Way too untamed, way too wild

Progress

Lan Wangji had been it truth expecting to spend hours waiting for the boy, it was only early afternoon right now and it seemed like the other usually descended into the town when the evening approached. He had however been surprised that not even an hour after he started playing, he could sense someone's eyes on him.

He glanced all around discreetly, he could not see they boy anywhere, although he was sure it was him. It was not likely that anyone else would be brave or foolish enough to come to the Burial Mounds; and no fierce corpse would have Lan Wangji feeling like this. He did not let it show in the slightest that he knew the boy was near, his fingers went through the strings of his guqin steadily, the melody unchanged. He was waiting for the boy to make the first move.

It only took a short while for him to notice resentful energy gathering in one place, the boy must have been there, probably trying to protect himself in this way as he stepped out from behind a rock. He was even paler than Lan Wangji remembered from a few hours before. It could have something in common with his injury, barged an unsettling though into the Second Jade's mind.

He also looked somewhat taller now. It took Lan Wangji a second to realize that it was due to the fact that the boy was now not hunched into himself, nor was he sneaking around. He stood tall, with an unreadable expression on his face. For some reason, there was no fear in his eyes, instead, Lan Wangji could have sworn he saw in them challenge and perhaps even threat. It was clear that he was not afraid as Lan Wangji had feared the boy would be, it was more like he was the master of the Burial Mounds and he had just found an intruder.

Apparently the boy was thinking the worst about him and was ready to affront him. Lan Wangji should not be as surprised as he was right now. It was true he had been the one who had injured the boy, he should have expected to be this resented because of it, even though it was an honest accident on his part. Then something clicked into place. Yes, an accident for which he had yet to apologize.

His fingers on the guqin stilled and silence reigned once more over the Burial Mounds, not disturbed by even a single gust of wind. The pressure was growing as the boy only stood there and stared at him, it made Lan Wangji uncomfortable.

After another while when it became clear that the boy would not speak first, the Second Jade spoke, making sure his voice was low and unthreatening: "Hello. My name is Lan Zhan, courtesy name Lan Wangji. I am sorry I had hurt you."

The boy did not move save for the slight widening of his eyes. Most probably he was not expecting to receive an apology the first thing after the greeting. It seemed however that he was not bothered by it, although he did not make any sign of accepting it either. Lan Wangji decided that it was the best he could hope for right now when the boy was taking him for an intruder who needed to be dealt with.

Another minute passed in perfect silence. The Second Jade never had any problems with silence, on the contrary, he preferred it over ruckus and empty chattering. Now however, it was really making him uncomfortable and even a bit uneasy as he could not read what the boy was thinking about at all. Luckily, it did not look like he was preparing to attack him, so that was that at least. The boy also never stopped staring at him which he considered a bit rude.

Once he could really not bear the silence anymore, he said, bothered: "Food. As apology."

And he gestured towards the cloth with the aliments spread on it. He made sure to move slowly in order to not scare the boy, or alternatively, to not give him any pretext to attack him if he was about to. He really could not tell what the other was thinking at all. Not that he was ever bothered by what others thought about him, like calling him unfeeling or cold as a jade, but with this boy, he really wanted to know how he was seen in his eyes.

The boy still made no move, he only glanced at the pile of food and then returned to his staring at the Second Jade. At that point, Lan Wangji understood that this was as far as he would get at the moment. He was not sure that if he pressed anymore, the boy would take it well. It seemed like despite trying to appear stern and unconcerned, he was actually on edge.

Lan Wangji would see it in the way the resentful energy around his legs was swirling more and more frantically by the second and how his muscles looked very tense. It was evident he was agitated and probably bothered by his presence in the Burial Mounds where he without a doubt though he was safe.

The boy's eyes gained an air of suspicion after his words. Lan Wangji sighed, the boy was really not about to do anything else but to stare at him with on ocean of emotions that he was not able to decrypt. He was drowning in his eyes and he was desperately searching for a shore. To no avail, the only option was to avoid his gaze but then, the boy could take it the wrong way.

There was no way around it, the boy did not want him here, so Lan Wangji would leave. For now, that was.

"That is all I came to do. I will leave now. Take whatever you like. I will bring more tomorrow." Lan Wangji tried his best so his words would sound not threatening and gentle.

The boy still made no move as Lan Wangji hid his guqin and started slowly getting up. Then he went to pick up his sword which laid a few steps away from him. He was still observing the boy from the corner of his eye. Although he was pretty much sure that the boy would not attack him without being provoked, it would not hurt to be cautious and careful just in case. Without the boy knowing, of course, he wanted to inspire trust, not let him watch out for his every move.

When he reached his hand for the sword, the air suddenly changed. It was subtle, but it was there, the boy was daring him to attack him again. The resentful energy which had been spread only around his lower legs before was now surrounding his whole body. He was protecting himself from Lan Wangji and the Second Jade could not blame him for his mistrust towards him. He had been the one who had attacked out of the blue the first.

Lan Wangji slowed his movements even more and made sure that the boy would see his hands and his sword at all times. He decided it would be wise to leave on foot, at least until he was at a good distance from the boy. he did not want to unnecessarily stir any negative emotions when he would be drawing his sword.

His weapon in his hand, he turned around and started walking in the direction of the town. He made sure to have his hand with his sword by his side where the boy would be able to see it, his other hand was behind his back. If the boy was about to attack now, Lan Wangji would not be able to draw his sword in time. This and the fact that he was showing his back to the boy was making him feel vulnerable to the point his breath and pulse started picking up.

He did not let anything show and just continued walking. He could only hope that the boy realized Lan Wangji was at his mercy now, trusting him to not attack him. If he did, this would be the first step towards earning his trust. And if he did not, well, tomorrow was also a day to try again.

Just for a good measure, he repeated, not sure the boy could still hear him: "I will come again tomorrow. I promise."