[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]

"I suppose it's true. I have no air of mystery at all," he says, lofty. He holds the lantern very still so Jiang Yanli can study it as much as she wishes. "I wonder what other arrays I could paint on a lantern, once I have learned how to project the effects through light? Think of all the useful tricks I could do."

[lotus_sister]

"Did you want one?" she teases, and looks up at him. "All kinds of things, I'm sure. I'm so proud of you, Xianxian."

[acrookedpath]

He does not expect the sudden lump in his throat as she says that. I'm so proud of you.

"And I am so glad I make my shijie proud," he whispers, and, before he can stop himself, draws Jiang Yanli into another hug.

[lotus_sister]

She hugs him back tight and holds on, stroking his hair, letting herself have this moment.

[acrookedpath]

He breathes out; manages not to sniffle, though it takes quite a bit of effort.

Eventually, he loosens the embrace and pulls back. His smile has gone watery, his eyes bright, and he quickly scrubs them with the heel of his palm before setting the lantern aside.

"So that has taken most of my time," he says, working to inject some cheer back into his voice. "Let's see, what else? Ah, I've been trying to see if I can capture some of the inn's magic to use on our room -- did you know that it can hide doors, sometimes? Or change the dimensions of a space? Usually all you have to do is ask Madam Bar, if you'd like something changed, but I've been curious as to how..."

Soon enough he has descended into a comfortable chatter as he pulls talisman after talisman from the wall, showing them to Jiang Yanli as he expounds on all of his work.

[lotus_sister]

She listens as he explains, asking questions sometimes, delighting in his enthusiasm. A-Xian has always had a quick mind, and it's clear that he's thriving here. She's happy to see it, truly happy.

"You've been so busy."

[acrookedpath]

"I have!" He beams. "If this is where I am to stay for all of my afterlife, it is not so bad at all."

[lotus_sister]

"I'm glad." For him, for her, for both of them together. If there's trouble to come from it, let it wait. Moments like these are all too precious, she knows.

It's thinking about the passage of time that reminds her, and she startles. "Oh! The soup!"

[acrookedpath]

"The soup! Aiyo -- "

Wei Wuxian immediately drops the talismans he's holding -- most of them land on the low table, at least -- and grabs his shijie's hand. (He does not want to lose her in the journey, after all.) "Let's see how it fares -- "

And see what Madam Bar has in mind for Jiang Yanli's costume as well!

It does not take them long to find out: as soon as they step onto the staircase, the same whirl of fabric that overtook Wei Wuxian whips around his sister. When her robes resettle, they have changed drastically, into rich blues and a sheer cape that shimmers like freshly-fallen snow.

(Wei Wuxian, of course, is back in his I'M THE CHAOS T-shirt.)

[lotus_sister]

She stares down at her clothes, touches a hand to the way her hair is braided and falling forward over her shoulder, and stares speechlessly at A-Xian.

[acrookedpath]

His eyes have gone nearly as large as hers as he stares.

"Ah, she must like you," he chirps eventually, "to give you a costume so elaborate and beautiful! That is..." He takes the cape between thumb and forefinger, marveling at how it sparkles; it is so thin, so much like frost, that he almost expects it to melt under his touch. "How does it feel?"

Because if his shijie is uncomfortable in clothing like this, he will have to go speak with Madam Bar immediately.

[lotus_sister]

"It's so fine..." She looks down at the dress, then over her shoulder at the cape A-Xian is examining. "It's different, but it's not as though it's indecent, or anything. It's pretty."

[acrookedpath]

Good. He relaxes back into his usual bright grin, letting the cape slip from his fingers.

"It is!" he agrees. "I wonder if you are supposed to be someone in particular? Last year Lan Zhan and I were dressed up as former patrons of the inn -- an angel and a demon. We even had wings!"

He starts back down the stairs.

[lotus_sister]

"Wings?" She hurries to join him. "Like a bird?"

[acrookedpath]

"Just like birds." He turns around to walk down the steps backward, the better to keep chatting with his shijie. "Big, feathery, set on our shoulders -- mine were black and his were white. And Madam Bar changed my eye color to gold, too!"

[lotus_sister]

"Oh, A-Xian, don't, you might fall," she protests, then shakes her head as she tries to imagine. "What a sight you must have been!"

[acrookedpath]

He grabs hold of the banister and slows down his pace, but keeps walking backward for several more steps until Jiang Yanli has completely caught up with him.

"We looked ridiculous," he laughs. "But very handsome, too, I thought."

[lotus_sister]

"I'm sure you did," she teases. "Very handsome, both of you."

Jiang Yanli leads the way across the common room back to the kitchen, letting A-Xian help navigate through the crowd, given his height. The rat with the apron and spoon is standing on a stool at another counter, and waves at them as they enter and move toward where the soup is simmering.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian returns the wave, cheerily. "Hello again, my friend! How does the soup fare?"

"Squeak squeaker, squeak squeaken," says the rat.

...Apparently the translation talisman has worn off. Oh, well!

[lotus_sister]

She laughs, just as if she'd been able to understand the rat's reply. "Let me taste it," she tells them both, "and then if it's ready I'll give you each a bowl."

The rat squeaks again, points its spoon at Wei Wuxian, and gestures commandingly at a nearby cabinet where bowls are neatly stacked.

[acrookedpath]

The rat has begun to remind him of the bossiest grannies who ruled the kitchens of Lotus Pier. Despite himself, Wei Wuxian -- now that he knows the tiny creature's ire has cooled -- finds himself rather charmed by it.

He bows, grinning, and scampers over to where the rat indicated. Not only does it have its fair share of human-sized bowls, but ones large enough for a dragon, or small enough to suit a rat perfectly. He grabs what they need and returns to Jiang Yanli.

"How is it?" he asks.

(The answer, to him, will always be delicious. But he knows his shijie is exacting about her soup!)

[lotus_sister]

She tastes it carefully, weighing, and then nods. "It will do," Jiang Yanli decides. "Here, A-Xian, tell me what you think?"

She holds a spoonful up to his mouth.

[acrookedpath]

Immediately, he accepts the spoonful of soup, and --

It tastes --

His eyes well up, and he could no better stop the tears than he could stop the rise of the sun.

It tastes like home. Like all the love Jiang Yanli poured into everything she did, every person she cared about. Like the blanket she would tuck around his shoulders on a cold, rainy night, or the touch of her hand smoothing down his errant wisps of hair. It is that meeting in Yiling in Yiling when -- even though Wei Wuxian could no longer be a part of Yunmeng Jiang -- she found a way to tell him, You are still our family.

He has missed her so, so much, and even if she is only here until the night's end, she is here.

Wei Wuxian smiles, wobbly. "It's perfect," he whispers.

[lotus_sister]

She beams at him, even as she cups her fingers to his face and brushes her thumb across his cheekbone, wiping away the tears. "I'm glad," she tells him, softly. "Sit, Xianxian. Let me get you a bowl."

[acrookedpath]

He leans into her touch; it takes a moment before he nods, and carefully steps away to pick up the bowls.

"It's a shame Lan Zhan does not eat meat," he says. (He sounds a bit hoarse, still.) "Otherwise I would find a way to save a bowl for him as well."