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Post by LUCIEN MARGAUX on Nov 21, 2013 10:12:42 GMT -8
Lucien felt like his pinkie was much better when he'd left that morning, although a day out had left it twinging with pain again. It probably wasn't the best idea to go out, but the appointment had been booked weeks prior. While Kun Shui had told him in no uncertain terms that he didn't have to go, that he could just bring someone in, Lucien had insisted anyway. He felt better, happy and far calmer then he'd been for the past while, and there was no real reason for him not to go. It wasn't as if he was recovering--he didn't need to be lying around the apartment another day. His finger was fine.
The appointment was for a suit. It was an absolute necessity for him to have one, and the one that he hadn't didn't fit quite right. He'd lost weight since he'd been taken by the Weis, and the suit he'd been wearing had never been intended for him in the first place. He'd never really needed to have a suit, but the possibility suddenly existed that Kun Shui would take him along to a business meeting or other event. There was enough trust there for that, and no businessman wanted to go into a large meeting alone. Lucien might become a necessity, especially if Kun Shui was dealing with European business types, who Lucien would be able to understand regardless of the language they spoke. They'd know something was up if he came in wearing a badly tailored suit, and so an appointment had been set up.
Kun Shui had no time for menial appointments, so he'd sent along an attractive and imposing guard to escort Lucien. Lucien didn't even really need one, but it was more of a policy thing, and Lucien didn't mind. The guard tied him to the Weis--it meant he didn't even have to worry about discussing payment in a high quality tailors. The suit was already there, picked out in his measured sizes, and he simply needed to step into it and let them poke and prod as they worked out exactly how to tailor it to fit him. There was no discussion of payment--it would simply go on Kun Shui's tab and be dealt with at a later date.
The suit hugged his frame from the moment he put it on, which was exactly how a suit should have fit. The shoulders were good, but the arms needed a bit of taking in, as did the sides. He favored the two button, and he was pleased to see that Kun Shui did as well. There was no tie that day, and he felt half-dressed without it as the tailor did all the required pinning, before helping Lucien slide the jacket off and returning him to the changeroom.
At his worst, Lucien still looked like a businessman. Grey slacks and a dark red dress shirt were casual fare for him, and he felt vaguely out of place as he returned to chinatown with his guard. He didn't go all the way home right away though--instead he politely asked the guard to take him to a small shopping center, explained his intentions, and watched as his needs were met. The guard wasn't going to argue with him, and his orders had said nothing about it--and if Lucien was really going to buy a gift for Kun Shui, why not?
Because a gift felt necessary. Kun Shui had done everything for him, and Lucien had kept secrets. He didn't want to keep any more secrets--he wanted to be open, not drowning perpetually in worries about saying the wrong thing. A gift would make a good apology, but finding a gift was going to be difficult. What did you get for the man who had everything, and could buy anything he wanted? Lucien found himself weaving through shops hopelessly, unsure of where to even start. It was halfway between two stores that he saw it, and he halted immediately, the guard nearly running into his back.
He headed down the ally to the little stall, covered in cages filled with birds of various types. Some chirped, some sang, and Lucien was entirely convinced he'd found what he was looking for. There was a long tradition about songbirds being given as gifts, and he let his eyes flick over them before the woman in the stall pointed one out.
He was sold, and a few minutes later he was on his way back to the Crystal Tower with a small wicker cage in one hand, a white bird inside. It was a fantail pigeon, white as new fallen snow, and it was currently asleep, head tucked under its wing as Lucien carried it through the busy streets. The guard parted ways with him when he reached the top floor, and he peered at the bird for a moment before stepping into the apartment.
"Kun Shui?" He was probably in his office, and Lucien headed there carefully, cage held behind his back. There was zero point in trying to wrap it, so he'd have to preset it first and foremost.
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Post by KUN SHUI WEI on Nov 26, 2013 9:16:45 GMT -8
tagged: Lucien time: - - -. speech: kun shui. notes: - - - Kun Shui was tired. There was little else to say about it, other than the headaches he was getting were gradually growing worse and he swore that he was seeing double at times. There were those lines, too… Those odd, odd lines that seemed to follow everything he looked at. When birds flew by, he saw faint but very visible lines that undulated with their wingbeats. A leaf would fall, and he’d find that he could trace the path it took.
Even as he sat at his desk, signing a final page or two about a few more things he was going to invest in, he saw the faint lines that swirled as his pen moved. He could muse that it was like he was seeing air, but that was utterly impossible.
The headache got him from getting too curious, though. The pounding headache that only got worse when he focused too hard on the lines, to the point where he had to put his pen down and rub at his temples for a second. He was utterly unfocused until he heard his name being called by a very familiar voice.
”Lucien?” He squinted for a second, getting everything back together before getting up and opening the door.
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Post by LUCIEN MARGAUX on Nov 28, 2013 16:46:40 GMT -8
Hearing his name was somehow a relief. There was no reason that it should have been, no reason that hearing his name would make him feel better, but he did anyway. He felt lighter, like he was walking on air, and he was keen to see Kun Shui again. The door opened soon enough, and he gave Kun Shui a smile.
A real, genuine smile. He was used to fake smiles, to smiling with his mouth but not with his eyes, all politeness but no meaning. He hadn't smiled at all when Kun Shui had first brought him to LA, even though it had been an escape from Jun Shi. He hadn't known him, and he hadn't known what sort of situation he was going to face, even if he'd hoped it would be a good one. In a way it had been good, and in another way it had been bad. He'd had to deal with Jun Shi again so soon, but Kun Shui had intervened. He'd helped him, and they'd grown close.
Lucien would even consider him a friend, which was a first for him. Friendship was an elusive beast as the heir apparent to a mafia family. You couldn't trust anyone, and within the Margaux, even your own family was unable to be trusted. No amount of meetings and fake smiles would make you friends and when he'd been abandoned to the mercy of the Weis, he'd had no one. No one had come looking for him. No one had tried to help him. As best he could tell, no one had even mourned him beyond the absolute bare minimum they were required to show.
Would Kun Shui mourn him if he died? He felt like he would. He felt like Kun Shui would--like he'd be honestly, genuinely upset if he died.
It seemed like such a stupid thing, to care about what happened when you were gone, and yet Lucien found he did care. That was half the reason for the present--to cement the friendship he felt was there. He was clumsily trying it out, testing the waters of a proper friendship. It was difficult, if not impossible, for him to tell what Kun Shui thought of it, and he had only a vague idea of how things were supposed to go from that point on. A gift seemed like a good point.
So without much ado, he drew the wicker cage from behind him, holding it in front of him for Kun Shui to see, holding it carefully with his right hand, his left still hanging at his side.
"I thought it would be appropriate to get you a present. As a... a thank you." If you'd asked Lucien what he was thanking Kun Shui for, he'd have struggled to explain it. For the most part, it was for not freaking out. For not giving him back to Jun Shi. There were too many reasons, and a gift seemed such a small sign. "It's a songbird. Supposedly she sings beautifully." Although she'd been completely silent since he'd gotten her.
KUN SHUI WEI | MAY 15TH, 3PM |
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Post by KUN SHUI WEI on Nov 29, 2013 11:15:03 GMT -8
tagged: Lucien time: - - -. speech: kun shui. notes: - - - He was tired, as he always was, but if Lucien needed something from him then it had to be fairly important. He didn’t just come calling because he got a papercut, after all. In fact, it seemed that outside of his staff, even among his business partners, he was the one aware that he didn’t have all the time in the world. People tended to think that they were the only business that Kun Shui had, when in reality, it was far from it.
The worst part about it was that his father had yet to tell him a date for when he was going to retire. He was taking more and more operations on and he didn’t even know when he’d be officially handed the crown. When he would receive it, he’d have to go back to Hong Kong. He was here to expand operations, and that was likely going to have to be handed off to Jun Shi while he was given the title of Dragon Head.
There were a lot of things to think about.
He found Lucien at his door, holding something behind his back. And the first thing in his mind was that it was a gun.
A lifetime of wary training told him to slam the door in his face, or incapacitate him immediately. Nobody ever came to him with surprises. Hell, it was even rude at meetings to hold one’s hands behind their back, especially where the triads were involved. And when every person in the room was armed to the teeth, it was best to comply to their social norms.
But Lucien wouldn’t do such a thing, would he? Or had he finally been driven mad by being here? The hesitation was all the time Lucien needed to pull the object from behind his back; a small wicker cage.
His shoulders went slightly lax. ”…oh.” It was all he could manage for a second, his headache giving a sudden throb before he stepped side to let Lucien into his office.
Kun Shui leaned down towards the cage to take a good look. It was a pretty thing, though not small and it looked too big for the wicker cage. He’d have to buy it a larger enclosure. The body looked like a pigeon, but the rest of it was… oddly fancy.
”Well, thank you.” Kun Shui straightened back up to smile at Lucien. ”She’s very pretty.”
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Post by LUCIEN MARGAUX on Nov 29, 2013 18:56:14 GMT -8
Lucien had grown up knowing how busy things were. His father was always busy, and he was always busy, and the older he'd gotten the busier things seemed to get. At fifteen he'd been entirely convinced there was no possible way for any more work to be crammed into his schedule, but every year after that he was proven wrong. The work was endless, and strictly speaking the Margaux were almost entirely illegal business. All of their legal business was covers, or in some way connected to the shadier side of things. He could only imagine that the Wei heirs had it worse growing up, because they had both legal and illegal businesses to handle. That just meant more--more and a whole extra double life, lingering always in mind. Everything had to be perfect, his performance flawless. Kun Shui couldn't slip up and merge the two identities, or else everything would be ruined.
Despite their similar histories, Lucien didn't immediately realize why Kun Shui was tense. It took him a moment to process it, to realize it as he held the cage out. He'd been stiff and upset, and then he'd relaxed, and -- oh. That was why. His face fell slightly and he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should have just held it out in the first place." Because hiding things, let alone your hands behind your back, wasn't acceptable. If he had thought about it, he probably wouldn't have thought it was a big deal. He'd thought they were past that, and he tried not to take it too hard. It was habit--not a conscious choice by Kun Shui to think he was a danger.
"She's a fantail.... pigeon, I think. I thought it would be an appropriate gift." He paused for a moment, then clarified. "I can take care of her of course, but I thought you might enjoy having a pet." For a brief moment he felt a flicker of worry, his stomach clenching. Had he gone too far? A pet was a big thing--maybe it would have been better to check Kun Shui's thoughts on pets before he'd gone out and bought something.
The smile made the feeling go away though. He smiled back, struggling to remember the last time he'd seen a real, genuine smile. Smiles were rare, few and far between. He did see Kun Shui smile regularly enough, when he dealt with maids or business, but those were fake smiles. The polite sort of smiles that you wore like a suit when you went out to see people you needed to like you but didn't really care for. They didn't count in Lucien's mind, and they never would. Sometimes Kun Shui would smile at things he said, but he rarely smiled at him.
It felt pleasant, to be smiled at, and Lucien made a mental note that he'd have to do more things for Kun Shui--to get him to smile at him again in the future, more and more often.
KUN SHUI WEI | MAY 15TH, 3PM |
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Post by KUN SHUI WEI on Nov 29, 2013 20:58:31 GMT -8
tagged: Lucien time: - - -. speech: kun shui. notes: - - - Kun Shui had grown up being told that hiding your hands was impolite. At parties and at greetings and get togethers and dinners, everybody always put their hands in front of them or above the tables. Nobody walked with their hands in their pockets or behind their backs. He was told when he was younger that it was polite, but as he grew up, he gradually learned to understand that ‘polite’ meant ‘making sure nobody had a gun’.
Lucien didn’t have access to a gun, though. He kept most of them close to himself, others in hidden places. He did explain himself, and Kun Shui nodded in understanding. Yes, that was fine. He didn’t mean to scare him. As for the bird… a fantail pigeon. He really had no idea what that was.
”I’m not too knowledgeable on birds, unfortunately.” Kun Shui took the cage from Lucien’s hand, placing it on the desk. The bird inside cooed faintly, but there was nothing akin to song. If nothing else, at least it was elegant looking. Her tail looked like lace, and her feathers were all white. How pretty.
As for having the time for a pet, perhaps he did. Just a few minutes a day to refill food and water, though Lucien could do it if he was busy. ”I suppose I can do it, unless I’m exceptionally busy.” Which was, well, most of the time.
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Post by LUCIEN MARGAUX on Nov 30, 2013 8:15:26 GMT -8
Lucien was vaguely aware of birds as pets, but he'd never had one. He was fairly sure that had, at one point, been a bird in his house growing up. Not so much someone's pet so much as a sign of status, and what had happened to it Lucien had no idea. It was only a vague, flickering memory. Probably it had gotten too loud and they'd gotten rid of it, but it was the sort of thing that had happened early enough in Lucien's life that any memories he'd had were long gone.
It was the first time Lucien had heard it make a noise, and he gave Kun Shui a little smile as it cooed. "That would work as well. She absolutely doesn't skwak, the vendor was clear on that. So you could have her in your office to keep your company while working. It would give you something to do with your hands while on calls." Lucien knew that pain. Talking on the phone, you couldn't do anything too mentally intensive. If you did, you sounded distracted. At the same time, most phone calls weren't mentally interesting enough to completely occupy someone, meaning you had to do something, or else you'd just sit there bored.
"I can always take care of her if you don't have time." The option was always open, even if the bird would probably do better with Kun Shui tending to her.
KUN SHUI WEI | MAY 15TH, 3PM |
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Post by KUN SHUI WEI on Nov 30, 2013 10:26:02 GMT -8
tagged: Lucien time: - - -. speech: kun shui. notes: - - - Kun Shui glanced down at the cage again and made eye contact with the bird. He assumed it would only be a very brief thing, one finger placed on one of the wicker bars as he peered in. Still, the bird stared back, maintaining the stare. It’s eyes were like oil drops on the rest of it, completely black that stood out against the pure white of its feathers. A female, Lucien said? Well, suited, he supposed.
He blinked, and the pigeon waddled over to his finger to lightly peck at it. Only curious, not meaning to actually inflict damage with that little, sharp beak. ”I think I’ll be able to handle a behaved bird.” He murmured in response to Lucien’s offer. Realistically, he had no idea how well behaved the thing actually was. She seemed friendly enough.
Kun Shui reached over and unlatched the cage, letting the door swing open. For a second, the bird seemed to hesitate and stare at the open door before stepping onto the cusp and just stared at the both of them.
”Did it come with a name?” He highly doubted it. Some places prenamed their animals, but he supposed this one didn’t, no matter how pretty.
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Post by LUCIEN MARGAUX on Nov 30, 2013 20:26:14 GMT -8
Lucien hadn't thought to ask for a name. It was entirely possible that the bird already had a name, that it had been named when he bought it, and he simply hadn't thought to ask. Stupid of him, but he supposed the pet was supposed to be a fresh slate. It couldn't have been very old, and Kun Shui should have been free to name it what he wanted.
"No. Not that she mentioned, anyway. You could name it anything." He paused, hesitating in his uncertainty before sidestepping over to get a bit closer, bending down to look at it. "The tail is beautiful." He commented, having not had a chance to properly inspect her. "The old woman said she should be fed bird food, but that we could give her bread for a treat." Lucien had little doubt that she would eat anything. Even if this one was beautiful, she was still a pigeon, and pigeons were the rats of the sky--they would eat anything in front of them, regardless of how good or bad they were.
KUN SHUI WEI | MAY 15TH, 3PM |
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Post by KUN SHUI WEI on Nov 30, 2013 22:07:15 GMT -8
tagged: Lucien time: - - -. speech: kun shui. notes: - - - No name? Well, that was fine, then. He leaned forward and held a hand out, one finger slightly raised. For a second the pigeon hesitated again, then calmly stepped onto his finger, grasping it firmly. Pink, scaly, three toes pointed forward and one toe pointed back, meant for walking rather than grasping. Her oil-drop eyes continued to stare up at him, and only him, as if the pigeon was fixated.
”Well, she’s cute.” Certainly pretty, though cute was a decent fit anyways. As for a name… Well, Kun Shui wasn’t exactly good with naming things. His family had only ever really owned a cat, and that was when he was younger. ”How about… Xue.” Befitting for such a clean looking bird. Food wasn’t a concern at the moment, though he didn’t have any immediately on hand. Bread and rice could fill it until tomorrow.
The pigeon cooed again, bobbed her head once, then seemed to settle on his finger rather comfortably. Her feathers felt like fine cotton against his hand. ”She’s very calm… Was she a pet?”
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Post by LUCIEN MARGAUX on Dec 1, 2013 17:32:30 GMT -8
Lucien was happy that the bird was getting along with Kun Shui That had been his big worry--that Kun Shui and the bird wouldn't get along. Hell, he didn't even know if Kun Shui liked birds. The whole thing had been risky, but that was the risk he'd had to take. Either the present would be useless and unimpressive, or it would be risky and have high returns. He'd taken the latter route, and it seemed to be paying off.
"Not a pet, no. I don't think anyway. But she's from a line of show pigeons, so they're probably bred for docility." Or at least he guessed they were. It was hard to tell. "I was going to ask the guards and get them to set up a little stand. There's a table in one of the side rooms that would be about the right height." It seemed a bit too intrusive to have her on the desk, but it was obvious enough that Kun Shui would want her in his office, where he spent most of his time. "And when I go to the bookstore, I'll pick up a book or something to help." He found himself smiling again, pleased the bird was doing so well.
He gave Kun Shui that little smile, taking a step towards the door before pausing. "Is there anything else I should get?" But no, that was all, and Lucien was off to go and set things up.
KUN SHUI WEI | MAY 15TH, 3PM |
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BUBBLES
Main Admin  
Scary Little Girl
sociopath
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Post by BUBBLES on Dec 11, 2013 23:10:51 GMT -8
| | | Finished Thread
This thread is now complete. It has been placed in the archives under the 'finished' sub-board. You are more than welcome to PM fate if this thread is not finished or if you are unhappy/unsatisfied with the amount of residue that has been rewarded. Keep up the great work and keep posting with other members.
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