[pfsb]

[acrookedpath]

It is well past wǔ hour -- nearly noon, by the inn's reckoning -- when Wei Wuxian wakes back up to shuffle downstairs.

His robes are rumpled. He's secured his hair back in a simple, untidy ponytail, strands of hair ecaping from all sides. Muffling a yawn against the back of his hand, he bows to Madam Bar and asks for the strongest pot of tea she can provide -- he cannot sleep the whole day, after all, and he certainly must be awake for whenever Lan Zhan returns.

Not only does Madam Bar give him a pot of tea almost as big as his head, but it's accompanied by a hefty ceramic cup as large as two fists stacked together. Bold reds, greens, and golds swirl across one side to form an elegant wall of text: RISE AND SHINE, BITCHES.

He is still tired enough to find this absolutely hilarious, if his snickering is anything to go by.

Comments

[hinotfuckingdead]

"Oh yes?" John says, with honest curiosity written on his face. "What type of energy do you usually use?"

[acrookedpath]

"Ah -- resentful energy," he says. "Spirits of the restless, angry dead. There is some of it deeper in the forest, but that is all I've found; true death does not seem to happen much here."

For better or for worse.

[hinotfuckingdead]

"Revenant energy," he says. "Fascinating."


"Yes, fascinating." He watches Wei Wuxian for just a hair too long, before looking down at his mug.


"Do you find it gives you any sort of... advantage, in dealing with such angry spirits?"

[acrookedpath]

His eyes narrow, slightly, but he keeps his smile light. (And tired-looking -- though he is much more alert now than he was several moments ago.)

"That is entirely how I deal with them," he says. "By controlling and directing the energy."

[hinotfuckingdead]

"Fascinating," John says for the third time. "I might like to pick your brain another time, my friend."

"But now, sadly, the Admirality's patience, even for me, must be beginning to thin." He talks another gulp of coffee and then sadly sets the cup down with finality.

[acrookedpath]

"Perhaps I will be in better shape to talk then, John-qianbei," he says easily enough. He lifts his mug of tea in salute. "I hope your Admirality does not come down too hard on you for your absence."

[hinotfuckingdead]

He grabs his iridescent cloak; and what lay beneath it, a crown of laurel and tiny, tiny bones.

"I wish you well in your recovery," he says. "And in the meantime, I bid you remember the first rule of summoning -- not everything you catch in a tuna net is tuna." He sets the crown in his wavy hair and strides towards the door.

[acrookedpath]

The crown of bones does nothing to soothe Wei Wuxian's growing unease. It is clearly the ornamentation of someone high-ranking; combined with the energy he glimpsed, it does not matter how easy and genuine John's demeanor may seem. Should they speak again --

Well. He will have to be cautious. That's all.

His brow knits in confusion at John's analogy. Puzzled, he lifts a hand to wave good-bye; only when John is through the door does he turn back to his tea.