2018-02-11: Love Is Filgaia's Language
- Log: Love is Filgaia's Language
- Cast: Fei Fong Wong, Wiseman
- Where: Little Twister
- Date: February 11th 2018
- Summary: Fei meets a mysterious masked man who knows more than he lets on
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
LAST TIME ON WAIT WHAT DID YOU AND DEAN TALK ABOUT? WHAT WAS THAT XANTIA SAID? FEI SURE DOESN'T REMEMBER.
??? It's a little hazy ???
NOW
And indeed, Fei has already put the talk about this mysterious red haired not-so-gentleman out of his mind. Just like how he put Ramses's words about him being the demon of elru out of his mind. People say crazy things sometimes, especially when they're trying to stab you repeatedly with a sword. But the feeling of the conversation hasn't left him and he decided the best way to deal with Xantia passing out all of a sudden when they tried to get HER memories back, and Dean's strange concerns--was to get so drunk he'd pass out at the table. He had a week to sober up so he didn't need to be sober now.
It's these moments, when Elly isn't near, that he feels the weight of the world on his shoulders the heaviest.
There are naturally thugs in the saloon though they haven't been harrassing Fei just yet because of the presence of Hangman Jack, a man who keeps the peace of the bar through one method or another. Of course, sometimes situations arise that even Jack can't account for. One Eyed Pete, a large man with an anchor on his back glances periodically over to Fei. His friend, Marv Mauler, rests a hook hand on Pete's shoulder.
"Hey, we don't wanna piss off Jack. Leave 'em be."
Fei doesn't seem to notice this conversation either. He's definitely not paying attention to his surroundings. It's a little painful to talk to Dean sometimes, he thinks, he reminds him so much of home. It's not that it's not welcome, it's the moment after when he is by himself...
Fei decides another drink will solve this problem.
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
The double half-door of the salon swings open, creaking in that way momentous things often do. The man who enters is concealed in every way, no inch of his body apparent. He wears a heavy hood and cloak over a light chestplate, itself over a skirted tunic ending in the heavy brown boots of a man who travels on foot. Despite the footwear, his footfalls are nearly silent as he steps across the distance to the bar.
He ghosts up behind the two men hovering behind Fei. His face is disguised; a mask from some long-lost culture that probably isn't supposed to look as much like a fish as it does mounted over him.
"Gentlemen," says the man, not to Fei, yet, although he has apparently decided bothering people next to Fei is something he wants to do; "Kindly step aside."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong continues to not pay attention to his surroundings. For maybe the next several seconds then odds are he's going to be paying a lot of attention. One Eyed Pete turns towards Wiseman. "Oi!" He says to him, lifting the anchor free from his back. "Who're you callin' a gentleman?" He smiles with his stained teeth, a detail the animators of his character portrait included so you knew he wasn't a cool dude. He does indeed have a scar across his left eye. He rears back with his anchor and says, "I stand where I please! I am One Eyed Pete, Scourge of--"
Fei does end up looking over at this point due to the loud noises. Of course, this is probably about as far as One Eyed Pete gets in his character introduction.
Fei sees the mask the man is wearing and grimaces. Why are masks so popular lately? They give him the heebie jeebies.
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
The mask betrays nothing.
From Pete's perspective, what happens is he is suddenly, mid-sentence, six feet away, slumped against the wall with an intense pain in his chest.
From most of the room's perspective, the masked man does nothing, and Pete suddenly impulses with no apparent cause toward the wall.
From Fei's perspective, the man blurs - inconceivably fast - thrusting a palm into Pete's chest and propelling him away. The only evidence of this motion is the flutter of his cape, which is just barely disturbed.
The man moves to brush past Marv Mauler to claim a seat.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Pete smacks against the wall, falls over, and then his anchor, which flew out of his hand at some point, drops on his head, knocking him out cold. Hangman Jack looks up, examines the cracks in the wall created by One Eyed Pete's body, then back to Wiseman, then he goes back to polishing glasses, glancing over to Fei placing one hand over his eye.
So the rumors are true, Fei thinks. And that man... he barely was able to see the movement. But...the palm thrust... A line of irritation flits through his mind and he stands himself up and--turns his body to Wiseman.
"I recognize that style," Fei says, even though it was just barely at that speed. His eyes narrowed in thought. "Who are you?"
And why is his body so tense? ... This time.
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
"Do you?" the man in the mask says. "Impressive, in your state."
The man doesn't actually sit, since Fei has stood to challenge him. The mask turns, though perhaps not enough to give the man the kind of sight he acts like he does. "I am merely a curious wanderer. You won't find what you're seeking at the bottom of that bottle, young man."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"It's a tough world out there," Fei says. "What do you know what I'm looking for?"
He doesn't sit back down, nor does he initiate violence--at least not yet, he isn't THAT drunk, but he does shift his posture. He tries to be subtle about it, but subtlety is not Fei's strength. He isn't kind of shifting weight from front to back to keep his movements fluid, but he could move into a proper stance at any moment. It would probably be smart to ask about Xantia before things get too heated, but Fei has been drinking and it doesn't occur to him just yet. "I've heard a lot about Shevat lately." He says instead. "A friend," Elly. "Warned me about that place. Why are you wearing a mask? Who are you?"
He could see the movements, Fei 'thinks', if he's clever about it he might be able to take this guy. Force him to give some answers.
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
"I don't," the man replies, just the slightest bit wry. "But neither does the bottle. I think you'll find one of us the more talkative partner."
The man in the mask observes Fei shifting stance - not quite to battle-readiness, but close. "Shevat?" he murmurs. "I wonder why you would associate me with a garden in the sky..." A low chuckle. "I do not matter. My mask is proof of that. You, though..."
He turns back to look at Fei, eyes curious in the depths of that mask.
"What are you looking for, out here, young Drifter?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei blinks a few times, stunned out of his aggressive state at that sick burn. Let's face it, if that was a physical strike it would've hit him right in the solar plexus.
More to the point, why he thinks he has something to do with Shevat--Fei believes this mysterious drifter knows exactly why and is just messing with him. If it wasn't for that earlier disarming wit, he would've gotten angrier, instead it just shocks him back to the present...and reminds him of Xantia.
"My friend, Xantia... we were looking for her lost memories and as soon as she got into the desert, she had some kind of...seizure or something...and she passed out." He frowns. "I don't know what was done to her but..." He curls his fingers into a shaking fist.
"...And besides, this whole world is infected by malevolence, everywhere I look, even in Krosse. I don't like it. It puts me on edge. I'm taking the edge off."
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
He may know, or he may not. The mask reveals nothing.
And indeed, he barely acknowledges Fei's story. "You seek to purify the Malevolence? That poison is a new one, but poison is no new thing."
The man's mask lingers on a decorative jar in the bar - a bushel of Plant-grown peppers in a jar of some unknown brine. "They say a pepper's spice is your body responding to poison." His gaze sweeps back to Fei. "Is that what this is, Drifter? Are you hoping to burn yourself in those black fires?"
Somehow, Fei feels that he finally stares into his eyes. "Are you hoping the fire can finally destroy you? Or perhaps they will make you feel alive again?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei is getting nothing from Wiseman. His mask is impenetrable, his kungfu unstoppable. This Fei isn't the kind of Fei who is inclined to start fights, but something about this man is pushing him onward to strike. He doesn't know why. Even still, it's not like Fei is so weakwilled to just strike at a guy for being mysterious or because he wants to.
But the way Wiseman talks to him, the way that Fei reads into it, he feels like he's not just being mocked, but that he definitely knows something. It feels so much like THEM.
He looks back to hangman jack for a moment before looking to Wiseman. "Maybe what I'm hoping for--" He begins.
He lashes out with his hand. "To see what's behind your mask!"
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
Fei's hand strikes air.
The man in the mask moved, so smoothly you'd almost think it was a simple step back rather than an evasive step. His head tips slightly. "Anger," he says. "Violence."
He lets the next few moments come; his cloak swirling as he easily retreats. "Are these your language, now?"
Once or twice he blocks, but always he backs away. "That mercenary company. The soldier girl."
Luring Fei outside. "The Malevolent flame that burns away righteousness."
The masked man's boots scuff the sand off the porch.
The cloak falls still. The man in the mask, hands at his sides, turns to look up at Fei. Not even breathing heavily. "Malevolence may be a new poison, but you forget that Malice, and Hatred, and Fear have blighted this world more and more deeply than Malevolence ever can. This ocean of dust is proof of that. Will you so readily leap into their arms?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei says, "A lady told me that violence is Filgaia's language. She sells flowers and is dying." Judging from his tone, he doesn't exactly agree, but is feeling frustrated enough to make the point anyway, stalling and says, "How--how do you know about Lily and Leon, even?"
Fei keeps grabbing for the mask. Eventually this becomes more and more ridiculous as other patrons get out of the way. That is, except for Marv Mauler who sees this opportunity as a chance to strike Wiseman. He slices at him from behind with the hook hand. Revenge for Pete!
However Wiseman deals with that, Fei picks up a plate for fried shrimp and starts chucking them at Wiseman to keep him busy before going for another snag for the mask.
"IEven if people feel those things," Fei says. "It's one thing to feel it, and another to act on it, isn't that so?"
He's already panting for breath. Sure, he drank alcohol before this.
He has no good argument for Wiseman. "I didn't want a violent life, a violent life came to me. I'm not the only one hurting!" He doesn't sound like he wants to but--it is easier isn't it?
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
Fei never once receives a strike - although Wiseman does respond to Marv, whom he grabs by the arm and thrusts a palm at him, upending his weight; the man finds himself suddenly propelled cleanly over the crowd, where he slams into the wall directly over Pete and then collapses on top of the man.
No damage to the space. That's Hangman Jack's rules.
The shrimp never strike home, which is maybe the most stupendously ridiculous part of the whole thing; he sweeps back, cloak whirling in just such a way that they swing cleanly through the gap. He comes down on both feet, out of Fei's arm reach.
Too distant to grasp. Like so much else.
"The language of Filgaia is love, and hope. Courage yet clings on even in the darkest places...desire burns even here in these wastes." The man tips his head again, emoting with his head with full knowledge his face cannot be seen. "But she is ill. Tired. She speaks quietly. Our voices...our hatreds, and our fears, drown her out."
Again, he finds Fei's eyes.
"Can you give our world her voice back, Fei Fong Wong? Will you see her sing once more?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
And Wiseman says something that makes Fei stop, though also his lungs burning isn't helping. "Jeeze...I knew you were fast...but this is..."
He bends over, panting for breath. Even when fighting Fargo, he's never been able to not fight back, and this guy is making Fargo look unskilled which is insane because Fargo is incredibly skilled. He hangs there while Wiseman lectures.
He considers those words.
"Filgaia's language...is love, hope, and courage?"
Why does that sound so familiar? Desire too?
"The Guardians..." Fei says, but he knows Wiseman's speaking more metaphorically here than literally talking about the Guardians. He straightens up, takes in a deep lungful of air and he shifts out of his aggressive pose. He's rapidly aware he can't touch this guy and this isn't a tournament.
He thinks about Elly, and yes Lily and Leon. They've shown him these elements still, as have many others on Filgaia. He can't deny it.
But he tried to reach hate with hope didn't he? Didn't he try to reach to Siegfried? Didn't he nearly die for his effort? Didn't many others ACTUALLY die for it?
"...I want to believe that," Fei admits. "...I want that to be true so badly but..."
He lowers his head. "...How can I do that?" He thinks of Elly, of course, who seems to be able to do it so effortlessly. "Everything I touch...breaks. I'm a destroyer aren't I? Isn't that...the best I can hope for?"
He looks to the side. "...Sometimes I wonder if...that's the only way I can..."
He trails off.
<Pose Tracker> Wiseman has posed.
"You cannot," the man says, and for a terrible moment the words hang there, until he concludes: "Not alone. The world is more than one man. You will shine brighter than most...but the world's voice comes from the hearts of her people."
He watches Fei's whole posture slowly crumble. "You have power, Fei Fong Wong. Power need not destroy. Whether you protect with it or dest--"
He stops, suddenly. He makes a low grunt, his stance weakening. "Yes..." he whispers. "It is about that time...isn't it..."
His gaze returns to Fei. His voice is more strained, now. "Ask yourself, Fei Fong Wong. Why are you fighting? What future are those fists creating? They are your hands and none others'! You alone can choose...!"
Ghk. A shudder runs through him; he takes two steps back, trying to appear composed. "I must leave you now. We shall meet again."
He turns; takes five steps...
And jumps entirely over a neighboring building.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei is concerned. Did he...actually hurt him? Not unless his true body is the cape, if that's the case Fei ... ... still didn't hit him, unless you count the shrimp, and he doubts this is shrimp allergies. An old wound, perhaps.
"W-wait...!" Fei stammers, taking off after him only for Wiseman to...
...jump entirely over a building. Okay, he thinks, maybe it isn't an old wound either.
"...I don't even know who you are..." Fei frowns. "...Wait...how did he know my..."
He looks over to the right and sees a WANTED bounty poster with his likeness drawn on the front.
"...Right." Fei says. He thinks to himself, walking off and forgetting to pay his tab like a true villain.
He can't do it alone, he said. What future are your fists creating? He did seem stronger--not more powerful, stronger--when with Elly. Even with Leon and Lily, even Bart.
"Filgaia's language is love." Fei muses. It's the direct counterargument to Kaguya's words. On its own it's simply a different premise, but his time with the people of Filgaia...those precious good memories he tries desperately to cling to, those moments of pure joy that make him feel like he could protect something after all. Is that what he means?
It's strong evidence, Fei reflects, but those other emotions sure are loud in this world. He can feel them grating in his psyche sometimes, even without them saying a word, he feels it.
But if he'd rather be fluent in one of these languages he knows which one he'd pick.
Frustrated, but somehow less upset than he was before at the same time, he makes his way back to November City.