A cave, a tortoise monster, and two fools

The first thing Wangji is aware of as he wakes is pain throughout his body but mostly his right leg, followed swiftly by thirst and hunger. The smell of blood, ash, death, and mold assail his senses making him nauseated. It is the time he automatically wakes up, but he can still feel a heavy- almost unbearably so- weariness in his body and mind. Is he ill? That seems the best answer for why he feels so terribly weak. His eyes open reluctantly and his heart sinks as the scenery starts cluing him in on where he is and what has been happening.

There's a small campfire nearby keeping the worst of the chill at bay and he's laying up against the stone wall of a dank cave. His eyes trail downward to his uncovered knee and calf where deep scratches were packed with medicinal herbs. Higher up on his leg at his mid-thigh throbbed as well reminding him of his broken bone- as if he could forget. His robes are torn and stained with blood and mud in a way he'd normally find disgraceful. He tasted blood too where he recalls spitting it up last night. Why had that happened?

His gaze drifts to a blurry form next to the fire and it slowly comes into focus. Wei Ying! The rest of the memories that have been eluding him come rushing back so fast he's nearly dizzy from the affect. His lips part, but no words come out. He doesn't have any idea what to say, even if his heart is rejoicing at this welcomed sight.

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Poking gently at the fire to keep it going, Wuxian is nonetheless quick to notice Wangji waking up. He himself hasn't slept, of course: someone needed to keep watch, and he hasn't really felt the urge to sleep, anyway. There's a lot going on, and he's been doing a lot of thinking and plotting.

"Ah, you're awake!" He smiles, in spite of the the circumstances they've found themselves in. Their odds are objectively very bleak, and by all rights, he should be depressed as hell. But Wuxian is nothing if not a selectively-blind optimist - and frankly, if he was going to be stuck in a monster-inhabited cave with anyone? He'd want it to be Wangji! Even if Wuxian were somehow, by some incredible twist, incapable of heroically fighting his way out of here, then the two of them together should certainly manage. "How're you feeling?"

In any other circumstance he would've argued to be the one to keep watch during the night, but there had been no way he could do that this time. After being forced to walk on his broken leg the last few days and all his recent trauma, Lan Zhan had never been brought so low. It was humbling and overwhelmingly depressing. The only positive in this moment is that he hasn't yet thought about his friend being up all night.

The smile on Wei Ying's face is both beautiful and too painful to look at. His gaze drops, unwilling to admit how bad he feels. However, his 'secret' is all too obvious when he shifts to get a little more comfortable and winces the second his leg moves. He lets out a quiet, but sharp breath.

Somewhere in the cave they can hear a deep, low rumble as the monster lifts its head at the sound of voices. Fortunately it's at some distance away.

It's easy enough to see from Wangji's body language that he's still in a lot of pain, and Wuxian turns his gaze to the fire again, not wanting to embarrass Wangji by looking too hard. He knows from previous inspection that the improvised splint etc. are still in place; for the rest, there's just not a whole lot he can do.

"... Well, I suppose it was a little too much to hope for that it'd feel better overnight."

That's fair. He was just making conversation anyway. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of positive things to say.

"I took a look around, but there really is no way out as it is. No food of any kind either. And I don't know about you, but I don't fancy drinking the water that that turtle's been relieving itself in for however long."

Lan Zhan's gaze rises when he senses Wei Ying looking away. He studies his companion's profile as he listens. His eyes search for any new injuries, but either Wuxian didn't have any or he was doing a good job hiding the fact. His face scrunches up as if he just smelled rotten eggs at the remark about the water. Gross!

Plant, animal, or whatever else that could have nourishment has most likely been consumed by that montser already. He doubts that beast would leave anything behind if it's been trapped here for long. It does make him wonder if there wasn't a way out the monster used somehow. What other way could there be for it to have survived so long? Why was Lan Zhan assuming the creature was here a long time? His head hurt too much to think too hard about it just yet.

"Are you alright?" He asks slowly in a rough voice, as though not fully committed to breaking his silence. "Have you been up long?"

Wuxian looks over in genuine puzzlement at that first question, because... when is he ever not alright? (And, for once, he is alright, which makes Wangji's concern confusing but also endearing.) The second question makes it a lot easier to brush things off altogether, though.

"You know me, I'm used to staying up all night. Not to mention there's not a whole lot to do here to get tired from..." Which is the truth, but also: he's injured (though not nearly as much as Wangji), and he's been inspecting every corner of the cave. Mere details, clearly! "Besides, can you really afford to ask me if I'm alright? You're the one who's most injured here, Lan Zhan!"

Yes, Wuxian is saying that like him not being injured worse than he is is a point of pride. Look, he'll take what he can get to feel awesome, especially in these circumstances.

His gaze drops hearing Wei Ying hadn't slept. It's not hard to filter out the important information from all that nonsense Wei Ying was saying. It was irksome the Jiang disciple was always so verbose and such an irritating braggard. He considers very briefly using the Silent Spell on him just so he wouldn't continue to say all those stupid things.

He scowls at the other man instead. It wasn't his fault he was more injured! Besides, he'd gotten this bad because he'd helped prevent Wei Ying from getting eaten by that monster.

His thoughts circle back to the creature and something at the edge of his memory nags at him. He knows what this thing is! It's just painful to bring the details to the surface. He closes his eyes to concentrate, trying to ignore the ache. A few beads of sweat form on his brow and he feels lightheaded. He has to stop before he ends up fainting and embarrassing himself further.

Wuxian is, to put it mildly, not always the most observant of people - at least: not socially - but they're the only two people in this cave, and he was a bit concerned about Wangji to start; it's not hard to notice that something is taking a turn for the worse.

"Hey, Lan Zhan..." He knows Wangji will only get annoyed with him if he shows concern, but at the same time, Wangji is bound to get annoyed with him anyway! Wuxian may as well be straightforward. "You're not running a fever, are you?"

Shuffling over, Wuxian reaches out to feel Wangji's forehead with the back of his hand.

Wangji’s concentration breaks when he hears his name. He blinks at Wuxian confused for a moment before he realizes a hand is on his forehead- his bare forehead at that!

“No,” he says quickly and draws his head back. He doesn’t know what Wei Ying said but it stirred up all kinds of emotions to be touched. He tries to scoot back further but he’s already up against the wall.

“What are you doing?” Blurry memories of the night before come back to him, specifically when Wei Ying tried to remove his robes. He wasn’t doing something like that again was he?

Since it's had such a profound effect on Wangji, maybe Wuxian should undress again! ... But he doesn't plan to (yet!). He did have his reasons for doing that at the time; he doesn't now.

"Checking, of course! You may say you don't have a fever, but you kept saying you were fine even with a broken leg." Tilting his head, Wuxian gives Wangji a look. "Really, can't you at least be honest when your health is at risk?"

... Not that Wuxian is any better, really. But Wangji is the one at fault in this particular case, and so Wuxian will go 'liar liar robes on fire' all the wants!

He tries, again, to press the back of his hand against Wangji's naked forehead. But as long as he's confident that Wangji isn't doing worse than before, he'll break contact again immediately.

Oh. He said he didn’t have a fever? He doesn’t think he does but he was a bit clammy and yet chilled too. The touch to his forehead is so brief, but it leaves him shaken- because it felt good.

Wuxian was still talking wasn’t he? Wangji tried to reconstruct what he’s saying. Something about his leg. He looks down at it with a frown. Was Wuxian trying to see his broken leg? That break was above his knee by a few inches. His cheeks flush slightly at that thought.

“Do what you must. “ He pulls his slightly damp robes a little tighter around his shoulders. “This creature is familiar.”

Holding the back of his hand against Wangji's scandalously naked forehead, Wuxian gives a long hmmmm, considering what he's feeling. Wangji does feel a bit warm, but that much is only natural. Apart from that, though, Wuxian can't really tell! If there's a fever, it's probably not too bad, at least. And so Wuxian breaks his Serious Ponderings for a statement that is almost too light, by comparison:

"... You'll be just fine," he smiles. "But if you start feeling worse, let me know, okay?"

As for the monster being familiar: that's a surprise to Wuxian. (He hopes Wangji isn't hallucinating!) "That turtle?"

Lan Zhan is surprised Wuxian only touches his forehead and appears to not want anything more. It is incredibly confusing why that both is a relief and a disappointment. What was wrong with him?

He nods, agreeing that he would try to speak up. He doesn't see the point exactly, since there isn't anything the other cultivator will be able to do. Wangji wouldn't want him doing anything that might make it more difficult for Wei Ying to survive this hellish place anyway. However, he's already nodding, so he can't really take it back now.

It should be easier to think about the monster since there are less emotional hang ups to it, but it also requires concentration. He nods a second time. "Lan Yi." He knows she explained it to them. What had she said exactly? "A second Xuanwu."

Wangji nodding so easily should probably be a concern in itself - when does Wangji ever do what Wuxian tells him to do? and in spite of his wealth of excellent advice, too! - but Wuxian just thinks it's a pleasant change of attitude. Besides, no take-backsies! Wangji has promised now!

"Oh!" Wuxian sits up a little straighter, unreasonably excited. "That's what it is!"

That makes sense, actually! As impressive as the monster was, he somehow hadn't quite ranked it so high - but it's whatever. They'll have to deal with it regardless, or die trying.

"Hey Lan Zhan, do you think it has anything to do with the yin metal?"

Don't gloat Wuxian!

Lan Zhan's gaze rises to his companion's and he wonders about that excitement. He has a bad feeling about that. He just knows whatever plan the other disciple was concocting will make Wangji regret this conversation.

Fortunately, he doesn't have to think too hard about the follow-up question. He simply nods a third time. It seems obvious to him that if Lan Yi had spoken of this creature and now they found it, the yin iron was to blame somehow. Just how or why, he didn't know.

"Something must've woken it up after all these years," he reasons softly. He frowns and looks toward the crack in the cave wall they'd used to escape the tortoise earlier. Instinctively, Lan Zhan reached for his sword. The beast had moved closer to the entrance and was now unhappy it still couldn't find a way in.

Don't gloat? Tell him not to breathe, why don't you. That's easier!

"You have a point... but the same could be said for the yin metal itself."

There are some thoughts about that, of course, but really, it's a complicated and huge situation that they barely know the first thing about. Still, it's not like they're aiming to save the world all at once, are they? They need to see if they can save themselves first.

As for that: while Wuxian is, indeed, unreasonably excited to have come face to face with such a massive beast of legend, he's not so eager to die that he'll just rush in and try to stab it with a stolen sword, or anything like that. He's just not afraid to try fighting, if and when that becomes their only option.

"Let's see if we can hang in here until people come to save us." He glances at Wangji's injuries, because honestly? Wuxian would feel a lot better if he wasn't the only one capable of fighting. "If they take too long, well... We'll have time to come up with a plan, won't we?"

Wuxian is right. Whether Xuanwu woke first or the Yin Metal woke it up is unclear. The two are certainly connected, but what the end result will be is hard to predict.

"Quiet." Wangji draws his robes a little tighter around him as he listens to the frustrated beast. He agrees with the other disciple, but he didn't see any point in stating the obvious. What else were they supposed to do other than try to survive until help came or they were well enough to act on their own? Honestly, did Wuxian voice every thought that pops in his head?

If they remain quiet long enough, Xuanwu gets tired of fighting a stone wall and goes back to the water. By then, Wangji is feeling more of the chill in the air and stone beneath him. It'd help if he could cover his leg with his robe but it wasn't a smart move with his injuries.

He resigns himself to the only help he can think of besides requesting they use more of the limited amount of wood available. "Come here. Sit next to me."

Of course Wuxian voices every thought that pops in his head! In fact, he voices many things that haven't even popped into it yet!!

"Lan Zhan, we're already stuck here. If I can't even talk, what can I do?"

Let him have that one pleasure, at least?! But, for what it's worth, Wuxian isn't overly loud about his incessant talking. He really does need something to do, though! If he can't talk, how is he supposed to distract himself from this terrible situation, not to mention other concerns?

Wuxian is frankly a bit suspicious when Wangji asks him to come over right after lecturing him like that, but come over he does, sitting down next to Wangji as instructed. Personally, he hadn't really thought of how cold the cave was, but... feeling Wangji's body heat makes him shiver as if he has to belatedly expel it, after all. This is much better!

Lan Zhan sighs. He knows this isn't easy for either one of them. As Wuxian gets comfortable next to him, Wangji shifts closer to his side. He looks up to meet his companion's eyes. It feels strange being so near to him, even though it's his own volition this time.

"Be quiet when Xuanwu is agitated," he says softly. "You may speak at any other time." He wouldn't be quite as concerned with the monster if he could help fight it. He'd try if he had to now, but it'd be certain death.

As he notices Wuxian shiver, he frowns. He summons as much energy as he could and reaches a hand out toward the fire. The flames rise into a heartier blaze. Wangji sags back, his shoulder pressing against Wuxian's. The urge to sleep more is strong, but he doesn't want to leave his friend alone again so soon.

"Okay, okay..." Wuxian replies just as softly, nodding his agreement - which is a bit awkward when they're so close together, but he does it anyway. He soon settles again, though, a bit surprised when Wangji bothers boldening the flames. Wangji probably shouldn't waste his energy like that, but... it was still pretty nice that he did.

Far more comfortable now, Wuxian relaxes - but that is still a state he's not really used to, and it perversely kind of makes him restless. Even if he's stayed up for a long time, he doesn't really feel like sleeping... Biting his lip - he really is trying to stay quiet, for all the good it does! - he looks over at Wangji's face. With the bigger fire casting clearer shadows, he makes an astutute observation.

"Lan Zhan... Your eyelashes are really long."

No homo.

It likely is a very bad thing to promise Wuxian he may talk as much as he wants to if the monster is calm. He isn't thinking about the ramifications of that, but perhaps he should've.

Wangji is slipping back into sleep despite his best efforts, more weight shifting to Wuxian's side. However, he blinks at the comment and turns his head to look at his silly friend. He's a little thrown off by how close that puts their faces, so he draws back.

"My eyelashes?" He finally asks, unsure what the hell that means. Was that a good thing? Bad? Unique? Was Wei Ying flirting with him again (even if he claims he doesn't)? "Do you like them?" By the gods, why would he ask that?!

"Mhm, yeah. How to put it..?"

He takes a deep breath, thoughtfully staring. Being warm and comfy isn't doing his clarity of mind any wonders, but since he's enjoying staring at Wangji from up close, maybe that doesn't matter.

"They're elegant."

That is legitimately the best he can come up with. In his defense: exhaustion is definitely catching up with him.

It makes him blush to have Wuxian so obviously staring at his face. He draws his eyes away, but he doesn't stop his friend from gazing at him. The longer Wuxian looks, the more pink colors the tips of his ears though and internally the faster his heartbeat.

He doesn't like it, especially after the night before when his companion said he didn't flirt with him. The confusion over Mianmian still irked him. It wasn't fair he would have these confusing feelings and Wuxian could play with them all he wanted without care.

Frustrated, he scolds him, "Stop saying nonsense and go to sleep."

"Fine, fine..."

Well, that reaction was more or less expected, anyway. They probably shouldn't both sleep, but Wuxian can't last much longer, and Wangji should get as much rest as he can. With a quick bite to his fingers, Wuxian draws a talisman in the air, and sends it flying out towards the passage the xuanwu would have to come through to reach them. Call it a magical burglar alarm, or something: if the beast tries to approach, they will know. It's not the safest, but it's better than nothing - and certainly better than neither of them sleeping, when they both need to save their strength.

Before long, Wuxian is, indeed, fast asleep, leaning against the surprisingly comfortable pillow that is Wangji.

Miserably, Wangji tries to stay awake. He saw the ward go up, but he still makes a valiant effort to protect them. It's futile as he legitimately doesn't have the strength to stay alert right now and even if he did see something, what could he do about it?

As he sinks back into sleep- despite his best efforts- his already dark world gets worse. It seems instant to him, but in truth he sleeps for several hours before the nightmare starts. He shudders outwardly as in his mind's eye he's facing a burning, dying sect. In this dream, he can't save them. He watches his uncle die and he's taken prisoner anyway. Locked in a cell in Qishan's dungeon, he remembers the vicious beating he took as the Wens tried to get out of him where the last Yin Iron was. From somewhere down the hall, he can hear Wei Ying and Xichen screaming for help, but he's powerless to do anything.

Waking with a start, he is breathless and dizzy. The helpless emotion nearly chokes him. He reels mentally as the worry renews- what was happening back home? Where was Xichen? Was his sacrifice for nothing?

So much for Wuxian's comfy pillow! Having stayed up for far too long, quite recklessly, he is not yet ready to react the way he probably should in response to such an unexpected disturbance.

"Hmm? Hnnnng..." He was sleeping. He was finally sleeping. Why would anyone wake him up? :( He puts his arms around Wangji, trying to steady his pillow by force. "Five more... minutes......"

Lan Zhan gasps softly when he feels something grip him. He's so close to fighting whatever it is off of him when the owner of the voice- and arms- registers. Wei Ying. Still breathing heavily, he looks around them but doesn't resist his companion's hold on him.

Normally, he'd never allow someone to touch him like this but it's not unpleasant right now. His body is still sore, but it isn't so bad he can't tolerate it and the contact. Slowly relaxing, he almost smiles down at the head pressed against his shoulder.

Summoning up a little bit of spiritual energy, he lifts a hand and the fire burns brighter. He hopes it helps Wei Ying feel more comfortable and helps him fall back asleep.

It's not long before his eyes open again and he's abruptly aware of a raspy growl. He can sense the tortoise near the warded entrance to their cave. Lan Zhan frowns and he looks toward their fire. Had stoking it attracted the beast?

Silently, he slips his arms upward and one holds Wei Ying while the other quickly covers his mouth. "Be quiet," he whispers, lips so close they almost touch his friend's ear.

Thoroughly exhausted and barely awake in the first place, Wuxian soon drifts off fully again, aided by the warm glow of the fire. It's nice, and comfortable, and for a moment he's forgotten about not only their current situation but the entirety of sect politics.

And then his mouth is covered.

He freezes up, instantly and painfully awake at the sound of Wangji's voice. This is not how he'd hoped to wake up, but he can at least guess that Wangji is extremely serious about warning him, and so Wuxian nods slowly. If Wangji doesn't let him go, he may resort to biting, but for now he's behaving.

Wangji moves his hand when he feels his friend nod. Otherwise, he doesn't move at all. He remains as close as they had been, pressed right up against the other young man and his arm around Wuxian's torso protectively.

Large claws scratch at the stone and the hisses continue for a few more minutes, but once again it can't find a way through the hole. It can smell blood and sense spiritual energy on the other side. It wants to devour both, but it can't reach them. Frustrated, it starts to retreat again.

Near Wuxian's ear, Wangji sighs with relief though he still doesn't release his friend.

Wuxian, for his part, is happy enough to be held by Wangji. Rather, he doesn't register it as something strange at all, because this is just a thing that people who are close to each other do - and so it makes sense, even if it's a first for Wangji. Wuxian has other things on his mind anyway, like whether he should attack that damn creature, and mentally preparing for doing just that if it breaks through, regardless of how smart (or not) a choice it is.

But the creature retreats, and Wuxian breathes a sigh that's equal parts relief and frustration, relaxing in Wangji's grip. "That cursed turtle..!" The threat to his life is one thing, but to be treated as some kind of toy at worst, and a discount meal at best? That's not something he plans to stand for! "Now that it's come to this, I don't think we can sit around and wait to be rescued much longer." The xuanwu isn't going to keep giving up. Now that it's been awakened, it's clearly hungry!

"Mn." Wangji nods in agreement. They weren't going to be able to just sleep and recover here safely. At some point that foolish creature is going to break that wall. It'll either cause a cave in over their heads or it'll eat them alive.

He still feels sick and weak but that isn't going to improve. "We should wait until it sleeps to see if any weapons or supplies have been left behind by those that died. Their bodies may have been devoured, but there may still be something useful for us."

"Yeah..." Wuxian replies, deep in thought. Sleep is indeed important. He's had some now, but Wangji clearly needs more rest, being by far the worst injured of the two of them. What if Wuxian just... carefully solos that little weapon/supply collection trip? He can totally do it!

He looks over at Wangji, sitting up a bit. "... Why don't you get some more sleep while we wait? I'll keep an eye on things."

It's logical that they should rest while they wait for xuanwu to sleep again. However, there's something in Wuxian's expression that has his eyes narrow slightly. It's humiliating that his involvement would be a hinderance instead of an asset, but what can he do? If he mediates maybe just a little longer he might be able to help.

"Rest with me."

"Someone needs to keep watch, right?" Wuxian half-complains, more because it looks like his not-actually-evil plans aren't going to fly than because he cares about the details of who does what. "That turtle almost snuck up on us just now. It may try again."

He wouldn't mind resting more if Wangji insists, though. Rather: if that's what it will take to get Wangji to rest, then Wuxian will do it.

The practical answer has Wangji's gaze lowering. How can he argue with this? He draws his robes a little tighter around him and has every appearance he's going to be complacent now. While he does close his eyes, he stays listening. He knows the other is up to something. It might feel better though to attempt getting to his feet when Wuxian isn't right here watching him.

He thinks about the night before (or was it earlier than that? He's losing track of time) when they'd managed to talk about some real things. It had been pleasant, in a way. Although, the bit at the end had been immensely frustrating. A part of him wonders if Wei Ying had been teasing him about not understanding Wangji's feelings or if he'd really been that blind.

He doesn't mean to, but he ends up falling deeper in meditation than he intends. Fortunately, he catches himself before too long, but more time has passed than he wanted giving Wei Ying time to do whatever dumb thing he was planning.

To Wuxian's discredit, he does doze off for a bit, himself - which at least means that Wangji doesn't get to catch him sneaking off. Waking up as his head is about to flop forward in sleep, Wuxian's face twists in frustration at himself. Oh well, he's awake properly now, and Wangji looks to be asleep properly. Time to get to work!

The trouble is: as important as the task of collecting the left-behind weapons and supplies is, it's incredibly boring to do anything by himself for any stretch of time, and this is no exception. On top of that, Wuxian feels a little reluctant to leave Wangji alone, even though he's not going far, and Wangji would undoubtedly be fine even if he did. He's really not sure why that is... He does make a start, at least, collecting what he can in the time that he manages to focus properly - mostly arrows.

... And then he arranges them to write "OPERATION MURDER TURTLE" on the ground near his and Wangji's resting spot, because he is just that kind of person.