[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

[we_bring_hell]

She dismisses the skeletons with a wave, and they fizz away into ash. "Thank you," she says solemnly. "I can plan now."

"I am... pleased the Sixth appears to be trustworthy." Desperately pleased.

[acrookedpath]

He fills his lungs, opening his eyes to regard Harrow.

"You are not worried they found the head?" he asks.

[we_bring_hell]

She shakes her head. "I kept it a secret because I was not sure I could trust the Sixth to be told."

"Gideon took matters out of my hands because she trusted them more than she trusted me. That was... misplaced, and I cannot pretend I enjoy it." She swallows but her composure remains tight. "But since she cannot tell how long the man was dead, understandable."

"I had considered the options of what you might find, and Gideon with the head speaking peacefully with Palamedes was... One of the preferable possibilities. It means Camilla is seeking me, not Gideon, and for non-traitorous reasons. I will surrender myself to her immediately when I return."

[acrookedpath]

He nods, continuing to study Harrow. The flute rests in his lap alongside the paper doll, cradled lightly in both hands.

"They were not only discussing the Seventh's cavalier," he says, quieter. "They were discussing the death of your parents."

He will not let Harrow approach any of the three -- Palamedes, Camilla, or Gideon -- without knowing that much.

[we_bring_hell]

She stills. "Ah. That is an ancient wound between Gideon and I."

There's a black portfolio she had had tucked under her arm; she holds it now as if she has forgotten it.

[acrookedpath]

His glance falls to the portfolio briefly, then back to Harrow's face.

No louder, he says, "It sounded as if Gideon blamed herself. The Sixth was... trying to reassure her otherwise. But I do not want to pick at your wounds, Harrow. I only say this so you do not walk to them blind."

[we_bring_hell]

Harrow looks startled. "What? She--"

She closes her eyes. "May the Emperor damn me to the darkest depths of the River. There is so much I have not said to her."

[acrookedpath]

A small sigh. "If the Emperor damned you to the darkest depths of the River," says Wei Wuxian, a little wry, a little sympathetic, "I would greatly miss your company. Will you speak of it to Gideon, with everything else?"

[we_bring_hell]

"Yes," she sighs. "Of course. At one time in my life, I blamed her as well, but I did not realize... damn."

There's also the problem of the Sixth knowing she has been ruling in her father's name all this time, but... well, she's very nearly an adult now, and they all have bigger problems.

She looks down at the portfolio. "Ah. Here." She thrusts it out towards him.

It is a black linen portfolio, with holsters for pen on the inside cover, and a sheaf of large talisman papers clipped inside, lightly gridded and perforated to create talismans of various sizes. In an interior pocket are pages patterned into paper dolls.

[acrookedpath]

He cocks his head in good-natured confusion, but accepts the portfolio. His eyes widen when he opens it and sees what's inside.

"Harrow, this -- " He laughs a little as he rifles the edges of the talisman papers. Experimentally, he flexes one, noting the way it gives a little at the perforation, and beams in delight. "This is for me?"

And there are dolls in the back! A whole set of them! This is fantastic.

[we_bring_hell]

"Yes," she says. "I spoke with the Bar and discussed what would be appropriate to your needs. You were--fumbling."

[acrookedpath]

"That is extraordinarily kind of you and Madam Bar both."

He looks up, still beaming.

"Thank you, Harrow. I will make good use of it."

[we_bring_hell]

She inclines her head, uncomfortable as ever with honest sentiment. "I am... prepared now. There is little as valuable being ready for what is to come."

[acrookedpath]

"Yes," he agrees. "And I am very glad I was able to help."

Wei Wuxian tucks the spent paper doll into one of the portfolio pockets. Closing the slim book and tucking its spine against his palm alongside the flute, he finally rises to his feet.

"It is much easier for me to work with the proper tools at hand."

[we_bring_hell]

"Indeed," she says, looking around. "You were able to channel enough resentful energy to carry out the spell without discomfort?"

[acrookedpath]

"I was," he says with a nod. "I think there are enough ghosts deep in the forest to provide what I need for general tasks. There are even a few violent deaths that have happened on the grounds themselves, if I have the correct read on them. If I were fighting an army -- " here, he laughs a little, with exceptionally wry humor, " -- it would be different. But if all I wish is to live in relative peace..."

And he does. Very much.

"Then it is enough."

[we_bring_hell]

She nods. "It is very well." She looks at the sky. "I believe Lan Wangji will be here soon. Shall I leave you?"

[acrookedpath]

Well. The distraction was nice while it lasted, he supposes.

Wei Wuxian makes a tiny, pained, nervous noise, at complete odds with the composure and surety he displayed while commanding the resentful energy. "Yes," he says faintly. "I suppose. I will hope I do not make too much of a fool of myself."

[we_bring_hell]

"Do you intend to speak to him of this tonight?" she says neutrally.

[acrookedpath]

He lets out another wordless sound, this one more akin to a deflating balloon. "Maybe? I don't know?" Wincing, "Probably not, if I am honest. I will call myself a coward this evening and hope to be a more courageous man tomorrow."

Because even if Lan Zhan cares for him as intensely as a cavalier cares for their adept -- what if it is only the loyalty of friendship? What if Wei Wuxian confesses his affections and everything turns cold from the shock?

[we_bring_hell]

"Wei Wuxian, at least half of my reasons for staying here boil down to being unwilling to face Gideon Nav," she says. "I have no grounds from which to call anyone a coward."

"I simply wished to know your plans."

She hesitates, and then--in an extremely awkward fashion--puts a hand on his shoulder. Through her glove and his robes she can feel his warmth and it is... unnerving. "May courage find us both soon. My friend."

And embarrassed, she flees.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian opens his mouth to bid her farewell, but she is gone before he can say a word.

May courage find us both soon, he agrees, silently, and looks down at the portfolio in his hands. It is just the right size that he can easily tuck it into the front of his robes -- another thoughtful touch from Harrow and Madam Bar, he thinks -- and so he does, pressing his hand over the spot a moment to make certain it's secure.

If Lan Zhan will be here soon, perhaps he ought to head inside. But the idea of sitting at a table, fidgeting as he waits, thinking too much? No. It will only make things worse.

He returns to the flat rock on the lake shore, and within moments, the sound of a flute drifts over the grounds once more.