Path Choice: Hunt
||Long overdue thoughts regarding how DH obtains his paths and what it means to him. I did want to like write a drabble about it, but now have this short summary of my thoughts.
The Hunt
Initially, Dan Heng followed The Hunt because he feels like he should. Ever since he was born, he was educated of Dan Feng life and crimes (or more like drilled it into his head). Because he is Dan Feng reincarnation, Dan Heng had to bear his punishment.
By following the Path of the Hunt, the Reignbow Arbitor, Dan Heng feels that "he" (Dan Feng) can find redemption- forgiveness for his sins. That way, Dan Heng won't be haunted by that man past anymore.
There is some idea that Dan Heng met Lan in a dream before he was sentenced to banishment. Unable to recognize the vast space around him, he sees a shooting star moving too fast for his eyes to follow: Beautiful but terrifying. All he hears, as arrows of light descends toward him, are along the lines of: "A Scion of Permanence? The Azure Dragon who attempted to drag the Stars into the ancient sea. Very well. If you seek to redeem your crimes, then take my arrows and vow to annihilate all of Yaoshi spawns in your path."
Then Dan Heng wakes up, confused about his dream. He had no time to decipher it when he's escorted out of the Luofu; exiled. The first signs of Lan blessing are subtle:
The first signs of wind gathering in the palm of his hand (a gift to hide the waters running down his veins)
The confidence he feels unflinching in the face of danger as he wields his spear.
The whispers in the back of his mind (Dan Feng? Lan? Who?) that guides him how to keep his footsteps quiet, to find weaknesses against his opponents, and know when to retreat/fight.
But upon his first meeting with Blade as they clashed, Dan Heng realizes the impact of Lan blessings. The single-minded focus he had, his defenses shifting to pure offensive, and the aggressiveness in his strikes he never had before all because of Blade as his enemy. The fury and hate that tastes like bile in his throat does not belong to him.
It belongs to Lan, and it is Lan that controls him at this moment.
Dan Heng hates it. He hates it even more when he feels something else fighting within him- Permanence, Dan Feng maybe. Struggling to keep Lan power at bay, forcing Dan Heng to stagger in his movements and slow (barely avoiding the lethal strikes of Blade).
Oh, Dan Heng is sick to his core that he has no control at the moment. He hates the feeling that he is never free, even in his own body he has no autonomy.
The first time he stabs Blade in the heart, Dan Heng finally feels like himself. He throws up, the whispers in the back of his mind slowly fading. He believes it was Lan at the moment, but the many times after that...
Dan Heng only slayed Blade if the situation is necessary, and it was within his own choice. In a way, he feels like Lan is watching nearby and mocking him.
The thing is, an Aeon's blessing is also a curse for Dan Heng, he was unaware at the time that the beast he killed many times is the same man his previous incarnation, Dan Feng, dearly loves.
And remember, Lan only requirement for Dan Heng in exchange for his blessings (and allowing him to follow his path) is simple: Annihilate Yaoshi spawns in his path. :)))
Inspired by @everlastiingiimmortals and their amazing Jing Yuan Erudition Path HC's. >:333
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Gentle Timbre
[Borrower!AU]
Word Count: 2128
CW: Adult language, brief shooter video game violence
Note: Credit to @chamomile-g-tea for giving me the idea for the latter half of this one-shot
Zelly screamed.
“HE’S CRACKED, HE’S CRACKED!” she yelled over comms. as she bolted and dropped into a slide. She moved with breakneck speeds down the hill to get into a better firing position after hearing the opposing shooter’s shields explode against their initial push. Concussive rounds spat out from her LMG as she trained her sights on the cycloptic robot who’d given her hell these last few seconds. And while they’d move to fire a grappling hook to make a hasty retreat, Zelly managed to down them before they got the chance.
A wave of vermillion light rolled out from Tanma as they scanned the area. Thanks to that area-wide scan, Zelly clocked the two final combatants hidden behind some containers not too far away. She quietly moved to flank while switching to the more accurate R-301. As she did so, she heard the tell-tale whistle of a loosed arc star that Tanma tossed between the two marked players. With a concussive EMP discharge that briefly scrambled Zelly’s visuals and fried the enemy shields, Zelly and Cybertooth were able to move in and cut the final two players down amidst the confusion.
As the announcer declared her team victorious, Zelly threw her fists into the air with a triumphant yell. She could barely hear her teammates over the sound of her own vulgar cheering. She leaned back as far as she could and kicked her feet with delight.
In her celebration, she BANGED her knee against the desk and immediately had the wind knocked out of her. She swore loudly and gave a pained, exhausted laugh as she nursed her knee with one hand and reached out to grab her water bottle for a big swig with the other.
Her heart was racing and her adrenaline was pumping. She felt unstoppable after that match. But she’d been so focused that she’d tuned out everything around her, what time was it even? She-
Oh wait, Rowan! She’d totally forgotten he was in her lap.
She quickly looked down to flash an apologetic, if not embarrassed, smile. “I’m SO sorry Ro’! I-I got too into it, I hope I didn’t knock you around too mu-”
He was gone.
“Babe?” She looked around. Had she knocked him on the floor while she was cheering? No, she would’ve heard him make some kind of noise if she had. He wasn’t on her desk...and he wasn’t on the floor either. She quickly patted her pockets and chest to make sure he wasn’t on her person (though she was certain she would’ve noticed if he was). After realizing he wasn’t in the immediate area, Zelly felt a bit of panic well up.
“Shit shit shit...” Zelly swore. She turned around in her chair to look around. Why did Rowan have to be so goddamn small? Sometimes it was really nice having a bite-sized boyfriend, but when there were disgruntled enemies who wanted Rowan’s head or if she had to catsit Hanzo (like tonight of all nights) it did make things a bit more stressful when he suddenly was GONE.
//-time for one more?// Tanma asked, their husky voice was made even raspier thanks to their raucous post-match celebration.
Zelly was already getting out of her chair when she registered Tanma’s question. She awkwardly twisted about and hit the undeafen button. “Sorry guys, I gotta run. I, uh-” Quick, think of a lie. “I heard something in the kitchen. Gotta make sure my fridge didn’t fall over.” Worst lie ever, but it’ll do.
Zelly ripped off her headphones before hearing their reply and did a sweep of her room. She moved to her bed and quickly ran her hands over the surface to see if she could feel his body against her fingers, but when that proved fruitless she ripped off the pillows. Nothing. Eventually, she even tore off the sheets till they were a mountainous pile off to the side. Still no sign of Rowan.
More colorful, demonetizing-worthy words tumbled past her lips as she continued to turn over the room for any signs of her little lover. She ran fingers through her hair as she tried to recall all the places Rowan could be. Eventually, she sprinted out the door and hurried down the stairs. She went to call out, but paused as she spotted Hazno in the dim mood lighting of the living room.
Nikol’s cat was perched on the armrest, his eyes fixed on something--or rather someone--curled up on the couch cushion. It didn’t take long for Zelly to realize that the little dark form was Rowan.
Shit, not again, Zelly swore as she recalled how she and Rowan had met the first time. Granted Hanzo was far more used to Rowan than her neighbor’s cat Chu Chu was, Zelly didn’t want to take her chances. Thrice-Crowed or not, the thought of Rowan being some animal’s meal terrified her. So she ran over and tried to scare Hanzo--thankfully, it worked almost immediately. The cat yowled and bolted.
“SCRAM Hanzo! Rowan’s not your dinner!”
She had more colorful words to add, but her anger and panic was mellowed out by Rowan’s warm, if not weary, chuckle. “He was not bothering me, darling. Don’t worry...I had my eye on him. Though I appreciate the concern.”
Zelly blushed. Of course he had the situation under control, this was Rowan they were talking about. He could absolutely take care of himself. But even if he could, that didn’t mean that Zelly didn’t want to help him in whatever way she could.
She silently nodded as she crawled up onto the couch to join Rowan. Her colorful hair spilled out onto the cushion and around her diminutive lover as she rested her head near him.
They lay in silence for a bit, and Zelly just...watched him breathe. He had his back to her--which made sense. Rowan had once remarked that he prefered sleeping in the direction he believed danger would come. Since Hanzo had been on the arm rest, it wasn’t surprising that Rowan had been laying in that direction to keep an eye on him.
There was something about his breathing and how quiet he was being that keyed Zelly in to the fact that he wasn’t doing okay tonight.
Zelly reached out and gently ran a fingertip down his spine. The muscles trembled in response. He even hummed in quiet approval. “You doing okay? Sorry if I got too loud...”
Rowan cleared his throat and rolled over right onto her pink locks. He took her fingertip up in his hands to bestow a loving peck before scooting a bit closer towards her. He wriggled in a bit, allowing her hair to caress his face as he looked up at her.
“My beloved, rest assured I find your hot passion intoxicating.” Rowan replied with a sultry purr and a small, albeit incredibly tired, smile as he gazed up into her eyes. Zelly felt her heart race as she studied his minute features. “After all, it would be quite hypocritical of me if I was put off by your warrior zeal.”
“Intoxicating, huh...?” Zelly murmured as she bit her lip. She felt a bit of heat rise in her cheeks, but she set aside the butterflies in her heart to address the real concern. He was deflecting her question.
“So, um...why are you down here then? I mean...if you were tired and not put off by my noise, my lap IS pretty damn cozy--if I do say so myself...or like. Our bed is plenty enough room for you. That’s WAY more comfy than the couch.”
Rowan raised an eyebrow.
“Our bed?” Rowan mused. “My love, that bed is built for titans. To call it our bed is a bit of a misno-”
Zelly gave him a flat look before reaffirming lovingly, “Titan or not, you’re my boyfriend--it’s ours, Ro’. Not just mine.”
Rowan blushed and hummed thoughtfully at that. His smile widened a bit more as he nodded. “R-Right. Our bed. I apologize."
“No need to apologize, babe,” Zelly reassured as she leaned in and nuzzled her nose against his chest. She crossed her eyes a bit to get a good look at him before pulling back. “If you don’t wanna talk about what’s up though, that’s-”
Rowan’s chest shuddered as he drew a breath thick with emotion. He cleared his throat and shook his head. “No, no. It’s, um...nothing new. It...just has to do with Mother. That’s all.”
“Oh Ro’...” Zelly pursed her lips knowing. “I’m so sorry, hun.”
“You were thoroughly engaged with your companions, and I did not wish to disturb you,” Rowan elaborated.
Zelly gave a small smile of disbelief. Then, with all the love she could muster she replied with a gentle “shut the hell up.”
Rowan blinked. “Pardon?”
Zelly got in close so she would fill Rowan’s vision. Being a “titan” had its perks, and she knew it’d be a lot harder for him to ignore her words if she got in close like this. She reached up and gently placed two fingertips to her back. She could feel his heartbeat against her fingertips. But his breathing...it felt tight. Shallow. Restrained. All of his muscles felt so tense.
“You’re a lot more important to me then some stupid game, okay?” Zelly clarified. “Especially if you’re feeling stuff about your Mom. You don’t hafta bottle up how you’re feeling because you think you’d be interrupting me, okay? I’m just playing stupid games with my silly friends. That stuff can wait, I promise.”
Rowan looked ready to protest, but Zelly cut him off by wrapping her thumb around and placing it gently on his chest. He paused. Zelly could feel his heart racing faster.
“I don’t know what you’ve gone through,” Zelly admitted quietly. “Your world is so much different than mine. It’s one that’s been both amazing and crazy at the same time.”
Rowan had finally met her gaze. Great, now she was actually feeling oddly nervous. Assassin who’d cast down tyrants and liberated captive kingdoms, looking up at a med school drop out who played video games for a living who was trying to console him. No pressure, right?
“Please let me know when you’re hurting...because I do wanna help, dammit. Lemme know when I need to unplug, even if you just need me to listen or to hold you...okay?”
Rowan nodded as he drank in her words carefully. She could feel his muscles relax ever so slightly against her. “Thank you, Zelly. I do appreciate that reminder. And I hope I don’t seem ungrateful, your love is just rather...”
Rowan paused, then added softly: “...foreign.”
Zelly rubbed her thumb in circles over his chest, hoping that would show a tender love that she couldn’t find the right words to express.
Finally, Rowan looked back up at her. He scooted closer to her, till her face was within arm’s reach, and reached out to rest a hand gently on the tip of her nose. Zelly couldn’t help but shiver. God, she could feel every individual finger. It was incredible how such strong hands could be so gentle.
“But know this,” Rowan added reverently. “There is no paragon greater than you, Zelly Klouse-Calloway.”
“I know we both struggle sometimes to understand the worlds we were born into...but I cannot help but feel that no other soul in all of Creation could listen my soul’s whisperings like you do. So...please. Do not shortchange yourself, my titan. Your love means more to me than you could ever know. YOU are the woman my cold, quiet heart decided to finally beat for. I would not change a single jot of who you are, my love--not for all the riches of the crown, nor the hidden knowledge of the Empyrean."
“W-Wow...” Zelly stammered. She cleared her throat and chuckled sheepishly. “Hey now, not fair, I was coming down here to help YOU feel better...not the other way around.”
Rowan chuckled. “Is empathy is mutually exclusive?”
“Well, no,” Zelly protested. “I just...I wish I had those same kind of words to help you when you’re hurting.”
“Bold of you to assume you haven’t eased my burdens already,” he warmly reassured as he caressed her nose. “You love in far more powerful ways than words, my beloved.”
"Well...good. At least I was able to do something to help,” Zelly whispered with a smile. She leaned in and gave him a tender, full-faced kiss. As she pulled away, she quietly asked. “Do...you want to talk about your Mom tonight? Or do you just want me to hold you?”
“I would prefer the latter, if permissible.”
"For sure, love. Anything you need.”
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