Collide and Cry

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So, maybe he had overwhelmed himself. Wei Ying felt as though he could not breathe as they entered the dreaded room. Lan Wangji was ahead of them, and Lan Sizhui was next to him. Wei Ying felt for certain that this Lan Qiren would be at least somewhat terrifying. It was a fifty fifty chance, to be honest. Lan Wangji was, to Wei Ying, the most intimidating person he had ever met (not that he had met many people but that is besides the point), whilst Lan Xichen who, according to Sizhui, was Lan Wangji's brother, was incredibly soft and gentle. Wei Ying felt as though Lan Qiren would likely be more of the intimidating kind.

Perhaps it had just been the fact that his mind had conjured up millions of scenarios of torment and fear within his own trauma induced terror, but despite his reservations of the man, when he walked into the room, he did not get the same feel from Lan Qiren as he had expected.
It was much different in fact. Lan Qiren was certainly not as soft and soothing as Lan Xichen had been, but nor was he as terror-inducing as Lan Wangji. He had to admit, the stare which the old man had given him upon entering was a bit unnerving, but there was not much besides being slightly uncomfortable. Wei Ying was surprised, especially when he was addressed, as he had been completely unprepared to speak, or even really to be noticed at all. Then again, luck never really did side with him much as of late.

"Who are you?" It was the first thing that he had been asked, and Wei Ying scrambled to respond, forcing his voice to a calm so it would not tremble and shake. The other seemed to look him over, as though he were assessing him. Wei Ying was not exactly sure what he was doing, but he seemed to find what he was looking for because he turned to Lan Wangji.

"I assume your brother sent him here." It was not a question. Just a statement, a statement which was presumed to be a fact. Lan Wangji nodded in response to the statement and Wei Ying avoided the elder's gaze nervously as those striking eyes were focused once more on him.
He was totally out of his depths. He was not sure what he should do, should he respond, or should he stay silent? So many choices and options and Wei Ying was forced to face them. He opted to stay quiet. He would simply watch what happened, and proceed from there.

"You came from the Jiang Sect I assume?" The question, definitely a question now, was poised towards Lan Sizhui, who hastily responded in the positive.

"Yes, First Childe Lan will be staying at the Jiang sect for a while longer, while messengers have been dispatched to the other sects for the meeting which is to take place here." He responded quickly, and made sure to enforce the fact that this was on Lan Xichen's order, so there was little any could do to change it.

"A meeting? Here?" Lan Sizhui nodded.

"Yes, it will be to assess the damage and wrongs of the Jiang sect. Here is safest as there are more rules and guards in place, and students with high cultivation levels should something go awry."

"I see Master Xichen has thoroughly thought things through." Wei Ying got the feeling that this was more pride, coming through Lan Qiren's tone, not mockery, despite what the wording may imply.

"This one, Wei WuXian, you said your name was..." Wei Ying jolted, shocked to have been called on again. He had barely expected it the first time and to be addressed once more was thoroughly out of his depth if understanding. His eyes wide he paid his attention towards the elder and nodded slowly, cautious.

"From the Jiang sect?" Wei Ying gnashed his teeth silently, not too certain how to respond to that. He had never been, to say, part of the Jiang sect, but he had lived there, whatever pitiful conditions aside, for a while. He was uncertain what Lan Qiren was really looking for.

"Master Lan Xichen told me to come here from the Jiang sect." Wei Ying responded carefully. His words were carefully crafted so as to avoid professing the Jiang sect as his own, yet obvious enough to imply that he had been at the least within the Jiang sect.

"Lovely," Lan Qiren sighed heavily. Something had to be weighing on him, heavily. Wei Ying wanted to help, but he knew that he would be of little to no use for that. It was with a jolt that he remembered the small coin which Lan Xichen had given to him. He had originally told him to use it to enter into the Cloud Recesses, but with Lan Wangji leading them in, Wei Ying had not had to use it, he doubted anyone would go against Lan Wangji about who was allowed entrance into the Pavilion. Not with the way he had stalked elegantly up to the guard and waltzed through with fire in his eyes.

Hands trembling ever so slightly, Wei Ying dug through the folds of his robes to procure the coin, before holding it out to Lan Qiren, who stared at the silvery object in his hand with shock. Wei Ying bit his lip, unsure what the deal was. If he could not give it to the guards, he figured he may as well show it to an Elder. Perhaps he sould not have done that. Lan Xichen may get angry with him for showing someone other than the guard at the front gate.

"Who gave this to you?" Lan Qiren asked, eyes still steadily fixed on the coin in Wei Ying's palm.

"Master Xichen. He said to show it to the guards, but Lan Wangji let us in, so I did not get the chance to do so. I figured I might as well show it to you, since the guards never saw it."

"Do you know what this is?" Lan Wangji asked, interrupting his uncle, who was about to say something, and turning to Wei Ying, dark eyes fixed steadily onto his own. Wei Ying found he could not look away. He slowly shook his head. Lan Wangji sighed heavily.

 "Uncle, I am taking Young Master Wei WuXian to his chambers, I will explain to you once we arrive." Wangji said softly, staring at Wei Ying, eyes softening slightly.