jiang cheng's arrival at his stronghold is heralded by a scattering of birds, flocks of carrion-hungry crows that flutter into the skies and steer clear of the storm that brews on the ground below. they caw and squawk and generally fill the air surrounding the mountain where wei wuxian lingers, reluctant to walk down the winding paths to meet his brother. the knowledge that jiang cheng wishes to talk has been eating at him for the days since his shidi had sent him the terse message in response, the weight of the mere idea that yiling and yunmeng ought to marry in order to nullify one ( no, likely both ) of the rising, new powers of the cultivation world.
he knows what the new leadership is asking, and he knows what they mean, when they ask - it's not a question, it's a command. between himself and jiang cheng, there is only one of them who had always dug his heels in, stubborn as a donkey, when presented with a command, let alone an ultimatum - which, the entire situation is beginning to feel like one, to him.
still, he meets yunmeng's sect leader halfway down the mountain. wei wuxian greets him with a raised hand, his back aligned with a decrepit, half-rotten tree with gnarled branches that resemble hands clawing for salvation, for sunshine that does not come to this place. his flowing robes never seem to catch on the ground, nor does his unbound hair snarl or snag. with both hands raised in supplication, he greets jiang cheng: ] I tried to intercept you with a letter, Jiang Cheng! Goodness, you didn't have to come all the way out here to this place that you find so distasteful, you're so manly, so cool!
[ he looks thinner than before, the circles under his eyes worse, his fingers pretty and long in the way a skeleton's were. still, the smile on his face is bright, inviting. genuinely pleased to see his brother, even if he knows they'll part on ill terms. ]
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jiang cheng's arrival at his stronghold is heralded by a scattering of birds, flocks of carrion-hungry crows that flutter into the skies and steer clear of the storm that brews on the ground below. they caw and squawk and generally fill the air surrounding the mountain where wei wuxian lingers, reluctant to walk down the winding paths to meet his brother. the knowledge that jiang cheng wishes to talk has been eating at him for the days since his shidi had sent him the terse message in response, the weight of the mere idea that yiling and yunmeng ought to marry in order to nullify one ( no, likely both ) of the rising, new powers of the cultivation world.
he knows what the new leadership is asking, and he knows what they mean, when they ask - it's not a question, it's a command. between himself and jiang cheng, there is only one of them who had always dug his heels in, stubborn as a donkey, when presented with a command, let alone an ultimatum - which, the entire situation is beginning to feel like one, to him.
still, he meets yunmeng's sect leader halfway down the mountain. wei wuxian greets him with a raised hand, his back aligned with a decrepit, half-rotten tree with gnarled branches that resemble hands clawing for salvation, for sunshine that does not come to this place. his flowing robes never seem to catch on the ground, nor does his unbound hair snarl or snag. with both hands raised in supplication, he greets jiang cheng: ] I tried to intercept you with a letter, Jiang Cheng! Goodness, you didn't have to come all the way out here to this place that you find so distasteful, you're so manly, so cool!
[ he looks thinner than before, the circles under his eyes worse, his fingers pretty and long in the way a skeleton's were. still, the smile on his face is bright, inviting. genuinely pleased to see his brother, even if he knows they'll part on ill terms. ]
Come up, it's just the two of us, I promise you.