Reunited

t e n

Wei Wuxian stuck to his word, following Xiaoying finishing off the tea Wen Qing prepared to get some of her strength back into her body, he nearly dragged her the entire way to the boats for the ride back to The Cloud Recesses. Wen Qing had put up a fight initially, wanting the younger girl as far away from him as possible in this state, but rather than them fighting, Xiaoying decided to go with Wei Wuxian after reassuring her Senior Sister that she would be fine. While her back and chest still ached, she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

Which led to the two sat side by side on the boat, floating through Colorful Robes Town on their journey back.

Wei Wuxian had bought an entire basket of loquats, and was sharing them with Xiaoying as she laughed at his silly jokes and listened to his stories. Every time he picked up a loquat, he would peel the first one to hand to her, and then he would pick up the second to eat himself. They were surprisingly sweet in comparison to the food in the Heavenly Nightless City, dry, sometimes burned, never anything quite that appetizing. Their citrus elements were doing well to restore Xiaoying back to her previous state.

"Watch this," Wei Wuxian told Xiaoying suspiciously, grabbing a loquat to throw forward at Lan Wangji, "Lan Zhan! Here! Have a loquat!" Xiaoying winced as she watched it nearly hit the back of his head, breathing out a sigh of relief when the elder man caught it effortlessly. Without turning around, he threw it back, landing back into the palm of Wei Wuxian's hand. "No, thank you." He called back, and it made the two frown. Wei Wuxian was the first to get over it, turning around to throw one to Jiang Cheng.

Xiaoying took two, twisting back to see Wen Ning and Wen Qing, and she tossed the two to them which were caught easily. She passed them a comforting smile, one that after a moment was returned. Turning back around, she picked up one final loquat to gently toss to Lan Wangji, "Hanguang-Jun!" She called out, and he caught the ripe fruit once again in the same hand. "Consider it a thank you from this morning."

He didn't throw it back. Instead, Lan Wangji's gaze was stuck to the simple fruit, the smallest of smiles gracing his face, though it disappeared before anyone could notice -- or so he thought.

"Xiaoying-- he didn't throw it back! How?!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed incredulously, "Lan Zhan! How could you be so mean to me? I offered it to you first!" He began to complain, which gave Xiaoying a laugh, "I understand Xiaoying is one of the most gifted beauties here, but I'm beautiful too! My mother took extra care to make me that way- ow!" He cut off as a loquat peel had been hurled at the back of his head by Jiang Cheng. "Wei Wuxian! Shut up! Can we not enjoy a peaceful ride back without you shouting the whole time?"

Wei Wuxian waved a hand back to Jiang Cheng, brushing off his words as he settled down next to her. "Speaking of mothers-" he said, beginning to peel another loquat, and he passed it to her, her nimble and tiny fingers halving the fruit to take smaller bites. "Yours must be very beautiful to make a girl as pretty as you." He smiled, chewing on his own fruit. Xiaoying nibbled on a piece, blushing as she nodded. "I like to believe she was. As far as I can remember, I have no memory of her." Her gaze fell to the bottom of the boat. "She died with my father when I was a baby."

Wei Wuxian took notice of that, how quick she was to switch in emotion; she truly wore her heart on her sleeve. He was beginning to see just how much she didn't fit the role she was playing -- that she was much more kind than her hard exterior. "My mother and father died when I was five. They were both rogue cultivators." He said as his gaze drifted forward, watching the water ahead of them carry them down with the current.

"It was a night hunt." He explained, watching as her attention snapped up to him. He took into account her expression: searching, questioning, hoping. "After their passing I was on the streets for two years; fighting for my food with rabid dogs." He spoke with a humorless chuckle, "but then I was taken in by my father's former sect. The leader of Yunmeng Jiang Sect took me off the streets. He raised me. If not for him... I'd still be where I was."