“Wow that’s a lot of white.” Leaning on a maple, doing his best to be quiet and unobtrusive and out of the way of all the suppressed panicking, Wei Wuxian watched the pomp and circumstances upriver. There were Heralds and Companions all over the place. There were priests of all colors of robes, cotton and linen and practical wool fluttering in the cold wind off the water, waving censers and holy texts. There were reams of gold embroidery, and glints of noon sun from the circlets of the Queen and her Consort, for what could be more important to a true ruler than making sure the center of her very capital was cleansed of resentful energy?
And in the middle of it all were three less than thrilled cultivators in Nie green and Lan white, trying to set up a good, stable formation for when – not if – the waterborne ghosts turned nasty.
“Is that – Bull Rushing?” Wen Ning peeked around the trunk of the tree beside him, shading his eyes with one hand, head tilted like one of the crows being suspiciously quiet in a nearby pine. “I thought that takes four….”
“Looks like Hanguang-jun’s been practicing with Kellen as a backup for qi flow,” Wei Wuxian reflected. “Or I hope he has… eh?”
One familiar priest dressed in quiet cream wool, looking uncertainly around, loosely followed by a gaggle of students in blue and hints of green-
And not all of the blue in the air was light off clothing. Or even visible, to most eyes.
“More air-yaojing,” Wen Ning said softly. “But if they go after magic….”
“Nie Huaisang just looks fluttery,” Wei Wuxian smiled. “When he’s interested in something – and he is interested in cultivating, with anything but the saber – you learn from people who love what they’re doing. You can’t help it.” Stepping out from behind the tree, he waved. “Hello!”
A/N: Warning, this chapter is going to take a long while. Work is exhausting, though I’m trying to get back on a regular schedule of writing.
Crossover Queen's Creative Chaos 
❤ practical, even if wool and water isn't a wonderful combination, especially with robes. But very practical, and I suppose you can make them big enough to ditch easily…..
LikeLiked by 3 people
Wool will stay warm when wet and is more fire resistant than cotton or linen. Is WWX and Wen Ning close enough to the procession to greet friends. It sounded like they were at a vantage point a small distance away. So who is he talking to? Is it the familiar looking priest, or is he part of the procession upriver?
LikeLiked by 3 people
He’s talking to Gerichen, who’s definitely not part of the procession. For Alberich and too-curious student reasons. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
And Wei Wuxian is still worried about Lan Wangji despite himself…. Here’s hoping that he HAS practiced with Kellen, although I can’t see why he wouldn’t. And I’m giggling at all the pomp and the fact that Lan Wangji is probably really uncomfortable right now. Is it weird that I’m kinda hoping he gets to show off a little? 😈 just to see all the priests and Nobles feel a little nervous? Or even have to have Wei Wuxian step in to back him up… but that would be a little counter productive. And here is hoping Wen Ning’s new chains don’t have to make an appearance either. (as cool as that would Be, it would be hard to judge if it would help or hurt the Wen’s situation…)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fun! It’ll be intriguing to see how this goes.
I wish you luck and strength with your work and hope it gets less exhausting.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks!
LikeLike
I just know this is going to go sideways somehow. Because they’re probably going to be doing a heavy duty ‘BE AT PEACE’ method similar to how the Companions normally effect energies.
But the river’s energies are already riled up a bit by WWX’s previous actions and we know at least some of the spirits making that morass up hate Heralds/Companions. Doubt it’s going to be to the scale of a full-blown Waterborne Abyss but yeah, something is going to happen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It would be more interesting if there was a minor disaster but a major one is unlikely. There isn’t as much magic energy in Valdemar as in Pelagric or the cultivation lands. Haven is one of the safer and more stable parts of Valdemar too. Also the various people in the procession have some power to calm spirits and resentful energy.
The Nie and Lan are sensibly enough getting ready for problems, but if they were sure of a major disaster they would have stopped the procession.
LikeLiked by 1 person
…Did Nie Huaisang hijack/bribe the air-yaojing to keep an eye on his students? If only for the up-coming fireworks?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heh! Not likely.
LikeLike