{Video; UN: scraps}

[disgracedprince]

Ah...help! {Xie Lian now resembles a merman. Or, rather, a Koi merman. He flaps uselessly in his garden and covers his face with his hands, his finned ears fluttering in embarrassment.}

I think...I need...a pool? A...um...bathtub? Something!

What happens if I dry out?

Comments

[disgracedprince]

I'm sure she has her own language. {Xie Lian dips under the water and marvels at how good it feels. This is where he belongs...ah...currently.

Once he surfaces again, he pushes his hair out of his eyes.}

Your sister is here? When did she arrive?

[disgracedprince]

{He's...in other worlds? How strange!}

Y-Yes, that would be wonderful! And maybe you can tell me a little about...how you and I met in the other place?

{Now he is too curious to sit still.}

I'm in Autumn. San Lang and I have a cottage... {He sends a map of the exactly location.}

[roundandaround]

Evangeline-neechan and I aren't related related, like, we're not from the same world. But we're still family. Sometimes you just see someone like that. There's a lot of people here who feel that way about other ones.

[mayoninofukucho]

[If a cultivator Hijikata cares about got turned into a standby god for a lack of open positions in the celestial sphere, he'd complain!! Surely, a new position could be invented! Aren't even the heavens full of bureaucracy? (Maybe he's approaching this too simplistically...)

But what Xie Lian says about the butterfly really intrigues him. He stares at the fragile-looking glowing insect through his phone screen.]

Are they really, though? How could a butterfly kill someone?

[disgracedprince]

{Who knows what Heaven might do! Xie Lian has often been disappointed in the decisions of Heavenly bureaucracy (which is why he was kicked out twice). But now that he has more control - as the strongest god in Heaven - maybe he could help Xiao Xingchen - if that's what the man wants.

The butterfly is cradled and seems content to snuggle against Xie Lian's fingers.}

They can move in a flash and collide with their target like blades. They will sacrifice their lives and their power for their Lord. I hate it.

{Each butterfly is precious. Even if Hua Cheng makes thousands or millions, all of them are sweet towards him.}

[disgracedprince]

Oh yes! I remember her name now. Mm I like family like that. {The kind you choose; the kind that becomes dear because of their actions not because of blood.}

[roundandaround]

Yeah, she's the greatest ♪ Does that mean you have someone like that too?

[mayoninofukucho]

You hate it? How come? Aren't you a martial god?

[He (re?)introduced himself like that on the network a month or so ago, didn't he?]

I think it's a neat technique. It's effective, and it looks nice.

[That last part is very important. He didn't add Sebonzakura to all his swords just for the added damage!]

[disgracedprince]

I have a few people like that in my life. Three of them are ghosts!

[disgracedprince]

Each butterfly has a soul; they choose to fight for their Master because they believe it is right. They do so out of love for him... {And for Xie Lian too.}

Their sacrifices matter. {His voice is harder now - sounding older than his seventeen year old face.} Have you had soldiers die for you? How can you not hate it?

[roundandaround]

[Hina squeaks, landing on a log sticking out into the pond. She ponders this and bites a nearby flower's stem, then lets go with as much of a disappointed face as one can have without eyes.]

Like from home, because there are ghosts there? That sounds nice. I know you said it was lonely where you lived.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Well, that changes things. He nods.]

I get it. I didn't expect them to have souls. I thought they were... I don't know, constructs or summons. Are they born as butterflies, or..?

[Or were they the souls of people, in another life? Once again, he feels totally out of his depth. Genre-savvy as he thinks he is, he was sure that the butterflies were merely aesthetically pleasing companion creatures, but he was totally off the mark!]

[indigently]

I'd be glad to.

[ Kaveh offers the camera a warm smile, one that only broadens further when the god mentions that he's sharing a cottage with Hua Cheng. It's good that they're together here too; with everything he's learned, he hates the idea of them being apart.

With the location received, he nods. ]

I'll be there as soon as I can.

[ And from there, he's quick to end the message, hurrying to the location he's been told and knocking on the door— before realizing that, in his current state, Xie Lian might not be able to open it. Kaveh frowns, and places his hand on the door, thinking. ]

Um, it's Kaveh. Is it unlocked? I can let myself in...

[orangebrained]

It looks like you stopped half way.

[E'kayan has, admittedly, not really tried experimenting too much with animal forms here.]

I didn't know you could do that.

[wrotetheworld]

My friend, you get into some weird kinds of trouble.

[Nods, tightening his grip to make sure he doesn't drop the poor man. Getting back through the door is a challenge, but he gets there.]

Good thing you still breathe air.

[disgracedprince]

I really do.

{The world doesn't seem to matter, either! He gets into weird situations in his world too. Xie Lian's finned ears wiggle and he tries not to flop or squirm, but...fish logic. It's hard to fight!}

For now! I could dry out.

[wrotetheworld]

That's why you're getting you to the tub before that can happen!

[Xie Lian's too big to just tuck under his arm like a squirmy disciple, but he still tried his best to hold onto him, likewise nudging the door to the bathroom open, lowering him into the tub.]

Warm or cold?