2024.10.29:The Dragon Head/Text
Midnight Market - Plaza(#7896RM)
Stepping through the door feels like entering another world-a realm that exists just on the edge of reality. The entrance leads you into a tunnel of graffiti-covered brick, the art swirling with hidden meanings and symbols only a few might recognize. Rusted metal pipes snake along the ceiling, dripping occasionally into small, stagnant pools, and the faint hum of the city fades behind you. As you move deeper, the muffled sounds of the world above are swallowed by the pulse of low, rhythmic beats. The air grows thick with the scent of rain-soaked stone, oil, and a hint of something more exotic, while the soft, insistent thrum of distant music seems to echo with a life of its own.
Around the edges of the plaza, the true heartbeat of the Midnight Market unfolds. Vendors, their faces hidden beneath dark hoods or wide-brimmed hats, stand behind stalls filled with arcane trinkets, mysterious relics, and forbidden tomes. The merchandise is as varied as it is dangerous-shelves of bottled moonlight, blood-stained knives, and amulets that thrum with barely-contained energy. A dealer leans in close to a potential buyer, their words barely a whisper, while nearby, someone tries to outbid another for a small vial of something glowing faintly in the darkness. Coins change hands, but so do promises, contracts, and favors-currency that holds far greater value than gold here.
Everywhere, there's the sense that this world operates on a delicate balance of shadows and silence. Deals made here could reshape fates, ruin lives, or save them-but only if you play your cards right and keep your secrets close. This is the beating heart of the Midnight Market: a place where the rules of the outside world fall away, and only the whispers of the night matter.
+Views and Places used here
It's later. Same day, same channel! And the channel is buzzing. The Midnight Market is, naturally, not the *best* visited place in the world, given its exclusivity and secrecy - but there is rarely nothing happening at all. After all, how can somebody call themself a merchant of the place, if some of the stalls weren't also good places to work on things, or to study?
Xiu is still there, sitting on that crate she had been at earlier with Taylow. She must have moved about in the inbetween, as the backpack is now sitting on the ground, there is no sight of the pipe box, and there *is* a new little bag sitting next to the backpack. Hard to say what is inside it, but it is definitely from the market.
Her posture is, as before, relaxed. Perhaps a bit too relaxed, as she has one foot lazily drawn up on the crate, an arm dangling over the raised knee in this...uncouth position. She just seems to quietly...watch. Peoplespotting, be it merchants or new visitors. She does so without making a secret of it. Next to her on the crate is a small paper wrap, and judging by the fatty imprints turning the paper half-translucent from the inside, it's a set of meaty sausages. Tasty food, but she is not touching it yet.
Tyler approaches with a nod, his gaze briefly flicking to the untouched sausages. "Wouldn't have pegged you for someone who waits on the food, but then again," he shrugs, "maybe you're just here soaking in the spectacle?" The conservatively dressed lad seems to have returned from classes and rather go home and sleep like a regular person, he's returned to the Market once more. Loosening his neck tie, he nods toward the new bag by her backpack. His curiosity is genuine, though part of him already suspects it's something useful, practical-something she'll wield with that same easy confidence she seems to bring to everything.
"Anything interesting?" he asks gesturing to the box and sliding into at seat at the same table as before.
Xiu catches Tyler's approach quickly enough, a smile spreading the girl's lips. A smile that turns into a light grin at the mentioning of the food. "You don't know how much I have eaten already." she points out. "But..yes. I need my *good* share of calories." She nods sideways at the paper wrap. "Want some? They are quite tasty. Only the finest game, hunted by yours truely." So she did not buy those sausages here, but made them herself. She looks him over for a moment, and...frowns. "...did you come here straight from university?" Xiu seems to realize now, and she lets out a soft laugh. "You realize that coming to a place like this with anything that might identify your whereabouts is probably *not* the smartest thing to do." She lifts a hand and finger. "I am not saying it is very risks. But. I doubt all people here even use real names when doing the trades."
She lowers the hand and then glances down sideways at the bag next to her backpack. "Actually, yes. Seeds of a couple of rare herbs, and just maybe a bone or five." She grins for a moment.
Tyler chuckled, glancing down at his clothes and lifting the strap of his university bag with an amused look. "Guess you're right. These probably scream 'regular day job' a little too loud, don't they?" He leaned against a crate across from her, his gaze shifted briefly to the paper-wrapped sausages. "Game, huh? Your handiwork?" He seemed genuinely impressed. "Didn't really think about it. I mean, I've read about things like Shadow names and Black words but I didn't know how /real/ that stuff even is." At the mention of rare herb seeds, his eyes lit up with interest. Thankfully he's not carrying his ID out in the open - like one of those lanyard things, but he's wearing a button down shirt, necktie, carrying a satchel looking like he just ran here from...yeah, he's a University guy.
"I might have to make a point of changing clothes first...before hitting the streets," he shrugs a bit as though he would know much about...'the streets'.
"My handiwork." the girl says, before she leans sideways and slowly unrolls the wrap. Dried sausages! Dark, with white specs of fat throughout. She plucks one up and offers it to Taylor, leaning forward past that raised knee, her bruads brushing over the floor beneath. "Here. It might be slightly spicy, but that is just black pepper." She waits wether he accepts it or not (Hey, he might be egetarian), before she leans back and softly cackles. "Before hitting *these* street, at least. And hey..." she shrugs. "You got my real name, so there is that." She winks, before she plucks up another sausage, and finally takes a bite, before she chews slowly. It is not *too* dry. Not dry enough to be hard, but somewhat firm and chewy. And definitely aromatic. These aren't the first sausages she made, with all the messy handiwork that implies.
Or, hey, perhaps she just broguht the meat to a butcher. Who knows!
Tyler takes the offered sausage with a slight pause, hesitating at first as he inspects the dark, pepper-flecked meat in his hand. He's clearly torn between curiosity and reluctance. Finally, he takes a careful nibble, his expression briefly tense before he chews thoughtfully. "Not bad," he admits, sounding genuinely surprised, though he's still cautious about another bite.
"Handmade, too? you must be something of a craftswoman." His gaze shifts between the sausage and Xiu, clearly trying to place this talent of hers within what he knows of her already. "Not what I usually snack on, but it's got character."
Tyler glances around, as if scanning for something unusual amid the market's usual bustle. Then he leans in slightly, lowering his voice in a conspiratorial tone. "Hey, have you seen the dragon yet?" He pauses, letting the intrigue settle, before explaining. "There's this big statue-easily three feet tall-that just sort of appears at the market every time it moves. No one really knows who brought it or where it came from, but it's carved from this solid green stone, maybe jade or something close. And the weird part? It feels like it's? alive. Not moving or anything, but when you get close, it's like it's radiating some kind of energy. People say it'll make your hair stand on end, like a charge of electricity just waiting to burst."
He shrugs, clearly unnerved yet fascinated. "It's always in a new spot every time, but it keeps showing up. Almost like the market's bringing it along on purpose."
"And none of that processed stuff." Xiu remarks, lightly grinning. And spices from a biological garden. You are eating some premium protein there." She grins somewhat proudly, before she takes another bite of hers and happily chews, before her expression turns into one of curiosity as the man seems to be glancing left and right. And then he leans close, so she does as well.
"....hhhuh." she lets out, slowly, ,her eyes narrowing a bit. For a moment, that's all she lets out, not even chewing anymore....before that part picks up again, and she swallows. "What is the dragon shaped like. I mean..." she brings her hands together, holding her sausage horizontally, flicking the end once. "All noodly, or morelike..you know.." She wiggles her head. "'Western' dragon-ish?" It probably was the jade comment that made her ask that. Still in thought, she taps her lips with the sausage now, and takes a swift bite before the motion continues. "Might be for protection of the market.And again, that is the good option. But it would make sense."
Tyler rises from the table, brushing himself off before motioning towards a deeper, quieter corner of the market, his eyes alight with the quiet thrill of sharing a well-kept secret. "It's strange," he begins, his voice lowering as though sharing something too valuable to speak of openly. "This dragon statue-it's like no style I've seen before. It's not quite Eastern, not fully Western either. Just? scales, maybe claws, big fangs, and a weird, almost alien look to it. But the thing is, it's carved so smoothly it looks like it came out of a single solid hunk of green stone. And you don't just see it-you feel it. It radiates some kind of energy; makes the hair on your arms stand up."
He glances back at Xiu, a subtle invitation in his gaze, intrigued by the idea of her take on it. "No one seems to know what it is, who carved it, or where it came from, but it keeps showing up, moving around whenever the market does. Some people won't go near it, and a few whisper it's enchanted or guarded, though no one's ever seen anyone or anything watching over it." He pauses, letting the mystique of it all hang in the air. "If you're curious," he continues, "I can show you. Maybe you'll see something others haven't."
"I tried to like...'sense' stuff about it and it just zapped me.
Xiu watches the gesture towards the corner - and then lets out a grunt. She lets her foot slip off the corner of the crate before she jumps off and rolls up the sausage wrap. "If it makes all my hairs stand up, I will be a walking stabbing hazard." she says in a dry tone, but certainly with humor. Moving sideways she crouches and slips the wrap and the smaller bag into her backpack, before she closes it up, and then slings the backpack over her shoulder while she straightens.
Another glance towards the crate follows - just to make sure she didn't forget anything - before she yes that corner again. Then eyes Tyler. Before she nods, and begins to walk towards the direction indicated. Not in a hurry, just a casual walk. They are totally not heading anywhere special, oh no. With definitely some eyes on her for one reason or the other, she is doing her best to just...stroll. Coincidentally. In that direction.
Writing reality out to disk. Please wait... Reality saved. Thank you for your patience. Tyler leads Xiu through the bustling maze of the market, navigating past stalls with goods piled high and merchants hawking curiosities of every sort. As they approach, a space opens up, a rare clearing in the usually packed bazaar, drawing their steps toward the statue like a magnetic pull. There, in the center of the empty patch, stands the dragon head.
The sculpture is formidable even at three feet tall. Carved from a greenish stone similar to jade but deeper, almost shifting in hue under the bazaar's odd lighting, the dragon's features are fierce and uncanny. The eyes, though made of the same rock, catch the light in a way that gives them a piercing quality, almost alive. The whole piece radiates a strange energy, like an invisible static charge, making the air heavy around it.
Tyler gestures at it with a subtle pride, as though revealing a hidden landmark. "This is it. See what I mean? No one can agree on the style or origins. People even swear it feels alive in a way-just watching it makes your skin crawl. Some folks think it's enchanted, or cursed maybe, since it just? shows up whenever the market moves, like it's tethered to this place." He pauses, glancing sidelong at Xiu to catch her reaction. "My focus is more on the old world but it doesn't match any known style of Europe or Asia that I can find. Anything looking familiar to you?"
Image: http://imgur.com/MAgO7g4
The girl's eyes subtly flick left and right. Not between the first stalls, but as they venture a bit deeper. Nervous? Not really, but she certainly is the vigilant type. Silent and vigilant. "Something confuses me about the market." she finally lets out. "It seems far too large to simply serve the folks here in Prospect. Unless there are *way* more around in the city than I ever suspected..." she murmurs slowly, distracted by her thoughts for a moment. "I wonder..." She lets that trail off, and lifts her head a bit more as the small 'clearing' comes into view.
And the dragon, of course.
"...aztec." she murmurs and tilts her head to the side, towards Tyler. "That thing kind of looks aztec in style, doesn't it?" Her eyes narrow, slightly, and she stops at the edge of the clearing, before she crouches down, arms crossed and just seems to....think for a moment. "Hrm."
He pauses, glancing around them. "You might be onto something, you know. The Market's weird like that-big, almost sprawling some nights, like it's drawing people in from farther than just Prospect." There's a sense of mystery hanging between them as they study the statue, a silent pulse of energy that adds to the Market's cryptic atmosphere.
"You know, the fact it's here in Prospect and not someplace like L.A. actually makes a lot of sense," he says thoughtfully, keeping his voice low as if not wanting to disturb the dragon's watchful presence. "A place like Los Angeles would be a magnet for attention-too many eyes, too many people who'd notice strange things happening after dark. Here, in a smaller city? It's like it flies just under the radar."
He gestures around them. "The merchants and the regulars? They get their privacy without every other tourist stumbling in. And the Market can still draw in those who are in the know. If you're looking for it, you'll find it-but only if you're looking." He smirks, thinking. "Guess it's a pretty clever way to keep things contained, and keep this? beast of a place hidden."
"Aztec or something else from a similiar region." Xiu murmurs, before she rolls her shoulders slightly. "I am really no expert on that stuff. Just a guess, but you have to admit it kiiinda looks like that?" She gestures forward, before she lets the hand drop, both her hands on the floor. Well, the fingertips. And then she slowly cants her head. "LA would be a death sentence." she murmurs. "At least at this magnitude." Well, that was an ominous comment! She finally pushes herself onto her feet again, and takes a few steps towards the dragon. Somebody is looking to get zapped, maybe!
Naaah, clearly not.
...well, yes, maybe. The girl reaches out, and boops the dragon's snout. She even says it. Not out loud, but the way her lips move, she might have mouthed 'boop'.
Tyler watches her approach with a mix of amusement and curiosity. He raises an eyebrow, half-expecting something dramatic to happen the moment she touches the dragon. "You're bold, I'll give you that," he teases, a playful smirk forming on his lips. "What if it does zap you? We could have a fun little adventure on our hands."
As she boops the dragon's snout, he can't help but chuckle softly, shaking his head. "You really just went and did that, didn't you? I guess it's a little less intimidating up close, huh?" He steps closer, maintaining a respectful distance as he studies the intricate details of the statue. "But seriously, it's wild how something so seemingly innocuous can feel like it's buzzing with energy. I wonder if there's any kind of story behind it, like how it got here or why it's always at the Market. Maybe it is a guardian of sorts." "That is the trick. It does not matter of I say boop or not, but humor always helps with tension." Xiu murmurs. She rubs her fingers together a bit. No zapping. But. She reaches out and touches it again, this time with a couple more fingers.
One can only imagine that some regulars in the corners are having fun with the 'newbie' touching the dragon. "But it feels....interesting. Ever touched the inside of a dryer that wasn't wired up right? Kind of like that." she pulls the fingers away quickly enough again, before she exhales, narrowing her eyes. "Either way, it is probably not polite to inspect it this close for too long."
A statement which seems to prompt her to turn and slowly walk away again. Not out of the clearing, no - but she turns, here and there, before she fins a spot further awy to sit down on. With clear view on the thing, of course.
And for a moment, without really being aware of it, she strikes the Gendou pose. "Hrm." Oh yes, some gears are turning.
Tyler watches her little experiment with the dragon, the corner of his mouth quirking up as she compares it to a botched dryer. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Feels like it's alive but also totally indifferent to us poking at it, if that makes sense."
when she walks away to sit, settling into that classic pensive pose, Tyler can't help but smirk. He wanders over to join her, lowering himself onto the ground nearby, still within sight of the statue. "You're not wrong about the humor thing. It definitely helps in places like this," he says, watching her as he leans back, one arm propped behind him. "Keeps you grounded, stops you from overthinking every single weird thing that shows up here-otherwise, you'll spiral pretty quick."
He shifts his gaze back to the dragon, half-wondering if it's aware of them. "You ever get that feeling that maybe some stuff in this place was put here because it makes you feel like that? Like, if you're too scared to sit near it, maybe you're in the wrong place." He shrugs, a little grin forming. "Or maybe it's just a freaky dragon statue that hums like a bad appliance. Either way, it's got a strange kind of charm."
With a light motion of her shoulder, Xiu shrugs the backpack off, making it slowly slide down onto the bench she is on. And then? She straighens, turns and opens it up. "Maybe." is her only comment for now, as she rummages through the backpack, for....her hoodie?
Indeed, her hoodie. She does not pull it out, however. Instead she reaches for its pouch, and rummages through that one, retrieving a small tin. This one gets opene, and it is filled with some...earthen looking small balls. Some weird, dark, slimy substance. A mixture of...sssssomething.
She plucks one up, and then closes the lid again, stuffing everything back in before she closes the backpack up.
Afterwards she turns to face the dragon again..and slips that thing into her mouth. Whatever it is. There is a moment of chewing, quick and rapid, but no swallowing, before she exhales, inhales and begins to murmur something. It's not chinese. Some other, completely unrelated language. Short, hissed words, almost as if she has to concentrate on saying there. He might notice there is a subtle sheen on her face now. Not really sweat, but that certain in-between...and her eyes flutter open, eyes a bit glassy, as she focuses on the dragon...thing.
As Xiu's strange murmurings settle, her senses reach out, her magic subtly probing for any trace of consciousness within the dragon statue. For a moment, it feels like there's nothing but cold, solid stone. But then-beneath that stony surface-a faint, lingering presence comes into focus. The statue doesn't have a mind in the traditional sense. It's not conscious, not alive. Yet it harbors a deeply embedded resonance, almost like an imprint of something ancient, something once aware. There's a stubborn residue of intent or perhaps purpose, as if whoever crafted it left a fragment of their will within, a pulse of energy that keeps it ever-so-slightly aware of its surroundings.
Xiu would feel a low hum of that intent reaching out, just enough for her to sense that the statue almost... watches. It isn't judging, just observing-patient and still, like a creature in a deep, dreamless slumber. Whatever magic binds it here is old, grounded in traditions of earth and stone, and carries the quiet wisdom of something ancient and watchful, a remnant of whoever, or whatever, first created it.
Tyler watches, fascinated and a little cautious, as Xiu works through her mysterious process. He knows enough not to interrupt, his curiosity mounting as she murmurs in a language he doesn't recognize. After a few moments of her stillness, he finally asks in a low, almost reverent tone, "You, uh?you pick up anything? Or is that just some kind of? meditation thing?"
Xiu stays ilent and focused on the thing for a moment longer. And after a moment, she finally sharply inhales and...spits out whatever she ate, leaning sideways. Spitting several times, as the munched up, dark mass leaves her mouth and she softly hisses, With one of her hands, she gestures at Tyler, 'one sec', while she rummages through her backpack again. This time, not for the hoodie - instead she retrives...a bottle of water? Unlabeled. Just a small glass bottle, and she unscrews the lid before she takes a good gulp.
"aaahhh..." the girl finally lets out, eyes closing, and she screws the lid on again, slowly. "Well...well, the thing is not alive, no." she says, blinking and focusing her gaze on Tyler. "Not per se. It..is not aware either. Or rather, not consciously aware. Like an automaton of sorts, it watches, passively." She lightly shrugs. "For what, I have no idea. But it might strengthen the theory of it being perhaps a sort of defense mechanism."
Tyler raises his eyebrows, taking in the whole scene-from Xiu's sharp inhale to the somewhat gruesome spit-out process, right down to her eventual explanation. He's never seen anything quite like her approach, and there's an odd kind of admiration in his eyes as she details her findings.
"So, it's like... a sentry? Just observing, maybe reporting back to whoever put it here." He rubs the back of his neck thoughtfully, glancing back to the dragon statue with a newfound respect. "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" he mutters in latin (Who watches the watchers).
He shifts his weight and nods to her. "You think it could actually defend the market if someone tried to break in or something?" The thought lingers in his mind, an unsettling image of the stone dragon springing to life-or at least activating its unknown defenses-if provoked.
And Xiu snaps one hand's fingers! "A sentry! Yes. Yes." she nods. "That is the perfect term for it. A sentry of sorts. I simply have no idea what *for*." She curls the same fingers and eyes Tyler there. "I doubt that can be found easily. But...yes" she nods. "Yes, I presume for now that it is a defense mechanism of sorts. Or maybe it will just dump anybody in the market onto the outside and make everything vanish, if the wrong folks break in. Or explode." She slooooowly shrugs. "No. Idea."
A pause follows, Xiu looking at Tyler. Her head slightly canting. And suddenly she slowly grins. "Hey, you are not looking away anymore. Isn't it funny how things can become normal quickly?"
Caught off guard, Tyler's gaze snaps away, his cheeks darkening a bit as he clears his throat. "Right, yeah... must've just, uh, gotten used to it," he mumbles, half-grinning despite himself. "Guess it's easy to focus on the weird sentry dragon over there and forget some... details."
He rubs the back of his neck again, feeling a bit sheepish. "Anyway, it's definitely better for everyone if that thing doesn't explode or, you know, banish us all." He risks a quick look back at Xiu, his curiosity about her talent overriding his usual reserve. "You just... carry stuff like that around? Whatever that... uh, mixture was?"
It's a genuine question, tinged with a little wonder-she just took her investigation to a level he hadn't even considered.
Xiu lightly shakes the tin. "Ginger, pepper, chilies, a bit of nettle.." she grins, wide. "In other words they are hot as beyond fuck, so yeah, completely normal." She closes the tin up again. "Really helps with focusing though, right?" Wait. Does it? Is that the truth or is she just having fun? Whatever the case, she turns and slips the tin away again, before she reaches up with both hands, and brushes some of her braids back. Which, alas, does nothing to really hide her bod from Tyler's eyes.
Tyler turns his head slightly as she tosses back her braids and looks at one of the market stalls out of sheer habit more than any kind of reserved sense of modesty in front of Xiu. Turning back towards the plaza where they were seated previously he sort of hints that they could return to the entrance to the market and perhaps have some tea - because what /else/ would he say when he's confronted by the woman's riiiiped muscled frame?
"Tea sounds *damn* good to me." Xiu agrees rather eagerly, and then reaches to grab her backpack. "Hell, now that you mention it, I have no idea why *I* did not think of that. Here are my two usual drinks." she lifts her hand, fingers up in a v-sign. "Water. Tea. Everything else is in the far distance." Her lips curl into a smile. "Good job reminding me of the fact." Then the same fingers curl a bit and her eyes narrow. "Have you...tried the teas here?" Given that the sausages earlier were hers, there might be the cold fact that the girl has, so far, actually *avoided* consuming anything from the Market. Who knows how much time she will spend on analyzing the herbs she got earlier.
Tyler gives her a curious smile. "Yeah, the teas are? interesting here. It's like they brew them in one of those old apothecary kettles, with herbs I've never seen." He nods toward a small booth with smoke rising from the kettle set atop a brass burner. "I had a sip of something that tasted like licorice and burnt cedar. Not? exactly what I'd go for again, but definitely memorable."
He glances at her V-sign gesture and raises an eyebrow. "Mr. Kim's Jade Leaf tea is pretty good, smells a bit like mint but I couldn't tell you the rest."
