Hey there, welcome back to Creation!
So before I get into it, a quick personal announcement. I kinda stopped posting about it on the blog for the most part because nobody noticed, but I recently got around to finishing Conversion, a furry cyberpunk story I started a decade ago and slowly became a full-blown kinda-serialized novel. It's available for free over at my FurAffinity page, and you can find more info here.
And now...
...let's move from 'cyberpunk with animal-people' to 'fantasy with animal-people.'
(I'd have just linked the gif but there were technical difficulties, so sue me.)
We pick up with the group heading over to Copper Orchid's penthouse to fill him in on what's going on. They arrive to find him actually sitting at his desk, writing. Hǎifēng asks, shocked, "You work?" and Copper Orchid gives them That Look. We all know That Look.
Hǎifēng says they've got good news, and then ask Gou to fill him in. They then contextualize the request by pointing out that if Copper Orchid needs them to sneak into a place and find embarrassing info they can, but if it involves politics or money... Copper Orchid agrees that's more than fair.
Gou then gets into the progress they've made. He tells Copper Orchid about his pitch to the theater impresario, and suggests that they've got reason to believe they can work out a pretty good deal with Jotaro, but they wanted to check in with Orchid before sharing any details with the Guild negotiator. He asks if Orchid's can handle working with the Guild, and Orchid says in so many words that he despises a lot of what the organization does but it's basically unavoidable if he's going to do business at any sort of scale. If he pulls off this gig at the wedding, he's going to be pretty well set, and he's going to be one of the few non-Guild businessmen there. So it's something he's going to have to be able to handle.
The group talks about their options, and agree that working with the Transcendent Peacock is probably going to be the best bet for everyone. Hǎifēng suggests that perhaps they should talk to Nha Beh Banin about what she wants, and there's general agreement. The subject of whether they'd have to go through Jotaro to talk to her comes up, and Copper Orchid says he's got contact information for most of the people who've been involved with the process, and he knows she lives in the city (as opposed to the fancy houses on the hill) and he might have her address. Hǎifēng playfully gripes that Orchid's really given them too few details to work with ahead of time on this, and he says that's fair. He's been in the Goldenseal a couple of months at this point, so he doesn't already realize what's relevant to someone who's just arrived, a whole 'forest for the trees' thing.
Hǎifēng then asks if Copper Orchid would like to have dinner with Jotaro. Orchid's all for that, as long as Jotaro's paying. Hǎifēng dramatically says "Oh, he'll pay." Orchid raises a 'not gonna ask' eyebrow. Hǎifēng responds with a 'not gonna answer' smile. Orchid then laments the sheer number of salons and dinner parties and gatherings he's had to attend for this whole thing. Hǎifēng didn't think it was possible for Orchid to have gone to too many parties, and he clarifies that it's because these parties are basically loose business meetings, not food and drinks and snacks for their own sake. A little too much work, and not enough play.
Speaking of which, he summons a hotel servant and has some booze and coffee brought up while he goes through his paperwork. He finds the info and writes down directions to Beh Banin's condo, and gives the group a note to give to the guards at her building so he doesn't have to come along.
It's close enough they could walk, and Hǎifēng does some shopping on the way to buy some new outfits, and there's some bickering over who's carrying the bags. They also buy Beh Banin a nice necklace with a fire opal as a gift to set the right tone for their meeting.
They get to her building, and talk to a guard in the lobby. He reads the note from Copper Orchid, looks at the group, back at the note, back at the group, once more at the note, and then he squints at Xương. The exiled Lintha just grins and says "I sell limes."
The guard apparently just takes him to be some sort of bodyguard, as he summons someone to watch things at the door while he escorts them to Beh Banin's unit. He talks to her at the door, she invites them in, and Hǎifēng gives her the necklace. She's delighted and says she was just making some tea, and invites them to have a seat while she finishes it up.
Her place is nice -- not lavish, but she is clearly paid well for her talents. The overall vibe is that this is someone who's enjoying their current situation, wouldn't complain with something a little less fancy, but wouldn't necessarily want anything fancier either. There's a lot of local art on the walls, some local tribal sculpture, and a couple of puppets sitting on a shelf. Hǎifēng quickly, discreetly, gets up and turns the puppets to face the wall with a "Nope." before returning to where they had been sitting.
She returns with the pot of tea, which is pretty mild but with a distinct hint of mint to it, and pours it for the group. It's very good, though definitely not a local variety. Hǎifēng says they're representing Copper Orchid in the negotiations, and with the deadline coming up[0] they wanted to ask if she had any thoughts on who she'd prefer to have the contract.
She considers that and says that the Guild has treated her well -- she's been taken care of and she has gotten to perform a good deal, which she likes. Her preference would be the theater, though. She has a history there and her performing partner still performs there on occasion. She doesn't think she'd get to perform as much under the Dynasts or Princess Chulin, since that's not really what hiring her is about. And absolutely not Suzhao Ginger, though she's out of the running in any case after the incident the previous day.
Hǎifēng asks if there's anyone among the remainder that she really detests. That catches her off-guard a bit and she takes a sip of tea while she thinks it over. Then she realizes she should have asked if anyone wants any cookies or anything with their tea, but everyone's fine. She mentions that the tea is an Eastern variety that's good for her throat, called Spring Sip. One of the benefits of working with the Guild is they can bring in stuff like that.
But after her moment of reflection, it'd be a toss-up between Sesus Chay Darim and Princess Chulin. She's not even sure what the former even knows what to do with the contract, he's a garrison commander. She suspects she'd have to put on a performance or two for Crown Princess Feiyen and then just be bored the rest of the time. V'neef Boru, the satrap, is at least charming. But if she had to pick one that she 'detests,' it'd be flipping a coin between Darim and Chulin because of the whole pissing match between them.[1]
Hǎifēng, expecting something a little simpler answer-wise, says that's a lot, and someone (I'm blanking on who at the moment) asks if they should be paying for therapy. Hǎifēng tells her she should tell them to screw off, and she says she's got some influence on the final contract, so her opinions will come in then. Really, Jotaro's been working more for her than the Guild in this (which tracks with Hǎifēng's assessment of him so far), as the Guild doesn't have everything tied up in Zhaojūn as they do in other places so he's got a little more wiggle room.
The trio thank her for their time, and she thanks them for taking an interest and for the necklace. She says it speaks well of Copper Orchid that he's got associates like them, and it comes up in passing that one of them invented the 'corn hog' -- which she's heard about in passing but hasn't had one yet.[2] As they get ready to go, she straightens things up and notes that the puppets have been turned around but doesn't say anything.
Once they're outside, Hǎifēng remarks that that was kinda helpful, as she broke the remaining candidates into two groups: One that she could work for and one she'd rather not. Though if Hǎifēng's going to ruin another person's life in the process, they'd have to pick one, they can't do both Darim and Chulin.
Gou says its sounds like she really wants to work with the theater, and the others agree that they definitely came out on top. Gou's still got some concerns, but their reasoning for wanting the contract might be honest. They just want her to be able to perform, and she wants to perform. It seems like a good match. And she's worked there before and likes the place.
Hǎifēng posits the only real question is how to make sure they can bid high enough to beat the Guild in this. There's no way to remove them from the equation through other means, they're just too big to take out of the running with chaos. The agreement is that if Copper Orchid and the theater join forces they should have the budget to win out, though Hǎifēng's not sure how high the Guild will go.
It's still only mid-to-late afternoon so the group decides to head back to the Transcendent Peacock and talk to Teng Serey. The place seems pretty quiet when they get there, with no shows tonight and the box office is mostly closed -- there's no suspicious watchers, either. There's nobody at the front desk but there's a bell they can ring and Teng Serey himself comes out to greet them. He thanks them for helping out Fekedu earlier, and is available to talk. As it might be a little cramped for the four of them in his office he takes them into a storage room that also serves as a break room for the employees and performers, full of props and set backdrops (and a pile of puppets on a table in the corner).
Xương just begins the conversation laying it out to Teng Serey: The group is offering to have Copper Orchid throw his budget behind the theater's bid for the contract with the understanding that Beh Banin will be allowed some time to perform at the wedding in An-Teng (which they quickly explain to Serey). It doesn't make sense for him to try and exclusively get the contract if he doesn't have to (though he'd certainly make the most of things it if it came to that). Serey likes the idea, as long as they can get everything down on paper. The group says that they can have the appropriate paperwork ready for his perusal tomorrow.
He says he feels like he should thank them for this offer, though they've already done him and his people a kindness and they're going to benefit from this as well. But he's looking forward to having Beh Banin performing back at the theater regularly again, and making sure she's properly taken care of because she's worth it. Xương adds that obviously it comes down to whether she agrees to the terms, and he says that he'd be glad to address any concerns she's got, but he's confident things are going to be fine.
As the three of them leave the theater, they feel like everything's pretty well wrapped-up. All that's left is dotting the t's and crossing the i's. Though they do also acknowledge that word of this alliance will spread pretty quickly, and it's possible they're about to find out just how committed the Dynasts are to this deal. Xương says that's all the more reason to finalize it quickly.
After this, Gou and Xương wander off to get food, booze, and sleep, while Hǎifēng makes plans to head out to Pier 1 (where all the imports come in) and meet Jotaro. They get out to the pier about 10-20 minutes before sunset, gazing out over at the water and the peninsula known as the Spine across the way. My earlier dad joke aside, the pier seems to be mostly long-term boat storage so there isn't a lot of activity, and Hǎifēng gently discourages the few people around with uncomfortable stares and the like.
About five minutes after the sun dips beneath the hills and forests of the Spine, Jotaro shows up. He's carrying the metal jug previously seen in his bodyguard's possession, dangling from a rope handle. He produces a cup seemingly from nowhere and takes a shot of the booze and offers some to Hǎifēng, who accepts. The flavor is sharp, like kind of brief whiskey bite, but then quickly fade into a smooth fruity finish. Jotaro says that he's not planning to do any serious drinking, but if someone sees somebody dressed like him wandering around with a jug, either they decide to leave well enough alone or try something stupid that he can quickly deal with. Also, for transparency's sake he informs Hǎifēng his bodyguard is a little ways away at the end of the pier to make sure they're not disturbed.
He quickly reassures Hǎifēng this isn't some bit he normally does, not part of some larger routine. Hǎifēng says they figure that none of this is something he normally does.
They then get into what they wanted to talk about -- they're not sure how to parse this, but they didn't know anything about Jotaro and then they saw him and they get the biggest headache of their life and have memories of him they didn't have before. Memories of him and a life they apparently had together. And they suspect that it was the same for Jotaro before he saw them.
Jotaro says that naturally, it was. It's like he was looking back on his life through a smudged window, and some of the smudging's been cleared and now he's seeing things he was faintly aware of but didn't really know.
Hǎifēng says they're not sure how to handle this. Any Lunar who's had any sort of mentor intellectually knows that the Solar Bond is a thing, but then it happens and you realize that you really didn't really know as much as you thought you did. Then Hǎifēng apologizes for babbling.
Jotaro hands them a cup of their own and pours them another shot of the booze, and he says that one of his first rules in his line of work is to always bring your own cup. Hǎifēng says they're surprised that he's working with these sorts of people.
Jotaro says that what he mentioned before wasn't a bit -- that he really did grow up in the Guild, and he recognizes it was a really privileged upbringing. But as a result he's got a set of skills that need a certain degree of infrastructure to work. The Guild's too big to go after or change from the inside -- that would be the work of decades and require an extensive organization of his own. But the Guild doesn't have the sheer amount of power in the Southwest that they have in other places, which gives him the room to build a power base and a network of allies while also trying to stymie their attempts to expand.
He admits that his Exaltation changed a lot of things for him -- he was already good at reading people, getting into their heads, finding out what they want, but becoming supernaturally good at it caused a drastic change to his perspective. But he wants to use those skills for the betterment of Creation, and it comes up that his previous incarnation[3] apparently had some plans and ambitions that might be workable in the Second Age.
Hǎifēng's not sure what to say to that and Jotaro says it's just nice to be able to talk to someone about this, because sometimes it gets a little weird with Hollow Thunder. He worries that sometimes when she looks at him she doesn't see him but his past incarnation. But in general, he doesn't often get to actually say things like "I'm a Chosen of the Unconquered Sun" out loud to anyone. Hǎifēng says it's different with Lunars because they tend to group up, and Jotaro is aware of the existence of the Silver Pact and this huge network that Lunars have. But the closest thing Solars have to that is they've got some sympathetic Sidereals (that they watch like hawks) who know each other, but it's still something.
Hǎifēng says they wanted to talk to Jotaro because they're piecing together what they were like back then before they can know what they are right now. What they're getting that is that in case it needs to be said, they're not sure they want to consider picking anything up where they left off with Jotaro. He totally gets that and would be more than content with them being friends and allies for now. Hǎifēng likes that idea.
Jotaro says that it'd be nice to have a different sparring sparring partner for once, and Hǎifēng asks if they're still as good as they used to be. Jotaro says according to the experts -- and by 'the experts,' he means 'Hollow Thunder, literally the only other person who'd know.' He confides in Hǎifēng that he thinks he's surpassed her in Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style, though admittedly he kind of 'cheats' in that he was studying the style even before his Exaltation. He comes from a family of silk-weavers and tailors and had to learn how to defend himself, it was an obvious choice. Hǎifēng says they'll have to see that for themselves, but they're 'the reigning champion of Heaven,' which gets Jotaro to quirk an eyebrow so hard he looks like he might sprain something. But Hǎifēng needs to go turn in and that's a topic for another day.
Then both Jotaro and Hǎifēng hear something -- sounds of a scuffle in the distance, and a couple of pairs of boots approaching down the foggy dock. A couple of cloaked figures with knives appear, and Jotaro mutters "Shit." Hǎifēng asks "Shit?" as they take that to be an exclamation of recognition. Jotaro mentions as a reminder that sometimes people do try to kill him, and whispers to Hǎifēng to follow his lead.
He staggers towards the intruders like he's drunk, telling them this is a private party and they need to wait their turn or find another pier. One of them says they're at the right party (or something like that, I came up with some stupid one-liner on the fly and didn't write it down) and lunges at Jotaro knife-first. He brings the hand that isn't holding the jug up like he's going to block the knife strike bare-handed, but there's a loud 'clink' as the tip of the knife meets the bottom of the cup he was palming.
He then says something to the effect of he told them so, and with a flick of a wrist he breaks the knife. Then he flicks his other hand and removes the rope handle from the metal jug, wrapping it around the forearm of the attacker and tossing them into the water. Jotaro's movements aren't as graceful as Magos back in Yu-Shan, but Hǎifēng certainly recognizes the skill and precision in Jotaro's Dreaming Pearl Courtesan technique.
While the other attacker is flabbergasted, Hǎifēng grabs their sash and uses it like a whip to get the cloaked figure's ankle and pull them off-balance, grab their collar with the other hand, and hold them over the water before dropping them in. Jotaro gives Hǎifēng a 'Nicely done,' and suggests they see what's going on.
The two rush to where the pier meets the rest of the docks to see Hopeless Spring surrounded by unconscious bodies, knocking out the last attacker with the butt of her sword sheath. She says she didn't stab any of them, because Jotaro gives her grief when she does that. She then asks where her booze is, and he indicates where he dropped the jug.
While she goes to retrieve it, Hǎifēng asks if they're friends of his. Jotaro recognizes them as from the Snakefire Syndicate, and wakes one up. The guy makes some threats suggesting that Jotaro sicced the Dynast guards on Suzhao Ginger the day before, that he's working with them. Jotaro rolls his eyes and bounces the man's head off the pavement to knock him back out. He says he's going to do some digging into this himself and wishes Hǎifēng a nice night. The two bow, and leave it there.
As will I.
[0]-- Admittedly this is something I'd forgotten to establish at the start of the plot, as I just hadn't thought of it, and kept forgetting to set up once I did think of it. But there is indeed a deadline on final bids for the contract, in about a week and a half. We handwaved that it came up at some point while talking with Copper Orchid.
[1]-- Not that it's been a big deal yet, but Xương did find that Chulin's got some tie to the Marionette Cult, so that may or may not be relevant.
[2]-- Given the short list of ways someone could have heard about corn hogs so quickly, Xương feels like that might be worth keeping an ear out for.
[3]-- I occasionally use the term 'incarnation' for this, but I feel the need to point out that with most Celestial Exalted it's not necessarily a matter of literal reincarnation. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before and I'm not going to go digging back through 80+ session write-ups to check, but when an Exaltation passes from one person to the next, they don't literally reincarnate. The Exaltation tends to latch onto a certain type of person and carries fragments of memories and such, but Jotaro and Hǎifēng aren't necessarily literal reincarnations of the people who bore their Exaltations during the Usurpation. They absolutely could be and I'm not definitively stating one way or another, but if Hǎifēng decided to rip out Jotaro's heart and consume it, someone very much like him elsewhere in Creation would inherit that shard of demi-divinity and Hǎifēng would now feel a bond with that person instead. Similarly, Lunar Exalted don't necessarily have the same animal aspects from incarnation to incarnation and they're not automatically the same Caste, either. So while I occasionally toss around 'incarnation' because it's simpler than 'bearer of their Exaltation,' just keep in mind it's a little more complex than that.
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