[MDZS] The Dragon and the Fox

The Dragons

Lan Zhan dragged Wei Ying to his brother's residence, the Hanshi. He turned to Wei Ying just before reaching there and said, "Hide ears and tails."

Wei Ying didn't understand why he had to, but he obliged anyway. Without the ears and tails, Wei Ying appeared as a beautiful human. Lan Zhan felt his breathing hitch at the sight. "Lan Zhan? Are you alright?" Lan Zhan snapped out of his daze.

He dragged the poor fox the rest of the way to the Hanshi. He knocked on the door three times. A moment later, the door opened to reveal another male who looked just like Lan Zhan.

"Wangji. Who is this?" the taller male inquired. Lan Zhan remained silent. "I see. Please. Come inside." He moved aside, allowing them entrance. They all sat around a table in the center of the room. Hot tea was set on the table as if the older brother had known they were arriving.

Wei Ying didn't sit down right away. He looked around, taking in the simplicity of the room. It was like Lan Zhan's, but there was a bit more decoration. Pictures of landscapes covered one of the walls. Wei Ying went up to them, studying them. "You are interested in art?" Wei Ying jumped from being startled. He wanted so badly to curl up and hide behind his tails in the corner, but he had to keep them hidden. Instead, he froze, uncertain of what to do or say.

Lan Zhan: "Brother."

The other chuckled. "I'm sorry. I was only asking a simple question." He walked away, and Wei Ying relaxed.

Lan Zhan: "Wei Ying." The fox boy immediately hurried to the other and sat beside him. The brother chuckled.

"I'm sorry about that, young one. My name is Lan Huan. Lan Xichen. I am Wangji's brother. It's nice to see you are doing well." Wei Ying looked at the other, shocked. "Yes, I know who you are Wei Gongzi. You do not need to hide your appearance from me."

Wei Ying cautiously allowed his ears and tails to show. He hid shyly behind Lan Zhan who only sighed. "Brother," he warned.

Xichen: "Don't worry, Wangji. I already know everything. Or did you forget I'm psychic?"

Lan Zhan: "Where is Uncle?"

Xichen: "He is out to a conference. You are safe for now. I won't tell him you brought a pet home with you."

Lan Zhan: "Wei Ying is not a pet."

Xichen: "Right. Right. Still. I won't say a word about it." He poured three cups of tea and offered two of them to his guests. They accepted the offered tea. Wei Ying took one sip and nearly gaged at the taste. Xichen chuckled.

Wei Ying: "This is disgusting! Don't you have any wine?"

Lan Zhan glared at the fox. "Wei Ying. Behave."

Wei Ying pouted. "But Lan Zhan! I only have ever drank wine."

Lan Zhan: "Wine is forbidden in Cloud Recesses."

Wei Ying felt his jaw drop to the floor. "But-"

Xichen: "He is right, Gongzi. We do not drink any type of alcohol here."

Wei Ying gave his best puppy dog eyes to Lan Zhan. The male sighed and pet the other's head between his ears. Wei Ying purred. "Will take Wei Ying to town later for wine." Wei Ying smiled and happily jumped onto Lan Zhan, hugging him.

Wei Ying rubbed his head underneath Lan Zhan's chin, purring away in happiness. He didn't realize what he was doing, until Xichen cleared his throat. "Gongzi. I believe that's enough of a display of your affection for my brother."

Wei Ying looked up to see Lan Zhan's ears had turned a deep shade of red. Realization hit him, and he backed away quickly, curling in on himself, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I promise!" He hid himself completely with his tails, morphing into his fox form.

Xichen chuckled. Lan Zhan sighed. "Wei Ying. It's alright. Wei Ying did nothing wrong."

Wei Ying morphed back to his hybrid form and peeked out at the two brothers. When he saw no one was readying to punish him, he gingerly uncurled himself and slid behind Lan Zhan again. His stomach growled rather loudly in the silence of the room. He was embarrassed and hid further behind Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan: "Wei Ying just ate. Why is Wei Ying hungry again?" Even Wei Ying didn't know why he was hungry again. Then again, he hadn't had a successful hunt in a while. Running away from his master's son kept him from being able to hunt properly, so he ate mostly fruits and berries. His qi was low because of it. Though, he didn't think that was the reason.

Wei Ying: "I don't know," he timidly replied. "By the way...what are you guys?"

Xichen: "We, my dear friend, are dragons."

Wei Ying perked up at the response. "Really? I heard you guys were extinct or whatever, because of the humans hunting you down."

Xichen smiled broader. "That is only a story. Yes we were hunted down for hundreds of years by the humans. However, not all humans were hateful and spiteful toward us. Our father married a human woman."

Wei Ying: "Wait. I thought humans couldn't marry spirits, because the offspring would turn out looking horrendous and be shunned by all human- and spirit-kind."

Xichen: "Well...what you see before you...do you still believe it to be true?"

Wei Ying glanced between the two jade-like men and shook his head. "You two are very beautiful. Especially Lan Zhan. I think he's prettier than you, Master Xichen."

Xichen chuckled. "That may be true to an extent. Wangji, here, has never really cared for things such as beauty of appearance. Me? I am able to read people and know exactly their intentions now and in the near future."

Wei Ying: "You are a psychic?" Xichen nodded. "That's so cool! Um...what color is your dragon, if I may ask?"

Xichen: "Mine is blue. Wangji's is white. Uncle Qiren's is green. Our father's was also white."

Wei Ying's tails wagged in excitement. He gazed at Lan Zhan with wondering eyes like a child's. "Lan Zhan. Is it true?" Lan Zhan hummed, sipping his tea. "Lan Zhan. Can we go to town now?" Lan Zhan nodded, finishing his tea.

Lan Zhan stood and bowed to Xichen. He dragged Wei Ying (rather it was the other way around) back to the Jingshi to prepare to leave for town.

Wei Ying was overly excited and wouldn't settle down for a minute. Lan Zhan didn't know what to do to calm the fox. The other's high energy was really something to admire. Hopefully, it would all wear off on their trip.