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

[xie_er]

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...

Comments

[xie_er]

Xie can understand her caution - says as much, in fact, admits that trusting people is pretty new to him, and of the people he's trusted before... well, the less said about that, the better.

He's pleased, though, to see her opening up - wonders if that's how Kevin feels, with him - and he wants to earn her trust, wants to be someone she can call a friend.

He enjoys playing chess with her, too, enjoys watching her strategise and think everything through, and it makes his own play a little more thoughtful - the challenge is nice, and while he feels bad putting her on the back foot, he feels proud of himself too, and he pushes past the urge to fall back and let her win just because she doesn't want to lose. He also thinks she doesn't need him to let her win, the game genuinely could have gone either way a number of times.

The pull on his power catches his attention immediately, and he stops mid-sentence. He relaxes a little when Kevin explains it, but not much.

"Take as much as you need." He says "Please"

"Something's going on. Kevin says it's nothing to worry about, but he needed some power." He tells Lisa

[weird_cop]

Lisa looks worried, but then forces herself to be not worried, to let the frown disappear. But she does get out her phone and asks if she should be calling anyone.

Kevin takes a good chunk of Xie's power, and explains as he's going, althoguh because he's trying to hold other conversations at the same time and he's distracted, sometimes his out-loud words spill into the link.

"Idiot kids tried to hold up a cornershop, Tony got a bit stabbed - hold still, I'm talking to Xie - but I'm gonna get this healed before the paramedics get here. Tell Lisa he's sorry for being an idiot but he's fine - yes, I'm telling them that. She might want to call Lofthouse just to let her know."

It doesn't help that Tony's now trying to talk to hm like he's on the phone.

[xie_er]

Don't worry is worrying, don't worry accompanied by that kind of power drain is more worrying.

He tries to stay calm, though, for Lisa as much for himself.

"Tony says he's sorry for being an idiot but he's fine." He reports first "Kevin is healing him, but he got 'a bit stabbed'. Kevin says you might want to call Lofthouse."

It would be funny if it wasn't so concerning, listening to Kevin's explanation interspersed with his comments to Tony.

"Do you want to go there?" He asks Lisa, since he can tell her exactly where 'there' is.

[weird_cop]

Lisa, still holding her bishop - holds up a finger tell Xie she'll get to that question once she's got hold of Lofthouse.

"Hello, Ma'am. DS Costain and DC Sefton have called to say they had an incident out in town today, and the DS appears to have been injured..." she looks over at Xie, "where are they?"

"One sec," says Kevin in his head, "I'm chatting to uniforms, no okay, now Tone is chatting to uniforms. Okay, ask her to get Lofthouse to do her thing so we can take charge of the questioning, because there's some overlap with our speciality."

He watches Tony take charge of the scene despite the blood seeping into Xie's shirt, and Kevin smirks.

"Idiot kids got hold of some toy guns that had been enchanted to look like real ones. Unfortunately, they're going to get done for possession of unlawful firearms because only Tony and I know they're fake."

[xie_er]

"They're about ten miles that way?" Xie says, pointing in the direction he knows Kevin is, his look slightly apologetic since he knows that isn't useful - he can direct, he just can't give them a location they can necessarily use without a map. "South west" he adds helpfully.

"Kevin is asking Lofthouse to 'do her thing' so they can take charge of the questioning." He explains, dutifully also repeating Kevin's explanation once he gives it.

The only problem with using the link instead of a phone, he thinks, is that he can't just hand the link over to Lisa to talk to Kevin herself.

[weird_cop]

Lisa nods, and relays enough information.

"Sefton says - wait, Xie ask him for an exact location - that the armed robbery about to be pulled in with illegal firearms overlaps with our speciality and can you get them in the operation? Great, thanks."

She hangs up the phone, and moves to stand, looking hopefully at Xie.

"Do you know where Kev keeps the car keys?"

Kevin meanwhile, has been handed the evidence bag Tony wrangled from the uniforms and is stashing it in his holdall.

"Oh for... okay, Xie, tell Lisa that they're still taking Tony to A&E so you can go meet him there. I'm going to take his car to the nick and I'll see you all later. I'll call Quill on the way."

[xie_er]

Xie gets the slightly more helpful version of the location from Kevin when requested, then stands when Lisa does.

He nods, leading her to the hallway where the keys are hanging up - and also where the coatrack and his shoes are.

"He says they're still taking Tony to A&E so we should go there, he'll meet us there." He reports

[weird_cop]

Lisa agrees, thanking Kevin through Xie for healing Tony, and then, once her shoes and coat are on, leads the way out to Kevin's car.

Kevin, meanwhile, calls Quill on the way to where Tony is parked, and explains the whole situation. Quill, understandably annoyed at having his Sunday interrupted, nevertheless agrees to meet Kevin at the nick, where he can get a good look at the evidence he's collected and decide how to question the suspects about how they obtained it.

He's just hung up when he realises he's not sure where he put Tony's keys, and the ensuing search through his pockets means he's distracted enough that he doesn't notice when he suddenly gets an urge to change course and head in another direction.

[xie_er]

Xie is focused on Lisa, not really thinking to check in on Kevin because - he thinks - he knows what he's doing and where he's going. When he does reach out, almost reflexively, he doesn't immediately realise anything is wrong, because he doesn't know where he's supposed to be.

He does, however, let him know through the link when they arrive at A&E, and once they've found Tony he falls back to give Tony and Lisa some privacy and reaches out again.

"How long do you think you'll be? Will you meet us here or back at the house?" He asks, mentally working out where everybody's cars are and what the plan will need to be.

[weird_cop]

Kevin left his shopping bags by the side of the road he'd changed directions, leaving just the holdall. It had begun to occur to him this was a weird thing to do after a few metres, and he'd stopped. Or he'd tried to stop. That - combined with the mental effort of reaching out to Xie, had scared someone, and suddenly even thinking about doing something other than what he was doing, got very hard indeed.

He just really wants to go into this building.

When Xie next reaches out himself, the only thoughts that come down it are not in answer to his question.

"Wait, I can help you. Don't... please..."

Kevin is scared, and he's trying not to panic. But only just managing it.

[xie_er]

"Kevin? What's going on?" Xie feels the panic rise and he isn't sure if it's his or Kevin's or both. He clamps down on it, starts towards the hospital entrance only to realise he has no way of getting to where Kevin is.

He turns, hating the feeling of moving away from him in that moment, and heads straight back to Tony and Lisa.

"Something's wrong. I need to go to Kevin, please." He says urgently, wishing he could drive, or had an animal form with wings, anything.

[weird_cop]

There's no answer from Kevin, who is not currently conscious.

But when Tony and Lisa see Xie approach, Tony is already standing by the time he talks. He puts his hand out to Lisa who gives him the keys. When a nurse tries to stop them walking out, Tony just waves his warrant card.

"I'm fine," he says, "I'm not even hurt, come on."

Lisa, meanwhile, has Maps open on her phone, angling it to show Xie as they walk out.

"Which direction? How far?"

[xie_er]

He's so unbelievably grateful that they don't even question it, that they're moving before he even finishes speaking - grateful, too, that he can still sense Kevin's location even though the link isn't strictly 'active' when he's unconscious.

Well, as grateful as he can be when he's fighting back the worry that he is unconscious.

He doesn't know how to help, what he's supposed to do, all this power within him and he can't do anything with it, and the person who can do something with it is the one he needs to save.

At least he knows that Tony and Lisa care enough about Kevin that they won't let anything happen to him.

"North, not far from where they were, he must have walked from there." He says, leaning over to look at the map. It takes him a couple of minutes to orient himself and work out distances but it's not too long before he has a rough location on tha map - one that'll be easier to pinpoint when they get closer.

[weird_cop]

"Got it," says Lisa. Tony is already striding ahead, making her increase her pace to keep up.

By the time they get to the car, she's told Tony which direction to go in and is calling Quill, telling him that Kevin is in trouble and the three of them are going to a rough location and she'll keep him informed.

As soon as she's off the phone she addresses Xie again.

"What's happening?"

She's done this with Kevin before when trying to find Xie, so she's not too worried about finding him.

[xie_er]

"I don't know." Xie says instantly, slightly panicked, before he stops and forces himself to take a breath, shutting down his emotion just a little - he goes, in many ways, to the place he used to go when he was on a job. All business.

"He's unconscious. I didn't realise anything was wrong at first, but the last thing he said to me was strange. He was saying... don't do this, I can help," He reports, calmer now "or something like that. He was worried, I could tell. I don't think he was speaking to me, so he must have been very focused on whoever he was talking to for that to be what came over the link."

Like the way snippets of what he was saying to Tony had come over, he thinks.

[weird_cop]

Lisa patiently watches Xie calm himself, listens to what he says, and then her face hardens a little.

"Thanks, Kev. Way to be helpful," she says dryly.

Tony, meanwhile, is racing through the streets at a breakneck speed.

"Will you know when he's awake?" He asks.

[xie_er]

"Yes."

If he wasn't obsessively reaching out through the link, he might not know immediately unless Kevin wakes to any particularly strong emotions, but since he is obsessively reaching out, he probably will.

Well, that and the fact that Kevin will, he assumes, do exactly what he did upon first waking and reach out himself.

It is strange that Kevin didn't give him any particularly useful information before being knocked out, but Xie just assumes that, whatever was going on, Kevin thought he could handle it without needing to worry anybody else. He'd be mad about that if he wasn't too busy trying to not panic.

(He hates that it's so hard to not panic. He's not used to caring about someone this much)

[weird_cop]

"Let us know," says Tony.

Lisa, hesitantly, puts a hand out to Xie's shoulder.

"We'll find him," she says quietly. "He'll be okay."




Kevin doesn't reach out to Xie when he wakes. Primarily because he doesn't remember there is a link to reach through.

He wakes to find himself lying on damp concrete ground, under an arch of bricks, his wrists and ankles bound roughly with tape.

All he can think is that he's cold, and feels empty. And scared, but a gentle, worried kind of scared, not quite high enough to be panic. He's alone: there's no one here to threaten him.

But how he got there, or even who might be looking for him, he has genuinely no recollection.

[xie_er]

The fact that when he reaches out and realises Kevin's awake he isn't met with any particularly strong panic or anger or anything beyond a sort of uncertain fear is, in itself, a little concerning. He wouldn't even have felt it at all if he hadn't been actively reaching for it. He hadn't even really, entirely, expected to find him awake, because why the hell wouldn't he have reached out to Xie immediately?

"Kevin? Are you okay? What's happening? Are you hurt? We're almost there"

"He's awake" He says out loud

[weird_cop]

"Who's there?"

He says it aloud, without even noticing that he's also thinking it. He heard a voice, so he assumes that he heard the voice.

Which means there's someone close by, but when he looks up into the shadows caused by the street light spilling into the arch, he can't see anyone.

It gives him another flash of worried panic, as he scrambles to find the speaker.

"Where are you?"

[xie_er]

At first, Xie thinks that it's just another case of Kevin sharing something through the link that he's saying to someone else - it's worrying, and frustrating, that he won't reply properly, that he won't explain what's going on, because Xie knows he's better trained than that.

But any other option is unthinkable, so he doesn't think it.

"In the car with Lisa and Tony, we're close now. What can you see? Who's with you?" He encourages, trying to keep down his own panic so he doesn't make Kevin's any worse.

"He's not telling me anything," he says, frustrated, but he leans forward to point out the building ahead of them "there. He's in there."

As soon as Tony pulls up he's shoving himself from the car, ignoring any attempts to stop him or call him back. He's really not used to working as part of a team, and he wants to get to Kevin. There's already a knife in his hand, just in case.

[weird_cop]

Lisa tumbles out behind him while Tony speeds off to find somewhere to park that's not actively blocking the street, but she can't catch up.



The building in question has a sunken garage level, disused like the test of it, doorway wide open where the previous occupants made a hasty run for it. In the space below, under one of the supportive structures, Kevin has brought himself to a kneeling position, ready to try and fight someone off if need be.

His head is hurting and he can feel dried blood on his upper lip, neither of which speak well for his ability to fight, but he had to do something.

He doesn't ask who Lisa and Tony are. He focuses on the questions he's been asked because they seem straightforward.

I'm in a basement. Or a car park, or something. The doors open, there are streetlights outside. I don't see anyone, or hear anyone...

"No wait, someone is coming."

That someone is of course, Xie, bit all Kevin sees when he comes into view is the knife in his hand.

[xie_er]

There really doesn't seem to be anyone there, but Xie couldn't care less about anyone else when he sees Kevin and he rushes forward - he still has the knife out, though, because he's not a complete idiot. At least, he wouldn't be a complete idiot if the circumstances were normal.

At first, he thinks that Kevin doesn't realise it's him because he's backlit and Kevin probably can't see his features, and then he realises that's a stupid thing to think because how can Kevin not just know?

How can Kevin be reacting like he's about to be attacked, not like the man he loves is running to his rescue?

He's too close to really change course, though, and he drops to his knees in front of Kevin, knife disappearing into his sleeve as he reaches out to him even though he knows, now, that might not be the right thing to do. He just really, really wants to be wrong...

[weird_cop]

Kevin feels like he probably should flinch again, and in fact he does lift his bound hands between them when the man reaches for him, instinctively trying to block.

But there's something about the look in the man's eyes when he kneels, some feeling of care and affection that makes him think that can't possibly be dangerous. Not to Kevin, not now.

And Kevin is so confused and lost, not sure if he's shivering from the cold or the fear, that he doesn't want to push anyone away right now. He moves his hands to take the one reaching for him.

"How did you do that?" He asks, coming to the conclusion that this is the man who's been talking to him as clearly as he's been in the room with him


Lisa hurries in shortly after Xie, sees the situation, and hurries forward herself, crying his name.

[xie_er]

Something is clearly amiss, and honestly Xie just can't tell what it is. He doesn't know why Kevin is speaking to him out loud, why he's acting so strange, and none of the possibilities are good ones.

He curls his hands gently around Kevin's and at least takes a moment to be glad they've found him and he's safe.

"How did I do what?" He asks "I'm going to cut you free, okay?" He adds, flicking his switchblade into his hand to cut through the binding around Kevin's wrists.