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"Wei Wuxian, you can't keep hunting alone. A partner is essential for these missions."
Wei Wuxian ignored the voice of what was supposed to be his 'superior', more interested in checking through his equipment, noting down what would need to be changed or fixed before he went out for another mission.
Talks of having a partner always reminded him about the last one he had, a relatively young but talented girl, one that almost died while on a hunt. Wei Wuxian failed to protect her, and now the girl's life was ruined, destined for continuous hospital visits and surgeries that would only temporarily alleviate the pain from the injuries.
"Can you even capture any of those monsters alone? It's just a waste of your talent like this."
Wei Wuxian snorted loudly at the way the Yiling border supervisor's tactic changed, at how the man tried to appeal to Wei Wuxian's sense of disappointment over his results to get him to obey. It only showed the supervisor's ignorance, careless attitude towards missions or the specifics of what hunters actually did. Of course the supervisor would be ignorant, he did not need to go out for hunts himself, he did not even have the skills needed to survive out there.
"Would you like to see my latest catch?" Wei Wuxian finally spoke, a completely fake smile stretching his lips, his narrowed eyes passing through the supervisor, without even looking at the latter's face.
Wei Wuxian did not wait for a reply as he passed by the supervisor and walked towards the direction of massive walls that surrounded every habitable place left on earth. It was impossible to survive without those walls, as the beasts, the monsters that lurked outside multiplied too quickly, evolved too quickly and were impossible to drive to extinction. At least not yet.
The goal of the hunters was to capture those beasts and bring them to the research facilities for experiments, or if that was not possible then…To kill them. One day, the researchers would be able to find a drug that could reverse or stop the effects of those mutations. One day, the researchers would know what caused the mutations in the first place.
Wei Wuxian’s destination was the buildings that were situated right against the wall - they had doors from both sides, from inside the wall and from outside of it. That was where the captured beasts were brought to, where the researchers came for the samples they needed.
The small device at Wei Wuxian’s wrist successfully unlocked a side door, and Wei Wuxian pushed it open, stepping inside. His supervisor followed, possibly entering the building for the first time ever - as only certain people, such as hunters and researchers, could walk around there freely.
It was dark inside, but Wei Wuxian did not hesitate as he headed towards the direction of the cage his newest achievement was in. Chains rattled all around them, low growls reverberated against the walls. It gave the feeling of being surrounded, but Wei Wuxian was not affected. Unlike the supervisor whose every step was more and more hesitant.
“Here.” Wei Wuxian announced, pulling up a curtain covering a specific cage just a little bit. Enough to give a clear view of what was inside.
The beast was at least 5 meters in height while on all fours, it's eyes zeroing in at the newcomers and even the sedative was not enough to stop it from trying to step closer, baring its fangs. It was an intimidating sight to anyone not used to seeing things like that, especially the way the beast growled, showing a full view of its fangs that were easily longer and thicker than a human’s arm.
That was their reality now - beasts like that wandered outside the walls, occupying the majority of the world, threatening the survival of humanity.
It was even more of a reality to hunters like Wei Wuxian - their job required them to go out there almost every night, to hunt those beasts, to bring back the ones that they managed to capture.
It was very fortunate that their hunting equipment kept improving more and more as months passed - at the same time increasing their chances of survival. And those chains they used to subdue the beasts for capture… Wei Wuxian was still amazed at how well they worked. Like a very high grade sedative, except it did not need to be injected, and there was no need to worry about how much such massive creatures would need.
“Okay, I don’t know how the hell you can do something like that alone, but I also don’t care. There are rules, so you’ll be getting a partner.”
Wei Wuxian scowled, crossing his arms. He proved that he could do it alone, even better than some people who work in groups, what else did his supervisor want?
In reality, he knew the reason. It was the rules, and there will be an inspection soon. If anyone found out about Wei Wuxian working alone for months now, his supervisor would be labeled as ‘incompetent’ and ‘useless’, losing his job in the process.
“There’s someone transferring here from the Gusu border. He’ll be your partner for the next mission.” The supervisor said and turned to leave the building with hasty steps.
Wei Wuxian secretly took pleasure in seeing the supervisor frightened like that, forced to face only the fraction of the overpowering atmosphere the beasts gave off. Outside of the walls was even worse and Wei Wuxian dealt with it every day. He would appreciate it very much if he did not need to deal with those annoying rules and ignorant supervisors inside of the walls - the things that sometimes made him feel more helpless than fighting the mutated beasts did.
***
It was not unexpected that the next hunt went well, even while having a partner. Of course it would go well, they were not children, they could work together.
Still, Wei Wuxian did well alone too, so what was the point? It only made it harder when he had to keep track of where his partner was, when he had to be alert, ready to protect him if there was a need for it. This time he would not fail.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” The supervisor was next to Wei Wuxian almost before the latter had the chance to take off his gear.
“What else do you want?” Wei Wuxian scowled, turning to look, his eyes widening when he saw his partner for the first time.
The equipment they wore during missions covered up every part of their bodies, which meant that… up until this moment, he had no idea who he was hunting with. But now… he knew.
It was Lan Wangji, one of the best hunters at the Gusu border. Wei Wuxian had only exchanged a couple sentences with the man during his whole life, as they did not have many chances to meet. Even during this hunt… despite being together the whole time, they did not exchange a single word.
“From now on, Lan Wangji will be your partner, and I take no objections.” The supervisor said, glancing over at Lan Wangji and then at the suddenly quiet Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian, in the meantime, could not drag his eyes away from Lan Wangji. He had never thought he would see the man again, he did not know if… it was good for him to see Lan Wangji again.
If he had to choose one word to describe himself at that moment, Wei Wuxian would say ‘confusion’. His thoughts were a spinning chaos, his feelings swirling and tangling, he had no clarity over what he actually thought of, or felt for, Lan Wangji.
One thing that was clear, however, was that Wei Wuxians thoughts over having a partner did not change.
“I don’t want a partner.” Wei Wuxian said, his words directed towards the supervisor even if his eyes were locked on Lan Wangji, at the completely still expression on that face. “Everyone knows how it turned out last time. I can’t protect anyone while I am fighting those monsters.”
“I do not need you to protect me.” Lan Wangji’s lips moved for the first time, his voice sending shivers through Wei Wuxian’s spine. “Partners means ‘equals’, it means fighting together, covering for each other, trusting each other.” Lan Wangji took a few steps closer, to stand right in front of Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian suddenly wanted to step back, but his feet kept him glued to the floor. His eyes glared at Lan Wangji’s golden orbs defiantly, every word that was said invading his mind, and forcing him to think, to… accept the words said as truth even if the irrational part of him wanted to fight it off.
For many months, Wei Wuxian had been fighting alone, not swayed by anything, but now… just a few words from Lan Wangji and he could feel his conviction wavering.
“I am not a beginner nor a trainee. I have as much experience as you do and I am not weak.” Lan Wangji spoke again when there was no reply from Wei Wuxian. “I will not die even if you take your eyes away from me.”
It was clear what Lan Wangji was trying to do and, as hard as it was to admit, it was working. Wei Wuxian was still reluctant to accept a partner, but now… at least he was willing to try, to see how it would go.
Maybe if… Lan Wangji was his partner, he could one day whole-heartedly accept that having a partner was better than hunting alone, maybe he could… get over his guilt and finally, finally move on.