[ text ] | @traitors.replacement

[seaboard]

To All Whomst Live about This Lake, Most Kindly Residents, and their Spirit Kindred.

I write to you in the most sorry state, and I must beseech your goodwill to my lacking knowledge and skill so if that I write boldly with no invitation to do so you will look upon me with mercy if I have mistakenly given offense. You will do me the greatest kindness if you will take pity upon me, as I am now so far from home and so wholly without that which I know well. It is no small matter for me to be gone from where I came, I would not trouble your good humour with myself on anything less than the direst of situations.

It is paramount that in all haste that I send word to my homeland, as I have been assured no return is possible. There is a great matter for which it is my duty to attend and in such present circumstances as these, my absence will be a great misfortune. As I cannot leave in good time, I must at least send word to my Fathers that the succession has to pass to my sister due to this present situation.

I ask most heartily how I may do such a thing? I am at your mercy, please, take pity upon my lands, if not myself, for their are good and innocent citizens of the Isle that must be guided, as has been my family's duty for near 500 years.

Simply give me the means, and I will owe you a lifetime of gratitude, I have no more than the clothes on my back and the shoes on my feet and the love of the Great Sea-Father in my heart. Ask and whatever you wish that I can give is yours if you will but help me with this.

In salt-air and In ocean wave, I plead as a faithful if a helpless servant of the Sea-Father,

Gilia St. Loe, of the Isle St Loe. Daughter-Sea to the Spirit of the Great Ocean, Second-Child of the Isle, She Who Sings with the Ocean to Give Prosperity.

Comments

[mannerless]

To Daughter-Sea (unless you would prefer simply 'Gilia' but that seemed presumptuous even for me),

I'm not entirely sure what to write in the middle here, as all that I mean to respond to is after my signing-off. I suppose, for the sake of some form of worthwhile content, I'll tell you that if you encounter a pale man with dark lines along his neck during your stay here, don't be alarmed - that's Wen Ning, he is a dear friend and ally and he's nearly as polite as you are, which is no small task.

It seems your gladdened heart is contagious, as I find my heart gladdened strangely as well,
Wei Ying

P.S. I will do just that. I should warn you now that you won't enjoy what you read. One more reason for delicious ice cream, I suppose.

P.P.S. You know, your eagerness to feed us reminds me a bit of my sister. Would you like to meet her? She lives just next door, and I think she'd very much like to escape the parade of boys and men she puts up with each day.

[seaboard]

To Wei Ying,

Here I shall fill the middle of the letter for us, so you need not worry to its contents:

I will look forward to meeting him, when he feels it is ready to introduce himself to me, I will be more than happy to receive him. As well your sister too - will you tell me of her also, so I may know how to greet her best?

Gilia is quite fine, as we are too be friends, I cannot imagine anyone would object to such an exchange. Daughter-Sea only speaks to my family's ties and seat of power as the children of the Great Sea, and Second-Child is my title and position as a ruler of my people. I imagine it is quite a lot, I do not expect any to take it all on board with our present circumstances.

Your ardent friend,
Gilia.

private now

[mannerless]

To Gilia,

I will let him know to come say hello! He has a very kind heart and deserves more people such as yourself to brighten his life.

As for my sister, whom you may hear me refer to as 'Shijie' (which simply means 'sister, but not by blood'), her name is Jiang Yanli - given name 'Yanli'. She is very sweet and kind, a doting soul. She's also quite wise and insightful, most excellent at giving advice. She can often be seen tending the outside of the large cabin just down by the water. She's fixing it up with her own two hands, and I'm so proud of her I might burst (but to be fair, I'm nearly so proud of her even when she has done nothing but simply exist).

Ah, speaking of my family, you may notice that I've made these letters private between you and I. This is so that I might apologize for my brother, Jiang Wanyin. He's loud and he's rude but he means very well. If you'll believe it, he's doing his best to help you. Please don't let him chase you off. He needs trustworthy friends quite a bit more than I do. (In addition to being my friend, not instead! If you flit off to be his friend instead, I'll most certainly cry.)

(Although perhaps it may be best not to speak well of me in his presence. He thinks many things of me at current and none of them are kind.)

I suppose if you're ardent then I shall be ardent too,
Wei Ying

[seaboard]

To Wei Ying,

I have upset him so terribly so, I do not mean to be any offence! I know I am a fool, but however can I make it up to him? All else has fled my mind, I should not have spoken as I did.

Of course, my heart is glad for your kind words and guidance,
Gilia.

[mannerless]

Gilia, sweetheart,

It has come to my attention that you're speaking poorly of my dear new friend Gilia. I request with utmost insistence that you apologize to her at once, for she is not a fool if any sort and does not deserve to be called one.

Once you've done so, we'll speak of Jiang Wanyin.

With utmost seriousness (but still ardently),
Wei Ying

[seaboard]

[ On her end, there is a little hiccuped tear of relief that he says some so kind when she feels so idiotic. She ought to know better, was she not warned that her foolishness was not always going to tolerated by her betters? She could practically hear her mother now. ]

Dearest Wei Ying,

Your new friend Gilia can scarcely deserve such defence for her ignorance, but she is glad to have it. Thank you for your kind words, I feel so dreadfully out of sort over every little thing.

But I promise, I shall speak to her, as you say.

Fondly so,
Gilia St. Loe.

[mannerless]

Sweet Gilia,

Your words gladden me. In fact, they've made me grin - Sizhui has noticed and he's looking at me strangely, so the benefits are twofold (I do enjoy keeping him on his toes).

As for Jiang Wanyin, I promise you, you've not actually wronged him in any way. The world from which we came has made him angry and jaded, which I myself played no small part in. And so when he meets someone like yourself who is not yet angry and jaded, he does his best to warn them to become so.

When they choose to believe the best in the world and in others instead of growing angry and jaded, it frustrates him. It's as if they're choosing to wander unprotected into a world which will eat them alive rather than accepting the armor he has gone out on a limb to offer them.

Should you truly wish to make amends, simply return to him and thank him for his efforts to help you. Tell him something like, you recognize that he has more experience with this place and is probably entirely correct, and you will reflect on all that he's told you.

And whatever you do, do not mention that I've helped you in making amends with him. Such a thing sours the whole effort, I'm afraid.

Wishing the best of luck in this endeavor,
Wei Ying

[seaboard]

Dear Wei Ying,

How dreadful his heart must feel to be so sorrowful at the world, to see such darkness where there too can be such light. He sounds as if no one has given him any kindness to temper that sort of pain.

I will do my best, with that knowledge. Though it grieves me I can't say you are the one that told me such.

I shall end this here now, so I can compose what to write to him in turn. I will see you tomorrow as we discussed,

The only luck I shall need is your regard,
Gilia St. Loe

[mannerless]

Dear Gilia,

I suppose you're half right. He has been shown kindness in his life, but rarely from the people whose kindness would've made a difference.

There is no need to grieve for that. We are as we are. Perhaps one day we won't be. I hope that one day we won't be, but such a thing isn't really mine to hope, anymore.

I will see you tomorrow - meet me downstairs in the kitchen when you're ready.

Wishing my best regards,
Wei Ying

[seaboard]

[ come morning, when it is time, she is dressed as she had been when he had found her, though cleaner, neater arranged, and at least a little bit more herself - though she has been miserable, and this place seems intent on its cruelty. Having read the pamphlet and all the crushing news it gave her.

But she is a woman of position and she has learned: it does not matter what you must swallow, in time, you will kill off even dearer parts of yourself. So she can compose herself as she did that day and meet him. The material slipping around her as it trails in it's length. She still didn't know how to be here, exactly. These men weren't her family, and she could never impose on them in such a way - and that meant that is their presence she should never be anything less than utterly grateful, but neither were they her family's house attendants, so she must not impose and self aggrandize, if she ever would, and must seek to be helpful at all times. Where then did that leave her? A friend he said. But what did that mean outside of everything else she knew? She'd never had friends like that, at least not close ones. Not since girlhood. Not since Godfinn.

A headache is mostly what it turned into when trying to figure out how to dress, act, talk, behave. Before ending up right where she started from. So she donned her now cleaned dress, hid her hair away being her wimple and veil, and went down to join him as they had discussed. In the end, she would be most comfortable dressed as she knew. ]

Hello Master Wei Ying, how has your day fared so far?

[ As casual as she could be, as she went to joined him - taking a seat across from him at the table. ]

[mannerless]

( he's actually on the couch when she makes her way down, but wei wuxian is up on his feet as soon as he hears her footsteps on the stairs, making his way to the kitchen. this means that by the time she's arrived to greet him, he's meeting her at the table with a pint of ice cream he's snatched from their freezer, though he ducks away again for a moment to grab bowls and spoons. )

My day, ( he says, cracking open the lid to begin to scoop portions of chocolate ice cream out into a bowl, ) Has been positively buzzing in anticipation of our ice cream brunch. ( he sets the bowl in front of her as well as the thus-far-unused spoon, with a bit of a grin. ) Perhaps once you try this, you'll be ardent enough that I'm simply 'Wei Ying' again. ( his tone is light, rife with good-natured teasing, though even as he scoops his own ice cream into his bowl, he can't help but steal a much more serious glance her way. searching assessing. trying to get a read on her mood, after reading such a brief yet heavy bit of literature. )

[seaboard]

[ With her hands tucked neatly in her lap, she busies herself with an easy task at least - simply watching him go about his own tasks. Going here and there in them, and it gives her some ease, more so than the pamphlet did.

Still, his teasing warms her cheeks pink all over again as he reminds her. ]

I shall always be ardent in your presence, Wei Ying, how could I be anything less for your kindness to me? But you have caught me, I will do my best not to fall back on old habits.

[mannerless]

Good. ( and he pops the lid back onto the ice cream, stepping over to put it back in the freezer before taking his seat across from her with spoon at ready. ) You're going to want to take care not to eat it too fast. You'll get, ah - I think they called it a 'brain freeze'? Harmless, but deeply unpleasant.

( and in case she needs the encouragement, he'll take a bite from his own bowl now. )

[seaboard]

[ She nods her head - it wasn't a problem to mind that instruction. Her family might be considered quaint and backwards to many of the lands around her growing up, but she was still trained as a high ranking family. She'd always mind her manners.

So hesitantly, she takes up the spoon. Looking at the dish curiously. It was so frightfully cold, she could feel it from here. Melting even in this even temperature. So she had best hurry at least a little then, despite her trepidation.

Scooping off a little, she brings it up. Hard not to hide her face away, secret it, in the feeling of being watching. ]

It is -

[ Then she tastes the sweetness of it, the richness of it against her tongue, all at once. ]

- It is delicious. [ She could not think of anything so sweet she had ever tried. Bright she looks back up at him. ] What on earth is it that makes it taste this way? [ So much so her teeth hurt. ]

[mannerless]

( as soon as her eyes light up, so does his grin, broadening again across his face as he scoops up another bite of his own. ) The flavor's called 'chocolate' - I'm not certain if such a thing is exclusive to ice cream or if there can be other 'chocolate' things as well.

( and he eats his bite, considering for the first time what he could even compare such a thing to. red bean paste, maybe? but this is quite a bit sweeter than that, and the flavor is darker, or perhaps that's just because he can see the chocolate and know that it's brown? who knows.

regardless, it's quite an excellent distraction from that which gilia read this morning. )

[seaboard]

[ Happily, she scoops up another mouthful, eagerly devouring like she did not expect the second taste to be as good. Surely she had been mistaken.

But there - it was just as good, and she makes a happy, sated sound in just the sheer pleasure of enjoying it. ]

I could not rightly say. Perhaps there is no way to know other than to taste it?