Haokan had found Zhen in the last place the Zorai was supposed to be: the Avendale bar. There was only one city in the entire Federation that the Illuminated One had to avoid, and that was where he was. As for the Kamist, he really, really didn't have the patience to put up with this kind of provocation. He didn't want to run into his mother just yet, let alone deal with her recriminations, but Zhen seemed addicted to this kind of annoyance.
Haokan had dragged Zhen out of town, but his anger quickly faded as he saw how pitiful his beloved looked. He was still under the effect of that... only the kami knew what it was. The Illuminati hadn't solved the problem. Clearly, the proposed remedy was resurrection by the Powers, and Zhen thought he'd bore Lyren with it. Haokan had retreated behind his shell. Since it had to be done, and since Zhen deserved to be punished for messing with the instructions again, he might as well do it. He'd done it.
Then he had collapsed in the sand, certain that the Powers would not bring him back, that they would take away each and every one of his reasons for living, one by one, until the Void once again settled entirely in his heart. It was in this state that Zhen, fresh as a daisy after Jena's care, found him a few moments later.
- Hao, I'm not made of parchment, you know that. There's nothing to worry about.
- You all say that... Fei said he was immortal... It's not fair! And it has to happen... at a time like this...
- A moment how?
Haokan had then told him of Feinigan's death, finally letting go of the floodgates in his lover's arms. Zhen had comforted him, reminding him that the tryker wouldn't have wanted so many tears. Feinigan had joined Gami, closer to the one true Enlightenment than many homins. Wasn't that a reason to celebrate?
Haokan didn't even feel like arguing. Nor to criticize her husband's beliefs, not at a time like this. For Zhen, Feinigan should being a gami-ho since he had been touched by the goo's "blessing". That Feinigan had other beliefs, other ambitions, had been inconceivable, and Haokan even doubted that the tryker had actually discussed it with the Illuminated One, even if the scarifications on his torso were quite a statement. But there was something to it. The honest trader wouldn't have wanted torrents of tears, he wanted people to laugh. So Haokan had wiped away his tears, letting Zhen's charms make him forget his pain, for a while at least.
Haokan had dragged Zhen out of town, but his anger quickly faded as he saw how pitiful his beloved looked. He was still under the effect of that... only the kami knew what it was. The Illuminati hadn't solved the problem. Clearly, the proposed remedy was resurrection by the Powers, and Zhen thought he'd bore Lyren with it. Haokan had retreated behind his shell. Since it had to be done, and since Zhen deserved to be punished for messing with the instructions again, he might as well do it. He'd done it.
Then he had collapsed in the sand, certain that the Powers would not bring him back, that they would take away each and every one of his reasons for living, one by one, until the Void once again settled entirely in his heart. It was in this state that Zhen, fresh as a daisy after Jena's care, found him a few moments later.
- Hao, I'm not made of parchment, you know that. There's nothing to worry about.
- You all say that... Fei said he was immortal... It's not fair! And it has to happen... at a time like this...
- A moment how?
Haokan had then told him of Feinigan's death, finally letting go of the floodgates in his lover's arms. Zhen had comforted him, reminding him that the tryker wouldn't have wanted so many tears. Feinigan had joined Gami, closer to the one true Enlightenment than many homins. Wasn't that a reason to celebrate?
Haokan didn't even feel like arguing. Nor to criticize her husband's beliefs, not at a time like this. For Zhen, Feinigan should being a gami-ho since he had been touched by the goo's "blessing". That Feinigan had other beliefs, other ambitions, had been inconceivable, and Haokan even doubted that the tryker had actually discussed it with the Illuminated One, even if the scarifications on his torso were quite a statement. But there was something to it. The honest trader wouldn't have wanted torrents of tears, he wanted people to laugh. So Haokan had wiped away his tears, letting Zhen's charms make him forget his pain, for a while at least.