@danceblades from 🎨
He wears the same vague smile, his eyes shifting from blue to indigo as she comments on his own scars. It's true that Lukai Hwei has not escaped life without injury, but he has been able to find beauty in even the worst moments of his life. Especially the worst moments of his life. He peers into his teacup, fascinated by how the leaves dance in the liquid, listening to Irelia's words even as he's lost in his own thoughts. The world is so much bigger than he ever knew. Full of so many different people, Hwei feels like he could lose himself in their smiles and their sorrows and never lift his head above the surface of their dreams again.
But he has a mission now. A purpose. A calling. A muse. As much as he may wish for the peaceful days of Koyehn, for the schedule and restrictions, for the rules he learned to avoid, those days are beyond him now, closed forever. He's accepted that, even if some days the yearning in his heart seems strong enough to drag him right through the past to his old home.
Hwei's eyes lift. Irelia has always been kind to him, and so he is kind to her. He holds her gaze, steady, and when she mentions Khada Jhin, his eyes go from an airy lavender to a deep, anguished purple.
"Ah, Jhin." Propping his elbow on the table, Hwei rests a soft cheek against his palm. "The source of so much pain, and beauty. He ended my life and began it anew in one dread stroke of his brush." He cannot keep the admiration from his voice. He knows that others see only the pain that Jhin causes, so he tries to hold his tongue, but ... "The memories of that day are still so fresh. I could paint them, but I would never do it justice." Quietly, Hwei's free hand traces shapes on the wooden table, painting with colours only he can see. "Without him, I would be stuck in the same cycles. He freed me and chained me to him. No matter what I do, I can't step out of his shadow." His eyes, lifting from the painting only he can see, flare with a dark red. "Not until I wrench the answers I seek from him."
