daozhangs | ic inbox, ryslig.

I'm glad for it.

I've done a bit of research, and were I entirely human, I'd be able able to spare a pint of blood per five or six days and still offer enough for . There are less-than-ideal long term effects, but seeing as I'm not entirely human and heal with each fog, that shouldn't be an issue.

If it is, we'll address that when it comes.

[ ??? ]

You have thought about this a lot.

[ That's putting it mildly. ]

I have.

I won't refuse your offer. It is very generous and I owe you a great debt of gratitude for it.

[ Even if he dislikes owing anyone, or relying on anyone. But this is not about him or his pride. ]

Repay me by never again claiming to owe me. I seek neither your debt nor your gratitude.

How can I not feel like I owe you both?

I owe you both for what you are doing for me. It is the least I can offer in return, in a place where I have nothing else to offer.

You truly wish to repay me?

Of course!

Not because I consider it a transaction. There can be no price be put to what you are offering to do for me. Simply because it is the right thing to do.

[ And because he doesn't like owing anyone, too. But it is the right thing. ]

In such a case, do me the equally priceless favor of believing me in the following:

In this, as is almost always the case, I seek only your happiness.

I know such a thing is impossible here. I’ve never quite gotten the hang of setting reasonable goals.

What you are doing is setting yourself up for disappointment then. But I appreciate the gesture for what it is.

[ He just... isn't someone who can simply say thank you and move on. He's bad at thank yous anyway. ]

It’s not a disappointment. Once in a while, I succeed.

You’ll tell me when you’d like to attempt to feed? I wonder if it wouldn’t be smarter to make the attempt during the fog.

It would. It should permit us both to heal as needed. And I'm not feeling the hunger yet so it should be easier to.keep from losing control.

Precisely my thoughts.

If my estimate is correct, the fog should linger for four more days.

Tomorrow? That leaves time for healing.

Tomorrow, then. I’ll come to you?

Very well. I will see about practicing beforehand.

( and so when the next day comes, he finds himself on the path to lotus pier (though of course, they worked out a time in their correspondence earlier this morning, so jiang wanyin knows he's coming). 'path' is a bit of a generous term - it's truly just his agile fox form cutting straight through the woods to lotus pier, proper roads be damned - but it's becoming a path at this point, what with how often he's traveling it.

one more thing they established this morning: xingchen is to skip the usual song and dance and just let himself in, make his way to the room (he knows quite well where it is, by now), and change of his own accord without making jiang-xiong waste such time as to meet him at the gate. and so that's what he does, as presumptuous as it may feel, and soon he's knocking lightly at the door of wherever it is that jiang wanyin told him they'd meet. ) My friend?

[ Jiang Cheng had thought long and hard where they should do this but couldn't come to a truly satisfying result since he simply doesn't know what to expect.

Will it turn into a battle when his hunger makes him not want to stop? Will he take so much blood that Xiao Xingchen is going to pass out? Maybe being attacked will trigger Xingchen's own transformation?

There are too many variables he doesn't know so he decides on meeting Xiao Xingchen in his own quarters, where they had had tea for his birthday. They can take the actual feeding to one of the many bedrooms currently empty, now that it is only A-Jie and him here. No harm done if there is a bloody mess and if someone passes out and needs a bed, it will be right there.

But for now, here is Jiang Cheng reading a book - a paperback book he had bought in Bavan, titled An Easy Guide to Fishing, a smaller blurb declaring it lists all the fish to be found in Ryslig's local waters.

His face doesn't light up as it usually does when his friend visits, instead slight unease flickering over it. ] So. It is time then, isn't it?

( though he can't see the interplay of emotions across jiang wanyin's face, it's more than evident enough in his tone for xingchen to notice. he enters regardless, head tilting just slightly as he comes to a stop not far from where his friend sits, to say - ) It doesn't have to be. ( it truly doesn't. jiang wanyin was the one who set the date and time, and he can just as easily postpone if he finds that his nerves won't be soothed.

lips curl to a slight smile (though it doesn't quite have the same reassuring effect, in the form he retains through the fog), evidence that the offer is genuine. that he isn't put out by it. ) I can just as easily sit here at the table and share in another pot of tea, if you'd prefer.

( but he makes no move to sit just yet. while the offer is likely to tempt him, jiang wanyin will almost certainly insist on making the attempt, if only to get it over with. )

[ For once, there is no tea or snacks already waiting for Xiao Xingchen, one of Jiang Cheng's nods to how serious he is about going through with it despite the qualms he is feeling right now - having cut himself off from the path of delaying by offering hospitality.

And indeed, he gets to his feet and shakes his head at Xingchen's offer, even though he is tense, his hands clenched around fistfuls of his outer robes. ] No. If there is going to be tea, I would rather it be afterward.

[ He doesn't think he will be able to stomach anything right now anyway - though his stomach isn't even involved anymore. He can still feel queasy, even if that is quite possibly all psychological.

So yes, he stands, and strides towards the door through which Xingchen had only just entered, determined to take him to the room he has in mind. ] Come along. Let's get this over with before I come to my senses.

( the decline of his offer earns a simple hum, acknowledgment with no further attempts to soothe. jiang wanyin seems quite set in this decision, uneasy or no, and xingchen doesn't plan to do him the disservice of offering a second 'out'. instead he follows along as the man passes by him and out through the door, besides and a half-step behind him for ease of guidance, steps slightly slower than jiang-xiong's due to his lengthened legs. )

I might argue that you've come to your senses already, ( he argues, though it's light and contemplative in case such a thing is less offensive. ) When you agreed to make the attempt. ( it is, after all, the most practical option available to them if their intent is to minimize harm to innocent lives. even if jiang wanyin were to acquire some sort of bagged blood, depending on strangers far from your home to feed you so that you don't lose your mind and end lives is risky at best. )

[ He grunts in acknowledgement - for yes, he agrees that it is the sensible choice, the necessary choice, but he still doesn't have to like it. ]

It's an attempt. If it comes too close to risking your life, we're not trying again. [ And then, since he is almost certain Xiao Xingchen will argue even that - understandably, when it is a matter of his life being possibly in danger versus another person's certainly so, only Jiang Cheng has never actually claimed that he isn't a selfish man. ] Or at the very least not without someone else here to contain me.

[ He's nervous. Antsy, even. Visibly so. But his steps are firm and rapid as he walks to the room he has chosen, one just as nondescript as the other guest rooms except it has now been cleared of most things valuable or ruined by blood splatters. He is a pessimist, after all. ]

I'm still far away from a frenzy but I don't know if I will be able to control myself once I start feeding... or if I will be able to keep from feeding on your energy, too.

( so perhaps jiang wanyin doesn't like the choice they've made - but would he like any choice? would he like to be left at the mercy of medical clinics or wherever else those who drink blood acquire their supply, vying against the other blood-drinkers for that supply? there's no ideal solution. at least this one is assured.

though he disagrees with the assertion that they won't try again, he makes no attempt to argue now. it seems a bridge best crossed if such a thing comes to pass, no need to catastrophize beforehand - especially since he's quite certain that jiang wanyin would not, in fact, endanger his life. not truly. the concession made afterward - another attempt, if someone is here to contain him - is unnecessary, but appreciated. xingchen isn't at all positive who they might think to involve in such a way even if it were to come to that. there's far too much history between jiang wanyin and wen ning, and runyu? well. suffice to say that needing to be stopped from inadvertently murdering xingchen wouldn't be the ideal first impression his friend could make on runyu.

either way, he allows the declarations to stand unquestioned, complicit (for now) within his considering silence. it's a silence which only really draws attention to the sound of each of jiang wanyin's footsteps, the crispness of each movement he makes betraying an anxious tension in him. xingchen weighs the risks and benefits of pulling up beside him to nudge the man's shoulder with his own, but before he has a chance to decide one way or the other, they've arrived at the room jiang-xiong has chosen.

it's far more bare than the others, xingchen realizes as he steps inside. each footstep echoes differently against the walls now that it's uninterrupted by most manner of goods - and the floor is void of any sort of mat or rug, very much unlike the others in which he's changed. but jiang wanyin is speaking again, this time regarding the possibility that he might lose control, and that draws his attention properly back to the man in question. )

Mm, this doesn't sound like trusting in my combat skills. ( they already agreed that (regardless of xingchen's trust in him) he would trust those rather than his own self-control - what need is there to continue to fuss? ) Would you prefer that we stand or be seated?

[ With some effort, Jiang Cheng bites back an acerbic I would prefer not to do it at all since it would be nothing but petty at this point where he has already agreed time and again to go through with the plan.

He looks around a little awkwardly, eyeing the bed. ] It would be better for you to sit on the bed, in case you become dizzy or weak from blood loss. But sitting, it will be harder for you to fight back or escape me.

[ Thus, he positions himself standing close to the foot of the bed but far enough away that they both have room to move. Then, finally, he raises his hands, palms up, fingers slightly curled, and grits his teeth - lets himself focus on the low thrum, this new desire for blood that is always there, even when he isn't actively hungry. Maybe not even a desire so much as an awareness, a new way to see the world and see food where bodies are in a way that is distinctly separate from his hunger for energy.

This is something he has practiced in preparation of the first feeding and so the transition is smooth - smoother even than when he was simply practicing, no deliciously alive, full of blood food source nearby to tempt him. Thin needles pop out of his palm, the skin and the porcelain hand alike. Thicker needles extend from his knuckles but he forces these back again as soon as they start growing. Even with how many there are, the smaller ones strike him as safer, though he winces and points out, ] This is going to hurt.

( though jiang wanyin presents sound enough rationale for both standing and being seated, he fails to actually specify which he would prefer - and so xingchen waits, listening to discern the other man's actions as he moves to the bed and... continues to stand? yes, after a couple of seconds it does seem as though jiang-xiong is still standing, so xingchen moves to follow. he finds what turns out to be the foot of the bed with light fingertips, but he doesn't sit. it's here if he does need to do so, but for now, he stands facing jiang wanyin one clawed hand rolling up his opposite sleeve until it's securely out of the way without need for him to hold it there.

'this is going to hurt.' ) Of course, ( he says, as if such a thing is both expected and utterly inconsequential. his arm is offered out now, palm-up. ) Is an arm sufficient? ( it seems simplest, of the primary channels of blood - the thigh and the throat are significantly less ideal. )

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, XIAO.XINGCHEN. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 * XIAO.XINGCHEN has joined 018.07.154.55 <XIAO.XINGCHEN> You have reached Xiao Xingchen. <XIAO.XINGCHEN>** I am often away from my laptop, but I will do my best to answer as soon as I'm able.

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