one | video | un: cassim | backdated to the doll event

[fogofdread]

[The less said about how long it took him to figure out how to use this damn thing the better. He was walking and preoccupied and is not here to be judged.

He is instead here to judge someone else....even if the small five year old in his arms is probably judging him anyway.]

Would this kid's shixiong please come pick him up? I found him wandering around alone. [You know, during a kidnapping crisis. At night.] Says he can fight but I'm not lettin' a five year old wander around alone. You have an hour from me sending this to get a hold of me or I'll take him back to my place and we'll try again in the morning.

[Alibaba's going to complain, isn't he?]

Comments

[fogofdread]

What's the kid's name?

[What? He's not going to just hand the kid over to the first guy who says he's the mysterious shixiong.]

[erhated]

[ That's an easy one. He couldn't forget the name that his shizun came up to cover his child-form identity. ]

Xia Sini.

[fogofdread]

Congratulations, you have the right name. Where are you?

[erhated]

Um. Here's the thing, due to some misunderstanding, I'm at a holding cell.

[fogofdread]

[. . .]

He said you were busy but--[SIGH]--what "misunderstanding"?

[erhated]

[ ... ]

For some reason, they've associated me with the kidnapping case... B-but I really didn't do anything! It's all just a misunderstanding! My shidi will vouch for me!

[ And hopefully come to bail him out. ]

[fogofdread]

...you knew the kid's name, so I'll believe you. Not sure the guards would believe a five-year-old, though.

[Another sigh.]

Do they let people bail other people out here?

[wooden_one]

[He rubs at the bridge of his nose and lets out an irritated sigh.]

I can bail him out.

[He knows this because he is, in fact, a Moonknight...though he's taken a couple of days off for obvious reasons. Also his offer to bail him out is basically vouching for him, right?]

As long as I have the Chroma for it, my age shouldn't be an issue.

[fogofdread]

Did you know he was in jail?

[wooden_one]

How would I have known?!

[He couldn't exactly approach him while looking like this!]

[fogofdread]

You said he was busy! You didn't say what he was busy with.

[wooden_one]

That's because I didn't know! He hadn't been in jail the last time I saw him!

[fogofdread]

Just saying, all you told me was he was "busy" and now I find out he's in jail. Does this happen a lot?

[wooden_one]

[The busy part was just an excuse! He didn't expect it to be real!]

... [He wears the expression of a person who has, in fact, has to haull this particular unruly disciple out of brothels when Mo Ran had been a teenager...and had to deal with that one time when he'd robbed a courtesan and the brothel people had come to their sect demanding they hand over the money he'd stolen.

Which is to say, annoyed as he remembered all the trouble Mo Ran used to get into.

He also abruptly remembered...even more recently, before Chu Wanning had ended up here, hadn't Mo Ran just been accused of murder?]

I didn't expect it to happen here.

[Because Mo Ran had grown up and matured! He wasn't that same unruly teenager that was constantly getting into trouble!]

[fogofdread]

Yeah, some advice, kid? If it happens a lot somewhere else, a new city won't make any difference.

[Cassim why do you still think this kid is five years old?]

[wooden_one]

He's a lot older than I remember. He seems to have grown out of being a trouble-maker.

[It's probably because he has an immature streak.]

[erhated]

I'll be honest and say I'm not at all familiar with the system here, but it's already better than the treatment where I'm from.

[ They didn't try to silence him forcefully or had him displayed in public for three days straight to be ridiculed by everyone. (And this is a completely separate case from what Xia Sini is telling Cassim right now...) ]

They even allow me to get in contact with someone, so I assume bailing someone out is also possible. Or at the very least, they seem to be lenient while they're still investigating my case.

[fogofdread]

Then I guess we'll be there soon. Or there was this other guy who knew Xia Sini--I can drop him off there and then come get you out.

not here

[wooden_one]

[He's not directly addressing you but there are definitely going to be words when he gets there, Mo Ran. Just because he's five doesn't mean he won't lecture you if he doesn't like your answers.]