[She lets go of his arm, but only so that she can find the switch on the wall to make it look like the walls and floor have vanished. STARS EVERYWHERE.]
It's amazing, isn't it? The stars are beautiful back home, but this is something else!
[ Despite everything, all of the jaded anger and general, appropriate despair, He Xuan is still a nerd at heart. Late night reading, devouring every book and scroll that crossed his path, anything and everything that he could learn - some of that was taken up by star charts, astrology, the heavens in the vaguest sense of the word.
She hits the switch on the wall, and he falls into surprised silence. ]
She watches the look on his face, and can't help but beam, her expression fond. He's quiet pretty often, but not always speechless like this, and she can't help but feel a little proud that she's found something that he's actually fascinated by.]
When I saw this, I knew I wanted to show you. Thank you for coming with me!
[ Honestly, it's probably a good thing the real Ming Yi ascended for his intelligence as an engineer. He might not have the bond with his shovel that would make it that much easier to use, but He Xuan has the intelligence for it, and the interest in the machinations of it. This entire place has been fascinating, so for all his grumping...
... alright, he doesn't hate this at all. ]
Your sin is gluttony, not pride, you know. [ Stop looking at him like that.
He doesn't sound as dry or annoyed as he could, though. ] Have you found any of the stars that we know?
I don't have to be sinful all the time. Just let me have this!
[It's so rare for him to actually like something she finds! She's absolutely going to cherish the memory of being able to put that look on his face. She's just a glutton for spending time with him, okay?]
Not yet. I thought maybe we could look at them together - you've always had a better eye for that sort of thing than me.
[ No further - if inefficient - reprimand comes, as He Xuan takes a few more steps in to scan the skies around them. The space is all-encompassing, and it reminds him a bit of being underwater, that strange sort of calm that settles when he's submerged.
Everything is different, beneath the waves.
Shi Qingxuan is proud of herself, but underneath the wonder, he starts to feel something sour in his gut. (Regret, maybe? Why feel regret when he's gotten all that he's wanted for hundreds of years..?) ]
[Well, you don't have to tell her twice! With a smile, she crosses back over to his side and tries to follow his gaze to whichever constellations he's looking at.]
Hmm...
[She still doesn't really recognize any of these stars, but He Xuan has the braincell here, so she's sure he will.]
[She just. Takes him by the hand to lead him over? With the walls appearing to not even be there, it's easier. Once they get there, even though they can't really see where it is, they'll stop just short of running into the wall. She feels around on it until she finds the button, then pulls his hand over it.]
[ Considering the fact that she hangs on and holds onto him all the time, He Xuan shouldn't react to this. But he can feel a tick, somewhere, that he immediately shoves down as she leads him off by the hand. He's silent, and tries to keep watch for the wall so they don't run into it.
At least she pulls up short, as his fingers trace the edges of the button. ]
Let's see... [ He turns halfway, keeping his hand there and watching things. A press of the button - the sky disappears, returning to normal. Another, it returns.
His eyes narrow again. Like he's found a puzzle he genuinely wants to figure out. ] ... I think we can affect it.
Maybe. If it's like that other room, and we can change it, then we don't necessarily have to use a control.
[ Because they could affect that with thoughts, gestures... he's learned that much. He lifts a hand up, gesture like one would have when holding up an object at the fingertips, and turns a bit.
We can. So, our stars... [ He Xuan moves it again, curious, until he can find something that looks familiar.
Unfortunately, it winds up literally being their stars that he spots, first, and what dim light there was starting to build in his eyes shutters away to the normal flatness again. ]
[ ... he's meant to be indulging in despair, isn't he? To be seeking out the emotions that the root cause sparks, even now that he's accomplished what he set out to do. How miserable an indulgence. ]
... you do know those ones. This looks like the sky in Zhongguo, so I think these are, actually, the stars we were born under.
[ It's true, at least. He doesn't look at her as he assesses the constellations above their heads, expression level as always - save for a tightness at his eyes, for a moment. ]
But here they are, however far away from Zhongguo we truly are - and so are we.
[Our stars... that makes her smile, because she's an idiot, and she is immediately distracted by the way he takes her wrist and guides her hand to trace out more of the dragon's shape.]
I see... I can almost imagine what the dragon must have looked like.
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[She lets go of his arm, but only so that she can find the switch on the wall to make it look like the walls and floor have vanished. STARS EVERYWHERE.]
It's amazing, isn't it? The stars are beautiful back home, but this is something else!
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She hits the switch on the wall, and he falls into surprised silence. ]
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She watches the look on his face, and can't help but beam, her expression fond. He's quiet pretty often, but not always speechless like this, and she can't help but feel a little proud that she's found something that he's actually fascinated by.]
When I saw this, I knew I wanted to show you. Thank you for coming with me!
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... alright, he doesn't hate this at all. ]
Your sin is gluttony, not pride, you know. [ Stop looking at him like that.
He doesn't sound as dry or annoyed as he could, though. ] Have you found any of the stars that we know?
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[It's so rare for him to actually like something she finds! She's absolutely going to cherish the memory of being able to put that look on his face. She's just a glutton for spending time with him, okay?]
Not yet. I thought maybe we could look at them together - you've always had a better eye for that sort of thing than me.
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Everything is different, beneath the waves.
Shi Qingxuan is proud of herself, but underneath the wonder, he starts to feel something sour in his gut. (Regret, maybe? Why feel regret when he's gotten all that he's wanted for hundreds of years..?) ]
It's not that hard. Come here.
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Hmm...
[She still doesn't really recognize any of these stars, but He Xuan has the braincell here, so she's sure he will.]
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None of these are ours. [ At least he's thoughtful, rather than annoyed. ]
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[It was fairly obvious because of the difference in technology, but this just confirms it.]
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[She just. Takes him by the hand to lead him over? With the walls appearing to not even be there, it's easier. Once they get there, even though they can't really see where it is, they'll stop just short of running into the wall. She feels around on it until she finds the button, then pulls his hand over it.]
This, right here. See?
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At least she pulls up short, as his fingers trace the edges of the button. ]
Let's see... [ He turns halfway, keeping his hand there and watching things. A press of the button - the sky disappears, returning to normal. Another, it returns.
His eyes narrow again. Like he's found a puzzle he genuinely wants to figure out. ] ... I think we can affect it.
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[Interesting! She wouldn't have figured it out on her own - it's enough just switching between normal planetarium and stellar immersion.]
I guess that would make sense, if it's anything like that other room with the illusions...
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[ Because they could affect that with thoughts, gestures... he's learned that much. He lifts a hand up, gesture like one would have when holding up an object at the fingertips, and turns a bit.
- oh, it moves! ]
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[Fascinating... Shi Qingxuan watches the projection of the stars as it moves. It's neat to see them at a different angle.]
We can look at anything we want, like this.
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We can. So, our stars... [ He Xuan moves it again, curious, until he can find something that looks familiar.
Unfortunately, it winds up literally being their stars that he spots, first, and what dim light there was starting to build in his eyes shutters away to the normal flatness again. ]
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Oh! Ming-xiong, I know those ones!
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... you do know those ones. This looks like the sky in Zhongguo, so I think these are, actually, the stars we were born under.
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[She glances over at his face and... oh. Is it just a trick of the low light, or...?]
...are you okay?
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[ It's true, at least. He doesn't look at her as he assesses the constellations above their heads, expression level as always - save for a tightness at his eyes, for a moment. ]
But here they are, however far away from Zhongguo we truly are - and so are we.
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Maybe we can find some other familiar constellations?
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Alright. And what ones do you think you know?
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That's... the Azure Dragon's heart, isn't it?
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[ Our stars. Terrible. He Xuan moves to stand closer to her, looking past her shoulder and reaching to take her wrist to move her tracing along. ]
There's the head - the horns - and the neck higher up.
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I see... I can almost imagine what the dragon must have looked like.
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