Totoka River keep cool but care

what a contrast it was! yunxu, with his steamed and pressed clothes, his mother-of-pearl cufflinks, the ruler-perfect part in his black hair. owlglass, crumpled over, in about the same state as a yacht that'd gone through considerable maritime turbulence.

he dragged himself up. his contempt (notably, both for himself and yunxu) was palpable. it thrummed like the hand-shaped red mark on your skin after a slap. he revelled in yunxu's barely concealed irritation. a wide smile that pursed the corners of his eyes tightly together, then nothing. then the smile returned, considerably smaller, though more contained. more civilised, if you will.

i'm owlglass, he offered. hello to you.

there was an imprint in the ground, just an imprint, a linocut of half his body as if captured in a microscope slide. he dusted himself off, still hunched, still intense and distilled. i was tired. i- i like t'sleep near the shore. don't you, sometimes? aren't you a goddam-- he looked around, gesturing at nothing, --seaman? 

the smile slid off his face again. like luggage on a conveyor belt, it went round and round and round.