[ closed post: rabbit meditation power hour ]

[lightbearinglord]

The rabbits have been settling in. They have sweet, easygoing temperaments, which helps, and it helps, too, that the mansion has apparently noticed their presence and supplied Lan Wangji with a little wooden hutch for their keeping when he is not able to hold them. He does, on occasion, need his hands for other tasks. His preferred kitchen has also been forthcoming with hay and vegetables for their feeding. Wei Ying has already threatened to cook and eat them several times, which means he likes them and will be whittling toys for them any day now. Once winter passes, Lan Wangji will work on constructing a sturdier hutch for the outdoors as well, so that they can see the lake and the woods.¹

Because they are so sweet, and also so endearingly small, their presence is calming in itself. Lan Wangji does not exactly need help to meditate successfully -- he has been doing it daily since he was very young -- but the company does not go amiss, either. It is difficult to dwell overmuch on anything troublesome with two tiny, warm bodies in one's lap.

Lan Wangji is not actually meditating yet, but he is seated in that side room he prefers to use for the practice. There is incense burning, and he has a little brown rabbit, munching its way through a piece of watercress, perched on his knee. In his hands, he holds the equally little white rabbit, which is overall doing well, but which does have a greater tendency to startle and to want to hide itself. He is speaking to it under his breath, gently.

¹It's important for rabbits who began life in the bottom of a top hat to be exposed to nature.

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji gives him a look, a look that says you already know my answer to this question. His mouth twitches a little, whether in amusement or horror at the thought of Claudius bestowing a kiss upon Jiang Wanyin's face -- not even he is entirely certain. Claudius' description of Jiang Wanyin's personality defects is cutting and accurate in the extreme, and Claudius is apparently unharmed. "Sect Leader Jiang is a trial," he says, managing some dryness despite the undercurrent of quite sincere loathing. There is too much history to explain without first making absolutely certain: "He did not use his whip on you?"

[wickedwit]

"No, I flattered him into putting it away. Or perhaps I shamed him into putting it away?" That distinction doesn't matter overmuch, with both tactics being so intertwined. Claudius inclines his head at Lan Wangji, curious. "Is it uniquely dangerous?"

[lightbearinglord]

Claudius talked Jiang Wanyin into putting Zidian away. Not that Lan Wangji has ever lacked respect for Claudius, but he does take a moment to reflect on that. He could not have managed such a feat in a thousand years of trying. "Zidian's lightning could do considerable damage to someone without spiritual power. It also separates the soul and body of anyone possessed. Apparently it had no effect on Crowley." A little more visibly irritated, he adds, "Jiang Wanyin used it to prevent me from leaving with Wei Ying that day."

[wickedwit]

Claudius takes the knowledge in stride, with only a flickering scowl and an eye-roll when hears his two dearest friends met the business end of that whip — of course a man who storms about a place with weapons drawn is well-prepared to use them. “What an ass,” he says, a shorter and more pointed take-down of Jiang Wanyin’s personality. “Wert thou able to scape him even so?”

[lightbearinglord]

Truthfully, Lan Wangji dislikes Jiang Wanyin so ardently that he could nearly leap to the defense of asses on behalf of Wei Ying's ill-tempered pet donkey. He takes the point, though, and nods. "Once, Jiang Wanyin and I battled for the better part of a day. This time, Magnus found us and disarmed us. I retrieved Bichen and took Wei Ying and Magnus both away before Jiang Wanyin could recover Zidian."

[wickedwit]

"Deftly done on Magnus's part," Claudius says with a smile full of fondness. "How did he manage to disarm you both?"

[lightbearinglord]

Speaking of the wide range of disparate abilities on display. "Magnus can exert his will and expel all weaponry from the hands of those around him." Fortunately for Lan Wangji, Magnus had already demonstrated this power to him in a much less heated situation, and that knowledge gave him the advantage over Jiang Wanyin. He has no doubt that the two of them could have continued fighting for considerably longer if uninterrupted.

[wickedwit]

"Quite the talented protégé," Claudius says, only a thread of teasing in his voice. "You must have been proud -- moreso than you are every day, of course." It's a part of fatherhood that Claudius newly understands. Xiaoxue is doing nothing but sitting calmly and letting Lan Wangji stroke him, and Claudius's heart is crushed with pride.

[lightbearinglord]

There is no need to say anything in answer to that. Lan Wangji needs only to catch Claudius' eye as he thinks of Magnus in order for Claudius to see and understand that of course he is proud, and indescribably fond, and occasionally terrified of how much he cares about Magnus.

He had intended, though, to give Claudius some of the relevant background. Of course, he might not need to clarify his feelings about Jiang Wanyin now that Claudius has met him and declared Lan Wangji's description accurate, but he knows how much Claudius likes information. Moreover, he has almost always found that reaching past his discomfort to explain himself to his friend leaves him feeling lighter and calmer. So he passes Claudius a fresh handful of watercress and says, his voice controlled with the utmost care, "Before Wei Ying died, the cultivation world turned against him. Jiang Wanyin did not defend him, and forced him to choose between those he had sworn to defend and keeping his place in the Jiang clan. During the years of his death, any man who cultivated a path like Wei Ying's would be seized, taken to Lotus Pier, and subjected to Zidian's torture. He is cruel about our relationship and bars Wei Ying from Lotus Pier. And Wei Ying loves him still."

[wickedwit]

"Ah," Claudius says, recognizing the weight of Lan Wangji's words, taking them and holding them with the same care he holds a rabbit, and feeds it leaves of watercress. "If there were no love between them, thou couldst be well quit of him. But thy Wei Wuxian has a loving and loyal heart. It's a bitter thing, to watch such hearts be broken by the undeserving."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." Again, a poor response, but at least Claudius, who had a cruel and monstrous brother who was not always a monster, will understand him in it. Lan Wangji watches the gentle movements of Claudius' hands as he feeds the rabbit in his lap, weighing what he has just learned about Aornis, and continues: "An associate of Shen Yuan's told me that there is not only a dramatic adaptation about Wei Ying and myself. There is also a book. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation." He pronounces this title with subtle but clear disdain. He does not care for his Wei Ying, with a loving and loyal heart, ridiculous and brilliant and beautiful, being immortalized in such a way.

[wickedwit]

"I would've chosen something more charming and evocative, for a story such as yours," Claudius says, his smile sympathetic. His story, of course, has the misfortune of being named either for the brother he hates, or the nephew who hates him, but he's not the main character in it. Hearing that title, Claudius has no doubt Wei Wuxian is the complicated hero of his tale, and Lan Wangji the lover who stood with him through his trials. "Shen Yuan's friend ... that must have been the author. Did he tell you anything more?"

[lightbearinglord]

"The author of Luo Binghe," Lan Wangji repeats coldly. That unassuming little cultivator created Luo Binghe? "He fled from me shortly after telling me of this book." His eyebrows twitch up as he looks at Claudius and asks, "I'm not that frightening, am I, Claudius?" It would be impossible for him to mimic Claudius' playful tone, so he doesn't even try, but he has the words down.

[wickedwit]

Claudius laughs, eyes dancing with a merry light. "Who could ever say that? See what a harbor Xiaoxue has found in thee. There's a judgment I trust above all others."

[lightbearinglord]

There's some answering light in Lan Wangji's own eyes -- enough for Claudius to see it, which is what matters. He looks down at Xiaoxue, who appears entirely relaxed now, acclimated to the both of them, and sets one careful hand atop its head. As he suspected, he can feel the faint rumble of the rabbit purring, gently chattering its teeth. "Xiaoxue is wise," he says in fond agreement.

[wickedwit]

"Oh, yes. Wise in the way that innocents are, which should be cherished before they grow older. Age makes so many of us so much more foolish." Claudius has, of course, no idea how old these rabbits are. "But with such guidance, neither Xiaoxue nor Danding need worry about that.

[lightbearinglord]

One day the depths of his own capacity for sentiment will cease taking Lan Wangji by surprise. Today is not that day. He laughs, a quiet sound under his breath, and says, "They are lucky to have you to bring levity to their education."

[wickedwit]

Claudius should, he thinks, make a list of all the times Lan Wangji's laughed for him, to read in melancholy moods. The little levities he brings Lan Wangji's life are uncounted victories. "Canst thou tell when a rabbit's amused or content?" he asks, fondly curious. "I know a cat may purr and a bird may sing, but I would know all thou know'st of rabbits and their humors. For mine own education." It's always good to learn alongside one's children -- that's a rule Claudius made up in the moment. It has nothing to do with how he was raised, but that's all to the better. When he thinks of the young people in his life he hasn't failed with, Tress and Magnus, the pattern holds.

[lightbearinglord]

There is something unaccountably precious in this, in sharing the love of these two soft and vulnerable creatures with Claudius. "Mn. Listen carefully." Lan Wangji himself goes perfectly quiet, stroking Xiaoxue's head with the backs of two fingers. He holds Claudius' gaze levelly to draw his attention to the small but unmistakable sound of the rabbit continuing to purr.

[wickedwit]

It's impossibly dear. Perhaps this is the feeling of brotherhood that Claudius never had, a man who's protected him and cared for him and who can teach him that rabbits purr. Little Claudius, who Lan Wangji led to the kitchen one afternoon, would have loved this. So does Claudius grown. "So soft a sound. Thou must quiet thyself to hear it -- no wonder thou shouldst be such a friend to rabbits," he teases. After all, Lan Wangji has little trouble being quiet.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji accepts this teasing without a word or even a glance of protest. He does excel at silence. "Rabbits also leap into the air when they are happy. When they feel safe, they will sleep on their sides or backs, with their bellies exposed." Here, there's the tiniest crinkling at the corners of his eyes, just a hint of a smile, which means, But this one is my favorite.

[wickedwit]

Claudius can read those signs so easily now, and he'd swear to anyone that from Lan Wangji that crinkling of the eyes is the broadest, happiest beam. "Some day," Claudius murmurs after a moment, soft, "thou wilt show me the Cloud Recesses, and the hills behind them. Whatever's written, I can think nothing but the worlds we left behind are real and true as any world above them. There will always be something to discover beyond the remit of a story -- no story can include all things, linger on every bamboo-stalk and gentian and afternoon spent watching rabbits leap. There are secret joys that only thou know'st, no matter what men who read thy book believe they know." It's for those things Lan Wangji has become so dear to Claudius, the secret sides of him that few people see. And surely, he thinks, no one who read either of their books could have predicted that.

[lightbearinglord]

Whatever is written, indeed. If Claudius is a villain in his story, if Wei Ying is a villain in his, then so be it. Lan Wangji has seen how gently Claudius holds a rabbit, how tenderly he loves Galahad, and how kindly and carefully he has accepted every painful secret that Lan Wangji has given him, voluntary or not. If Claudius fears a return to his own world, then Lan Wangji's will be open to him, from the back hills of the Cloud Recesses to the bustling markets of Gusu and Caiyi. Once, he thought himself cold and inhospitable, and that any impulse he had to shelter the people he loved was something to fear. Now, he finds that he wants to open himself and his home to them. Wei Ying is no longer welcome at Lotus Pier. Valhalla is not safe for Magnus. Claudius never wants to return to Elsinore. The Cloud Recesses can hold them all and keep them safe.

He looks steadily at Claudius and, after a moment, says, just as soft but with that characteristic steeliness of his, "I will."