[♪♫♬]

[one_note]

[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.]

Comments

[one_note]

[that may be a bad idea.

the bedroom is in total disarray and white ribbons are everywhere, strung from floor to ceiling and between every wall in a confusing web.]

[weiyingdown]

[oh my god]

He doesn't even need this many ribbons.

[reaching out to...grab one?]

[one_note]

[it knots itself around your wrist. there's a faint note of confusion coming from it.]

[weiyingdown]

[that makes two of us, ribbon]

[dropping the rabbit and nudging it into the room with his foot. if that doesn't work, then he's not going to push further.

once the rabbit's down, he uses his free hand to try and untie that knot]

[one_note]

[it ain't coming off, though the ribbon does pull loose from the main web

the bunny just beelines back for the main door also]

[weiyingdown]

[oh. oh great.

okay fine, the ribbon is coming with then! he leaves the door to the bedroom slightly ajar in his hurry to get away from it and prevent being tied up by sentient ribbons in the bedroom. that would be awkward, and he has things to do!

casually wrapping the ribbon around his wrist so it doesn't dangle, he goes to the main door and opens it for the rabbit. and also follows it out.]

[one_note]

[having the rabbit go out ahead of him...helps. the mist is as impenetrably thick as ever, and the strange white road is thin, barely wide enough to have two people walk side by side, and easily lost to the eye. it seems to be the only solid ground out there, also.

but he can see the tiny black body of the rabbit more clearly than he can see the road, an unerring black dot showing him where to step.]

[weiyingdown]

[he only half trusts this rabbit to keep him on a path, but after going far enough...well, it's not like he'd know the way back through the fog very well either. so he does his best to keep up with the little rabbit and not step off the path. for now]

[one_note]

[it...stops, after a while. when he catches up to it, he can vaguely see there's a crossroads. one path angles slightly upward, one sharply down, and the third seems to loop around flat -- since it's on the same level, it might take him back to the starting room.

a faint wind blows conflicting scents into his face: a bloody note from below, and fresher air from above.]

[weiyingdown]

[sighing and stopping next to the rabbit]

What, you don't know which way to go? That's easy, go up.

[he gives the little rabbit a nudge with his foot, urging it towards the upward-sloping path.

that is not the path that he takes. he only spends a few moments contemplating each road before heading down the path that leads, well, down.]

[one_note]

[the rabbit allows itself to be nudged, and then starts following him down '-']

[weiyingdown]

[raising an eyebrow at the bunny as he goes down, mindful to stay on the path]

You're not going to like anything down here, little one.

[but he doesn't stop it from tagging along either. this is Lan Wangji's...something...obviously. and he seems fond enough of the rabbits that they wouldn't be in danger, regardless of the places they go.

it's fine. probably.]

[one_note]

[when he doesn't stop it, it bounds ahead again to pick the path out for him.

it's a long walk. it's boring. the bloody smell gets stronger, and there's a sound like fire crackling.]

[weiyingdown]

[the sound of the fire makes him perk up just as he's about to go stir-crazy from boredom. he picks up his speed, practically running towards the fire to see if someone's there.

having just a rabbit for company is really boring, okay?]

Hey! Is anyone there?

[one_note]

[the mist clears, abruptly, and you are in the Burial Mounds and everything is on fire.]

[weiyingdown]

[oh.

well.

he comes to an abrupt halt, so viscerally thrown back into his own memories of the last time he was at the Burial Mounds that he has to tell himself this isn't real, this isn't really real a few times in his head before he pulls himself together.

even then, it's difficult.

when he moves again his steps are more hesitant, more cautious, on guard against any surprise attacks. he's still looking for people, though, despite knowing that there probably isn't anyone alive here.]

[one_note]

[there's no one there's no one they're all they're all they're all they're all they're all Wei Ying Wei Ying Wei Ying Wei Ying--

it presses down on you the further in you go, a nearly physical weight, not quite the rolling boil of resentful energy but something that's cousin to it, that could become it if left to fester]

[weiyingdown]

[resentful energy is something he's used to dealing with; something like it is something that he does his best to bundle up and push into a corner when it has no use. he doesn't let there's no one and they're all weigh him down.

he pauses near a burnt tree at the wave of emotion for him, though. that's new, and he doesn't know what to do with it.]

Lan Zhan?

[one_note]

[the bunny headbutts his ankle.]

[weiyingdown]

[takes a steadying breath and looks down at the rabbit]

I'm going, I'm going. I thought--

[shaking his head]

No, there's no reason for him to be here.

[he looks around for...something that isn't burning, if there is anything]

[one_note]

[everything is burning.

however, the rabbit smacks its head into his boot again, then hops away a few steps, then looks back at him, then takes a few more...]

[weiyingdown]

What, you can't go anywhere without me?

[he follows the rabbit]

[one_note]

[it leads him further into the ruin of the place, picking its way around the torn remnants of trees and building, around fires.

everything...fades around them, gradually, not disappearing, but...moving forward in time. the fires are replaced with mounds of ash; the bloodied dirt is blackened; the smell of smoke and blood fades to a colder remnant of iteself. the violent storm of feeling gives way to utter desolation, grief drawn out in one long endless note across Wei Wuxian's nerves.

they're going uphill. a familiar tree with a split trunk comes into view. someone in (dirty, bloodstained) white is seated by it, leaning against the trunk in an exhausted slump.]

[weiyingdown]

[this would be so much easier to deal with if his nerves weren't fraying with every beat of his heart

he doesn't run up the hill so much as stumble up it, fighting down the invading feelings that are poking at him like an exposed, raw nerve.

he thought that he had something to say to that white figure, but once he's at the tree he doesn't know what the words were anymore]

. . . I don't understand.

[one_note]

[Lan Wangji doesn't open his eyes, though he lifts his head at the sound. there's a small form bundled against his side; he has an arm around it.]

Wei Ying...?