#sunsubdued

for so many decades the new year for the general of the luofu has been more of... a tedious thing than a time of joy. yes, it was always refreshing to witness his people in the throes of revelry, always lovely to watch yanqing's eyes sparkle in wonder time and time again, but in the privacy of his chambers - in the midnight hours when none were around, jing yuan could only remember. times spent in bliss, surrounded by his closest companies - fireworks, beneath a full mooned sky... baiheng's tinkling laugh, yingxing's festive handicrafts, jingliu's steadfast prose, and dan feng's body pressed to his side - the murmuring of how lucky they were, to have these years-

lucky indeed.

but this year was different. finally - finally dan heng had fit into the vacant piece in his soul with puzzle-perfect perfection, and finally... his inclusion in this festivities had made jing yuan ( though still recovering, a bit slower moving than usual - an emanator's death blow was no small thing to take ) lighter than he had been in years. gone was his lonesome forlornness - replaced instead with eager anticipation. and of course... it would be lovely, to see dan heng's eyes experience the luofu's festivities in a newer, freer life.

in his defense, he had no idea what master gongshu had been planning - had no idea that his tale would be... well it would be them. but it was a treat - in a way, and a bit embarrassing - to watch their story unfold so... blatantly. but jing yuan could not protest - not when the crowd enjoyed it so, and not when he too was able to witness imbibitor lunae's singular cloud hymn prowess, and it had brought nothing but a smile to his face and pride in his chest.

later that night - when yanqing had retired to this barracks, jing yuan corners dan heng in his private garden - beneath that massive gingko tree, and finds himself overtly amused as he stares down at the vidyadhara's human disguise. " my my, mighty dragon. what a lovely demonstration of your power. " in that moonlit hour, he makes his move - sliding one broad hand down the other's svelte side, drawing him close at the same time he presses him back into the bark of the tree. downwards, the general leans, the gilded hue of his eyes so playful. " do you make this a habit of yours? " the lilt of his deep voice, silken - like honey, warm - like beams of the sun, " rescuing fumbling lions? " and punctuated, of course, by the drag of petal soft lips over the shell of dan heng's ear. evil, as always.

message from   :   @sunsubdued.

          dan heng had known nothing of a xianzhou new year but the memories left behind by his predecessors. they were beautiful, ornate, and spiritually meaningful events, but weighed down the high elders with their so many duties. time to actually enjoy the festivities when all was said and done had been spent tired, and wishing to sleep off the celebration in the lap of his beloved. they had all been so much younger then, and while dan heng no longer looked upon dan feng’s memories as if they were taboo, as if he was to feel excluded when recalling the past with fondness, he did feel that same nostalgic ache. this monumental love that dan feng carried for his friends, his family, his soul mate, was also his burden to bear.

          the archivist was not used to his acts of repentance being spun into deeds of heroism yet. never had he anticipated that he would join the arias of legend as anything but the reincarnation of the xianzhou’s greatest sinner. he had only treated the unsealing of the ambrosial arbour as a way to clear his own karmic debt, and maybe to lessen the level of vitriol thrown at him whenever he so much as stepped into the alchemy commission. though there was more to be done in order to cleanse himself of dan feng’s sins, this had gone better than expected. too good almost. the vidyadhara wondered if he’d need to even his reputation a little by committing a few petty crimes instead. doing so would at least lessen the glamorous hyperbole of his feats.

          ah, and to think, the new legend spun was of how tightly coiled his own fate was with jing yuan’s. for that reason, florets of rose bloomed across the dragon’s cheeks. he’d blame it on the crowds, no doubt, the heat, and not the way he could feel the general’s gaze upon his back.

          it was amusing, the thought of entertaining more crimes in front of the arbiter general himself. he’d let more than dan heng’s fair of associated transgressions go. too generous. too loving. and dan heng, cruel, to be spending lunar new year scheming about how to make his beloved’s life harder. an amused smile lingered at the corner of his lips as the heat of jing yuan’s hand would glide down his side, reassurance and power beneath the feel of him sliding over dan heng’s fluttering ribs, stomach twisting as he lay fingers at his waist. enamoured, lovesick. he could never recall the full effects of it until jing yuan was before him, pressing smaller form to the trunk of the gilded tree. when lionine presence drew the dragon close, in the comfort and safety of his warm gaze, his human form shed like petals ; horns sprouting anew, playful tail wrapped ‘round general’s waist in turn   (   who had really trapped who ?   had dan heng been cornered, or had jing yuan been lured ?   )

          a shudder flit down draconic spine, fast and quick, like a pulse of lightning. his lips were impossibly warm against the vidyadhara’s ear, and the archivist found himself cursing under soft breath. was he an old man, or a rascal ? dan heng could never tell which side of jing yuan he expected that day.   “   it’s about as prominent as yours -   ”   answer soft, flirtatious, kisses even more so as they trailed in gentle blossoms from his sunshine’s collarbones and up the column of his neck. and there it was, another display of the imbibitor lunae’s power, floating just off the ground to secure lionine teasings in a sweet, sumptuous kiss. curse this mountainous height, curse his mischievous smile, curse his laughter, curse his cute little mole. curse the fact that dan heng meant none of it. and instead, bless how lucky he was to be alive, to be here, within his arms.   “   -   and your penchant for picking up strays   ...   us lost souls.   ”

it’s hard for him to hold back - a covetous drag of gentle fingertips along glass like horns, the sweet coast of fangs over silken scales… pieces of dan heng he covets with soft reverence when they’d already been lost beneath the preceptors greed. a soft stilted breath, the roam of callouses over a half bared abdomen, yet for all his fervor, jing yuan kisses him with a smile. i missed you, the brushes seem to say, i missed you so much. and when gold meets jade, that looks speak even more: i will never let them hurt you again.          /          from @sunsubdued.

          there were many who believed that dan heng’s affliction for his human disguise manifested out of a sense of self – loathing hatred, out of a shame for existing that had been drilled into him from the moment he’d been born. maybe it had been like this once, but those who knew and understood the archivist better than most would see the proud stride in his draconic form, the way his movements seemed guided with an ethereal grace only hinted at as the express’ train guard. no, to hide his vidyadhara form was not done so out of cowardice, for dan heng had never feared the vitriol of his own people ( so used to the contemptuous whispers outside of his prison cell ) but convenience. so many looked upon that crown of horns, the ghostly swish of the high elder’s tail and spoke only to dan feng. he would not be a conduit between the living, and a dead man.

          out of everyone that had known dan feng in a previous life, it was only jing yuan who had come to fully embrace dan heng as his own person. only he was privy to the long scion’s crown, the shedding of his human disguise.

          dan heng had once been forced into a position where he could not deny any assistance. made helpless, deprived of knowledge, relying only on preceptors and guards to shape his understanding of the world. it had been humiliating, fury – inducing, and so he had come to believe that help, no matter how small, would come at a price. scales for food, for more water, for even a modicum of light to keep him sane. he had given away pieces of his body for things he eventually learned should not have cost so much. he was harvested. when jing yuan offered kindness, before dan heng even knew who he was, he had been weary from this painful transaction. books, for free ? the sinner’s shadow could not believe it. the diamond like scales he’d offered had been used in his next transaction with the preceptors, but he had never offered them again after jing yuan’s first refusal. still, the general continued to offer books, he offered short – lived company, comfort in the sound of his voice, despite how reluctant dan heng had been to believe that one day he would not ask for something self serving in the end.

          but he’d let him go.

          any attempt to dissuade an initial friendship out of fear he would be a stand in, a replacement, had flittered away the moment jing yuan had set him free. no expectation, only the hope that dan heng would live a long and happy life.

          his was devotion unconditional, and dan heng wished to protect it in turn.

          the vidyadhara’s hand rose to cup his cheek, thumb rising to glide over skin beneath gilded gaze, passionate with ardour. he wondered if jing yuan could see his own in kind, green afflicted with a fervour most profound. firm, plush, the press of dan heng’s lips to his, whispered cloudhymn between their bated breath. the reverence in lionine touch was palpable, made his chest ache to be regarded as something precious, something coveted, instead of a tool to be used over and over again. his own hands learning the general’s body in turn, over century old scars and toned muscle, bathed in the bedroom’s warm morning light he found there was little he wouldn’t do to keep that golden gaze on him. his ‘ i miss you too ’ comes in the loving way dan heng spills mist against his lips. his ‘ i miss you so much ’ the coil of his tail around the general’s leg. most adoring unveil in the quiet way the vidyadhara bloomed before him, like flowers in sunlight, falling a little more in love with every kiss.

meddlesome, is the big lion, and ultimately a bit... clingy to dan feng ever since he'd arrived back on the luofu since his last campaign. he lay sprawled upon the high elder's lap, the waves of white flame hair silken and impossibly long across dan feng's robes. fingertips gently grasp the feathered tuft of his tail, his claws so gently stroking through the silken texture, rubbing absently over shiny scales and generally being a tactile nuisance. gilded hues peer up at his companion through the canopy of long, dark lashes, and he offers dan feng one of those eager but indolent smiles - as if he'd be happy to remain here for eternity, war effort be damned. " a little fox mentioned to me that it was stormy for three days after my departure. " clever fingertips, running oh-so tentatively up his tail. " is that true... feng-ge? "

         ‘   i don’t know what baiheng is talking about.   ’   the defensive intonation came swiftly, easily, though carried with it little malice or ire. dan feng had always been known for his reticent personality, the chilling coolness of ocean depths made dragon flesh and bone, but in the stead of his little sun lion   (   though not so little anymore   )   he was the regaling spring, light over surface where the sacred lotuses bloomed, bright and plentiful. the once unforgiving, and unrelenting churn of ocean waves becoming the soft heartbeat lapping the shore. he allowed this day to put aside his duties, to bask in the warmth of his warrior, not unlike a sunning lizard, content to find the most comfortable of rocks.

          as immortals they walked lines between what became grating and boring, the mental fatigue of living too long, experiencing too much could become arduous at any time, the threat of becoming marastruck a very real, and very worrying affair. though they would combat the abundance in droves to one day dream of afterlives free of strife, where their undying souls became pawns for the plague author, this happiness, too, was a weapon. the precursors had never taught him this   ;   that bliss, and elation, so too would become as healing as any draught, that the way to combat the most gruesome of memories was to make ten thousand joys. had they believed the imbibitor lunae to be above such simple medicines ? that dan feng was only capable of rain and storm, and not the gentle part of them to watch the sun peek through ?

          like this, jing yuan proved once more to regard dan feng as a person, with thoughts and feelings, and not a title   ;   a near deity made human.

          ‘   it was five days.   ’

& reasons to cup a face.

one touch of his fingertips to jing yuan's meridian and xie lian knows instantly: the damage here is far more than meets the eye. jing yuan's qi has been thrown into a state of disarray; his meridians seem almost burnt, somehow, their flow of vital energy catastrophically blocked.

it's been centuries since he last saw a spiritual wound that runs this deeply. he sucks in a shaky breath, fingers curling gently around jing yuan's wrist in a gesture that's equal parts tender and protective.

"i'm sorry, jing-xiānshēng," he whispers. "you must be ... "

in such terrible pain.

there's a pricking in his eyes; xie lian blinks furiously to keep from tearing up. to see someone as kind as the general in such pain --- it's an abomination ! it shouldn't be ! and ---

--- a warm, broad hand gently cups his face, tilting it up and forcing grey eyes to meet gentle golden ones. xie lian swallows thickly, adam's apple bobbing with effort. jing yuan's expression is kind and mellow, and xie lian ...

... xie lian, in a moment of weakness, leans into the touch.

"let me help you, xiānshēng," he murmurs, plush lips inadvertently brushing against a callused palm as he speaks. "this wound ... this will require more than conventional medicine. but i ... i've seen this before, and i can help, if you'll allow it ... "