lonelydream | INBOX (for eastbound)

Yes, brothels. Brothels that I am often at. For business.

( It is currently deeply important that Zhou Zishu knows he's not sleeping around. He hasn't in months. A+, all round good boy. )

When we arrived in Ephes I was given a task by one of the senators. I'm supposed to make sure the whores are well cared for, the wine is high quality, and the opium is ... well, opium. It's very boring, but I'm known now!

I'm sure you are. Well done, Lao Wen, you've made yourself very important.

[ he sounds somewhere between fond and exasperated. very sincere! but also a little sarcastic. he can't help it. ]

I suppose I'll just have to follow your lead, then.

( That sarcasm does funny things to him, actually. Maybe it's because it's been so long since he's been the recipient of it. )

What, become gainfully employed? Ah-Xu doesn't need to worry, I know his dreams of becoming a kept man still linger, I'll provide for you.

( Never mind that it's Wen Kexing who always makes him pay. )

You haven't kept me since you decided you'd rather be kept.

Ah-Xu, I'm very delicate. Do you know what working is doing to me? I think I'm getting grey hairs.

( He isn't, but. )

Anyway, I'm being very kind here. I could be putting you to work!

You should. You might as well. I need to learn what's going on, quickly, but it doesn't seem as though I have the time for it. I trust your judgement.

Maybe you shouldn't, I haven't exactly fallen into line.

( He's been more than a little vocal about it too. But Wen Kexing just doesn't have the patience for it. )

Are you truly that bored that you'd do errands for me, Ah-Xu? I'm sure there'd be a better use of your time.

What else am I meant to do? I could do my own research, but that would require more time than I have. I suppose I don't have to do anything at all...

You don't, neither of us do.

( But they are both too similar, in the end. )

Aiya, you'll just spend the day drinking if I don't find anything more useful for you to do. And what good are all your muscles if they are not used? Come, be my fetching delivery boy. The whores will gossip about us.

You just want to see me do as you tell me to.

[ He huffs, though, amused. ]

Where is this brothel of yours, Lao Wen? I'll come by if you buy me a drink.

Well, yes.

( When does he ever get to boss Zhou Zishu around? Never. )

It's near where I found you the other night. Take the alley to the left and go down the street towards the marketplace. You'll find it, and I'll have someone keep an eye out for a handsome if fierce man wandering about.

And how much trouble will I get into if I travel via rooftops?

[ It's the fastest way to get a proper lay of the land, and also the most subtle. People tend not to look up. ]

Unfortunately you're not the first person to visit via window.

( Jacob Frye is allergic to doors. )

Besides, who could stop you? Don't dawdle, I'm very bored, and it's been hours since I last looked upon your lovely face.

( Did you think the flirting was dead and buried? Absolutely not. )

Wen Kexing, you incorrigible flirt. Don't speak like that where it might be so easily overheard.

[ A brief pause. ]

Who else, exactly, is crawling in through your windows at night?

[ Didn't Wen Kexing just say he isn't having sex with others? ]

Please, as if anyone who knows of me thinks I'm so straight laced. You can pretend if you like.

( And then, because he can take pity. )

Master Frye, don't worry, it's not what you think. He does errands for me. Also he's painfully closeted. I offered to set him up with a man from the other whore house and he looked like I'd told him I could disembowel him if he wanted. ( A sigh. ) It's been very boring.

[ Zishu snorts, not cutting off communications as he slips out the window. He takes a moment to gather his bearings, and then heads in the direction Wen Kexing told him. ]

Boring is peaceful.

Tch.

( He wonders if he should tell Zhou Zishu about the shapeshifter or his murder hand. ... Although, maybe he already knows about the second, he has been left unattended. )

You'd think so. He's good anyway, you just have to give him some coin and alcohol and he'll do whatever you ask.

A mercenary.

[ Though, admittedly, for some coin and a drink (or just a drink), Zhou Zishu could be potentially convinced to do a great many things as well. As long as he agrees with it, at least. ]

Or something similar. He tends to get himself into mischief. There's a heart under all that bluster, and he keeps following it.

( Wen Kexing does not worry, not at all. )

You'll probably meet him, I might need to avail of his skills at some point soon. Have you heard much about the vote, Ah-Xu? It's common gossip here.

I've heard the chatter. Not enough to understand what's going on, though. I need more information.

[ He's trying to be good and not get involved in politics beyond his control; he had enough of that for multiple lifetimes. However, he also can't quite help himself. ]

Mm, I can tell you what I know, though that's not quite enough either. There were more factions and fights before I came here and people have been tightlipped on the where and the whys. Mostly they expect you to agree with them.

( A sigh, the sound of a bottle uncorking. )

Messalina is the one they're debating. She's a figure with a host of the undead at her beck and call. She says she wants them to be given refuge and care, but she lets one of her own wander the streets and murder - no, eat - innocent women. ( Carefully, because he knows how it sounds, and he knows who he has been. ) I don't think a deal should be made with someone like that.

( He doesn't think a deal should be made with someone like him. But if he had his way nowadays he would have the Ghost Valley shut and silenced, and if he could go back he would not have freed them in the first place. )

Better that we keep her undead leashed, but unfortunately that is not how everyone else thinks.

Are you drinking without me?

[ He demands as soon as Wen Kexing pauses for air, indignant. He'll get to the information in a moment, but he's still processing it, turning it over in his mind. There were certain things in Wen Kexing's voice that he wants to poke at, but that'll be best when he can sit across from him and see his expressions as well. Meanwhile, Zishu chooses to focus on the more immediate thing--a very familiar sound of an uncorking bottle. ]

( There is a beat, and then a warm cackle of laughter. )

Ah-Xu! ( It is very hard to muffle the delight in his voice as it shifts, the sun coming out through the clouds. ) I'm pouring you a cup!

If a cup is all that's left by the time I arrive, Lao Wen, you're finding new lodgings for the night.

I am literally in a drinking establishment right now.

( Maybe he'll leave him just the cup for the fun of it. )

Do you think I'll have it run dry by the time you get here? Have you slowed down significantly in the last few months, Ah-Xu?

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