[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]

She laughs softly and puts her arm around his back. "Happy, A-Xian?"

[acrookedpath]

"Very." He snuggles into her sideways embrace. "I've had soup and I have my shijie here. What could be better?"

[lotus_sister]

"Good," she murmurs. "I'm happy too."

[acrookedpath]

His smile softens. For several moments, all is quiet; just the two of them, at perfect ease in each other's company, wanting or needing nothing more.

At least until one of the rats makes a tiny, almost throat-clearing squeak that sounds like a pointed ahem.

"Yes, yes, I know, we have a recipe to write," he says with another laugh. Quickly, he sneaks an arm around his shijie to return the hug, then straightens up. "Let's get to work before it grows too late."

[lotus_sister]

Jiang Yanli laughs. "I think the best way is for me to pretend to make it - or I could make another batch?" she asks the rats, who nod. "Very well. I will make another batch, and A-Xian, you write down everything I do as I do it."

She starts to gather the ingredients from the places they'd gotten them before.

[acrookedpath]

"More soup for all of us!" declares Wei Wuxian, delighted. Pen and paper at the ready, he falls in step behind Jiang Yanli as she walks to and fro.

Every ingredient, every motion of the knife, every flick of the wrist as she adds spices to the burgeoning broth -- he notes it all, even scribbling pictures here and there to get the full experience. Wei Wuxian could have left some of it out, most likely, but why would he? If someone else is going to make his shijie's soup, they need to do it right.

[lotus_sister]

Finally, Jiang Yanli sets the kettle on the clever burner to simmer, and turns to face them. "At least half a shi on a low flame," she instructs. "Maybe even a full shi, if needed. Taste it and add salt - a pinch at a time, you can't take salt out of soup, you know - until it's ready."

She beams at A-Xian. "Did you get it all?"

[acrookedpath]

"I did!" With a final flourish, he inks the last characters and holds up the pad of paper. A good half of the pages have been filled by his detailed notes. "This should serve well for our friends, eh?"

[lotus_sister]

"I'm sure it will," she tells him, and turns to look at the rats. "Won't it?"

They squeak and nod their heads at her, and she gives a polite nod back.

[acrookedpath]

"Then here you are," he says, presenting the notepad to the rats with a small bow. "May you use it well! You will be seeing me very frequently to enjoy the soup you make."

The chef-rat chatters, straightening up to its full height with great dignity, and accepts the pad and pen.

[lotus_sister]

Jiang Yanli's smile is filled with sweet and absolute delight as she watches.

[acrookedpath]

He glances back to his sister; returns the smile, completely unawares.

"So now we have another hour to spend elsewhere!" he says. "Perhaps I could show you the library? Or the House of Arch?"

[lotus_sister]

"I'd love that," she tells him. "Either or both - but how much time do you spend in the library?" she teases. "Did you get used to it at Gusu Lan?"

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian laughs. "If Gusu Lan contained half the books in the inn's library, you never would have seen me! Every one of the thousand worlds that touches this place has at least a shelf of books to call their own -- unheard music, theories of magic even I could never dream up, stories of amazing people and creatures from every corner of the universe..."

He beckons Jiang Yanli to follow him, all but bouncing on the tips of his toes.

[lotus_sister]

She follows him out of the kitchen and across the inn's common room to the stairs, ascending beside him - until a gasp from ahead of her draws her attention up the stairs. Lan Wangji is standing there, apparently just about to descend, and has frozen in his tracks.

Costume or not, Jiang Yanli brings her hands up in front of her and gives him a polite bow. "Hanguang-jun. It's so good to see you."

[lightamidchaos]

Jiang Yanli is standing there before him, beside Wei Ying, smiling and looking to be alive and well - but how?

He bows in return, deep and filled with respect. "Jin shao-fu'ren. Please be welcome here." He cannot keep his glance from going to Wei Ying, seeking some hint of an explanation.

[acrookedpath]

"Lan Zhan!" shouts Wei Wuxian. He catapults himself up the stairs, all his joy bubbling up into another laugh. "You're here! And look who else is here!"

He seizes Lan Zhan by both hands to pull him down toward Jiang Yanli.

"It was so easy for her to visit tonight -- incense and a little talisman, not even Inquiry! And look! She is here." Up close, there is no mistaking the tears that shimmer in his eyes. "We have already visited the stables and said hello to El-ahrairah, and she has made soup, and -- "

[lotus_sister]

"A-Xian," Jiang Yanli scolds, with gentle warmth. "How can he possibly answer you if you don't let him speak?"

But as her brother pulls Hanguang-jun down another step, his robes shimmer and shift. She stares in surprise as he ends up in clothes much like those A-Xian is wearing, only with a blue shirt instead of a red one, printed with words that the inn's spell translates to her mind as being I Go Where The Chaos Is.

[lightamidchaos]

He squeezes Wei Ying's hands as the other man pulls him along. The tears in his eyes are understandable, although they pierce his heart.

The clothing shift distracts him briefly, however, and he looks down at himself with surprise - then narrows his eyes as he takes note of Wei Ying's own attire.

"Mn." A beat of silence, followed by, "You have been very busy."

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian breaks off, sheepishly, at his sister's gentle admonishment -- but not for long. As soon as he catches sight of Lan Zhan's shirt, he bursts out laughing again.

"I have! We both have," he says. "Not the least with admiring the costumes Madam Bar gave us tonight -- now I understand why she dressed me so!"

He kisses Lan Zhan's cheek.

"Have you been looking for me very long?"

[lightamidchaos]

"Not too long." He looks back and forth between them. "I do not wish to interrupt."

[acrookedpath]

"You aren't," he reassures him, pulling him the last couple of steps down the staircase. "We were just about to explore the library. Shijie, it's all right if Lan Zhan comes along, isn't it?"

[lotus_sister]

"Of course," she assures him - assures both of them. "Please do. You will, won't you?"

Hanguang-jun nods, and Jiang Yanli smiles at him.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian beams, as bright as the sunrise. "Then let's go!"

Without letting go of Lan Zhan's hand, he grabs Jiang Yanli's with his other to tug them both back up the stairs. (Perhaps they should have joined Lan Zhan at the top of the staircase, rather than pulling him down, but then Wei Wuxian wouldn't have seen his costume! It all works out for the best.)

[lightamidchaos]

He follows along willingly, trailing after Wei Ying and beside Jiang Yanli down the hallway to the library.

The Librarian looks up from its work with a beady gimlet eye, and he instinctively steps between the ape and Wei Ying.