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

[weird_cop]

Mina inhales deeply - the surprise partly dampened by the hints in the conversation so far, but there's a slight widening to her eyes that betrays her sheer hunger for what is being offered to her.

She lays her hand on the desk, above the locked drawer with the treasure inside, as she reassesses the value of what she holds.

"You really want these memories that bad, huh? You'd be willing to bond with me for them?"

As far as Mina's concerned, it's already decided. She absolutely will trade what she has for Zhao's familiar.

[xie_er]

"I told you, those memories could be very useful to me." He says easily "Besides, I've been looking for somebody worth giving my power to, and I like your style."

He is, of course, lying through his teeth, but he's at least able to do it relatively convincingly.

"You pass the memories on to one of my associates, and I'll show you the ritual you need to complete the bonding. Deal?"

He'll get Du Pusa to take the memories back to Kevin, and then they'll work out fixing this little problem from there. If they even get as far as doing the ritual, if he can weasel out of it he absolutely will.

[weird_cop]

The flattery absolutely works on a woman who has put a lot of effort into style. She flashes him a smile and leans back, clearing space on the table for her to open out the blotter in front of her, a clean piece of paper waiting underneath.

"I think we can make a deal," she says, her smile now warm, friendly.

She reaches for the inkwell to her side and pulls the steel pen from it, tapping excess ink off.

"Your associate comes here, collects the memories, and then we complete the ritual?"

[xie_er]

He smiles back, much warmer than before - it feels a little sickening, actually, because it's the exact kind of smile he used to give Yifu, but he tells himself it's for the greater good. It's more important to get Kevin's memories back, and he'd risk himself a thousand times over for that.

"Yes." he agrees "We can set up the ritual in the mean time, then complete it when the memories are handed over."

It's a risk to even go that far, since the ritual would theoretically work even without his willingness, but he's banking on her not having the same level of power that Kevin had access to when he did it.

[weird_cop]

"Okay," says Mina.

She holds the pen to the paper in front of her, presses it down, and then draws her hand back, leaving the pen upright over the paper.

When she starts to speak, the pen starts to move - the ink is nearly black, but there is a definite red tinge in the overhead light.

"I guarantee the safety of your associate, as long as they arrive alone, take only the vial of memories, and leave immediately with nothing else. In return, you will show me how to conduct the bonding ritual, and cooperate fully until it is completed.

"You'll need to step out of the safety circle to contact them, I suppose. But if you stay with me otherwise, we can ensure neither of us have any surprises.

"Would you like to add any clauses?"

[xie_er]

He takes a moment to consider the terms and then shakes his head.

"No, I can agree to all of that." He says. He knows Du Pusa will get the memories where they need to go, and he knows that he can also tell Kevin what's going on, and from there... well, he trusts Kevin to fix it. Even if fixing it involves stealing him back.

He probably should discuss it with him first, but that's hard to do without giving something away, and when Kevin doesn't have his memories - as much as Kevin is still Kevin, he's not quite the same person that Xie really needs to get the okay from, so he just has to take the 'forgiveness not permission' route and hope it all works out.

[weird_cop]

Mina waits until the pen has finished, and then she opens another drawer, pulling out a cloth to wipe the pen with, a shallow glass bowl, and two sharp pearl-handled scalpels.

"Forgive the theatrics," she says with the tone of someone who is not the least bit regretful of the theatrics. She presses the blade to her middle finger long enough draw a line, then offers the clean scalpel to Xie while she squeezes a few drops of her own blood into the bowl.

[xie_er]

This is, he knows, the last chance he has to back out and try a different tactic - but he doesn't have a different tactic. He could still try and avoid the ritual and take the risk with whatever the consequences are, but it seems like it might be safer to just go through with the plan and fix it afterwards.

So he takes the scalpel and copies her actions, dropping his own blood into the bowl.

[weird_cop]

Mina mixes their blood together in the bowl, then dips the pen into the mixture in order to sign her name Wilhelmina Westcott and turns the contract around for Xie to read and sign.

That done, she leans back in her chair, and smiles at him, genuinely happy at the future she sees ahead of her.

"Would you like to call your friend?"

[xie_er]

Xie signs it 赵蠍 and pushes both pen and contract back over to her. He hates to use the name, but it's the only one he has with any sort of legal standing and he would also hate to use his old name even more, under the circumstances.

"Yes." He stands, pulling his phone from his pocket and moving to the side. Normally, he would speak in Cantonese, but he doesn't want her getting suspicious at this point - and he hopes speaking in English will be enough for Du Pusa to realise something is amiss.

He tells her to come and collect the bottle and take it to 'the house'. At the same time, he reaches out to Kevin.

I'm about to do something stupid. Find out where I am now, and when Du Pusa gets there with your memories, come and find me

[weird_cop]

"Wait how do I do that?" Kevin shoots back, immediately worried at what that 'something stupid' might be. But he shuts the game down and pulls out his phone for the maps app, focusing very hard on where the link is telling him Xie is.

Mina watches Xie patiently until he's hung up, at which point she hands him another piece of chalk.

"Hopefully you know where your friend is," she says. "This one should focus that for you. Do I need to fetch any supplies for the ritual?"

[xie_er]

Xie tells him the easiest way to do it, glad that he's not asking any other questions - he doesn't have time for an argument about it right now, he just needs Kevin to trust him. Just as much as he needs to trust Kevin to fix this.

He takes the chalk and nods - he knows where to find her. He's glad to fetch her himself, as well, it'll give him a little privacy to talk before they come back - a chance for him to explain what she should and shouldn't say in front of Mina.

He explains the set up for the ritual before he leaves, hoping he hasn't missed anything out - it wasn't like he was the one who did it, after all.

[weird_cop]

"Don't be long," Mina says pleasantly. She doesn't need to add any signs of distrust - the contract is enough to ensure his 'full cooperation' until the boding, and from then - well, she knows that Familiars are compelled to do what their witch commands.

She rolls up the rug on one sign of the desk so she can work on the hardwood floor, hitching her skirt up as she kneels and starts to set up a pentagram to start the ritual on.

"Hey," she says, before Xie has a chance to leave, "do you want to go out for a fancy dinner later? I have a hotel room booked in Oxford."

[xie_er]

He pauses, glancing back at her for a moment before nodding.

"An appropriate celebration for our new arrangement." He agrees, once again lying through his teeth, because he has no intention of this lasting long enough for dinner if he can help it.

He turns back and leaves, though it's only about fifteen minutes before he's back with Du Pusa, having explained as much of the plan as possible to her. She expresses that he's a fucking idiot, he tells her he's going to do it anyway.

And maybe suggests she might want to be ready for murder if everything doesn't go to plan.

[weird_cop]

Mina is standing, leaning back against the desk, when Xie and Du Pusa arrive, and she greets them with a wide, friendly smile, apparently taking a shine to Du Pusa on sight.

"Nice to meet you," she says, and holds out the vial. Du Pusa will have to step into the circle to take it, of course, but that's only professional caution.

"I hope you can find what you're after from this. I'd invite you to stay but I'm sure you have somewhere to take it."

[xie_er]

Du Pusa flashes her a flirtatious smile, because of course she does, and steps into the circle without hesitation (Xie already warned her about it).

"Oh I'm sure this will give Da Wang exactly what he wants," she purrs, taking the vial and letting her fingers brush Mina's "I do have to go I'm afraid, but I look forward to seeing you again." She adds with a wink.

"Call on me when you need me, Da Wang." She says to Xie, grinning as she starts to step away again. He just rolls his eyes at her antics.

[weird_cop]

Mina just smiles back at her, not quite as flirtatious, but definitely receptive to her attentions. She watches Du Pusa leave, as much to make sure she does leave, as to enjoy the pressure of watching her go. Then she turns to Xie with a friendly smile.

"Shall we get started?"

Before she moves to sit in the pentagram, Mina opens the last cupboard under her desk, and pulls out a cage containing a sedated city pigeon.

------


Back at the house, Kevin is pacing desperately as he waits to hear from Xie, concentrating continually on the link, and his location so he can be sure that's where he is.

At first he thinks he's eaten something funny, mistakes the first sensation for a stomach cramp. Then, as the pain increases, he yells out loud from it. Stupidly, through the rising panic, he doesn't reach out to Xie; doesn't want to distract him from his more important work. Kevin falls backwards onto the couch, wondering if he's having a heart attack

And then it all gets worse, spreads throughout his entire body, and Kevin realises it isn't his literal heart he can feel being torn out of his chest. He falls to his knees on the floor, shoves his fist into his mouth and screams around it before he starts to sob.

It's a full half hour into the feeling before he finally tries to reach out for help.

"Xie...?"

Kevin doesn't know where he is anymore. And that's what he notices, rather than the loss of magic.

[xie_er]

Xie doesn't let any of his reservations show on his face, merely talks her through the ritual. It hurts - not physically, at first, but definitely in his heart - to lend his power to the ritual, to allow the bond to be torn away from Kevin and moved to her. Then it hurts physically, because of course it does, though he really hadn't expected the pain to be quite so severe when he was going willingly.

He has to grit his teeth through it, not let it show, because he doesn't want to give her cause to question it, but in truth the physical pain is nothing, nothing compared to the grief of it. He had never properly acknowledged how right his bond with Kevin felt, until the tethers of the new bond settle around his soul and he realises they feel just like before - solid, inescapable, but more like a chain than a loving embrace.

He breathes out slowly, opens eyes that he hadn't even realised he closed, reaches out tentatively along the link even though he knows it's her on the other end of it and not him. He doesn't say anything, can't bring himself to. Instead he just nods.

"It is done."

[weird_cop]

Mina stays on the ground for a few seconds, her hands splayed out in a mess of feathers and blood as she pants heavily from the stress and the pain of it.

Her first instinct, on completion of the bond, is to reach into it and pull on the magic, using it to flood her meridians and restore what the ritual took from her.

Then she stands gracefully and uses the inkstained cloth to wipe her hands, turning her happy smile back on Xie.

"Well," she says. "Shall we go? I want to get out of here before the police can trace me."

[xie_er]

The pull of magic from her feels like a violation, but he allows it to flow all the same. How strange that something that once felt so normal suddenly sickens him, and he sort of understands, all of a sudden, Kevin's point of view about not wanting to take his magic when not freely offered.

The last thing he wants to do is leave, not when this is the only place Kevin knows to find him, but he doesn't have an excuse that won't sound suspicious, and he wants her guard down as long as possible.

"Alright. Where are we headed?" He agrees easily, already trying to think of ways to leave a message or a trail for Kevin to follow when he arrives.

[weird_cop]

"I have a car parked down the road," Mina says. "We're only a short drive to the M25, and then the M40, and out of their jurisdiction."

She smiles at him again, bright and optimistic. "I can't wait to show you how my operation is working. We can talk everything through in the car, including how you'd want to work with us."

She does have to get away from the Shadow Police, but everyone knows they're a Met operation. With a familiar on her side, she's more or less unstoppable.

[xie_er]

Xie nods. So, they have a whole operation do they? He looks forward to helping to take it down.

"Alright, lead the way."

There's no way he can write a message without her seeing, but he can leave a trail - even if it pains him to do so. He flicks one of his knives into his hand, leaves it stuck in the doorframe as they leave. He stops to rety his shoe at the car and leaves another.

As they drive, he dangles a hand casually out the window, distracting her with talk as he flicks knives into road signs to mark their way - he only has so many, so he focuses on the major ones and just hopes they're enough. Hopes that they can follow, jurisdiction or not.

By the time they get out of the car, he has one knife left - his switchblade.

This one he doesn't drop. Instead, he uses it to cut his hand, leaving a smear of blood on the car as he closes the door and then letting it drip as they walk.

[weird_cop]

Kevin, meanwhile, finds himself lying on the floor of his house, confused and lost and physically weak. It takes him some time to realise that he isn't actually dying, but he's not sure that he didn't pass out for a while.

He stays there for a while, still sobbing from the strain of it, and tries to figure out what has happened. Xie said he was going to do something stupid, but he didn't say what, and Kevin doesn't have anywhere near the knowledge to realise what he just felt was the severing of the bond. He's keenly aware of the loss of the link, of not knowing where Xie is, nor of being able to talk to him - but the loss of nearly all of his power, the feeling of having his soul ripped away... Kevin hadn't even realised where his power ended and where Xie's begun, and doesn't realise that all he has left is his own.

All he knows is he feels fundamentally broken, and the logical conclusion is that whatever happened to the link must be a fault of his own loss of power.

He pulls himself up, finds a coat and his shoes and the car keys in a vague haze of purpose.

Xie said to wait for Du Pusa. Kevin waits, but he's ready to leave the moment she arrives.

[xie_er]

Du Pusa arrives not much later, knocking urgently on the door and cursing the stupid traffic that kept her from getting here her any quicker.

As soon as he opens the door she's shoving the vial towards him.

"Here's your stupid memories, hurry up and drink it so we can go after Da Wang." she says without much preamble. Her usual cool is somewhat lacking in the fact of her worry for her friend.

[weird_cop]

Kevin practically snatches it from her, and gulps down the contents without even stopping to ask if they should be drunk. As soon as the liquid touches his throat, he knows he's doing the right thing, and he chugs at the rest of the body like it's water and he's been lost in the desert.

The memories flood in - everything from his childhood bullies to Tony's I know what you are threatening smirk to the way Joe used to put his cold feet against his...

And Xie. His smug little smirk, his adorable nose, the way he laughs when he's truly relaxed, and how every single one of those laughs used to be rare as diamonds until Kevin was lucky enough to see them every day. His bravery when he realised what had been done to him, and resolved to bring down his Yifu. The way he glowed when Sarah Quill asked him about the garden. The way he will do anything and everything for the people he loves because that's just how much love he has in his heart.

That fucking stupid idiot scorpion.

Kevin barges out of the door and points Du Pusa at his own car.

"You ever ridden in the front while the blues are going?"