love set you going like a fat gold watch (open)

[higginbottom]

Esther is being entrepreneurial. In fact, she has set up a small booth in the Mansion foyer with a sign that reads:

Let Me Write You a Poem (Or Equivalent Prose)

Of course, she hasn't had any takers yet, so she's feeling a little discouraged. But no matter! The point is, she's there, sitting and looking very prim and proper.




Looks can be deceiving, though she herself may not realize that yet.

Comments

[thepurpledanger]

Gu Xiang narrows her eyes--but she's never backed down from a challenge, and she is the mansion's most prominent poet. This stupidly tall, stupidly pretty girl won't even be a challenge! "I accept," she says.

[higginbottom]

Esther smirks slightly. She thinks she can win. She begins to recite a poem that she's come up with.

"The caught mouse hardly
runs from its captor--
instead, it squeals until it's dead,
its glass-eyed glare staring me down.
I am here, can't you see?
I am the cat who caught the mouse.
Villain is my name."

[thepurpledanger]

For just a moment, Gu Xiang stares at her, open-mouthed. She hadn't realized that this strange girl was actually good at poetry! But she can tell from the cadences of the recitation that this isn't a poem memorized and recited; this is a poem composed in the moment, meant for Gu Xiang's ears only, cutting as a whip-crack.

If her heart beats faster, surely it's only the rush of battle.

"See how the cat proudly licks her asshole,
glorying in breaking the mouse's neck--
a pitiful triumph! This cowardly little asshole
slinks away from other cats, hissing,
arching her back, tail tucked to shield her asshole.
Show me your claws, kitten. I am no mouse.
I am a tiger, and in the jungle, I am the biggest asshole."

[higginbottom]

"That's cute," Esther replies, rolling her eyes. Still, she can feel color rush to her cheeks - obviously, from being called out. Right?

"The ass is as the ass does,
a whip-smart farce of a thing,
who calls out no one but herself.
See how she neighs and bucks!
What cunning she must have, to be so
brazen. I, for one, think that
the little donkey should join
in the courage of shutting up."

[thepurpledanger]

Gu Xiang paces the foyer, hands folded behind her back, every stride sharp and precise. If she had a tail, it would be lashing.

"Why jeer of animals?
Before me: a woman,
no more. Limp hair,
plain gown, red face.

Puffing her weak verse,
blowing out her cheeks,
as though her whining
could rival the wind."

[higginbottom]

Esther rolls her eyes. How pathetic!

"But the wind is a howling force--
one that rips through houses and trees.
If my whining could rival the wind,
it would already best it, blowing you away.

And what of you? You tiny woman, you dark-haired
succubus, come to destroy. I will not
take your insults for long."

[thepurpledanger]

Gu Xiang's eyes flash. She smiles, stalking toward Esther on light feet. Her purple sleeves stream behind her as though in an unseen breeze.

"Sing, you weak east wind!
Howl feeble complaints!
What beauty you have,
your jealousy taints.
Seethe! My long black hair
and my rose lip paint
make you envy-wild.
You lose all restraint."

[higginbottom]

Esther pouts. She wasn't expecting this woman to be so good at poetry!

Still, she continues:

"Yes, you have beauty,
but is it truth? Retreat
before it's too late;
your own envy clouds
your lack of real hate."

She's noting how, in fact, pretty Gu Xiang is. Hmm.

[thepurpledanger]

Tilting her chin up, Gu Xiang meets Esther's blue eyes--but although the fierce challenge in her gaze hasn't dimmed, there's a playfulness now in her expression that was missing before. This is no longer a duel to the death; it's a sparring match between two equally matched opponents.

"Why should I envy
the willow's long arms?
The scholar tree blooms,
and bees flock in swarms
to that fragrant tree."

She pauses, dangling the comparison in that unfinished verse long enough to insult--then relents.

"But my hard heart warms.
Maybe there is room
For the willow's charms."

[higginbottom]

Esther actually blushes. This is...strange. There's a sort of thrill in this, this game between them.

"You're very talented," Esther says, after a moment, her mouth suddenly dry, and her face still hot.

[thepurpledanger]

"So are you," Gu Xiang admits, backing up a step and folding her arms. "So you'd better not break Gaheris's heart, or I'll pull your entrails out through your nose."

[higginbottom]

"I won't, I promise," she says. "He's so sweet; I could never hurt him."

A pause.

"You and he would be a good match, too, I think."

[thepurpledanger]

And if that hurts like a broken rib, Gu Xiang is ignoring it. "He doesn't think of me that way," she says, confidently wrong. "So you'd better not make him regret his choice!"

[higginbottom]

"Well, I won't," she replies. "I'll be kind to him, don't worry."

Esther is looking at Gu Xiang's lips. They're very nice lips. Hm.

[thepurpledanger]

"But you also have to be strict!" She begins circling Esther now, studying her like an aunt sizing up a niece for the marriage market. She's very slender, but also very pretty. She'd have great reach if she studied the sword--but she has a scholar's muscles, not a swordswoman's. She'd get eaten alive in the jianghu unless she was very, very tricky. No, she's probably better suited to be a fine lady, the kind who writes beautiful calligraphy and dresses in beautiful gowns and gets waited on by demure handmaidens all day. She probably knows all of the polite ways to eat and never just puts her face next to the bowl and shovels rice in. "He needs firm, clear guidance. He's got a deficiency--he's the unluckiest man I've ever met. So you have to make sure he knows exactly what to do, every step, or he's going to mess it up somehow, and it's not his fault! He's just cursed or something."

[higginbottom]

Esther watches Gu Xiang observe her. She thinks she's very pretty, and smart--not in the way that she expected, but still, very, very smart. Esther has a deep respect for anyone with intellect; Gu Xiang is no exception.

"I'm unlucky too, in some regards, but I've learned from my past," she admits, hoping that doesn't disqualify her. "I think he's a smart man, and that he could learn, too."

She shifts her weight in her chair, and feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she continues to blush.

"I have faith in him. He's a good person."

[thepurpledanger]

"What happened to you?" Gu Xiang asks immediately. "Was it before you came here? Or did it start when you got here?" If there's a bad-luck epidemic, she doesn't want to catch it!

[higginbottom]

"It was from before," Esther explains softly, looking down briefly before meeting Gu Xiang's gaze. "I struggled with depression, and had a nervous breakdown - among other misfortunes. Since coming here, I've felt a lot better. I'm much more stable."

For a moment, she looks as if she might cry.

"I want to be a better person. Gaheris helps me in that regard. He makes me feel...well, like I could aspire to something greater."

[thepurpledanger]

Gu Xiang reaches for Esther's wrist, feeling her pulse. She isn't sure what she's supposed to be feeling there--maybe a texture, like silk or like pearls moving under skin?--but all she feels is the steady thump of Esther's heartbeat against her fingers, and the radiant warmth of her petal-soft skin. Her own heart beats a little faster; she swallows. "If you've been feeling depressed, you might be deficient in yang energy, too," she says, letting Esther's wrist drop. "What are you eating?"

[higginbottom]

"Eating?" Esther hadn't considered her diet to be a problem. "I eat well enough, I think. Perhaps I could eat more warm things; I tend to run a touch cold." She shrugs, and almost feels disappointed when Gu Xiang lets go of her wrist.

[thepurpledanger]

"So it is a yang deficiency," says Gu Xiang triumphantly. "Just like Gaheris! I've been trying to fix it by changing what I fed him, but that was before I knew he was cursed."

[higginbottom]

"You were feeding him?" she asks, amused by the mental image. "What did you cook?"

[thepurpledanger]

"Lots of meat! Lamb and kidneys especially--and onion and radish, and mussels, and walnuts. And plenty of garlic, ginger, and peppers, obviously. But it's like he's a sieve for yang energy. It just goes right through him." She sighs. "Something's probably wrong with his meridians, but I don't know how to fix that."

[higginbottom]

"Maybe he's not used to your style of cooking," she suggests, trying to sound as gentle and non-threatening as is possible for her.

Which is to say, completely bitchily.

[thepurpledanger]

"He isn't," Gu Xiang agrees readily. "He goes all red and starts leaking from his whole face when he eats anything spicier than garlic. It's very pathetic."