Will Laurence (gentlemanly) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-10-14 21:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, temeraire: william laurence, ₴ inactive: lang wangji |
Who: Laurence and Lan Wangji
What: Laurence meets Lan Wangji
When: First week of October
Where: Cloud Recesses
Warnings: Nah
Laurence wasn’t quite in the habit of morning calls again, though he’d quite enjoyed them several lifetimes ago, when he’d been a man in the Navy, before the war, and before the general direction of his life had been capsized, not once or twice, but three times.
But he’d little else to do today, and when he’d spotted a jar of black olives while he’d been grocery shopping, he decided that he’d pay Lan Xichen a short visit. Nothing that would inconvenience him too much; he’d only drop off the olives and, if Lan Xichen had the time, a short conversation.
The trouble was, once he got to the top of the staircase, he realized he didn’t have the foggiest idea which of the buildings served as Lan Xichen’s quarters: the only building he knew was the library. Furthermore, he was sure he didn’t have leave to wander the grounds freely, unescorted. He should have sent word that he was coming - it would have only taken a text - but the thought hadn’t crossed Laurence’s mind until now and he’d left his phone back in his apartment. And so he was stuck there, near the entrance, not quite sure what his next move should be.
Lan Wangji, a punctual, exact creature, had finished both his first and his second morning meditation, breakfast, and dressed, and was on his way to his job with the DoA. The morning was quiet, and in that in-between time of not too early not too late in which most of the fog had burned off and the sun was beginning to shine more aggressively. Dressed in his traditional robes, Lan Wangji had little interest in wearing “modern” clothing, mostly because he had no notion what “modern” meant to imply - everyone was from such different worlds and he liked the routine of wearing what was familiar to him. Most of the people from his world seemed to agree with him (with the exception of Wei Ying, of course, who would be happy to try anything once).
Which was why Laurence stuck out to his eyes immediately. Nothing about the man was offensive, of course, but he was clearly not a white-robed denizen of Cloud Recesses, and with a broad stride and a required bow of deference, Lan Wangji rose and looked at him in silent askance.
Laurence had been raised with the idea that a gentleman should never let his wardrobe fall out of fashion, but never let it be so new as to be noticeable, and so he’d trusted his tailor to choose something that matched the local fashion, though he had felt like it was ill-suited to the Cloud Recesses. Unfortunately, for the time being it was the only suit he owned.
Laurence returned in turn, and then stood, a little awkwardly. He was aware that one should not speak until their host first spoke to them, and so he stood, perhaps a few minutes too long, in silence. He took the time to appraise the man standing before him.
It seemed likely that the man before him was the younger brother of Lan Xichen - the family resemblance was strong, even if Lan Wangji looked more severe than his brother - and as far as Laurence knew, the only ones currently residing at the Cloud Recesses were Lan Xichen, his younger brother, the woman who was to be his brother’s wife, and Lan Xichen’s nephew (perhaps Lan Wangji’s son, since Lan Xichen had no other siblings, but he knew that nephew could be more of a broad familial term as well, indicating the son of a cousin or another relation of the younger generation). The nephew, no doubt, would be younger, especially if he were Lan Wangji’s son, either from his current fiance or from a previous coupling.
Laurence became aware, suddenly, that the silence had stretched on just a little too long, and that he’d have to make the first greeting after all - it was undoubtedly ruder to just continue to stare at one another without any introductions being made at all than to break the silence. “Good morning,” he said with a smile. “I’m Will Laurence, or Lao-Ren-Tze if you prefer. I hope I’ve not interrupted you. Is this a bad time?”
At his name, something nearly unperceivable thawed in Lan Wangji’s frame. His face remained nearly expressionless, his posture straight, but there was an easier air about him, a curiosity covered by politeness. “My brother has spoken of you,” he confirmed, and with a graceful air stepped aside to allow Laurence space to properly enter Cloud Recesses. “I am Hanguang Jun.”
Other, less restrained individuals would have given him his name - Lan Wangji - but the Lan Clan followed certain rules, and Lan Wangji had no reason to deviate from this one (although he had to admit that Wei Ying had made a compelling argument for ignoring other ones). He was glad of Laurence, from what little he knew of him - anyone kind and patient enough to get Lan Xichen out of his depression was someone Lan Wangji could value, provided that they stay kind and patient. “Follow me.”
“A pleasure, Hanguang Jun,” Laurence said, warmly. “Your brother’s spoken of you as well; I’m glad to finally meet you in person.” He fell into step with Lan Wangji, taking another moment to study him. He’d known Lan Wangji for all of two minutes, but it wasn’t difficult to tell already that he was more serious than his brother, who Laurence already considered rather on the serious side. It was little wonder, with the numerous rules against smiling or laughing. “Your brother tells me you’re to be married soon. I offer my congratulations.”
Lan Wangji kept his face straight ahead, but the corner of his mouth curled, just a little. He used to be able to keep such a blank expression on his face but he’d fallen into bad habits here in Vallo, and the mere thought of marrying Wei Ying made him want to do his version of smiling.
He nodded his head to confirm what Laurence had heard as they navigated Cloud Recesses layout. “Thank you,” He said, followed by: “We will marry soon.” They didn’t have a date. Or rather, they had several dates. Lan Wangji was very concerned about their wedding being interrupted by one of Vallo’s complications, and had yet to really decide on a final date. A thought occurred to him as they passed by a building that had a gorgeous print of a dragon inside: “Lan Xichen has told me of your Temeraire.”
Laurence thought he might have caught a change in expression. Back home, most marriages in Laurence’s social circle were marriages of convenience: very few people married for passion. He didn’t think that was the case here in Vallo, which was a nice change of pace.
He smiled at the mention of Temeraire as he always did when he had a chance to speak of his dear companion, though it was tinged with a bit of melancholy. He’d not yet been separated from Temeraire as long as he had when he’d been gaoled, but he was beginning to suspect that he soon would. There was comfort in knowing that there was another Laurence with Temeraire back home so that the dragon wouldn’t have to know the pain of separation - he suspected Temeraire would likely take it worse than Laurence had managed.
“Temeraire, I’m certain, would very much enjoy the Cloud Recesses. I hope you’ll permit us both to visit if he arrives.” He likely wouldn’t fit very comfortably among the buildings, but he was sure he’d be able to find somewhere spacious enough to set down. “I understand your own world doesn’t have dragons?”
Lan Wangji gave a slight dip of his head at the request. While he only had a vague idea of just how large the dragon might be, he was willing to gamble on it and hopefully find a place where he might be comfortable, given the way Lan Xichen had spoken of him: apparently dragons were quite intelligent, in addition to being honored guests.
“Not for a long time,” he answered, “though we do have spirits. And what is called ‘the undead’.” Not calling them ‘puppets’ was a difficult habit to break, but luckily Lan Wangji tended to speak privately in his head first, and thus he had not committed any form of faux-pas yet with Vallo’s livelier undead population. He glanced at the exterior of the Gentian house where his brother had holed up. It had been the room that their troubled mother had lived in, and died in, and Lan Wangji very much disliked Lan Xichen claiming it as his own. Perhaps having more friends here would temper that impulse. “It’s more calm here in Vallo, despite the occasional complications,” he added diplomatically, shifting his eyes away from Gentian House. He hoped Laurence would read between the lines.
The concept of spirits was not an alien one to Laurence; there were plenty of people in his own world who held unreasonable superstitions about spirits, though Laurence had never held them himself. He suspected it wasn’t a mere superstition on Lan Wangji’s part, however, given what he’d seen of Lan Xichen’s magic. He was a little startled at the mention of the undead, however, and realized, embarrassed, that he’d allowed himself to stare at the mention of it. He gained control of himself again.
Laurence knew nothing of the house or its history, but he did know something of Lan Xichen’s history. He knew nothing in any detail, and he’d likely never would unless Lan Xichen chose to divulge it of his own free will, but he knew something of Lan Xichen being betrayed and his self-imposed isolation. He wondered, not for the first time, the circumstances that had led to it.
Especially with what Lan Wangji implied of what their life must be like at home. Nothing Laurence could comment directly on, of course, but he thought he understood nevertheless. He wondered, a little, if Lan Xichen was still isolating himself more than was necessary.
“It seems a good place to come if one needs to convalesce,” he said, and then turned his face to the sky. “It seems a good day for a walk, I think.” He didn’t plan on imposing himself on Lan Xichen especially long, having only stopped by without warning for only a brief visit, but he thought a short walk might be more beneficial than just sitting indoors. "Do you have any favoured walking paths?"
Lan Wangji gave him that long, discerning stare for a slow moment, looking for any signs of cunning or cruelty. He had not seen them in Jin Guangyao, for all those years, but then, he had not been looking either, so wrapped up in the pressures of being a Lan and in grief for his lost love.
He found nothing in Laurence’s gaze but awkwardness, a desire to please, hope, and perhaps more than a hint of a backbone, should his politeness be abused. Satisfied, Lan Wangji abruptly nodded and turned on his heel, pointing to a covered walkway that seemed to disappear into a gentle mountain mist.
“That is my brother’s favorite path,” he said, “and he walks it whenever he seeks comfort. Getting outside today would be beneficial to him, should you choose to not walk it alone.”
The idea that Laurence would take such advantage of the Lans’ hospitality that he’d go wandering the grounds unescorted was ludacris enough that he very nearly smiled at it. “I’ll certainly ask him, rest assured,” he said. “I thank you very much for accompanying me.”
With a nod and a significant glance at the Gentian house once again, Lan Wangji gave his bow. Turning on his heel, he headed back toward the home he shared with Wei Ying to peek to see if the man had awakened yet.