#younger Huaxiu is fun because he's easier to tease and fluster

[arcxnumvitae]

The door shut softly behind her. “The woman’s memories have been altered, she will regain consciousness soon.”

A quiet exhale left his lips. This whole ordeal was mortifying and he wanted it to be over as soon as possible. A cool night breeze brushed against his warm cheeks and he turned to give Qingshan a deep bow. “I, ah, thank you for the assistance.” The elder dragon eyed him shrewdly.

“So you lost your temper and she saw?” Huaxiu bit his lip and found himself unable to lift his eye to meet her gaze but a nod was all the answer Qingshan needed. The way his eye changed, his appearance, there was no explaining away something like that to a mortal. She grew frightened. There were enchantments that could help modify a mortal’s memory, to an extent, but he was still far too young and inexperienced to have yet mastered them.

Qingshan never took her eyes from him. Jianhuren had far more mastery over enchantments, he could have easily called them instead. She watched as Huaxiu’s hand lifted to brush absentmindedly against the patch of fabric covering where his eye had been. Well, she couldn’t blame him for being too embarrassed to call Jian, she would have been as well if she had been in a situation like this. And she couldn’t say she blamed Huaxiu for growing so irate, not if she was correct in her hunch that the woman had been far too nosy for her own good. 

A sigh left her, breaking the silence between them, and the hand that suddenly clapped down on his shoulder nearly made the younger jump in surprise. “Well, let this be a lesson to better control that temper of yours. It wouldn’t do to have to constantly come fix mistakes made with your bed partners.” Was she giving him a bit of a hard time? Maybe, but it still was amusing to watch the red fan out across his cheeks as he averted his gaze yet again.

“I-I will.” He bent into another low bow. “I will take it from here and I thank you again for you help.” 

She tossed her head back and laughed. “Lighten up! We all make mistakes, just do not make them a second time. I will see you later, Huaxiu.” And with that, she left, leaving Huaxiu standing alone in the night.