[ open post: Lan Wangji and guests ]

[lightbearinglord]

In the wake of his disorienting and unpleasant stint in Gu Xiang's body, Lan Wangji has done his utmost to resume and enjoy all of his usual pursuits. He has, he believes, thoroughly made up for his lapse in his promise to Wei Ying. He has wielded kitchen knives, his ink brush, and Bichen with precision and enthusiasm. He has sunk into long, restorative shichen of meditation. He has, at Claudius' behest, thoroughly perused Emily Post's instructions regarding how to conduct oneself as the best man at a wedding.

There is the matter of his qin, too. The discovery of the spirit in Gideon's sword struck Lan Wangji with greater surprise than he might have expected. Such things were once commonplace for him; he hardly went two weeks, before he came to this place, without finding himself called to some night-hunt. He does not like to believe that he could become complacent, and he has always practiced diligently, but still.

The tableau is a familiar one: a certain parlor near the entryway of the mansion, one that often houses this particular cultivator along with his spiritual instrument. Wangji is balanced on a table at the center of the room, polished black wood gleaming and strings freshly tuned, and Lan Wangji sits cross-legged before it. He is not actually playing it at this precise moment, however, because he currently has guests. A small white rabbit sits next to the qin, munching his way through a piece of lettuce. An equally small brown rabbit is perched in the crook of Lan Wangji's elbow, eyeing his brother with some envy. Ostensibly, the rabbits are in trouble, because they have recently laid waste to Lan Wangji's copy of Emma. It is impossible to tell, because Lan Wangji is petting Danding's head with exactly as much solemn focus as always.

Comments

[ravkanwitch]

Nina lets out a short laugh. "I thought it would be Matthias or one of my close friends but instead, Kaz Brekker showed up that day. I wouldn't call him a friend but... he did help me work through some things. He has one of the most brilliant minds I know but he's an absolute bastard."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji knows at least a few men who fit that description. Bemused, he wonders at what the logic of the visitors could possibly be. "I visited with my brother." Thus far, he is the only person he knows who was granted the ability to return to his home, even for a short time.

[ravkanwitch]

"Your brother!" Nina brightens. "You were able to go and see him? What's he like?"

[lightbearinglord]

"We look alike," Lan Wangji says, "but my brother is often smiling." Other than that, and the difference in their eye colors, they are nearly identical. "He is a kind man."

[ravkanwitch]

"I'm glad you got to see him again," Nina tells him. "It probbaly gave you some sort of... closure, I suppose?"

[lightbearinglord]

Closure might be an accurate enough term. He would have liked to see more -- more of the Cloud Recesses, more of the people there, more of his brother, who has been scattered and melancholy since Jin Guangyao's betrayal. But it was peaceful, too, and more than he could have expected. He reaches to pet between Xiaoxue's ears. "Mn."

[ravkanwitch]

Nina idly wonders if not seeing Matthias is a version of closure for her as well. She gives Danding a pet, just because that seems fair, but she's content to just sit and keep company with him and the rabbits.