㈣ path

@☼┊wen fan ᵒ “Be careful Sarang!” Jennie ushered the young pups along the bridge from the classroom into the hiking trail marked out. She had been assigned to watch 6 little wolves, all around the same age, for afternoon daycare after their morning lessons. Most of them from the same liter, but each babies individually scent was coming out peice by piece. Plus when they were in their human form, it wasn’t too difficult to tell them apart. They were just preschoolers, and already knew how to run a muck and sprint away on the path. “Kai! Koda! No more then two trees away from the group!” Reminding the twins of the rules so they wouldn’t have to all hold onto a rope in a line while they walked. It gave them enough space to play, while also being in sight of their caretaker, Nie Jennie. It was nice to have the time to take her mind off of the future, her soon to be mate, children of their own, becoming a Luna… after all you have to stay present when there are 6 persons you were in charge of that wanted to sprint into the wild at any given moment.

@☘ ┊nie jiyang ᵇ Wen Fan heard the beta's voice before he smelled him, and halted in his tracks. His guard turned towards the beta and stared at him threateningly. "Go about your business. He does not wish to speak to you." The guard did not know who Jiyang was and he did not know about the letter Wen Fan had written. To him, this was a random encounter and it was his job to make sure Wen Fan's walks remained solitary. Wen Fan turned towards Jiyang, expression dark behind a sheer blood-red veil. He moved up behind the guard silently and gently placed his hand on the man's back. He was dead in an instant. The omega stepped past him towards the beta as the man fell limp to the floor. Would he get in trouble if it was known the guard 'vanished'? Yes, but less trouble than if someone overheard the conversation he was about to have.

Wen Fan looked at the other in silence for a few moments. His aura had changed. It was still dark and bitter, but heavier and sharper. And, there was a hint of constant anxiety revealed in each small movement he made. From the way, his eyes habitually darted left and right every now and then, to the way he hid his hands in his sleeves to suppress the tremors. "You came." He wasn't going to thank Jiyang for showing up. Frankly, the fact that he was about to ask him for help made his stomach churn. Wen Fan, asking for help from a dog, a filthy existence that should never have been born... it was unthinkable. He grit his teeth and swept the veil out of his face. His left hand shot up and he pressed a black handkerchief to his lips. When he pulled it away there were stains of blood on the embroidered silk. Wen Fan had weakened, using his powers as he had just now, took too much of a toll on his health. The handkerchief vanished in the folds of his robes and he looked back at Jiyang like nothing at all had happened. "You may be a Nie now, warming the bed of a powerful man, but you still committed an unspeakable crime her in Wen. You owe me, yes?"

@☼┊wen fan ᵒ - date: august 18th
- appearance:
(outfit: https://64.media.tumblr.com/203b63c5b4b94121d574fe7dc2fda7f4/0898640e7a026e9e-18/s640x960/d49eaa72c056a4cb06f0f115a529f544c31647b2.png )
(hair: https://64.media.tumblr.com/8d7f111e587e7c7f0c99481a97eaf727/372198dd52ea3a71-45/s2048x3072/c94525fc535a05996aadaa5c87ae99a17399b1fa.jpg )
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'do you visit the qiongqi paths anymore?'

it was odd for jiyang to receive a letter from someone from wen who was not max or yuliang. even rarer for jiyang to recognize the contents and intentions so thoroughly and innocently hidden within the elegant writing that was wen fan's calligraphy.

'perhaps, you remember.'

yes. of course jiyang remembered. qiongqi path were the paths jiyang had often explored in the past. his very own backyard when he had lived in the outskirts of qishan after--

jiyang arrived at the entrance of the path, an entrance which stood protected by the crimson arches and a valley of bright emerald beauty embraced by two volcanic mountains. mountains which trembled every once and a while with the breath of a heavenly beast making it's presence known to the wolfblood. qiongqi path. a ten-minute walk from the outermost corners of qishan and the glorious estates of nobility, jiyang knew every path. every crevice and crack that awaited the beta. qishan... the city where the sun never sets, jiyang had swore to his heart that he'd never return to the city of his birth. and yet-- here he was. standing at the front of qishan's most prized path. drawing in a low, slow breath--jiyang made his way through the paths.

lithe body adorned in slate-blue robes with his soft features framed by the sharpness of his jaw-length hair and a glimpse of crimson in his peach blossom eyes, jiyang made his way forward. following the scent of wen fan's sickly sweet scent that enraptured many-- and gave jiyang a headache from the impossibly caramel-like scent. "wen fan" jiyang called, bowing his head in greeting to the younger.

@☘ ┊nie jiyang ᵇ 'To Jiyang. I'm not sure why I'm writing to you. The chance meeting the other day sparked my curiosity about where you are now. It's been a long time. I heard you are in Nie? Do you visit the Qiongqi paths anymore? I like to stroll there in the mornings. Perhaps you remember. From, Wen Fan.'

For days Wen Fan had stepped out each morning to wander the Qiongqi path. Each time, a stern-faced guard accompanied him. Wen Fan hated the mornings. Well, he used to at least. He was not an early bird- hadn't been an early bird. Now he struggled to sleep no matter what time of night. However, there was no chance he would be let out in the evening. Better it be the morning, where few are out and about and his husband is too busy to pay attention to him. Husband. The word still tasted bitter on his tongue just when he thought it. How naturally it came out now, despite the bitterness. Wen Fan looked up at the clouded grey sky and up to the hills that soared into the heavens. Five years. The omega closed his eyes and lightly shook his head. He refused to wallow now.

As he wandered through the arches day after day, he started to enjoy the quiet strolls. It was so peaceful. Was Jiyang ever going to show up? Did he want to at all, or had he ignored his letter? Wen Fan looked down and kept walking. What did he even want to say when he saw Jiyang? He couldn't think of anything nice. Why had he called him? Because of the expression on Jiyang's face that day: that hidden flinch, the averted eyes, the PITY, it was eating him up from the inside. He didn't need to be pitied. Wen Fan was going to show him. He remembered when he had burnt the skin of the other's hand and smiled. Then he remembered the blunt, straightforward words the other had spoken to him as his smile vanished, brows twitching in irritation.