daozhangs | ic inbox, ryslig.

[ He whirls around, searching for the source of the distorted but familiar voice before realizing that it is coming from deeper in the apartment. Jiang Cheng hesitates for another moment, finding it hard to tear himself away from the sight of the bloody horror scene in the kitchen. He sucks in a sharp breath and finally tears himself away from the disturbing sight, forcing his feet deeper into the apartment.

His eyes catch sight of the light coming from under the bathroom door and he quickly walks over, yanking at the handle and unsurprised to find it locked. ] Xiao Xingchen! Are you well? Are you injured? Tell me or I'm breaking down that door!

( though he knows it's locked, xingchen still finds himself stepping back from the door as jiang wanyin storms up to the other side of it, as if the man might just leap directly for breaking the door down rather than trying to converse through it.

luckily, he seems to be offering options, and xingchen steps back to the door for volume's sake. ) I'm not injured. ( slow, carefully enunciated words. ) The blood was from the change. I meant to clean it up before you arrived. ( somehow he's managed to sound sorry for his poor excuse for hospitality, even in this state.

it almost seems like he's going to leave it there, but after a brief pause and with the faintest tight note of despair leaking through his composure, ) I thought that I'd change more slowly. ( which is, perhaps, the closest he'll come to admitting how overwhelmed he truly is right now. )

There are teeth on the floor! [ Jiang Cheng bursts out, not feeling at all like this is the time to be measured or let himself be sent off with half-hearted reassurances. Not with the teeth and the blood and... ] That can't be normal! Something must have gone wrong with your change!

[ Daryl had already been disturbed by his own change and coughing up blood so that must mean the transformation is supposed to be painless and unbloody, right? It's supposed to be that gift Aunamee had nattered on about. ]

We have to take you to a doctor! There's got to be something wrong with you!

( xingchen hadn't considered that - the possibility that something had gone wrong. that this isn't normal, that it can be fixed. he honestly doesn't dare hope such is the case. after that very first day, his body has felt stable enough, even if his mind and stomach have not. )

I've grown new teeth, ( he admits with no small note of reluctance, perhaps even apprehension. he's not entirely sure what they look like, but they feel grotesque.

he swallows hard, then concedes: ) We have doctors? ( monstrous doctors, or at least doctors who deal with such things. xingchen knew there was a clinic, but that could just as easily be manned by volunteers with basic first-aid supplies as by actual studied doctors. )

[ He has new teeth. He has... Jiang Cheng leans against the door, eyes squeezed shut, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he deals with the reeling from that. Mostly just lets it happen because he doesn't even know...

New teeth. Yeah, no, he's got nothing. ]

I don't know if they are actual doctors but they work at this clinic here in Bavan which the monsters frequent. I've never been treated by them but I have visited their patients before. [ He himself hasn't trusted these doctors enough to seek out their counsel, hadn't wanted to know what was happening with him so he could cling to ignorance just a little longer. But this situation... ] They might know if this is normal.

[ New teeth. And he can't actually let things go, so despite his best efforts, what slips out is, ] What do you mean you've got new teeth?

( if it's any consolation, this is just as bewildering to xingchen as it is to jiang wanyin - perhaps even more so. he has heard very little of the changes of others, but those he had heard of seemed either largely benign or slow in onset, sometimes even both. these, well. these changes are neither such thing. and while this may truthfully be precisely what he deserves, he has not yet reached the acceptance of such a fact in the face of the much more pressing need to figure out how to live in such a form. )

I mean, ( he says, slow and carefully patient (with his own speech impediment, not with his impromptu houseguest). ) That my own teeth fell out and new ones grew where they once were. ( that's not even the worst of it, but jiang wanyin seems quite horrified enough. there's no need to worsen the situation by sharing anything further. )

Nothing has worsened since I changed. No further blood. ( if it sounds like he's possibly talking himself out of the notion of visiting a doctor, it's because he is - for many reasons, but one most prominently: ) I-... I'm not sure that I'm able to travel, even so short a distance. ( even if he could, his robe is a bloody mess and he no longer fits into his trousers. )

[ He would indeed not react well to the rest of the story, Jiang Cheng's stress levels are already sky-high after everything that happened in the last two weeks, but without that knowledge, he does paint some bizarre picture in his mind. A creature mostly unchanged yet with sharp monstrous teeth. How strange. And hadn't he implied that there had been many changes at once, overwhelming ones? But other than "he's probably bloody" Jiang Cheng doesn't have enough to picture it. ]

No more blood is good? [ It comes out as a question and he hates himself for it but honestly, he doesn't even know this much. It should be good but in his case, he had needed to get rid of now excess tissue to make room for the metal and plastic that had taken its place. So maybe no blood is sometimes good and sometimes bad? ]

I don't know if I can call the doctor. I don't know if they do house calls. But I can insist!

( it's true, no more blood is good. and though xingchen had never considered the possibility of calling a doctor to his temporary residence, jiang wanyin seems very nearly ready to go to war for it.

xingchen's lips curl at the corners for the first time since his change.

his guest may hear vague sounds of movement, the clicking of something against tile. then his voice comes from quite a bit lower - it seems that xingchen has taken a seat on the floor beside the door. ) Jiang-xiong? ( it's fair game, the '-xiong'-ing, now that jiang wanyin has started it. ) I'm afraid there's little that a doctor might do. But... if you don't mind, could you stay for a few minutes? You can keep yelling, if you'd like. ( even the yelling is helping, which says quite a bit. it's grounding, perhaps not quite so much with a door in between them but that can't be helped.

belatedly, he remembers to add: ) I made the tea.

Yelling? Who's yelling here?! [ Well, technically he's not yelling right now, more like barking at the door. This is his commanding unruly juniors voice, not his throttling Wei Wuxian voice, so it is technically not really yelling. He rolls his eyes anyway, though that is lost on the thoroughly unimpressed door. ]

I... I'll get the tea later. Thank you. [ It's hard not to laugh at the sheer bizarre hilarity of this, this entire mess feels like a dark and cruel joke and he... He'll be damned if he knows how to handle this gracefully, at least. So he just keeps leaning against the door, feeling very tired from everything and honestly, he is considering to sit down. ] I can stay with you. I don't mind.

( a trickle of something like relief washes through him when the other man agrees to stay, washing away just a bit of the tension that seems to squeeze at his lungs, and he lets his head rest gently back against the door. this is perhaps the least dizzy he has felt in days, or at least the longest he has felt as such. he knows it's not a part of his change. he felt very much this same sort of dizzy when a-qing told him of their companion's identity. )

I'm sorry to have worried you, and that you came all this way on my account, ( he says, ) But I'm glad that you have. It's... a relief, more so than I expected.

[ Jiang Cheng gives a snort in response and finally lets himself sink to the floor, which is blessedly free of teeth he has to dodge. Well. There are a few right by his foot, which he kicks away with a disgusted grimace.

He hates the Fog God. He hates this place. He really, really hates this place. ]

Of course I'm going to be here. Who do you take me for? [ Some kind of fairweather ~~friend~~ ally? Certainly not. ] You were here for me when I needed you, weren't you? You insisted nobody should have to go through this alone.

( he did, didn't he? he insisted that very thing. funny how only now does he realize he never intended for such a thing to go both ways. he doesn't quite know how to accept it going both ways, beyond just the most basic comfort of someone's company. he doesn't know how to willingly burden someone with his struggles when every single person here has struggles of their own.

...realization strikes him, and he huffs out a scolding breath meant only for himself before asking, ) How was it for you? The Fog, I mean. ( and why has it taken xingchen four whole days to ask him that? )

[ These had been four whole days of being able to pretend that he isn't handling this as badly as he is, in fact, handling it. Jiang Cheng appreciated the reprieve, though it's over now. He can't lie to a daozhang and he's already learned that Xiao Xingchen won't be easily dissuaded. ]

I changed some more. But I didn't lose any teeth.

[ He just panicked and chopped away at his own arm but... there is no need for Xiao Xingchen to know that. ]

( perhaps one day down the line, they'll reach a point where they no longer hide the nuances of their changes from one another - or perhaps such a thing is a pipe dream. for now, the answer that jiang wanyin gives is accepted at face value, regardless of his doubts that such a thing was even close to the full story. )

That's good, ( he says, ) about the teeth. I hope the rest wasn't too drastic. ( there's a conclusive note to it to suggest that he's letting the answer sit rather than using such a comment to fish for more on the topic. he's not entirely sure what other changes jiang wanyin might be going through - all that he has learned so far of the man's changes is that they have altered his voice. )

[ Um. Yeah. Drastic. That... He looks down at the robot hand, which is in the final stages of rebuilding itself. He can only assume it will be fully restored by the time the Fog comes to an end. ]

Nothing drastic, no. [ It was a single limb. That isn't drastic, right? Close enough, anyway. His reaction had been drastic but the change feels so measly after the gory bloodbath he has found in the kitchen and whatever still has Xiao Xingchen trapped in the bathroom. ] Don't worry about me. It's not that bad.

( of course he's telling xingchen not to worry for him. to expect anything different would have been true evidence that he doesn't know jiang wanyin at all. he hums quietly, thoughtfully, and after a moment - ) I think I'll keep worrying about you, actually. ( it's a nice change, after the last few days of worrying about himself. ) But I won't make you talk about it.

Good. Because you'd be wasting your time waiting for me to talk about it. [ Which is as much as a confession, isn't it? He sighs. ] I won't say that it has been easy. The change and... other things that happened. But I don't even want to think about it now.

[ Except he can't exactly ignore the state of his hand, at least. Even the porcelain was better than having exposed what lays underneath. ]

You need to worry about your own changes. Don't bother yourself with mine. You're too nice.

( though the words were meant entirely as an effort to allow the conversation to drop, it doesn't rest quite so easily as he expected. and so he listens wordlessly, to both what's said and the tone in which he says it. such things are much more clear than they might have been before the change, enough so that he even catches the sigh without difficulty. if only it were so easy to see the silver lining to such sharpened senses once he ventures beyond this bathroom, but the world is so terribly loud and full of strong smells, it has mostly just added one more layer of stimuli to his overwhelm.

'you need to worry about your own changes,' jiang wanyin says now. 'don't bother with mine. you're too nice.' ) Perhaps I am, ( he says, words still carefully enunciated even as he grows slightly more used to speaking around his new mouthful of teeth. he doesn't think it has anything to do with being nice - if anything, it's selfish, since jiang wanyin's distress brings him far greater unrest than his own and he'd like to do all that he can to remedy it. but now isn't the time to argue over nuance. ) And yet here I am, worrying over you. I suppose you'll just have to accept it. I hear that I'm quite stubborn when I wish to be.

( but after even what little jiang-xiong has said on the topic of his own last few days, he does have to ask one last thing before it rests: ) Are you alright now? ( however taxing this fog has been. )

[ Jiang Cheng gives an amused snort and there's more of these eyerolls of his, this one he even believes to be somewhat for his benefit as it might be audible in his voice when he mutters ] yes, yes, you are stubborn, I've noticed. Insufferably so.

[ And he's glad for it, he doesn't know how he would have gotten through his first kills if it hadn't been for Xiao Xingchen's stubbornness. He can only hope the man knows, since he's not sure if he will ever be able to find the right words for it. ]

I'm better off than you now, so that's got to count for something, right? [ A pause, a sigh. ] No, no, I'm as alright as I'm going to get now. I will just have to get used to these changes.

( oh, xingchen knows. they may not have spoken of that particular facet of things, but jiang wanyin is a stubborn man. he wouldn't have shown up at xingchen's door in the first place if he didn't need to, or if it wouldn't at least help in some pressing and significant way. not to mention the way that jiang-xiong thanked him twice in less than a minute. suffice to say that he recognizes the gravity of his role in that particular incident.

it's part of why he's not allowing himself to regret this too terribly. to regret jiang wanyin showing up here, seeing the mess he's made of his living area.

the reassurance that his friend is at least all right as he could possibly be is all that xingchen truly asks for, at this point. 'i will just have to get used to these changes.' ) As will I.

( even if it seems insurmountably difficult to even consider. things are fine right at this moment, with the soothing distraction of company and the fact that he hasn't tried to navigate even somewhere so limited as his apartment in a good bit of time, but that's not sustainable. he will have to adjust to this.

and not just physically, either. he'll have to come to terms with at least a couple of people seeing his new form, even if just to get supplies by which to live. and he can't hide away forever, so he'll have to... what? he'll have to get new clothes, longer robes to hide his lengthened legs, trousers which fit them and, ah - tie along the back, so there's room for his apparent tails. and perhaps if he gathers a hood and a mask- oh, but what of his hands? any gloves which fit him now will make it horrifically obvious that he is no regular overly-tall human.

he huffs out a frustrated breath, then realizes it was probably loud enough to be heard. ) I confess that I'm struggling to figure out where to go from here, ( he admits before he has time to be questioned. a beat, and then with a note of dry humor that belies the precise frustration he huffed over, ) I have few allies thus far, and how many will continue to be so if I only address them through my bathroom door? ( or his front door, or his laptop if slowly and carefully, but the point stands. )

I... I don't know. [ It's a quiet but no less frustrated admission. He really doesn’t like to think about how helpless they all are here, victims to these changes as if they are caught up and swept away in a tsunami. ] It's hard to imagine how your life will have to change or what adjustments you need to make when I don't know what you look like.

[ There's no judgment in this, right now not even much impatience. It's just a matter of fact. Jiang Cheng is used to people coming to him for solutions for their problems not for comfort or commisseration - but he can't help with solutions if he doesn't know what the situation is. ]

The network will serve you well enough while you hide, at least. Most of my communication with other monsters goes through it since I live so far away.

( yes, the network will serve him well enough. assuming, that is, that he's always impossibly careful to enunciate each and every word, as if there wasn't already a bit of a barrier in needing to convert voice to text in the first place.

but he certainly won't complain. these laptops are far more of a luxury than they had in their homeland. the fact that he currently struggles to utilize his own doesn't make it any less of a boon.

what eventually comes is another quiet confession. ) I don't know what I look like, either. ( and not simply in the 'because he's blind and literally can't see it' sense. it feels as though he's lost some critical bit of context in understanding the construction of his own body, and now it's all foreign and bewildering to him. ) My teeth are... much sharper, and too numerous now. ( his words are a bit slower now, a quiet yawning dread nesting within him at revealing his monstrosity - but the way jiang wanyin has described it, it feels almost practical to do so. at the very least, he can explain it in a way that spares jiang-xiong the horror of how such changes came to be. )

My fingers are clawed now, and my palms are... thicker, I'm not sure how to explain it. My ears have grown longer, and I believe they have fur. ( he doesn't yet realize it, but his shoulders and upper arms have fur as well. ) My legs... ( his lips press together for a moment, but he can't just leave it there. ) Are different, as well. Too long. Jointed in ways that they shouldn't be.

[ Well that... It gives some context, at least, even if Jiang Cheng has a difficult time piecing all these individual traits together into a picture that makes sense to his frame of reference and doesn't simply end up looking like one of toddler Jin Ling's mishappen scribbles.

He also tries to ignore his deep discomfort, and this he struggles even more with. It's different seeing this happen to someone from his own world, someone who he has known before, at home... It feels like he has failed him somehow, like he as the first and highest-ranking cultivator here should have found a way to prevent this change - and yes, he knows it's an unrealistic expectation but even so the failure stings deeply. ]

It sounds like you have become something that is meant to hunt humans for their meat [ he says bluntly. When in doubt, focus on the facts. That's all you can do when a night hunt is going awry, too. No time to lament. ] Do you have fur anywhere else on your body? Most monsters are some kind of animal creature but every animal can only become one kind of monster. If we could narrow down the animal it would be easier.

( it was pragmatism that carried him through, in his list of that which is incorrect, and the fact that jiang wanyin's response is equally practical is that little bit more weight off of his shoulders... even if the contents of said answer aren't reassuring. he is meant to hunt humans for their meat. if the hunger he has yet to properly begin to feel does end up overcoming him, he's built to tear them piece from piece, not simply run them through with a sword as before.

he exhales slowly, knees lifting so he can press his forehead to them, which really just serves to remind him of his misshapen lower limbs but at the very least he has the mercy of not having to look at them while he breathes away the sudden nausea over the concept of tearing a man apart. clawing him apart, ripping him apart with his teeth, because that's what those are for, right? it clearly is.

'do you have fur anywhere else on your body?' he processes the question a second belated, his churning thoughts grinding to a halt to switch gears back into some form of practicality. does he have fur? ...aha, he has forgotten perhaps one of the most ridiculous parts of this. ) I have - ( oh, that was muffled into the space between his chest and his knees, so he lifts his head now and clears his throat a bit. ) I have... tails it seems. They do have fur. ( a thoughtful pause as he does a preliminary fur assessment in a small handful of other spots. ) My shoulders, as well. Maybe more of my back. It seems to travel down my arms some.

[ Jiang Cheng remains blessedly oblivious to the deep crisis he has caused with his assessment of Xiao Xingchen being a meat-eater - if he had not, he might have pointed out that this is actually a blessing, since corpses are so much easier to come by than souls.

Instead, they're talking fur, and he finds himself quite puzzled by the mention of tails. ] Did you just say tails? As in, more than one? I don't think I've come across a monster with a number of tails yet. That's strange. [ He harrumphs a little. ] Animal monsters seem to be rather faithful depictions of some ordinary animal, for the most part. I wonder if you are an animal from another world, where this is normal.

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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