what benevolence is he deserving of, he cannot dull the corollary of war, the way his hands were eternally blighted by the blood of noxian invaders. the stygian stream of his consciousness was the river styx, their incessant wails a discordant whisper in his ears. non negotiable he chastises, warranting the assassin’s sigh. acceding to his charity had felt undue at first but lee was of unyielding resolve and zed had experienced it first hand. succumbing was but the natural order of things and consequently had he ended up learning other ways to palliate his suffering. “ yes, of course.” his words are solemn yet are without the verity of the monastery’s occupants. “ i have learnt that defiance in your presence is worth little.” he accepts the steaming cup, the suffused warmth expelling the lingering chill from his fingers. “ i would like to think my conduct has improved under your tutelage.” he rests the rim to his lips and takes a long, ruminative sip. It was a unity of flavors, a brew that renewed him, the breath that emerges in its wake is one of relief. zed paused, decorum faltering as roseate rises to the tips of his ears and he steels his gaze, focusing on the slow, outward ripple of the tea. “ I -” he began but the words evade him, as lee continues to speak he reluctantly permits their eyes to meet. “ did not come here with the intent to purge you of propriety.” zed allowed the cups brim to remain at his lips for a moment. “ but neither will i deny your presence to be of some … solace to me.” the confession does not come without a toll and that is the flush upon his pallor, evident of his turmoil between speaking and fastening himself to silence. “ what will happen now that the weather has turned for the worse.” dawns were greeted with labor, often carting the solidifying brick to the outer limits of the monastery. for the passing days he had worked in tandem with the others to fortify the first of many structures. will they too feel restive, mandated to stagnance as gelid white mantles their land in a frosted slumber. “ if we aren’t to continue, should we.” he pauses, taking another rather deliberate sip. “ continue our training.” lee had taught him much since his advent to the mountains, to the monastery, to him. At time he felt as much he knew was there that he did not, each moment spent with lee was accompanied with a sense of enlightenment, zed still uncertain how he felt about that.
it's an unseeing gaze that pierces through the younger, yet all the same it seems to sense everything. it is unsurprising, really, for a man of lee sin's calibre to know the master of shadow's embarrassment, and to understand his plight in both convalescence and the willingness to admit he enjoyed sharing the monk's bed. he had put up a good fight - really - attempting to keep his distance in a way that was wholly proper. but he also was no longer wholly man, and whatever the dragon wanted - it usually got. it helped, of course, that he and the dragon wanted the same thing in this regard, even if his valiant efforts had been all for naught the second zed's scent had mingled with his own in plush furs and warm quilts. inwardly, he sighs. inwardly, he thinks the dragon within laughs a little.
a wry smile pulls at his lips, zed's candor always appreciated. " you are correct, unruly pupil. i would imagine my bossiness to not be one of my finer traits. " a sip of that warm tea, and lee sin sighs, allowing any remaining tension to ease from the strong expanse of his shoulders in a deep, vulnerable breath. calmness edges the corners of his mind, a soothing balm to the covetous nature that the spirit within sought to emulate. relax, he thinks, he is not going anywhere.
the wry pull at his lips softens, mouth and jaw doing all the work of his expressions thanks to the darkness of that blindfold. he does not need to see zed to know he is blushing - does not need to behold his features to know the words cost him a chunk of pride. lee sin rewards him with an outstretched hand, the tattooed one, palm up and requesting the younger take it. should he choose to do so, the monk is quick to twine their digits together, calloused flesh to flesh, and skate his thumb along the back of zed's hand. it's a slow, tender touch, comforting and serene - and utterly intense as his pinkie emulates the stroke across the sensitive expanse of his palm. " then you may stay. " he murmurs gently, " tonight and every night you remain hereafter. besides- " a momentary pause, almost as if he is carrying on a conversation within his head, " the dragon would protest your leaving anyway. "
lee does not elaborate on that statement, choosing instead to take another slow sip of his tea. by then, the beverage is empty, and he sets it aside, placing that hand upon the sensitive underside of zed's wrist to feel his pulse, to count the beats and hum at the sensation of it. the flutter of his heartbeat - that was as good as seeing the red that surely adorned pale features. " well, " he begins, two fingers now stroking the soft skin there, where he knew veins to be blue beneath flesh, " the elders have elected to allow us to spend the day at rest. or more aptly, tend to your personal matters. which is just as well... " his fingers cease their movement, head canting to the side so that the long bit of silver-white ponytail falls upon a bare pectoral. " since you and your heart rate deem you eager to continue training. " he fixes him with a 'look,' brow arched beneath his blindfold - but the amusement is clear. " what part of enlightenment shall we explore today, master of shadows? "
