Nie Huaisang 聂怀桑 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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marlowemuses2023-09-21 06:53 pm
fanoperator) wrote in marlowemuses2023-09-21 06:53 pm
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The Littlest Nie Heir
Huaisang's desperate.
His brother's murderer seems to grow more powerful and prosperous with every passing year, and Huaisang has no proof, no progress, and no real defenses against the possibility of his own murder. All he can do is keep acting clueless, and even that defense has meant that his sect grows weaker and poorer as time goes on.
History had never been one of Huaisang's passions, but in reviewing old documents about the construction of Qinghe, he found some records that referenced even older documents. They claimed that more than two hundred years ago, while the deeper cellars and storage chambers had been built into the mountain, some of the Nie ancestors had bound a spirit to protect a weapon of great power. But the spirit would only allow its power to be used by someone worthy, and more than one generation had tried to use the spirit only to find themselves deemed unworthy, until the cavern where the spirit lived had been bricked up entirely.
Huaisang wasn't clear on why they needed to brick the spirit's cavern up like that, since it wasn't doing anything (it seemed like the whole problem was that it kept refusing to do anything), and he also couldn't imagine that there was any chance that he (the disappointment of his sect) would succeed at a measurement where his ancestors had failed. But maybe the spirit just really didn't like unyielding muscle-bound swordmen. Huaisang could be remarkably persuasive. And anyway, now he was curious.
The location of the spirit's cavern was quite straightforward, off a certain storage chamber, so it only took a pair of workmen a couple of hours to open the wall.
Huaisang went in alone, dismissing the workmen and telling his attendant to wait outside. He trusted his attendants, and knew that Toutong would worry, but if there was something dangerous in here, Huaisang didn't want anyone else put at risk for his curiosity. He'd learned that lesson once before.
The chamber was a simple round cave, with an intricate carved pattern on the floor made up of sigils that Huaisang didn't recognize. At the center was a short pillar with a little jade statuette.
Huaisang strode up to it, only a little bit wary, and picked up the statuette. It was solid jade, heavy in his hand and larger than both his fists together (not that he had particularly large hands). "Tiangou," he murmured, recognizing the stylized carving as representative of a monstrous dog-spirit. He tapped the little statuette on its nose, wondering why the eyes had been painted with some old and flaking red-brown paint.
His brother's murderer seems to grow more powerful and prosperous with every passing year, and Huaisang has no proof, no progress, and no real defenses against the possibility of his own murder. All he can do is keep acting clueless, and even that defense has meant that his sect grows weaker and poorer as time goes on.
History had never been one of Huaisang's passions, but in reviewing old documents about the construction of Qinghe, he found some records that referenced even older documents. They claimed that more than two hundred years ago, while the deeper cellars and storage chambers had been built into the mountain, some of the Nie ancestors had bound a spirit to protect a weapon of great power. But the spirit would only allow its power to be used by someone worthy, and more than one generation had tried to use the spirit only to find themselves deemed unworthy, until the cavern where the spirit lived had been bricked up entirely.
Huaisang wasn't clear on why they needed to brick the spirit's cavern up like that, since it wasn't doing anything (it seemed like the whole problem was that it kept refusing to do anything), and he also couldn't imagine that there was any chance that he (the disappointment of his sect) would succeed at a measurement where his ancestors had failed. But maybe the spirit just really didn't like unyielding muscle-bound swordmen. Huaisang could be remarkably persuasive. And anyway, now he was curious.
The location of the spirit's cavern was quite straightforward, off a certain storage chamber, so it only took a pair of workmen a couple of hours to open the wall.
Huaisang went in alone, dismissing the workmen and telling his attendant to wait outside. He trusted his attendants, and knew that Toutong would worry, but if there was something dangerous in here, Huaisang didn't want anyone else put at risk for his curiosity. He'd learned that lesson once before.
The chamber was a simple round cave, with an intricate carved pattern on the floor made up of sigils that Huaisang didn't recognize. At the center was a short pillar with a little jade statuette.
Huaisang strode up to it, only a little bit wary, and picked up the statuette. It was solid jade, heavy in his hand and larger than both his fists together (not that he had particularly large hands). "Tiangou," he murmured, recognizing the stylized carving as representative of a monstrous dog-spirit. He tapped the little statuette on its nose, wondering why the eyes had been painted with some old and flaking red-brown paint.
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"I guessed it was probably something along those lines, what with the whole scary burning dog thing you've got going on." Huaisang flattens his lips together. He's not at all sure how scary burning dog will help him achieve any of his goals, but it's the sort of ally that he doesn't think should be dismissed lightly. "And what is it that you want in return for the use of your skills?" He'd tried to ask that earlier but hadn't made any progress in getting an answer, which just means he needs to figure out the right way to ask it.
His attendant returns with a couple other servants carrying trays. The servants bow as they enter, coming to place the food on the table. Both servants give Dieke a wary glance, but they only hesitate for a moment before continuing their task. There are two bowls of rice, then several plates of marinated grilled meats, pickled vegetables, dumplings, and little bite-sized cakes. Huaisang gestures to encourage Dieke to help himself, then picks up his own chopsticks. He selects a couple of bites of meat and puts them atop the bowl of rice near Dieke, then takes a morsel for himself. "Here, try these. They're very good."
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He grins and leans more heavily on the arms he has crossed on the table, leering at them as if he's considering eating them instead of the dishes they're carrying.
He's just teasing, though. The prospect of lunch just has him excited.
The chopsticks are the next point of curiosity. He'd never played "person" long enough in the countries that use them to end up using them himself. He's a fast learner when it comes to physical matters, though. Attention shifting to Huaisang's hands, he leans a little further across the table to watch (and quickly copy with surprising success) while he finally remembers Huaisang's question.
"What do I want in return? Don't know if I've ever been asked that before. I'm a hound. You're holding my leash."
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He eats as he mulls this over, often adding morsels to Dieke's bowl in addition to taking some for himself, encouraging him to eat.
"I think I would expect an ordinary hound to want ... a comfortable bed, plenty of food, training and encouragement, hmm ... space to run?" Huaisang never had a pet dog before. He generally preferred birds. "What else?"
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He can't help but fixate on the young Nie's face while he talks. His blood-wet eyes narrow a little... but the expression is quickly broken up with a laugh.
"Are you planning on turning me into a lapdog? Not that I hate the idea..." He says, as his grin turns a little smirk-y. "And if you're going to spoil me, throw some booze on the list."
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He'd been quiet while the other servants were in the room, some of the soft, shy nerves returning to him like the initial fright he'd shown with Dieke. But once they're alone again, except for the original attendant he had with him, Huaisang seems more confident and collected, his fear mostly having faded by now. "I have an army, I have defenses." He gestures the chopsticks in the general direction of the balcony. Dieke will have seen the massive walls around the city, covering the sides of the city not protected by steep cliffs. It could withstand years worth of siege. "I'm not interested in starting any wars. I might be interested in scaring the shit out of someone, though."
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"Sometimes I'm called to lay waste to an advancing army; sometimes I'm called to get revenge on a cheating boyfriend." He's seen the full spectrum.
After eating another little piece of meat from his chopsticks, he keeps them there so he can gnaw on them thoughtfully. At first, he looks like he's going to speak up again, but he only watches Huaisang carefully in a silence that hangs. Chewing on that mental irritation like he's chewing on his chopstick.
Finally, something clicks. Wondering over how strange this summoning has been compared to the many, many others he has endured, he thinks back to the room he manifested in. He thinks about how clueless this summoner seems to be--compared to the complicated, powerful sigil that had been drawn in the cave. Almost as if he hadn't been the one to arrange the ritual.
All at once, the demon's eyes widen a little, and the chopsticks drop from his hand as he suddenly leans fully forward over the table, climbing, looming over the other man in a rush. Huaisang's lunch is interrupted by an ancient creature crawling over the table and lunging directly at him.
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He holds him still so he can repeat the first thing he'd done back down in that cave--leer close to his face and neck, breathing in the other man's scent. Taking several long moments to be absolutely sure about what he's smelling, this time.
As he'd noticed before, this "summoner" smells weird. It's wrong, and now he knows why.
After a minute or two of bullying, the demon slowly looses his grip and moves back to his side of the table... chuckling to himself. Really, he has a good little laugh over it.
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It's not a mocking sound, though. Huaisang's sulky admonishment is a little more ballsy than he'd expected to hear from the man, and... honestly, he finds it kind of adorable.
It earns Huaisang some points that are probably very important for the demon deciding to hang around--at least for a little bit--instead of leaping right off the balcony and bolting for freedom. He holds up his hands in an apologetic gesture, then lowers them to steal a piece of meat off the dish with his fingers.
He's still grinning. "Sorry. I just get excited sometimes, you know?"
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Like a dog ducking down into a play-bow, the demon's grin grows as he folds his arms on the table and rests his chin down, peering up at his pseudo-master with a horrible little playful expression. As if he himself is trying to look small and cute while knowing full well that he can't.
He's just playing. Everything is a joke now.
"I'm excited because I decided you smell good. I think this will be a good vacation."
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"Hm," he responds, brow furrowed a little as he thinks. "Fine. You're to be my bodyguard for now, and we'll see about keeping you spoiled and entertained. I'll give you some rooms of your own. You're not to go wandering without asking permission, in case I need you, and you're not to harm any of my people. You may ask any of the servants for food or drink whenever you wish. Try not to destroy anything without confirming with me whether it's something that's okay to destroy. Would you rather have rooms that are colder and airier or rooms that are warmer and cozy? Both will have balconies with a view." He's noticed already that Dieke runs hot, so he's not sure what will make his demon more comfortable.
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Finally, Huaisang ends on that question. The demon chuckles shortly.
"Is one option any less flammable than the other?"
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The expression his attendant gives him is very nearly a glare, which Huaisang knows perfectly well is only a cover for his worry over Huaisang's safety. He knows he's being reckless, but he's not sure what else he can do, at this point. None of this is going as expected, and now it seems like his options are either to try and contain or defeat or drive off the demon--all of which seems likely to get some of his people killed in one way or the other--or to control the demon. And Huaisang has long since learned that the best way to control people is to find out what they want and then give that to them. He makes people like him, and then they do whatever he asks. It's always worked out well for him.
"What else?" he asks, refilling his cup yet again. He's starting to feel the liquor now, a looseness in his body and a blurring of his nerves, blunting the edge of his fear. "Have I forgotten anything?"
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Instead, he continues to grin and watch the details of his keeper's face while the man thinks and deliberates and orders his attendant around. Finally, he elbows himself more upright so he can join him in sipping his liquor.
Reaching the end of his cup, he nudges it toward Huaisang for a refill.
"...How about we add 'exploring together as new friends' onto the list? I get restless if I stay in one place too long, you know? And I'm sure you'd rather keep me company while I stretch my legs than leave me on my own, right?"
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He mulls over his own cup for a moment, thinking about what else is important. "Oh, you're to obey or at least cooperate with all my attendants and soldiers on any immediate issue--move, wait, attack, leave that alone, that sort of thing. Anything non-immediate I don't expect you to obey anyone other than me."
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More than all of the other things that Huaisang has dangled in front of him, the thought of getting to explore and experience what this plane has to offer clearly wins out as the demon's very favorite thing in the world. It's something that his new master will easily be able to use as leverage.
Tempt the dog with a potential trip to the park, and he'll do whatever you want.
--However, the mention of there being more people for him to obey does seem to dampen his mood somewhat. His grin almost turns into a pout.
"Ugh... I guess. Sure."
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But that's a dangerous train of thought, for now, no matter how lonely Huaisang might be. The demon has proved itself dangerous and volatile, and Huaisang doesn't have much reason to trust that he'll obey the rules laid out. He wants a little more certainty that the demon will keep up its end of any bargain before he starts offering any more of his own vulnerability.
"Good boy," Huaisang murmurs, hoping he hasn't misjudged the amount to which his new pet should and shouldn't be treated like a dog. If praise doesn't work to reinforce his loyalty, keeping him in line is going to be much harder.
Rising to his feet, Huaisang heads back over to the balcony. Toutong hasn't returned to inform them that the room is ready, so Huaisang supposes it's best to stay put. He can start getting Dieke acquainted with the city. Beckoning his pet to come to his side, Huaisang starts pointing out landmarks, shops, barracks, blacksmiths.
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As he leans against the railing at his keeper's side, his ears are attentively perked, focus honed in on each locale that is pointed out to him. Absorbing the information without distraction. It's a good sign that he is in fact capable of falling into "work mode," like a well-trained hound should be able to do. However, the question remains whether or not he will do so whenever his keeper asks.
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Huaisang smiles as he turns, taking in Toutong's expression at a glance to know that his task is done and there's no new emergency to worry about.
"All right, come on Dieke," Huaisang murmurs, turning and following Toutong up some more stairs. After the rest and food, he can manage a few more flights without complaint, since they're at least already most of the way up. Near the highest levels of the palace, there's a pleasant little hall set apart from the rest, on a high rocky ledge that juts out from the mountainside with a short stair leading up to it. Isolated enough from the rest, Huaisang notes, that a fire wouldn't quickly jump, and it's set on pure rock rather than amidst trees like some of the other halls. The doors are open and a fire is lit, cozy inside with a balcony wrapping around to gaze out across the windy mountainside. The hall is one large room, with sliding doors that close off certain areas to provide privacy as desired, and a sizable bed with red and brown silks.
"Very nice," Huaisang comments approvingly, with a nod to Toutong. "Do you like it, Dieke?"
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This place is meant for him?
Before Huaisang can actually answer, the demon is already moving forward, flame-flickering down into the shape of the Hound to better explore the room with. Nose to the ground and tail wagging with excitement, he lopes into the space to happily smell everything.
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He lets Dieke explore for a bit, watching him for a moment and then wandering to the back of the room, where the door opens out onto the steep rocky slope of the mountain. There's a pool there, where the hot spring water arises from the ground. There are several hot springs that pop up around the mountain. The main pool steams heavily, but it's diverted to several smaller pools, one near Dieke's new residence, and another channel that Huaisang's pretty sure leads directly to his own private hot spring pool. The water's still hot when it gets there, so he knows better than to touch the steaming water in the main pool.
"There's a hot spring back here," he comments to Dieke, not expecting him to finish his exploring just yet but wanting him to know it's included. "Part of it is very hot."
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Water is not exactly his favorite thing in the world, but steamy baths are an exception. Submerging in something like that would feel a lot less like he's being extinguished than it normally would.
Then, at the warning about the main pool, the Hound's ears perk up. He glances back at his keeper for a moment... before giving him the open-jawed, tongue-lolling, canine version of a grin. A moment later, he's loping off to check out that main pool, and can already tell that it feels a little more like Home, even from here.
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"Go on and wash up a bit," Huaisang encourages. "I'll bring you a cake of soap, and then we'll get you some fresh clothes." He nods to Toutong to take care of the latter, though he goes himself back to the hall to pick up some soap and a rag, bringing them to set down as near as he dares to get to the edge of the main pool. The main pool is almost entirely naturally, which means that it's very deep and not especially wide, disappearing into twists and turns of the cave far below, though the water pressure streaming upward would make exploration difficult or impossible.
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Sorry I was gone from this for so long!
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