Solstice Souls Book 2: Black Fire, White Flame

Tricks of the Trade

Lan Zhan's POV

When Lan Zhan wakes up, he's alone in bed and his head is hurting. The sun has already climbed far up into the sky and he gets the feeling that he's horribly late for something.

Sitting up has to be done slowly...and he has no idea why his usually fit body is feeling so achy and stiff.

Lan Zhan tries thinking back to last night, and remembers the chirpy kids offering him a sweet...and then Wei Ying's shout of warning, that the "sweets" were not candy as he had thought; they contained liquor.

Everything else is a blank, dark mess of images and Lan Zhan is uncertain if they are real, or the last vestiges of a recurring dream that seems to plague his sleeping mind. As he thinks back to the dream, trying to remember what it was about, he sees colours in his head, vibrant crimson, sparkling scarlet and vivid reds that suggest a happy occasion. Most likely, the wedding.

The agitation he feels prickles under the surface of his skin, like an alligator hiding in a river, just his eyes peeking above the surface of the water. Ready to strike when the moment is right.

Wei Ying enters their room then, a cheery whistling preceding his confident footsteps and the royal swish of his silk robes.

And what a wonderful sight he is!

Darker than ink outer robes framing deep wine coloured inner robes, tied with a black and red sash, a black jade pendant with a red tassel swinging at his hips, his gorgeous face alight and happy as he enters the room.

"Lan Zhan! You're awake!" And then his face becomes serious. "What's wrong? Are you feeling alright?" He sets a tray of covered food on the table next to their bed, and sits down right next to Lan Zhan, taking his right hand in his. Wei Ying's left hand reaches up to feel his temperature, just to make sure that Lan Zhan is okay.

"I feel...disoriented." Lan Zhan admits, closing his eyes to better appreciate Wei Ying's close proximity and that tantalizing fragrance which always seems to hover around him like a cloud of beauty. The cool hand against his skin feels so good, a fleeting reprieve from his unsettled feelings.

Wei Ying's sculpted eyebrows quirk in a question.

"I knew those rascals were up to no good! Don't accept anything from the kids, Sweetheart! Though I suppose, it's good in a way."

"Good?" Lan Zhan has never doubted anything so much in his short life. His eyes snap open.

Wei Ying actually blushes. It's a faint colouring which quickly spreads across his cheeks and nose, and he looks down rather bashfully.

"Um, so the thing is, everyone new to the Sect is welcomed in different ways. I believe they call it hazing, and it's a form of playing pranks on the unsuspecting newbie. Just watch your back, that's all I'm saying."

Lan Zhan can not look away from the beauty right in front of him. Those lovely silver eyes have darkened to pools of deep velvet, a charcoal sky filled with flashing stars, flecks of glittering light. Wei Ying has the most interesting eyes, so expressive, intense and mirroring his feelings like a shiny wok.

"How long does this hazing last?" He manages to ask the question most pertinent to him at the moment.

Wei Ying shrugs, trying to pull off nonchalant like a professional.

"It depends."

"Mn?"

"On-how-you-react-because-if-you-aren't-affected-they'll-only-try-harder-and-the-only-way-to-stop-them-is-to-prank-them-back."

That was said in one go, without taking a breather.

"And will Wei Ying help? I do not have much experience with pranks."