For Wei Ying - New Year's Eve

[lan_wangji]

This world is ridiculous. He is beginning to understand that some ridiculous thing will happen with regularity but as he delivers a sweeping kick to a group of what look very much like think cakes with sharp teeth and then fires off powerful notes from his guqin, dispelling enough of the cold inspects to make a path for a few more people to escape.

There seems to be no sense to these creatures, their origins and motivations a mystery that frustrates Lan Wangji to no end. Without understanding, fighting them is a frantic trial and error that does not always succeed. One sting on the back of his legs rendered the limb cold and pained before he managed the right combination of notes and now all he can think is that he cannot find Wei Ying.

Wei Ying's body cannot endure such cold.


He whips around, pushing back the swarm of bees approaching from the back before he ducks, some new horrid creature swooping out of the sky. "Wei Ying!" he shouts, taking the risk and leaping into the air, jumping to a clear spot and searching for a flash of red ribbon.

Comments

[yiling_laozu]

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian calls from somewhere below him, surveying the tiny army swarming towards him where he stands atop one of the beastly cars. They are ridiculous, more like his paper men than a real enemy, but there's so many of them. He might be better off trying to step on them all than bother with magic.

"Lan Zhan, I think they are sweets! Perhaps they have grown tired of being eaten!"

[lan_wangji]

Lan Wangji lands alongside him, delivering a decapitating swing to the tiny monsters before rounding on Wei Ying. "The insects, Wei Ying, have you been stung?" he demands, watching a part of the swarm break off and advance closer. "Are you hurt?"

He is fully ready to take Wei Ying out of here if need be, not trusting his body to withstand their venom. There is something wrong with Wei Ying, some reason he is unable to stay warm even when his core ought to be able to withstand a moderate winter. It must be the seal.

[yiling_laozu]

"Of course I am unhurt," Wei Wuxian scoffs, though his face smooths to something more sincere at the genuine fear in Lan Wangji's voice. He twirls his flute before bending to smack one of the little sweets bodily away from them. "Like these creatures, those insects are no match for Chenqing."

He lifts his chin in the brief moment of respite. "But there is something else up there. Something larger than bees."

[lan_wangji]

"Do not let them sting you," he warns, ignoring the icy pain in his thigh, grateful it is not enough to be distracting. "The creatures that fly are strong, have claws."

No more quickly than Lan Wangji says it does he see three swoop down from the sky towards a crowd of screaming people. He plays a few quick notes meant to lure the creatures closer to himself, wishing fiercely for Suibian to make an appearance to give Wei Ying something else to yield.

[yiling_laozu]

"Why?" Wei Wuxian asks, "What happens?" Then, "Did one sting Lan Zhan?"

But if Lan Wangji means to reply, the creatures diving suddenly from the sky put a swift end to conversation, and Wei Wuxian lifts Chenqing to his lips. There is no building melody, only a sudden and angry string of notes that have the creatures - bats? - clutching suddenly at their heads with thick fingers, two of them careening away from the crowd and straight into the side of a building.

It's a start, Wei Wuxian thinks, but already more descend.

[lan_wangji]

Lan Wangji nods at Wei Ying before leaping back into the air, hovering long enough to send out waves of luring music, pulling both flying beasts and insects away from the injured masses and towards himself.

And of course, consequently, Wei Ying. He manifests Bichen yet again as he falls back to the earth, allowing enough power to slice not only at the bellies of a few of the beasts but to stun a small portion of the advancing insects.

He spins, looking back towards Wei Ying when he lands, ready to launch should any of them dare to get too close.

[yiling_laozu]

Lan Wangji moves forward, but his eyes are forever looking back. How long has it been so, Wei Wuxian wonders. How long has Lan Wangji been putting Wei Wuxian first, even to his own detriment? It is sweet, but it is troubling also, particularly when Wei Wuxian can see that Lan Wangji is all but surrounded now.

"Lan Zhan!" he shouts, wrenching Chenqing from his lips. "There too many! Fly to safety, buy yourself a moment, I will be fine!" To punctuate the statement, he sends a tendril of dark energy right down the throat of the bat - no, ape - with its hand outstretched to grab Lan Wangji's robe.

[lan_wangji]

Lan Wangji does not bother to acknowledge Wei Ying's warnings, too busy ensuring himself that Wei Ying is indeed unscathed. He only notices the creature right upon him when it jerks backwards from Chenqing's power, falling to the ground in a writhing fit before Lan Wangji stabs it through the heart.

He still does not move, whirling and slashing against the mix of beasts and insects, blood and gore staining his robes enough that he does not notice the insects that have flown up his sleeves until they have both stung his arm. His arm immediately goes numb, Bichen clattering to the ground to his shock.

[yiling_laozu]

He's not leaving, why isn't he leaving? Wei Wuxian can scarcely glimpse him, only a whirling mass of white darting in and out of the fray, but he hears the sound of Bichen as it strikes the earth, and the scream tears from his throat.

"Lan Zhan!" Leaving his perch, Wei Wuxian races across the space between them, pulling the Stygian Tiger Seal from his belt. He reaches for its power and it rises to meet him, scorching through his veins like fire, and Wei Wuxian lifts his arms and throws into the mass like daggers, angry crimson spell after spell slicing through creatures until he has room enough to see. Is he alright? Is he yet standing?

[lan_wangji]

No. No, this is what Lan Wangji wanted to avoid. He sees the blood red smoke twisting and wrenching and stabbing everything around him just as it had that night. He can feel the rage and vengeance radiating from the Seal and immediately turns back towards Wei Ying, picking up Bichen in his left hand and stabbing up and back into the nearest creature before hobbling towards him.

"Wei Ying stop," he yells, seeing Wei Ying's face too pale and eyes too red. The Seal is obliterating everything behind him save a few straggling insects, one that manages a last sting to Lan Wangji's back but he does not dare react, fighting against the numbing cold. "Stop using it. It's done, stop."

[yiling_laozu]

The creatures mostly dispersed, all Wei Wuxian can see is Lan Wangji's jerky movments towards him. Where serenity should be, Wei Wuxian sees fear and pain in his eyes, where should be grace is Hanguang-Jun hobbling, and Wei Wuxian feels a new slice of terror. Too far, he is still too far, and the creatures too close. Wei Wuxian can sooner clear a path behind him than get to him.

A piece of his seal hovering above each of his hands, Wei Wuxian rises into the air, sending the seal's power surging over Lan Wangji's head and into the swarm rising behind him, obliterating it in a cloud of acrid black energy. Wei Wuxian feels a pang then, a wrenching tear in his chest that feels like something come loose, but he ignores it, wide eyes searching for any new enemy who yet dares approach.

[lan_wangji]

The cold and stiffness is spreading throughout Lan Wangji's body, kept from his heart and lungs by his strong core but painful nonetheless. But none of this matters as Wei Ying releases a wave of resentful energy so powerful that it sends Lan Wangji to one knee. Even targeted everywhere but at him, its insidious energy washes over him and it is only Bichen's tip dug into the ground that keeps him from falling further. Mere proximity to the power of the Seal burns Lan Wangji's core and he cannot believe Wei Ying can stand wielding it.

"Wei Ying stop!" he begs, trying to push himself back up. It will kill him or it will drive him mad, Lan Wangji can feel it and can remember it. "Come back, Wei Ying. Please. Stop!"

[yiling_laozu]

He doesn't see anything else, no swarm of insects, no new shadows in the sky, but still Wei Wuxian keeps searching. He strains his ears for them, the displaced air of wings or buzzing, but the only thing he hears are screams.

Lan Zhan's screams. Startled, Wei Wuxian looks down to find his white face staring back at him, transformed by a rictus of pain. "Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian breathes, letting himself fall all at once. He means to slow his descent before he reaches the ground, but he hits it like a stone, stumbling to his knees where he struggles to rise again, shuffling towards Lan Wangji.

"You're hurt," he croaks, turning to the side to throw up a sudden mouthful of blood.

[lan_wangji]

Lan Wangji watches wide eyed as Wei Ying drops hard to the ground and tries to reach him. He is startled out of his horror at the sight of blood pouring from Wei Ying's mouth and manages to push himself up enough to stumble forward and try and pull Wei Ying to his side with his one good arm.

"Must go," he breathes, attempting to hoist Wei Ying up enough to move with him. "Your core is depleted and I can't - can't fight." He is afraid there is far more wrong with Wei Ying than a depleted core but they must get to safety. His old home is near and empty save for the few pieces of furniture he had left behind. Such a trespass would surely be against the rules but he hardly cares.

[yiling_laozu]

Vision swimming, Wei Wuxian focuses on the white robes before him, grasping at a sleeve with a hand still bloody from his mouth as he drags himself to standing. If Lan Wangji can't fight, he is laid low indeed, and he will lead him out of here if he has to crawl.

"Where?" he asks, casting bleary eyes on the buildings all around them. He doesn't know where he is in this gray maze of a city. Perhaps one of the dwellings are empty to shelter in? "Where- where are you hurt?"

[lan_wangji]

"Unimportant," he huffs as he tries to dismiss Wei Ying's worry, turning right towards the ugly, squat building that is still unfortunately familiar.

"Old dwelling is still empty," he states as he had seen it advertised in the published news he reads diligently every morning. If he cannot fully understand this place, he can at least remain informed. He is cold, colder than the cursed drink at the party and cold enough that Wei Ying feels warm against his side, the surest marker of all that something is wrong. But his qi is not deviating, no blood pours from his own mouth as it does Wei Ying. "Wei Ying try and focus on your core. Focus on diverting energy to it."

[yiling_laozu]

It's such an earnest direction, one straight from a life he'll never know again that Wei Wuxian wants to laugh, but he knows the sound of it would be ugly. "Alright, Lan Zhan," he murmurs instead, feeling his vision blacken at the edges.

He can make it to Lan Wangji's old rooms. He can make it to the flying metal box at the very least before his legs give out, or so he tells himself as he feels another tug beneath his breast, the Yin iron angry at its short adventure and clamoring for more. "Lan Zhan should...do that also."

[lan_wangji]

Lan Wangji does not in fact do that, intent on using that energy to feed Wei Ying's core once they are inside. He continues to drag them along, their bloodstained presence not even gaining stares in the residual chaos as he pushes his way back into the building he'd never expected to return to.

There is no question of the stairs and he uses his shoulder to press the button to open the metal box, leaning them both against the wall as it begins to climb.

"When we get inside," he says, gasping a little for breath as his muscles tighten with the cold. "Remove the seal from yourself. Wei Ying I can still feel the energy on you."

[yiling_laozu]

"Don't touch it, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian bites out, feeling a thrill of new panic at the thought of losing the seal. It's all that had saved Lan Wangji tonight, just as it is all that has saved Wei Wuxian in every battle since losing his core.

He presses his face to the cold metal wall, going slack for a moment as the elevator halts before he catches himself. "It will hurt you."

[lan_wangji]

"And is already hurting you," he counters without much heat, too cold and worried and pained for anything like heat.

He drags them both out as the doors open, managing to get his pained, nearly useless hand to summon a talisman to open the door.

He very nearly lets out an undignified sound of relief at the sight of the squashy, soft lounging bed still in the main room. "Lie down, Wei Ying. Remove the seal. You need energy."

[yiling_laozu]

"So does Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian mutters, pushing Lan Wangji's arm away so he can collapse on the bed. Prone his headache is somehow worse, but he pushes his hand into his robes, fetching the pouch that contains the seal.

"You are hurt, I know you are. Hurt because you could not look past me to defend yourself. So help yourself now." He manages to place the pouch on the little table by the bed, hand resting within reach of it. "I'm angry and I won't forgive you until you do."

[lan_wangji]

"Wei Ying is at risk of a qi deviation; I am merely uncomfortable," he argues, wishing he could toss the pouch clear across the room but not wanting to touch it without Wei Ying's permission. Of which he very much does not have.

"Drew them to away from innocents, did not want Wei Ying to have to use the Seal," he mutters as he tries to take Wei Ying's wrist, energy already pouring out of his good hand.

[yiling_laozu]

It will be wasted, so much energy flowing into him with no core to hold it, but the protest dies on Wei Wuxian's lips as it floods his hollowest places. It feels like cool, gentle water after being burnt from within, and he quiets as it soothes him, washing away the worst of the Yin's evil.

"Drew them all to yourself," he murmurs. "Then pretended they were not there to look after me instead."

[lan_wangji]

"Did not pretend they were not there," he murmurs in protest, nearly collapsing in gratitude when Wei Ying does not pull away. "Wei Ying does not have Suibian. Makes you rely on the Seal when your Core is not strong enough to direct resentful energy. Core will be damaged if Wei Ying keeps using the Seal in this way."

He knows that his own hand must be cold around Wei Ying's wrist but Wei Ying still feels far too cool. He leans forward to drop a kiss to the thin skin of Wei Ying's wrist, the veins far too prominent as he pours energy in.

[yiling_laozu]

"You did," Wei Wuxian insists. "They surrounded you, I couldn't see you. You dropped your sword." He stops, throat clogged with more than angry blood. His eyes sting no matter how hard he closes them, feeling that too gentle kiss.

"You've never dropped your sword, Lan Zhan. I thought you were - " His chest is heaving, and Wei Wuxian wants to curl himself into the smallest ball he can manage with gangly limbs. "I thought - "