She feels as though she’s about to go stir-crazy. They both are, from the looks of her companion in the room. But Beidou’s always been the more open one, and Ningguang’s always been the better one at concealment.
Still, everyone has their limits. And Ningguang is about to get to hers if she doesn’t put a stop to Beidou’s restless movements.
So, she calls the said woman’s attention. “Captain,” she starts evenly, effort apparent from controlling herself, “please put that down. I doubt you would like to make another sizable payment today, given what you already have made to me with your contraband.”
The captain turns to her, expression a tad confused, but she places the trinket back in its place. And, true to her nature, she makes a show of it to the Tianquan.
Ningguang’s expression is unchanged. She gestures to the only other chair in the room, “Now, please, sit. I don’t think we’ll be that much longer.”
“Yes, milady.” Beidou says with an exaggerated bow after. She moves to take the empty seat facing Ningguang’s. She sits with ramrod straight posture. “Is this right, milady? What should I do next?” are the teasing questions, which go undignified by the white-haired woman. She got Beidou to stop pacing around, that was her goal and she has achieved it – no need to engage further.
At least, that’s what Ningguang tells herself to do over and over in her head. Thank the Geo Archon for her near perfect discipline.
Beidou, for her part, has let up with the rigid posture, opting for her usual one. She doesn’t let up on her staring though. It’s always such a treat for her to see cracks form on the Tianquan’s stoic mask. She starts wondering what she should do next. Her thoughts, however, are interrupted by three consecutive knocks to the door before it opens slightly.
Two pairs of eyes snap towards its direction.
“Well?” Ningguang asks for both of them. If her voice is slightly louder than usual, not one of them comment on it.
“Not yet. But we’re close. Just give me a few more minutes.” Keqing tells them. She leaves as quickly as she comes, never one to waste a second.
Ningguang sighs audibly as the door closes.
‘Well, now that’s something,’ the brunette thinks. “Problem?” she asks.
“I see you’ve made yourself comfortable, Captain. Good. We’re going to be here for a while, after all.” Ningguang, who has now abandoned her post in favor of going towards the table at the far end of the room, comments instead.
Her statement makes the pirate’s brow furrow, good eye keenly following Ningguang’s every movement. “But the Yuheng said it’d be just a few more minutes.”
“And do you think she would make the trip up here just to tell us that if it were really the case?”
‘Damn,’ Beidou curses in her head, finally grasping the situation. Well, there goes her whole afternoon. She rises to her feet, feeling once more restless. She walks towards the window. ‘At least the view’s nice.’
To her surprise, she feels her companion’s presence just behind her. They’re not actually touching, but they’re close enough to feel each other’s body heat.
Beidou doesn’t dare look back. But, then again, she doesn’t have to in order to know that Ningguang’s also looking out the window.
The Captain of the Crux doesn’t realize the silence that has hung in the room until the Tianquan breaks it.
“Ah, and it’s going to rain too. How wonderful.” Ningguang remarks dryly.
This time, Beidou can’t resist looking at her. It’s then that she sees the empty cup Ningguang is holding. She holds out her hand to take it; she too could use another drink, or another barrel of it.
“Don’t like the rain?”
“I’d prefer it if it went where it’s actually needed.” Ningguang responds, handing her cup to Beidou, who moves towards the table where a crate is situated. The brunette lifts the bottle which is outside of the crate and feels that it’s empty. So she takes a new one from the crate, takes the cork off with her teeth, and fills the cup to the brim. She takes the bottle for herself and walks back towards the window to give Ningguang her cup. The latter thanks her. The two take a drink at the same time.
“Well, that’s an interesting piece of information,” Beidou announces after her swig.
The other woman quirks a brow. “I would hardly call it ‘interesting,’” she says, “unless you really are so easily entertained.”
“Hah! I guess I am.” Beidou barks. Then, with gleaming eye, continues with, “Only by you, though.” She finishes it off with her signature beam.
Ningguang, by now accustomed to her companion’s antics, opts to ignore the comment and divert the conversation. “And what of you, Captain? I don’t imagine you’re very fond of the rain yourself, given your chosen occupation.”
The Tianquan then snatches the bottle from the Crux’s Captain. The latter doesn’t think that the former is fully aware of her sudden action. It makes Beidou’s grin widen. She answers the query, though, unlike her companion.
“I don’t mind a little rain.”
The brunette gets a noncommittal hum from the white-haired woman, who’s intently pouring drink to her cup. When Ningguang is satisfied with the amount she’s put in, she holds the bottle back out to Beidou. Beidou takes it with an amused smile.
“That doesn’t look ‘little’ to me.” Ningguang tells her, pointing to the horizon.
“Well, then I guess I don’t like it. But that’s because I’m a pirate. I want clear skies and strong winds, not grey skies and rough winds. What’s your excuse?”
“I’m lonely. And it amplifies that feeling.”
Ningguang winces internally as soon as the words slip from her mouth. ‘She had better not put anything in this drink,’ she thinks snappily as her eyes fall on the cup she clutching.
“Now, why would you say something like that to me, milady?” is Beidou’s surprising reaction to the sudden revelation. But have no doubt that she says this amusedly, teeth bared from the Cheshire grin she has on.
The lady in question looks up to a ruby orb trained on her. It catches her so off-guard – the look in that lone eye – that she does a double take. And it must have been the abruptness of her action, but her vision suddenly swims and everything suddenly feels heavy.
“Wha’s in drink?” Ningguang asks, brows creased.
She hears Beidou chuckle. ‘Refreshingly melodic,’ is her passing thought, her mind in haze as it is at the moment.
“I did tell you earlier to take it easy with this batch of alcohol,” Beidou answers. The last word prompts Ningguang’s brain to look back at her cup. So she sees it, and feels it, when it’s plucked from her hands. She doesn’t fight to keep it, though, and instead just watches as Beidou places it on the window sill. She then sees the Captain walk back to her, because she can’t seem to do anything else but stare.
Presently, she hears Beidou’s voice again. She’s telling her something, but Ningguang can’t really register what it is. She just knows that Beidou’s hands are pleasantly warm, as the latter holds her by the arms. A moment later, she feels movement, that she’s being moved. It’s quite the task, but if she’s being compensated with warmth, then Ningguang decides it’s a worthy investment of energy.
After a few steps, she feels the hands holding her move up to her shoulders. Then there’s a slight but gentle push on them, and Ningguang is made to sit on something cushioned. And then the warmth is gone.
The whine that escapes the Tianquan’s lips is something that is unsuppressed by the maker and surprising for the one intended to hear it.
Beidou chuckles. She has to bite her lower lip to restrain herself. Nonetheless, she hurries back to the white-haired woman.
“You are so out of it right now. If only you could see how adorable you look,” is the brunette’s offhanded remark. She gets another whine as an answer. Beidou barks out a laughter as she situates herself next to Ningguang. She gently tugs at the woman who, of her own accord, lays her head on Beidou’s lap.
Beidou, fully knowledgeable of her part owing to previous like circumstances, places one hand on Ningguang’s arm, while the other strokes and smooths long white hair. It’s not long after her hands have gone to work that the Captain hears the Tianquan’s contented sigh.
“Yeah, relax and get some sleep. You’re gonna need it before you face the wrath of the Yuheng and your advisors.” Beidou tells Ningguang, despite knowing that the latter can’t hear, much less understand, her.