#necro-nova

When the snow first started to fall, the oldest juniors all came carefully around and make sure the youngest juniors in the dormitory, too young to have formed golden cores, had an extra blanket. Someday, Lan Yuan knew, he would have a golden core, and this would make him strong and keep him warm and he’d be able to fly. But he didn’t have one yet and neither did the rabbits-- they’d never have one at all, probably, because some animals did learn to cultivate but it wasn’t like what humans did (said Hanguang-jun). So who was going to bring the rabbits blankets to stay warm? Well, it would have to be Lan Yuan. 

He adjusted the pile of blankets in his arms so he could wipe his face with his sleeve. Where were they? But of course-- the realization came to him all at once, and he felt very silly indeed. The way to lure the rabbits was to sit very still. Hanguang-jun had told him that, too. He carefully cleared a place on the ground for the blankets so they wouldn’t get too wet, then sat down himself and settled in to be patient and quiet, like he’d been shown. 

Once stopped moving, it got cold pretty fast. 

But he had to be patient. He-- 

“Lan Yuan?” 

He was almost too cold to startle at suddenly hearing his name, and was definitely too slow to get to his feet and bow, having realized who the voice belonged to. He tried to express the proper greetings to Grandmaster Lan, so he wouldn’t be in trouble for failing to show respect to an elder and wandering off alone, but his frozen lips wouldn’t move right. 

“What are you--?” he cut himself off. He sounded cross, and looked cross too. Lan Yuan tried to shrink in on himself, like maybe being smaller would make Grandmaster Lan forget he was there. “Come, come.” 

He swept his arm out and all but enveloped Lan Yuan in his trailing sleeve. Lan Yuan wanted to protest and collect the blankets, but he couldn’t move fast enough, and Grandmaster Lan was ushering him away. He wasn’t sure where they were going, except it definitely wasn’t the juniors’ dormitory, and it wasn’t the courtyard where punishments took place, either. They were moving so quickly, the rush of the air felt so cold against his robes and cheeks, Lan Yuan decided not to think about it too hard. 

Grandmaster Lan bundled him up some steps and into a house Lan Yuan had never seen before. It looked just like all the others, but he’d never been inside this one. They were barely in before Grandmaster Lan shut the door and started briskly stripping off Lan Yuan’s wet outer robes. Lan Yuan stood dutifully still, wondering if this was prelude to a punishment, but it just seemed to be prelude to being handed a new outer robe that was much too big and being told to wrap himself up and sit down. So Lan Yuan did what he was told, bundling into the plain, oversized robe and taking an obedient seat at the nearby table.

This was, he realized suddenly, probably Grandmaster Lan’s house. What else would it be? It was clearly somebody’s-- he could get a glimpse of a bed behind the screen in the room beyond-- and Grandmaster Lan wouldn’t just take him to somebody else’s house. Probably. 

Grandmaster Lan reappeared, now with tea. He carefully poured it and nudged a cup towards Lan Yuan.

“Drink slowly,” he said sternly. That was an easy command to obey: just the feeling of the warm cup in his hands was so nice. “What were you doing out there?” 

Lan Yuan was rarely in trouble himself, but he’d seen Lan Jingyi get caught doing things enough times to know how this went. He bowed over the cup. “This disciple has broken the rules.” 

“Indeed,” said Lan Qiren. “But Lan Yuan has not answered the question.” 

“Oh! I...” He looked down into his teacup. “Nobody was going to bring the rabbits a blanket.” 

“I beg your pardon?” 

He still sounded mad. Lan Yuan took a breath so that his nervousness wouldn’t make him fidget. 

“I mean... it’s cold out, in the snow. All the juniors got an extra blanket, but how can the rabbits be warm?” 

Grandmaster Lan didn’t say anything for a moment or two. Then he cleared his throat and poured more tea into Lan Yuan’s cup.

“The rabbits have fur,” he said. “They also have burrows. They may be overly accustomed to being fed by humans, but they have what they require to survive.” 

“Oh!” Lan Yuan felt like a too-tight belt had been unloosed from around his middle, like he could breathe properly again, even though he hadn’t really realized he couldn’t breathe right before. “That’s good! I wanted to bring them a blanket.”

“Your... intentions were kind,” said Grandmaster Lan. “But unlike a rabbit, you do not have what is required to survive sitting alone in the snow. It was reckless of you, and you must not do it again.” 

“Yes, grandmaster.” 

Grandmaster Lan nodded. He still looked grumpy, but he seemed to be satisfied. “Stay here until your outer robes dry, you are prone to colds, I am told. Then I will walk you back to the dormitory.” 

“Thank you, grandmaster.”