Author's Notes: Hi everyone, this story is inspired by Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. It's fine if you haven't read his books, in fact I haven't read them either (I've only watched the movie and read a lot of fanfics). I included a brief summary of how things work in his universe. Please read it if you don't know about daemons, things will make a lot more sense if you do!
When every human is born, they're also accompanied by a daemon. This daemon takes the shape of an animal and is said to be the manifestation of their soul. Children have daemons that change shape until their daemon eventually 'settles' into a certain form and does not change again. People are only able to move a short distance away from their daemon and exceeding that limit can cause pain and even death. Touching between daemons is acceptable, but usually only done between close family members or friends. But another human touching someone else's daemon is very taboo and only people who are really close sometimes do it. Otherwise, it feels extremely uncomfortable and invasive. Daemons also have names, but they don't have family names. Daemons are usually the opposite sex of their humans. Daemons also speak just like humans.
And to get you started, Wei WuXian's daemon is a red panda, her name is 秀羽.
秀 (Xiu) means elegant, beautiful, excellent
羽 (Yu) means wings or feathers
My naming skills are rather abysmal and it took me forever to think of names for the daemons. Chinese names are so hard!
Anyway, sorry for the really long note, and I hope you like this story.
The first time they touch it's somewhat of an accident. They're sitting in the Library Pavilion; as usual Lan WangJi is quietly copying ancient texts—the fluid movement of his brush practiced and graceful. His hair is neatly tied in his hair ornament and the rest of it lies glossy and straight on his back. Wei WuXian is sprawled inelegantly across from him, his head resting on the table, doodling drawings of bunnies.
Their respective daemons are both close by, but it's against XiuYu's nature to stay still.
In hindsight, it was inevitable.
While Lan Wangji's daemon is resting quietly next to her human, XiuYu scampers up and down Wei WuXian's body, her small claws are carefully retracted, but she messes up his hair all the same.
Wei WuXian is used to her antics and does nothing to encourage or discourage her behavior. Daemons aren't terribly similar to their animal counterparts, but XiuYu's affinity for climbing trees is the same as any other red panda.
Even so, when she takes a miscalculated flying leap—completely unworthy of her name—from the launching pad of Wei WuXian's head towards the edge of the table, she misses completely and lands on the back of a slumbering snow leopard.
The effect is instantaneous, Lan WangJi's daemon snarls menacingly, rising to her full height, she shakes her entire body, forcing XiuYu off. Her clear, almost colorless, blue eyes flashing, she turns her intimidating glare on them both.
XiuYu skitters across the smooth hardwood floors, her claws click-clack in a frantic staccato until she dives into the safety of Wei WuXian's chest. He wraps his arms around her protectively and hurries to smooth down her puffed-up fur.
"Lan Zhan! Your daemon is so mean, look at how scared XiuYu is…" he complains to Lan WangJi while pouting, shamelessly acting has though they've both been grievously injured.
At this, Lan WangJi pauses in his writing, setting down his brush carefully, showing no signs of urgency. He directs his gaze towards Wei WuXian and then to his daemon before speaking softly.
"Causing noise is prohibited, sit down." In response, the snow leopard slinks back over to his side obediently without a second glance in their direction.
After a few attempts, XiuYu has successfully managed to crawl her way in to Wei WuXian's robes and only her head is visible above his neckline. Wei WuXian pats XiuYu on the head reassuringly, but he can feel through their bond that she's not scared at all.
"WangJi-xiong…I'm worried for XiuYu…" Wei WuXian whines pathetically, figuring since XiuYu's fine anyway, they might as well take advantage of the situation.
Lan WangJi looks up again to meet his eyes. His beautiful light-colored eyes are reflective shards of glass, and for a moment, Wei WuXian thinks he sees the other man's eyes soften—but there's no time to confirm before he returns his attention to the ancient texts after a slight nod in Wei WuXian's direction.
Wei WuXian takes this as approval and grins brightly back at him, "Lan Zhan, then I'll see you again tomorrow!" And he takes off with a run, ducking around other people through the corridors until he makes it outside.
XiuYu finally ceases her acting and scrambles back out of Wei WuXian's robes, carelessly hitting him in the face with her bushy tail in the process. Wei WuXian crosses his arms and looks up at where she's reclining lazily on a tree branch.
"You know, I've been trying so hard to befriend Lan Zhan, you couldn't have held out a little longer?"
"It's not my fault…you would have done the same thing, they're both so stuffy. I was bored." XiuYu lies on the tree branch with her limbs hanging down as though she's trying to cool off in the Yunmeng summer heat. It's windy in the Cloud Recesses today and the chilly air permeates through Wei WuXian's robes. She's not fooling anyone.
"You're not the only one who wants to make a friend," she mumbles as she turns her face away from him.
When XiuYu settled no one was surprised. People look at her cute face and her furry body and assume that they're friendly and easygoing. And because daemons are reflections of the individual's soul, there's no reason to think otherwise. And it's true—to a certain extent. But they understand each other better than anyone and Wei WuXian knows that something's been bothering her.
So, he climbs up the tree to sit next to her, "She won't talk to you?"
XiuYu's lack of reply is a response of its own. The Cloud Recesses are quiet midday and the disparity between the atmosphere here and the one he's used to has never been so palpable. Going through the similar motions of sitting in a tree with XiuYu brings about a sense of nostalgia, but it only makes the longing more unbearable—homesickness settles around him uncomfortably.
"Don't worry, they'll come around. We're irresistible, right?" And when XiuYu turns around to swat at his face with her long tail, he knows that they'll be fine.
Their play fighting is interrupted by a familiar voice, "Aren't you supposed to be in the Library Pavilion? What are you doing out here?"
Wei Wuxian drops from the tree branch to greet him, "Jiang Cheng! Guess what happened just barely, Lan Zhan's daemon almost attacked XiuYu!"
Jiang Cheng crosses his arms and looks incredibly unconvinced, "Hmph, serves you right, if you continue at it this way, you'll never finish your punishment. And your daemons aren't in the least bit compatible. Snow leopards are the natural predators of red pandas!"
But even as he says this, his butterfly daemon flutters over to land on XiuYu's head, whispering to her comfortingly. Her periwinkle blue wings contrast brightly against XiuYu's russet coat.
Wei WuXian doesn't remember the rest of the conversation. But he remembers Jiang Cheng's words clearly, like a stone skipping across a still lake, repeating and echoing.
And he thinks to himself, doesn't that mean we're more compatible?
Notes:
Lan WangJi's daemon is a snow leopard.
Jiang Cheng's daemon is a holly blue butterfly.
Thanks for reading and please leave a review as you go!