[pfsb]

[acrookedpath]

Lan Zhan, he writes, I'm swimming in the lake! I love you -- Wei Ying. After a moment's thought, Wei Wuxian adds a smiley face to the bottom like Madam Bar so often does with her napkin notes.

It's unseasonably warm today, more early summer than late fall. The trees have dropped enough of their leaves that Wei Wuxian knows such days will depart for good soon enough. And frankly, if he stares at his latest iteration of the energy-revealing array much longer, his eyes will cross and stick that way. He needs to clear his head.

After leaving one copy of the note in their room and another with Madam Bar, he requests some swimming attire; she provides a black short-sleeved shirt much like the one he wore to London Above, the fabric smooth as silk but much stretchier, and loose red trousers that end just above his knees. A little revealing for a lake shared by many, perhaps, but they'll do.

He changes in the public washroom and walks to the shoreline. Stepping onto one of the larger rocks, he eyes the water with a smile.

Then he backs up, sprints forward to spring off the rock, and cannonballs into the lake with a loud whoop.

Comments

[jaskoleczka]

Ciri has been in the lake plenty already, thanks, but she still smiles to see the young man hurl himself into the water with such abandon and reckless joy. She's on her way back to the Bar from the edge of the woods, Zireael strapped to her back, but she strolls down to the shore and looks out, shading her eyes from the sun with one hand.

"How's the water?"

[acrookedpath]

"Cold!" he yelps, laughing. He treads water with the thoughtless ease of a born swimmer, half of his hair plastered to his scalp and the rest swirling around him like dark ribbons of seaweed. "The weather deceived me. I thought it would be warmer!"

Not that he shows any sign of climbing out yet. It's not as bad as the cold springs of Cloud Recesses, which have long been his benchmark of who in their right mind would spend more than two minutes in this.

[jaskoleczka]

His delight is infectious; Ciri can't help but smile at it. "I fell in it the other day," she admits. "It was cold then, too. You look...refreshed."

[acrookedpath]

"Very kind of you not to say 'frozen into ice,'" he says, just as cheerful. "And I am glad to see you survived your swim unfrozen! Were you rescued by the squid?"

[jaskoleczka]

"The squid?"

Ciri is alarmed. "No. And if I had known there was a squid, I would have tried to swim faster."

[acrookedpath]

"Ah, no, don't worry!" He waves a hand in reassurance, scattering drops of water across the lake's surface. Small rings bloom where they patter down. "It is friendly. I have met it once or twice now. The most it will do is wave hello and perhaps offer you a fish from the bottom of the lake."

[jaskoleczka]

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for it if I happen to fall in again," she promises.

(No one tell them about the shark!)

The sun, at least, is nice and warm; she takes a seat on a nearby rock and stretches out a leg to sun herself like a lizard. She still moves a little stiffly; her ribs haven't healed yet. "Kindly pass along my greetings if you happen to see it during your swim," she says, smiling.

[acrookedpath]

"My swim may not last much longer," he admits, with another laugh and an exaggerated shiver. "But should I see it another time, I will."

Yes, the lake is much too cold to simply bob about treading water. And Wei Wuxian is not the type to walk -- or, well, swim! -- away from a perfectly friendly conversation, either. He will take some time to warm up again, he decides, then see about a proper swim.

With strong, smooth strokes, he cuts through the water to the shoreline and heaves himself on the rock next to the white-haired woman.

"I will join you and thaw out a moment, if you don't mind."

[jaskoleczka]

"Not at all. I've been on the road a long while; to have company at all is a rare pleasure."

And when it comes to pleasant company, every one she has met here – prophetic kerfuffles aside – has been a marked improvement over Avallac'h. He is brilliant, dedicated, powerful, and all the rest of it, but he isn't much fun.

[acrookedpath]

He settles crosslegged, dripping water, and gathers the long fall of his hair to wring it out.

"Hopefully I will not disappoint then," he says. "Are you newly arrived? I don't believe I have seen you before."

[jaskoleczka]

Some of his cold lake water is slowly seeping her way; she brushes it aside with one gloved hand.

"Somewhat," she says. "It's difficult to tell; time seems to move strangely here. My name is Ciri."

[acrookedpath]

His hands freeze where they are wrapped around his hair. A few more drops patter to the stone.

"Ciri," he repeats.

(He may be destined to disappoint with his company after all.)

[jaskoleczka]

She levels him with a wry, spring-green gaze.

"Yes, that's right. Cirilla, if you prefer something more formal."

[lightamidchaos]

Some time later...

He had found Wei Ying's note in their room, and has come to see whether or not the inn's lake has turned out to be a good place to swim.

The late afternoon sunlight is golden against the leaves and warm on the grass as he walks toward the water.

[acrookedpath]

The cold lake is far more bearable when you are not merely treading water, and in the shallower parts, the sunlight can sink deep enough to bring it to a comfortable temperature. Wei Wuxian has moved to a spot where his feet can touch bottom if he stands on his tiptoes, ducking beneath the water's surface to see what he might find in the silt and sand of the lake bed.

He pops up in a shower of droplets, shoving his hair from his eyes. The instant he spots Lan Zhan, he beams.

"Lan Zhan!" he calls as he waves an arm overhead.

[lightamidchaos]

"Wei Ying."

He changes the angle of his approach to bring him to the shore nearest where Wei Ying is swimming.

"Is the water to your liking?"

[acrookedpath]

"Mostly." Cheerfully, he scrubs an arm over his face -- which doesn't do much to dry it, considering his arm is as wet as the rest of him. But at least it gets a little more lake water out of his eyes. "So long as you are moving and stay near the shallows. Do you want to join me?"

[lightamidchaos]

He hesitates, thinking about it.

It is not the cold that concerns him. He is not certain where Wei Ying got the clothing he is wearing, although he presumes it must have been through Bar-guniang's offices. He is certain that he does not like the idea of exposing his back to public view.

"I--"

[acrookedpath]

He is not surprised by the hesitation, and his bright grin softens in reply.

"Madam Bar has plenty of swimming attire," he says. "It will cover as much as you like."

Or as little! But that is a joke he'll save for another time. (He knows very well why Lan Zhan hesitates.)

[lightamidchaos]

He hesitates for a moment longer, then nods.

"I will go ask her."

He turns around and starts back to the inn. Although he doubts that he enjoys swimming as much as Wei Ying does, it might be pleasant all the same.

[acrookedpath]

Victory!

He beams anew, calls, "See you soon!" after Lan Zhan, and dives beneath the water to continue his search for anything interesting.

[lightamidchaos]

It takes him a while. He explains to Bar-guniang what he is seeking, then has to quickly but firmly reject her first attempt, which were abbreviated trousers only. After his second, lower-voiced conversation, she provides him with a black top as well, and a second outer layer with a fastening up the front that seals with a pull. She also provides a napkin that directs him to a place where he can change without going back up to the room.

He does so, stares at himself in the glass in bemusement, then takes a deep breath and heads back out to the lake, carrying his robes in a neat package under his arm.

[acrookedpath]

There were a couple of shells hidden in the silt: scallops, spirals, an oyster pried open long ago for its pearl. He's hauled himself partway out of the water to set them on a rock -- so when Lan Zhan returns, he immediately spots him.

Well.

With a sly smile, he hefts himself the rest of the way onto the stone to watch his approach with clear admiration.

[lightamidchaos]

Oh, he recognizes that expression, and as he gets closer, he shakes his head at Wei Ying.

"Shameless."

He picks a dry rock to lay his robes on, then walks to the edge of the one where Wei Ying is perched and sits down beside him, dangling his feet in the water.

[acrookedpath]

"So I have been told," he says, cheerfully unrepentant, before kissing Lan Zhan's cheek -- and dripping cold water on him in the process. "How are you?"