Shapeshifting!au p.2
Animal forms were an open secret, a legendary enigma. Everyone knew the tales of the heavenly peoples, who came down to earth to share cultivation with the humans. They used their power to take on human likeness so as to be able to better teach and relate to those living in the earthly realm - even as their true likeness reflected the elements they drew strength from.
Mostly, the heavenly visitors passed on their knowledge and then re-ascended to live out thousands of years in their realm of relative peace and balance. Some though - it was said, stayed. They joined the sects their followers created, fell in love, and added to their numbers. The dragons of Gusu, the great beasts of Qinghe, the tortoises of Yunmeng, the firebirds of Qishan, the tigers of Lanling. Some, it was said, stayed to wander the earth forever, hiding in plain sight.
Legends and reality rarely crossed, however. Most folk hardly even remembered more than the five great sects and those within the cultivation world kept their strengths even more closely hidden than their weaknesses.
In private, shapeshifting was a thing to take pride in - to practice to perfection. Full shifting was rarely used out in the field, but even partial attributes could be the difference between success and failure on a nighthunt. Madame Yu made mercilessly sure Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian remembered this.
To the public, she was the Violet Spider - supposedly for her violent temper and long-reaching lightning. Those who truly knew her well understood that the hidden danger of her moniker was that the fox shifter was only one tail away from immortality.
Jiang Cheng, who took after his mother rather than his patient father, had laughed when heād first learned of Wei Yingās fear of dogs.Ā
āHow can you be afraid of what you are?ā Heād scoffed. āYou canāt be my shixiong if youāre going to be afraid of me too.ā
Still bitter and sad about having to give up his spiritual companions, the young boy hadnāt listened, no matter how many times a young Wei Ying had shouted, āthatās different!ā Heād sobered that night when he and Jiang Yanli had to search for their new brother, when the foxās dull and listless fur - nothing like the glossy orange of his own nor the gray of his motherās - did little to hide the myriad of bite and claw marks littering his small body.Ā
Dogs hunted wild foxes, his sister reminded him.
From there on out, Jiang Cheng vowed not to let another dog near his adoptive brother - even after that coat grew shiny and black as the night night sky - even after Wei Ying earned two tails to Jiang Chengās one and he realized that having a brother also meant an ongoing competition he never agreed to participate in.
Perhaps it was because of this that Wei Ying - recently named Wuxian, trusted Jiang Cheng with his most precious secret.
āThis is all I have left of her.ā The twelve-year-old gently ran his fingers along the soft edges of the feather as they sat on the roof. In the dim light of the lanterns below, Jiang Cheng could just make out the soft brown spots that patterned the tip. He knew nothing about birds, but the shape of it looked important - nothing like the fluffy down feathers ducks liked to leave behind on the surface of Lotus Pierās numerous lakes.
āItās beautiful.ā He said, then immediately wished he hadnāt.Ā
Wei Wuxianās stupid lack of filter was rubbing off on him, just like mother said. His shixiong just turned to him with a wistful smile, though, apparently content enough to not take this prime opportunity to tease him for being soft.
āThanks. She wasā¦ at least. I think.ā He went quiet for a moment. Jiang Cheng sure as hell wasnāt going to try and fill the gap. Heād already embarrassed himself enough and this felt important. āItās funny, sometimes I canāt remember what her face looked like, but every time I look into the sky my mind tells me all the ways a birdās silhouette is different from hers.ā
And what the hell was Jiang Cheng supposed to say to that? His own parents, though constantly arguing (or being yelled at and then not actually yelling back, but certainly not making things better), were still alive. He didnāt need to memorize their faces, or the shape of their words, or which tea they liked best in the morning.Ā
Thankfully, A-Jie came out to gently chide them for climbing and staying out so late. By the time she coaxed them down from the pavilion roof, both the feather and Wei Wuxianās strange, contemplative mood had been hidden away.
