riddleofthebelow: (Default)
Tom M. Riddle, Lord Ostium of the House of Arch ([personal profile] riddleofthebelow) wrote2020-10-27 10:37 pm

PFSB: What is time?

Tom is in the bar. It could be on the date the post was made. It could be a week before. He comes here more often lately after all (but not nearly as much as Ingress, apparently!)

He's reading The Daily Prophet and scoffing a little. That's his usual response to this particular publication.

lightamidchaos: (downward glance)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-29 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Perhaps it is that simple, but he does not think so, not quite.

“The survivors,” he says. “Of the Wen - the ones who hadn’t —-“

“They were innocent. Elders and farmers and mothers and children. But they bore the Wen name, and were taken prisoner. When he learned—-“

Lan Wangji swallows hard. He can almost feel the ghostly sensation of rain against his skin.

“He gave up everything to protect them. And for a while, for a year, he succeeded.”

It had not been enough, and he should not have been alone in it, and the wrongness of it all threatens to choke him.

“But there were whispers. Rumors and fear and lies spread about him, because of his crafty tricks, and the power he controlled. And when they...”

He cannot. Cannot bring himself to say it, not all of it. Surely, surely he does not need to. Surely this will be enough, for what Tom needs.

“There was a trap,” he manages, finally. “An ambush. The heir to the Jin sect was killed. Wei Ying was blamed. The Wen remnants were slaughtered. He could not save them. He fought those responsible, with all the power at his command. I cannot count how many died in that battle, on that day. Including Wei Ying.”
lightamidchaos: (hanguang-jun)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 09:25 am (UTC)(link)
He accepts, recognizing the kindness offered, and appreciating it. Lan Wangji takes a polite sip and then settles his fingers around the cup on the table and tries to think what else to say.

(Something complicated flickers in his eyes when Tom mentions marks left, but he does not speak of that, not yet.)

"Wei Ying is good," he concludes, finally. "He is a friend to Herald Ingress, and to others here. He will give of himself to help where it is needed, even unasked. I trust him with everything I am, everything I have. You need have no concerns, Tom-qianbei."

"If you have questions. About what I have said. I will answer them."

He will cut himself open with the words and bleed, if doing so will spare Wei Ying pain.
lightamidchaos: (hanguang-jun)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
The relief is dizzying.

He nods, and takes a sip of tea.
lightamidchaos: (hanguang-jun)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 03:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"I understand," he assures him. "Rest assured."

Both his tone and his expression harden as though carved from jade in truth, however, as he adds,

"Not everyone here has been so gracious."
lightamidchaos: (don't even start)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Lan Wangji looks at him carefully.

"Do you know a woman named Moiraine?"
lightamidchaos: (sideways look)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
He does not answer, at first, but instead asks,

"Inauspicious meeting?"
lightamidchaos: (kneel)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
This does not reassure him at all. His fingers tighten around the tea cup.

"She spoke of a shadow."
lightamidchaos: (sideways look)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
He shakes his head.

"I do not think she knows. Or cares. She needs help, and is not inclined to accept a refusal."
lightamidchaos: (hanguang-jun)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
"Desperate people do desperate things."
lightamidchaos: (sideways look)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-30 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
"She wishes aid with necromancy," Lan Wangji informs him.

"Due to trouble with a pool. In Twin Peaks."
lightamidchaos: (Default)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-31 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
He nods. After a moment's deliberation, he adds,

"We -- Wei Ying and I -- have agreed to help. To at least examine the problem."
lightamidchaos: (wwx - side by side)

[personal profile] lightamidchaos 2020-10-31 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
“We are cultivators.”

It seems to say what is needed, to him.

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