perfectmatch | week three

I live far beyond the fringes of what one might call polite society.

[ He gives a little chuckle, sliding into the seat across from her and opening their box of treats on the table between them. ]

There is a small colony of humans who have been fighting against the oppression of my people for generations. I have called that place home for a very long time now.

[ She plucks the chocolate strawberry from the box, holding it between two fingers while he explains. Despite the general fun loving and flirtatious face she seems to show everyone all the time, here, she seems to easily conjure the degree of suffering those humans must be under in the world Nico describes. Her smile fades, not pitying — just understanding. ]

It must have been difficult when you first got there.

[ How could the humans trust him? If he's been there for a long time, she imagines there were years, perhaps generations themselves, of Nico integrating himself there. People so seldom forget their resent so quickly; they cling to it with all they have left, when it burns hot enough. ]

They trusted me about as far as they could throw me.

[ Yingying has such keen insight into these things, and he easily confirms what she's thinking. ]

It has been a long and difficult road, and even now it is not always smooth. I hope when this is over, they can find it in their hearts to still accept me.

[ Like she's offering a wise fortune: ]

They say one thought is enough to make someone a saint or a demon. Thought over and over again, for generations... I can imagine it's not so easy for them to change their minds completely.

[ That's understandable. And Nico seems to have a good attitude about it, not feeling ostracized or put out by the continuing wariness. But she continues, taking a bite of her treat when she's done. ]

You'll keep moving forward beside them regardless... so I would believe that one day, those feelings might fully be lifted by time.

[ Maybe not today, tomorrow, or a hundred years from now. But time is fair to everything, even hate. ]

I... thank you, Yingying. I appreciate the sentiment. It is not that, it...

[ He's not who they think he is, and the closer to the end of these four weeks they come, the closer he comes to needing to make that truth known. ]

How is the strawberry?

[ Smooth. ]

[ Yes, very smooth. Totally unnoticeable. ]

Mm, [ She wipes an errant shard of chocolate from the corner of her lip with her thumb, smiling. ] It's good. Tart, but sweet, too.

[ Not like anything she's ever had before. Briefly, she contemplates grilling him more about what he just trailed off about, spinning the remainder of her treat between her fingers by the stem. ]

Don't tell me you have another huge, big secret you're hiding from me, sweetheart.

[ It's a joke, one he'll easily be able to evade if he chooses to. But, it also gives him a lighthearted opening, if he can be coaxed into it. ]

[ She does give him an out, and he appreciates that, but he won’t take it. He’s been able to tell for some time now that she’s not quite as she appears. There’s no blood in her veins, no heartbeat that he can sense. ]

I am simply… not who they think me to be. It is something I would like to remedy with my wish, should we win this game. Either way, I think the truth will come out before our time here is done.

I do think you might know a thing or two about hiding one’s true self.

[ The truth will come out eventually... well, then, she need not press it out of him now. Plus, he artfully shifts the focus back onto her, anyhow. ]

What do you mean by that?

[ She asks, feigning innocence — by this time, there's already quite a few people among the contestants who know the truth. It's not a problem having a few more... but she can't deny it's been fun to play at keeping it vague. ]

Starting to suspect me of being some wicked spirit, are you...

Wicked? Never. If you are a fairy, you are the exceptionally helpful kind.

[ Yingying has always been one of the first to coax others to explore their feelings, to give input, and to check in. She's very good at making others feel at ease. ]

But there is no blood in your veins, mademoiselle.

[ That gets her to blink owlishly. ]

You can tell something like that...?

[ like. she's gonna confirm it in a second. but first??? ]

It's true I don't have any... not in this form. [ a beat. ] I had no idea vampires had such keen senses.

Oui. It took me a bit to realize at first. There are so many of us in that house in such close proximity, so many from different worlds that I could not make heads or tails of some things.

[ But yes, he knows. ]

My senses are quite keen. Keener still when it comes to blood.

[ Well, that makes sense. It must be hard to tell, except when he's alone with someone. Letting out a tiny sigh, she bites off the remainder of the strawberry on the stem while she thinks of a way to explain this to him. ]

The me you see in front of you — you can think of it like an illusion. That's why you don't sense anything.

[ She doesn't have blood... she's not even physically there in front of him in the literal sense. ]

I do have a physical body, with blood and everything... in the wisteria. It's not possible to separate it from the wood, so I can only really interact with you all like this.

[ You know, he thought there was also something weird about that tree, but he never really went poking around. That explains it, though. ]

You are… in the tree. How? Why?

[ Is it a curse? It sounds like a curse. ]

[ ..... ]

...A long time ago, a star fell from the sky near my homeland.

[ Carefully, she places the stem down back in the still open box between them, expression sobering. ]

Everyone in the village gathered near our sacred wisteria, praying hard for salvation. But the star carried a strange substance from beyond. Most couldn't withstand being exposed to it... but the tree and I could. We became... intertwined, then.

[ She laces her fingers together, trying to communicate to him that amidst the chaos of the disaster, being exposed to that strange substance had allowed the tree to swallow her, in a sense, preserving her in the truck away from the rest of the carnage. ]

I'm not sure about the "why" it happened to me... [ of all people. ] But, I know that it was how I survived that night.

Mademoiselle…

[ So, it was a curse, in a sense. A curse and a blessing all rolled into one. ]

I am so sorry. [ ... ] I am glad, for what it is worth, that you managed to survive. It means we could meet now. You and all the others, too.

[ She lets out a soft puff of air, almost a chuckle at those words, chin coming to rest on her hand. ]

I didn't use to see things that way.

[ Being the only one to survive, well... some would say that was an extreme stroke of fate. It never felt much like a blessing, in the century that followed, though. Only now has her opinion started to shift. ]

Everything's gone, you know? The people, our customs, even our language. [ She's the only thing that's left, her and the wisteria. She keeps her tone distant and light, not wanting to do more than scratch the surface of the depth of the loss. ] Even though I survived, sometimes I would wonder why I couldn't have just stayed with everyone.

[ .... ]

Lately, though... I'm grateful to have this second chance at life. With all of you.

[ He hums a little, the sound so soft but so full of understanding. Their circumstances aren’t the same, but similar. There are some days he misses his home something fierce, wonders how things might have been different if he had been able to stay with his family.

Yingying’s family is gone. There’s no going back for her, and it’s a bittersweet sort of ache that twists around his ribs on her behalf. ]

I am glad we have been a bright spot for you. Some more than others, perhaps?

[ Even if Yi Sang is the gloomiest motherfucker in existence. ]

Hmmm? Everyone's been really precious to me...

[ She sing songs, very innocently, resting her cheek on a hand. Playing coy never gets old. Besides, at this point in the game, there's sadly only crumbs to report on, woe is her. ]

There's not anything special going on for me just yet, sweetheart. Despite my best efforts...~

week three | dates

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