video | un: wei ying

[weifinder]

( he starts this recording from the crows nest of the Queen or the Pariah, his pendant hooked around the mast so it records him, bow slung over his shoulder. the quiver at his back has one arrow, and he nods to the camera, indicating toward the overcast sky. )

Take care when shooting, if you do. The amulets the priests have given us draw on our energies significantly.

( that said, he unslings the bow, turning and pulling the arrow out of the quiver to string it in a smooth motion. wei wuxian pulls back, taking aim at the skies, at the concept of where the sun hides behind the muddied clouds. pulls the bow taunt as the wind teases his hair, whips it and his ribbon behind him, making this man with his serious, focussed expression an icon of what he was once: a warrior.

pulling back, the bow bending, bending, his arms steady, his gaze on that hidden light in the sky. calm and steady breathing, and a tension that is near palpable before he finally releases, the snap of the bowstring and the whistle of the arrow taking flight stabbing through the pendant's audio transmission. he watches, wind still tossing his hair to a mess around him. only when there's enough time that he's ostensibly watched where the arrow has come back down to the sea does he turn to the pendant again. he's breathing more heavily than one shot arrow explains. )

Two more things. One, the dead who boarded their deceased's ships within the heart of the crossing were acting in ways that sound familiar. They were decaying dead men who moved and spoke, some aware, some animal in awareness. A number had a dark, tar-like liquid stitching together their wounds. Feels like there's a mirror and its magics at the heart of this. Possibly a smaller one onboard the Pariah right now.

( he reslings the bow over his shoulder, and now, allows himself to smile a touch. )

The second, most important one is going to get loud. Most of you will want to cover your ears.

( his brief smile fades as he inhales, turning to the side, which would mean facing toward the prow of the ship, and cups his hands around his mouth. calls out in a strong, clear, carrying voice that's impossible to ignore over the pendants: )

Lan Zhan! I love you! The only marriage I ever wanted to mimic was my parents' marriage. Do you understand? I married you because I love you, not because you'd married me first! I want to walk every path in life side by side with you! Only you!

( ... and he's lowering his hands, panting a bit from that effort. )

Comments

[valeas]

( It sounds lovely, she thinks. Their feet on solid ground and their breath tinged with wine, one tale exchanged for another. She would bake them something sweet, and the moonlight would bless her offerings. The sort of simplicity that once filled her with so much light and joy, before it was stolen.

She listens to this metaphor, intentional in both her attentiveness and her reply. )

I can't say that I have, as one who has yet to grasp truth they seek.

( All curses are cruel, but hers is sentient and plays an active role in keeping its secrets. No sooner she clutches a piece of the puzzle in her hand, it floats away as wispy as smoke. ) What has led them to believe the truth so difficult to keep?

[weifinder]

( a smile on his end, heard in his voice. along with an ache, from some time recent, and some time long gone. )

Having never spoken to it, and watching as a hawk descended upon it in the shadows a lifetime ago.

[valeas]

And so they must speak.

( At cliff's edge, my soulmate released my hand. )

Do you know ( and how she almost smiles, too ) I've only seen him look so bright and joyous but once? It was when I mentioned you, some time ago. ...The alcohol may have aided things along. ( and the chickens. )

[weifinder]

( a pause, and a low laugh, throaty, ending with a cluck of his tongue and a sigh. )

He is the most spontaneous when drunk, and it takes very little. He doesn't remember much of it after... not from what I know. Miss Emilia, do many of us find it harder to be honest, to not worry, to let our minds quiet in the questioning voices when we drink?

It's sober that we face ourselves, and worry.

[valeas]

Emilia, please. Unless you are more comfortable with the formality.

( His husband was right about titles, not that this is one. Daughter of the Moon, Queen of the Wicked — what does it mean here? Even back home, she had preferred the lack of them. Grew up a peasant girl her whole life, and is not swayed to believe she is any more important or worthy now. )

... I have always believed that love should enhance a person's life, not steal from it. I suppose that can also be true of things like worries. We may help ease them to a degree and for a time, but only the bearer can reach to the very root.

( Which is to say, there is work for Lan Wangji, as well. A marriage of two.

She thinks back to a conversation she had long ago, with a more forgiving witch. Emilia is not nice like Lily was, nor as good. But she has not lost all her kindness in spite of stepping into a dark and sinful realm, in spite of the fangs she grew to conquer it; her friend played a part in that. )

This world is very cold. It thrives wherever despair might live and leaves its frost behind to grow. It grows stronger yet when we cede. I know enough of magic now to know that love is the most powerful form of it. The best thing to do, I think, is to hold on to those loving parts of yourself. To harness them. In time, it will bloom taller than worry.

[weifinder]

( he laughs, bright and sunny for the duration. )

Emilia it is! Formalities are what they are, but I prefer fewer of them with the people I enjoy.

( which, by implication, places her in that number. when she continues to speak, he listens, making small sounds of acknowledgment that he's continued to hear her words, on top of listening. nostalgia strikes, and his throat aches with it, not just for words given by wen qing here that are blessings in and of themselves, but the grief of his sister, which he has processed as slowly as his brother, with death separating them from any mutual support.

if they'd been able to find it then. now, he closes his eyes and swallows against the lump in his throat, and smiles. )

He may hear it from you. I agree, for what it's worth. The world is heavy enough with every misery and cruelty. Cultivating one's ability to care, accepting that hurt remains possible, is braver than facing down any number of horrors. I have faith he'll find strength in that without the fear, too, eventually.

[valeas]

( a rueful touch to the curve of her lips, accompanied by the subtle cant of her head.

agreement, or perhaps recognition. grief, in all its forms, carries a familiar weight. )

Should the opportunity arise that I may tell him, I would not waste it.

( theirs is a new friendship, distanced as they've been to the practice. too alike in some ways, too biting in others. but important, all the same. ) Until then, I'll ensure the stars are in your favor. ( has she ever done an astral chart like this, no. will that stop her, also no. )

[weifinder]

Thank you, Emilia. If there's anything I can likewise do to assist you... speak it. I'll do all I can.

( a smile, and a nod of his head to her, for all this is and what it means. he's, ah, not the most powerful person here on various levels, but he is inventive, and when it's not his own relationships, not even terrible at helping those, too. )

Take care, ah? See you later.