叁

[fledglingofkyou]

Bright, cold sunlight shines down on the dusty street; it hasn't been long since the end of winter, and the last remnants of it are lingering, though the snow is gone. There are buildings that most people would recognize as Chinese in style, though barely more than the rooftops stand out behind the high, thick walls

Comments

Action?

[child_radical]

[He quirks an eyebrow at the scene before him, the looks of the people before him looking more like those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Only with the exception that they didn't have the same coniving look that his family members did. Huey's head turns as he hears Shushou's voice.]

There's always something one can do.

Action

[fledglingofkyou]

[And she hears him too, and turns around to where the voice comes from. Her expression has something exasperated to it.]

I can't! I want to give them food, everyone says "don't, they'll think you look down on them". I want to give them cloth, everyone says the same.

Action

[child_radical]

[He crosses his arms and gives her a stare of disbelief.]
Who filled your head with such idiocy exactly?

Action

[fledglingofkyou]

[She just huffs and fold her arms, too.]

My parents, my elders.

[onlyteasing]

He knows when he crosses the boundary from his own dream to elsewhere. This city is nowhere he's ever been, and the brittle daylight is nothing like the summer sun of his own clear, bloody dreams. Oddly, he isn't cold, though whether it's up to that peculiar logic of sleep, willing himself not to be, or some other reason, isn't something brought to thought.

The shouting girl, of course, gets his attention at once: the single bright, lovely thing in a street of misery. Isn't that always the way? He strolls over. "Don't look that way from here," he calls conversationally.

[fledglingofkyou]

Shushou complies momentarily, if only to face the man speaking to her. She looks at him with rue in her eyes, which then find their way back to the spectacle as she answers: "How can I not?"

[onlyteasing]

"Y'ain't helpin' 'em, hey?" His tone's light, but there's no sympathy in it- neither for Shushou nor for the beggars crowded outside the walls. "Don't seem fair t'make 'em look at you, too, while they're freezin'."

[fledglingofkyou]

Shushou's eyes widen, and then a multitude of emotions flits across her face, from indignation to acknowledgement to shame.

"True, but--", she hesitates, tries to look away - to no avail. This is a dream, playing by its own rules. "Something's making me look again and again."

[reginagloriae]

Youko was among the crowd, looking at Shushou while she screamed. Her manner of dress was simple and masculine, she approached the girl in silence while she watched the beggars with a certain air of sadness. This happened to the countries without a ruler. That was why she had to be a good empress for Kei.

[fledglingofkyou]

Through the wailing of the poor, Shushou still heard the steps approaching her. Her eyes darted to the direction the sound came from, and she spotted Youko. A familiar face! Sort of, at least.

"Hello," is her simple greeting.

[reginagloriae]

Huh. Things are bad. She recalls the refugee piling over the city doors in Kou. Some from Tai, some from Kei. It really makes her feel impotent, even thought she's an empress.

"Hello, Shushou."

[fledglingofkyou]

Shushou's eyes are fixated on the street once more, but she's seen that look in Youko's eyes, and she wonders. "Are you going to judge me, too? Fine! Right now, I deserve it."