What About You?

7: acclimation

"Gege!" Wei Kuo heard just as he was settling down for the night. There were several knocks on his door, causing him to shuffle over and open it. Instantly, Wei Ying was clinging onto him, trembling slightly.

"What's wrong, A'Ying?" He questioned as he moved to hug his brother, wrapping his arms around him tightly and stroking his back.

"T-There are dogs out there... they keep barking.." The little boy hiccuped as he tried not to cry from the fear he was feeling. However, he found that it got easier to breathe, and that the fear was slowly receding, as his older brother hugged him.

"Don't worry, I'm here. I won't let anything hurt you," He promised tenderly, his voice low and soft with certainty. "Does didi want to stay with gege tonight?"

"Yes," Wei Ying nodded firmly into his brother's shoulder, so with a hum, Wei Kuo shut the door and brought his little brother further into the room, and finally onto the bed. "You're warm..." He murmured once he had calmed down, snuggling into the older boy who smiled.

"Of course," Wei Kuo practically purred, snickering slightly. "What use am I if I'm not a personal heater?"

"I prefer a personal protector," His little brother giggled, causing the older of the two to snort.

"Ah, why can't I do both?" He playfully complained, and once again, the two unraveled in giggles at how stupid but adorable the conversation was. Eventually, the two fell asleep, so wrapped up in each other that no one would be able to tell where one stopped and the other began.

Their days at Lotus Pier went by quickly. Training went well for Wei Ying: he was developing fast and seemed to have a knack for cultivation, and a roof no where in sight for his potential. Not to mention how well he was getting on with his peers, especially Jiang Cheng.

Wei Kuo, however, was feeling quite challenged. No one knew what to do with him. He was too far above them in terms of skill, and his cultivation was almost ten times as good as his genius brother's. It took him less than a day to memorize the Jiang swordsmanship, and even less to apply it in combat.

Even the sect leader was no match for him after that. So, with no one to guide his study, Wei Kuo was left to his own devices to try and get better. Thus, everyday, he could be seen swinging his sword. Wei Ying, who had been bestowed the courtesy name Wuxian--yes it was a play off his brother's given name and he loved it--would often watch, mesmerized.

However, he was not so mesmerized that he didn't see the way the Jiang siblings watched his brother. They had the same looks on their faces as him: awe, intrigue, and overall, jealousy.

Yes, Wei Wuxian was jealous of his own brother. How could he not be, when Madame Yu was always getting on his case, but never seriously got onto Wei Kuo except for at the beginnings of Zidian Chases, which always ended with the two of them laughing.

Madame Yu never laughed around Wei Wuxian. So, he just decided to get stronger, so that she would have to acknowledge him the way she did his brother. Jiang Cheng seemed to have a similar thought, considering how the two of them became training buddies very quickly.

And then, as the spring rains gave way to sunny skies, the day arrived: it was time for them to head out with Zi Xieren and his mercenary band.

Wei Wuxian remembered that they had arrived at Lotus Pier around the 17th of March, and it felt odd to him that it was already in the middle of May, the 16th to be exact. The agreement, as they had discovered, was for the Wei brothers to be with the mercenaries until November 15th, and then go back to Lotus Pier until May 16th, repeating until the boys were old enough to choose their own ways in life.

Wei Wuxian had already made a choice, though. "You don't want to come with us?" His brother's eyebrows shot upwards at the words his younger brother said to him right before breakfast that morning. "I'm glad we are on the same page."

The grin on Wei Kuo's face caught him off guard. So many questions swirled in the younger boy's head at this new revelation, but only one of them was voiced: "You don't want me to come?"

"I really don't," He responded, shaking his head. "Think about it, A'Xian. You're barely ten, and I don't want you exposed to the life of a mercenary if I don't have to."

"But you're only 11 gege," Wei Wuxian's face scrunched in confusion and denial. "Why do you get to go when I don't?"

"Wei Wuxian," His brother smiled softly at him, as if he understood, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "You can kill all the ghouls and ghosts and corpses you want when the Jiangs think you're ready. But," His eyes darkened as his smile dropped, the weight of the world in his eyes shining brighter. and brighter "I've already gotten blood on my hands, and that is not something I want you to experience. So, Wei Wuxian, please, under any circumstances, do not kill a live person."

"I..." Wei Wuxian could not keep up with the intensity that his older brother was presenting to him, causing a few beads of sweat to form on his face as he gulped and gathered his courage to answer that intensity. "I'll do my best while you're gone," He finally promised, so with that, a smile graced Wei Kuo's face once more as he ruffled his brother's hair.

"Good, I'm counting on you."

"Right!"

Thus, the two headed to breakfast, where the mercenaries were already being welcomed by the Jiang couple. As soon as the two arrived, cheers filled the reception hall. "WEI KUO!"