fan xun and aoyun chat

(3:59:31 PM) ***Fan_Xun is sitting at the bank of a little creek not far from the group's chosen campsite, staff set on the ground beside him. Robes and hat make him appear from a distance as a yellow-topped blob of white. He seems just to be...listening, though with the size of his hat it's difficult to see his expression.
(4:03:10 PM) Earthflame: The sounds of the spirit and the natural world are one... And yet there is a strange note. A chameleon essence, a soul like a mirror... Moving closer towards him.
(4:04:54 PM) Fan_Xun: It's simple enough for him to watch, though he gives no indication of the noticing...at least, until the presence moves close enough, and he calls out, without otherwise moving, "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"
(4:06:35 PM) Earthflame: "My, you are perceptive!" Comes the voice of Aoyun, that rather foppish tone... And the strange presence is diminished. Not gone, but if he wasn't looking for it, it would be hard to see... A soul used to concealing its true nature. "Communing with the spirits, oh priest?"
(4:07:47 PM) Fan_Xun: "Ah, the singing Good Sir!" he says cheerily. "And, yes, that I am. Occasionally. But sometimes, it *is* admittedly just nice to...bask in their presence, without seeking communion."
(4:09:06 PM) Earthflame: "It must be a fine thing, to see the world in such a way... Not for the likes of me, of course~ I know a few songs of spirits, stories and plays about tricksters interfering with the lives of men... But I'm sure they're a far cry from the real thing~"
(4:19:11 PM) Fan_Xun: The young man laughs. "Some yes, some no. It vastly depends on the spirits in question. The ones who inhabit rocks, trees, other very stable things...they're *dreadfully* boring, although they never forget a thing."
(4:24:24 PM) Earthflame: He laughs at that, nodding. "I suppose it makes sense they're less told of in stories, then~ Although I imagine some of them must have fascinating tales to tell..."
(4:36:54 PM) Fan_Xun: "Some do, some haven't. I confess I haven't met any that do, though that's largely because my travels have been pretty consistently in a single area." He shrugs finally, turning his head to find Aoyun. "This is the farthest afield I have yet traveled."
(4:37:49 PM) Earthflame: "It's not bad, for a first journey! I've been far and wide myself, going wherever there was an audience... A minstrel is a slave to his art~" He laughs again, wafting himself with a fan.
(4:52:14 PM) Fan_Xun: "As are many who are dedicated to their craft. Though I wonder." Sharp blue eyes crinkle a little as he smiles. "Are all minstrels so well versed in skulking and prowling to have learned to render their chi all but inscrutable~?"
(4:54:12 PM) Earthflame: There's only the faintest hesitation from Aoyun there... Glancing towards him, and just for a moment... Those soft brown eyes look like bright silver. And then the laugh comes, warm and mirthful once again. "My sir, you claim to see my soul? Well, such are the claims of priests... So impossibly perceptive, seeing what is unseen..."
(4:59:17 PM) Fan_Xun: "That's us," he says, equally jolly. "And reserving judgment, too. So magnanimous are we!" Clearly teasing, he smiles widely. "But come, Good Sir Aoyun, and sit. Enjoy the tranquility of the world of the spirits for a moment. And perhaps you might even regale me with tales of your travels!"
(5:00:39 PM) Earthflame: Aoyun smiles, bowing his head as he sits beside Fan Xun again. "Perhaps, then, a tale of a man upon an important mission... Going in secret, disguised and hidden in plain sight, with a task of dire importance. An excellent start to a story, do you not agree?"
(6:21:35 PM) Fan_Xun: "Oh, most auspicious, I do say, yes. I am perfectly eager to hear more. Tell me...does this man-on-a-mission operate alone, or perhaps does he fall in with a ragtag group of disparate individuals who end up assisting him in that mission, whether they realize it or not~? Those are often such fun."
(6:23:25 PM) Earthflame: "Ahh, you know your stories well my friend!" Aoyun smiles. "As you astutely observe, he finds camaraderie with an assortment of interesting characters, to help him on his journey... Although, of course, he must be sure they are all people he can rely on. His mission is too important to entrust to someone who he cannot, well, trust~"
(6:26:58 PM) FeldiPhone [[email protected]] entered the room.
(6:32:59 PM) Fan_Xun: "Of course, of course. Well, every hero must be tested, yes? Or else how does he grow into his destiny?" He gives an elaborate shrug. "Although nothing that I'm aware of in the stories that I grew up on, says outright that all that testing must come from within. There are, of course, plenty of tests without."
(6:34:45 PM) Earthflame: "Ahh, but this story is different... The man upon the mission is not a hero. Oh, he serves one, to be sure... But he himself would never claim that title. He is something else."
(6:39:32 PM) ***Fan_Xun stages a mock gasp. "Color me thoroughly surprised at this twist, then, Good Sir Aoyun!"
(6:42:08 PM) Earthflame: "I am a master of my art~" He gives a slight bow, smiling and fluttering his fan. "And things are never quite as they seem~ But, as you say, things must be tested..." He wafts the fan again... And just for a moment, the sun glints on metal concealed beneath the  colourful paper... A hidden blade.
(6:46:03 PM) Fan_Xun: "Oohhhhh~" he wows, properly impressed. "Full of hidden surprises, our...protagonist, is he not?"
(6:47:42 PM) Earthflame: "Hardly... It's a strange story, from the perspective of one who would never claim such a role. A point of view, perhaps, seeing those who will be remembered, even if he will not."
(6:52:59 PM) Fan_Xun: "Ah. Something of a modern tragedy, then. A shame; I do very much prefer stories with brighter endings. But perhaps that's because the real world is so seldom full of the same."
(6:53:40 PM) Earthflame: "The ending has yet to be written... But it may well be a bright one, if all the characters fall into place. But a man such as this... When things end brightly, his place is the shadows. It is where he works best."
(7:00:29 PM) Fan_Xun: "Oh, what am I asking for? Spoiling the ending--what kind of listener am I? Please, let's leave the ending undiscussed until it actually occurs in the story, shall we? Perhaps you have a plot twist in store in the telling~"
(7:03:48 PM) Earthflame: "The twist at this moment is that the ending is unwritten... This is a story still being told... And it is yet to be seen what part the characters will have to play. A time for tests, internal or external... For proof of worth." He nods slowly, looking out at the natural scene once again.
(7:09:45 PM) Fan_Xun: "Ah, I see, I see, Good Sir Aoyun. Perhaps this story is closer in analogy to a parable or koan. A story that feels incomplete...but whose meaning is there for the teller or the listener to discover for himself."
(7:10:30 PM) Earthflame: "An astute observation, oh wise Fan Xun." He bows his head.
(7:15:19 PM) Fan_Xun: The priest sniggers. "I, unfortunately, am not as wise as I should be, especially for one of my position. I remain swayed too easily by worldly delights. I fear enlightenment is a journey that may evade me, in spite of my meditations."
(7:15:52 PM) Earthflame: "Enlightenment is a blessed thing... But it is perhaps a time for worldly concerns."
(7:18:45 PM) Fan_Xun: He lets his head tilt side to side in a sort of rolling shrug. "For most men and women, perhaps. Those of us who straddle the divide between worlds should strive to remain concerned solely with that divide, rather than indulging in material concerns. Or so the teachings say," he adds, almost but not quite sotto voce.
(7:20:15 PM) Earthflame: "But those teachers are not here... And the only way to know the world is to experience it. What do you say, Fan Xun?"
(7:20:53 PM) Fan_Xun: "I did say I was guilty of obsession with worldly pleasures, did I not?" he says dryly, a teasing grin on his lips.
(7:22:45 PM) Earthflame: "But mayhaps that is what makes you uniquely qualified for the path you walk."
(7:27:59 PM) Fan_Xun: "That may be, but it would sound *awfully* self-serving of myself to suggest something like that, would it not?"
(7:28:37 PM) Fan_Xun: In spite of the self-effacing joke, his tone remains light.
(7:29:45 PM) Earthflame: "Perhaps... But it is a fair comment from a storyteller such as I~" He smiles. "All in service to the story... To the idea that there is a right way for things to be. And that is not the way they are now."
(7:33:01 PM) Fan_Xun: "Now that is a sentiment I can agree with, yes. Were I possessed of wine I would offer a 'hear, hear.'"
(7:33:42 PM) Earthflame: "Perhaps it may be said then... That when the time comes to set things in their proper place, you would be on the side of those trying to make them right?"
(7:35:01 PM) Fan_Xun: "It may be said that I am on the side of the spirits' wishes and desires," he counters. "However...those spirits have been...restless, as of late. The order of the natural and spiritual world is out of balance. Out of...alignment with Heaven. And they desire a correction."
(7:36:35 PM) Earthflame: "There is a point where Heaven and Earth meet..." He pauses, leaning closer to Fan Xun, to whisper to him. "And, as many I think would agree, it is not currently appropriately occupied."
(8:04:16 PM) Fan_Xun: "Mortal and spirit alike, I should say," he agrees.
(8:05:31 PM) Earthflame: Aoyun nods his head again... And then offers Fan Xun a bow.
(8:10:12 PM) Fan_Xun: The still-seated priest offers a dip of his head in return, the large rice hat making the motion more exaggerated.