[pfsb]

[acrookedpath]

The good news: the energy-revealing array works!

The bad news --

It's not bad news, he insists to himself. It just... is. It's a complication, a hole in the road, a little snare tripping him up. That's all. It doesn't have to be more. It might not even be in the first place, yes? He is dead, Lan Zhan is alive, of course seeing just how very alive would stir something in him. That's all it is.

Right?

Never mind that he's fairly certain if he placed the same array on Harrow, or Tom-gongzi, or Ingress, he would not have been struck the same way. That -- it's ridiculous, this is all ridiculous, and that's why he's out here by the lake, standing on a flat rock with another array of talismans fluttering in his hand.

The key is not just luring resentful energy from the forest, despite the suppression around the inn. It is how swiftly he can do it. During his coffee-fueled spree of work last night, he drew up some new lures that ought to work faster than a traditional set. Now he scatters them in a wide circle around his feet, gestures sharply, and sends a bolt of red energy into the yellow paper slips.

Silently, in his head, he begins to count. One... two... three...

At the count of thirteen, something boils at the forest's edge, dark and oily.

Wei Wuxian smiles and lifts his flute to meet it.

Comments

[acrookedpath]

He exhales. Shakes his head, reluctantly, after a moment.

Quieter: "I will run less risk if I call only as much as I need. No more. And I do not expect to be fighting any armies here."

He turns a lopsided, largely humorless smile on the ground.

"At least, I hope I will not."

[lightamidchaos]

There is only one possible response he can give, so instinctive and deeply rooted in his soul that he cannot say anything else, or even stop to think before the words spill out.

"Not alone."

A beat.

"Should you need to fight. For any reason. It will not be alone."

Not ever again.

[acrookedpath]

His eyes widen.

He cannot help it: even as his face starts to flush, even as every thought or word flees his head, he turns back to Lan Zhan. He keeps his hands laced tight together, lest he make the mistake of reaching out. All he can do is stare in mute shock.

[lightamidchaos]

Wei Ying looks at him, eyes wide and stunned, and Lan Wangji turns to face him fully. He will not turn away from this, will not hide or seek to explain or defend himself for his lack of action in the past, but he has to be sure Wei Ying knows. That he understands.

"Not alone," he repeats, low and weighted with the certainty of stone. "Never again."

[acrookedpath]

He swallows, hard enough for his throat to visibly bob. His whole stomach has transformed into dragonflies vibrating their wings at top speed; he cannot look away from Lan Zhan's eyes, or the softness of his mouth. Not alone, echoes over and over in his suddenly empty mind. Not alone.

"Good," he finally manages, and immediately wants to smack himself in the face for saying something so asinine. And yet he says it again! "Good. Ah -- "

He clears his throat, wrenching his gaze back to the lake. His whole chest feels warm -- his face even warmer, embarrassingly so. "Have you eaten? Shall we -- ?"

[lightamidchaos]

Good, Wei Ying says, and he feels the shock of the blow knock all the air out of him.

Good. As if chiding a disciple who has failed to live up to expectations and is earnestly promising to do better. Which, in a way, is the truth, is it not?

He can only be grateful that Wei Ying, in kindness, did not say anything else to point out how Lan Wangji's promise is too little, too late.

Wei Ying turns away, unable to look at him, and he makes himself turn to face the water as well, sparing Wei Ying from his ill-done sincerity.

"Mn. As you wish."

[acrookedpath]

All the warmth congeals into a lump of ice. The fluttering in his belly isn't so pleasant any longer -- it's frantic, nauseating, and if it wouldn't hurt Lan Zhan even more Wei Wuxian would simply make his excuses and leave.

"Ah, Lan Zhan -- " He drags a hand down his face, still too afraid to look at him. "I'm sorry. I..."

What can he even say? I'm sorry but if I think about you too long I may blurt out something I regret and destroy the little friendship we still share? If he loses Lan Zhan --

"I am not thinking clearly today. I am sorry. Forgive me."

[lightamidchaos]

"Do not apologize."

Low, but clear. He keeps his gaze fixed on the water.

"There is no need. None."

[acrookedpath]

"I think there is." No louder. "But..."

He sighs, heavily.

"If you insist. Come." He starts to turn for the inn. "Let's share a meal."

[lightamidchaos]

The sigh rips through him like a gale.

What can he possibly say? If he insists there is no need to apologize, he will hurt Wei Ying. Yet how can he forgive him when there is nothing to forgive?

"All right," he manages, and turns to walk beside the other man, back toward the inn.

It takes several steps before he finds the will to say, softly,

"Wei Ying already has my forgiveness. For whatever he needs."

[acrookedpath]

He tries not to flinch, and barely succeeds; his eyes shut too tight for an instant as his step hitches.

I do not deserve this, he thinks, small and clear. I cannot destroy this.

"I know," he whispers. He doesn't know what else to say.

[lightamidchaos]

Lan Wangji glances up at him, then nods, and stays silent.

For another ten steps.

"The mirror. For the lures."

The subject change is obvious, he knows, and he hopes it will work all the same, allowing Wei Ying to retreat into a more comfortable topic of conversation - and talisman theory has often been that, for him.

"Could you use it to reflect what you saw, as well? For the other array you have been crafting?"

[acrookedpath]

Obvious as it may be, Wei Wuxian has never been a particularly subtle person himself. The set of his shoulders loosens as he welcomes the subject change with open arms.

"It might," he says, as thoughtful as if they had been discussing this all along. "I think it would need to be coupled with similar principles as attaching my senses to a paper doll. And it would need to be aimed very precisely, so what you see would not only be identical to what I see, but located in the same place."

Yes. He can talk about this professionally. He does not have to dwell on exactly what he saw, or how Lan Zhan might react to knowing Wei Wuxian thinks him beautiful, or --

Professionally, damn it.

[lightamidchaos]

"As opposed to making it visible for anyone," he concludes.

They are near the door now, and he moves to open it for them both.

[acrookedpath]

"Yes," he agrees, following Lan Zhan into the inn. "Which could have its own advantages! A whispered conversation is more useful than a shout sometimes. But perhaps once I have the principles secured, it could be amplified the same way as amplifying the lures, so more people could see."

He approaches Madam Bar and executes his usual polite bow. "Madam Bar, if I may request tea and gan guo, and -- what would you like, Lan Zhan?"

[lightamidchaos]

"Lo han jai," he says, after making his own bow. "And tea. Thank you."

"It might be good to have both options. For those you want to see, as well as those you would conceal it from."

[acrookedpath]

The food materializes; Madam Bar, now familiar with their tastes, makes certain there is an extra pot of chili oil included. Rather than taking it away to a table, Wei Wuxian, after a brief glance Lan Zhan's way as if to ask is this all right?, takes a seat at the bar.

(Maybe if he is seated next to Lan Zhan, instead of across from him, it will not be so obvious that he flounders every time he looks at him.)

"I thought so too," he says, as he immediately begins heaping extra spoonfuls of spice onto his food. "Some may wish to keep it more private. Like Harrow, yes? And approaching the same problem from more than one path can only help in the end, besides."

[lightamidchaos]

"Mn."

While Wei Ying busies himself adding enough spice to burn anyone else's tongue from their mouth, he quietly scoops rice into a bowl for him and sets it within reach before beginning to prepare his own meal.

"Doing so may give other options, too. For other things."

[acrookedpath]

Curious: "Like what?"

He pulls the bowl of rice closer to add some to his food.

[lightamidchaos]

He slants a sideways look at Wei Ying.

"I do not know. That is for you to figure out."

Dry as dust.

[acrookedpath]

He snorts a small laugh. "Lan Zhan," he says, and makes the mistake of nudging his shoulder, as if this were no different from any other meal they have shared. Instantly it feels as if Zidian has sparked across his skin, washing his mind clear of all thought again, and, hurriedly, he withdraws to take a bite of his food.

It needs more chili oil, he decides, and adds another spoonful.

Once his mind is not so desperately blank, he goes on at last, "What will I do if I run out of ideas and you cannot help me think of more? I will need to spend even more time talking about theoretical talismans. You will fall asleep well before hài hour with all my chattering."

[lightamidchaos]

"You will not run out."

He pours tea for Wei Ying first, then for himself.

"And I will not mind listening."

[acrookedpath]

"Such kindness and patience," he teases. (Yes, it is much easier to pretend nothing is amiss when he keeps his eyes on his food.) "Perhaps I will make a list of the most absurd things that could happen in a place such as this one, then set about crafting the talismans to make it happen. The inn is so strange already that the absurdities will be perfectly normal -- our food brought by people instead of rats, an ordinary fire in the fireplace..."

[lightamidchaos]

"Ridiculous."

He touches Bar-guniang's polished surface and adds,

"Not you."

[acrookedpath]

In response, a napkin pops up with a drawing of a smiley face and a heart

Wei Wuxian laughs. "It seems you are forgiven for any misunderstanding, Lan Zhan."