Match of the Millennium

Description: After having rescued Tsinghua from being sucked dry in the middle of a southtown street, Velvet has to deal with a struggling boy that is less then happy to see him.

[VELVET BLUE]
The Gold Lounge has actually seen some renovation and enhancements since the last time Tsinghua was here--or Mitsuru, for that matter. The last time Velvet had to stow an injured person in the back, it was more of a stockroom, with just a cot. Now it's more of a living space, with a few beds, carpet, fridge as well as a few other amenitiies. The club has definitely seen some upgrades since. What had started as just a drinking place for darkstalkers and the like has turned into some kind of headquarters, of sorts. Things that Velvet was just starting to realize as he laid the busted up boy down into one of the beds. After Tsinghua's wounds had been cleaned and dressed, of course.

"Alright there, in ya go," Velvet had given them a cursory inspection, first--before setting about his 'lay on hands' routine, the pure unrefined chi-energy accelerating the mending of broken bones and lacerations.

[TSINGHUA]
Tsinghua was in terrible shape- His body both battered and bloodied, and spiritually sucked dry of all of his energy- Leaving him in a visual state of both severe dehydration and malnourishment. Even smaller then he'd usually eye. He was unconcious up until the point that Velvet Blue would begin his procedure. The Darkstalker's energy surges back into his body, and the Boy's skin expands, and returns to a more natural- yet still pale and sickly color. The bony appearence of his body marginally fades.

And then, the eyes open- Still wet from the pained tears he cried right before being knocked into the dark, unconscious. Tsinghua feels the soft bed, and Velvet's hands that are coursing energy through his chest. And then, he looks to the side-

And sees the person that he had been explicitly told to avoid.

"N-No!" Panic, panic is instant reaction. Eyes widening while he struggles feebly on the bed, finding himself barely able to move. "You- You are a stranger, I have been told you are a stranger- I, I can't trust you! Let me go- Let me go..." His voice weakens, while reciting the teachings ms. Yao had engrained so deeply within the boy. But much energy to even yell out, he doesn't seem to have.

[VELVET BLUE]
Velvet had wondered what exactly had happened to Tsinghua. Well, he had a guess--the wind weasel darkstalker lady, but how did she have some ability to drain his energy? It was odd. Velvet had never done a thing himself, he preferred to gain it via osmosis via folks experiencing strong emotions around him. Still... it wasn't out of the realm of imagination that many darkstalkers could drain energy like this, either. It would account for the boy's oddly mummified looking state.

"Calm down, you're in my club, you're safe," Velvet asides to Tsinghua, perhaps not recalling the boy had seemingly ghosted on him for a few weeks now, as if he'd been... avoiding him. Velvet hadn't been naive enough to discount that as a possibility.

"Calm down," Velvet replied again, this time his voice bearing more steel in the command. He was only using his voice right now, nothing else. He didn't even /want/ to have to be authoritative at all, at least not in a serious sense. Mock sense was fine, of course... but he didn't like how much the situation was reminding him of his own past. Being held captive, and enslaved. It was causing internal distress, that Velvet had so far been able to mask.

"You're hurt, you need to lie down," he said again, voice softening. As he stood up and half turned away, though, one might not be able to see the redness of Velvet's face, or how he'd started to sweat.

[TSINGHUA]
"I- No, I- She doesn't want me to be here- I don't want to be disciplined again.." He returns feebly..

But then, something seems to shift in his attitude-very suddenly. It turns utterly cold. "Once I can move, /mr./ Velvet. I will escape from this place. You are a menace- you are planning something sinister; you must be." Seemingly, someone's words are buried very deeply in his mind- For him to make a shift like this. He seems to be entirely forthright in his threat.

Velvet might have also noticed the golden amulet pendant with esoteric, hermetic symbols engraved in the material. He didn't wear it before, it is something recent- And it does not look to be a piece of chinese design.

"It is in your best interest to let me go now-"

[VELVET BLUE]
Velvet at first couldn't really understand what he was hearing, his large ribbed ears twitching ever so slightly, turning back to look at Tsinghua with a confused, slightly horrified look on his face.

"I don't believe what I'm hearing," Velvet sounded a little hurt, even--likely having thought the boy was just confused or delerious, till now--before he seemed to be outright hostile. Causing Velvet to cringe and frown, before trying to snatch the amulet he spied right off the boy's chest.

Sometimes when something is too out there to believe, it can quite possibly be bullshit. On further inspection, however, it seemed to be familiar handiwork.

"And why praytell, boy, do you have one of these?" Velvet hovered over him, holding the pendent between them.

[TSINGHUA]
He responds, softly twitching as the amulet gets snatched- "I- This is none of your business, these are confidential matters. Give it back." After all, he was very strictly informed to always have it on his person. He doesn't know what Sybil might do if this agreement is broken-. "You must be after a reward- I am sure that arrangements for a payment can be made. While we distrust you, a stranger, the Góng Estate always listens to reason."

"But fail to do so, and I will not hesitate to turn my weapon toward you, Velvet." He feels so different, his cold voice seems to be going through procedures, more then anything. There is little of his own thought or opinion in words.

[VELVET BLUE]
"I wonder why they gave this to you, odd," Velvet lets it back down on the boy's chest, but pulls up a chair, none the less, tilting his head toward the boy. "Why were you fighting the weasel dark one? Did they attack you?" Velvet looked back and forth between the pendant and the boy who was still protesting, letting some iron into his voice.

"Shut up and lay back and tell me," the eyes became a little fiercer there, too, but only for a second. Sometimes some aggression was needed, it seemed, though Velvet would probably feel bad about it later.

[TSINGHUA]
Tsinghua falls silent, at the sudden anger from his, uh 'kidnapper'. He lowers his head. "She attacked me- And now I am in this mess. The taskmaster will be rightfully upset, if she finds out." Unfortunately for the boy, seeing as this event was recorded, shared and in all likelyhood made the local news, the Góng Estate would be well aware of what transpired- Including Velvet showing up at the scene, all the way at the end.

He grumbles. "So I can't risk being here-- You /can't/ keep me here!"

Sure he can, Tsinghua- It's not like you're able to move.

[VELVET BLUE]
"Looks like you've been under some kind of bad influence, and it's not even me," Velvet sighs a little, placing a hand against Tsinghua's chest again, just seemingly to make sure he was not still hurt.

"Or what will happen to you? You're free to leave at any time, but..." Velvet leaned over the boy again, inspecting his injuries.

"You'll tell me what's going on, I think, while you're here," he looked over at Tsinghua. He didn't want to keep the boy against his will, and had no intention of doing so--however, he could always try to glean what he could for information. /Something/ had made Tsing suddenly so hostile, after all.

[TSINGHUA]
"I- I am?" The admittance that he's not being kept here comes as a surprise to the buy, for some reason. But after that, he bursts out- "I'm not under any bad influence- Taskmaster Yao simply showed me--" But he freezes, realizing that he almost said too much in his agitation. "I will tell no such thing. I will recover, and then I will leave this place. A debt is a debt, however, and as such I will make sure you will be compensated fairly."

That fierce, lawful aspect of his personality comes out again- Even when he refuses to talk to his savior.

[VELVET BLUE]
"Oh reeeeally," Velvet purrs a little, grinning and showing some teeth, but just for a moment. "And what does this 'Taskmaster' Yao do to you? Your debt is to tell me," he was smiling almost like a cat that has caught the canary, in this case, it might not be far from the truth. With a snap of his fingers, the maid outfit clad bunny, Cinnamon is summoned, looking a bit more annoyed that she was called out all the way from the main room for this.

"Cinnamon, dear, please get our guest some change of clothes, since I think he needs it, and perhaps some water," he nods, before leaning back in the chair.

"So, tell me."

[TSINGHUA]
"Eeeeh?" Crap, Velvet found a loophole. The boy's mood darkens further, but his sense of duty gives him no other option other then to deliver on his promise in this situation. Tsinghua practically ignores Cinnamon, this time around- Very different from his obsessive thanking the last time the two saw oneanother. "...Lady Yao, and the other sorcerers approach us in the night, in our dreams. To set us straight. They show us what we have done wrong, and how we can fix ourself. We experience this over the course of a few weeks- It is simply a disciplinary method." The boy is shivering as he tells his story, this is obviously not a pleasant topic for him.

"I personally get my tasks from ms. Yao. It is her discretion to decide on what type of disciplinary measures to employ." Tsinghua then seems to snap out of his thoughts, turning to Velvet with a resistant glare- "But I assure you that it is a totally deserved and ethical way to go about things!"

[VELVET BLUE]
"Ew, that doesn't sound very fun," Velvet looks unamused, a frown and mouth line inverted, as he apparently is not a fan of this.

"But what is it that you want, young one? Do you want to keep doing this, all your life? What do you want..." Velvet consciously allows his voice to perhaps start to tug on the heartstrings of desire, just enough, just enough to try to awaken the boy's ego, what he wishes for.

"What do you want for yourself, or for your family? Do you care about them...?" Cinnamon in the meantime returns with a glass of water, handing it to Velvet, who holds it above the boy on the bed.

"Care for some water, my friend?" he smiles, gently, either dripping it into the boys mouth at first, to make sure the glass won't go flying--or gently pressing it to his mouth.

[TSINGHUA]
"*They* are my Family, Velvet- I, I just want.." A moment of hesitation, as he swallows deeply. "To serve them properly- To do my duties properly.. To not dissapoint them further." The boy looks at the water, only now realizing how thirsty he actually is- And as such, despite his gut instinct, he opens his mouth for the cold water to stream down his throat, as he swallows slowly. "And.. That is all I want, that is my purpose. I will repay them as they have treated me with so much kindness, and wisdom."

That sentence sounds.. Not quite genuine- It's not a lie, per say, but it also doesn't carry much emotion in his tone- It feels empty, a weightless statement. "B-Besides, I will be granted more freedo- Uh liberties, once promoted from Apprentice Messenger of the Góng Estate, to Messenger of the Góng Estate!" 'Freedom' kind of a weird, disturbing choice of words.

[VELVET BLUE]
"There we go now, steady," Velvet would literally feed the boy the water, once enough is gone he can press the edge of the glass to his lips--letting him take a great deal of it. "Hmm, part of that doesn't sound quite like it's from the heart, Tsinghua, dear," Velvet smiles a little, with that canary-eating grin again, brushing his fingers and those long dark pointed nails over the boy's brow and hair, caressing.

"It's okay, you don't need to deny your heart, and it is very being's right to be free, and do what they want," he leaned down and planted a light kiss on the brow, before straightening up again.

"I think you should do with a bit of rest, for now, though, especially after all this... excitement," Velvet nodded, gesturing for Cinnamon to turn down the dimmer switch on the overhead light.

[TSINGHUA]
"Eeeh?" Tsinghua's hair gets brushed, and then he gets pecked- And there's not much he can do about it. He frowns a little. "I'd prefer if you'd not do such things, Velvet. It makes me uncomfortable." The boy sighs, unsure of how to respond to his accusations- Best case scenario, Velvet might have planted a seed of an idea into him, with his words. "How- How would you know what is 'from the heart'" He contests, continuing to be distrustful of the darkstalker. "I will be leaving tomorrow, assuming I can move. I will do my best to smooth over the situation with ms. Yao- I am sure she will understand that you helped me today. Good night."

He remains cold, though hints of his usual kindness seem to be shining through a bit more- He does however, seem rather fidgety in his bed. Seemingly unable to relax himself completely. "..Thank you, ms. Cinnamon."

Log created on 10:34:31 05/13/2021 by Tsinghua, and last modified on 17:30:58 05/13/2021.