[Her words are honest and right, but they still make his brows lower over his eyes, and he glances away. Both lips remain thin and together for a while.]
It will just keep building. But Xie Lian is already restless because he thinks he can't go out. That he's confined. If we're not wary, he'll be next.
[Which is to say, Jiang Cheng doesn't know what to do except be a bit harder on Xie Lian's whereabouts and his curfews. He hates it, being so restrictive, but he worries so much about something happening to Xie Lian like it did Xie Lian's parents, the mayor. In the end, he'll have to be the one Xie Lian hates the most, the rule overseer.
In the end, he wonders, if truly everyone is going to leave him standing on the Xian Le side alone.]
She considers for a few moments what to say. It's not like they both don't know what Xie Lian is like, how he prefers to take care of so much, shoulder all of it even when he shouldn't. ]
You should always be cautious, but I worry if he starts to feel too confined he'll act out. [ Give his bodyguards the slip. It'll be easier now that both he and Ookurikara are injured. ] I'd suggest giving him a little freedom every once in a while. He shouldn't do everything, but he can't do nothing. That would be better for him and the Xian Le in the long run. He needs to be able to grow stronger.
[ He needs to be kept from running wild everywhere, but they need to show he can do Something.
She keeps her voice gentle. ]
You need to let him. If we stay afraid, we'll only let the dissenters win. I believe you'll keep him safe.
He can't believe he's trying to do the right thing and executing it badly, that Kara and Shinobu both are giving him an earful about it. He hates, worse, seeing Xie Lian's soft and tightly smiling face, saying he wants to do something, he wants to get out.]
If something happens to him... [He bites back the rest of the words, not even wanting to hear them spoken. He doesn't know what he'd do. He'd hate himself. He'd never forgive himself.] I'll... think about it.
[He glances at Shinobu, and then quickly away to his shoulder.]
Just dig it out already. [A pause.] Do you have any alcohol? [Another pause.] The kind you drink.
She's worried, thinking about what will happen after she makes her announcement. Will he double down once she's not around as much? She wants Jiang Cheng to grow, too, with Xie Lian. She wants the whole family to grow into something they all can be proud of—not this sad and struggling core with crumbling edges of depravity that need to be cut off or stomped back into shape. ]
A flower needs sunlight to live, as do we. [ She could make a joke about poisoning him here, but she has enough mercy and compassion in her to get him a shot of vodka. She's not really a vodka person, but it has one of the highest proof, and sometimes, that's what you need. ]
[Don't proverb him. His lips pull thin, but he doesn't say anything to the wisdom, mostly because he knows she's not wrong.]
No. [It's stern, but not angry. There's something... He doesn't know what it is actually, though he doesn't take any time to think about it either. Something about... being asleep, about being asleep and having things... dug out? Whatever it is, it makes his skin crawl.] I want to be awake.
[ He's the patient, and if he wants to endure it, that's his right.
She fetches him vodka and pours him a tea cup full of it. All her medical tools are at the ready, so it's really up to him to indicate when he wants to endure that kind of pain. ]
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no subject
It will just keep building. But Xie Lian is already restless because he thinks he can't go out. That he's confined. If we're not wary, he'll be next.
[Which is to say, Jiang Cheng doesn't know what to do except be a bit harder on Xie Lian's whereabouts and his curfews. He hates it, being so restrictive, but he worries so much about something happening to Xie Lian like it did Xie Lian's parents, the mayor. In the end, he'll have to be the one Xie Lian hates the most, the rule overseer.
In the end, he wonders, if truly everyone is going to leave him standing on the Xian Le side alone.]
no subject
She considers for a few moments what to say. It's not like they both don't know what Xie Lian is like, how he prefers to take care of so much, shoulder all of it even when he shouldn't. ]
You should always be cautious, but I worry if he starts to feel too confined he'll act out. [ Give his bodyguards the slip. It'll be easier now that both he and Ookurikara are injured. ] I'd suggest giving him a little freedom every once in a while. He shouldn't do everything, but he can't do nothing. That would be better for him and the Xian Le in the long run. He needs to be able to grow stronger.
[ He needs to be kept from running wild everywhere, but they need to show he can do Something.
She keeps her voice gentle. ]
You need to let him. If we stay afraid, we'll only let the dissenters win. I believe you'll keep him safe.
no subject
He can't believe he's trying to do the right thing and executing it badly, that Kara and Shinobu both are giving him an earful about it. He hates, worse, seeing Xie Lian's soft and tightly smiling face, saying he wants to do something, he wants to get out.]
If something happens to him... [He bites back the rest of the words, not even wanting to hear them spoken. He doesn't know what he'd do. He'd hate himself. He'd never forgive himself.] I'll... think about it.
[He glances at Shinobu, and then quickly away to his shoulder.]
Just dig it out already. [A pause.] Do you have any alcohol? [Another pause.] The kind you drink.
no subject
She's worried, thinking about what will happen after she makes her announcement. Will he double down once she's not around as much? She wants Jiang Cheng to grow, too, with Xie Lian. She wants the whole family to grow into something they all can be proud of—not this sad and struggling core with crumbling edges of depravity that need to be cut off or stomped back into shape. ]
A flower needs sunlight to live, as do we. [ She could make a joke about poisoning him here, but she has enough mercy and compassion in her to get him a shot of vodka. She's not really a vodka person, but it has one of the highest proof, and sometimes, that's what you need. ]
Are you sure? We can do this with you asleep.
no subject
No. [It's stern, but not angry. There's something... He doesn't know what it is actually, though he doesn't take any time to think about it either. Something about... being asleep, about being asleep and having things... dug out? Whatever it is, it makes his skin crawl.] I want to be awake.
Just give me some alcohol, and I can take it.
no subject
[ He's the patient, and if he wants to endure it, that's his right.
She fetches him vodka and pours him a tea cup full of it. All her medical tools are at the ready, so it's really up to him to indicate when he wants to endure that kind of pain. ]