[pfsb] preparations and expectations

[blue_ajah]

When Moiraine arrives in the bar, her outward composure is flawless. She will do what must be done, and will accept the consequences of her actions... or her inaction, as the case may be.

When the price is high, that is how you know it is worth paying.

She settles at her preferred table and accepts tea, fruit, and a little bit of bread and cheese from the attentive waitrats.

Her glance is thoughtful, almost considering, as she observes the room.

Comments

[blue_ajah]

"Yes," she says, readily. "Or at least they did. I have used it openly there in the past. It has been in my possession for well over twenty years."

[acrookedpath]

"So why suddenly believe you ought to return it?"

He polishes off a little more wine.

[blue_ajah]

"Not suddenly," she corrects. "It is something I have known for a while. It could be used and useful, to be certain. I considered it."

She gives a second small shrug, and spreads her hands.

"But I also have use for it, and no interest in placing myself within reach of Cadsuane Melaidhrin or whoever heads the Blue now to discuss the matter, and so."

[acrookedpath]

Ah. Wei Wuxian smiles, just a little, in rueful understanding.

"Sect politics?" he says. "I have never been fond of such a thing, either."

[blue_ajah]

She nods.

"They are called Ajahs, among the Aes Sedai, but I believe it is similar. And yes; there is a great deal of political maneuvering. Daes Dae'mar, the Game of Houses, is constant."

[acrookedpath]

He scrunches his nose in clear distaste. "I do miss some pieces of home," he says, dryly, "but that, I will never miss. Even before -- well."

The crooked smile returns.

"Even before I forged my own path, the game of houses we all endured was terribly irritating."

[blue_ajah]

"If it is anything like what I am familiar with," she responds, "then I might presume there was a great deal of angling for influence and control. At the very least."

It is not a direct question, but the way she phrases it leaves it open for him to confirm or deny, if he wishes.

"Such things can be incredibly frustrating, if not outright dangerous."

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian huffs another small laugh, the bitterness saying more than words ever could. His lopsided smile persists. "Yes."

He thinks, again, of hurling the shattered Stygian Tiger Seal into the herd of cultivators. Watching them stampede and trample one another like mindless cattle. How much they coveted the thing they claimed to loathe, once they knew of the power it provided --

He tips the rest of the wine into his mouth in a long, untidy stream, and wipes his mouth with his sleeve when he's done.

[blue_ajah]

She nods, and does not press. Indeed, she has enough pieces of the story now to glimpse at the whole, although she is certain there is more yet to learn.

Instead, she indicates the bottle and asks,

"Would you like another?"

[acrookedpath]

He lines up the second empty bottle alongside the first, considering them, before throwing a rueful glance toward his work that he'd brought to Moiraine's table.

Well. It's not as if he has any want for time, any longer. Hopefully he'll remember where he left off tomorrow.

"Might as well," he says with a long sigh. "Why not?"

[blue_ajah]

She signals a waitrat.

"Another pot of tea, please," she tells it, when it scurries up. "And another bottle of his preferred wine for Wei Wuxian."

Moiraine glances at him, to see if he would like anything else.

[acrookedpath]

He shakes his head: that's all. "Thank you," he says to the waitrat, and follows it with a small bow.

As it dashes away to fulfill their order, he adds to Moiraine, with another crooked, humorless quirk of a smile, "You know, you do not have to get me drunk for me to speak freely. I did offer."

[blue_ajah]

"You are welcome to have tea, instead," she murmurs. "They usually bring me a service, with enough for others."

Dark eyes meet his.

"I will not deny that there are things I would like to know, to avoid future misunderstandings, if nothing else. But I think I would rather hear what you are willing to speak of, than press you with questions you do not wish to answer."

[acrookedpath]

He shrugs. Leaning his cheek against one fist, he says, "Ah, if you do that, Moiraine, I am just as likely to speak of the fire-breathing rabbits outside, or the fun I had swimming in the lake, or the music I listened to before you called me over." He taps a finger against the iPod where it rests atop a stack of papers. "I can talk about all manner of things if given half a chance. Ask Lan Zhan. Ask anyone. But it is with you as it was with me: what I wish to talk about, and what you'd consider important, are very different, I'm sure."

[blue_ajah]

"You might be surprised," she says, a little dryly.

"Let us try this, then; simply to talk, for a while, as we were doing when we first met, and see where that leads us."

[acrookedpath]

This time, when his mouth twitches upward, it has a trace of genuine humor to it.

"All right," he says. "Then we shall talk. Though I can hardly remember anything we spoke of the very first time we met, before..." He gestures to himself, fingers wiggling as if to mimic a seethe of resentful energy cascading over himself.

[blue_ajah]

"I remember we discussed cultivation, some," she muses.

"How does one become a cultivator, in your world?"

[acrookedpath]

"Training," he says with a small laugh. "Many, many, many years of training the spirit and body. Learning to refine qi, developing a golden core, following the path of whichever clan has taken you in -- or whichever you were born into. Some training starts very young. Some can only progress after your core has developed. Mine officially started when I was...ah, how long ago was it."

He tips his head from side to side, thinking.

"Nine? I was about nine. But that is on the older side, for a student to begin."

[blue_ajah]

"In my world, the ability to channel is a gift inborn," she tells him, as the waitrat returns with their order. She helps lift it to the table, setting the tea to the side between them and the wine in front of him.

"But it does not manifest until later, usually. You were nine?"

[acrookedpath]

"Yes." He draws the wine closer to uncap it, but does not drink yet. "And cultivation is not something entirely inborn. One person may have traits that make it easier to cultivate than another, and the training itself is not easy to undertake -- but in theory, anyone could become a cultivator."

[blue_ajah]

She sets about pouring herself a fresh cup of tea as she considers this.

"Is cultivation well accepted? Common and well known, or rare and strange?"

[acrookedpath]

"The first," he says. "Well accepted, well known. Cultivators are often called upon to handle problems of demons and ghosts and other malevolent creatures."

He sips from the new bottle of wine.

[blue_ajah]

"As you and Lan Wangji are doing now," she observes.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian nods.

"As best we can, when I cannot move as freely as I once did," he adds, wry once more.

[blue_ajah]

She nods, and takes a sip of tea.

For several moments, she does not say anything at all.