Wei Ying was young when he was found by the Jiang sect, half starved on the streets of the Wen Clan. While many believed that the Jiang's had opened their arms to accept the boy, Wei Ying knew it to be untrue. The lack of acceptance was in the small...
Wei Ying stood quietly, gazing out at the lake. Shijie and the rest had been in this exact spot not twenty minutes ago when he had gone to find the stupid invitation that they had forgotten. And no, it was not his fault, despite the constant whining of Jiang Chen he was not the one who had been in charge of ensuring that they had the stupid thing. Not that the elder would listen in any format. Still, it hurt, the words of anger which had been hurled at him full force, and the soft disapproval radiating from Shijie. He should be used to these things, and such instances should not make his heart ache and clench and his fingers twitch with dark smoke curling around them, and yet that was exactly what it did.
For though he may pretend, he knew that one thing was certain. He would never ever get used to the constant anger that the Jiangs hurled down on him like an all-fury light blast. He thought perhaps it would be best to leave them, and had even made preparations more than once, but where would he go? Because of Jiang Cheng's cruel words, Shijie's soft anger, and Madam Yu's harsh punishments - which left him bedridden, he could do nothing, as emotionally he had nothing left but faint memories which faded with time.
The night was calm and beautiful, even if Wei Ying dared to say such a thing. The Gusu Lan Sect was high north in the mountains, everything was always calm, and radiated serenity. A feeling of sweet silence, and calm disposition, though these were the exact things which the Gusu Sect were well known for. That, and their zealously righteous disciples.
Wei Ying knew that he would need to go into the Cloud Recesses, to find his brother and sister, if only to ensure their safety. This also meant he would have to take down the warding which was on the gates.
He sighed, sitting near the lakeside, watching the moon dance on the surface, eyes blank as he, for the first time in a long time, was not forced to uphold a certain facade. He breathed in deeply, calmly feeling the icy chill in his bones. It stung his arms and numbed his neck, but he enjoyed it all the same.
The silence.
The stillness.
The peace.
He sat there, he did not know for how long he was still, merely that he was trembling when he finally was shoved out of his thoughts. He knew he would need to move, lest he become a frozen icicle by the morning. It was not an appealing idea and though Wei Ying had such a deep temptation to stay right where he was, to allow the elements to simply eat at him, where none could find him, he knew better than to do that.
He stood, muscles protesting vigorously as he forced himself upwards, and walked back to where the gated entryway stood. He hummed, smiling a little to himself as he felt the warded arch with his hand, chuckling just a little. For complex as it may be, Wei Ying could easily take care of the ward.
He did that and as he walked through, he made sure that he put the ward back up after moving past the gate. He hummed silently under his breath and sighed heavily as he saw the rooftops. He would need to climb over them to reach the inside.
He managed it, making it slightly harder as he did not simply use his martial magic. It was more fun to do it the hard way, perhaps he would tire himself enough to actually get some rest.
What shocked him when he climbed over was the still statue that gazed back at him with an emotionless face. Wei Ying froze, unable to hide himself in time as the Jade stared back at him with a blank gaze.
He recovered quickly, although this was the first time he had been caught so unaware without his usual mask, without his personality mask
"Hello!" he said, forcing himself into the personality which had been molded by himself, straining to keep it and hold it. The other watched him, dark eyes curious, yet not. All of the emotions were in his eyes yet they were simultaneously devoid of emotion. Wei Ying could not quite explain it, it was as though he could see the depth of humanness, and yet see nothing past the inscrutable gaze.
"You are past curfew." was all the other said, when he finally spoke. Wei Ying admired the way the other's voice conveyed nothing. There was no inflection, there was no emotion which seeped through, not even the tiniest one. So...admirable.
"Ah, yes, I apologize. I am just here to see if Shijie and my brother are here, so I will just check." Wei Ying said, forcing a smile onto his face, looking for all the world as though he were doing nothing more than that, his mask now once more perfectly fitted over himself. A comfort, now.
"Alcohol is forbidden." Wei Ying looked down at the two bottles he held in his hands and he just gave a mused smile to the Jade.
"Ah, but I am not going to drink it." He said simply. The Jade made no movement.
"You have broken the rules within the Cloud Recesses." Wei Ying inhaled softly. For the first time in years, he so desperately wanted to shake off his facade of joy and comfort...but he could not.
"I am not sure what the rules are here, but rest assured I am just here to check on my siblings, and I will leave and come back once the curfew is over." He said diplomatically. The Jade was not to be moved.
Or he did move, but more in an effort to grab the alcohol which Wei Ying had procured. Wei Ying, shocked at such an effort, jerked backwards. He stared at the other in surprise.
"If you want some, we can just share." It was not to be so, and the fight which ensued was...Wei Ying could only describe it as utterly invigorating. So talented was the Jade before him. It was the first time he nearly lost, and he had a heavy suspicion that the elder was even holding back.
As it turned out, he was merely forced to look at the wall of regulations within the Cloud Recesses and Wei Ying nearly fainted at the sight. It stretched on and on, there were so many rules that he could barely get past the first column before ripping his eyes away to stare at the glowing figure before him in shock.
"Come," was all the other spoke before grasping Wei Ying's wrist and jerking him forwards, neither slowing his pace, nor speaking a word.
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