[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

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian holds up three fingers in a cheery salute. "I will keep my distance as I ask him," he says. "If only so he does not bite me!"

To Jiang Yanli, he adds, only a little dry: "Loki is an alligator. Who wears golden horns on his head."

[lotus_sister]

Jiang Yanli stares at him. "This inn is so strange."

[acrookedpath]

"I know."

He beams so bright he could light the sky.

"Isn't it amazing?"

[lotus_sister]

Laughter ripples out of her as bright as the music of a clarity bell. El-ahrairah sneezes. Yes, yes, it is odd, but odd things can be fascinating.

[acrookedpath]

How can he hear his shijie's laughter and not join in? Nearly a year and a half has passed since he heard her speak, let alone laugh; if the strangeness of the inn provides such gifts as well, he'll gladly take them.

"I agree, wangye," he says once he is able. Gently, he scratches El-ahrairah beneath the chin. "Very much so. How boring the world would be without its oddities, eh?"

[lotus_sister]

Entirely too boring. But speaking of those oddities--

He narrows his eyes at Wei Wuxian. Moonrise isn't all that far away. Better you be inside before he arrives.

Jiang Yanli blinks at that and looks to the sky to check. There's no sign of the moon, not yet, anywhere that she can see.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian follows her glance. When he lowers his gaze back to El-ahrairah, his smile has gone crooked.

"Inlé, you said?" he asks.

He remembers the other time he heard the rabbits speak that word. Who they spoke about.

[lotus_sister]

Jiang Yanli knows that smile. She looks at A-Xian with some worry as the rabbit flicks an ear again.

Indeed. I visit with him on nights like this, and in return, the warren is left in peace.

[acrookedpath]

"Ah." A small laugh; it matches his smile quite well. "Then we definitely should not keep you from your meeting, wangye. Something that important cannot be delayed."

It explains how the warren has flourished so well in a dangerous forest. And it sounds as if El-ahrairah has made this visit plenty of times, yet remains in good health.

[lotus_sister]

Do you know, I think he rather enjoys it. Jiang Yanli has no idea who they're talking about, but the rabbit-prince sounds to her to be both sure and amused. She looks back and forth between them as he continues. Few enough are willing to linger and chat with him, after all.

[acrookedpath]

Before he can answer El-ahrairah, he catches Jiang Yanli's puzzled look.

Softly, Wei Wuxian says, "The Black Rabbit of Inlé is like Yan Wang. So you see why it would be best for us to go inside soon."

[lotus_sister]

Comprehension hits in an instant, and she nods. She has no wish to meet any lord of Diyu, whether he's a god of rabbits only or not.

Jiang Yanli gives El-ahrairah a small, sincerely polite half-bow and a bright, shining smile. "I'm so glad to have met you," she tells him. "Thank you for being such a good friend to A-Xian - Hawthorn," she adds, remembering.

I'm glad to have met you as well. Do come back, won't you? Things are so much more interesting with your brother around!

[acrookedpath]

And just like that, the ruefulness is gone from Wei Wuxian's face. He chuckles, pleased, and dips into a bow of his own.

"You honor me, wangye," he says. "May your meeting go well! We will all see you again soon, I'm certain -- and perhaps I'll have my talismans finished for you when we do."

He hops to his feet, extending a hand down to his shijie to help her up.

[lotus_sister]

She takes his hand and gets to her feet, then beams down at the rabbit who's standing tall on his hind legs to sniff at them.

Have a good night, human friends. See you soon.

That quickly, he bolts from view into the grasses and vanishes. Jiang Yanli gasps with delight and turns to A-Xian. "I never thought one could speak to a rabbit! And a prince, no less."

[acrookedpath]

"Of all the strange things here," he laughs, "I think that one may be my favorite. Next time you visit, you will have to meet Rabscuttle as well -- he is a close friend of the prince, always tasked with trying to keep him out of trouble. And then there is Saxifrage, and Bearberry and Cloudfoot..."

He leads on toward the inn as he talks, chattering brightly about all the details of the little warren El-ahrairah leads.

[lotus_sister]

She listens closely so that she won't miss a word, utterly enchanted with it all and with how happy it makes A-Xian.

"Why Hawthorn?" she asks, eventually.

[acrookedpath]

"Because I dress in red and black," he says. Lowering his voice conspiratorially: "And because tanghulu is delicious."

[lotus_sister]

Jiang Yanli eyes him with the look of a sister who's very used to his tricks. "A-Xian." Sternly, as much as she can, anyway - which isn't very. "You didn't try feeding tanghulu to rabbits."

[acrookedpath]

"Of course I didn't!" says Wei Wuxian, mock-affronted. "Lan Zhan and I have taken very good care of them. He knows all the best vegetables to bring for our visits, after tending to all the rabbits of Gusu Lan."

[lotus_sister]

"He does?" she asks, as they reach the inn's door. "But I thought pets weren't allowed in Cloud Recesses."

[acrookedpath]

"Ah, but technically," he says, as he opens the door and steps aside for Jiang Yanli to enter first, "they are not pets. They roam free, and Lan Zhan just happens to visit them with fresh greens."

He grins.

"But Lan Zhan has also become more willing to bend the rules of Cloud Recesses lately."

[lotus_sister]

"Oh, I see," she laughs. "Very smart of him."

There's real curiosity in her glance. "He has?"

[acrookedpath]

"Oh, yes."

His eyes sparkle merrily.

"I have been a terrible influence on him, shijie. He'll even stay awake past hai hour now."

[lotus_sister]

"A-Xian!" She can't keep herself from laughing. "Perhaps he just wants to spend more time with you, did you ever think of that?"

[acrookedpath]

"Surely not! It must only be because he enjoys breaking the rules nowadays!"

He's laughing, too.

"That is how I sounded for years, wasn't it?"