Xie doesn't notice the ache at first, he's already stiff from spending so long as a cat that he doesn't even realise anything else is happening, but as his steps carry him towards the guest rooms it starts to intensify and becomes harder to ignore, to brush off. This isn't the dull throb of overworked muscles, it's something sharper, more twisting, like something is being torn out of him. His steps falter, panic flashing through him at the possibilities - is someone trying to hurt him? To kill him? To steal his power?
(He knows that's possible. He's seen Yifu do it. All he felt at the time was a grim satisfaction that he wasn't being replaced by another familiar, Yifu just wanted to steal their power. Yifu would never do that to him, though, he's too useful, Yifu cares too much... right?)
He stumbles, pressing a hand against the wall to keep himself upright as he clenches his teeth against the pain, but the pull is still there and that's more difficult to resist now too. Not that he wants to resist; he can tell it's pulling him to the source of the ritual and if this is somebody trying to hurt him or steal his power, he wants to be where they are. Wants to kill them before they can finish.
He reaches the door, the rooms that are the source, and a wave of vindicated anger courses through him - the apprentice. He was bitter, before, that the man was allowed to stay here in Yifu's manor when Xie was kept in his own apartments, elsewhere, but he told himself it was because Kevin was a temporary guest, and Xie likes having his own space anyway. Now he's glad that it means he's close enough to be caught doing... whatever this is.
He's glad of the excuse to kill him.
Not that he can do much of anything when he shoves the door open and barges into the room, because at that moment the agony reaches a crescendo and he stumbles again, this time dropping to his knees with the force of it. A flick of his hand and a blade drops into his palm but a spasm of pain makes his fingers twitch and it tumbles uselessly from his grasp before he can throw it.
Then suddenly it's over. The pain is gone, leaving barely a lingering echo deep in his muscles that might just be the same tiredness from before. Xie frowns, taking stock - his power is still there, he can feel it, and he's definitely still alive, and the comforting tug of the familiar bond is... is...
He looks up slowly, searching out Kevin's face with rage and fear warring for dominance in his mind.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2023-10-15 10:21 am (UTC)Xie doesn't notice the ache at first, he's already stiff from spending so long as a cat that he doesn't even realise anything else is happening, but as his steps carry him towards the guest rooms it starts to intensify and becomes harder to ignore, to brush off. This isn't the dull throb of overworked muscles, it's something sharper, more twisting, like something is being torn out of him. His steps falter, panic flashing through him at the possibilities - is someone trying to hurt him? To kill him? To steal his power?
(He knows that's possible. He's seen Yifu do it. All he felt at the time was a grim satisfaction that he wasn't being replaced by another familiar, Yifu just wanted to steal their power. Yifu would never do that to him, though, he's too useful, Yifu cares too much... right?)
He stumbles, pressing a hand against the wall to keep himself upright as he clenches his teeth against the pain, but the pull is still there and that's more difficult to resist now too. Not that he wants to resist; he can tell it's pulling him to the source of the ritual and if this is somebody trying to hurt him or steal his power, he wants to be where they are. Wants to kill them before they can finish.
He reaches the door, the rooms that are the source, and a wave of vindicated anger courses through him - the apprentice. He was bitter, before, that the man was allowed to stay here in Yifu's manor when Xie was kept in his own apartments, elsewhere, but he told himself it was because Kevin was a temporary guest, and Xie likes having his own space anyway. Now he's glad that it means he's close enough to be caught doing... whatever this is.
He's glad of the excuse to kill him.
Not that he can do much of anything when he shoves the door open and barges into the room, because at that moment the agony reaches a crescendo and he stumbles again, this time dropping to his knees with the force of it. A flick of his hand and a blade drops into his palm but a spasm of pain makes his fingers twitch and it tumbles uselessly from his grasp before he can throw it.
Then suddenly it's over. The pain is gone, leaving barely a lingering echo deep in his muscles that might just be the same tiredness from before. Xie frowns, taking stock - his power is still there, he can feel it, and he's definitely still alive, and the comforting tug of the familiar bond is... is...
He looks up slowly, searching out Kevin's face with rage and fear warring for dominance in his mind.
"What did you do?"