In Whispers, In Songs, In Silence Chapter 1, an untamed/陈情令 fanfic

In Whispers, In Songs, In Silence

There is a siren in Cloud Recesses. Sirens can control people with their voice and are very dangerous, and Lan Wangji definitely feels Wei Wuxian IS dangerous. He is too playful, too active, too loud, even without opening his mouth. Lan Wangji cannot stop thinking about it, caring about him.

With the cultivation world in turmoil and rising up against the Wen Sect's control, a siren might be just what they need. But once the dust settles, will he be allowed to roam free? Or will public opinion turn, looking for a new enemy to blame?

A Siren!Wei Wuxian AU. Written for Alessariel. Beta'd by sectionladvivi on AO3.

…

There was a creature in the Cloud Recesses.

It was not odd to see people who were not of the Lan sect wandering about, given the cultivation conference currently being held. Other sects had sent dozens of disciples and retinues. The guest houses were full.

This was not a guest disciple.

Lan Wangji spotted it crossing the outermost wall of the Cloud Recesses, wings outstretched to clear the stone barrier in one leap, feathered tail spread for balance, clawed feet carefully gripping the roof tiles as it landed. It was a shadow in the moonlight, an ink splot darkening the pristine paper of the Cloud Recesses.

As it hopped to land within the walls, Lan Wangji jumped to meet it, Bichen already drawn. It flew backward, sideways, up, ducked down, easily avoiding Lan Wangji's attacks. All he could do was chase it around, try to force it back over the walls. And the creature, curse it, bounced about like this was a game. Irritation flared in Lan Wangji's chest and he fought harder to injure the beast.

Finally, after endless minutes, Bichen sent out a blast that cut through several of the feathers on one wing. The creature cried out in a very…human voice. Lan Wangji hesitated.

It stumbled to a stop near one of the lit lanterns in the courtyard, and Lan Wangji finally got a good look at it.

Long black hair pulled back into a high ponytail with a dangling red ribbon. A young, handsome, human face, with deep, dark eyes and flawless skin. He wore low slung pants but no shirt, so Lan Wangji could see the feathers that covered his arms and part of his chest, not to mention the great black wings sprouting from his back and the tail of feathers behind him. His feet were not human at all, but rather looked like the talons of a large bird of prey.

Lan Wangji's breath caught in his throat. The creature was…was breathtaking. What sort of spirit—

"Stop!" the creature said, throwing up one hand while the other reached around himself to gently touch his injury.

Lan Wangji stopped.

"Look, just—" The creature's voice wavered, as if he had not spoken in a long time, and the hand he held up moved in odd motions as he spoke. Sign language? "Just this once, let me go. Pretend you never saw me, just for a few hours. Okay?"

Lan Wangji sheathed Bichen and turned away, staring up at the moon like he had before he spotted the creature. Behind him, he heard the hurried clack-clack of the creature's feet on the wooden walkways as it disappeared further into the compound.

…

When he woke at five A.M. the next morning, Lan Wangji was livid.

That creature—! That evil beast—! What had it done to him? He had complied with everything it said without hesitation! His every sense had been beguiled, controlled, with nothing more than a word!

He got dressed as quick as possible and rushed – as much as the rules allowed – to find his brother, the current sect leader.

They had a dangerous intruder in the Cloud Recesses.

…

The creature was with the Jiang sect disciples.

It – He was a creature known as a siren, they said. His voice had the power to make people do whatever he wanted, to pull at their deepest desires and make them drop all defenses.

"He's not dangerous," Jiang Yanli insisted, standing between the Lan cultivators and the creature she claimed as her brother.

They had found him as a fledgling, she explained. He had been raised within the Jiang sect. He was family. To avoid hurting others, he even spoke using his hands rather than his voice.

"He's here to learn, just like everyone else." Jiang Yanli had as much steel in her twenty-year-old eyes as any Lan elder. "You said the conference was open to all who wished to learn, didn't you?"

In a private meeting between Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren, and the creature named Wei Wuxian, they struck a deal. The siren was allowed to attend lessons as a Jiang sect disciple, with the condition that he never spoke or used his powers on anyone else within the walls of the Cloud Recesses. He would be held accountable to the Lan sect rules as much as any human.

Lan Wangji was furious.

…

It was amazing how much trouble a person could get in without speaking.

Wei Wuxian got in trouble for refusing to wear robes to cover his chest. He claimed, and his pseudo-siblings translated for him, that it hurt his wings to pin them down like that, and he was told he couldn't cut holes in the robes.

Wei Wuxian got in trouble for running, and for the racket his feet made in the halls.

Wei Wuxian got in trouble for drinking alcohol, for eating more than three servings of food, for being out past curfew, and leaving the compound without permission. He was partly nocturnal, he explained, and sirens ate more than humans. If they wouldn't feed him enough, he would hunt pheasants in the forests. It was the perfect solution!

When he wasn't being forced to kneel in the courtyard and think on his actions, or copying the rules in the library, or doing handstands as punishment, Wei Wuxian spent a good chunk of his time bothering Lan Wangji.

The way Jiang Yanli explained it, Wei Wuxian wanted to apologize for charming him the night they met. The use of the word 'charming' only infuriated Lan Wangji further. Wei Wuxian was the farthest thing from 'charming' that he had ever met!

He sat next to Lan Wangji during meals, rather than with his family. He followed Lan Wangji around the compound, his wings fluttering, his tail feathers splayed out like a decorative skirt, making hand signals at him that Lan Wangji didn't understand. He always landed on the roof beside where Lan Wangji was standing watch at night, and only gave huge, sharp-toothed smiles at Lan Wangji's looks of reproach. Whenever Lan Wangji would sit to play guqin – by a waterfall, in the woods, or even in his own room – Wei Wuxian appeared with a dizi and played the accompaniment. At least until Lan Wangji, agitated, stopped his own strumming.

Once, he even appeared in the library while Lan Wangji was doing his own studies and gifted him with two rabbits. One black, one white. At first Lan Wangji refused the gift. Pets were not allowed in the Cloud Recesses, after all. But when Wei Wuxian mimed eating the poor things—The siren laughed as he flew out the window, leaving Lan Wangji crouched protectively over his new furry charges.

During those punishments when Wei Wuxian had to copy rules, Lan Wangji had to sit in with him, and Wei Wuxian spent as much time copying as he did making doodles and tossing them at Lan Wangji. The drawings were often of Lan Wangji himself – reading, playing guqin, wielding Bichen.

Lan Wangji glared at him and merely said, "Finish copying."

If Wei Wuxian was disappointed and heaved huge sighs all the way back to his desk each time, that was part of his punishment for wasting time. There was no reason to feel guilty about it.

…

"Jiang Cheng!"

The laughing, unfamiliar voice made Lan Wangji burst into the Jiang sect sleeping quarters without thinking. All playfulness left the room in an instant. The three disciples within went still and quiet around the table in the main room.

"Second Master Lan!" Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang chorused. "We were—"

Then they rushed from the room, looking sick. The sounds of them being ill in the bushes came soon after. Lan Wangji cast his gaze about the room, saw the liquor bottles on the table, and leveled a glare at Wei Wuxian who still sat beside them.

"No alcohol. You—"

"You chased them away," Wei Wuxian whined, the shock of hearing him speak rendering Lan Wangji speechless. He was pink cheeked, his wings languidly draped against the floor. Even as he complained he was lounging back on his outstretched arms, his bare, downy feathered torso glinting in the candlelight, his face lax. Drunk? A spark ignited in Wei Wuxian's eyes. "You like it."

Lan Wangji gulped, standing up straighter. A siren could see your desires, could make you act on them without thought. Already Lan Wangji's brain was growing hazy.

With a sigh, Wei Wuxian turned his drunken attention back to the white bottles and cups on the table. In a dejected voice, he murmured, "I want someone to drink with."

In three strides, Lan Wangji was sitting across the table from Wei Wuxian. With one fluid movement, he lifted one of the still-full cups of wine and downed it. The siren barely got out a surprised, yet pleased, "Hey," before the world went black as Lan Wangji fainted.

…

The stupid part was, Lan Wangji didn't blame Wei Wuxian at all.

He didn't blame Wei Wuxian for making him drink. He didn't blame Wei Wuxian for them getting caught the next morning. He didn't blame Wei Wuxian for the punishment he received afterward.

There was something about the way his eyes had looked when he spoke, about his voice while he stared at the wine cups, about the droop of his wings, about how he had signed so fast and so frantic the morning after, trying to keep Lan Wangji from punishment. That something had Lan Wangji interrupting him and claiming responsibility.

"I chose to drink, so I will take the punishment."

Wei Wuxian opened his mouth to speak, probably to do something stupid to save Lan Wangji from the paddle, but Lan Wangji shot him a glare that had him snapping his jaw shut so fast it clacked audibly.

While the strikes hurt Lan Wangji, they were clearly more painful for Wei Wuxian. Every smack against his back had him whimpering. With a spike of hurt that went through his heart, not his skin, Lan Wangji realized they were hitting his wings. Though the wielder of the paddle was throwing lower on Wei Wuxian than the others were on Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang, he was still grazing them with every swing.

Part of Lan Wangji wanted to speak up, to snap that they were hurting him far more than the punishment intended, but he kept his mouth firmly shut. Speaking out would only get both him and Wei Wuxian a worse punishment than they were already receiving.

…

Wei Wuxian did not fly for a week after the punishment, but he still followed Lan Wangji around and signed at him insistently. Though no one was around to translate, Lan Wangji gathered that Wei Wuxian was sorry, or otherwise talking animatedly about something that had him near laughing aloud.

For that week, Lan Wangji did not discourage Wei Wuxian when he tried to play music with him. In fact, he began to lead Wei Wuxian through the creation of a new duet. They never spoke or communicated with sign language, but with every strum of the guqin and every matching breath of the dizi, they wrote a song.

During the lantern festival, Wei Wuxian thrust a paper lantern at Lan Wangji, miming that they should light it together. As they held the lantern up, letting the heat build within so that it would fly when they released it, Wei Wuxian beamed over at him…and Lan Wangji let himself give a tiny smile in return.

An hour later, Jin Zixuan made a disparaging comment about Jiang Yanli, which led to a fistfight with Wei Wuxian. It wasn't the scratches from his sharp nails or clawed feet that had Lan Qiren turning purple, though. It wasn't the fact that fighting was against the Lan sect's rules.

It was the fact that, held back from each other so the fight could not continue, Wei Wuxian, still in a frenzy of anger, had opened his mouth and—

"Let me go! Jin Zixuan deserves a beating!"

It took less than half a minute for Wei Wuxian to recognize what he had done and shout in a panic, "STOP!" but the damage was done. Jin Zixuan had been hit over a dozen times by over a dozen different disciples – everyone within hearing distance of the siren.

Jin Zixuan would recover. No one had done any lasting damage, after all. Still, Sect Leader Jin was livid at the treatment of his eldest son and heir and called off the wedding, stating that he would not marry his son to a family that housed monsters.

Lan Qiren, every elder in the Lan sect, and even Lan Xichen agreed – Wei Wuxian was banished from the Cloud Recesses.

The entire compound full of disciples breathed a sigh of relief once he was gone. Lan Wangji had not realized how tainted the air had been with their fear of Wei Wuxian until it was gone. And though gossip was forbidden, he heard more than a few visiting disciples whispering among themselves about how glad they were that the monster was gone, and discussing how long it would be before someone led a night hunt to deal with the siren once and for all.

Lan Wangji was furious.

…

The Wen sect launched an attack on Cloud Recesses, claiming they were plotting a revolt against Wen Ruohan as Chief Cultivator. Nearly the entire compound burned to the ground. Many of the disciples died. Lan Wangji's brother was in hiding to protect their most sacred texts, and also himself as the Sect Leader.

Several disciples were taken captive by Wen Xu. Only one came back – Su She.

"What happened?" Lan Qiren asked.

Su She frowned. "He kept asking about weapons. He wouldn't believe us when we said there were none, and kept killing more and more of us, saying it would stop when we told him the truth."

Lan Qiren let out a small harrumph. "What weapons, besides our swords, would we have?"

"A siren."

The air in the room turned cold. Lan Wangji stood taller, his hand on Bichen.

"I told them," Su She assured Lan Qiren. "I told them the siren was not of the Cloud Recesses. It had only been here for a few months, as a guest with the other disciples." He gave a shaky smile. "Young Master Wen let me go after that. He said the Wen sect would leave the Lan sect alone now."

It was too good to be true. It was too…easy. "Did you tell him anything else?" Lan Wangji asked, his tone sharp like steel.

Su She shook his head. "What do you mean?"

Though he wanted to grab Su She by his robes and shake him, Lan Wangji stood as still as a mountain. "Wen Xu would have wanted to know where to find the siren. Did you tell him?"

Slowly, as if it were just occurring to him how that might be bad, Su She nodded. "I…told him…the siren came with the disciples from the Yunmeng Jiang sect."

Lan Qiren stood abruptly. His glare could have lit a stick of incense without a flame. "You fool. Do you know what you have done?"

…

Lan Qiren allowed Lan Wangji to take twenty disciples with him to Lotus Pier – unprecedented when they were still in the process of rebuilding the Cloud Recesses. They flew as fast as their swords allowed.

They didn't make it.

By the time they arrived, Lotus Pier was a graveyard. The Wen Sect had set up a provisionary office on the bones of the Jiang Sect. Wen Chao laughed in their faces when they demanded he pay for his crimes.

"Crimes? What crimes?" he asked, sitting in the lotus seat of Swords Hall like it was his by right. "The Jiang Sect had a weapon that was dangerous to all mankind. They were plotting to overthrow my father, His Excellency, the Chief Cultivator, and install themselves as the supreme power of the cultivation world. They would have killed thousands. We had to stop them."

Clenching his hand around Bichen to steady himself, Lan Wangji asked, "And where is the weapon now?"

Huffing, Wen Chao said, "Where it belongs. In the ground."

Lan Wangji's hand hurt, but he could not release his sword. Even out of Wen Chao's presence, his fingers shook against the sheath.

…

It turned out that not every member of the Jiang sect had perished. Jiang Cheng and his sister, Jiang Yanli, had been spirited to safety before the attack. They went to Lanling to ask the Jin sect for help. Jin Guangshan did not muster an army to defend Lotus Pier – it was too late for that, he said – but he did call upon all sects to band together against the Wen sect.

They all met at Koi Tower to plan out their attacks and organize their forces. It was an unprecedented show of unity, but Lan Wangji felt apart from it.

His ear was caught by every flap of a bird's wings, his eyes by every feathered decoration. He kept imagining he heard the clack of talons on the stonework beside him. Was Wei Wuxian truly gone? For how suddenly he had appeared, and how loud his presence was, it seemed impossible for him to be gone so easily. And yet.

…

Sect Leader Jiang Cheng came to visit Lan Wangji after a particularly hard battle.

"Their army is too powerful to be natural, and they fight too blindly," Jiang Cheng said. "And the marks on their bodies…It looks like—"

"Blood magic," Lan Wangji finished when he hesitated. A nod. "I thought so too."

After fidgeting for several seconds – as if what he wanted to voice was unseemly or undignified, but he couldn't hold it in – he burst out with, "I think it's Wei Wuxian."

It would explain everything. As a siren, Wei Wuxian was stronger and faster than the average human. He had the power to control people with his voice. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that his blood had the ability to empower an army.

And if the Wen sect had Wei Wuxian's blood to use in their soldiers, that meant he was still alive.

"I know he has wronged the Lan sect, and the Jin. But he regrets it every day. He is my brother, and one of the only two family members I have left. Please, Hanguang-Jun."

The fury in Lan Wangji leapt at the thought that finally he could make a move. Together he and Jiang Cheng followed every rumor of where Wei Wuxian was being held. Together they took down countless Wen soldiers, freed prisoners, and liberated cities. All in the search for one man, one being.

…

When they found Wei Wuxian – in a dingy, dirty room covered in seals and symbols Lan Wangji did not recognize – one of his wings was bent at an odd angle and his arms were littered with cuts. Tiny jars sat about the room, and the smell of old blood was strong. He and Jiang Cheng had been right. The Wen sect had been using his blood in their rituals, in their bid for more power.

As soon as Jiang Cheng untied him, Wei Wuxian stormed into the room where Wen Chao had been detained, barred the doors, and sang a song. A horrible, beautiful song. By the time Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng managed to break the doors open, there was hardly a thing recognizable about the body in the corner to suggest it had ever been Second Young Master Wen.

…

After that, it seemed that Wei Wuxian never stopped singing. He went from battlefield to battlefield, singing discordant dirges that made Wen soldiers turn their blades on their fellows – or on themselves. At first the other sects were terrified, but as his songs did them no harm and actually helped them win battles, they quickly accepted him. Having him on the battlefield with them meant an assured victory. Even against the soldiers strengthened with his blood.

On the battlefield, Wei Wuxian was as terrifying a creature as Lan Wangji had ever thought him to be. Powerful. Untouchable. Controlling. Cold.

Off the battlefield, he still used sign language to talk to his siblings, but he didn't talk at all to anyone else. Except Lan Wangji. He made faces trying to get reactions from Lan Wangji, and landed in front of him suddenly, hoping to startle him. But all Lan Wangji could think was that his smiles looked too forced, his shoulders too tense.

The war needed to end so that Wei Wuxian could heal, so he could smile freely once more.

…

The day of the feast celebrating the death of Wen Ruohan and the end of the successful Sunshot Campaign, Wei Wuxian dragged Jiang Cheng over to Lan Wangji's table in the dining hall and had him translate.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, but, in a put upon tone, said, "He wants you to call him Wei Ying. Since you're so close."

Lan Wangji's ears were hot. "I see."

Crossing his arms, Jiang Cheng said, "He already calls you Lan Zhan. Has since day one, actually."

"What?"

Wei Wuxian smacked his brother on the arm but it did nothing to stop Jiang Cheng from talking. Sect Leader Jiang uncrossed his arms long enough to give the sign language for 'Lan Zhan,' explaining each motion to Lan Wangji as he did it. And if Lan Wangji's ears were burning, so were Wei Wuxian's cheeks.

It was true. Lan Wangji had seen this set of motions from Wei Wuxian hundreds of times over the months they had known each other.

Wei Wuxian's hands were flying too fast to comprehend, even if Lan Wangji understood sign language. With a sigh, Jiang Cheng translated. "He wasn't trying to be rude. He just wanted to be your friend."

There was definitely a lot he wasn't translating. Wei Wuxian sent his brother an annoyed look and signed a bunch of stuff again, but Jiang Cheng just pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes.

"I'm too tired for this."

Then he bowed to Lan Wangji, who returned the gesture, and left. Wei Wuxian made a rude gesture at his back, and then turned his attention back on Lan Wangji. Scratching the back of his head, he grinned sheepishly and started making a 'Sorry' motion over and over – one sign Lan Wangji actually understood.

"It is alright…Wei Ying."

With a beaming smile, Wei Wuxian bounced to stand by Lan Wangji's side and clutched at his arm, one of his wings folding around Lan Wangji like a hug. For one glorious moment, Lan Wangji let himself believe that, now that the war was over, things would go back to normal. Or even better than normal. Though Wei Wuxian's singing could cause horrific deaths, he was still the same kind-hearted person he had always been. He wasn't a monster like the disciples had said. He wasn't dead like Wen Chao had boasted. The cultivation sects accepted him.

Everything was good.

Until it wasn't.

…

The Jin sect was using civilian Wen as bait in their night hunts. Wei Wuxian waltzed into a feast in Koi Tower, interrupted Jin Zixun trying to force Lan Wangji to drink alcohol, and started signing and motioning outside, clearly requesting a private audience.

Jin Zixun responded with, "I didn't know pets were allowed at this banquet." and Lan Zhan nearly drew his sword. His brother's hand on his arm was all that stopped him.

When Wei Wuxian, a tense, forced smile on his face, continued to ask to leave, the other sects got involved. He was interrupting the feast and causing a scene, they said. He was being rude, they said. Finally, Wei Wuxian's patience snapped.

"Stop talking," he said. The room instantly fell silent. Lan Wangji had never heard his voice so hard. "Sit down." Every cultivator who had been closing in on him returned to their seats. "Good. Now—" Wei Wuxian faced Jin Zixun once more, "Tell me where the Wen captives are being held."

As soon as he had the location, Wei Wuxian gave a parting nod to Lan Wangji and strode from the room, his wings and tail spread wide – an intimidation tactic, no doubt.

"Brother," Lan Wangji said to Lan Xichen once Wei Wuxian's commands had worn off.

Lan Xichen gave him a sad yet understanding look. "Go after him, Wangji."

Even flying on Bichen could not match Wei Wuxian's wings for speed, especially not when it began to rain halfway there. By the time Lan Wangji arrived, Wei Wuxian had incapacitated the guards and collected all of the Wen captives. They were old, too old to fight, or too sick. One was a child of two, clutching one of the women's clothes tight in fear.

They all road on horseback while Wei Wuxian flew before them. When they saw Lan Wangji approaching, the whole party stopped and Wei Wuxian landed. Lan Wangji dismounted his sword and stood opposite them.

'Lan Zhan,' he signed.

"Wei Ying. If you do this, you will be an enemy of the entire cultivation world."

If he did this, the two of them might never meet again. Lan Wangji's heart constricted at the thought and his grip on Bichen tightened.

Wei Wuxian made a lot of hand signs. Then, seeing Lan Wangji did not understand, he made a frustrated noise. "This is the right thing to do," he said slowly, like he was carefully picking his words. Probably he was trying to make sure nothing would turn into a compulsion for the people around him. "I know you think so too."

For a long moment, Lan Wangji only stared at him. Committed him to memory. Because Wei Wuxian was right. Of course he was. He knew people's desires. These Wen did not deserve to be treated the way they had been. This was an atrocity such as Wen Ruohan had committed, which the sects had all fought so hard to end.

And yet Lan Wangji wasn't sure he was strong enough to do what Wei Wuxian – a siren, a person so many called a monster – was doing.

"Do what you must, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian intoned gravely, holding his arms out, baring his feathered chest. He even made his wings droop into the mud, showing that he would not defend himself if Lan Wangji chose to attack.

But how could he attack? Wei Wuxian's power drifted over him, compelling him to act. But how should he act? Killing Wei Wuxian was not right, but neither was leaving his brother and his sect and everything he had known.

In the end, he stepped aside, tacit compliance. They were free to leave.

"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian choked out before stopping himself from speaking further. He signed something Lan Wangji did not understand and then took to the air again, leading the shivering Wens away – to whatever future they could find.

Lan Wangji stood in the rain and watched them go. He wished Wei Wuxian had said, "Do what you want, Lan Zhan." Because what he wanted was to accompany Wei Wuxian wherever he went. Human or siren, it didn't matter. But he didn't have the courage to do what he wanted. Every Lan rule and societal expectation told him that following that desire was not right. He had too many duties to too many people to simply abandon them.

If Wei Wuxian had compelled him though, he would have gone happily.

It had become terrifyingly clear that Lan Wangji, despite the language barrier and despite them being entirely different species, was entirely, completely, utterly Wei Wuxian's. His heart could beat for no other.

And he had just lost him.

…

The Wen civilians took up residence in Yiling, in a house owned by Wen Qing and her brother, Wen Ning. They were able to live openly because Wei Wuxian used his powers to keep enemies away from the compound. No one – not common folk, not cultivator, not sect leader – could come within even the Yiling city limits if they had ill intentions toward the Wen survivors under a siren's protection.

Luckily, Lan Wangji harbored them no ill intent.

It was against his uncle's wishes – against his express orders even – but, after weeks of reading the Lan rules as punishment for failing to stop Wei Wuxian and months of his uncle's strict guard to keep him at home, he could not stop himself. The rumors about the Siren of Yiling were growing and spreading, even reaching the Cloud Recesses.

They said he ate children. They said he raised the dead. They said he caused famine and illness and bad fortune. They said he was a monster.

It grew to be too much. Lan Wangji had to see Wei Wuxian for himself, to clear his mind of the ignorant rabble. And simply because he missed seeing Wei Wuxian's face.

It was easy enough to find the Wen compound. Everyone in town knew about the Siren of Yiling and the people he protected. They spoke fondly of the small boy they had with them, and how hard working the Wen were. Though he hated himself for thinking it, Lan Wangji wondered how much of their love was genuine and how much was influenced by living in a town under the influence of a Siren.

A middle-aged man opened the gate to the Wen compound. Lan Wangji gave a bow, though the man's social status did not require it. "I am here to speak with the…Wei Wuxian."

The man had no fear and easily invited Lan Wangji in. Again, it must be because he had the protection of a Siren. If Wei Wuxian kept those with negative intent away, then anyone who came to call must be a friend.

How much singing Wei Wuxian must do, how much talking, to maintain the compulsion that way.

Wei Wuxian was in one of the small courtyards with a child of three. They were going through sword cultivation stances, though with no swords. Wei Wuxian's forms looked silly, since he was trying very hard to keep his wings out of the way so the child could see his forms better. The child's forms were…well, a child's forms.

The sight had Lan Wangji's chest loosening, his heart melting all the negative rumors away.

After several long minutes, Wei Wuxian became aware of Lan Wangji's presence. He signed, 'Lan Zhan!' and then knelt down and, slowly, signed to the child. Part of it was Lan Wangji's name, so he must be explaining who Lan Wangji was.

As soon as Wei Wuxian was done, the child giggled, rushed over, and wrapped himself around Lan Wangji's leg. Wei Wuxian laughed too. He pointed at the child, then Lan Wangji then made a big heart with his hands.

He likes you.

"Who is he?"

Grinning, Wei Wuxian pointed at himself and then made a series of gestures that suggested—

Lan Wangji's ears burned. There was no way Wei Wuxian gave birth to the boy. It was impossible! Or—Was it possible for male sirens to give birth? No. The child was human. Wei Wuxian was teasing him, which was only further proven when Wei Wuxian started laughing, though he tried to hide it behind his hands.

It did not matter if Wei Wuxian was teasing him. He had claimed the child as his own, and so Lan Wangji would treat him as such.

"What is his name?" Lan Wangji touched the top of the child's head. "What is your name?"

"Wen Yuan! Are you nice? Xian-gege said you're nice." Wen Yuan rocked back and forth, still holding on to Lan Wangji's leg.

Lan Wangji nodded once. "I am nice."

Wei Wuxian started laughing again. At a raised eyebrow from Lan Wangji, he did his best to explain. He pointed to Lan Wangji, then motioned to his own face, making it go slack and emotionless. After only three seconds, he started laughing again.

It was okay that Wei Wuxian thought his stoic face and voice were amusing. It was okay because this was the same Wei Wuxian he had fallen in love with. The same loud presence. The same excited hand motions. The same fluttering wings and feathered chest and splayed tail feathers and clawed feet. He had not become what the rumors said he was. He never could.

…

In the day Lan Wangji spent in Yiling, he saw Wei Wuxian fly around and do aerial tricks – to Wen Yuan's amusement and Wen Qing's irritation. He saw how at ease the Wens were in Wei Wuxian's presence, how his being a siren did not appear to bother them in the slightest. He saw how simply and peacefully the Wens lived.

He and Wei Wuxian sat on the roof of the compound's main building, watching what they could see of people moving about outside of the compound and having stilted, slow conversation with simple hand gestures and hesitant words. It was nice. Though communicating was difficult with the language barrier, it was not unpleasant. He liked speaking with Wei Wuxian.

There was only one moment where Wei Wuxian was not smiling: when Lan Wangji informed him of the coming wedding between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan. For a few long seconds, Wei Wuxian stared at the roof tiles, and his wings pulled close to his body, like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. Then he saw the concern on Lan Wangji's face and forced himself to perk up. He assured Lan Wangji he was happy for his sister. This was good news. How did it happen?

"I heard he created a lotus pond in Carp Tower for her."

Of course he did. Rich, high-class man that he was. Wei Wuxian snorted. His shijie deserved better.

All at once Wei Wuxian sat up straight, his wings flaring, and glanced to the side. Before Lan Wangji could ask, he opened his mouth and sang a short, snappish tune. There was power in those words, but nothing that affected Lan Wangji. It took a minute for Wei Wuxian to get the idea across – someone with ill intent had tried entering the city and he had to strengthen the protective spell.

It turned out that Wen Ning knew sign language, owing to his own speech being stilted, and his sister Wen Qing too, to better communicate with him. They translated what Wei Wuxian said to the other Wens. Wen Ning would translate every single word, no matter how inane or silly. Wen Qing gave the basic gist of what Wei Wuxian had said, just the important information and none of his rambling or jokes.

Lan Wangji vowed to learn sign language before he met up with Wei Wuxian again. He wanted to speak fluently with him, without the need for an interpreter.

When he went to leave, Wen Yuan grabbed his leg. "Stay."

"Ah." Wei Wuxian knelt down and began signing at Wen Yuan, but Wen Yuan pouted and turned his face into Lan Wangji's leg so he couldn't see it. Frowning, Wei Wuxian opened his mouth. "A-Yuan!"

Wen Yuan's grip loosened on Lan Wangji's leg. Even though Wei Wuxian sounded upset with him, something about his voice had the same effect on this child as it had on Lan Wangji. Soothing. Comforting.

Running his fingers through what of Wen Yuan's hair he could reach, Lan Wangji said, "I will visit again."

Wei Wuxian signed his name, shock on his face. Then, his expression turning hopeful, he signed something that must have been asking for clarification. Lan Wangji nodded.

"Not soon." His uncle and the elders would be furious with him for coming here. He might be forced into confinement to reflect on his actions for a short while. Then he would need to learn at least the basics of sign language before he could return. "But I will."

He made sure to hold Wei Wuxian's gaze as he spoke, to impart how sincere he was. Wei Wuxian's expression softened. He mouthed his next words alongside his sign.

Thank you, Lan Zhan.

…

Back in the Cloud Recesses, Lan Wangji appealed to Sect Leader Lan – his brother. He submitted a formal request for the Gusu Lan sect to support the few remaining Wen and the siren who protected them. He argued their case.

There were not even fifty of them. They were mostly farmers, with one tanner, two carpenters, a doctor, and a cook among them. Not one among them was trained in any sort of martial art or cultivation technique. They were peaceful and had been living in Yiling for months now without a single incident. Likewise, Wei Wuxian, the siren, had not caused harm of any kind to even one person. His only use of his skills was to harmlessly keep away those who wished him or his charges ill will.

They deserved help. By the three thousand rules of the Lan sect, they were honor bound to assist them. He even listed all three hundred ninety-three rules that directly supported his argument.

For two weeks, the elders met to discuss the matter with Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren. Lan Wangji was not allowed at these meetings. He had said his piece.

After those two weeks, Lan Xichen called Lan Wangji into the hanshi. He poured the tea and Lan Wangji already knew.

"They will not support the remaining Wen sect members."

Lan Xichen let out a quiet sigh and set his cup back down. "I'm sorry, Wangji," he said to the table. Lifting his eyes, he continued, "They feel the danger of backlash from the other sects is too great to risk on so few."

The pity in his eyes spoke of all the words he would not say. The no doubt derogatory words the elders had thrown around about the Wen and about Wei Wuxian. The fact that there was no chance of swaying their opinion. That they had already denied any repeat petitions he might write.

The fact that even Lan Xichen had sided against supporting these refugees.

Lan Wangji finished his cup of tea in silence while his brother watched. Then he stood and bowed. "Thank you, Sect Leader Lan."

Lan Xichen did not try to stop him from leaving.

…

Over the course of the following year, the Wen situation grew worse and worse. Jin Guangshan, and with him the entire Jin sect, had endless conversations with members of the other sects.

A siren was a danger to all mankind, they said. Everyone had seen how powerful he was during the Sunshot Campaign. How long until he turned that power on the other sects? On the entire world? They knew nothing about sirens except what Wei Wuxian had let them know. Who knew what other, more insidious powers he had?

One by one, big or small, other sects began to believe their words and repeat them to others. Eventually, word reached the Lan sect as well. The older generation took up the call first, spreading it to the disciples. Lan Xichen did not openly support the harsh words against the Wen or Wei Wuxian – his eyes often cut sympathetically to Lan Wangji – but he also did not outright reject them. He took the middle ground and thus the Jin propaganda spread.

Then, one day, word arrived of a second unified front. The sects would come together to march on Yiling and kill the siren and those it protected. Lan Xichen sent Lan Wangji on a mission that took a week to handle, including travel time. By the time he arrived home and heard the news, the Lan sect had already set out to meet up with the others and begin the attack.

Lan Wangji calmly walked out of the Cloud Recesses. As soon as he was beyond the barrier, however, he took to the sky and flew as fast as humanly possible to Yiling.

…

"Where is Wei Ying?"

The man who opened the gate was startled by Lan Wangji's harsh tone. The time it took for him to recall that enemies could not enter wasted precious time. Finally, he led Lan Wangji to a room filled with medicinal herbs and bandages. Wei Wuxian was sitting on a chair while Wen Qing wrapped bandages around one of his wings.

Fear spiked in Lan Wangji. "You are injured."

Wei Wuxian turned around so fast he nearly toppled Wen Qing with his wings. She slapped his arm hard enough to make him wince.

"Stay still." She glanced briefly at Lan Wangji before focusing on her work. "He'll be fine. He was a fool. Fell off the roof while doing a stupid stunt and caught his wing on a lantern. If he stops flying about like a idiot for a few days, he'll heal up perfectly well."

Wei Wuxian signed to her. Lan Wangji's own skill in sign language had advanced enough that he understood it. 'Sorry, sorry! You are right. I am wrong. I will be still. I promise.'

Wen Qing scoffed. "I don't believe that for a second." She blinked rapidly a few times, like a thought struck her, and lifted her eyes briefly to Lan Wangji again. "He said—"

"I understood what he said," Lan Wangji interrupted, despite the rudeness. There was no time. Especially not with Wei Wuxian injured. He even ignored how Wei Wuxian's face lit up at the news that Lan Wangji understood his words. "You must leave."

"You can't steal him away until I'm done binding his wing," Wen Qing admonished.

"No. All of you." He stepped closer. "A unified force of ten sects is making their way to Yiling to kill you. All of you."

There was a single moment of silence as his words registered and then Wen Qing grabbed Wei Wuxian by the shoulders to get his attention. "Can your song hold off that many?"

Jerkily, like he didn't want it to be true, Wei Wuxian shrugged. His hand motions were more difficult now and Lan Wangji did not understand them all, but he understood enough. Never before had Wei Wuxian needed to hold off that many people, not even during the Sunshot Campaign. He didn't know if he could do it, but he would try.

"No." Both of them turned to Lan Wangji. "If it does not keep them out, they will kill you all. Run."

"And where should we go?" Wen Qing asked, crossing her arms. She shook her head. "I have run away enough."

"What of the others? Will you risk them?" Lan Wangji challenged.

Wen Qing rose to meet it. "I will go discuss it with them, but I know they feel the same." And she departed.

Alone, Lan Wangji's eyes ran over every inch of Wei Wuxian. There was no mark on him other than the splint and bandages on his wing. Even his talons seemed polished. The motions to tell Wei Wuxian he looked nice popped into Lan Wangji's head but he stopped himself from making them. Now was not the time.

"You won't leave," he said aloud instead.

If the people he was protecting would not leave, neither would Wei Wuxian. It wasn't in his nature. And truly, would he be the siren Lan Wangji loved if he did anything else? Impulsive. Shameless. Courageous. Beautiful.

Wei Wuxian signed, 'I'm sorry. No.'

Lan Wangji shook his head. "No need for apologies." But if Wei Wuxian and the Wen would not run, then Lan Wangji had to do something to stop the fight from happening. Anything. "I understand."

…

He left Wei Wuxian with the Wen, all preparing to defend their home, and flew to where the sects had met up to prepare. Some of the other Lan greeted him with cheerful shouts, but he did not stop to listen. He had to find Lan Xichen and convince him, somehow, to speak out against this atrocity. To stand up and say 'Enough.'

All around the field, everyone was putting substances – mainly wax – in or over their ears. That would block out the sound of Wei Wuxian's voice. His songs would have no effect on them. The Jin cultivators were even pouring something dark onto their blades, giving the metal an eerie glow. Blood. Wei Wuxian's blood. They were using the Wen sect tactics to kill civilians, and yet none of them saw anything wrong with that.

"Wangji." Lan Xichen did not sound pleased to see him. He gripped Shuoyue tight before him. "I did not expect you."

No. He thought to keep this from Lan Wangji, because he knew Lan Wangji would oppose him. "Brother, stop this. They are civilians."

Lan Xichen sighed. "It is too late to stop it, Wangji."

"You are Sect Leader and a Jade of Lan." If he wanted to, he could oppose this. If nothing else, the Lan would follow him.

But he was also one of the Venerated Triad, and even now he cast he eyes over to where his two sworn brothers stood with their own disciples. They both agreed with this action, and so Lan Xichen would bend to their will, just as he bent to the will of the elders. As firm as a reed on the riverbank, swaying with the breeze and moving with the current.

Something of Lan Wangji's bitter thoughts must have shown on his face, for Lan Xichen's own gaze hardened.

"You won't fight with us," he said. "You will side with them."

There was no need to answer. It was already clear to them both. If the Lan sect continued this way, Lan Wangji would stand opposite them.

"I will do what is right," Lan Wangji answered anyway. He gave a parting bow and turned away—

—Only to find he could not move. Lan Xichen came to stand before him again, an apology in every line of his face and the pain in his eyes.

"And I will do what I must. I am sorry, Wangji." He shook his head. "Even without our people to fight, this will be a massacre. I cannot lose you to it." He took a step back, pulled out Liebing, and played a short tune. It drew a small amount of attention, but not much. Others would think he was playing a song of power to prepare for the coming battle. But no, he was merely strengthening the body binding spell he had cast on his little brother. "It will wear off in time, but you will be safe here until then."

Lan Wangji glared at him long after he and the rest of the army had left.

…

He would hear about the Siege of Yiling mostly through stories. In the coming years, the battle would be the inspiration behind dozens of songs, poems, and plays.

They told of the sheer numbers that attacked the barrier the siren had created, and the terrible sound it made when it broke – like a dying beast screaming its death wails directly in the ears of everyone within ten li of the city.

They told of the brave Jin sect leading the charge with their holy weapons. The Jiang sect spiriting unaffiliated civilians to safety whenever the battle threatened their innocent lives. The unified strength of the sects against the war hardened Wen remnants. The fierce battle that raged.

They told of how the siren Wei Wuxian used his great powers to turn sect disciples against each other, cutting down their own friends or themselves. Of his massive black wings as he flew over the city, singing his wailing battle song.

They told of the way Jin Guangshan and his bastard son, Jin Guangyao, finally bested the monster. Even long after, they would wear feathers from his wings as trophies showcasing their grand victory over the siren's evil.

They told of how Yiling was burned to the ground and every remnant of Wen evil was wiped out.

All Lan Wangji knew firsthand was racing to the city and finding it already in flames. He had missed the entire battle, even the victorious retreat.

As he flew around, holding a sleeve to his face to block out the smoke, he searched for any sign of Wei Wuxian. Any hint of feathers or talons or tail. Any single living thing in a field of fire.

There was the body of the man who always opened the gate for Lan Wangji. There was the old woman who cared for Wen Yuan when Wei Wuxian was busy. And there were the siblings Wen Qing and Wen Ning, hand-in-hand, at the gate of their home compound.

They were all dead. Every one of them.

"WEI YING!"

He called until his throat burned but there was no answer. Even when he got off his sword and began rushing around the burning city on foot, there was nothing alive to be found. The city was one of corpses and burning flesh. From one end of the city to the other he ran, until he came to the empty road north and the forest there. Even among the trees, he was alone.

"Wei Ying."

One hand clutched over his heart, tears slipping down his cheeks, Lan Wangji let himself fall to his knees in the dirt.

He had failed. Everyone was dead. Wei Wuxian was dead. He should not have left them. Instead of going to his brother, he should have stayed in Yiling and stood with them in battle. He should have—

Someone was crying and it wasn't Lan Wangji.

Stumbling to his feet, Lan Wangji followed the sound. It didn't take long. In the hollow of a fallen log laid the young Wen Yuan. He had grown so much in the year since they had seen each other, but there was no doubt that was who it was.

"A-Yuan."

Gasping, Wen Yuan covered his face with his hands as if to stifle the sound of his cries even as he looked up at who had said his name. Then he was gasping for an entirely different reason and throwing himself out of his hiding place, wrapping his arms around Lan Wangji's waist.

"Lan-gege!" His tears quickly saturated Lan Wangji's robes, but he only wrapped his arms around the child and rubbed his back. "Xian-gege—Xian-gege said to hide here. He said A-Yuan was safe here. I heard—People yelled. Xian-gege yelled. Where is Xian-gege? Is he safe?"

Unable to force words past his lips, Lan Wangji clutched Wen Yuan closer and began petting his hair. He held the child until his crying trailed away, until he fell asleep in his grief. His cheeks had gone stiff with dried tears of his own, but he did not wipe them clean. Instead he clutched Wen Yuan to his chest and rose to mount Bichen.

He could not protect Wei Wuxian or the Wen civilians, but he would protect this child. He would protect Wei Wuxian's child.

…

13 years later

…

Inquiry had never been intended to speak with souls that were not human. Beasts and monsters did not have souls to respond with. Maybe that was why Lan Wangji had never received an answer, yet still he tried. Every night, he sat behind his guqin and strummed the familiar chords.

If any creature had a soul, it was Wei Wuxian. And that soul could be contacted. Somehow. Some way. One day.

The same was true of that night. The Junior disciples were handling a case of an evil spirit at Mo Manor and Lan Wangji was at a tavern in the next town – far enough to give the Juniors full reign of the case but close enough to arrive quickly if they needed help. He had eaten dinner earlier, and was just finishing his first query when—

A flare. The Juniors needed help.

With a wave of his hand, the guqin disappeared. In the next movement, Bichen was out and flying Lan Wangji through the air in the direction of the flare.

The Juniors were no longer at Mo Manor. They were in the forest between there and the next town, all shouting, fearful, and flailing against…nothing. They were fighting against what appeared to be air.

"I can't get closer!"

"I can't hit it!"

"What is it?! What is it?!"

"Stay back! Stay away from me! Stay away!"

That voice, shouting incessantly behind the startled cries of the disciples, nearly had Lan Wangji's heart stopping in his chest. As he flew beneath the canopy, he saw it was true. Wei Wuxian was there!

Standing – staggering, leaning on a tree to stay upright – waving his free arm about like that, and not his voice, would keep the disciples away. His wings looked diminished, like they were missing a layer of feathers. His eyes were wild and unseeing. He was thin, extremely thin, and his pants were barely hanging on his hips.

"Hanguang-Jun!"

The disciples cheered at his arrival. Even as they stopped trying to advance on Wei Wuxian, he screamed and cried for them to keep their distance and tried to hide behind his wings.

"Hanguang-Jun," a more subdued, yet still pleased, voice greeted. It was Lan Sizhui – Wen Yuan. "He crashed in front of us on our way back, then panicked and started…this." He motioned to Wei Wuxian's erratic behavior. The young cultivator turned a hesitantly hopeful gaze upon Lan Wangji. "Is it—Is that—"

Lan Wangji nodded and Lan Sizhui gasped, looking back at Wei Wuxian.

"Wei Ying."

The shouting stopped, as did the flailing, but Wei Wuxian did not stop hiding behind his wings. Now that he was still it was obvious that he was shaking. Terrified.

"Wei Ying."

Slowly, looking almost painful, one of Wei Ying's wings moved away, revealing his face. "Lan…Lan Zhan?" He shakily signed the name as well. The familiar motions paired with Wei Wuxian's frightened voice broke Lan Wangji's heart at the same time they put it back together.

"Let me come to you," Lan Wangji said, signing it at the same time. "Let me close."

For a few heartbeats, Wei Wuxian only stared. In all the time Lan Wangji had known him, Wei Wuxian had never looked so wild.

Finally he nodded. Beside Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui let out a heavy, relieved breath.

"You can come close. Lan Zhan can always come close," he muttered, almost as if to himself. Then promptly fainted.

Lan Wangji had him in a flash, catching him before he could crash to the forest floor and harm his wings any farther.

"Sizhui." A blink and his son was by his side. "Help me fly him to Cloud Recesses."

"Of course." He looked down at Wei Wuxian's slack, gaunt face with a mixture of sadness and fondness. "He is Wei-gege, after all."

…

The Lan doctors refused examine Wei Wuxian at first. He wasn't human!

"Embrace the entirety of the world," Lan Sizhui said earnestly. "Love all beings."

They regarded him with the sort of pity adults give children when they think they don't understand. "Young Master, this is the Siren of Yiling."

Lan Sizhui gave a single determined shake of his head. "Be easy on others and do not hold grudges."

One of the doctors became annoyed. "Have you not heard what he did? He—"

"Do not spread empty lines," Lan Sizhui interrupted, his tone as forceful as if this were a battle of physical strength and not will. Then he calmed. "And do not speak ill of others. These are written in stone as the laws of our sect. Please follow them." And he gave a respectful bow.

In thirteen years, Lan Wangji might never have been prouder. In those few sentences, Lan Sizhui put the doctors in their place, taught them a lesson, and made them bend to his will. They moved to examine Wei Wuxian without another complaint.

While they worked, Lan Sizhui stood beside Lan Wangji at the side of the room, quietly watching. After a few moments, he shifted uncomfortably.

"I am sorry for speaking out that way," he said, eyes on the floor. "But—He is Wei-gege."

Lan Wangji shook his head. "You did well. I am proud."

Lan Sizhui smiled at him. Over the years, that smile had become one of Lan Wangji's most precious moments. He reveled in the ability to make his son happy. It made him feel warm all over, just as Wei Wuxian's smiles had so long ago.

And perhaps would again.

"Sizhui, go invite Sect Leader Lan to join us in the jingshi later." He needed to tell his brother of this development. And ensure he wouldn't throw Wei Wuxian to the elders.

With a bow, Lan Sizhui left. The doctors finished examining and bandaging Wei Wuxian some time later. He was severely malnourished. His body was littered with healed over cuts of various seriousness and various ages. Some of the scars kept the feathers from growing uniformly on his chest as they once had. And, though they were human doctors and not bird experts, it appeared as though someone had cut off his flight feathers.

"He crashed in front of us on our way back," Lan Sizhui had said.

Wei Wuxian could not fly. Lan Wangji's heart constricted in his chest but his face remained impassive as the doctors continued.

Wherever the siren had been for the past thirteen years, the time had been hard on him. It appeared as though someone had tortured him, repeatedly. There were scratches all over his talons and the sharp claw-like nails on his hands were chipped and broken.

Apparently seeing evidence of Wei Wuxian's torment had wiped all judgmental sentiments from their minds. They were sympathetic to his situation and assured Lan Wangji that they would continue to treat his wounds until they were all healed.

"I am afraid," one said, "that it might be his mind that is the most injured…and no medicine can heal that."

Medicine might not, but there were songs that could soothe and make the healing easier.

…

The guqin played healing songs for three days almost non-stop in the jingshi. When Lan Wangji grew too tired, his fingers too weak, his spiritual energy depleted, Lan Sizhui took his place and played until he was rested.

The first evening, Lan Xichen came to visit, as requested. At first he smiled at his brother's playing, then furrowed his brows in confusion when he recognized the purpose of the song, and finally frowned deeply when he saw the figure lying in Lan Wangji's bed.

"Wangji."

"He has been tortured, Brother." Lan Wangji lifted his eyes from his instrument but did not stop playing. "No further harm will come to him."

His message was clear. If Lan Xichen took action against Wei Wuxian, he would be fighting his own brother. And this time, no body binding spell would stop him.

After a long bout of staring that amounted to a duel, Lan Xichen backed down and admitted defeat. He turned to Lan Sizhui to ask how Wei Wuxian came to be there, and Lan Wangji let them talk while he focused on putting everything he could into the music.

…

On the third day, barely an hour after Lan Wangji had dismissed Lan Sizhui and taken up his spot at the guqin, there was movement on the bed. He kept playing. Wei Wuxian had shifted before. Then—

"Lan Zhan."

His fingers stilled. His eyes turned toward the bed. Wei Wuxian was watching him with eyes that glittered with unshed tears.

'I thought you were a dream,' he signed, then pushed himself up.

He was sitting upright before Lan Wangji could make it over to help him, but Lan Wangji continued anyway and sat beside him.

'Not a dream. You are safe,' Lan Wangji told him.

The use of sign language had a tear slipping down Wei Wuxian's cheek even as his lips curved up at the edges. 'You still sign?'

'I practice every day with Si—,' Lan Wangji hesitated. Wei Wuxian would not recognize the symbols for Lan Sizhui. He changed to signs Wei Wuxian would know. 'My son.'

Wei Wuxian jerked back in surprise. 'SON?' he signed emphatically.

A nod. Then another set of signs Wei Wuxian would definitely recognize. 'A-Yuan.'

Another jerk. "A-Yuan?" he said aloud in a whisper. 'Wen Yuan? My A-Yuan?'

Lan Wangji let himself smile. 'Our A-Yuan,' he corrected.

The correction had the desired effect. A hot blush spread over Wei Wuxian's cheeks and he hid behind his hands. Only after several seconds did he remove his hands to speak again.

'Lan Zhan! You can't—' He stopped, shook his head, and then started again. 'Why?'

'He was important to you, so he was important to me,' Lan Wangji explained. After a moment's hesitation, he added, 'He was all I had left of you.'

Wei Wuxian titled his head to the side in confusion. It was one of the few motions he did that really reminded Lan Wangji of a bird.

'I thought you were dead. Everyone said you were dead.' Lan Wangji frowned. 'Where have you been?'

"Oh." The sound escaped Wei Wuxian like an afterthought. Immediately his eyes took on a faraway look. He was not seeing the jingshi any longer.

"You do not have to tell me now," Lan Wangji spoke aloud. "There is time."

'There is no time,' Wei Wuxian signed roughly. His motions became sharper, choppier, as he continued. 'When they find I am missing, they will come looking. They'll come here. They'll hurt you to take me. Did he already hurt shijie or Jiang Cheng? Lan Zhan—'

"Wei Ying." The motions froze. "They are both fine." When Wei Wuxian's body lost some of its tension, Lan Wangji asked, "Who?"

'Jin Guangyao. Su She.'

And so began Wei Wuxian's halting, horrible tale.

At the Battle of Yiling, Jin Guangyao and Su She had distracted Wei Ying long enough for Jin Guangshan to get behind him and badly injure his wings. The pain was terrible. He didn't remember what happened next, but the world went dark and when he woke up, it remained so.

It took a day to learn he had been captured by the Jin sect. Servants in their colors came to tend to his wings and feed him, wax in their ears to protect them from his voice and chains around his arms and legs to protect them from his body.

After two weeks, he realized he was somewhere under Carp Tower. Where, he was never certain, but Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao visited far too often for him to be anywhere else. They ordered his wings kept clipped, his flight feathers constantly missing, so he could not fly away. He was kept bound and gagged except when they needed him. And if he refused, they hurt him. They hurt him so many times he lost count, and only his siren heritage saved his life.

Though it was obvious, Lan Wangji asked what they 'needed him' for.

To force secrets out of people Sect Leader Jin wanted control over. To induce compliance in his captives. In thirteen years, Wei Wuxian probably knew the deepest secrets of most of the Sect Leaders. And all he had to do was tell them to forget they ever saw him and none of them would know how the Jin suddenly had their information.

Jin Guangyao used him to overthrow his father. To compel him to too much drink, to excessive chasing of pleasure, to dehydration and a weakened heart. To go, go, go, until his body gave out and he died.

After Jin Guangshan died, Jin Zixuan took over as Sect Leader. He was Jiang Yanli's husband by then and had a son by her. For years, day after day, Wei Wuxian lived in fear that he would be forced to cause the death of his sister's husband, or son, or herself. It never happened, but every day held the possibility and even that was hell on Wei Wuxian's heart.

Su She often came to use Wei Wuxian's services in Jin Guangyao's place, when things were too busy for the shorter man to come himself. He brought many captives to Wei Wuxian for extraction and was the cause of many of Wei Wuxian's worst wounds.

He was responsible for every wound currently on him.

Lan Wangji would be responsible for every matching wound on Su She.

'How did you escape?' Lan Wangji asked when Wei Wuxian was quiet and still for too long.

The siren's wings, which had crept around his body protectively as he spoke, pulled back again. 'I'm not sure.'

He remembered being so hungry, and so tired, and staring across the cell at a glass of water Su She had left sitting there after he realized Wei Wuxian had not had a drink in three days. The door at the top of the stairs opened and shut, but he did not look up. The steps that approached were soft enough that they did not create a single ripple on the water in the cup.

Then… "Oh Wei-xiong."

"Nie Huaisang!" Wei Wuxian gasped aloud, turning to Lan Wangji with wide eyes. 'Nie Huaisang must have gotten me out somehow! But why?'

Why indeed? There was only one reason Lan Wangji could think of. "Chifeng-zun is dead," he said, signing at the same time. 'He qi deviated several years ago, then his body disappeared. If Jin Guangyao had something to do with it—'

'I remember,' Wei Wuxian interrupted, looking lost in thought again. 'Jin Guangyao talked about it with someone at the bottom of the stairs. The wax in their ears makes them talk too loud.' He grinned briefly. 'They asked why Jin Guangyao didn't just bring Chifeng-zun to me, rather than play guqin all the time. Jin Guangyao said Chifeng-zun would not be tricked into a place like that, so he had to resort to other means. I thought they were talking about learning his weaknesses or secrets.'

A conflicted expression took over Wei Wuxian's face. He was blaming himself for the death of Nie Mingjue. Lan Wangji placed a hand on his shoulder to bring him back to himself.

'You had no way to stop them,' he assured. 'Sect Leader Nie is likely trying to prove what Jin Guangyao did. That's how he found you.'

Wei Wuxian's expression hardened. 'We have to stop him. Jin Guangyao. It's only a matter of time before he goes after my sister and her family.'

It would be hard to oust Jin Guangyao from his position. He was Sect Leader Jin's trusted advisor, one of the Venerated Trio. The only evidence they had of what he had been up to for over a decade was Wei Wuxian's word and most of the cultivation world would not believe the words of a siren. Especially not the Siren of Yiling.

If they moved forward with this, they would be up against most of the cultivation sects. Lan Xichen would not publicly stand with them, as Jin Guangyao was his sworn brother. The Jiang sect might support them now that Sect Leader Jiang's position and strength were well established. And if they could convince Jiang Yanli, they might be able to win over Sect Leader Jin. Only then would they have a chance of holding Jin Guangyao accountable for his actions.

'I will stand with you,' Lan Wangji promised.

Wei Wuxian shook his head, the expression on his face fond yet disbelieving. 'I know the odds, Lan Zhan. I won't blame you if you don't.'

Lan Wangji grabbed Wei Wuxian's hands to stop his talking. Staring directly in his eyes, he said, "I will stand with Wei Ying. I will not leave his side. I will not let him come to harm."

Unable to say anything while Lan Wangji held his hands, Wei Wuxian only smiled gratefully.

"Hanguang-Jun?" came a voice from outside. "I don't hear the guqin. Is everything alright?"

Even as he finished asking, Lan Sizhui stepped in through the open door of the jingshi. He froze upon seeing both older men sitting on the bed, holding hands. Wei Wuxian flushed and pulled his hands back. If their position registered at all with Lan Sizhui, he did not let it show. Instead, a huge smile broke across his face.

"Wei-gege!" Instantly his hands came up to sign as he spoke. "You're awake. I'm so happy."

'A-Yuan?' Wei Wuxian asked.

Lan Sizhui, still beaming, nodded. Wei Wuxian tried to stand and go to him, but stumbled back onto the bed not a moment later, so Lan Sizhui came to him instead. He threw his arms around Wei Wuxian's shoulders, careful of his wings, and held on tight.

"I've missed you, Wei-gege."

"I've missed you too, A-Yuan," Wei Wuxian dared to say aloud so they didn't need to part. "You've grown up well."

"That's all because of Hanguang-Jun," Lan Sizhui deferred as they parted.

With a bashful smile, Wei Wuxian signed his thanks to Lan Wangji. Shaking his head, Lan Wangji said, "No need for thanks or apologies between us. I am happy that you are happy."

Wei Wuxian's tail feathers did their best to splay out on the bed behind him at the same time that his wings shivered with pleasure. 'I am happy,' Wei Wuxian confirmed. Then his eyes narrowed. 'And I will be more happy when those bastards are done for.'

Right. There was a hard battle ahead of them. The odds were far greater against them now than they had been thirteen years ago. Still Lan Wangji was not frightened. He was certain that they – Wei Wuxian, Lan Sizhui, and himself – could do this together. They would find all the evidence they needed. They would make alliances. They would make Jin Guangyao and all who supported him pay for their crimes.

And once they did, Lan Wangji would spend the rest of his life ensuring Wei Wuxian never had to go through anything like this again. He swore it on his golden core.

For now he was content to sit with his son and the siren he loved. To watch as Lan Sizhui fussed over Wei Wuxian's injured wings and scraped up talons and the cuts on his chest. To listen to Wei Wuxian's soft laughs and see his smile.

No, he was not content. He was happy. For the first time in over a decade, he was well and truly happy.

…

fin

…

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