[pfsb] practicing forms and signs

[lightamidchaos]

He has much to do, much to consider, and at times like this he finds that it can be both useful and soothing to practice sword forms. In addition, he has been working on perfecting the Igni sign, and this will be an excellent opportunity to continue his practice.

As a result, Lan Wangji can be found near the lake at present, working with Bichen and with the occasional flicker of light from his hand.

Comments

[lightamidchaos]

Lan Wangji's eyes widen. "Impress me?" He sounds genuinely surprised by that.

"Of course he would not have wished to cause harm."

[a_reckless_wind]

Laurence's expression softens. "Is it so strange to think he might wish his new acquaintance to think well of him?"

He turns away from the path of destruction – which, after all, harmed no one but a few trees. "But I chide unnecessarily; if he is a little vain he has certainly earned the right to it, and a more loyal and pleasant companion one could hardly wish for. And he excels where I do not; I quite forget myself. I understand you have invited Temeraire and myself to your home; that is very kind, sir. Temeraire speaks of his wish to travel there often, but I am afraid we have been kept quite busy in Peking. Pray accept my apologies for our tardiness."

[lightamidchaos]

"Not strange. He is very gracious to consider it," Lan Wangji tells him. "I would expect no less. Please do not apologize, Laurence-huángzǐ. I will be happy to welcome you to Cloud Recesses at any time you would wish."

The thought reminds him, and he glances at the inn, then back at the other man. "I have not yet offered you hospitality. Would you allow me?"

[a_reckless_wind]

Laurence bows, buying himself a little time before he must answer. He is all too aware that it would be deeply rude to refuse, and yet some small part of him wishes that he might anyway... but this young man's hospitality is unlikely to be the sort offered by Yongxing.

He will simply have to hope he does not say or do the wrong thing and accidentally offend. "I thank you," he says. "I accept."

[lightamidchaos]

Once again he finds himself wishing for his brother's grace and skillful way with people. Usually it does not matter quite so much, but in this case--

Lan Wangji pushes the uncertainty and nervousness away, deep down where it cannot be seen, and falls back on his training. He turns to walk beside Laurence back to the inn, carrying Bichen at his side.

"I understand you were the one who gave Lung Tien Xiang the name Temeraire," he says. "Would you prefer that I call him so when speaking with you?"

[a_reckless_wind]

"No," Laurence says, falling into step beside the young man, who moves with such unconscious elegance that Laurence cannot help but note it. "I have got used to hearing his Chinese name now, and there's a certain argument to make for it being the proper address."

He sounds a little rueful; the last thing he'd meant to do when harnessing Temeraire was step on the toes of an Emperor. "And Temeraire himself answers to both, so you may freely choose which you yourself prefer to use. I will take no offense."

[lightamidchaos]

Uncertainty flickers in his glance, although his expression does not change. "I would not wish to presume," he says, carefully. "His preference, or yours, should guide me in this."

[a_reckless_wind]

"Let it be Lung Tien Xiang, then," Laurence tells him, hoping to assuage the younger man's carefully-held concern.

"He is so pleased to be able to learn more of his heritage; he has quite embraced it, which is all for the best."

Laurence's own feelings on their time in China and the complications arising therefrom may be safely set aside to prioritize Temeraire's in this matter. "Besides which it is a flattering name; I believe it means 'auspicious' or something similar."

He looks a question at Lan Wangji; his own Chinese is elementary at best.

[lightamidchaos]

"Mn," he says, and realizes as he does that this may be less than helpful. Lan Wangji leads Laurence through the door and indicates a table with pleasing alignment, looking to him to see whether it is satisfactory.

"Do you know which character he uses for Xiang?"

[a_reckless_wind]

Laurence, faced with his embarrassing inability to fully – or even partially – comprehend the language Temeraire has picked up so easily, bows briefly to hide his discomfort.

"Forgive me," he says. "I have never had an ear or eye for languages." Even his French is just short of abysmal, but he finds Chinese, and especially the characters, nothing short of wholly confusing. "I regret to say I must further apply myself to study of the language, but am at present unable to specify the character itself; however, I believe it is pronounced Xiáng, if that is of some assistance."

He does his best to recreate the rising tone in which Temeraire had patiently coached him, but his ear is not the most precise.

[lightamidchaos]

He does not object to the choice of table, and so Lan Wangji leads them both to it, unobtrusively signaling to a waitrat on the way.

Laurence's pronunciation is unusual, but it is clear enough. He nods. "I asked because there is another character for the word with the meaning of flight, which might also be appropriate," he explains.

He hesitates for only an instant before he reaches for his qiankun bag and pulls out a small piece of paper and a brush, along with one of the ink bottles that Wei Ying had suggested he start carrying for quick use if he did not wish to use one of the pens from Madam Bar. He uncaps it and draws three characters in his clear, precise writing, then turns the paper and sets it in front of Laurence as he indicates each.

"Lung, 龍, for a dragon; Tien, 天, for the sky, for heaven; and Xiang, 祥, meaning auspicious, as you have said - a good omen."

[a_reckless_wind]

Laurence sits and watches with close attention as the younger man draws out the characters, then nods at the translation. "I believe most, if not all of the dragons in China are named with this convention," he says. "The middle name indicates their breed – Temeraire is, as you know, a Celestial."

Feeling he should offer some knowledge in return, he continues: "When we first arrived in Scotland at the training yards, it swiftly became clear that there was a naming convention in place in England also, which I had neglected through ignorance. Many of our English dragon names are based in Latin: Maximus, Excidium, and so forth."

[lightamidchaos]

Lan Wangji blinks at him. "Of course he is."

He listens with interest to the explanation of the Latin names, then says, "I am not familiar with Latin. I apologize for my own ignorance. But I think Temeraire is a good name. Does it have a particular meaning?"

[a_reckless_wind]

"I wish we'd had your knowledge when first we arrived in Scotland," Laurence tells him, a little wry. "It may well have staved off some of what happened thereafter. We had believed him to be an Imperial; it was not until his use of the divine wind that it became clear he was in fact a Celestial."

He's on firmer ground with his own choice of name, and smiles, brief. "Yes," he says. "It is a French word; it means 'bold.'"

Or 'reckless', but the young man clearly thinks well of Temeraire and Laurence does not wish him to be distressed over less flattering definitions. "When he first hatched and spread his wings, I could think only of a grand ship of the line I had seen once; she is named Temeraire, for a French vessel which had been captured earlier."

[lightamidchaos]

The faintest line creases his brow, below his forehead ribbon. "You have dragons in your world that you do not consider to be celestial beings?"

"It is a good name," he adds, as the rat arrives at the table.

[a_reckless_wind]

Laurence holds his tongue at the slightly blasphemous idea that any flesh and blood creature, even one so spectacular as a dragon, could be celestial in more than name and attempts to explain.

"There is no doubt in my mind that dragons are an incredible species," he says, honestly. "Whether they are more of earthly or heavenly origin is a question beyond my own meager understanding. But it so happens that 'Celestial' is the name of Temeraire's breed; very rare and deeply cherished in China. In fact, only an Emperor or close kin are allowed to be companion to Celestial dragons... a practice which has caused no small amount of distress for Temeraire and myself."

[lightamidchaos]

"It is more than rarity," Lan Wangji tells him. "If it is there as it is in my world, the connection between the Emperor's line and the tiānlóng is because the celestial ones are spiritual powers and guardians of the heavenly courts of the Jade Emperor. It is no accident that the Emperor on earth is known as the Son of Heaven."

He shakes his head. "There are different dragons in my world as well as yours, in the rivers and lakes and mountains and seas, but all are respected and greatly revered."

He nods to the rat and asks, "Would you prefer tea or wine?"

[a_reckless_wind]

"Tea," Laurence says, grasping onto this one safe topic. "Thank you."

The extraordinary animal bows and scurries off, and Laurence considers Lan Wangji's words carefully before selecting his own. "Truthfully, I am not wholly familiar with the history of dragons in China," he says. "They have fiercely guarded the secrets of their dragons and breeding from the rest of the world. It may be as you say, though from what I have observed, dragons in China are respected and treated more as equals than as beings of any particular spiritual power. The Imperials and Celestials are a class above the rest, I grant you, intimately connected as they are with the Emperor and his family and court."

[lightamidchaos]

"They should be," he says, firmly. "At the very least equals, if not more revered. I know there are worlds where it is not so, but it is hard to comprehend."

He glances at the paper with Lung Tien Xiang's name written on it, considering, then looks back at Laurence. "Perhaps it may be that your Celestials and Imperials are earthly descendants of the tiānlóng," he offers. "And worthy of all honor as such."

Carefully, he adds, "Lung Tien Xiang mentioned that you were to be adopted into the Emperor's family."

[a_reckless_wind]

There is no way to respond to this first statement which would not be either insulting to the Chinese view of dragons or traitorous to England, and so Laurence only gives a non-committal, acknowledging nod, shortly before he must ruthlessly push down his despair at Temeraire's relaxed attitude towards the absolute truth.

"It is a solution which has been suggested," he says. "And I believe the Emperor is amenable. But negotiations are ongoing, and it is by no means set in stone."

He smiles, slightly wry. "Temeraire is more optimistic than I in our ultimate success."

[lightamidchaos]

"Mn." The sound conveys a sense of understanding. "I gather the situation is complicated."

He is well aware that is likely to be a significant understatement. As the rat returns, bearing a large tray, Lan Wangji helps transfer everything to the table between them. In addition to the teapot, kettle of perfectly heated water, and cups, a selection of osmanthus cakes, fruits and nuts is arrayed in jade dishes to accompany the tea with light refreshment. He is grateful that after Lan Xichen's last visit and conversation with Geralt he had thought to arrange matters with Madam Bar for the next time he or his brother would be responsible for hosting a respected guest.

Lan Wangji prepares the tea for Laurence and serves him first, before pouring his own.

[a_reckless_wind]

"Diplomacy often is, or so I have observed," Laurence says, a little rueful. "The negotiations are in the hands of those far better suited to it than I; I can only hope I will not, by some word or deed, give pause to the proceedings."

This is as far as he will allow himself to hint at any of his own misgivings; fortunately the odd waiter returns with a frankly astounding assortment of tea and refreshments. Even Laurence, who wishes heartily for black tea with milk and a scone with jam and clotted cream besides, must admit that the scents rising from the dishes are both delicate and delicious.

"Thank you," he says, accepting the cup. "What a handsome tea you have managed; you honor me, Hanguang-jun."

[lightamidchaos]

"The honor is mine," he says, setting his own cup down and indicating for Laurence to select what he prefers from the dishes.

"I am not very good at diplomacy," he adds. "But I hope for your success."

[a_reckless_wind]

"Nor I," Laurence confesses, glancing over the food and selecting one of the small cakes and several fruits.

"I suppose Temeraire told you of my previous occupation – I was a captain in His Majesty's Navy. The nuances of diplomacy are sadly somewhat lost on me."

[lightamidchaos]

"The Reliant," he confirms, taking a sip of tea. "Although I confess I am unclear how to describe your occupation now."

He lets the cup rest in his fingers as he considers, then says, "My brother is the leader of Gusu Lan, my sect. He is exceptionally skilled at diplomacy."