awashlogs | Event Twenty-Five.

Entry tags:

Event Twenty-Five.

I'd like to creep into the wood
And see the bonnets blue,
And hear the bluebells ringing loud,
I wish I could -- don't you?

t's another day, another month, and another time for people to show up in the well. You'd better go rescue them! Never mind the fact that you woke up with a flower in your hands.

It's probably fine. Don't mind it at all. It's not like it's hard to ignore a little flower.

(At least, not until the effects start to kick in. Better go rescue the people in the well before they do.)

Oh, right. Even the people in the well have flowers, so... things are going to be a little ridiculous very quickly, when all of those side effects kick in. Have fun!

Welcome to Awash's Twenty-fifth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event!

If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

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[ Wangji's lips purse, ever so slightly, at the mention of Jiang Wanyin. He led the siege of the Burial mound. He had wanted Wei Ying dead. His own shidi, who had mattered so much to Wei Ying... Still did.

But the anger fades away in the face of Wei Ying's tense shoulder, the lightness in his voice that doesn't quite sound right. He still lets out a small huff at Wei Ying trying to offer wine to not one, but two Lan clan people, one of them rather young. ]

This way.

[ He turns to lead the way, his steps even and steady, letting one or both walk side by side with him, if they wish. ]

Sizhui. Did I take him to the jiangshi?

[ He is a little surprised at how lightly he manages to sound. But he needs to know if he knew, or traveling together might have been for another reason. ]

[SiZhui was a good member of the sect and of course not likely to break an obvious rule in front of a senior - now revealed to them to be the one he thought of as his father]

Food and wine for Senior Wei, and tea for HanGuang-Jun and I then.

[He followed after WangJi as he began to lead the way. He still felt a little off so he was walking a bit slower than normal, like he was trying to ensure he was walking on level ground]

When he came back to the Cloud Recesses?

[Leaving out the "forced him to come back" part and the "drag him in when he's done carrying on" part when they were at the gates]

Yes, you did say to bring him to jiangshi. He stayed with you there until you both left.

[ He notices immediately that Lan Sizhui isn't walking exactly normally, unsteady in a way he hadn't been, back at Mo Village. He goes around to the boy's side, opposite from Lan Zhan, and walks along with him, keeping an eye out for any problems. ]

What's the jingshi?

[ "Quiet room," what is that? Aren't all rooms at the Cloud Recesses quiet? And why is it so important? ]

Where I live. [ Personal I, not we. And yes, he notices, too, falling in step with the other two. ] It means I knew.

Sizhui. Are you hurt?

[ Has he failed to notice? ]

[And if he hadn't expected them to notice, he was completely wrong about that. He should have expected it]

I am not hurt. Something is just making me feel off. It was the same way I felt when I slipped from the ladder in the well.

[And now he practically tripped over the air as though something were trying to prove him correct]

[ The jingsji is where he lives. His living quarters. His bedroom. His bedroom, where he wouldn't be bringing someone, if he had a wife living there. His bedroom, bringing back "Mo Xuanyu," except that he had, at that point, figured out his true identity.

Lan Zhan brought me back to his bedroom and stayed with me there.

These thoughts rotate around and around in his mind, making his scalp tingle and the blood rise to his cheeks. For thirteen years, Lan Zhan raised this boy. He didn't "move on." He didn't make a new life for himself, looking neither for love nor happiness. And when he himself reappeared, all those years later, Lan Zhan took him in, as if no time had passed.

His heart aches and itches. Aches thinking of Lan Zhan's loneliness. And itches for— ]

Sizhui!

[ Startled out of his thoughts, he reaches out to steady the boy. ]

[ Wangji also starts to reach, but Wei Ying has got it. Instead, his brows knit slightly, and he holds out a hand. ]

Flower. Or flowers.

[ Give them to him. ]

[Thanks to WuXian, SiZhui was spared from falling on the ground. He took a breath as he got his feet back under him. He didn't even need to be told twice. He reached into the front of his robe pulled out the white flower that he had been carrying with him]

This is the only one I have, HanGuang-Jun.

[He held it out to him]

[ With a hand still on the boy's shoulder, he watches as Sizhui removes the flower..... ]

[ ............... ]

[ Before Lan Zhan can take the flower, he pounces and grabs it with his free hand—which coincidentally is also the one holding the corpse flower—so for a moment, there's a "bouquet" he's clutching, a red flower and a white, before he draws his hand away, with both flowers in his grasp. Then he immediately sits down on the ground. ]

Oh no! I can't walk anymore!

[ Meanwhile he hides these two flowers deep inside his clothes, so nobody can get at them. Or at least, a person trying to get at them will have the be very dedicated to the task. ]

What am I gonna do? Oh, oh, oh if only there were somebody who could carry me!

Wei Ying!

[ If Wangji had expected the motion, he could have, and would have, stopped it. And he should have expected it.

But the flowers are visible for an instant and then gone, and his heart hammers inside his chest with dread of what what the effect will be.

Then the other man sits down and refuses to move. Refuses to let the effects of the flowers hurt him, and Wangji slowly relaxes a bit, stepping closer, after a look towards Sizhui, and crouching in front of him. Reaching a hand to take his pulse, first. Then he turns so Wei Ying can climb on his back. ]

Mn.

[ Much, much calmer. ]

[SiZhui wasn't expecting the movement either. He had intended to hand over the flower to WangJi, but instead it was taken from his hand by WuXian]

Senior Wei-

[Of course he was not going to go searching someone else's person for anything so SiZhui wasn't going to try and get the flower back.

He glanced between WuXian and WangJi as WuXian flopped down on the ground and refused to move. He knew it couldn't have happened that quickly... or at least didn't think it could. Was it deliberate...?

He remained quiet as WangJi offered to carry WuXian. They were surprising him as much as he was surprising them]

[ When Lan Zhan reaches for his wrist, he doesn't resist, only stilling at the touch.

But when the man turns around.... ]

Ride on your back? But Sizhui fell off the ladder climbing out of the well, won't I fall off too?

[ He makes a show of pouting, theatrically raising his hands and letting them flop. ]

I'll just stay here if no one will carry me properly!

Mn.

[ For a moment, just a moment, as he glances over his shoulder at the man sitting on the ground, his eyes crinkle, ever so slightly. His voice, of course, is perfectly level and serious. ]

Sizhui could do that.

[ Because he has no doubts whatsoever that the junior has more than enough arm strength to carry one person.

Of course, the tease is not a lie, either. Sizhui could.

Not that he will have the opportunity to do so. Since Wangji himself sweeps Wei Ying up from the ground, arms beneath his shoulders and knees. Only once they are moving again does he clarify, well, sort of clarify to the junior. ]

Doing nothing. No ill effects.

[ Of course, that is not why he is indulging him. But the reasoning is sound. ]

[Come to think of it, seeing the display being put on in front of him, it was hard for SiZhui now to think the "behaving like a lunatic" thing was an act. It was just outlandish enough that people might have cast curious looks with someone not deemed crazy. Already having the reputation of being crazy wouldn't have helped.

He glanced back at WangJi as he suggested that he could carry him. Yes, this was in fact true. So many training sessions requiring them to hand stand did that. He didn't even question that he could have done it.

But then WangJi picked WuXian up as if he were a maiden in need of assistance. He didn't even look at that like it was weird. In fact, he didn't acknowledge it more]

Perhaps while we are eating, I can start from the beginning with the Mo Village and continue until the last thing I remember in Yi City. That way if you either of you have questions, we don't have to back track.

[It was more efficient that way]

[ He glances over at Sizhui, and grins. He knows Lan Zhan is teasing him (which sends another wave of fluttering through his heart: Lan Zhan is teasing him), but the idea strikes him as hilarious. How much time did he spend carrying A-Yuan around in his arms, after all? Turnabout is fair play, after all!

But before he can do something terrible, like reach out to Sizhui and say, "Pick me uuuuuup" like a toddler, Lan Zhan has scooped him up. He's actually been carried like this before, notably by Xie Lian, who did it effortlessly (the man's strength is freakish), not to mention caught by Lan Zhan, when he fell out of a tree or two. But this feels different. Supported like this, he's free to hook an arm around Lan Zhan's shoulders, and let his head rest against the man's neck. With his free hand, he runs his fingertips along the layered lapels of Lan Zhan's robes. ]

Yes. [ Dreamily: ] You... you must tell us all about it, A-Yu—I mean, Sizhui.

[ The teasing is not something he can often think of doing, let alone daring, but his own flower makes it easier. And the look on Wei Ying's face makes him almost regret that he picked him up first... But also, not. He does not yet know Sizhui. He does not know if being teased will upset him, and he does not want to see A-Yuan upset, not even beneath the Lan-taught composure.

Not that he can fully protect him, not when he is this age, and not here. But he wants to. ]

Mn. May have questions. Much has probably changed in thirteen years.

[ Much, but not all. He steals a glance down at the man in his arms, the touch of the slender fingers, and the lobes of his ears color, just a little. Some things have changed as little as he expects. And he knows that probably hurt, will hurt. But he can't help but be glad, to not have betrayed him, at least.

He leads the way a little further parts the array - he will give Sizhui a token before the junior leaves - and then carefully sets Wei Ying down. The rabbit comes to greet them all almost immediately, before Wangji even gets the chance to depart for the kitchen. ]

[SiZhui followed obediently just to the side of WangJi and a step behind, a proper place for a junior who was the company of a senior. Well, more behind would have been better, but he couldn't well talk to WuXian while they walked if he did.

His eyes shifted curiously to WuXian at the slip. It had sounded like he was about to say... Maybe WangJi had mentioned him here. From the sounds of it, he was still from a time where he would have called him such. That must have been it]

I promise I will recount it to the best of my abilities and answer any questions I can. At least some things have changed in thirteen years.

[As they entered and the rabbit came running over, SiZhui crouched down, inspecting it closer. It moved like a real rabbit, but it certainly wasn't a real rabbit. Looked like a wooden carving that was moving around]

This is amazing. It moves like it is real... [Then he smiled] That it is a rabbit though is unsurprising.

Edited 2019-07-15 04:51 (UTC)

[ He's sad to be set down, and his fingers involuntarily cling to Lan Zhan's robes... but then A-Yuan comments on the rabbit, and he does let go. As before, he sinks to the floor, cross-legged. ]

It feeds on spiritual energy. I made it as a cultivation tool, originally. Do you like it? I'll make you one, too!

[ ....the last two sentences said in the tone of voice one would use with a toddler. Sorry, kid.

Lan Zhan, of course, doesn't need any cultivation tools. Of the three of them, he's first in (non-demonic) cultivation, Sizhui is second, and—by a considerable margin—Wei Wuxian is third. Thus the rabbit moves between the two Lans and ignores its creator. He watches it hop around for a moment, before asking. ]

Unsurprising—why?

[ Has Lan Zhan developed some interest in rabbits, in the future? He'd originally brought them to him as a joke, back when they were kids; and then more recently he'd brought the little construct as a nod to those happier times. ]

[ Wangji is loath to let go, too, but - they do need the food, both of them. It is how bodies work, until they can be trained to need less and less of external origin.

His eyes widen slightly at Sizhui's comment, then soften, bright and glad. ]

Mn. Rabbits in the Cloud Recesses since I was fifteen. Could not allow anything to happen to them.

[ There are more in his time than the two that Wei Ying gifted him. He can only imagine how it might be for Sizhui. It's not a bad image at all. He leans to touch the latest-gifted one, just briefly, then looks at the other two and walks out to get food and tea ready. He will be bringing a wine cup, in case Wei Ying has some with him, but as he has none, he can't offer it. In that case, they will all be drinking tea.

He does leave the doors open, so he can hear what they talk of even while preparing food. (Some of it mild, most of it spicy. He knows the kind of food that Sizhui has been eating, but he can make guesses that he can take slightly stronger flavoring, albeit not quite as much as Wei Ying.) ]

[He looked back at WuXian and smiled. He didn't even seem to mind the tone, but again he was curious. The combination of almost calling A-Yuan and then using that tone... perplexing]

I do like it. Would you? I'd appreciate that.

[He glanced back at WangJi at the comment before turning to look at WuXian again]

HanGuang-Jun has a whole warren of rabbits in a field at the back of the Cloud Recesses. At last count...

[He paused for a moment, considering]

No, there are more than I could hope to count. It is highly likely that there are more that haven't been seen too. All of them, white with brown or black with white.

Edited (I derped ) 2019-07-15 17:59 (UTC)

[ He has a whole warren of rabbits! Too many to count!!! He's looked after them all these years!!! From the two I brought him!!!! ]

[ ..........wait.

those were both males. ]

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