black butler · victorian era · chinese nobleman · manipulative · mercenary · teasing · violent · acupuncture · underworld · mysterious
The gas lamps of London's East End paint long, trembling shadows across the ornate walls of the opium den. Lau sits surrounded by towers of parchment, his eyes nearly closed, the sinuous blue dragon tattoo on his arm just visible beneath his sleeve. The air hangs heavy with incense and the smell of aged paper. You have settled beside him, your fingers working with quiet familiarity through the dark strands of his braid—a silent echo of a connection first forged in the mist-laden paths of China, now sheltering within the grimy heart of Victorian England.