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[alongfallfromgrace]

It is cold, out by the lake. This is not the pleasant warmth of Lotus Pier, with the reward of a pleasant swim waiting after a day of drills.

But Wei Ying has a lot of work ahead of him, and isn't willing to wait for a better time to start.

Thus, there's an overly lean young man in a slightly lighter version of his usual robes attempting to run laps around the lake. His endurance is... not impressive.

Wei Ying finds this immensely frustrating, and he mutters increasingly unkind things about Jin trainers and their utter incompetence.

(OOC: Hi guys - the storm has knocked out my power and internet for... well. The forseeable future. The critters and I are safe, but I'll be away for a bit. See y'all on the other side. I'm back, y'all! PG&E work crews have been rockstars.)

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[yinyangwizard]

Seimei, dressed in a puffy jacket, snow pants, and boots made for Hokkaido winters, began smoking a pipe on the back porch and has since meandered in a lakeward direction, bringing him close to Wei Wuxian’s running circuit.

Thus he is present to witness the beginning of Wei Wuxian’s second lap - which is, frankly, a concerning sight.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying was once one of the best of his generation. He trained other cultivators in the art, leading his younger shidis and shijies in endless drills.

He is currently staggering to a stop by a boulder, using it to prop himself up so he doesn't keel over into the snow. White steam plumes into the freezing air as he desperately tries to get his breath back.

This is so patently unfair.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei removes the pipe from his mouth and plods over to Wei Wuxian and his support boulder.

“Wei Wuxian,” he clasps his hands and bows. “I sense you are frustrated, but please do not overtax yourself. Settling into a new body always takes time.”

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Wuxian attempts to return the bow properly, but it's a bit (lot) hunched and awkward as his lungs continue to bitch about their fate.

"It will be fine, once their is a routine." He declares with a confidence his body doesn't feel. Tough luck for it.

[yinyangwizard]

“Wei Wuxian, with respect, it is your first time doing this sort of thing, but I have done it dozens of times.”

Maybe scores of times? Seimei has lost count. Anyway, lots of times.

“Although I have always done it with a body cast from my original one. The adjustment is certainly more difficult with someone else’s.”

[alongfallfromgrace]

Well that doesn't sound... bizarrely suspicious. At all. But Wei Ying figures he doesn't have much of a leg to stand on at the moment, so.

"I am thankfully well versed in attempting the impossible."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei chuckles. “Well, it is good to have that kind of determination. But it may be just slightly more determination than your body can stand at the moment. By the way, if you exhale with force, you will get your breath back sooner.”

Maybe it would have been helpful to say that earlier.

[zenigatcha]

Zenigata, out of respect for both the weather and Wei Ying's sense of priopriety, is out there in sweat pant, a t-shirt, and a sukajan over it. The jacket itself is embroidered with flowers and features a leaping tiger across the back. It's vintage - which in this case is a polite way of saying 'old' - but it still fits, is well worn in, and Zenigata sometimes like to remember when he was a stupid young man who thought he was going to change the world.

He did it, mind, just not in the way he thought he was going to.

Zenigata is also there to run behind Wei Ying and keep time. He's very excited to get Wei Ying on track, and he's got everything from exercise to diet planned. They're going to make sure that he's peak health -- or gets cloer to it, anyway -- so he can solve his curse problem.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying refuses to complain. His legs burn, his lungs seem entirely incapable of expanding properly, his feet are leaden...

But he refuses to complain. And he refuses to stop. His body will get with the program, whether it wants to or not. It's under new management now, time to get with the program.

[zenigatcha]

That's why Zenigata is there. He knows when to pull the plug. Over train. Not on his watch. He hasn't managed elite teams of cops to fuck them up by working them too hard. (He only does that to himself.)

"Oi!" Zenigata shouts. "Time for a break."

This is not to be argued with.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying would argue anyway, if Zenigata hadn't already proved that he could a) catch Wei Ying easily and b) pick him up. If he doesn't stop, he will be forced to stop.

And possibly thrown into a snow bank.

So he stops, bending over to brace his hands on his knees and try to get his breathing back under control. Is there a word for how much he hates this? He's pretty sure there isn't. It'll take an entire essay. Which he'll start on, once he can breathe.

[zenigatcha]

There'll be time enough for being picked up and thrown. It'll involve a dojo, later, when it comes time to start working muscles and getting combat muscle memory back. If Zenigata has to break out the kendo gear, he'll do it.

Coming up alongside Wei Ying, he waits for him to catch his breath.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Eventually the discomfort eases, and he's able to straighten up, grimacing.

"Absolutely no one will blame me for dropping them all off of Koi Tower, no one, this is a crime." And he's back to cussing out everyone who had anything to do with Mo Xuanyu's training.

[abyssum_invocat]

"You sound very upset," Sinthia says lightly, after three or four minutes of quiet, contemplative watching. She certainly isn't running, not even a little bit: she's dressed warmly, hands tucked into her pockets as she wanders aimlessly. She isn't very interesting to look at: the golf-ball sized mass of metal she's absently playing with is, mostly because it keeps slowly forming itself into different shapes, hung in the air unsupported a foot in front of her.

[alongfallfromgrace]

"I have been more pleased." Wei Wuxian allows, as he tries not to audibly gasp through his answer, bobbing a polite bow in her direction once he has a bit of air to work with.

[abyssum_invocat]

"You don't have to do that," she says, directly after he's straightened from the bow. She still doesn't particularly understand why this is extended to everyone--even from other places or planets or, for all she's gathered, universes--but it sits unfamiliar and uncomfortable with her.

"Why are you running?"

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Wuxian shrugs - it doesn't hurt him to have good manners, though it may be a trial for her, evidently.

"For the exercise." He explains, "No terrifying monsters today, I'm afraid."

[abyssum_invocat]

Both eyebrows go up. "There are monsters" here?" she asks. This is news to her, and now she's interested. Possibly not the most usual, or the most...level-headed, but there you are. A lifetime of reinforcement to a specific stimulus and that's what you get.

"What do you mean?"

[alongfallfromgrace]

"I don't mean anything in particular, it's just... an example. For some other reason for running." Wei Ying points out, not particularly attached to the monster idea.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine has been out tending the winter garden for a while when she notices Wei Wuxian passing along the near side of the lake as he makes his current laborious lap.

By the time he comes around again, she has finished the garden work and is at one of the picnic tables much closer to the lake, with a pot of tea (and two cups) and a bowl of coconut choux pastry puffs. Warmth and carbs, she can offer.

"Hey you. Give yourself a moment to catch your breath, yeah?"

[alongfallfromgrace]

"Mistress Sunshine!" Wei Ying calls cheerfully (and breathlessly), falling out of his attempt at a run to head over to the table instead. "You spoil me terribly, you know."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Ya damn right," she replies, grinning unrepentantly. He's here to be spoiled, after all. Rae hands over a cup of fragrantly-steaming tea. "Here, warm your hands."

It has to be said, the air in the vicinity of Sunshine is noticeably warmer than elsewhere, and not touched by the chill wind over the surface of the lake. The warmth is just enough to be noticeable after a time, a gentling of the pseudo-Scottish winter into something not bitterly cold and almost-pleasant.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying curls his hands around the cup, bowing over it with a widening grin.

"You will have to protect this poor and feeble man from Zenigata. After all, a-Xian is three, and cannot resist delicious treats." He pouts, before sipping his tea.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Three?" she laughs. "Three and already so tall? I'm sure you'll be as tall as a giant when you're fully grown."

From eating plenty of delicious treats, of course!

"I have been known to distract Zenigata with delicious treats, too, so we've got that covered."

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying sips his tea before nodding agreeably.
"I will settle growing to my old height - it is weird having to look up at Lan Zhan."