midnight in her hair *ᵃᵖ

dualstarred:

            jiayi bows to keith too, but less formal, hers more a beaming nod. with her usual greetings ( greetings for fifteen years of her life, nearly ) mostly being ones of surprise embraces and chin-tickling and pinching, she’s still yet to grow accustomed to the usual rituals. she thinks maybe that’s why she’s left with the paladins too, to gain a bit of worldliness in her aunts’ absence; she hopes she can make them proud by growing still by their leave.

she likes watching lance and keith talk, thinking she could observe their conversations with as much amusement as one watching a sport; lance swings, keith parries, lance curves and keith turns parallel. or maybe it’s their own kind of DANCING, quite different from hers and lance’s, but even more precise, maybe intimate. 

she’s nearly spellbound in watching them with a smile, yet gently knocked out of it when lance bumps her. jiayi giggles, knowing what he’s hinting for her to reveal, but . . . she decides to improvise a bit, first, and have her own fun.  ❝ we think you’re a peach ! ❞ she proclaims, hands clapping together in front of her, music in her voice again. they had discussed nothing of the sort ( at least not today, not yet ), but jiayi knows it’s certainly no LIE, either. 

knowing a nice meal may be appreciated a little more than a compliment, however, jiayi adds the important bit she had actually been prompted for. ❝ also,  we’re having a feast tonight ! i’ve been studying over auntie ella’s recipes, and i think a few sound simple enough to try . . . with hunk’s expertise too, i’m sure it’ll turn out so nice for everyone ! ❞  

                 garlic rabbit stew, ginger steamed fish, mushroom rice that could melt in the mouth, pickled vegetables and fried prawns . . .  she was looking forward for a way she might thank everyone again, with the help of the mountain itself. with the waters lush with fish these past few days common from all different seasons ( another STRANGE occurrence produced by the changing climates, but pidge had proved it harmless ), they could have a boundless selection of the raw slices her aunts enjoy in the heat, too. they’d sit in the peony pavilion, eating cool, colorful slivers while watching the petals fall past like summer snow. 

❝ oh -- but is there anything you’d like, keith? something from town ? if we have the proper ingredients, we could try it !  i’d love to try everyone’s favorite food, too. ❞  it’d be a little like traveling in sampling the difference, only this type of journey, she’d be allowed. 

dualstarred:

            she doesn’t want it, not like this --  NO, not at all. jiayi shakes her head, taking lance’s hand. she doesn’t belong there, in his shoes, with his lion. 

                          ❝ i only wanted to be one, because of you.                              i just wanted to be like you, lance.  ❞ 

she can’t even smile under these circumstances; she squeezes his hand now between hers as she presses it to her heart.

dualstarred:

         surrounded by people every which way, far as the eye can see, everyone as sweet and sunny as those who share her home and rice now – they must be, to receive lance’s seal of approval – jiayi can hardly wait for the day! she knows it’ll be some while before she can go; she’s certain her aunts must return first and she wouldn’t want to go without them either way, but – she prays the days go quickly till then. well, quickly, yet not too, too quick; she still doesn’t want her time with the paladins to be over just yet. can she wish for the impractical, two contrary wishes sewn into a single impossible one?

– with lance smiling at you, it’s hard to believe you couldn’t have everything great and good in this life. jiayi laughs beneath his little jostle, somehow always ticklish when he touches her as if all her senses immediately rush to the spot, wanting to reach him too.

she’s never imagined herself in the light lance paints her in now – like a hero, a savior of a town. something like that for a girl who’s never even seen a person, a HUMAN, before two weeks ago was beyond even her daydreams. surprise turns to joy, a new hope forming in her so full that swiftly after, jiayi embraces lance tight, unable to express her immediate bliss in simple words alone.  ❝  if they’re half as lovely as you, i won’t be able to leave ! ❞

leaning back, she’s effervescent in her declaration. ❝ …  and maybe one day i could be a paladin too! as AMAZING as the rest of you ! ❞ TRAVELING and HELPING others as they all do … jiayi realizes now there could be nothing finer in the world. she gives him another good squeeze, laughing with her head pressed to his chest. ❝ this is a practice squish. ❞

          he sees keith before she does, but with the mention of dinner she looks up and catches the red too. ❝  yes. and i’ll need all the help. KEITH ! ❞ she calls almost musically, hand waving. ❝ hello ! ❞

dualstarred:

            to his affirmation, jiayi gives a brisk nod. ❝ we should go on more adventures together . . . bring back more bounty ! ❞ she laughs, eyeing their bundle. she would love to have so many stories to share of her discoveries too, just like the rest of the paladins. but it isn’t easy, when life has become so routine. 

                   ❝ you think i’m fast ? ❞ there’s surprise, then undeniable DELIGHT as she clutches her hands at her chest. she knows a proper lady should be more MODEST in accepting a compliment, that she should mimic the way ella and qing take kind words so gracefully -- but jiayi can’t help her smile. with lion-swift KEITH as the bestower too, the swell of pride bursts something immense all the way from her pinched toes to the crinkle at her eyes.

but she clears her throat a little, as if the gesture could swallow some of the air of arrogance back in.  ❝ well, you have to be, when you share your table with the pheasants and foxes alike ! ❞ a rabbit, chicken, and DRAGON too, but naturally they ate more leisurely ( elegantly ) than any of them. ❝ but i’m very fond of racing, too. ❞ that was something jiayi hadn’t even shared with lance yet, taking enough pleasure from their walks together. before the paladins came, there were some days she would sneak off in just her undergarments, running free through the forest in little leather slippers first made for climbing and peach-picking.  

                    ❝ . . . i don’t know, i just feel like when i run . . . i can be anything. ❞ a GODDESS GLIDING across a lake, a wolf tearing past the trees, a crane soaring above the clouds. not just a girl on a spot on a mountain. shifting her gaze from the clear of the skies back to the darker tinge of his eyes to ground her, jiayi smiles, reaching to tap the back of his hand still toting the peaches. ❝ do you ever feel like that ? ❞

dualstarred:

               she grins, touching her fingertips to his cheek in promise  – often it’s difficult to keep her hands away from a boy like the feel of sun. ❝ i won’t, but i still like the story, ❞ jiayi laughs too. ❝ and i like the ending even more! where you become champions who even spare their valued time protecting a little farmer girl in the mountains while her aunts are on errands. ❞ thinking about it in that light, it’s truly wonderful they would come here at all, when they could be so greatly needed somewhere else. but she isn’t going to feel guilty over her good fortune.

she dips her head in thanks as she takes his hand, feeling happier than she imagines even the starstruck goddess zhinü must when she crosses the milky way to meet her love once a year. with her lance by her side, jiayi feels her own life suddenly with all the capability of the grandeur of the legends of old; one glance at his gleaming smile, one word uttered from his lips and you could not doubt it. the rabbits embroidered on her slippers bound atop the mossy stones as she makes her way across, water from the mist pearling at their corners.

she can picture the children surrounding them so easily, their popularity amongst the mountain animals already so telling. ❝ i must repay them for stealing you all away for so long . . . oh! i’ll give everyone trunks and trunks to bring back for them, peaches and jade alike. ❞ she doesn’t expect to be given the chance to deliver them herself, eyes widening the size of dinner plates.

❝ could we ? ❞ jiayi exclaims, kicking up her feet as she places her hands at his shoulders. ❝ i’d love to meet all of them, and . . . it sounds so funny, but i’ve always dreamed about being squished in a crowd ! ❞ she laughs. kids running over her toes, even; she knows it’s a very strange desire, but she couldn’t imagine being around so many people at once, all different and coinciding – all the sights, smells, even.

       ❝ though, we came quite close the other night when our pillow pavilion caved in. ❞ the paladins had tried to protect her from even that, but in the process -- they had piled on top of her, leaving her coughing, giggling. 

dualstarred:

             to his alternate proposal,  jiayi flashes the pearls of her teeth, biting down on her bottom lip as her eyes scrunch cheerfully && cheeky in her smile. ❝ okay. ❞ a few more fruit rain down in fat drops caught quick in her clothes, and soon keith’s falling in colors too. he brings the earth beneath them to tremble the way you think he would with all the stories lance tells of him, and jiayi claps and nearly drops their little harvest.

she ties up the fruit properly inside her scarf after, wrapping it several times over to ensure their security for the journey. but when she passes the lumpy parcel to keith’s hand, jiayi clasps her palms to his open ones, giving them a sudden squeeze as she beams up at him.

❝ thank you. ❞ she hopes her eyes convey gratitude more than what it might seem on the surface . . . but, not one to leave expression up to chance, jiayi adds, ❝ that was fun ! ❞ she squeezes them one more time with a laugh, stepping back on her heels after.  ❝ we make a good team, keith. ❞ she hadn’t thought it was possible, but it is, and she’s so happy for it. she’d like to dance -- but that might be a few steps too far for today.

adastrals:

                                curiosity dispels with the word CELEBRATION, spoken so simply but immediately stirring her own impulse. the paladin who introduced himself as lance is already quick to make this day one to remember, and jiayi’s grateful for his fervor. as the others respond to the plan, she regards them in the same manner one might a great village performance, eyes darting back and forth between each and excitedly anticipating their reactions. she wants to be included too -- but she doesn’t even know where to begin and it’s a great feeling to once be overwhelmed.

they’re so different to jiayi -- prettier than she had imagined, but rambunctious as little cubs biting and tugging and leaving mayhem && merriment in their wake. she can hardly believe they’ll be spending the next few weeks with her here, filling her home with their noise, their color. but she knows she must treasure them, her own life always unchanging yet mysterious, even to jiayi herself. 

soon they begin the arrangements for the party, and jiayi and shiro are tasked to bring over the table from the lily pavilion by the lake, a surface much larger to suit the new number of guests ( and expected number of FEAST ).

walking beside shiro, jiayi finds it in her at last to say something of substance.  ❝ i know it’s not forever . . . but i hope you’ll be really happy here ! ❞ she smiles up at him, clasping her hands behind her.  ❝ there’s always so much to do, and so many things to see . . . you can go swimming, and fishing, and even collect pearls. ❞ 

                          STRANGE, there’s almost a fear in her voice behind the smile she wears, but . . . jiayi truly prays they won’t leave early, that for just once, she can have an adventure, too. she can be the one to tell her aunts incredible stories. 

dualstarred:

                      THERE’S A LEGEND OF A BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS who once fell asleep beneath a tree, only for one of its flowers to later float down && land gentle on her forehead. admiring the look of the blossom ‘bove her brows with petals curved like stars, the princess continued to wear it for a few days after. soon it became a popular style in court, ladies endeavoring to imitate it with leaves, feathers, shells, and simple paint. she’s seen her aunts at times too, decorate their temples with eloquent designs.

                                    jiayi, on the other hand, receives a whole peach. 

she feels there must be some red mark like her own petal where it struck ( yet soon to fade in minutes ). but that legend had no boy climbing branches above -- and no boy laughing after, causing the yellowing leaves to shake && fall like husks of gold spilled from keith himself and she’d like to think her story is far, far better. 

she’s never seen him laugh like this, not even with lance ( though he must have, another time, in the middle of their constant clashes with sauciness and softness ). that jiayi could be a factor in causing it brings her more pride than she had earlier this week in discovering items from their storage rooms that could successfully aid pidge in her work. the day hasn’t been easy, but it makes everything so much more worthwhile. 

                    jiayi stoops to scoop the peach up with both hands as if cupping water from a stream; she rubs it on her skirt before taking a big bite. there’s a big piece in her cheek as she grins up at keith. ❝ the evidence is gone ! . . .  can you drop a pear on me too?  ❞ she wouldn’t mind being able to eat a bunch of those as well.

dualstarred:

           she smiles more when he agrees, hoping the rest of their day can be like this -- no, better than this, jiayi determines, this is only a starting point for them. they can have fun like the others. they just have to trust.

the orchard is full of trees too magnificent for the common earth, trunks nearly like mountains in comparison -- but there’s none that bear finer fruit. looking over for one of the fuller trees, jiayi points to a possibility, voice hopeful.

                                               ❝ peaches? i can catch them. ❞

she watches him intently from below, freckles of light stippling across her cheeks as the sunlight bends through the leaves above. ❝ keith, watch out for that br --  ❞ a split second of her caution spared all for keith comes right at an unfateful moment; his foot knocks a peach the span of her hand and it comes plummeting below, smacking her straight in the forehead. 

jiayi blinks absolutely stunned at first . . .  then eyes drop to look at the bruised fruit now lain at her feet for a moment, then back up at keith again, wonderstruck, peachstruck. like a child who’s just had her first experience with pain. 

             slowly, her hands move up to cup at the tender reddening spot. ❝ oww-w, ❞ she says, brow creasing, but her voice folds too, cracking, then tumbling into laughter. how did this happen so perfectly painfully? the timing of it all, the surprised look on both their faces . . . she’s soon clutching her sides.

❝ hey ! ❞ jiayi calls like she’s upset but it’s comes completely BLITHE, giggles long-turned into big laughter that shakes her shoulders and has her bracelets clicking, even her jewelry is laughing.

dualstarred:

          her next attempt would have been to ask keith what he feels like for dinner since they still have plenty of fish && sweet potatoes left over in addition to fresh chicken -- but keith surprises her again in going in a completely opposite direction. ❝  what ? ❞ catch something . . . ? ❝ no -- ❞  that wasn’t what she had meant by her question at all, but keith already begins to survey their surroundings for something to gather.

while jiayi and lance could dance seamlessly without wont for a beat, she and keith seem to always be hearing different music and bumbling along together -- only making it through with respect paired with stubbornness. 

but this once, she doesn’t really mind the awkwardness. watching him glance around trying to offer her something she hadn’t even asked for, jiayi begins to understand the look in lance’s face when he talks about keith. she smiles a little. 

❝ do you like peaches? or pears? there’s an orchard past that hill! ❞  

dualstarred:

           ready to resign to pouting the rest of their walk, jiayi almost doesn’t catch keith’s face falling alongside her own. it surprises her. often facing rejection to her requests at home, she’s well-used to facing guilt in the response . . .  but she doesn’t expect it from keith. confusion anchors her where she stands even when he gestures her forward, and jiayi feels something strange sinking in the pit of her stomach, sour and acrid, her disappointment shifting towards herself, too. 

she walks a few steps, the way home feeling so much further now with silence unbearable. every second, jiayi wishes they were speaking -- that they could speak as easily as she does with lance, hunk, pidge.  she doesn’t want to return like this && desperation snags the first colloquial. 

❝ are you hungry? ❞ jiayi turns back to face him; it’s six minutes later but her face is still flushed.

dualstarred:

                                      in truth, the monkeys would never have to beg -- jiayi gives eagerly, always, sharing with them all the details of her afternoons with the paladins over peaches and sweets. today she’ll tell them how she and lance walked by the fruit trees for a while and he pressed against her like so, a roof above her with beams far warmer than their home’s during the sweltering summers. 

she nods while lance lists, greedy child wanting all that he’d offer, and she smiles when the stories shift focus from himself so easily. though lance could boast about himself in a few words here and there, jiayi could see him truly light up when talking about the achievements of his friends. though her aunts have never left her in wont for affection or attention, she’s never known a friendship like the ones of the paladins, love given by those who hadn’t raised her -- even the macaque had taught her ways of life in climbing and sharing.

❝ you were thieves? ❞ she repeats, but there’s WONDER in her words as she winds her arm around his tighter, imagining the bunch like the dashing rogues of legend, ones who would steal breath from dragon to heal their child.  ❝ no wonder you were all so fast when the deer and macaque ran off with your laundry! ❞ jiayi laughs, remembering how they had moved in a herd of their own. though she and keith have yet to have heart to hearts as she does with lance, she likes to hear of his good deeds, too. especially. and how lance looks up to shiro, reminding her of herself with her aunts. 

           ❝  and now you’re all heroes! the children keith and everyone helped must be proud. do you visit them, too ? ❞ 

dualstarred:

            she has no notion of the SPEECH the paladins had been given, how painstakingly fastidious her aunts had been in making absolutely certain these warriors would know how precious && prey  their niece is. she sees herself only as any other girl, merely in a slightly more perilous environment for the rare beasts and rockfalls. so to hear keith -- to be jostled by him -- over something so small as a funny little MUSHROOM, jiayi can’t understand. she thinks he’s too stern, or maybe he dislikes her, she isn’t sure. 

like their arms, it’s a push and pull. with keith offering to play with her too once the mushrooms are deemed harmless ( she knows they must be ), there’s a bit of hope, but with him huffing again, it’s quickly snuffed out. ❝ very well.  ❞ jiayi gives him what he wants at last, but it’s not without the hurt in her voice. she stands up properly, maneuvering her arm out of his grasp before she tugs her sleeve back over her wrist. 

❝ you don’t have to pull me, ser.  ❞  she’s trying hard to seem DIPLOMATIC and composed as qingling would be but it fails utterly, too much disappointment and injury in her face. later, jiayi would realize it isn’t keith’s fault that she can’t be a normal girl like the stories, but for now he’s too  sharp  a reminder.

commandfate:

                                       jiayi waits for the other to finish her thought, taking her crinkled note back without realizing those two terse syllables had been her utter agreement. but when the warrior continues on about her condition and the reality then dawns on jiayi, a sudden burst of energy galvanizes her at once; she rushes forward to grab her arms with a squeeze in a half-embrace. ❝ really? you’ll take me? ❞ KINDNESS GIVEN for the first time in what her heart deems an eternity, jiayi feels she could almost cry, almost crumple. ❝ thank you, thank you. ❞

❝ i’ve been traveling for six days, but it takes three to descend the mountain. ❞ tears from the reassurance have her almost relieved enough to water her resolve and weariness seeps through her face again -- but jiayi keeps herself busy at once, fingers retreating to the pockets in her sleeves. at once, she thrusts handfuls of jade hairpins, gold earrings, a ruby comb and more into the palms of her new companion. ❝ it isn’t much, but it’s all i have, i, i’m certain my aunts could give you more at the capitol. ❞ beyond a few comments from the paladins, she knows little about the true and calculable worth of her gems, having grown up easily surrounded by the bounty. 

commandfate:

                                        her fists are small, hard, bruised ivory suddenly enclosed in the warm, calloused strength of the other’s. jiayi looks up with a start, unexpecting the sudden touch and half-afraid of the closeness of strangers ( a fear come far too late ), but the gaze she gives her speaks only of concern, gentility.   ❝ i don’t know . . .  ❞ there’s so much pain in her uncertainty, to answer a question she’s been asking the world herself with each and every step that brings her farther from the mountains she had always dreamed of leaving. she never should have wished, all she wants now is to be wrapped up in their arms again. 

her face falls, exhaustion turning bones and limbs to lead but she’ll keep moving on till she reaches them, she can’t stop till she knows they’re safe.  ❝ . . . i don’t know. when i arrived home, everything, everything was in shambles. my aunts only left this note. ❞ jiayi unravels the ripped parchment kept tucked in her sleeve, showing the frantic writing bidding her to the palace.

                                             ❝ please. ❞ 

commandfate:

                                         her throat feels dry, scratching like reeds with each syllable and her mind turns back to the cool waters racing down paths of ice in the mountain, their home’s water wheel, HOME, HOME, HOME but it’s for it that she has to keep pushing on because home is three people and not a roof. she’s still uneasy with strangers but jiayi does as she’s bid, trying to make her voice even, smoothing it as it spills. ❝ my name is jiayi, i come from the mountains; i am a daughter of weavers, fishers, hunters . . . saviors. ❞ her hand’s shaking, she closes it quick around her collar, bunching hair too. 

                              ❝ they’re waiting for me, at the capitol. ❞                   as if simply saying it could make their reunion certain. 

commandfate:

                                          she turns alarmed at the voice, too accustomed to animals always EAGER to declare their presence and not people who could walk through bed of leaves without stirring a singular noise. THIS WOMAN is a sight though, brilliantly clothed, brilliantly made, and jiayi blinks back with cheeks of dust and silks hemmed in mud ( but jewels still glinting on her person, tempting her to all hungry hands ). 

❝ yes . . . but i have none to accompany me now. ❞ memories flash to her home burning && SMOKING and only a little scroll left in qingling’s hand telling her to hurry to the PALACE. there is something about this woman she trusts though; her garb reminds jiayi of her dearest paladins.

                         ❝ KIND WARRIOR, would you direct me to the capital? ❞