coineater | Labyrinthum Inbox.

Friend Cat, that Huli Jing has asked me to tell you that he's foreseeing a great good fortune for you if you come out to the big maple tree by the path to the crystal. Apparently it's pretty time sensitive though? Don't ask me why.

[rip to some of that time sensitivity because it takes at least twenty minutes for him to find the dang phone]

is that so?
well if you dont know anything about it then it cant be helped
ill have to trust in his special sight

[and for free? What a strange little dog. As much as he questions how worthwhile this endeavor is going to be, Cat throws on his mask and heads over to the maple tree as directed. He's lacking his usual coat and bandages, and his clothes are a spare, if similar, set, but his gloves and boots are the same, at least.]

It's a nice enough spring day, so Li Lianhua has twenty minutes or so to spare. He would have honestly expected more backtalk from his chatty friend about his teasing invitation, but perhaps Huli Jing's good reputation should not be underestimated.

Cat will find Li Lianhua sitting on a bench underneath the maple tree, still wearing his winter coat against a light breeze, face turned up to the sun with his eyes closed. Next to him on the bench, Huli Jing is napping on one side, and on the other sits a basket whose contents are hidden under a blanket. By Li Lianhua's feet, a large kite leans against the bench, made of red paper with the sly countenance of a fox painted on it in black and white ink. Pink swirls line its angular edges.

If Li Lianhua hears Cat's approach, he doesn't react to it, looking like he's either peacefully meditating or just straight up asleep sitting up.

If time is sensitive, then there's less time for him to go squinting at buttons and tapping along! ...Or perhaps a Cat's curiosity is too strong a thing to be resisted for long. Besides, it's much more fun to mess with Li Lianhua in person, and he had figured that even if it turned out that he wasn't there to see Cat receive this apparent fortune, then he could still be teased just as much after the fact.

As it would turn out, Li Lianhua is waiting for him, but any teasing tone Cat had prepared dies in his chest when he manages to make out what the man has with him aside from the dog. He slows considerably, spares half a second to wonder if perhaps Li Lianhua had died in the wait, then approaches with a bit more purpose. That purpose being to lift the heel of his boot to the man's knee and press -- not hard, but he doesn't intend to be gentle, either.

"What is this?"

It's so -- ridiculous. Simple. Is this a joke on him? Is Cat's longing for his sister the joke, to Li Lianhua? He doesn't know if he'd rather it be that than some little kindness. Either one had his chest feeling too small, suddenly.

If Li Lianhua heard any sort of warning in those purposeful steps, he's too slow to react before the boot presses down. But Cat doesn't get a chance to press harder anyway, his knee buckling instantly and legs slipping off to the side out from under the boot, as Li Lianhua huffs a startled gasp, eyes snapping open. Huli Jing, too, is spooked awake, looking up at Cat in confusion.

Li Lianhua coughs into his fist to clear his lungs from the upset, but there's a distinctly irritated tone to it. "What are you doing? Did I insult your ancestors or something? So rude!" There was a tightness to Cat's words that Li Lianhua can't place yet, so scolding will have to do for the moment.

He almost adjusts to prop his foot on the edge of the bench, but that's a position too friendly and too vulnerable at the same time. Instead, Cat takes a step back and shifts his weight to his opposite foot, crosses his arms, and tips his head in the direction of the kite. Were his thoughts scrambling a little less, he'd like to take the time for a sarcastic remark about any ancestor of his deserving only insults. Had he really been asleep? Were his actions, and the feelings behind them, really that painfully genuine?

Cat tries to keep his voice as even as possible when he starts back up again with, "...Interesting design. Is my fortune supposed to be me seeing the face of a loved one?"

While Cat regains his composure, Li Lianhua goes about the peeved business of brushing dust off his knee and straightening out his robes, like he has to settle his own ruffled feathers first of all. At those words, he glances up at the boy, as if that haughty mask could tell him any more about what's wrong than his closed off posture and tone of voice. It's clear he overstepped with the kite, its design either doing more harm than good or Cat being so protective of his sister that he'd rather Li Lianhua had forgotten all about her.

He should have just left the kite somewhere for Cat to find and either take or throw away as he saw fit. That had been his original intention, but with his health rallying a little and it being a good day for kite flying... Forget it. Li Lianhua can think of plenty of reasons for why Cat shouldn't take it so seriously, for how it had nothing to do with Li Lianhua really, just a random thing he found and needed help trying out, and there's food in the basket for his troubles.

"Wouldn't that be a good fortune?" he retorts, still with an undercurrent of raised hackles. But then he sighs, his gaze shifting away to the kite. There should be a better way to salvage this than to add insult to injury.

"To be honest, I thought your sister might spot it at a pretty great distance and know to follow it, if she's anywhere in town. You can't expect me to be keeping an eye out for her all the time, can you?" Not the truth, but not untrue. He won't be around to help look for long. Li Lianhua shrugs. "Besides, red kites are auspicious, can't you use some good luck? But don't force yourself if you don't want it, eh? I'll find a use for it."

Edited 2024-04-17 10:46 (UTC)

Other than a tightening of his jaw, Cat remains as still as he can as he listens and processes what he sees and hears. The irritation speaks to Li Lianhua's good intentions. The thought lingers in the back of his mind that he would like to take his feelings out against the man's knee again, thoroughly crushing them so he could move on untethered. He suppresses the urge.

After a moment of silence, he approaches the kite and plucks it up, holding it between his fingers like it's a dirty rag he found near someone's tub drain. Nevertheless, his next words are, "Like your little flower packets." Might as well confirm.

"She'd be flattered. Probably take it as a sign of your admiration," he reluctantly continues, shifting his hold to something more secure. Some of the tension in his body has left, but not all of his. Certainly not what's holding down and choking his chest.

Li Lianhua can't tell, for a moment, whether Cat picking up the kite is a good or a bad sign. He decides not to look, instead turning his attention to Huli Jing and giving him a few reassuring strokes over his head. Hearing that Cat found out who that little red envelope had come from is unexpected and a little bothersome, like a move in a game not working out, and the corner of his mouth twitches down in annoyance. He can guess who might have had a hand in foiling his idea, but thoughts of her don't belong here. Besides, what's he doing trying to give Cat something if he cared about remaining unknown? That would be pretty useless, at this point.

Bringing up that previous gift, though, seems like it might be promising, so Li Lianhua does lift his eyes to the boy again. But seeing the thing he made, at least in part with his own hands, being held like it's junk Cat can barely bring himself to touch, feels like anything but. It feels like not knowing what he'd done wrong, but knowing without a doubt whatsoever that he had ruined it. Without meaning to, but that's unimportant.

But the moment passes and Cat relents for now. Li Lianhua swallows down the tension holding his own body still like the press of coffin walls, and Huli Jing, sensing the fraught atmosphere but unsure what to do about it, hops off the bench to stand in front of Cat, tail wagging slowly and hesitantly. Li Lianhua pulls his hand back into his lap, gaze dropping to the work of plucking at his sleeve with the ghost of a smile.

"She seems worth admiring, from what I recall," he says and takes care not to let his voice sound as brittle as he feels. "Do you know how to fly it?"

Dumb mutt, sticking his nose into where it didn't belong -- just like his owner -- and being none the wiser about it... The angle of the mask shifts to suggest that he's giving the dog a look over, a brief acknowledgment before he leans back on his heel, half-twirling the kite. It feels unnatural. He can't imagine that joining Li Lianhua on the bench would feel any better, as awkward as it is to be out in the open, not fully covered or with a mask over his feelings. He doesn't want to drop any bit of guard he found by getting all friendly with that Huli Jing, either, even if he can't know what the reason for that might be.

It's hard not to scoff at the question, but the fox on the kite weighs heavily on his mind, and seems to shake its head with the idle twiddling he's doing. 'Now, Brother, he's given you a gift. And that's clearly a good head on his shoulders,' it seems to chide. He wants to bite back that the shoulders in question are weak, as little as that has to do with anything. 'Your friend is going think you don't appreciate these things.'

It is so rare for the clever to be kind. Cat clears his throat, wishing that was enough to drown it out.

"Never had the opportunity to use one," he admits, failing to come off as casual and uncaring. After another moment of hesitating, the boy slowly takes a knee and reaches out to rest a hand on Huli Jing's head. No pets, pats, scritches, or rubs. Sorry, pup. "My mother wasn't real concerned with fun, when she was around, and there was no such thing as friends." The brief wonder of whether Fox ever did crosses his mind. It doesn't fit the image of the Volfe family he made up for himself, or what she'd told him when they got to sharing. "Heh, doubt any of them would have had kites either, if they did exist..."

Only a sucker would take their eyes off their pockets long enough to watch it soar. The slums couldn't accommodate that kind of person for long.

Li Lianhua's attention is relentlessly tethered to the kite in Cat's hands, the durable but easily snapped wooden frame and paper skin being treated with restless fiddling. Tilting back and forth, like something put on a pair of scales. But as with shattered knives and a broken flute, it's not up to him what Cat eventually decides to do with it. It's only for him to accept.

Even so, only when Cat reaches out to greet Huli Jing does the erratic beating of his weak heart become bearable once more. The dog seems relieved by the friendly gesture as well, squinting happily, only to turn a confused snout up at the lack of pats a moment later. He shoves his nose into Cat's hand, gives the glove a sniff and even a lick, but finds the taste of it not nearly as satisfying as that of skin, so he takes a hopeful step forward, stretching his neck to nose at Cat's mask. Surely somewhere here there must be a treat or some affection to be found.

The boy's answer fits neatly into the bleak image in Li Lianhua's mind of his former circumstances. When meeting even basic needs for survival is a daily struggle, there's no room for things that don't fill your belly or keep you warm. But something had attracted Cat to the notion of the kite anyway, some desire to rise above mere existing, to reach for the simple joys and beauty life can offer beyond the mud. Some hope not yet crushed by where he came from, kept safe, most likely, by the one whose face looks back at him from the kite. Li Lianhua remembers well the effort it takes to grow into a new life from nothing, had only meant to offer a little encouragement on that path, is all.

"I see... Well listen, I've never actually built one of these before, I don't even know if it'll fly...," he admits, the shaking of his voice masked by a soft self-conscious chuckle. All this over a kite that might not even work, isn't that a little funny? "Ah but if you help me try it out, and if it's any good, it's yours. Of course there's also some steamed buns and fruit for your hard work," he adds like an afterthought, half raising a hand and his gaze towards the basket at his side. The bottle of wine he had hoped to finally share goes unmentioned for now. "Sound good?"

He hates how effective this dog is at distracting him from his bad mood and feelings of discomfort, but shamefully he has no tasty reward for all of Huli Jing's exploration. The best he can do to accommodate the dog's search is to crane his neck in return and tap the nose of his mask to Huli Jing's muzzle during a brief puff of air that hints towards a chuckle. It probably looks more like a kiss.

Paying attention to Li Lianhua is more of a trial, especially with his words having no will behind them. The story is as flimsy as the kite -- actually, maybe flimsier, since it seems to be solid for what it is, despite what the man says about this being his first time making a kite -- which is why Cat pushes himself to standing with a scoff and a roll of his eyes that can't be seen. "And if it doesn't, I wouldn't get the kite you made up after my sister? For someone out to do thoughtful things, you didn't really think that one through, did you?"

His free hand settles on his hip as he gestures towards Li Lianhua with the kite. "You're not going to just sit there. Come on, now! I didn't step that hard, don't act like I've kicked you down." ...It's still a little bit of punishment for him, but the idea of running around like an idiot while Li Lianhua gets comfortable watching would be an embarrassment cherry on top of all the other messy feelings. Up!!

Huli Jing indeed has a way of comforting one's inner turmoil even when one really doesn't want to be comforted. This dog just doesn't know any better than to be friendly and hopeful, and that tends to put a lot of things in perspective. Li Lianhua just barely catches this accidentally affectionate display out of the corner of his eyes, still not quite daring to look up. Huli Jing certainly knows how to return a kiss in kind and licks Cat's mask happily and Li Lianhua feels nearly overcome with gratitude. How good that Huli Jing found someone new who can really use his company. How good that Cat can't resist it either.

It seems a shame to be addressed again, when those two could enjoy each other's company just fine without him. But Li Lianhua will take the scolding for his thoughtless words with a small smile and a chastised nod. Alright, alright, so maybe the kite would still be worthwhile even if it failed to fulfill its purpose. His fault for suggesting otherwise. But crucially, not a no to his question.

The return to Cat making ~~charming~~ unashamed demands for Li Lianhua to join him finally relieves the last of the tension, making it seem like nothing had been on a knife's edge at all. A narrow-eyed look and moue of amused annoyance at the boy is easily done, shaking his head. "No, not too hard," he retorts wryly and braces against the bench to push to his feet. So much abuse really had been uncalled for. Picking up the basket, he gestures out to the path. "Well then, lead the way, young man. Someone's going to have to get that kite into the wind, and I'm afraid my knees are a little achy today." So strange how that is.

Bleh. Dog spit on his mask... No good. Appreciative as he is of Huli Jing's good graces and mood-lifting prowess, the boy still has to wipe away the kiss on the back of his glove.

If he didn't have the mask, he might've needed to wipe his face again to hide the smirk at the words -- both said and unsaid. Or maybe he wouldn't bother, seeing as he chuckles, either cruel or amused by Li Lianhua's insistence at playing around. If only he were just a little older, he could counter that 'young man' with an 'old timer'... Alas, for as close to death as Li Lianhua looks sometimes, he's pretty young, himself, as far as Cat can tell. And yet the maniac was ready to go.

Cat doesn't need to dwell even more on the dumbass's idiot decisions, so he looks to the kite again, testing its weight. What does he do... Just toss it up? It can't be hard -- kids do it. (And it isn't like it's the real Fox he's letting go of. Never.) Feeling foolish and none too happy about it, he starts a weak jog and tries to shoot the kite into the air like a paper airplane. It jostles in the breeze for a moment before diving back towards the ground, unimpressed with the lack of effort he put in and refusing to catch the wind in retaliation. The boy winces a little at the sound, harmless as it is to both his ears and the integrity of the kite.

"Huh. That was no good." He has no right to feel offended, but he's going to, anyway. "Try that one more time..." With a little more feeling!! The kite is as hard to appease as his sister, however, and takes another tumble after the briefest time flitting behind him. "Don't you think this is a little ridiculous? A kite may be visible, but it's a child's toy."

Edited 2024-06-29 19:42 (UTC)

Li Lianhua is content to follow behind as Cat jogs ahead, watching the boy's first and to be honest a little half-hearted attempt. Huli Jing, excited to be playing whatever game this is, runs alongside Cat at first, which quickly turns into confused ambling in circles once Cat slows down again. Are they running or not, which is it?

This does seem a little trickier than Li Lianhua had imagined, but Cat is also awfully quick to give up. So much petulance! Where's his perseverance? Denouncing a child's toy that's currently getting the best of him with all the wounded pride a teenage boy can muster really is too funny and Li Lianhua raises a hand to his mouth to cover a smile as well as a cough. It wouldn't do to appear to be on the kite's side on this one.

"Ah, ridiculous? I didn't expect that Friend Cat is so worried about what other people think of him. Or do you think you're too old to have fun?" But he really doesn't want Cat to lose interest before he's even begun, and this may indeed be a job for two people who don't know what they're doing, rather than one. Restraining his amusement, Li Lianhua holds out a hand. "Here, let me try anchoring the line while you throw it into the wind. Properly! That might be easier than doing both yourself."

Cat would give a look if he could, but settles for tipping his head at the man and hoping that gets his exasperation and lack of amusement across. Why is he being made fun of for participating in these odd whims of his? What has he done to deserve this? His hands go to his hips as he looks down at the failing kite and back.

"Suddenly the point is to have fun?" Or was that Li Lianhua's game all along? In that case, the dedication in crafting the kite the way he had is even more bizarre -- and crafting it at all. The sort of fun that Cat has doesn't need a prop like that unless it's to be pawned off for far more than it's worth, and there was no letting someone waltz off with something made up after his sister like that. Is it...possible to have fun with something so...normal? And what did Li Lianhua care about that? There's no reason for it at all.

Cat clears his throat, but turns the sound into a sigh and retrieves the kite once more. "I'm...pretty sure Huli Jing's odds are better." That willingness to run... It would get things going, certainly. Ugh. "Fine, fine. Stand a bit over there, then."

Passing the line off after unloosing another round of it for good measure -- it exists for a reason, so it must be able to get high up there -- Cat looks about a moment before marching up onto the bench he'd interrupted Li Lianhua's nap on, holds the kite aloft higher into the air, and sends it.

Labyrinthum Inbox.

text, un: mouthfuloflies, backdated to early April

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