Magnolia
"If so, then it's an art I'm not a fan of. I've only relied on myself all my life. Well, most of it, anyway."

*A slow sip of sake is taken as Ling tries to tilt her head back and look at the writing at the same time, before setting the cup on the bar table once again.*

"Ah, that's what you meant. That makes more sense. That's... Really long. I'm going have to memorize *That?* We can shorten it, right? And what does 'perish' mean? I've heard it a couple of times by cocky mages, though they shut up quickly."

"How about... Ah, fuck. Hold on, give me a moment."

*Ling begins to try and think for a moment, before coming to a partial epiphany.*

"I am a kite, blown by harsh and hot winds
Yet they guide me to you, and the water's glint
The first sip revives me, but I would come to drink so much more
Who knew that I would find... I can't finish it. Fuck!"

*Ling slams her fist onto the table, angry that she can't finish the poem. Damn her limited vocabulary.*
Keisha
*By now Ling would come to know that this tholian was a rather expressive person, perhaps a bit too expressive in their austerity of manner at times, but in this hour, much of that was muted in her plain answering of questions and muted statements through her work, a delivery of matter-of-fact.* "Not all arts are meant to be loved," *She said, stroking a finishing line in 'kite'.* "It is simply good to be aware of it, as it is to know yourself, separately." 

*The elf looked up from the macen's questioning, giving a small shake of her head, and started to speak that her words there were not a suggestion of what to write, but she stopped herself, as Ling carried on with it to somewhere fruitful. She did indeed give Ling a moment. The tholian smiles, and took a new sheaf of paper to write this unexpected draft.*

"I am a kite, blown by harsh and hot winds" *She repeated, writing down the characters in in strokes foreign in quill and style. Ehakli repeated this until the fourth line. She waited through Ling's frustrations, and patted one of her fists.* "This is good. Most lash out in the process *Before* Even coming up with the first words, Miss Kazami. Find comfort in that, your love has taken you beyond what most would expect from one without your inability. Let's continue."

*She gave a hum in thought, offering something to just get the gears back into place.* "What about for the fourth line, 'Who knew a thing of air could come to that of water?'" *Another drink. Even if missing the mark for Ling's personal vision, Ehakli counted that missing the mark sometimes proves all the more effective in encouraging the proud into correction.*

"On an aside, 'perish' is a rather cutting form of tongue to tell an enemy before you strike them. It is a poet's word to say 'die', but let us focus here."
Magnolia
*Ling opens her mouth and raises her hand in response to Ehakli's comment about liking art, then closes it and lowers her hand on the table. Maybe she was right about that.*

"Maybe. Even so, what good is art if it isn't enjoyed? Even the martial arts I find that one should like if they do them."

"Inability. That's one word I never thought I'd hear. Though I suppose it is reassuring to hear that."

*Ling pours yet another cup of sake, her face now incredibly red from the alcohol. Maybe this was why she was able to spew words like she was.*

"That sounds good! Now for the second... Let's have fire and winter be the third and wind be the fourth. Maybe mountains for the second. How she supports me like the earth under my feet? Maybe something like mountains, or the curves of the hills-"

*Immediately after talking about the curves of the hills, Ling began to think about Machi's own curves.*