Open: April things

[alittlespicy]

WHO: Lan WangJi and OPEN
WHERE: Edge of the woods, around Chroma... things.
WHEN: From sometime after Pyra's invitation onwards during April.
WHAT: Various and sundry. Cutting down trees. Showing off strength (not on purpose). Wolves maybe.
WARNINGS: Emotional ow? Will edit if other things come up.

Some prompts as comments; if you want to come bother WangJi, just tag in or poke me at kikibug13

Comments

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi's thoughts are in turmoil. A lot of turmoil. His True Love is marrying, that is the sound of ultimate agony....

But there is nothing he can do about it, and even the pain from his punishment has been fading because he's kept his promise and gone to Healer Maia regularly, and he cannot even use the physical damage to distract him.

But there are trees somehow growing closer to the town, there are (possibly somewhat dull) axes, and generally, there are things to do. Like cutting some of those trees.

His robes are still pristine, the wide sleeves flapping with each stroke. And he seems... tireless. ]

[sirnyxalot]

[Something was wrong with him, Nyx could feel it. Something was missing that used to be there and it’s been coloring his every action for the last week. He doesn’t have a word for it, couldn’t begin to explain to anyone. Doesn’t even particularly want to, either.

He doesn’t care. He’s spent too long burying everything his whole life, it seems, and whatever he’d had that prevented him from saying what’s on his mind is gone. It can only be a good thing.

He’s irritated today, stalking impatiently around the edge of town as if he could fool himself that he’s patrolling and still being useful, and he doesn’t notice the repetitive noise of an ac hitting wood until he’s almost on top of the clearing WangJi was making. He pauses, stepping over a fallen tree, and watches the other man for a moment. Mesmerized by the tireless swings.]

[alittlespicy]

[ ... most days when he's coming here, WangJi doesn't bring his present from Wei Ying along, mostly because the woods are, on the whole, dangerous. But he's been doing it for a few days, and it's been relatively safe, and while he knows boredom is not exactly a factor... he's still brought the small thing with him today.

So even while WangJi is still focused on the tree chopping, Nyx is greeted by a small rabbit-shaped wooden construct that comes over and nudges at his calf cautiously to see if there's any energy for it to feed upon. Not that it's starving, far from it, but it's curious. ]

[sirnyxalot]

[Depending on what kind of energy it fed on it would probably find a ton of it just simmering uselessly beneath the surface of his skin. Wasted.

Nyx cautiously moves back an inch, raising an eyebrow at the construct. It doesn’t look like some weird forest thing, but one can never be too careful.]

Friend of yours?

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi looks around, then sets the ax down, handle resting against his leg, and cups his hands in front of his chest to give greeting with a small bow. ]

Nyx Ulric.

It is ... a gift. So, I suppose, a friend. Does it bother?

[sirnyxalot]

Nope. Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t about to eat me.

[He relaxes his stance and surveys the trees WangJi has cut so far. He can’t really judge. He’d knocked down a few himself, but not quite this many.]

You’ve been...busy since we arrived, huh?

[alittlespicy]

... it will not. I feeds on spiritual energy that it has been granted, cannot extract it. Wei Ying uses one like this to teach, though he needs not teach me cultivation. He... brought it, one day.

[ As to the question, WangJi tilts his head, slightly. There was the body swap, the dragons, learning about the forum and about Chroma, learning about Wei Ying again, dealing with emotions in so many ways. He nods. ]

Busy. Everything here is new, even the one person I know. But not... not bad.

[sirnyxalot]

For now. [The bitter mutter is out before he can stop it, but all he offers in its wake is a shrug. He has scars to prove just how bad this place can be.]

At least you're finding your place here. It could be a lot worse.

[He crouches down to study the construct. He's familiar enough with carvings, but never met anyone who could make them live.]

[alittlespicy]

[ There are a thousand reasons he loves that man, and his limitless creativity is one of them. On the other hand, with as much as Wei Ying's own body is different, with how dangerous his other path of cultivation is, the mere fact that he made things like this is enough to bring joy to WangJi. Even if Wei Ying will never be his to love, he is alive, he is well, he is better, and he is so, so content in this place. ]

Mn. Worse for... you?

[sirnyxalot]

Worse enough. I was useful before.

[The anger is close to the surface without that missing part of him to temper it.]

[alittlespicy]

[ Well. That makes WangJi shift his focus from 'this is a casual conversation, I am bad at those' to 'something is in need of help, somehow, and I will try.' He carefully sets the ax against the tree and approaches Nyx properly. ]

Because you should not use... magic?

[sirnyxalot]

[Not long ago he would brush it off, knowing that a little hard work and he'd be as back to normal as he can be, but it's been eating at him this week. Even though the last month or so of exercise and stretching has given him most of the function of his left arm back, it's still a far cry from the man he had been.

He didn't used to care this much.]

I can't hunt, I can't fight. I can't use magic without killing myself. I can't do anything. [He clenches his scarred fist.] I came back crippled to a place where everyone needs to help.

[WangJi wasn't someone to vent to, but he didn't want the pity in his friends' eyes. And this was the man who saw him at his weakest point anyway. When he'd had two feet in death's door, skin flaking to ash where he sat.]

Lan upper body strength is a thing.

[alittlespicy]

[ ... at some point, WangJi slows down, the handle of the ax having finally started to blister his palms where previous callouses are not, and he looks around.

Maybe... maybe he's gone a little overboard. The weather is getting warmer, and some of the trees might get chopped for wood or even used for repairs, but...

He's cut down a lot of them.

After a moment's contemplation, he steps back. Picks up an entire tree. And tosses it above the crowns of other trees, a pretty good distance into the forest.

He might need to use both arms for the bigger trees. ]

[espritdecorpse]

Ah!

[ There's a sudden yelp from the depths of the forest, round about where you tossed those trees with your freakish arm strength, Lan Wangji are you trying to compete with dearest wife or something??? ]

AAAAAAAA! AAAAAAAAAA!

[ Gosh, did you hit somebody with a tree? Are they pinned underneath it, screaming in agony now? ]

No no no no no no NO! NO NO NO!!! Don't come near, don't come—AAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAA! Help help help help HELP SOMEBODY SAVE ME AAAAAAAAA!!

[ or... not ]

Go, go, go! Go away go away leave me alooooOOOOOOONE! AAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH AH AH AAAAAAAAAAH!

[alittlespicy]

[ The thing is, WangJi knows that the woods are too thick for him to hit anyone on the ground with a tree. And he knows most people do stay out of the woods as much as possible. Hence the throwing of trees. Of course he might be competing a little. Or a lot. Not intentionally, however.

The sudden voice from inside the forest, however, makes him straighten up. ]

Wei Ying?

[ Ax thrown aside, and Bichen out, WangJi as already flying. At least the cries are easy to follow.

... and before he even catches sight of the man, he knows what the problem is. But there are no dogs that he has seen around town, which means...

There is a flash of white as Bichen slashes a brilliant line as WangJi settles on the ground, running towards the wolf he can see. ]

Wei Ying?

[espritdecorpse]

[ The scene that will present itself is the sight of one (1) wolf pup with fluffy fur and enormous paws, barking excitedly at the foot of a tree. ]

Noooooo! No no no no no nononono! Stay down there, don't come up! AAAAAAAH!

[ In said tree is one (1) Wei Wuxian, clinging desperately to a branch, still screaming his lungs out. He's white with fear, his soul about to leave his body. But he's not so far gone, as to be unable to recognize the voice calling his name. He keeps yelling: ]

S-save me! Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, save me! Help! Lan Zhaaaaaaan!

[alittlespicy]

Mn.

[ All right. WangJi did guess correctly the nature of the problem, just not the... scale of it.

Bichen goes back into the sheath, and WangJi walks towards the pup.

Unlike dogs, this one is not used to being commanded by humans... however, this is Lan WangJi, and the commands he gives are very difficult to resist. Particularly when he adds a bit of spiritual energy to make the commands difficult to misinterpret. ]

Down.

[ The pup is still excited, wagging its tail, but it does lower itself to the ground, yipping a little. Which quiets after a long, long look from the pale eyes. ]

Go!

[ He has heard about the wolves, and knows they are a problem it he forest, but he still would rather not hurt the young pup.

... however, this just makes it bounce back up and start trying to paw at the white robes. WangJi blinks and glances up at Wei Ying. ]

[espritdecorpse]

[ He goes boneless with relief when the wolf pup stops jumping at the tree. ]

Ahh! Lan Zhaaaaaan......

[ But that relief gives way to terror once more, when the pup starts bouncing again, this time at Lan Wangji. ]

Wait! No! Leave him alone! AAAAAAAA! Stop, stop, stop, stooooop!

[ His fingers clutch at the flute in his sash. He knows the pup poses no threat to Lan Wangji, and also that the wolf pup possesses little malevolent energy, so it won't be amenable to his control. Not only that, but his panic is so great, and his hands trembling so much that there's no chance he could even play his flute.

So, in the end, all he can do is keep howling: ]

Go away, go away, go away, gooo awaaaay!

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi is just about to glare the puppy down properly when Wei Ying starts calling to it to leave him and his incipient glare softens as he properly looks up. ]

I... I am well, Wei Ying. You do not need to worry. Give me a moment.

[ His lips nearly curl up a fraction of a cun, before he focuses on letting Wei Ying come down from his perch, instead.

Soon enough, the puppy has vanished into the underbush, tail between its hind legs, but unharmed. WangJi waits a few more moments to make sure it's not going to try to change its mind as soon as he's not immediately a threat, before looking up again, moving close to the tree. ]

You can come down, now.

[espritdecorpse]

[ His eyes meet Lan Wangji's; it's almost enough to quell his terror. But still he stays where he is, gripping the tree branch white-knuckled, until he's given the all-clear.

He makes his way down branch by branch, hand over trembling hand, until... ]

Aaaaah!

[ ...his grip slips when he's almost at the bottom, and he falls the remaining few feet. ]

[alittlespicy]

[ WangJi doesn't even hesitate. The moment Wei Ying slips, he steps closer, reaching out his arms so he can break Wei Ying's fall safely.

And yes, he frowns slightly, since his back may be much better, but it has not yet fully healed, but his arms are steady and strong and gentle, no weakness.

... and then he stills, eyes ever so slightly wider. Since he has no idea what to do now. Should he let him down on his feet? Should he carry him away?

????? ]

Wei... Ying.

....

Are you all right?

1/2

[espritdecorpse]

[ When he's caught, his arms wrap around Lan Wangji's shoulders instinctually. Falling would have been fine, he's fallen loads of times before... but being caught like this is so much nicer. His heart, which had been beating out of his chest with panic, begins to slow down; his ragged breathing smooths out.

After a while, he realizes Lan Wangji has asked him a question. His eyelids flutter and he looks up. ]

....hmm?

[espritdecorpse]

[ .....and then it dawns on him. ]

Aaah! Your back! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

[ He jerks his arms away from the man's back. His wounds have probably opened up again, aaah! ]

You, you, you! You should have let me fall! It wasn't far! It wasn't far, I would have been fine! I've fallen out of more trees than you could count! Put me down, don't force yourself!

[alittlespicy]

[ All right, the arms settling on his shoulders from a height are not easy to just brush off still.

But...

They are Wei Ying's arms around his shoulders, and Wei Ying's face is so soft and... hopeful? That for a long, long moment he actually doesn't feel the pain.

Then Wei Ying starts to move away and, for a brief instant, WangJi's arms tighten to hold him near, before he remembers himself. ]

It is not too bad. The pain is much less now.

[ He's not trying to conceal agony, either. Which is probably easy to discern, once attention is focused. The difference between the slight frown now and the entire reaction the first day when he showed up here is rather drastic.

Still, oh so carefully he sets down Wei Ying on his feet. ]

I had heard that there are wolves in the woods.

[ So when he heard these cries, he had to come. ]

1/3

[espritdecorpse]

[ He feels that squeeze when he pulls away, but doesn't know what to make of it. Probably just... some kind of reflex. And then he's set down so very gently, as if he were something fragile or precious, and he can't help but think of how his "dearest wife," had unceremoniously dropped him on the floor. What a contrast! And yet, if he'd had to predict in advance, who would drop him, and who'd set him gently down, he'd have guessed wrong.

His eyes flick up to Lan Wangji's face. He had reacted strongly the first day they'd encountered one another, in this place, to a mere back slap. This time, he'd fallen onto the man, and he hardly reacted. Could those discipline whip wounds really have healed this quickly? Or... ]