[pfsb] happy halloween!

[acrookedpath]

It's that time of year again.

The inn is bustling. All manner of strange outfits have been donned (some more willingly than others). Lanterns flicker ominously in the corners, pumpkins stand sentry at either end of the bar, and every order comes complete with a handful of wrapped candies.

And -- if you're Wei Wuxian -- Madam Bar has also gifted you with an enormous array of tiny cakes, each one with a little candle stuck in its center. His second birthday at the inn has arrived, and he could not be more pleased.

(He's also wearing a red T-shirt that reads, simply, I'M THE CHAOS. Just like last year, he has set his mild confusion aside in favor of delight at the bounty Madam Bar has given him.)

Comments

[lotus_sister]

"No, and it was so strange," she tells him, as she settles onto the seat next to him. "I was - well, where I usually am, I guess - anyway, I didn't hear the call like before? Just suddenly I could see the room, and all these people, and there you were just like you are now, with that plate in front of you, and so I had to try to get your attention."

Outside the bar, where the sun set just a few minutes ago, the last bit of light slowly fades from the sky as Jiang Yanli speaks, and as it does the color in her face and eyes and hair is finally matched by a familiar tinge of purple in her robes.

[acrookedpath]

As she takes a seat, he immediately reaches for her hand, as if he will never be able to touch her again should they lose contact. It cannot be a coincidence, seeing the color rise in her robes as the last light vanishes outside. The lump in his throat grows larger yet; he tries, with no success, to swallow it away.

"I am glad you did!" he laughs. If it still sounds a little choked -- well. He knows his shijie will forgive him. "Otherwise I may have stared at Madam Bar's gift all night. Here, would you like one? -- If you can eat?"

Surely she must be able to eat, if she is solid enough to touch him. Wei Wuxian pushes the cupcakes her way with his free hand.

[lotus_sister]

"Oh!" Jiang Yanli exclaims, picking up one of the little cakes in one hand - carefully, so as not to touch the flame on the small candle. "Is it - A-Xian, it is your birthday!"

She is not sure what the candle is for, but the timing of the season, the gift of cakes, her beloved younger brother: these things she is sure of.

[acrookedpath]

"It is!" At last, at Jiang Yanli's joy, his own smile blossoms: bright, uncomplicated. "I am twenty-two years old now, I think. And here at the inn, the day matches to a holiday of costumes and treats."

He gestures to his T-shirt.

"That's why Madam Bar dressed me this way."

[lotus_sister]

"Twenty-two! Surely not. Xianxian is three," she tells him, smiling back. "But the color is right for you."

[acrookedpath]

"Who knows? It is a strange holiday," he says, all innocence. "I may be three years old by the end of it."

That would be nice, he thinks: to rest his head on his shijie's knee like a child -- like he would do, teasingly, at Lotus Pier so often. To have her stroke his hair and feed him soup.

He smooths his hand over the fabric of the shirt. "I like it quite a lot," he agrees. "Perhaps Madam Bar will give me an entire stack of shirts much like it. But shijie, tell me! Are you still well, where you are?"

[lotus_sister]

"I am," she assures him. Jiang Yanli plucks the candle from the cake and blows it out, careful not to bring it too close to her hair, then sets it aside. "I am well. It's peaceful. Like sleeping."

[acrookedpath]

"Good." A little softer.

He finally makes himself let go of Jiang Yanli's hand, the better to nab a cupcake of his own. "I am not used to peaceful ghosts," he admits, wry. "And besides -- you know I often worry too much. Especially about my family."

[lotus_sister]

She wrinkles her nose at him. "I'm not just a ghost," she informs him, primly. "I'm your sister." Jiang Yanli touches her hand to his face, brushing a lock of hair back from his eyes.

"I know. A-Xian has so much love in his heart."

[acrookedpath]

His smile wobbles, despite himself; he lets out another small laugh as he looks down.

"Ah, shijie," he whispers. "I have missed you so much. I know I say that every time we speak, but..."

[lotus_sister]

"I know," she murmurs, soft and gentle. "I've missed you too. But I'm here now."

[acrookedpath]

He nods. With wry amusement: "And here I am, so caught in my worries that you will leave too soon that I cannot enjoy the moment. That won't do, will it?"

Wei Wuxian looks up; his smile firms.

"So let us enjoy our treats, to start."

[lotus_sister]

Jiang Yanli gives him a teasing smile, picks up one of the little cakes, and holds it to his lips.

[acrookedpath]

He breaks into another tiny laugh. Quickly, he bites into the cupcake, and wipes away the frosting that catches on his upper lip as he chews.

[lotus_sister]

Her own laughter ripples out like bells as she uses the side of her thumb to clean away a bit of frosting that he missed.

"You haven't changed a bit."

[acrookedpath]

He has to blink, hard, at the sound of her laugh, lest his eyes start welling up again.

"I haven't?" he asks lightly.

[lotus_sister]

She wrinkles her nose at him. "Oh, I suppose some things have changed, but no, not really. Not in any way that really matters."

[acrookedpath]

He was so weary when he arrived at the inn. He still had not fully righted himself before Lan Zhan turned up, plucking out Inquiry in the common room with all his hopes cradled in his fingertips. If Wei Wuxian has found balance again, enough to be recognized by his sister as more than a madman or an instrument of death --

Much of that is Lan Zhan's doing, he thinks.

Wordlessly, he reaches for her free hand again, squeezing her fingers tight.

[lotus_sister]

She squeezes his hand, smiling at him.

"Now, tell your shijie," she coaxes. "Are you planning any other birthday celebrations?"

[acrookedpath]

He chuckles, the sound wobbly once more. "Lan Zhan has something in mind, I am certain," he says, quickly wiping his eyes with a fingertip. "But he has kept it a surprise. Last year I shared cakes and drinks with everyone -- there was a special wine Lady Ingress gave me, though I doubt I will drink it again tonight."

Especially not with his shijie here. He wants to remember every moment of this night.

[lotus_sister]

"He had better!" she teases. "Or I will have to scold him."

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian bursts into a laugh, far louder than before.

"You never have to worry about that, shijie," he says. "Lan Zhan takes very good care of me."

[lotus_sister]

"I am sure he does," she teases him. "Remember when he came to play for you, after Wen Ruohan was defeated?"

[acrookedpath]

"I remember you telling me of it," he says. "Even if I was not in much of a state to remember it myself."

[lotus_sister]

"Mm-hm," she says, mischief bright in her eyes. "I spoke with him then."