Wen Qing looked at both the males in front of her and prayed for patience. She had found them eating Lotus Seeds by one of the more remote lakes. A-Ning at least looked embarassed by the blatent slacking off, while Wei Wuxian was grinning at her like the fool that he was. The smile on his face was so wide and bright that she almost let his misdirection go without calling him on it, because it had been so long since she herself had seen a smile so genuine on his face and would bet that it had been longer since others had. However it was nearing nightfall and she had just left a family who wasn't happy with the troublemaker for a good reason. Wei Wuxian hadn't come to the evening meal, and he had dragged Wen Ning into his act of defiance all well claiming that he had been going to introduce his uncle to both her and A-Ning. Some things never changed it seemed, and she had felt like a fool when she had come to dinner alone to curious looks.
"Don't look so sour Sister Qing. I told a little fib because it had gotten to be too much and I needed a break from all the lectures and weirdness. I have been showing Ning-di around to spots that we didn't get to see while we were letting everyone know their routes though, and now I am introducing him to my favorite snack properly!" Wei Wuxian cajoled, his smile growing wider at the sight of her scowling face instead of dimming with fear. That was good. She rolled her eyes, before settling herself next to the pair and applying a silencing barrier talisman to the area around them. There was no need for anyone to come upon them and hear what she had to say.
"I'll look like whatever is proper for this situation Wei Wuxian. Just what is going throught that head of yours? From what your sister told me you have skipped most of the meals that have been held since you got here from QingHe, and you keep saying stupid things. Do you really intend on seeing yourself dead so soon? Is that why you're insisting on weakening yourself by missing meals even before the fight is upon us? A-Ning has told me about what he remembered- about the fact that Lan Wangji waited for you for 16 years after you died the first time. Do you intend to put him through that this cycle?" She snapped, ignoring the way that he flinched at her sharp and scolding words. Wei Wuxian had been allowed to stew in his regrets and entertain harmful thoughts for too long. She wasn't about to let that happen any longer, so she needed to make him think his actions and the consequences of them through. Wen Qing needed Wuxian going into this war with a clear head, not a wish to die in order to save people.
"I have so many regrets Sister Qing, and this is my chance to right them. I know that dying means putting Lan Zhan through hell again, but if my sister lives? If Lotus Pier thrives and it's sect leaders get a chance to enjoy the happiness that they have found in fixing their relationship? It would be easy to count myself as that price." The idiot drawled, looking over the lake and missing the expressions that crossed both the siblings faces. Wen Qing snorted, before smacking his arm and ignoring his yelp.
"Bullshit. Every single person alive- cultivator or not- has regrets. That is life. But counting yourself as the price for others to be happy? I always knew that you were an idiot Wei Wuxian, but I don't think that I realized how big of one you are. You have already been the price for someone else happiness time and time again and has that solved a damn thing? No. You do more good alive and problem solving then dead and of no use and you fucking know it. Stay alive and use your damn brain to keep others alive, plain and simple. Your death would only bring grief, and prevent you from helping when you're needed." She hissed, remembering when she had willing walked to her own death to try to save his. He had still died, so he even had a damn example of what his foolish notion would bring. If she had been alive and by his side then when Jiang Yanli had made it onto the battlefield then she could have paralyzed her and hid her somewhere safe. If Wen Qing had still been alive… she shook herself from those thoughts. She was alive and here this cycle. Wuxian look like every point struck like a slap, until his entire posture just collapsed. This time she felt some small measure of pity for him as her stance softened.
"Do you not think that I don't have regrets for how my life ended the first cycle Wei Wuxian? I betrayed you in a way by immobilizing you, so convinced that I was doing a good thing. That my death would lead to you being able to live. But I changed nothing except causing you to live for a time while mourning me. You still died, struck down by the selfish teen that you used yourself as a price for and your own self sacrificing nature. Don't make my mistake. Don't betray the ones that you love just to try to make sure that they live. Stand by their side, protect them, and live yourself." She continued in a more gentle tone, then grunted as Wuxian threw himself at her. She startled for a second, but wrapped her arms around him and shushed him as he cried, making eye contact with her bewildered brother who looked so confused. He may have survived past her death, but he was still so young at heart and in so many other ways. His death and own confinement by the Jin had stopped all growth he may have been able to make in that time.
"I'm sorry." Wuxian hiccuped after some time, his voice muffled since his face was still firmly buried in her middle. If anyone were to come across them, this would look highly inappropriate because Wuxian was betrothed and they had no acknowledged relations. Wen Qing didn't care though, as she threaded her fingers through his hair. Wei Wuxian was her brother in heart.
"I know you are. You focus on these foolish ideas that will only end in harm to you though. Someone had to remind you that you were not the first to think of such a thing this cycle. I want to see you married and happy Wei Wuxian, not dead with all those you love mourning your needless death because you could see no other way for their happiness to happen. We've had enough of that, haven't we?" She replied with a sigh, staring out over the lake herself now. She felt his nod. After a couple more minutes he pulled away and rubbed at his eyes, silent.
"You're so cruel Sister Qing. If anyone sees these red puffy eyes of mine they will be worried eh? Then I will get more lectures, and more headaches even when I've promised that I have put all of the foolish ideas that have them watching me so closely behind me." He whined after a moment, trying to put on a brave face. She rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder against his.
"So it will be just another day in the life of Wei Wuxian then? With those concerned about him scolding his foolish thoughts because they want to keep him around? Maybe try listening to us once in a while and those lectures will have to find another subject to center on… but I doubt that they would disappear." She teased, knowing that he needed some sort of normalcy after her harsh words. Wuxian smiled, but it was far from his normal blinding grin. It would recover, just like Wei Wuxian's pride would.
"See, you're so cruel to me." He replied with a sigh, before he offered her some of the Lotus seeds that he had been sharing with A-Ning. "It is good to have you here, even if you are cruel to me." A-Ning snickered at that, perking up now that she was done scolding Wuxian and he was done crying.
"Sister is only cruel to you to be kind Childe Wei. You're too stubborn to accept the gentle chidings others offer, so she takes on that burden." A-Ning pointed out, making Wuxian look at him with betrayal painted across his face.
"You too A-Ning? I am betrayed even by you! Hmmph." He complained, making Wen Ning laugh. Wen Qing just rolled her eyes, not taking any of this foolishness to heart. Wuxian had enough people too afraid of upsetting him further in his life obviously.
"And when Lan Wangji arrives he'll coddle you and glare at anyone who dares make you unhappy if A-Ning's stories are to believed. It will even out, I promise." She shot back, taking a seed and peeling it. It didn't taste unpleasant, so she took a few more. Dinner had been tense after all, so she had not managed to eat much though she had an enlightening conversation with Wuxian's sister. A silly look passed over Wuxian's face at the mention of his betrothed, amusing Wen Qing.
"Lan Zhan is good to me, far too good to me for what I have put him through. It is perhaps a good thing that you were cruel Sister Qing. If any of the thoughts that I have spoken of linger when he arrives he will not be happy. His only rule for me that counts is that there is no dying." Wuxian murmured, and Wen Qing felt a stab of pity for Lan Wangji. Keeping Wei Wuxian alive was no easy task, but she was sure that he already knew of that.
"Then keep such thoughts out of your mind Wei Wuxian. You will not be dying this time, not if we can help it. And we will try to keep those you love safe as well. Now, enough of this dawdling. You've worried the Jiang family enough with your self sacrificing talk. We'll go in, and you will apologize for missing a meal the meal." She prompted, finishing off the seeds that she had and standing up. A-Ning followed her lead, but Wuxian pouted.
"Hey now, I never said that I would attend the meal, just that I would rest after it. I didn't fib or lie about that!" He whined, staying put. Wen Qing rolled her eyes, before canceling the barrier that she had put up and reaching down towards his head. He gave an unmanly squeal as he dodged her hand- and prevented her from grabbing his ear in the process- before standing up.
"Alright, Alright, no need to add violent to cruel Sister Qing! I'll apologize for deceiving them about what I would be doing and being impolite enough to miss a meal but they know me!" He protested loudly. She smirked at him, feeling very smug at what she was about to say. She knew just how he would react to it even.
"Among other things I suggested that your sister resist bringing you a meal in your rooms tonight, since you felt it necessary to worry her." Wen Qing informed him primly, before walking off and laughing to herself as he squawked in alarm.
"You…! What other things?! Shijie better not be planning on learning anything from you Sister Qing! I couldn't handle it! Do not corrupt my Shijie with your needles!" He warned, following after her like an angry duckling. She ignored his shouts, smirking to herself as he only grew louder the longer she refused to answer him. She had indeed promised to teach Jiang Yanli how to heal, and the 'gentle' sister was very interested in the needles that her younger brother had protested about. While the eldest Jiang child's cultivation was low, she could handle what was needed in healing. A-Ning had an issue with his cultivation, and he did just fine with what he had bothered to learn, though he prefered archery. With enough teaching she would be a great healer, should she have the dedication to continue past the basic lessons that had been promised to her.
"Sister… are you perhaps taking this too far?" A-Ning asked hesitantly as they got closer to their destination. She looked at him, her smirk softening to a smile before she shook her head.
"No. This is exactly what the fool deserves for thinking that anyone would let him be the price for anyone else." Wen Qing replied serenely. "And by learning healing Jiang Yanli will be better equipped for the war to come, she will be less of a liability" was added in a firmer tone. A-Ning blinked, but nodded.
"Yes, I agree. But won't Childe Wei go hungry if he is not going to get a meal tonight? I do not like him missing meals sister, he missed too many." A-Ning persisted. Wen Qing blinked, before snorting and shaking her head.
"I only suggested that his sister resist making and seving him a meal. He is perfectly capable of going to the kitchens and asking for something to eat A-Ning." She replied, explaining it for his benefit when he looked offended by her reaction. That didn't appease him much though.
"But what if he forgets that is a possibility sister? You know his memory isn't that good some days." He worried, she blinked, before looking over her shoulder at the suddenly quiet Wuxian and smiling.
"Oh, he won't forget A-Ning. Don't worry." She assured her brother, while looking her target in the eyes. Wei Wuxian pouted, but his shouting was done now that they had reached the building in which the Jiang family lived.
"So Cruel." He muttered as he passed them when they turned in the direction of their rooms. Wen Qing didn't respond, and when her brother went to she reached out to lay a hand on his arm. A-Ning looked at her with some annoyance in his eyes, but did not try to engage the young man that he would most likely follow to the ends of the world still. Wei Wuxian could handle his apologies on his own, he had been the one acting foolish after all.