[ 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

[lightbearinglord]

He wasn't disputing that. "Alex thinks I'm funny?"

[summerdude]

"She would if she attended your comedy show." Of this, Magnus is certain.

[lightbearinglord]

"This comedy show is just as unlikely as I am to use profanity," Lan Wangji informs him. It is best not to get his hopes up.

[summerdude]

"One day you'll do a comedy show," Magnus says, with immense confidence. "We could have a talent show. Just, like, the seven of us. You and Galahad can do comedy and bring down the house."

[lightbearinglord]

"Is Galahad aware of this commitment we have made?" He is, again, teasing just a little bit, with that same perfectly solemn demeanor about it.

[summerdude]

"Clearly I just had the idea, Hanguang-jun. I'm gonna tell him next time I see him."

[lightbearinglord]

"Perhaps it will go more smoothly than my first participation in a talent show."

[summerdude]

Magnus laughs. "That's why we'll have a small audience this time. Less performance anxiety." Because surely that was the problem with Hanguang-jun's other talent!

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji's mouth twitches a little. "I was not suffering from performance anxiety." In any sense of the term.

[summerdude]

"I sure was."

[lightbearinglord]

At that, he reaches to give Magnus' hand, whichever is free and not holding the locket, a squeeze. "I am glad I can remember your performance."

[summerdude]

"You can't remember the rest?"

[lightbearinglord]

"Very little, after accepting a drink from Claudius."

[summerdude]

"Huh." Did Claudius roofie Hanguang-jun????

[lightbearinglord]

Luckily oblivious to the turn Magnus' thoughts have taken, Lan Wangji lets the corner of his mouth pull into an echo of ruefulness. "Alcohol has an uncommon effect on me."

[summerdude]

"Ohhhh, okay."

[lightbearinglord]

Sensing only that he has missed something, Lan Wangji narrows his eyes at Magnus and waits to see if he will be forthcoming.

[summerdude]

"It's just, now I get why you don't remember!"

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." He will allow this minor deflection. "Wei Ying was all too happy to recount what I had missed to me when I became sober enough to listen."

[summerdude]

"I bet he'd like your comedy stylings."

[lightbearinglord]

"He would," Lan Wangji says, entirely sure of that. Wei Ying likes, as far as he can tell, everything about him. Half the time, he doesn't even have to speak aloud for Wei Ying to catch whatever he is thinking, sometimes from across a room, and burst into laughter.

[summerdude]

Magnus makes a mental note to get Wei Wuxian and Claudius in on the plan, because if they're in, Hanguang-jun and Galahad will definitely be in.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji gives Magnus' hand another squeeze, pressing it between both of his, and then lets him go for now. "Have you been well?" He can tell that Magnus is less overburdened than he was when they spoke with Shen Yuan, but he is more alert now to continuing to worry about him.

[summerdude]

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, it's all good."

[lightbearinglord]

That is an impressively unconvincing response, and as such Lan Wangji does not answer it aloud. He only trains his gaze on Magnus' face, stays quiet, and waits to see if there is anything else.