happy holidays! could you do mdzs for prompts? thank you c:
Wei Wuxian knows he should be grateful that Lan Xichen is here now, smiling at them from behind Lan Wangji’s shoulder, that they’re not going to be forced to wait outside the entrance of Cloud Recesses in a humiliating manner. But mostly he’s just pissed off, at Jin Zixuan for being a jerk, and at Lan Wangji for the same reason, for thinking forgetting an invitation was an appropriate reason to treat them like this. Shijie and Jiang Cheng are clan heirs, just like Lan Wangji is. He’s pretty sure the idea is for them all to get along here.
It’s an insult, plain and simple, and Wei Wuxian isn’t willing to let the Jiang enter Cloud Recesses like this.
“You are most generous,” he says to Lan Xichen, making a subtle hand gesture behind his back that causes all the Jiang disciples to freeze and fall back, no longer walking towards the entrance. He can practically hear Jiang Cheng grinding his teeth from here, but he doesn’t protest. Rank is a tricky thing with them and the disciples and the best solution they’ve found is to never, ever contradict each other when it counts, even when they think the other person is being an idiot. “However, before we enter, I must request you put up your regular wards. I understand the entrance is currently being guarded,” he inclines his head to the two Lan at the gates like he hadn’t been giving them shit thirty minutes ago, “but that’s no reason to be complacent.”
Pointing out Cloud Recesses nonsensical security system is petty, and a bit of an easy target, but it’s better than nothing.
Except Lan Xichen raises an eyebrow and asks, “What do you mean?”
This is just asking Wei Wuxian to trash his clan’s decisions, which makes no sense. Or he genuinely doesn’t know what Wei Wuxian is talking about, which is concerning enough that this is no longer about making a token protest. “You shouldn’t put up weaker wards just because you have guards here now. Even if it’s an energy drain, you should always have your strongest wards up.”
Lan Wangji is giving him a super bitchy look, which is at least what he’d been expecting. Lan Xichen’s voice is still perfectly pleasant when he says, “We do not alter the wards for shifts. I assure you that our wards are constantly set up to provide maximum protection.”
He looks behind him, partially to hide whatever his face is doing, and partially to look at his siblings. Jiang Cheng shrugs and Shijie presses her lips together and gives a slight shake of her head. Okay, wards are his thing, he hadn’t exactly expected his siblings to notice, but from Shijie’s reaction the Lan brothers aren’t messing with him right now.
“I can’t let my shijie stay here if this is your maximum protection,” he says apologetically. He will march them all down back to Caiyi and put them on the first boat to Lotus Pier.
Lan Xichen’s smile becomes a little fixed. “Our wards are put in place by our clan elders. You have nothing to worry about.”
He could stand here and argue with them about it, but. He sketches a talisman in the air, not even bothering to ink it on paper, and sends it forward with an arrogant flick of his hand that he learned from Madam Yu.
As soon as it hits the wards it fizzles, then it all dissolves, the barrier breaking down like a string being cut.
The Lans all turn to it, incredulous. He didn’t know they had facial expressions, but that’s shock if he’s ever seen it. “They are inadequate. They are ancient and predictable and weak.” He starts sketching in the air again, and this is something that he should grab talisman paper for, but it’s easier for them to see this way. “You use silver as your grounding base, right? The air around it tastes like it. Copper is basic and old and resists meddling better, although iron will give you more flexibility for modifications. Your also weakened by using a continuous line rather than a feedback loop. Once one section breaks, the rest follow suit, which means someone only needs to find one weak spot to bring it down.” He has to put his weight into this one, shoving the glowing characters into the nearest pillar and watching his red spiritual energy flare across it. The warding barrier is back up, but different than it was before. Better. “That’ll do for now. The Jiang are happy to provide aid in updating your wards.”
If they don’t accept that help, they’re going home. He cannot handle the stress of being worried about all his martial brothers and sisters all the time because the Lan haven’t updated their practices since Lan An.
They’re all staring at him now. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, not liking their stares, because he’s not sure what to do with them. They’re not hostile, he doesn’t think.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Shijie says, voice sweet and full of false politeness. “We may have neglected to introduce ourselves properly. This is Wei Wuxian.”
Those stares are sharper now. “Wei Wuxian,” Lan Xichen repeats slowly. “The Jiang’s first disciple is Wei Wuxian.”
“That’s me,” he agrees cheerfully.
“You are – young,” Lan Xichen settles on finally.
“The invitation said all disciples below twenty one,” Wei Wuxian says, blinking. “I’m fifteen, so I’m here. I distributed my duties among the senior disciples before I left.”
“I encourage you to accept his aid. Senior Brother Wei is a master of talismans.” Ooh, Jiang Cheng must have been more pissed off by all this than he let one. He never calls him Senior Brother.
Lan Xichen looks back at the barrier he’d just put up and says, “I see that.” His smile when he looks at them is somehow both more fixed and more genuine. “I will discuss it with my uncle, but perhaps we do need a bit of an update.” He bows and gestures to the gate. “We welcome the Jiang to Cloud Recesses.”
Wei Wuxian falls back enough so he can walk side by side with Jiang Cheng and tries not to let Lan Wangji’s heavy gaze bother him.
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