Lizard House / OTA

[eggshell]

Catch all for everything happening here (if you want to set a thread here)

House ref: https://pin.it/43LQyyPhW

Comments

[manufact]

[ three lizards and a bird walk into a bar to ogle an old man - ]

Here to help?

[ he gives his head a shake in the sunlight. sweat glistening. fabio moment. ]

[vitainmorte]

[ really good. burning this into her memory. ]

... I'm afraid Dan Feng decided to poison me. But I would be happy to help later, as repayment for letting me rest here.

[manufact]

He what?

[ yingxing's hold on the stone he's carrying slips, and he has to tip forward to renew his grip. ]

Goddamn lizard -

[vitainmorte]

Ah... he does this sort of thing a lot, so please don't worry. I'll take care of it.

[manufact]

Doesn't make it okay. [ he finally sets the stone down, meticulously sliding it into place. ] You feeling okay?

[vitainmorte]

A little nauseous, still. But I'll be fine in an hour or two.

Watching you work helps.

[manufact]

All right, good. You should drink some water. Help flush it through.

[ yingxing heaves another large paving stone up into his hands. ]

Feel free to enjoy the show all you like. Consider it a different sort of healing.

[vitainmorte]

[ She makes a small noise, closing her eyes against the onslaught of beef in her sight line, her face red. ]

-- I don't mean to ogle you like some sort of-- object, of course... I appreciate all the hard work you've been doing.

[manufact]

[ he laughs, the sound like a bark. ]

Please, ogle away. So long as you keep a safe distance, you're welcome to look.

[vitainmorte]

I appreciate the allowance... I should be recovered enough soon to help.

[manufact]

No, sorry. You were poisoned, that's going to be at least a two day recovery before you're allowed to do any heavy lifting.

[ carefully, yingxing settles the stone into place in the sand, making sure it's turned just right. ]

But if you're itching to find something to do, I'm sure there's some busy work.

[vitainmorte]

Oh, I...

[ watches him silently for a moment. but. ]

... I'm fortunately very resistant to most... poisons, and most illnesses. I recover quickly.

[manufact]

Still. Two days, I'm afraid.

[ he shrugs, as if there's nothing to be done about it, a slanted grin on his face. ]

I don't make the rules.

[ yes he does this is his project.. ]

[vitainmorte]

Two days is far too long without activity.

[manufact]

You can have all the activity you want, when I'm not watching.

Stubborn, huh? Or can't sit still?

[ or both. ]

[vitainmorte]

Of course both.

[manufact]

Well, how about this - I said no heavy lifting and I meant it, but there's other work to be done, too.

When you're feeling up to it, there's a bunch of small boxes at the end of the road, they got delivered this morning. If you need to stretch your legs, you can bring some back.

[vitainmorte]

... You're ridiculous.

Yes, I'll get them before I go.

[manufact]

All right, it's no rush. They shouldn't be heavy. Just some wooden molding.

[ detail stuff, so nothing he needs right now. dusting off his hands, yingxing steps back from his work, then looks back toward her. ]

Oh, right. Come with me to the forge, too.

[vitainmorte]

... The forge?

[ Hesitates a moment before carefully getting to her feet to follow him, setting her water aside. ]

[manufact]

[ yingxing nods, then wipes his face and collar with a rag to clear away the sweat, dropping it onto the pile of slate. leave it alone, dan feng!!

and then he's leading her back through the small compound, to where his forge is located, a sprawling work area fitted exactly to his needs. leaning down, he retrieves a small wooden box from a drawer in his work bench, and holds it out. ]

Here. Open it.

[vitainmorte]

[ She'd been distracted by the forge some-- she's seen more impressive, as it's hard to get more intense than the Zhuming, but seeing a private one was a special nicety-- so she almost walks into him when he finally stops and offers the thing. She blinks at it, frowning, but takes the box after a moment. ]

... What's this?

[ And opens it. ]

[manufact]

[ inside the well made box is.. a dragon.

more specifically, it is a rose gold cuff in the shape of a dragon - simple, but exquisitely crafted, no detail spared. even its eyes are inset with tiny azure stones. the shape of it, she might realize, is made to fit her right ear wing. ]

What do you think? I know you said gold, but I thought rose gold might go better with your hair.

[vitainmorte]

[ Oh,

She's stunned, that much is clear. For a long moment she just stares at it wordlessly, color rising in her cheeks and her neckwings starting to fluff. She looks up at him-- back to the dragon, back to him-- before she stutters a response. ]

Yinxing, I-- I couldn't possibly-- this is too much.

[manufact]

Ah, fuck - you don't like it? Not your style?

[ it was a risk, he knows, considering he doesn't really know her taste well yet. some people prefer bolder statements, some prefer lesser - he'd gone somewhere in the middle, but maybe it's still a little too ostentatious for her liking.

he runs a hand back through his mussed hair. ]

No problem, it's fine, I can tone it down.