ic inbox, ryslig.

[daozhangs]

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.

Comments

Pushing the Boundaries of his Beliefs again - mid April

[fishfairy]

[ It's late when Xingchen receives a text, not yet midnight, but late enough that usually, Runyu would speak of this in person. But tonight, he's not home yet, resting in the top of a tree near the cabin after training and gazing at the faraway stars. ]

Does Jiang Cheng seem happy after joining Elias?

[ Runyu places the laptop in a nest he's crafted for it afterwards, just in case Xingchen responds. ]

[daozhangs]

( does he seem happy? the question feels strangely incongruous for a moment. though xingchen himself certainly places no small bit of consideration toward what might make jiang wanyin happy, the man himself would almost certainly scoff at the notion that happiness had anything to do with his choice to align with elias, or that it measures anything of note about his experiences thus far.

but jiang wanyin is jiang wanyin, and xingchen knows what it is that his dear friend is trying to ask, of course. so: )

He seems to carry a sense of direction, perhaps even purpose. It's quite young yet, still tentative and unsteady upon its feet, but ( here he pauses a moment in thought, not that runyu can tell on his end. ) his steps are lighter. He speaks of this place with perhaps a bit less bitterness than he once did. I've known few in my life so ill-suited to the notion of impotence as Jiang Wanyin.

[fishfairy]

[ Runyu reads the reply at least a few times before switching the device to voice text. It's easier to manage while up here in the trees, and he feels like the gaze of the stars helps him continue instead of turning silent. He means to share more often, after all. ]

That is good to hear, but I am still wary of Elias. The news helps, but my distrust and doubt remains. I apologize.

[daozhangs]

For what do you owe this apology?

[fishfairy]

Jiang Cheng's joining Elias should be a happy thing if doing so makes him happier. Me discussing it, sowing doubt, ruins that, but I can't help it.

[daozhangs]

My dear friend, how quickly you opt for the path of most resistance.

Whatever has made you think that such a thing need be happy? Or that it might be ruined by the mere presence of critical thinking?

I'm quite confident that you couldn't possibly bring forth any qualm or concern which he hasn't already ruminated over at great length in the process of choosing this path at all. Furthermore, Wanyin himself would be hard pressed to say that he's happy about it. He had his reservations, but even if they've largely proven false thus far, happiness isn't the way in which he measures the outcome of a choice made to further his cause.