singlelogbridge | Inbox: Ximilia

When have I ever made a single stupid decision? [Please don't actually answer that.

Wei Wuxian huffs and pauses to search Huaisang's face. The concern there is real and it makes his brow furrow in worry even as he raises one eyebrow at him.]

Fine, I promise. [There is a part of him that wonders if Huaisang has somehow learned about Itachi's past and what it will take for him to convince his friend that Itachi isn't a threat. He hopes that isn't the case and that Itachi's privacy hasn't been compromised.]

[ it's only by years of skillful honing of his acting skills that he doesn't burst out laughing at that. ]

Do you remember the man on the network, the one who was asking about that weird created body? [ android, huaisang, the word you're looking for is android. ]

Kirigan. He's — [ just as two-faced as jin guangyao, he wants to say but doesn't, ] He can be trusted as much as Jin Guangshan could be trusted.

[Had Huaisang used any other language to describe the man, Wei Wuxian would have still taken him seriously, but his reaction would have been more measured. Had he called him dangerous or powerful, perhaps even cruel, he would have been more considering. But Huaisang hadn't used those words, he'd drawn a parallel that has Wei Wuxian's expression shifting from curiosity to dangerous and determined in the blink of an eye. He knows a little about General Kirigan from Mal, but not nearly enough it seems.]

Has he hurt anyone here? [A beat, and then] Is he planning to? [He pauses again, something striking him.] What did he wants so badly with Viveca's created body then?

[His hands curls into fists and he deliberately doesn't reach for the dizi tucked into his robes.]

There's a woman here from his world, [ huaisang answers, nervously picking at his fingernails. there's a risk here — he's told alina about his brother's murder, about who the murderer was... and if that information gets to wei wuxian, or worse, er-ge —

but no. his own lies are not a web strong enough to withstand the weight of his brother's voice — huaisang, helping her is the right thing to do. against huaisang's lies, da-ge will always, always win.

do not abide evil. ]

He has hurt her, that much I know for certain. I don't know if he has hurt anyone else, or tried to, or plans to... but I know men like him. A pleasant facade, justifications for every action, lies spun until you don't know what to believe, pretty words that mean nothing —

[ the steel creeps, steals into his voice, little by little, until it's sharp enough to cut, a viciousness simmering underneath, directed at a different man.

huaisang breathes. ]

I don't know that, either, but she seemed to think he only pretended to want to help because it suited him. Maybe for manipulation, or blackmail. [ that is certainly what jin guangyao would have done — obtain something someone else wants to hold it over their head, or to bargain with. ]

[The venom in Huaisang's voice is enough to pull Wei Wuxian's attention from his own anger, and he stares at his old friend as he listens to a simmering resentment slip from Huaisang that he hadn't believed him capable of. It's startling, but then years have passed since their carefree days of teenage nonsense and Nie Mingjue is dead. No matter how Huaisang looks the same to him, he remembers with more clarity now than ever before that the Nie Huaisang in front of him is a man who he doesn't know as well as he thinks.

Though all of that is digested in passing, his attention returning promptly to the matter at hand. First things first—]

Hurt how? [It's the comparison to Jin Guangshan that freezes the blood in his veins. Jin Guangshan is—was—awful in many ways, but there was a particular way in which he was awful to women, an open secret that no one challenged. If this man has hurt someone here in that way, then Wei Wuxian will have to break his promise to Huaisang not to do anything stupid.]

[ with the focus shifting back to lady starkov, huaisang pushes back the anger he feels — it will not serve him, now. his hatred of jin guangyao should be a thing of the past; the man is dead, his reputation in ruins. he lost everything before losing his life. huaisang's focus can now be on his brother, not on revenge.

his fan is moved from one hand to the other, then back. ]

He leashed me like some kind of pet, [ he recites, ] and made me watch him do terrible things.

... I don't know the details. But from what she said, I think he deceived her into believing he was good, and when he revealed his true nature, it was too late. [ some people don't show you who they are until it's too late, and by the time you realized, the damage is already done. he remembers the words like they're engraved in his heart, because they ring true for him, too. ] Even now I think she wants to believe in him despite knowing better.

[ he doesn't know their relationship — but her words, how can you keep going back to a monster and expecting something different... well, he knows what his theory is. and perhaps kirigan even cares somewhat for her, like jin guangyao did for qin su, but for men like that? ultimately, only themselves matter. everything and everyone else can burn. ]

[It isn't what he'd thought but it's hardly any better, and Wei Wuxian has to close his eyes for a moment and clench his fists at his sides, force himself to breath through the waves of fury washing over him. (His recent experiences on E23-B mean that the anger triggers the resentful energy lurking inside of him, and it creeps out in thin tendrils around his hands and chest before he wills it back inside.) Monsters like that did not deserve to continue living, let alone to be here with the power in their hands to do something truly awful in their world.

(There is a slight ache in him at the reminder that most would say the same of him and he doesn't deny the hypocrisy, but neither can he ignore a man like this.)

When he opens his eyes again, the anger is still there roiling beneath the surface but it's better contained. This isn't their world where he can walk over and "take care of it." He might be impulsive still but there are too many unknowns here. What this Kirigan is capable of for one.]

The woman he hurt. Is he still hurting her? Here?

[ and there it is — the resentful energy that surrounds him, betrays his anger, betrays just how seriously he is taking this. huaisang suppresses a smile.

and, with a glance at wei wuxian, brow furrowed, ]

I really don't know. I... I would hope not.

[ hope. he actually suspects he isn't — not physically, anyway. his presence here is certainly hurting her, though, that he is certain of. ]

[He lets out a shuddering exhale, clenching and unclenching his fists. After another moment passes, he nods.]

Thank you for telling me, Nie-xiong. You don't by chance know what kind of abilities he has, do you? I know already that he isn't entirely human. I've spoken with a man from his world, Mal. [And he'll be speaking with him again after this, getting as much information as he can. The more he knows about who and what Kirigan is, the better.]

Not really... I just know he is powerful.

[ he sighs, scratching the side of his head. ]

I'm sorry that I have nothing else to contribute, Wei-xiong. I ended up finding out by accident, and I didn't know who else to tell about this. It's... it's really not like I can do anything about it. If he's a powerful man, then... you know I wouldn't be able to stand up to him.

[ he did not find out by accident, and he knew instantly what to do with the information — but it's not like he'd admit to any of that. ]

[He shakes his head, forcing a more neutral expression.] That's not your fault Nie-xiong. Just stay away from him.

[Frowning, he lets his gaze drift away for a moment, already considering his options on what to do next. It's probably best if he talks to someone who's been here longer than he has, and who he knows wouldn't be so easily taken by him.] There are some people here I trust.

[Mostly, Itachi and Gwen, but he's going to see what else he can learn from Mal too.]

And I know a man here from his world who. Well, isn't a fan of his. I'm sure I'll be able to learn more. [He raises his eyes back to his friend and gives him a brisk nod.] Thanks for telling me.

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