just a healer

aevum-affiliated jiaoqiu of honkai: star rail ardent rank; housed in seaside province 208 written by 星 xing.

[firefcxian]

❝ how do we get a picky child to eat green chilis? how do we get a suspicious and devious wolf to drink down poison? i've already told you the answer. ❞

JIAOQIU from HONKAI: STAR RAIL

affiliated with aevum isles, not indie-friendly. written by xing.

Nihilistic Foxian healer who hides both his schemes and his troubles behind a smile that is equal parts friendly and suspicious.

Quick to make acquaintances, slow to make true friends, but very loyal when he does-- and a good friend to have too.

Invented medicinal hot-pot while he was still quite young, and often gets mistaken for a chef since his medical treatments take the form of delicious meals more often than not-- an assertion he will be quick to refute.

Thinks that just about any food can be improved by adding a copious amount of chili peppers-- which is unfortunate, since he's been banned from eating spicy food for medical reasons. Not that he follows that advice.

There's definitely no need to discuss his self-destructive tendencies, he always has a good reason for it!

Even though he pretends he's just fine, he's still dealing with the after-effects of his captivity and getting used to his blindness. Just because he won't ask for help doesn't mean he won't need it from time to time.

ASK | APP | STATS | RULES

[purecompassion]

"Yes... it would be rather nice to have someone. Yet even if I don't hopefully I can be that to someone in the future." After all he was sure to take his time to learn as much as he could about this world. He already had too many habits about following and finding out the truth, so that wouldn't stop him here.

"Oh! You are a healer?" It wasn't too often he found other healers, or at least new ones. He can guess the other has their own way of healing with using food, though spicy food being a way to heal seems rather new. "Perhaps you can help me learn more about your physiology in return for learning about mine... I wouldn't want to harm someone with my own healing by not understanding how to guide the magic to fix them after all."

Of course, that would be when he got his magic back yet he knows the study could help him even without magic. Still no matter how excited part of him was he needed to wait.

"Of course, not right now... but perhaps during another meeting of ours?" He calmed down his excitement, returning to a more neutral tone. He was already looking forward to another meeting with the other, after he was more settled into this world.

[firefcxian]

Jiaoqiu had to admit that despite their... differences, he'd have had a much more difficult time in his first days here if it hadn't been for Vash. Hopefully, this poor cookie fellow wouldn't be left to navigate this whole new world on his own, especially since it didn't seem like he knew much beyond his own homeworld, judging by how he'd been confused about Jiaoqiu's physiology... though, perhaps there was an entire Imaginary Tree made out of cookies connected by strands of dragon's beard candy... who could know for sure?

His ears perked up a little at the other's answer. "Ah, so you're also a healer!" he replied, his smile relaxing, becoming a little more natural. "It's a pleasure to meet others of the profession-- though I must admit that my methods are a little more academic, and I don't have any magical abilities of my own."

Surprisingly, he'd not meet many healers here thus far-- though he'd heard of a few among the "Echoes" with varying sorts of abilities.

"Certainly. I've had some experience treating the other residents of this world as well-- many have similar, though slightly different physiology to my own. I'd be happy to teach you what I know once you've settled in," he nodded. "And if you do make use of any ingredients and herbs in your practice, I've also studied the properties of some of the native plants and substances here."

[requiend]

the  THUNK  of  wood  against  metal  reverberates  throughout  the  bench's  frame ,  enough  to  rouse  the  abbadon  from  the  surface  of  sleep.

he  stirs  then — brow  beginning  its  slow  descent  into  a  frown ,  eyes  still  shut  closed ,  as  if  whatever  had  awaken  him  could  be  dismissed.  but  swiftly  comes  the  plea  and  pardon  in  a  stranger's  voice ,  and  myst's  vision  cracks  enough  to  peer  through  a  single  violet  eye.

. . . in  a beat held with precarious notice ,  he  contemplates  ignoring  this  person.

it  would  be  easy  to  feign  ignorance ;  to  return  to  a  peaceful  dozing ,  having  heard  nothing ,  seen  no  one.  myst  could  go  as  far  as suggesting  he  is  not  physically  there.  may even pull out  a  pen to scribble " pray ,  do  not  disturb "  on  a  slip  of  paper.  but  the  way this  fox-like  man  appears  to  look  back ,  buries  all  of  those  foolish  notions  beneath  a  sharp  wakefulness. 

FINE ,  he'll  listen.

"  —  yes ,  THAT  problem  is  your  choice  to  disturb  me.  it's  noisy  enough ,  "  myst  finally  returns.  a  deep  sigh  follows  as  he  shifts  into  a  seated  position  upon  the  bench.  reluctant ,  somewhat  annoyed.  but ,  he  continues  anyhow ,  "  what  is  it ?  what  could  possibly  need  my  immediate  attention ?  "

[firefcxian]

Ah, so he was going to be difficult, then?

That's fine. Jiaoqiu had dealt with difficult people before-- though he could hardly understand how someone could sleep through the frenetic song and dance, the smell of blood rising faintly from blistered heels...

"Actually, the problem is the reason I've disturbed you," he replied, a little nonchalantly. "Though I suppose if you've managed to sleep through the endless stamping of feet, it's not surprising that you might not have noticed it upon waking up."

There was a smile on his face now, but it lacked any kind of amusement or pleasantness-- rather, what pleasantness it did have only served to indicate the healer's irritation. And concern.

Really, who could just sleep through this??

He gestured toward the nearby dance. "It seems that some madness has overtaken the people here, but I could not find its source," he explained. "If you can assist me in finding a way to stop this dance, then you'll free to go back to your... nap. I can handle the medical attention they'll require just fine on my own."

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

"I wouldn't be that surprised...." Considering there was a version of him that got this great life-- but he doesn't want to know of it. It's too distressing, too vague, too sharp.

He hums to himself, lighting a new cigarette.

"Answers have to be found-- there can't just be threads left hanging, y'know?" Badou doesn't want to accept that.

[firefcxian]

Nose twitched slightly at the scent of smoke and lighter fluid, but with the way it clung to the other's clothes, Jiaoqiu had a feeling that any attempt to dissuade Badou from such vices would be every bit as futile as attempting to bar him from eating spicy food while recovering.

To each their own bad habits, right?

"I agree," Jiaoqiu nodded. "I admit, it is a little disturbing. Until we find out why that sort of thing happened, then who's to say that what we're experiencing right now isn't just another illusion?"

And then from that would come the question of whether there was actually a "reality" at all, and... it was all too easy to spiral out from there.

[aevummarket]

Hello! I'd like to redeem the following items for Jiaoqiu from HSR using his three campaign vouchers:

Isle Herbs

Veneno Poison

Repterran Crystal

Thank you!

The clans of the KINOHTALA ISLE thank you deeply for your help during these dark times. Though dangers may still lurk in their jungles, allow these treasures to remind you of the journeys you have overcome.

May Sol and Luun guide you on the path through what is yet to be discovered.

You may now add the ISLE HERBS, VENENO POISON, and REPTARRAN CRYSTAL to your inventory.

— Mod Leillis  🌸

[trapsforbreakfast]

he felt flabbergasted listening to the proposition. jiaoqiu made it sound so straightforward, but chilchuck doubted he would ever naturally arrive at such a conclusion on his own. which, he supposed, only served to support the theory.

"you know what? that might just be it? i guess for a person who's able to see so many different worlds on a regular basis, it's much easier to think along those lines! it's like that, because it is like that... so simple, and maybe that's what makes it so complex." maybe this idea could be applied to dungeons as well? the scholars back home had spent ages trying to understand how they worked. how each realm could have different unique rules to govern them. this whole thing was so far from his own hands-on approach of understanding dungeons that he couldn't tell for sure if he was onto something or just feeding himself nonsense.

he sighed for what felt like the 100th time that day.

"well, stuff like that is just what motivates the explorer, isn't it." although shaped like a question it was more of a statement. the halfling thought he was more than ready to leave the life of adventuring behind and retire, but the thought of there being so many new things to see was also... simply dazzingly enticing.

"even though you know it's dangerous... you know that that beautiful golden sky might be poisonous... that you're getting too old to run around and toying with your life like that... you just can't help it, y'know." his glance fell on the tall constructions that were supposedly buildings spreading around the outline of the park.

"have you ever seen anything like that? the golden sky? i can't begin to imagine what must be out there to-- oh..." in his musings he had entirely forgotten about the other's predicament.

[firefcxian]

Well, Jiaoqiu wasn't nearly as well-traveled as others he knew, and he was nowhere near a Trailblazer, but journeying between worlds was a rather commonplace topic where he came from-- and the Xianzhou regularly saw visitors from other worlds who marveled at everything from its nature as a massive starship to its simulated climate-- all things as natural as breathing to Jiaoqiu.

"It's like someone who grew up eating spicy food, ever since they were little. They might see my extra-spicy hot pot as an ordinary meal, and find the distinct flavors of each spice used as its most notable features-- but someone who's never eaten a chili pepper would only taste the heat itself, and find it overwhelming," he explained further, with a nod. "Of course, to us newcomers, this world's peculiarities will invariably stand out. So we'll question things others take for granted, and perhaps even come to new conclusions."

Maybe the reason they were all here was something like that. But who could say for sure?

"Haha... you could certainly say that. I'm no explorer, but even I can't quite resist the allure of a new experience," he replied, then leaned back in his seat, taking a long drink from the bottle to finish it off. "I can't say I've seen a golden sky, but... I've seen one suddenly turn white. That's a bit of a different story, though-- and in that case it was most certainly a warning."

[nouspore]

❝ ah, what are life goals if not the magnum opus of our very existence? actually, i am much more curious about these ingredients of yours and how effective they may be when used for alchemy... ❞

[firefcxian]

"Alchemy, you say?" ears perked up in interest. "Well, I'm just a healer, but my family's been in the Alchemy Commission back home for generations. I would be curious to see what you might come up with..."

He reached for a glass jar filled with chili peppers-- bright red despite being already dried. "They say these are about a hundred times spicier than an ordinary pepper. I managed to secure a few during a trip to the market, and I have to say, they don't disappoint," he said. "Ah, perhaps this for an idea-- have you considered modifying ordinary vegetables to create spicy variants? I do wonder what that might do to their medicinal qualities."

[purecompassion]

He doesn't understand the other was making a joke about capsaicin in their, blood? He frowns a bit trying to figure it out, but he feels he needs to ask more questions to be able to understand. Though perhaps he would not ask that right now, there was other things to focus on.

"Oh? I'll room with someone?" It had been a long time since he really shared a space with someone. The last would have been the small shared tents but that wasn't the same as a home space. At least he does remember the other saying something about the settings panel, another thing to check later if he had nobody to help him.

"Meat? Like... Jellymeat?" That doesn't seem right however, so perhaps this meat was something else that he had never really seen. Strange for someone to be just made up of one ingredient but perhaps it wasn't just fully one. Both Foxian and Human were also words that he didn't fully get. Species name of something he had never seen until now.

"So you are a Foxian Human made out of meat?" He sums up what he thinks the other is telling him. He studies what he can see of the other a bit more, he almost wants to ask if he can touch the other and feel what their skin is like. How would it feel compared to his own dough? He expects softer, perhaps more like a gummy but he doesn't ask now. This was their first meeting after all, he shouldn't push that kind of thing when the other was already helping him so much.

[firefcxian]

"You ought to have someone," he tilted his head, one ear flicking slightly. "At least, most people do, who show up here from other worlds. It takes some getting used to, but... it can be rather helpful, to have someone else around in a new place like this."

Well, since this fellow was actually a cookie, Jiaoqiu supposed that it made sense that he wouldn't know what meat was, or how normal people-- well, the majority of people that Jiaoqiu knew at least-- worked. Still, he was incredibly curious about the particulars of a species made out of foodstuffs. Where did they come from? Was cannibalism common among them, or was it taboo? What kinds of things did they eat?

But there was no way of knowing whether those questions might come off far too insensitive for a first meeting, so Jiaoqiu held back his curiosity. For now.

There would always be opportunities to ask more later.

"More or less, I suppose," he shrugged. "I suspect I might not be the only one here who finds your physiology... fascinating. Most seem to be similar to myself-- or at least, similar enough that I don't have any trouble treating them. I'm a physician, you see-- specifically, of the ranzhi school. Most of my medicines are based on food. Especially spicy foods."

Now that he thought about it, he wondered if there might be any medicinal qualities to Pure Vanilla's... dough?

That, however, was a question he would absolutely be keeping to himself.

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

Naturally, Badou doesn't get it specifically---- the man on the moon, the rabbit on the moon, the tides, the moon is made of cheese. He figures it could be any of those that amuses his companion so.

"No, this is very real, trust me."

He-- might have punched the version of his brother that's alive here. He won't deny or admit it. But something happened.

Badou clicks his tongue at his companion's next hypothosis.

"Ah, I forgot about that aether shit. Ugh....it never ends."

[firefcxian]

"Mm... you'd be surprised at what the mind can be fooled into believing is reality," Jiaoqiu pointed out, "But I'd venture to agree. There was something real about all of it."

He took a sip from his drink, then leaned back slightly in his seat. True, he might be a little paranoid, and all of this might be unusual, but he couldn't help but feel like this world was a little bit unstable. It wasn't just memories, but surroundings too. Who could say what they might wake up tomorrow to find?

It was unnerving, for sure. "I wonder if there are even answers to be found. If nothing else, it seems this world's skies have at least opened up-- perhaps they'll find out something sooner or later."

[cagcdlxve]

⋆˙⟡ :- KINOHTALA STARTER ⋆˙⟡ Abord the Airship

⋆˙⟡ :- It was all a wonderful miracle to Lilith. Soaring high above the clouds in this vessel, sailing beyond the horizon into that great beyond. She'd only seen glimpses of similar vessels back home from the Silver City, but never before had she been able to set foot upon the decks. But here she was now... taking a step toward her dreams.

Hearing about the discovery of a new isle brought Lilith a great deal of excitement. She had always dreamed of traveling to new places, and of course, she had explored a great deal of Arcanus already. But this isle... what discoveries may be held there?

At first, Lilith did not wish to go and abandon the duties she was sworn to. That was, until the priestesses of the Padedue temple encouraged her to do so. To give her purpose, she was tasked with uncovering knowledge related to the aethers. She humbly accepted the task and set forth.

Her skirts and long hair danced in the wind as she stood at the railings of her chosen ship. The vessel soared high above the clouds, and all she could do was stare in awe as the light from the sun illuminated the clouds. Her heart swelled in joy at the sight, beaming with pure wonder at the surroundings.

" I can only imagine what wonderful things exist in this place. " She smiled, speaking out loud to herself. " So many brand new stories, and maybe even people to meet! " Lilith's excitement only grew imagining the possibilities. " What a wonderful dream this is. "

[firefcxian]

An exploration expedition wasn't all that different from a military campaign in the end, was it? At least in the fact that it might be necessary to take a field medic along. Not only that, but Jiaoqiu already had a wide array of knowledge regarding different worlds' medicinal ingredients and ailments, and was also rather interested in learning what these new realms, these new isles might have to offer-- all those things put together had him climbing aboard the airship that took to the sky, sailing toward a distant star.

The wind felt pleasant as it whistled past his ears, ruffling the fur of his tail as fingertips of one hand brushed across the railing while the other held a feathered fan, softly waving it in front of his face. Even though he might not be able to see the sights that awaited them, that didn't mean he couldn't gain some enjoyment from the skies.

Ah... but it seemed that his capacity for joy was not nearly so great as some of the other passengers. One ear turns to the side upon hearing the young woman's voice at the railing nearby, and Jiaoqiu sighed softly, thinking about how he'd spent the entire journey so far wondering what kind of dangers they might face, whether the new isle's inhabitants would greet them as friends or attack them on sight...

He hardly wanted to dampen the mood.

"What kind of realm do you think we'll find? Forests, beaches... or perhaps even some grand metropolis?" he mused. "Personally, I'm most curious as to what kind of herbs or ingredients might be found there. And what the locals' tastes might favor."

[firefcxian]

"Fortunately, there are plenty of techniques that are both simple and effective. Once I get settled in here, I'll teach you some things for sure."

Jiaoqiu wasn't a teacher by trade, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to show Vash a thing or two.

Hmmm...

There it was again. Jiaoqiu could hear the hesitation in the man's voice. Guarded, and stubborn. The Foxian was reminded that this new housemate of his was not his patient-- nor was he himself as well-known here as he was back home. It made sense, there really wasn't much trust between them.

Still... while it had started out as simply making plans, a rather casual mention, the emphasis with which Vash refused was... a concern in itself.

How many wounds had he tried to treat, only to be told it was just a scratch and that "I can still keep fighting" ? And... in most of those cases, that was the last Jiaoqiu ever heard from them, until the next fleet of funerary starskiffs embarked upon their final journey...

Sure, this was no war. Whatever old injuries Vash had might be fairly minor, and there really might not be anything especially to worry about, but to be so obstinate rather seemed more like an injured prey animal hiding its wounds from its predators, to conceal any weakness.

Maybe, he'd have to use a different approach.

"Mmm... well, in that case, I guess that just makes my job a little easier," he said, waving it off.

He was definitely going to be making the absolute most spicy version of his hot pot broth for their first meal here. He would be the first to admit that he could be a little bit spiteful and petty from time to time.

[epilvgue]

「𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔤!」- He could admit that maybe he was a bit too stubborn. A bit too used to doing things on his own. A bit too unwilling to allow others to help - he had been told more than once that he needed to allow others to help...

Bad habits died hard, painful deaths. And this was one he wasn't quite ready to give up.

Vash laughed a little although it was a bit strained. He could tell that Jiaoqiu didn't really enjoy the idea of having the share cooking duty and Vash would rather prefer to make food for himself. ...And it seemed as if both of them would rather find some middle ground than cause perceived trouble for one another.

"Well, I'll look forward ta workin' with ya!" he said cheerily as he finished off his meal.

[firefcxian]

campaign starter call ——— ◈ JOURNEY TO KINOHTALA

please like this post for a starter for the event's first half ! feel free to send me a dm here or on discord if you'd like to plot something more in depth-- and do keep in mind that jiaoqiu will only be found at the roost for now ! cap at 2 !

Maybe it was a little bit too daring, but Jiaoqiu truly needed to get out of the house-- and so, when he heard of the journey to an unknown isle, he offered to come along and provide medical support as needed on the journey.

Like everyone aboard the airship, he didn't know what to expect, but after the ship was caught in the obsidian fog and its passengers taken to the roost, he decided to make the most of the situation-- within a few days, he's offered his assistance however he can in his capacity as a healer, and started to study the healing practices of the aviar and the medicinal herbs of kinohtala. He's struck up a bit of a rapport with Tona, and is overall keeping busy helping to treat injuries caused by the ohui.

[suwasson]

“Uh? Oh, yeah. I can do that.”

He hadn’t expected to be invited in and pauses for a moment; surprising as it might be Kurogane did in fact have manners, sometimes — when people had earned them, and this was one such time. Damn shame he was out of practice but the words come back to him in any case, shoddier than what his mother or father would have said as lords of their realm but genuine all the same.

“Thanks, and sorry for just barging in. It’s appreciated.”

He carefully takes his shoes off at the door before walking in, and digging in his pockets for the money he’d gotten haggling in the fish market (yeah, even he could get tired of the stuff; ‘specially when he only had himself as cook) he drops them awkwardly on the counter, far enough from the food but obvious enough so that the host can take them any time.

Kurogane fills a plate with the skewers and some vegetables and takes his time inhaling the scent before eating with a small gesture of gratitude, hands clapped; immediately his eyebrows raise and a slow smile spreads across his face. His nose hadn’t lied this stuff is good.

Great, really; but he’s already established he’s a man of few words. No point in trying to dress that up. If he expressed gratitude in any other way than the real him, it wouldn’t be authentic than would it?

“‘s good,” he says, swallowing. “This isn’t your job? Could definitely make one of it. As for me… just got here so not much I can offer in return but if you ever need heavy lifting or physical labor feel free to call on me. I’m over in number 213.”

[firefcxian]

"Oh, it's no trouble-- meals are always better shared anyway," he smiled, still cheerful, friendly, and warm, though perhaps a little too friendly. It was a problem-- even though his intentions were almost always good, he had a bit of an aura about him that made people a little suspicious.

But there were no little tricks or plays here and now-- instead, he was just happy to get to know some new neighbors. Always good to know the people around you.

"Well, I've had a great many jobs over the years-- as a matter of fact, this is one of them. First and foremost, I'm a healer," he explained. Healer, cook, strategist... he kept busy. A slight smirk crossed his lips, and then he shook his head with a mock sigh of despair. "Ahhh... you can really tell how soft I am just by looking at me, can't you? Maybe I should have listened to my general when she tried to get me to join her in training, but alas, my physician advised against it."

He was smiling again afterwards though, clearly joking-- his tail swished from side to side as he propped his chin on his hand. "Truly, thank you for the offer. I'll keep it in mind. Likewise, if you ever get injured, or sick, come find me-- I'll definitely find a cure."

While Jiaoqiu was no 'Healer Lady,' he absolutely had a reputation of his own back home. It was slow-going here, naturally, since no one really knew of him, but he didn't mind having a little bit of a vacation. Even though having nothing to focus on or work toward... really took a toll sometimes.

Maybe that was why he'd ended up having such trouble with Vash.

But, of course, he wasn't about to reveal his troubles, so he just pushed them back into some dusty corner of his mind to haunt him later and took a bite from his skewer.

"I'm glad you came along. I was beginning to fear that no one in this entire world actually had proper spice tolerance."

[avataroftheswarm]

"They are. Very vivid. It reminds us of the colors that existed before, when there was more water on the surface. Sometimes humans paint such bright colors above, but not quite this bright." This kind of brightness was only achieved with something just as colorful, so it was hard to make back home.

"There's nothing really back home to make most of these colors with. There's the glow of the Worms, but that fades out after we die." The Worms in their facade taste the powder idly, nibbling at the bits that have coated their fellows. It is kind of tasty.

"We will always taste test anything you make. We do love food, that's another thing the humans brought that's nice to have. Cooking is interesting. Flavors are interesting. We didn't realize cooking things changed the flavors so much." Maybe one day they'd learn, but for now it was perfectly acceptable to get food from others instead.

Most of the time they even remembered to pay for it!

[firefcxian]

"I see," he nodded his head. So, it was like the springs and summers he'd known, long ago when he was young and had yet to taste the world's bitterness... before even that became too much and he stopped being able to taste bitterness altogether...

Ah, well, it was little use-- he could barely grasp those memories anyway. They simply muddled together into a haze that was hardly any clearer than the dulled, abstract scene that he could see when he opened his eyes now, unable to even tell one edge from another.

Jiaoqiu shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts that always clung to the back of his senses. Now wasn't the time for this.

"Oh, it certainly does-- the same ingredient cooked in different ways can turn it into completely different dishes, even to the point where its medicinal properties are altered," he said. That's better-- let's talk about something more interesting. "You can always come by to watch or taste things-- I'm glad for the help too."

Sometimes, he likes to give the gaggle of bugs some little things to do-- usually just grabbing things for him from the cabinet or counter. It's faster that way sometimes, even though he's rather familiar with his kitchen by now.

"So, which of the colors is your favorite? And which do you think will taste the best?"

[purecompassion]

"Are you sure you aren't just made up of some spice yourself?" It sounds a bit like a joke, but he is also unsure if the other could have the same makeup as he did. Just without being named after his spice that is.

Well, perhaps in the future he would try something spicy from the other.

He listens to the explanation about the phone, and thinks that perhaps there was something like it back home. Was it called a phone? It was new to him no matter what, but the workings seemed simple enough to get. He can't see himself using it too often, but it would be handy. Though... the other mainly used voice commands? He also seemed to only vaguely know where things were on the phone itself. All of these signs pointed the other to be hard of seeing at the least, like himself.

"Ah, thank you... perhaps I should set up voice commands as well if I end up using it more." He took a quick look over his own phone, wanting to go over what contacts to see if anything would stand out but no... he can do that later.

"Ah! No disrespect at all, it would make sense you are just as curious as I am. I am not, a cookie is what I am... though I can only guess you are something else. Not even just a cream fox?" Perhaps a spice fox? if there was cream versions there was the chance of other flavors out there.

[firefcxian]

"Hmmm... you know, I wonder if I've ended up with a bit of capsacin in my blood. Pity I didn't get the chance to ask the Borisin..." Jiaoqiu chuckled slightly with a shake of his head. Sure, maybe the joke was a little dark, but the other probably wouldn't get it anyway-- and everyone has their own ways of coping.

A curious twitch of his ear at the other's suggestion. With Pure Vanilla's interest in the voice commands, perhaps he also had some vision trouble? "Oh? Well, I'm afraid I don't actually know how to do it myself. It was my roommate who set it up. I'm not sure who they've put you with, and whether or not they know their way around this sort of thing... hm. It should be in the settings panel, though, either way."

Well, he wasn't going to ask directly, but Pure Vanilla's reply gave him an answer anyway-- it seemed that he could see Jiaoqiu's ears and tail, so his vision was at least a little better than Jiaoqiu's-- but there were far more interesting things to talk about. It turned out, his nose hadn't been wrong at all. Absolutely fascinating!!

"Ahaha... well, I'm not made of cookies myself, that's for sure, or even chili peppers, despite my name," Jiaoqiu replied. "I'm made of... well, meat, I suppose."

Maybe that was a strange way to put it, but it was true.

"I'm of the Foxian race. While we're technically a canid species, we're still considered 'human.'"

[avataroftheswarm]

They don't notice him wobble, not while now busy tugging the blankets off the bed so they can be set aside for clean ones. They are unfamiliar with this task so their tongue sticks out of their lips while focused on it, carefully tugging the sheets until they come free.

"Why? We noticed that your shop never opened up. So we climbed up to see what was wrong and check on you. We're glad we checked." They glance over then, tilting their head and making the beads in their hair click clack faintly. "We were really just checking on you. Did you think no one would?" That's a sad way of thinking. But then Zazie understands that too. There would be no one to come check on them if they stopped appearing out and about.

Then Jiao-Jiao asks a new question and they tilt their head the other way.

"Ye...... s?" They blink, a little bewildered as their answer awkwardly trails into a question of their own. "We can... Is that... odd?" It was odd, wasn't it? Humans can't see in the dark but they have no problems. Everything is a little dull, sure, but perfectly visible.

"That is odd, isn't it. Should we stop? We should stop, doing odd things makes people not like us. But I don't know how to stop." Distracted from their task, they cover their eyes with their hands. "It will be hard to take care of you if we can't see in the dark. Your house is very dark inside."

[firefcxian]

It wasn't so much that he thought no one would, more just that he... hadn't considered the possibility. Hadn't thought any of this was important enough. He'd sleep for awhile, then go back to normal eventually, once he was done sleeping... but he didn't think about that either.

He'd gone from not thinking about his nightmares and headaches, to not thinking about anything at all.

Really, just what was this?

Zazie's answer had his brows raised, fingers pausing near where he thought the light switch was.

"No," he shook his head. "No need to stop. It doesn't make a difference to me anyway, really, but..."

His ear twitched thoughtfully, and he felt the headache coming on again. Pulsing between his temples, his body becoming heavy, his spine tingling. His mind told him it wasn't anything important, just to ignore this...

Wasn't that what always happened, any time anything gave him pause, any time something didn't seem... quite... right...

"How often do you do... 'odd' things?" he asked. "Not just unusual things, more like... things that all of the people around you can't do?"

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

It's true, he seems a little more sassy, if not alert, than he had been during that whole debacle. It's actually reassuring! He wasn't worried about the guy, but something had to give....he had to toughen up!

"I know what I know," he says cheekily, and definitely sassily as well. As for the root cause of what they went through?

"The moon, from what I can tell. Cause none of us ate anything, we were all sent to that place. So the moon...whoever brought us here in the first place. There's no-- ending. We got back, it's over but--"

But there was a life there. A fake one, but it was there, and his brother, and-- he tries not to think about it.

[firefcxian]

"The moon... ah, the moon..." Jiaoqiu shook his head. Ironic, really, in a way he was almost amused. Had he not spent these past years struggling against a 'moon' of his own, at last succeeding-- only to be dropped here and face another. Perhaps this time it was not the effects of a Plaguemark, but...

That didn't diminish the severity. It had come on so suddenly, its effects were so broad.

"The most troubling part of all of this is that it was not only our memories that were manipulated, but our surroundings as well," he frowned. "Unless this was some sort of mass hallucination, it's almost like the fabric of this world shifted. I tried to pay a visit to that restaurant I had, only to find nothing there at all."

He raised his hand to rest his chin atop it, thoughtfully. "I wonder if it's 'time' or perhaps 'exposure' to something here that causes the change. Maybe the moon, or maybe the 'Aether' itself. Still... at this point, I hardly even dare to trust my own memories, haha."

He was certainly much sharper now than he had been back then, at least.