[♪♫♬]

[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]

[THERE'S ONLY THE ROAD

there's a soft nudge against his leg; the rabbit has actually just grabbed the hem of his robe in its teeth to try and stop him]

[weiyingdown]

[it's effective, on account of him being all wobbly. he frowns down at the rabbit]

I'm going to come back! I need something to clean those compartments with.

[one_note]

[TUG :|]

[weiyingdown]

[is tugged back inside by a tiny rabbit]

What? Do you have a better idea?

[one_note]

[it puts a paw on his shoe earnestly :((((]

[weiyingdown]

That's not a suggestion.

[goes back to sit at the table to make the rabbit stop making those sad bunny faces at him though]

[one_note]

[the jars draw his eye.]

[weiyingdown]

[sets the jar he was carrying back on the table only to pick up another one and idly inspect it]

[one_note]

[it's an empty vessel but it needs to be filled? it should be full, for when Wei Ying comes back]

[weiyingdown]

[was the water plan not good enough for you, jar]

Hmm...

[holds the jar in both hands and tries to focus on a memory of his own, of him and Lan Zhan. the first one that comes to mind is their first meeting, since that was in one of these jars before. he tries to hold onto the sight of Lan Wangji standing in the moonlight looking like he was carved out of jade, of the spike of surprise at getting caught settling quickly into an eagerness to gain a co-conspirator willing to let him off.

he's also still inebriated and his memory has never been the greatest, so it's a wobbly attempt at best.]

[one_note]

[...liquid sloshes in the jar, and the oppressive feeling gradually lessens...]

[weiyingdown]

Ah.

[pros: could make unlimited alcohol like this
cons: drinking memories is too weird for it to be worth it

he grabs the other jars and tries to fill them up too. memories of days spent copying rules in the Library Pavilion with his endless teasing chatter until he was silenced by a spell, with the smell of parchment and ink and sandalwood forever hanging in the air. memories of Caiyi Town and the gleam of sword slicing through water ghouls; the sounds of boats gliding through water and girls selling loquats laughing. memories of dumping soft, fluffy rabbits in front of Lan Wangji and calling them a gift for him to keep. his own vibrant, unrestrained laughter as he was thrown out time and time again.

he tries to focus on what he deems good memories, which is mostly ones that are from his stay at the Cloud Recesses. even with his bad memory and his tipsy state, there's a strong feeling from all of them that makes up for the lack of clarity in spaces. Lan Wangji's so serious. Lan Er-Gege's so fun to tease. Lan Zhan is so cool.

some conflicting memories slip in too--what he finds a fond memory of sharing the freezing cold springs with Lan Wangji tugs his memory back to dragging Lan Wangji outside of the wall in a scuffle, and the ensuing beating the next day. he abruptly pulls himself away from that memory and sets the jar down.]

Well, that should be plenty.

[one_note]

[the jars are indeed full, and the air is light.]

[weiyingdown]

[he leaves them on the table, because after all that work Lan Zhan better see them and appreciate them!!!!

he waits for a few moments, making sure that the air really is light and it staying that way, before he gets up and stretches. satisfied with the jars, he leaves them and goes...to the bedroom doors. and slowly pulls them open to take a peek inside and see if it looks exactly the same as it did before]

[one_note]

[sure is a ribbony-ass mess in there. the bed is still disarranged, the incense burner in the corner knocked over as though in a struggle.

the ribbon that captured his wrist earlier hasn't gone anywhere, either.]

[weiyingdown]

What was Lan Zhan doing in here? Maybe he's more forward than he looks.

[the ribbon on his wrist can stay where it is. it's behaving.

his first order of business is to go inside and set that incense burner upright. or, that's his plan, if the ribbons don't impede him]

[one_note]

[THEY START WRAPPING HIM UP THE HOT SECOND HE STARTS PUSHING THROUGH THEM TO GET TO THE BURNER, OH NO]

[weiyingdown]

Hey, hey, hey!!!

[TRIES TO (UNGRACEFULLY. HE'S STILL TIPSY) DODGE THEM and probably fails miserably. #hetried]

[one_note]

[they don't actually like bind his arms and legs together or anything, so he still has mobility, but he also looks like a ridiculous mummy by the end of that nonsense

a couple have also covered one of his eyes.]

[weiyingdown]

This is too much, cut me some slack here!

[changes directions to head for a drawer. any drawer to pull open and try to pull the ribbons off and stick inside.]

[one_note]

[they won't come off]

[weiyingdown]

[whines]

Lan Zhaaaaan.

[adjusting them so that they're not covering his eyes or impeding his mobility, at least; they can stay as long as they don't get in the way]

[one_note]

[he can shift them that much, as long as he doesn't try to pull them off outright.]

[weiyingdown]

[they can stay. for now.

fully mummified, he makes his way over to the incense burner and does set it upright; he also looks for some incense to put into it since he's there]

[one_note]

[there's a box of incense sticks next to the burner. he can light one. the slow, cold scent of sandalwood curls through the room.]