[UN: swordcandy | Video]

[cultivatingsin]

[He tosses a black stone up and down, catching it and then slipping it quickly up his sleeve. Shadows dance around his sleeve and he grins, revealing sharp fangs. Don't worry, those are completely natural. For him anyway.]

Is it too much to ask for a head's up before everything goes to shit next time? ...it is too much?

[He pretends to listen to a nonexistent answer, cupping his hand around his ear.]

I'm not against you creating more corpses. Believe me, I would love a hoard of them.

[Just to play around. Just to order around, actually.]

Some of my friends have disappeared. It's hard not to be sad. Come on, someone take my mind off of it~

I might even show you a neat trick if you do.

Comments

[cultivatingsin]

[Clothing is a matter of luck. Xue Yang had been very unhappy to wake up in a hospital gown, but he had then found (his?) robes in a closet a week or so later. But just one set. He likes to imagine that he made the transition into the new world, hopped out of his clothes somehow and ended up in the hospital.]

I found them here~ They're close enough to what I'm used to.

[Keep looking. If Xue Yang finds another set first, he will either keep them or sell them for favors.]

In my case, they nearly beat me to death and left me to rot in a ditch beside a road to fucking nowhere.

[Why does he limp? Now Linhardt knows. Xue Yang rolls the question around in his mind, running a finger along the book spines.]

I don't know if it's something this place wants. We're only useful if we're here. I guess I would say she slipped back accidentally.

[sleepfan]

In that case, I will keep looking for more suitable clothing.

[ Except for the sandals, Linhardt is still in his clothing from Fodlan. Everything else he's found so far has had an odd feel, not fit him correctly, or been far too thin to be of any use as an actual article of clothing. The corpse man's clothes, however, suggest that better garments could be found. Perhaps he should check all of the apartments. ]

Did you initiate hostilities, or did they?

[ Beating a man and leaving him to die is horrific. However, the man had admitted to being fond of corpses and lacking empathy. ]

I would like to know if your attackers are morally bankrupt or simply stupid.

[ It's a toss up, based on what Linhardt has seen of human nature. Having finally exhausted his initial perusal of the books, Linhardt slinks into a chair, sinking into the cushions and letting his head fall back. This would be a good chair for sleeping. He shuts his eyes and stays quiet, considering the other man's words. Slipping. That is an interesting verb to use.]

I certainly have no intention of being useful. Do you think that we'll be sent back if we're not? Or 'slip'?

[ That idea makes Linhardt shiver. He does not particularly want to return to Fodlan.]

[cultivatingsin]

Good luck! [Sometimes clothing needs to be stitched together and altered. Xue Yang has a little skill in that department - though he will never admit to it. He has only sewn for himself and his Daozhang.]

I did what I was ordered to do like a faithful dog. Then when something personal cropped up, they didn't like the way I handled it. [He didn't like the way he handled it. Jin Guangyao. But Xue Yang prefers to say 'they' because Guangyao used to be a sort of...friend. Or at least an ally.] So they wanted me dead to protect their reputation.

[Morally bankrupt absolutely. Xue Yang wanders down an aisle and chooses three more tomes before he joins Linhardt, sitting on a cushion.]

I think it's more likely you will if you're a pain in the ass.

[sleepfan]

From you, that sounds like a curse.

[The 'good luck'. Now, Linhardt finds himself utterly certain he will never again know the caress of comfortable garments. Of shoes that aren't weird.

Leaning sideways, Linhardt's eyes read the titles of the books that the man has chosen. A man's reading material can be rather illuminating. It would be one of the best ways to learn about Linhardt, at least.]

Both, then. Morally bankrupt for turning their back on an ally, and incompetent for not killing you after declaring their intent to do so and, upon realizing such, not making amends. Hopefully, their reputation was more ruined by you ending up alive.

[He's a pacifist, but Linhardt isn't particularly nice. Niceness is an overrated 'virtue'. It's enjoyable sometimes to watch people struggle with the consequences of their own actions.

A sigh.

A very long sigh.

That is his reaction to being told that he might be sent back to Fodlan.]

I suppose I should find another world soon, then.

[Because no authority figure has ever not considered Linhardt a pain in the ass. He should know. It's a very thoughtfully cultivated perception; that way none of them would want to interact with him.]

[cultivatingsin]

[Xue Yang laughs and sets his newest finds down on a table. Once he is comfortable on the cushion, he pulls them into his lap, one by one. What? Was Linhardt expecting comfort?

As for the titles, the following probably give some insight into his demented mind: Medieval Torture Methods, Poisonous Plants of Eurasia and Vascular Systems in Mammals.]

Who said they didn't try to make amends? [He snorts.] I kept the city where I was staying surrounded by corpses and talisman. Anyone who tried to sneak in and kill me likely found the hoard and joined them.

[By dying.]

Did you screw up that badly?