Inbox: Ximilia

[singlelogbridge]

// Wei Wuxian

TEXT • AUDIO • VIDEO

XIMILIA

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[doooooog]

[ If a moment can be somehow both extraordinary and mundane, this one somehow manages it. And it's the mundane that stands out most starkly to Jake now, even as Wei Wuxian winds dread about his shoulders with each earnestly delivered word. The lack of tension lines in the young man's face, how his tone dips with unvoiced laughter in places, and even the way word of his own death comes less like a secret and more like a stray thought... as if Wei Wuxian stumbled upon the topic by simple happenstance.

The dread is at his neck now, pulled tight by the injustice woven through Wei Wuxian's tale.

I don't think death is something you ever get used to, even when it lives at your side. It aches every time.

Jake takes a few meditative breaths, allowing the sense-memory of newly dead trees and extinct birds to turn the painful pressure of that dread into a warm embrace. ]

And now you're here, and he's here, and you're together again. [ The rabbit smiles, small paws crossing in front of him. ] Y'know, there's a saying in an old book of mine... "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

[ For the briefest moment, Jake remembers the desolate planet he'd left behind to answer Viveca's call. No life grew there; nothing to weed, nothing to seed. He would go back there one day, to choke out his last few starving breaths alone under his father's grave. Were Jake still Wei Wuxian's age, the thought of such a lonely death would have terrified him; he'd make any deal the Orbs offered him to cling onto just one more second of life.

He was older now. Old enough to recognize the weight of tragedy aging a person far past their years. ]

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." [ The quotation is punctuated by a chuckle as Jake scrubs a paw against his eye, wicking away the moisture collecting there. ] I dunno how far you are on your journey to becoming that person, man, but something tells me he's gonna blow us all away. I hope I'm here to meet him.

[ There's a beat of pause before Jake punctuates the moment with a still slightly-teary wink. ]

Y'know, from a respectful distance.

[singlelogbridge]

[The smile that crosses his face is bright and excited in a subdued kind of way. Lao Tzu he recognizes. Of course Jake would know his work. He chuckles under his breath and shakes his head, not unmindful of the brightness in Jake's eyes.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. He can't say he disagrees.

Of all the strange and wonderous things he's encountered in his time on the Ximilia, he never could have imagined a dog crying for him. If Jake were with him in person, even if he were his dog self and not disguised as a rabbit, Wei Wuxian thinks he'd have the courage to reach out and stroke along his head, at least once.]

Who knows if they'll end up on the Ximilia, but who's to say in my next life I won't be someone who loves dogs? [He returns that wink. There's also the chance he could be a dog next time around, but even the thought makes him shiver and he won't voice it in case that teases the universe into making it real.]

For now, I'm content. [He pauses and then shakes his head.] No, I'm happy. I'm surrounded by people I love, exploring the farthest reaches of the universe, seeing sights I never could have imagined. How could I not be happy?

[That sincere smile doesn't waver even once.]

[doooooog]

Couldn't have said it better myself, bro. [ You could hardly call the two men mirrors of each other; one an extremely pleasant looking young human and the other a rough approximation of a rabbit with gray fur peppering his face in dusty patches. Even so, the smile Wei Wuxian offers is returned from Jake with identical sentiment.

How could they not be happy, really? ]

I should probably get back to my man's best friend gig. [ It's spoken around a yawn, betraying just how tired Jake really was. It was still quite early by the Federation clock, but Emerton was a pathologically early riser. Wouldn't be more than an hour before the man was shuffling about his morning routine, Jake waddling dutifully after him. ] Thanks for keeping me company, dude.

[singlelogbridge]

[The brightness of his smile lowers to a simmer and he nods.]

Thank you for being a bunny. And for listening. [A pause and then.] I'm going to do my best to...to be able to make it so you don't always have to be a bunny. [Because even if Jake is willing, it seems silly to ask someone he cares about never to be themselves around him.]

I hope you don't mind being patient in the meantime.

[doooooog]

[ Jake quirks his nose at the offer, genuine surprise giving way to a spontaneous grin. All things being equal, it was the kind of earnest expression that would look far less natural on a dog than it did on a rabbit. ]

That's... I dunno what to say man, I know that's not a small deal. Thank you. [ Jake means it, yellow cotton tail wagging involuntarily. The genuineness of Jake's reaction was rapidly eroding the illusion's verisimilitude, but it was a worthy sacrifice. ] Take as long as you need.

[ If there was one nice thing about being on borrowed time, it was knowing the value of asking for more. ]

Sleep tight, dude.