gelidus: Icy, cold; frozen
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CW: Grief; deeply affected characters because of it
NOTES:
I kinda let myself loose with LQR. I just appreciate this flawed man.
I'm building a narrative, but you'll see more characters soon.
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Lan Qiren oversees the preparation of his younger nephew's *funeral.
The white mourning clothes, the fasting leading up to the ceremony, the carving of the tablet in the ancestral hall...
Lan Qiren sees Wangji's pale face inside the coffin.
The image he had held unto for Xichen crumples.
His heart fractures.
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The family physician later tells him has to take care of himself. His body can't handle more qi deviations of that magnitude.
He keeps it in his broken heart.
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The months following Hanguang Jun's death are possibly the coldest Cloud Recesses has ever shouldered. The disciples are quieter than usual, which speaks volumes. The food tastes blander, almost bitter. Even the birds which would often fill the morning silence seem to have flown elsewhere.
Lan Xichen exits the Hanshi and walks to the back hill.
The Hanshi...
The Cold Room is quite a fitting name for its sole occupant. Only the youngest, most reckless disciples dare to tell the tale that the coldest man resides in that place.
Gossip is forbidden in Cloud Recesses. But this... all Lan members would agree in their hearts, is the coldest difference of them all.
As Zewu Jun passes through, all disciples nearby bow to him, saluting. He returns none of them, stops none of them. They raise from their bow when their Zongzhu is a great distance away, robes flowing behind him.
The clothes that used to mix beautifully with tones of blue have turned into mourning white.
The gentle smiles are replaced by tight-lipped frowns. His eyes that once shined with soft amusement and elegance now are dimmed and hard. If one takes a closer look, one might find its hardness only covers its deep sadness.
All of these could be said to be small things. But those who met the Two Jades of Gusu Lan know that this remaining Jade is just an empty shell of the man he used to be.
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Lan Xichen sits gracefully on the grass. The soft creatures peer at him curiously. They get close but not enough to be able to grab them.
Lan Xichen sighs. It's been a few months since he started feeding them and even though they've warmed up to him, there's still some hesitation. Like they know, no matter how much he looks like him, he is not their master.
A white bunny, the eldest of them, nips the hem of his robe. The bunny has a blue ribbon on him and if Xichen is not mistaken, it's the same bunny that gets often pestered by the black bunny.
YOU ARE READING
Absentia||Wangxian||MDZS
FanfictionOne-shots of what could have happened if Lan Wangji had died instead of Jiang Yanli. Wei Wuxian's thirteen years of solving misunderstandings. 13 years later, a young Mo Xuanyu wakes up to a kick on his face. At least it didn't harm his golden eyes...
