Pitched Normal

Ripples

Lan Zhan was stunned but for a mere moment, watching as small tendrils of black smoke began to lift from Wei Ying's body. They wrapped themselves around him, bathing him in their embrace; he pulled out his guqin, and began to play Cleansing. He hoped that it would help; he did not really know what else there was that he could do other than try and calm the other's mind. What other options there were, if there were any, Lan Zhan did not know them, and he did not wish for Wei Ying to continue being tormented by what was obviously an awful nightmare which bled into his waking moments. He wished to wake Wei Ying from those blurred lines of reality and dreams. He had to calm down enough to be aware that he was not wherever his nightmare was, and that he was awake and safe now. Lan Zhan was not good at comforting people. He was not good at a lot of things when it came to human interactions and such, but he was hoping that the song would help Wei Ying calm and clearly see where it was that he was currently. So that he could rid himself of the remnants of whatever nightmare that it was that he had clearly been having. He just wished that there was more that he could do. He wished that he could do more.

He played, continuing to play, he did not once stop. He did not bother questioning why the resentful energy seemed to be coming from Wei Ying himself when his core had not shown any signs of the resentment, and he did not question why Wei Ying had so suddenly been bathed in it.

Seeing the boy's eyes open so suddenly, catching Lan Zhan's own as he woke, Lan Zhan managed to get a clear view of all of the tortured emotions in those very orbs. Lan Zhan had known the other was hiding himself behind this persona of endless joy and mischief. He had known because of the small moments when this overwhelming persona was dropped and there was something more ... genuine ... underneath it. Lan Zhan knew about masks and personas. He had seen them more often than he could count, and so he knew when someone was using one. He had always wondered why it was that Wei Ying shielded himself. It had only been three days within the Cloud Recesses, when Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had begun this ... thing between them, and yet Lan Zhan had found himself wondering exactly what was going on in the other's mind, in his head, how he was getting along and what he was hiding. After realizing that Wei Ying knew Wen Chao enough for them to have a conversation, and seeing the clear antipathy that Wei Ying had held towards the other ... he could not help but realize Wei Ying was hiding much more than he had previously realized.

Now, though, he wished that he was not as correct in his theories as he normally was. Lan Zhan did not like seeing the wild look in his eyes that Wei Ying currently had. He did not like seeing those normally happy, joyful and calm eyes filled with a terror so deep it shook his very being. Wei Ying's eyes, when the mask dropped in the times that he was with Lan Zhan, were calm, serene, and genuinely joyful most of the time. These eyes now, were very different and Lan Zhan found himself realizing that he did not like that. He did not like the fear which flooded them now, and he did not like the wildness, and animalistic darkness which was embedded within them, swirling with the fear which was so clearly seen. He did not like how Wei Ying stumbled over himself, in his haste to move backwards, and he did not like how the other was trembling, his body shaking so roughly that Lan Zhan wondered what exactly had caused this. He hated the fact that the boy was so terrified. The Cloud Recesses were a place of safety and harmony, the fact that he was so utterly fearful of something that such simple things such as speech and communication were off the table, it frightened Lan Zhan. He did not like it. Not one bit.

So, he played his Guqin, imbuing it with what was most likely way more spiritual energy than necessarily needed for the song, terrified that Wei Ying was going to do something and end up hurting himself. He could not help himself, as this was the only thing he knew how to do to help the other, he did not know another way to aid him, and he cursed the fact that he was so hopeless. He would speak to his brother in order to fix this condition. He could not allow this sort of thing to happen to Wei Ying again.

In his heart, Lan Zhan found himself swearing to make the person or persons pay for whatever caused Wei Ying this tremendous amount of fear. It was something that rather surprised Lan Zhan himself, as he was not typically one for rash actions and harsh punishments which were not kept strictly in line with his clan. He also was not one with a penchant for violence either. Not drastic violence. Yet, seeing Wei Ying like this, it tugged at his heart. He felt his heart stutter and break somewhat, chipping ever so slightly the more he saw the terror which surrounded the other.

The flash of darkness in Wei Ying's eyes, which had been steadily growing stronger before Lan Zhan began to play, slowly started to recede from the other's eyes, until there was no longer any trace of it. Wei Ying began to wake himself up from the fear which had held him hostage after his dream, and Lan Zhan put his guqin away, standing and moving next to Wei Ying, pausing slightly. He was uncertain what to do, and hesitance warred through himself combined with his desire to do something to help. The decision, however, was seemingly not his to make either way.

Lan Zhan watched with a sort of detached wonder as Wei Ying's head lifted slightly, his eyes somewhat dazed, and one hand moved out to reach towards him, as though desperate to grab onto him. Tears began to fall as Wei Ying realized that Lan Zhan was too far away, and he could not touch him. He was too unsteady, even after the large amount of spiritual energy which Lan Zhan had shoved into the song (so perhaps, just perhaps Lan Zhan should have put more than he had whilst playing), but his eyes seemed to switch. Desperation flew through them and in moments the black and grey smoke seemed to rise once more. It curled around his arm, moving forwards, covering the distance that Wei Ying could not reach; wrapping itself gently around Lan Zhan, pulling him forwards, allowing Wei Ying to finally cling onto his arm, allowing Lan Zhan to pull Wei Ying up. The smoke dissipated as soon as it had come.

It made him further worried as he saw Wei Ying stumble as he helped him up. Wei Ying fell into him. He caught him, ensuring that Wei Ying did not fall, so he wrapped his arm around the other in order to stabilize him (just to stabilize, of course, Lan Zhan mentally stated that it was not improper, he was just helping.) Lan Zhan helped him up. He watched the younger blink rapidly, shaking his head a little as though to clear himself of the last thoughts which ran through his head.

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying's voice was faint. It was quiet, and he looked for all the world as though he were about to fall where he was. He was swaying slightly on his feet; Lan Zhan gripped him tighter to ensure that he would not fall. "Lan Zhan ... " Wei Ying stared up at the other boy. His vision was clearly fading in and out.

Wei Ying held a hand up to the other's face, fingertips lightly touching his cheek, not daring to touch more. "Lan Zhan, I do not feel good." he said simply. His eyes closed, and it was clearly a struggle for him to open them once more. Lan Zhan felt himself panic slightly. "Lan Zhan, c-can you s-stay with me?" he asked. His voice sounded as though it were about to fade away almost entirely from just how soft and light it was. "D-Don't tell m-my s-sister. O-or b-brother, pl-please." Lan Zhan nodded once, and Wei Ying smiled lightly. "T-Thank Y-You." Wei Ying hummed softly before collapsing entirely into the other's arms.