Leonid: So you repaired the pendant ... that's why it has these cracks?
Leonid: I wouldn't have thought it possible with just a pair of wings. Holding it at a distance, you can hardly tell it was broken.
Following his gaze down, the bird's eyes spot the jade lying on the table.
Yanping: I have not checked it carefully in a very long time. Judging from the look, I might have spent a lot of effort on it indeed.
Yanping: I felt something change inside me, after seeing what happened to the previous owners of the pendant. So when I left the mountain, I kept it as a reminder.
Leonid: Not to meddle in others' affairs?
Yanping: And to remind myself how similar my people and humans really are ...
Leonid: I wasn't favored by the goddess of wisdom. So please forgive me if I say anything stupid or offensive.
Softly and tentatively, he touches the edge of the pendant with his fingertips. Then he sits up.
Leonid: It feels a little like a piece of bone. Speaking of which, I wonder what you can see from my bones ... No. Never mind. I don't think I want to know.
Leonid: At first, I thought it was a trick for detecting lies and illusions. But if it's my past and future that you are seeing, count me out.
Leonid: I would lose interest in living my life if I find out that I won't die surrounded by my collections of stories and beautifully carved bones.
Yanping: I haven't looked that closely.
Leonid: You "haven't"! But it IS within your abilities to pry into the details. Please don't tell anyone what you see, including me. Clamp it, muzzle it! Oh ... Pardon me. I only mean your ability is very impressive. Yes. That's all I wanted to say.
Yanping: You flatter me, sir.
Yanping: But life beyond the mountain has told me much more than what the bones may tell. My people must have felt the same as they traveled across the human world.
Yanping: They thought themselves visitors to that world, only traveling through it, little did they know that they were already bound to it.
Yanping: But things are connected once they meet each other.
Yanping: Novelty attracts attention, and it is all too easy to get obsessed with finding it.
Yanping: I learned calligraphy, drawing, music instruments ... so many other skills. I have also learned many poems, all thanks to chasing novelty.
Leonid: I started carving bones after I got this very knife.
Leonid: Actually, the bone piece embedded in the blade will shine like a pearl if you put it under the light ... but there's no doubt it's bone. It even looks alive when you put it in fire ... I just can't stop looking at it.
Leonid: Do your people know how to do it?
Yanping: Do what?
Leonid: Imbue things with life.
Leonid: Wood, bones, metal, mud ... We may shape them into the forms of animals and men—this is one way of bringing them to life.
Leonid: The other way is ... to give them stories.
Leonid: When I first saw your bone wand and the jade pendant, I assumed that the wand was more precious than the pendant, because it has arcane power, and the pendant doesn't.
Leonid: But now, I'm more drawn in to your pendant's story.
Leonid: Items with stories are more valuable than those without.
Yanping: Indeed.
Leonid: And to fully master a skill, one must first find a good teacher, and then be willing to search the world to learn more ...
He stops himself.
Leonid: Oh. Sorry, I should get some water. Or would you like tea? I'm going to brew some anyway.
Leonid: The branch just bought some new samovars. I'll make some tea for us.
A shiny tea set now fills up most of the space on the desk. The young man bends down to carefully light the charcoal beneath the device.
Yanping: How convenient. The pot must come from a good designer.
Leonid: My people are heavy tea-drinkers, so samovars were invented to meet our needs. It's very convenient, it pours easily and provides much needed wind protection to keep the tea warm. There's even a place to set snacks on.
Leonid: You see, no one would have been bothered to design such a thing if tea weren't introduced to us.
The glistening, amber tea is poured out of the pot until it fills the cup. As the steam rises, drops of water condense on the tips of the bird's feathers.
Leonid: If there are needs, there will be those who try to meet those needs.
Leonid: It's true, once you have a prototype, others will try to improve on it. But ...
Leonid: The "creation" is the real exciting part.
The bird ruminates on the word.
The young man is right. His people have never developed any skills or invented anything—not even the smallest things which might make their lives easier, like this tea pot.
All they have ever done is imitation or mimicry.
They spent years learning human languages, imitating their behaviors, and adapting to their customs. The bones of their predecessors, recording all the information they would need.
Yanping: Neither I nor any of my people have ever "created" anything.
Yanping: If imitation was what we left the mountain for, we probably chose the wrong path at the very beginning.
Yanping: It's meaningless.
He puts an end to this thought.
It's a conclusion he never thought he would make, but not one he never thought about before.
Leonid: Don't overthink it! True invention is rare, only a small number of people ever manage it. There are as few of them as an old man's hair!
Leonid: Someone else invented it, and now all I have to do is make the tea.
Yanping: Anyone can make tea.
Leonid: True, true ... but we all brew our tea a little differently. Each taste is unique.
Leonid: I have to say, your dogged pursuit of an explanation reminds me of some of my other arcanist friends ...
Leonid: I don't know how to make a wand as simple and natural as yours; likewise, you can't make tea as good as mine. Things like this happen all the time. It's not a big deal.
Leonid: There's no need to dwell on the true reason you left the mountain. Maybe it was just curiosity. It could be anything!
Leonid: Or perhaps you were looking for a tool to survive.
Yanping: We don't need any new tools, my people have always had what we needed to survive.
Leonid: Now, now. With that mindset, you're sure to find yourself at a dead end. How could I make tea without a samovar? You'll have to see more to know what you're capable of, what you're made to do! That's your "tool."
The young man shakes his head a little, and takes a sip from his cup. His face wrinkling up in disgust.
Leonid: spits the tea out It's bitter!
Leonid: Don't ... Oh, good that you haven't had any. Too many tea leaves in one pot, I'd say!
Leonid: I'll make you another one.
Yanping: No matter. Allow me.
Leonid: ... Oh ... Well ... Thank you.
Yanping: Sugar or honey?
Leonid: Honey, please. That's how we had it back in the village.
The bird nods in understanding. He stares at the tea pot and slightly lifts his wings. The bronze pot tilts as he moves, and deftly fills their cups.
Leonid: Oh, and please pour my tea here, into the plate.
As he waits for his tea, the young man scoops up some honey and sends it into his mouth. Then he takes up his plate, drinking the tea from its edge.
Yanping: I've never seen one drink tea in this manner before.
Leonid: You'll get used to it if you stick around. We don't have rules on how people should drink their tea here.
Yanping: Indeed, it's good to learn new things.
The white steam from the hot tea rises, and they both fall into a comfortable silence.
Slowly, the steam gathers until it hangs in the air like fog. As Leonid realizes he no longer can see Gětiān's face, nor the wall behind him.
But there is still a wall, only it's no longer the staid gray office walls he knew.
Leonid: What is going on?!
Leonid: You said you don't know anything about Artificial Somnambulism. So how did you gain access to it? You ...
Yanping: I have no such device in my possession. I spoke truly, I had never experienced its effects before.
Yanping: But I did tell you of an arcane skill similar to it. Have you forgotten?
Leonid: ...
Leonid: It's my job to assess whether you are a threat to the Foundation. To do that, I had to keep certain information from you. We only want honest answers from you, that's all.
Leonid: Now ... You're right, we are still dreaming. That was the last piece of information I kept from you.
Leonid: If you're upset ...
Yanping: I knew what you wanted since the beginning.
The bird's voice is calm as he continues.
Yanping: Yet, I was bewildered by the inconsistency between your words and your deeds.
Yanping: I have also learned much from our conversation. But as I was once told, it is best to judge the heart by its deeds.
Yanping: ... Which is why I'm taking control.
