COMFORT is not something very familiar to Ran Yi, let alone how it might be offered. It takes demons a long time to learn such things ; water demons even longer when it is rarer among their kind. There's no debt to be repaid because he'd never asked for Zhao Yuanzhou's company in his own muddied chaos. Ran Yi appears of his own volition. Doesn't say anything immediately; a clever fish never rushes in but tests to see if company will be accepted or not by presence alone before he dares to move closer.
" I thought I might find you here. " He finally says softly ; his voice little more than a gentle ripple in the peaceful atmosphere. Doesn't greet with teasing or offhand commentary because it's not his style ; settles for sitting near while respecting the other's space. It's an UNFORTUNATE realization that the older demon himself enlightened Ran Yi towards - that sometimes company is best on the darkest days. Even if it's silent company, or not. He'll listen if the other wants to speak, an ear to hear stories if the other should choose. It is harder in the since that Ran Yi knows rather little about the one whose loss is mourned, but maybe the effort is enough to show the other he's not so alone as it might feel.
it was here ; the day all yuanzhou could do was to watch him disappear into the dark bark of the tree . he knew li lun wasn't inside this tree at the moment , just the shell of his mortal form that must have decayed along with his bones and everything . his soul was elsewhere — demons don't have the right to be gifted with the blessing of clean reincarnation , their sins wouldn't be washed away in their next life . and without his yaoli , yuanzhou knew he had no chance to track him down if he was reincarnated anyway . seated on the snowy ground , hands limp and delicate on his lap , gaze fixed ahead yet not oblivious to the fish who drew closer in curiosity ; then sympathy . it's odd to have company when he's feeling less mischievous and elegant , less like the pale ape that crawled down the mountains just to cause chaos among the living . his memory of those ancient times isn't fresh , therefore he settles for thinking that he used to be a very elegant creature . how did ran yi know he came here ? the old guardian's death was a happy news spread along the ones that carried demon blood , sure , but fish demons usually don't bring their heads out of the water to listen to the livelier demons . ones that abhorred li lun's guts . the radiance of the yellow flower is a contrast to his dark attire , twirling merrily between paled fingers as the older one allows a soft twitch of his lips . ‘ i thought i was the one who acted like humans . ‘ sympathy , needing company when you're feeling lost and helpless - all human traits that yuanzhou had developed because he was always too curious about the humans . other demons weren't as enthusiastic as he was about them , especially these elusive fishy ones . ‘ here . ‘ the yellow flower trembles with the touch of cold wind as it's raised to be placed upon ran yi's thigh . ‘ flowers for the dead .. that's also a human thing to do , no ? he hated that . ‘ his eyes gleam with a lazy kind of playfulness , it's almost youthful , unlike the gaze that bore into ran yi's . ‘ i wish not to anger my old friend , so have it . ‘