[ Bianca nods solemnly. Her gaze drifts off as she remember and recounts:
A man and a woman approached us while we were out shopping for our family. The woman had a skin-tight white dress on and a fur shawl, and the man was broad and with a hat over his eyes and quiet. The woman said, "You two are working so hard for your family. What sweet children! I'm a photographer, and I'm taking photos of all the Mori children so the families will have something to keep in their houses.
"Please come with me and let me take your photo!"
But the woman didn't have a camera with her, which I found strange and suspicious.
Bennett sort of giggles. The lady had a funny charm, he says, being, like, four and small and noticing things from below. Hanging from her belt!
9S frowns through much of this. Not in small part because apparently Bianca and Bennett apparently have family?! Or -- had, maybe. And they're Mori children after all. Despite wearing Xian Le-type clothes and hiding out on Xian Le territory when he found them. Hm... ]
Photographers, eh? Sneaky. You were smart to sense that something was up.
[belatedly because i forgot this happened, Wei Wuxian's going to grab a cloth napkin that he brought SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE HE KNOWS FOUR-YEAR OLDS and start wiping down Bennett's little demon cake hands and face. Gently, of course, considering Bianca's watching him like a hawk. Sometimes you just gotta be on high alert... after a gatling gun falls from the sky and smacks you and your baby brother... Now he can avoid cake-mouth imprints on his upholstery too, GOD.]
Goodness... It's a good thing you're such a quick thinker, Bianca.
[It takes a lot for him to hide the internal disgust he feels just hearing about a potential kidnapping method, but he just focuses on wiping away the traces of frosting and crumb.]
Could you tell us about that funny charm, Bennett?
[It's Bianca who answers, though. She says the lady had ribbon on her belt, and at the end was an expensive, ornate charm with a magpie on it. Bianca's seen this before, she thinks. When she and her brother had gone into an accessory shop in Middleton to ask for food, one run by a nice husband and wife. The woman had given them a few biscuits and asked if they knew a tall, fluffy and dark-haired boy and a younger girl. The woman thought the boy may have worked at the Koi Pond. But neither she nor Bennett knew them.
Wei Wuxian IMMEDIATELY GLANCES OVER TO 9S. THAT'S FUCKIN AKIRA.]
—I see. A shop in Middleton, hm?
[Bennett bounces a little where he sits, talking around Wei Wuxian's careful hand. Hey, hey! Do you want to hear a story?!]
[ 9S also glances over at Wei Wuxian. That sure be Akira........... Though with Akira being unaltered as 9S is, 9S can't imagine him doing anything nefarious. ]
I think I know just the guy. I'll drop by and have a word with him.
[ And anything else he wants to say is cut off because Bennett has!! A story!! He wants Wei Wuxian to not baby him and clean his face; he'll be good and not messy while he tells it! Bennett says he had a funny dream. He woke up at Yiling Ridge, and everything was really quiet. And Sissy was missing. So he got up and went down, calling everyone as he did. No one would answer him! He thought they were having a party without him.
No one was at the big table or in the kitchen either!
So he went outside, he says. Maybe everyone was in the yard. No one was there except all the animals. Chicken, and Pot Pie, and the hens, and the grey cat, and the tuxedo cat, and Royce the Hedgehog. They were all lying on the ground. He says he poked a few to wake them up because they were all taking a nap.
But none of them would move. Isn't that silly?
9S listens to all this with a slightly open mouth and the onset of a cold sweat. He concluded the other day that humans possessing fortune-telling abilities might not be complete balderdash, and so he takes this a bit more seriously than he otherwise might. He laughs nervously, trying to make light of this story for the kids' benefit. ]
[Before he can even thank 9S for talking to Akira, Bennett launches into his TRULY HORROR MOVIE-ESQUE FUN LITTLE STORY THERE...
If 9S looks over quickly enough, he might catch the faintest look of Alarm cross his face - but Wei Wuxian is a pro at dealing with kids, and he knows better than to show fear in front of them. They're like bears, man. Bianca's already looking concerned and the last thing she needs is confirmation from an adult that this is a concerning thing.
So he just laughs, reaching forward to ruffle Bennett's hair and then give Bianca a pat on the shoulder.]
Goodness! Could you imagine Chicken staying still for even one single second? Or Pot Pie! He has too many feathers to lie down on the ground like that.
[Ah, child logic. Bennett nods like this all makes sense.]
Besides, we would never have a party without you. Dear miss Bianca here would never let us, right?
[The grin he gives Bianca seems to settle her a little; though she still seems a little Concerned, she huffs out an obviously not! to which Wei Wuxian nods.]
See? But alright, you two - thank you for talking to us. Don't fill up on cake before dinner, okay?
[The cake's already been decimated why is he EVEN BOTHERING.]
[ Smooth... 9S follows Wei Wuxian's lead and puts on his best casual anti-bear face. ]
Enjoy! ... But not too much, of course. You'll make Mr. Wuxian cry if you don't leave any room for his cooking.
[ He turns to go, at which point Bennett springs up to his stubby little feet, only barely remembering to set aside the cake and not let it jackknife into the floor. This time, 9S is ready when the boy comes trampling over; he kneels in time for Bennett to splat into him for another hug (cake hands and all), and he gives the boy a warm squeeze before straightening and offering a small wave to Bianca. ]
[Can't believe 9S is the one who gets cakehands instead of the couches getting cakemouth. Wild...
That's a fair reaction though HONESTLY!! Wei Wuxian's anti-bear mask is always in place to some degree because he's always dealing with kids to some degree, but there's a definite visible crease of worry at his brow.]
It's not unheard of. Kids think up some pretty strange things in those little heads, you know? [KIDS ARE FUCKIN WEIRD. He'd like to hope they aren't also wizards who can see into the future though, even if hearing that sure did rile his anxious paranoia something fierce.]
...It's probably just the stress of everything he's been through coming out in his dreams. That's a lot for a little kid to process, and it's not like they can't pick up on the atmosphere just because they're young.
[ Wei Wuxian would know better about how humans dream and cope. 9S forces himself to relax, shoulders slumping. It's just a silly dream about everyone in Yiling Ridge being dead and gone. Despite the dreamer having a poor concept of death. Just a silly dream...
9S shakes his head. ]
I'll be out of your hair then, sir. Thanks for talking to the kids with me. Oh -- and sorry for the mess.
[ The mess probably being made on the other side of the door as they speak... ]
[That just gets a laugh from him, fond and amused, and he waves a hand.]
Kids are messy - it happens.
[AT LEAST IT'S CONTAINED TO ONE ROOM... Small blessings. But he'll nod either way.]
Not a problem. I'm glad to help in any way that I can, you know? I won't be able to rest easily again until we have this mess sorted.
[He's going to literally just vibrate straight out of his skin in anxious paranoid energy if they don't find any leads soon GOD. Anyway, since he comes over to hang with Bennett, he'll just wave and part with:]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ Bianca nods solemnly. Her gaze drifts off as she remember and recounts:
A man and a woman approached us while we were out shopping for our family. The woman had a skin-tight white dress on and a fur shawl, and the man was broad and with a hat over his eyes and quiet. The woman said, "You two are working so hard for your family. What sweet children! I'm a photographer, and I'm taking photos of all the Mori children so the families will have something to keep in their houses.
"Please come with me and let me take your photo!"
But the woman didn't have a camera with her, which I found strange and suspicious.
Bennett sort of giggles. The lady had a funny charm, he says, being, like, four and small and noticing things from below. Hanging from her belt!
9S frowns through much of this. Not in small part because apparently Bianca and Bennett apparently have family?! Or -- had, maybe. And they're Mori children after all. Despite wearing Xian Le-type clothes and hiding out on Xian Le territory when he found them. Hm... ]
Photographers, eh? Sneaky. You were smart to sense that something was up.
no subject
Goodness... It's a good thing you're such a quick thinker, Bianca.
[It takes a lot for him to hide the internal disgust he feels just hearing about a potential kidnapping method, but he just focuses on wiping away the traces of frosting and crumb.]
Could you tell us about that funny charm, Bennett?
[It's Bianca who answers, though. She says the lady had ribbon on her belt, and at the end was an expensive, ornate charm with a magpie on it. Bianca's seen this before, she thinks. When she and her brother had gone into an accessory shop in Middleton to ask for food, one run by a nice husband and wife. The woman had given them a few biscuits and asked if they knew a tall, fluffy and dark-haired boy and a younger girl. The woman thought the boy may have worked at the Koi Pond. But neither she nor Bennett knew them.
Wei Wuxian IMMEDIATELY GLANCES OVER TO 9S. THAT'S FUCKIN AKIRA.]
—I see. A shop in Middleton, hm?
[Bennett bounces a little where he sits, talking around Wei Wuxian's careful hand. Hey, hey! Do you want to hear a story?!]
no subject
I think I know just the guy. I'll drop by and have a word with him.
[ And anything else he wants to say is cut off because Bennett has!! A story!! He wants Wei Wuxian to not baby him and clean his face; he'll be good and not messy while he tells it! Bennett says he had a funny dream. He woke up at Yiling Ridge, and everything was really quiet. And Sissy was missing. So he got up and went down, calling everyone as he did. No one would answer him! He thought they were having a party without him.
No one was at the big table or in the kitchen either!
So he went outside, he says. Maybe everyone was in the yard. No one was there except all the animals. Chicken, and Pot Pie, and the hens, and the grey cat, and the tuxedo cat, and Royce the Hedgehog. They were all lying on the ground. He says he poked a few to wake them up because they were all taking a nap.
But none of them would move. Isn't that silly?
9S listens to all this with a slightly open mouth and the onset of a cold sweat. He concluded the other day that humans possessing fortune-telling abilities might not be complete balderdash, and so he takes this a bit more seriously than he otherwise might. He laughs nervously, trying to make light of this story for the kids' benefit. ]
Ha ha, right... Totally silly.
[ HE LOOKS AT WEI WUXIAN. SHOULD HE BE WORRIED. ]
no subject
If 9S looks over quickly enough, he might catch the faintest look of Alarm cross his face - but Wei Wuxian is a pro at dealing with kids, and he knows better than to show fear in front of them. They're like bears, man. Bianca's already looking concerned and the last thing she needs is confirmation from an adult that this is a concerning thing.
So he just laughs, reaching forward to ruffle Bennett's hair and then give Bianca a pat on the shoulder.]
Goodness! Could you imagine Chicken staying still for even one single second? Or Pot Pie! He has too many feathers to lie down on the ground like that.
[Ah, child logic. Bennett nods like this all makes sense.]
Besides, we would never have a party without you. Dear miss Bianca here would never let us, right?
[The grin he gives Bianca seems to settle her a little; though she still seems a little Concerned, she huffs out an obviously not! to which Wei Wuxian nods.]
See? But alright, you two - thank you for talking to us. Don't fill up on cake before dinner, okay?
[The cake's already been decimated why is he EVEN BOTHERING.]
1/2
Enjoy! ... But not too much, of course. You'll make Mr. Wuxian cry if you don't leave any room for his cooking.
[ He turns to go, at which point Bennett springs up to his stubby little feet, only barely remembering to set aside the cake and not let it jackknife into the floor. This time, 9S is ready when the boy comes trampling over; he kneels in time for Bennett to splat into him for another hug (cake hands and all), and he gives the boy a warm squeeze before straightening and offering a small wave to Bianca. ]
I'll see you two again soon.
[ And he'll head out into the hallway! ]
2/2
Once the door to Bianca and Bennett's room closes, 9S looks up urgently at Wei Wuxian and says, hushed in case the walls are thin: ]
Sir! Do kids just have those kinds of dreams??
no subject
That's a fair reaction though HONESTLY!! Wei Wuxian's anti-bear mask is always in place to some degree because he's always dealing with kids to some degree, but there's a definite visible crease of worry at his brow.]
It's not unheard of. Kids think up some pretty strange things in those little heads, you know? [KIDS ARE FUCKIN WEIRD. He'd like to hope they aren't also wizards who can see into the future though, even if hearing that sure did rile his anxious paranoia something fierce.]
...It's probably just the stress of everything he's been through coming out in his dreams. That's a lot for a little kid to process, and it's not like they can't pick up on the atmosphere just because they're young.
no subject
[ Wei Wuxian would know better about how humans dream and cope. 9S forces himself to relax, shoulders slumping. It's just a silly dream about everyone in Yiling Ridge being dead and gone. Despite the dreamer having a poor concept of death. Just a silly dream...
9S shakes his head. ]
I'll be out of your hair then, sir. Thanks for talking to the kids with me. Oh -- and sorry for the mess.
[ The mess probably being made on the other side of the door as they speak... ]
no subject
Kids are messy - it happens.
[AT LEAST IT'S CONTAINED TO ONE ROOM... Small blessings. But he'll nod either way.]
Not a problem. I'm glad to help in any way that I can, you know? I won't be able to rest easily again until we have this mess sorted.
[He's going to literally just vibrate straight out of his skin in anxious paranoid energy if they don't find any leads soon GOD. Anyway, since he comes over to hang with Bennett, he'll just wave and part with:]
See you soon, Nines.