of the club. He had to hover close to be heard, but he held his hands up in a way that both could see them.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 18, 2021 21:45:38 GMT -8
Things were slowly falling into place under the stress of the situation, with a little side help from the anger that was starting to rise. "You obviously did something, because now you have them trailing you like abandoned puppies. I need you to think." He held the gaze for a few more seconds before spinning to Jorge and the rest.
"No, actually. Have you not a single brain cell between the four of you? You've been giving drugs to a recovering addict, so congrats on that."
A low growl was beginning to resonate in his chest. Nothing mattered except getting Mitch out of here. "I think you should take your party elsewhere."
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 18, 2021 22:19:09 GMT -8
What else is new?
Mitch snickered as his own internal joke, before the guilt buried the intrusive resentment and the humour faded. The girls looked mortified as Yuan tore into their lack of foresight or care into someone they wanted to make happy, Elise even tearing up a bit through the cocktail of alcohol and heightened feeling. Apologies were murmured as they hung for another moment, waiting for some sort of sign that they had upset the angel and if there was an opportunity to make up for it. The Dancer didn't offer an answer without prompt, but they concluded that they all had his number at least to follow up.
Jorge nodded to them in a resolute assurance, apparently under the impression that because he was there to look out for people's safety and best interest, that courtesy extended to the ethereal being they had had the chance encounter with. It felt wrong to just let that go. He needed to know why this was all happening.
At the demand for answers Mitchell actually looked to the mundie, blinking like Yuan was talking in another language.
"Hey, we're fine," Jorge reassured with a clasp to Yuan's shoulder, "...We know he's not from around here and wanted to show him a good time. Nothing crazy, does he seem in danger or upset to you?"
The mundie seemed to be under the impression that the other was covering for Carr's identity as something inhuman and special. He even seemed excited about it, like they were sharing in a Big Secret.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 18, 2021 22:55:37 GMT -8
Yuan twitched under the touch. The last thing he wanted was to touch the source of his anger. Anger and fear. Because if Jorge knew, really knew, then Yuan would have to call someone from Winter and then no one would be having a good time. It wasn't clear to him yet, so he put off that phone call for as long as possible. He glanced over to Mitch, hoping for some assistance, but none came. It was all so frustrating. Shoving it down the best he could, he plastered a smile across his face.
"And I appreciate everything you've done. But it's time for him to go, before They come after him." He dropped his voice and adopted and conspiratorial tone, seemingly acknowledging Jorge as part of whatever he thought this was.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 18, 2021 23:17:54 GMT -8
Jorge looked around—a little too obvious to be helpful in real danger, but he seemed convinced of Yuan being genuine. The mundie offered to help, digging what the source of the problem was out of pure curiosity, and if the Beast needed any proof that the guy's head wasn't messed with, he freely offered his car keys without hesitation once convinced it was better to be on the lookout and split up. They had been with Mitch most of the evening, so it made perfect sense to disperse, right?
The mundie seemed nervous, but ever determined, running back to join the girls in case they were harassed by...well, Them. Drugs and touching the supernatural made him a little more pliable to trust the Spring to take the lead. Obviously Yuan had been in on this longer.
The Dancer remained numb to the scattering, turning to continue on whatever he was doing if not for the Beast keeping his claws on him. Leading him to a safe place to talk, Carr seemed to slowly come around with rote coaxing from the Playmate. Nothing tense or confrontational. It felt a little ridiculous how delicate the Bishop's pysche was when he was the one handling the Freehold's most extreme edge cases.
His gentle smile faded to a proper frown as his pallor greyed and marble eyes shimmered with confusion. He made a sound in the back of his throat that harmonized and rung like a mournful chorus as his face started to split. A hammer to a mirror, or maybe lightning to sand as the glass feathers tried to burst their way out. Mitchell literally held himself together as the Mask was hardened with his hands pressing to hide his face in a twitching, painful shudder, hiding behind the skin of humanity. The sheen of sweat was more obvious now, and his pupils had engulphed the irises.
"I'm'okay," he managed, trying to regulate his breathing through tremors. His face spasmed with an uncontrolled tick as he pressed his back against something solid, eyes darting to try and register what situation he was in.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 20, 2021 17:10:06 GMT -8
The Fairest looked lost, waiting for somehow to dictate the proper course of action. The Playmate, in turn, kept reassuring him, saying that everything was going to be fine. Getting into a hotel room was easy - nothing Yuan hadn't done before. It was a simple as lifting a 'Do Not Disturb' sign and then convincing the room he belonged. The lock turned and they were in. He sat Mitch on the bed, waiting for him to finally come to.
"I'm'okay." The Beast nodded and went to the bathroom to get a wet towel. He handed it to the Fairest, hoping the washing his own face will help him get a sense of control. There was a fraction of contact as the towel switched hands, but that was all that was needed.
Taking a few steps back, Yuan placed his back against the wall as he observed Mitch. "How can I help?" Some part of him was heartbroken at the hardened Mask, like he was being denied a part of the Fairest, like he was being treated as an outsider. He reminded himself that it wasn't about him and let go of the thought.
The night had taken a strange turn and he wasn't any closer to getting answers.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 20, 2021 18:30:26 GMT -8
As he came out of the bathroom, the Beast heard Mitchell quietly muttering something under his breath. It was a bit odd, until he realized Carr was counting, and focusing on something in the room. The offer for the towel was taken, fingers snapping to correct the count he had been put off of while Yuan focused on the Contract. Whatever work Yuan had put forth before, it had been undone. The dreamt chaos that clung from the Durance was a slow death to the mind, as Yuan had witnessed first hand how the Dancer could perpetually lose track of his world, and hammer his psyche with revelations that his experiences weren't real.
"-What were we doing?" The Bishop asked before Yuan was even finished the offer. It was different to hear Mitchell's tone flat and businesslike, but all he knew was that he was in a strange place and he had managed to relapse. His hands lit up as he threaded the blessing his Mantle provided, the glow starting to travel like creeping ivy before it flickered, dimmed, and finally died.
Un-fucking-believable.
A resigned laugh escaped his lips as he smoothed his hair, failing to wash the toxins and restore sobriety and remembering that Spring had withdrew its blessing from Vegas. Instead, he pressed the towel to his face and catch his vision starting to well.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 22, 2021 12:09:52 GMT -8
Yuan frowned when Mitch cut him off. The adrenaline was wearing off, and with it weariness started to creep at the edge of his vision. Pinching the bridge of his nose, the Beast tried to order his own thoughts into a cohesive narrative.
“I ran into you at Club Voodoo, which a groupe of normal people. You were on a date, I think. But you weren’t, like, there, mentally. I realized you guys were on Molly, on top of all the shots. I tried to get you out, but your friends were very persistent.”
He paused. “They seemed to think you were special, somehow. They were very drunk though, so I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”
There was no sense in telling Mitch how long it took him to actually get him out. Or that Mitch had managed, one more time, to steer him off the chosen course.
“Do you want water?”
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 22, 2021 15:46:34 GMT -8
"Um. Special?"
He took a few seconds to try and slide his thoughts in order in the haze of drugs, alcohol, anxiety, and Fairest Duties. The offer for water forced the gap he needed to process some mental math as he compartmentalized the Beast busy elsewhere with the current dumpster fire he had decided to immolate himself in.
He covered emerging tears with the same cough, guts fighting against his measured organizing. The reflexive reach for the phone didn't magically manifest it, despite his dire need and silent begging with whatever God he had managed to piss off this royally. A breach was a breach, but if he moved quickly enough, the Ferrymen could probably track the mundies down to harvest the memory before they got hurt. Mitchell had the sense that firing that particular bullet shouldered a lot of heat on his negligence, especially with the current tension between High and Low, and probably meant he would be speaking with Solomon sooner than later. He was infamous for having a grudge against the Fairests, Springs especially.
Weighing his own situation in the matter felt crass and weak, like he was trying to weasel out of his dangerous fuckup. He was actually more concerned about the people he was inherently responsible for if something were to happen to the necessary services. Scratching under his eye, Mitch thanked Yuan for the water, still staring at the wall with an expression that was exhausted as the other felt.
"I've lost my phone- can you- do you remember their names? The people involved? Can you text what you remember to Roger? Not Fawkes."
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 22, 2021 21:06:02 GMT -8
"Umm... Elise, Claire. The other one was... Vivian I think. Oh, and Jorge."
Yuan pulled out his phone and started typing out an explanation. Some part of him wondered if it was really worth calling in the cavalry.
The Beast tried to light up the mood. Make a joke? He wasn't really sure, he just needed this silence to stop. Mainly because his own thoughts were kind of loud at that moment.
"Is that why you haven't texted me?" He chuckled, signalling to take his comment with a grain of salt, but he was secretly hoping to get at least a semblance of an explanation.
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 22, 2021 21:37:15 GMT -8
Is it worth it to call Winter?
That all depended on Yuan's definition of "worth it."
If Mitchell was concerned about the revelation of the supernatural to the mundane, the Sunbanisher likely had the tools go make this encounter go away where there weren't loose ends, such as recorded evidence by a witness. Yuan's instincts that drugs and alcohol with an unbelievable story largely shielded the common perspective, but the Freehold was radicalized these days that did not share Spring's perspective when it came to risk. It seemed Carr was more focused on protecting the mundane than the obvious violent repercussions that would come from a resentful Winter Court, and Sir Solomon's current unforgiving influence of those who did not self report their dangerous illness. He wouldn't advocate for the harm of the mortals whose lives he touched, but he wasn't considering or giving care to his own reputation.
Did Yuan want to go with Carr's wishes and report the Fairest to the authorities, or err that this one could be let go? Mitchell had a toxic Desire to self harm as punishment for his own failings. Did that fall under Yuan's interpretation of the Verdant Creed?
Mitchell wiped pooling gold in the corner of his eye with the heel of his palm, "I'm- sorry, what?" His expression pinched with a ripple of spent patience, frustration alien on his features. "How often did you need- no, Yuan. I'm not doing this right now." The Dancer shivered, standing with alien grace as he did his own version of pacing, feet moving in motions on the edge of something as his hands tried to mirror the flickers of performance.
Snap. Snap.
"Thank you for helping them tonight," he said, clearing his throat, "I can call the Sunbanisher myself if you're uncomfortable dealing with the Onyx Court. The timing's important?"
Despite the Beast's intentions, it seems Carr was twisting the narrative that he was deflecting and avoiding the task.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 22, 2021 22:21:24 GMT -8
The Playmate hid his own frustration under a thin veneer of indifference. "You know as well as me what's likely to happen if I contact Roger. Or Solomon. The Mundanes were high on MDMA and drunk off their asses. Who's going to believe what they say?"
"If I make this call, cat's out of the bag. Last time you said you don't talk about your situation, but you best believe that a lot of people are going to ask you a lot of very pointed questions." Yuan was standing still like a statue, seeking comfort in his own brand of passive beauty. His tone was even - he was simply saying his thoughts out loud. "Your reputation will be ruined."
For maybe the hundredth time, he cursed getting involved with Mitch. He cursed his own need to keep the Fairest together. It felt like every time he tried, he got cut by those weird jagged spikes that pierced the marble flesh. He was tired.
"I'm just trying to help," he added meekly. "You, specifically."
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 22, 2021 22:55:56 GMT -8
Mitch turned his back on the gorgeous Spring courtier as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he flicked his attention to their reflections in the window. He wasn't in the right state of mind to calculate how dismissive he was coming off to Yuan, and was rather locked onto holding the present moment—desperate to manage his conflict avoidance so he didn't skip time again. The texture of the wall against his temple was somehow loud, and he allowed himself settle into the euphoric buzz as an alternative to completely slipping.
"You have. And you are?" he offered, shrugging. The potential argument over the phone was dropped, compressing the 'what ifs' as another needle buried behind his eyes. The Fairest rarely cried, completely silent in his shallow, halting breathes as he wiped his face again.
"I'm here now, and things will be normal again tomorrow because you handled a situation that could have gotten out of control." He was vaguely aware he was rambling affirmations, but he really wasn't sure what else to say. There was the bubble of helpless anger over Hua feeling the need to take the situation as an opportunity to complain he didn't call him enough. His shoulders stayed hunched—he didn't call anyone enough. Hadn't he responded? He thought he did. He couldn't tell anymore who was just screwing with him, or projecting their own insecurity onto his availability in a relationship. New faces manifested out of nowhere. Snapshots of spending time that later went ignored—which he had not proof to contradict. Or worse—extensive work, therapy, and intimacy he had no recollection of, but everyone else enjoyed recalling fondly. The Dancer wouldn't be surprised if the only reason Yuan found him was because he was digging for his whereabouts in the first place.
He forced a glance back,
"...If we did spend more time together, what would we be doing...?"
He owed the Beast that much. It wasn't like arguing that he thought he responded would make anyone feel better, or change anything.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 23, 2021 0:05:13 GMT -8
I'm here now, and things will be normal again tomorrow because you handled a situation that could have gotten out of control.
How long until he wasn't? How long until that beautiful mind eroded from neglect. And what if the Playmate wasn't there next time to 'handle it'. The room stretched to impossible sizes. Time slowed down, each heart beat taking a minute, an hour, a year, as the muscle seemingly protested the contraction. Lucas had asked him what he wanted and the answer had remained the same, even if the interrogator changed. He felt dirty somehow, from accumulated sweat, from guilt. From helplessness. Yuan had always had a melancholy streak, something that was made more apparent since his return. Who would have thought that being with someone in a small room could feel so lonely?
'I don't know what I want. I want to help him.
He doesn't want my help. He doesn't like me.
Am I bothering him? Maybe I should just leave.
No. I have to keep him whole.'
"I'm fine with whatever. I just want to hang out." Stating his desires would only make things worse. It had happened with Lucas and it was what had brought him here. Standing his ground was so much work and he was so tired. A part of him just wanted to make use of the mattress, to lose itself in the familiar comfort of an other's body. The Promise shone brightly in the Beast's memory, a beacon to keep focus and persevere. It was something private and special, a secret between Mitch and him that even other Changelings couldn't have.
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