(no subject)

[yinyangwizard]

Abe no Seimei, tonight dressed in a green-and-gray kimono, is by the fireplace tuning his kin no koto (known in China as a guqin).

Behind and above him, a small drone slips down out of the rafters to survey the area and spy on the bar's patrons. It is almost instantly ambushed by a flock of paper birds, which swarm the thing in a blinding cloud and carry it away to parts unknown.

Unknown to most people. Seimei knows where the drone is going. He smiles to himself as he tunes the next-to-last string on his instrument.

Some time tomorrow, when Ava Wilson is doing her shift at the library and nobody else is around, she will receive a package delivered by a very polite Japanese snow monkey. The contents of said package will have its batteries removed and its memory wiped, of course.

Meanwhile, Seimei will play Chinese classics on his venerable kin no koto, occasionally pausing to enjoy a bit of peach brandy. And talk to anyone who decides to keep him company.

Comments

[thewidewideworld]

"May I join you?" Sinric asks, a glass of apple tea in hand. "I believe I know some of these songs well."

[yinyangwizard]

"I am always glad to see you, Sinric-san," Seimei says. "And to hear you sing as well."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric makes himself comfortable in the rug by Seimei's chair, sipping his tea and singing softly along with the music.

[yinyangwizard]

They spend some time pleasantly engaged that way - Seimei playing his instrument, and Sinric singing along with it. After a while, though, Seimei decides it's time to give Sinric's singing voice (and his own fingers) a rest.

"So, Sinric-san, I am eager to hear the latest tales of your travels! What wonders and gems of ordinary life have you encountered lately?"

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric smiles and sips his tea, glad to hear is voice awhile. "Would you have a tale of Tang, of Nippon, or of Vengi?"

[yinyangwizard]

"Oh! I can hardly decide. A tale of my own country in the days before my birth, of the glittering court of the Tang, or a curious land of which I know very little. Do I have to choose just one?"

[thewidewideworld]

"Shall I tell you of my sunrise at the eastern most point of Nippon. Kamino took me there. We had spoke often of my desire to see dawn from the closest man may stand to the edge of the work."

"I will still weak from... from our earlier conflict but he was so very gently, helping me to climb up to the balcony at the top of the temple. It had the most beautiful red tiles, warm and smooth. The abbot and the monks came to join us." He smiles and breathes out slowly, closing his eyes.

"The scent of their incense was so heady, their chanting enveloped us like an embrace, making us a part of their moment and they a part of theirs. In that moment, I felt as if I was a part of all things. The colours that filled the sky as the sun rose over the ocean, the crispness in the air."

The expression of his face is one of rapture, even at the memory.

[yinyangwizard]

"How lovely! There is at least one good poem in there somewhere."

Seimei wishes that Hiromasa or Tsuyu were here - writing a poem about the occasion was just the sort of thing they were good at. The thought gives him a feeling of melancholy he does not wish to dwell on, at least at the moment.

"Tell me about the court of the Tang. Our imperial court was patterned after them, and many of our fashions too, but I imagine we were pale imitations of the original."

[thewidewideworld]

"I wrote a song about it, in fact. But I'm sure it's not up the standards of your wonderful poetry."

"A tale of the Tang court." He settles back into a more comfortable position. "I would not say the Nippon court was a pale imitation, just different." He taps the side of his glass as he thinks.

"In my second year at court, I happen to be in the palace gardens during the civil service exams. You know that men of all rank and birth can apply for positions of duty and responsibility and are selected by merit of exam?"

"The exams were held over several days every year and for those few days, the gates of the palace gardens were open to all applicants."

"The women of court thought it was marvellous, of course. So many young men, polished to a shine and strutting like peacocks in the hope of impressing."

"The day had been wet, with mist and rain and the stones of the gardens were slippery. I was just coming in from Guqin lessons when a young candidate comes running across the flagstones. He slipped and crashed into him, knocking me to the ground. I cried out as much from surprise as pain. I bruise with ease, you see and I landed badly with him on top of me."

"At once the guards were on us, dragging the poor young man away before I had a chance to explain."

He pauses to take another sip of tea.

[yinyangwizard]

"Oh! I hope this story has a happier ending than the one I have in mind," Seimei says.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric chuckles, "Which begs me to ask what story you had in mind?"

"And yes, it ended well. The poor body was dragged before the court proper and asked to explain his actions. By the time I'd cleaned myself up and changed, he was beside himself. He was so flushed he could barely form a sentence."

"When I entered, the Emperor acknowledged me with that little smile he had when he was amused by something but didn't want anyone to know. When I explained what had happened, he was released to leave. He was very grateful but still so flustered. So I walked with him in the gardens and helped him practice his Latin before his exam. He came and found me afterwards to thank me."

"Several months later I met him again. He succeed brilliantly at the exam and was in a high position within the Jiangnandong Prefecture."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei breathes a sigh of relief. "What I had in mind was that he was summarily executed before anyone bothered to really figure out what happened. I am glad to hear it was not so."

[thewidewideworld]

"Oh no, I wouldn't have let that happen. Perhaps if it had been a lady of the court, he might have been in danger of that, but the guards saw it was me. My colouring tends to make me stand out."

[manofbusiness]

Childermass is walking by and stops, listening to the music and not interrupting Seimei before he pauses on his own.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei notices him and smiles as he plays, assuring Childermass that he will speak to him when the piece is done. Which he does, a couple of minutes later.

"Hello, Mr. Childermass!" he says. "It has been a while since we spoke last, has it not?"

[manofbusiness]

"Indeed it has", he agrees. "A month or two, and about the same in my world."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei nods. "So how goes it, then? Any progress on getting your reclusive employer to come out of his shell?"

[manofbusiness]

"Ah, as to that - " He smiles crookedly. "It would appear that on occasion, insulting letters from learned gentlemen work as well as anything."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei's eyes light up. "Oh! You simply must tell me about it," he says, like a court lady demanding the latest piece of gossip from her confidante.

[manofbusiness]

Childermass drops casually into a chair.

"We had a visit from Mr Segundus and his friend, Mr Honeyfoot. Then they went away and told what they had seen."

Well, what they remembered of it, anyway.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei nods. "They saw Mr. Norrell's impressive library, then. Was the rude letter from a theoretical magician demanding that Mr. Norrell share his treasure trove of knowledge?"

That's the first possibility that comes to Seimei's mind, anyway.

[manofbusiness]

"Not quite. They questioned his claims and suggested that he must provide proof before they will credit what he can do."

[yinyangwizard]

"Ah! So they have stung his pride!" In Seimei's experience, that's often a great way to motivate certain kinds of people to do what one wants them to do.

[manofbusiness]

"Indeed they have, and though he stamped and muttered and said they would never hear from him again, he could not let that pass."

[yinyangwizard]

"So what is he going to do?" Seimei asks. "Or has he perhaps already done it?"