dollymixtures | Oh, oh, oh it's magic (Xie and Kevin)

xie_er posting in

Zhao Jing used to be a nobody, born into influence and wealth but always in the shadow of those around him. In magical circles he was even worse, a barely-remembered witch that didn't have enough power for any familiar to even consider looking twice at him.

Somehow, though, after many years (and a few suspicious deaths), he's managed to climb his way to the CEO of Five Lakes, his power - of both kinds - growing exponentially.

The previous CEO was surrounded by some unfortunate rumorus before his death, so Zhao Jing has been focused on repairing the reputation of he company and solidifying his support, mundane and magical, which means it is far too delicate a moment for Xie to be in the spotlight, even if he was promised he'd be allowed to stop hiding when the position was in Zhao Jing's hands.

He just has to wait a little longer, that's all, and it's not like it's difficult to only appear in his animal form whenever Zhao Jing is in public, just uncomfortable, and the last thing they need is for somebody to recognise Xie for any of the things he's done to help his witch get where he is today, when his position is still so precarious...

He tells himself all the excuses he's heard from Yifu, repeats them in his head like a mantra as he sits through all the meetings and negotiations, a little black cat and Zhao Jing's feet, watching the men and women he's speaking to for anything Yifu can use. He hangs around when Zhao Jing steps out the room, listens to what they say behind his back - that's his job with normal people, to be a pair of ears they don't realise are there. Even paranoid types who scan for bugs would miss him, which he finds funny, privately, because he is a bug of a sort.

Not that he's allowed to take his original animal form - a scorpion would be out of place if anybody caught sight of him, and Yifu doesn't like the idea of him hiding in pockets or anything like that. He says it's dangerous, that something could happen to him, but Xie privately thinks he just finds the form creepy. Even around other magical people, the cat is preferred - his job with them is to be a reminder that Zhao Jing has a familiar, and a relatively powerful one at that.

It's hard for familiars to change the form they can take, but he did it, for Yifu.

He tells people the cat is called Scorpion, and that somebody else named him - which is technically true, Xie does mean scorpion, and his parents named him - and that he's vaguely embarrassed to have such a fiercely named cat.

(He doesn't tell magical people anything at all, they know Xie isn't a pet so they're less likely to ask, at most they will wonder why his familiar always stays in animal form. Zhao Jing just tells them he's shy. He isn't, he doesn't care about people seeing him, but it's easier to do the things Yifu wants him to do when nobody knows what he looks like)

Xie hadn't always known he was powerful - when Yifu had taken him in he'd been told he wasn't much, but that maybe he could be useful. Later, when some witch had made an offhand comment about it, the story had become that Yifu recognised his power and took him in before anybody else could steal him away, that he just wanted to protect Xie from the people who would use him for his power. Xie was already so far gone by that point that he accepted it, that he told himself he was lucky he had Yifu to protect him, to guide him.

It's funny how easy it is to lie to yourself.

When the meetings are over for the day he finally shifts back to human form, spending a few minutes stretching out the kinks that come from forcing himself into a form that isn't quite his, especially with how much he's had to do it over the last few weeks, and then going in search of something to eat. He could probably just head back to his own apartment since he doesn't think Yifu needs anything else from him, not today, but the outsiders have all left and everybody in Yifu's manor at least knows Xie, even if they don't know that Xie and Scorpion are one and the same, so it's safe to be around them.

He likes to spend as much time here as he can get away with, likes to remind Yifu he can be useful in other ways... and maybe he likes to keep an eye on this new apprentice Yifu has taken on. He doesn't understand why he needs anybody else when he has Xie, but the last time he'd questioned somebody new in the house Yifu hadn't spoken to him for a week, so he doesn't voice that thought out loud - he just watches the guy suspiciously every chance he gets, and wonders how easy he would be to get rid of.

He's halfway to the kitchen when something makes him stop. A tug of power, the vague echo of chanting, there's a ritual happening and something about it is drawing him close. He frowns, confused, and follows the pull...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

weird_cop

"Worth a try," Kevin tells her, and she grins at him as she retracts the list.

(Costain looks almost disappointed in him, like he thinks Xie is stupid for not taking it seriously.)

Quill nods, like he's had something confirmed for him.

"We're not sure how stupid you are, that's the problem. And I'd love to go down the full list in detail with you, tell you what we know about each, but honestly these are low on our priority list.

"We'd ask you what you know about your Dad's magical abilities, but Kev says you didn't even know how powerful he is."

From:

xie_er

Xie bristles slightly at the comment - he's not stupid at all, thank you very much.

He isn't, really, he's very intelligent - he just has something of a blindspot when it comes to Zhao Jing.

There's something complicated in his expression when Quill refers to Yifu as your dad, but he doesn't comment on that, and it quickly shifts into irritation again when he continues.

"You really think I'd tell you anything about his abilities? That I'd help you move against him? As though I am here willingly..." he scoffs, then smirks at them "It's a little rich to be making comments about what I don't know. You thought I was a cat."

From:

weird_cop

It's Costain who once again looks annoyed at this, like Xie proves himself stupider with everything he says.

"Yeah," Quill agrees, and glances at Kevin, who scratches the back of his neck.

"Hey, that was information kept from nearly everyone," he protests to his superior officer.

"It's not you, Kev," Lisa says. "I should have seen the gaps. I got too used to seeing everything with the Sight, I just..."

"That's enough, Lisa," says Quill, recognising his team beginning to doubt themselves. He turns back to Xie.

"And as it turns out you were lucky we're animal lovers, or we'd've taken a much less humane approach."

Straight up killing the cat had been discussed, there were ways of carrying out the ritual that did end with the familiar dead, but they'd leaned away from that, and not just because they weren't quite ready for animal sacrifice.

From:

xie_er

Xie's gaze flicks to Costain and his eyes narrow slightly, dangerously - he knows he's being judged and he doesn't like it. What does this guy know about him? About anything?

His lips twitch, like he's trying not to smirk at the way they all start questioning themselves, their choices. He does smirk at the humane comment, his head tilting in amused curiosity.

"You thought about killing me." He observes, apparently impassive in the face of it, mildly entertained even. "Wouldn't that have turned into an awful mess..."

He's not nearly so unbothered by it as he's pretending to be, but it's not the first time his life has been threatened. He doesn't have a deathwish, far from it, but he recognises that the threat has passed. Well, that one has, anyway. Maybe that's why he can be so calm about it, he's saving all his energy for the threat that's still out there.

Maybe he should tell them, but he assumes they'll translate his phone call and find out anyway, and they're idiots if they're not expecting it even without that. Zhao Jing is not a man who likes his things being taken away.

From:

weird_cop

"No more of a mess than we're in now," Quill replies.

Kevin, meanwhile, pushes himself away from the table and stands. "I'm gonna start on that lunch I promised," he says.

Costain narrows his eyes at Xie, mirroring the expression and adding some accusation of his own.

"You could act a little fucking grateful," he says finally.

From:

xie_er

Is kidnapping just as messy as murder? Maybe from a logistical perspective. It would be chilling to see somebody so blasé about the possibility of having killed him, if he weren't the person he was.

His head whips back round to Costain at the accusation, eyes blazing.

"Grateful?" He repeats in a low hiss "What the fuck have I got to be grateful for? That you didn't accidentally kill me because you didn't realise I was a person? Oh well thank you for tearing my bond apart and dragging me into another against my will, I'm so glad to still be alive." He spits sarcastically.

"Grateful. As though I should be pleased to be held captive and asked to betray someone I-" he stops himself, sets his jaw and looks away.

"Fuck you."

From:

weird_cop

Costain narrows his eyes again, as much confused as annoyed. "For saving your..."

"Tone," says Sefton, soft but urgent, from where he's standing at the counter, now wielding a kitchen knife. "Let it go." He doesn't turn to look at them, but he can feel the tension in his shoulders, doesn't bother to force it away.

Xie really didn't know what Zhao had planned for him.

Lisa, having the same realisation, puts her hand out and covers Tony's, in agreement.

Costain stands and gathers up all the cups, deciding to at least get another round of teas in if he can't pick a fight.

"He just really put his heart into that cat tree," Quill says.

From:

xie_er

It doesn't take a genius to work out how that sentence was supposed to end, but that doesn't make Xie understand what the fuck any more than he already didn't. There's obviously something, from the way they stop him, and Xie isn't entirely sure it's just 'we saved your life by not killing you', because if that were the case he's saved all of their lives at least four times today.

It leaves him feeling vaguely unsettled in a way he can't quite put his finger on - like there's something they're keeping from him, maybe, or like some tiny part of him has a horrible suspicion that the rest of him doesn't want to entertain. He stamps down on that part, ignores it staunchly - there's no evidence, nothing to explain what he was talking about, and any feelings or suspicions are just... disloyal.

Maybe they're talking about the hit. As though they aren't the cause of it, the reason he needs protection. Maybe that's it.

He gives Quill a flat look, not remotely appreciating the attempt at humour, or deflection, or whatever it was. He concedes to it, though, glancing away with an imperious sniff.

"It's not even a very good cat tree." He says disdainfully.

It's a lie, but he's not interested in playing nice.

From:

weird_cop

"Don't listen to him, Tone," Kevin says in a reconcilitory tone, "it's a great cat tree. I'd love it if I were a cat."

He chops the meat they brought up with the kind of skill he's only had to use for unsavoury purposes with a while, and scrapes it into a large skillet as he talks.

"Saw you taped all the footie for me, too - " referring to the stack of home-burned DVDs in the other room. "I did manage to catch a few matches you know."

Lisa breathes out, gives her laptop one last meaningful look, and shuts it, giving Xie one more look.

Part of her does want to tell him, wants to grab him by the shoulders and scream you have no idea what we've saved you from, but she knows that would be meaningless, as much as if you told her at 12 what would end up happening to her own father.

So she turns in her seat to address the two men behind her. "I taped all of Bake-Off as well, you could thank me for that."

From:

xie_er

And now they're back to practically pretending he doesn't exist.

He knows that's not really what they're doing, and that technically he could join in, but he's not interested in being friends with these people and even if he were, what would he say? Football, bake off, he doesn't care about any of that.

(He has a secret, guilty pleasure for interior design and house renovation shows, but he'll admit to the murders before he'll admit to that)

He stares down at the table, resists the urge to pick at a loose thread in his jeans. Hears Yifu's voice in his head berating him for sulking like a child and his scowl only deepens at the thought. It's true, though, he's being overdramatic and childish and petty but what else can he do? He's wildly uncomfortable and it's only getting worse the longer he sits in silence.

So he looks up, raises an eyebrow and smirks faintly.

"So I see you have some thrilling entertainment lined up for us." He drawls "Is this your plan to force some kind of confession, you're going to try and bore me to death?"

This is him trying, he just doesn't actually know how to interact like a normal human.

From:

weird_cop

Quill chuckles at that - sure Xie is trying to be cutting, but the sarcasm just washes into the team like normal police banter. Certainly no one rises to it.

Lisa turns and smirks at him. "What would you like? True Crime? Nature documentaries?"

Kevin looks thoughtfully at Xie and then leans over and whispers something to Costain. The response is a surprised look, followed by a nod. "We'll see what we can do."

Sure, Kevin could have just offered to get Xie a guitar, but he dooesn't want to make it sound like a Good Cop offering, doesn't want to give Xie the chance to refuse it.

"Live crickets," he tells Quill, the glint in his eyes betraying the joke. "That's what scorpions eat, right?"

From:

xie_er

He doesn't know if he's pleased or annoyed that his sarcasm goes over surprisingly well - as funny as it is to have them bristling, at least their easy acceptance makes him feel less out of place.

Maybe he shouldn't want that, but he does.

He almost says he sees enough true crime outside of the TV, but remembers in time who he's talking to, and the nature documentaries comment makes him roll his eyes.

"Is that what I look like I enjoy?" he says instead, eyes already drifting from her to watch the exchange between Kev and Costain with suspicion.

He actually huffs a small, drily amused laugh at the comment.

"That's what people generally feed pet ones, yes, but in the wild they'll eat any animal they can catch... so don't get too close." It actually manages to sound more like a joke than a threat, so that's something.

From:

weird_cop

"No worries about that," Quill remarks.

Kevin takes it as a serious warning, coming from Jimmy - don't get too close to the scorpion, Kev, don't be the bloody frog. He turns his back again and divides the cooked meat into two different sized pans. One large, for him, Costain and Xie, and a smaller one for Quill, which will have a Quill-acceptable level of spice in it.

(Lisa will, as usual, have a mixture of both)

"No," Lisa admits, ignoring the discussion around her to give Xie her full attention, using 'guess what entertainment I'm into' as an excuse to study him.

"Maybe board games? Kev sucks at chess but I bet you'd have a run at him at Scrabble. Backgammon?"

From:

xie_er

Xie keeps his attention on her in turn, it's easier that way and if he's going to make friends with any of them it would be her.

Not that he is going to make friends with any of them.

Especially not Kevin.

"Scrabble is surprisingly difficult when you speak three languages, you keep forgetting what words are allowed." He offers, which is sort of a concession that he doesn't mind boardgames. He doesn't, at a push, but he prefers strategy games and he gets very competitive. It's almost a pity Kev is bad at chess.

"Sometimes I can get Yifu to play weiqi."

He wonders if he should have said any of that, but it's out there now, so he pretends he meant to, that he's just deigned to answer her questions rather than actually warming to the human interaction.

From:

weird_cop

"Go," Kevin translates for her, having already looked over to frown at her for the earlier comment. "I can play that. And I do not suck at chess, you are ridiculously good."

Which means she should get them, and a selection of others as well. Kevin will lose a lot, but he doesn't mind that.

"Fine," she says. "I'll set you up for further humiliation."

Back to Xie: "and once you've wiped the floor with him a couple of times, I'll find something else to torment him with."

"You know, I do have work to do," Kevin tells her.

From:

xie_er

Xie almost, almost suggests that she should come and play him sometime, but he's mostly wondering how the hell he ended up in the situation where there will be board games brought for entertainment - entertainment that specifically requires him to interact with the person he's stuck here with when he doesn't want to.

Maybe he shouldn't play chess against her.

He's just working out how best to respond to what she's saying when Kevin interjects again and something in his face sets.

"I don't particularly want to spend all my time playing games with you either. I can find my own entertainment."

He's definitely not being defensive about Kevin not wanting to spend time with him that would be ridiculous.

From:

weird_cop

"Sure," Kevin says.

Now that he also has a pot of rice on, he and Costain rejoin them at the table, the latter with fresh tea for everyone.

He wants to ask more personal questions of the others - check that Lisa and Tony are okay, ask about Quill's family, but he's also painfully aware of the danger of bringing up personal lives in front of people like this.

So the conversation becomes casual again. Football, the news, what the fuck is up with the weather right now, with Lisa doing most of the work of including Xie.

Kevin loves to see it, she's practically a UC.

Food, when it arrives, is a spicy West Indian stew, something Kevin never had growing up but Costain did, and something that he definitely never encountered at Zhao's.

From:

xie_er

Xie is cagey after that, but Lisa manages to draw him in a little bit more - he doesn't offer too much beyond disparaging everybody else's tastes and opinions, but it almost comes across as banter, and at one point he even agrees with somebody - but, to be fair, it's a comment in favour of immigration and he'd be somehwat hypocritical to disagree.

The food isn't the kind of thing Xie is overly familiar with - either from growing up or Zhao's - but he doesn't turn his nose up at it, and in fact seems quite intrigued.

It turns out to be delicious - meaty and rich and warm and spicy, all the things he likes in a meal. He eats delicately, though, mindful of his table manners and forcing himself to take it slowly even though he doesn't want to - it's second nature by now, after years of Yifu's scolding.

From:

weird_cop

It makes him one of the better mannered diners at this table. Most of the others tuck in readily, making appreciative noises and continuing to talk with each other even while eating.

Kevin stops talking only because he's wolfing his food down, finally finding his appetite after the ritual last night.

Quill notices first, and glances at the other two, and the three of them decide not to mention it.

Until Kevin looks up and frowns. "Don't look at me like that, I'm fine."

It's awkward - he knows he worries them with the physical strain of his rituals, but he also knows that's his burden - this is what he's good at.

From:

xie_er

Xie isn't surprised or even particularly bothered by their manners - he's dined with plenty of people with worse table manners than him, worse table manners than any of them, too, but other people's manners are no excuse to let his own slip. That's what Yifu would say.

He watches the way they all glance at Kevin, thinking for a moment that they're judging him for his enthusiasm in eating (little barbarian, Yifu would say, if Xie was eating like that. He called Xie that a lot, sometimes it even sounded like a compliment, a pet name. Other times.. not so much).

He realises, though, with the way Kevin reacts, that they're worried about him. He huffs - disdain or envy, even he doesn't really know - and shakes his head slightly.

"Having his appetite back is a good sign." He observes.

Which probably gives away that he noticed it was lacking, last night, but he doesn't care so much if it makes them stop giving Kevin those looks.

From:

weird_cop

Kevin gestures across the table at Xie, as if to say see? but he realises a little too late he probably shouldn't be agreeing with the evil scorpion assassin guy.

"Just don't choke on your food," Quill remarks. "None of us want to give you the Heimlich."

"Yeah," pipes up Costain, "and if you die the rest of us are going to be murdered before we can leave the kitchen."

From:

xie_er

"Mm... some of you might make it as far as the hall." Xie says serenely, his gaze flicking to Lisa. It's actually quite the compliment, coming from him, because he isn't being self-deprecating; he's very aware of his own skills.

"I don't have any weapons, after all."

Should you joke about killing cops? Probably not, but in his defence they started it.

From:

weird_cop

Lisa holds her hands up. "What am I going to do, hit you with a laptop? I just look like a boxer."

Apparently joking about killing cops is what these cops, in particular, do.

"Hey," says Costain, "you pack a mean punch with that laptop. Wouldn't be thhe first time."

From:

xie_er

"It's not about strength, it's about smarts." Xie observes - he's not especially strong, but you don't need to be strong when you're quick and clever and, yes, okay, being venemous helps too.

(Whether through actual venom or something a little extra applied to his blades)

She could also do a lot of damage with a laptop if he was in scorpion form, but he would like to not joke about being squashed thank you.

He wouldn't need to shift, though, he thinks - he'd just need to make it to the kitchen knives before they do. It really is just a thought exercise more than anything, but now that he has thought about it, he doesn't feel quite so defenseless in this place without his own knives.

From:

weird_cop

"I'm flattered," she replies.

There's a snort from Kevin, but he's not looking at them, but at Costain, caught in a fit of jealousy he thought he'd been hiding.

He glares at Kevin who shakes his head.

"Mate," he says, in a tone that says Costain must know how wrong the end of the stick is that he's grasping at.

Quill clears his throat and stands up, gathering empty dishes.

"Well," he says. "Thank you for the meal, Sefton. I'll get the washing up."