Pagan/Huaisang

[crab_rangoon]

"Ah! No, no. I don't need to send the messenger. Just let me go," he tells the guards at the gates, waving them away as he walks straight through with his sword at his side, his entourage behind him. They walks in with their white robes, though Pagan is in red and black, and he breathes in the Impure Realm. He hasn't been here since the death of the Nie clan leader, but he's been aiming to check on their newest leader. It's been a dark time for them, for all of them, but he still feels more than a twinge of affection for the boy.

Well, man. He's been a man for several years now, but it doesn't seem like anything has changed.

Still, he promised he'd continue to offer support, so he walks on, ignoring the protests of the guards.

Comments

[crab_rangoon]

"We can eat along the way, my little spoiled prince," he teases gently. "Come along. We have a long ride ahead of us and only time to lose."

Despite his own fitful and non-existent sleep, he is chipper and quite full of cheer.

[threedontknows]

Little prince, little one, A-Sang - he can see what Min Pagan is doing, whether he realizes it or not. But he doesn't mind playing a role; he shakes his head and drags his feet with a whine, complaining quietly until they reach their horses.

It's dumplings for their morning meal, and he's far happier once he has something in his belly.

[crab_rangoon]

He sees it. He's trying to let the Nie leader wear the mask that he feels more comfortable in, and he doesn't want to dissuade him from it. It's worked for him, and it works for Pagan to be the opposite.

When they're at their horses, he pulls himself up, glancing over at him to make sure that he's ready. "I do think it's your turn for a story this time."

[threedontknows]

Fortunately for the Min Sect Leader, Nie Huaisang is in a good position for sharing a story. He doesn't tell one of his own, but one about an old friend and infamous member of the cultivation world, Wei Wuxian. He doesn't like to talk about the Yiling Patriarch all that much - he's still a wicked figure, too taboo to discuss even years after his death - but that isn't how Nie Huaisang knew him at all. He tells a story about when he and Wei Wuxian were young and with the Lan during the lectures, and all the various shenanigans he and the late Grand Master of Demonic Cultivation shared together.

[crab_rangoon]

Pagan lives on the word of taboo and he laughs and laughs at the stories of their antics. Of course that would be Huaisang's experiences. It makes perfect sense! The stories last long enough to get them to their first rest and Pagan, holding his side from laughter, hops off the horse to lead it to the gently flowing stream.

"And where do you keep your pornography now, ah? What crevice is it hidden in?"

[threedontknows]

He follows Pagan’s lead, slipping off his horse and bringing it to the water for a rest. “Oh, I keep it out in the open now! No reason to try to hide my exhaustive collection of spring books.”

He grins a little and reaches for his pouch to take out some fried pancakes for the two of them to eat by the stream. He always travels prepared.

[crab_rangoon]

"Ah, thank you," he murmurs, taking out some water for himself and offers it to his companion in exchange.

"I've never seen them," he points out. "And now I feel left out."

[threedontknows]

Nie Huaisang takes the water with a grateful nod. He sips and then takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully.

“They’re in a separate library in the Nie Family wing, of course.”

[crab_rangoon]

"Of course," he laughs, settling himself on a rock with his feet outstretched.

"I'm still taking offense."

He reaches a hand out for the water.

[threedontknows]

“You’re going to do as you please, Sect Leader Min.”

He takes another sip of the water with a cheeky smile before finally handing it back to him.

“I always remembered this journey taking a long time, but I was young the last time I set foot in your realm.”

[crab_rangoon]

"You were," he nods. "But not young enough that you missed it. The journey is long, but there is much to see. And you saw it all."

[threedontknows]

“I did,” he says, thinking a little of those times with his brother and father. He’d been just a spoiled little heir, but they indulged and loved him. They were happy to bring him along everywhere they went; it was a good little childhood.

[crab_rangoon]

He smiles, letting them slip into silence before he stands, mounting the horse again and waiting for Huaisang to do the same.

It's his turn for a story, so this one involves candles, involves a deranged man who was going around lighting candles throughout the realm and leaving them there with no indication as to why.

"We never found him!" he laughs as the afternoon turns to evening.

[threedontknows]

The story is entertaining and mysterious enough - like the storyteller himself - that Nie Huaisang is properly distracted as they leave the region under the control of the Qinghe Nie. There are smaller clans here and there that call this place home, but none with the kind of influence of the Nie or the Min.

He raises his head a little as he surveys the path ahead of him, still smiling from the story. “I think you make these stories up, Gan-ge.”

[crab_rangoon]

He shakes his head. "Of course I am not making any of this up!" he protests. "In fact, I am more truthful than I have ever been! Now, let me tell you of the doctors that I sent from my lands for being far too loyal to someone else!"

He laughs as they walk, taking the trail slowly not because he's worried about Huaisang, but because he's enjoying his company. But night soon comes.

"We can press on here and be there by morning," he tells him. "Or we can stop."

[threedontknows]

Nie Huaisang wouldn't mind pressing forward, but he can feel that his body is growing tired. It won't make for a pleasant arrival if he makes it to the Min home and hasn't had any sleep.

"We can make camp," he says quietly. "This isn't an area known for trouble."

[crab_rangoon]

"Not in a while," he mutters, remembering when he and Huaisang's father had been here in this spot, young and wild together, and faced off against three fierce corpses side by side. Pagan had been surprised at his companion's ruthlessness, but it cemented them as friends once upon a time.

He nods. "I will let you choose our spot."

[threedontknows]

The spot just needs to be far away enough from the road and under the cover of trees in case it rains. He gestures to the vague area he thinks might be a decent spot and gets off his horse to guide it off the road.

Out in the wild they'll need to set up arrays; it's not smart to sit without certain protections this far away from a village.

[crab_rangoon]

He doesn't have to worry about that with Pagan. He's already scanning the ground for the easiest protection, the best way to keep an eye out just in case. He forms the first array towards the north, where the road was.

"Take the south, if you please," he sings out to Huaisang.

[threedontknows]

“Yes, Sect Leader Min,” he replies cheekily, looking at the stars to guide him into proper formation. He finds the right alignment and then draws the array, connecting it with Pagan’s to the north.

He heads back to their campsite and takes care of feeding and watering the horses.

[crab_rangoon]

He snorts, muttering swears under his breath. Kids these days...

Pagan makes a fire, boiling some of the water.

"Do you want to try something new?"

[threedontknows]

"Not usually," he teases, sitting down by the fire after hitching the horses to a tree for the evening. "What kind of something new?"

[crab_rangoon]

"Mm, you're better than that," he laughs. "It's called chikki." He takes a pouch from inside of his pocket and holds it out to him. Inside is a brittle, made of sweet syrup and peanuts.

[threedontknows]

He laughs along with him. They both know he enjoys new things, even if he makes a fuss about sticking to the old. He's not his father or his Da-ge, blind to everything but their own traditions.

He takes the sweet and carefully takes a bite. "It's like tanghulu," he says, or at least the crunch of the sugar is. He smiles and has a bigger bite, chewing thoughtfully. "You've been keeping these good things to yourself."

[crab_rangoon]

"It is, but you use nuts instead of fruit," he agrees. "And I keep nothing for myself. If the world deserved it, then perhaps I would share it."

But he likes seeing him light up. Delighting in it.

"There are plenty of other surprises along the way."