Still Waters Run Deep

[Qin Shi Xun]

Looking into the pond Qin felt as if he was looking into another world, a world where everything was upside down and inside out. Was this what everyone saw when they gazed into still water? Or was he looking to deeply for meaning that wasn't really there? Qin sighed and dipped his finger into the water, distorting the image of the other world and looked about the woods. The leafs where turning colors now, the golds, reds and deep rich browns that heralded the turn of the autumn season. Soon snow would coat the already frozen ground and this world would be dead tell its miraculous birth that coming spring. But he knew that the dead of winter held its own unique beauty, and for what ever reason he craved the natural silence the season brought with it. He stood then and let felt the water drip from his fingers, leaving behind a feeling of numbness as the cold decided to touch his skin. But the emperor did not feel the cold, refused to feel the cold. All discomfort was fed to the flame he held firmly in mind.

Qin ran then, his bare feet making not a sound on the cold hard ground, the stillness of the world only disturbed by his moment and the flap of his thin clothing. He was out and free right then, no retinue, no guards, nothing to keep him from the world he so loved. Yet he was not there with no purpose, and that purpose was greater then his own peace of mind. No he was here to met yet again a woman who might prove needed in the coming months, a woman whos skills where needed if his nation, his home was to survive. So to that end he had asked for a second meeting in these isolated woods. He wondered what she would think if she saw him right then, running heedlessly though a forest, barefoot and care free, would she care? It was not something an emperor was supposed to do, but he had only recently been given that title, so he could be expected to fill it perfectly as of yet could he? He stopped then, his chest rising and falling slowly as he took a few moments to recover from his run. Yes, today would prove to be an interesting day indeed.

[Guest]

Pit-Pat! Pit-Pat! Shishhh!

The sound echoed through the forest. The sound of flesh pounding stone, of leaves being carelessly trodden upon. The sound was quick and fleeting because as the sound drew closer the sound of wind playing in the fallen leaves would be heard clearer. So-Sul Kwon Fang, formerly known as the Valkyrie of the Underground, was now at the beck and call of the would-be Emperor of Xing. But what end did it suit her? Was she truly in this for the monetary penance? The diplomatic protection? Or was there a deeper thought, a hidden agenda behind this manipulative woman's reason. Only she held the held the cards, and whether she chose to show her hand was entirely up to her. She reached the small ridge overlooking the pond.

Hah! Haaah! Hooo!

The large puffs of warm carbon dioxide escaped her lungs and was quickly filled with fresh, bitter cold oxygen. Her skin was red, not from the cold, but from the blood circulating her body. This cold was nothing compared to Drachma. Which was why she herself had chosen to run in her most purest form. She had left her shoes some 15 miles due east of their current location, next to the vehicle she traveled to these lands in. She was draped in a body suit. So form fitting that it left little to the imagination, however, the bodysuit allowed her body to breathe properly without sacrificing the necessary heat to stay warm. Very hard to synthesize, and expensive to manufacture. She leaped down and landed feet from the Emperor. She looked at him as her hair was plastered to places on her face, and she looked absolutely delighted to be out in such weather. She reached up into her hair, checking to see if her Lao Jiu was still in his nest. He was. She knelt down and cupped some of the water in her hands and splashed her face with it.

The freezing cold water felt good to the touch, the heat from her body producing steam as it streamed away from her body. She shook her hands freely to get some of the water off them, and then pulled the hair from her face. She was without her make up today, choosing a natural beauty that was inherited. She had to constantly remind herself that this body wasn't truly her own, she had gave up that privilege years ago. But one day soon, she would reclaim her name and teach the world the error of it's ways. She looked at the Emperor. What was his name again? Xin? No, that wasn't right...Qin. Right. Her eyes drifting over his body and then around the forest, no one around for miles. Odd. Then again, she was meant to be his secret weapon. What good was she if she was exposed as a regular consort? But then again, she would love to be held up in a Palace...even if it meant having to lie under him. But alas, he seemed to be the more civilized type of man. Not wavering to his gender, but upholding the ideals of Civilization. And yet...here he was barefoot. Perhaps, he wasn't as brainwashed as she thought. "What happened to your shoes? I can't imagine you came all the way here like that...did you?" Her eyebrow raised questioningly, but a smile lit her lips. Interest. Pure, unfiltered interest. The stuffy man guarded by hundreds of guards in a palace overlooking the desolate clans who kill in order to take a spot as heir. Barbaric in nature, and yet...she liked that aspect of Xing. It was one of the few honest things in Xing.

[Qin Shi Xun]

"What happened to your shoes? I can't imagine you came all the way here like that...did you?" Qin glanced up from his thoughts and smiled such a smile that most if not all people would be compelled to smile back, though he was happy to see that this woman already had a slight smirk on her face, that meant he had no need to be completely serious at that point in time. "Well yes I did, is that so surprising?" He couldn't imagine why it would be, she was barefoot after all and she had obviously bee running in that state."I prefer going shoe less when i can, Its a habit i picked up during my youth not so long ago." He was only twenty-six after all and his not so wild and care free youth was only a decade behind the man. "For the life of me i can't understand the people who refuse to run through the woods barefoot, They miss out on a feeling that is hard to describe, and even harder to understand, and i for one could not do it justice."

He dusted off his hands before folding them in the long flowing sleeves of his training cloths. "And I could of course ask you the same question, but i think ill save that for another day." He stretched some and took his water bottle from his pack before taking a long pull and offering it to the woman afterwords. "I do have to say i hardly expected you to meet me, you are after all a busy person from what i understand." His intelligence was a tad sparse on this one, but he had enough to get a bigger picture then most he could guess, Kelly was exceedingly good at his job.

((Its a hurried post, ill make my next few longer))

[Guest]

"And I could of course ask you the same question, but i think ill save that for another day." Heh. Would he believe her if she told him she was a part of what the Xingese called the Dragon's Pulse. That not only did it flow from her, but she could see the pathways of the flow. That when her feet touch the earth and she emits that pulse of Qi as she steps forward, it's like watching the ripples on the surface of the water. To see the shimmering lights dance about the forest and feel the warm embrace of the Earth. It was unparalleled. It was this reason why she loved to run. She politely denied the water. She preferred the pond over filtered water. People these days were so afraid of germs that they made themselves more susceptible to them. A shame really. "I do have to say i hardly expected you to meet me, you are after all a busy person from what i understand."

She let a small giggle escape her lips. She cast her eyes toward the still water of the pond. "Between us, my position in my organization is little more tedious than your own. However, we do leak false information about my whereabouts or supposed routes I will take between my safe houses. You see, unlike you, I do not have a military to call my own. I protect myself." It was true. She dealt in a very risky buisiness and financing a private army was both reckless and attention grabbing. Not to mention financially unjustifiable. So-Sul was confident in her legs, should she ever need to flee or fight. There was never a threat she could not outrun.

[Qin Shi Xun]

A giggle was something he had hardly expected from a woman whos reputation placed as a villian, and a black one at that. But, like the pagoda Qin knew everyone had many faces, many masks and every one of them of a singular part of the whole. Still it did well for her to show a slightly more human side, after their first encounter he had to wonder if she actually was in fact a woman at all. "Between us, my position in my organization is little more tedious than your own. However, we do leak false information about my whereabouts or supposed routes I will take between my safe houses. You see, unlike you, I do not have a military to call my own. I protect myself." Now that, that made him laugh, his position was far from solid, and his armies well... They where still being trained, and as she had proven not so long ago they where no sure thing that he would remain safe even in his own home. "As i protect my self, armies mean nothing if someone you let close tries to stab you while your guard is down, but im sure you know that by now your self."

It was odd that she brought up his current political state though, for it was in fact a lot less stable then he had lead most to believe. The minor clans loved him, but for the most part the major clans where not happy with his elevation to Emperor. They saw him, no matter how wrong they where, as an upstart. He had tried to appease them, he had tried to reason with them. But still they where not happy, and that could jeopardize the safety of his nation.

"One does not survive long if they cant defend them selves in some way, and that applies to rulers just as often as it does to others." He put the water away and let serenity drift back over him, washing away the turmoil of emotion. "I would get to business now, but i feel like it is not the proper time nor place to discus business . So would you care to run with me back to the cabin? That is a much better venue for this discussion"

[Guest]

"As i protect my self, armies mean nothing if someone you let close tries to stab you while your guard is down, but i'm sure you know that by now your self." She felt a twinge in her side, the scar left from her previous aid was hurting. "One does not survive long if they cant defend them selves in some way, and that applies to rulers just as often as it does to others." She couldn't say that. Short of a homunculus, she doubted many could have infiltrated his palace so seamlessly, and even then...she did not do so on her own. She needed Aiki to be a distraction. She sighed, man this conversation was turning into a mood killer. "I would get to business now, but i feel like it is not the proper time nor place to discus business . So would you care to run with me back to the cabin? That is a much better venue for this discussion"

"The cabin..." So-sul parroted. She mulled over on this for but a moment. "I refuse." Very. Very blunt. She let loose, and ran up to him. Not at full speed, but her speed was still faster than normal. She drew close to the Emperor, and then sat down by the water. "There can be no better place than this. If you are cold then sit with me. You and I are not enemies, at least not in my eyes. Just say what you want to say, we can go for a run later." So-sul stared out into the water. Qin had a habit of not speaking his mind properly. Besides that, So-sul liked this location. It was serene and untainted. No cabin could compare to this. She looked up and felt so at peace with everything. They flame of life that was within Qin wavered slightly. She hoped she could narrow down her Qi Reading to more precise readings. She could only sense shallow things in people as of now.

[Qin Shi Xun]

"The cabin..." A small stretch of silence filled the air about him then, and he used this time to muse over the coming run, how he would enjoy feeling the wind whip his hair about as he tested him self against a worthy opponent. Ahh yes the simple freedom he could find in those few fleeting moments as they ran... "I refuse." Blink. Well then it seemed he would not in fact be able to run wild with a woman. He gave a mental shrug and dropped all notions of a friendly run. She drew closer to him then, and he felt his body relax in subconscious anticipation for violence. "There can be no better place than this. If you are cold then sit with me. You and I are not enemies, at least not in my eyes. Just say what you want to say, we can go for a run later." He took her invitation, and as was his custom keeled as he looked out over the water, watching as leaves fell and distorted the perfect mirror. He saw him self reflected in that water, imperfect as all humans where yet unique, and in an odd way beautiful. At least to his own eyes.

"I may just hold you to that." He rests his hands on his knees, palms facing up and eyes slightly closed. "But for now, lets talk of business ." He takes a deep breath and centers him self,, clearing his mind of all distractions including that of the beauty around him. "One of my advisers who was both a confidant and friend was murdered, or what i presume was murder, even if it looked like an accident." He looked over at her, his calm nearly emotionless gaze slightly unsettling. "What makes this unsettling is not the fact he was murdered, but who he was. Ace Aries, former emperor, former Hand, and current if deceased friend."

He took another deep breath, fighting the rise of powerful emotion that swelled deep inside him. There was a time and place for that, and now was not it. "Im going to ask you to find out who did it... And why, and to that end im willing to give you both the power you need in this endeavor, and the means by which to use it." Qin knew he was making a rash choice right then, but that did not mean it was all together a bad one. The woman had the talents needed to fulfill the request, and the position. "This of course is not a command, but an offer and you can choose to refuse, and i will not hold it against you if you do choose to turn me down. Its not my place to demand a favor of someone who has remained distant from the game the great clans play."

[Guest]

"I may just hold you to that." He rests his hands on his knees, palms facing up and eyes slightly closed. "But for now, lets talk of business ." He took a deep breath, and she watched as the subtle vibrations of his Qi began to settle. "One of my advisers who was both a confidant and friend was murdered, or what i presume was murder, even if it looked like an accident." She continued to look out into the water, missing his gaze at least physically. She could make out his movements from the circulation of Qi. However despite his calm voice, she could sense the turmoil in his Qi."What makes this unsettling is not the fact he was murdered, but who he was. Ace Aries, former emperor, former Hand, and current if deceased friend." That's no surprise. Her first thought was that it wasn't an accident even if it looked like one. Xingese Clans were notorious for assassination attempts on the Emperor. It was part of the pyramid. To climb to the top, someone must fall from that height, and usually they did not survive. "I'm going to ask you to find out who did it... And why, and to that end I'm willing to give you both the power you need in this endeavor, and the means by which to use it." She blinked and her hand outstretched to the water's surface, but did not touch it. It simply hovered. He was a fool. "This of course is not a command, but an offer and you can choose to refuse, and i will not hold it against you if you do choose to turn me down. Its not my place to demand a favor of someone who has remained distant from the game the great clans play."

Idiot. Did he not think it strange that she was not only familiar with Xingese Terrain, but knew full well how to get what she wants. That she dealt in the shadows which was a life of lies and murder. That she herself was not who she was. He knew nothing about her, and yet...he trusted her to the point of offering her a job. Not just in Xing, but within his own Regime no less. "You know nothing about me. I have no loyalty to neither you nor Xing, to be honest. To me, it comes as no surprise that the late Emperor was murdered. It's part of Xing's bloody past after all." she touched the water this time, and watched as the ripples spread outward from her finger. "As you can no doubt deduce, I come from the Fang Clan. When I was but a child they sold me like cattle to a slave trader in the underground. Not because they were struggling for money...but because they feared my potential. I could have been saddened by this, but I never truly considered myself a Fang member." She removed her finger from the water and held a small droplet from her fingertip. She looked toward Qin, and smiled. "I wonder if you'll believe me."

She watched as the drop fell back to the waters. The scene was beautiful, and as she closed her eyes she could see a river of light beneath them. It was calming to her mind and it was something unique to herself. "February 21, 1991 was not my birthday. It was the day I died. I died trying to save someone, and even now I do not know if she is even alive. I searched for years, and I could not find her. I fear she is dead." A tear rolled down her cheek as the memory of that tragic day struck her. "I was taken into the fold of Alkahestry, not just in mind, but it took me in body and soul too. Have you ever heard of Falun Gong? No, probably not. It's a technique to revive those who are mortally wounded or ill. It is the highest form of healing that can be performed by an Alkahestrist. I performed it by mistake completely. As such, once I passed through the Garden of this World I was reborn as So-Sul Kwon Fang of the Fang Clan in Xing. But that was never who I was, nor who I am. Even now I only regard the name as an alias like Valkyrie of the Underground." So-Sul wiped the tears that had fallen from her cheek, and then sniffed the air. "Blessed by the Dragon's Pulse, I can do things no other Alkahestrist can dream of. But I've yet to be accepted completely into the fold, I have yet to prove myself worthy of becoming a Sapling of this land. That all aside, I sympathize with your pain and frustration and I accept under three conditions. The first I be made a full citizen of Xing, I do grow tired of wandering. Secondly, I wish to secretly move my base of operations into Xing territory. Thirdly, I want a room in the Palace." It was his move now. She didn't ask for the moon, but to some she was still asking a lot.

[Qin Shi Xun]

A story was a story, and as the listener Qin did his duty. He took in the words she said and stored them away in the vault that was his memory, and if he did not take her at her word, or believe her he kept it to him self, and remained the passive listener, as of course was his duty.Though he had to wonder if she, refused this job, if he could hire her on as a story teller... They where few and far between these days. Finally the tale was over and she had listed the conditions of her employ, and for the most part he could agree with them, but there was somethings he would not allow, and he needed to make that clear from the start."What you request is only your due if you come under my employ, but i will not and will never knowing allow criminal activity in my dominion, this being the case i can not allow your second request, though the of course your other two are easily done." He looks back out over the calm pool of water, and lets his eyes drift shut yet again, remembering similar days back at his home.

"And if you can not except that, then it seems i have wasted both of our time" With that he stands up, dusts off his hands then offers one to Sol-Sul so that he may help her to her feet.

[Guest]

"What you request is only your due if you come under my employ, but i will not and will never knowing allow criminal activity in my dominion, this being the case i can not allow your second request, though the of course your other two are easily done." She smiled that was acceptable. Her secondary request was only to test his mindset, and his intentions were one of purity. She would indeed move her operations into Xing, but out of the Emperors view. He would need it, even if he would not openly accept it. "And if you can not except that, then it seems i have wasted both of our time" So-sul took his hand and climbed to her feet. She didn't bother dusting herself off, the wind would do that for her. She stretched and then looked to the young emperor. "Then we are agreed. As of this moment, I am yours to use however you see fit." Her words seemed hollow, but were deeply packed with meaning. She looked down for a moment more, and then looked to the emperor. She would soon share her world with Xing, and in doing so bring about a new chapter in history. One were Xing could become the single greatest nation under the sky. "Well than lead the way...Boss? Emperor? What should I call you now?" She stumbled over the idea, so many words that meant the same thing...but the challenge was finding one that rolled off the tongue, and yet conveyed her allegiance.

[Csilla Angelis]

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