[ closed post: the sun shines brightly ]

[lightbearinglord]

It has been a strange handful of weeks, but Lan Wangji can accept strange far more easily than he could accept the pain that rippled inexorably outward from Shen Yuan's death, seeming to leave no one untouched. The parade of visitors was unusual, and thought-provoking, but not painful. Lan Wangji enjoyed meeting most of them. Even Galahad, whose empty politeness made him feel hollow in turn -- there was a quiet satisfaction in bringing him to the rabbits and watching his stunned expression at the simple joy of holding something small and vulnerable and trusting.

As for himself, the memories are so abstract as to be incomprehensible. There is something there, enough something to assure him that Aornis had no hand in this specific strangeness. But he can barely grasp at the details. He remembers embracing Magnus, but that signifies nothing out of the ordinary. He remembers sparring with Gideon; he remembers that he needs to ask Sagramore for fresh poetry. He remembers the loss of Wei Ying, newer and crueler than it typically is these days, but when he came back to himself the next morning, Wei Ying was there, his head tucked beneath Lan Wangji's chin and his ankle hooked around Lan Wangji's hip.

The least enjoyable of his encounters, at the least, provided him with something important. He has not removed the locket from his qiankun pouch. He wants to waste no time in bringing it to its intended recipient. He performs the first of his morning routines -- his meditation, his patrol, Wei Ying's breakfast -- and then goes to look for Magnus at the camp.

Comments

[summerdude]

"They do," Magnus sighs.

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." Lan Wangji studies the locket, sidelong. Without the photographs displayed, it is only an object, but it seems weighty in Magnus' hand nonetheless. "He gave me this in case you don't see her. Or in case it is much longer than it was for him." Before he forgets, he adds, "He also asked me to tell you that he is rooting for you."

[summerdude]

"Oh!" Magnus says, palpably overwhelmed. "That's, um. That's nice."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji remains quiet and motionless for a beat, and then he gathers Magnus into his arms for a firm embrace. It jostles them slightly on the trampoline, but he pays that no mind.

[summerdude]

"I'm okay, Hanguang-jun," Magnus says, but he's definitely burying himself into the hug.

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn," Lan Wangji says, just to acknowledge that Magnus has spoken but without altering his course of action whatsoever. It is not a requirement that Magnus be overwhelmingly distraught before Lan Wangji offers him comfort. And in any case, it was so unsettling to spend time with an incarnation of Magnus who seemed mildly interested in him at best, certainly unlikely ever to turn to him for anything. He relishes that feeling of Magnus burrowing into him. He holds onto it, and him.

[summerdude]

"Are you okay?"

[lightbearinglord]

"I am glad to see you," he says, a little more fiercely than he intended to.

[summerdude]

"Was I really that bad?" Magnus asks. "You were pretty cool, actually. I mean, Evil Twin you. You said 'bullshit.'"

[lightbearinglord]

That catches Lan Wangji by such surprise that he laughs -- quietly, but Magnus won't be able to miss it when they are this close. "I hope you enjoyed that. It will not happen again." After a slight pause, he says, "You were not bad. But you were a stranger."

[summerdude]

"That must have been really discombobulating," Magnus says, giving Hanguang-jun a squeeze. "You really won't ever say bullshit?"

[lightbearinglord]

"It is very unlikely." He relaxes, some, not letting go of Magnus but loosening the strength of his grip.

[summerdude]

"You're killing me, Hanguang-jun," Magnus says, but he doesn't sound terrifically discontent about it. "Hey, remember when I thought you were a god?"

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." Lan Wangji could hardly fail to remember the tears in Magnus' eyes or his own distress at the flurry of accusations he barely understood.

[summerdude]

"It's a good thing I did all that research," Magnus says. "You know the new guy really is one?" This is notable even though they've had several gods (one of whom has been here far too long and should go back home now please), because this is one from a pantheon Magnus learned about here.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji pulls back enough to look at Magnus with surprise. They have had only one permanent new arrival recently. "Xie Lian?"

[summerdude]

"Yeah! I'm not jumping to conclusions this time. Um, anymore. I asked."

[lightbearinglord]

"If he is a god, why did he ask to borrow my spiritual energy?" It seems Lan Wangji's newest friend has not been forthcoming. He himself is rarely forthcoming, but this is a fairly significant matter to conceal.

[summerdude]

"Oh, his is sealed or something. By the Emperor of Heaven. I didn't press. On, um, that front. Seems personal."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji's face registers another flare of surprise, just a minute twitch of the eyebrows. He suspects Xie Lian does not want this information -- any of it -- becoming common knowledge. "I have not heard his name before."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, it was only in one of the books I read back then." Magnus is telling Lan Wangji this because he's in his telling-Lan-Wangji-(most)-things-again era, and because he knows Lan Wangji won't go blabbing about it to anyone else. He's probably going to tell Galahad for the same reason, after he decides if it's okay for Claudius to know -- Galahad will definitely tell Claudius after Magnus tells him. But that's it! "He probably has a title or something. I don't remember and I didn't ask." He couldn't find the book again when he went back to look for it the other day.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji considers this quietly. He likes Xie Lian. He likes that he is polite but not pompous, and he can respect the desire for privacy. "He did break my array with ease," he admits, faintly rueful.

[summerdude]

"Obviously this is on the DL," Magnus says, even though it goes without saying. "I've never met a god before who didn't make a big fuss about being a god." He pulls back and gives Hanguang-jun a wry look, since they both know Magnus briefly thought Hanguang-jun was a god like that.

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn," Lan Wangji says in agreement. It does go without saying, moreso because this is Xie Lian's personal business rather than a matter for the mansion as a whole, and because he is certain there is some sort of pain behind Xie Lian's smiling demeanor. As Magnus says, the other gods here are perfectly willing to talk about their divinity. "It's an easy feat when one is not a god at all." He is teasing, a little.

[summerdude]

"Hanguang-juuuuuuuuuuuun," Magnus whines, more thrilled than complainy.