Chapter Text
In the cultivation world, many cultivators were born with shifts. The Lan bloodline tended to dragons, the Nie tended to bulls, the Jin tended to lions, the Jiang tended to jaguars, the Wen tended to falcons, and so on. One's shift was tied to their golden core, so until one fully developed it, they could not access the full power of the shift. Of course, non-cultivators did not have shifts, even if they were born to one.
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A lone raven flew away from a burning mountain. Then, in a panic, it flew back.
‘A-Yuan!’, Wei Wuxian thought, in a single-minded panic. ‘A-Yuan!’
He flew through the dead trees, desperately trying to find the one that had the hollow where he hid the child. He had no clue how long it had been since his… death? He hadn't been able to access his shift since he gave up his golden core, so why was he shifted? Wei Wuxian had no idea what was happening, but could not focus on that right now. As he flew, he saw a flash of white and red out of the corner of his eye, but chose to ignore it. Where was A-Yuan? At least if he couldn't find him, nobody else probably had. There! He flew over to the hollow and disabled the ward protecting the child. Just as he was about to check on A-Yuan, he heard heavy breathing, the sound of someone struggling with every breath to move. Wei Wuxian turned around and saw… Lan Zhan? What was he doing here? He hadn't been at the siege. Wei Wuxian had sort of expected him to be, and didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed that Lan Zhan wasn't there for his last moments. He decided to be relieved. Lan Zhan didn't need to see that. Anyway, what the hell happened to Lan Zhan? He wasn't at the siege! How did he get so hurt?! He flew up to a higher branch to watch what Lan Zhan would do next. Lan Zhan slowly approached the hollow, muttering under his breath the entire time. When Wei Wuxian finally got a look at his back, he would have gasped if he could. It was gruesomely bloody. Wei Wuxian was intimately familiar with bloody backs from the discipline whip. But what had Lan Zhan done to deserve punishment of any kind? He was the model disciple; the only time he could remember Lan Zhan getting punished was because of him! Oh. Did Lan Zhan get punished because of him again? It was highly likely, “Do not associate with evil” and all. He focused back on Lan Zhan, seeing him cradling A-Yuan and…crying. Oh, Lan Zhan. Wei Wuxian decided then and there that he would follow him back to Gusu and do his best to make it up to him. Maybe he could be Lan Zhan’s pet.
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Wei Wuxian settled in his favorite branch outside the Jingshi. Lan Zhan had made his condition worse by exerting himself to go to the Burial Mounds, so he didn't see him much. He did get to see A-Yuan being led inside to visit by Lan Xichen, though. A-Yuan looked much better, although he seemed very quiet. Wei Wuxian didn't blame him; he had been through something very traumatic and was now in a scary new place, without his family. He wished he could be there for the boy, but the best he could do was watch over him. Thankfully, only Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren knew he was a Wen, so the rest of the Cloud Recess seemed to welcome him. He was worried about what would happen when his shift came in, though. Wei Wuxian never knew his parents, and never asked what their shifts were, so he didn't know what the possibilities were for his shift. Luckily, the Dafan Wen tended to barn owls, so it wouldn't be blaringly obvious he was a Wen if he turned out to be a barn owl. Probably, people like Jin Guangyao would recognize who he was, but he trusted Lan Zhan to protect A-Yuan. And if worse came to worse, it seemed like he could still use demonic cultivation, even as a raven. No one would touch a hair on A-Yuan’s head between the two of them.
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As time went by, Lan Xichen started leaving the windows open in the Jingshi to let the breeze in. Coincidentally, this also let Wei Wuxian in. He flew in and immediately started inspecting the Jingshi. It was so very Lan Zhan. Minimally decorated, and the feng shui was perfect. He moved on to inspecting Lan Zhan. He was lying on his stomach on the bed, in a daze. He looked… heartbroken. This wouldn't do. He scooted up towards the bed and started cawing. Now Lan Zhan just looked startled. That was better! It had already been two months; he might as well let Lan Zhan know he was here. That would probably cheer him up, right? Lan Zhan started to sit up, but he started cawing louder and flapping his wings. Ah! No need to get up!! Okay. Here we go. He hadn't tried this in a while, seeing that he hadn't actually been a raven in a while, but he used to prank his shidimei in Lotus Pier with this trick. See, ravens have a vocal organ called a syrinx, which can be used to mimic sounds. But as a raven shifter who actually knows how to talk, Wei Wuxian can use it for much more than just mimicking sounds. He can pretty much actually talk! No other shift can do this, maybe except for parrots. So, he slowly tests out his syrinx, letting out a shaky “ Lan. Zhan” His voice is extremely low and slightly creepy. Very good for scaring shidimei. Lan Zhan’s eyes widen even more, and his jaw drops slightly. Okay, he’ll give it another go. “Lan. Zhan!” Maybe he should make it clear who he is.
Right as he opens his mouth, though, Lan Zhan lets out a shaky “Wei Ying?”