[ oh, unfortunately his curiosity is so very bad for his health, which is why yes, he does attempt to wander into the cave. he startles just a little when yves grabs his hand, not expecting it, his tail fur floofing up in surprise.
[ nooo not the startle - yves gives jiaoqiu's hand a little squeeze automatically, his thumb brushing over his knuckles in apology ] Sorry.
[ but his eyes are still fixed on the field ]
It's because... this looks like my home.
And when I was alive, these flowers... If someone accidentally stepped on them or picked them, they'd cause them to die an excruciating death immediately.
[ he eases a bit when he realizes properly who it is, glancing out over the field. from what he can tell, it's just... a mass of black. ]
I'd like to avoid excruciating death. [ lord. he takes a step back carefully, taking yves with him - still hand in hand. and then: ] Why are they here?
[ you can hold onto his arm - he automatically brings his hand up to cover jiaoqiu's like that's hopefully reassuring ]
Ages and ages ago, Death came to visit the land of Arpéchéle. He met with one man in the lands - we called him the Pioneer - in the black flower garden. Upon encountering the shivering Pioneer, Death cast a curse on him.
In his ancient voice, he said: "It was I who planted the lycoris noirge across this land. The flowers will one day be offered to my dear partner and princess. You must not allow the flowers to wilt. Should they wilt, I will return to reap the lives of all who live here, and take them to Hades."
It was not a warning, but an order. A command.
[ . . . and then yves' voice turns wistful ]
My grandpa told me that story when I was young. I thought it was odd too, because he would always bring me to the lycoris noirges. But... he loved them. And I love my grandpa. So I wanted to be like him—someone who loves all flowers, no mater what.
And maybe... some part of me thinks it's romantic. For Death to love someone so dearly, so ardently, that he planted an entire field of flowers just for her—and wanted them to bloom across lifetimes.
[ he laughs a little bit in return before looking out at the meadow of them and...
well, yves will just start to walk toward the flowers again, his loose on jiaoqiu's hand loosening just a little - ]
There's paths you can take that don't bring you close enough to have an accident. If you trust me. But if you want to stay back, it's okay.
[ . . . ]
They just feel like family to me. I don't know if I fully believe the story myself, as much as I like it... but I did notice that when my parents didn't want to look after the flowers, deaths from the curse on the island increased for some reason.
[ he looks a little like, Unsure about approaching the flowers, but they're not real. and besides, yves has spent all his time looking after them, so jiaoqiu can sort of trust that he knows what he's doing.
he'll take a step after, but he doesn't go far. he doesn't trust himself, so much. ]
You don't need to justify it, I think. [ softer. ] They are beautiful, in the way death can be. Romanticized.
[ he has complicated views on death that he can't express in few words, but. ]
In a way, they symbolize your world, I think. From what I've learned from you and Lucas, life seems particularly fragile.
[ yves will at least go as close as jiaoqiu is willing - and even if it's not that close, it's okay. he'll still squat down a bit so he can look over the flowers and be closer to them ]
... it was. A country both cursed and beloved by Death.
I know most people scorned it, or cursed that they were born into our country. But... I still wanted to try loving it—I did love it. But... that's how I feel about these flowers, too.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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but he does stop walking. ]
Is it? Why?
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[ but his eyes are still fixed on the field ]
It's because... this looks like my home.
And when I was alive, these flowers... If someone accidentally stepped on them or picked them, they'd cause them to die an excruciating death immediately.
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[ he eases a bit when he realizes properly who it is, glancing out over the field. from what he can tell, it's just... a mass of black. ]
I'd like to avoid excruciating death. [ lord. he takes a step back carefully, taking yves with him - still hand in hand. and then: ] Why are they here?
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I don't know... It might be my fault. I guess... I did want to see them.
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[ don't be a bitch about it jiaoqiu ]
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I know it doesn't sounds great, but... really, they don't hurt anyone as long as they don't get stepped on or bothered.
They... mean a lot to me. [ a beat ] Me and my family.
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I see. [ ... ] Will you tell me more about them? The flowers - though I wouldn't mind hearing about your family as well.
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... would you like to hear an old legend?
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Of course.
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Ages and ages ago, Death came to visit the land of Arpéchéle. He met with one man in the lands - we called him the Pioneer - in the black flower garden. Upon encountering the shivering Pioneer, Death cast a curse on him.
In his ancient voice, he said: "It was I who planted the lycoris noirge across this land. The flowers will one day be offered to my dear partner and princess. You must not allow the flowers to wilt. Should they wilt, I will return to reap the lives of all who live here, and take them to Hades."
It was not a warning, but an order. A command.
[ . . . and then yves' voice turns wistful ]
My grandpa told me that story when I was young. I thought it was odd too, because he would always bring me to the lycoris noirges. But... he loved them. And I love my grandpa. So I wanted to be like him—someone who loves all flowers, no mater what.
And maybe... some part of me thinks it's romantic. For Death to love someone so dearly, so ardently, that he planted an entire field of flowers just for her—and wanted them to bloom across lifetimes.
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I don't disagree. [ ... ] For Death to love anybody so much is already illuminating as is.
Is your family in charge of watching those flowers?
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Well, I guess I wasn't subtle or anything.
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No, you weren't.
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well, yves will just start to walk toward the flowers again, his loose on jiaoqiu's hand loosening just a little - ]
There's paths you can take that don't bring you close enough to have an accident. If you trust me. But if you want to stay back, it's okay.
[ . . . ]
They just feel like family to me. I don't know if I fully believe the story myself, as much as I like it... but I did notice that when my parents didn't want to look after the flowers, deaths from the curse on the island increased for some reason.
So I'm their guardian instead.
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he'll take a step after, but he doesn't go far. he doesn't trust himself, so much. ]
You don't need to justify it, I think. [ softer. ] They are beautiful, in the way death can be. Romanticized.
[ he has complicated views on death that he can't express in few words, but. ]
In a way, they symbolize your world, I think. From what I've learned from you and Lucas, life seems particularly fragile.
no subject
... it was. A country both cursed and beloved by Death.
I know most people scorned it, or cursed that they were born into our country. But... I still wanted to try loving it—I did love it. But... that's how I feel about these flowers, too.