HUA CHENG

[chanteuser]

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WEEK 0, trial-saturday

[chanteuser]

[ snow has made one indication of wanting a pc and now the contract has been sealed and no one can escape.

i threw a dart and it landed on kitchen so alex is in the kitchen, holding rather than actively drinking a mug of something that's letting out a some impressive plumes of steam. ]

[supremity]

[ THE PACT IS FINAL

Hua Cheng pauses, as he enters the kitchen. There was an absent thought to get something, and perhaps take it to share with gege, but he sees Alex - not quite there. With the intentional jingling of of his boots, he comes to sit down across from her. ]

[chanteuser]

[ blood for the blood gods.

it still takes a moment, but alex blinks, a little like she's coming out of a trance, and looks up-- ]

Oh. Hello.

[supremity]

[ Haven't we done enough of that ]

You seemed a hundred li away, for a minute there. Welcome back.

[ Not unkindly, just - observing. It's been a lot for everyone here, he's noticed. ]

WEEK 0, execution-sunday

[supremity]

[ When someone comes into the kitchen, he looks away from what he's doing - and then sighs out of his nose, before going about something different while a seat is taken.

Once he's done, he doesn't just leave. So, this time, Hua Cheng sets his hand on the back of Alex's chair from the side, and a mug of something hot and honey-calming is offered from above in the other hand, handle towards her. ]

We really ought to stop meeting like this.

[chanteuser]

[ the kitchen is where all the cool people hang out. ]

Or at least we should make sure it's under better circumstances. [ she accepts the drink, and sets it down on the table as it seems too hot at the momeny to hold with two hands like she sort of wants to. ]

Thank you.

[supremity]

[ The Realm has a hurt/comfort relationship with its kitchen. ]

I wouldn't mind better circumstances, actually. [ Considering he knows so very little about how things work in these more modern settings, and Alex does. And isn't bad company to have. ]

Mn. [ As close to you're welcome in a sincere capacity as you get. ]

[chanteuser]

[ um. the realm and the kitchen are problematic uwu ]

... You could say we can only really improve our situation from here, but that feels a bit too much like tempting fate.

week 2, monday

[chanteuser]

[ good morning hua cheng, are you ready to wake up to some sadness, lowkey nerves and a little bit of determination because that’s what alex is bringing to the table.

it’s very quickly smothered by confusion and surprise when she sees the new layout of the rooms and her new room partner. ]

— Hello. You’re not Clementine.

[supremity]

[ Only if you're ready for some answering - well. There is something angry and threatening, underneath hit all, but it just seems like background noise to the brief moment of confusion, then agitation, then something more pleasant when he hears that it's Alex near him while he's - ]

No, I am a fair bit too big to be Clementine. [ He's... working on getting out of the hammock, because he is ALL LEGS. ] Good morning, Alex. I thought I might be seeing someone new this morning, just like last week.

[chanteuser]

This is going to be a constant, huh?

[ ... should she offer to help out here? hm. ]

You, um. Are you feeling okay, Hua Cheng?

[supremity]

Probably. I wouldn't be surprised if they - ah, shit -

[ He manages to swing his legs around to get out of the hammock, but nearly spills his plush friend out with him. The pillow pet manages to stay, since he was using it as his pillow before and it's big enough.

Once he gets his feet under him, and little Dianxia has been saved, he looks her way. ]

I'm fine?

w2, sunday, post-execution

[supremity]

[ Here we are, in the plaza. Hua Cheng steps out of the inn, now that all of this execution business is over with, and - pauses, when he sees Alex. In one hand and against his shoulder is one of the rolls of tacky gift wrap, and he spins a pen through his fingers on the other hand absently, but he still will make his way over to where she's vibing.

Just to check in on her, really. ]

[chanteuser]

[ the gift wrap is a surprise. it earns him a blink. ]

... Are you making something?

[supremity]

[ A huff of a laugh. ]

Something like that. There's loose paper here and there, but this makes for a bigger surface. The inside is blank.

[chanteuser]

Are you going to be cryptic if I ask what it’s for?

[ he’s not wrong about the gift paper being bigger though. ]

week 3, sunday post execution

[chanteuser]

[ i picked the book shop because wowie. she doesn't want to go back to jungleland either. ]

...

[ she's sat at one of the tables, reading a book. although reading is probably a generous word. she has it open in front of her, but she isn't looking at it. she's staring at the table above it, and only startles out of her thoughts when she hears someone else entering. ]

Hello?

[supremity]

[ At least there is the faint jingle of his boots to announce him, and Hua Cheng pauses, a second, then comes into the shop proper when Alex calls out. He's used to people being in here when he's come to slip in, but there's no decision to turn back around upon finding out who it is this time. ]

Hello, Alex. [ Lightly, as he comes closer to where she's seated. ]

[chanteuser]

[ she hooks her finger into the crease of the book she wasn’t reading, to mark the place she doesn’t remember getting to. ]

Everything okay?

Or... well. Better?

[ “what a week” ]

week 4, tuesday

[chanteuser]

[ in keeping with spoopy week, alex will be over by the manor. she's glaring at it, like it's personally offended her with the number of times she's been freaked out by it. or here in general. ]

[ please sneak up on her ]

[supremity]

[ The thing about Hua Cheng and his jingles is that he's like those outdoor cats that you put collars on. They learn how to be stealthier with their tags and bells when they hunt - he can be effectively silent if he's paying it any mind.

By that we mean, yeah, he sneaks up on her. ]

Having a disagreement with the house?

[chanteuser]

[ she shrieks ]

week 6, post execution

[chanteuser]

[ alex is wandering along the pier, just... looking around. funny how this had seemed exciting and different a few days ago, and now a rollercoaster killed her favourite centaur and it doesn't seem so good anymore. ]

... Hua C-- [ oh ] Xue Yu?

[supremity]

[ It's strange, hearing people call him that in this place, but there's no delay in responding to her as he lifts his head up to look at her. ]

Alex. [ Hua Cheng is seated at the moment on the pier, actually, legs crossed and just - watching the water. He's tired. ] Long day - how're you doing?

[chanteuser]

... I've been doing better.

[ after a moment, she drops down next to him, and dangles her legs off the end of the pier. she does not look at the rollercoaster. ]

What happened out there, she was fine and then--