Headed by a Snake

Tycon swept his hair back-- a smooth, graceful motion...

Then... he tapped his thumb on his chin... giving him a wise, thoughtful, and scholarly air about him.

Jiang Ying Yue blinked her eyes in wonder.

...She had completely forgotten what they were talking about.

"You're making me out to be quite the villain, Ying Yue," Tycon reached forward, placing a finger below her jaw... and closing Yue's open mouth, "I hope you understand how foolish that sounds."

Oh.

That was right.

...He was right.

...Ying Yue just didn't want to admit it.

"...Lady Jiang," Tycon winked... "You're staring."

"Sh-shut up, snake eyes!" Yue shrieked, "You're so stupid for wanting to end the world!"

"I do not want that."

"BwuhHHh?" Yue's mouth hung wide open. Again.

--but Tycon wasn't looking at her anymore. He was pouring something out of a jar into an earthenware pot.

It looked... like oil?

Though heated oil could easily have been a painful tool of war... Yue began to salivate, expecting something else delicious.

She was dealing with a professional, after all... so it wasn't strange to expect professionalism.

"My companions and I have an issue with the sea god," Tycon explained. "From what I understand, that fellow has a vested interest in this place."

Yue gathered her attention away from the heated oil pot to scowl at the green-haired Samurai, "What Sea God? The Hidden Lake sect and Moon Crescent Isle are blessed by the Lake Goddess..."

Tycon furrowed his brows.

Oh!

It did sound hard to believe, considering where they were.

Ying Yue waved frantically, "Well-- Jerim Jy-- ah! No! Yeah! The Cloud Goddess gave me this Domain!"

"Which is it, then?" Tycon asked.

"I!! Jiang Ying Yue!!! Am part of the Hidden Lake sect!"

"Mm... You said something like that earlier."

Did she? DID HE NOT BELIEVE HER?!?

"I AM!! REALLY!!!" Ying Yue insisted, "We have a GUARDIAN BEAST and everything!!"

"Is that so?" Tycon grimaced... "I had expected as much. Ah, but besides that, would you like some fried do--"

"YES, please!" Yue clapped her hands together-- "I mean, no. No! I'm not betraying sect secrets for food! I'm the hero of my sect! I'm the Chosen One!!"

Tycon coughed into a closed fist... "I'll... pretend not to have heard anything about... those things, then."

"You do that," Yue crossed her arms.

Ying Yue stared down at the cloud-floor as the sizzle of little balls of dough filled the silence...

After dessert... she needed to make Tycon submit to her.

She wasn't good at talking-- bah, she was *horrible* at talking... especially with him.

Fighting was the only thing she was reasonably good at.

Yue took a deep breath... enjoying the scents and smells of cinnamon and fried dough, and put on a courageous smile, worthy of a hero.

There was no use worrying about it. She just had to come out and say what she needed to say.

"Just so you know, Tycon... we have to fight after this."

"Mm?" Tycon hummed, "And why do you say that?"

"Because you have something you want. And you won't stop at anything to get it."

"Incorrect. I like to think I'm a perfectly reasonable per--"

"Stop. countering. MY! LOGIC!!!" Yue shouted.

Tycon raised his eyebrows while calmly steepling his fingers... "No?"

"Look, you," Yue glared. "I'm a girl that's good at a... certain skillset. And you-- you're a guy that's probably pretty good at what I'm good at."

"...Are you asking to sleep with--"

"NO, I AM NOT!!!"

Yue curled her body up into a little ball and buried her face into her hands, "Can... we just fight? Please?"

...After a moment, she felt a reassuring hand pat her shoulder, "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Ying Yue."

"I'm not embarrassed."

"Are you crying?"

Yue wiped her face and looked up at the kneeling man with a pout, "N... no."

Slowly... too slow to be an attack... Tycon moved his hand towards her.

He was... overextending... and defenseless.

This man really trusted her far too much...

Yue considered attacking him just then... but... the painful beat of her heart stopped her.

He brushed a finger against her cheek... then he popped it into his mouth?

Yue gasped in shock, "What... in the seven hells... are you--"

"Mm," Tycon pursed his lips, looking up in thought... "Not enough."

She grabbed his hand and pulled on it hard, "Spit it out! Spit it out, right now!!"

They-- they hadn't even kissed yet and he...

Eh? No matter how hard Ying Yue pulled, Tycon didn't budge an ilm.

He... had to have been using chi to keep still. But... would that make him... stronger than she was?

In a surprising turn of events, Tycon grabbed her wrist and pulled her close-- into his arms.

Which was NOT what she... what she did DID... what she...

Gah. It was fine.

She would allow it.

"Ying Yue," Tycon cooed... "Why do you wish to fight me? Could we perhaps... forge a contract, instead?"

Eh?

A... marriage contract?

"NO!!!" Yue shouted as she struggled to break free, "I'm not ready! My hair's a mess! I need a bath! What will my parents think?!"

Tycon didn't say anything. He merely shifted his weight, reaching forward with his chopsticks to pick the freshly fried dough balls out of the oil.

He... was a very skilled negotiator.

Yue gulped... "W... would you... with my sect... and... and me?"

Ahhhhh! There was no way for her to say what she REALLY needed to say.

She had a special position in her sect. Tycon wouldn't be able to become her lawful husband right away. But... he could be a concubine?

But to ask him that? That was impossible!

No one wanted to *just* be a concubine! But... she had to convince him that... it wouldn't be like that?

How could she make her trust him?

"Hah... haha..." Tycon chuckled softly...

"I need you to be clear, Ying Yue," He whispered. "You're the one holding the secrets to your Cloud Goddess' Reality Marble."

The way he smirked made Yue's heart fly around in circles...

"R-reality Marble?" She frowned, "Is... that what Outsiders call Domain Skills?"

That was it. That was the leverage she needed.

Ying Yue just needed... to offer it.