hairstroke | ic inbox ✧ recolle

[The sound of happy, excited barking can be heard on the other side, followed by the quick tap of footsteps and a quiet shushing of the dog, and the door opens shortly after. It's not Leon who answers, but the other resident of the apartment instead, mostly dressed aside from his coat and shoes, trying to hold back a bouncy little poodle from dashing out the doorway with his foot. Xiaolang's face lights up a little in surprise at the sight of Li-Na, however, and lets the dog run out to greet her, thrilled to have this new human in their midst.]

Li-Na! You're here early.

[Not that he's upset about that-- he actually sounds a little pleased. Xiaolang was very much the punctual type, so it was nice to see it was something that ran in the family.]

Ah-- come inside. [He opens the door more fully now, gesturing for her to enter, not even really noticing the hood she had on over her hair. It was cold after all, so she probably wanted to keep warm.] We're almost ready to go, so it shouldn't be too long. I can try to grab him if you want to introduce yourself, though?

[Oh you sweet, naive child]

Oh is she here already?

[ Speak of the devil himself. Leon calls out from the back of the apartment while putting his coat on. Jasmine's happy barks was enough to tip him off that a certain someone was already here. Likewise, Leon was another one who is extremely punctual, so he was pleased to know that Xiaolang's relative was like them.

Once he was situated, he's holding onto both Xiaolang and his own presents for Li-Na as he steps over to the doorway where everyone was gathered. The hoodie didn't dawn on him too much either since he figured that she was simply just cold from the weather. Upon seeing her, he nods at her as a form of greeting. ]

Hello Li-Na.

[ HE SAYS WITH THE MOST CASUAL TONE EVER, while also petting Jasmine and telling her to calm down. Sorry Xiaolang... ]

Xiaolang! Merry Christmas!

[Li-Na steps inside, pulling her gloves off so she can give Leon's little poodle a proper pet. Setting down the purse contianing her gifts for Xiaolang and Leon, she reaches down and ruffles Jasmine's ears.]

Yes, yes, these are for you, sweet girl. You have a very good nose.

[Li-Na looks up as Leon appears.

Ah, hello Leon. Nice to see you again. Do you mind if I give your dog a treat?

[She holds up the bag of dog treats.]

[Xiaolang makes to shut the door behind Li-Na once she enters (no reason to have the rest of the house be as cold as it was outside--), before calling back over his shoulder to Leon:]

Yeah, she's here!

[As Leon makes his way through the apartment, and Li-Na greets the dog, Xiaolang reaches over to the coat rack and plucks off the hand-knit green scarf hanging there. He's carefully winding it around his neck by the time his older cousin finally joins them, and he glances over, mentally preparing the formal introductions already. In a weird way, he was sort of relieved Leon had joined Retrospec before the holidays, as trying to explain how he and Li-Na met and found out they were related was easier now than when he didn't have it. Li-Na seemed like a good person, and she was part of his father's side of the family, so he hoped Leon would like her too. Xiaolang opens his mouth, getting ready to speak--

.... and then these two assholes just greet one another like they're passing each other on the way to class, and Xiaolang can't help but boggle at them for a good moment or so.]

Wait, hold on--

[He places a hand on top of the one Li-Na's using to hold up the treats, pushing it down slightly, shooting her a testy look before shooting a more irritable one at Leon.]

You two already met? [Not as if he was keeping it a secret from them or anything, but--] How come neither of you ever told me?

[ A new hooman was already exciting enough!!! But this girl was also giving her treats too? Jasmine just met this person and she's already in love. At the pets, she's happily barking and nuzzling her face into Li-Na's hand. This is the best day ever!!!!

Leon finds himself smiling at the sight. The first step in winning over his friendship is spoiling his precious Jasmine. He already liked Li-Na well enough from the few times they've spoken, but he was beginning to like her even more just form this. ]

Not at all, I appreciate the thought. Jasmine will as well, she loves all kinds of treats.

[ Jasmine seemed to understand that and she chimes in with a joyful bark, as if she was agreeing to what her owner said. Before Leon could say anymore, he notices his younger cousin's baffled expression and is trying his best to hold back his chuckle to his reaction.

Oops, he did forget to mention that. ]

Yeah, we met just recently but we've bumped into each other a few times. [ He looks over at Xiaolang with a smirk on his face. Looking amused??? What a terrible person. ] ... Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that to you, Xiaolang. It completely slipped my mind to tell you.

[ HE'S A HUGE FUCKING LIAR ]

[Li-Na gives Xiaolang her most fake 'innocent' expression. Eyes wide, slowly blinking, slight head tilt.]

Oh, I never said? Huh, I thought I mentioned it... I bumped into him....

[She looks up at Leon and she narrows her eyes as if she's trying to think]

Wait, does it count if we didn't know we were both related to him at that point?

[He might possibly believe it from Li-Na, given how nice she had been to him in the past, but Leon's smug expression kills any credibility this situation might have had. He removes his hand from Li-Na's, levels a cool glare at his older cousin (he does not believe you for a goddamn second, Leon Zhong), before giving a final sharp tug at his scarf, his tone terse.]

I'm sure it did.

[He steps around the two of them, refusing to look their way, heading towards the hallway towards his bedroom.]

I'm grabbing my phone. You two can keep talking.

[You can practically hear the 'SINCE YOU TWO ALREADY KNOW ONE ANOTHER' implications dripping off his words, but he's too crabby right now to care. Xiaolang practically stomps back to his room, his loud steps echoing through the apartment, before slamming the door shut behind him.

... he'll be out soon, don't worry.]

[ Oh yikes. He could feel that cold glare from his younger cousin. Leon was not the type to feel scared, but he certainly felt the ice. If looks could kill, he would be frozen on the spot. When he hears the door slam, he lets out a sigh and looks at Li-Na while shaking his head. ]

... Teenagers. [ Leon was once a moody teenager himself- no wait, he acts like this all the time, himself. Can't blame it on age. ] He should be out soon.

[ OKAY he had to admit, he did feel a little bad about purposely keeping this from Xiaolang. If he was in his shoes, he would be pretty upset too. He made a mental note to apologize to him later. ]

I suppose not? I hadn't realized we were both related to him until we started talking. It should have dawned on me when I met your brother, though.

[Oh dear. Maybe they had gotten a bit carried away with their teasing. Li-Na fishes a treat out of the bag and gives it to Jasmine, who has had to wait for this little family episode to play itself out.]

Well, our family name is Yiu where Xiaolang is Li. We sort of lost touch after his father died and then my parents died. I doubt my brother even knew our families had a connection when he applied to your family's company.

[It's not long until the door to Xiaolang's room quietly clicks open, and he reemerges, tucking the phone into his pants pocket and looking a bit calmer now than he did when he entered. Is he still irritated over the whole thing? You bet your ass he is, but it's the holidays, and what's the holidays without having family members annoy you in one way or another?

He joins the two back in the foyer as they finish up their conversation about Li-Na's side of the family, and Xiaolang blinks at the mention of her brother being part of Leon's family's company. He didn't know that. Maybe he should ask her more about it later...? At least when he's less upset, anyway. He makes to grab his coat from the rack, lacing his arms through the sleeves, before glancing at them over his shoulder.]

We should get going soon. I don't know how crowded this place will be on Christmas.

[His eyes linger on Li-Na, brow furrowed a bit, finally noticing something was off when it came to her attire. It was one thing when she had come inside, but...]

... aren't you hot with that hood on?

[ Hey Hooman, I just met you and this crazy but I really really really like you already!! At the treat, Jasmine lets out a joyful bark and happily munches on the treat. She's quick to wag her tail and rub her head against Li-Na's leg, she wubs her already!!!!!

The cute sight was warming up Leon's heart. Before he could respond, he notices their younger cousin walking out and he glances over at him. Come to think of it, he wonders if he knew about about Li-Na's brother working for his family? He'll be a good person and actually tell him about that. Although he might avoid the fact that her brother is embarrassing and let Li-Na herself inform him... ]

It's better to get there early just in case.

[ It's then that Xiaolang said what's been on Leon's mind for sometime now. Li-Na had had that hoodie on her head for a strangely long time and he figured she would have taken it off by now? With his eyes narrowed, he shoots her a questionable look. ]

I was wondering that, myself. You've been keeping that hoodie on your head for quite some time.

[Li-Na lets out a sigh.]

I was not sure how to bring this up...

[She raises her hands to her hood and pulls it back. Out spills a dark green braid, long enough to reach mid-back if left loose.]

When I woke up this morning, it was like this.

[-- well. Here he was, just assuming Li-Na had forgotten to take the hood off because of the family drama that ensued, but this...

The coat slides off of Xiaolang's arms, dropping to the ground with a soft 'fwump', his jaw slack and his eyes wide. He doesn't even make a move to pick the jacket off the floor, the sight of Li-Na's radical hair change so much of a shock that he can do little else but gape and stare.]

Wh--WHAT--? How did...??

[His eyes quickly glance over to Leon, to gauge his other cousin's reaction to this. If he knew about this already too, Xiaolang was going to be so MAD--]

[ NO WORRIES XIAOLANG, this is the first time that Leon's seen this too. So for once he's not messing with you.

The older cousin's reaction mirrors the younger one, his eyes growing wide and jaw practically dropping to the ground. At first, he's completely dead silent. He's unsure of how to respond because... what on earth???? He's heard about people's hair colors changing because of the application but this is the first he's seen it in person. ]

How on earth... [ No, that's a stupid thing to say. He already knew the cause of this. ] Your hair color and hair length changed?!

[ His eyes glance over towards Xiaolang. At least they can be surprised together. ]

W-When did this happen...?

[Oh... the looks on their faces make her question Chiyo's earlier comments. It looks weird. It definitely looks weird.]

Sometime while I was sleeping last night...

[She fiddles with the end of the brain, which is a little uneven and a few strands of hair sticking out.]

The girl in the memories, I knew she had longer hair than me... but I did not realize the color... I never saw her in a mirror...

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