novachrysalia | [CMO] Chongyun

[As per his commission's rules, Jun agreed to do whatever missions he was tasked with. Today's job was a simple enough one: investigate some paranormal activity along with an Exorcist from Liyue. If anything, the job was close enough to Jun's actual job that he's in good spirits when he arrives at the rendezvous point. Besides, he was curious to see what an exorcist in this world meant.

When he sees Chongyun approach, the similarity in their attire isn't lost on him. Guess white hooded uniforms were just a universal standard for holy demon-fighting orders. And even better, they looked around the same age! Jun doesn't see that every day. And so all these good signs lead Jun to make his first mistake as soon as he opens his mouth: ]

Haha, looks like one of us is gonna have to change.

[He attempts to make a joke. The fool.]

[Teaming up with someone else for an exorcism was something that was unfortunately needed for Chongyun. Especially if he finally wants to see a spirit, evil or not. What was strange about this commission is that he's never heard of this Jun person who he's teamed up with. He thought he knew all of the exorcists around... So this person may or may not be one?

Jun looks normal enough to him. Though the comment makes Chongyun stop and look down at his own clothes, then back at Jun.]

I know my attire is not what the usual exorcists wear in Liyue...

[Why does one of them have to change???]

[Oh...Oh he took him seriously. Oh no. ]

Ah, no you're fine. It was just a joke since our outfits are similar...

[That's what he gets for trying to be a comedian. Maybe he should revisit the wearing his hood and saying extremely little....no probably not.]

I'm Jun. You're Chongyun, right? We'll be working together today.

[A joke... Rubbing the back of his neck, Chongyun feels some embarrassment well up in his chest. Great. Leave it to him to miss a joke. Should he comment on why it's white? Maybe not right now. They'll get to that point.]

I am. I'm not used to working with others when it comes to exorcisms. Do you have any experience with them?

[Yeah, leave it up to his attempts at levity to make things awkward. He'll clear his throat and nods at the question.]

Mm, I do. I'm a Seal Knight. I specialize in combating demons and other similar beings, much like an Exorcist.

Though, I've never had experience with the Liyue school of Exorcism. I look forward to seeing it today.

[Seal Knight? Demons? Oh! He looks surprised and ignores that last part for the moment.]

Have you seen a spirit before?

[Any kind of ghost would be more than he's ever seen!]

[Jun blinks, clearly a little confused by the question]

Uh, yeah? Those are among the things I handle...

[Said in a confused tone, because he's pretty sure spirits are a NORMAL thing Exorcists deal with...]

[Jun has already climbed into a high spot in Chongyun's book. Though he should explain about the question.]

I ask due to a condition I have. I may be an exorcist, but I haven't actually seen a spirit before.

[So this exorcism should go well!]

If you follow me, I can take you to where the commission told us we'll be needed.

Huh?

[Well that's sure an explanation Jun wasn't expecting, and it's a WEIRD one at that. It's like an uber driver saying they've never seen a car before, and yet he drops it like it's a normal thing.]

Wait, hold on. How are you- [he stops and corrects himself] What do you mean by condition? Do you lack spirit sense?

[Also how are you an exorcist exactly??? But Jun knows better than to directly ask THAT question]

[Shaking his head, Chongyun frowns a bit.]

I have an overabundance of Yang energy. Spirits flee before I can get anywhere near them. So I can feel them, yet I've never seen one.

[So sort of perfect for being an exorcist. He doesn't have to do any work but he tries...]

["Yang energy", that's not a descriptor he hears very often...but he gets the gist]

I see. So in other words, you're like a walking Spirit ward.

[He puts his hand on his hips. This certainly made their job more complicated. Making spirits flee were well and good for a quick solution, but it didn't solve the long term problem - so much as just moved it somewhere to become someone else's problem.]

...I could see how that'd be a problem for this line of work. And yet you choose to become an Exorcist anyway?

[A too effective of a spirit ward.]

I was born into it. I come from a family of exorcists.

[Which Chongyun wants to keep going. Even if he has the unfortunate condition of being the most useful without trying.]

When we get to where we're going, I'll need you to check if there's a spirit there. Then we have to figure out if it's evil or not.

Ah, I see.

[Family lineage then. The Orden didn't really care about family lineages, but there were other groups in the Underground that did - so he's familiar enough with the concepts.

But he won't argue further about Chongyun coming along. If he's an Exorcist, he's an exorcist. They just have to find a work around]

Alright, I can do that. And if it is evil, then what?

[One day he hopes there doesn't have to be a work around. He just has to work hard!]

Then we exorcise it. We can't let it stick around to cause harm.

[Isn't that the obvious thing to do?]

Well, of course we can't let it.

But by exorcise, do you mean I'm fighting it or...are you gonna walk into the room and scare it off?

[........ Wait.]

Do you not know how to properly exorcise a spirit?

[Why would they fight one? That's what exorcism is for!]

Unless it's a rather malevolent spirit, all you would need to do is perform an exorcism. If you don't feel confident in that then I'll do the job.

[He doesn't want to say it out loud that he wouldn't even need to enter the room. Just get close to the area.]

[Jun takes a deep breath. The Lord is testing his patience]

If a spirit is evil or malevolent, then you eliminate it. Just chasing it off means it'll just bring harm to another place.

Surely you realize that, as an Exorcist.

The spirits that leave when they feel my presence do not seem to return.

[So there's that at least. Chongyun is not sure what actually happens to them. Maybe they throw themselves into the afterlife to avoid ever getting close to him.]

Mmm...but how can you be sure though? You said yourself you've never seen a spirit.

How do you know they don't just lie low for awhile and then make a different place their new haunt?

Spirits don't really work like that.

[At least not here.]

They're bound to the place where they've died for the most part, unless they are more attached to a person. So those bound to a place won't just move to another one just to get away from me. Finding out if they're good or evil is important then.

Is that so...it's different than in my world.

[This sounds much more straightforward. ]

[Okay, Jun cannot get away without explaining.]

Are the spirits of your world not bound to rules like that?

[he shakes his head]

Not really. Some will stick to certain places, or be drawn to certain people - but that's not a fixed rule. There's plenty that can come and go.

If there is one rule, it's that spirits tend to be drawn to spots where the boundary to the spirit realm is weaker, as well as people and places with strong emotions.

[Spirit realm? There was certainly other realms, but Chongyun doesn't know if they would qualify as a spirit realm. Spirits were meant to move on into the afterlife and go from there.]

If spirits worked like that here, we would have many more incidents.

[Anyways. He's a bit glad it's not like that.]

Let's get going before something bad happens. Since we don't know what kind of spirit it is yet.

[He nods]

Mm, you aren't wrong. But from what I can tell, this world's connection to it's other realms is more stable than Earth's. Which is a good thing, overall.

[He wonders if that will change once they finish Forneus's plan...but that's not something he's about to bring up now to this guy.]

Agreed. It shouldn't be far.

[He continues walking. Soon they wind up near what looks to be an abandoned farm. The plot is overgrown with weeds and long grass, and the house has fallen into disrepair. There's a chill in the air- something's off about this place]

Certainly looks like a place you'd set a ghost story...

[Earth... like dirt... do people really call their world dirt? Seems like an over simplification of a world, but Chongyun won't outwardly judge. Just wonder what that world did to deserve such a lackluster name.

This place certainly felt like a spirit of some kind would be here. He stops far short of the property and takes a look around.]

We should look for traces of a spirit before we head inside. It'll give us a clue as to what we might be dealing with.

[Jun is already scanning the area with his elemental sight. It'd be easier if he still had his normal sensing capabilities, but Jun can make use of what he has. There's plenty of traces of odd elemental energy here alright though, recent stuff.

He looks over at Chongyun. ]

I detect unusual presences of elemental energy. Traces of electro leading into the house itself. By the state of the energy, I'd say the trail was made within the last few hours.

[Ok, so somebody has been practicing a lot with their elemental sight]

[Oh good. Chongyun is glad Jun can think fast to use that.]

Electro?

[Wait. Something doesn't feel right. Spirits shouldn't leave elemental traces... He taps his chin in thought as he shakes his head. Maybe this was some form of new evil spirit? There is some hope that it is, even if it seemed unlikely.]

Traces left by spirits wouldn't be like that. The traces they leave are more sinister and dark in nature, but still as easy to track as elemental ones.

[No elemental traces? That's different from Greed, many of them being elemental beings, but Jun knows it's best to adapt and roll with it. ]

Maybe it's just electro slimes then? In a run-down place like this, I could see their light being mistaken for the presence of a spirit.

No, slimes are pretty hard to mistake for spirits. It could be electro cicins... those can appear suddenly and could startle people.

[Could it be that simple? That'd be disappointing if that were the case.]

We should follow the traces. If it really is some cicin, they're simple to take down. Just don't get shocked.

[Jun can see the logic in his deduction, so he just nods. He's never fought a cicin before, so this should be an experience.]

Alright.

[He starts approaching the house, using his elemental sight along the way. He's really spent a lot of time honing the tracking capabilities of the power to make up for his own loss of spiritual sense, so it's not too hard for him to pick up a trail.]

The track is sporadic, like it appears and disappears randomly...but it does lead into the house. The ones near the house entrance are new enough that it's probably still inside.

[It's strange. Cicin tended to stay in a smaller area, and this seemed too wide. What else could possibly do this? A Fatui agent wouldn't have any reason to be here. Was it slimes?

This was frustrating. Forgoing possibly scaring away a spirit, Chongyun follows Jun towards the house.]

Then we'll have to go inside.

[Carefully. He may be small, but he carries a really large sword.]

( the thing is, when you're a mischievous spirit, you do mischievous spirit things. and when you do mischievous spirit things, humans start blaming you for other things too- some far worse than anything you'd ever actually do. which is how jinx has found herself in this situation now: sitting in a tree, watching a literal exorcist enter her woods.

yikes.

it's easy to miss a small, black cat with green eyes watching him with a flicking tail- after all, it's not like the villagers got what she was right. but what to do, what to do...? after a moment, she makes a decision.

which is why chongyun might find a young girl his age peering over his shoulder with her hands behind her back suddenly. )

What are you doing?

[Not expecting to find anything, as usual, Chongyun still does his best to try and track something down. There wasn't really any traces left of whatever was supposedly haunting this place. A shame... He was hoping this would be the day he would finally see an evil spirit. It had felt like a good day, too, with nothing really going wrong. Maybe it being such a good day should have been a tip-off that this would be the only bad thing.

He stops to look at the ground to see if there's anything around here. As trained as he is, even he can be snuck up on. There's a moment of panic as he steps forward so he can turn around, just in case of a fight. And he finds-

........ a girl?]

You shouldn't sneak up on someone with a weapon!

( jinx just smiles sweetly. )

Oh, I'm sure you would never cut down an innocent.

( but fine, fine, if the boy wants to play tough, she'll back away. fingers still locked behind her back, she balances back and forth on the balls of her feet, as if the forest and mountains aren't home to a known spirit, as if he doesn't have a weapon, as if he's not here for her to begin with.

You never answered my question, though.

Mistakes happen.

[Which is what he wanted to avoid.

What was a girl even doing out here in a dangerous place.]

I was hired to track something down. I should be asking you what you're doing all alone out here.

Why, I live here, of course! Sure, the village is nice... but I can find the best ingredients for my work up here. It's just easier!

( which isn't a lie. when she's not committing mischief, jinx tends to various plants- and in turn, uses what she cultivates to make medicines and balms, which she can sell... or sneak into the homes of those who need it.

not that she'd admit to that so easily. she has a reputation, after all. now... how many hints can she drop? a dangerous game to be sure, but she's a good escape artist if she says so herself. fiddling with a lock of hair that isn't tied back in a loose braid, she frowns. )

What do you mean by something, though? There's nothing wrong, is there...?

Work?

[Chongyun wasn't told that anyone was working up here at all. Was there a reason for that?]

Ah... Some of the villagers believe there's an evil spirit of some kind here. They hired me to get rid of it.

[May as well be up front in case she knows any information about the potential target.]

( don't mind her, actively ignoring that question. )

An evil spirit...? ( rude. ) Hmmm... There's plenty of spirits, but I don't know if I'd call any of them evil. Mischievous, maybe... Or with a different understanding of 'right and wrong', but not evil.

... If you find a truly evil spirit, what will you do?

[Suspicious....]

As long as they're bothering or potentially harming the people living around here, it is my job as an exorcist to get rid of them.

[So that's the answer to that one.

Except he's never seen an evil spirit before...]

That sounds potentially violent.

( for the spirit or the exorcist? good question. but she really isn't sure how to handle this yet... )

Well, I live in this forest so I know it pretty well. Human paths are quiet because of frequent traffic, but sometimes something will get mischievous.

I try to exorcise them as fast as possible. There's no need to make them suffer, even if they are evil.

[People who like getting violent are too passionate about getting rid of evil. No thank you. Getting passionate was a no go.]

I see. What are do things usually get mischievous at?

Crossroads. But there's old, abandoned shrines further in the woods- up the mountains, you see. Some congregate there.

( after a moment of thought, she leans over with a smile. )

I can show you the way, of course.

[Leaning back a little, he's not too sure if that smile should be trusted. He decides to do just that and nods.]

Please. It would help in my search.

Very well. Mind your step- we'd hate for you to trip.

( not ominous at all, nope. but without any other word, the girl stands up properly and begins walking the path, leaving hardly any disturbance of grass and dirt and without making a sound. out of the corner of her eye, she observes- both the exorcist, and the spirits hiding all around them. if any linger, will they respond to him? or the other way around? )

[CMO] Chongyun

Stella Fortuna - Investigating Exorcist stuff idk

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NEKOMATA!

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jinx without hive is such a good girl and i will cry about this openly

i will take your word for it since i have never watched much teen titans

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I AM BACK ON THIS and wtf was i saying in that last sentence sdgjkhaksdjgh

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