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31_days2006-11-16 11:59 pm
incandescens) wrote in 31_days2006-11-16 11:59 pm
[November 16th] [dragon noir] little flower
Title: little flower
Date/Theme: November 16th / he wishes for the cloths of heaven
Series: Original dragon noir
Characters: Original
Rating: G
The room was full of silk. Drapes of red a shade too dark for weddings hung along the walls and hid the old wood. Julian could smell it, even if he couldn't see it; the place was thick with the smell of dust, with just a hint of old rot.
Women lounged on couches and piles of cushions. A few of them draped themselves around the table in the centre, but in a desultory way, apparently more for the exercise than any genuine impulse to entertain the figure sitting there.
"That's her," Lung Xuan said. He brushed his cuffs clean and smiled flatly and blandly at Julian. "You may wish to negotiate with her yourself."
"Oh no." Julian snorted. "You're the one who put me onto her; you're in this now as much as I am."
"Regrettably so," Lung Xuan muttered. "Very well." He stepped forward and raised one hand in an admonitory gesture. "Ye Hua, a moment of your time."
The woman sitting upright at the centre table looked across at them. She was perfectly bald, and almost made it look natural; heavy golden circular earrings matched the amber of her eyes. She wore a man's white shirt, open at the neck, and plain black trousers. "What is it, Lung Xuan?" she asked.
"If you are not busy . . ."
Ye Hua chuckled, and pulled one of the women across her lap. "Just enjoying a little of the local mother of pearl."
The girl in Ye Hua's lap giggled indulgently. Her hair spilled out to the floor on the other side in a long drape of darkness, smooth and untangled; the loose silks of her robe were pastel pink and blue, fragile against Ye Hua's black and white.
"This concerns more than your indulgences," Lung Xuan said sharply. "We need a local contact regarding a newcomer to the area."
Ye Hua twitched her shoulder. "I thought we agreed, last time we met, that you found me somewhat questionable."
"That I do. Which is why you would find it in your best interests to assist me."
Julian held up both hands, stepping forward. "Ye Hua, at the moment it's in everyone's interests for you to assist us."
Ye Hua looked at him. Her eyes narrowed and her thin straight brows drew together. "What's this, then?"
Lung Xuan drew a sharp breath. "A matter for the Courts."
"It's the Son of the White Serpent," Julian said.
Silks rustled across the room as the women all turned to look at him, painted eyes wide in their pale faces.
And it was then that Julian realised there was no scent of living flesh in the room; none at all.
Date/Theme: November 16th / he wishes for the cloths of heaven
Series: Original dragon noir
Characters: Original
Rating: G
The room was full of silk. Drapes of red a shade too dark for weddings hung along the walls and hid the old wood. Julian could smell it, even if he couldn't see it; the place was thick with the smell of dust, with just a hint of old rot.
Women lounged on couches and piles of cushions. A few of them draped themselves around the table in the centre, but in a desultory way, apparently more for the exercise than any genuine impulse to entertain the figure sitting there.
"That's her," Lung Xuan said. He brushed his cuffs clean and smiled flatly and blandly at Julian. "You may wish to negotiate with her yourself."
"Oh no." Julian snorted. "You're the one who put me onto her; you're in this now as much as I am."
"Regrettably so," Lung Xuan muttered. "Very well." He stepped forward and raised one hand in an admonitory gesture. "Ye Hua, a moment of your time."
The woman sitting upright at the centre table looked across at them. She was perfectly bald, and almost made it look natural; heavy golden circular earrings matched the amber of her eyes. She wore a man's white shirt, open at the neck, and plain black trousers. "What is it, Lung Xuan?" she asked.
"If you are not busy . . ."
Ye Hua chuckled, and pulled one of the women across her lap. "Just enjoying a little of the local mother of pearl."
The girl in Ye Hua's lap giggled indulgently. Her hair spilled out to the floor on the other side in a long drape of darkness, smooth and untangled; the loose silks of her robe were pastel pink and blue, fragile against Ye Hua's black and white.
"This concerns more than your indulgences," Lung Xuan said sharply. "We need a local contact regarding a newcomer to the area."
Ye Hua twitched her shoulder. "I thought we agreed, last time we met, that you found me somewhat questionable."
"That I do. Which is why you would find it in your best interests to assist me."
Julian held up both hands, stepping forward. "Ye Hua, at the moment it's in everyone's interests for you to assist us."
Ye Hua looked at him. Her eyes narrowed and her thin straight brows drew together. "What's this, then?"
Lung Xuan drew a sharp breath. "A matter for the Courts."
"It's the Son of the White Serpent," Julian said.
Silks rustled across the room as the women all turned to look at him, painted eyes wide in their pale faces.
And it was then that Julian realised there was no scent of living flesh in the room; none at all.