[He delays in the teleportation room, the last to leave minutes after everyone else is gone, and when he does finally step out, he takes his time walking back. Their mission was as successful as it could have been and even though his heart is heavy with the loss of so many Hivawei, that's not the heaviness that slows his step back to their room.
Deep in his heart, he already knows. (Has known since that first day on Ciraiwei to be honest.) She would have been there waiting for them.
He doesn't even try to call.
When he finally reaches the room, he spends minutes in front of the door before stepping inside.
It's empty of life inside, the air stale with disuse, and not a single spider scurries across the walls or his shoes. Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and sends a single text as he sits down in the middle of the room and pulls his knees up to his chest, head bowed to press his forehead to the tops of them before he sends a single text.]
she's gone.
[He sits there like that for a few hours, curled up and unmoving, but as the hour grows late he finds himself unwilling to spend another minute in there alone. Rising to his feet, he exits the room and traces a familiar path without paying any attention to what he's doing until his fist is knocking against Itachi's door.]
（ the door is opened between one knock and the next. itachi is standing there, expression inscrutable, somber and slightly damp from a recent shower that by the outward billowing of steam must have been excruciatingly hot.
he says nothing. simply takes wei wuxian by the wrist and pulls him into the room. the pneumatic hiss of the door behind them is the only sound for what feels like lightyears, and then itachi simply pulls him into an embrace. ）
[Most times when Itachi initiates contact with him, Wei Wuxian maintains a strong awareness of his friend's preference for not being touched. In those cases, there's a kind of tentativeness to his actions, returning the gesture but ready to pull back at a moment's notice, attuned to the way Itachi tenses or shifts even slightly.
Not now.
Now, Itachi pulls him into an embrace and he clings back with all that he has, burying his face in the crook of Itachi's neck and finally allowing himself to cry.]
（ and for once, there is no resistance in him. he isn't primed to shunshin away. one hand is not held slightly apart to form seals at the last dying gasp of his tolerance.
wei wuxian clings to him. more than a thing allowed, it is welcomed. one hand lifts to stroke wei wuxian's hair as the man's tears dampen the shoulder of his shirt. dizzyingly, the similarity to what happened after aldyhion was not lost on him, inverse and juxtaposed. how can he do anything else but be there for this man now? ）
[That pulls a wet gasping sound from the back of his throat, the words hitting him with as much force as a physical blow, and his fingers curl around the fabric of Itachi's shirt. He doesn't sob openly, instead trembling as they shake him apart without ever fully breeching the surface. Eventually his crying softens and his grip loosens, still holding on but not as if some invisible force was likely to rip Itachi away at any moment.
Still, he stays in Itachi's arms and blinks through the still quietly falling tears.]
I already knew. I knew when she wasn't there in the teleportation room, but I...the room was so empty.
（ the same thought had occurred to him, but he had not remained to weather it. he had needed space, and distance — the world's death is still too raw, and while he cares for gwen very deeply, he has always put the needs of the many over the life of the one.
he can weather loss. he has been weathering loss his entire life. but the scale of that loss...
mm. ）
I'm sorry. I should not have left you there alone.
It's fine. [He'd been in a daze then, hardly aware of anyone else anyway.
His eyes open to blink blearily at Itachi's shoulder and he adjusts his head, turning it to the side so that he can stare at a wall.]
I know she's safe. I know she's home. [It isn't the same as all the other losses that weigh on him to this day.] Is it foolish how much it still hurts?
Why would it be foolish to experience an emotion over a friend?
（ this is said almost chidingly, gentle and sure. when wei wuxian shifts, he mirrors the motion, though the embrace does not abate. ）
You were very close with her, for a not insignificant portion of your life. Furthermore, this attachment came on the heels of considerable trauma. What you are feeling is only natural. Denying it would be the foolish thing.
[He lets out a wet sounding laugh and closes his eyes, his lips briefly pulling up into a smile that Itachi can't see.]
You make it sound so...[Okay. He makes it sound okay. Enough so that even Wei Wuxian believes it. He's quiet for a while after that, his eyes opened again. It's nice being held like this. It makes his heart hurt just a little less.]
Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to go back there right now.
[They've been back more than a week and outwardly Wei Wuxian is mostly back to normal. He doesn't go out as much, but when he's out, his expressions are friendly and easygoing, revealing none of the sorrow that still clings to him after Gwen's departure. It's a pain that he knows that will lessen with time, and in the meantime he does what he can to avoid the brunt of it.
The nights would be hardest if he was staying on his own. Instead, it's the mornings that get him. That's when he and Gwen would go about their respective routines together, bumping into each other and making light conversation. He goes through the motions on his own now.
This morning finds him especially broken up about it and before he can even think about it, he's texting Mal.]
not sleeping. [ though by mal's schedule, this would be far later than he normally rises. even nearly a year on the station, he keeps a soldier's schedule.
some things are too hard to leave behind. ]i just finished up a shower. do you need something? all alright?
won't be long. [ he doesn't have to say it but he does need to get dressed still. which also doesn't take much time because mal's not dressing for anything but comfort while on the station.
he shows up not long after he sends the message, dressed in a white neck, grey joggers and sneakers. practical unless wei wuxian has a mission exercise planned; mal rolls his shoulders and wonders if he should have brought his rifle as he knocks on the simulation door before pulling it open. ] Hello? Anyone home?
[The door opens for Mal and he's met with the sight of a bustling street full of vendors selling their wares. Men and women on both sides of the street call out to him to buy their tanghulu and baozi, and the streets are filled with the sounds and scents of a busy market. Before he can take it all in though, Wei Wuxian is there, catching him by the elbow and flashing him a smile that doesn't fully reach his eyes.]
This way. [He leads him away from the busy street and into an inn, pulling him past the patrons dining below, and into a private room on the top most floor.
Inside of the room, there's a tea table on the floor set with an elegant tea set, but there's liquor in place of any of Wei Wuxian's preferred teas, both native to Wei Wuxian's world, and one bottle that is obviously not. (He's very appreciative to Yelena for introducing him to vodka.) Colorful plush cushions line the seating area and a subtly sweet smelling incense burns on a stand not far away.
A door to the side leads to a balcony overlooking the street and the muted sounds from below provide a pleasant white noise to it all. Wei Wuxian grins at Mal and gestures to the tea table, already sitting to pour them both a drink.]
This is real. [He clarifies.] All of the drinks are real. [And then he downs his first cup.]
[ the hustle and bustle of the market is not what mal expects but it's akin to home, he thinks. ravka has it's markets, the stalls of vendors who call out to offer food and wares.
back in ravka, mal could rarely afford the goods offered; he usually left with what he could slip into his pocket as he walked by. he's nearly distracted by it all before wei wuxian appears, guiding him easily through the street.
mal's normally the one find the way through a crowd, alert and eyes searching for danger but here he relaxes. inside the room, mal tucks his hands behind his back as he takes it all in; from the finery of the craftsmanship that makes the fixtures in the room, to the tea set. then there's that bottle, vodka, if he had to guess. stronger than the kvass he knows but better and smoother; ravka hasn't caught up to it's other-wordly counterpart in many ways.
when he glances back to wei wuxian, he's ahead of him again. mal joins him at the table, sinking down to sit on a pillows with one leg tucked under him and the other bent at the knee. he leans forward to take the drink, raises it just as wei wuxian downs his.
it's morning still so mal guesses there's a story here.
'a distraction would be nice'
right. mal down his cup, sets it down. ] What's the occasion?
[The knock at the door comes late morning about a week after their return. He hasn't been isolating himself in his room (well, Itachi's room where he's currently staying) but he hasn't exactly been social this week either. The reason why is obvious and it makes itself known in the sorrow still present in his eyes and a smile not as bright as it usually is. But there is a smile on his face when Huaisang opens the door and it looks sincere, even through the clear exhaustion.]
Nie-xiong, can I steal you away right now? I was hoping you could help me with something.
[In the wake of Finn's injuries, Wei Wuxian doesn't go looking for Felix right away. First he waits to be assured that Finn will be alright, and then the man seems to magically disappear from the station altogether. It isn't surprising to learn that he's also a coward. Men like him always are.
But the time spent waiting doesn't do anything to temper the chaotic fury inside of him. (It had taken three months of waiting before he could get his hands on Wen Chao, and when he did, he still took him apart piece by peice—quite literally. Time had done nothing to sooth him then as it does nothing now.)
In the days before he finds Felix, Wei Wuxian plays his flute every day. He doesn't play in the room he's still sharing with Itachi, but in the simulation room late at night, the door locked to keep anyone out. He plays and he calls on everything inside of him and every thing hidden away in the depths of Baiyun, each note drawing out the screaming voices of the dead that he's been slowly giving a home to in his beloved dizi. (The flute doesn't house the thousands of dead that his former Chenqing did, but it's powerful enough by now.) The cries of souls drowned in the acid waters of E23-B join the wails of miners lost to the Silver Mines of Alydhion, all of them angry and ready to answer his call.
He bathes in their resentment, singing it into his veins and feeling it slip into the empty space inside of him where a golden core used to reside.
It isn't as effective as living in the Burial Mounds, but it's a start.
It takes effort to keep resentful energy from slipping out of him now, his focus always split between what he's doing and keeping a tight rein on the energy that wants to drip out of his skin and swirl around him.
Not yet, he soothes, not now. Soon.
On the day he finally finds Felix slinking through the halls on a path to the kitchen, Wei Wuxian smiles and sets himself in the man's path. (It's a smile he hasn't worn since E23-B, cruel and vicious, and he turns it happily on Felix now.) Darkness pulses beneath his skin and he holds it there. Just for a little longer.]
I should have checked the kitchens sooner. [He laughs, entirely mirthless.] People like you aren't usually willing to make themselves slightly uncomfortable.
Funny, [he said with a deadpan] I thought I made myself "slightly uncomfortable" enough in the last two years. War with the rebels--they have shit for everything.
[It was easy enough for a monster to recognize another monster. It didn't take a genius, or even someone as good at reading people as Felix was, to see that in Wei Wuxian's demeanor. It's not like he was trying to hide it anymore. That was more funny to Felix than anything else in this moment. Suddenly, inexplicably hilarious. It was like looking into a mirror. Felix could put on a good show--a perfect one, in fact, that lasted years without detection--and then it all fell away when it was no longer needed. To reveal the cutthroat beneath the facade.
Everyone had their masks they put on in public, but the fun and games only truly began whenever the masquerade was set aside and the truth came out to play. Everyone had their demons. It was just a matter of unveiling them.
Felix wasn't really in the mood for fun and games right now so with a forced smile of his own that didn't reach his eyes he stared at Wei Wuxian and said,] That aside, I still gotta eat and you're in my way. Which, cute, but I'm just going to-
[Attempt to ignore Wei Wuxian and go around him--which would be a lot easier if he was willing to punch the guy and slip by swiftly while he was worried about a broken nose. He could still try the fleet of foot effort at least since that was all he had currently on his side.]
[Literally ignoring everything Felix said because he couldn't give less of a fuck, Wei Wuxian laughs, and as he laughs, something like dark smoke begins to pour out of him, slithering from his very veins and curling around his own limbs before it rises to spread around both of them, blocking all exits. If felix attempts to touch it, he'll find it's solid enough he can't push through it, and where he's touched it, a snakelike head will form that lets out a soft hiss and snaps out at him to bite. It's probably not the best thing to do.]
Did I say you could go? [He hums under his breath, the sound eerie and soft, and the walls of resentful energy close in just a little tighter. As the energy whirls around them, Felix will begin to pick up on soft whispers all around him. Nothing quite discernible, nothing too loud, just catches of speech as if the resentful energy is full of people watching him. All the while, Wei Wuxian hasn't moved an inch and his smile stays in place.]
[Felix's initial reaction was fairly predictable. He startled, flinching backwards away from the unexpected formation of the smoke that turned all too solid. But there was a distinct lack of fear from the mercenary after the initial surprise. Felix's nightmares provided much worse scenarios than this and besides--any potential signs of fear were superseded by Felix's much more common reaction to things that frustrated him: anger. He lashed out at the wall despite the inherent danger, and even punched at one of the snakes as it snapped at him, an automatic reaction to the thing attacking him. A lot of good it did him, but he felt a little better fighting than standing around like an idiot.
He eventually backed away from the wall as a lost cause, and turned his attention on Wei Wuxian. He rolled his eyes at the demand of his time to talk as if it wasn't very clear this was just some stupid intimidation tactic. As if Felix had no experience with the matter. He crossed his arms over his chest.]
There's nothing you can add to all the talking going around that will make any difference. You really can't make it worse than what's already on the table.
[There wasn't really anything worse than death, right?]
[That gets a genuinely amused laugh out of Wei Wuxian and he shakes his head.]
Ah Felix, I really, really, could. [And before he does anything else, his fingers trace a series of Chinese characters into the air that glow red for a moment before they shoot towards Felix and sink into his chest. Felix will find that he can no longer move, entirely frozen in place aside from his eyes and mouth that remain free to move around out of Wei Wuxian's good grace.
With Felix frozen, he pulls a small bamboo flute from his robes and begins to play an eerie melody. As he plays, the energy swirling around them seems to swirl faster, and the voices inside of it get louder. Some of them begin to call Felix's name. Maybe they even sound familiar.
Content with his control, he slips the flute back into his robes and smiles again.]
You know when I first met you Felix, I figured you were just an asshole. Hardly someone to be bothered with. Although I should probably admit, I didn't really pay much attention to you. I don't waste my time on garbage.
But then! [His smile goes a bit more manic, his eyes lighting up.]
You had the brilliant idea of hurting Finn. Well, that's probably being generous, isn't it? I don't get the feeling you do much...ah, thinking. I don't think you thought this one though at all, unless you really are that stupid.
You harmed an innocent kid, younger and weaker than you. Did it make you feel good to pick on someone weaker than you? Someone who trusted you to do right by them? Did you feel big? I bet you did. I bet it made you feel like the one in charge, didn't it? What a man you are! How brave! How strong! Good for you! [He puts his hand together to applaud, grinning all the while as he steps closer.]
I'm not going to kill you. I don't need to. You aren't worth that sort of attention.
I knew a man like you once. He hurt someone I loved too. [His grin sharpens and he reaches out a hand. Immediately, a tendril of resentful energy curls around it, momentarily taking a human form before dispersing into smoke again.] I made him carve out his own flesh and eat it, bite by bite. [His eyes flicker to Felix's groin and he winks, raising an eyebrow.] We'd start with the smaller bits.
All of the curses my dead can lay, they really are very unique.
[The voices didn't scare him. He heard those in his nightmares all the time. He learned to ignore them. What did effect him was the inability to move. The fact that his fight or flight response was taken away from him, an instinct that Felix's survivalist mind relied entirely upon. That set him noticeably on edge. The faintest of twinges of unsettled energy curled into his stomach at the onset of the magical spell that trapped him. It made him jittery, with no way to expend the energy, and slowly began to perpetuate the cycle of discomfort. If he had had any control of his extremities his fingers would have been twitching anxiously or curling into white-knuckled fists in a sign of tension. All he could do was dart his eyes around and lick his lips in anticipation of whatever came next.
Felix's depraved mind expected anything but a pretty speech from the cultivator. In his mind this was where the torture began. Left with nothing but awareness of the situation and the burning desire to escape, he recognized the position as one of a prisoner of war. The reaction was automatic, trained, desperate: he closed his eyes and cleared his expression, the only thing left to him, and slowed his breathing. And if Wei Wuxian listened as he gave his speech all he would hear was the low whisper of Felix repeating a single set of numbers over and over again. No name or planet of origin, the mercenary gave those identifiers up ages ago, but just the same number again and again.
When he realized Wei Wuxian was done he finally opened his eyes and looked at the cultivator. He wasn't okay, but he gave a good impression of trying to keep his shit together. His voice was "calm" as he replied "nonchalantly."]
We done here? I have shit to get back to. And unless you're going to risk the only thing that I fear then your little threats don't mean much. You can take your bullshit magic and fuck off. The only thing I care about is what Viveca and Degar can do to me. The rest doesn't really matter.
[In reality his voice was flat and dead despite the words of bravado. His eyes appeared the same dead and lifeless way as his tone as he stared ahead vacantly. Void of any emotion due to an act of dissociation from the situation. If he had heard even half of what Wei Wuxian said it was very debatable.]
[The thing about Wei Wuxian is that he's a compassionate empathetic person. He cares about people. He cared so much about people that he threw everything away and died for them. Even when he didn't know them, when people were suffering, his heart bled and he couldn't stop himself from trying to do something. No matter how monstrous he might be at times, no matter how monstrous he sees himself, Wei Wuxian's flaw has never been caring too little.
It would be telling if Wei Wuxian knew about the restrictions placed on Felix's ability to harm others. Telling that Viveca saw it fit to restrict Felix, and for all of Wei Wuxian's powers, for all of the blood on his hands, there were no such restrictions on him.
But for all of that compassion and empathy, for all that the suffering of others tugged at his heart, some people, the cruel merciless men who harmed those he loved, could suffer a thousand tortures. They wouldn't wring even a drop of mercy from him. (Wen Chao had begged for his life and Wei Wuxian had smiled.)
So he watches Felix with a look mixed with pity and disgust, and no matter what Felix may be trying to project, his fear is as plain as day.
Good. Wei Wuxian thinks. Be afraid.
And he laughs as Felix spells out exactly what he fears. Convenient. He'll remember that.]
Whether we're done depends on you, Felix, not me.
If you ever so much as look in Finn's direction again, if you harm anyone on this crew, I won't be as kind next time.
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Itachi
Deep in his heart, he already knows. (Has known since that first day on Ciraiwei to be honest.) She would have been there waiting for them.
He doesn't even try to call.
When he finally reaches the room, he spends minutes in front of the door before stepping inside.
It's empty of life inside, the air stale with disuse, and not a single spider scurries across the walls or his shoes. Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and sends a single text as he sits down in the middle of the room and pulls his knees up to his chest, head bowed to press his forehead to the tops of them before he sends a single text.]
she's gone.
[He sits there like that for a few hours, curled up and unmoving, but as the hour grows late he finds himself unwilling to spend another minute in there alone. Rising to his feet, he exits the room and traces a familiar path without paying any attention to what he's doing until his fist is knocking against Itachi's door.]
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he says nothing. simply takes wei wuxian by the wrist and pulls him into the room. the pneumatic hiss of the door behind them is the only sound for what feels like lightyears, and then itachi simply pulls him into an embrace. ）
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Not now.
Now, Itachi pulls him into an embrace and he clings back with all that he has, burying his face in the crook of Itachi's neck and finally allowing himself to cry.]
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wei wuxian clings to him. more than a thing allowed, it is welcomed. one hand lifts to stroke wei wuxian's hair as the man's tears dampen the shoulder of his shirt. dizzyingly, the similarity to what happened after aldyhion was not lost on him, inverse and juxtaposed. how can he do anything else but be there for this man now? ）
I have you.
（ a soft murmur. gentle, but sure. ）
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Still, he stays in Itachi's arms and blinks through the still quietly falling tears.]
I already knew. I knew when she wasn't there in the teleportation room, but I...the room was so empty.
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（ the same thought had occurred to him, but he had not remained to weather it. he had needed space, and distance — the world's death is still too raw, and while he cares for gwen very deeply, he has always put the needs of the many over the life of the one.
he can weather loss. he has been weathering loss his entire life. but the scale of that loss...
mm. ）
I'm sorry. I should not have left you there alone.
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It's fine. [He'd been in a daze then, hardly aware of anyone else anyway.
His eyes open to blink blearily at Itachi's shoulder and he adjusts his head, turning it to the side so that he can stare at a wall.]
I know she's safe. I know she's home. [It isn't the same as all the other losses that weigh on him to this day.] Is it foolish how much it still hurts?
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（ this is said almost chidingly, gentle and sure. when wei wuxian shifts, he mirrors the motion, though the embrace does not abate. ）
You were very close with her, for a not insignificant portion of your life. Furthermore, this attachment came on the heels of considerable trauma. What you are feeling is only natural. Denying it would be the foolish thing.
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You make it sound so...[Okay. He makes it sound okay. Enough so that even Wei Wuxian believes it. He's quiet for a while after that, his eyes opened again. It's nice being held like this. It makes his heart hurt just a little less.]
Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to go back there right now.
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Mal
The nights would be hardest if he was staying on his own. Instead, it's the mornings that get him. That's when he and Gwen would go about their respective routines together, bumping into each other and making light conversation. He goes through the motions on his own now.
This morning finds him especially broken up about it and before he can even think about it, he's texting Mal.]
What are you doing right now?
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some things are too hard to leave behind. ] i just finished up a shower. do you need something? all alright?
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Wei Wuxian pauses, but only for a moment.]
a distraction would be nice
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what are you thinking? training room? kitchens? simulation room?
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won't be long. [ he doesn't have to say it but he does need to get dressed still. which also doesn't take much time because mal's not dressing for anything but comfort while on the station.
he shows up not long after he sends the message, dressed in a white neck, grey joggers and sneakers. practical unless wei wuxian has a mission exercise planned; mal rolls his shoulders and wonders if he should have brought his rifle as he knocks on the simulation door before pulling it open. ] Hello? Anyone home?
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This way. [He leads him away from the busy street and into an inn, pulling him past the patrons dining below, and into a private room on the top most floor.
Inside of the room, there's a tea table on the floor set with an elegant tea set, but there's liquor in place of any of Wei Wuxian's preferred teas, both native to Wei Wuxian's world, and one bottle that is obviously not. (He's very appreciative to Yelena for introducing him to vodka.) Colorful plush cushions line the seating area and a subtly sweet smelling incense burns on a stand not far away.
A door to the side leads to a balcony overlooking the street and the muted sounds from below provide a pleasant white noise to it all. Wei Wuxian grins at Mal and gestures to the tea table, already sitting to pour them both a drink.]
This is real. [He clarifies.] All of the drinks are real. [And then he downs his first cup.]
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back in ravka, mal could rarely afford the goods offered; he usually left with what he could slip into his pocket as he walked by. he's nearly distracted by it all before wei wuxian appears, guiding him easily through the street.
mal's normally the one find the way through a crowd, alert and eyes searching for danger but here he relaxes. inside the room, mal tucks his hands behind his back as he takes it all in; from the finery of the craftsmanship that makes the fixtures in the room, to the tea set. then there's that bottle, vodka, if he had to guess. stronger than the kvass he knows but better and smoother; ravka hasn't caught up to it's other-wordly counterpart in many ways.
when he glances back to wei wuxian, he's ahead of him again. mal joins him at the table, sinking down to sit on a pillows with one leg tucked under him and the other bent at the knee. he leans forward to take the drink, raises it just as wei wuxian downs his.
it's morning still so mal guesses there's a story here.
'a distraction would be nice'
right. mal down his cup, sets it down. ] What's the occasion?
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NSFW from this point
🌶️
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Huaisang
Nie-xiong, can I steal you away right now? I was hoping you could help me with something.
Felix
But the time spent waiting doesn't do anything to temper the chaotic fury inside of him. (It had taken three months of waiting before he could get his hands on Wen Chao, and when he did, he still took him apart piece by peice—quite literally. Time had done nothing to sooth him then as it does nothing now.)
In the days before he finds Felix, Wei Wuxian plays his flute every day. He doesn't play in the room he's still sharing with Itachi, but in the simulation room late at night, the door locked to keep anyone out. He plays and he calls on everything inside of him and every thing hidden away in the depths of Baiyun, each note drawing out the screaming voices of the dead that he's been slowly giving a home to in his beloved dizi. (The flute doesn't house the thousands of dead that his former Chenqing did, but it's powerful enough by now.) The cries of souls drowned in the acid waters of E23-B join the wails of miners lost to the Silver Mines of Alydhion, all of them angry and ready to answer his call.
He bathes in their resentment, singing it into his veins and feeling it slip into the empty space inside of him where a golden core used to reside.
It isn't as effective as living in the Burial Mounds, but it's a start.
It takes effort to keep resentful energy from slipping out of him now, his focus always split between what he's doing and keeping a tight rein on the energy that wants to drip out of his skin and swirl around him.
Not yet, he soothes, not now. Soon.
On the day he finally finds Felix slinking through the halls on a path to the kitchen, Wei Wuxian smiles and sets himself in the man's path. (It's a smile he hasn't worn since E23-B, cruel and vicious, and he turns it happily on Felix now.) Darkness pulses beneath his skin and he holds it there. Just for a little longer.]
I should have checked the kitchens sooner. [He laughs, entirely mirthless.] People like you aren't usually willing to make themselves slightly uncomfortable.
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[It was easy enough for a monster to recognize another monster. It didn't take a genius, or even someone as good at reading people as Felix was, to see that in Wei Wuxian's demeanor. It's not like he was trying to hide it anymore. That was more funny to Felix than anything else in this moment. Suddenly, inexplicably hilarious. It was like looking into a mirror. Felix could put on a good show--a perfect one, in fact, that lasted years without detection--and then it all fell away when it was no longer needed. To reveal the cutthroat beneath the facade.
Everyone had their masks they put on in public, but the fun and games only truly began whenever the masquerade was set aside and the truth came out to play. Everyone had their demons. It was just a matter of unveiling them.
Felix wasn't really in the mood for fun and games right now so with a forced smile of his own that didn't reach his eyes he stared at Wei Wuxian and said,] That aside, I still gotta eat and you're in my way. Which, cute, but I'm just going to-
[Attempt to ignore Wei Wuxian and go around him--which would be a lot easier if he was willing to punch the guy and slip by swiftly while he was worried about a broken nose. He could still try the fleet of foot effort at least since that was all he had currently on his side.]
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Did I say you could go? [He hums under his breath, the sound eerie and soft, and the walls of resentful energy close in just a little tighter. As the energy whirls around them, Felix will begin to pick up on soft whispers all around him. Nothing quite discernible, nothing too loud, just catches of speech as if the resentful energy is full of people watching him. All the while, Wei Wuxian hasn't moved an inch and his smile stays in place.]
We're going to have a talk, Felix. Understood?
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He eventually backed away from the wall as a lost cause, and turned his attention on Wei Wuxian. He rolled his eyes at the demand of his time to talk as if it wasn't very clear this was just some stupid intimidation tactic. As if Felix had no experience with the matter. He crossed his arms over his chest.]
There's nothing you can add to all the talking going around that will make any difference. You really can't make it worse than what's already on the table.
[There wasn't really anything worse than death, right?]
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Ah Felix, I really, really, could. [And before he does anything else, his fingers trace a series of Chinese characters into the air that glow red for a moment before they shoot towards Felix and sink into his chest. Felix will find that he can no longer move, entirely frozen in place aside from his eyes and mouth that remain free to move around out of Wei Wuxian's good grace.
With Felix frozen, he pulls a small bamboo flute from his robes and begins to play an eerie melody. As he plays, the energy swirling around them seems to swirl faster, and the voices inside of it get louder. Some of them begin to call Felix's name. Maybe they even sound familiar.
Content with his control, he slips the flute back into his robes and smiles again.]
You know when I first met you Felix, I figured you were just an asshole. Hardly someone to be bothered with. Although I should probably admit, I didn't really pay much attention to you. I don't waste my time on garbage.
But then! [His smile goes a bit more manic, his eyes lighting up.]
You had the brilliant idea of hurting Finn. Well, that's probably being generous, isn't it? I don't get the feeling you do much...ah, thinking. I don't think you thought this one though at all, unless you really are that stupid.
You harmed an innocent kid, younger and weaker than you. Did it make you feel good to pick on someone weaker than you? Someone who trusted you to do right by them? Did you feel big? I bet you did. I bet it made you feel like the one in charge, didn't it? What a man you are! How brave! How strong! Good for you! [He puts his hand together to applaud, grinning all the while as he steps closer.]
I'm not going to kill you. I don't need to. You aren't worth that sort of attention.
I knew a man like you once. He hurt someone I loved too. [His grin sharpens and he reaches out a hand. Immediately, a tendril of resentful energy curls around it, momentarily taking a human form before dispersing into smoke again.] I made him carve out his own flesh and eat it, bite by bite. [His eyes flicker to Felix's groin and he winks, raising an eyebrow.] We'd start with the smaller bits.
All of the curses my dead can lay, they really are very unique.
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Felix's depraved mind expected anything but a pretty speech from the cultivator. In his mind this was where the torture began. Left with nothing but awareness of the situation and the burning desire to escape, he recognized the position as one of a prisoner of war. The reaction was automatic, trained, desperate: he closed his eyes and cleared his expression, the only thing left to him, and slowed his breathing. And if Wei Wuxian listened as he gave his speech all he would hear was the low whisper of Felix repeating a single set of numbers over and over again. No name or planet of origin, the mercenary gave those identifiers up ages ago, but just the same number again and again.
When he realized Wei Wuxian was done he finally opened his eyes and looked at the cultivator. He wasn't okay, but he gave a good impression of trying to keep his shit together. His voice was "calm" as he replied "nonchalantly."]
We done here? I have shit to get back to. And unless you're going to risk the only thing that I fear then your little threats don't mean much. You can take your bullshit magic and fuck off. The only thing I care about is what Viveca and Degar can do to me. The rest doesn't really matter.
[In reality his voice was flat and dead despite the words of bravado. His eyes appeared the same dead and lifeless way as his tone as he stared ahead vacantly. Void of any emotion due to an act of dissociation from the situation. If he had heard even half of what Wei Wuxian said it was very debatable.]
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It would be telling if Wei Wuxian knew about the restrictions placed on Felix's ability to harm others. Telling that Viveca saw it fit to restrict Felix, and for all of Wei Wuxian's powers, for all of the blood on his hands, there were no such restrictions on him.
But for all of that compassion and empathy, for all that the suffering of others tugged at his heart, some people, the cruel merciless men who harmed those he loved, could suffer a thousand tortures. They wouldn't wring even a drop of mercy from him. (Wen Chao had begged for his life and Wei Wuxian had smiled.)
So he watches Felix with a look mixed with pity and disgust, and no matter what Felix may be trying to project, his fear is as plain as day.
Good. Wei Wuxian thinks. Be afraid.
And he laughs as Felix spells out exactly what he fears. Convenient. He'll remember that.]
Whether we're done depends on you, Felix, not me.
If you ever so much as look in Finn's direction again, if you harm anyone on this crew, I won't be as kind next time.
Understood?