HUA CHENG ✬

[reconnective]

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w0 saturday

[reconnective]

[TODAY WAS TRULY A VERY BAD DAY. at some point in his wanderings, he will find himself approaching the inn. he's not entirely sure where he's going, but at the same time while he's walking he notices a familiar figure.

there's a hesitant nod of greeting.]

...what a weird day, huh? [he sounds incredibly dead inside, but sure, weird is the word we'll go with.]

[supremity]

[ For as much has everyone else has been VERY AFFECTED by all of this, Hua Cheng is... calm, detached. He's 800 years old, he's seen death in spades. This was just very needless, in the grand scheme.

Sora sounding dead inside isn't shocking, considering the fact his accusation - because that's what it was - was one of the last things Pikachu had before he was cut down. ]

It certainly wasn't how I was expecting to spend it, so "weird" is one way to put it.

[reconnective]

[wonder what that's like. someone please teach him some chill when it comes to the dead, and also don't remind him of his pika-crimes.]

It's been two days and we've lost three people. How does something like this just happen? [virid's not even gone yet, but it counts.]

w1 saturday

[reconnective]

[he walks into the inn from his adventures outside, but he doesn't look any happier than he did when he left the emporium. as he thinks about where to go next, he finds hua cheng nearby and just kind of...walks up to him.]

...thanks for trying to keep us organized today. It was a big help.

[supremity]

[ Stormy as he is about all of this, himself, Hua Cheng is getting used to the fact that all of these teenagers that make up this place can and will ignore his intimidating aura to come waltzing up to him for whatever reason fancies them.

There's a humorless little noise, but he doesn't stop twisting his braid between his fingers. ]

Organizing something like that isn't out of the norm for me, but with all of the chaos... well, something had to be done.

[reconnective]

[they will not be intimidated. sora seems to be leveling his temper after everything but he reins it in enough to keep himself quiet, nodding in agreement.]

It went better than last time. So...if this really does keep happening, we'll have to follow the same ideas. We could have wasted even more time if we didn't have someone keeping it together.

w2 thursday

[reconnective]

[it's late morning on this fine thursday by the time sora rolls himself out of his hammock and rejoins the waking world. he's still a little tired from all of the fighting the night before, but he's mostly reenergized and ready to get back out there.

he's a man on a mission today, actually, and that mission is to find hua cheng wherever he may be. as he wanders in his pirate outfit he soon spots him ahead and takes the opportunity to flag him down with a wave.]

Hey! Are you busy right now? I wanted to talk to you about some stuff.

[supremity]

[ What a day, huh? Sora sleeps for 500 years, Hua Cheng is - not used to being sore and tired, actually, not since he was still alive. But he gamely ignores it, has been patched up, and is going about his day as he investigates the fact the port is back to normal again.

He raises his hand in a still greeting when Sora flags him down, letting him come up to him rather than meeting him halfway. Especially if - ]

Nothing seems to be on fire at the moment, so I think it's safe to say no, I'm not busy. [ Right now. Not holding his breath. ] Stuff that needs to be taken elsewhere?

[reconnective]

[right now. sora had to deal with fake fire last week, and then real fire, and then real fire again. so hua cheng gets a grin for his efforts and sora shrugs a little. give him a second to reach into his pockets though and he pulls out a handful of papers.]

I think if we keep moving people won't catch on. Besides, I should get these hung up before curfew hits.

[somehow nobody's caught on that sora's the one hanging up the "FIND A CURFEW BUDDY" signs and yet here we are.]

After everything that happened yesterday, I wanted to pick your brain a little about how things should go on Saturday. If we have to have another trial and look for injuries...we're kind of out of luck, aren't we?

[from this close, too, hua cheng will be able to feel thoughtfulness, and also a shroud of interest and nervousness that may hint this isn't the only reason he's flagged the man down. and of course there's still lingering excitement because he got to captain a pirate ship and fight a bunch, so he had a good time.]

w2, sunday, post-execution

[supremity]

[ Because he's not trying to hide his approach, Hua Cheng's boots jingle as he makes his way through the port. While not in a big hurry, he is... setting a good, steady clip, making his way downtown, walking fast. His end goal?

A head of spiky hair, where it's vibing in the port.

He only slows when he reaches the dock in particular Sora is sitting on, arms folded behind his back as he meanders down to where he is. ]

[reconnective]

[he's hanging out at the dock alone, half-looking at the ocean and half looking at the ship as his feet kick at the water below. it's only when hua cheng gets a little closer that he seems to notice someone's approaching him and he tilts his head backwards to look at him.]

Hey. Looking for me?

[supremity]

I was, actually. [ He comes to stand behind him, so he can look down at Sora in turn, some amusement rolling off him in the proximity. There isn't any urgency, at least. Instead he's just calm, interested. ] I spoke with Swan.

w3 sunday

[reconnective]

[well. he'll go and check hua cheng's room first later in the day to see where daddy swan is, and if he doesn't find him there he'll begin to hunt him down! he doesn't plan on stopping, and when he does find him he just frowns up at him.]

We don't have any leads about her killer still, do we?

[supremity]

[ Hua Cheng is... not there!

Sora will find him in the Emporium, using the checkout counter to spread out his makeshift scroll (it's the plain backing of a roll of gift wrap), using some tacky snowglobes to keep the ends in place. He's working on an ink drawing of their jungle world at the moment. ]

We don't. [ He doesn't even look up, at first, but when he does he's just! as unhappy! as the favorite swan baby. ] We didn't narrow anything down, really, when it came to those who fit the range of the burnt kigu. We used up all of that fingerprinting stuff last week. Whatever evidence there might have been has likely been destroyed or covered up.

[reconnective]

[well at least his voice is back. so sora approaches and hops behind the counter to get a look at the drawing from the other side. is he looking at it upside down, essentially? yes. it's impressive, he can't draw worth shit.]

Did we? I thought we still had enough left for a few fingers. [he lost what was going on at the end because he was so stressed out, but that's fine.] There's gotta be evidence we left behind or it was destroyed. I asked Swan and they said it should've been there unless an animal or something moved it...so how'd we miss it? Even destroying it should've turned up some clues.

w4 monday

[reconnective]

[WE'RE GONNA TEACH HC ABOUT HALLOWEEN DAMNIT.

that is to say! at some point on monday (or tuesday if you want, whatever), sora will be lingering around the manor in his appropriately-themed attire, slinking around all sides of it as if to get a better look. as he comes back around to the front though he spots hua cheng down the road and bounds over to him, clearly excited about...whatever the hell is going on.]

Have you seen the inside of the manor yet? It's really spooky. [you know it's hilarious to me that sora loves halloween town but monstropolis freaked him out. whatever.]

[supremity]

[ Me, remembering the Halloween Town getup:

Hua Cheng is a little bemused, at first, when he sees this weird little scuttling form outside of the manor. Of course he'd come to check this out, it looks sufficiently spooky and even nerfed a ghost can tell a spooky vibe from a mile away, so he's come to claim it as his. But then he - sees Sora. And laughs, abruptly, at his excitement. But like? Genuinely? grats. ]

What in the hell are you wearing? [ taps the punkin mask with a finger ] But, no, I haven't been inside yet. I was just planning on going in.

[reconnective]

Man, don't laugh! [pouting! but not really because he's too hype to find something familiar in this godless gun-filled land.] I never really understood why that world picked the mask, but it's a costume! Kinda. [hm. well now it's a costume, but.] It's what I had to wear to blend in when we were visiting another world.

[he tilts his head toward the manor.] I want to take another look myself. Some of it's blocked off, and I'm wondering if there's any way to move stuff around.

w4 wednesday pre-chaos

[supremity]

[ CHA CHA SLIDES REAL SMOOTH

By which I mean, Hua Cheng is quick to go looking for Sora, after getting ahold of this. Midweek is usually when things start to get a little... chaotic, as they've noticed, so he wants to get the information to him quickly in the event that they're kept occupied for the rest of the day.

When he finds him, he slows, taps him briefly between the shoulders - then keeps walking, looking back at him over his shoulder. ]

Sora, I'd like to borrow you.

[reconnective]

[he feels a tap between his baby bat wings and looks up, quickly falling into step without looking back.]

You can borrow me for anything you want. What's up?

[supremity]

[ A dangerous response, but he has no desire to abuse the trust there. He folds his arms behind himself, strides shorter so they can keep pace, even though Sora's always been quick. ]

Do you know much about chess?

W4, Saturday

[reconnective]

[where are you hc? wherever you may be, sora is going to go find him and flag him down with two mugs in his hands.]

So is it my turn to borrow your time?

[supremity]

[ We are vibing in the ( flips coin ) bookstore! It's quiet, and means Sora doesn't have to run around god's creation to find where he is. He looks up, his dinosaur asleep under his seat and a book of poetry propped on his lap, his ankle on the opposite knee. ]

You can always do that, Sora. [ swan daddy is tired, and clearly still unhappy with how the day went, but he's at least as receptive as always to swan baby ]

w6 sunday

[reconnective]

[it's entirely possible sora never left the beach after the execution, but as he starts to think about heading back to the town he jumps up onto the pier and instead immediately gets distracted by someone familiar.]

Hey. [he frowns lightly.] Doing okay?

[supremity]

[ Hua Cheng had - something to tend to, immediately after the execution, but now he's just sitting on the pier. Not all the way on the end, but just settled with his legs crisscross and gaze out on the water. Probably the most sun he's gotten the entire time here. ]

I'm fine. [ just tired ] I'll have to finish my scroll for this place at some point, so I'm taking it in.

[ His head tilts back so he can look up at Sora. ] Not exactly what we had in mind for the day, was it.