[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019f612b-1593-72be-b9e8-76556b22ec1c.webp[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=9174cb][I]Eve; featuring Qing [@Hound55][/I][/color][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=9174cb][b]Death and all her Friends - X[/b] [i]Fair Trade[/i][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][center][COLOR=dimgray][SUP][sub]_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][/center] [indent][indent] [color=silver] Eve woke up feeling like shit. Physically? [i]Shit.[/i] Mentally? [i]Shit.[/i] Spiritually? [i]Absolute shit.[/i] Every layer a festering wound that she attempted to salve with handfuls of dramamine chased with cold black coffee as Petula Clark crooned through the tinny little speaker in her bedroom. She sang of pretty neon signs, forgetting all of your troubles and cares if you simply went downtown. Eve had been downtown and it was as shit as the rest of Calder City and certainly not something to be romanticised. What did the woman even mean anyway? What was downtown? Eve imagined that had Petula Clark spent a night downtown in Calder City, she would have left mugged or having witnessed some strange crime with an even stranger climax of one of the Vanguard swooping in to “save” the day. She looked like shit, too, she discovered as she looked in the mirror. All red eyed and filthy to the bone. Messed hair, bruised knuckles and dirt at the edges of her skin. She tried to fake a smile in the mirror but it turned sour and threatened to pull her to tears. She took in a sharp breath to brush it away for now. It took a long soak in a filled bubble bath to wash what was on the surface away. Fragrances of pink pepper, bergamot, musk, and coconut floated through the apartment. She scrubbed away at it all, lathered, soaked, and repeated the routine again until her skin felt raw. Her mind was even more so. Stuck in violent replays that she felt across the body. She felt as though her entire spine had been yanked out and then stitched back in. The sadness for Uncle Mikey had found itself at the bottom of the current totem pole and that hardly seemed fair. She had seen just how bad of a man he was and all of his ugly sides and still she knew she would miss him and it wasn’t as simple as the world being better off without him. It would just keep turning. When it came to the four Greys – that was different, it was only when she thought of them that she felt any kind of calm at all. She knew that Silvio had called the whole scene in. He’d looked at her face and had made the decision then that the only action was to remove this from his plate – despite that questions may come. This was bigger than him, bigger than the family and he’d done it for Eve; his attempt to gain back some kind of grace with her. Their spirits did not torment her at all when morning came, and there was a wondering that came over if that when on their way out they patched up a leak or two. Eve couldn’t explain it. All they had wanted was to be found. She imagined that there would be one hell of a police set up down there and she thought of Dominic Dusk then and whether he’d find out, and if he’d tie his own theories back to her sooner or later. What exactly would the police do with her? If they really suspected her of anything? And if not, if they discovered the way in which she was able to find the bodies – or the way in which the threads had decided she would, perhaps. Would they take her away to one of the Vanguard? Would Silvio sell her out to save himself? Was he now implicated in it on account of his man being at the scene? In her naive mind it all seemed straightforward. Michael had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was killed for it. It just so happened that Michael had a history of having dirty hands and the Calder City police would be all too happy to have a pin in the Raciti family now for one of the big mysteries. Eve had left Paloma Torres all alone, but she’d also been able to gift all of Paloma’s research to Dominic Dusk; it just so happened he’d caught her in the act of something twice now, and there was a third time he’d likely happily connect the dots on. Only Eve was sure as sure of her innocence. Panic set in. Everything was a mess and nothing made sense. Eve let herself sink below the surface of the water. [hr] The apartment looked like shit. Like, really, really, really shit, highlighted even more by the harsh light of the early afternoon. The wall mount was hanging on by hopes and prayers, it seemed, and they weren’t being answered. Glass and ceramic all over the floor, and books had been torn from the shelves and strewn about. Carrie’s spine, too, had been broken and the paperback lay splayed out and crumpled on the floor. Water from a vase of flowers had spilt all into the fabric of the couch and left a fine stain too. When Eve approached and touched the wall mount, it gave way entirely with a crash that barely had the effect of making her jump; the chaos was not that chaotic when it followed her everywhere. But this, this she could fix today. Or at least, she knew someone who could. That same someone who could was someone who had liaised with death like she had, and maybe he had answers. [COLOR=9174cb]”Qing?”[/color] she spoke into the phone. [color=6b7653]ᵀʰᵉ ʰᵃⁿᵈʸᵐᵃⁿ ᵃᵍᵃⁱⁿ, ᴱᵛᵉ? ᴿᵉᵃˡˡʸ?[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]”It’s Eve, you know. Demon fusebox. I… Have some more work for you today, if you have time. I’d… Appreciate it. If you can’t today just let me know if you know anyone who can?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Ace of Tra–”[/color] The phone muffled as it was repositioned, presumably for work, on the other end, as Eve announced herself. There was some hesitancy as he presumably manipulated whatever he was working with on the other end of the call. [color=tomato] “Yeah, I’m available. I’ve only one other job today, and it shouldn’t fill my day. What are we talking here? More problems with the wiring? Do you want the breaker conversion today? Just–”[/color] Another muffle on the other end as he tried to better position the phone. [color=tomato]“Just trying to get a sense of what I need to pick up for the truck to do the job, before I get there.”[/color] Eve paused and surveyed the damage again. [COLOR=9174cb]“Unrelated issue… Wall mount needs fixing. I think a bird flew in… Uhh.”[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴬ ᶠᵘᶜᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵇⁱʳᵈ?[/color] [color=tomato]“Well, I should be done here around midday. Call it one o’clock. Then I’ll be right there, is that okay?”[/color] There was a pause on the other end of the phone. [color=tomato]“Is that– Is everything okay?”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Peachy!”[/color] She chirped back. [color=6b7653]ᴵ'ᵐ ᶜʳⁱⁿᵍⁱⁿᵍ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ᵍʳᵃᵛᵉ[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Nothing wrong here. Just, the wall is a little…”[/color] she wandered over to it and ran her fingers into the chipped out plaster. [COLOR=9174cb]“There are chips in the wall. The whole thing just fell. I don't know what happened but 1pm is fine. That's fine.”[/color] That would at least give her some time to sweep away much of the glass. [COLOR=9174cb]“Do you like bagels?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Do I like what–?”[/color] Qing was clearly preoccupied with whatever work was keeping him busy at the other end of the phone line. [color=tomato]“That’s fine. That’s all fine. I’ll see you at one.”[/color] The knock at the door was familiar from the night prior. Eve answered the door. Qing stood there alone with his tool belt, screwdriver already in hand. [COLOR=9174cb]“Oh.”[/color] Unable to hide brief disappointment, before gathering herself. Previously unsure what to expect when she called him again. [color=tomato]“Were you– were you expecting my father to be here with me?”[/color] He had one brow cocked in curiosity. He once again walked past her into her own apartment to get to work unprompted, slightly shaking his head. [color=537076]¿ǝɥ ʇ,usı 'ǝɯospuɐɥ ןןıʇs s,ǝɥ[/color] [color=tomato]“Alright so where’s this…”[/color] Qing stopped in his tracks. [color=tomato]“A bird, huh? Never known an ostrich to fly up into an apartment before…”[/color] He pointed at the screwdriver in his other hand. [color=tomato]“This isn’t gonna be enough to get the job done here.”[/color] The wall mount was bent in a way that couldn’t have possibly been caused by a bird trapped in an apartment. Then he noticed what was missing. He couldn’t remember what exactly had been there, it wasn’t his apartment, but there were small things missing from her shelves. Pretty little personal touch things that he couldn’t put a name to, but changed a house to a home. [i]“I’m a freelance… Freelancer… Dancer.” “Not the Canaries– ballet.”[/i] The ballet picture she’d pointed to was gone. It was the night before. He stepped slightly forward and around the corner at the television waiting to be mounted. A thoroughly shattered screen. Spider-webbed with cracks around a central point. Small central point. He looked around the room. A heavily scuffed corner on a coffee table. A picture began to solidify in his mind. A strange man in her apartment. Fixes things. Next day, all of her stuff gets broken. He gets called up to repair something that was clearly beyond repair. What kind of domestic incident had he just found himself in the middle of? [i][color=springgreen]She’s a nice girl[/color][/i] [i]Thanks Ba… now I’m seeing her as a person who needs my help, instead of a situation I should run the Hell away from.[/i] [color=tomato]“Uhh… Eve? I’m not here about re-mounting a broken television, am I?”[/color] Eve's eyes scanned over the room too, and then back to Qing, and then back to the room, and whatever penny had dropped for him, suddenly did for her. [color=537076]¿ʞuıɥʇ oʇ ɯıɥ ʇɔǝdxǝ noʎ pıp ʇɐɥM[/color] She'd tried her best to clean but the place was still, a visible disaster that was telling quite the story. [COLOR=9174cb]“Oh God,”[/color] she said, frowning. [COLOR=9174cb]“No, Qing…”[/color] her voice was softer and she turned to look at him. [COLOR=9174cb]“No. I'm… I'm the bird.”[/color] She tried to smile, but it fell awkward along the way and she bit her lip instead. [COLOR=9174cb]“I… Messed my own apartment, so yes. Yes you are here to fix it, preferably before my Dad sees it. But I'm the bird.”[/color] [color=6b7653]ʸᵉᵃʰ, ᵃ ʳᵉᵃˡ ᶠᵘᶜᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵇⁱᵍ ᵇⁱʳᵈ.[/color] What did she expect him to think? Maybe to not think at all and just fix the problem, but there was something sweet in the fact that he had – if not also tainted with sudden embarrassment. [COLOR=9174cb]“Do you think you can fix it?”[/color] She asked. [COLOR=9174cb]“I should have been more… Transparent about the damage.”[/color] [color=tomato]“You? Your Dad..?”[/color] Qing collapsed onto the lounge and dropped his head back, staring up at the ceiling. [color=tomato]“You have… no idea, how relieved I am to hear you say that. That’s it though, right?”[/color] He returned eye contact. [color=tomato]“I’m not gonna come back here in a week and you’ve, like, ‘walked into a door frame’ or ‘fallen down the stairs’, right?”[/color] [color=tomato]“I don’t fix TVs. My father– my father has a shop though. Hell, if I told him that it was for you and that you called me the day after he’d probably have it fixed within the week…”[/color] She smiled at that. [color=6b7653]ᴰᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ᵗᵒ ᶠᵘᶜᵏ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵍᵘʸ?[/color] [i]Sucks to be Mrs Wing…[/i] Qing thought, With her month-long wait. He pictured Bo Wen pulling favours on parts all across the city to get it done for his potential future daughter-in-law over the next 24 hours. [color=tomato]“Maybe– maybe we could get you a rental and I could hang that? I don’t know. My father knows some people. You’d want to find the same make and model. In all honesty it’s probably easier to get a new one. But if you’re more worried about your father, maybe that’s worth it to you.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Either way, I’m going to have to get you a new wall mount. That’s toast. I’m actually… kind of impressed that you managed to do that.”[/color] [color=tomato]“I can fix your wall while I’m here though. Just came from another drywall job. People wanted me to put up a new wall so they could build a nursery.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Okay first of all, you don't need to worry about me falling down stairs… If I do that, I'll call a doctor, not you. Unless you're also a doctor and you haven't told me. I have a pretty nice doctor though.”[/color] She was thinking through everything he'd rambled on about. [COLOR=9174cb]“Don't worry about the TV either, I have another in my bedroom I can bring that out for now. Maybe… Maybe it's just better broken I don't know.”[/color] [i]That’s the second time someone’s considered if I were a doctor in the last twenty-four hours.[/i] [color=tomato]“Better broken? Why?”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“The TV? It seems like trouble to fix or something… And I have another, I mean you can take it and fix it if you want. I… Barely use the thing. Although that's not true sometimes I watch things– nevermind. Not important. I'm just… If all you can fix is the wall let's just fix the wall.”[/color] She glanced down at him on the couch and tilted her head. [COLOR=9174cb]“Want your bagel now?”[/color] [color=76535c]C̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷I̷ ̷g̷e̷t̷ ̷a̷ ̷b̷a̷g̷e̷l̷?̷ ̷M̷y̷ ̷w̷i̷f̷e̷ ̷a̷l̷w̷a̷y̷s̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷d̷ ̷a̷ ̷b̷a̷g̷e̷l̷.̷[/color] Qing looked up at the customer. Then realised he was looking UP at the customer. [color=tomato]“I’m sitting on your lounge. I shouldn’t be sitting on your lounge… Job to be done.”[/color] He got to his feet. [COLOR=9174cb]“Oh and you might want to check your pants too, that thing took a vase of flowers in my whirlwind.”[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴵ ʰᵒᵖᵉ ⁱᵗ ˡᵒᵒᵏˢ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ʰᵉ'ˢ ᵖⁱˢˢᵉᵈ ʰⁱᵐˢᵉˡᶠ.[/color] [color=537076]˙uosɐᒋ[/color] [color=tomato]“I don’t– think it was still wet?”[/color] He turned around on the spot, looking over his shoulder. Eve smirked, tilting her head again as a thought began and quickly turned into words before she could stop them, [COLOR=9174cb]“looks pretty peachy from my angle,”[/color] she said, eyes on his buttocks. [color=6b7653]ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ᶠᵘᶜᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵏⁱˡˡⁱⁿᵍ ᵐᵉ[/color] Qing looked at the screwdriver in his hand. [color=tomato]“Uhh… if I’m fixing the wall. I’ll go get–stuff– filler. Bonding– Wall-fixing stuff. From. Van.”[/color] Qing walked quickly back out the front door and jumped in the back of his van. [i]Putty knife, poly-filler, bonding agent…[/i] He tapped the back of his belt, checking the sandpaper was still there. [i]“Looks pretty peachy from my angle.”[/i] Qing cocked his own head to the side for a second and took a moment to regain composure, before returning to the apartment. Meanwhile, back in the apartment, Eve had sat herself by the kitchen bench, a change of t shirt and in front of her, two takeout boxes. One of which she was eating from. [COLOR=9174cb]“Food?”[/color] She asked as Qing walked back in. [COLOR=9174cb]“It's chicken and cheese. Downstairs. They make good ones. Got one for you dad too.”[/color] It was said so matter-of-factly. [color=76535c]N̷o̷ ̷s̷m̷o̷k̷e̷d̷ ̷s̷a̷l̷m̷o̷n̷?̷[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴸᵉᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵍᵘᵉˢˢ, ʸᵒᵘʳ ʷⁱᶠᵉ ᴸᴼⱽᴱᴰ ˢᵐᵒᵏᵉᵈ ˢᵃˡᵐᵒⁿ[/color] [color=76535c]Y̷e̷s̷ ̷a̷c̷t̷u̷a̷l̷l̷y̷,̷ ̷h̷o̷w̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̷k̷n̷o̷w̷?̷[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“And I have OJ, or if you want to get straight to work. I'm ready!”[/color] Qing immediately noticed the change of shirt. [color=6b7653]ᴰⁱᵈ ʰᵉ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᶜʰᵉᶜᵏ ʸᵒᵘ ᵒᵘᵗ?[/color] [i]Looks pretty peachy from my angle. “...or if you want to get straight to work. I’m ready!”[/i] Qing turned and in rare stunned silence returned to the room to get to work on repairing the wall. He began to knock off the loose plaster around the most prominent hole with the putty knife. Then he felt a presence to his side, and did his best to stare straight ahead at the work at hand. Then he pulled the sand paper out and worked around the edges. [COLOR=9174cb]“So you’re making the hole bigger..?”[/color] She asked. [color=6b7653]...ᴷⁱˡˡ ᵐᵉ ᵃᵍᵃⁱⁿ[/color] [color=tomato]“I’m making sure that all of the loose, crumbly plaster which is no good comes out, and now I’m roughing the edges so that the new plaster has something to properly hold onto once the bonding agent gets added.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“If you say so,”[/color] she added, watching him closely with her usual curiosity. She reached toward his pocket and took a piece of sandpaper of her own, mimicking his movement carefully. Qing watched as she removed a second piece of sandpaper from his toolbelt, and ran his eyes up her to her face in one long stare, while she crouched unreasonably close. Before soundlessly turning his attention back to the work at hand. As Eve continued copying him, she breathed out, furrowing her brows like the silence was offending her. [COLOR=9174cb]“Say, would you rather have a bionic arm or a bionic leg?”[/color] [color=76535c]B̷i̷o̷n̷i̷c̷ ̷l̷e̷g̷[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴬˢ ˡᵒⁿᵍ ᵃˢ ᴵ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ᶠᵉᵉˡ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ... ᶜʸᵇᵉʳ⁻⁻[/color] [color=537076]OOOu[/color] She asked, before turning to look at him, already ceasing from the work. [COLOR=9174cb]“I think I'd go arm… I'm pretty fast as is, but with an arm I'd be able to open anything. Get into all kinds of trouble.”[/color] [color=tomato]“I– what?”[/color] He stammered, bewildered. He paused and thought for a moment. [color=tomato] “Definitely leg. I use my hands and arms too much. I wouldn’t want any… you know... Loss of sensation, for my work.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“You do have nice hands,”[/color] she shrugged. [color=537076]˙sǝop ʎןןɐǝɹ ǝɥ[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Might not get to be so precise with them if they're all metal and stuff. You're right.”[/color] She continued with her corner. [COLOR=9174cb]“So how do you know when the edges are rough enough?”[/color] She asked. Qing flushed, then silently looked to regather composure, sanding well beyond what was necessary because he wasn’t ready to speak again yet. [color=tomato]“That should be enough.”[/color] He confirmed her voiced thoughts. [COLOR=9174cb]“If you say so,”[/color] she repeated, placing her own sandpaper down. [COLOR=9174cb]“So now we fill the hole?”[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴶᵘˢᵗ ᵃˢᵏ ʰⁱᵐ ᵗᵒ ᶠᵘᶜᵏ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃᵗ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵖᵒⁱⁿᵗ[/color] [color=537076]ɯıɥ ɥʇıʍ ƃuıssǝɯ ʇsnɾ s,ǝɥS[/color] Qing opened his mouth to speak and then promptly closed it again. He produced a small unlabelled tub from the few he’d retrieved from the van. [color=tomato]“This is a bonding agent… you can also use watered down PVA– err… polyvinyl acetate. Need to use this, because the plaster will suck all of the mois–”[/color] Qing turned and stared straight ahead. [i]Nope.[/i] Qing considered how to rephrase it. [color=tomato]“The filler will crack, dry out and be no good if we don’t use this stuff first.”[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴳᵒᵈ ⁿᵒʷ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵈᵒʳᵏ ⁱˢ ᵈᵒⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵗ.[/color] Eve looked at the substance and blinked, unable to stop herself from pressing a finger into it. [color=537076]¿ʎןןɐǝꓤ ˙˙˙ǝʌƎ[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Huh. Yeah it's sticky.”[/color] She looked back to Qing who wasn't as amused as her. [COLOR=9174cb]“Oops,”[/color] she said with a slight smile before heading off to wash her hands in the kitchen. [COLOR=9174cb]“So what do you even do on your days off Qing?”[/color] [color=tomato]“What are those?”[/color] He glibly muttered. [color=tomato]“I tend to…keep myself pretty busy. And the nature of the work does, even if I don’t. Or at least seems to. People always need something fixed.”[/color] [i]I have a backlog of extended family who want me to fix things for free or at cost, and they have to wait behind the general paying work.[/i] [COLOR=9174cb]“I can't be helping…”[/color] [color=76535c]S̷e̷e̷m̷s̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷a̷ ̷n̷i̷c̷e̷ ̷g̷u̷y̷,̷ ̷I̷ ̷n̷e̷v̷e̷r̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷a̷ ̷l̷o̷t̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷d̷a̷y̷s̷ ̷o̷f̷f̷ ̷e̷i̷t̷h̷e̷r̷.̷[/color] Qing worked at applying the bonding agent. Brushing it on liberally. It was a product he believed heavily in, rather than making his own homemade PVA mix on the cheap. It kept the moisture level perfect, he’d always preferred ‘perfect’ over ‘cheap’ when it came to what he used. He didn’t feel comfortable with corner cutting solutions that he didn’t have the customer fully aware of. The products he used, he needed to have faith in. [color=tomato]“Other than that, I try and take care of my father. He hasn’t had it easy since we lost my mother.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Oh,”[/color] she sounded as she stepped back over to him, wet hands wiped onto her t-shirt, [COLOR=9174cb]“I'm sorry to hear that,”[/color] she added quietly. [COLOR=9174cb]“He's such a sweet man.”[/color] She gave a small smile. [COLOR=9174cb]“Has it been a long time since– sorry, that's. That's nosy.”[/color] [color=tomato]“It’s okay. People, can’t really tell much from the outside from what I can see. A lot of…outward smiling. Tries to be a positive person for other people. But it’s the kind of thing that for him I don’t ever think is going to seem like ‘a long time’. We’ve a room upstairs which is all her stuff, untouched, unlived in.”[/color] He thought back to the blanket he saw Shenden wrapped in last night. [color=tomato]“At least… that’s what I’ve mostly thought. Maybe things are ‘a long time’ until they’re not.”[/color] [color=tomato]“He’s not someone who lets his problems become other people’s problems.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“He's strong,”[/color] Eve said. [COLOR=9174cb]“You're lucky to have each other through it,”[/color] she added. She once again followed what he was doing in fixing the wall, applying the mixture where it needed to go. [COLOR=9174cb]“I'm sure she would like her things used, touched. If… If they remind you of her you know. But I get it. I wish I had stuff from my mom.”[/color] She looked at Qing then and wondered who was taking care of him like he did his father. Busying himself fixing everything else for everyone else. Fixing a stupid hole in her wall. [color=537076]˙ɯıɥ ɥsnd ʇ,uop 'ǝʌƎ sıɥʇ punoɹɐ ʎןןnɟǝɹɐɔ dǝʇS[/color] She was quiet for only a moment longer before she gave a smile, [COLOR=9174cb]“what was she like?”[/color] [color=tomato]“An asskicker.”[/color] Qing smiled. [color=tomato]“Wouldn’t settle for anything less than everything you had. Very few Chinese American tradesmen would say Tigermom pushed them… but most aren’t learning every trade. But she never pointed at the kid I went to school with who moved into law. More pushed me to… Being more of whatever I was going to be.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“She sounds pretty cool,”[/color] Eve smiled. [COLOR=9174cb]“Is that why you and your dad are so wild? She’s not keeping your asses in line?”[/color] [color=tomato]“My father’s… not an easy ass to kick.”[/color] He laughed. [color=tomato]“He made himself a soft spot for her. Or as soft a spot as she was capable of having.”[/color] Eve glanced sidelong at him, having considered what he’d shared. [COLOR=9174cb]“I think you’re more like your dad than you probably think, I don’t think your ass is easy to kick either.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Peachy, huh?”[/color] He joked. [COLOR=9174cb]“Very.”[/color] [color=tomato]“I don’t think I’m quite the same. He wins people over pretty easily.”[/color] [color=tomato]“But no… mine’s not that easy to kick either.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“You seemed similar to me, but yeah, fine, different but the same.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Do you– remember much about your mother?”[/color] He felt the energy shift. [color=tomato]“Sorry, you mentioned her earlier…”[/color] [i]Everything.[/i] [COLOR=9174cb]“Umm,”[/color] she thought about it. [COLOR=9174cb]“Well… My mother was a nurse. She loved music. All kinds. Absolutely every kind of music. She was an asskicker too, probably.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Well yeah, she was a nurse. Most of ‘em have to be.”[/color] Qing remembered the efforts the Doctor and Shenden had to go to to not let Rock go before he was ready. [COLOR=9174cb]“She was just a good person, I think.”[/color] Eve nodded. [COLOR=9174cb]“Knew what to do, always. And my Dad too. Super couple, honestly. Annoying, in hindsight.”[/color] [i]All the more reason to get this place all back in order before he notices, I guess…[/i] Qing thought to himself. [i]So he doesn’t think less of her.[/i] Parental guilt, he knew all about that. He chuckled to himself, and went back to brushing on more bonding agent. [color=tomato]“Sorry… was talking so much the stuff we brushed on needs reapplying.”[/color] He opened up the tub of filler, and dug the putty knife in. [COLOR=9174cb]“You do talk [i]a lot[/i] by the way,”[/color] her gaze turned to the new tub and she looked at Qing, and the tub, and back to Qing. [COLOR=9174cb]“Now [i]that[/i] looks like something I want to stick my finger in.”[/color] [color=tomato]“I get that a lot. Just don’t get this stuff near your eyes or breath in any dust residue of it…”[/color] As she pressed her finger against it, she glanced up at Qing, and once again the words were already on their way out before she could stop them, [COLOR=9174cb]“so I guess you’re going to fill the hole now.”[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴼʰ ᵐʸ ᵍᵒᵈ ˢᵗᵒᵖ[/color] [color=537076]noʎ ɯoɹɟ sıɥʇ sʇǝƃ ǝɥS[/color] [color=6b7653]ᴺᵒᵗ ᵗʰⁱˢ, ⁿᵒᵖᵉ. ᴺᵒᵗ ᵗʰⁱˢ.[/color] Qing didn’t fluster this time. He saw it coming all the way. He merely sighed in response and slapped a blade full of the plaster filler onto the wall. Spreading it through the hole and overlapping the wall. [color=tomato]“Nice try. Not getting me twice with the same line.”[/color] [color=6b7653]ᵀʰᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ᴵ'ᵐ ᵒⁿ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵍᵘʸ'ˢ ˢⁱᵈᵉ[/color] She laughed at that. [COLOR=9174cb]“Not even a twitch of the eye? Come on.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Now, we wait for that to dry. Sand it down to meet the wall. Paint it. And that’s basically how it’s done.”[/color] Qing ignored her pleas. [color=tomato]“Got any of the old paint in storage anywhere?”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“That’s it huh?”[/color] She looked at it with a raised brow before slapping her hands together and brushing them across her t-shirt. [COLOR=9174cb]“Not too bad for my first time? – paint paint, paint. I dunno. Maybe, somewhere?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Not if you wind up satisfied with how the hole got filled, no.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“I’m pretty satisfied,”[/color] she chuckled. [COLOR=9174cb]“But, if we have to wait – you, food. Mangia! Mangia!”[/color] She clicked her fingers. [COLOR=9174cb]“Not in this Italian household will you not eat lunch.”[/color] She moved through to the kitchen again. [COLOR=9174cb]“Not taking no for an answer,”[/color] she added from behind the fridge door that was suddenly opened. [COLOR=9174cb]“I’ll check the cupboard for a paint.”[/color] She pottered down the hall. Qing moved to the kitchen table and pulled out his phone. [color=tomato] “Just a second, I’ll make a call about…”[/color] He trailed off as the dial tone rang. [color=tomato]”Hey, Ba, it’s me. Look, I’m at that nice girl Eve’s house from last night. She called me up this morning and said she had some other work for me. Well, amongst the stuff I’ve been doing here she seems to have a television with a broken screen. I was wondering if you could give me an estimate for time and cos–”[/color] Qing winced and held the phone away from his ear to protect from the sudden outburst. [color=tomato]“Yeah, okay. Sure. I thought it might be like that.”[/color] He hung the phone up and pocketed it again. Eve paced back down the hall, having heard the other side of the phone from rooms away. [COLOR=9174cb]“I found this paint, I don’t know if it’s the same one, but… Who cares, going to get covered up anyway.”[/color] [color=tomato] “Five days. And between you and me, I’d be surprised if he didn’t get it done in three… Especially when I give him his food and tell him you were thinking of him as well.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“He called me pretty. Of course I’d think of him,”[/color] she said nonchalantly, making her way to the sink to wash her hands again, leaving the tub of paint on the bench. [COLOR=9174cb]“Five days, sure. It’s not urgent though, please don’t go out of your way for my television.”[/color] Whether he wanted one or not, she poured an orange juice for Qing, and placed it in front of him – thinking through her next question, biting back on it only slightly. Qing laughed at her hospitable request to not trouble himself. [color=tomato]“You have no idea what that old man is going to make my life like in the interminable minutes between when he has finished repairing your television and I have delivered it. ‘Qing! You deliver tv yet?’ ‘Qing, I tell you tv finish!’, ‘Qing, why I still see pretty lady tv here?!’”[/color] He realised what he said in the painful second’s gap after he finished imitating his father. [color=tomato]“‘Cos that’s, you know. What he’d call you.”[/color] She smirked and nodded. [COLOR=9174cb]“Sure Qing, sure.”[/color] She’d won back a momentary fluster from him. [COLOR=9174cb]“I’m serious though, I have another one I can use and if you have other customers, or, a chance for a day off,”[/color] she gave a wink. [COLOR=9174cb]“Which you didn’t answer, by the way. Maybe I asked it wrong. If you [i]did[/i] have a day off – what do you want to do?”[/color] she added with a point of her finger. Just a little more, and she’d play her trump question, and only hoped he wouldn’t flee the scene immediately after. [color=tomato]“Oh. Ohhhhh. Were you asking me out? I took that as a hypothetical. Like ‘what do you do for fun’ cultural thing.”[/color] [i]What [b]DO[/b] I do?[/i] He scratched his chin at the beardline and genuinely thought about the question. It’d been a long time since he’d had a day where he didn’t have some kind of work at hand. [color=tomato]“I mean, I guess I’d see a movie or something.”[/color] Then he remembered she was involved with dance. [color=tomato]“Never really seen theatre since, like, school dragged us out to a local performance. That might be something nice if I had someone who could talk me through understanding it better?”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Mhmm, you [i]would[/i] sit and yap through a theatre show too, wouldn’t you?”[/color] she said with a raised brow. [COLOR=9174cb]“But alright,”[/color] she added, genuinely surprised he’d given her a genuine answer and she felt something in her chest that caught her off guard. [COLOR=9174cb]“Now– Now I know how to ask, where to. What to ask you out. I’m glad.”[/color] She blinked, and picked up her own glass and busied herself with it. [COLOR=9174cb]“So, you just. Wait for that.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Well, I’m guessing the performers wouldn’t talk back to me if I asked them point blank during their show… So Hamlet, why’d you kill that guy?”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“And if you just paid attention, you’d find out – mistaken identity!”[/color] [color=tomato]“...”[/color] [color=tomato]“Well I guess we aren’t seeing Hamlet then.”[/color] He spoke up. [color=tomato]“Spoilers…”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“We’ll start you on The Lion King,”[/color] she shrugged, stepping out of the kitchen again. [COLOR=9174cb]“Qing, I actually need to ask you something serious, and… I might need you to trust me to ask you.”[/color] The mood shifted with a whiplash. Qing leaned in. He had no idea where this was going or what she meant by that description. But his face gave tacit unspoken agreement. [COLOR=9174cb]“Are you… Energy sensitive?”[/color] she asked, speaking almost conspiratorially. [COLOR=9174cb]“I… Think you might be, [i]attuned[/i].”[/color] She’d wanted to blurt it out, question him – point a finger, ask him straight up; something guided her, thread unseen, with another approach. [color=tomato]“You tōng líng zhě..?”[/color] He closed his eyes and repeated the translation. [color=tomato]“Psychic. Like, supernaturally… a medium? Or something like that?”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Medium, maybe that. Psychic… I think so,”[/color] he hadn’t mocked her like Dominic Dusk, so that was a start. She braced to test the water more. [color=9174cb]“I suppose you could say I’m a little acquainted with death… and death energy. Traces and the like.”[/color] [i]What are you accusing me of..? You telling me you can ‘see’ what little’s left?[/i] [color=tomato]“Okay.”[/color] Qing said, remaining non-committal. [COLOR=9174cb]“You have an energy about you that is like mine, but different,”[/color] she tilted her head, looking closely into his eyes. [COLOR=9174cb]“Like you’ve spoken to spirits too. Maybe I was wrong,”[/color] she added at the end, drawing back. [color=tomato]“Ohhh. You’re talking about shen.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Y..Yes. That’s exactly what I am talk-”[/color] she replied, blinking. [COLOR=9174cb]“What’s that?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Well… it’s part of the three pillars of vitality. Bridging between your physicality,”[/color] Qing pounded his chest to demonstrate his corporeal form, [color=tomato] “and consciousness.”[/color] [color=tomato]“You’ve got your jing, your chi, and then your shen.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“So, I felt your shen?”[/color] she asked, holding her own hand against her chest. Qing stared at her for a few seconds. [color=tomato]“Well… what was I thinking?”[/color] He asked her. [COLOR=9174cb]“I’ve never been able to read minds, I’m not [i]that[/i] kind of psychic.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Well then it wasn’t [b]my[/b] shen. Shen pertains to… human spirit… psyche… That of the soul which you would attribute to the mind. Am I… making this clear?”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“A little?”[/color] She looked away and out across the room. [COLOR=9174cb]“Mine got so overwhelmed last night I pulled a television off the wall. Maybe… I don’t know, I thought I felt something on you. In you, with you.”[/color] [i]The spirit transforming to actualize potential…[/i] He thought. [i]Furthering life within a form, outside of its form…[/i] [color=tomato]“You’re not crazy. But what you sensed on me was something different. Interesting that it was familiar. Perhaps not surprising, but interesting.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]“Different how?”[/color] she asked, returning to his gaze again, all curiosity in her eyes again. [color=tomato]“Because the energy you describe that I am sensitive to. It’s called ‘chi’. Whilst the shen is of the spirit, the chi is more…the energy of life itself. The breath of life.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]”Chi,”[/color] she repeated back to him. [COLOR=9174cb]”The breath of life, that sounds nice, actually,”[/color] she thought it funny then, what he explained didn’t quite feel aligned to her – but were they sat here, life and death both? [COLOR=9174cb]”So you don’t… Feel anything from me?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Doesn’t work that way.”[/color] He smiled. [color=tomato]“You’re outside of my form. My system.”[/color] [COLOR=9174cb]”Just my luck.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Think of it like water. Water takes the form of whatever it’s in. The same vessel, I could.”[/color] It sort of made sense to her, [COLOR=9174cb]”so you’re saying if I was wet, you could feel me?”[/color] Qing flushed immediately. [color=tomato]“Now you said you were going to keep things ‘seriously’.”[/color] [color=9174cb]”That one was right there, I’m sorry.”[/color] She shook her head as she said it as if to shake away the impulses of humour again. [color=9174cb]“Okay, serious mode back on. Your chi, that’s your energy, what do you do with it? I mean… What can you do with it?”[/color] she asked, the seriousness had returned as quickly as it had left. [color=9174cb]”Am I allowed to ask you?”[/color] [color=tomato] “Well… I guess it’s not such a big thing here. But it’s part of what saw my family run to America.”[/color] [i]Breathe in.[/i] His arms moved as he pooled that which flowed within his form. [i]Breathe out.[/i] He extended, let the chi flow into his fist and held a steady glow. Slowly he let it dissipate and the glow from his hand faded until it was normal once again. [color=tomato]“That wasn’t particularly practical… but it’s a decent enough visual demonstration.”[/color] Her own hand reached out gingerly to his and her fingers brushed where the light had been, as if to feel that it had really been there, or really gone. [color=9174cb]”I think I understand,”[/color] she breathed out. [color=9174cb]”I don’t… I can’t do anything like that… Why would that mean you… Have to run here, and leave your home?”[/color] [color=tomato] “Well, to skim over… decades of Chinese history. The Cultural Revolution saw the Chinese Communist Party cracking down on a lot of traditional elements. Such as certain teachings that my family had devoted themselves to learning, so they could better understand…”[/color] He held his fist up again, in silent demonstration. [color=tomato]“Even the modern CCP still targets practitioners of qigong. Albeit with more subtle movements. People just disappear. The real tragedy about it is… most of these people, for them, learning qigong, it's limited in terms of how much they can get out of it. But my family… we’re the real secret reason why the Party was scared of qigong as an issue in the first place.”[/color] [color=tomato]“A power they couldn’t control. Held by the individual.”[/color] There was nothing awkward about what Qing said now, only his own truth and there a pride in it; she watched his fist. [color=9174cb]”So qigong is really important to you for a lot of reasons.”[/color] She had no experience of her own to compare it to, but she understood all the same. [color=9174cb]”So your… Dad? He has chi too?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Close. [b]EVERYONE[/b] has chi. But yes, my Dad is chi-sensitive and can manipulate chi within his own form as well.”[/color] [color=9174cb]”In his jar of water?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Yep. Just like his mother could. And her mother again. Four generations.”[/color] [color=9174cb]“I don’t… I don’t think what I have is shen, Qing. You talk about something that’s beautiful I don’t think… I don’t think what I have is very beautiful.”[/color] [color=tomato]“I think it might just be able to miss some of the beauty when dealing with the shen of people.”[/color] He mused. [color=tomato]“Uhhh… It wouldn’t surprise me if people’s innermost thoughts, their unspoken moments, that which they hide most from the rest of humanity - people don’t really hide their most beautiful aspects from the world, most want to give off as good impression as they can. How to put it… People are capable of great acts of good, but also great evil. The parts which only you can see… wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a lot more darkness dwelling there.”[/color] [color=tomato]“But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything beautiful in the human spirit.”[/color] [i]Mrs Wing was just a different shade of red.[/i] [color=tomato]“I just can’t believe that everyone is a net negative. A waste of chi put to ugly use.”[/color] [color=9174cb]”No,”[/color] she forced a smile. [color=9174cb]”There is a lot of good, there is so much of that. But, still, to endure it. It’s a lot to bear.”[/color] [i]The happy ones are the worst.[/i] She stood up then, paced back toward the wall and toyed with her own fingers as she looked at the patched up hole. [color=9174cb]”You did a good job with this,”[/color] she said, changing the subject and glancing back over her shoulder with a smile. [color=tomato]“Ehh… Your beginner’s luck. Mixed with having a good teacher. Still have to sand it down and paint it, though.”[/color] Qing held out a piece of sandpaper for Eve. [color=tomato]“Or does it lose its appeal when you don’t get your own sandpaper?”[/color] He smirked. [color=9174cb]”It is a lot more fun to pick it out of your pocket, yes. But maybe I’ve teased you enough this afternoon.”[/color] She took it from his hand. [color=9174cb]”And so I’m clear, what you’re asking – the part that is next is that you want me to rub the hole?”[/color] [color=6b7653]ʸᵒᵘ ᵈⁱˢᵍᵘˢᵗ ᵐᵉ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᴵ'ᵐ ᵃˡˢᵒ ᵖʳᵒᵘᵈ. ᵂʰᵃᵗ ⁱˢ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᶠᵉᵉˡⁱⁿᵍ?[/color] She stared dead on into his eyes with a raised brow; the beginnings of a grin fighting against her. Until he broke eye contact and shook his head with a chuckle. [color=9174cb]“That’s the last one I promise,”[/color] [color=6b7653]ᶠᵘᶜᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵇᵉᵗᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵉ[/color] she laughed as she got to work. Qing went back out to the van and dug around. He returned a few minutes later with a simple metal framework and a spirit level. [color=tomato]“I found this in the depths of the van. It’s nothing fancy. Won’t extend or swivel. But it’s a wall mount. And you can have it for free.”[/color] [color=9174cb]”You’re not giving me things for free,”[/color] she said, [color=9174cb]”But alright, let’s go. I’m keeping all of my drill jokes to myself, but I need you to know I have them.”[/color] [color=tomato]“If I didn’t look right then, I wouldn’t have known that I had it. Not like I’ll miss it.”[/color] He reasoned. [color=9174cb]”Bagels for wall mounts, fair trade.”[/color] [color=tomato]“Fair trade.”[/color] He agreed. [color=tomato] “But now you’ve got me nervous about using my screwdriver.”[/color] [/color][/indent][/indent]