illegibly | communication array

[Xie Lian's heart does a stuttering sort of flip-flop when he sees that smile, but more than anything, he feels warm and happy as he follows Hua Cheng into the kitchen. The cup of tea is already quite warm, as he holds it between his hands, but with Hua Cheng's encircling them as well, Xie Lian is certain they'll be just fine in moments.

It does, however, make it very difficult to look at anything but the man in front of him.]

I'm glad. San Lang must have been so busy. You have to take breaks and enjoy yourself sometimes too, okay?

[ He can't think of anything he'd enjoy doing more than doting on gege, but he elects not to say anything like the fact that this is the thing he'd be doing if he had any choice. ]

Gege is so thoughtful.

[ And standing here, holding his hands, looking into his eyes... what more could he even want?

He does let go, eventually, to go prepare them bowls of food, which will hopefully warm Xie Lian right up if he's still cold at all. ]

How was your trip?

[ Must have been fruitful, no pun intended, because gege seems in high spirits. ]

[Thoughtful? Isn't that you? he wants to ask. The only labor he'd put in was carrying the fruit from the supermarket back home, really. Who knew how long Hua Cheng had been out in the cold trying to sculpt that?

A dozen other thoughts fly by, fleetingly there and gone as he looks into Hua Cheng's eyes, and Xie Lian holds the cup a bit tighter when he lets go. There's a bit less warmth, but he's able to find his words easier.]

My trip? Oh- Well, I was just touring all those new structures made of ice. There were some nice sculptures, but buildings too. I sat down in one for a bit, both to see what it was like and to catch up reading those messages and- someone suggested I try using it to send personalized ones as well.

[San Lang already seemed well-practiced in using both emoji and kaomoji, if his messages were any indication. Though, despite the messages to Hua Cheng working, he'd yet to hear back from the one called Admin.]

[ Oh, that's why he'd sent those texts then. He'd wondered about that, though he'd figured at the time that gege had just discovered how to type those emojis and thought he'd like to embellish his texts with a little flair.

Hua Cheng had thought it was adorable, extremely appropriate for gege. He still does, smiling proudly at the idea that he was the first person that he'd taken his newfound knowledge to was San Lang. Of course, he did take precedent as the closest person to him here, so he really had no reason to be so pleased with himself. ]

Ah gege, if you like the ice statues, I can make you one out of ice too.

[ He is definitely missing part of this conversation where gege didn't actually request a statue made of ice. However, he stokes a fire and keeps gege warm while planning to go out in the cold again himself. ]

Were there a lot of people out?

[He had indeed taken great care with Hua Cheng's message. Having been told that the prolific use of those characters was an indicator of one's closeness with someone else, he'd wanted to make sure Hua Cheng knew that he considered him a close companion.

Hua Cheng seemed to understand, at least, as he'd used a lot in return, much to his relief.

The offer to make more statues... If they're anything like the one he made from snow, it will no doubt be beautifully crafted, just as the portrait before that. It'd been such a long time since someone actually wanted to capture his likeness in a work of art that wasn't bowing and scraping and apologizing, and he wondered if Hua Cheng knew how meaningful the gesture was. It warmed a long-cold place in his heart.]

Do you think I could I watch you work? Maybe?

[Clearly San Lang doesn't need him to sit for the piece, he's captured Xie Lian's likeness so well already, but he found himself rather intrigued by how the work was done.]

Mm... not many people out. I think the cold is keeping many indoors lately. I did meet another person I'd spoken with on the ah... message board? But most others seemed quick to be on their way.

[ Hmm, perhaps then that wouldn't work. He'd tried to put the statue at the edge of town, but if people weren't going out there, then who was going to come see Lianlian in all his glory, and leave offerings at his makeshift altar? No, he'd have to put an ice statue in with all the other ice statues.

The only problem with that, was that he didn't have enough ice. He thinks if he finagles the items around in their freezer, he'll be able to freeze enough ice in a few days to be able to get enough to put together, melt all the bricks individually at the edges to get them to stick, in order to make his canvas. ]

San Lang would be honored, if you came to see his work.

[ Which is true, but he is also internally panicking, because he knows he tends to look at all his statues lovingly when crafting them, smoothing out the stone of their cloth, taking particular care with the jewels in their crowns, always trying to get that small smile that speaks both of confidence and kindness. ]

Will gege help me locate lanterns?

[Xie Lian is glad to finally be able to do something in return for all of Hua Cheng's kindness. The least he can do is come to appreciate his work.]

Mm, I would very much like to.

[As for the request for help, he almost jumps at the chance. San Lang rarely asks for anything at all, so a request as simple as this one, he'll gladly take it. He won't even ask why.]

Yes! I'd be happy to help. How many does San Lang need?

As many as possible. I want to make the temple look like Qiandeng.

[ He offers gege a warm smile as he recalls what it looks like at Qiandeng, with so many lanterns all over the place, lighting the whole sector of the city. ]

But it's alright. If gege prefers a different look.

[ Maybe he prefers how Puqi looks. He'd be willing to make it look however gege wishes, even if gege won't state his preference. San Lang will figure it out. ]

En, of course.

[Given Hua Cheng's distinct aesthetic, it was little wonder he wanted to decorate the temple in the same way as the one he'd made in Ghost City. The one back home had even been without a deity, so any god could be worshipped there easily. If it were just for himself, Puqi shrine would do, but he could see how others might want something nicer. Besides, what mattered was how Hua Cheng wanted to make it.]

Not at all, I'm sure it'll look beautiful. I'll see what I can find later.

Have you decided on a building?

There will be several different deities represented, so we will probably want one of the larger ones.

[ Especially if more people come by and decide they want to worship other gods. ]

I do not think there is room for more than one temple on this island, but perhaps we could make all the altars separate.

[ That way, they don't all have to share one space. He doesn't think that most gods would want to, though he knows that Xie Lian doesn't really care. Hua Cheng does. ]

[Xie Lian really doesn't mind sharing, but he's pretty sure that god a few of the other residents follow isn't keen on it. Besides, he's fairly sure at least a few of the gods he knows would chafe just at being worshipped under the same roof.]

Mm, that's a good idea. I hope their gods will be understanding. I don't need anything much, should it come to it. I could just build something small elsewhere.

[He outlines the shape in gestures, barely the size of a broom closet. It seems that nameless god has a fair number of followers here already, so they might need more space just trying to fit people.]

[ Hua Cheng won't hear of it. He'll make sure that Xie Lian's shrine is the most beautiful, most splendorous one. He's very extra, okay. ]

If they are not, we will build another one.

[ But a bigger one. Not a closet.

And Hua Cheng might fight that other god, not that he'll say anything about it. ]

Mm. Their followers, the ones I've met, seem like very nice people, at least.

[He does wish he knew more about this nameless god, though at least their followers seemed fairly eager to talk about him.]

I hope their prayers can reach him here.

[Xie Lian finishes his last dumpling, eager to see Hua Cheng's reaction to the taste of the oversized melon. He doesn't want to rush though, so he sets his utensils aside, folding his hands in his lap.]

I haven't had any success myself, via the communication array.

En, I have not been able to get in touch with anyone.

[ And he's sent butterflies out and gotten nothing. ]

There is some sort of powerful magic over the entire island. I think it is hiding us, or separating us from our realms.

[ When Xie Lian is done, he'll clean up for him, and go to cut up the melon. Even with San Lang being such a tall young man, he looks comically small next to this gigantic fruit. ]

If he can hear them, he is very powerful indeed.

Mm, that's what I think too.

[It was the only explanation he could really find that made sense. Troubling, to be sure, but they'd broken through powerful arrays before. It was just a matter of finding a weak point to start with.]

Still, I wouldn't begrudge a bit of help.

[Dusting his hands off, he walks over to lean on the counter while San Lang works on the melon.]

How do you think it tastes? To have grown this big...

If no one will come to our aid, you can still count on San Lang.

[ He says it in such a casual manner, but he really means it deep-down, and when he puts it in such a way that it could be interpreted as him cheering up Xie Lian, or a joke, is the way that he feels comfortable making these little confessions. ]

I don't know. I hope it's sweet.

[ He cuts it open and wow! ]

Look at that.

[ It's so red and full of fruit. He's never seen anything like this. He makes quick work of it, cutting little cubes and filling up the biggest bowl he can find with them.

Then he picks up a piece with his fingers, and offers it directly to Xie Lian. It's not an intimate gesture to feed your friend, right? ]

[He does smile at that; even if San Lang is kidding around, he really has been an invaluable help. Besides that, just being around him made it easy for Xie Lian to smile.]

I'm sorry you were dragged along here, but I am grateful for it. San Lang's company is always welcome.

More than welcome.

[He hopes Hua Cheng misses the faint blush that rises on his cheeks, in favor of preparing the melon. Xie Lian's mouth opens in a small 'o' of surprise to see how brightly colored and full the melon is.]

There's hardly any rind at all!

[Hua Cheng makes quick work of the fruit, and Xie Lian is eager to try it, and tells himself that the youth is just being polite, offering it with his hands that are already a bit sticky from the juice so Xie Lian doesn't have to dirty his own.

He tries not to make it awkward, tucking his hair behind his ear as he leans in to take it. Despite his best effort, his lip skims San Lang's fingertips, and Xie Lian's blush only becomes more prominent as he pulls back to cover his mouth as he chews the piece.

It's- ]

It's so sweet! You have to try it, San Lang!

[ He doesn't notice gege's blush because he's too busy trying to hide one of his own as he explains that he likes having San Lang around. His heart grows three sizes bigger hearing it, because generally people just tolerate Hua Cheng. His whole life, his whole death, nobody really desires his presence. And even Xie Lian had, before, just thought of him as some nobody who came in and out of his life.

Sure, he'd felt badly for Wu Ming, who had arguably known him best then, but he hadn't known much about him, had moved on quickly.

San Lang had always assumed it would be like that. That gege would have treated him as a friend, but perhaps not a close one. Certainly, he wanted to avail himself as the best possible person to have stranded on an island, but for one of those reasons to be his company?

Maybe there was hope for him after all, that Xie Lian's feelings hadn't come around just because of their situation at Tong'lu. ]

Ah, alright.

[ He wishes to lick his fingers clean, but instead, takes up a piece of fruit and pops it into his mouth, his lips brushing the warm spot that Xie Lian's mouth just was. And, upon tasting it, his lips curl into a smile. ]

En. Very sweet.

[ He picks up the bowl, to carry it to the table. ]

Do you think the two of us could finish this?

[He follows San Lang back to the table, licking the last of the sticky-sweetness from the corner of his mouth. It really is different, even down to the taste. They'd been welcomed to the island with food that was supposed to act as talismans, now they had melons that were larger, redder, and sweeter than he could remember ever tasting.

He pushes back a sleeve as he reaches for another piece, examining it for a moment before putting it into his mouth with a pleased little hum.]

Mm, you like it?

[San Lang smiling is enough to brighten his own, and he's glad to have been able to do something to lift the other's spirits, given how often Hua Cheng helps him.]

We can save some for Monts. Oh, and what we don't finish- it'll last a few days at least in the fridge.

[ He nods and then gets two of the forks in the drawer to help them eat. He thinks for this specific case, it's probably better to use the skewering properties of the fork than his usual favored tool of the chopstick.

He hands gege one. ]

We should eat these more often. Only lychees are sweeter than this.

[ He helps himself to another piece, and smiles around it. ]

Thank you, gege.

[ Without him, he probably wouldn't have thought to actually get one to try. They're really a ludicrous fruit, aren't they? But delicious. And it wouldn't be half as sweet if he weren't sharing one with Xie Lian. ]

communication array

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