Shen - In This Life And The Next

[18:13] <Shen> Shen had lingered in the kitchen for a while lost in thought before running a bath for himself, he had done this at least once a day since Ziulong had instructed him too. It was a good way to meditate for him now, especially as he had begun to unravel the enigma of his own chi. Now he was in his room, rubbing his hair with a towel as he sat on the end of his bed dressed in loose cotton pants.
[18:22] <Deedles> There soon came a soft knock on his door, followed by Blossom's voice "Shen?"
[18:27] <Shen> Shen rose to his feet as he dropped the towel down next to him, making his way to the door of his room and opening it. "Are you alright?" he said, leaving it open for her.
[18:29] <Deedles> Blossom moved up to him, giving him a gentle hug as she nodded dully against his chest. "Yeah, I'm fine." she told him softly
[18:32] <Shen> Shen smiled down at her as he took his hand from the door handle and wrapped both around her, squeezing her softly. "How did your talk with Jian go?" he asked her quietly.
[18:36] <Deedles> "It went well. He was a bit down, but I think I managed to cheer him up a bit." She said, just as quietly as she nuzzled his chest slightly.
[18:40] <Shen> Shen sighed quietly as he nodded his head. "You are very good at that." he told her, kissing the top of her head. "I didn't mean to scold him like I did, I just had a hard time seeing you like that." his smile faded slightly. "Our time together to me is worth infinitely more than any truth or logic."
[18:44] <Deedles> "I feel the same way." She replied as she raised her head, giving his lips a light kiss as she lifted a hand to stroke one of his cheeks. She smiled softly. "Little else feels like it matters when I'm this close to you, all I can think about is that I wish to remain so... just for a bit longer."
[18:47] <Shen> "You can stay with me tonight, if you wish." he said quietly to her, his voice completely void of awkwardness as he rubbed her hand.
[18:48] <Deedles> Her cheeks flushed a pink tint as she nodded "I would like that." she confessed, her free hand moving back to the door to gently push it shut behind her.
[19:23] <Shen> He nodded with a smile. "Me too." he also confessed as he pushed his still damp hair back. "Its very hard not to hold you when others are around." he admitted with a slight frown. "But its not because I don't want to, Spirits - I do." he sighed as he ran a hand up her back and onto her shoulder.
[19:43] <Deedles> "It's because you don't want to shout it to the heavens just yet." Blossom replied with a gentle smile as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I know, that's why I haven't been hugging you around the others either... I don't want to make you uncomfortable." she told him sincerely as she closed her eyes, simply enjoying his gentle touch.
[19:47] <Shen> "I think its more about making them feel uncomfortable." he chuckled as he ran his fingers through her hair, pushing strands back as he did so. "But I'm very new to this whole, if you'd forgive me." he spoke quietly, though something in his voice was playful and not that serious, even if he was honest.
[19:54] <Deedles> "Hmm, I'll have to think about that one..." She replied, just as playfully before she smiled at him "Or you could convince me." she suggested as she shifted her hand off his cheek and poked his nose lightly.
[19:59] <Shen> "I warn you, I've never been known to back down when challenged." he replied quietly with a grin his hand sliding off of her shoulder and up to her chin as he kissed her softly, but passionately, his other arm tightening around her waist as he pulled her closer.
[20:04] <Deedles> She made a soft sound as he did, her eyes widening for a moment before they slid shut, her arms coming to rest over his shoulders as she returned the gesture affectionately.
[20:49] <Shen> He kissed her for a while, he thought of nothing but her as he did so. The training, leaving the village, it didn't exist to him right now only the sweet and beautiful woman before him that he loved. He pulled away from her lips slowly, resting his forehead against hers with a sigh, his eyes still closed. "Utterly defeated." he confessed in a whispered smile.
[20:59] <Deedles> Her cheeks went pink as her lips quirked into a loving smile, uttering a silent laugh. "Likewise..." she murmured, her whole body tingling as she was filled with warmth and joy. "I'd do anything for you." she whispered as she slid one of her hands into his damp hair.
[21:02] <Shen> "All I ask of you, is to wait for me to come home whenever I leave." he whispered back to her. "As long as I have your love, wherever I am in this world, I will be invincible."
[21:05] <Deedles> "I would wait til the end of time for you." She answered him honestly, her eyes slowly opening as she peered at him, his chi. "My love for you will never change. No matter how long you're gone and no matter what happens." she pulled one of her hands back to place her hand above his heart. "My heart beats with yours now."
[21:15] <Shen> "Then it will always continue to beat alongside yours." he smiled back at her faintly as he put his hand over hers on his heart. "I and my brothers will face many obstacles, meet many new people, fight many battles... but there is no demon stronger than my desire to return to you."
[21:17] <Deedles> Blossom nodded slightly as her head rested against his still "The distance may be long, but I will always be close to you." she said softly, before she took a couple of slow steps forwards, gently pushing in back as she did.
[21:33] <Shen> "Always." he nodded faintly as he stepped with her automatically, without even thinking about it. Following anothers steps was so easy for him now, like he was a mirror of them, but with her, it was if they were moving as one.
[21:35] <Deedles> She stopped after a few steps, wrapping her arms tightly around him as she burried her face in his chest, her eyes closing tightly.
[21:47] <Shen> He chuckled lightly at her forceful affection as he stroked her hair, a stifled yawn escaping from his mouth as his body fell so calm. "I could spend the rest of my life like this, I think." he nodded in agreement to himself with a quirked smile. "Even with someone as troublesome as this one."
[21:52] <Deedles> "Would you prefer me less troublesome...?" She asked playfully as she raised her head, placing her hands on each side of his face as she tip-toed slightly. "I could be..." she murmured, her gentle breath washing over his lips and cheek.
[21:56] <Shen> Shen felt intoxicated by her sweet-smelling breath, his own breath catching as he exhaled, breathing back to her. "Could you, now?" he clucked at her quietly, with an amused expression on his face. "I find that very hard to believe."
[22:07] <Deedles> Blossom shivered just the slightest as the sensation of his breath and ran her thumb over his lips as she tilted her head to the side "I told you I'd do anything for you." she reminded him quietly, her tone still holding playfulness.
[22:17] <Shen> "I love you just the way you are." he whispered, his lips hovering the smallest distance over hers, barely brushing against them as he spoke. "Troublesome or not."
[22:19] <Deedles> "Then I'm sorry to say that I'll be staying troublesome..." she answered softly, her hand slowly sifting through his hair. "Just like you." her smile widened slightly "Stubborn and troublesome, brave and wonderful..." she spoke affectionately.
[22:23] <Shen> He gave an odd, but amused expression, his eyes narrowed slightly down at her. "I wouldn't say stubborn..." he refuted with a soft airy laugh.
[22:23] <Deedles> "No, you're most definitely stubborn." She retorted with an amused smile as she giggled faintly.
[22:29] <Shen> "I guess you would know what stubborn is." he piped teasingly. "Stubborn as much as beautiful, though." he slid his finger tips through her hair again as he thought. "Clever... Kind... Honest... Benevolent... Pretty... Talented... and an Empress to boot." he tutted, shaking his head faintly. "Leave some words for the rest of us, would you?"
[22:32] <Deedles> She blushed at that as she laughed quietly "I'm sorry, I'll try to be less greedy in the future..." she promised playfully as she leaned forward to gently stroke her cheek against his. "As long as I can be greedy enough to have you to myself tonight." she murmured lovingly.
[22:35] <Shen> "Tonight is ours alone." he assured her as he closed his eyes and pressed the side of his head to hers. "Nothing else need exist for now."
[22:37] <Deedles> "Nothing ever does when I'm with you..." She turned her head so she could kiss his cheek before she slowly moved away so she could sit down on the edge of his bed.
[22:45] <Shen> Shen joined her, rolling his shoulders as he plodded behind her, taking the towel from the end of the bed. He was sure if he could see, the room would be quite a mess. Every cloud had a silver lining, he guessed. He slung the towel over his shoulder, giving his hair another wipe. "I hope the beds alright, its big but not the softest ever." he chuckled faintly.
[22:48] <Deedles> "I don't mind, it's fine as it is." She moved a bit further onto the bed as she snuggled up to him a bit with a happy smile. "Especially with you beside me."
[22:52] <Shen> Shen leaned back a little and put an arm around her. "Then I'll remain beside you until the sun rises." he smiled faintly as he tossed the towel down beside the bed. "Or until I snore and you kick me out, whichever comes first." he nodded sagely.
[22:54] <Deedles> "I guess I should of been born deaf instead of blind, eh?" Blossom jested in return as she leaned her head up to give his neck a couple of fleeting kisses.
[22:59] <Shen> Shen growled lightly from his throat at the touch of her lips, his eyes closing for a moment. "Then I couldn't tell you how much I adore you." he rolled his head to her slightly. "Or talk to you like we did on that bench in your garden back in Yumu." his mouth crept open as he smiled at the thought, his eyes remaining closed. "Like our ancestors did."
[23:03] <Deedles> Blossom looked thoughtful as she rested her head on his shoulder, smiling warmly "I wonder... if any of our ancestors ever felt like we do." she thought out-loud, placing a hand on his shirt as she stroked his chest lightly.
[23:07] <Shen> "Who knows?" he questioned the past quietly after thinking for a few moments, "If one was anything like me though, he was an idiot if he didn't... but I'm more than happy to fix that error." he said, ever-so-slightly shifting to face her more.
[23:17] <Deedles> She turned her head to brush her lips across his "So am I..." she whispered in agreement "Nothing could feel more right in this world than being like this, with you."
[23:27] <Shen> He closed his eyes as he centered in on her chi next to him, he had grown accustomed to solving her particular pattern almost to the point that it felt like his own. He gently slid his lips over hers. "My heart cries its agreement." he whispered back to her.
[23:29] <Deedles> She pressed her lips more firmly against his for a sweet kiss, one of her arms circling him so she could gently tug him ontop of her as she laid onto her back.
[23:34] <Shen> Shen did so without any question and little suggestion, hovering over her as he held the kiss, his hair loosely fallen around his face as he ran his fingers across her cheek.
[23:37] <Deedles> Blossom's hands came up to rest on his sides, gently gripping the fabric of his shirt as she let the kiss linger for a bit more. She only parted their lips as she had to breathe, her exhales coming out in soft pants.
[23:49] <Shen> He breathed back to her as they parted, his face not smiling, but focused on her with a more serious, loving intensity. He kissed her again as he slid his hands down her arms, reaching her hands and linking his fingers in between hers as he held them close to her head. He lifted his lips from hers again to breathe as his head hovered over hers.
[23:49] <Shen> "You're not planning on letting me sleep, are you?" he breathed back at her, a smile crossing his lips.
[23:53] <Deedles> She returned his kisses affectionately and passionately until he spoke. She blushed as she smiled back, a bit shyly "Depends on what you mean by that..." she answered softly, her hands giving his a light squeeze from where he held them.
[23:56] <Shen> He laughed softly back at her. "So troublesome..." he reconfirmed, gently kissing her again, one, twice. "We have a lifetime to do whatever we wish." he smiled faintly back at her with a whisper.
[23:58] <Deedles> She shivered faintly as she nodded, her eyes closing "I know, I just... I want to, sometime, before you go out there again." she confesses, her voice quiet, demurely shifting her face to the side as her eyes re-opened slightly.
[00:05] <Shen> Shen looked at her a little awkwardly at first, but her own shy demeanor put him at ease. He loosened a hand from hers and pushed her chin back towards him, meeting her lips with another soft kiss. "I know... I do too." he admitted quietly. "When I come back from training and before I leave the village... we can... you know." he felt himself trailing off.
[00:05] <Shen> "I won't leave until you are happy." he whispered softly to her.
[00:09] <Deedles> Blossom kissed him back tenderly "I already am happy... Happier than I ever thought I could be." she assured him as her now free hand came up to gently push into his hair. "I just feel that... before you leave... I want to at least offer to give that to you. Whether you wish to accept it yet or not is entirely up to you." she brushed her lips across his "I don't want to be pushy..."
[00:14] <Shen> He smiled back to her adoringly as he kissed her softly. "Always so considerate." he whispered to himself with a sigh as he shook his head. "Two weeks from now and I won't even consider refusing such a thing from the woman I love." he chimed back to her as he ran his hand through her hair and over her head. "A spar in and out of bed." he grinned back at her.
[00:24] <Deedles> "I'm gonna win both." She grinned in return as she gently pushed up the bottom of his shirt, running her fingertips across his stomack with a feather-light touch, even though the flush on her cheeks betrayed her cocky response
[00:28] <Shen> His chest spasmed lightly at the touch as he dropped his head and kissed then nibbled lightly at her ear. "Now you are just teasing me." he whispered into it, barely a sound.
[00:30] <Deedles> She shivered again, her next breath coming out in a tremble. "M-maybe..." she replied, her voice breathless as his actions caused her to utter a couple of pants, along with some soft noises.
[00:35] <Shen> He drifted his mouth around her neck and up her jaw then back across her cheek and kissed into her pants, sucking in the air around them through his nose as he did. "You make it hard enough for me leave already." he admitted, laughing softly.
[00:36] <Deedles> "T-then I'm succeeding." She replied as she smiled with a faintly teasing expression. She emited a quiet laugh "Can't have you get bored of me..." she murmured before she pressed her lips against his.
[00:41] <Shen> He returned the kiss again. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me, your Highness." he teased back, his words soft. "For as many lifetimes as this soul permits me."
[00:46] <Deedles> "I hope I can be your lover in this life and every lifetime to come." She replied in a whisper, her voice smooth a silk.
[00:48] <Shen> "I will fight fate for your hand every time." he rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. "Until the end of time."
[00:53] <Deedles> "So will I..." she echoed as she peered up at him, studying his chi intently, the flowing calm of the water around which the lightning surged, powerful and proud. She blinked as she felt her eyes fill with tears, a couple escaping onto her cheeks. "I will do anything to ensure that you're safe." she spoke quietly, her hands moving from his stomach and to his back, gently digging into his flesh as she hugged him tightly.
[01:03] <Shen> Shen pushed his forehead against hers as he closed his eyes, smelling the salted, wet tears from her eyes as he ran a thumb under them gently. "That's my line, you know." he hummed quietly back to her with a faint smile as he exhaled peacefully.
[01:03] <Shen> "I'm a Storm Dragon and you're the Empress, I am Shen Huang and you are Mingxia Mingyulong, the other half of me, my love. There is nothing more valuable in my existence than you."
[01:06] <Deedles> "I don't care if I am Empress and you are Storm Dragon, you are the most precious thing in this world to me." Blossom replied softly as she relaxed onto her back, her hands gently stroking across his. "And as such I will always do everything in my power to be there for you." her eyes closed slowly "So it may be your line, but it is my line too." she concluded stubbornly with a faint laugh.
[01:12] <Shen> "No you're right, we just happen to be an Empress and a Storm Dragon." he nodded, a soft smile on his face. "But of everything we are, we are also, by chance, those things." he leaned his face against hers lightly. "So for your personal safety, your Highness, you should really let me look after you." his face just as stubborn, nursing a faint smile.
[01:13] <Deedles> "I could order you not to... But then you'd just disobey my order." She shook her head faintly as she tutted " 'You're so troublesome.' " she mimiced him in a bad attempt at a deeper voice before she giggled light-heartedly. "That's you." she told him, pulling a hand back to prod his chest.
[01:18] <Shen> Shen couldn't stop himself from expelling all the air in his chest with a laugh as he dropped his forehead to her chest. "That... sounds nothing like me." his voice barely escaping through the laugh. "Remind Bourbon or Tsula to give you some performance lessons." he said as he raises his head again, his eyes red from the laughter.
[01:18] <Shen> "But you're right..." he pauses as his laughter subsides. "I can be pretty bad at following orders."
[01:33] <Deedles> "What are you saying? It sounded just like you!" She replied in playful shock as she stared up at him before her expression softened into a smile "But... If you want to know a secret." she trailed off as she leaned up, nibbling lightly at his ear. "I'm no good with orders either."
[01:36] <Deedles> she cooed
[01:42] <Shen> Shen's shoulders dropped at the sensation as he lets out muted growl from his throat. "Just exceptionally skilled at teasing me, it seems." he uttered as he forced her defiantly back down with his lips, kissing her deeply, letting out soft noises of pleasure.
[01:48] <Deedles> Similar sounds escape Blossom as he pushed down again "No better... than you are... at teasing me." she retorted in pants between liplocks, her hands pushing his shirt further up as they grip onto the top of his back.
[02:02] <Shen> "Personally... I blame... you." he accused softly as he pulled his shirt off anyway, tossing it behind him onto the floor, revealing his body of scars, including the large fresh scar across the front of his torso gifted to him by Tsuwan. "But... I'm finding it hard to complain." he admitted with a light exhale.
[02:04] <Deedles> She uttered a faint gasp of shock as she pointed at herself "My fault?" she poked his now bare chest before she stroked her hand across it, tenderly trailing along the large scar "What if I blame you?" she retorted stubbornly.
[02:08] <Shen> "So call 'the guards' or something." he shrugged with a faint smile back at her stubborn demeanor. "I'm sure someone will listen." he teased.
[02:11] <Deedles> "But you are my guard." She reminded him with a smiled "So, I guess I'm just at your mercy..." she raised a hand to her face "The gutsy bodyguard taking advantage of the innocent Empress." she gasped dramatically.
[02:16] <Shen> "He could always stop." he said quietly, lowering his face down to hers again, tracing his breath over her. "...If the innocent Empress truly wanted him too."
[02:18] <Deedles> "Never..." She returned in a whisper, his cool breath making her shiver slightly. "She likes him just the way he is." she shifted her hand from her cheek to his, stroking it affectionately.
[02:20] <Shen> He smiled back down at her, his face reflecting the love he had for her as he gripped her hand on his cheek and kissed it softly. "Then he'll always remain, as long as she wishes."
[02:22] <Deedles> A soft sound escaped her at his kiss "I don't ever want you to go..." she answered honestly, her fingers gently curling and uncurling against his cheek as her free hand came up to begin unbuttoning her dress. "But I know you have to." she added, her voice just a whisper.
[02:30] <Shen> He nodded, holding onto her hand tightly as he rubbed his head against it. "I do..." he conceded the thought. "Though I will likely always need to leave now and then, this world is so broken... We are of the so few who can do anything for it." he went quiet as his head tilted slightly to her.
[02:30] <Shen> "Until there are others that can for us, myself and my brothers must." he ran a hand up her stomach to her hands to help her.
[02:34] <Deedles> "I know...." she mumbled as she got her hand out of the way of his as he undid the buttons for her. "And I'll miss you, but..." she smiled, sadly "I can't fault you for doing what I wish I could do too." she confessed before pushing her dress apart slowly.
[02:41] <Shen> "And I'll miss you... beyond what I can even imagine to put into words." he sighed as he slipped his hand over her bare stomach, tracing his fingertips across it as he leaned facing her, beside her. "One day, you will come with me and you'll make up for all this waiting and training, its only because of this that you are being prepared for a storm.
[02:41] <Shen> There will be a time where I... we... will need you. Not just as an Empress." he leant forward and kissed her soft stomach.
[02:46] <Deedles> "Mmm, I both dread and look forward to that day..." she confessed, before she squirmed faintly at his kiss in a mix of pleasure and ticklishness. She turned her face towards him as she smiled lovingly at him. "I like being here, in the now, and yet, I can't help but have fantasies of the future." she added, quietly.
[02:49] <Shen> "Its only... natural." he reassured her, continuing to kiss her softly as he moved around her stomach and lower chest. "As a warrior, a driving passion is the image of your legend. Its very cliche, but its one of the few legacies we leave behind when battles lose meaning in time... They teach valuable lessons and tell of great heroes and the most evil of villains."
[02:49] <Shen> he chuckled lightly against her skin as she squirmed.
[02:55] <Deedles> The vibration of his laugh just made her squirm more as she uttered a soft, unvolunteery, laugh.
[02:58] <Shen> "You really are beautiful." he says softly as he runs his hand up her side. "Your laugh, your skin, your chi... Perfection is not even the word." he mumbles lovingly.
[03:01] <Deedles> She blushed a deep red as he said that, her hands coming up to wrap her arms around his bare torso. "You spoil me, Shen." she murmured demurely "You're so kind, sweet and protective of me..." she pressed her lips against his neck in a soft kiss. "Spirits know what I did to deserve the love of someone so strong, both of body and mind."
[03:09] <Shen> "I was never strong, not truly, but you make me that way now." he hummed, closing his eyes at her kiss as he squeezed her side gently. "I love you because of the person you are, everything you are, the Blossom I met at the tea house, to my love who lies before me now." he sighed soundlessly, but deeply onto her neck as he returns a kiss.
[03:09] <Shen> "I am infinitely grateful that fate led me to you, and you had the ability to love a fool like me."
[03:18] <Deedles> "Nhn..." she took a trembling breath as she felt his lips against her neck. "You are strong, you have been for as long as I've known you. A stubborn, unbreakable spirit that I admire and love with my whole heart." she replied, a warm smile spreading across her lips as she spoke, lovingly "If that makes you a fool then I'll gladly love a fool." she insisted, resting her head against his chest.
[03:18] <Deedles> "Because you are Shen, my love, and the half of my heart I didn't know I was missing. Without you I would be incomplete, and empty."
[03:26] <Shen> Shen shifted up the bed as his skin prickled slightly, pulling the covers on the bed over them as he recomforted himself next to Blossom. "I would never allow you to feel empty." he promised as he put a warm arm around her soft skin. "...You make me a strong fool." the smile on his face returnin. "A strong fool that wants to use his strength to protect you so that you never feel empty."
[03:28] <Deedles> Blossom curled up against him, closing her eyes as she relaxed with her head on his chest again. "I'm glad..." she murmured before stiffling a yawn. "I love you, Shen."
[03:45] <Shen> He ran his other hand through her hair as he too closed his eyes in silence. "And I you, Blossom." he whispered back to her as he felt at peace his body heavy in the bed.
[03:48] <Deedles> She yawned again as she felt herself drift to sleep, mumbling something incoherent before she lost consciousness in his arms.
[03:50] <Shen> Shen fell asleep soon after, the image of his real mothers face in his mind, then Blossoms face, then the mask surrounded in mist.