Open Post: Yiling Patriarch Edition

[singlelogbridge]

The flames lick at my feet
Their hearts full of hate
What they don't understand, they condemn
What they can't comprehend must meet its end

But I won't scream, won't give them that satisfaction
No, I won't confess my false interaction
As I breathe deep and prepare for my passing
I hear them chant, burn the witch


For any and all Yiling Patriarch needs.

•Can be canon compliant during the sunshot campaign, or post canon where he reverts due to a curse or other plotting device.
•If we've threaded before in any capacity or we're plurk friends, drop me a starter or a request for one, no need to hit me up first!
•If we haven't, feel free to drop a plotting comment!

Comments

[pluckily]

[ her cat, indeed. venus hears him call, but does not slow or stop. there was a worrisome note in artemis' voice, an undercurrent she did not like. she is not surprised when she reaches him and artemis turns to her, face grave, to tell her the man is dying.

venus kneels. his pulse, once she finds it, is thready. a faint whistle reaches her ears with every shallow breath he takes. aside from his burns, which are considerable, a pool of blood extends beneath him from an injury she had not noticed he had. she does not need artemis to tell her that he won't live long enough to even try to get emergency services on the line. neither does she feel bad. not really. if pyro guy is telling the truth, this man was involved in the murder of innocents, children among them. so it is not pity she feels. ]

He's agonizing, [ she says out loud. her voice is steady. ] Will you end it?

[ she grabs one end of her chain; it locks into the shape of a long, rose-decorated dagger. her other hand slips around the man's. it's weak, but she feels his fingers close a little around her own. ]

[singlelogbridge]

[It's not what he deserves and the sentiment is clear in his eyes. They hadn't cared to ease the suffering of any of Lotus Pier, so why shouldn't he return the favor now? But with the resentment clear from his meridians, he gives the man a searching gaze. It's no one he recognizes, even if the burns conceal most of his features. Just one of many loyal Wen soldiers. He deserves death, of that Wei Ying is sure. Maybe he even deserves to suffer. Probably he does.

But he watches the way she takes his hand and is suddenly viscerally reminded of Yanli. With a sigh, he kneels and summons a haze of dark resentful energy. The tendril slips inside the man's nasal cavity and for a moment nothing happens. A few seconds later he twitches once and then goes still, his breathing ceased. The energy emerges and dissipates into the air.]

He's gone. [He settles back onto the ground and brings both hands up to rub at tired eyes. The purifying energy that had flowed inside of him has helped, but it can't entirely wipe the exhaustion from his frame, especially not the parts of it that had nothing to do with his physical body.]

It's done. [Not over, but this much at least was done.]

[pluckily]

Is it?

[ the man's dead. everyone who was in the compound is dead. only their killer remains, and sailor venus can focus on him finally. young, exhausted, driven by rage—all traits she can identify with.

she knows her limits, though. she doesn't know his.

her hands are empty, at her sides again. her chain is again only a chain wound around her waist. her eyes are as blue and as hard as sapphires when she puts to him, ] What's the plan? You have your vengeance. What's next?

[singlelogbridge]

[He shrugs, eyes locked onto something in the distance before they migrate back to her. Eventually he shakes his head.]

You can kill me now if you want to. I won't fight. [There's no point now. He's done what he needed to do. Wen Chao is dead. Jiang Cheng has a core. He has very little use to offer them now. If he dies too, maybe it'll be for the best. But...]

If you don't, then I'll go back to protect what's left of my family. My brother is angry and...and in a lot of pain, not that he'll ever admit it. My sister is grieving and trying to take care of him. I'll look after them. They're all I have left.

[pluckily]

[ artemis hangs back, quiet. they do not need to speak for her to know artemis does not like or trust this guy. she does not know that she can, either. two bodies lie near her, the one artemis rescued, and the one puppeted against her. more lie at her back in the smoking ruins.

he does not flinch when she rises to her feet. he does not beg or put his arms up or move against her. she studies him for a long moment, kneeling on the grass. the wind pulls at her hair and his.

sailor venus offers him a gloved hand. ] You haven't said your name.

[ her grave expression has cleared. her smile, though small, is warm—sunlight peering out behind storm clouds. ]