[pfsb]

[acrookedpath]

The latest idea that struck Wei Wuxian mid-lunch: if he combined one of the theoretical energy talismans with a paper doll, would that allow him to search the grounds for resentful energy without having to blanket the whole inn with talismans?

It seems like a sound idea! It won't replace the planned night hunt with Lan Zhan -- nor would he want it to -- but if he succeeds, it will be a fun experiment.

First, though: combining a paper doll with a simpler talisman. Which brings us to Wei Wuxian at a table underneath the Observation Window, not an inch left uncovered by his notes, scribbling onto a tiny cutout with a ballpoint pen Bar gave him. (What an invention!) He completes the last character with a flourish and waves his hand over the doll; it springs to its "feet," and, grinning, he directs it toward the empty cup perched precariously on a corner of the table.

Comments

[riddleofthebelow]

"I did wonder. When I spoke with Lan Wangji, the topic of wicked tricks and resentful energy came up, as I don't keep my past shrouded in mystery."

It never works to try to hide your past, especially from yourself.

"In fact there was a time a close circle of similar friends considered carrying business cards to announce our former evil ways so we wouldn't have to go through the whole explanation each time."

He leans back a little, regarding Wei Wuxian with genuine concern. "How are you, then, really, Wei Wuxian?"

[acrookedpath]

He laughs a little, but does not look up.

"I'm fine, Tom-gongzi," he says. "Is that all Lan Zhan told you of me? The wicked tricks?"

[riddleofthebelow]

"No, he didn't mention you in regards to dark magic," he says. "He only referred to you as his friend who was here and that you're an expert in talismans. But he asked me questions about whether using dark magic was as harmful in my world as it is in yours, and I made the assumption with what I know of magic users, Milliways, and who ends up here and why."

He's keeping back the knowledge that Lan Wangji also mentioned Wei Wuxian was amongst the patrons who are dead. Either Wei Wuxian will mention that himself, or he won't, and either way, that is not a topic that Tom has any need to intrude upon.

"Plus we tend to be able to tell. Like draws to like, and all."

Although Tom would be hard pressed to identify Wei Wuxian as a typical user of dark magic. Some wear the darkness like a shroud, having been mired within it so long there is no other alternative. Not this man. Or so it seems to Tom.

[acrookedpath]

"Is that truly why I arrived here?"

He finally lifts his gaze from his cup, genuine curiosity winning out over the cloud of throughts swirling through his mind. He had thought it coincidence, or chance -- and it can't merely be due to his work, because why would Lan Zhan have found his way here as well -- but...

"Because of the wicked tricks?"

[riddleofthebelow]

"I don't think so. I came here as a result of a specific dark spell, but that's not why I think I needed to be here. I received a second chance to live a better life."

[acrookedpath]

He swallows down the bitterness rising in his throat. A second chance. A better life. A mistake to be corrected, yet again; another person grasping him by the shoulders and turning him away from a path that should never be explored.

Wei Wuxian drinks his tea, as if to further chase the bitterness away, and does not reply for a moment.

(He remembers Nightless City like the lash of a whip, bright explosions of pain in between darkness. Bodies over the gates; Wei Wuxian choking on his own wild, despairing laughter; smoke, and blood, and Yanli in Jiang Cheng's arms. The cliff. Lan Zhan's hand in his.

Falling.

A second chance, a better life -- )

"I do not have that chance," he says at last, toneless.

[riddleofthebelow]

"Perhaps not," Tom admits, brow furrowed. "I don't know your particular experience; I can only speak for myself. But you are here and sometimes- sometimes that can be enough."

Enough for what, though? Enough to survive until you're at peace and ready to move on? He thinks of the dead who have come and lived a life here and then gone on to whatever was next. It didn't seem to be a waste of time for them, in the end.

It doesn't seem fair, but what in life is?

[acrookedpath]

He nods, stiffly, and downs the rest of his tea as if it were a glass of the strongest alcohol in the whole inn. He sits with the cup cradled between his hands without speaking. Thinking of what to say.





"I was called the Yiling Patriarch," he finally says, distant. "Vicious. Fearsome. Vile. I asked if it would not be better to use resentful energy, rather than suppress or destroy it, and I learned my wicked tricks so I could protect others from destruction and death."

Wei Wuxian has always been an easy crier; hard as he tries, he cannot stop his eyes from burning.

"I walked a crooked path and I paid for it with my life. And I could not even protect -- " He bites down on nothing, forcing the rest of the words back. "It does not matter, Tom-gongzi. I am dead, I am here, I do not get a second chance. Only a little extra time."

[riddleofthebelow]

"I'm sorry for that. If there's anything I can do to help you during this extra time, though, I'd be willing to do so."

His frown deepens. "May I ask you more about what happened?"

Because, uh, when it comes to protecting others he loves from destruction and death, Tom will do anything necessary without hesitation. He doesn't practice the Dark Arts, but he acknowledges that the darkness is, and will always be, a part of him. Suppressing it does nothing but make it harder to resist.

[acrookedpath]

"No."

He says it without apology, but with no malice or anger, either. Just a simple, plain assertion. No.

"It is only a month past, for me. I do not want to talk about it."

[riddleofthebelow]

"I understand completely."

And he does. He really and truly does. His scotch is gone and he remembers the many, many visits to Milliways when a glass or two of the whiskey made a huge difference when things were at their grimmest.

"Do you drink spirits? Bar provides me a brilliantly aged scotch; if you'd like, I'll order us a round."

[acrookedpath]

He laughs. It's far more choked than he'd prefer, and he has to swipe a hand across his eyes when he's done.

"Yes," he says. "Yes, I drink. Please. If you are offering, I would be very grateful for a glass."

[riddleofthebelow]

Tom goes directly to the bar, this time, instead of waiting for a waitrat. This fellow needs a stiff drink, and there is no time to waste.

"Here you are."

He settles in again, not ready to leave unless Wei Wuxian requests it. But he will steer the topic of conversation into - hopefully - less troublesome waters.

"When you said my name before, you added something to it at the end. Is that an honorific? Do you prefer others to use it for you, as well?"

People in London Below can get pretty testy if you don't address them in the specific way they prefer. And by testy, he means stabby.

[acrookedpath]

He murmurs a thank-you, takes a sip, and has to stifle a small cough at the taste. Scotch is much stronger than wine, it turns out; it's more like the glass of ambrosia Gaeta-qiánbèi gave him shortly after he arrived, but less sweet. Smokier.

He likes it, he decides, and takes another, bigger sip.

"Gongzi?" he asks. "Ah, it means -- " He tries to think of how to explain it, falls short, and gives up. "It is a sign of respect. You do not have to use it -- I am happy to be Wei Wuxian."

[riddleofthebelow]

Is he, though? Because it doesn't seem like it!

"Very well, we have that sorted, then."

Please note that Tom is absolutely fine with signs of respect.

"Do you want to know anything else about Milliways? Or my time here?"

He does wish to warn Wei Wuxian of what can happen when people from one's world encounter you here. He's been petrified on sight one too many times by eager young witches and wizards. But that can come later.

[acrookedpath]

"Mmm..."

You sound like Lan Zhan, he chides himself, wryly.

"Your cultivation -- your magic," he corrrects. "Would you tell me more of that? We do not use the same talismans, but I am sure there are more differences than that."

[riddleofthebelow]

Would he ever!

"Yes, I'd be happy to. I use a wand to cast," he says, taking his out of his suit robes' pocket. "My specialty is transfigurative magic along with charms and hexes."

He points his wand at an empty glass on the table beside him and transfigures it into a black and orange butterfly. The butterfly flutters about a bit before Tom reverts it back to its natural inanimate state.

"We also brew potions, use arithmancy for caculations of different kinds. Oh, you know the painting of the dogs playing poker?" He points towards it. "That's my work; it's a portal to my home, the House of Arch. It's warded with every type of protection I've been able to apply to it to keep unwelcome guests out."

[acrookedpath]

What an art! To transform an object so completely, not merely disguise it or create an illusion of transformation! The darkest thoughts remain too near for Wei Wuxian to be truly delighted, but he does brighten as he watches the butterfly flit to and fro above them, then sink back to the table to become a cup once more.

He's about to ask Tom how it works -- maybe it is just an illusion? But if not, what a skill! -- and then the older man says the word.

That awful, awful word.

His glass of scotch freezes midway to his mouth. For an instant, Wei Wuxian's eyes widen in sheer terror; he said painting, he reminds himself, just a painting, that's all.

"Oh?" he manages. It is most definitely not a squeak. He very, very resolutely does not look behind him to where Tom is pointing. "Ah. Yes. Very impressive. Well done."

[riddleofthebelow]

Well, that is a... most unusual reaction to the painting. Maybe he said something else that was upsetting? Arithmancy? Potions? Poker???

"Are you quite all right?"

[acrookedpath]

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine. It's nothing. Um."

A strained, nervous chuckle.

"Dogs, you said? Guard your house? Just a painting, though -- ?"

[riddleofthebelow]

"Yes, it's a charmed painting; they can never leqave the frame. Did you examine it? I'm so sorry if they growled. That was an additional layer I applied at a difficult time, and I could remove it, if it's disturbing."

[acrookedpath]

"They growl?"

His voice rises half an octave on the last word, the glass of scotch visibly shaking in his hands. Apparently, it doesn't matter that they can't leave the frame.

[riddleofthebelow]

Temple and Arch, this will not do.

"Do you fear dogs, Wei Wuxian? Because if you do, the charm within the painting can be easily changed."

He has never - not once - considered that anyone might be frightened of the House of Arch painting. Even though... the dogs are charmed to defend the portal.

Oh dear. How many other cynophobes have been distressed by his clever portal?

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian hasn't quite squeezed his eyes shut in terror as he imagines the painted dogs growling at him, but it's close. He nods a quick, frantic nod and manages to set his glass on the table before he can either drop it or spill it. His hands keep trembling.

Still pitched a little too high: "Mm-hm?"

Right. Right. The dogs aren't real. They're not going to do anything (but also they're right there and now they're going to be watching him the entire time he's in the bar and who knows, if they're charmed, maybe they can escape the painting! THEY COULD. HE'S GOING TO DIE A SECOND TIME AND -- ).

[riddleofthebelow]

"Tell me an animal you prefer," Tom says, brow furrowing with great concern.