username: yiling laozu | video

[weifinder]

( a smile from the man on camera, and a wave of his fingers against the backdrop of an ice wall. )

To those who know me not at all, or less well than others of our number do, I'm Wei Wuxian.

( hands lifted, he offers a polite, perfunctory sort of bow, paired to the clasping of fingers over the other hand's set. they drop out of frame, and he looks a touch more serious, dark eyes fathomless. or maybe it's all in the lighting. (the lack of proper lighting. torchlight keeps him flickering in reds and oranges.) )

The king mentioned Irenia in passing, the dragon? She was thieved away from a lord of death our group knows of, and has run into several times. His name's Anurr, he's the, ah, very slightly less horrible option for being enslaved by death lords, and from Sa-Hareth. Trailing after us with his creatures or his shifting loyalties, never trust his kind voice, Eleven can tell you about that! Five, I'm sure, can tell you more, as can Xie Lian, or Xiao Xingchen. All members of our group, as it were. Anyway!

( he claps his hands, and grins. a little crinkling around his eyes makes him almost seem truly merry, instead of merrily dry. )

Irenia lured far enough west can be called back to Anurr's dubious graces. Far enough east, and with a different strong pull on her mind, maybe, maybe we can free her. Either way, I recommend we do one or the other, because space to crash a being who never asked to be used as she is is limited, and using the keep itself in poor taste, as it defends this world from hell. Apparently. Very exciting stuff!

( ball's in your court now, chaos crew! )

Comments

[somebadnews]

[ ...That sounds like a freudian slip Anurr might make. It's easy to get offended and forget that they've kept that relationship for a reason. The same reason Five carries his finger around. ]

You expected something else? If you wanted to object to our deal with him, that ship has sailed. [ Way back in Sa-Hareth, when the group swore they were going to be neutral and killed Unhalad the next day. ] Of course we're his favorite pets. All he has to do is sit back and bide his time while we take out his opposition.


( ooc: definitely meant 'east', close your eyes and pretend... )

[weifinder]

I'm already in the Wards, heading toward one of the stairs! The one I marked. You know it.

[weifinder]

You can't perish from it, and I've had worse, probably, but it doesn't mean it's safe for even the weak and ill and poorly fed. No, that comes out of extorting the merchants in turn, and in getting them out of here.

Besides, ask if they'd eat one of the beasts. Ask the local royalty how sensible that plan is, and we can see.

[weifinder]

In that case, may our paths cross soon.

[weifinder]

Agreed. If she's capable of choice, listening to that choice. I'll have to trust your interpretation for that.

If she isn't, death or distant guardianship. Preferrably not our localmost deathless lords.

[weifinder]

( the driest of looks here, and a slow lift of his eyebrow. )

He didn't mean us, Lao Five. He meant the entirety of the world. We're tools this world wishes to make use of, and we let Master Scorpion guide us enough, but most our worst damages were our own choices. Not anyone else's.

We need to be as prepared for when Anurr is left standing as we do for each deathless lord that hasn't been swallowed by an overreaching space cultivator.

[downswing]

Acceptable.

[blackscales]

I'd have to defer to you when it comes to... guardianship. I have no experience of Anurr, nor any personal tolerance for the concept.

[somebadnews]

[ He's probably right that it's 'when' and not 'if' when it comes to Anurr. As much as Five balks at the idea of saving another world when he couldn't save his own, despite trying his damnedest multiple times, he doesn't... not care. But what does he expect him to do? ]

You're right, we've made mistakes. It's because of us that he's as powerful as he is. [ Largely Five, specifically, but details. ] That doesn't mean we won't need him on our side. We have to be smarter.

[ Of course, Five could do it differently if he went back in time, but he hasn't touched that math in weeks. Finding out what the future holds is a surefire way to knock the wind out of your sails. ]

[weifinder]

( now, while he's waiting: )

Lan Zhan.

We didn't appreciate the baths at the castle inn enough.

[weifinder]

If she lacks even the ability to decide on anything beyond hunger, danger, or attack, then we do want her in someone else's hands.

Not Anurr. Not the vengeance he seeks, not when he was made so much stronger in Taravast by one of our number. There is nothing but a driving push there, consuming. Even alive, I'm death touched enough that I struggled to keep my sense of self, and would have been consumed if not brought out fast enough.

Worse than the Beastmaster had been in his ride after the Huntress, and more than the Huntress in her crying, diseased call to deathly arms riding through Taravast.

[weifinder]

Will we?

( Five, you're getting a very flat look, and the slight, wry twist of Wei Wuxian's lips.

Because he does know you're why Anurr gained so much strength in Taravast, and that Winnie was tied in as part, being the one who'd tucked away the mirror after the bank heist. And he knows you're cursed by Anurr, and doesn't believe that's ever been resolved. )

Lao Five, find me. It's time for us to address a longstanding issue regarding your well being. Having been drafted into so much healing here, I feel obliged to act the part to even our most stubborn old hurts.

[downswing]

...I shall melt you snow.

[scrapgege]

So what's the plan, then?

[traaaaaash]

That's right! The pros outweigh the cons by far, so what are we waiting for?

[wantshappiness]

[Actually, after saying the words she realizes, well, she could just make it hungry, probably.

But that sounds a lot more than just illusions so she'll....keep that to herself.]

Well, I'm not sure exactly what is tasty for a dragon but I think I can probably manage something... [Because maybe she isn't a good person but she wants to be kind.]

[blackscales]

If she cannot reason, she should be in nobody's hands.

[ Doesn't matter if the garden is Anurr or not, to Wrathion. All guardianship is distasteful. ]

[somebadnews]

[ That was a very diplomatic way to put what Five knows he's referring to. The problem is that he remembers how it went at the lake, and how all their cleansing and flute playing did nothing to help him. Wrath is the only one who seemed to still be monitoring it.

Why he's suddenly offering is suspicious. Wei Wuxian sensed the curse before and did nothing, so he wonders what else this is about. If he's aware of the piece of Anurr that Five keeps with him. ]

You feel obligated now?

video, un: long rope

[eyeofthavnair]

A pull on her mind...

Is it possible to...free an undead from its thrall? Would she be able to...["live out her days" isn't the right term, um, ] exist as her own person then?

[The next words are muttered, mostly to himself; ]

If only this form was able to harness my aether fully -

[weifinder]

Coordinated efforts and planning that doesn't leave her and us crashing down to cause more damage, mostly.

[weifinder]

... And warm it? Because you weren't so fond when I did.

[weifinder]

I've felt obligated to wait on your decisions. I have not, as you've noticed, try to force action on you.

( no, that has been his husband, for different reasons, and he knows it. they both know it. )

So I ask you cooperate now, because this is an avenue you've chosen to leave off exploring. I don't believe that's wise, or that it should continue anymore.

[weifinder]

Coordinating what we need to move efficiently. One has a plan for a engineering assistance means, another has transportation. Feel up to a hunt?

[weifinder]

I agree.

[weifinder]

Well. Meat is? Make it smell really fresh? I assume she likes that, ah?