[♪♫♬]
[after Yi City and the second time Wei Wuxian gets Lan Wangji drunk, it takes about a day for them to reach the Garden of Annual blossoms. this curious incident takes place in the space of that day.
outside of appeasing the corpse pieces they've been collecting each night, it's not uncommon for Lan Wangji to take the time to practice on the guqin. he doesn't play entire songs, since he's not trying to interact with any spirits at the moment, but safely broken-up sections of Inquiry and Empathy (was Empathy always a musical technique? it is in this timeline, shut up) and the other songs he uses for battle hum through the walls of the rest stop they've paused at on the road.
it's partway through a passage of Empathy that there's a notable shriek of strings, and then silence; when Wei Wuxian goes to check, he'll find Lan Wangji half-collapsed over the instrument, his breathing harsh and a strange fluctuation of energy around him.
a qi deviation...? oh no.]
outside of appeasing the corpse pieces they've been collecting each night, it's not uncommon for Lan Wangji to take the time to practice on the guqin. he doesn't play entire songs, since he's not trying to interact with any spirits at the moment, but safely broken-up sections of Inquiry and Empathy (was Empathy always a musical technique? it is in this timeline, shut up) and the other songs he uses for battle hum through the walls of the rest stop they've paused at on the road.
it's partway through a passage of Empathy that there's a notable shriek of strings, and then silence; when Wei Wuxian goes to check, he'll find Lan Wangji half-collapsed over the instrument, his breathing harsh and a strange fluctuation of energy around him.
a qi deviation...? oh no.]
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[he leans back slightly, suddenly aware that this position is not one that he usually finds himself in when Lan Wangji is sober. he's not sure what to make of it, beyond thinking that he might be a little drunk. or maybe this place just makes him more honest?
as he ponders what it might be (because it's clearly an abnormality of some kind, Lan Wangji wouldn't act like this normally) he finally notices the little bundle in his arms]
What's that?
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...A-Yuan could go to the Jingshi.
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What's A-Yuan doing here? Isn't this after...
[if this is already after the siege, then no one is left, which means A-Yuan should be as gone as everyone else]
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He was there.
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[looks up at the tree trunk]
Huh????
[pokes A-Yuan's tiny sleeping face, to check that he's real and breathing]
Lan Zhan, are you sure that you didn't make this up? You didn't really come here and find him, did you?
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...I looked for you. I found him.
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suddenly more emotionally exhausted than he was dealing with the grief, he leans his forehead on Lan Wangji's shoulder]
Thank you.
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he clears his throat and
smoothly
changes the topic]
Do you, ah, know if anyone else is here? Is it just you and A-Yuan?
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You are here now.
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[his memory isn't the greatest, so it takes a second to dig through his sparsely-populated memories]
For your parents?
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so curious
it's mourning so it isn't going to be anything particularly pleasant, but the unpleasant things might be what's causing the qi deviation. so, there is an excuse to go and see it]
...If you don't want me to look, I won't go look. But if you don't tell me not to, I'm going to go and take a peek.
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he gets to his feet, brushing off some of the dirt on his clothes. looking at the mess that is Lan Wangji's clothes, he makes a mental note to bring some clothes from the Jingshi over here later]
Wait here with A-Yuan. I'll be right back.
[whether that's an accurate assessment of how much time it'll take, he doesn't know, but he doesn't let himself dally around any longer. he looks around for the little rabbit; is it still following him?]
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[he's more mindful of setting changes now, paying attention to shifts in landscape. an added addition is that he is keenly aware of the grief that runs through the background like an ever-present white noise filled with heartache. every step forward he tries to feel out if there's a change, something to indicate that he's reached a new part where the older mourning is]
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it's rockier here, and trees and plants start to appear again, which would be nice if they weren't horribly monochromatic...it's shifting into something that looks like part of the Cloud Recesses again, actually]
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and he doesn't know what he's looking for, so he doesn't know where to go, exactly. so he meanders and keeps his eyes and ears open for anything that might point him the right way]
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[chasing after it!!!!]
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the rabbit leaps directly inside]
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there's nothing for it; he can't let Lan Wangji's rabbit get lost, so of course he follows it into the cave]
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