Wangxian Oneshots

The Prince and the Stray Kitten (Part 1)

Description:
Wei Ying, a stray cat hybrid, has lived on the streets ever since he was three, no one there to care and look out for him, not that he needed anyone but himself. Lan Zhan was always a lonely person, his cold and unbothered face always deterred people from coming up and talking to him. Plus the fact that he was a prince didn't help, people thinking he is self absorbed and arrogant. The truth is they just don't know the real person behind the frozen mask.

"Get away from me!" yelled Wei Ying at the pack of dogs staring at him from the edge of the ally. He had luckily grabbed a fresh, hot dumpling from a stall without anyone noticing, but the dogs sniffed him and the food out, immediately coming after him.

Wei Ying was cornered by six dogs who were all growling viciously at him, clutching the dumpling close to his chest. This was the first bit of edible food that he had gathered in over a week and he was so hungry, so much that his stomach hurt. Most of the time, he would just collect scrapes and thrown out food from the back of stalls or from the ground, but this time he had managed to hit the jackpot and he was not prepared to loose it so quickly.

His black ears were pressed tightly against his head and all his hairs were stood up on end in high alert. All he wanted was to eat his dumpling in peace, just to be left alone by his worst nightmare.

The dogs began to slowly close in on him, causing Wei Ying to sink further into himself. He may be sixteen but dogs still scared him, almost to the point of a panic attack.

"G-Get back! S-Stay away f-from m-me..." his voice was fragile and he looked down sadly at his dumpling, ears dropping even more. He really didn't want to give his only good away but it was now either him or the food. He has gone days without food before so loosing the dumpling wouldn't kill him.

Nose taking one more sniff of the delicious pork scent, he looked away and threw the dumpling as far and as hard as he possibly could muster. The dogs, with one last growl, fought each other on the way to get the food.

Slow tears dropped down his dirty face as he accepted the fact that he was probably not going to be eating. He carefully got up, making sure not to disturb any healing wounds that he had gathered in the past month and made his way out of the ally.

He didn't know where he was going to go for rest, last night he was kicked out of where he was secretly laying on the floor beside an inn. Someone had noticed him and reported him to the owner, which lead to him being chased away with the threat of a harsh beating.

He wandered the streets until the sun started to set, he guessed around seven in the evening. By now he was tired and his legs could barely move due to exhaustion, meaning he was not completely focused and in the right state of mind. Because of this, he ended up bumping into someone, causing him to fall down, giving his shaking legs a slight rest.

Wei Ying quickly looked up and saw a figure dressed in white looking down at him. The man in the snowy robes looked around his age but held no emotion in his eyes, almost as if he was seen so much he was desensitised to life. Realising this was a cultivator, he immediately got up and bowed as far down as he could, showing his respect.

"My apologies, Young Master, I will look in front of me properly next time," Wei Ying apologised sincerely, worry slightly present in his voice even though he tried to contain it the best that he could.

Lan Zhan's eyes glanced over the the boy who was basically bent at a 90° angle and his pupils glazed over with a soft look. The boy definitely didn't have a home, the look of homelessness evident in his clothes and the dirt on parts of his hands and face. On top of his head sat two little black ears that were squished tightly against his hair, almost invisible, which made Lan Zhan silently gasp. 'I thought that hybrid kittens had become extinct since long ago' thought Lan Zhan as he stared more intensely at the boy's head, checking that they were in fact actually ears and not just his hair.

The man above Wei Ying had been silent for quite some time, making We Ying worry that he had offended the other quite significantly. He looked up slightly, through his hair, and saw that the frosty man was staring down at him, an intense look in his eyes. Thinking he had made a mistake, Wei Ying shrunk to his knees and bowed respectfully, in the middle of the street.

People walking by stopped and stared at the scene with concerned looks in their eyes. No one had ever dared touched the Prince of Gusu and there came along a stray boy and bumped into him, his white robes dirtying slightly with the impact.

Lan Zhan's eyes widened in surprise, many people had kowtowed to him before, but something about this boy doing it, didn't sit right within this heart.
"No need. Stand up," the deep voice came suddenly, Wei Ying froze from the beauty of it. This strange man's voice was pleasant to hear, he could listen to it all day and night long.

Wei Ying reluctantly stood up, but kept his head bowed, not daring to look at the wealthy person in front of him.
"I truly am sorry, sir," Wei Ying's voice was timid and shy, coming out like a whisper but the taller was still able to hear what was being said.
"No need. Are you okay?" Lan Zhan couldn't help but ask, his heart shouting louder than his head.

Wei Ying was shocked, no one has ever asked if he was okay before. He was used to people pushing him and beating him until they felt satisfied that he had payed the price for walking into them. No one ever cared about his apologies , only caring about how their day had been slightly inconvenienced.

"Mhm!" Wei Ying smiled, happy that someone was finally talking to him. Lan Zhan heart beat slightly faster, stunned that even in such a situation, the boy had the biggest and brightest smile that he had ever seen.

"Would you like some food?" Lan Zhan asked cautiously, afraid of scaring the fragile boy. He felt the need to ask this very important question when he had looked over the boy and realised how skinny and malnourished he was. Looking at Wei Ying's eyes, he saw them light up with glee and his ears twitch in happiness, as he quickly nodded.

"Follow me," the man in front of Wei Ying stared before he stared to move along the street. He didn't know why he decided to follow a stranger, he just felt an odd sense of comfort with him.

The stranger looked back every few minutes, We Ying's guessed to make sure he was still there and hadn't run off or started trouble. Wei Ying wouldn't dare ruin the opportunity to get some food, never in a million years.

Soon, they made it to an inn, where the stranger walked in and sat at a table, making sure that Wei Ying was still following.
"Sit," was the only the Lan Zhan said, but it was all that was needed. Wei Ying sat down hesitantly, now starting to doubt the decision to follow the man in white. Not for the fact he didn't trust the man, he did which even surprised himself, it was just the fact that he felt bad talking someone else's money for his own gain.

"A-Are you sure about t-this?" he stuttered out, like he normally did when nervous, ears pressing against his head slightly. He was worried about the fact that he had accepted now, what if the man in snowy robes didn't want to buy him anything and just offered because he felt the need to, and then he said yes and is causing all this hassel for hi...

"Mmn, now pick the food you want," his voice was gentle as he looked into Wei Ying's eyes, sincerity shining through them. Instantly, the kitten felt at ease knowing the man genuinely wanted to do this.

After they had picked their food, the two were sat in silence as Wei Ying played with his relatively short tail. The silence was soon broken though by a burning question that Lan Zhan had been wanting to ask, but didn't want to make the other uncomfortable.

"Could you tell me your name?" the voice caused Wei Ying's ears to perk up and face the frosty figure in front of him.
"Wei Wuxian, but you can call me, Wei Ying," he smiled and bowed his head slightly, showing his respect to the older.
"What is your name, Young Master?"

"Lan Wanji," he bluntly stated as if his name meant nothing in the world.

"Wait... you're...you're the c-crown p-Prince!?"

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Words - 1573
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