ALWAYS SOARING.

"Even if my plate was full, I'm sure those who were determined enough would find a little bit of extra space to add something onto it." As they had already done, giving her extra menial tasks with no care for what she had been actually sent here to do. Healers who actually took pride in their work and were dedicated to the craft were far fewer than she hoped, and weeding out those ladder climbers was exhausting. She looked forward to a day where she could hand work off to someone else and see it actually get done.

None of which is the concern of the general here before her, so when she raises her head, she does her best to make sure none of that stress is in her smile. "When it comes to something that I actually want to do, finding that extra bit of plate space is no trouble at all, don't you worry."

And kindly ignore the little twitch to her lips the moment General Jing Yuan is mentioned.

Lingsha nods, ducking her head to begin scribbling notes to herself as Feixiao speaks. "Hardly unsurprising, in all honesty. The previous...wielders? of the Crimson Moon being as powerful as they were, it is expected that what existing abilities you had would be augmented after consuming it. The clarity of mind could equally be a side effect of it, or just circumstantial; it was a stressful period for numerous reasons, especially for ones with personal stakes in the event. It is normal to feel a period of relaxation and clarity after living on edge consistently for a few days."

Or the Moon had some sort of mental benefits. She presses a knuckle to her lips as she thinks.

"After consuming the Moon... It was weird. I could hear what was happening on the outside, but Hoolay spoke to me-- hollow words, just trying to manipulate me, yet some of it stuck with me.""He labeled us both as beasts who were born for war and will die for war, and there's some truth to that. Yet my goals never have and never will align with someone like him."

At that point, the General raises her gaze once again to lock eyes with the woman across from her. "I know who and what I am. I don't fear what will become of me because of this-- I've always said I'm my own worst enemy." "I only fear the possibility of hurting those who... don't deserve it."

It's a wonder all of those pages even fit inside the envelope to begin with. Special effects have come far! THE DIRECTOR stands at attention, patiently watching his actor's delivery. There is stage fright in her eyes, but his reassuring smile remains in spite of it. To any other cast member in the post office, this is still a heartwarming scene between long-separated husband and wife--a bit of "movie magic," if one would--not that FEIXIAO could tell.

As her voice begins to falter, so, too, does THE DIRECTOR'S expression, his smile twitching crookedly. This isn't really the enunciation he imagined when he wrote those lines, and she's already falling apart on page one. Will she even make it to the poem he slaved over on page 16?! Her barely-concealed snickering is the last straw.

"Cut!"

His character evaporates instantly with the sound of his clapper board, unclear from where he had grabbed the item. Despite the clear gesture of disapproval, THE DIRECTOR keeps a cordial attitude, not wishing to scare his actor away from the stage. Surely a performer as experienced as an Arbiter-General can take some constructive criticism?

"Actor Feixiao, I can tell you're having some trouble with the delivery of your lines… Is it the style of prose? Admittedly, I had hoped to hear your character's letter to get a feel for what you had in mind for him, but 'Dear Wife?' by itself is a bit, ah…lacking in emotional content."

A polite chuckle; an attempt to let her down easy. The extras, meanwhile, haven't taken notice of their discussion. THE DIRECTOR has paused the production, and thus halted their perception of it--they may return to their day's events while the main characters review the script for a second take.

"Do we need to do some character-building exercises? Get inside the head of a brave soldier, long missing his spouse, the very center of his universe, seeing her again for the first time in years? Or perhaps you need more time for your letter? I can work with your suggestions, Actor-General~

"Oh, hm, one moment--"

He leans over to look at THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, who motions at him vaguely.

"--The assistant director believes you may have an easier time with the section starting on page five, if you wish to jump right back into it. The passage begins, 'My love, do you remember when we were children, we'd sneak out to the riverbank, picking flowers and discussing our futures? We could have never imagined that we would be torn apart by the indomitable flames of Destruction…"

Her eyes are watering. They're watering so bad. Honestly, she wouldn't even feel embarrassed if anyone thought she was about to cry out of sadness-- even though these are tears of laughter that are threatening to burst forth in a waterfall. This is an exception. She has to read more of this? Okay, okay.... Feixiao takes a deep breath and steadies herself; the better job she does, the quicker she can escape this place, and the faster she can be rid of this damned string around her finger. Leave it to her luck to be paired with someone that was a complete opposite of her. As instructed, the General flips to the appropriate page before attempting to read it out loud. "Oh, my dearest, my moon and my sun, Without you, my darling, I am but a leaf... Lost in the wind, overwhelmed by my grief. But with you, oh love, I feel nothing but bliss, Forever and always, I long for your kiss-" Feixiao drops the paper before bringing a hand to her forehead, the shaky breath that follows the only evidence of her opinion on the poem so lovingly constructed for her. "Can.... Can you read the rest of this? Maybe I can get inspiration from how you do it." No. More like if she doesn't stop now, she'll never recover.

An actor's attitude toward the current production would, naturally, affect their acting. FEIXIAO may be trying her hardest to keep composure, but the amusing highlights playing at the edge of her memory betray her true feelings to THE DIRECTOR. Still, cameras are rolling! He wipes away a single tear and fidgets with the end of his coat.

"You're…older, wiser…you look good! I was just…worried, especially after news of that last skirmish…"

Upon seeing the "WIP" state of FEIXIAO'S letter, however, he raises an eyebrow, his flat stare betraying his own feelings in turn.

This concern over the lack of prep fades when she excuses it as an endearing flaw. Nice ad-libbing, actor! THE DIRECTOR nods in agreement with her character's suggestion, returning his prior coquettish demeanor. He holds his letter up and over his mouth to conceal a shy giggle. He flutters his eyelashes.

"Sure~! Though, I wrote it when I was missing you so terribly last night… I hope you don't find it…overwrought."

THE DIRECTOR hands his actor the envelope, looking at her wide-eyed, expectantly. His reassuring smile seems to be aimed at FEIXIAO more than it's aimed at her character. The nearby ASSISTANT DIRECTOR focuses her lens on the contents of the letter once opened, revealing them to be multiple pages long, all penned in a flowery, cursive hand.

Here's your big moment, Ms. FEIXIAO…!

The background extras in the post office silently wonder what the hell is going on.

Feixiao lowers the letter for a moment and closes her eyes, sucking in a deep breath as she struggles to maintain composure. There's tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, and it's certainly not from emotion. "This... this is beautiful.... There's so much, though... And I..."

She can't. Her free hand comes up to cover her mouth, lest a pathetic whine of terribly concealed laughter slip forth.

THE DIRECTOR stands outside the post office, awaiting his character's debut, arms at his sides. In his right hand is a letter, though the address is obscured, and one of his fingers is noticeably bound by red string. That dastardly SPARKLE had struck once again… Ensnaring a memetic lifeform certainly isn't low effort, he'll concede that much.

As for him and FEIXIAO's predicament, he had considered this "prompt" a simple solution for this impromptu scenario. There needn't be a script to memorize if the lines were written out in advance, after all! Though, "reading aloud" and "communicating the intent of one's performance" were two different skills…

Don't let your director down, general actor of the Xianzhou! These scenes may be shot under duress, but the consequences otherwise are minor enough that you shouldn't need to stress. Consider it a warmup exercise for your illustrious future career!

(THE DIRECTOR fails to realize that his own expectations may be a stressor.)

--Ah, that's his cue.

He pushes open the heavy door to the post office, a dramatic wind fluttering his coat as he lays his eyes upon his lover in stunned silence. He clutches his unsent letter close to his chest. When he speaks, it's quavering and meek, as if about to faint from shock.

"It…it's you… It's really you…!"

His eyes water, and he rushes up to FEIXIAO, lightly tackling her into a warm embrace, his arms over her shoulders. He sniffles audibly. He catches sight of his letter, still in his hand. Reluctantly letting go of FEIXIAO, he holds up the envelope, highlighting the spectacular coincidence.

"I was just about to send this to you…how funny…"

He blushes, unable to maintain eye contact.

THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR sits atop a nearby cabinet of assorted shipping products, capturing the rapturous emotion of the scene. Though her expression is inscrutable as ever, one must assume she's supportive of these lovebirds and their reunion.

... Is he blushing? "I, um... I figured it might be better to say it face to face, anyways. Want me to read yours...?"

Feixiao steels herself for a moment before changing her demeanor slightly, ready to attempt to envelop the character she's been assigned. It took a bit of bargaining and convincing for her to agree to paint this as a sort of movie, but... It'll make it easier she thinks. She thinks. A few more words make their way onto her paper, brows furrowed in an expression of both conflict and contemplation-- that's right, she's supposed to be sending this to a lover that she hasn't seen in years, separated from them by a vicious war. But... Feixiao raises her head to look at the entrance to the post office, azure eyes locking with her "lover's" gaze, feigning the best damn effort she's ever made at looking surprised and off-guard. Reca stands several feet away from her, and one of her ears twitch in slight annoyance with the situation (though she tries her hardest to stifle the reflex). Her mouth opens as if she wants to say something, but the words don't come out-- and it's not from emotion. It's from the sheer fact that she's lost, she doesn't know what to say, and this is all so over the top and corny that the General can't even begin to know where to start. She breaks eye contact to glance down at her 'letter', a small chuckle breaking the silence between them. "I was writing this for you as a surprise, but maybe I won't have to after all. Guess the cat's out of the bag." "... I'm finally home."

She can’t help but laugh at how awfully forward she is, and the clear tones of her mirth ring out over the table. Content with just her company, Eden hadn’t even considered potential further implications. Feixiao’s intention is clear to her, though; even loosely intoxicated, Eden can still ascertain a person’s tells. It’s too obvious. Feixiao wants her, and she intends to have her. 

Her head spins, their words echoing in her ears. To show, rather than to tell… Perhaps, it would not be so bad to avoid isolation on her first night alive once more. These sorts of things hadn’t been uncommon in her past, but… that had been a lifetime ago. She wasn’t a celebrity, a show-stopper, a pop star intent on taking in hand the pleasures of life, anymore. She was just Eden, who had lost all her friends to save a world that she could only hope had been saved. Her soul was heavier, now. 

Her thoughts dilute themselves with another sip of Feixiao’s chosen brew. It’s good. Begrudgingly, it’s…new. This is not a taste she’s known, Eden decides, and yet it melts on her tongue. 

Perhaps, she could do with a refreshment. Something to remind her of her own current humanity, not just the self she had lost. And, she’s not exactly opposed to the idea. The warmth in her cheeks, different than the alcohol in her chest, betrays her.

The body is always honest, after all. 

She’s glad for the table between them. By the way her company leans closer, were it not an obstacle, negotiations might not have been part of tonight's sequence of events. 

Though she's made up her mind, Eden can’t help but giggle once again, catching Feixiao’s eagerness and matching its intensity. Her look issues a silent challenge: make clear your intentions, dear soldier, and perhaps I just might hear you out.

...wait, not that kind of training?

crystallize — the xianzhou luofu — feixiao and blade

"Well, hopefully that served as a good introduction to today's practice. If we're moving up in levels from the easiest difficulty to the hardest, seems like it should be me that goes first." Another nonchalant pop of her bubblegum, and Silver Wolf engages the wrist module on her right arm with a pump of her fist, the cybernetic blade seemingly constructed entirely out of holographic pixels extending over the back of her hand. "Who's first?"

A soldier in the front row who'd seemed to be itching for a fight during the past few minutes steps up almost automatically. A makeshift arena forms, more like a crude circle where the training spar would be taking place more than anything. Everyone else seems to step back, forming into a perimeter, breaths held in anticipation.

Silver Wolf shifts her stance, right foot in front of the left, stabilizing herself. The soldier's heavy metal lance seems to make a sound as it slices through the air towards her person.

Request: [1d20] Roll: [1] Result: 1

The taps of her fingers on her wrist module were not fast enough for the brute force of the spear's blades slashing at her. The pixelated cube she's positioned over the soldier's head falls without hitting anything as the soldier lunges forward and dodges it, almost as if they planned the move at the perfect moment. Instinctively, she lets out a sound both of surprise and pain. A large slash traces along her forearm and through her midsection, and where one would expect blood to be pouring from the flesh wounds, the bystanders instead see glitching pixels, Silver Wolf's form revealed to be a mere hologram.

"Not bad," she offers, retracting her blade and taking a step back, her hand hovering over the digital open wounds. There's little else she can say; for all her lack of strength, she didn't expect to perform this poorly out the gate.

General Feixiao enters the room that Lingsha had set aside for the appointed time. She had carefully ensured that anyone who might have found themselves in this area was elsewhere, either busy with tasks or given enough reason to make themselves scarce. If certain shadows were watching them, however…well, there was little Lingsha herself could do about that.

“Thank you for taking the time to indulge my request, General.” For once, she wears an honest smile. There is no need for false pleasantries after all; she has no doubt that her request would have simply been ignored if Feixiao was disinterested. “I know that we both have busy schedules, and I appreciate you taking the time out of yours to meet with me.”

A chair has been set up for the General to sit in. Lingsha gestures towards it, while she sets up her incense burner upon the nearby table. Just in case.

“I understand, of course, that I am by no means the most educated person when it comes to your condition, but as everything transpired on the Luofu, I feel it only right that the Alchemy Commission attempt to contribute in whatever way possible.”

Lingsha turns to face Feixiao. She leans her back against the table, smile fading as she turns to business. “So, how have you been feeling?”